Super Chook

About four weeks ago one of our favourite chickens went missing. Known as Henrietta to me, Proud Mary to Mark, Sarah to Rosie, she was a chook with many names. A Plymouth Rock chicken she had a certain elegance & charm and was so pretty & gorgeous. We were all sad when she disappeared one night and I assumed she had died of old age or illness, somewhere in the depths of our garden/jungle.

Then the night before last the strangest thing happened. At about four in the morning the dogs went crazy, barking and barking. Mark went out to see what was happening and who should he see but our dear old missing chook, with feathers missing, distressed and clucking outside the back door.

He tried to catch her to put her in the chook pen but couldn't. In the morning all we could find was a pile of feathers near the back gate. I was so sad to think she had survived the four weeks on her own, goodness knows where!? And then a fox must have hunted her down and killed her. I drove to Ballarat with tears in my eyes thinking of that brave chook and feeling so sad we couldn't help her when she needed us.

But miracles do happen!! Yesterday morning, there she was. The most super chook of all time. Battered, bitten & bruised, under a bush, in shock & extremely hungry! We couldn't believe it. She has been on her own for weeks, survived a fox attack and is now back where she belongs.

Today I have been giving her warm bread & water & spraying her wounds with salty water. I'm so happy she is ok and am inspired and amazed by her courage. Talk about resilient. Yay for Super Chook!

This little story reminds me to never give up hope, to have faith & to keep trying my best, especially when life is challenging. We can learn so much about life from nature, from simple things, and yes, from chickens!

There was much to celebrate today too at our beautiful school's final assembly for the year. Sunday was Mary in the Nativity play, all the children were so lovely to watch. Their singing of Away in a Manger so gorgeous.

She was thrilled too to receive an award for high achievement in her studies this year. I'm so proud of her and all my kids, who all try hard to be the best people they can. As I told one of them, I didn't receive one award in all my schooling but I tried hard, made some good friends and had some amazing experiences.

Before I go I should mention the Sugar & Spice Children's market, unfortunately it was very quiet but we still had a great time. Being there with Charlotte, having a laugh & chatting was the best fun ever.

I fell in love with Spunkee's birds and bunnies, owls and turtles, so much loveliness!!! 

Renee's stall was the highlight of the market for me,I could have bought every one of her gorgeous creatures.  I just love the bunny I came home with, she is so sweet and makes me feel happy.

Well, better go and get ready for tonights Christmas party at Janet's.

Stay tuned for some photo's of her amazing, crazy Christmas display..it's out of this world!

Bye for now lovely friends xo

happy

Tonight I'm feeling tired and happy. Tired because life seems so busy right now, a good tired, a satisfying tired. And I'm happy too for so many reasons. I'm happy for the pure joy in watching our local dance company's concert, so many talented & enthusiastic dancers, of all ages, put on an incredible show tonight.

My own little bunny looks a bit flat here but she is tired too, and is probably concentrating & watching the magic take place.

I'm so happy to live somewhere that appreciates creativity, that fosters possibilities, that nurtures & encourages it's young people. I''m happy to have some truly wonderful friends, in this community & beyond. In blog land, in my memories, and far & wide. So much to be happy about...berry crumble, sleepy mornings, being able to pop down and see my mum close by, streaky sunsets, bright blue skies, hugs & snuggles, funny nicknames, fluffy chickens, our dogs, having my children all together, going out for dinner with my honey, reading a scary book, dreaming of adventures, Saturday papers in bed, crumpets, gorgeous Billy playing guitar, sweet Charlotte making me laugh, dear Rosie drawing me rainbows, lovely Lucy & her amazing ideas and of course Sunday, dreamy, sparkly, beautiful dancing girl. Thanks Kate for reminding us how much we have, sleep tight lovelies xo

today

Today I am getting some sweet bunnies ready, 

for the fantastic Christmas Sugar & Spice Children's Market, this Sunday.

It should be a lot of fun, Charlotte & I are so excited! I'm looking forward to seeing some old friends, and hopefully some new ones too.

Other things happening lately are a bit festive! We put the tree up yesterday which was pretty exciting for the kids. And yes, I enjoyed it too! Charlotte cut out 40 colourful angels that have now been decorated, don't they look great?

A cheap & cheerful Christmas activity.

