Seriously Good Advice

The lyrics to Everybody's Free to Wear Sunscreen, by Mary Schmich:
Wear sunscreen.
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now.
Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they've faded. But trust me, in 20 years, you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. You are not as fat as you imagine.
Don't worry about the future. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4 p.m. on some idle Tuesday.
Do one thing every day that scares you.
Sing.
Don't be reckless with other people's hearts. Don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.
Floss.
Don't waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long and, in the end, it's only with yourself.
Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.
Keep your old love letters. Throw away your old bank statements.
Stretch.
Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don't.
Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees. You'll miss them when they're gone.
Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll divorce at 40, maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either. Your choices are half chance. So are everybody else's.
Enjoy your body. Use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it or of what other people think of it. It's the greatest instrument you'll ever own.
Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room.
Read the directions, even if you don't follow them.
Do not read beauty magazines. They will only make you feel ugly.
Get to know your parents. You never know when they'll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings. They're your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.
Understand that friends come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people who knew you when you were young.
Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard. Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.
Travel.
Accept certain inalienable truths: Prices will rise. Politicians will philander. You, too, will get old. And when you do, you'll fantasize that when you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.
Respect your elders.
Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund. Maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse. But you never know when either one might run out.
Don't mess too much with your hair or by the time you're 40 it will look 85.
Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth.
But trust me on the sunscreen.

Lamb Souvlaki Par Excellence

MB & MDR enjoyed a super lamb souvlaki in New Norfolk at "Number 10 on High Street", a cafe opened last July by Majella who hails from the Darling Downs in Southern Queensland.  The souvlaki was very generous in size, hot and packed with succulent lamb, a real winner.

Island Markets

Dropped into Island Markets this afternoon on the way back into Hobart from New Norfolk.  MB was lured there by the invitation on their website to "Come and see olive oil being produced at Island Markets."  The pair walked around the ragtag building looking for the olive press, eventually asking a shop assistant in the food shop where it was, she didn't know and neither did her colleague, she directed us to the foodstore manager who offered to ask the complex manager.  We followed at a distance and complex manager who looked like the lovechild of Telly Savales told foodstore manager he didn't have the key and "just tell them it's closed".  Foodstore manager came to tell us but we'd heard it all.  Couldn't get out of there fast enough!

Morello Cherries

Finally got to taste fresh Morello cherries from a pick your own orchard in Plenty, north west of Hobart. Quite tart in taste and a lovely change from "regular" cherries

UTAS

The pair hosted MDR's niece, Poochie, and her mum last week as Poochie has enrolled in a BA degree at the University of Tasmania.  Poochie will be living on campus at Jane Franklin Hall and after a tour of Poochie's digs MB is thinking of enrolling too!
The Hall is located in a very ritzy part of Sandy Bay with sweeping views of Hobart and the harbour, surrounded by gorgeous Georgian sandstone mansions, well done Poochie.

Werndee

 

The duo are loving their accommodation at Werndee, just north of Hobart CBD. The property has an orchard groaning with stonefruit, berries, figs etc and guests are welcome to enjoy the bounty. Pictured above are greengages, a type of plum, very sweet & delicious straight off the tree.

The property has a federation mansion which was built by the first premier of Tasmania, plus two cottages and a block of 4 very well appointed holiday units.

The hosts, Jan & Robyn, are hospitality heroes, never has MB felt so welcome.

Wooden Boat Festival Hobart

MDR had a ball at the biennial WBF in Hobart on Regatta Day weekend 11-14 Feb 2011.  MB was a little ambivalent about this festival but it was free and nicely located on the docks at Hobart which is an easy stroll from the city.  The festival turned out to be wonderful, with contigents from Indonesia and Japan, great music, nice food options, boat building classes for children and lots of other great kids' activities and last but not least loads of old and new beautiful wooden boats of all shapes & sizes.
The Indonesians were selling fantastic chicken sate and the Japanese from Yaizu (sister city to Hobart) were doing demonstrations of handmade soba using Tassie buckwheat, okonomiyake, tea ceremony etc. and MB was able to sample all.  While MB was taking a photo of a buckwheat plant she looked closely at the guy standing next to it and it turned out to be Tetsuya, he was at the Festival giving cooking demonstrations as well.
The festival really had something for everyone and must be one of Australia's premier events, MB ended up spending two days there, MDR did all 4 days as he was also helping a mate who had a trade display there.

