the X facta: July 2010

Saturday night supper

Mr X's crunchy potato puffs

You know how tiring it gets coming up with ideas for what's on the menu every single day, doing the grocery shopping to make sure there are enough ingredients in the fridge/pantry to cover a multitude of options? So it's always nice when Mr X gets a bee in his bonnet about some dish he decides to create. Food always tastes better when you didn't have to make it. This was delicious. Light and smooth on the inside, crispy crusty on the outside. The humble spud shines!

update:

Mr X’s Potato Puffs
4 good sized potatoes
1 small egg

1.    Peel
2.    Cut in half
3.    Steam until you can just poke a skewer through it. (they need to be still very firm)
4.    Grate potato on course grater.
5.    Add salt/pepper/ and ‘all purpose’ spice.
6.    Add a little beaten egg. (not much, just enough to bind)
7.    Mix lightly to keep grated texture.
8.    Spoon into a tall biscuit cutter ring. Tamp lightly. Try and leave the top all spiky.
9.    Remove ring and spoon lightly into hot 2000C oil.
10.    Cook till golden.

why we give up on our dreams:

altered book collage entry by Kel

Well, what do you expect when you try to surf the ironing board!

Art on the menu

Sky 'n' Sea Sandwich

textured acrylic on board

Full moon

.
The full moon was reason to light a fire in the stone circle at loghenge.

Yes, we have a circle of stones within the circle of logs!

I played with the night setting on the camera to try
and capture the moon and the loghenge marker man.

Moonhenge
photo by Kel © 2010

Then I created a digital dreamboard to set some intentions for the month ahead.

. . . and found some music to tie it all together.

Looks like I captured the moon, so do I have any moonbird sisters

out there ready to catch it if I throw it your way?

planning a trip

When you go on holidays - as in away - as in you have to pack a suitcase - who does all the pre-trip planning? Is it you, your partner, your travel agent . . .

Do you:

get glossy printed brochures from the travel agent
surf the web for hours on end to gather information
get a map of where you are going
visit forums and post questions
get a guide book from the shop or library
talk to others who have been there before you

When it's just a weekend away the plan of attack might be different than a four week overseas adventure. What's your process of planning for a trip? Or do you not plan? Do you just up and go with a toothbrush and change of underwear in your handbag and buy what you need along the way . . .

the good old days

back in the good old days

we had less time-saving gadgets

yet strangely enough

we had more time

back in the good old days

we had slower cars

with no seatbelts

yet still got there

back in the good old days

we had our faces in books

to read stories and learn things

not on books to cyber-stalk

bring back the days

when we were blessed with more

through having, being and doing less

~Kel

the importance of correct units of measurement

trying to grow one's hair length back after a short choppy do takes ages
18 months finally saw me with hair back below my shoulders
decide the only way to get length back was to avoid hairdresser for as long as possible
so i head in to the salon for first time in 6 months
explain to hairdresser, while producing a photo of me when my hair was like that (so I know it is actually possible - not an unrealistic expectation based on a celeb photo ripped from a magazine) "here's how i want my hair again, a forward-angled lightly-layered shoulder-length bob"
"only 2 centimetres off the ends please"

this hairdresser is young - so i figure she gets cm as a unit of measurement
judging by the outcome of my haircut - she was working in inches - and then some!!!
my hair is now 5 centimetres above my shoulders
she cut off every single bit of hair i managed to grow back in the past 6 months

as for her interpretation of forward-angled . . . let's just say it's more bowl than beautiful
so much for trying to cheer myself up for my birthday

beauty canisters

"to keep hold of beauty . . . already available"

a symphony of foghorns

which sounds would be

your healing medicine

seagulls circling overhead

waves crashing below

a lightly lilting piano tune

echoing up the stairwell

or a symphony of foghorns

making the path clear

~ Kel

Blessing 7:2

when you're exhausted from keeping all the balls in the air

and trying to balance on a line that appears too thin

to hold the full weight of one person

when the hoops are dropping below your knees

to clatter at your feet in disarray

because you can't hula while walking on a gym ball

when you feel like the old dog learning new tricks

but no one wants to play the game

and the guy hiding balls under cups is cheating

may the acrobat in you find shoulders

to lean on or land on

that are strong enough to hold you up

when you're spent from giving your all

may you be blessed

by the hands of others offering support

pictures from the surface of the earth

Aerial views

altered book journal extract
© 2010 by Kel

what magic

an aerial view holds

putting in perspective

that which at eye level

might appear insurmountable

seen from above

the fearful

loses its fullness

seen from above

the challenges

change pattern

seen from above

a new horizon

is visible

~ Kel

What can you see when looking at things from an aerial view?
What things does it put in perspective for you?

Rock on!

It's been awhile between property project posts.To create a more private yardspace and anchor the house to the landscape, we decided to use local rocks to build gabion walls.