Day's of Love, Letterboxes & Longing......!!

It was my 25th wedding anniversary on Wednesday so to celebrate I took my man away for the weekend to Daylesford....which happened to be the second weekend of the Words in Winter festival being held there...love it when I can kill two birds with one stone...I'd never get him interested in a writers festival !!...so he amused himself while I joined a couple of 1 hour sessions I wanted to attend. ...we spent the rest of the time idyllically enjoying the beauty and fabulous community that is Daylesford.

Getting there, I have to admit to an obsession of mine .... which along with old cemeteries...is loving the letterbox groupings that abound in country Victoria....I always look out for them and when they sneak up on us I shout out to pull over,  which never gives my man enough time or space to stop.....so we revisited these two near Daylesford just so I could take a couple of pictures....I love them...such a quirky part of the rural landscape.

On the Midland Hwy just out of Daylesford....

Just off Porcupine Ridge Rd.....I love them !!

We had two nights at The Hide studio Mt Franklin ...a beautiful self contained cottage on 44 hectares...complete with a frog filled dam, beautiful cattle, geese, native birds and about a thousand kangaroos...I have never seen so many...they were everywhere.... but still those wide open spaces set me craving !!

Beautiful accommodation at Mt Franklin ..the little cottage in the middle next to the dam

A trip to Daylesford wouldn't be complete without a visit to the Convent Gallery.....we had a lovely morning tea in the atrium soaking up the fabulous sunshine streaming through the glass...the weather was perfect all weekend....we were so lucky. Inside the gallery I was mesmerised by the incredible artwork of Barbara Hauser ..... Acrylic on Printed Fabrics.....they are so fabulous if I had the money I would love to own one of them....!!

 I can also admit I struggle to walk past a plant nursery without going in and buying a little something to plant when I get home...and this pocket sized nursery in Daylesford is just amazing....it's a work of art in itself and the plants and garden bits and bobs make it a treasure chest of goodies.....such a creative and fabulous use of space...rusty galvanised iron has been put to delightful purpose...everywhere you look there is a creative little gem waiting ...  If dreams were wishes I would love to own and work in this place..!!

Love, love , love this nursery......!!

So much to look at and so beautifully done.....!!

 We had a great weekend away to celebrate which left me longing for all the beauty and creativity that I saw and experienced.....but I feel wonderfully inspired and motivated to get fired up on my own creative projects that always somehow wind up on the back-burner !!  

I'll finish off with a pic of the beautiful bunch of anniversary flowers from my husband.. second time around for me and third for him.... 25 happy years...can't really ask for more than that.

The Dirty B Word.....!

Yikes....Budget......We have been to see a financial advisor recently and yes the news is out...I spend too much money...no surprise really, I've never been much of a saver.  We are however needing to prepare ourselves for retirement in the not too distant future....my man is 61 this year.  Sooooo the dirty B word has raised it's ugly head again and yes we are putting ourselves on a budget....we have a plan to get out of our mortgage...sell up ...move a bit further out and buy a home mortgage free. Get completely out of debt and try to live on the weekly $figure that the financial advisor has set for us.  If we do things according to his plan in 4 years we should be able to have a comfortable retirement.... I know I will struggle on a fairly tight budget but there are heaps of blogs out there with good advice...fingers crossed and see how we go.

Meanwhile the garden is still producing a little....


broccoli , mixed lettuce, lemons and my first Protea flower from the garden...they are really lovely.

Managed to get a few figs off the tree before the birds consumed them all....

Now I just need a recipe to use them in !

One of my few remaining pumpkins grown this year....it was huge and tasted delicious.

We had our monthly luncheon catch up with friends and I had to bring soup....naturally my home grown pumpkin made a delicious soup...... that was budget friendly !

Pumpkin soup with caramelised onions ... garlic croutons and a little cream.

We ate outside as the weather was quite mild...even little Charlie joined us under the table.

Pork fillet inside whole pineapple wrapped in prosciutto........from the big K

Fondant Potatoes...there was also a lovely brussel sprouts dish. 

What can I say.....Lemon Meringue Pie from J&A....Yum.

Lastly it was so cold this morning that I spoilt the ladies with a warm breakfast of porridge....yes I can hear you saying that isn't in the budget.....still got a lot of lessons to learn.....but they were pretty happy.

Rolled outs and my homemade yoghurt for the girls.....probably need to get no-name brand oats now.

The feathered girls were very happy with breakfast today.

Winter is well and truly with us....my days will be spent trying to keep warm as we prepare to put our house on the market....watch this space.

Where Does the Time Go?...........

We had a really busy weekend moving my daughter into her new home......Sunday night locking up the chooks my man found one had died and its neck broken and the feathers picked off, no other damage.....the other girls were looking very subdued and nervous...next morning silence from the henhouse and I thought the worst.....but they were ok just too scared to come out and kept looking skyward....I think that a large bird has attacked them and tried to carry one of them off and has only managed to kill it .....I hastily erected the bird netting over their enclosure and they came straight out and have been happy since.....I've had the chickens for over 2 years and this is the first one I've lost to a predator....have managed to keep them safe from Mr Fox, but didn't think of attacks from above.

