Afternoon aromas… and city hissy fits!
I was looking forward to a lovely afternoon filled with good vibes and much oral anticipation.
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After sorting the Granite Glen house out in the morning, washing a mountain of clothes and doing my best to ignore the smokey haze of the grass fires lit by neighbours (and my Dad!) I’d showered, dressed the kids, piled everyone into the car, kissed SSB goodbye (he voted to stay home and mow… and I wasn’t arguing too loudly!) and driven off towards town. I had promised him some Thai takeaway as a treat for his hard work around the house. We had also invited neighbours on the promise of a curry smorgasboard.
After sorting the Granite Glen house out in the morning, washing a mountain of clothes and doing my best to ignore the smokey haze of the grass fires lit by neighbours (and my Dad!) I’d showered, dressed the kids, piled everyone into the car, kissed SSB goodbye (he voted to stay home and mow… and I wasn’t arguing too loudly!) and driven off towards town. I had promised him some Thai takeaway as a treat for his hard work around the house. We had also invited neighbours on the promise of a curry smorgasboard.
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One thing you need to understand is that the towns we live near are small and pretty self-sufficient. But exotic takeaway has not been an accepted option – hamburgers and fish-and-chips and pizzas, yes. High quality authentic Asian curries and stir fries, not so much. Then last year the local cafe began offering Thai food, cooked by a talented Thai lady living in the area on a farm. We make the most of this treat when we can – she is only available one or two nights a week which rarely co-incide with our rare trips to town (a 100km round trip). But this day would offer us this tasty chance.
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We traversed our dusty roads towards town and arrived at a farm with the most beautiful gardens. The kids and I joined Nana anda hundred or so other women (and a few brave blokes) to “do” afternoon tea.
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It was an Down Syndrome afternoon, with many familiar faces milling around over cups of coffee and some outstanding cakes. I have a very soft spot for DS kids (and adults) – having done numerous stories on individuals and events for the newspapers I worked with. And then when Dash was in hospital having his little heart fixed up we had met many families with DS kids having very similar surgeries. (Down Syndrome often includes heart problems such as holes in the heart). The delightful man who opened our Goodwill Games has DS, and is quite inspirational.
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The kids ran riot in a sandpit and bouncing castle. Vast quantities of coffee and cake were consumed. And much money was raised for this extremely worthy cause. We left feeling almost high on goodwill, the kids tired but happy and me with tastebuds tingling for our Thai takeaway.
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Filled with anticipation, my mouth watering at the thought of the fabulous green chicken curry, light-as-air spring rolls, delicious Pad Thai noodles… I turned into the main street almost delirious with the prospect of our exotic meal.
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You know what I found?
An empty street.
Echoingly empty. With every door shut tight.
Closed signs in every single window.
Including the cafe…
Noooooooooo!
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I drove around the back of the shops in the hope of finding someone getting ready to open. Nothing. The disappointment was crashing. What now? It was almost six, and too late to cook at home. The kids were getting ratty. So I sighed, girded myself, and headed for the servo.
Fish and chips it was. Nothing against fish and chips… but honey, it ain’t authentic green chicken curry if you know what I mean!
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So calming cranky kids with chip offerings on the journey home, I muttered to myself about the injustices of living in the bush. At least in the city I could have driven five minutes to the NEXT curry shop. My tastebuds would have been appeased. I was also not looking forward to disappointing SSB and our guests…
*mutter mutter mutter*
Then I looked out the passenger window.
Then I looked out the passenger window.
And saw this.
And this…
And this…
The muttering slowed…
and ceased.
…
Right.
Back in perspective.
City hissy fit over.
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Postscript: The fish and chips were great, the garlic scallops SSB cooked up from stocks in the freezer fabulous, and the company that night, awesome. And I complained NOT ONCE about the smokey aroma of our laundered clothes!
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PPS Apologies to subscribers for the unedited rough draft of a future post I am considering, sent into the internet world accidentally last night. Please delete it. I promise a much better, more polished version next week sometime. And in the meantime, I promise not to try and type straight into blogger when I am overtired… hint for other blogging greenhorns: don’t hit enter twice too quickly. It can cause the air to turn blue!!
🙂
BB
7 Comments
Pencil Writer
Oh the sunsets! What power they have to soothe the savage beast in us!
I finally figured out the math. Your trips to “town” amount to approximately the same distance for us from our small town (not the bush) to the next largest town with restaurants, and other goodies. But, alas. No curry. I have to make curry at home. With a mix. But, it’s Japanese curry, which several in my family like.
I’m not sure I’ve had Thai curry. My married daughter and her husband actually went to Thailand, and love the food. I’ve had some and like what I’ve had so far. I pretty much love GOOD Asian food, and have been blessed to live in Japan a couple of times. Love so much of the food there . . . though not ALL of it!!!
Fun post. Glad things all worked out after all. ;-}
Debby
I love Thai food. That was one of the best things about living outside Washington DC. Ethnic restaurants EVERYWHERE!
Jayne
Those photos are just magnificent!
BB, you need to invest in some green curry paste and whip up your own when the urge hits 😉
jeanie
Oh BB – have I mentioned that I have coriander going so well in my garden – and my basil. And V’s chillies also are in full bud.
With a bit of garlic and coconut milk in the cupboard, darl…
One of the gifts that has left the gift register courtesy of the godsister is Charmaine Solomen – I think there is a meal begging to be made my next visit…
See – still manage to make it about me! Its a gift, isn’t it?
BTW pencil writer – I do love Japanese curry. It is much smoother and milder than the thai cuisine – but oh the fresh flavours of thai food…
Sorry BB – we have no decent Thai here either.
Pencil Writer
You know, Janie and BB, Indian curry is pretty cool too, with all the little side dishes, something like “seven boys”??? Heck, I don’t know. It’s been too long since. But, though it’s milder, it’s pretty darn good, too!
So, why (since I need to lose a few lbs do I find myself talking more and more about food . . . ??? Conundrum? Weakness of mortality? Yeh. Prob’ly that. *sigh*
Bush Babe
I love pretty much ALL food – Japanese, Indian, Balinese, Egyptian, Greek, Italian… but Thai is a particular favourite – lighter than Indian, a bit more “fullness” and “zing” than Japanese. Mmmmmmm.
Jayne, I do have the paste and do cook my version every so often for SSB. But like most people, it’s the “cooked from scratch by someone who really knows what they are doing” thing, along with the “not much washing up” thing that REALLY does it for me. *sigh*
I am going to post on this food when we finally get to town on the correct night. It’s fabulous!
“-)
BB
Angella
Those sunset photos are AMAZING.