Term time is upon us again after almost three weeks of school holidays. And of course this morning I was not organised, so I am expecting some complaints this afternoon about the quality of the lunches I whipped together in an undercaffeinated daze at stupid o’clock this morning. Not that what I provided was bad, (I have sent them off with fairy bread before), just not particularly inspiring.

So today I decided to try to make cheesymite scrolls to go in the lunchboxes for the rest of the week. For those who don’t know, a lot of bakeries in Australia sell scrolled bread rolls filled with vegemite and melted cheese. YUMMO! I’m pleased to say that the easy recipe I found online was a success, even though I realised halfway through that I don’t know where my rolling pin has disappeared to, and had to roll the dough with a can of Chinese Mixed Vegetables. Seriously, I’m the MacGyver of the kitchen!

My only issue with the scrolls is that the dough is more like scones. Next time I will try to make real “bready” dough. Or if I bat my eyelashes at Susan, she may make me some in her breadmaker. That would be even better.

When you start looking into it, there are a surprising number of activities, venues and events related to trains and railways. How do I know this? Having a train-obsessed son might have something to do with it.

When train-boy’s birthday fell on the last Sunday of the month, which just happens to be the day that the Lake Macquarie Live Steam Locomotive Society run their model trains at Edgeworth, it was like a sign from above. We organised a party at the park where the trains run, invited a few families to join us and set out for an afternoon of train fun and frivolity.

With 3, 5 and 7.25 inch gauge tracks, children and adults can ride on a variety of trains pulled by both model steam and diesel engines.

An afternoon at Edgeworth trains is a great way for families to spend some time together. We had 15 adults and 21 children aged from 10 days to 13 years with our group. Admittedly Lola, the baby, didn’t show much enthusiasm, but everyone else seemed to only return to the picnic blanket to grab a drink and something to eat before heading back for another ride. I actually had to bribe train-boy to come back to blow out the candles on his cake.

The kids are just fascinated by the trains and I always find it amazing that they wait so patiently in line, sometimes for 15 minutes or more, to get have their turn only to rush to the end of the line again once they get off.  Each ride lasts for around 7 minutes. You must be wearing enclosed shoes to ride on the trains. There are no exceptions to this rule, so if you want to avoid tears of frustration (and that’s just from the adults) then make sure that everyone is wearing suitable footwear.

It is absolutely amazing in this day and age, but the very generous members of the LMLSLS run their trains for free for the general public on the last Sunday afternoon of each month. Donation tins at the site allow people to contribute towards the maintenance of the grounds and costs associated with running the trains for the public, but the majority of expenses are covered by the LMLSLS members themselves.

The model trains are Edgeworth are one of Newcastle’s hidden treasures – a wonderful and inexpensive way for the family to relax and have fun together. Mark their run days on your calendar and remember to take along a picnic lunch and a donation to help support this wonderful service to the community.

As for me, I’m just counting the days until train-boy realises that he could build one of the engines himself and join the LMLSLS. I’m sure he would look quite dashing in the black T-shirt with the LMLSLS logo. I wonder how old you need to be before they let you drive a train…

Details:
Location: off Velinda St, Edgeworth with limited off-street parking.

Run Times: Last Sunday of the month (except December). Trains run between 1 – 4 pm, with a brief break for the drivers at 2.30pm.

Parking: A reasonable amount of off-street parking is available, however this fills up fast so it is best to arrive well before lunch to ensure a parking space in the car park.

Facilities:
BBQs – wood burning barbecues only. Wood is provided.
Kiosk
Toilets

Contact details:
Lake Macquarie Live Steam Locomotive Society website
Postal Address: P O Box 4040, Edgeworth NSW 2285
Email: stationmaster@lakemacquarielivesteam.com.au
Phone: 02 4958 7171

Tomorrow is ANZAC Day in Australia – one of the public holidays that I can really get behind. This year in particular I’ve been trying to give my kids an idea about the meaning of ANZAC Day. We recently visited the War Memorial in Canberra. I hadn’t been there in many years, and was very taken with how much has been added to the exhibits since my last visit. The temporary A is for Animals exhibit about animals at war was worth a look, and really engaged the kids.

Of particular note was the wonderful staff.  In the Hall of Memory a member of staff took the time to fill the children in on the amazing mosaics and stained glass windows. She also fetched some poppies for them to place at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, making for a memorable moment.
Later in the Research Centre another obliging staff member helped the kids look up their Great-Grandfathers’ war records, giving them yet another tangible reminder of the relevance of ANZAC day in their lives.

