time to chill

After what seemed like the maddest few weeks before Christmas, it was so nice to just get away from it all, if it was only for one night.  

Usually we head off on a 2 - 3 week holiday following Christmas but this year decided to stay home, partly for financial reasons and also to get stuck into a few jobs we've been putting off around the house.

One of our favourite spots close to home is 'Whitehills'.  Its really just a long stretch of beach that used to be a great fishing spot.  Sadly, it's been quite some years since we've caught anything decent.  These days its more about the experience than what we catch.  Having said that though, we love fish but refuse to buy it, so if we want to eat it we have to catch it!

Here's a sneak ..... be warned, there's lots ....


DD21 got a little frustrated with her fishing when ....

DD4 caught more than her!!

A selection of cold meats, salads, pickles followed by Christmas pudding and custard, mmmm.

I sat up here in the sand dunes, just watching

loving and never forgetting how lucky we are to have the opportunity to do this ...

all while witnessing another spectacular West Australian sunset ....

this is how I like my beach time, private ....

We threw our swags out where we wanted ....

there's still a big lump in one of them, how she can sleep that long on the beach I'll never know ....

the scene that greeted me when I finally stuck my head out .... it's one of my favourite things, to wake up on the beach, listening to the water

DH had been up for hours fishing again .... 

we even made a special beach 'snowman' for DS16 over in Germany ....

we watched dolphins feeding and surfing in on the waves (no pics unfortunately), had so much fun playing in the surf and sand, before heading home with our catch .... 

no biggies, but enough for a few meals ... which is enough!

Hope you're finding some time to wind down and relax :)

the christmas that was

There were so many things I wanted to write about in the weeks before Christmas, but time just got away from me.  I am feeling much more relaxed now, here's a sneak into what was happening!  Be warned, it's a little lengthy!

I hope you all had a fantastic Christmas, peace and love surrounding you.

We have these magnificent 'paperbark trees' on our property, they always flower just before Christmas and look so lovely.

Paperbark trees

Every year I make these for the playgroup mums ... Rocky Road and Gourmet White Rocky Road.  This has been the last year for us!

Rocky Road & Gourmet White Rocky Road

Our street party didn't eventuate this year, so a group of us had a small get together.   My contribution was a spinach dip (I usually do this in a cob loaf, this time on its own with vege's and crackers), and a Choc Ripple Cake.

Choc Ripple Cake

Spinach Dip

We visited a 'new' friend who kindly offered to do DD19's hair following her surgery.  These yummy Choc n Cherry cupcakes were a nice treat for afternoon tea.

Choc n Cherry cupcakes

I also made a selection of slices to make up gift boxes for adult family members .. we only buy for children .. there wasn't very many left over, much to DH disappointment!  I promise I'll post the recipes for them soon.

No-bake Hazelnut Slice

Gourmet White Rocky Road

Chocolate Ginger Slice

Cashew & Cherry Chocolate Slice

Add a few Rum Balls and here we are!

It just wouldn't be the same if DD19 wasn't putting Lego together with DS4 on Christmas day.  Next year I think I'll buy her some all of her own.  As you can see, she is now recovering very well from her surgery, she had such a terrible hospital stay, I am embarrassed that I used to work at the same hospital!

How did he know this was a new hat???  Silly billy.

The Christmas pudding that I posted about here was scrumptious, we were so full afterwards we could hardly move.

I was very happy with the 'practical' gifts of blueberry bushes, raspberries, almond, apricot and mulberry trees, which was exactly what I had hinted at!!

DH is watering in the newly planted blueberries!

Tomorrow we are heading off for a night camping on the beach.  It's one of our favourite spots, I can't wait to show you some pics.  

The sunflowers have just come out in the last few days.

Life is suddenly feeling at a pace more suitable to me!

DD16 is having a fantastic time in Germany.

I do hope you're all having wonderful holiday time :)

on my mind

Today I join Rhonda for her Friday photo feature 'on my mind' - my family.

Like so many others I read Rhonda's heartbreaking post about "Amy" and the loss of her son.  So many readers came forward with similar stories, many readers who couldn't imagine such a loss.  Yesterday I was driving home from the hospital after seeing my DD19 off into surgery.  I prayed all the way home that she would be ok.  She needed to have some reconstructive surgery around her kidney to relieve a blockage.  I couldn't imagine getting a call to say things had not gone to plan.  When I got home, I put the coffee pot on and entered blog land.  I cried reading Rhonda's post, thinking, my little girl is in surgery right now ... please let her be ok.  

Again, I have just got home from the hospital.  The surgery was successful, and she is fine.  In quite a lot of pain but she is ok.  ... and I am ever so thankful.  My heart goes out to "Amy".

Soon after arriving home, my DS16 called from Germany.  He left on Monday, and apart from a text at 3.30am, I had not heard from him.  He is safe with his host family and 'not really' missing us, and that's just fine because he is ok too!