Wedding anniversary and bouquet .....so lovely....I feel very lucky to be sharing my life with

such a terrific man.....he really is a special person.

An anniversary bouquet.....lovely to celebrate every milestone.

Am racing to finish of a crochet project for my daughter's new house....haven't crocheted in a long time, but it's like riding a bike.....you just get back on.....hopefully this cushion cover will be finished soon.....

Progress on the cushion cover is quick when I have time to get onto it....12 ply works up fast .

Another project is renovating the ensuite.......so far all we have managed to do is start to pull our the shower......fingers crossed we can arrange reliable tradesmen and things will so along smoothly....does it ever???......renovating anything is problematic at times....see how we go !!

Yikes, I hate renovating but our ensuite needs fixing....including leaky broken shower.

I can't believe that we are heading into September next week....where does the year go....it flies past and before you know it another year is gone.....I took the time today to sit in the sun with a cup off tea and just enjoyed doing nothing for 20 minutes...just being thankful for my life and all that it entails...the good and the not so good....it really is what you make it....so make the most of it.

Monthly 9 linkup for July....

Many thanks to Linda for taking this on.  I love joining in on this linkup and reflecting on what I have been doing for the month...and also seeing what others have been up to.

Nourish:  Tried my hand at making roast pumpkin hummus.... it was nice but I think I could have tweaked the recipe maybe and added a bit more roasted garlic. Will definitely make my own dips from now on ...it was a lot easier than I thought it would be.


All the ingredients straight into the food processor.




Instant hummus.....it was lovely and creamy initially but set a little after refrigeration...

Prepare: My daughter and grandson have been staying with us and now big preparations are underway to get them into their next home...preparing for a beautiful fresh start....there is a lot to do.

Reduce:  I failed miserably at the no plastic in July...not too proud of that I have to say...certainly an eye opener....did manage to continue to recycle the office files and my man installed a small water tank in the chook pen ..which I blog about Here

Green:  Finally tried to make the face cream I had been going to make for some time...the recipe called for coconut oil, beeswax, almond oil & macadamia oil (any quality oil really), Palmarosa essential oil & vitamin E...however I don't think I did it quite correctly because it didn't go as creamy as I was expecting...in the fridge it set beautifully, but at room temperature it is a little runny...still using it though as it is a great moisturiser. 



Home made moisturiser....need to work on the recipe again.

 Grow:  Not getting much out of the vegie garden at the moment just waiting patiently for the seedlings to do their thing....but a lot of flowers are already appearing a bit early.....I love the fragrance of Daphne and am madly picking the flowers and filling the house with their beautiful aroma...  Spring must be just around the corner.




My favourite flower....or maybe it's a tie between Daphne and Hyacinths....I can't split them.



Create: While I haven't had the time to spend on my own creative projects, I have been teaching my eldest daughter how to knit...I found this simple throw pattern which is knitted with 3 strands of 12 ply on big needles and knits up in no time...she is very chuffed to have created her own blanket in such a short time...I think she has finally found the joy of knitting......

 

My daughters rug is this pattern but in Teal, Grey and Cream...her new home colours

 Discover:    This month the crisis facing many countries overseas was overshadowed by the tragedy of flight M17... This horrific event deservedly received world wide attention for weeks with many Australians being victims of this atrocity....yet wars, death, destruction, starvation and man's inhumanity to man continue daily and hardly a tear is shed here for their suffering...it appears if it doesn't involve Australian's we don't appear to care so much ....a discovery I wish I had the power to change.

 

Enhance:  My husband turned 60 this month as we celebrated with a big party at his Golf Club....the evening would not have been the same without the appearance of Batman !!!  He certainly enhanced our enjoyment.....just as he enhances our lives ..he is quite the character.   

What would a party be without the guest appearance of Batman.

 Enjoy:  The July luncheon was hosted by the big K and Robyn....the theme was comfort food.... entrée was Cauliflower soup from J&M...have to say I am not a fan of cauliflower but this was one of the most delicious soups I have ever had....tracking down the recipe which I will put up as it is so tasty and a great way to eat cauliflower...Main was Maple Glazed Lamb shanks ..once again the big K excelled himself, it was scrumptious...desert from Jan & Al was sticky date pudding with butterscotch sauce and toffee thingy...YUM...I got the easy bit, I just had to make bread and I also made the roast pumpkin hummus and crackers... very comfortable afternoon all up !!


Worlds best cauliflower soup...flavours of mustard and pancetta...wow

Beautiful sticky Maple Glazed Shanks, onion, potatoes and fresh green beans!!



Goes without saying....delicious sticky date PUD !!!

The diners all looking very comfortable I have to say...

 So that's the month as it was.....lots to look forward to in August....stay warm, enjoy what's left of Winter.  Hug someone close to you and spare a thought for those less fortunate.

Thursday Thoughts....

