Dance Concert

Just recently we went to watch young Abigail go through her routine with her dance school. It was a grand affair which included a three course meal and many age levels having their turn on the central dance floor. We of course were there to see the star attraction - Abigail. She was a natural. Even during the breaks she would be out in the centre with lots of other kids practicing new moves that the older girls had just done, just for the expressive enjoyment of doing it.

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Craig and Joy must be very proud of her. This dancing bug is also in Joy. From these humble beginnings Abigail could go on to real dancing stardom. She will not just have a small set of groupies like us, but whole crowds drawn to her through her skill and commitment which is so evident now. We were amazed.

Balloon Hockey

At Childrens Church we almost always play a game. Recently we played balloon hockey. It involves being given a number, waiting till your number is called and running to the centre. There you find your cardboard 'baton' and the balloon. The opposing team member of the same number has grabbed his/her baton. The task is then to hit/ stroke/ poke/ prod the balloon (half inflated) towards your goal, while at the same time the opposite member is trying to coax it to the other goal. The sidelines were controlled by both opposing teams waiting for their number to be called out. When a new number was called you had to drop your baton and quickly return to your place on the sideline.

It was a fun game. It was fun to watch too. Every player at least had one turn, and miraculously nobody was hurt. Nobody seemed to mind what the score was either.

Interior Reformation

It is about time Peter tried to share the work he has been doing at Gembrook. Every now and again he would share something of the vistas or the community action there but not much about the interior work he has been doing. To do this means posting a truckload of pictures. Hopefully their order will show the progress. The first series shows how the new bedroom looks from the outside, and the following set are taken inside the room as it developed.

As explained, this next set shows the interior of the new room, first the walls, then the stages involved in cutting and fixing in a new window.

That is quite a view each morning to wake to, always a little different to the last.

Mothers' Day Hypnosis

Mothers' Days are times when things out of the ordinary happen. Donna flew in from Tazzi for the day. In that way two mothers, Barb and Donna, got together. And Donna caught up with her own kids, at least two of them. Kelli picked her mum up from the airport, and Dave joined them at Greensborough for a cuppa.

We all shared a greasy lunch of bacon, tomato and mushroom when they returned. It was really nice actually. It was a special time enjoyed by each of us even though we were all suffering from various amounts sleep depravation. But you can't postpone Mothers' Day. It just rocks up, and then it is gone for another year. Whoosh.

Before Donna left, she demonstrated some hypnosis. She has that unusual flare. With some careful holding and head-stroking, she succeeded in putting our Sophie to sleep. It had worked on her rabbit so why not ours. And sure enough Sophie quickly succumbed.

This was great amusement at Sophie's expense. She just lay like a baby with four paws upward and eyes closed. Quite bizarre. It was definitely strange seeing Sophie like that.

Antique Movie Show

On our Childrens Church games day, our friend Dave brought along an old 16 ml movie projector to show an old black and white silent movie about three very naughty bear cubs. The movie itself was thought to be about seventy years old. The whole show went without a hitch and the kids were all laughing at what the bears got up to in the farmer's house while he was away with his family. For our kids, this was probably the first time they had ever seen a reel to reel movie projector in the flesh so to speak. We greatly appreciated Dave's resources and skill to run the event so well.

A Cousin's Visit

It was wonderful seeing Neil and Yit-Goh again after what could be even ten years. This was their first trip into Victoria and they did a lot of looking around. We had the privilege of sharing one day with them. One of our events was at the Acland Cake Shop in Acland Street, St. Kilda. It is a pity that the family name is spelt wrongly everywhere but we enjoyed our coffee and treats none the less.

During our short time together, we were able to catch up, openly and honestly comparing the complexities of our family lives and sharing interesting stories about how we traveled since we were last together.

We even went for a drive up Plenty Road to look at the sprawling suburbia of our northern growth corridor to show them what was happening our side of Melbourne. Thank you so much Neil and Yit-Goh for sharing quality time with us.

Gembrook Harvest

Peter, Barb, Davo and Anna travelled the 90 km to Gembrook for Harvest Day. The number of people that came was impressive. Steve and Jane were kept busy as hosts most of the day.

On one of the tables in the sun we found a leaflet about chestnuts and what to do with them. The brochures were supplied by the Bean Team:

The following was the general "guff" on their brochure:

Chestnuts are cholesterol free, low in sodium and a great source of dietary fibre. These nuts also contain vitamin C, thiamine, and riboflavin. Five kernels of chestnuts counts as one serving. Without being told why, we read that a single serving of chestnuts should not be consumed more than 4 to 5 times a week. Is that a joke or a warning? Any way, we think they are nice.

Roasting the Chestnut:

First, using the tip of a sharp paring knife, score an X on the flat side of the chestnut. place scored chestnuts on a baking tray and roast in a 220 degree C oven for 15 minutes. This will cause the X to open up. While the chestnuts are still hot, peal the shell, then remove the papery skin. Once they cool, the shells are difficult to remove, so keep the batch warm while you work. Pete found that making a token removal of the papery skin was good enough when it was not coming off easily.

Out of the four recipes in the brochure we offer one that seems easy to make.

Cream of Chestnut Soup (with our alterations):

3 tbsp butter or coconut oil
1 stick of celery
1 medium carrot
1 onion
1/4 cup of chopped parsley
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 bay leaf (to be removed later)
6 cups veggie stock
350g chestnuts roasted and peeled
1/4 cup silken tofu blended
1/4 tsp pepper
Sea salt to taste

Method. Cut the onion, celery, and carrot into very small pieces. Melt the butter or coconut oil in a saucepan. Add the celery, onion, and carrot. Saute these vegetable pieces for about 10 minutes. Add the chestnuts, veggie broth, parsley, ground cloves, and bay leaves. Bring to the boil and then simmer for 30-40 minutes covered. Puree the soup with a blender or a bar mix. Stir in the tofu. Add salt and pepper to taste. Take out the bay leaf. Serve and garnish with parsley and a swirl of cream.

There seemed to be about twenty or more chestnut trees all producing a crop, so there was an "ocean" of chestnuts any direction we looked on the orchard ground. Our instructions were simple. Just the large ones. Ignore the small ones. Most of us who came spent a long session in the orchard. We were still finding good ones even as our bags were straining at the seams. We were still finding good ones as we struggled to leave the orchard with such a load. There could conceivably be a large truck load in there if it was ever measured.

The temperature was about 25 degrees C so the day was just perfect for the harvest. People brought lots of food to share. There were three different soups on the stove. Cars were parked everywhere including on the road outside the property. There were some outside camp fires and a fire in the house fireplace as well. The wood stove was also flashed up. We met old friends and made new ones. What a day.