Sydney friends up for a Mudgee wedding ring on Saturday afternoon to propose a Sunday lunch visit. Yay.
The Producer (she) and The Playwright (he) arrive more or less at the promised time (which is pretty good since they haven't been here before).
The Dog seems to take a shine to them and no-one is more surprised than me when she sidles up between us for a photo opportunity (The Dog is not usually one for over-crowding). Things don't go quite so well when I take the camera and The Producer snuggles up to The Playwright for one last photo. The Dog is sandwiched between them. The expression on The Dog's face is the one you get at a wedding when your fat, jokey, champagne-addled uncle sidles up a bit too close and you can tell he's looking for an excuse to clamp a hand on your breast-
When I got The Dog a friend advised me: Never admit your dog has ever bitten anyone (she knew what she was talking about, having inherited a giant German Shepherd with PTSD). So let's just say there was a proximity problem between The Dog's teeth and the guests' arms, as in: not enough proximity. Not as embarrassing as the Boxing Day Incident where the proximity problem occurred between The Dog and The Nephew (what is it about 2-year-olds and wagging tails??)
Full marks to the guests for saying all the right things. 'It didn't hurt a bit' and 'it was just my sleeve' and 'I've had that deep gash on my arm for weeks now'.
And after a lovely lunch of basil, fetta and sundried tomato quiche with cannilini bean salad followed by scones with home-made fig jam and lashings of whipped cream, we sadly saw them off (after an all-is-forgiven soccer game with The Dog).
And it occurred to me that - while not officially candidates for Best Guest, considering the by-laws stipulating only overnighting guests can compete - there's a lot to be said for visitors who sweep in, entertain The Dog and I with witty banter and intellectual chit-chat, then head back to the Big Smoke without requiring a turn down service.
Definitely winners of the Best Surprise Lunch Guests for the year to date...
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Monday, March 14, 2011
Double Trouble - March 12-13, 2011
I was very excited when last year's winners of the Couples section (The Wardrobe Mistress and Camera Guy) made a hurried last minute booking to come visit. Excited because (a) they're very good company, (b) they're hard workers, and (c) the booking was at least partly prompted by their discovery of this blog - so clearly the heightened competition created by pitting guests against each other via cyberspace is working.
Admittedly there was a bit of confusion over the check-in process. I was due to play fiddle in my regular jam session at the pub at 5.30. TWM and CG were cutting it fine (I confess largely due to picking up items requested by me in Mudgee - Fowler jar seals, clips and lids and a venetian blind - more on this later) so decided - sensibly enough - to meet me there. Unfortunately they - less sensibly - forgot that mobile messages would not be received for days (thanks to Telstra's less than stellar country coverage), and (less sensibly still) TWM panicked and decided to drive out to meet me. Which still would have been okay if she hadn't - completely panicked by now - hurtled out of town on completely the wrong road (sense had pretty much departed by this point).
I, meanwhile, had discovered 2 rogue cows had jumped a fence into the house paddock and was leaving them charmingly there for the impending guests to help me extract them. What better welcome to the home of The Cattle Baroness than to do work with actual cattle on arrival? By 5.30 I realised that things had gone awry and was forced to tramp the paddocks in my fiddle outfit (okay, still jeans and Redback boots, but with shirt for town) with only the help of The Dog (who, it must be said, was thrilled).
Miraculously by 6pm cows were out, The Dog was tied up (it must be said, NOT thrilled) and I was arriving at the pub pretty much the same time as The Wardrobe Mistress was returning - wild-eyed - from her dirt road adventure. (Camera Guy had heeded the 'lost in the bush' adage of Not Leaving The Vehicle and was manfully staying put in the pub with the beer).
After this rocky start the weekend proceeded apace. Fine fiddling tunes. Camera Guy took photos. Dinner was had at the pub up the road and bed was collapsed into for the following days of work.
And work they did. We fixed the fence where the cows got in. Put up the new venetian blind in the lounge-room. Built tree guards...
Bottled nectarines with the new Fowler seals...
While I concentrated on the subtleties of fruit preservation, The Wardrobe Mistress distinguished herself by cooking a fabulous vegie pie...
Much merriment over dinner and wine and chat ensued.
But not too much wine, because we had to get up at the crack of dawn to round up Dad's recalcitrant cattle and mark them...
Now. It's not that city guests don't work. As I've said before they take to farm tasks with gusto. But it must delicately be said that at the end of a fine weekend when a host looks at the excellent jobs done ... and then looks at the carnage left by the guests in the pursuit of those jobs...
A Kurrajong Tree was planted. Yay, Camera Guy. However, in his enthusiasm for planting a tree that would forever stand proudly as a testament to his planting, Camera Guy managed to uproot the other 3 Kurrajong seedlings, trowel dirt all over the conservatory table and destroy the blockbuster.
