Wordless Wednesday - Desert Blossoms

I *may* have nicked these blooms from the trees across the road. They've been taunting me with their prettiness for weeks.

Blossom on a Coolgardie Gum. Funnily enough, growing in Coolgardie.

These are actually from our garden:

Once again, linking up with Trish from My Little Drummer Boys for Wordless Wednesday again. Thanks Trish!

How is nature performing this spring in your neck of the woods?

My first blog award! Because apparently I'm 'cute' and 'welcome'

I was granted my very first blog award the other day and can't tell you how chuffed I am. But, well, very chuffed!
It is the Liebster Award, which is shared by bloggers among other bloggers. It is "given to up-and-coming bloggers who have fewer than 200 followers" and I discovered one morning Lisa from Mummymanifesto had passed it to me. Thanks Lisa! Then that evening I learned another blogger had also awarded it to me. So I'll do one post on it now, and another later.

"Liebster" is German and means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome.

The rules:
* Each person must post 11 things about themselves.
* Answer the questions the person who tagged you created, then make 11 questions of your own for the people you tag.
* Choose 11 people and link them in your post.
* Go to their page and tell them.
* No tag backs.

So, as per the rules:
1. Where would you like to travel before you die? New York. Am a country girl to the core but would love to see the world's ultimate city.
2. High heels or ballet flats? In my head, heels. In reality, flats.
3. Where did you meet your partner - if you have one? Met my husband at home - our families were friends and apparently I chased him, trying to kiss him, at age four. A story I dispute.
4. What was your first car? First car was a little red Mitsubishi colt, 1980ish model. Had only an AM radio and no air conditioning, and handled very well til you crammed five a few people in the back. I loved it even after it died.
5. What is your favourite blog and why? Slightly More Depth Than A Teaspoon. A blog that makes me smile, think, cry and laugh. Beautiful, funny and honest posts written by the inspiring Robyn.
6. Favourite dessert? Apple crumble. My mum made one for me when she was visiting earlier in the year. Heaven!
7. When was the last time you wore red lipstick and why? Think it was about February this year. Um, we were going to town and I felt like it?
8. Who are you inspired by? Lots of people. Marian Keyes. Caroline Overington. Miranda Lambert. Gina Rinehart (really bugs me that she's depicted as Australia's most hated woman. But that is a post of its own.)
9. Worst subject at school? I was brilliant at everything! Yeah right. Journalists generally say maths was their worst, but mine was chemistry. I don't remember much of it except our teacher had very bad sweat patches.
10. What music do you clean your house to? Country music (mostly). See mention of Miranda Lambert above.
11. What motto or quote do you live by? Sometimes the biggest risk is taking no risk at all.

Eleven things about me...

1. Am a homebody. Love days when I know I don't have to go anywhere. 

2. Have been married for almost 11 years. How did that happen?!

3. Always brag that my sister is a vet. 

4. Have one daughter. 

5. Always thought I'd want two children, but now am wondering if that will be enough. 

6. Like things to be neat and tidy. 

7. Married to someone who likes things messy and chaotic. 

8. Often feel like throttling the one I married. 

9. Am a bit of a grammar and spelling Nazi. Very embarrassing when I make errors myself.

10. It sets my teeth on edge when people say "I seen" when they mean "I saw". 

11. Hate the fecking cold. And the fecking wind. 

Eleven questions posed...
1. Have you ever moved interstate or overseas?
2. What is your dream job?
3. What's your favourite song from your teenage years?
4. Are you a camping person or a hotel person?
5. Your favourite thing about yourself?
6. How many pairs of jeans do you own?
7. Have you a potty mouth or do you rarely swear?
8. What's your favourite accent? (Eg Irish, French etc)
9. Prefer Malcolm Turnbull or Tony Abbott? (As Opposition leader, not in a 'you have to shag one, and you can't choose death' kind of hypothetical.)
10. What's on your kitchen sink this very moment?
11. Do you have a nickname? If so, what is it?

