summer holidays..

Hello!

Happy New Year!! Did you have a fun New Years Eve? We did, although I was sorry to miss the annual Daylesford Gala Parade this year. Our neighbour and friend, Ruby, looked so fabulous and I wanted to see her and all the other amazing people who were taking part. Oh well, there's always next year..

We had a fun time at a friends house anyway, although I was in bed before the new year began. Were you? I lay in bed and listened to the fireworks exploding over the lake, bang bang bang!

The next day was a biggie for me so I got up early and headed off with Lucy to Glenlyon. Our little school runs the BBQ and kiosk at a big, old fashioned sports day that runs on the first day of the new year.

 It's been running since 1847 and each New Years Day they put on horse races, wood chopping, mineral water drinking and gumboot throwing competitions, amongst other things. It's a great day and we have a lot of fun. I love it!

It's a real family day, lots of kids running around, watching the comps from the red truck, and many visitors from all over the state coming to enjoy a day in the country. It was a hot one too, so we did a roaring trade in icy poles and cold drinks.

So it's day four of 2012, how is the new year shaping up for you? We've had a shaky start with a bit of illness, never fun in summer. And in two days we are heading off to Robe in South Australia...I hope everyone is well for the trip.

A group of friends are setting up camp in Robe so we are looking forward to hanging out together, walking on the beach, eating, drinking, chatting, and hopefully RELAXING!

I can't wait to get to the beach, I'm craving some sand and sea and shell action. Do you get like that? I think it's the thought of a change of pace too, a different scene. When we lived in the city I loved heading up to the bush to get away from the hustle and bustle. I guess we all like a change, it clears the air, brings a new perspective, I love that.

Although I'm enjoying the holidays I haven't really settled into them yet. I haven't found my holiday feet.
Hopefully this trip will be a fun one, perhaps it's just what I need.

I'll miss our doggies who are going to the dog motel for a week, and all the ducks and other creatures. Mumma duck is back on duty, sitting on five white eggs which will hatch out in about 20 days! More baby ducks..sigh.. :)

So, one more day and we're on the road! Charlotte is coming too, the whole family together again. I'm sure we'll have some fun, some crazy moments, some tears and lots of laughs. Maybe that's what the summer holidays are all about, going with the flow, ups and downs and hanging together.

What are you up to? Are you on holidays too? 

Hope you are having some relaxing time too..see you soon lovely friends xo

all good things must come to an end...

The school holidays are coming to an end,  boo hoo!

Here are some photo's from the last two weeks....

beautiful chookie..

sun light through the trees..

happy girls..

pussy cat..

rosella in the front yard..

                                                               

 Woody & Rosie at ACMI..

black lambs at Glenlyon..

...and of course vegemite! A favourite food around these parts!

It's been a great couple of weeks, we've been to the city, to movies, played outside,

seen friends, baked heaps of delicious cakes & biccies,

been to op shops, parks, cafes, exhibitions, taken photo's, made things,

celebrated a birthday..phew..what else?

We've had Charlotte home with us, we've planned a new renovation (!),

we went to a wave pool, out to dinner and

we've talked about the possibility of going to the US next year (!),

there's been dancing, making, gardening, dog walking and some adventuring!

And today I"m so happy to say that we signed up to sponsor a child through World Vision. 

So it's been a full and fun time, have you been on school holidays too?

Hope the last few days are happy & relaxing,

and not too taxing..:)

See you soon lovely friends

xo

The last few days..

Over the last few days I've been making a kitty cat for baby Toby. He was going to wear this red, moss stitch cardi but I ended up dressing him in the brown one,

I think it brings out his eyes! Either way he looks pretty dapper, and having just returned from Toby's party I"m happy to say he seemed to like him too.

(Just as I wrapped him up I realised he didn't have a tail! Oops, this was no manx cat so I quickly added one. Phew.)

 Over the last few days I've been organising Rosie's birthday party, which isn't for a few weeks but I wanted to get it sorted so I didn't have to stress about it. I've been pondering the whole birthday invitation thing too, it's a bit tricky isn't it? Who to invite, who they WANT you invite, not wanting anyone to feel left out...oh it's a complicated thing...

Over the last few days I've been taking photo's with my new camera,

so many beautiful people to capture.