Not that The Wardrobe Mistress was to be outdone. She was busy locking up the chooks - unfortunately leaving 2 out to play Fox Roulette. And after she'd gone I did spend 2 hours crawling around the chook pens looking for the handle of the chook bucket which - in her enthusiasm - had become detached somewhere during her Almost Locking Up The Chooks task.
Points might have been deducted except that I've just noticed additional post-visit crimes committed by their rivals in the Couples Section - Melba Toast and The Boy:
I'm sure after the Gulgong Show Weekend visit Melba and The Boy insisted they were leaving early because of city engagements. But no! In her latest blog Melba has indiscreetly revealed her true destination - lunch in Mudgee! When The Boy could have been ably engaged in hours more work!
So. Couples Section. Stalemate.
But that fig jam is delicious... and if Camera Guy manages to pass on the photos he took, and I manage to post them, huge strides will have been made in the progressive score.
Admittedly there was a bit of confusion over the check-in process. I was due to play fiddle in my regular jam session at the pub at 5.30. TWM and CG were cutting it fine (I confess largely due to picking up items requested by me in Mudgee - Fowler jar seals, clips and lids and a venetian blind - more on this later) so decided - sensibly enough - to meet me there. Unfortunately they - less sensibly - forgot that mobile messages would not be received for days (thanks to Telstra's less than stellar country coverage), and (less sensibly still) TWM panicked and decided to drive out to meet me. Which still would have been okay if she hadn't - completely panicked by now - hurtled out of town on completely the wrong road (sense had pretty much departed by this point).
I, meanwhile, had discovered 2 rogue cows had jumped a fence into the house paddock and was leaving them charmingly there for the impending guests to help me extract them. What better welcome to the home of The Cattle Baroness than to do work with actual cattle on arrival? By 5.30 I realised that things had gone awry and was forced to tramp the paddocks in my fiddle outfit (okay, still jeans and Redback boots, but with shirt for town) with only the help of The Dog (who, it must be said, was thrilled).
 |
| The Dog |
Miraculously by 6pm cows were out, The Dog was tied up (it must be said, NOT thrilled) and I was arriving at the pub pretty much the same time as The Wardrobe Mistress was returning - wild-eyed - from her dirt road adventure. (Camera Guy had heeded the 'lost in the bush' adage of Not Leaving The Vehicle and was manfully staying put in the pub with the beer).
After this rocky start the weekend proceeded apace. Fine fiddling tunes. Camera Guy took photos. Dinner was had at the pub up the road and bed was collapsed into for the following days of work.
And work they did. We fixed the fence where the cows got in. Put up the new venetian blind in the lounge-room. Built tree guards...
 |
| Camera Guy shows off our new cow-proof (hopefully) tree guard. |
Bottled nectarines with the new Fowler seals...
 |
| Adding syrup to the raw fruit. |
 |
| Jars sealed, clipped and in the big boiler. |
 |
| The finished product! Preserved nectarines. |
While I concentrated on the subtleties of fruit preservation, The Wardrobe Mistress distinguished herself by cooking a fabulous vegie pie...
 |
| The Wardrobe Mistress can cook! |
Much merriment over dinner and wine and chat ensued.
 |
| Did I mention there was wine...? |
But not too much wine, because we had to get up at the crack of dawn to round up Dad's recalcitrant cattle and mark them...
 |
| The cattle are rounded up and put in the yards. But we're missing one... |
 |
| Mmm, this is good. But wait... |
 |
| ... where did my friends go? |
We then had a lovely lunch at the house of our Fiddle Friends, went wild in their magnificent garden and came home with a bootload of fresh produce. (Darnit, we should have cooked the vegie pie tonight!). Not to mention kilos of the most luscious figs to make into jam.
Now. It's not that city guests don't work. As I've said before they take to farm tasks with gusto. But it must delicately be said that at the end of a fine weekend when a host looks at the excellent jobs done ... and then looks at the carnage left by the guests in the pursuit of those jobs...
A Kurrajong Tree was planted. Yay, Camera Guy. However, in his enthusiasm for planting a tree that would forever stand proudly as a testament to his planting, Camera Guy managed to uproot the other 3 Kurrajong seedlings, trowel dirt all over the conservatory table and destroy the blockbuster.
Not that The Wardrobe Mistress was to be outdone. She was busy locking up the chooks - unfortunately leaving 2 out to play Fox Roulette. And after she'd gone I did spend 2 hours crawling around the chook pens looking for the handle of the chook bucket which - in her enthusiasm - had become detached somewhere during her Almost Locking Up The Chooks task.
