We have a toilet of doom. A dunny of despair. A crapper of vermin.
The public toilet has been attracting some local wildlife lately, and it sucks.
When we first arrived there were a few toads that used to get in there overnight and there have always been a few spiders, but it's gotten ridiculous.
It started yesterday, with a 60cm tree snake deciding to hide out in there. He was hanging out in the scrub out the front, then came up to the cellar door to have a look, then got spooked and legged it to the dunny to hide out. Josh bravely ventured in there, and he slithered off and up a tree and onto the roof.
Today, there was a little field mouse hanging out in there. He wasn't in great shape, but he was still alive. Again, Josh bravely ventured in there and scooped him up and released him back into the wild.
They say bad things come in threes, so I wonder what will be in there tomorrow. My guess is a wild pig.
Sunday, 26 April 2015
Thursday, 23 April 2015
And Baby Makes Three!
Josh and I have some very exciting news we'd like to share.
We've recently welcomed a new addition to our little Queensland family...PRINCESS JASMINE! My beloved kitty has made the trek from WA to QLD and is finally here!
She's been living it up on holidays in Mandurah with my mama up until now (thanks a million, Mum!) while we were getting set up and settled in. Now that we're here (and Mum is well and truly sick of her) it was time to send my baby across the country.
I hired a company called JetPets (one star, wouldn't recommend) to transport her across. She was dropped off in Perth at 6:05am and all caged up ready to wait for her flight. The poor little poppet was terrified, but managed to survive the five hour flight to Brisbane.
Two and a half hours later (and still caged up) she was on another flight to Bundaberg. I called to confirm the pick up address, as it sounded strange to pick her up from downtown Bundaberg. I was assured it was correct (it wasn't - I had to race to the airport to meet her at the correct pick up place).
My poor little baby wasn't moving a muscle and hiding under the blanket in her cage when I picked her up. I hurriedly got her to my car so I could open the cage and give her some love. She perked up a little after some snuggles and a drink of water and we were on our way home.
She was pretty stoked to be let out the cage in Childers and did a few laps of the donga. After scoffing down her favourite sardines for dinner she tucked herself into bed for the night. Obviously she had a traumatic day and needed a rest!
The next day (yesterday) she was kept inside, much to her disgust. She was very keen to explore and meowed mournfully whenever anyone was close enough to hear her.
This morning I'd had enough. It was 6:30am and her meowing was relentless. I opened the donga door and she raced outside. She spent about an hour walking around sniffing anything she could, while I trailed behind to keep an eye on her. Once I was happy that she knew where she was and where "home" is, I let her be while we pottered about the cellar.
She spent the first half of the day exploring, and came back every ten minutes or so to 'check in'. She's spent most of the afternoon just hanging out with us, wherever we happen to be.
She helped me water the garden beds. She helped Josh eat a cheese platter for lunch. She helped us with some bookwork in the cellar. She's also claimed the decorative armchair in the cellar as her own and spent a good proportion of her afternoon sleeping there.
She LOVES rolling around in the red dirt and tries so hard to catch the birds that flap around nearby. She also seems pretty stoked to be able to spend all day around Josh (her favourite person in the world) and I.
All in all, this crazy cat lady is very happy :)
We've recently welcomed a new addition to our little Queensland family...PRINCESS JASMINE! My beloved kitty has made the trek from WA to QLD and is finally here!
She's been living it up on holidays in Mandurah with my mama up until now (thanks a million, Mum!) while we were getting set up and settled in. Now that we're here (and Mum is well and truly sick of her) it was time to send my baby across the country.
I hired a company called JetPets (one star, wouldn't recommend) to transport her across. She was dropped off in Perth at 6:05am and all caged up ready to wait for her flight. The poor little poppet was terrified, but managed to survive the five hour flight to Brisbane.
