On: Aussie Beverages

by Donnie Hayden

Guhday Mates, from Donnie your Aussie beverage guide

In a previous post, we tasted some wonderful Australian food and their butter. See Butter from this blog here.

While out and about on our Saturday here, we came upon a store called the Epicure which means, “one that enjoys fine food and drink” or simply, “the good life.” This is the same store where we enjoyed that marvelous butter from two posts back. After going on and on and drooling from the memory of this, the lady asked if we would like to taste the milk that is used to make this butter? Would I, would we? There was no hesitation, of course we would and did.

When I was a young boy, we had an Aunt Gladys & an Uncle Al. We loved to visit them! Right across the road from them was a dairy farm. One dog would round up all the cows and bring them to the barn for milking. They had mechanical milking machines even 50 years ago or so. But the milk went into this stainless steel tank that was somehow cooled instantly it seemed to just above freezing or 32° F. (Fahrenheit). I don’t to this day know how they did it, but when I say “ice cold,” it was ICE COLD!

A side note: 100’s of cats all seemed to show up out of nowhere at milking time! 🙂

Anyway, since those times, I could never drink milk unless it had ice in it, but I drank this milk from Australia that was the same milk used to make the awesome butter we had and it WAS DELICIOUS!!! 🙂

Well, this post really is about beverages from Australia or that I have tried here. You have already seen the following picture in another post, but here it is again. After the milk, it’s GINger time. In a bit you will understand why, I capitalized GIN in GINger. 🙂

Ginger Beer, Ginger Ade, Dark & Stormy (Giner beer, lime and rum) and Ginger Wine — Ginger Beer, Ginger Ade, Dark & Stormy (Ginger beer, lime and rum) and Ginger Wine

Then there was this ginger suprize that you have also seen before.

Next, what was the capitals of GIN in the GINger for?

On the last night of the Camden Show, Jonathan and I popped in to a local pub, for a night cap or two. 🙂

I ordered an Australian beer with Jonathan’s recommendation and he ordered a GIN and tonic. I have never liked gin because it smells if not like a pine tree which I do like the smell, but it reminds me of mineral spirits which I used to use for many years, in cleaning out my paint brushes used for, oil-based or alkyd paint. I’ve sometimes wondered why so many older painters drank a lot? Was it to cut the taste of the mineral spirits out of their nostrils? Well anyway, something came over me and I asked Jonathan if I could try his drink? I think I was thinking that I used to not like tonic water until it was put together with rum, fresh lime and fresh ground nutmeg that our friend and former neighbors (still friends) made for many-a-happy-hour. We affectionately refer to this as, ‘Lou’s Pirate Punch!’ So I perhaps thought, maybe GIN, with fresh lime and tonic water might be OK? Jonathan said, “Sure you can taste it!” I did. I loved it and ordered myself one. This experience set the stage for what was to come later, when we stopped in to ‘The Custom’s House’ reaturant and bar in Sydney for a drink after our return from the Toranga Zoo. The Zoo post is coming, hang on! 🙂

The Customs House is or was indeed that, for Customs. But on one of the upper floors was the Customs House Bar & Restaurant. It was a fancy beautiful place with a great view of Darling Harbor and the Harbor Bridge.

Lighted table for our drinks. Very Cool! :) — Lighted table for our drinks. Very Cool! 🙂

Anyway, on their drink menu was a ‘Gin Gin Mule.’ I was curious. It sounded like a Moscow Mule which is ginger beer, fresh lime and vodka that I already like, so I tried this and? I loved it! 🙂

A Gin Gin Mule is served in a tall glass with ginger beer, a spicy ginger syrup, fresh lime, GIN and a sprig of mint and ice.

A Moscow Mule is basically the same, but with vodka, and traditionally served in a copper mug (lined of course, with stainless steel).

A Dark & Stormy is also, basically the same only it uses, a dark (more molasses flavored) rum and served in whatever kind of glass you desire.

All of these drinks made with ginger beer are fantastic. Thank you Australia for introducing me to Gin, Gin & Tonic, and the Gin Gin Mule!

Now for something regular, only from Australia, beer (actually it’s pale ale)! How does the name Fat Yak grab you? Well this is its name and it is made in Matilda Bay in Australia. Sure it will give your Matilda something to waltz about! 🙂

Fat Yak starts with hops and they finish it with hops. Normally, I don’t care for hoppy beer and ales etc., but this has a wonderful blend, a bit of fruit in its flavor and it just has a nice and lovely taste!

Are you ready for something really unusual? Here it comes. While we were in the Blue Mountains, the girls popped in to a little liquor store to pick up a nice bottle of Riesling wine for our night’s meal. Just outside the shop was a little sandwich board with the following message:

“Try Our Hot Chilly Wine”

This is exactly what the sign said and it is spelled exactly as I saw it. But I wondered what that meant, So I went into the store and asked. Now I don’t know if whoever wrote the sign cannot spell or it was intentional. If it was the latter, well it worked because, I wanted to know what it meant! 🙂

But I suppose the wine was chilly and it was hot and it was wine and it was made out of chili! So welcome one and all to world of Hot Chilly Chili Wine!

Hot Chili Wine cloese up of rear label) — Hot Chili Wine (close up of rear label)

Disaster Bay Chillies produce this sweet hot wine without grapes whatsoever! It is made from 100% chili peppers.

The proprietor gave me a sample and there are just no words to describe what was beyond anything I could imagine!

Disaster Bay Chillies is a partnership between Stuart Meagher and John Wentworth. John has been an organic market gardener for more than a decade and Stuart has been a chilli fanatic for at least as long.

Stuart and John combined their passions in 1999 to grow chillies on the Far South Coast of NSW to produce what they believe is the world’s first commercially available wine made from chillies. They used a recipe from a mate of Stuarts, known as Old Didler, as a starting point. Then, after much experimentation – and a little luck – they struck upon a workable method to produce the wine.

Disaster Bay Chillies is from Eden, a coastal town in the South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. The town is 478 kilometres (or about 297 miles) south of the state capital Sydney and is the most southerly town in New South Wales.

This sweet and hot (spicy hot) wine was absolutely incredible and unlike anything we four had ever tried. It is great with cheese and crackers which is what we had it with. I think it would be awesome with fresh oysters too! What ever you serve it with, do yourself , your guests, friends and families a favor and TRY IT!!!

We intended to bring this home, but we opened it up and drank most of it that night! We finished it off the next night when we returned home to Camden. Oh NO, what to do???? “No worries mates, you can order it online!”

http://disasterbaychillies.com/

April 23, 2014 0

On: Katoomba, NSW, Australia

by Donnie Hayden

Guhday Mates, from Dahni your Aussie Katoomba travel guide — Guhday Mates, from Donnie your Aussie Katoomba travel guide

On April 11 through the morning of April 14th, 2014, we went to The Blue Mountains and rented a cottage (see last post) in Katoomba, New South Wales, Australia.

