Irene's Blog

We took a drive today up the Dandenong Ranges which are only minutes from where we live. We went to the park at the Silvan Reservoir where we fed the Rosellas. It only took about 10 minutes after we arrived for about half a dozen Rosellas to come down for the seed we'd brought with us. We get plenty of Rosellas and other wild birds in our own backyard at the bird feeder I have there, but these ones at the park are much less timid and will land on your hand, shoulder or head if you happen to have seed with you. Actually, if you have biscuits, they'll go for them too. We had a packet of ANZAC biscuits open on the table and one Rosella decided he'd like one so he just helped himself.

Now 3 years old, the twins had a great birthday. Their main gift from their mum and dad, was their motorised motorbikes and they sure did give them a good workout when they came to visit. They're quite a pair and full of energy. They are inseparable and without prompting, gave each other a big hug - so cute.

I have nothing but praise for The Alfred Hospital, Commercial Road, Melbourne where my husband recently underwent major heart surgery. The care he was given at all times was exceptional from the minute he was admitted, right through to ICU and the ward staff - all very caring people. I watched as his personal ICU nurse cared for him and operated the life saving equipment necessary in these circumstances and have such high regard for the skill required and the responsibility, which I myself wouldn't like to have on my shoulders. My husband is now home recuperating after a 10 day stay in the hospital, and feeling really well considering the severity of his surgery. My thanks go to all the medical staff involved with his care. I tell a lie, I do have one little complaint - the water at the hospital. It tastes absolutely terrible which means also that the tea/coffee supplied to patients is atrocious. Hot drinks taken from the ground floor restaurant seem fine, but the water supplied...

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Having a son who has a car with an oil leak is no fun, especially if you have a brand new concrete driveway - the concrete doesn't stay new for long I can tell you. Thankfully, he's had the oil leak repaired but I'm still left with an ugly, oily mess where he parks. I've been asking for ideas on how to remove, or at least lighten, the oil stain and so far this is what I have. Put kitty litter on any unabsorbed oil to soak some of it up. After a few days, sweep that up. Try household bleach first of all and leave for 15 minutes before scrubbing and washing away. If that doesn't work, sprinkle dishwashing detergent on the stain and scrub well with hot water. Repeat this a few times. After using kitty litter and sweeping it away, spread some dry cement over the stain and let it sit for a few days, then just sweep it up. The cement supposedly draws the stain out of the concrete. Sprinkle some dry washing powder over the stain and leave it for a while. Next add a little ...

Time to pass on one of my son's treasured toys to his nephews. He had a lot of fun with this remote controlled truck and, considering it had a lot of use, it's almost as good as new. Hopefully, it'll give as much pleasure to two little 2.1/2 year olds, or perhaps their dad might be the one who will enjoy it more !!!

I thought I'd treat the family today so I made them some Scottish Tottie Scones (Potato Scones) and they turned out great. This is an old photo but lets you see how they look. Tottie scones are made with mashed potato and you eat them with bacon and eggs and maybe black pudding....if you don't know what black pudding is, then I won't go into detail. You can look that up for yourself. How to make Tottie Scones: No real measurements here as it's a sort of play it by ear recipe and I have tried it with instant mashed potato and it worked well. Put any leftover mashed potato in the fridge to cool then put into a bowl along with a couple of handfulls of flour. Work through with fingers until it resembles a crumb mixture - add more flour as required. Once you have the mixture nice and crumbly, add a small amount of milk and work it through...keep adding milk a little at a time until the mixture becomes a dough. Turn the dough out onto a floured board and kneed then roll out t...

Lachlan and Corey - 2.1/2 years old and full of fun. I'm looking forward to tomorrow to give them their Easter Eggs - and boy, do they love chocolate.

HAPPY EASTER I've got the Easter Eggs and the Hot Cross buns and have a lovely piece of Pork for Sunday's dinner. Today, Good Friday, is a beautiful sunny day here in Melbourne and the shops are all shut for a change. I'd like to wish anyone who happens to come upon my little page here, a very Happy and Holy Easter and hope you can spend time with your family and friends.

