mortiz044

Today we had tickets for two things - Audrey Cuttlebuttle's Great Bally Hooley Escape and Port on a Fork.   Anyone who has visited Port Douglas would know the Bally Hooley Train.  It runs from the Marina to St. Crispins and takes around about an hour for the round trip. Today was a little different as the journey now became a "Live action comedy theatre on a moving train".  This is what the programme said: "Guests board the Bally Hooley Train for a story narrated by Audrey Cuttlebuttle.  Our journey follows local sweet hearts Priscilla and Thomas on a passage to their wedding from the Marina to St. Crispins Station.  Enter Pirate Blaggard with his vengeance for lost love.  While Audrey slips between fact and storytelling, the audience will witness a hilarious, slap stick duel between Blaggard and our lovers as they foil him again, and again!  This is a fun filled adventure with something for everyone" We absolutely loved this two hour train journey and must comm

At the beginning of every year we sit down with the planner and mark off all the events and places we want to attend throughout the year.  It works in principal but not always in theory.  We had marked off the Carnivale weekend without realising that we would have some many other things happening at the same time.  Weed spraying and preparing the road for bitumen just happened to fall in the week leading up to Carnivale and we almost called off the whole thing.  Philip was feeling quite overwhelmed but we sat down and worked out a plan of what we had to complete before we could go away for the weekend.  We were intending to stay for three nights for Carnivale but decided that it would have to be two nights and I was happy with that. We arrived in Port at 3.30 pm on Friday evening as I had an appointment for a pedicure and manicure that I didn't want to cancel.  Philip dropped me off and then went to the Tropic Breeze (aka Tropic Squeeze!) Van Park to check-in and unpack the camper.

According to the calendar, autumn is from the 1st March to the 31st May but here in the tropics it should be from the 1st May to the 31st August with absolutely no winter!  The remainder of the year would be summer..... Julatten, where we live, is about 500 metres above sea level and about 7 kilometres from the ocean as the crow flies.  Is it any wonder that we have one of the best climates in the world.  We do not have the stifling humidity that people on the coast complain about and each afternoon we have a lovely cooling sea breeze blow our way.  Our summer temperatures range from 20℃ - 30℃ and winter 16℃ - 26℃.  It can go higher or lower, remembering that climate is what you expect and weather is what you get.  We also experience typical monsoon weather, and this year we measured just over a metre of rain.   The gardens in this area are spectacular and we can grow almost anything.  Frosts are not unheard of but we have not experienced this in the 10.5 years that we have lived here.

Getting pork to crackle has been the bane of my life.  Sometimes it crisped beautifully and other times it has been a leathery disaster.  I have even tried taking the rind off and crisping it under the grill.  This has also been rather disastrous....particularly if you forget about it and it burns to a cinder! It was a light bulb moment when I finally realised what I was doing wrong and now I have crunchy crackle every single time.  The trick is making sure that your pork skin is very, very dry.  To do this, as soon as you bring your pork home from the butcher (and I really hope you are using your local butcher 🙂) take the pork out of its wrapping and salt the skin very well.  Pop your pork onto a plate and into the fridge - uncovered - for at least 24 hours and up to 36 hours.  The longer the better really.  When you are ready to cook your pork pre-heat your oven to 230 degrees and place your pork into a shallow  baking dish.  Make sure that you have brushed off the excess salt if yo

Following on from April, May seems to have been just as busy but, once again, it is of our own doing.  You see, we just don't want to miss a thing......life is too short for that! We have made numerous trips to Cairns in the last couple of weeks for appointments and we always try to make it as enjoyable as possible by lunching at different restaurants.  We have quite enjoyed eating at CheZest in Grafton Street and I particularly enjoy their Japanese inspired Tonkatsu  (Crumbed Pork Cutlet). Early in the month we had a visit from one of our friends who joined us on the road trip to Julia Creek. It was lovely to catch up with her and her news.  I cooked up Jamie Oliver's Chicken and Chorizo that always goes down well. Speaking of food, I have again been trying out some new recipes.  I've said it before and I'll say it again I love food and everything about it.  I enjoy trying out new recipes and adapting some old favourites.  The past couple of weeks I have cooked up.....

I hope that all the Mums, the not yet mums, the should be mums and those without mums,  all felt some love on this special day. For me, Mothers Day was extra special this year with a night spent at QT Port Douglas.  Son and DIL had given me a Spa Q voucher for a christmas present so I used it for a one hour massage and 30 minute facial.  It was Pure Bliss and I fully intend making this a monthly treat. QT is one of our favourite places to stay in Port Douglas and it never fails to please.  I love the retro feel to the resort.  The staff at QT are attentive and nothing is too much trouble.  They have a locals special rate going at the moment.  For $189 per night they include breakfast and complimentary drink vouchers.  That is such great value. Being Sunday, their signature restaurant was closed however they had a very good bar menu in Estillio Lounge with plenty to choose from.  Philip ordered the fish and chips and I chose the Proscuitto and Rocket Pizza. This was washed down with som