October Update

We had some lovely rain over the last weekend - not enough, but a great start! We also spent a few days out mushrooming - I love it when we get drizzly weather at this time of year, as it usually means mushrooms. I tend to dry them as my preferred storage option. I can then crush them into different soups, stews or whatever as a delicious flavouring. When used fresh, they tend to contain quite a bit of grit, which is not so appetising.

We ended up with about 4 basket fulls of mushrooms.

Kim out foraging in the pig paddocks. The pigs don't eat mushrooms, but they fertilise the paddocks nicely for growing mushrooms.

This last weekend, our local school at Baralaba celebrated it's 100 year birthday! The town did a fabulous job of organising the festivities and it was so great to catch up with old school friends (not too much emphasis on the old!) and some more recent friends from when my kids were at school there. My mum was involved at the school on and off since 1949 when she arrived as a student, then came back as a teacher, then a mum of students after she married my dad and then she went back teaching when I started school. She retired a little while ago, but was involved for a long time. At one stage in 1976, my entire family at the time (my young brother had not been born then) were at the school. Mum as a teacher, Dad as the groundsman, my oldest sister in year 10 and my youngest in year 1. The remaining five kids scattered through the classes in between. I think Mum would've taught, at some stage, a fair percentage of the people at the reunion on the weekend! 

This weekend coming, will find me at the Markets in Yeppoon and Rockhampton and will include a delivery to Gladstone area. I'm planning on a delivery to Emerald in November and then again before Christmas if people order hams.

Christmas Hams

We will have some hams available for Christmas this year. Please let me know if you would like to put your name down for one. They will be bone in only and $26/kg. I'm guessing that a whole one could be up to 6 or 7 kgs, and halves may be 4kg, as we'll use the biggest legs to cut in half. I'll need to know the following when ordering:

• NF or Conventional
• Whole or Half 
• Your phone number

Last night I cooked up some ham hocks. I pulled the meat off to serve with eggs for breakfast and will now use that broth to cook some beans for baked beans.

I will still have a few ham hocks if anyone wants them this weekend.