This crazy "quiet, retired" life of ours.

Hello Everyone,
Sorry that I have been missing in action for the last 6 weeks or so, we just haven't seemed to have come to a standstill yet since we returned from Tasmania.
When we were driving in Tasmania we noticed a noise in the front wheel of our car , so on our return we immediately took it to our local Ford service centre,  they required  us to leave it there  for two nights while the problem was attended to under warranty( our car was a 2014 Ford Territory, the love of my husbands life...the first new car we had ever owned)........Unfortunately the 2nd night it was there 4 young teenage  hooligans  decided they needed our car more than we did, broke into the yard, smashed into the office, grabbed the keys and stole our car, smashing out through the big metal gates.
They then proceeded to drive it to Canberra and back( 1000 klms) and were involved in three police chases that had to be called off due to their erratic and dangerous driving.
It was dumped after 48 hours but not before they had caused $17,000 worth of damage( mostly filthy obscenities  to the police carved with a knife into  every seat and panel in our car).
So immediately this happened the service centre  contacted us and delivered "Clancy" to our home(an hour + away).  A loan car for us to drive while it was all sorted out.

We  also received a  fine in the mail for speeding, apparently the  thieves were clocked at 175 klms per hour through a camera and the fine was for $2,306.00 ( it was immediatly waived from our record) The police said our car was treated extremely badly during the chases.
So. the insurance company refused to write off the car and we legally were obliged to  take it back, but we made the decision even though it was going to cost us we would not   have it back  and decided to trade it on another car. Brian was so  adamant that there would be damage mechanically and structurally underneath that  it would only be problematic down the track.
We thoroughly enjoyed "Clancy" while we had him and gave him a good test, as we had many trips to the service centre and to police ect, so when the time came to decide what we wanted to buy we decided to buy one the same.

The Ford dealer gave us a very good deal( they felt very bad ,even though they were not to blame,as  they had taken  all due care of our car) and so we  bought this , our new baby,  a new Ford Everest Trend.  All is well ...
We had only been back from Tassie  a short while  and the volunteer group we work for , our local heritage rail barracks accommodation , had an open day/market day.
 I spent a lot of time  making  chilli jelly, mano habanero sauce and tomato habanero sauce for the stall I was running. Hubby worked on the BBQ with other men and we also did Devonshire teas with scones/jam/ cream and served mugs of my hot home made soup.

Even though  the weather was not very kind to us and we were washed out just after lunch we still had a very  good day,   raising over $1,000 on the day for our group for much needed repairs and  updating.It was a great public relations  day  ,  I was extremely pleased with how well my home made preserves were  snapped up as this was the first time that I had ever sold any of my wares. I also now sell a few jars in our local craft /tourist shop in town.
Hubby has been flat out as well, between the car issues, helping at the open day, he has spent weeks everyday up the back replacing  the old boundary fence between us  and  our new neighbours behind us. He had to virtually clear a roadway up and along  beside where the new fence had to go, he had to remove trees and   worked tirelessly driving in new posts and erecting the fence. I am so proud of the man he is, he will not let things beat him, and he is  such a great bloke. The new fence looks brilliant.

A couple of weeks ago we also had a major rooster cull as  we seemed to acquire a larger number of roosters than hens  in our last few batches of  chickens. So we got together  with 2 other couples nearby and killed 13 roosters and divided them up between us.

We kept 4 and with ours I decided to turn them all into "rooster soup" .
I  made 4 big pots of soup with veggies that I simmered away all day 2 at a time on the lounge room wood fire,

We ended up with about 100 jars of rooster soup,

We use a lot of soup and there is nothing better on a cold wintery night then being able to just pop open and heat up a yummy jar of  lovely homemade soup to eat in by the fire( which is exactly what I will do tonight after  catching up on this blog)

During  the last few weeks our son has also relocated  back to NSW from WA to start  a new job that he applied for. He has  now 10 weeks training ahead and had stored a  few things here temporarily. He stayed here with us for 2 weeks and it was good to have him around again, he was a big help to his dad getting a few jobs done that were easier with 2 sets of hands or too heavy for me to help with.
They got in a good store of wood,  did a few repairs, planted a new area of oats and grasses for the sheep and also just hung out together and talked cars and watched footy together which was nice.

We also have been trying our hand at sourdough  bread for the first time also. A friend up the road and I had been discussing   having a "Starter" and when we returned from Tassie, he handed me one he had began, and so it has continued from there.

We are now actually making reasonably edible  bread and buns, we probably are not making it according to the true ways, but  are just doing it our way  and having fun with it.

There is nothing yummier than  a ploughmans style lunch with your own sourgough,  some cold meat, cheese and my homemade zuchini pickle, delicious!!
The  starter has also produced some great bread rolls as well,

We have been devouring them as fast as we can make and cook them,  I need to stop, as our diets that were going so well will be blown right out the window.
Hubby also decided to   rotary hoe  down in the orchard  where he had  vegetables growing last summer, as he turned the  beautiful soil over the  chooks raced in and scratched away like mad for the rest of the day, they loved it. He will probably give it a few goes  ready for the next planting after winter is over.

It has been a very hectic 6 weeks or so, and all  these activities combined with many others and the regular day to day  jobs we do  and a few health issues that have been  annoying me and are  being checked and monitored  have snowed us under. I  keep meaning to update and sit down at night with good intentions and just nod off to sleep... There is nothing serious, just  minor hiccups that will soon be all good.
I will endeavour to update again soon, today was good, we had rain, glorious rain ( 40 mm so far and still raining lightly) and it forced us inside, so time for once was on my side.
So, until we meet again down the track,
Take care of yourselves and each other,
Cheers,
Jane  :-)  :-) :-)

I am just adding to this  , as The recipe for my zuchini pickle was requested and I can't seem to add it to the comments as a photo...