~ taking stock - April 2015 ~

Making : a sour cream and lemon cake for dinner tonight - so good (and so easy)
Cooking : lots of soup - perfect weather for it
Drinking : peppermint tea
Reading: A Fine Balance  - my bookclub book this month  - such fascinating reading
Wanting: some new jeans that fit well and look good
Looking: at the pretty leaves lying in our backyard
Playing: Mozart's piano concerto no 21 on the Sonos (when I'm alone at home)
Deciding: to get up earlier every day so I can have some quiet morning time before the rush
Wishing: there was no such thing as the death penalty
Enjoying: the Gilmore girls on Gem in the afternoons
Waiting: for soccer season to start
Liking: those new sea-salt Lindt balls
Wondering: how many is too many
Loving: the autumn colours everywhere
Pondering: the weird things people share on facebook
Considering: not being on facebook for a while
Buying: stationery - I'm addicted
Watching: Pitch Perfect with the girls and deciding its not really suitable for them
Hoping: for good weather at Freycinet this weekend
Marvelling: at the platypus we "met" at the Salmon Ponds at the weekend
Cringing: when I hear "youse" and "gunna" on the radio
Needing: nothing really at all
Questioning: whether my niggly back will settle or whether I should book some physio
Smelling: our smoky fire
Wearing: layers
Following: my daugher on IG - she opened her account this week and she's let me follow her
Noticing: how grubby Jack can get from doing not much at all
Knowing: that we're super lucky to live in Australia
Thinking: about caring for the dying (part of this weekend's conference)
Admiring: how well Lily is coping with high school
Sorting: paper work for my BAS
Getting: frustrated with my computer that keeps freezing
Bookmarking: wintery type recipes
Coveting: a quilt by this lady
Disliking: yelling in the mornings
Opening: packets of new tights for chilly days
Giggling: at the questions Jack asks in the mornings
Feeling: like he's growing up too fast
Snacking: granny smith apples with peanut butter
Helping: with tricky homework questions
Hearing: the kettle boiling - tea is on its way

~ our joyful moments - week 17 ~

I had chosen a shot from earlier in the week for my photo this week and then tonight I found this shot of Jack counting the ducks at the Botanical Gardens on Saturday and just had to use this one.  We'd gone looking for autumn colour - and despite the myriad of greens in this shot there were lots of stunning autumn trees further down in the gardens.

Karin found these pretty wooden anemones which are all through the forests in Sweden at the moment.

#ourjoyfulmoments2015 is a weekly photography project - our theme for April was green.

~ ourjoyful moments - weeks 15/16 ~

 

Lots of lovely greens for #ourjoyfulmoments2015 this fortnight.

We found some (old favourite) pear sculptures on the sculpture trail last week (that's my family all bokeh'd in the background)

This week I took my peppermint tea outside (in an old favourite cup) and was surrounded by greens (and chilly air).

Karin is revelling in the lovely spring weather.  She's been planting out tomatoes and visiting the Botanical gardens.

This project is all about capturing the small joys of our everydays and sharing them with you - please suggest a theme for the next few months if there's something you'd like to see.

~ sculpture trail 2015 ~

our yearly pilgrammage

 

one of my photos (of a previous sculpture) hanging at the entrance - a small (big) thrill just for me

Part of the trail for years now - one of my favourite ever sculptures

Moai - Michael Limb

Demise of the Tasmanian Tiger - Wendy Fletcher

The Long Family - Dean Chatwin

Belonging - Rachel Bremmer

The Peloton - Anna Williams

Ampersand - Michael Limb

Thanks, But I'll wait until Gum Leaves - Kaye Gilhooly

Cicada Songs - Wendy Edwards

Futurity - Julie Milton

This year marks the 10th anniversary for the Art Farm Birchs Bay Sculpture Trail.  I think we've missed 2 in the last 10 years - and one was last year when we were in Europe.  You could safely say we're big fans.

This year we took some family members who've never been before and it was lovely to experience it through their eyes as well.

This year there are 34 new sculptures and quite a few old favourites that have been acquired by Five Bob Farm and remain permanently on site.

I've shown a few of our favourites above and can highly recommend the trail as a lovely 1/2 day outing if you're in the region in the next few months.

My previous posts about the trail are here and here.

~ 10 on 10 - April 2015 ~

Ten on ten.
A collection of images (at least 10) to document my day on the 10th of the month.
The ordinary, the fascinating, the every day.
This was a Friday in the school holidays.

8.26 - on the way to the cafe for coffee after gym

8.45 am - latte at Ginger Brown

9.24 am  snail mail ready to post

9.34 am on the way back from the post office

9.43 walking in our autumn neighbourhood

11.05 am teaching herself guitar

12.18 pm planting some seeds for our herb garden

12.52 pm not all the pots got used for seeds ... meet Bill

1.52 pm  Not Easter chocolate

2.22 pm serious construction work

2.56 pm it's Friday - there's always time for faffing on Fridays

3.15 pm afternoon tea - spicy rhubarb cake

3.15 pm on the other side of the afterrnon tea table - domino racing

3.22pm afternoon autumn light

4.01pm our lives on the fridge

4.47pm texting in the afternoon light

- our joyful moments - weeks 12, 13 and 14 ~

 

 

I have no excuses - just good intentions to be more regular with these posts from now on.

Weeks 12 and 13 were still with the morning theme - my shots are Kunanyi (Mt Wellington) from our kitchen window and then my favourite Peacock jetty on a misty morning on the school commute
(I stop regularly and take shots of this - I'm sure the other drivers think I'm crazy).

Karin's shots are of one of her favourite cafes and her (always) pretty breakfast!.

Our theme for April is green.

My shot is the Easter egg carton surprise I made up for Jack with chocolates, a chick and some tiny magnets (the heart) - the girls got pink ones.

Karin is seeing the early signs of spring - so pretty!

I'll be back with more green shots next week.

~ around here lately ~

 

 

 

Around here lately I'm still not finding time to blog at least weekly (which is my aim).
These are some catch-ups from the last two weeks - including a lovely long weekend up north for Easter.

1.  He wanted new sand shoes with laces.  I showed him twice and then he taught himself how to tie them in less than an hour.

2.  Beautiful dahlias, snail mail and a miraculously tidy kitchen table.  (We've actually got two rectangular tables in the space at the moment as we look for a large square one to fill the room).

3.  I had a night in Melbourne and had a fun afternoon at the park with my brother and his little family.  

4.  Lovely new magazines (my friend Sarah is featured in Fete this month) and coffee

5.  My little family at Baker's beach on Easter Sunday - it was a gorgeous day and we walked through the National Park first (spotting loads of birds, wallabies and gross caterpillars but fortunately no snakes) before hitting the beach.

6.  She needs time alone (just like her mama)

7.  Baker's beach track

8 and 9.  Easter egg cartons and small crates for the children and the in laws

10.  Gorgeous autumn light over the paddocks from my sister-in-laws farm house,

11.  Windflowers in my garden