Friendship, Food and Music

08 Jul 2017 2 Comments

by Debra Manskey in Biography, Cooking, Music, Produce, Rabbits, Recording, Urban Farming Tags: , , , ,

Hello friends,

It’s been quite a few weeks since I’ve posted anything. Yes, I think I’m slack too, but I’ve been fairly snowed under with work, a nasty stomach bug and (as always) constant study and assignment deadlines!

A la Game of Thrones, winter isn’t coming – it’s well and truly here! At least winter had the good grace to wait until Dark Mofo had finished before settling in properly. And the colder weather’s brought some very icy mornings and plenty of work to do around my little urban farm. I’ve been weeding beds, transplanting lots of volunteer greens that that have sprung up and covering as much as possible with spent straw from the rabbit hutches. It looks like it’s going to be a really good crop of garlic this coming summer and I can’t wait to see how the later varieties fare in my microclimate. We’ve enjoyed the first few lemons off my tiny tree and the Blood Orange, Lime and Valencia are both surviving the cold weather so far *crosses fingers*

I’m waiting on another order of fruit trees on dwarfing rootstock that I’ll be putting up into wicking tubs like the apples last winter and trying to clean up the last of the chestnuts’ spiky husks and collect all the leaves for compost. I confess I’ve been putting off stripping out the greenhouse in preparation for spring. It’s such a big job and something of a domino effect – once I start, I can’t stop!

I was thinking about tackling it this morning but a visit from some friends saved me 😀 Matt was interested in trying one of my farmed rabbits to eat and arranged to call around with Robyn (another musician friend). Being winter, I had no fresh kits but had one in the freezer from the last litter for him. Robyn and I found about 500g of good chestnuts from two large buckets of spiky husks and I gave her and Matt fresh eggs, herbs and a jar of crabapple jelly for Matt’s elderly mother. We drank coffee on the balcony in the winter sunshine, discussed music, books and life in general.

Matt and I have known one another for many years and today was a delightful catch up. (We recorded “Clementine”, a song of his last year but I’m not sure when it’s going to be released!) He’s in the process of recording again and wanted to borrow my electric 12 string guitar (affectionately known as Dean), which I was happy to do. Meanwhile, I’ve been toying with buying a flat-back mandolin for playing in live sets and was utterly blown away when he gave me this today, saying it was just lying around, not getting played….

I’ve been tinkering around with it most of the afternoon and I think it’s going to be a fabulous addition. And I’m sure every time I play it I’ll think of my dear friend – I might even have to write him a song ❤

Sunday Fun – Day 6 NaBloPoMo 2016

06 Nov 2016 5 Comments

by Debra Manskey in Biography, Cooking, Produce, Rabbits, Urban Farming, Writing Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Hi friends,

Firstly, an update on the potatoes from yesterday’s post. Last night’s dinner was simple but delicious – and the first decent meal I’d been able to eat for a few days thanks to a vicious gastro bug!

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On the plate besides the chicken breast was the first of the broad beans, Pink Eye potatoes with fresh new season garlic butter and a lot of of lightly steamed silverbeet (aka Swiss Chard and possibly my favourite vegetable). Sadly, the carrot came from the shop, I didn’t have time to check the carrot tub out on the balcony.

Today, my friend Karen and her daughter Georgia came round to visit and we had a great time, feeding the animals (we all got to cuddle Bernard Black Bunny) sharing lunch and playing board games. Karen and Georgia were my neighbours for almost seven years and though they only moved a few streets away a couple of weeks ago, I miss them dearly. It was brilliant just hanging out and laughing together.

Board games are big in this house and we’ve managed to get quite a collection together over the years. Today we played a great little bluffing/card game called Sheriff of Nottingham and the wonderful Betrayal at House on the Hill, which is incredibly suspenseful and loads of fun.

For those of you interested in such things, I highly recommend TableTop, created by two of my favourite geeks, Felicia Day and Wil Wheaton. Here, Wheaton hosts and plays through board games with fellow celebrity geeks. Don’t be fooled, this isn’t necessarily for kids – some of the language and games definitely have adult themes – but is well worth watching if you’re interested in seeing how particular games are played. I view it as a very entertaining “try before I buy” tool 😀

Meanwhile, I’m on the home stretch with a big essay. My deadline is tomorrow night, so I’m off to write as much as possible tonight (as long as it takes) and edit it all tomorrow when I’ve had some sleep.