Fruit Wine Festival

Luckily MDR heard this show being spruiked on the local ABC radio on Saturday.  The Sorrell Branch of the Rotary Club put on a great event at the very pretty Bellerive waterfront.  For $9.50 you could sample as much fruit wine as you could drink.  There were over 110 varieties including banana and coffee liqueurs from Mt Uncle Distillery near Cairns.  The sun was shining and the music was good, a band doing great Sinatra covers. PTA loved June Allsop's number 61, banana liqueur declaring it tasted just like banana fritter, which it surprisingly did.  MDR loved number 97, Wayne Hewett's strawberry liqueur, the colour, fragrance & taste were out of this world.
Picture above is the rear end of an old ferry which is jutting out of the side of a nearby waterfront bar.

Hobart Farmers' Market

A great haul was had this morning from the one of the best farmers' markets in Tassie.  The team are eating very well indeed.

Tasvegas Vacation - Day 1

After an epic journey to Hobart yesterday the team arrived at their digs in Sandy Bay around 9:45pm. 

MDR & MB had a 5 hour stopover in Melb so they went to the Qantas Club only to find that MDR's membership had lapsed, the gatekeeper however took pity on him and allowed the pair in "this time". MDR then sashayed his way into the Business Class section of the lounge, with MB in tow, where it was much quieter and offered a much nicer range of snacks & meals, a very nice spot to while away an afternoon.  First born son PTA & partner, EMI, were in Melbourne already and met the oldies at the airport. After the skybus left they realised Emi's new Lumix G2 camera was still on the bus so after some frenzied phone calls they were very lucky to have the camera located and returned to them within a few heartstopping minutes of boarding the flight to Hobart.

The team hit the ground running this morning with a walk through Salamanca markets, MB loved the buskers doing duelling banjoes, the gypsy lamb rolls and stocked up on a $6 bag of cherries (1kg) plus some apricots and apples and some berry cheesecake. PTA & EMI cut loose and did some shopping in the city to pick up some warmer clothes. 

The afternoon itinerary was a trip to the famous block in New Norfolk, first time MB has seen it, photo above was taken at the bottom near the Lachlan River back up to the top of block which is roughly 90 meters away. 

Great weather today, warm and sunny and about 25c in New Norfolk, did the tiki tour of the town and the Derwent River parklands and had a beer at the Bush Park Hotel.  MB managed to spray the interior of the rental Hyundai with soda water, to the amusement of some and consternation of MDR.

Did a detour into Stefano Lubiana winery on the way back to Hobart but they're only open 11am - 3pm which was a bit of a disappointment.

Veal with mushrooms & cream sauce tonight with some local bintje potatoes following by the most fragrant strawberries MB amazingly found at the nearby Woolies of all places.

Flash of the Titan

Great excitement at Flecker Botanic Gardens in Cairns this week with the flowers of two of their Titan Arums about to burst forth.  The duo dropped in yesterday to check on progress, alas no flowering yet.  

The FBG have installed a time lapse camera to catch the flowering, which they promise to post online for those who miss this momentous event.  MB did ask about a webcam but was told by the nice FBG chappie that the Cairns Regional Council IT boffins claimed it would take at least a month to install one.

It's mine! No it's mine!

MDR snapped these great pics of our neighbourhood Kookaburras squabbling over a canetoad. One sneaky kookaburra tried to snatch the canetoad from his mate and at one stage was tenuously suspended by his beak which in turn was clamped onto the canetoad.

