~ from our garden ~

{Cecile Brunner roses in a small milk bottle}

{pear, rocket, pine nut and parmesan salad - only the rocket is ours!}

{fresh lemons - a shared harvest from our tiny tree and mum's huge one}

We enjoyed some fruits of our labours this week.

The sweetest scented roses from the spilling abundance along the fence.

Lemons (our first ever crop this year) made into never-fail Lemon Delicious Pudding from the Perfect recipe book and shared with friends.

Rocket that self seeded and went into a salad for a quick dinner during the week.  (My current favourite salad - fantastic with Kelly's traditional dressing).

Basil shredded on tonight's feast of slow cooked beef ragu (from the latest Donna Hay magazine - it may have been slow-cooked but it was gobbled too fast for photos).

And some little parcels in the post from blog giveaways (although I can't really claim any labours other than commenting) - thank you Megan for the skin care and Posie for the lego.

Do you cook from your garden?  What's your favourite recipe to use your home produce?

♥

~ random thoughts whilst doing the washing today ~

Where do all those odd socks go?

Why doesn't anyone else get lights vs darks?  (still missing the pink load)

Why do 6 year old girls change 4 times a day and dump everything in the wash?

Hankies really are better than tissues.

Why don't I turn all the clothes in the right way before washing? (I really get irked doing this when I'm folding)

How on earth did women of previous generations manage to have one washing day when I have 7?

Do I need to go back to work so my brain gets a better work out?

♥

~ obviously it's orange's turn ~

 

So hard to find words with "O"

Here's an outstandingly orange wordless day.

Continuing my rainbow themed wordless Wednesdays

See more wordless posts  at faith, hope and a whole lotta love and my little drummer boys.

♥

~ and now he is 3 ~

I love birthday #3.  Its when they get it.  When they realise the presents, the cake, the fun is all about them.  He revelled in it.  Squealed for the presents.   Screamed with joy at the balloons.  Looked fit to burst as he ate his 4th piece of kite cake. (So glad he finally went for this and not the fairy princess castle - not because of the whole boy thing but because the kite was far more my skill level).  Started planning birthday #4 as soon as we got home.

We didn't go all out for this birthday - the little man only wanted "my best friends" and in the end this turned out to be our regular Tuesday morning park gang with a few almost-family friends thrown in.

So it felt casual and relaxed.  Just perfect for him.  And for us.

We made waaay too much food. This is a family tradition.  We had fairy bread and striped jellies, choc crackles, honey joys and strawberries.   I tried some new things too - the little teddy cars and the grissini wands were hits (thankyou Emma and your wonderful blog ). The girls made the lolly boxes.  We marvelled at how rich he's made our lives and how much joy and love he brings.  We had fun.

I'll write him a letter tonight.  I have a special book for each of them where I write a letter each birthday and record the highlights of the year and my thoughts on how they are growing.  It makes me cry each time I write it (or glance through it).  Its such a bittersweet experience watching them grow, knowing that they'll never be THIS perfect age again but hoping the next one will be fabulous too.

♥

~ due preparations for the party ~

{you can make these here}

~ perfectly purply ~

 

Continuing my rainbow themed wordless Wednesdays

See more wordless posts  at faith, hope and a whole lotta love and my little drummer boys.

♥

~ a year ago today ~

A year ago today we moved out of our house to start the big renovation.

{the back of our house just before the builders moved in}

Tonight we had dinner on the deck, basking in the sunshine of a beautiful day and enjoying our new outdoor space.  I love daylight savings and the extra long evenings and I'm loving the newer version of our house.

{from the same spot - the newer version}

It's been a long, busy, chaotic and ultimately very rewarding year.  I'm not sure either of us are planning to renovate ever again but we're very happy with what we've learnt and where we've ended up.

We're not completely finished (does that ever happen?) - in fact the painter was here again today finishing the garage roof and painting the bay window (I had thought I wanted to leave as stripped pine but its now a beautiful gleaming white and I can't wait for the curtains to arrive).

We are enjoying living here much more than we ever did. The Doc says he's never moving again...

I'm more of a "never say never" kind of girl....

♥

~ things I've learnt (the ballet version) ~

Ballet concert season is approaching fast.

It's the Wizard of Oz this year (no, I never knew that was a ballet either).