And it wouldn’t be right unless I finished with a gratuitous cute bunny pic ❤

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Take care wherever you are friends and let me know if you have a favourite board game – I’m always interested in new additions to the collection 😀

All the Sadness, All the Joy

14 Oct 2016 6 Comments

by Debra Manskey in Biography, Music Tags: , , , , ,

 

Hey, I’m back!

I’ve taken some time off blogging for a myriad of reasons. University got pretty intense, the garden demanded my attention, I had some health things to deal with and work was busier than usual – particularly with the amazing Callum playing his debut gig (an absolute blast, that I will write about in coming days). But mostly, I was too sad to write anything for public consumption that made much sense. 2016 has been a tough year to deal with.

Last month, my dear friend Jacqui passed away and it hit me and everyone who knew her very, very hard. It wasn’t unexpected, her health had been failing for a long time and she was having more bad than good days. Her funeral was a bittersweet affair, with equal amounts of laughter and tears, and punctuated by lots of music. And she would’ve loved every bit of it! I performed her favourite song, “Jamaica Farewell” acapella, which we used to sing together most Mondays.

Below is the last photo of the two of us. It was a Friday session with the Superstars back in July and Jac was having a bad day. She didn’t want to join in – but she still wanted to hold my hand and say cheeky things to Chris the photographer, while the others played and sang 😀

Jacqui and me

Jacqui and me

I’m incredibly grateful that I got to know her in the last few years of her life and enjoyed such a friendship. It was joyous, at times raucous and always filled with music and with love. This was proved again today when one of The Superstars played a beautiful little piece of music and announced to us all when she finished “that was for Jacqui”.

She will not be forgotten ❤

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The Joy of Friendship – Day 4 NaBloPoMo 2015

04 Nov 2015 3 Comments

by Debra Manskey in Biography, Chickens, Produce, Urban Farming, Vegetable Gardening, Writing Tags: , , , , ,

Today I had a proper day off and visited my friend Sara. Like me, she’s a creative soul – a writer, gardener and chicken fancier. I took a couple of bush squash seedlings and she gave me a few Roma tomatoes and a bag of fresh lemons off her heavily laden tree. (With all the eggs I’ve got at the moment, I feel a Lemon Meringue coming on in the next few days!) We catch up every couple of months, last time we did a big seed swap and laughed ourselves silly around her dining table.

My new Roma Tomato plants, potted up and ready for staking

My new Roma Tomato plants, potted up and ready for staking

Her garden is amazing, it’s quite small and she’s made fabulous use of the space, with fruit trees espaliered against a north facing fence, an unwanted bathtub the perfect home for strawberries and blueberries, tight block plantings bordered with container salad vegetables, a very efficient and productive greenhouse and an ingenious enclosed corner for her two chickens that can be wheeled across fallow beds.

Sara is also a nationally renowned psychic and astrologer and has been writing professionally for years, contributing regular columns to some of the best known magazines in Australia. She also has her own business Stargold and does readings for clients both in Australia and worldwide.

Over coffee, we worked out we’ve known each other for just over 30 years. We’ve shared houses, seen each other through numerous loves and break-ups, pregnancies, child-rearing and (more recently) health issues and growing into middle age as stylishly and (dis)gracefully as possible.

I treasure her friendship very, very much for two major reasons. Firstly, even if we haven’t seen each other for years there’s never any uncomfortable silences – we always manage to pick up wherever we left off without reservation. Secondly, despite the years we still have the capacity to make each other genuinely laugh – a truly priceless gift.

A heart-shaped Strawberry discovered in my garden

A heart-shaped Strawberry discovered in my garden

The Joy of Work – Day 2 NaBloPoMo 2015

02 Nov 2015 Leave a comment

by Debra Manskey in Biography, Inspiration, Music, Performance, Urban Farming, Writing Tags: , , , , , ,

I’m a professional musician, writer and educator. My working week is made up of private students plus contract music and teaching roles. In between I have gigs and time to pursue and improve my own arts practice. Add to that, maintaining what amounts to an urban farm in the backyard plus part-time online study through Griffith University, and every week is pretty full.

