Book Give Away Winner

Last week I posted a book give away and it is time to announce the winner.

The bloggers who put up their hands to receive the book were

1  The lovely Lynda

2 The wonderful Wendy

3 The Amazing AfricanAussie

To pick a winner I used the very sophisticated system of asking my husband to choose a number either 1, 2 or 3.

And The Winner Is

The lovely Lynda

A Long Weekend Away - Amamoor State Forest

Over the Australia Day long weekend we managed to get away for a few days camping.  Over the weekend there were a few showers but for the most part it was hot and fine.

We went to Amamoor State Forest which was somewhere new for us and about 2 hours from home. We were really happy with the campground as there was lots of space and it was well maintained, plus the creek was suitable for swimming which was just what was needed on the hot days. 

There are 2 campgrounds, one where we were that allows for dogs and the other dog free plus a day use area that was packed on Australia day with picnicking families.  The campground allows for over 200 people but there were only about 60 people there so there was plenty of space for all.
There are flushing toilets but no showers which we can live without as we have a camping shower and they were really clean and tidy.

Like many campgrounds we have stayed at we found a few of the fire rings and fire pits contained half burnt cans and aluminium foil which we cleaned up.  It is well signed that you need to take your rubbish home but for some reason there are people out there who struggle with this concept and think that burning your rubbish is the answer.  It makes me mad but I am not sure there is a lot I can do about it.

We swam 3 or 4 times a day with our little crocodile dog and it was so nice to cool off in the clear creek.

Our little crocodile

The State Forrest is also the home of the Gympie Music Muster and there are a few permanent structures around.  A couple of them had some sort of vine growing up them that was attracting butterflies by the thousands, in fact there were butterflies everywhere the whole weekend.  It was amazing.

Around the vines the butterflies were swarming and I wish I had a better camera to get a good shot of them but these will have to do.

All the black dots are butterflies and there are about 5 times as many
 as you can see but they are fluttering in front of the foliage.

The Blue Tiger butterflies loved the vine what ever it was.

We also had this little guy hang out on the tent for a few hours.  He really was quite beautiful especially the glassy wings like little pains of glass.

 We also managed to get in a bushwalk early one morning before it got too hot.

How did you spend your long weekend/weekend?

A Book Giveaway - Affluenza

A few years ago I posted this post where I had a bit of a rant on my soap box and I discussed the Book 'Affluenza'.  If you haven't read it and would like to then this is your chance.

Last weekend my friend Sandra and I attended the Life Line book fest in Brisbane and I picked a a copy that looks like it has never been opened let alone read.

So if you would like to go into the draw to win this copy all you have to do is leave a comment about the way that you hate advertising/marketing manipulating us to believe we need unnecessary products in our lives.

For me my most recent infuriation is a new Dettol ad for antibacterial hand wash in schools. Ahhh what happened to good old fashioned soap and water.

I will be drawing the winner at the end of the month so make sure you comment before then.

Reducing Commitments

This year we have a lot of plans and are going to be making a lot of decisions about our move to New Zealand.
We do not have a definite time frame for the move but there is still a lot going on in preparation including selling our current home, finalising plans for our New Zealand home, reducing our possessions as there are many things we cannot take, and a whole lot of other things.  We are really trying to sort things out now rather that having to do it all right before we move.

Over the last week I have sorted out all the garden pots that I have.  They have all been washed and sorted into sizes ready to go to new homes.  I have already given all of the my tube stock pots to our local Landcare group, some large pots to a friend and a few to my father in law.  But there are plenty more to give away.

Because of all the different things that are or will be going on this year I have had to make the hard decision to reduce all of the community activities that I have participated in in the past.  In short I am simplifying my life.

The biggest thing I am giving up is the Classic Car show that I have been the event director of for the past 4 years.  I will still be available to the committee for them to check in on how things are done, or processes that I followed but for the most part I will be handing the baton on and trying to let others do it their way which I know will be quite tricky.

It was really hard to decide to give these things up but in some ways it has been a bit of a relief that there are a few less thing to juggle this year which reinforces the fact that it was the right decision.

Have you decided to give any thing up this year to focus on other things?

Super Summer Salad

I made this salad for Christmas and it was a hit.  I have made it again since and it was well received as well so I thought I would share it with you all as well.

Super Summer Salad

1 Cup of Cooked and Cooled Quinoa
A few handfuls of Rocket
1/2 Lebanese Cucumber
1/2 Avocado Diced
2 Nectarines Sliced
Feta Crumbled
1/4 Cup of chopped Pistachios

Dressing

2 parts Olive Oil
1 part Balsamic Reduction/Glaze
Pinch of Salt
Ground Pepper

To assemble layer the ingredients in the order listed.  You can make up the quantities for everything as you go along, to your taste or based on the number of people you are catering for.

Just before serving whisk together the dressing ingredients and pour over the salad.  You can use balsamic vinegar instead of the sweeter reduction or glaze but I like the contrast of the sweeter dressing against the saltiness of the feta.