Today, I want to share with you some of the flavor of Katoomba. It was a quaint, charming and eclectic community – MY KIND OF PLACE! Besides the fact that it is located in The Blue Mountains and is quite hilly to walk the streets, it reminded me of Telluride, Colorado in the United States. Telluride is a community in the Rocky Mountains where people come to ski in the winter and it is also a hub to get to Aspen or Vale when those areas are closed to airports or other transportation, due to the weather. Although Telluride and Katoomba do not share the same type of weather conditions, it’s their common flavor that is similar to me. Telluride basically started as a ‘hippie communue’ back in the sixities. I suppose as many of them grew up and decided to get jobs and start a ski resort? 🙂

In Katoomba, there are many young people, arts and crafts, just like in Telluride. Our pictorial journey below, begins with an example of some local artwork, a mural painted on a brick wall of an abandoned garage across the road from our cottage. We saw this as we were heading into town.

In Katoomba, we noted many wonderful and fashionable hats on the heads of many people, young and old, male and female. ‘The Hattery,’ where I found and purchased my Akubra hat you see me wearing in the picture above, is from Katoomba. For more information about my hat in a previous post on this blog see: Hats

But Kotoomba is more than just a young/artistic/eclectic community, it is a travel destination! Katoomba is the city host or gateway to The Blue Mountains and both attract many people from around the world, every year. We noted many differnet people, accents and languages being spoken while we were here. There are several popular and international establishments and connections here. A friend from the United States informed me that soon after we returned from our trip to this area, Prince William & Kate of England were planning on visiting the following week. The English and Australian connection is just one example of many international connections.

Our first night here as we were walking to downtown for some food, some one-hundred (at least) sulfur crested cockatoos flew over our heads. Caitlin stayed at the cottage with baby Felix and she saw them fly right over our deck and into the eucalyptus trees of the Blue Mountains, right around sunset. Even though I did not get a picture of this amazing sight, in a future post, I will share pictures of four of these beautiful birds and sppecifically one that certainly seemed to want to pose for me, from the huge evergreen near the deck of our cottage.

But this night, on recommendation of a local librarian, we went to dinner at an authentic Korean restaurant. Susan and Jonathan ordered each a different entree and I chose one that is supposed to be one of the most popular among street people in Korea. Dduk Bok-ki was so incredible, both Susan and Jonathan wished they had ordered it! It was a sweet rice, shaped like tube pasta, but not hollow. It was made from rice flour and steamed. It was included in this huge plate of steamed vegetables. You could have it mild, medium or hot. I chose medium. It was inexpensive, delicious and so filling and yet, I can’t believe I ate the whole thing, even sharing a lot with Susan and Jonathan, I was stuffed with delight!

Other foods include the best coffee I have either ever had or it’s been so long, I cannot recall any better. This we purchased from a little, almost a hole in the wall, cafe from the Elephant Bean Coffee. Then there was the most incredible fresh-baked croissant from a cute little bakery, I’ve ever eaten and shared the crumbs with a local pigeon. 🙂

In another post in the future, I will share about some Australian beverages, including the chili wine we tasted and bought in Katoomba. Yes, you read that correctly, Chili wine made entirely out of 100% chili. It was sweet and hot. We intended to bring it home, but we opened it as soon as we got back to the cottage and finished it off the next day when we got back home to Camden. It was fantastic with cheese and now that I’ve come to appreciate oysters (at least Australian and Apalachicola, Florida oysters in the US), DEFINITELY WITH OYSTERS!!! I’m almost sorry we drank it with out purchasing another bottle to bring home, but “no worries,” this Australian exclusive product, has a website and this wine can be ordered online and shipped to your door!!!! 🙂

We had dinner and some chocolate at the Paragon restaurant. This place could have a post and then some, all its own. It was a mixture of Greek/Romanesque architecture and art-deco and hand carved reliefs on the walls. It does make me wonder if the garden area behind our cottage might actually be owned by the owners of this restaurant or some related family members? The food was fabulous and but of course, WE HAD TO TRY THEIR CHOCOLATE! According to their interior signage, it’s the chocolate that made Katoomba famous. I have no way to prove or disprove that statement, but this place has been here since 1921 I believe, has a US connection (the wife of the owner was from the United States), and there are many pictures throughout the place of famous people that have signed their names and have eaten here. So what does that say to you?! Some of the pictures I recognized and some I did not. Art Acord (silent film western star), Clark Gable and Peter O’Toole. So, that’s pretty telling. You can search for the Paragon Cafe online and find many interesting things. They also have a page on Facebook.

There were many unusual and wonderful things to experience in Katoomba, but time and words fail me. The best that I can offer you are some humble pictures. I hope you enjoy them! 🙂

As stated previously, Katoomba is quite hilly and it exercises your heart, lungs and legs to walk here, but well worth the effort! The air was crisp, cool and clear at this time of the year during Australia’s late fall or early winter. Days were nicely pleasant with a couple of layers of long sleeve shirts and the nights build-a-fire cool. The downtown district is home to many cafes, shops and stores from the unusual, the bizarre and the, just lovely. There are examples of fine architecture in beautifully restored or well-maintained hotels and other buildings.

There were many unusual and wonderful things to experience in Katoomba, but time and words fail me. As I said, the best that I can offer you are some humble pictures, my personal recommendation to COME HERE if you ever have the opportunity and a link to some Irish music I recorded live, on my way back to the cottage one day. I hope you enjoy all that follows here! 🙂

Mural on Wall — Mural on wall of the Three Sisters and etc., of The Blue Mountains at Echo Point

Downtown Katoomba – sure why not espresso and waffles! 🙂

The Elephant Bean Cafe (notice anyone familiar?)

The Elephant Bean Cafe (Awesome coffee) — The Elephant Bean Cafe
(awesome coffee)

Bakery with fresh baked almond croissants. YAY! :) — Bakery with fresh baked almond croissants. YAY! 🙂

If you must eat croissants, why not artistically!

And the pigeons enjoyed your crumbs :) — And the pigeons enjoyed your crumbs 🙂

My first ever female street performer. She was actually very good.