Telstra Rant

MB is off to a great start in this new decade. First call of the year is to Telstra for her elderly Father-in-Law (FIL) who is 81 years young, he has a Telstra mobile phone for emergencies. He isn't confident using it but is fine to receive calls on it.

When trying to call FIL on the mobile (due to his Telstra landline service being out of order) the calls kept diverting to the message bank before he could get to the phone. This causes him major stress as he doesn't understand how to use the message bank and can't get his head around SMS messages. MB thought this is easily fixed, just cancel all diverts which she successfully did for him.

However when one cancels all call diverts MB discovers that Telstra unilaterally diverts after 3 rings or less than 10 seconds, the unanswered call to a Message to Text Service. Again FIL can't make it to the phone in this time to answer the call before it diverts, making him very frustrated and angry. MB checked online at the Whirlpool forum and found the code you can use which delays diversion of unanswered calls by up to 30 seconds and has successfully done this.

MB tested this and still finds FIL isn't always able to catch the call before it diverts causing even more anxiety & stress for FIL.

MB also discovered on Whirlpool that one can request Telstra deactivate the message to text service however one has to call Telstra to have this done.  MB calls 125111 and gets Amber in Manilla, after a very long, confusing, convoluted and difficult to understand conversation with all of the loud background noise of her colleagues' in the call centre Amber finally seems to understand what is required and puts MB on hold.  After about 15mins the call dropped out. The entire call took 40 minutes.

MB does a test call to the mobile and finds that Amber has switched on all of the diverts and reactivated the Message Bank! MB promptly turns off all diverts again and tries calling Telstra Countrywide and managed to get onto Rick in Melbourne - but only after some backwards and forwards with the irritating voice robot thing. He understood exactly what MB asked and confirmed he would cancel the message to text immediately.

After 2 hours MB does another test call and finds the Message to Text is still activated.
 

MB is on Vodafone and and has probably racked up about $20 in mobile calls to FIL's Telstra mobile phone testing the call diversions.  BTW don't ask MB about Vodafone! They have been causing MDR some major grief as well...  Luckily Adam Brimo is sorting Vodafone out, see http://www.vodafail.com

This only reinforces MB's refusual to use Telstra for voice services anymore as every contact she has with them takes at least one hour, and more often than not many more hours of her life and it's just not worth it.

It's very hard for her to let the buggers get away with this so she will take this further and to the TIO if necessary.

 

Toymaster to the Rescue

MB has been on a mission to find a toy rubbish truck for her favourite grandson, LJ, who is totally obsessed with all garbage collection machinery.  

She's visited all of the toy shops in Cairns, plus the usual department stores, to no avail.  Amazingly enough an online search turned up Toymaster which is actually based in Cairns.  

Better still she can buy a Playmobil rubbish truck.  MB has fond memories of her own children enjoying their Playmobil toys, in fact the grandchildren are still playing with the same toys which are now nearly 30 years old.

MB also found on Google a Playmobil Airport Security Checkpoint set, quite hilarious what the toy boffins can come up with.

Open Garden - Kuranda Palms

Thanks to Mike Moore over at Cairnsblog MB & MDR were able to visit a gorgeous open garden in the Kuranda rain-forest today.  The owners of this 100 acre property, David & Graham, have carved out a 3 acre garden filled with spectacular palms, cycads, heliconias, gingers and bromeliads surrounded by rainforest with not only a creek but a waterfall as well.   
It was wonderful of David & Graham to share their little paradise with the great unwashed.

Tastes of the Tablelands

MB was excited to learn of the Tastes of the Tablelands fair held in Atherton last Sunday.  This is the second time it's been held and looks to be an event that is growing in popularity.  

MDR & MB arrived just after opening time to find quite a queue at the entrance.  MB made a beeline for the Farmers Market tent to try and snap up some fresh tablelands produce and wasn't able to even get inside, it was jam packed.  Hopefully next year the Farmers Market will be extended as it was far too crowded to be in one tent.

