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Despite the super yummy organic poached eggs for Easter…

… I couldn’t resist these eggs. My only Easter eggs. Thanks Pear!

Strawberries!

Picked Tuesday, bought Wednesday exactly zero metres from the field at Strawberry Fields Granite Belt, eaten Thursday with ice cream and flourless chocolate cake and shared with family. Even though I was feeling sick on Wednesday, I bought a strawberry smoothie as well. It was the best I’ve ever had. Ever.

You can pick your own for $12/kilo, buy first grade for $12/kilo or buy second grade for $8/kilo. I bought 2 kilos of second grades (a bit over 4 pounds) and froze half for smoothies.

Needless to say: Yum.

Big Yum Strawberries just washed and ready for eating.

Easter as a bantamweight belly

But this year I got to celebrate the awesomeness of huge and inexplicable stomach pains. Every time I forgot I can’t each rich foods, I paid for it.

I’ve had to go back to basics.

-Warm lemon water upon waking

-Home crushed fresh veggie juices during the day

-Peppermint tea in the evening.

 

I have no idea what I can eat yet, I have a feeling it’s going to include lots of soups and salads.

Going from Madam Iron Stomach to bantamweight belly is really tough- I’m not used to being sick or having pain so it teaches you a lot.

When I was travelling with friends to Stanthorpe and this started, it taught be I had to balance how I feel with the group- should I stay home or soldier on? What will impact their holiday fun the least while looking after myself?

Now that I’m home and have access to my juicer, blender, kitchen and healthier food, being sick has taught be to appreciate and use these things.

It’s reaffirmed that my husband is seriously the nicest guy around. I mean it. I was in the shower last night and he- put the lamp on in the bedroom and turned the ceiling light off, turned the sheets down, got my phone and put it next to the bed, heated up a rice pack and put it in the bed to wait for me. Then went back to drinking beer, listening to Spotify and watching YouTube videos into the night. Clone this man.

It’s taught me appreciation for one of the friends I was travelling. She has constant un-treatable stomach pain for which she has had time off work and lives with every day. I tip my hat to people living in pain every day. I don’t know how they do it. I couldn’t.

I’ve received a big lesson in listening to your body. If I stop listening for one second at the moment, my body lets me know it’s not happy.

 

We’ll see if I’m a good student or not.

Apparently you CAN hear “Let it Go” too many times

…and that was discovered on the 3 hour trip to Stanthorpe for wine touring with friends.

So Stanthorpe is a tiny town about 3 hours from Brisbane. It’s in a particularly rocky section of The Granite Belt region, unlike it’s bigger but blander neighbour Warwick, which is home to lots of south east Queensland’s farming.

BUT

Stanthorpe has wine.

Lots of it. And it’s cold, which means that Briswegians often pop over there in winter for a true cold experience.

Here’s some of our memories:

Notables:

• Sutton’s apples. Best apple pie ever and apple picking
• Anna’s. Italian restaurant with 80s decor but the biggest portions of good food I have ever seen. No one finished their dinner.
• Sommerville Valley Tourist Park and Resort. A little out of town, this place looks like a run of the mill caravan park and camping ground, but has waterfront cabins near the damn that are nicer than our apartment. With fireplaces. We’re already re-booked for one of my travel companion’s birthday.

Moggill ferry over to Ipswich

Sutton’s Apple pie. Don’t order lunch.

Vincenzio. A good place to buy almost everything. Yes, we took several shots pretending to eat the apple.

This happened far too often

Jersey girls

The view from our cabin.

Fire1

Yum!

Sunset/moonrise

Slow children? You don’t need to tell it like it is.

This was next to the Jamworks. It’s an “outpatient” garden, complete with rose beds, crutches and bed pans. Hehehehe.

Pyramid wines pyramid.

Spaghetti primavera at Anna’s. Delicious vegetables (much needed after a long day in the car). Couldn’t finish it all.

Vego gnocchi. Also too big to finish!

Look closely. Spiderwebs covered in morning dew.

pee AND wee, mind you. I never realised the difference.

Apple blossoms.

A quick snap of Warwick’s impressive church.

The sky is so beautiful here.

Oh yeah, and we bought over a dozen bottles of wine and a case of microbrew. And cheese. And tapenade. And apples. And strawberries. Go here if you like food.