Little Aussie squirrels picture, for my sister Carol Lee

Ducks or Kiwi birds in boots? I dunno, but they were cute, so I had to take this! :) — Ducks or Kiwi birds in boots? I dunno, but they were cute, so I had to take this! 🙂

Hotel Carrington Entrance — Carrington Place (hotel) Entrance

Hand carved wall, Carrington Place Entrance

Want to Wassail me for some mulled wine? :) — Want to Wassail me for some Mulled Wine? 🙂

The circus in town? :) — The circus in town? 🙂

Paragon Chocolate "The chocolate that made Katoomba famous" — Paragon Chocolate
“The chocolate that made Katoomba famous”

Whale out of wooden sticks in window of Lost Bear Gallery

Oh, there the lost bear is! :) — Oh, there the lost bear is! 🙂

Interesting Walk II (same walk, different view) — Interesting Walk II
(same walk, different view)

Last stop before back to cottage and look what I saw and heard! : — Last stop before heading back to our cottage and look what you saw and heard! :

Locals, quite possibly of Irish roots, gathered in this pub for grub, beers and cheers and playing some really nice Irish jigs. There were children present and other watchers/listeners like me. Flutes, violins, guitar, banjo, a concertina (similar to an accordion) and one gent (laddie) played the Uilleann pipes. The bar was open and run by another international connection. She was anice lady from Vietnam. It was a gorgeous day and the windows were open in the pub.

Several falutists — Several flutists and violinists and concertina far left

The uilleann pipes are the characteristic national bagpipe of Ireland. Earlier known in English as “union pipes”, their current name is a partial translation of the Irish-language term píobaí uilleann (literally, “pipes of the elbow”), from their method of inflation.There is no historical record of the name or use of the term ‘uilleann pipes’ before the twentieth century. It was an invention of Grattan Flood and the name stuck. People mistook the term ‘union’ to refer to the 1800 Act of Union; this is incorrect as Breandán Breathnach points out that a poem published in 1796 uses the term ‘union.’

The bag of the uilleann pipes is inflated by means of a small set of bellows strapped around the waist and the right arm (in the case of a right-handed player; in the case of a left-handed player the location and orientation of all components are reversed). The bellows not only relieve the player from the effort needed to blow into a bag to maintain pressure, they also allow relatively dry air to power the reeds, reducing the adverse effects of moisture on tuning and longevity. Some pipers can converse or sing while playing.

Source: Wikipedia

And a good time was had be all! :) — And a good time was had by all! 🙂

Please click on the following link to a recording I made of these musicians. It’s only about a minute clip, but I think you will enjoy it.

https://soundcloud.com/dahni-4/irish-music

April 22, 2014 0

On: Cottage in the Mountains

by Donnie Hayden

Guhday Mates, from Dahni your Aussie Blue Miuntain Cottage Guide — Guhday Mates, from Donnie your Aussie Blue Mountains, cottage guide

On April twelfth through the morning of the 14, 2014 we rented a cottage in The Blue Mountains, in the city of Kat0omba, New South Wales, Australia.

It was a wonderful place full of antiques, plush thick big towels and all the necessary things for comfort as you could imagine. They even had the refrigerator stocked with food which we gladly added to with what we brought and enjoyed some cooking at our home away from home.

The cottage was called: Sidney’s Retreat (Not Sydney, but I think they live there) and is named after the owner’s wife, I believe.

Hot water was supplied by a Rinnai tank-less water heater, so we always had hot water. There was a microwave, coffee/espresso/cappuccino machine, four slice toaster, plates, and other cookware and utensils, silverware, spices, an assortment of coffees and teas.

We had a wood burning fireplace with plenty of wood, but no kindling to start one. Jonathan and I manged to burn a roll of toilet paper and some paper towels for a short-lived fire, due to the wood still being damp and no kindling, but we had a great time trying.

There were gas or electric heaters in every room – each of the two bedrooms, the bathroom and the kitchen/dining/living room = Great room with a vaulted ceiling. There were electric blankets in every bedroom. There were toys for children, a high chair for Baby Felix, DVD movies, a falt screen TV, books even playing cards which we four used a couple of nights.

The deck outside was massive and even supplied a grill if we were inclined to use it. There was an outside table and chairs for 6-8 people. The deck overlooked an interesting classic, ancient Greek/Romanesque courtyard, of stone and statues in process. All of us concurred that we would love to live in this place! 🙂

This was agreat place to explore and visit the town of Katoomba (more about this in another post). But after all is said and done, it’s all about the view from the Great Room or from the deck! The Blue Mountains were right in our back yard!!

Jonathan & Susan at the gate to our cottage — Jonathan & Susan at the gate to your cottage

No. 36 Laurline St — No. 36 Lurline St., your temp. address in Katoomba, NSW, Australia

Path to home away from home — Pathway to your home away from home

What's this Samsung thing? Touch your palm to the face? — What’s this Samsung thing? Touch your palm to the face?

Press the two numbers that show (different each time)

A full panel display, insert the four digit password followed by the pound sign and the door opens! AWESOME! i want one of these!!! :) — A full panel display, insert the four digit password followed by the pound sign and the door opens! AWESOME! I want one of these!!! 🙂

Our Bed. Rm. with chairs and stuffed toys for kids — Your bed rm. with chairs and stuffed toys and stuff for kids

Big room bath with shower and claw legged tub and the room had a skylight

I loved the old telephone! wing, wing, wing, Hehwo! :) — I loved the old telephone! wing, wing, wing, Hehwo! 🙂

Jonathan, Caitlin, baby Felix and Fritz the dog even had an old pump organ in their room that Jonathan played. This video is for you, Janet Beaman! 🙂

It's All about the View — It’s All about the View from our deck!

It's All about the View II — It’s All about the View II

It's All about the View III — It’s All about the View III

It's All about the View IV — It’s All about the View IV

It's All about the View V — It’s All about the View V

It's All about the View VI — It’s All about the View VI

April 21, 2014 0

On: From Australia With Love

by Donnie Hayden

Guhday Mates, from Dahni your Aussie gift guide — Guhday Mates, from Donnie your Aussie Easter gift guide

Easter is, the first Sunday; after the first full moon; after the beginning of Fall down under here in Australia, so that you in the United States, can celebrate Easter on the first Sunday; after the first full moon; after the beginning of Spring, up there. 🙂

The stores here were all mostly closed on Friday, supermarkets opened on Saturday and closed again on Sunday and Monday. In fact, most stores here in Camden, New South Wales, Australia will not open until Tuesday.

We went to the supermarket here on Saturday which is your Friday and they were nearly all sold out of Cadbury Chocolate products for Easter. So, we didn’t get any, can’t send some home or bring some home to you. And sorry Janet, but we cannot bring home any butter. 😦

Besides all of that, down under’ here, there is a concerted effort to replace the Easter Rabbit with the Easter Bilby.

But for now (your tomorrow, but when you get this it will be your today there and yesterday here ), most stores, well they used to until they were sold out, had Carmello Koala.

Anyway, We down under here, having already lived through your today, yesterday, are already living in your tomorrow, tuhday mates. But what can be done for you is, to capture the past, for your today. So I did. I have captured the moon, for you yesterday, so you can have it tuhday! HAPPY EASTER, which is now your first Sunday, after the first full moon, after the beginning of Spring up there! 🙂

HAPPY EASTER up there yesterday, from down under here, now tomorrow for your tuhday! :) — HAPPY EASTER up there yesterday, from down under here, now tomorrow for your tuhday! 🙂

Seriously, I did find some Cadbury Creme Eggs for you! 🙂

Rent or watch the movie ‘Hop,’ with your family!