I am tired, emotional and so totally worn out.  The last few weeks have been so draining but I can see light at the end of the tunnel.  

I now realise that never should I complain too much about all the running around I do after all these kiddies, doesn't matter how worn out I am, because .... my heart goes out to "Amy" .... and I am ever so thankful.

Hope you all have a wonderful day :)

satisfaction plus

Today I collected the eggs

picked a zucchini

made a simple but delicious zucchini slice

picked some beans

pulled some carrots (I don't care if they looked like they're desperately trying to run away, or that they're all deformed) .... I grew them!

And was overwhelmed by satisfaction at how we were eating this amazing meal that we provided for ourselves.

To me, thats what its all about and it couldn't get better!

Lovely day to all :)

P.S.  DS16 has safely arrived in Germany, DD19 is off for her surgery tomorrow morning, fingers crossed for all x

last sunday in oz

Hello to Charlotte, my new follower!  

What a hectic weekend its been so far, I'm about to 'crack a coldie' and sit down for a bit.

Our DS16 is finally off on exchange to Germany tomorrow.  We're having a bit of a send off for him this afternoon.

I've made sixty bread rolls for a sausage sizzle.

A white chocolate and strawberry cheesecake which is to die for.

And a decadent chocolate, cream sponge dessert.

We might have a game of cricket when the weather cools down a bit, the blokes will all be telling him how to 'pick up the chicks' in Germany, the mums will be making sure he's got enough warm clothes and DS and his friends will think we're all crazy.

We'll have plenty to eat, a few drinks, lots of laughs and have a fantastic time with family and good friends to celebrate his last Sunday in Oz!!

Tomorrow I'll probably cry.

Hope you're all having a fantabulous weekend!

Cheers :)

spraddle leg

We have fourteen baby chicks that are now five and a half weeks old.  I've been meaning to post about them (and a zillion other things) for a while, either I need to brush up on my time management skills or life just keeps getting busier.  Luckily I take pics of most things thinking ... blog .... so that when I get the time to finally sit, at least I have the photos.

During the first week, two babes developed spraddle (or splay) leg.  In the past, the only babies we've had were hatched by mummy chook, but this time we incubated with our next door neighbour.  We had newspaper down in the box covered with sand.  At one change, not enough sand was put back in and this is when the damage occurred.  DH was thinking he had to 'dispose' of these poor little things.  I was determined to fix them.  After making a quick trip to 'the university of google', I found this fantastic site with step by step instructions and photos.

Here is our chick with the 'bandaid splint'.

 

 

It took a little while for him to find his feet.  We also separated the two from the rest of the chicks.  One ended up dying because a couple of the bigger chicks got into their little area and he got quite a trampling overnight.  After about a week we took the bandaid off, he was a bit wobbly for a couple of days but soon was running around like the rest.

The same little chick also had its toes curled, sort've like a club foot.  We put a cardboard splint on the bottom of the foot and taped the toes to it very well.  This fixed the problem after only a couple of days.

These days, you can't tell which one it was, we don't even know!

I was so pleased with the result, just goes to show that with a little love n care and some patience, you can work wonders.

Have a fantastic weekend! :)

on my mind

Today I'm joining Rhonda from Down to Earth for her Friday photo feature, 'on my mind'.

I'm wondering where the time has gone this year as my DS4 heads off for his last day of kindy.  All I know is its going way too fast for me.  I wish I could just freeze this time of innocence, squishy cuddles, mischief and the simple wonderous moments I want to hold on to forever.

We made these cute little 'pudding biscuits' for his class party. 

And some simple spiced trivets for the teachers, I'm sure they get enough chocolate!!

Hope you all have a nice day :)

muffin mama

I had some mixed berries left over from a cheesecake to use up.  I found a recipe for some mixed berry muffins that sounded yummo.  I fiddled with the recipe a bit and added some white choc bits, what a hit they were. 

DH just happened to go into the work office one day bragging about the yummy muffin his wife had made and the order went in for a batch for the following week.

DS16 then proceeded to put an order in for a batch to take to a meeting for his exchange program.  The meeting was to be held in a park and the kids were told they could bring some snacks if they wished. 

MIXED BERRY & WHITE CHOCOLATE MUFFINS

3 cups self-raising flour, sifted

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 tsp vanilla essence

2 eggs

150g butter, melted and cooled

1 1/3 cups milk

1 tsp grated lemon rind

300g frozen berry mix, defrosted and roughly chopped

1 cup white choc bits

Preheat oven to 200C. Line  muffin trays with patty pans.

In a bowl, mix the flour and sugar.

In a separate bowl, lightly beat the eggs, milk, butter and lemon rind.

Stir in the flour and sugar.  When the flour is just wet, fold in the berries and choc bits.

Fill trays and bake for 25 - 30 minutes.

Like I said, they were a hit!

