Hobbs Family
Sam and Ruby’s Mother’s Day Blog
Some words to describe our Mother are as follows:
Witty
Kind
Faithful
Strong
Caring
Rational
Thoughtful
Honest
A year and a half ago, our world turned upside-down when Dad died totally unexpectedly on Xmas Eve, at the very beginning of the 2011/2012 Fruit Season.
Fruit needed to be picked, packed and sold, so life had to go on.
Mum’s strength of character shined through as usual as she reassured us we would make it through this terrible grief. We can’t describe the pain we felt as we knew our world had changed forever.
Our mother had to deal with the fact that not only had she lost her husband of twenty years; our father; but she had lost her business partner as well.
Mum and Dad were a team.
They were a ‘we’ and now she was an ‘I’.
Her first thoughts after Dad died were not of herself but of us.
She sat us down and said that the only way to survive this ordeal was to talk and cry our way through the rawness of it. And she was there to listen any time of the day or night. And talk and cry is what we did.
Knowing that Dad wasn’t going to walk through the door ever again was overwhelming at times. There were many “crash and burn” moments.
But throughout the months of horrendous grief and times of uncertainty, Mum was our rock.
Thank you Mum for being such a wonderful Mother.
We love you dearly.
Love from your family.
Sam, Ruby & Aunty Belle
Hobbs Orchard Nostalgic Photo: No. 3
Look what I found in the photo box today!
Here’s a photo taken around 1996 of me on the old Fergie 35.
Good times.
Pruning Has Begun!
I started pruning today in the top Apricot block.
Pruning is one of my favourite orchard tasks. I’m not sure why but I just love it!
I even took a photo of the first pruning cut of 2013!
Yeah maybe that was a little bit overboard but just humour me.
Speaking of pruning, here’s another Hobbs Orchard Nostalgic Photo.
A very tired Mum after a day of pruning back in the winter of 1991!
Hobbs Family Nostalgic Photos: No.1
Over the next few months I’ll be regularly posting nostalgic photos from the early years of Hobbs Orchard.
Nothing beats a walk down memory lane.
This photo of me and Mum was taken way back October 1993.
As you can see Mum’s gardens were just starting to evolve.
Sandra’s Worcestershire Sauce Recipe
Here’s Mum’s world famous Worcestershire Sauce recipe.
Sandra Hobbs’ Worcestershire Sauce Recipe (1975)
3 large Onions chopped
1kg of Brown Sugar
2 tbsp of ground ginger
3 tbsp of salt
2 oranges (sliced roughly)
4.5 litres of white vinegar
1.5kg of roughly chopped Apples
1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper
2 tbsp of cloves
Put all ingredients in a preserving pan or a very large pot. Boil slowly for 3 hours. Strain and pour in sterilized bottles .
VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: Never ever make Worcestershire Sauce on a cold day when you have ALL the windows in the house closed.
We discovered this the hard way a couple of years back when Mum decided to make a batch on a very, very cold June day.
It took about three days to get rid smell of white vinegar out of the house!!!!!
Still Got Apples
A nice carpet of Apricot leaves down in the River Block.
We’ve still got Red Delicious and Braeburn Apples available on the Stall in 5kg bags for $5.
We’ve also got 15kg of 2nd grade Apples for only $10!
Mum’s Apple Cake Recipe
Hi Rachel, here’s the Apple Cake Recipe Mum promised you today.
Enjoy!
Sandra’s Easy Apple Cake (1991)
150g butter, melted
2 cups stewed apples
1 cup White Sugar
2 eggs
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ – ¾ cup raisins
Mix ingredients together and pour into a greased 23cm cake tin.
Bake at 180C or 160C fan-bake for approximately 60 minutes.
Cook until a knife or a skewer comes out clean.
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PYO Red Delicious Apples
If you’re looking for a great activity for the kids these school holidays then look no further than Hobbs Orchard!
We’ve got PYO Red Delicious Apples available for only $1/kg.
It’s a great way for the kids to burn off some energy!!!!
Autumn Colours At Hobbs Orchard!
Autumn is in full swing here at Hobbs Orchard.
Here’s a few pics I snapped out in the Apricot blocks today.
Crunchy Braeburn Apples Ready Now!
We now have delicious, crunchy Braeburn Apples available on the Stall in 5kg for $5.
The Braeburn Apple was first discovered in 1952.
It is believed to be a cross between a Granny Smith and Lady Hamilton.
The apple itself is named after Braeburn Orchard where it was first commercially grown.