The fair has something for everyone.

Some very cute goats at the Goat's Milk Soap stand.  

MDR sampled a Buffalo Pie which was very good, nice & meaty, just how a pie should be.  

The Marroo grapes which are grown locally were fantastic and the OzChoice dried rambutans were amazing, the fruit is dried with the seed which then tastes like a nut.  Normally one tosses the seed away when rambutans are eaten fresh.

There was even a collection of vintage cars & motorbikes for the more mechanically minded enthusiasts.

The fair is held in the grounds of the old Chinese Temple and is a delightful area, lovely and green and right next to the platypus park where an old locomotive is also located, so it's a great spot to take the kids to.

The Atherton Tablelands has the potential to be a real foodie paradise and this event is a very promising sign that things are moving in the right direction.

Spotted at Google News

Swedish Perry

Found a delightful tipple at the First Choice liquor store in Cairns last week.  First time MB has ever found Pear Cider on sale in Australia.  

It's a very nice drop called Rekorderlig, highly recommended.

Pho First House Vietnamese Genuine Cuisine

MB happened upon a new Vietnamese restaurant today in Cairns' city. She was visiting the excellent Green House next door for a spot of gift shopping and it transpires that Pho First House Vietnamese Genuine Cuisine (PFHVGC) has been open for about a week and a half.  MB asked Green House lady if she'd been, but alas she's a vegan so unable.

Cairns has been crying out for decent Vietnamese food for years so hopefully this new spot will fill that need.  

There is a Chinese/Vietnamese restaurant in Aplin St that MDR & MB visited once, the so-called Vietnamese dishes were dreadful so haven't been back.

MB did drop in to the PFHVGC and picked up a menu, not off to a great start with such a mouthful of name and the menu is pretty basic.  However if they can deliver on super fresh, genuine Vietnamese cuisine MB will forgive them anything.

Pyramid Race

Mr & Mrs MB took young grandson to Gordonvale today for the annual pyramid race.  The town puts on a great country fair in Norman Park, nicely located right in the heart of town.  LJ got to ride a pony for one dollar, went on a carousel for two bucks and also patronised two jumping castles.  

The actual pyramid race starts in town, after limbering up in the official tent, the runners scale the nearby monolith of Walsh's pyramid, over 900m high, then return to town.  The winner, Neil Labinsky, did the run 1hr 20min, more than 5 minutes ahead of the second place getter.

Most of the activities on the program are community based with the majority of the rides and catering done by non-profit groups so the event is especially genuine and charming.  MB particularly enjoyed the wood chopping competition as well as an art exhibition in the nearby RSL Hall.

Spotted at the fair was Bob Katter, MP for Kennedy, in election mode.  First time MB has seen him without a hat.

Perfect August weather today, sunny, cool and not too humid, it really was a lovely day out.

Shaylee Strawberries

MB and assorted family did a run to the Tablelands today hoping to hand pick some fresh strawberries at Shaylee Strawberry Farm, and what a day for it, a clear and sunny 24c, just perfect.  

Only after arriving there did the team discover from the most unwelcoming pair behind the counter that picking starts in September.  Not to worry MB asks if it would be OK to take little 4 year old LJ over to the strawberry plants so he could see how strawberries grow.  

Not a problem as long as you don't go past the multiple "No Entry" signs says Mrs Crabby.
Upon inspection it's more or less impossible to see any fruit, however LJ skips past the signs and checks out the crop, under the eagle eye of Mr Crabby who had surreptitiously appeared from the back of the shop to monitor the trespassers.

Grandma MB anxiously calls LJ back just in case a rabid pack of alsation guard dogs are unleashed from somewhere or other.

Strawberries were on sale, one kg of "Resort" strawberries was $12.00 and they are very nice.  Won't be rushing back though anytime soon.