Two and a half hours later (and still caged up) she was on another flight to Bundaberg. I called to confirm the pick up address, as it sounded strange to pick her up from downtown Bundaberg. I was assured it was correct (it wasn't - I had to race to the airport to meet her at the correct pick up place).
My poor little baby wasn't moving a muscle and hiding under the blanket in her cage when I picked her up. I hurriedly got her to my car so I could open the cage and give her some love. She perked up a little after some snuggles and a drink of water and we were on our way home.
She was pretty stoked to be let out the cage in Childers and did a few laps of the donga. After scoffing down her favourite sardines for dinner she tucked herself into bed for the night. Obviously she had a traumatic day and needed a rest!
The next day (yesterday) she was kept inside, much to her disgust. She was very keen to explore and meowed mournfully whenever anyone was close enough to hear her.
This morning I'd had enough. It was 6:30am and her meowing was relentless. I opened the donga door and she raced outside. She spent about an hour walking around sniffing anything she could, while I trailed behind to keep an eye on her. Once I was happy that she knew where she was and where "home" is, I let her be while we pottered about the cellar.
She spent the first half of the day exploring, and came back every ten minutes or so to 'check in'. She's spent most of the afternoon just hanging out with us, wherever we happen to be.
She helped me water the garden beds. She helped Josh eat a cheese platter for lunch. She helped us with some bookwork in the cellar. She's also claimed the decorative armchair in the cellar as her own and spent a good proportion of her afternoon sleeping there.
She LOVES rolling around in the red dirt and tries so hard to catch the birds that flap around nearby. She also seems pretty stoked to be able to spend all day around Josh (her favourite person in the world) and I.
All in all, this crazy cat lady is very happy :)
 |
| "Pleeeeeease let me outside!" |
 |
| LOVING the red dirt. |
 |
| Relaxing on her chair |
 |
| Crazy cat lady selfie |
Friday, 17 April 2015
Celebrities...again
So, we've been open for two whole weeks, and its all going great!
We've had customers every single day (phew!) and have turned over enough to pay back the business credit card, pay this months mortgage and have food on the table. BIG RELIEF! It's pretty great to know that what we've worked so hard on is coming together and is working.
We can't get complacent though - it's time to move on to Ohana Winery: Phase 2! The next step will be to contact the local hotels and tour operators in Bundaberg and Hervey Bay to try and get some tourist and coach buses to stop off on their way through Childers.
Josh and I are also local celebrities now. We had an article written about us in the local paper - nearly a whole page! It was a nice story on our background and how we ended up in Childers.
My efforts as a jam-maker are paying off. I've sold a heap of jam and had to make another batch of Dragonfruit Jam. I'm nearly out of Fingerlime Marmalade too, so I'll have to do some foraging to see if there are any left on the trees.
Josh's liqueurs are doing really well too. Our experimental "Jackfruit Liqueur" has been a raging success. We both thought it was going to be a waste of time (it smelt horrible for most of its life!) however it actually tasted pretty nice. Since it was so unusual we didn't think we'd sell any at all...but we were completely wrong. It seems people are looking for something unique - and this certainly is! We had some visitors from Brisbane who ended up buying five bottles of it!
It's pretty exciting to see some teeny little Jaboticaba flowers and fruit starting to come through. (A Jaboticaba is the Brazillian tree grape we make the tawny's out of). When this years crop is ripe we'll be able to have a crack at a Jaboticaba table wine - and anything else we can dream up.
Farm life is still going well. There is still SO much to do around the place, and we need to try and find a balance between "winery" and "fruit farm". (Is anyone keen for a working holiday in sunny Queensland!?) We'll work it out eventually.
I've also had a birthday since my last post (yay! I love birthdays!). It was pretty low-key this year, but I was treated to dinner at a lovely place in Bargara (about 50 mins away) the night before, and brekkie the morning of. I was even allowed a sleep in! (Til about 8am!)
I think that's all that's been happening lately! (Oh, I also made some passionfruit cheesecakes in little glass jars - they were super cute!)
