It's starting to look a bit like Christmas

 Hi everyone. I hope you and yours are well. 

It is starting to look at bit like Christmas over in our part of the world. Though there is no snow - it's summer! If you want to learn more you can click on the blue underline links to read previous posts. 

In the bush the Candlestick Banksias (Banksia attenuata) are looking like giant Christmas candles, the purple/blue Jacaranda trees are flowering (they came to Australia from South Africa), the Western Australian Christmas trees (Nuytsia floribunda) are bursting into yellow, and the red flowering gums are popping Christmas red. 

Down in Manea Reserve the summer flowers are putting on their summer show - clockwise from top left - orange stars. red bottlebrush, Western Australian Christmas tree, busy boronia, native broom, purple fringe lily, yellow starflower, holly leaved banksia, and in the centre the candlestick banksia.  

and the unique slipper orchid (Cryptostylis ovata) 

In my garden the mauve-blue agapanthus and yellow coreopsis are looking brilliant, the honey-eating birds are being attracted to my green kangaroo paws, and my hoya which grows in a low hanging basket and is climbing up the hook, is looking amazing - so many flowers this year! 

In my back garden the grape vines are starting to make grapes and the apricot tree is covered in white bags to keep off the parrots and the fruit fly. The quince tree is covered in fruit - picking time April - we've netted it to keep off the parrots. And the lavender is pushing up their flower heads. 

It is nearly time for me to make the delicious little Christmas puddings that everyone loves and other Christmas baking..... and fresh cherries are in the shops and bursting with flavour.

The dragon boat season is in full swing for our sons and their team and it's time for the beach! 

And summer drinks by the water

It is also time for Christmas markets - and I attended one last weekend at the Stirling Street Art Centre with my eco-printing, cyanotypes and photography products. Thankyou so much to everyone who visited, chatted, admired and purchased from me. 

It's also time for the harvest in the grain growing area. And my nephew and his team are in full swing getting the grain off before any more unwelcome summer rain comes. My grandson is working at one of the wheat bins in the wheat-belt for the harvest. It's very tiring but great income for him while he is on summer break from university. 

Unfortunately it is also the time of year for bush-fires and there has already been bush fires raging across Australia with homes and properties lost. This photo below is from a couple of years ago, taken from my front yard - thankfully it didn't come too close though we had to evacuate. 

However the joy of the Christmas season arrives as people and businesses decorate their homes, businesses, and streets. And there are Christmas street parades in our cities. I put up my Christmas tree today. 

So that is that from me this week. It is a busy time from now till Christmas. 

Thank you so much for stopping by. I value your comments and look forward to hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return. Have a wonderful week. 
I am linking up to the link-ups below. Please click on the links to see fabulous contributions from around the world - virtual touring at its best!

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ThroughMy Lens 
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Thankful Thursday 

H2O Thursday
Nature Thursday

Sky Watch Friday

Hello there! I love reading your comments. If you scroll down to the bottom you can comment too! I would love to hear from you.

Until then, enjoy your day...Life only comes around once, so do what makes you happy, be kind, and be with people who make you smile. 

Easy gluten-free dairy-free fruity-nut slice

 It looks like Christmas is quickly creeping up on us. Are you prepared? Have you bought your supplies? Have you put up your Christmas tree? I would actually say no to all of these questions, though I have started to make a few preparations - but I am sure there is lots more to do. But to be kind to myself I have been busy the last few weeks getting ready for a Christmas market, and that was taking up my energy, but now that is done I need to get moving. 

Today I have a recipe for you. It is not actually a Christmas cooking recipe but it really could be with all those cranberries, dried apricots, mixed fruit and nuts.  It is gluten-free and dairy-free (not nut free) and so so easy and yummy. 

The recipe is from We are So Vegan - Homemade Energy Bars

I have made a few little changes which you can see in italics below. 