And I've been clearing out our cluttered hallway, which is very narrow, and has been full of Too Much Stuff. It looks a lot better..

and it makes the entry to our house more inviting & friendly, less chaotic. I find I'm always trying to tame the chaos around here, whether it's the people kind or just the every day clutter. Sometimes I win, sometimes I just have to live with it!

The last few days have seen glorious winter sunshine, boy have we been lucky! I hope it lasts for the school holidays.

I've also been to the newly re opened Glenloyn Store, yay!! Great coffee, food and service,

an excellent place to visit.

 And I also had the great joy of meeting Milly,

the new baby dog of some good friends.

She is a spoodle, like our Daisy,

and possibly the cutest puppy in the world!!

Over the last few days I've been feeling a bit flat, a bit out of sorts. Life is like that
sometimes isn't it? But I know there is much to be grateful for,
sunny days, puppy dogs, little babies,
blue skies and holidays.
And so much more.

What are you up to this weekend?

Hope you are enjoying some sunshine too,

see you soon,

lovely friends xo

Come on over

...to my place, come inside and I'll put the kettle on! It's so lovely to see you!

Wasn't it a sparkly, sunny weekend? Well it was here in Daylesford. It seems like so long since we have had two days of sunshine in a row. Doesn't life just seem better when the weather is so heavenly? What did you get up to? We had a happy & busy weekend, all the usual fun of ballet etc and lots of other things too.

I spent some time outside, walking & thinking & looking. So many pretty and beautiful parts of our world to take in, and admire.  I loved looking at this old gate on top of Wombat Hill, the garden's behind it were so green and lush, a kind of secret garden.

And on the gate was this beautiful & delicate web.

The colours of my weekend were bright and bold.
 Blues, greens, yellows, pinks, every colour of the rainbow.

 Driving back from Ballarat , along the Dean Road, I always find myself bewitched by the countryside, the views, animals, sky and of course the hills.

Something about the lines of the hills against the sky really does it for me. The contrasting colours and the hugeness of it all, wow. I have to be careful to keep my eyes on the road!

Back at home the garden is alive with colour & action, butter flies, flowers, 

and of course dandelions!

The kids played, did homework, read, and made things. We went to a picnic in Glenlyon and sat under the huge oak trees, eating delicious food and chatting with lots of lovely people. At home we baked, hung out the laundry, folded it and put it away. I'm really encouraging the kids to help out as much as possible, there is always so much to do in a big family.

Rosie kept herself busy with so many things. A handmade calendar, lots of cartwheeling, her 'band' which consists of her banging away on all our saucepans and a stint as a cat, complete with whiskers. Sticky tape sure comes in handy.

She also found some reading glasses on the nature strip outside our house, are they yours by any chance?

Of course she also found time for some chook action. Look Mum, no hands!!

Lemonade is a pretty relaxed chicken, and so soft too!

So, have you had a nice visit? I hope so. Did you enjoy your cup of tea?

Thanks so much for popping by, I hope you have a happy week,

see you soon xo

Dreamy January

New Years Day is always a fun one for me and this year was just as good as ever. Lucy & I drove through the hills, past fields with beautiful rolls of hay until we got to Glenlyon to help out at the fabulous Glenlyon Family Sports Day.

We spent the day serving in the canteen, making hundreds of cups of tea & coffee, selling cakes and other yummy things to the many people who came along to enjoy a day in the country.  Our school raises funds for all kinds of things we need and it's one of our main fundraisers for the year. But the best bit is being together as a community, having a chat & being involved in a truly wonderful event.

I love the simpleness of it all, there is no rides or crappy plastic things for sale, just good old honest country fun.

One of the best parts is the kids races,

all jumbled together they wait for their age group to come up.

On your marks, get set....

Go!!

 It was a long day and boy did my legs and feet ache afterwards! But we had a ball & I couldn't think of a better way to start the new year. Do you do anything special on New Years Day? I wonder if you have a tradition or special event.

It's a funny time of year isn't it? Life is almost on hold..or maybe this is life! A softer, dreamier life. The slow days and unstructured time makes time go slower, more quietly. We are getting up later & staying up later, eating at seven not six. I find the kids are arguing one minute then playing long, long make up games the next. I guess we are adjusting to a different time & space. It's been so nice having Mark home to share the day to day things we do as a family too.  Blog land has seemed a bit remote to me, although I have been enjoying a little peek here & there. Oh well, time for bed now dear friends, I 'm going to snuggle up and read my book and drift off....see you soon xo