I consider myself very, very lucky. The garden produces fresh vegetables year round, a good deal of fruit and some meat from our breeding rabbits, plus fresh eggs for approximately ten months of the year. Study enriches me in completely different ways and has provided me with different ways of looking at the world and my place in it, and then there’s music.

Music is my therapy and a major source of fun in my life – it always has been. And I’m lucky enough to be able to make money out of it.

My main work contracts are currently with Oak Tasmania, an organisation that provides support and services to people with disabilities. Every Monday I get paid to be a human jukebox and play all different kinds of music for a truly beautiful and diverse group of people. I enjoy it so much that I usually turn up an hour early and eat lunch with them before we start. In fact, I sometimes feel like I’m taking money under false pretenses – the clients have become friends and we enjoy each others’ company immensely.

Today I arrived as usual and started preparing my lunch, when one of my dear friends presented me with this beautiful little bouquet of home-grown roses because she appreciates me and what I do for her. I was so touched by the gesture I nearly cried.

My work is also my joy.

The roses are now in a vase, taking pride of place in my lounge room 😀

Roses from a friend

What are your work stories? Do you find joy in what you do? Please leave your story in the comments! 

 

Travelling Backwards

04 Jul 2015 Leave a comment

by Debra Manskey in Biography, Writing Tags: , , , , , , ,

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It’s been a long day. I watched the moon set this morning over My Wellington in Hobart, as I fed myself, the rabbits and the chickens. I filled up on coffee, packed the car and drove off from chilly Hobart to the beautiful east coast.

I stopped a couple of times to stretch my protesting muscles and joints and walk around. One of the things I’ve noticed battling arthritis over the years is that I need to keep moving and if I’m stuck behind the wheel for any longer than an hour I start to fidget. Safer to pull over and walk around for a while. So, first stop was Orford, on the banks of the Prosser  River, incredibly pretty as the mist was burning off in the warm winter sun.

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So nice to see Black Swans feeding in the shallows and smell eucalyptus again!

Further up the Tasman Highway, I stopped for a stroll along one of my favourite places at Old Man Creek. Nestled into the cliffs, there’s a small camping ground and a gorgeous white sand beach.

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Even in mid winter, there were a few people at the dozen or so campsites and it made me reminisce about many camping trips I’ve spent there going back thirty years or so. It was lovely just to walk, breathe in the sea air, listen to rhythm of the waves and watch sunlight on the water. Also, it was surprisingly warm for this time of the year and very sheltered from the prevailing westerly winds. Pretty close to perfect conditions 🙂

As I write, I’m crashed on the couch at the Bicheno Backpackers, very comfortable and full of Earl Grey tea. The sun is slipping away and its starting to chill off quite rapidly.

Tomorrow, I go to say hello to a friend when in actual fact, it is the biggest and final goodbye. Jeff is dying and there’s nothing any of us can do about it. I have strange and conflicted feelings about the whole thing. Above all, I know this is the right thing for me to do, to celebrate this dear friend while I can, with him before he passes away.

Take care dear people, be good to each other

Debra ❤

Sidetracks

18 Jun 2015 Leave a comment

by Debra Manskey in Biography, Inspiration, Music, Performance, Writing Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Photo by Derek Tickner

Photo by Derek Tickner

Hi everyone,

It’s cold here in Hobart, time for thermals, winter food and my favourite winter pastime – Dark MOFO. This year has been as wonderful as ever but the stand out for me was Antony and the Johnsons + The Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra. Here’s a short review from the Sydney Morning Herald. I was one of the many who wept and cheered, incredibly moved by the music and the moment.

The truth is, I’m in a strange head space at the moment. A very dear and old friend (one of the most vital people I know) is dying and I’ve been trying to come to terms with his imminent death. I haven’t seen him for quite a few years but I’m catching up in a couple of weeks, taking messages from other friends who are far away and probably going to gift him with a song I’ve been thinking about writing for some time.

Yes, I think about songs before I write them. They often start as phrases or a single line that I write in a notebook but when they start invading my brain while I’m trying to use it on other things, I know it’s time to act! I’ve got a chorus and almost two verses but we’ll see what comes out of the next couple of days.

Meanwhile, I should be working on a short story for uni and finishing off album art for The Woman on the Edge of the World. Oh well, that’s life. And death….

Take care wherever you are people, and if you have the chance, tell the people who matter that you love them while you can.

Debra ❤