We've had customers every single day (phew!) and have turned over enough to pay back the business credit card, pay this months mortgage and have food on the table. BIG RELIEF! It's pretty great to know that what we've worked so hard on is coming together and is working.
We can't get complacent though - it's time to move on to Ohana Winery: Phase 2! The next step will be to contact the local hotels and tour operators in Bundaberg and Hervey Bay to try and get some tourist and coach buses to stop off on their way through Childers.
Josh and I are also local celebrities now. We had an article written about us in the local paper - nearly a whole page! It was a nice story on our background and how we ended up in Childers.
My efforts as a jam-maker are paying off. I've sold a heap of jam and had to make another batch of Dragonfruit Jam. I'm nearly out of Fingerlime Marmalade too, so I'll have to do some foraging to see if there are any left on the trees.
Josh's liqueurs are doing really well too. Our experimental "Jackfruit Liqueur" has been a raging success. We both thought it was going to be a waste of time (it smelt horrible for most of its life!) however it actually tasted pretty nice. Since it was so unusual we didn't think we'd sell any at all...but we were completely wrong. It seems people are looking for something unique - and this certainly is! We had some visitors from Brisbane who ended up buying five bottles of it!
It's pretty exciting to see some teeny little Jaboticaba flowers and fruit starting to come through. (A Jaboticaba is the Brazillian tree grape we make the tawny's out of). When this years crop is ripe we'll be able to have a crack at a Jaboticaba table wine - and anything else we can dream up.
Farm life is still going well. There is still SO much to do around the place, and we need to try and find a balance between "winery" and "fruit farm". (Is anyone keen for a working holiday in sunny Queensland!?) We'll work it out eventually.
I've also had a birthday since my last post (yay! I love birthdays!). It was pretty low-key this year, but I was treated to dinner at a lovely place in Bargara (about 50 mins away) the night before, and brekkie the morning of. I was even allowed a sleep in! (Til about 8am!)
I think that's all that's been happening lately! (Oh, I also made some passionfruit cheesecakes in little glass jars - they were super cute!)
 |
| Look at those ugly mugs! |
Saturday, 11 April 2015
Our Number 1 Fan
Despite only being open for one week, we have already gained our "Number 1 Fan".
There's this older lady in town, who has lived here all her life and her family is a big name around this area. She heard about our winery and popped in one day with a friend of hers. They shared a pot of tea and I sat out in the garden with them and had a chat.
She grabbed a few business cards and said that she had a lovely time and would tell her friends. Nothing new, we've heard that from a few people.
The next day, she was back with her niece. She said she didn't want anything to eat or drink, she just wanted to bring her niece here to show her what we've done with the place. She ended up having a glass of water while her niece had a coffee. She asked if she could take a few more business cards and a copy of our lunch menu.
The day after that, she was back again - this time with a different friend. She had laminated our menu, but realised our phone number and opening hours weren't printed on it. She didn't stay long, but grabbed some extra details and left once more.
Today we had a lady call in to grab a few details from us, she said that she'd heard about this from her friend and wanted to pop in to find out more. Our Number 1 fan had been at it again!
Later today, while chatting to the staff at the bowls club, Cooper mentioned the winery. "Oh! We've heard about the new winery from your Number 1 Fan! She was raving about it. We are going to come down and check it out soon!"
I think it's time to put her on the payroll - she's done more advertising for us than any thing else!
There's this older lady in town, who has lived here all her life and her family is a big name around this area. She heard about our winery and popped in one day with a friend of hers. They shared a pot of tea and I sat out in the garden with them and had a chat.
She grabbed a few business cards and said that she had a lovely time and would tell her friends. Nothing new, we've heard that from a few people.
The next day, she was back with her niece. She said she didn't want anything to eat or drink, she just wanted to bring her niece here to show her what we've done with the place. She ended up having a glass of water while her niece had a coffee. She asked if she could take a few more business cards and a copy of our lunch menu.
