Trip to the Midlands

I love winter time in the country. Yesterday, I took a quick trip to my favourite country town in Tas, Oatlands.
Yes, it is a controversial choice. Most would pass it by, it is not the prettiest, not the most spruced up. But, that is part of the love. It is has not been gentrified too much and is on that wonderfully bleak wind swept plain that makes it feel like a destination outside the comfort zone.

Having said that the two middle photos are of Dysart House in Kempton the country pile of Leo the Big. I must say, he seems to be giving it a nice monied sheen, at least from the outside looking in.

But, give a thought to the locals who are doing it tough because of the drought. I caught wind that one of the best customers at the supermarket is the Salvation Army, there are a lot of people needing help and support, and not just financially. It is only an hour from Hobart, perfect for a country drive and if you have some spare, think about spending some money in the local stores. I bought some beautiful Oatlands grown and handspun merino wool, a huge wicker basket and a few other treasures.

Bill Oddie with Chickens

Its not really Bill Oddie, it's Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall. But he reminds me of Bill in that hairy Englishman kind of way. Anyway a friend put me onto Hugh's show on English telly called River Cottage Spring which you can download and watch. It is centered around growing your own food, eating and cooking well and generally being more sustainable. It is quite addictive and has been reassuringly simple in its approach to planting artichokes (don't ask, why I feel reassured about planting artichokes, I just do) and asparagus et al.

Along the same lines I have recently discovered another gloggy blog based in Queensland called Down to Earth, she has some cute chickens, lots of good advice and a good quick home made soap recipe using lux soap flakes. And some great green cleaning recipes including laundry soap, which I haven't tried yet, but might sometime soon.