Christmas Presents

I was thrilled to bits with two of the Christmas presents I received from my family this one.  This first one was from Mum and she picks one gift and buys it for her four daughters however this year she bought it for her 3 Brisbane daughters and picked another gift for my sister in Perth.  It is a Cheese Making kit which you can make 6 varieties and it makes up to 6kgs of Cheese.  This is a fantastic present and the funny thing was when Karin and I did our preserving course they had Cheese Making Kits and I was going to ask Mum if she could buy me one for Christmas but that would involve me buying it, her paying me the money back which isn't the best way for a gift so I didn't say anything.  I was very surprized when I opened the gift and my two other sisters who are not really into simply living were thrilled to bits with it as well.  When my sister in Perth heard about the gift we got she said she would have loved the same thing.  Mum knows my sister in Perth is very busy and didn't think she would have time to be making cheese however you just never know.

Here's me holding the Cheese Making Kit from Mum.

My sister Lisa gave me the River Cottage Australia DVD and it was one of those gifts where I bought it myself to watch and then thought it would be a great present for Lisa to give me as she is always asking me what she should buy me for Christmas.  It was one of those things, I traded her the DVD for the $$ about a month ago and then on Christmas Day she gave me my present.

The kids and I have been watching 2 shows each time and have finished watching the two DVD's which we all loved.  On the first show Paul West (the Tassi Chef who is the River Cottage Australia guy) made a Sourdough Starter so James is keen to make one and it's been on my "to do list" for a while so we will do that while we are on holidays.

The show is filmed in a little town called Tilba about 5 hours out of Sydney and approximately 12 kms (don't quote me on that) from the ocean so they have the best of both worlds.

If you haven't watched the River Cottage Australia I suggest you do.  I love all the community spirit and competitions like pumpkin scone making etc. and a working bee to repaint the CWA building that they did.  The scenery on the property is stunning and the photography is great.  We have finished watching all 8 shows now but will certainly be rewatching it as these shows inspire you to get back to nature and plant your veggies.  We won't be having any cows in my suburban backyard but it did remind me I should be making more butter instead of buying it.   I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and I certainly have eaten way too much food and am just about to go and have some more Christmas ham with my family.  Back to healthy eating on the 1st January, 2014 in this household and looking forward to it.