My idea of escape can vary. A relaxing warm bath on a cold winter night, enjoying some quiet outdoor painting under the shade of a tree on a sunny day, or my favourite, despite the weather, a bit of chocolate. The best way to have chocolate, dunk it in a hot cup of tea and eat it warm and melted. A happy escape for the senses.
I was offered one of these Prickly Cucumbers, otherwise known as a Kiwano or an African Horned Cucumber. I have yet to try it but from what I understand it is full of seeds and has a citrus tang. The spikes and the colouring make rather an interesting pattern.
The beginnings of an ants nest, the remains of a bone, and a spider.
I’m a little late but it has been another busy week.
Lately I have been getting into the healthy food culture. Of course by last weeks pictures you might not think so… the ANZAC biscuits were not exactly low in fat, however, I did use honey in place of the corn syrup. The problem is the biscuits don’t get time to even cool before I’m guzzling them down. The other half literally grabs a handful consisting of about five or six biscuits and that’s just his first round.
Overall I have been trying to eat healthier and as a result I’m trying different foods like adzuki beans, chia seeds and flax/linseeds.
I’m not sure about the chia seeds but then I have only tried them in one dessert. The flax/linseeds I have had before in bread and wraps so adding them to food myself is no surprise. However, I must say the adzuki beans have grabbed my attention.
A long time ago I stopped buying most processed foods and got ride of the salt shaker. Most of the time I don’t use butter or margarine either other than in baking and even then I have moved more towards olive oil. Lately I have been trying to increase my fiber and omega 3 intake and reduce my sugar intake. I love dessert but it usually includes an unhealthy amount of sugar. Some adzuki bean and avocado recipes have given me sweet treats without adding copious amounts of sugar.
No, adzuki beans and avocado are not sweet. However, they make a healthy filler. I make adzuki chocolate bites using a recipe I found online. They have cocoa, nuts (such as pecans, cashews etc), dates and cooked adzuki beans. The dates add enough sweetness that I don’t need sugar. The ingredients are blitzed in the food processor to make a thick paste and formed into small bite size balls. You can roll them in coconut or chopped nuts or whatever. I’m sure a bit of vanilla or almond extract would go nice as would perhaps orange rind or something. I’m still experimenting.
I have also made avocado and banana chocolate mousse using a ripe avocado, frozen banana, cocoa and honey blitzed in the food processor. You would never know there was an avocado in this dessert and if you love a mix of chocolate and banana, you will love this! This too I am going to experiment with, using frozen strawberries perhaps in place of some of the banana.
I’m sorry, there are no pictures of these desserts… they went just as fast as the biscuits… but without the guilt!
This week I have hardly been home and each day has had its up.
At the beginning of the week I went up north to take part in a digital stories workshop and brushed up on programs such as imovie. It was a fun couple of days.
Mid week I got up early to volunteer.
Yesterday I got up even earlier and went to the cenotaph for the ANZAC Dawn Service. The moon was still up and made a beautiful start to the day.
Then last night while walking the dog I looked up to see the moon again shining bright up in the sky. It made me happy.
I went inside and made some ANZAC biscuits. This is a first for me. I have never made them before and as I put them on the plate I realised this week officially marks a turning point. I can apply for citizenship.
I made a cup of tea and as I sat down to nibble on my first ANZAC biscuit they reflected up onto my mug of tea.
Its been an up kind of week.
The temperature is starting to change here. Linus gets up in the mornings with stiff legs and hobbles around quite a bit. He is beginning to feel the change for the worse in his arthritic knees and has been longing for some warm clothing.
I made this light jacket for him yesterday. It isn’t perfect but not bad for my first dog jacket project. I made it out of an old pair of track pants. I will make him a heavier jacket soon.
I am also making him leggings. Using the pockets from the track pants and possibly an old pair of wooly socks might work. At the moment I am trying to sort out how to keep them on and yet give him plenty of movement while keeping his knees warm. He definitely doesn’t mind me trying to put them on to check out the fit. I’ll take that as a sign he likes what Mum is making for him.
The colour orange seemed to come up this week.
Well, Linus’ life, but it is what I have been doing lately. No, not sleeping, taking photos. My computer had a melt down and went for repairs. I was left with my camera.
I was hoping over the last few days, as this day approached, to come up with something to say, but it still hasn’t come to me.
A friend suggested that perhaps I should write about the voices of history or the fact that on the doorstep of what is to be the sixty-ninth anniversary of the death of the crew of LL637, EQ-P, I have received more information which brings me another step closer to finding the final piece of the puzzle, the answer to their final moments. I tried writing about both today and it just didn’t gel.
With Norm, Larry, George, Bill, Bob, Jock, and Bud so vividly on my mind as always on such a day, I find myself looking at their photographs. I never tire of looking at these moments in time captured for eternity. Their lives were short but they made the most of every moment.
Perhaps that is the point, the boys are an inspiration. They inspire me to keep going when things are tough, to work hard, and to be a better person. They inspire me to make the most of every moment.
Background
Sixty-nine years ago, on the night of 15 March 1944, RAF Bomber Command detailed 863 bombers to bomb Stuttgart, Germany.
The bombers, typically manned by a seven man crew of young men between the ages of 19 and 30, headed out from their bases across England on a round trip that would take about seven hours.
Not all would return. This operation would see the loss of 37 bombers and around 260 men.
Attacked by German night-fighters or hit by flak, a few of these men would jump from their burning bombers and parachute to the ground, with help they would evade capture. Some, not so lucky, were found and taken as prisoners of war.
The vast majority simply never made it out of their aircraft. Some of those men disappeared as their aircraft exploded in the sky over Europe. The rest would be found dead, many of them badly burnt, among the wreckage of their Lancaster or Halifax bomber. This was the outcome for the boys of LL637, EQ-P.
