Of Tomatoes and Harleys

It's been busy this month!  Steve has finished his lovely little coffee table.  Isn't it beautiful, She-oak has the most beautiful grain.  He even made a couple of coasters too.

And here is Chief Appraiser, Madam Lucy, giving the table her undivided attention ha ha.

 We have gazillions of tomatoes ripening so I've been chop chop chopping them for various recipes.  I've also done a few jars of dried tomatoes in olive oil, time consuming but worth it as they are delicious.

 Gallons of tomato ketchup cooking

 And loads of chopped rhubarb about to become jam.  That is a recent discovery - rhubarb jam, it is rather delicious and tangy.

It never looks quite enough after all the hours of preparations and cooking, but here is 3 litres of tomato ketchup and 5 litres of rhubarb jam.  Not to mention the big containers of bolognese sauce that I made the week before that are now safely tucked away in the freezer.  The next big batch of tomatoes I will simply chop and freeze as is, very useful for cooking later in the year.  It's all very satisfying using produce in different ways, and knowing it can be used over the year when the growing season is over.

 We've both had birthdays recently so have treated ourselves to a couple of meals out. 

 Here we are at the Emu Point Cafe, a lovely venue that never disappoints with their food.

 Emu Point is a beautiful place, so picturesque.  Here's Steve looking at the channel from Oyster Harbour into King George Sound.  I used to fish here when I was a kid on holidays, wonderful memories.

 We've had visitors too!  Firstly Steve's cousin Terry came down to stay with us.  Here he is with his beautiful Harley Davidson motor cycle, specifically a "Fat Boy Harley", I never knew there were different types!  He and the South West chapter of the HOGS (Harley Owners Group) came down to have a ride to the Porongurups with the Albany HOGS.  It was great to see you Terry :-)

 And we've just said goodbye to our dear friends Angie and Andy who came to stay with their lovely friends Marty and Judy who are here from England.  It's always so nice seeing people enjoying our kangaroos and little birds.

 We had a gad about town, including a visit to the stunning Wind Farm, one of my favourite places in Albany, the scenery is beautiful and the paths are really well maintained.  You can stand right under one of the turbines and marvel at its power and listen to the deep and powerful "whomph" as it rotates.  Not to mention the fact that it supplies Albany with 85% of its power, yay for green energy!

 Above we have Angie and Andy, and below are Marty and Judy coming up the path.  It was lovely to see you all :-)

 Other visitors were of the unexpected kind.  For a few days we had these two rams wandering around, in and out of our place.  I think they live on top of the hill and take advantage of old, broken down fences to have a bit of an explore. 

 And of course we have our residents who we love dearly.  Here is Patience curled up on the grass outside the front door, enjoying the last rays of sun.  It's like having a pet dog :-)