While out today on a drive, we spotted the latest feature of Hastings, Victoria, Australia. The local hotel has had a huge wind generator installed in the car park to produce power for the hotel. I know a lot of people think they're ugly, but I like the idea and the look of them. Just wish we had enough space to have one at our house - but maybe not on such a scale as this one. I'd certainly prefer getting no, or at least a vastly reduced electric bill every quarter.

How cute was I at the age of 4! I think my mother went crazy with my hair as it's not normally curly at all - and two ribbons? I can still remember that visit to the photographer for my little sister and myself to have a photo done and I don't think either of us was very cooperative at all. This would have been 1954.

It's been a pretty miserable day today with rain and high winds on and off. Not the kind of day to do much at all so I made a batch of scones - some fruit and some plain. They turned out really well even if I do say so myself. Quite often when I make scones, they end up not rising too well but these ones were fine. I don't know what I did right but I hope I do it next time too. RECIPE: Plain Scones (yield 12-15) 2 cups self raising flour 1/4 teasp salt 2tblsp butter or margarine 1 cup milk I like fruit scones so I add sultanas to the mix. Sift flour and salt together in a mixing bowl. Rub in the butter lightly with the fingertips till the mixture resembles breadcrumbs Make a well in the centre, pour nearly all the milk in at once, keeping a little for glazing.Mix quickly to a soft dough Turn onto a floured board, knead lightly and quickly. Press out the dough or use a roller. Use a round cutter to cut into scones. Place on a lightly greased and floured tray, glaze with milk and...

A painting by Aboriginal artist Roslyn Dixon belongs to a friend of my daughter. It's such a bright and colourful artwork. Click on the picture to see it larger.

These have to be one of the lovliest birds we have around here, Rainbow Lorikeets. I got up really close to take this photo when they came in to have a feed of sunflower seed. I think we're really lucky to have so many brightly coloured parakeets in our garden on a daily basis.

My daughter and her husband bought me this windchime for Christmas and it's just beautiful. It's made of glass as you can see and really catches the light and makes a very pleasant sound when the wind blows.

Take a moment to listen today To what your children are trying to say. Listen today, whatever you do, Or they won't be there to listen to you. Listen to their problems, Listen to their needs; Praise their smallest triumphs, Praise their smallest deeds. Tolerate their chatter, amplify their laughter, Find out what's the matter, find out what they're after - But tell them that you love them, every single night, And though you scold them, be sure you hold them tight; Tell them 'Everything's alright - Tomorrow's looking bright!" Take a moment to listen today To what your children are trying to say. Listen today, whatever you do, And they'll come back to listen to you.

One of the lovliest things in life is when a wild creature trusts you enough to eat out of your hand. At the Silvan Reservoir (in the Dandenong Ranges, near Mount Evelyn, 50 km east of Melbourne), if you're really lucky, you can have this experience as we did. I have Rosellas come into my garden every day, but they are nowhere as friendly as the ones we met at the Reservoir. We had them on our heads, on our shoulders - one, two and three at a time. We had overseas visitors with us at the time and I think this was the highlight of their whole trip - and I can truthfully say, it was a highlight for me too.

CROYDON - what a great place to live. The Main Street (pictured) is a lovely small shopping area but there are a few much larger shopping malls within a short distance so it has the best of everything. Croydon is about a 45 minute drive east of Melbourne and lies at the foot of the Dandenong Ranges.

Anyone visiting Melbourne and taking a tour of the Dandenongs, would do themselves a disservice if they didn't visit the William Ricketts Sanctuary in Olinda. It's an amazing place - completely tranquil set amongst ferns and beautiful aboriginal sculpture. William Ricketts lived amongst the aboriginal people and was known to them as "Brother Billy". He died in 1993 at the age of 94. Once you've visited the Sanctuary, pop across the road to the tea rooms adjacent to the car park - they serve the most delicious Devonshire teas and there are a few more sculptures too, and don't forget to watch for the Rosellas which come down to feed on the bird feeders.