Dairy Discovery

Whilst shopping at Coles in Earlville yesterday, with the charming young LJ in tow, MB spied a new milk in the dairy case. Upon closer inspection she noticed it was Jersey milk (reputed to be the creamiest milk) and not homogenized.  This was enough for MB who purchased a bottle and wasn't disappointed, it is lovey and creamy and even has that real creamy colour, unlike most milks on sale nowadays, which are as white as chalk.

The milk is marketed as Misty Mountain Farms which MB suspects may be tied up with Mungalli Milk, MB's favourite dairy, she is of the opinion that Mungalli bio-dynamic yoghurt is absolutely the best in Australia.
This wonderful new local product really leaves mass produced and over processed milks for dead.

Last Meal - What would you choose?

MB had an epiphany at the dinner table tonight, if she was ever on death row she would unreservedly request her last meal as follows; medium rare roast rack of lamb, infused with fresh rosemary & garlic, with oven roasted pumpkin, oven roasted potatoes or mashed dutch creams with a liberal helping of freshly picked and lightly sauteed baby broccoli.  

Dessert would be a little difficult to choose, perhaps a duet of petite serves of crème brûlée and tiramisù plus some fresh plump cherries.  

Of course, a nicely chilled crisp dry champagne would be a lovely accompaniment, especially with the hangover issue solved.

Retail Dissatisfaction

Picked up 4 x engraved plaques from Trophy shop for MDR today.  Trophy Guy said they'd be ready at midday. MB arrives 12:30 and only gains entry to the shop after some major unavoidable passive smoking compliments of the smokers huddled just outside the entrance.  TG hands over one plaque.

MB asks about the other 3, TG looks startled then exclaims no worries will do them now.  MB asks how long? TG asks why.
At this point MB wants to:

a. Point out that if it took 3 days to do one plaque then one may
    reasonably expect an even longer time to complete the other
    three plaques.
b. Remind him of the collection time he promised

c. Ask him if he has a quality assurance system in place

d. Tell him that the last thing she wants to do is stand around in his dusty, pokey shop surrounded by cheap, tacky trophies

However she politely responds that she's on her lunch hour. 

ABC Far North Outside Broadcast

MB helped out at Freshwater QCWA Hall this morning to set up for an ABC local radio outside broadcast from the Hall.  MB was amazed that one person, Fiona Sewell, host of the ABC Far North mornings program, was able to set up the entire broadcast.

A fund raising morning tea for the Cancer Society was also on offer, so MB did get to help out with that.

This special event was convened to award a prize for the best bush poetry composition, a competition that has been running for the most of the year.  Not sure who won but MB really enjoyed Jeff Mann's "Cropsitter" poem.

Credit Cards & Overseas Transactions

Using one's credit card overseas used to be a fairly straight-forward process, nowadays however the banks are forever dreaming up all sorts of ways to charge extra transaction fees to supplement the cut they already receive from currency conversions.

Frequentflyer.com.au has some good forums on this subject and one post in particular provides an excellent link to the US based Mastercard Currency Conversion Tool.

This tool was created to assist Mastercard customers in Europe to comply with regulations that ensure transparency of exchange rate information.   MasterCard has extended the range of currencies to assist customers and their cardholders globally, so it's also useful for us downunder.

Get ready to Celebrate!

The Australian Taxation Office turns 100 in November 2010.
Australia Post are releasing a commemorative stamp on 27 July 2010 with a stimulating depiction of what appears to be a Doctor reading a file.  It's probably some tax minimisation investment proposal from her accountant which will turn out to be a ponzi scheme.  And what's with the chap pushing a wheelbarrow?  Must be needed to move the loot into the vaults.  There's also a person writing on a blackboard, brainstorming new and creative ways to collect more tax perhaps?

Latest Project

MDR's latest project, hand crafted trophies for the CUA.  He's designed a silhouette style trophy using Cairns Pencil Cedar. 

