Autumn is..

..apples.

Lots and lots of apples. It's a good thing we like apple pie! 

Our trees have been full of fruit this year and although we've shared quite a few with the local cockatoos,

we still have lots left. Our lovely neighbours are making cider, their hallway full of boxes of apples. Maybe we will make some too!

Autumn is quinces. Big, fat, golden quinces.

I love everything about this beautiful ancient fruit. The tree it grows on with it's wide green leaves, that shade our ducks from the warm autumn sun. I love collecting the fruit after a windy day, storing it inside where it gives off it's distinctive quincy smell. I love cutting into each piece, it's such a satisfying feeling. Cubing, boiling, straining. Adding, watching, waiting.

Then suddenly!

Magical jars of ruby goodness. I love quince jelly on sour dough toast with a cup of hot, hot tea. 

I love autumn.

Autumn is Sports Day! A day of red, yellow and blue.

A day of friends, and fun.

And trying hard, of ribbons and family.

And smiles! lots of lovely smiles.

Autumn is potato season. It's brown fields, blue skies, tractors and crates.

Autumn is a time of birthdays - one tomorrow! 

Although it's sad to say goodbye to summer, and although the thought of a long cold winter ahead makes me a little anxious..I really do love autumn. So I'm celebrating being in the now,

I'm loving the cool nights and warm days. Although there is some sadness in my life too right now, I'm embracing all the beauty, the colour and life of this season, of this time. Maybe even more so.

I hope you are too, lovely ones,

see you soon xo

ps: If you haven't entered my giveway yet it's not too late! I'll be drawing out a winner in the next couple of days. It might be you! xo

yesterday, today

One of the good things about de-cluttering are the treasures that are uncovered, rediscovered. Today as I started the mammoth job of cleaning up my sewing space I found this family heirloom, a patchwork dress my mum once wore in the 1970's.

I think I kept it because I loved the fabric, but also because it reminds me of Mum & of happy times as a family at our old, two story house in the rolling green hills of Eganstown. That same house that is now being renovated, by another family who are making memories of their own.

Here we are in a photo taken by the Women's Weekly (back in the days when it was weekly!) It's funny how sentimental I am, are you? I sometimes wish I wasn't but I guess that's just the way I am. This month will also see the sale of our family home in Moor St, Fitzroy. Another amazing house that I spent so much time in as a child. The town hall clock out my window, sirens in the night, kittens born in the wood stack, climbing the almond tree, the shoe factory behind our house, lollies from the milk bar, dinner parties that seemed to go all night, Mrs Mac, jasmine growing on the fence, tripping on the stairs, turtles & fish, sleeping on the verandah, reading by the street light, Kung Fu on tv, Christmas presents on Mum & Dad's bed, our cat Miffy...so many things, so long ago.

It's funny sometimes watching my own kids growing up, I wonder what their childhood memories will be? I find myself often tripping back into the past, do you?

 There's plenty to keep me in the here and now though. Lots happening around here, autumn sunshine,

our sweet doggies,

my big, little school girl,

a big, fat, fluffy mumma chook,

a boy bunny,

piles to sort,

more quinces to cook,

and a pink ballerina bunny who is waiting for her cardi. Did I mention crazy hair & clothes day at school? Oh yes, it's happening! Lots of excitement and wackiness for the last day of term.

 Bring on the holidays! Yay! I can't wait to slow down and have some time with the gang, what are you up to?

See you soon xo

My Creative Space

Mysterious quinces, how I love you!

Yesterday I chopped and boiled a big pile of quinces, and ruined the first batch of jelly with an accidental baking soda incident. Oops. So I chopped and boiled again and was left with a big bowl of watermelon coloured syrup.

And after adding sugar and boiling some more it magically became jelly. Not the kind of wibbly wobbly party jelly that kids love but delicious,

sweet, rose coloured jam like jelly.

And now I have twelve jars to keep & share. Twelve jars lined up on the window ledge,

like shiny jewels, and all from our beautiful old quince tree that keeps on

giving, year after year.

I've been baking & cooking a lot this week. It's so satisfying :)

Today I sent off a box of Anzac biccies to Charlotte in Melbourne,

(I hope she likes them. I  wonder if she found the whole lot of mumma love

I sent too, can you feel it Char?) The last lot of biccies I sent weren't the best but

  I've been perfecting the recipe and I think

I've got it right! Can't have the oven on too hot or they are too dry.

Go on, give them a try!

