I just wanted to say

The scenes out of Christchurch NZ today are horrifying. I love Christchurch and to see it turned to rubble is heartbreaking. The loss of life is terrible. Having met some great people from Christchurch in the last week, I am so sorry for you all. Stay safe NZ.

Tell me about the duck...

OK, I'll tell you about the duck. In an earlier post I referred to a delicious meal of sticky duck legs with plums that if I was less tired I would link to now...

Anyhow, I figured that Edward's last night at home for a while warranted a special meal, and since plums are well and truly in season, duck with plums it was. So after an overnight marinade in a bag with soy, star anise, five spice and cinnamon, it went into a slow oven with some plums and onion for a bit over two hours.

We washed it down with a very nice glass of rose from Purple Hen Wines that I picked up on my recent visit to Philip Island.

Looks pretty good, doesn't it?

And tastes delicious.

An afternoon at Quentin and Michael's place

Saturday afternoon marked one of my favourite days in the Canberra cultural calendar - the Canberra Proms Concert in the grounds of Government House. (For those who don't know, Her Excellency Quentin Bryce is the Governor General of Australia, our head of state - second in charge to the Queen. Michael Bryce is her husband. They live at Government House in Canberra.) This is usually a lovely early evening in the beautiful gardens at Government House, listening to wonderful music and eating a great picnic (hence the frittata and cheesecake).

On Saturday, it was windy. It was overcast. Then it was wet. Quite wet. However, the Proms go ahead, and because we are tough, we went anyway. In the 10 - 12 minutes it takes to drive there from our house (gotta love Canberra). it rained solidly for at least 8. But by the time we parked and walked down the long driveway, it had stopped. Probably only half the usual audience turned up. The theme of the evening was Hungarian Rhapsody and the music was beautiful. Edward was very taken with the Hungarian soprano.

There was one more little sprinkle of rain, and hundreds of umbrellas collectively went skywards, then it fined up and by the second half, was a beautiful evening.

As the Hungarian Ambassador said 'the music of Hungary is so beautiful it can make the sky weep and it can make the sky smile'. Couldn't have put it better myself.

(Plus there was knitting - what's not to like?)

Saturday kitchen

Saturday in my kitchen looked like this....

Having been away for a week, the urge for culinary creativity was strong. And messy.

This is the duck.

(My dismemberment skills leave a little to be desired.)

Duck is marinating in soy, star anise, five spice and cinnamon.

This is the jam

Peach with a dash of cointreau. Breakfast on Sunday morning looked like this...

Then there was they way I like my eggs

Frittata made with left over chorizo, pork and fennel sausage, potato and goat's cheese - perfect picnic food.

Then, the picnic dessert - mini raspberry swirl cheesecakes.

What was the picnic food for? How did the duck turn out?

Stay tuned.....

The view from above

I've never been a great fan of air travel. Planes are a convenient way of getting long distances in not too much time. Small planes are an evil best avoided. But as I have now discovered, helicopters are something else altogether.

Thanks to the Melbourne Convention and Visitors Bureau, I had a great weekend at Philip Island in Victoria. If you are ever there, Silverwater Resort is the place to stay (thanks Sarah).

And from a helicopter, Philip Island looks like this...

OK, so I haven't had a long trip. But as a way of seeing the world from above, the helicopter is definitely the way to go. It was FUN!!!!!

(But people who make sculptures out of chocolate.... maybe need to get out more?)

The Stars of Venezuela

Two days in Philip Island, three days in Melbourne and some great new friends.

For the purposes of ice breaking, team building and distraction on a two hour bus trip, 21 mostly strangers were divided into teams of four, each named after a different country.

Presenting Team Venezuela

No names to protect identity, but from left to right

Melbourne, Canberra, Mumbai and Tel Aviv.

After starting with some quizzes which we failed to take seriously, our competitive streak was roused when we found ourself one point off the lead. The final challenge - to present the most creative photo we could.

To highlight the highly successful bonding process that had occurred, we presented the following picture.

The Star of Venezuela

You can imagine how closely we were standing together to take that.

Second place?

We were robbed.

The Hallowed Turf

I didn't think I would be thrilled, but I was...

Me on the hallowed turf of the MCG. (More about Melbourne later - stay tuned) If you are into handknits, the wrap is Juno Regina which I love.