It's been two years since the Nutcracker and I had forgotten the rehearsals, the make-up (on that sweet, soft skin - enough to make me cry) and the whole palava of it all.

This year Lady L is a clown (who knew there were clowns in Oz?) and Princess G is a farm girl (who has to dance with a "ridiculous" farm boy).  Thankfully my follicularly challenged girl is not to have a bun this year (sighs of relief all round).

So this weekend has seen me sew on my first ever press studs (amazing that I've got this far without that skill really) and do my first ever perfect ballet bun (even if I do say so myself).

{ta-daaa}

Maybe, just maybe, I can be an ok ballet mum even if I won't slather the make-up on and use glue instead of stitching on my sequins.

Maybe?

How was your weekend?

Learnt anything new?

♥

~ at the table ~

Today started and ended at our kitchen table - for once clear of the detritus of life.

A quiet day.

A walk, some pottering in the garden.

A cute new mail competition, a lunch alone, washing to do.

A tute at uni, afternoon tea with my girls.

And now can't wait to watch Part 2 of the Slap.

{breakfast}

{playing with light}

{my competition entry}

{picked from our garden}

{a moment alone}

How was your day?

Are you watching the Slap?

♥

~ pretty pink (wordless) ~

Missing the fun we used to have on Tuesdays at Flickr - so here's the wordless Wednesday version of pretty pinks.

Joining faith, hope and a whole lotta loveand my little drummer boys

~ in which I get to see my husband in a new light ~

I met my husband at work.

More correctly,  he was my boss (in a kind of junior, slightly less junior, senior, more senior, boss ladder type affair where I was the bottom rung and he was a step up).

We had, as one of my friends likes to bring up at all sorts of awkward occasions, one of those Grey's Anatomy type romances that involves the on-call room.

 

So I've seen him in action (at his job)  In fact, that's the where and why of how I fell in love.

He was (is) a caring, compassionate, highly skilled doctor who has bedside manner in spades.

Occasionally we still work together and so I feel very lucky to know the work and the home Doc - it seems to me that not many people know their partners in their work-role.

Last week I got the chance to see another side of him. 

He was convenor and trouble-shooter for a large conference of docs that I was attending.  He was cool, calm, professional, managerial (and added bonus - he looked great in his suit).

People kept coming up to me and gushing about his skills as a manager, organiser and motivator and to tell me what a success he was in this new role.

Total eye-opener for me - this is the man who can't find his socks, who has sent his children to school without underwear, who never knows what we have on tonight, let alone next week....

It was a privilege to see him like that.

I like this new Doc.

{Sadly  - not enough to stop begrudging all the late nights and phone calls and extra (unpaid) work time completely - but enough to stop the nagging and start the praising a little more.}

♥

~ i-thanks ~

This week, like so many others around the world (geeks and non geeks), I have mourned the death of Steve Jobs.  His work and passion have changed the world forever. 

It is not much of an understatement to say I love my iphone (and the ipod is a close 2nd) and I really am thankful most days that I have this amazing gadget to help and amuse me.

So I give thanks for the life of Steve Jobs.  A creative, brilliant and brave man who died too young.

RIP 

~ whispery white Wednesday (wordless)~

 

Wonderfully white version of wordless Wednesday.

More wordless wonders at  faith, hope and a whole lotta love

and my little drummer boys

♥

~ the October project ~

{the beginning}

For the longest time I've been thinking about making a patchwork quilt.

I started once...years ago....with mum's scraps.  I remember ghastly pastel florals (I'd probably love them now as vintage) and wonky stitches all of which got shoved in a bag and forgotten when I made no progress over what seemed like months.

But now I'm feeling game.

I want to craft, to make, to do.

To pour some love and effort into something tangible.

The girls are already bickering over who it will go to....I've warned them not to hold their breath.  I'm under no delusions that this is a long-term project.

I'm hoping to tough it out this time and get it finished.

I can see I'm going to be obsessed for a little while.

I'm feeling hopeful though...and inspired.

I'll keep you updated.

What's your latest project?

♥


{my September project was all about me getting fitter and feeling better about myself.  I joined a gym for the first time ever.  Somewhat surprisingly (to me, at least) - I've been going regularly - swimming, spinning and stretching.  I'm feeling good.  No teeny tiny waist yet... it's obviously a w-i-p}