The Easiest Soup

Just made myself a big pot of delicious roasted parsnip and carrot soup and thought I would post my recipe because it is soooo easy.

4 big carrots washed and chop into pieces (don't bother peeling carrots or parsnips)
4 big parsnips washed and chop into pieces
1/2 onion roughly chopped
small amount of butternut pumpkin roughly chopped (if you like)
throw everything onto an oven tray lined with baking paper, drizzle everything with olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.
Roast in 180Degree C oven until golden brown and soft.

Put reasonable quantities into blender (or use a stick blender) with equal amount of water (can use stock but not necessary). Blitz then put into container (you can make it as thick or thin as you like by the amount of liquid you add).

Zap in the microwave whenever you want a bowl and enjoy with nice crusty bread.

Will freeze really well. Can add a little ginger to the roast or some cumin for a little zing....lol. Very healthy too!!

Little washing up to do and so easy peasy to make.


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Tropical Storms Both Celia and Darby

The Eastern Pacific twins, Darby and Celia were once both major hurricanes and today are just barely hanging on to tropical storm status. Both are forecast to continue weakening over the next day or two.

Celia is spinning farthest away from land in the Eastern Pacific and seems to be sitting still. At 5 a.m. EDT on Monday, June 28, Celia was located about 1070 miles (1720 km) west-southwest of the southern tip of Baja California. Celia is virtually stationary, moving only 2 mph (4 km/hr) to the southwest. Celia's maximum sustained winds were near 40 mph, but she expected to weaken and become a remnant low pressure area over the next day or two. Minimum central pressure is 1005 millibars.

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Tropical Depression Alex in Atlantic Ocean

Forecasters on June 25 had given System 93L in the western Caribbean an 80 percent chance of developing into Tropical Depression Alex, and weekends seem to always birth tropical depressions. The GOES-13 satellite captured a visible image of both System 93L and a second low east of the Leeward Islands that has a much lesser chance of development this weekend.

System 93L has become better organized today and upper-level winds are becoming more conducive for development, so tropical depression Alex will likely form later today or Saturday.

Celia Now Category Three Hurricane

Tropically speaking Celia is in the Major Leagues. She’s now a Category Three hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale and classified as the Eastern Pacific’s first major hurricane. That’s quite a “batting average” for also being that season’s first hurricane. The other storms that formed before her in the Eastern Pacific didn’t make it to hurricane status.

Both Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites, GOES-11 (west) and GOES-13 (east) captured visible images of Hurricane Celia and Tropical Storm Darby in the Eastern Pacific on June 23, and Celia’s eye was visible in them.

At 8 a.m. PDT (11 a.m. EDT) on June 24, Hurricane Celia’s maximum sustained winds were near 115 mph (185 km/hr) with higher gusts. Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 30 miles (45 km) from the center and tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 115 miles (185 km).

Tropical Storm Darby Form Quickly

The fifth tropical depression of the Eastern Pacific Ocean hurricane season developed and quickly strengthened into Tropical Storm Darby during the early morning hours of June 23. NASA's Aqua satellite captured a large area of strong convection that indicated that speedy strengthening.

Darby formed off the western Mexico coast south of the Gulf of Tehuantepec. At 5 p.m. EDT on June 22 Darby was located about 540 miles south-southeast of Salina Cruz, Mexico. That's near 11.5 North and 94.0 West.

Darby's maximum sustained winds had increased to 40 mph with higher gusts by 5 a.m. EDT on June 23. Tropical storm-force winds extend outward up to 50 miles to the west of the center. Additional strengthening is also expected in the next 48 hours. Estimated minimum central pressure is 1005 millibars.

Tropical Depression Celia

At 5 a.m. EDT on June 22, Hurricane Celia had maximum sustained winds near 105 miles per hour. That makes Celia a category two storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale. National Hurricane Center forecasters noted that Celia could become a major hurricane (Category Three) in the next two days.

Celia's hurricane force winds extend outward up to 25 miles (35 km) from the center, and tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 90 miles (150 km).

Celia's center was located near 11.8 North latitude and 104.7 West longitude. That's about 500 miles south of Manzanillo, Mexico. Celia is moving toward the west near 8 mph (13 km/hr) and this general motion is expected to continue for the next 48 hours. Celia's estimated minimum central pressure is 970 millibars.

Infrared imagery from the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, GOES-11, did not see an eye this morning (June 22) although images from a polar orbiting satellite did see a small eye just after 0000 UTC (8 p.m. EDT) on June 21.

Not much more work on Abi's fluffy long-line cardie - she is going to look like a big fluffy toy n this one ... rotfl.