You've got to be Yolking

This 4 yolk egg weighing at just under 100grams was revealed today when MB was whipping up a plum cake.
An excited MB was sure it had to be a record breaker.  MDR took this pic then MB googled and found a similar egg was reported in the UK in 2009, the article goes on to say that the record yolks in one egg is 9!  
MB's hopes for a record have been completely scambled.
The egg is from a "super jumbo" pack purchased from Yamagishi Happy Eggs in Innisfail.  The super jumbos often produce double yolkers but MB has never seen a triple or quad yolker before.

Lake Tinaroo

Queen's Birthday weekend saw Mr & Mrs MB camping at Lake Tinaroo at the Tinaroo Sailing Club, the venue for the Wooden Boat Assoc. of Cairns' annual Tinaroo Raid.

Viking theme this year complete with Viking longboat and Viking raiders, check out the littlelest Viking raider here.

It's been about a hundred years since MDR & MB went camping.  Luckily their generous neighbours loaned them a state of the art tent.  First night was surprisingly very cold and the old sleeping bags were woefully inadequate.  MB's airbed also deflated so it was a long night.  Definitely investing in some state of the art campbeds before the next camping trip.

Tinaroo is a fantastic camping spot, the stars at night are spectacular and it's tremendously satisfying just sitting around the campfire.  An added bonus is no mobile phone reception.

Got the camping bug now so looking forward to some more trips around the area.

Dragon Fruit

MB was intrigued to see a dragon fruit plant for the very first time at the Liverpool River Banana farm during a recent Feast of the Senses food trail tour. The plant is a weird looking succulent grown on wooden poles. The folks at LRB grow about 5 different varieties, including a very unusual yellow variety, this is a sideline to their main crop which are bananas.
The Food Tour group got to see all aspects of banana farming from planting to harvesting and were then treated to an amazing spread for afternoon tea, which of course included banana cake and banana cream pie.

Happy Eggs

Mr MB heard on the local ABC radio about a Food Trail tour, part of Innisfail's excellent annual Feast of the Senses, that included a visit to the Yamagishi Happy Egg Farm. These are the only eggs eaten in the MB household, a dozen or so super jumbo eggs are purchased each week from Rusty's Markets.
The duo booked in for the tour which included visits to Yamagishi, Liverpool River Banana plantation, Off the Rails Cafe in South Johnstone and the Mungalli Dairy (another of MB's food heroes).
The Yamagishi farm is located near Innisfail, established and run by a Japanese family and has around 18,000 hens which are fed daily with fresh cut grass and fresh tablelands corn, the hen houses are extremely clean with plenty of room to move for the hens. MDR is allergic to chook poo, but he didn't suffer any ill affects at all. MB was very excited to help collect 110 fresh eggs, some of them still warm.

Sandy Bay

The last 3 nights in Hobart have been spent at the delightful Grosvenor Court in Sandy Bay, booked via Wotif.com. Grosvenor Court is set back a couple of blocks from the busy Sandy Bay Road in lovely leafy surrounds.
The apartment is well fitted out, very comfortable and even comes with free wi-fi, outstanding value compared to some of the holiday apartments the pair have stayed at. Nothing is too much trouble for the management team, they've gone out of their way to make the duo welcome.
Location is also excellent, shopping, pubs, restaurants, even Salamanca Place are within walking distance.

Cornelian Bay Boathouse

A very nice dinner was had with Peter & Jan at their favourite restaurant, the Boathouse in Cornelian Bay, Hobart. This was the nicest restaurant MB & MDR have visited for quite a long time, great food, service and location combined with Peter & Jan's company made it a wonderful night out. Shall definitely be returning when the opportunity presents itself.

Antiques & Lunch in Hobart CBD

MDR & MB are back in Hobart after some serious pampering at Aunty Monica's 7 star resort in Melbourne.  Back to "work" today, organising insurance, property inspection, title searches and general research for the proposed purchase at Lachlan. 
Found a wonderful lunch spot in Elizabeth St Hobart today, The Antiques Market & Cafe, a gorgeous shop packed to the gunnels with lovely old stuff.  The cafe was advertising home made lamb, mushroom and rosemary pies which MB couldn't resist. The pies are very generously sized and made with real meat, very chunky and nicely spiced.  The side salad was super fresh with locally grown and very ripe tomatoes. 
While waiting for lunch one can browse through the store, MB can't think of a better way to have lunch!