The day after that, she was back again - this time with a different friend. She had laminated our menu, but realised our phone number and opening hours weren't printed on it. She didn't stay long, but grabbed some extra details and left once more.
Today we had a lady call in to grab a few details from us, she said that she'd heard about this from her friend and wanted to pop in to find out more. Our Number 1 fan had been at it again!
Later today, while chatting to the staff at the bowls club, Cooper mentioned the winery. "Oh! We've heard about the new winery from your Number 1 Fan! She was raving about it. We are going to come down and check it out soon!"
I think it's time to put her on the payroll - she's done more advertising for us than any thing else!
Whirlwind
So, the past two weeks have been a blur.
We've had some setbacks (wine labels not being ready in time), some wins (eftpos machine finally sorted) and most importantly, we've had people through the door.
We haven't really be FLOODED with people, but we've had customers every single day, and we've made enough money to pay the mortgage and have both of us work at the winery (and not get a 'real' job in Bundaberg). It's a nice life, albeit a little quieter than we'd like.
We've had a lot of good feedback though. Josh and I are naturally pretty friendly people, so it's easy to have a chat with the customers who do come in. Everyone who has been to the winery before (in it's previous life as the Isis Winery) are amazed with what we've done to the place. So, that's always nice to hear.
And everyone else seems genuinely happy with their lunch platters, afternoon tea, coffee or wines...so that's nice to hear too. In case you're interested, we serve:
Maui Platter ($9pp)
Ham, proscuitto, salami, brie, pepper pecorino, cheddar, marinated olives, sundried tomatoes, relish, bread and crackers.
Kauai Platter ($9pp)
Blue vein, brie, pepper pecorino, cheddar, marinated olives, sundried tomatoes, stuffed baby peppers, relish, bread and crackers.
Big Kahuna Platter ($15pp)
Slow roasted pulled pork, guac, salsa, sour cream, wraps and corn chips.
Josh leaves it up to me to sort the kitchen (he's pretty handy for opening jars and lifting things off shelves though). I'm getting a lot more organised with practice, so it doesn't take too long to get a platter out. Each morning I whip up a batch of scones and sometimes something else too.
For the most part, he's at the front counter doing the wine tastings and making coffees, however we're both pretty flexible and help each other out when we need to. It's nice finding a job that we can do together and not get on each others nerves!
If you haven't already, please check out (and "like"!) our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/ohanawinery. We also have our website up and running now, so you can see a few more pictures and read more about the farm at www.ohanawinery.com.au.
We've had some setbacks (wine labels not being ready in time), some wins (eftpos machine finally sorted) and most importantly, we've had people through the door.
We haven't really be FLOODED with people, but we've had customers every single day, and we've made enough money to pay the mortgage and have both of us work at the winery (and not get a 'real' job in Bundaberg). It's a nice life, albeit a little quieter than we'd like.
We've had a lot of good feedback though. Josh and I are naturally pretty friendly people, so it's easy to have a chat with the customers who do come in. Everyone who has been to the winery before (in it's previous life as the Isis Winery) are amazed with what we've done to the place. So, that's always nice to hear.
And everyone else seems genuinely happy with their lunch platters, afternoon tea, coffee or wines...so that's nice to hear too. In case you're interested, we serve:
Maui Platter ($9pp)
Ham, proscuitto, salami, brie, pepper pecorino, cheddar, marinated olives, sundried tomatoes, relish, bread and crackers.
Kauai Platter ($9pp)
Blue vein, brie, pepper pecorino, cheddar, marinated olives, sundried tomatoes, stuffed baby peppers, relish, bread and crackers.
Big Kahuna Platter ($15pp)
Slow roasted pulled pork, guac, salsa, sour cream, wraps and corn chips.