It's been hard to find the time to blog lately...there's quite a bit happening on the home front. I was going to try and link in with NO PLASTIC JULY....we had my man's 60th birthday celebrations .... unfortunately with over 90 people,food, balloons, lollies,  etc.  everything came wrapped in plastic .....all of it left at the Golf Club to dispose of .. Yikes...after such a disastrous start where there was so much single use plastic I gave up...huge awareness now of the terrible amount of unnecessary plastic we generate.  Totally need to rethink large celebrations and their impact. 

The end of the financial year means setting up all the office information for the new year.  I have recycled the same two sets of office files for the past 5 years...I just white out the previous years and update with the new...I have around 20 files so while it's not huge it does save a bit...

We have installed a small water tank in the chicken run using the water run off from the shed roof....much easier than trudging up to the tap all the time and also captures the rainwater.



Tank stores the rainwater and bottom tap into the water dish

recycled pieces of pipe shaped to fit around the wall....

Daphne checking out the some of the girls from behind the fence.....

 Spending lots of time with the G Boy....can't call him baby anymore ....a wildlife display with a small crocodile, wombat, snake and frog....yes he was more scared of the frog than the crocodile...go figure !!

My beautiful G Boy a bit shy of the frog....

Almost two thirds of the way through winter now...the garden is very slow...after checking out Celia's garden here I am thinking of planting all my seedlings much closer together....  Whenever I feel I need a laugh I visit John here... he has an hilarious blog....he is quite the character....So much trouble around the world at the moment.....I wish the whole world could see the bigger picture...work to save the planet and humanity ...not spend millions blowing it up and killing each other.....Lastly good luck to the Aussie athletes as they start the Commonwealth Games...ironic that sport continues while war goes on in other parts of the world.....we are so removed from the terror that others face daily.

Farewell to Autumn......

It's wet, bleak and miserable in the hills today......Autumn is certainly on the way out as Winter lets us all know she is just around the corner....no complaints, we've had loads of beautiful sunny days and mild temperatures this Autumn....I've planted out plenty of seedlings and am currently looking around for a greenhouse....nothing to  big, just enough to propagate my own seeds...hopefully save money by not buying costly seedlings to feed to the snails !!....Growing  vegies certainly makes you very aware of the change in seasons....The chickens also react to the seasonal changes....yes they were moulting...lots of lovely new feathers now...but not many eggs....its gone from feast to famine...only one or two a day...makes them all the more precious don't you think.

The beautiful birdlife around here ..... they love the bird feeder in my garden

Autumn's carpet....I love it .. unfortunately my husband doesn't and they eventually succumb to the leaf blower....

The neighbouring Golden Beech sheds into our yard....it's so beautiful, wish it was on our side.

Precious goodies from the girls....the fewer fresh eggs it seems, the greater the enjoyment...go figure

Next week we welcome winter .... the season of lazy days in front of the log fire....loads of pumpkin soup and freshly baked bread.....knitting ...umbrellas .....new gumboots...big puddles... and loads of warm cuddles.....

Wellness Woes.....

Yarn bomb.....reminding us all to stay well.........loving this new art form.....

Spring time........reminding us that the seasons change......beauty really is everywhere !!

Influenza has hit the hills.....I have been sick with the flu for the last 3 weeks...can't remember a time when I have been this sick...very slow to get over the symptoms, but hopefully on the road to recovery.....Illness makes you reflect on how we take wellness for granted.  My mum has had a recent scare with bladder cancer and thankfully prognosis is excellent.   A lot of illness around in the last 3 weeks....including one of my chickens....she had an impacted crop and after a $100 trip to the vet for an injection and a range of medications, she was no better after 8 days....a beautiful lady at the local feed store volunteered to put her out of her misery for me.....she was very emaciated and vomiting, but oddly enough still continued to lay eggs even though the energy required was killing her.......nature is a strange thing at times.....Being unwell has encouraged me to spend much more energy on the pursuit of WELLNESS......taking the time to eat well, get plenty of exercise, enjoy everyday, find magic in the simple things and laugh often.....wishing good health to all .

Mid Morning Musings.....

 

Camelia's from the garden...reflected by two of my paintings...need to get back to the easel

Spring is just around the corner.....daphne and daffodils are out..

Beauty everywhere you look.....you just have to take the time to look

Even a few hyacinths popping their head up......my favourite flower

Not much happening in the garden.....but the beetroots are doing really well....yum

Book club book for July........I loved it

Winter is hanging on and giving us a very chilly blast before it hopefully heads off and allows Spring to burst forth and shower us with glorious Spring sunshine and warmer days.......can't wait to get into the garden and do my Spring planting....my first Winter of trying to grow vegies has not been very successful, but Spring brings great hope with it....time of renewal and splendour...........I love the seasons as the chill of winter makes you appreciate the warmth of summer....autumn leaves signal the start of winter......it all highlights the importance of seasonal eating....eating what you have in the garden....although if I had to rely on this Winter,I think we would have gone very hungry.....we try to eat seasonal foods and local, organic foods whenever we can....avoiding processed and chemically contaminated foods at all costs......a little self sufficiency is very rewarding.....stay warm and healthy .