We are preparing to head south in the Van again. This time we are meeting up in Stanthorpe with ex Julia Creek friends. We will have a week with them commencing the Easter weekend and I am very excited to be catching up with them. Stanthorpe is within the area that I grew up in so I am looking forward to doing some reminiscing. After a week with our friends we are going to head into NSW. As it will still be school holidays, I have been making some bookings at various caravan parks along our holiday route so that we don't get to destinations only to find that they are already booked out.
We will head to Tamworth after Stanthorpe where we will hopefully meet up with friends and then it's on to Dubbo to explore the area. I have always wanted to visit the Taronga Western Plains Zoo so that is definitely on the agenda. We would then like to get to Broken Hill but will be a bit time restrained as we have to have the van at Bennets Green (Newcastle) for its service on the 20th April. We will just play it by ear.
After Newcastle we are going to meander south with stays at Bowral, Goulburn, Batemans Bay, Huskisson, Jervis Bay and then Kiama. The visitnsw.com website has a lot of valuable information so it was very easy to plan this trip. After we have completed the circuit we will head into the ACT and Canberra to spend a little time with family. By this time we will probably be freezing to death and will be looking to head north again into warmer climes.
On the home front we have been preparing the car for the trip with wheel alignment and servicing and next job to tackle is a little fibreglass repair to the caravan from our last trip ****sigh***** It is not a lot of damage but enough to annoy us.
I have put the piemaker to good use lately. Apart from making delicious meat pies I have found it very successful in making frittata's. Everybody knows by now that I never have any food wastage in my home so the frittata's I made were from leftovers from the fridge. They were quite delicious and I will keep this little leftover trick up my sleeve.
Speaking of leftovers I was complaining to a friend that all recipes seem to be portioned for 4 people and as there is only 2 of us we either eat more than we should or we are left with leftovers. My young friend says that her and her partner have had great success using the Hellofresh food packages. They are portion controlled so there is very little wasted food. I have decided to give Marley Spoon a go as they don't charge a delivery fee to our area. My first three meals arrive next Monday so I will let you know how they go. I'm quite excited!
We have finally had the shutters installed on the southern side of our balcony. The shutters have been here quite awhile but finding a builder to install them has been difficult. Anyway, they look great and they give us much needed privacy on that end of our balcony.
Well my friends it's almost lunch time. I am grilling steak with a beetroot, apple, halloumi salad today. The beetroot has been quietly baking away in the oven and should now be cool enough to handle to peel. Oh....I almost forgot to mention that it is 8 weeks today since Philip had his knee replacement and he is now back on his bike! My husband is a legend.....
Take care folks...
