A mere Truffle....

The other weekend we went to Oberon in the central highlands to go to a Truffle Hunt. I was really looking forward to it and seeing how the truffle dogs worked and see a truffle up close and personal. My sister gave me a fresh truffle last year after doing the same hunt and I loved using it in the kitchen, so when she suggested we go with them, we were up for it!


In order to make the most of our weekend we planned a night away. Now you all know that I am a bit off 5 star accommodation at the moment ( unless some else is footing the bill, that is) so I search for some local pub accommodation which we have found recently offer excellent value for money.  We also planned a bit of a meander around the roads to see some areas we have not traversed for over 20 years.

Saturday morning saw us off about 10 ( still like my sleep in) anticipating the drive would have us arrive at 1.30 in time for a 2pm hunt. We decided to go via Goulburn along the highland way through Bundanoon which is much more scenic ( and apparently according to Google shorter than using the main highway). Turning off at Goulburn we headed west stopping at the quaint little town of Taralga which was originally settled by the workers on the Macarthur (yes, them of the merino fame) estate located nearby history of Taralga. We had coffee at the Taralga Girl Cafe and here is a picture of it ( before it was a cafe)

Taralga Girl cafe site on R, circa 1880,
http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/imageservices/2011/06/taralga-on-the-road-to-wombeyan-caves/

really good coffee, blazing warm open fire and great friendly country service, do stop there if you are ever going through.

Twenty minutes later we were back on the road and heading into the mountains. I had a lot of fun using an app on my iPhone seeing how high we were getting,  (not THAT kind of high!)  with 1250m or thereabout being the measure.

After a short detour through Oberon we found out destination 9km out of town on Lowes Mount Road.

Here is where we went. Sue and Colin Roberts were our hosts and I can say the hunt was great fun and very informative. They trained their own Truffle dog, a very well fed black Labrador, apparently there is a shortage of trained dogs available. We follow behind the dog up and down the rows and when he smells a truffle he starts to dig under the tree.

sniffing the ground for truffles

We did find some truffles and Sue then does a taste and demo on what to look for in truffles ( beware of Chinese imitations!). Some of the fabulous food ideas were: honey infused truffle with hazelnuts served over fresh goats cheese, 

 (that will be making an appearance at my place), truffle omelette, and the piece de resistance .... truffle ice-cream. A very adult ice-cream, which I shall try when I have my new kitchen.

We stayed at the historic O'Connell Hotel which is located half way between Bathurst and Oberon. Built in 1865 you can see the wattle and daub of the building under glass in the main bar. Our room was small but perfectly formed with a wonderful electric blanket. Dinner was served in the dining room and we both had the best steak I have ever had cooked by someone else. After dinner we spent some time in the bar taking in the atmosphere and local colour.

A wonderful restful sleep and it was off to breaky. The hotel does not do breakfast but 100 meters down the road is the most wonderful cafe see here.

After breakfast it was off again via Wombeyan Caves which we plan to visit in November with the whole family for a weekend, they have cabin and camping sites for rent.

A drop into the Burrawang Belle's maison for a coffee and then we were home.

I am still eking out my truffle, storing it in a glass jar wrapped in kitchen paper with 2 fresh eggs which take on the aroma of the truffle, great for an omelette or scrambled eggs.

It was only 1 day and night away but we felt really refreshed and relaxed, I think mini-breaks are great for your soul, what about you???

Dog Day Afternoon

Last week Mr Bazil and Miz Scarlett had their doggy day spa day. We usually wash them at the local pet store every month or so, they have a hydrobath which is really good to use. However there are some things that even a devoted puppy mummy can't ( or won't ) do, like the doggie brazillian, and their nails, hence the doggy day spa here they come!

We tried a new one that just opened here in Bowral, called Dog Addiction and a lovely lady called Rebecca runs it and she did an amazing job on the puppies, and they even got a "pup" cake at the end for their afternoon tea when they got home. What a service!

We had a overnight in Sydney and decided to take the new newly groomed puppies to a leash free dog park, Cafe Bones  check it out here anyway this is one of our favourite places to hang out and get the vibe. Even when we didn't have a dog we still used to go and watch all the dogs running around. The people there are all really friendly, my feeling is that anyone who loves dogs must be a nice person.

As our dogs live on a property they don't socialise a lot so this is also an attempt for us to show them  they are not the only dogs on the planet! Sadly I don't think they get the message. Big Brave Baz is slightly better now that he has been there a couple of times and will run around with the other dogs for a little while,  but poor little Scarlett spends most of the time either on my lap or cowering under the table. 

The finale to this dog tale is that then puppies had their annual check up on Monday at the vet, 1kg difference between them ( guess who is the lighter?)  they are both fit and healthy except that Mr Baz needs to come back next week to go under to get his teeth cleaned. I was mortified when I heard, they get chicken bones for their teeth, and just when I felt like I was about the get the Bad Puppy Mummy award, the vet said that is was nothing to do with his "parenting", he just doesn't chew his food enough and give his teeth a proper workout so now his reward for being a food bolter, is another visit to the vet next week.

