Swansea Christmas Parade

Swansea Christmas Parade Web Album

Swansea held its annual Christmas Parade on the Friday before Christmas. Community members and service organisations gathered to march along the main street of Swansea. There were lots of adorable and fairies and elves, and some other interesting costumes... I was asked to just days before to contribute to the event by playing my pipes, and was happy to lead the parade, and provide the music for the occasion. The parade finished with a BBQ at the sports oval, put on by the Lions Club.

Although it was a small parade [even with the new addition of a musician], it was a very good turnout for a small town of only 600 people. Changing weather conditions even gave the fire fighters and emergency service volunteers a chance to attend.

Jodie got some great photos, despite the overcast and windy conditions. You can check them out in the web album above.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!

Cameron, Jodie, Irving Norman, George Henry and Schouten House would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas.

We have started the day with icecream and jelly. The icecream was home made in our new icecream machine, with a recipe that included a real vanilla pod.

We had presents under the tree in the 'big house', and are now enjoying them! We have three rooms of guests tonight, some from overseas, which will be very interesting. All of them are staying over boxing day too, and we have a full house from then until early January.

We are missing all our family and friends, even if don't usually get to see them at Christmas. The photo below was taken in 2003 at Christmas dinner with the Mudges'.

jBErg vs. Storage Crisis

We have faced a storage crisis since arriving. Dry goods and kitchen equipment were difficult to store, let alone the wine!



The first issue was the shelving in the kitchen, which when pulled down, took some of the soft brick work with it. I set to work washing the walls, and Jodie got the plaster out to patch up the holes!



We opted for a standalone steel shelving unit, which sits high enough to clean underneath, and doesn't impact on the building. The construction was a little fiddly for the first couple of layers, due to the confined space. But we did it.



As you can see, the top two shelves are off limits for Jodie!



All finished, and the first phase is complete. Plenty of room for our growing collection of 7L glass storage jars. All told, 2150mm x 1500mm x 600 mm. Not an inch [or millimetre] to spare.



Where did the wine go? It wasn't going in all that mess! Project two was to construct wine racks for both our personal [smaller] collection and our wine list stock to be safely stored. Project one was responible for some of this stuff moving.



Jodie is putting together the frame, while I'm cutting the metal part of the frame to size. You'll see how close a fit it was in a minute.



We had to retire the meat tenderiser after using it as a mallet to put the wine rack together. That part sure was fun!



All finished, and project two complete. Storage crisis averted. Stage three is pending. We are aware of what we hope is a significant void behind our pantry. So we are planning to knock a hole in the back to have a peek, with a view to creating a walk in pantry with twice the storage space. That should be fun too.

The one last piece of handy work you can see in the photo below is the little kitty door to the spare bathroom downstairs, just for the boys. We've got them very well toilet trained. Full credit for the swinging door goes to Jodie and her jigsaw.

Cameron vs. Great Oyster Bay

I have been determined to swim in Great Oyster Bay, and after seeing the windsurfer cope quite happily with the water temperature last week [with a wetsuit] I decided the time had come.



Only 60 metres away from Schouten House, I got to plunge into the bay. The water was surprisingly warm, but the temperature quickly dropped as I swam further out. It should be some of the warmest water in Tasmania, since the bay is very shallow and protected and the East Coast itself has warmer water than the rest of Tassie. I'll be getting a wet suit before I learn to swim though.

The water is extremely clear, and Jodie was able to take some great photos from quite a distance with the telephoto lens...



Splashing about in the sea. This actually takes me back to Christmas at Dee Why... except without the waves. I'll be checking out wet suits and surf beaches soon. Well... after peak season is over... and the surf is better in winter too.



Jodie's favourite photo below. Enough said.



I was very pleased with the experience. I was absolutely exhausted... I haven't been swimming in a long time. I'd better get out again soon.

Fires, Smoke and Windsurfing

Yesterday, our first lens arrived for our new Nikon DSLR camera, and despite the smoke we were in for a treat this morning. We looked out of our balcony, and saw a windsurfer who looked like he might jump from the water right into our back yard.



We quickly made our way down to the beach to get some more shots, and were very impressed the action.

Below is some photos stitched together to give an impression of the level of smoke. It has actually cleared up today from the last couple of days. Today we have a total fire ban, and hopefully the remaining fires will be brought under control soon.

Birthday Girl

Here is a recent picture of the birthday girl down at Schouten Beach.

Jodie started her day with coffee in bed, followed by scrambled eggs and smoked salmon. Then unfortunately we couldn't escape from a few chores... but in the afternoon, we went to Kabuki by the Sea and had a drink and enjoyed the view with Terry. For dinner, we started with Champagne and oysters...