Tomorrow we will head into the march so we can thank those who have done and are still doing their bit for our country.

What are your ANZAC Day plans?

I stumbled across this article today by Allison Ford at Divine Caroline: Red Hot Redheads, Cool Facts about Carrot Tops that gives all sorts of details about the much maligned red head.  Amidst all the myth busting information, is the fact that red hair does not go grey.

Wait – can this be right? Fuelled by indignation and bitterness (I started going grey at twenty!) I have been scouring the interwebs seeking the truth.  So far all I can come up with is that redheads turn white rather than grey, having faded to a genteel strawberry blonde in between. Hmph. White, grey – whatever.  It’s not like there are grannies hanging around the nursing homes rocking full heads of Nicole-Kidman-before-she-fried-her-hair ringlets. That would just be weird.

Now I’ve spent a fortune over the years on covering my greys – or as Susan’s son once delightfully called hers -  “tinsel”.  I’ve been every colour in the rainbow (except blonde) and frankly I’m over it. My natural colour is a dark brunette, but judging from my roots I don’t think there’s much of that left. At 37, is it time to go grey gracefully? And how do I get there without having the hideous regrowth hair. I guess, winter is coming, I could always shave it all off and wear a beanie, emerging in the spring with a halo of silver hair.

Yeah yeah, pass the Clairol.

Does anyone else go through food phases? When you discover something new that you love or you just have a real hankering for a kind of food, and then you have to eat it continuously until the phase passes?

I’m sure it has something to do with my body craving something in particular that the food provides. For example, way back when I was pregnant with my daughter I absolutely craved sushi. Now I know that eating sushi is a big no-no in pregnancy, but there were no internet-sites to count down pregnancies/select babynames/tell inept first-time mums what to do, so I had no idea. I kept the local Japanese restaurant in business, and built up such a tolerance to wasabi that I could practically snort the stuff.  Since I don’t eat a lot of fish, I reckon it was my body saying I needed some Omega-3 whosywhatsits that you can get in bread and orange juice and probably even beer these days.

My craving/phase at the moment is the most delicious salad that I made the other day. I just wandered the supermarket seeking out the ingredients that I felt like, and it is divine! I’ve eaten it for dinner over the last two nights, and for lunch again today. If I had any sort of nous I’d have taken photos and given you step by step instructions like the food bloggers do, but I haven’t for three reasons. First of all – no time for pics – there’s a hankering to be dealt with here! And secondly – there is no need to document how heavy-handed I was with the dressing. You all can go on pretending I’m a healthy lass!And thirdly – it’s salad, people!  Chop the stuff, pour on the dressing, you’re good to go. Sheesh!

So without further ado:

Meredith’s Super Salad

Mixed salad leaves, avocado, cherry tomatoes, sliced shallots, red capsicum, sliced mushrooms, beetroot wedges, cubes of gouda (because it tastes so good-a  BWAHHAHAHAHAHA! – sorry), toasted pine nuts and (lashings and lashings of) Paul Newman’s South West Dressing.

I think it was the beetroot that I was lacking, because it is the best part of the salad for me. Are there Omega-3 whosywhatsits in beetroot?

Last weekend I thought my husband had finally lost it. I was surprised at the time, because I have always expected the snap in the middle of one of my regular convoluted explanations of the family’s Saturday morning timetable. Often in the middle of the instructions for running kids to sport, animals to the vet, picking up dry cleaning, visiting friends and mowing the lawn, I can see the veins throbbing in his forehead and his eyes starting to roll back in his head.

Hence I was somewhat unprepared when he seemed to be losing his marbles when we were visiting his parents last weekend. He kept cocking his head on a strange angle and asking me if I could “hear that noise”. People, I’m telling you there was NO NOISE! But being a kind and sensitive soul, I suggested he fashion himself a nice tinfoil hat to keep the aliens away, and went about my business.

You should make note of the time and date right now, because I don’t write the following very often: It seems I was wrong. My in laws had installed a sensor to keep their dog away from the front fence. This sensor emits a sound heard only by dogs — and my husband, Scooby Doo. Thankfully a simple adjustment of the angle and the frequency solved matters. And now I know how to keep him out of the rhododendrons. Win-win.

Yesterday I rearranged my downstairs a little. (Well I pointed to where I wanted things, and my husband did the heavy lifting.) Specifically we switched around the positioning of the computer desk and bar. Which meant for a moment at least I had this wonderful set up:

It would certainly make the writer’s block a little easier to deal with.