Have you felt your "pet parenting" credentials under threat???

For the dog lovers here are some more photos from cafe bones.... enjoy!

English sheep dog 

Lots of space to sit in the sun and have a coffee

Mr Bazil investigating the smells around the tree

Mr Bazil lookoing for a pat from a stranger

All creatures great and small gather here

Even a special menu for that special dog in your life!

And the puppy mummies and daddies can have something as well!

The Nanny Blogger

There has been a lot of media coverage lately about the rise of the Mummy Bloggers. My friend Baby Mac see her blog here has been featured quite prominently in this genre on various media outlets,  radio interviews,  newspaper and magazine stories she even made it to the The Project on channel 10. I feel quite chuffed to know someone so famous!


So I want to jump on the bandwagon, and I want to predict the advent of the Nanny Blogger!  Now I am not a grandmother (yet, and not expecting to be one in the very near future, but one can always been hopeful!) but I would like to think that we Nanny's ( or to be)  can have a bit of fun and discuss things which interest us  too! Equal Opportunity that's my mantra!


Check out my BFF Karen's new blog here and get ready for Nanny Bloggers!


BTW I still think it is hilarious that the blogger website still does not recognise the words Blog and Blogger and always highlights them in the spell check! ;-)

Baby Steps

Well I'm back from the Grace Kelly road trip, and boy did I enjoy the trip. It was really interesting to see the wide (flat) world past the Great Divide and get some real country time up my sleeve. I am going to do a longer post on the trip but this little gem is a taster, the picture does not do it justice, but it is a pair of baby bootees in leopard print!

I may be out of the baby wear loop at the moment but I can appreciate what the well dressed baby girl should be wearing this winter and this one to me is a real winner!

This little gem was on display in a store in Griffith and my significant other had to hold me back from running in and buying them for a future granddaughter (hey it's never too early to start a killer wardrobe). 

I must say they never had such stylish baby clothes when my kids were young, so what do you  think, what age is acceptable for leopard print??????

Exhumed!

Guess What,   I got to be rock chick for a night recently! Given my age, that is a bit of a blast from the past, but at Exhumed! I was one of the young ones.

For those of you unlucky enough not to know what I have talking about, have a look here and then come back and read of my adventure at Exhumed!

The moment I heard James Valentine talk about this on the radio I said to my Significant Other "We will be there, oh yes we shall" and I moved hell and high water to make sure we were there!

Big decisions had to be made, like what footwear?

Would we need ear plugs?

A bit of rock chick hair magic!

Excitement builds as we arrive at
Rooty Hill

The Bands 

Just like a real rock concert, security and wrist band!

Maybe a concession to the age of the audience? Seating for all

Prime seating, just behind the Judges:

L-R Barry Divola, Wendy Matthews, Tommy
Dean

We had a absolutely wonderful time, I was totally amazed by the quality of the music that was played that night, just ordinary people who loved making and playing music together. 


I want to thank ABC 702 for putting it on, and I am eagerly waiting for next year, I even kept my wrist band!
:-)

Road Trip

This picture is a clue to something, can you guess?
There are a lot of things in the photo that relate to me


1. I am blonde
2. I am a princess (of sorts)
3. I love to drive fast cars
4. I have a convertible
5. My significant other is as lovely as Cary Grant


Give up?


We are going on a road trip to Bendigo to see the Grace Kelly exhibition! see here for more info


I have always loved Grace Kelly and managed to see an exhibition of her memorabilia a few years back at the Victoria and Albert in London. I heard the curator of this exhibition talking about how she managed to convince the family to lend more to the exhibition, hence me driving fast to take a look.


So I am going to channel my inner Grace Kelly for a few days doing a road trip through south west
NSW and Victoria. So strap yourself in, and join me, I promise there will be good food and wine on the way and lots of interesting things to see on the way.


First stop tomorrow: Griffith.
See you tomorrow!

i've been everywhere man!

I have to apologise to my readers, due to overwhelming demand from you ( well one of you at least!) to know what I have been up to  (obviously not blogging enough) I have my letter of absence to explain why I have absent without your leave.

So here goes

Been to Noo Zeeland for a work trip

Saw 10 movies at the French Film Festival

Easter celebrations ( and a lazy Easter Sunday lunch for 17!)

House guests x 2

Exhumed! ( if you have to ask you will have to wait for the revelation!)

caravan and camping show

historical cemetery tour ( nothing to do with Exhumed!)

Anzac day family get together

Airport farewells

Mothers Day

Long weekend

Renovating our laundry ( here's a picture to prove)

Putting in a new water tank (I expect the rain will stop now!)

and work sometimes gets in the way as well! :-)


I hope you will accept my apologies, if you are looking for me, I'll be airing my dirty laundry!
:-)