Been going through all my patterns to find my next knitting project for her. Will make it larger so she will get use out of it next year. She is 'off the charts' as far as her length goes .... guess that is to be expected - her Mum is 6'4" (193cm) and her Dad almost 6'10" (207cm)so I have to make things extra long. Poor sweetie - she can still fit into size 0 but the length is too short. All her lovely size 0 dresses (and even some size 1s) are now being used as tops .... rotfl.... and she is only 9 months old!

My cute grandson has been ill again. He has such a poor immune system and people insist on sending their kids to school even when they are ill. His mum took him to his Doc who said he now needs to have his tonsils and adenoids removed as the constant illnesses are putting a strain on his heart.

We thought after he had his last major heart surgery that he wouldn't have to have any more for years, if at all, but now he is on the waiting list. His doc has put that it needs to be done soon because of his heart.

Haven't done much in the way of patchwork for ages - in fact done virtual none! I have been looking at McKenna Ryan's latest quilt - Chrissy Down Under and it looks great. I love her quilts. I have made Morning Mews and they hang in my kitchen/family room.

I bought a kit from a place in Australia that I have not used before, it was $59 AUD but was very disappointed with it because they used their own fabrics and not those suggested by McKenna. It was Pieced Navidad but instead of being on the purple background it was a yucky dirty dark blue and the fabrics for the piecings were not very nice at all. Thank goodness I only bought the one piece because I would have been very upset spending 100s and not getting the right fabric.

When I bought Morning Mews I got it from The Village Sampler in Tasmania and they were great.

Love her Faith, Love and Hope series as well as her Christmas quilts - Beary Christmoose; When Friends Gather and A Journey to the Light. The trouble is they are expensive. I like to buy them as kits or BOM's because then you get the correct fabrics but usually they work out around the 400-500 AUD mark.

Well, maybe I will do some serious saving and treat myself to one of them....lol.

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Tropical Depression Blas

At 11 a.m. EDT (8 a.m. PDT) on June 17, the third tropical depression of the Eastern Pacific Hurricane Season was born. By 11:40 a.m. EDT (8:40 a.m. PDT) Tropical Depression 3-E (TD3-E) had strengthened into Tropical Storm Blas with maximum sustained winds near 40 mph and is expected to strengthen more over the next 48 hours.

It is currently located about 265 miles (425 km) south-southwest of Manzanillo, Mexico, near 15.3 North latitude and 105.3 West longitude. It is moving northeast near 2 mph (4 km/hr) and is expected to turn to the west-northwest. Estimated minimum central pressure is 1006 millibars. There are no coastal warnings in effect for this tropical storm.

Tropical Depression 2E

The second tropical depression of the Eastern Pacific Ocean hurricane season formed close to the western Mexican coast this morning, and the third tropical depression may develop in the next day or two.

Tropical Depression 2-E (TD 2-E) formed at 8:30 a.m. PDT (11:30 a.m. EDT) today, June 16. It is located near 14.8 North and 95.6 West, or about 100 miles (160 km) south-southwest of Salina Cruz, Mexico and 225 miles (360 km) east-southeast of Punto Maldonado, Mexico. Maximum sustained winds are near 30 mph and the TD 2-E appears stationary but is expected to move in a slow west-northwestward motion later today. TD 2-E will track very close to the coast of Mexico in the next day or two. TD 2-E's minimum central pressure is 1007 millibars.

Knitting Nut

Been knitting for Abi these last two weeks - I have finished a striped terracotta and lime jumper, a deliciously soft mauve jumper and this cardigan.

Just have the fronts and half the sleeves to go on a long line cardie madde from really bright and colourful eyelash wool (?) stuff .... lol

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System 92L

on June 14 at 04:29 UTC (12:29 a.m. EDT). There are some high, cold thunderstorms (purple -74F/-58C/215 Kelvin) in some of the areas of convection (blue)/clouds. The deep orange false-color of the ocean surface is about 80F (300 Kelvin), warm enough to support tropical cyclone development.

Tropical Depression 7E

Tropical Depression 7E (TD7E) formed at 11 p.m. EDT on August 5 and by 11 a.m. EDT on August 6, it was located about 165 miles south of Manzanillo, Mexico. That's near 16.6 North and 104.0 West. It continues to bring heavy rainfall and gusty winds to coastal areas in southwestern Mexico, and between 3 to 5 inches of rainfall is expected before TD7E moves farther away from land. Maximum sustained winds are near 35 mph, and TD7E's minimum central pressure is near 1004 millibars. It is moving to the west-northwest near 10 mph.

Tropical Depression Phet Now Inland Over Pakistan and India

areas of rainfall from Phet's remnants (blue) over inland Pakistan and India's Rajasthan desert area (far right) on June 7 at 8:41 UTC (4:41 a.m. EDT).

Tropical Cyclone Phet made its second and final landfall on Sunday, June 6 along coastal Pakistan bringing heavy rainfall, floods, and damages. By June 7, NASA satellite imagery confirmed that the remnants of Phet were still raining over inland areas of Pakistan and India.

