Manic Monday...reminiscing a little...

Was going through some photos last night and found some little gems...

The first one taken with my Mum around my 1st Birthday at my grandparents home...we lived close by and although I don't have any "real" memories of that time we spent a lot of time there. As an older child I spent so much time there, every school holidays I would stay for at least a week. They had a gorgeous lush fernery in the back yard with a winding fish pond and water feature...something you would pay a fortune to have landscaped today. I don't know for sure but I imagine Pa did all the landscaping. They also had an amazing Strelitzia (Bird of Paradise) in the centre of the yard...in full flower at sunset it looked like it was on fire.


This one was also taken at Nana & Pa's home...I was about three and that dress was my absolute favourite...it had little pink kittens appliquéd peeping out of the pockets. I could almost guarantee I had white sandals on with that dress.

But look at that car...look at the shine on it. It was an FE Holden...first manufactured in 1956 and Pa's pride and joy...even now I can still smell the interior, it had a smell all of it's own. He also bought a brand new EH in 1964 and had both cars for some time. About 10 years ago he gave me the EH...it's the same model as me (1964) so he thought I should have it. Pa's name was Robert, Robert Rutherford Elliot...what a name...!!! He was known as Bert and in Pa's honour we named the EH "Bert".

I loved driving that car, it felt like a tank...almost invincible when cruising in it. My mechanic loved working on it. As Derek said..."If you can't get a part for these cars, you just make one..." such was the simplicity of the engine. Sadly though, eventually I needed a car that had some real creature comforts...(air con, a CD player, reliable heating). I would have loved to have kept Bert but the registration and insurance for two cars was quite prohibitive. I sold it to a young man who had grown up with EH Holdens, his Dad and Grandfather had had them and were members of Holden Car Clubs. He was beside himself to find one in such good nick for himself. I sold it to him at a very reasonable price because I knew it was going to a good home...I even let him pay it in four installments as he was so passionate about it.

I saw Bert around the streets of the town we lived in from time to time...it had been resprayed and meticulously restored.

Pa would have approved wholeheartedly.

Leftovers...

Cooked a sensational Shepherd's Pie for dinner tonight, mainly out of leftovers from roast lamb a few nights back. The meat was a little light on so I padded it out with grated zucchini, carrot, celery, onion and a can of tomatoes as well as about 200g of brown & green lentils...the lentils were a great addition. A little grated cheddar on top of the mashed potato & into the oven until golden & bubbling, just delicious.

It was well & truly devoured Myles even had seconds of everything, a rare thing.

There's something really very satisfying about making a new meal out of the remnants of another...I feel my grandmothers' influence (both of them) when I cook this way. They both hated waste and were very clever about using everything in the fridge or pantry. My paternal grandmother saved everything, buttons, collars & zips off clothing, pieces of string, the paper from a block of butter was used to grease cake tins, scraps of wool, wrapping paper, paper bags, glass jars, tin cans...ad infinitum. I guess it came from living through the depression. My grandfather was much the same with his shed...it was stacked to the rafters with scrap timber, corrugated iron, parts of car engines, tins of paint, lengths of hose & rope.

What I loved most about his shed though were his clocks. Pa was a truck mechanic for most of his life but his one great passion was watch and clock making and jewellery design. He had a zillion clocks in his shed, (well, that's how it seemed when I was little), mostly given to him by friends, most had seen better days but he nurtured them back to their former glory. The mantle clocks were my favourite, he used to let me wind them when I visited on the holidays. I had always yearned for one of my very own and I thought that would happen after he died but sadly it didn't. I don't know what became of them all, my father certainly doesn't have them now, I doubt he realised the sentimental value I held for them. Sad, really.