Sunshine and isolation (KI day 3)

Well on Monday the sun came out and the skies were blue and I can assure you this really helped show Kangaroo Island to its full advantage. We saw some beautiful beaches. I mean the coast is really beautiful. Check it out:

But if I'm honest on Monday I didn't think it was any more beautiful than the beaches of northern NSW. But on Tuesday we travelled further afoot, down the beaches of the south coast. And shit you guys, these beaches are something else. Fine white sand. The sea a colour that looks photoshopped. Blue-green and crystal clear. They're bloody beautiful.  And on top of this there's the lack of people. You don't see empty beaches like this everyday and that is pretty goddamn special. And the kind of beauty I couldn't really capture on my iPhone.

And on top of this there's the Ligurian bees. As K mentioned KI has a population of them but not just that, it's a pure population with no other honey bees on the island and you're not even allowed to bring honey here lest you pollute the population. We went to a honey farm where we tasted some fine honey and even finer honey ice cream. It was fan-bloody-tastic. It had this beautiful creamy flavour and texture and it wasn't too sweet. It was so delicious I wanted to go back for more yesterday.

But everything is quite far here and you can't just go out of your way for honey ice cream every day. According to the designated driver. So I just had a mini Magnum for desert. It was as good as the Clifford's Honey Farm honey ice cream. I'll be thinking about that for a long time. 

Big Easy Eating (PM)

It's lucky for me I don't eat dead land animals because I would be totally jealous of all that good eating in New Orleans. As it is I'm pretty jealous of the jazz and Mississippi and I'm not even into jazz. Lucky for me also that I can imagine just what that Bacchanal restaurant is like because it looks just like a restaurant at Disneyland but instead of eating by the Mississippi you eat by the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. Most lucky for me though is that Chutney Club happened this weekend down at Flinders and instead of the usual 4 or so hours of eating with my BFFs I got to eat for 24 hours with them with ocean views (K's absence not withstanding).

This 24-hour Chutney Club made me so relaxed I forgot to take any pictures. Except of the view. 

Luckily Pickle was acting as official club photographer though. We had a roaring fire and sat in a wood-panelled sitting room and, as everyone knows, that's the best way to enjoy beachside living in winter. 

We ate: preserved lemons that Blizzie had made and cooked into some delicious baked beans served with Persian feta on toast. And it was the effing bomb!

Then: rice paper rolls with the pickled pineapple David made. 

And: my apple jelly. First served on a failed brioche I made which, although it did not turn out as brioche, did turn out some weird dense buttery bread-like thing which was a perfect host for apple jelly, and then on crackers with blue cheese. 

Next: Pickle's pickled mushrooms with a generous serve of Meredith goats feta on toast. 

And finally: Legsly and Miguel's rhubarb and apple jam on toast. Actually that wasn't the final chut but more on that later. 

The fact that it was a sleep over meant there was no rushing through the food or gorging on cheese. In fact the grazing cheese platter wasn't even brought out until after the official Chutney Club proceedings were over. The suggestion of fish and chips was brought out not long after that. Cray cray you say say? I thought it was crazy too but I wasn't going to say no and I have to say that it wasn't the worst way to end the day. Well, F,Cs and a game of Danish Bowl. 

You may have noticed (as if!)  that a chutney was missing from the afternoon event  and that's because Biggie Little made marmalade to be served with pancakes on Sunday morning. Those guys didn't even stay over! They just left marmalade and pancake batter! What guests!!! These were enjoyed with some bacon and scrambled eggs that Biz served up and I think you can tell that a wonderful time was had by all. 

Chutney Club's first weekender made me ask my self two questions. Why haven't we done this before?!? And, when can we do it again?!?

Haiku Thursday (AM)

On the beach (or It's summer time, bitches!)

Low evening sun

Shadow is tall, it's skinny

If only t'were true

I touch salt water

The hunger comes instantly

Hot chips would be best

Things I am going to do on my summer holidays (PM)

HAHAHAHAHA! This crab! Good one!

Well this crab also has two pincers and a high level of excitement about the holidays. And like K, I'm going to Puberty Blues the heck out of them!

I'm gonna hang out with my BFF, sit on the beach and watch my boyfriend surf. Make cakes when it rains. Seriously. And eat chiko rolls. Gado Gado chiko rolls! I can't effing wait. Might even make them tomorrow.

I'll be house sitting in a suburb actually near where my friends live so I may even see them! And I plan to have BBQs! YEAH! And because of the proximity to everything I will also be riding a bike around! Yeah. Gonna be a sweet 3 weeks.

I’ll probably also be wishing I had long, thin legs like the lady in the picture K stole from The Sartorialist because I’ll probably be wearing shorts and hating on my legs. And, if summertime dreams come true, I will also buy a summer dress I like.

Also, eat fruit.

Man I love the summer holidays.

WTF Wednesday (PM)

WTF country Victoria?! Whale's don't blow. They effing rule! I can only assume, Mate, that you are not in coastal Victoria. Only an inland motel would hate on whales. Because they are jealous, I guess.

Twice I have seen whale's off Torquay. At Winkipop to be precise, which is right next to Bells Beach. You know, Bells Beach, Australia. Where the 100-year storm comes and kills Bodhi.

Anyway if you don't want to die like Bodhi, you surf at Winki, not Bells. And if you are the girlfriend of a surfer you stand around not surfing and getting chiko rolls for your boyf and if you are really lucky you see a whale. And it effing rules. Even if they do swim way out and you can barely see them and all you have to know it's really a whale is the occasional different movement of water.  Gee, whales, why are you such a tease. Maybe you do blow.

What's wrong with this picture? (PM)

I like the bit where she (and I am confidently assuming the seller is a she) underlined the word trilogy, because obviously western literature has a great tradition of trilogies and as part of that tradition, it makes sense that we would drop twenty clams on her used books.

I can understand why someone would read 50 Shades of Grey because their friend lends it to them, and they figure they might as well see what all the fuss is about.
But reading all three? And thinking well enough of them that you can only sell them as a unit?
What kind of a sick fuck would do that?

The sea air (AM)

You know what. It is no freaking wonder sickly types are always being sent to Bath and Brighton in Victorian novels. Man, I love the seaside.

I actually get beachside pretty often, but right now I'm at in San Remo. And I never come to these parts. LB had to do a bit of work down here so we all came down yesterday.

And that fresh sea air really does wonders for one's constitution.

The house where we are staying is in fact a classic kinda crappy beach house (no disrespect. I appreciate being able to stay here. I am happy here.)

You see the carpet?

It is red and orange and fluffy. Real fluffy.


This chair:

It's not the only one with books for a leg.

So you know the kind of place, right? But did I mention the view?

 And check out this freaking fabric that makes up a curtain.

I want to steal it. I won't. But man I want to.

AND last night we went Phillip Island and saw the muther ucking penguins. They are such cute little bastards! Did you know that what used to be called fairy penguins are now called little penguins. What?

Photos are strictly forbidden so I can't show them. But you know what they look like, right?

 I can show these awesome geese that populate the island. They are PURPLE! And they have BRIGHT PINK LEGS! I don't know what they are but I know what love is.