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Sneaky Peek : Ski Envy

Jackson Hole

Jackson Hole

Nick has had an amazing time skiing in Jackson Hole, Wyoming for the past two weeks and has timed his visit perfectly as they have had an incredible amount of snow:

A Sneaky Situation that Drops Almost Two Feet of Powder

Posted February 25, 2014

This February has been nicknamed ‘Stormuary’ by some of the locals in Jackson Hole. Storms keep rolling in one after another. The weather has been unrelenting, dropping copious amounts of powder practically every day.

After three weeks of snow, to top it off, on February 23rd, we received 19” in 24 hours with 15” falling after the lifts closed. To say it was deep was an understatement.

I also received this message from Nick yesterday:

OMG If I never ski again I would be happy with what I have done!

Mmmm … envious!  Here are some of his photos and a video of a dude to tempt those ski bums amongst us, to grab our gear and get on the next plane bound for North America to ski the deeps!

Jackson Hole

Jackson Hole

Jackson Hole

Jackson Hole

Jackson Hole

Jackson Hole

Jackson Hole

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No Vacancy

Poppy

Poppy, James and I said goodbye to Greg & Jackie at the airport on Saturday morning after an amazing week together and returned home to re-group, do the washing, the shopping and have some quiet time.

No sooner had I changed the sheets on the spare bed, my sister Rob and her husband Paul arrived on Saturday afternoon from Castlemaine for the weekend.  I should pop a sign out the front – No Vacancy!

Poppy was very excited to have more visitors staying, with endless games of hide & seek, jigsaws and dancing to the Wonky Donkey.  I love having my family around me, but I’m really missing my man now.  Nick flies home from Jackson Hole on Thursday and then there’s definitely No Vacancy!  Xxx

Poppy shopping

James, Paul & Cath

Paul, Rob & Cath

Paul & Poppy

Where's Poppy - Hide & Seek

James with asparagus

Rice Paper Rolls

Sisters

James & Rob at Smolt

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Bruny Bound

Isthmus Lookout

Here we are on Bruny Island (the ‘bobsy’ twins with our matching tees) showing Greg and Jackie the sights on Friday – an absolutely glorious day.  We had a lovely day, albeit a few meltdowns from James and Poppy!

Poor ‘ol Jackie had to cram into the backseat in between the two car seats and as we were driving off the ferry, James was absolutely screaming due to over-tiredness.  This was complemented by Poppy repeatedly asking ‘Are we there yet‘ and having a tantrum about being able to swim and kicking the back of my seat.  I could feel my blood boiling as I was driving and all I could think was poor Jackie and Greg – this was their Bruny Island experience!

James finally fell asleep as we drove to Dennes Point and I bribed Poppy with an apple.

On the way back to the ferry in the afternoon we were cutting it fine with the time when Poppy said:

Mummy, I need to do a wee!

I piled her out of the car and as she was squatting she said:

Mummy, I need to do a poo!

I yelled out to Jackie and Greg:

We have a ‘Code Brown’!

This could just be the impetus to missing the ferry.  After rushing Poppy to ‘just push harder’ we drove like mad dreading the thought of the hour and a half wait for the next ferry and a repeat of the morning scenario.  Thankfully we were the last car on the ferry!  Phew, we made it!  High fives all round, until Poppy said:

Mummy, I need to do another poo!

I just looked at her and said ‘hold tight’ until we get off the ferry!  A relaxing G&T once we were home and then I bundled my poor babies up again and whisked them out to Rektango where we enjoyed a brief set from Mr Coconut before the wheels (almost) fell off again.  Xx

Bruny Island Ferry

Bruny Island Ferry

Bruny Island Ferry

Georgie the Pig

Isthmus Lookout

IIsthmus Lookout

Isthmus Lookout

Isthmus Lookout

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Isthmus Lookout

Adventure Bay

Adventure Bay

Adventure Bay

Rektango

Rektango

Rektango

Bronte & James at Rektango

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Little Peeps

Here is my Instagram photo from yesterday. Our little peeps have been very adaptable this week with their Daddy being away, my friends staying and being carted around the countryside on our various adventures.

Today we are all off to Bruny Island for a swim and a walk and will be back this afternoon for a little dance at Rektango. Xx

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♥ Old Friends

Jackie with James and Greg

Phew, it’s been a busy week – hence the lack of blog posts!  After meeting each other in Alaska 21 years ago, Greg and Jackie have flown in from the States to stay with us for the week.  It is a shame that Nick isn’t here to meet them, but he is skiing up a storm in Jackson Hole.

Skagway

It has been fabulous catching up with each since our adventures through the ‘Last Frontier’ and reminiscing about our trip all those years ago.