The oysters were all gone before we knew it!



Next up, we had Yellowfin Tuna Steaks, which were awesome! Very thick, only quickly seared, with a pepper crust, and a wonderful salad.





We were helped by one of our new favourite wines... A 2005 Spring Vale Vineyards Pinot Noir.



The dessert was spectacular. Jodie and I [well... I helped] made the two best mousses I have every tasted. The chocolate one had a hint of some special cognac. The white chocolate mousse was made with real vanilla bean, and was perfectly balanced.



All in all a wonderful day! I might have to get Jodie to add something to the post, because as per usual, I seems a little food oriented! [Update: Jodie has commented on the post]

Blogger Beta

You may have noticed a slight change in look and feel of the blog in the last couple of weeks... I have migrated to blogger beta - perhaps somewhat prematurely.

The photos from the last post are actually hosted at the Schouten House web server, since I'm having trouble loading photos to blogger.

The big orange icon on the right hand side of the blog is for an atom feed so you all can subscribe to the blog... A subscription of this kind means that you can get all [not just my blog] your web updates in the one place, without having to go check the site every day / week / hour... I use google's reader, which I highly recommend, as you can incorporate it into your personalised google page...

If you want to read about my love for google products [despite my problems with blogger beta], you can do so here... Oh... and writely has now been replaced with Google Documents and Spreadsheets...

Birds

Jodie and I have been out on Schouten Beach, or around the corner at Waterloo Point with a camera a fair bit recently. We both have a keen interest in photography, and in the bird life that Tasmania has to offer. I was very keen to get some photos of the dive-bombing Australasian Gannet feeding, but alas, they have disappeared.

According to Dave Watts 'Field Guide to Tasmanian Birds'... we think the first and last [top and bottom of these photos] are the Great-Winged Petrel [it's a surprisingly large bird when it passes overhead].

The one below, we think is a common Silver Gull... but we do have a variety of gulls around here.







We also enjoy watching the Masked Lapwing plod around our garden and they still surprise us when they call at night.

Shortbread

We have gotten a lot of pleasure out of reading the comments in the visitors book. It seems that people have taken to us as much as they have the house. Jodie and I have both relished looking after people and making them feel at home. We've had so many terrific people though, it's one of the pleasures of the job thus far.

Of all the comments I had to post the one above, because it relates to my shortbread... and only a couple of batches in. I'm baking it about once a week, since it all seems to disappear too quickly. Not that I believed it was possible, but Jodie has been helping me to improve the recipe and the method, and today's batch was the best yet. I learn something about the theory and practise of the culinary arts [and sciences] every time we cook together.

I love the look of surprise on guests faces when they find out the shortbread is made by me... I always tell them that shortbread is my speciality, and Jodie's is everything else! Jodie has made a test cake in the ovens already [pictured below, below], and I've been conducting experiments to determine the settings for gas, and tray height to understand gas powered, non-fan-forced ovens...

My experiments below... what? too hot for shortbread already?

A picture of the shortbread has made it into our brochure, but I like the one we used for the website better.

We have a real production line of baked goods when we put our minds to it. Two ovens helps too... the best part is making the coffee, and doing some quality control testing.

Kilo Steak ... the follow up...

Two of my avid readers posted comments for the kilo steak blog... so I'll answer their questions here. Both are Andrews, who now kindly distinguish themselves when posting comments...

For Andrew Ellery - yes! Of course I finished the bastard! It was only one kilo! I did feel very sluggish afterwards though. To wash it down, we were very ably assisted by some of our favourite wine from the Barossa Valley - Kies Klauber Block.

For Andrew Williams. No, we don't have a restaurant open yet. Baby steps... We are hoping in the near future to start offering meals to guests, and depending on how we feel about that experience... possibly opening one room with a very limited number of seats to the public. So that's down the track. I'm not sure if kilo steak will make it to the menu. It might be a special... a Cameron's Choice perhaps. However... you know that Jodie and I will make you a kilo steak any time you like... you'll just have to come and get it!

Kilo Steak

... yeah that's right! Kilo Steak Nite(tm)!

I had always dreamed of going one further than having the biggest steak on the menu at Lonestar... I had seen on the menu at a couple of restaurants that had 1kg steaks... usually I was too busy eating something made of goat.

Meanwhile, Jodie and I have been having fun ordering from wholesalers. Some are excellent, others not so good... and one in particular is well... going to be the end of me. Some of the prices are really no better than a trip to the big supermarket [135km away though], and some have arrangements with freight that is scary expensive. Others are wonderful, reliable, and ring you just to make sure you had everything you needed... Anyway I'm getting side tracked.

