“you can tell the man who boozes, by the company he chooses….” Now you need to bear with me while I explain the ‘long bow’ of why this line from a strange little ditty that Tezza often recites, reminds me of Paul Smith. Yes, that Paul Smith. The designer, style icon and what appears to be a real all round good guy.
 
Tezza and I have loved Paul Smith design for a long time.  The clothes work well on Tez, they are groovy, cool, comfortable and …. Well, they just work.
 
In our various wonderful travels we have visited many Paul Smith stores. Naturally we love the Melbourne store and under the management of the very handsome Maurice, the staff are attentive and delightful. So here is my point.  Every store we have visited, has always impressed us with the service and the attention the staff serve us with. Regardless of which store we are visitng, there always seems to be a friendly, positive, not too intrusive and engaging style of customer service. It is therefore my thinking that this has to come from the name sake. It is about the dude whose names they all represent. That is why I reckon he would be a great person; he has set a tone of engagement that I am always left feeling so nice about. 
 
In an era when lots of people now shop on-line and retail is perhaps not seen as a glamorous or worthwhile career choice (not my opinion,  but I do observe the way it can be dissed!), it is just so refreshing to experience great customer service. Hence the line I kicked off with, somehow makes me think that, if the staff are all so lovely it must be ‘cos there boss is.
 
So where does the Love come into this, you may ask?
 
When we visited the New York store a few years ago – I saw this tapestry…..

For those who are SaTC movie watchers you may recognise this was on the wall of Carrie’s apartment when it was renovated.  I saw it and asked if I was able to purchase it.  We were told that it was not for sale and Paul Smith was commissioned to create it for the movie. It was then being displayed in various stores.
 
So you can imagine my delight when we visited our Melbourne store a couple of months ago and discovered that the tapestry was now being produced for sale and of course ….. I had to have one.
 
So now when I sit at my writing desk I am inspired by LOVE.  After all #allyouneedislove

DC x
 

Books, books and more books.  During a recent post I lamented that I feel like I don’t read books as much as I once did.  This led me to recall a recent hanging out with one of my besties, sorting out her dad’s home. Part of the process involved scouring through a lot of books.  Literally, thousands of books. The diversity of the topics, titles and languages amongst his books was simply mind blowing.  Her dad was a master of 7 languages so the diversity also spanned 7 different languages.  What ability it must be to speak 7 languages?  Even more impressive was the depth and breadth of knowledge, information and story telling that he had absorbed in his life time.
 
Going through the books, which featured beautiful mint condition first editions, tatty old paperbacks and such a variety of hard and soft covers in between, got me thinking about the love of reading.  In spite of feeling poor for reading time – I do love to read. Beside my bed, in my car, on my desk and scattered and shelved all round my home, are piles of books.  Some half read, some not opened and others being read for the second, third or ninth time. I also love to read out loud. Even if I have no listening audience. Sometimes I will listen to talking books, as another way to absorb a story.
 
I have started to watch how others like to read. In particular, I am interested to see if people read to their children.  Do you read to the kids in your life?
 
Over the years I have cleaned out the book shelves many times and I do hope my books went to good homes via the second hand stores and op shops. The time has come for another cull and book shelf clean out.  The dilemma is what to do with all the books?
 
I have talked before about my extensive cookbook collection http://www.ploughcreek.com.au/pch-blog/-what-happens-to-old-cookbooks ..... I now know what will happen to them as my two nieces have indicated that they would love to inherit my cookbook collection. Just between us, I was so thrilled they showed such interest for the collection. You see, many of my cookbooks have very personal inscriptions and I want that love to be shared.
 
Thanks for reading this little random thought …. Happy readings
 
DC

Suddenly, in a blink it is 10 days since my last post!

So much has happened and yet really not much at all. Not when you consider life in the context of the big wide world. But in the context of my world – particularly my world inside my own head space …… well let’s say a revolution, a coup and a major peace treaty have occurred.
 
Sometimes (not so often – but sometimes) I just wish my brain would stop whirring. I would like some time out from my own inner debate and thinking. However, I know, I need to be grateful for the fact that I can free think and feel and it makes me a fortunate person.
 
How do you rest your brain? 

DC x
here to edit.

Pets were never a big feature for me as an adult, until MAX happened.

When we were kids we had a fox terrier named “Sabby” who was a constant friend for my two sisters and I for many years. I remember how sad we all were when she died.  When burying her we all wept, including my very tough Italian father, Maurie.

You can see Sabby under Nonna's arm in Plough Creek Homestead's logo.

When I met Tezza he was very pet orientated.  He and his boys had had numerous dogs over the years.  I resisted the family demand of “let’s have a dog” for quite a while, until one day the decision was made to “adopt” a pup.  That was when Maximillian, “Max”, came to live with us at PCH.  Then a few years later his sister, Constantina, “Connie”, extended our family.  They have one chief commander and that is Tez. When he is not around, I then feature as number one. Yep, I am converted to the unconditional love and loyalty that dogs can give to a family. I am also impressed by the companionship they offer in so many ways.