Hope you're all having a great day!

on a different note

Ok, so this has absolutely nothing to do with living green, living simply, baking bread, growing vegies or all the things I strive to achieve on a daily basis.

It is completely irrelevant to our way of life, to the things we hold dear, my ideals etc, etc ....  but

I'm going to the COLD CHISEL concert today and I'm sooo excited!!!

We never go to concerts or events of any kind.  It is usually not something I could ever justify spending money on.  I have never been to a concert with DH - there you go, that's how long it is since I've been to one - but just this once, I pleaded could we go.  I grew up listening to them and they're so Aussie (yeah I know Jimmy was born in the UK), but I can live with that!

Hope you're all having a fantastic weekend :)

fire season begins

I was going to save this post for another day, the first of December in fact, but with the raging fires in the beautiful south of our state right now, I bring it forward.

We've been preparing for fire season for a couple of months now.  Clearing, mowing, firebreaks etc.  As I write this, up to twenty homes were lost yesterday in the spectacular Margaret River region and over a thousand hectares of beautiful bush burned.  For anyone that has been lucky enough to have visited this area, you will know how special it is.  It is particularly close to my heart as I spent a great deal of my childhood there and lived in Gracetown for a while.  

My heart goes out to all those affected directly and indirectly.  Our never ending thanks to the wonderful 'vollies' who give up their time in training and preparation for things like this.  My son has been on standby since this morning, eagerly awaiting his first 'real' call out.  I'm not so eager for him!  As he was talking to a friend of mine on the phone this morning, she had to go, she too had been called out.  She lives about 140km from me in the Central Wheatbelt.  Two years ago this Dec/Jan, her family (all volunteers) fought the terrible fires at Toodyay, thankfully no loss of life but dozens of homes burnt.  I too once lived in this town.

Currently there is a fire burning about 25 km from us.  It doesn't sound far, but we are very safe.  In February this year, a large fire sparked by an angle grinder destroyed or damaged 104 homes.   My son goes to school in Kelmscott and this affected them greatly.  We have friends that didn't know for a couple of days whether they had a home or not.

It is only the start of the season, I am very worried for the coming months.  That first smell of smoke sets alarm bells ringing.

On December 1st, it will be two years that we also had a close call.  It started just like any other day.  Monday morning, a forecast temperature of around 27 degrees, an absolutely beautiful day and also my DD's year twelve graduation in the evening.  We were shopping at the closest shopping centre - maybe 15 km away - when my DH rang.  He wanted to know where I was and suggested I return home immediately and get the bore sprinklers on.  Our next door neighbour had phoned him stating a fire had started on their block and it was heading towards us.  With my daughter and littlest in tow, we left immediately.  By the time I was in the shopping centre car park I could hear the fire engines.  Maybe six minutes later we were on the highway and the sight we came across I will never forget.  The plumes of black smoke billowing into the air as we drove towards home was terrible.  I remember saying to her, that's our place burning - there were maybe a few expletives in there!!  By the time we were at the top of our street, it was full of cars, residents and volunteer fire brigades and of course the never ending rubber neckers (those just having a sticky beak).  I couldn't get near our place.  My friends husband was already there and offered to go and put the sprinklers on.  At the same time, DH turned up and went straight by.  Together they did what they could with hoses and the bore.  It was hours before I knew if we still had a house.  The smoke was so thick, we could hear things exploding and everytime I asked anyone, they said the smoke was too thick to tell.  I will never forget how helpless I felt standing on the side of the road waiting.  

At the end of the day, we were very lucky.  We lost nearly all of the back of our property, at the front the house, shed and chook pen survived.  For months the kids had moaned and groaned about having to rake, cut and clear the outskirts of our building envelope.  It was this that had saved our property.  Embers had travelled over the house to the other side but because we had put so much time into preparation, they didn't have a chance to really catch on. I will never underestimate the importance of preparing for fires each and every year.  We are so lucky to have what we have, but with it comes a responsibility.  The fire started from a ride on lawn mower next door.  These are no longer allowed to be in use when fire conditions are extreme or catastrophic, and it is recommended that all ride on mowers be equipped with fire extinguishers. 

The seven fire brigades that travelled and attended the fire were fantastic.  Without these volunteers we would have lost everything.  I have written about community and looking after each other before, it saddens me that community spirit is getting lost along the way in so many places.

This little fella managed to survive.  We found him in a burnt out tree that was still smouldering.  At first we thought he was dead but he was very much alive!!

We ended up going to DD graduation night.  My sister and her family offered to stay on for us.  The fire crews stayed until well into the night and were back the next day.  A passing neighbour actually put out a small fire that had re-ignited the following morning, she spotted it as she rode by on her push bike.

After only two months there was abundant signs of new life!

This was traumatic enough for me, I can't imagine losing everything, I feel so much for those that have.

I hope if you live in fire prone areas you are all prepared and have emergency plans in place.  I'm quite sure that most of you would take this quite seriously, as we do.

Wishing you a safe day :)