I love food, especially fresh salad. And with the weather warming up salad makes a good light meal for dinner with some grilled chicken, fish, or a hard boiled egg.
To that end the veggie garden has an abundance of lettuce of different verieties growing this year. Along with onions (who’s leaves are great chopped and tossed in) and a range of herbs.
Lettuce has proven remarkably easy to grow and they also look rather pretty!
I have to say that since I launched my new site just over a week ago I have been delighted with the results. I have had lots of great feedback from friends, customers, and new visitors.
The question now is: what I can do to make it even better?
Is there a subject that you would like me to write an article about? Or would you like to see a particular kind of photo of me? I already have one request for more photos of my bottom!
So, if you have questions, ideas, or requests, make a comment below or send me an email and I will do my best to respond.
John.
I have put off buying a digital SLR camera for a long time. The rate of improvement in that technology has been astounding, so I held back to try to let the market mature and settle down a bit.
A week ago I decided that enough was enough. The focus of my Canon point and shoot A1000 (a fantastic little camera that was very cheap) started playing up. So I bit the bullet and bought a Canon EOS 550 Digital SLR. It just arrived today and I have to say that I am very impressed. I have snapped a few shots with it and the results are great.
This photo was taken on the terrace at home with the fruit trees. It was never meant to be publish (hence the rough clothes), but I rather like the way it came out, so I thought that I would share it.
More photos to come! I am looking forward to having a good play with this camera and seeing what it can achieve. I have been wanting to do another nude shoot for some time and this is the perfect opportunity.
John.
I was staying at the Rydges hotel in Rose Hill on Friday. Rather than order room service, or go down to the restaurant I decided to go out for a walk to find some food (hotel dining gets old very quickly if you spend as much time in hotels as I do).
I was really surprised then to find that unlike Australian suburbs as I know them – where walking is easy and the built environment is pedestrian friendly – this one is like a little slice of Houston, Texas.
If you have never been to Houston, then heres a short description: limited footpaths (if any), massive parking lots, limited public transport, everything is focused on driving. Even (I kid you not) driving 100 meters up the road to get lunch which is considered normal.
Walking is liable to get you heckled or worse. Only poor people walk, or catch the bus, so pedestrians are considered fair game by many.
So walking around Rose Hill was a real shock. The fast food stores (extruded from their respective corporate motherships) all seemed to assume that the only way anyone would approach them was by car.
The average pedestrian was forced to walk far out of their way to reach a door, and often run the gauntlet of driveway crossings and car parks to get there. It was really quite startling and more than a little bit repulsive. Somewhere some council town planners need to be sent for “re-education”
At least the extra walking required was good for me!
John.
Wild and woolly weather here today. A good day to be indoors and preferably tucked up in bed (preferably with someone)!
Today was of course a day where I ended up having to go out (on the bike) in the rain and howling wind. Still, I didn’t get too wet and I am home safe now.
My weekend looks like it is going to fill up. I have just taken a booking for Saturday day time, so if you are thinking of booking a date with me, then check out my calendar on the Price & Booking page and drop me an email, or a text.
John.
T
oday is a momentous day! It is the day that the last major piece of earthworks is taking place at my hideaway house. We are backfilling some trenches and levelling off an area for guest parking. Once it’s done there shouldn’t be any need to have heavy machinery on the property again soon, so I can really get on with the garden without the risk of having it ripped up in a months time!
This little excavator is really quite light footed though compared to the really big one that we had in a while ago …
John.
If you have read over my site you will know that I divide my time between escorting in Sydney and working over the other side of the Blue Mountains. A few years ago I bought a one acre property in a small town and built a (tiny) house.
I since 
then I have been working on the garden in my spare time. Last year I planted four fruit trees. This year they are thick with fruit and to help protect the apricots, peaches and nectarines from the dreaded fruit fly I have built domes covered with fabric mesh right over the top of them.
The resulting structure is really quite attractive and I am now looking forward to a good crop of fruit without any hidden surprises!
Apricot jam, here we come.
John.
Katsura Imperial Villa is a palace built in Japan in the 17th century by Prince Hachijo Toshihito. It is a truly beautiful complex of buildings that merges with their gardens and lake, the reflected sunlight from the water casting rippling paterns across the walls and ceiling. It is possibly one of my favourite pieces of architecture and landscaping (along with Frank Lloyd Wright’s Falling Waters).
I was reminded of Katsura recently as I lay on the deck of my hideaway enjoying the early morning sunlight with a good book and a cup of tea. The sunlight reflected off the pond below the deck danced on the wall and under the eves of the building bringing to mind Katsura’s design which combines the villa’s lake, buildings, and garden to great effect.
It’s easy to get carried away by the presure of life and work these days and forget to take some time out to enjoy the simple beauty to be found in nature, good architecture, or the form and feel of a lovers body beside you.
John.
The images used in this page come from Wikimedia Commons and can be found here:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Geppa-ro.jpg
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shokin-tei_seen_from_the_Geppa-ro.jpg
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Katsura_Imperial_Villa.jpg
I made ravioli for lunch recently. I have been asked for the filling recipe by a friend over at Concierge du Monde, so here it is:
I make each ravioli using a rounded teaspoon of the filling mixture. This recipe should be enough filling for fifty or so ravioli. I prefer to make my own pasta. If you do, then the pasta should be rolled as thin as you can make it. I find that gives the best balance of texture and flavour.
Cooking time for these ravioli should only be about three minutes in boiling water. To be sure, pull one out and chop in half to check if it is cooked through before removing the rest. Serve with the sauce of your choice. I prefer a basic tomato, herb, and cream sauce that won’t compete too much with the flavour of the ravioli.
John.
Sydney is a great city. It has so much to offer, from the harbour, to bushland, to culture and food. But sometimes I just need to get away from the bustle and business of a large city.
So some time ago I bought a piece of land in a small town in the central west of NSW a few hours from Sydney. Since then (as time allows) I have been building a tiny house for myself. It is not done yet, but it is getting there. I have done all of the work myself (with help from tradesmen for plumbing and electrical). It’s been a fascinating journey for me.
The photo on the right shows me applying the top coat of render to the walls in the living room. The rich browns of the clay render that I used make the room warm and earthy. In summer the clay keeps the room cool, while in winter it stores the heat from the day and keeps it warm at night.
When it is finished it will be my hideaway from the world. A little slice of peace and quiet in a busy world.
John.