 Can you someone lounging in the background? Gee it's fun having her at home. I'm loving it!

We all are. The family isn't complete without our biggest one.

This week I was sent these gorgeous photo's by a friend

who took them at our ballet recital. I love this one of Rosie, the mouse, dancing her little heart out.

And this one (she is in the middle) at the finale. So sweet.

Tomorrow I will do a dress rehearsal for the market, I think I'll tweak the table a little.

 Last time we displayed the bunnies in a vintage suitcase, which looked pretty snazzy, but I found people didn't pick them up as much as they would if we had the bunnies sitting all around the table. I'll  get my visual merchandiser onto it.

So if you are in the area, or even not too far away, do come and visit us at Sugar & Spice!

The market is in St Ambrose's Hall, Woodend, this Sunday from 9 -1. Charlotte, myself, the bunnies and bits, and lots of lovely stalls will be awaiting you. Do come and say..

bye for now lovely friends, see you soon xo

Wating for Oprah

It seems the Daylesford/Hepburn Springs area is obsessed with Oprah!

Reports on the internet since Friday have suggested Oprah might come 

and visit our beautiful area.

I love this crazy photo on the front of our local paper!

It's pouring with rain right now so it's probably not the best day

for Oprah to come,

but I kind of hope she does!

Maybe she could come to my house and visit my chickens,

work out a plan for me to get my house in order,

help me get healthier

& possibly do a 

makeover??

Bye sweeties xo

at my house

At my house today there are panda eyes and sleepy kids after a big night last night with the end of year Dance Recital. It was so exciting to see them all up on stage!

Here are the girls afterwards with their flowers and smiles.

At my house it seems like everything is wet or damp from yesterday's huge tropical storm.

Our garden is going crazy and you can almost see the vegies growing!

At my house today I'm thinking of how grown up Lucy looked on her way to a party yesterday.

And how happy she was to have her big sister helping her.

At my house we are winding down towards holidays. We are all tired and looking forward to a break from school & work. I haven't started getting festive yet, maybe I will after this weekend. I'm feeling scattered and a bit frazzled! Tonight it is our Craft Group Xmas dinner so I'm looking forward to that and catching up with the girls.

At my house today I'm so excited because my big girl has just found out she got into the course she wanted at RMIT!! Yay!! What's happening in your world today? I might just pop over to Lou Lou's and see, bye for now beautiful friends xo

grateful

Today I have so much to be grateful for. A house full of gorgeous kids,

celebrating a beautiful boy.

A boy who partied on in Ballarat last night with five of his besties. Woo hoo!

I'm so in love with my new little chickens, they make me feel good even when I have the blues. I'm so grateful too, for the people who love me, who care enough to listen to me & support me when I'm down. It's so good to have friends that you can share your life with, this is something I treasure so much.

I'm so happy to have had a delicious breakie with an ace mate today, to have been to my mum's where she made me toast & tea and to have made it through the day after a LONG dress rehearsal at Her Majesty's. Finally I'm thrilled to be playing along with Maxabella, for the first time! What a great meme, another thing to be grateful for! Hope you are having a happy weekend, see you soon xo

My son Bill

My son Bill is turning 9!

He was the sweetest, most adorable, fuzzy haired baby boy. And what a big baby he was, I remember being quite thin when I was pregnant with him, with a big, big tummy! It was a busy time with Charlotte in primary school and our little toddler, Lucy. The night before our William was born I mowed the lawn, in the early summer sunlight. It was a good labour and we were so thrilled to finally meet our new sweetie. A funny little fella, with shining eyes. So happy and easy going. I love this photo of him in his little overalls.  The year he turned one I found out I was pregnant with number four, Sunday. Billy & the new baby were babies together, now I call them the twins!

Billy was still a little boy when we left Melbourne for Daylesford. A little boy with a big voice, I think our neighbours are still recovering..

Always such a lovable boy, a thinker, maker, doer, trickster, a rascally ratbag!

First day of school..

a love affair with all things pirate.

a brother who is caring & kind, Billy has such a big heart.

I like the different perspective that having a son

brings to my life. I like the adventures,

the simpleness, the silliness,

the turtles, the comics

the fun.

Of course he can be naughty, sometimes sulky,

a bit messy, a little cheeky....

but he's

just the best son a mum could have.

Happy Birthday Bill!

We love you so much xo