Our Lone Pine.

We have been able to purchase a descendant of the original Lone Pine (Aleppo Pine), left at Lone Pine Ridge, Turkey in 1915. This was the last Aleppo Pine left standing after the Turkish Army cut down the other ones to cover their trenches. In August 1915, during a 3 day battle the Australian Army lost 2000 men whilst the Turkish Army lost 7000 men.

Two Australian soldiers kept some of the pine cones. Many years later, luckily, their relatives were able to germinate 6 seedlings. These seedlings were then donated to various towns & war memorials. Since the 1980's many trees have been grown from the Aleppo Pine which was donated to the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.

Now we can all buy the descendants of that Lone Pine. We bought ours recently, but also purchased an plaque to clearly identify it as a very special addition to our garden.

Briard Rescue Beads.

We have two female briard dogs, named Coco & Iggy, who are very gorgeous & very spoilt. They are now almost five & are still wonderfully silly girls. One day they may actually act all grown up (or not). Unfortunately not all dogs are so loved, so I help out with the "Briard Rescue" group, which was formed to rescue & re-home briards in need. This is a wonderful bunch of other briard owners who volunteer their time help out - a burden shared & all that. Funny how a shared belief makes for a "family".

We recently had a bunch of beads made up for ourselves & to also raise funds for the Rescue Group. This would have to be my most favourite necklace, I just love the work in the beads, with a paw on one side & a dogs head on the other. They are sterling silver too - no common muck metal for us.

When we bought our dogs all those years ago we had no idea about the friendships that we would form, initially over the internet (The Australian Briard Forum) & then in person as we got to know people enough to then organise briard parties, where we all just enjoy each other's company (& the dogs of course). We've attended briard parties in QLD & NSW & so many here in Victoria, & consider these people lifelong friends. Our boys still love to go to the parties - I so hope that continues when they are teenagers, because they are loved by these people whom we do consider to be family. We are lucky indeed. Oh, if you want some beads too, you can purchase them here: http://www.briard.com.au/calendar.htm

Turkish Delight Cheesecake - thanks David xx

Firstly - I must acknowledge the people who shared this recipe with me, for I fear that if I don't my darling friends David & Liana may take vengeance on me (which may actually be great fun - love them to Turkish Delight bits!) Thanks guys for giving me your recipe, although I would have preferred for you (ie. David!) to make me the cheesecake for me, as is our usual custom x

Tah Dah! The Turkish Delight Cheesecake.

We have a very special day planned for tomorrow - a big briard party!! It will be held at Kate's home in Bunyip & we are expecting around 28 people & 11 briards. Everyone is bringing a dish or two to share - I am bringing a green salad, garlic vinaigrette dressing & of course, my copy of David & Liana's Turkish Delight Cheesecake.

Taken from "A Briard Celebration - Recipe Book" - note David & Liana's boy briard Oscar looking gorgeous!

The Recipe.

Ingredients:
250gm plain biscuits, crushed to resemble breadcrumbs
150gm butter, melted
3 tsps gelatine powder
1/4 cup boiling water
375gm packaged cream cheese, softened
1 tsp vanilla essence
1/2 cup caster sugar
300ml thickened cream

3 x Frys/Cadburys Turkish Delight bars finely chopped
1 x Frys/Cadburys Turkish Delight bars finely chopped (for decoration)

Method:
Line the base of a 24cm spring form cake pan with kitchen foil. Combine the crushed biscuits & melted butter & press this mixture evenly over the base & sides of the tin. Cover with food wrap & refrigerate for an hour. In a cup place the boiling water & sprinkle the gelatine over the top: stir until dissolved, then leave to cool. Using an electric mixer & a small bowl beat the cream cheese, vanilla essence & sugar together until smooth. In a separate bowl, beat the cream until it forms soft peaks. Stir the gelatine mixture into the cheese mixture, add the Turkish Delight & fold in the cream. Pour the mixture into the prepared biscuit base & refrigerate until set. Decorate with the extra Turkish Delight.

The Eucalyptus Ficifolia - A Survivor!

This is an update to my previous blog post about my favourite tree falling down (July 2009). If you look back at the photos, my tree looked pretty much dead & gone. But, look at it now!

We were just devastated by its "loss". However, luckily for us, we were too lazy at the time to cut it up for firewood - because it has continued to live! It still flowers even though it's lying on its side, & it continues to grow new branches. I cannot believe our good fortune.

The root system had just bent with the tree & there is still enough soil over the roots to protect it. It even survived last summer really well in this condition as the photos show. The dogs quite like to shade in it, can't say that I blame them as the flowers are beautiful.

We have planted out the same species en masse along our neighbours fence line to create more privacy, & the majority of those ones appear to be surviving quite well, even with the drought & water restrictions. One day, a full row of them in full bloom will be a sight to see.

Spiders In The Garden.

It's a frosty, crisp, wintry day here & it's appears that the spiders are enjoying the morning sunshine. How glorious is our garden today? Magnificent.

A Random Act of Kindness From Across The Globe

As much as I know that this will annoy my dear friend Stella, I am going to put her photo here.

She will totally hate this photo being here, but she will just have to accept the fact that I want to pay her a tribute for being such a great friend, & for always being here for me, even though she lives on the opposite side of the planet. We met 14 years ago (at my wedding) & have just been "together" since, despite the differences in time zones. Apparently we are quite similar according to those who know us both quite well, which I am really happy about, because I very much admire & love her. She is warm, kind, intelligent, feisty, funny, gorgeous to look at - the entire package really.

Stella in her allotment in the UK

We have had a hard few months here in our family, with the poor health of some of our loved family members being the main concern, with all that that involves.

These are the beautiful flowers she & Peter sent last week, just to be lovely. How lucky am I to have her in my life? A good friend is a true gift & we need to take care of all our friendships. Sometimes they do take work, sometimes they are just easy, but if they nurture your soul & enhance your life then they are worth it.

Our Beautiful Fishtank.

The fish tank - from the lounge room

This is our fish tank, which lives in the wall cavity in between the dining room & the lounge room. When we first moved into this house all that was there was a series of bits of wood, which made the room look a little bit like a prison cell. After a few months of contemplation we decided to put a fish tank in there & we thought we were so BRILLIANT. However, it turns out that the people who built the house had a fish tank there too - the second owners ripped it out & put the bars in. We are the third owners. It also turns out that we know both lots of previous owners - so much for country anonymity!

The fish tank - from the dining room.

Obviously we had to get the tank made up to order from a local glass shop. It took them four goes to get it right. The first one leaked straight away, the second one bowed out when the water was added & the third one exploded out into the dining room after a night of water sitting in it. Thank goodness there were no fish in that one at that point, & thank goodness we weren't sitting there eating at the table. I cannot tell you the mess it made - shards of broken glass, 80 litres of water & thousands of tiny black stones all over the floor, but at least it wasn't into the lounge room, which at that stage had carpet in it. The tank is a source of joy for us, it's just so peaceful to sit at the table, having a nice dinner & a glass of wine, contemplating this mini lake with family & friends.