Rent or Watch w/ the Fam' :) — Rent or Watch w/ the Fam’ 🙂

HAPPY PAGAN UNHOLY DAY! 🙂

Note: Easter is an ancient Babylonia celebration of the goddess Ishtar of love, war, fertility and sexuality or Ostara a Germanic pagan goddess. Rabbits and eggs are mere symbols of fertility as is the Spring equinox for procreation. including rabbits and eggs as symbols.

“An important historical result of the difference in reckoning the date of Easter was that the Christian churches in the East, which were closer to the birthplace of the new religion and in which old traditions were strong, observed [the Resurrection] according to the date of the Passover festival. The churches of the West, descendants of Greco-Roman civilization, celebrated Easter on a Sunday.
“Constantine the Great, Roman emperor, convoked the Council of Nicaea in 325. The council unanimously ruled that the Easter festival should be celebrated throughout the Christian world on the first Sunday after the full moon following the vernal equinox; and that if the full moon should occur on a Sunday and thereby coincide with the Passover festival, Easter should be commemorated on the Sunday following. Coincidence of the feasts of Easter and Passover was thus avoided.”
“The name [Easter] probably comes from Eastre, the Anglo-Saxon name of a Teutonic goddess of spring and fertility, to whom was dedicated a month corresponding to April. Her festival was celebrated on the day of the vernal equinox; traditions associated with the festival survive in the Easter rabbit, a symbol of fertility, and in colored easter eggs, originally painted with bright colors to represent the sunlight of spring, and used in Easter-egg rolling contests or given as gifts…” –

Source: Encarta Encyclopedia, article: Easter.

The word holiday is a transliteration of the word holy day and has nothing to do with Easter.

Easter has nothing whatsoever to do with Christianity or the resurrection of Jesus Christ, except its close proximity to the calculation of time of the spring equinox. Jesus Christ was crucified on a Wednesday (the 14th of Nisan), before sunset (sunset began the 15th or the Passover feast) so in the year of his death, he would have been the Passover Lamb. Death requirements were for 72 hours for one to be declared legally dead. So 72 hours from the 14th of Nisan, would make his resurrection occurring on Saturday the Jewish (Judaic) Sabbath. When the two Mary(s) went “early in the morning” and found the stone rolled away and an empty tomb, “the first day of the week,” it was sometime after sunset of Saturday making this day, Sunday, but as the angel at the tomb said, “He has already risen.”

The Bible, The gospel of Matthew 28: 1-8

King James Version

April 20, 2014 0

On: Aussie Dairy Products, Bread & Stuff

by Donnie Hayden

Guhday Mates, from Dahni your Aussie explorer — Guhday Mates, from Donnie your Aussie explorer

First off, Happy Friday! I realize some memorialize today as Good Friday, but I have never understood why anyone would want to celebrate the death of someone? As to Jesus Christ, according to the Bible, history and even Jewish traditions, he did NOT eat the last supper (passover) with his 12 diciples/apostles then was crucified on Friday. He was the passover the year he died on a Wednesday. There is no power to anyone that he died. The power is attributed to that he was raised 72 hours before sunset of the Jewish Sabbath, which was and is, Saturday. This irks me to the enth-degree! If you do not believe or if you do, FINE, just stop talking about and celebrating stuff in which you do not understand what you are talking about! And believers and non or un-believers are equally responsible for misinformation.

Sorry to go on and on about this, but it has opened my eyes to something I will most likely write about somewhere and sometime. But it seems all people have at least two natures in common – curiosity and judgement. We often make judgments and usually about things and even people that we are just plain and simply, ignorant about. But curiosity influences us to open our minds, our hearts, to think, to search, to examine, to explore, to listen and especially to ask questions. It seems as if our curiosity is under attack or we are so weary that curiosity is waning, unused and underdeveloped. Other than all of this, I hope and I hope that your Friday has been good and will end this way! Have a good Friday! 🙂

To begin this post, it begins with “Aussie…stuff.”

A few nights ago, we had just returned from The Blue Mountains and that night there was a Total Lunar eclipse April 15th, 2014. Sorry to say we missed this, but others did not and took great pictures of what many call a “blood moon.” There are those that ‘freak out’ about this, but come on, it’s a beautiful, naturally occurring phenomenon and I’ve seen blood and this moon (picture) in no way looks like blood! 🙂 But I have enjoyed the night and early morning skies while here in Australia. Stars seem closer and there are those in positions that I have not seen in the way they are arranged here, ‘down under’

Blood Moon April, 15, 2014 Unknown photographer — Beauty Moon April, 15, 2014 Unknown photographer

The following night around dusk, we took a family walk around the neighborhood with baby Felix and Fritz the dog. While out, we saw several huge bats flying overhead. The next night about the same time, I was out for a walk and a really, really big O’ huge bat flew over my head, about 4 feet from my head and nearly scared the crap out of me! 🙂 Sorry, no pictures, but this is my story and I’m sticking to it! 🙂

I love to walk here most anytime, but especially early in the morning and in the evening. When the sky is clear of clouds, the moon and stars have been spectacular. And I love the many sounds of birds including the cackle of the beautiful cockatoos, the caw of the magpies, squeals of the lorikeets (or lories as they say here, ‘down under’), and even the freaky weird song that sounds like a laughing hyena, made by the kookaburra. But I will say this, we four ( + Felix the baby and Fritz the dog) were walking in a park yesterday and Susan got to hear not her first one, but her first three or four. The Kookaburra Quartet all singing at the same time acapella, sounded pretty good! 🙂

There are many others that are beautiful songbirds whose names I cannot name. There are a couple that I have taken upon myself to call them by the name which makes sense to me. There is one that sounds like while you are walking and you have something wrong with your shoe. I call this, the squeaky bird. Another birds starts off with a high-pitched twirling sound then falls off. It sounds alien to me so, I just call it the spaceship landing bird. 🙂

It’s difficult to get use to the weather here. Early this morning it was 47 degrees F. (Fahrenheit) and I could actually see my breath. This was the coldest we have experienced in Australia so far, even while we in The Blue Mountains! I was wearing two shirts, long pants and socks. Well, that was around 7 am and today’s estimate is 80° F. which will be the warmest day so far that we have had while here. So, it’s, cover up at night and in the morning, but change to shorts, short sleeves, sandals (or flip flops), sun glasses and plenty of sunscreen with a HIGH SPF (Sun Protector Factor) by day! The sun here can be brutal along with the high humidity. Truly though, right now (March – May) is the best time to come to Australia, as far as I am concerned.