Eleven bloggers tagged...
1. The Tropical Gardener and Cook: http://www.tropicalgardenercook.blogspot.com.au
2. Mastiff Maiden: http://www.mastiffmaiden.com
3. 30 is the New Black: http://30isthenewblack.com/ 
4. Slightly More Depth Than a Teaspoon: http://slightlymoredepththanateaspoon.blogspot.com.au/
5. My Journey: http://www.myjourney20-me.blogspot.com.au/
6. Macaronic: http://jobeaz.wordpress.com/
7. My Bloggable Day: http://mybloggableday.wordpress.com/
8. And Sew We Craft: www.andsewwecraft.com
9. House of Nom: http://houseofnom.wordpress.com/
10. Red Dolls: http://reddolls.wordpress.com/
11. Saturday Morning Ogre Mum: http://www.saturdaymorningogremum.com/


Also linking up with Jess from Diary of a Stay at Home Mum this Tuesday.

Thankful for... public holidays

Once again, I forgot we had a public holiday this week. I'm not one who often remembers them, other than the obvious dates like Christmas, Anzac Day etc. I'm usually alerted when I overhear people discussing long weekend plans, get curious, check the calendar and sing 'woohoo, a public holiday!'  
Apart from the possibility that I have a shocking memory, my inability to remember public holidays stems mainly from the fact that I've rarely actually gotten the day off. Working in firstly the media, and then the mining industry, took care of that. 
And now that I'm at home with a baby, every day is a day 'off'. Or a day 'on', depending on how you look at it. 
The husband too works in the mines, so trotted off to his job early Monday morning. 

But even though public holidays may not mean sleep-ins, back yard barbecues and a shortened working week in our household, they still have advantages:
* Penalty rates. More dough isn't something to sneeze at. 
* Relaxed atmosphere at work. Management (generally) takes the day off. Need I say more?
* Free parking. Totally irrelevant now, but this was a huge bonus when I worked in Cairns. We loved days when the parking inspectors stayed away. 
* Casual clothes in the office. Hello shorts and flip flops! On the mine site, well, it's still boots and hard hats. 
* I got to whine about having to go to work when almost everyone else in the country was still in their pyjamas (conveniently omitting the fact that I got either extra pay or extra annual leave as recompense).

Do you love public holidays? Or are they just another day for you?

Linking up with Kate from Kate Says Stuff for this Thankful Thursday. 

Wordless Wednesday - Escape from the desert

We finally drove down to visit the Esperance region last weekend. After a dreadful start, weather-wise, we got some magical days.

Blue, blue sky. blue, blue water and white sand.

One of the gorgeous bays.

Our unsuccessful attempts at a sand handprint to mark Rosie's first beach visit.

More white beach and blue water.

Rocky beach.

Paul enjoyed putting the ute through its 4WD paces.

Sunrise over the bay.

Seaside wildflowers.

More wildflowers.

Linking up with Trish for Wordless Wednesday again. Thanks Trish!

Have you been anywhere nice lately? Or do you have a trip planned?

Please can we stop the blind assumptions and victim blaming?

What a sad, sad few days it's been. Reminders that tragedy can strike swiftly and brutally, as with the death of a three-year-old in a house fire here in the goldfields. And that it can also be excruciatingly slow, until the final blow falls just as quickly and devastatingly, as with the Jill Meagher case. 
An awful time for all the families and friends involved. Your heart can't help aching for them. 
And in among the pain, behaviour by some sectors of the community that is appalling. I'm talking of the double standard on display when Meagher disappeared.  
This double standard basically goes that when disaster befalls a woman she is somehow to blame, but when men (young, white men, anyway) are harmed something or someone else is responsible. 
Clementine Ford wrote a great piece about victim-blaming in the Jill Meagher case. You can read it here. 
Yet look at what happened when Thomas Kelly died in Kings Cross a couple of months ago. There was, quite rightly, a huge outcry about alcohol-related violence and calls for crackdowns and a greater police presence. I was disappointed the response didn't go further and question our country's drinking culture, but that is a whole other post. 