Josh leaves it up to me to sort the kitchen (he's pretty handy for opening jars and lifting things off shelves though). I'm getting a lot more organised with practice, so it doesn't take too long to get a platter out. Each morning I whip up a batch of scones and sometimes something else too.
For the most part, he's at the front counter doing the wine tastings and making coffees, however we're both pretty flexible and help each other out when we need to. It's nice finding a job that we can do together and not get on each others nerves!
If you haven't already, please check out (and "like"!) our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/ohanawinery. We also have our website up and running now, so you can see a few more pictures and read more about the farm at www.ohanawinery.com.au.
Sunday, 5 April 2015
OPENING DAY!!!!!!!
All the blood, sweat and tears (and thousands of $$!) over the past 40 days have finally culminated in our opening day. I think it was a big success!
We ended up selling a few dozen bottles of wine and liqueurs, a few jams, a few homemade chocolate blocks and a heap of coffee. We were pretty busy first thing in the morning, then it cooled off a bit over the middle of the day, and finished up with a few customers just before closing time.
While we weren't flat out for the whole day, it was nice to have a lot of people through, and nice to get some positive feedback about how nice the place is looking.
We had some trouble securing our eftpos machine in time for yesterday, so I think we did quite well for being 'cash only'. Quite a few people bought one or two things, saying they would have bought more if they had more cash on them. Hopefully we'll get that sorted early next week.
Fingers crossed we have as much success over the next few weeks...!
We ended up selling a few dozen bottles of wine and liqueurs, a few jams, a few homemade chocolate blocks and a heap of coffee. We were pretty busy first thing in the morning, then it cooled off a bit over the middle of the day, and finished up with a few customers just before closing time.
While we weren't flat out for the whole day, it was nice to have a lot of people through, and nice to get some positive feedback about how nice the place is looking.
We had some trouble securing our eftpos machine in time for yesterday, so I think we did quite well for being 'cash only'. Quite a few people bought one or two things, saying they would have bought more if they had more cash on them. Hopefully we'll get that sorted early next week.
Fingers crossed we have as much success over the next few weeks...!
 |
| Josh, directing traffic behind the counter |
 |
| Our Jaboticaba Tawny |
 |
| Our outdoor cafe area |
 |
| The "wine garden" Josh and his dad built |
 |
| The view of the winery (bad lighting...sorry) |
 |
| Our flags! |
 |
| My little jams |
Busy little bees
Holy moly, this last week has been an absolute whirlwind. We've picked up Josh's dad and step mum in Brisbane, and they've been working like trojans to help us get everything finished off before THE GRAND OPENING (yesterday!).
Here's what we've been up to.
Here's what we've been up to.
- Our new 'Wine Garden'! Josh and his dad paved the weedy/concretey picnic area with some nice charcoal pavers. While the square meterage is actually smaller than what was there, the whole space feels so much bigger! We've then installed some bamboo screening around the outside and added a few plants. I reckon it still needs a bit of greenery, but it's SO much nicer than it was before! If it ever stops bloody raining (three days straight now) we'd be able to put our all our new cafe furniture and set it up properly.
- Our planter box! Josh's beautiful planter box is now filled with plants! We thought we bought heaps, but it still looks a little 'sparse'. I'm sure it'll fill out quickly in a few weeks once the plants settle in and start growing.
- Food! I've met with our food rep and we've now got a fridge stocked with lovely cured meats and cheeses.
- Jam! I've been busy in the kitchen, slaving over molten sugar with my candy thermometer and sterilised jars making jam out of any fruit that's ripe and within arms reach. I've got a total of six different kinds on sale in the cellar door. So far Finger Lime Marmalade has been the most popular, followed by Dragon Fruit Jam.
- Art! I've been in touch with a few local artists who have let us hang their works for sale in our cellar door. They name their price and if anyone wants to buy them, we take the cash and pass it along to the artists. We have a total of 11 pieces from three artists, and they're doing a great job of covering up our ugly brown walls.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)