Runnymede

Another history immersion today for MB & MDR with a visit to Runnymede in suburban New Town, built circa 1840 on one of the first parcels of land allotted after the colonial settlement of Hobart.
The house is in nearly original condition and boasts some amazing features such as original wallpaper in one room which MB thought was 1970's Florence Broadhurst! There is a lovely complement of colonial furniture and a significant collection of scrimshaw and ivory ware. The last family who occupied the house for over 100 years were whalers who moved into shipping when whaling declined. MB & MDR, the only visitors at that time on Sunday afternoon, were given a very comprehensive lecture by the National Trust attendant and are both now very well versed in early Hobart history.
That's MDR emerging from Runnymede's cellar after an unsuccessful search for some vintage wine.

North Hobart

Movie time today, the pair went to the excellent State Cinema in North Hobart to see North Face, a new German movie about a German team's attempt to climb the north face of the Eiger in Switzerland prior to WWII. The State Cinema oozes ambience, it's a very small independent cinema complete with it's own eclectic cafe in the foyer.
North Face was screening in Cinema 5 located in the basement, seating was 10 x 2 seater leather sofas with loads of leg room and one is able to take wine or coffee in. How civilised is that!
The movie was first rate, very chilly, lots of ice, snow and blizzards and when the pair emerged into the North Hobart afternoon it was appropriately cold, windy and raining. The record run of 89 days over 18c in Hobart has come to an abrupt end.
Pictured above is MB posting yet another postcard to her cherished grandchildren back in Cairns at the very conspicuous North Hobart Post Office across the road from the State Cinema.

Rosedown Open Garden

Hidden behind a 5 metre cypress hedge on the outskirts of New Norfolk is another gem, Rosedown. The owners opened up their stunning and extensive garden to the public this weekend. Amongst the many lovely ornamentals MB discovered mulberries, 12 types of apples, plums and quince all laden with fruit. The owners have built the garden up from scratch over the past 20 years, the hedges though are believed to have been planted around the time of the second world war.

Bruny Island Bastard

A beautiful, clear sunny day boded well for the MB team to visit Bruny Island. Access is via ferry from Kettering, about 5 mins from Snug. The pair planned to go across on the 9:30am ferry so arrived at the ferry wharf at at 9:10am which was packed with cars, buses, campervans, trucks and pedestrians.
MB paid the $28 ferry charge (return) and joined the queue. After some nail biting moments watching the ferry fill up, the car (Lancer) was beckoned in and squeezed into the very end of the deck of the jam packed ferry, but only by parking at an angle.
The crossing is only 20mins, on arrival there's a small wharf and a little kiosk, no town or anything very urban looking, so immediately one feels a long away from civilisation, a very pleasant feeling. MDR & MB hadn't really done any research but MB had seen a Berry Farm on the internet so they headed in that general direction.
After a while they spotted Bruny Island Cheese Company so swung in there to try and get some more information about the island. The very charming French lass at the counter was very welcoming and offered samples of their artisan cheeses, MB loved the "Bastard" cheese, a cows milk & goat's milk combo. Lovely French girl recommended a walk in Adventure Bay further south. Armed with some rye sourdough and a chunk of Bastard the pair set off.
Adventure Bay is at Southern End of Bruny Island on the windward side with brilliant white sandy beaches and crystal clear, azure water. The pair started out on a relatively flat walk to the nearby Grass Point then decided to explore further and walked up to Fluted Cape (elevation 272m). Photo above is taken just below Fluted Cape. MB encountered a Tiger Snake near the top, however it politely detoured away from her, she hasn't run so fast in years! The views from the track of the sheer cliffs and roiling sea are a delight. The walk is approx. 11.4km.
Returned to Adventure Bay at around 2pm, MDR was pretty hungry so the pair dropped into the local store and had a gourmet pie for lunch.
A visit to the Bruny Island Berry Farm was next on the agenda, looks to be a new venture run by two very switched on ladies. MB bought a punnet of fresh picked strawberries. Wasn't keen to pick her own as she was feeling pretty sun burnt after the long hike. MDR bought the pair a mixed berries in champagne jelly with Meander Valley double cream to share. It was just divine.
February is a fantastic month to be in Tasmania and a couple of weeks on Bruny Island would be wonderful getaway.