Anzac's

1 cup of rolled oats

1 cup of castor sugar

1 cup plain flour

1 cup of desicatted coconut

125 grams of butter

2 tablespoons of golden syrup

2 tble spoons of boiling water

1 teaspoon of baking soda

handful of choc chips (optional)

Pre heat oven to 180 for normal oven or 160 for fanforced. 

Mix all dry ingredients together while melting butter & golden syrup in a pan, gently.

Add baking soda to boiling water, pour into butter mixture and mix thoroughly.

Combine mixtures and stir. Add choc chips.

Make little ball of mixture and put onto baking tray, not too close together. Cook until golden brown,

about 10 or so minutes. Cool on a wire rack and then eat two with a nice cup of tea!

Yum!

Let me know how you go.

What's happening in your space today?

See you soon xo

Book love

I've always loved reading, it's one of the great pleasures of my life. I remember being in grade 2 and finishing all the readers for the whole year in the first term, such was my love at an early age. Mark is a big reader too and we are happily passing this wonderful love affair with words down to our kids.

All of them were read to as babies & toddlers and they continue to love & treasure books. There's nothing better than snuggling up at bedtime and finding ourselves immersed in another world, a world of words & ideas & often amazing images.

Something I have been really enjoying lately is reading to Lucy. At ten she is a very confident reader but we have both been benefiting from my reading books to her in the evening. As well as being a relaxing and peaceful thing to do it's also been a bonding time and a way for her to learn about the world and other experiences & ideas.

We are both loving the very beautiful book, I am David, by Anne Holm. Did you read it as a child? I did but I'm finding I had forgotten quite a lot of it, or perhaps I didn't take in some of the finer details when I was younger.  It is such an amazing book and brings up so many questions about humanity & life, I think both Lucy and I have been a times quite affected the challenges faced by David who has to struggle on by himself in a world he doesn't really understand. At almost eleven years old Lucy is about to enter the next part of her life as a pre teen and it's good for us to explore some of the ideas & themes presented in I am David together, and also to share a special time with each other. I wonder what our next book will be? Do you read with your kids?

Bill has always been into books and spent yesterday afternoon re reading a favourite.  

I know that ipods and wii and computers & all the other electronic devices are always going to be

popular but I'm so glad my kids have books in the lives too,

a love of reading is truly the gift of a lifetime.

Besides reading we also got to spend some time outside in our garden over the weekend.

It's so strange seeing green grass at this time of year, it's usually so brown & dry. Our tomatoes are starting to turn red,

and there is so much else to eat and enjoy. Zucchini's, basil, parsely, red onions, carrots, strawberries...yum!

Oh and the logan berries that creep over our neighbours fence!

Max is very cheeky and in a typical cocker spaniel way he likes to raid the chook yard for scraps. Here he is is with half an apple, good score!  On a sad note our beautiful quince tree has broken in half and is torn at it's base. It is probably my favourite tree in our garden and I have been waiting patiently for it's gorgeous quince's to be ready for me to make into jelly. I hope it will survive and keep growing for many years to come, it's such a special tree.

What did you get up to on the weekend? Hope it was fun! It's very cold in Daylesford today, almost like a winters day. The children went off to school in shorts and skorts, I bet their little legs are freezing!

Hope you have a great week, see you soon xo

My Creative Space

This little tea cup represents an exciting new project I have in mind. Do you have lots of plans and ideas? Sometimes these things take time and that's where I'm at right now, being patient & making lists, thinking & planning.

Yesterday was one of those 'getting a million things done' kind of days. In a good way! Dealing with a lot of the chaos left over from school holidays, hanging with my kinder girl, making lists and cooking. A couple of these fresh chook eggs created...

some beautiful swirls in the mixing bowl.
Which later became lamingtons, a family favourite.

In between chopping and cooking up another batch of quince jelly I finally started my pin cushion. For some reason this pin cushion has taken forever...

...it's coming together and while not very fancy I hope my swapee likes it!

My sewing space needs sorting, I really need another set of shelves to stack my recent, and old, piles of vintage linen etc. I'm wondering too what to do with the twenty zips I picked up for a song at my local oppie. Any idea's?

I'm also loving these four pretty pieces of fabric which have come my way via my mum and the crowded, hot & colourful markets of Singapore. Oooh, how exotic! They are so sweet, perhaps they will become bunny bits?

The tail end of yesterday saw Bill & I making meatballs for dinner (and homework), a yummy way to end the day.

So my creative space is full lately, of old & new projects, lots of flavour and action, things unfinished and some complete, a sense of excitement at new ideas, the coming of cooler weather and changing seasons. A happy and inspiring space to be. Tell me about yours? Maybe I'll pop over to Kirsty's and see what you are up to. Bye for now sweetie pies, xo