Pic courtesy: www.fiveaa.com.au

At the time I couldn't help thinking how different the response would have been had it been a woman attacked, or an Aboriginal or, say, Indian man. I suspect there'd have been a fair whack of victim blaming, and probably also in the latter examples very limited, or no, mainstream media interest. 
What happened to Kelly was a tragedy. He should have had the right to go out and enjoy himself without suffering harm. Call me dim, but shouldn't this mean Meagher did too?
I'm aware I may sound like a whinging, wowser of a woman. Oh well. Too often non-white, non-male people get shafted by this double standard for me not to whinge about it. 

What do you think? Does this kind of thing irk you no end too?

**My thoughts and prayers are with those touched by these terrible events.** 

Toddlers, teenagers and tantrums

I was watching the Country Music Channel (am a pathetic addict) the other day and discovered the following song. Now, given I was no little trouble as a teenager, I should be fine when my young miss becomes one, right? Right?

However, I also heard of a study that found mothers of toddlers were at or near breaking point, while dads with teenage daughters on their hands were losing the plot. So perhaps I'm only a year or two off being temporarily unhinged, and my husband will suffer a similar fate 15 years hence. 

As for teenage boys, this song springs to mind. I think I've posted it before, but it's a classic.

So, those of you to have spent time in the toddler and/or teenager trenches, got any advice for me?

Win friends and influence people with caramel slice

I'm told my caramel slice is wickedly good. My husband loves the stuff, as does almost everyone else who has a sample. I'm not a fan myself - I do have sweet tooth, but this is one treat that is just too rich for me. 
It is so popular (not that I'm the kind to brag, of course) that people often request the recipe. To the point where I'm a bit jack of typing/writing it out. So I thought I'd put it up here and can simply point future request-ers to it. Genius or what!
Note: This is not strictly 'my' caramel slice. I just follow a recipe from a well-known cookbook, which I won't mention here and hope the copyright police don't get cranky.

So, you will need:

Base
1 cup plain flour
1/2 cup desiccated coconut
1/2 cup brown sugar
125g butter, melted

Caramel filling
1/3 cup golden syrup
125g butter, melted
2 x 400g cans sweetened condensed milk (I generally use the Nestle stuff but on one occasion it was sold out so tried no-name cans and the caramel was just as caramel-like) 

Chocolate topping
185g dark chocolate (Decent chocolate is preferable here)
3 teaspoons vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 180C. 
Place flour, coconut, sugar and butter in a bowl and mix well. Press the mixture into a 20cm x 30cm slice tin lined with non-stick baking paper and bake for 15-18 min or until brown. 

Crunchy, golden baked base.

To make caramel filling place the golden syrup, butter and condensed milk in a saucepan over low heat and stir for seven minutes or until the caramel has thickened slightly. 
This 'slightly' business is a bit vague. I just make sure everything has been mixed together and on the heat for at least seven minutes and decide that's good enough.

Pour the caramel over the cooked base and bake for 20 min or until the caramel is golden. 

Refrigerate until cold. 

Unbaked caramel. Which becomes...

Rich, golden gooey baked caramel.

To make the chocolate topping, place the chocolate and oil in a saucepan over low heat and stir until melted. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly before spreading over the slice. 

Refrigerate until firm and cut into slices. 

The chocolate tends to crack when I cut it, but I found doing it when the chocolate was still a little soft, while being somewhat messy, did result in an intact topping.
Or you can just leave it whole so your husband can lop off massive chunks whenever the urge to scoff a piece takes him.
I forgot to take a photo of the finished slice, which I made more than a week ago so of course it has been polished off by now. You will just have to use your imagination. 

Do you have a fail-safe recipe that always impresses everyone?