Max is a handsome, quiet, strong and polite soul.   Connie is a ratbag; so full of personality and never-ending energy. Some say that Max is a tad like Tezza’s personality and Connie’s attention seeking ways, rather like myself!!  She certainly does not keep still or quiet much (yep – there is a similarity).

The last few weeks have offered me many challenges. Not sure what the alignment of the planets are, but I know I have had lots of hours of soul searching. Deeply personal conflicts, professional challenges, home issues, political conflicts (both locally and globally) that concern me greatly and global hatreds occurring have had me feeling conflicted, reflective and at times, very sad.  

When I arrived home to PCH last evening, I donned my PJ’s, took a few sips of a glass of wine and while Tez cooked dinner I warmed my back in front of the fire box. With my head resting on Connie, I napped for a short while.  She did not move. 

She knew that I needed a few restful moments!!

#allyouneedislove

DC x 

This post takes me away from the things I usually chat about. The last few days I have been deeply saddened to observe Muslims being massacred at the end of Ramadan.  It has caused me to reflect on the insanity of these acts of unthinkable pain and anguish.
 
When I was working and living in Indonesia, such a predominantly Muslim country, I worked in an international company and our staff consisted of many religions - Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Jews, Lutherans to name a few.  The reason I know the various religions is because we were able to join in and celebrate with so many of them. The respect that was afforded to each other as celebrations occurred and were acknowledged, as religious traditions were observed, was simply inspiring. There never appeared to be hatred, angst or difficulty in facilitating all the needs of each faith. I never experienced attempts to convince me I should convert to any of the religions. What happened was, I was invited along with others to join the celebrations, embraced with generosity and love was shared.
 
Over the years, through our circles of friends and travels, Tez and I have been privileged to share celebrations and traditions with numerous people of different faiths and we have learnt so much about other beliefs and cultures.
 
When I received my cancer diagnosis while living in Indonesia, I soon learnt that many people were praying for me. The greetings I received from so many, sharing their well wishes and telling me they were praying for me was humbling, to say the least. So many different religions mentioned and all of them praying to their own faith.
 
The messages were sent to me in a book.  A book, so filled with love and caring, heart felt wishes of comfort and recovery, that I still treasure it to this day.
 
The religions I have observed through so many encounters, with so many people, don’t teach hate and terror and violence.    

#pleasecareforoneanother
 
DC x

As we mark the half way mark of 2016 and with an overabundance of politics (both national and international) going on, that has had me a bit anxious, I thought I might have some reflection time.  The festive season of 2015/2016 was a memorable adventure for us. Our trip was planned as a celebration for #debandtez. And it was certainly a trip that indulged us, by allowing us to be amongst family and friends, good food and an odd moment or two of shopping!

Food, restaurants and cooking are often features of this blog, in our lives and a huge part of our travels.  

Opening Plough Creek Cooking School offered a wonderful opportunity for Tez and I to meet and develop fab relationships with numerous Chefs and cooks.  All of whom we now feel very fortunate to consider as good friends. A by-product of these friendships has given us a new appreciation of many aspects of food, restaurants and cooking, that we never really appreciated previously.

The main thing for me is the PASSION that so many pour into what they do with food.  As a consequence, when we dine out these days we hold a different appreciation of what is served to us as diners.

While planning our itinerary Tez decided we would try a couple of restaurants that had caught our attention in various ways. One such attention seeker was a place we noticed in the movie “The Trip”.

So a few days before Christmas day we took a day trip from Markington,  North Yorkshire to head off to L'Enclume in the village of Cartmel in Cumbria. Some of you may recall that there were considerable floods across northern England at that time and we certainly drove through regions where a lot of water was obvious to us.

L’Enclume is situated on the river bank in the quaint and picturesque historic village of Cartmel and I believe was established there in 2002.  

The website states,  “The restaurant is a relaxed dining space with white-washed walls and minimally laid tables from which L’Enclume’s dishes can be best enjoyed”.

It met all our expectations and so much more. Someone once said to me many many years ago that such a huge part of food pleasure was in the presentation and L’Enclume excels at that. I love to go WOW as every course is delivered to me.  It is not just the visual impact on arrival, but it is also the appreciation of the preparation and detail that is considered, that has to be respected.

The menu presented in a stylish white envelope was such a surprise and we savored every mouthful of a unique, tantalizing and delicious menu. 

Some of the examples you could be served – according to daily availability, may include;
Oyster pebbles OR Beetroot, horseradish snow Oxtail dumpling OR Scallops, strawberry vinegar. Then you may be served;
Westcombe, pork fat and fennel  OR Grilled lobster and parsnip, nasturtium and apple OR Brill in poultry juices, lovage, yeast flakes, fermented mushroom

​How can you not love a place that finishes off with a collection of cornets ?

Happy tastings.

DC x