nhawi

so d-day approaches apace, 4 days and we are off on our gap year. we are slowly working thru the to-do list prior to departure, the fact that we are coming back makes it a series of tasks without pressure, what we dont get done, we dont get done!

the fact that we are effectively spending the first month doing a rellie-run lessens the anticipation, excitement and nervousness, I think if we were taking off straight to a new country it would be both more exciting and intimidating.

the photo above for me portrays what I know we will miss, sitting out on our back verandah, with my dear wife, shirtless (me, not her), sipping a cheeky sauv blanc and demolishing a whole crispy skin golden snapper, with Thai tamarind and chilli sauce on rice. we caught the fish on our boat, its a sweaty build up night with the dark, dusk sky filled with grey, stormy clouds. this is our life – and i know i shall miss it.

its been a pretty foody november, got off to a rollicking start when i was going thru one of the freezers and found a lovely pork belly, i marinated it in a bourbon marinade and then dry rubbed it with 17 secret spices and herbs. it was onto the weber smokey mountain cooker then for a few hours slow roasting. i had a tray of spuds in the lower rack and they gently roasted in the drizzle of piggy fat, i dont know that it would have got the tick from the heart foundation, but hey its ok occasionally isnt it?!

melbourne cup was next cab off the rank, the gurls were off for a big knees up at the walkabout, but i took the opportunity to do a warm smoked chicken salad with poached eggs and hollandaise sauce for brunch, you cant really go wrong with anything that involves a properly made hollandaise!

sal had a poor day at the races, she spends days before the big race studing form guides, tea leaves and tarot cards and nearly always comes home drunk and cashed up. at least she still came home drunk!

i sort of get the feeling i should have split this post in 2! anyway, we are on the home straight now! we managed to get a day in fishing with dave, in between preparations at home, we went out on dave’s boat and while it was less than perfect conditions, we had a great day, caught a couple of little mackies, a huge queenfish and a big barracouta. we had lunch at SE Bremmer island and enjoyed a swim in the balmy build up waters! the mackeral got thrown on the char grill with lashings of olive oil and salt with grilled limes.

kade had his birthday last saturday and spent the day cooking a piggy on a spit, its a bloody big job, especially with a hand cranked spit, and sitting around a fire pit in the build up is a bit like cooking in a sauna, but the end result was magnificent and we all had a rollicking good time.

somewhere in there we had a few spots of rain one afternoon, kai stood out the back shivering and if you look closely you can see the rain drops on the concrete, it was the first hint of the wet, with no rain since july.

kai also won a principal’s award for  being a “thoughtful, friendly and helpful student, best wishes on your world wide adventure”

earlier this week i found a big eye fillet in the freezer so i whacked it into slabs and chucked it on the char grill, dead animal singed on coal cant be beaten, it is the best argument against vegetarians and other food deviants.

that should round out the pics and the last update before we depart on monday, irregular updates will cover our meandering around the globe so stay tuned – please subscribe at the top of the right hand frame, that way you will get an email everytime i post an update!