Dark skies yesterday, Blue skies today ...

.... and not a drop of rain in between.

If only .....

.... these clouds would deliver their promised bounty. Alas, three hours later we're still waiting.

Remember when....

.... we lived without electricity and refrigeration?

No, I'm sure many of you can't, thankfully. As a child, growing up on a dairy farm in Victoria's Gippsland area, we had no electricity for many years and no refrigeration or ice chest to keep food cool. We eventually bought a gas fridge which lasted many years until the power was connected and an electric fridge took its place.

In the early days, two important items for keeping food cool in the summer were the Meat Safe and the Coolgardie Safe.

The meat safe was about 50cm square with perforated metal sides. The safe was hung under a shady tree, or perhaps on a veranda, and the breezes blowing through the tiny holes would help to keep the meat cool and the flies away. We had fresh meat delivered three times a week so raw meat wouldn't have been kept in the safe for any length of time.

The Coolgardie Safe, which is thought to have originated in the goldfields of Coolgardie in Western Australia, was only about 35cm square but standing about 60cm tall. The sides were usually made of wire mesh, covered in a gauze fabric. The recessed top of the safe was filled with water and strips of flannel, or other absorbent fabric, were hung down the sides of the safe with one end in the water recess. Moisture would soak down these strips and dampen the sides of the safe. Breezes blowing through the wet cloth had a very cooling effect on the food inside the safe when it was hung in the shade, either under a tree or on a verandah.

One particularly hot summer we had two wide-necked stone jars buried in sand under some cypress trees. Butter stayed firm and milk sweet all through the hottest of days.

As effective as these methods were, I wouldn't swap them for either of my electric fridges today.

Storm Clouds over Black Mountain

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Happy Birthday, Sara.

HAPPY 24th BIRTHDAY, darling Sara.

We wish you a wonderful day,

a fantastic year,

and a magnificent life.

Mum and Dad

XXXXXX

New problem (ha,ha)

Thursday:
I've just deleted all the 'blank' photos, and now everything seems to have relocated back to its original place, thankfully.

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Can anyone tell me why my blog template has decided to 'drop its bundle' so to speak? I notice that in the January '07 postings there is a narrow white line to the right of the postings. This has now widened in the February postings to such an extent that all my Links, etc. now appear under the posts, at the bottom of the page.

Does anyone know how I can get rid of this line, will it get worse ... lol, or should I just wait (and wait) and hope it goes away?

I'm sure there must be someone out there with an answer, or maybe even a good guess would help!

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Now I notice that the extra white 'line' has disappeared but things are still out of place. "Curiouser, and curiouser" as a well-known rabbit would say.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I feel truly humbled, yet uplifted by the number of blog friends who have encouraged me to 'stay the distance'.

It was even more humbling as I've been such a slacker these past few months. Although I've often read blogs, I've not been commenting, but you've given me a new lease of 'blogging life' and I look forward to interacting with you all much more frequently.

Thank you again. You are all so inspiring and 'the salt of the earth'.

'Alice'

Happy (well, happier) 2nd Blog Anniversary

A couple of days ago I didn't think I would reach this milestone, however things seem to be running much more smoothly (not perfectly yet, but much improved), so I'm still here.

To celebrate I gave myself some roses. Actually, I left them in the garden as they'll last much longer out there than in a vase in my house, and I'm content with a photo.

Green Thumb Sunday - at the coast.

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These shots were taken on a cloudy day, during a late afternoon

walk around Broulee Island on the south coast of

New South Wales.

These rocks were like black honeycomb.

Anyone need shellgrit for their chickens?

There's plenty here.

Whale-like driftwood.

Just a bit too big to take home for the mantlepiece!

Enough water-worn stones to make an Englishman feel at home.

In case I'm on a roll ....

... I thought I'd try a couple more photos, taken from the top of Mt Rodgers, just behind our house. Perhaps my 'hiccups' of the past few days have settled down (and I'm not nearly as cranky as I was).

Anyway, I hope I haven't spoken too soon as tomorrow is my

2nd Blogging Birthday.

I'll have to take the camera out and see what I can find to celebrate.