This week I have shown them a piece of our paradise here in Tasmania.  On Tuesday we went for a bush walk on Mt Wellington with James in the backpack (which was a good test out for my legs) and yesterday we drove to Freycinet National Park where Jackie and Greg walked into Wineglass Bay and I sauntered up to the lookout with my little man on my back again. We finished off the day with a dinner at T42.  Bliss. Xx

A cheeky local - Freycinet National Park

Freycinet National Park

Larni & James - Freycinet National Park

Freycinet National Park

Freycinet National Park

Tea Tree

James at Wineglass Bay Lookout

My cheeky bush buddy

Larni & James

Burl - Freycinet National Park

Freycinet National Park

Freycinet National Park

Xanthorrhoea Australis

James in his pack at Mt Wellington

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Farming Faves

Hay ShedPoppy, James and I have been back up to our family farm for the past couple of days where we spent time with Mum and Dad and all of my siblings who were also home.  We ate roast dinners, picked ripe mulberries and drank lots of cups of tea.

I also took lots of photos of the farm as I am helping my brother set up his website – Gibson Ag.  Greg is a clever cookie who has won a Nuffield Farming Scholarship where he is jetting off around the world on three separate trips this year, researching the latest drainage techniques with the aim of increasing production on non-performing ground through better water management.

Silos

Greg

Hay

Trough

John Deere

Poppy with her Poppy flower

Mulberry

Mulberry

Birds Nest

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Danish Drama ♥

The Killing

For the past month I am loving the Danish drama series – The Killing.  Each night I disappear into our Den and to ‘Denmark’ – becoming immersed in the political thriller.  At the end of an episode I am often so intrigued about what will happen next, I watch another one.

I discovered the fantastic Danish thriller through my love of Borgen.

Borgen

Ok, back to another episode (only joking … I better look after my children)!

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Sneaky Peek : Jackson Hole

Jackson Hole

My husband flies out to Jackson Hole in Wyoming tomorrow for two weeks of skiing and I am very excited for him (and maybe very jealous too)!

He is going to catch up with his old mate Pat, who has been living there all winter with his family and I am sure they will have a fantastic time.  Poppy, James and I will look forward to speaking with him via FaceTime.

Here are some of my favourite photos of my man on the slopes on previous trips to New Zealand. Xx

Nick in NZ

New Zealand - Jul Aug 2009 (62)

NZ

New Zealand - Jul Aug 2009 (54)

New Zealand - Jul Aug 2009 (84)

Jackson Hole

Jackson Hole

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Yum : Salmon Fillet wrapped in Prosciutto

IMG_6277

Good old Jamie Oliver has done it again!  I made this delicious meal last week for our old friend Keith who was visiting us from Launceston.  It was super simple and yet incredibly tasty:

Salmon fillet wrapped in prosciutto with herby lentils, spinach and yoghurt

  • 255g lentils
  • 4 x 225g salmon fillets, skinned and pin-boned
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 8 slices of prosciutto
  • olive oil
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • 2 good handfuls of mixed herbs (flat-leaf parsley, basil, mint), chopped
  • 3 large handfuls of spinach, chopped
  • 200ml natural yoghurt

Method

  • Preheat oven to 220ºC
  • Put the lentils into a pan, cover with water, bring to the boil and simmer until tender
  • Season the salmon fillets with a little pepper before wrapping them in the prosciutto slices.  Leave some of the flesh exposed
  • Drizzle with olive oil and roast in the oven for 10 minutes until the prosciutto is golden.  Feel free to cook the salmon for less time if pinker is to your liking
  • Drain away most of the water from the lentils and season carefully with salt, pepper, the lemon juice and 4 good lugs of olive oil
  • Just before serving, stir the herbs and spinach into the lentils on a high heat, until wilted
  • Place on to plates with the salmon and finish with a drizzle of lightly seasoned yoghurt.

return-of-the-naked-chef

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Instagram Me

InstagramI have finally succumbed to the world of Instagram!

Instagram is a fun and quirky way to share your life with friends through a series of pictures. Snap a photo with your mobile phone, then choose a filter to transform the image into a memory to keep around forever. We’re building Instagram to allow you to experience moments in your friends’ lives through pictures as they happen. We imagine a world more connected through photos.

I held off for a while as I felt I had too much going on in my tech world … including Facebook, Pinterest and this blog (on WordPress).  But after having a tutorial with my tech-savvy friend Melissa (whilst we were both breastfeeding our bubbas and our toddlers were throwing sand off the balcony from the sandpit) I am all set to go.  Now I just need to snap away and work out the world of #hashtags and hope I get them #right?!

Instagram