OK, on to Dairy Products. Let me just say that I come from the Midwest area of the United States. I was born and raised there in the heartlands of agriculture products. The State of Kansas, with its many acres of wheat is often called, “the breadbasket of the world.” The state of Iowa is known for its beef and corn. The Midwest has many large farms and ranches, both privately or family owned and corporate owned. The state of Wisconsin is called, “America’s Dairy” and produces some of the finest milk, cheese and dairy products in our country.

Our grandfather was a farmer. My mother was born and raised with country-fresh until at least after high school when she married our Dad. But our grandfather, was an executive, a foreman and a farmer among many types of work he did throughout his lifetime. I can fondly recall that he always had gardens of fresh produce. He worked on dairy farms and I suppose, he had his own cow at some point, before I was born. This possibility can be seen in the picture below that he posed for, just for fun. 🙂 But our “Papa” (pronounced paw paw), should know something about farming and food! Raised with good country fresh food, I suppose I know something about it as well, at least what it used to look like and taste like.

Our Papa (Paw Paw) on a cow. Unknown photographer and from a family album. The date is likely the 1930’s or 40’s

But whatever happened to America’s dairy products or when it happened I cannot say, but Australia’s dairy products are the best I have ever had, since I was a small boy. Take for example, butter. I remember butter being a beautiful yellow color. Well, for the most part, butter is almost white now in the United States, unless you purchase some specialty butter at a higher price and probably imported. Imported dairy products in the USA? Yep.

And with all due respect to Wisconsin, you have nothing on Australian cheese or any dairy product! Yogurt, even Greek style yogurt and OMG, ICE CREAM from Australia will absolutely BLOW YOUR MIND! It is, sooooooooooooooo good!

In the USA, we have 1%, 2%, ?%, cream, whipping cream, sour cream and 1/2 & 1/2 milk and who knows what other milk (products). Perhaps there is so much cream stripped out that when it gets to whole milk, there’s not much left? Where ever the answer lies, in Australia, whole milk is whole milk and it’s delicious. I use Aussie whole milk in my coffee instead of, 1/2 & 1/2 like at home and it is wonderful!

Dear United States, what has happened to you? Is it added crap, fillers, preservatives, messed-around-with seed for the animals = poor quality grain/grass feed for the animals that has been so screwed up or have WE the People all been sold a bill of crap-messed-around-with goods, just for more profit to business? I really don’t know the answer, but don’t give us cake to appease us poor-pitiful-peons, give us Butter or give us death. Yes, I know that last sentence was intended to be humorous and was a reference to Patrick Henry’s “Give us liberty or give us death,” quote from 1776 and the attribution of Marie Antoinette supposedly saying: “Let them eat cake,” in response to the plight of the people having no bread. The translation of the French phrase “Qu’ils mangent de la brioche. is certainly curious, since brioche was made from dough enriched with butter and eggs, making it more expensive than bread! The quote then supposedly, would reflect the princess’s obliviousness as to the condition of the people not to mention the ignorance of expense between bread and cake. And it is hotly contested that Marie Antoinette or any “great princess,” as some believe, ever said this. My attempt at humor’s point is that we should have liberty to have and free to choose the best dairy products available. Right now, in my experience, the best dairy products I have tasted in a very long time, are in Australia!

Since I mentioned cake above, lets move now onto or into bread. Many people love chocolate cake so, let’s start with this. In the United States, we have several chocolate companies or those that operate there and are in the public consciousness. Hershey’s and Nestlé are two of these firms. But Nestlé is from Switzerland. There are other companies in the U.S.A., but at closer look, it’s difficult to know who owns what any more. Take for example, Cadbury Chocolate. It was started in England, but made by Hershey Chocolate in the U.S.A. and then Kraft Foods (USA) bought Cadbury Chocolate in 2009. Pretty confusing isn’t it! When you think about it, the ingredients for chocolate (milk chocolate) are pretty basic: cocoa, sugar, MILK, some flavorings and blending agents then perhaps other add-ins like nuts etc. So how can the taste of chocolate be so different from company to company, country to country and from the same company, but in different countries? We have the Cadbury Eggs sold in the USA about this time. We have Cadbury Chocolate products in the USA and have had them for as long as I can remember. Why don’t they taste the same in the United States as they do in Australia? Is the answer, the MILK??? A lady told me she constantly has to send Cadbury Chocolate from Australia to a relative living in the Bahamas on a regular basis. Why is this, because it’s just so much better than what can be purchased (probably imported from the USA) in the Bahamas? Hmm, I wonder if it is the milk! 🙂

Milk is also used in bread. One would think that Australian bread, because of its superior milk would be fantastic. But in my opinion, except for their ‘Damper‘ and a few rolls here and there, Australia has no idea how to make bread. What we call cookies, the Aussies call biscuits. Maybe the McDonalds here can make biscuits, but other than this possibility, the flaky-tasty we love and expect in the United States, do not exist here. Bread here is hard and it is more than just “hard.” I grew up with soft white bread. Honestly, it took me a long time to acquire a taste for hard or real bread. But the bread and rolls (what we in the USA call a hot dog, sub or hoagie roll are so tough, they are hard to eat and hard to chew through just to get to to the stuff we desire in the center. I will give the Aussie rolls this, at least they do not fall apart or spill their contents because, they are so soft like ours in the US. Perhaps the answer to their bread is two-fold: It is all they know and with the humidity here being so constantly high, maybe it is the best that they can do?

And one last thing about Aussie food. Their corn is great, but they have no idea how to make corn tortilla chips or Mexican food whatsoever. Their bean burritos and flour tortillas are good, especially with their sour cream.

We everywhere, need to learn from one another! We all should have the best dairy products, bread and stuff available that can be made, without sacrificing our unique cultures or QUALITY!!! 🙂

April 18, 2014 0

On: Stuff

by Donnie Hayden

Guhday Mates, from Dahni your Aussie Tour Guide — Guhday Mates, from Donnie your Aussie Tour Guide

We just recently returned from the Blue Mountains where we rented a rustic cottage with a gorgeous overlook in Katoomba, NSW, (New South Wales), Australia. While I’m picking and choosing the pictures, I’ll give you an update and background information.

The day before we left, baby Felix came down with the croup. Mom, Papa and Grandma took him to the emergency room about 5:00 am – 7:30. I held down the fort with the three cats, one dog and the three chickens (Chooks).

Felix received some medicine and was given instructions that he should definitely go to the Blue Mountains and that all should enjoy the weekend! We followed those instructions to the letter! 🙂

Today, Tuesday 4/15, he went to the doctor and we received a good report. He is a happy boy again and Mom, Papa and Felix just returned from a walk to the supermarket, for stuff to put into the chicken soup, son Jonathan and Mom Susan are making for dinner. We had a lot of chicken left over from last night. Last night? Yes, last night. After we all got back from the Blue Mountains, Jonathan, Susan and I drove to Sydney for dinner. It was NOT an ordinary dinner, to say the least!