Homemade Energy Bars 

Ingredients

• 1 cup oats
• 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
• 1 cup almonds - I cut them in half - or use any nuts you like
• 1/2 cup raw buckwheat groats (hulled buckwheat) - I couldn't get the buckwheat groats so I used half cup of plain flour (as I wasn't worried about gluten free) - but you could use a gluten free flour. 
• 1/2 cup raisins - I used half a cup of mixed fruit 
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup soft dried apricots - soak in hot water about half to one hour
• 1/4 cup maple syrup - I used Golden Syrup 
• 1/4 cup water

Method

1.            Preheat oven to 180°C fan / 400°F and line a 7” x 7” square tin with baking paper - I used a 30cm (12 inch) x22cm (9 inch) slab tin

2. Line a large baking tray with baking paper. Spread the oats, pumpkin seeds and almonds evenly across the tray, then roast for 10 minutes. I didn't do this and result was fine
3. Meanwhile, put the apricots, maple syrup and water in a blender and blend into a smooth paste. Note: if you are struggling to blend the ingredients add an extra splash of water. The paste should be super smooth otherwise the bars might not hold together and might crumble. For this step I soaked the apricots in hot water for about half an hour and then blended 
4. Remove the baking tray from the oven and transfer the oats, pumpkin seeds and almonds to the large mixing bowl and give everything a good mix. Leave the oven turned on.
5. Transfer the apricot mixture to a mixing bowl, along with the buckwheat groats, raisins and cranberries

2. Transfer the mixture to the lined tin. Smooth over the top using a piece of baking paper, pushing the mixture down as you go to make sure its compact (this will prevent the bars falling apart when you slice them later on). Bake for 20 minutes.
3. Remove the tin from the oven and leave to cool completely. Note: the energy bars might crumble if you try to slice them before they have cooled completely.
4. Take the mixture out of the tin and slice into 10 energy bars - or just slice into the size pieces you want. 

Recipe notes:

1.          The apricots and maple syrup help glue all the ingredients together, while bringing a lovely sweetness to the bars.
2.          Make sure you blend the apricots into a thick paste. If you’re struggling to reach the correct consistency, add a splash more water.
3.          Leave the bars to cool fully before slicing them, otherwise they might crumble!
4.       Press down as much as possible on the mixture in the tin, which will help compact the ingredients so the bars don’t fall apart.

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You will find a few other Christmas recipes over on my blog: A little bit of Christmas baking

Thank you so much for stopping by. I value your comments and look forward to hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return. Have a wonderful week. 
I am linking up to the link-ups below. Please click on the links to see fabulous contributions from around the world - virtual touring at its best!

MosaicMonday at Letting Go of the Bay Leaf
Sharon's Sovenirs 
Our World Tuesday
Pictorial Tuesday 
ThroughMy Lens 
Image-in-ing
My corner of the world through my camera 
Wednesday Around the World at Communal Global hosted by Randomosity. 
       and Little bird - Pienilintu
Thankful Thursday 
Welcome to Nature Thursday
The Lovin' Life Team over at: Deep Fried Fruit

Hello there! I love reading your comments. If you scroll down to the bottom you can comment too! I would love to hear from you.

Christmas is a time for family and sharing

Christmas is nearly here again. This time of year I think a lot about those who are missing from my family Christmas table. My husband and I have lost both our sets of parents over the last few years.  In December of 2014, a couple of months after my father passed away, I wrote a poem "The Ghosts of Christmas Past". It was printed in my writer's group anthology, The Runaway Quill, which was published this year (you can see a pic of it in the sidebar). Recently I heard from one of our members that a friend of his who is a church minister in Adelaide in South Australia will be reading it during his Christmas services. This has made me feel extremely happy and humble at the same time. I know at the time I wrote it my writer's group said that many people would be able to relate to my poem. I have decided to share it with you here, as I know that we all have someone missing from our table at this special time when families come together.  

This is my Christmas gift to you, my dear readers. I have very much appreciated your support throughout the year, and I wish you all very happy Christmas spent with those you love.

The Ghosts of Christmas Past

Jill Harrison

                                                                                     

Christmas only comes but once a year

It brings with it joys and tears

As I go through the motions of gift buying, decorations

And planning menus

I am thinking of those who will be missing from my table for the first time this year

They are the ghosts of Christmas past.

My father hanging Christmas lights in the pine trees at our front gate

The carol singers under our corner street light.

I lay in bed wondering how Father Christmas could possibly come down

   our kitchen chimney and through the little doors at the front of our Metters Stove.

