Jam appreciation picnic!

I made six large jars of pretty mulberry jam yesterday.  The lid of one jar didn't seal properly, so it was destined to be opened first for proper sampling.

Today seemed a perfect day for a jam appreciation picnic.  I made a batch of scones before leaving home and then we set off - with Bandit.

I hadn't planned a destination but was pleased when we arrived at Moogerah Dam, particularly as we had this large picnic pavillion to ourselves in spite of the many cars parked nearby.

Well, not quite to ourselves.  As I set the table and Nick organised our little stove, he spotted a possum in one corner of the roof.  It was curled up at first but seemed to start moving about when I opened the jam - and it then was obvious that we were sharing the shelter with two possums, a mum and youngster.

How was the jam?  Excellent!  And the scones - well, they weren't bad either!

The $1.00 op-shop remnant I bought in Dalby was enough to make three smaller size tea-towels, which I've packed into our various picnic cases.  

One tea towel came with us today, for it's first trip out.  (We generally rinse our mugs with leftover hot water from the kettle, to be used again on longer outings.  They are washed properly once home again).

Dalby dallying ...

Nick's been looking forward to using his Gladstone bag and toiletries case, so appreciated a chance to road-trip out to Dalby!  

We took our time getting organised on Thursday morning and arrived around lunchtime.  After a very nice cafe lunch, we checked in to our motel room and then spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening with lovely new friends.

Nick and Ann met online via a song-writing group but it was great to meet in person.  We were treated to afternoon tea and then they played guitar.  Both sang some of their original songs.  And then we picked lots of mulberries, still chatting all the time.

We checked out on Friday morning, had a huge brekkie at a nearby cafe (where we'd lunched on Thursday) and then looked at all the op-shops in town.  As usual, we found a few bargains.  I was happy with some remnants - including a $1.00 linen tea-toweling piece. 

Although we have visited Dalby a couple of times, we hadn't seen much of the larger township so drove around a bit (and found a cache) before heading back toward home.

There were a couple of detours along the way.  Oakey was a longer stop, cos their op-shops were also open - happy days!

We enjoyed a late lunch cheese platter in the park, where we've stopped previously.  

There was a cool breeze and we could see a little of the creek, so we lingered for a while before packing up and driving the last stretch back home.

As the crow flies ...

Nick and I really enjoyed seeing all the displays at last year's Carnival of Flowers. I suggested to Erin that she and I do an overnight trip to view them, before the official program commenced.  The suggestion was made around lunchtime and initially I had thought we might head up that day.  

As it happened the afternoon was busy and we drove up on Saturday morning. (Toowoomba is less then an hour and a half from home, so not a huge trek).

We detoured to see Spring Bluff (which is self-proclaimed as the most beautiful railway station in SE Queensland). And yes, it is lovely!

From there we drove up to Toowoomba, making a couple of op-shop stops and wandering around the markets, before enjoying our picnic. 

I had Erin pose near the little vintage van because it was the same as the one I decorated for her (and Nissa) many years ago.  The story of that van, is here.

We viewed the Queens Park gardens and then those at Laurel Bank Park (where I exclaimed "look at the wisteria" and Erin heard "look at the posterior")!  By 3ish, we decided it was time for afternoon tea and a rest so farewelled Toowoomba and drove across to our accommodation at Crows Nest.