We were invited to this dinner and shared it with 16 other people, in a Jewish home. It was part of the Jewish Festival of Passover and called the seder.

The seder, the ceremonial feast held on the first two nights of Passover, is one of the most intricate rituals in the Jewish calendar, kicking off an eight-day stretch of complicated and demanding dietary restrictions. The initial meal, which ranges from eating bitter herbs to reciting Talmudic passages in a foreign language, usually lasts for several hours—and dinner isn’t served until more than halfway through.

The festival commemorates the exodus from Egypt, a key step in the formation of the Jewish people. The seder is not just a retelling of the story, like the weekly Torah readings in synagogue; it’s an invitation for Jews to relive the liberation from slavery as if they had actually been there in Egypt, to teach the narrative to the next generation, and to claim the history of their people as part of their own individual identities. But even in orthodox Judaism, families have long been accustomed to inviting non-Jews to share in this meal, alongside of them. I suppose this is because the desire for freedom and any exodus we may experience from bondage, is common to all.

But this particular seder was somewhat orthodox with some other unorthodox stuff, all thrown in together.

Guests included those from Poland, China, Sri Lanka, Australia and of course, we from the United States, but those are all the countries I can recall. Give me a break please, there were 18 people there besides me! 🙂

Just the guests themselves made an international and unusual impression. I am not quite sure, but I think all the major religions were represented at this dinner. I do know that Judaism, Muslim, Hindi, Christian and Roman Catholics were present.

Parts of the service were read by our host in Hebrew and most was in English and read by whomever desired to read and from the text re-written with a more modern update, by one of the three daughters of our hosts. The reading was done from 2 iPads we passed around the room. 🙂

It was at least to me, quite humorous to hear the readings by those Jewish with an Australian accent.

Part of the service includes the necessity of having “new” plates and utensils for each part. By “new” I mean that the same plates, bowls and utensils had to be changed during the several courses of the service. But in our case, the “new” was plenty of plastic ware. I can’t recall how many plates, small plates, bowls and utensils we used, but it was a lot! Our hosts were very giving in buying all this stuff that was thrown away as we went through each part. Once the ware or utensil was used, it was immediately thrown into a large plastic trash bag. You would eat or drink one thing and then toss the plate or bowls or glass or whatever, as these were now the “old” and had to make way for the “new.” If that seems like a lot of effort, you should have seen all the food! No one left hungry and I would imagine it took 1-2 days of chopping, dicing, cooking and so forth, to prepare this meal! And there was no bread, only Matzo.

Matzo is a flat cracker like food made with flour and water that is baked without yeast or “leavening.” I actually liked it, especially with the pickled (vinegar) beet-horseradish used as part of their “bitter herbs” requirement for the service. I sat right next to our host Lindsay and across from his wife Cheryl. I think they liked me because, I loved the beet-horseradish so much and told them about my tearing eyes and purple thumbs from making this at home. 🙂

The conversations around the room were about Jewish meanings/symbolism, history, WWII history, veterinarian medicine, teaching, psychology, sports food, differences of food between the United States and Australia and other topics! There was so much going on that I was nearly speechless and just did a lot of listening. I know, to those of you that know me best, it’s about next to impossible, for me to keep my mouth shut! 🙂

The whole event from start to finish, took hours. Sometimes, OK, most of the time, it was just loud and raucous. I loved it! And especially among the three Jewish daughters and their mother and father, the banter back in forth was hysterical! I even told Lindsay that I couldn’t believe that from across the room in the midst of all this volume, any of his daughters could still hear if their names were mentioned in conversation with others, but they did!

There were two dogs hoping for scraps that made the rounds. There were a couple of cats, one that is 18 years old that did make the rounds. I think that cat must have sat in every person’s lap that attended this meal. They liked the cat and the cat sure seemed to love the attention and the stroking. I even petted Tibet, the cat. Lindsay confessed that he loves the two dogs, but hates the two cats. But he is still the one that feeds them and they know this, but just keep their distance the rest of the time. I really don’t think he hates them though! 🙂

I enjoyed all the food and even the sweet red wine with grapes from Israel, grown in California, and blessed by some Rabbi in Hoboken New Jersey before, being exported to Australia! 🙂

That was real, but also a joke as there were several like these from the host family including what they call the Jewish chicken soup, ‘Jewish Penicillin Soup’ (good for what ails you and sickness prevention) or simply, ‘Jew Soup.’ That might sound racist and not funny to some, but I’m not the one that said these things. Well, it’s what Susan & Jonathan made for tonight’s supper from the massive quantity of chicken our hosts sent us home with, for Caitlin, as she and Felix did not attend, to everyone’s disappointment, I might add. But all seemed satiated with not just the meal, but from pictures and videos shared by Papa, with Felix as the main attraction! 🙂

The reason we are having soup tonight is because, everyone here was not feeling too well, except for me, I HAD THE CHICKEN SOUP LAST NIGHT, (while Susan & Jonathan had the orange soup)! 🙂

It was so very nice of our hosts to open their home and their hearts and share the costs and time required to prepare their food with, so many non-Jewish people and even with strangers like me that they had never met. I mean come on, can you get any stranger than me? 🙂

I thought it not polite to take pictures, so there are none. but there are 18 other witnesses (not including the two dogs and two cats that it happened and that I was there! 🙂

But this experience is one I will never forget! It was informative, historical, delicious and hilarious with some really good conversation, all thrown in together. And I would like to think that there, just a for a few hours, it seemed the world people in all their many differences and separations, were all ‘In Common, for this meal!

OK, so that’s a lot of content, where’s the pictures? They are coming! It has been difficult for me to get these posts done on a regular basis. For one thing, we are doing a lot of stuff. For another, I have been having problems with my camera, which needs to be addressed when we get back home to the United States. Another problem I am having is with my laptop. It is good to have it, but it does not perform like or have all the programs I use on my desk top at home to edit and quickly reduce the size of pictures to post. I cannot just use full size pictures in these posts, as I will quickly go over my maximum allowance through my WordPress (free blog). The resolution on my laptop is not as good as my desktop at home. But there is much visually, I do want to share with you and I will just have to work it out when we return.