But he did – because the carrots and cake were gone in the morning.

The excitement of seeing my new big doll Lucy under the Christmas tree.

My mother dishing up the Christmas pudding with the threepences hidden inside

Her Christmas carols that filled the house.

The long Christmas table at my Aunts

With aunts and uncles, cousins and grandparents

And silly hats.

Summer heat and laughter,

Playing under the sprinkler on the back lawn,

And laying on the cool passage lino with a new book.

The simple pleasure of humid summer evenings on the back lawn

   looking up at the stars.

As I hang the special Christmas baubles on my tree

And light the candle of remembrance

I look into the eyes of my grandchildren

And I see the ghosts of Christmas past.

And some photos from Christmas past - With my Mum and older sister at a summer holiday cottage at Safety Bay 1958, with my Dad going to church, with my sister and my big doll Lucy, and with my sister at a summer holiday cottage at Palm Beach in 1962. We had shirred front bathers - did you? 

I think my Dad was the first in our area to hang Christmas lights in our garden. We had two huge pine trees at our front gate where he used to hang them. We lived on a corner, and had a street light, and I remember the Salvation Army coming along on Christmas eve and singing Christmas carols under the light. I have such special memories from those childhood Christmases. 

And some beautiful music from Enya - The Spirit of Christmas Past.

  

 In Australia we don't have a white Christmas as it is the middle of summer, but we do have a native Christmas tree which is absolutely brilliant this time of year.

 Below is the Australian Christmas Tree - Nuytsia floribunda - which was named the native Christmas tree by early Australian colonists because it bursts out in orange blooms in December.

 The nuytsia tree is the world's largest variety of mistletoe. They are hemiparasitic plants, and grow by attaching themselves to host plants and draw water and nutrition from the host. ABC net - Australian mistletoe

Have you done your Christmas baking? I must start this weekend. Here is a simple recipe to spread some Christmas cheer. In the Australian summer we often hope for a cooler day on Christmas Day, although many people go to the beach in the afternoon or on Boxing Day.  I have memories of my Mum and Aunt cooking a traditional baked Christmas dinner (we blame our old English heritage for this) in a wood stove while it was over 100 degrees Fahrenheit in our kitchen.  

Whilst I still cook a baked Christmas lunch, it is nice to have some simple Christmas recipes that don't require cooking, like this one - Mini Christmas Puddings. 

 

Honestly this recipe is so easy and so yummy!

All you need is:
1x800gm fruit cake (any plain wrap supermarket brand is fine), 180gm dark chocolate - or use a mixture of light and dark chocolate, 1/4 cup brandy (or substitute with orange juice), white chocolate melts and red and green glace cherries to decorate (or you could use jelly fruit lollies).

Crumble the cake in a large bowl, melt the chocolate, and mix with the cake, and add the brandy. Mix well and then form into balls with your hands. Place on a tray. Melt white chocolate bits and drizzle over the puddings. Use glace cherries cut to shape to decorate. 

Tip - only pour white chocolate over a few at a time as it will set very quickly and you need to stick on the glace cherries before the chocolate sets.  Store in the fridge.  Enjoy!

Do you have a special Christmas memory or recipe? Perhaps you would like to share in the comments. Thank you so much for stopping by. I value your comments and look forward to hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return. 

Have a wonderful week.  I wish you and yours a joyous and peaceful Christmas, spent with those you care about.  For those of my readers who don't celebrate Christmas I wish you peace and happiness. 





I am linking up to the link-ups below. Please click on the links to see fabulous contributions from around the world - virtual touring at its best!
 

Mosaic Monday 
Life Thru the Lens 

Our World Tuesday
Through My Lens 
Image-in-ing
Wednesday Around the World at Communal Global
Travel Photo Thursday 
The Lovin' Life Team over at Lifestyle Fifty
The Weekly Postcard 
Sky Watch Friday

 ps - I have finally succumbed and I'm now on Instagram - please click on the link if you'd like to take a look - Life Images by Jill on Instagram

 You might also like - 

Christmas baking while it's baking hot in Australia
The Ghosts of Christmas Past - 2014 
A little bit of Christmas baking