Points might have been deducted except that I've just noticed additional post-visit crimes committed by their rivals in the Couples Section - Melba Toast and The Boy:
I'm sure after the Gulgong Show Weekend visit Melba and The Boy insisted they were leaving early because of city engagements. But no! In her latest blog Melba has indiscreetly revealed her true destination - lunch in Mudgee! When The Boy could have been ably engaged in hours more work!
So. Couples Section. Stalemate.
But that fig jam is delicious... and if Camera Guy manages to pass on the photos he took, and I manage to post them, huge strides will have been made in the progressive score.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Gulgong Show Weekend Feb 19-20
The first (non-family) guests for 2011 are Melba Toast, and her new husband The Boy. They were actually hitching their booking onto that of Miss L (Winner Best Guest 2010 Singles Section), which necessitated some quick negotiation. Was Miss L happy to share the booking with other guests or was she anticipating a quiet weekend with just me gossiping about the tv industry? Would the two sets of guests be compatible? And - far more important - would they compare notes and realise the whole Best Guest thing is a cunning plan to pit guests against each other to extract maximum work from each?
On the other hand, did I really want to extract too much work this weekend? It was going to be in the high 30's, it was the show weekend and Miss L's last visit did leave me - sweaty as a pig, encrusted in dirt and at only 10 in the morning - reminding myself that eventually this day would be over... wouldn't it?
In the end I decided the influence of Melba and The Boy might provide a calming influence on Miss L and discourage her from overly-strenuous garden activity (boy, was I wrong about that!)
Fortunately, the combination of personalities was a winner. Witty banter ebbed and flowed (along with the free beer at the Home Brew Competition), Melba's birthday was celebrated in style, and crucial farm work was done - despite the limited time. There was a tricky moment where the guests all ganged up on the rooster (goodness knows what possessed The Magnificent Rooster to start crowing at 1.30am) and discussing his speedy transition to the oven, but I was able to distract them (Oh, is that the time? Won't the Cute Pet Section be judging about now?) City people. So easy to distract.
Full details of the show activities have been brilliantly reviewed by Melba here, so all that's left for me to do is assess the running tally. Naturally the full scoring process and progressive score must be kept secret (did I mention the need to keep those guests on their toes?) but here are some highlights:
Miss L:
Persistence in gardening tasks despite distractions - 10 points
Persistence in gardening tasks despite distractions - minus 10 points
Melba:
General enthusiasm for all things Gulgong show - 10 pts
Most Improved Prize (for this year NOT mistakenly ripping out the herb garden) - 10 pts
The Boy:
Lifting big heavy things in the paddock - 20 pts
Not agreeing with the others that the rooster's goose should be cooked! - 20 pts
The moral of this tally:
Clearly it's important to help - but not too much.
That said, when I get my act together I will post a photo of the sublime state in which Miss L has left the herb garden.
And that's it from me - until the next lot of visitors...
On the other hand, did I really want to extract too much work this weekend? It was going to be in the high 30's, it was the show weekend and Miss L's last visit did leave me - sweaty as a pig, encrusted in dirt and at only 10 in the morning - reminding myself that eventually this day would be over... wouldn't it?
In the end I decided the influence of Melba and The Boy might provide a calming influence on Miss L and discourage her from overly-strenuous garden activity (boy, was I wrong about that!)
Fortunately, the combination of personalities was a winner. Witty banter ebbed and flowed (along with the free beer at the Home Brew Competition), Melba's birthday was celebrated in style, and crucial farm work was done - despite the limited time. There was a tricky moment where the guests all ganged up on the rooster (goodness knows what possessed The Magnificent Rooster to start crowing at 1.30am) and discussing his speedy transition to the oven, but I was able to distract them (Oh, is that the time? Won't the Cute Pet Section be judging about now?) City people. So easy to distract.
Full details of the show activities have been brilliantly reviewed by Melba here, so all that's left for me to do is assess the running tally. Naturally the full scoring process and progressive score must be kept secret (did I mention the need to keep those guests on their toes?) but here are some highlights:
Miss L:
Persistence in gardening tasks despite distractions - 10 points
Persistence in gardening tasks despite distractions - minus 10 points
Melba:
General enthusiasm for all things Gulgong show - 10 pts
Most Improved Prize (for this year NOT mistakenly ripping out the herb garden) - 10 pts
The Boy:
Lifting big heavy things in the paddock - 20 pts
Not agreeing with the others that the rooster's goose should be cooked! - 20 pts
The moral of this tally:
Clearly it's important to help - but not too much.
That said, when I get my act together I will post a photo of the sublime state in which Miss L has left the herb garden.
And that's it from me - until the next lot of visitors...
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