Despite my natural tendency to avoid all activities that involve spending time outdoors, I was somehow convinced by my sister-in-law that having breakfast at Murray’s Beach on Easter Saturday was a wonderful idea.

So instead of a a Saturday morning sleep-in, we found ourselves arriving at Murray’s Beach on the eastern side of Lake Macquarie at 8.30am, ready for a healthy and nutritious breakfast of bacon, eggs and sausages cooked on the barbecue. (If I have to travel to breakfast, it certainly isn’t going to happen for a bowl of All-Bran and a cup of green tea.)

I’ve never been to Murray’s Beach before and it was a lovely spot for a relaxing morning with the family. We had plenty of space to spread out on an undercover picnic table. The adults prepared breakfast and chatted over coffee while the kids happily rode their bikes on the bike paths and played in the small playground area.

With new homes gradually being completed near the waterfront, no doubt it will soon become busier. There is currently a small kiosk near the jetty with toilet facilities in addition to a larger cafe/restaurant only a few minutes walk from the waters’ edge. By the time we were leaving, parking had spilled from the car park area into the nearby street.

After breakfast, we were kindly offered the use of a canoe to take the kids out onto the Lake for a few minutes then we grabbed some fishing gear and spent an hour or so feeding the fish off the jetty. The kids did manage to catch a few fish, but returned them all to the Lake once they had been sufficiently praised and admired.

There aren’t really any large areas of open space near the waterfront that I noticed, so the area really isn’t suited to large gatherings where someone might want to start up a friendly game of touch football or cricket. There is, however, plenty of room for picnic blankets in addition to several covered barbecue areas and separate seated picnic tables.

Murray’s Beach is on the Wallarah Peninsula between Swansea and Cams Wharf. Rather than follow my directions, which would most likely lead you anywhere but Murray’s Beach, check out this Google Map to find out how to get there.

If you’re looking for drool-worthy food sites, you can’t go past Pimp that Snack. Not only are there pictures of mega-sized chocolates and other delectable sweet favourites, the commentary by the contributors can be quite amusing too.

Since Easter is just around the corner, make sure you check out the super-sized Cadbury Creme Egg. I so want one, but can’t imagine eating one that large when the standard-sized one already sends me into a sugar overload.

Despite the less than stellar final result, I quite enjoyed reading the giant Iced Vo-Vo entry as well. I’m guessing that the process of making beer mentioned by the WHOAvo creators involved quite a bit of sampling of existing supplies, all in the name of comparison and quality control of course.

I love fruit jubes and already have a great recipe for making those myself, so I can make them any size I want. Jersey caramels are my all-time favourite lolly, so I may start just quietly planning a monster caramel. Stay tuned.

So, what’s your favourite snack and would you be willing to experiment to create a pimped up version? If you’re looking for inspiration, Pimp that Snack is putting together a snack database noting which ones have already been attempted.

I wouldn’t be human if I didn’t occasionally develop a crush on some bloke off the telly. I used to just refer to them as my boyfriends, but added the “TV” when the children were small so that if they ever mentioned them in front of people I wouldn’t be forced to start stitching a big red A to my t-shirts.

Susan thinks my choices are a little odd, but I have my reasons:

Leo McGarry – The West Wing Oh Leo. In his final role as Jed Bartlet’s Chief of Staff, John Spencer created one of my all-time favourite characters. Leo’s loyalty, style, humour and gravitas made The West Wing for me. Plus John Spencer’s smile could light up a screen.

Harry Pearce – Spooks You can take your Jack Bauer with his weaponry, stunts and dashing good looks. I like my spies British, old-school and grumpy thank you very much. Peter Firth delivers both Harry’s bluster and banter with panache.

Gene Hunt – Life on Mars (UK) I love Harvey Keitel in almost anything, but no one compares to the original Gene Genie as portrayed by Philip Glenister. The Guv might be a sexist misogynist dinosaur (to steal a line from another great spook) but he’s dead sexy. I wouldn’t mind him taking me out for “a prawn cocktail, a steak and a bottle of Liebfraumilch”.

OK just so you don’t think I only like grumpy old blokes:

Phil Kearns – ex-Wallaby, current rugby commentator. I love my rugby and I love how Phil Kearns is so unabashedly one-eyed when it comes to the Waratahs. Plus he has lovely skin and a nice smile. What? I can be shallow.

The Bondi Vet – he needs no name. He’s tall, buff, blond and he saves cute furry animals. What’s not to love? Oh yes – and he occasionally takes his shirt off and goes for a surf. See just how shallow I can be?

Who are your TV crushes?