All Better

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Cyclone Phet now Category 4 storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale

At 0900 UTC (5 a.m. EDT) today, June 3, Cyclone Phet (a Category 4 storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale) was located about 275 nautical miles south of Muscat, Oman, near 19.2 North and 59.3 East. Phet's maximum sustained winds were near 115 knots (132 mph) with gusts to 140 knots (161 mph). Phet has moved on a north-northwestward track at 4 knots (5 mph).

Cyclone Phet on June 3 at 08:59 UTC (4:59 a.m. EDT) in which the western half of the storm was already on top of coastal Oman. It showed a large area of strong thunderstorms with high, cold cloud tops as cold as -63 Fahrenheit.

Phet is in an area of low vertical wind shear. Vertical wind shear means winds blowing at different directions at different levels in the atmosphere that can tear a storm apart. When vertical wind shear is strong, it weakens tropical cyclones. When wind shear is weak, it allows tropical cyclones to maintain or increase intensity.

Weekend of Luxury Indulgence

Spent the weekend in luxury in the Hunter Valley wine country - despite the rain it was a lovely weekend, restful and relaxing as well as indulgent.

It was a beautiful 1 bedroom self contained villa - sheer luxury and opulence with the best quality of everything including food.

Set on a ridge overlooking a lovely valley; there was even room for me to land my helicopter if I so desired.



The two person spa looked out over the area and I indulged. Glass or two of moscato, someone to wash my feet .... ah the luxury of it all.....lol. Even the shower had a large window so you could wash and look at the view at the same time.

Early morning and evening there were kangaroos wandering past the windows, browsing along with wild ducks.

We spent time going through a few wineries and tasting their fare. B11 bought a few dozen bottles mainly verdelho , shiraz and chardonnay plus some moscato and dessert wines for me.

As well as indulging in wine tasting, we visited a few other places ......

One place I just could not miss was the Hunter Valley Chocolate Factory - okay I know but who could not resist a shop full of yummy chocolate and fresh fudge made daily? So I came out of there with Almond Bark, Honeycomb bark, Mint bark and a very delicious Orange and Lemon bark; er, um and then there was the fresh fudge made daily. I bought one or two or three or ..... vanilla, macadamia chocolate, vanilla and a yummy caramel pecan.

I love cheddar cheeses and what better place to indulge than The Smelly Cheese Shop., with a great name like that you would expect the cheeses to be great and they were! So what did I indulge in there? Some Red rind cheddar, black rind cheddar, Black rind King Island cheddar, Epicure cheddar and then a little something to eat outside in the fresh air - some very very delicious Pickled onion and chives cheddar which we ate with fresh crusty provincial bread.

The funny thing was we didn't have a knife so B11 went back into the shop and bought me a set of cheese knives, not just one $5 knife, no he bought me a lovely set!!

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Tropical Storm Phet

Tropical Cyclone Phet Intensifies, Coastal Oman Bracing for Strong Winds, Heavy Rains

Phet at 06:55 UTC (2:55 a.m. EDT or 6:55 p.m. local time/Pakistan) on June 2, and indicated the eye is about 12 kilometers (7 miles) in diameter.

Tropical storm Phet intensified over the last 24 hours and has grown into a full-blown and powerful cyclone. NASA's Terra satellite imagery of the storm from earlier today also revealed an eye in the storm, confirming the intensification. Residents of coastal Oman are bracing for strong winds, heavy rainfall and rough surf today and tomorrow.

Tropical Cyclone Phet had maximum sustained winds near 110 knots (126 mph) with gusts to 135 knots (155 mph). It is now considered a major cyclone (equivalent to a Category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale). It is about 560 miles southwest of Karachi, Pakistan, near 17.7 North and 60.6 East. It is moving to the northwest near 5 knots (6 mph). Cyclone-force winds extend to 35 miles from the storm's center, while tropical-storm force winds extend as far as 75 miles from the center. It is creating very rough seas on the Arabian Sea with waves as high as 18 feet.

Tropical Depression Agatha

Agatha Drenches Guatemala and El Salvador, Remnants Now in Caribbean

Tropical Storm Agatha was the first tropical storm of the Eastern Pacific hurricane season, and took an inland route, drenching El Salvador and Guatemala this past weekend.

By Tuesday, June 1, Agatha's remnants had moved into the northwestern Caribbean Sea east of the Yucatan peninsula. Environmental conditions in the area, however, likely won't permit Agatha to reform into a tropical cyclone.

Over the weekend, by Sunday, May 30, Tropical Storm Agatha had already moved inland and its heavy rains left more than 100 people dead in Guatemala and El Salvador. Those rains caused flash floods and mudslides. After Agatha made landfall, the storm had been downgraded to a tropical depression.