It has also been difficult for me to adjust here. Last night and while in the Blue Mountains, I was layered, including a wool shirt. This morning, I was wearing a short sleeve shirt, sandals with no socks and I would have had shorts on, but they were all in the laundry. This is how it is here, in Australia. It is fall or early winter here, while it is nearly spring 🙂 in New York where we live. In New York, we ‘fell back’ last fall, when daylight savings time ended. Daylight savings time just recently started here. When you are sleeping there, I am awake here. When I should be sleeping here, you are probably awake there. Sometimes here, it’s tomorrow there and sometimes your today is already yesterday here. Then there is the up and down thing. You are up there and we’re down under here. Please don’t ask about which direction the water swirls here as supposed to there, I have not seen it nor can I tell. And when we leave here in a couple of weeks, we leave on the morning of the 30th, spend the night in Tokyo on the 30th, wake up on the 30th, fly home and by the time we get home there, its already tomorrow here and yesterday there! Everything is really messed up, but people that live here, just like you there, are all probably doing fine. It must be just me that’s messed up! 🙂

Oh, about the hat. Yes, I found my Akubra hat, not the one I was looking for, but one better and $30 cheaper and at size 58 not 57, it fits great! More about that later. Closing for now until again. OK, one picture then! 🙂

Blue Mountains from Echo Point, Katoomba, NSW, Austrailia

April 15, 2014 0

On: John West

Guhday mates from Dahni, Your Aussie Koala entertainment director — Guhday mates from Donnie, Your Aussie Koala information & entertainment director

We have been to the grocery store or as they call them here, supermarkets several times since we have been in Australia. Each time, I have seen many products with the name of John West on the label.

So, I thought it would be informative and fun to share some stuff I found with you.:)

Who is John West?

Today, John West is a brand famous throughout the world.

In the early 1800’s though, John West was a man; an ambitious migrant from Linlithgow in Scotland who went on to chase gold seams in California, mill the giant timber of Canada and Oregon and most importantly, export salmon to the world.

The first fish John West processed were salted, packed in barrels and shipped from Oregon’s Colombia River to California and then on around Cape Horn to nourish the hungry workers of Britain’s industrial north.

Seeing the potential – and being the inventive and ambitious Scot that he was – John West not only co-founded the Westport Cannery, he devised and built his own automated can filling machine to get it up and running.

And the rest, as they say, is history.

John West has been a fixture in the kitchens of Australia for the best part of half
a century and today is one of the nation’s best loved food brands.

From About Us –

http://johnwest.com.au/about-us

Enjoy these funny YouTube videos 🙂

Into The Woods

Tuna Tempters

Snatch and Grab

Man & Bear

April 12, 2014 0

On: My New Loves

by Donnie Hayden

Guhday mates from Dahni, Your Aussie Koala ginger & lavender lover (liker) — Guhday mates from Donnie, Your Aussie Koala ginger & lavender lover (liker)

First of all, you need to know that I know that Susan is and always will be my first and number one LOVE! She knows this and she knows that I know this is true! But there is room in all of our lives for many loves. Thank God this is true, because I now have some new loves!

Yeh, yeh, technically, we are supposed to like stuff or things, but love people. OK then, I have some new stuff thingies that I really, really way really to infinity and beyond really and truly LIKE a HEAPING HELPING OF A WHOLE LOT OK?!!!! 🙂

It all starts with lovely ginger. Delicious, spicy and all, but it has a lot of other uses and benefits.

All of these above are delicious and very beneficial as an aide to digestion, upset stomach, motion sickness and other uses. Australia is full of all kinds of ginger beverages. But to follow is my latest discovery. I don’t much care for the taste of champagne. I never have, until NOW!

OMG, this is absolutely incredible. I’ve have been scratching my head and have come up with my own recipe for making beautiful ginger sugar cubes to add to some champagne. I can’t wait to try this for you when we get home!

Now we move on to Lavender. I love it’s fragrance and calming effect. Lavender grows all around us here in Australia. I love to take a walk and throughly and thoroughly enjoy their nasal delights that are especially fragrant in the air after a rain. But as they say in Australia, “No Worries,” you can always grab a leaf or so and crush it and roll the oil around on your hand and you have instant hand-fresh. Lavender is great for soap and as an air-freshener. But if it is food grade, it is a delicious flavor to add to salads, breads and deserts.

The flowers are beautiful too!

Ever since we were in Japan and I had several cones of Green Tea ice cream, I have been thinking of a way to make it at home with coconut milk to make it more delicious/nutritious with less calories. Now, I am not only excited to begin work on this when we return to the states, but why not Lavender Ice Cream out of coconut milk too?!

Ginger and Lavender can be found in the United States, so why am I so inspired to work with these while here in Australia? For one thing, there is so much of both all around us here. And finally because, it is Australia that has inspired me! Thank You Australia! I’ll send you my recipes when they are to my liking. 🙂

April 11, 2014 0

On: Trolleys

by Donnie Hayden

Guhday mates from Dahni, Your Aussie Koala Coles' Trolley Expert — Guhday mates from Donnie, Your Aussie Koala Coles’ Trolley Expert

Well, first off, I do apologize for this post running a little behind. I have been working on several to try and get ahead. We are leaving on Friday, I believe, for the weekend to the Blue Mountains and I’m not sure if I will have Internet/WIFI access until we get back to Camden, Sunday night? So, after today’s post, I will schedule a couple of posts to publish automatically around midnight of Eastern Standard time (EST) in the United States.

For today, On: Trolleys.

I’m not exactly sure, but I think Australians refer to “trolleys” as anything that has wheels and moves including: elevators and escalators, but certainly what we call shopping carts in the United States.

In Camden, New South Wales (NSW), Australia, the two local and frequently visited places by the general public, for grocery shopping are: Woolworth’s (not the familiar past 5 and dime department store) and Coles’. This post is about Coles’ and their trolleys (shopping carts).

Have you ever grabbed a shopping cart at the store and it seems like you always get the one that has a flat spot on one wheel and as it rolls it goes frump, frump, frump, squeaks or just doesn’t roll right? Me too! Problem solved at Coles’!

OMG, these have BIG O’ HUGE wheels and roll so smoothly, you check between the wheels and the floor, just to make sure the trolley (cart) is not actually floating over the floor! As shown above, there is one size for quick shopping of a few items or the average size for more items or say, your weekly grocery shopping. I say “weekly” shopping loosely as, it appears just like in Japan, many people shop daily. Like Japan, Australian refrigerators are smaller than in the U.S.A., which seems to suggest that many Aussies shop frequently. They also, as the Japanese, like their stuff, really fresh!

There are, of course, some other carts with baby seats similar to the car seat or child-restraint seats used in most vehicles. The baby seat carts are attached to the trolley/cart and have seat belts.

There are trolleys/carts for those that are walking impaired or challenged.

Then there is another kind of trolley/cart that I have never seen before!

These are much more than just adorably cute! They are constructed with the same quality of materials as all the others. The flags attached are not to advertise the name of the store. The flags are so the adults (any responsible adult) can easily find the kids. And the trolleys/carts are for much more than mere amusement, to keep the children occupied. They are important teaching aides. And they help instill in the child the – “I’m not a little kid, I’m a grown-up,” attitude, most kids desire to embrace. And each child is instructed that if they do not return the cart to the place where they got it at the end of their shopping experience, they will not be allowed to use one next time. That’s a pretty good lesson in personal responsibility, good manners and discipline.