Brush with Fame

MB bought some organic, free range wood-smoked ham on Sunday at the Melville St Farmers' Market and realised as she was paying the stall holder that he was Matthew Evans of "Gourmet Farmer" fame, a TV series on SBS.  Unfortunately MB hasn't seen one episode of this series, but has been told it's very good.  
The ham is melt in the mouth excellent, MB even used some to flavour a leek & potato soup she made during the week.

Australian Antarctic Division

Just up the road from Snug is the Australian Government's Antarctic Division and Huskie Haven in Kingston. MB got to cuddle some cute huskies and check out the visitor centre display. Visitors are also welcome to dine at the cafeteria which serves delicacies such as Braised Penguin, Walrus Blubber & Squeak and Krill Sorbet.

Fossicking

Checked out some local attractions today in Margate, just north south of Snug. MDR found a marina where an ex-RAN ship is berthed, the Curlew. It's now privately owned and apparently the owners live on board. MDR was pretty excited to see it as he had worked on this vessel when he was an apprentice at Vickers Cockatoo Island Shipyard. After the marina MB wanted to visit a nearby local native garden which is open to the public (she'd seen it on Gardening Australia), however on arriving discovered it was $12 each visit so opted instead to explore the 3 large second hand-shops just over the road.
The second-hand shops were fantastic. Jam packed full of all sorts of trash and treasure, MDR even found bone fid, yes that's "fid", which one of his mates is looking for - it's something to do with rope making, it was marked at $22 and he got it for $10.
MB found some retro apple box labels for $2 each at the adjacent and paid full price for a set of 3, then got into strife with MDR for not bargaining! She's planning to frame them for the River Cottage.
On the way back to Snug to pair took one last detour into the tip as they were told the Dump Shops are pretty good. Amazingly the shop was very good, anything and everything could be had there, quite a lot of very good house fittings, as well as the usual ephemera, books, kitchenware, old cameras, electrical etc. MB picked up a good non-fiction Vikings book for a buck. This will be a great reference for MDR who is on the sub-committee for this year's wooden boat festival in Cairns which has adopted a Viking theme this year.
New Norfolk also has a great cluster of antique and second-hand shops, MB, went into the Drill Hall Emporium yesterday and was blown away, it's a very carefully crafted emporium, almost like an olden days department store, one could spend hours there drooling over their wares, many of which appear to be sourced in Europe, France in particular.

Salmon Ponds

Whilst exploring the area north of New Norfolk yesterday Mr & Mrs MB detoured to the Salmon Ponds a heritage trout hatchery which is set in the most delightful gardens, in fact it should be called "Salmon Ponds & Arboretum", as there are over 50 species of very old, very beautiful and well established trees from all over the world. After a picnic lunch of steak sandwiches made by MDR with some plump cherries for dessert, in the shade of a massive Douglas Fir, the pair strolled through about the ponds. If you want to feed the fish you must buy some fish food, which of course the pair did. Each pond has different trout species as well as one pond with salmon. One of the trout species was an Albino Rainbow Trout, they looked quite freakish. MDR read on one of the signs that Salmon Ponds releases around 10 million trout fingerlings every year. The Salmon Ponds also has an excellent trout fishing museum that takes one back to another time & place. Well worth a visit.