I accidentally ordered 21kg of rump. I was after about 4-5kg but there was a misunderstanding about how many lots of 4-5kg I wanted. Although most of it is in the freezer, it was still time to celebrate red meat. Curries are good... I can use more than 2kg in big beef curry. Steak sandwiches for lunch is great too. But Kilo Steak Nite(tm) was the way to go. Below is the 1kg and 500g steak cooking, side by side.

Even though I like mine rare, it still need a little longer than the 'little' one...

Broccolini, and roast potatoes with sour cream and fresh chives... It's not just perspective in this photo that makes the small one look small.

Triumph! Mushroom gravy on top, and it's go for launch! Delicious.

Schouten House Website Update

Today, we have updated the Schouten House website with new images. Most of the interior shots were taken for our new brochure, which should arrive either today or tomorrow. The other photos were either taken by Jodie or I, and I've even got a cameo on the golf course. The photo above doesn't appear in any of our materials so far, but it does capture Jodie's favourite split door, which was most likely the rear door to the kitchen for the Inn.

Please check out the website here, and let us know what you think. If there are any suggestions for other photos, or enhancements, they are also more than welcome. I've got a list of priorities for the website already, but great ideas always make it to the top of the list.

We had a trip up to Launceston the day before yesterday to have a look at the brochure coming off the press, and we are very happy with the final product. Hopefully the brochure will serve us well until we are ready to create the Schouten House brand.

We had a wonderful lunch in Launceston at Mud, thanks to a great recommendation from our friends Helen and Subi. Not only was the food fantastic, they had Coopers Pale Ale on tap!

While on the Dockside, I came across a sign advertising hot stone massages. You'll have to forgive my naivety, but having only heard of them in euphemism or double entendre [yes, I get that to be a double entendre there has to be another meaning] I didn't know that such a thing actually existed. While we were exploring the city, Jodie picked up a mini-hot-stone-massage-kit and I got to experience the real thing. It's just like the name - hot stones... used to massage... and it's great!

Charity Golf Day

On Saturday morning, after breakfast service, I left Jodie cleaning to participate in a charity golf day at Swansea Golf Course. The golf day was part of an effort to raise money for the Cancer Council's relay for life, and was attended by more than 60 golfers from in and around Swansea. A fun day was had by all, and we even had a little break for sausages and beverages at the first tee, in between laps of the course.

Since the day started at 1000, Jodie was diligently working while I headed out for fun in the sun. The pictures of me here however, were taken by Jodie as she caught up with us and walked the first half of the second nine.

The first photo is of me, standing at the 7th tee. I first came to realise that we [as in Schouten House] sponsor a golf hole, when Steve K and his wife [from my days working with Department of Health, SA] came to visit, and told us of the 7th tee on the course. Below I am driving on that same hole.

The 7th is reportedly the most picturesque hole of the course, right above Waterloo Point. You can even see to Schouten Island in the distance.

My putting wasn't too bad on the day... mostly a little too strong.


Some statistics for the day. Swansea Golf Course has nine holes, with four par 4s and five par 3s [making it a short course]. In turn that makes par for 18 holes [you go around twice] 62 strokes and a total of 3824 meters. Below, a beautiful view from the 6th green.


In order to make the day fun for non-golfers [without a handicap [like me]] - Ambrose golf was played. Ambrose means that after everyone tees off, you decide which the best shot was, everyone else moves their balls to that spot and you go again. So it's very forgiving for the non-golfer, but with additional rule that everyone on a team must have at least two drives. We got around in 67 for five over... with a calculated [somehow] handicap of 10.12. I don't think we came close to the competition. We did manage to grab a couple of birdies.

My contribution to the team was a little thin on the ground... with a total of 4 putts, 2 drives, and 2 irons to approach the greens. Eight shots from 67 is almost 12%, while I made up 25% of the team. I did make my two drives though... One on the second hole we played - Schouten House's 7th. I was worried that I wouldn't produce another decent drive. Not that I was excused... but I not played a round in more than 5 years, and had borrowed clubs that went up as far as a tiny 3 wood [that attracted the comment would do nicely as a wedge [and I'm quoting]]. The same nice man took pity on me and leant me his giant driver on the 1st tee. With a very satisfying whack I pelted it down the fairway... maybe just a little to the right... but it was good enough.

They can't all be winners... I lost at least two balls, managed to find some that went across fairways, as I made back around to that side of the course. I even hit a drive, right in front of Schouten House - with Jodie watching, that was probably the highest drive... but went only 10 metres down the fairway.