Notice how the little girl is in front, leading her father? Oh, and she is taking this so seriously too, just like an adult! 🙂

Oh, I love these trolleys/carts! They are the best made and the easiest to steer and guide and glide that I have ever seen! And yes, just like in the United States, I’ve seen these in and around the neighborhood. I know of no complaints at Coles’ so, I guess these wandered off trolleys/carts, make their way back home, eventually! 🙂

With all this sincere and honest praise about these trolleys/carts, there is just one problem…

Trolley1 — …what’s missing in this picture?

Yes, what’s missing in the above picture? Yes, that’s my foot you see. But there is no bottom rail!!! I can neither be pushed nor run fast and jump on and ride this cart through the store and the parking lot! 😦

I suppose these were built this way because, either my wife Susan told them they should or they just knew I was coming! 🙂

April 9, 2014 2

On: The Camden Show

by Donnie Hayden

Guhday mates from Dahni, Your Aussie Koala Camden Show guide — Guhday mates from Donnie, Your Aussie Koala Camden Show guide

Well the Camden Show. Where do I begin? The Show was held April 4th and 5th, 2014 in Camden, New South Wales, Australia. I probably took close to 300 pictures and with the exception of perhaps a small handful, I’m pretty happy with the rest of them. Choosing which ones to share and sizing them (down) has been quite time consuming. But I had the time.

Thus far during our stay here, it seems we have some activity on one day, followed by a day of rest. This has worked out very nicely for me. I’m not sure what factor or factors may be involved (my age, physical condition, the high humidity, intense sun or all of the above), but walking a lot and the activities have pretty much left me spent the following day. Adjusting to the time zone and/or jet lag may have made their contribution to my tiredness as well? But nothing hurts, I feel great and enjoy the walking just like we did much of it in Japan too. Days have been really pleasant. The temperature rose during our visit to the show, but was cooled off by the weather-predicted rain or actually, the downpour. It was nice, fun and funny. We were all able to duck into a large tent of interesting demonstrations and wait out the rain.

Well anyway, back to pictures. I have chosen 50, yes 50. That may seem like a lot and they are not because I believe they are such great shots that I want to share them with you, but because they reflect the wonderful Camden Show. It is very similar to any county fair you may have ever been to, but still different. So I will just start with pictures and some text and some captions and see how it goes. Perhaps it will end up with more posts about the show? Here we go.

Lady in a lovely 1960's style dress — Lady in a lovely 1960’s style dress as we walked in

Beautiful display made from fruits, vegetables and seed — Beautiful display all made from fruits, vegetables and seeds

horse and riders nicely dressed and groomed — Horse and Riders nicely dressed and groomed

Susan's New Aussie Hat — Susan’s New Aussie Hat

Painted Pony. Do you see the silhouette of the head of a horse on its side?

Aussie Coats - lanolin/bees wax coated — Aussie Coats – lanolin/bees wax coated

Well yes, camels. We missed the camel race, pooh. :( — Well yes, camels! We missed the camel race, pooh. 😦

Authentic Aussie Wear Wearers :) — Authentic Aussie Wear Wearers 🙂

Brahma Bull Yeh hah mates! — Brahma Bull Yee hah mates I mean partners! 🙂

Some baaad Sheepies :) — Some baaaaad Sheepies 🙂

Camden42 — Sheep Shearers Shearing Sheep 🙂

Buy what you want and put it in a show bag

Show bag shops were everywhere. Very decorative and artistic billboards. You find the stuff you want for a certain price and then put it all in a show bag. There were many of these vendor/shop/kiosks. Very popular with the youts (youths). 🙂

There the sheep again heading for shearing — There go the sheep again, heading for their sheep shearing

Sand Sculpture First Prize. WOW did the artist have intuition or what? — Sand Sculpture First Prize. WOW, did the artists know they would win?

20 Cattle Cart Team :) — 20 Cattle Cart Team 🙂

Kite Flying And there were several balloons lost to the clouds. — Kite flying and there were several balloons lost to the clouds.

The Common Ground is a totally self-supported and self-sufficient Christian Commune. The support themselves by places like these eateries. We ate in one in Picton Australia where I recorded the Bell Birds. see: Bell Birds here

They make their own clothing and grow their own organic food, some of which they use in their restaurants. Their food is excellent! I believe they have a sister cafe in Ithaca, NY in the United States.

Bundab Distillery Display — Bundaberg Distillery Display

This was an interesting and miniature museum. It was filled with history of the company which is a major producer of rum in Australia. Various shapes of bottles were on display as well as the process involved in how rum is made from raw cane sugar. We even got to taste samples of the molasses. The next picture is of a bottle of rum made to look like one of those pirate movie pistols.

Petting Zoo for the kids. OK, kids younger than me. :) — Petting Zoo for the kids. OK, kids younger than me. 🙂

Beautiful Horses and... — Beautiful Horses and…

...Clydesdale Horses too! — …Clydesdale Horses too!

There was something for everyone at the Camden Show! So many different kinds of food, animals, shows, rides, demonstrations and people of all ages having fun. It rained both days and was not perhaps the greatest for the vendors pocketbooks, but it was a wonderful experience. They even put down straw and other materials so people did not have to walk through the mud. That’s was real nice and something I have never seen in the United States at any of the fairs I have ever been to. And the children were all so engaged, curious and their excitement was well contained, controlled and managed. People were all, for the most part, nice, friendly and well behaved. No alcohol was allowed except for the two wineries that gave samples. All in all it was a wonderful time. I was like a young child again. I would have loved every minute of both days, rain and all, but glad for the time I had. It was all eye candy for me. My camera was not unhappy either. 🙂

After we left the tent where we ducked under after the downpour of rain had stopped, we had to take the ardent and difficult task of getting home. WE HAD TO WALK LESS THAN SIX MINUTES TO GET HOME!!! 🙂 Around 9:00 PM, we watched the fireworks from the middle of our street. That was perhaps the closest and best view of fireworks I have ever had. And it was produced by a world class and world renown top pyrotechnical company, F0ti International, based in Australia.

http://fotifireworks.com.au

Then two of us walked back to the carnival at night and watched the wild Brunby run. The Running of the Brunby are wild ponies in Australia, similar to the Mustangs of the southwest in the United States. So I will conclude this post with a small Youtube video I made and uploaded.

Final Night of the 2014 Camden Show

http://www.camdenshow.com

April 7, 2014 0

Category: Food

On: Aussie Beverages

On: Katoomba, NSW, Australia

On: Cottage in the Mountains

On: From Australia With Love

HAPPY PAGAN UNHOLY DAY! 🙂

On: Aussie Dairy Products, Bread & Stuff

On: Stuff

On: John West

Who is John West?

On: My New Loves

On: Trolleys

On: The Camden Show

Archives

Calendar