...to cool off in the amber waters...
...race some seed pod boats...
...still bloody hot though...
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Lunch today
Super easy recipe for these hot days from here.Open one tin of chickpeas and drain, add half finely dice small red onion, a big handful Italian parsley, juice and zest from one big lemon, (I also threw in some quartered cherry tomatoes) add a big lug of olive oil, mash a bit and stir.
Makes a delicious sandwich.
Serve with tea. Never too hot for a cup.A new mountain to climb
A massive load of sawdust from a local mill arrived to be used as mulch for the garden. Who knew it would provide hours of fun. It's been fun to watch the joy on their sweet little faces. Climb to to the top.
Soar through the air.
Soft landing.
Erm, just one problem. When ever I attempt to fill the wheelbarrow from the mountain, I'm met with hysterical cries of "don't wreck our mountain mama!" Oh dear...Eye Spy something beginning with J...
This week's fantastic theme from Lauren is easy peasy, because we've been busy with Jars and Jam. Here is my Jam Empire. Nine jars of blackcurrant from the garden, four big jars of apricot and several jars of raspberry jam. I've also been collected preserving Jars, and we picked up this Jazzy orange preserving pan this week for $10! I hope to get cracking on the peaches this week. Thank you Cindy for hosting such a fun game and thanks to Lauren for the old school theme.
Summer Harvest Part 2 - The apple of my pink eye
Here are the first potatoes from our very own garden! Wowee! Check them out. I do get pretty excited about the humble spud, in fact, Tasmania's delicious potatoes were a big motivation, for me anyway, to move here. Upon arrival I knew I'd hit the jackpot when the local greengrocer had eleven different varieties on sale. Eleven! And that's not including washed or unwashed. Sure, sure, the cherries, the berries and the apples are great, but it's the potatoes that rock my world. The little waxy yellow ones to be precise, like these here pink eyes. When freshly dug up, steamed and served with a little butter and salt, they are delicious. Nothing like what you buy in the supermarket.
Sadly potatoes, cooked in any manner apart from chips, are pretty high on the disgusting list according to my children. So I tricked them by using Nigella's recipes for fishcakes from How to Eat. For those who don't know, it has an incredibly helpful chapter on feeding babies and small children. They loved them. But by now I've realised I could crumb and fry anything and my children will eat it.For the grown ups, it's a meal entirely from our own garden, some eggs, potatoes and garlic, (sadly too dark to photograph). Zero food miles. Sure it's a small step in the scheme of things, but it means we're doing our bit for climate change, one tortilla at a time.
School holidaze
I gotta admit, I'm running out of things to do these school holidays. I'm feeling a little drained and the creative ideas have run dry. It's lovely not to rush out the door in the morning, but yet, there's no denying it's hard work keeping the children amused. And still another month before school goes back. Oh what to do today...
...So in a flash of what I thought was pure brilliance, today we headed off to the local PYO farm. A gorgeous place in a secret little valley.
They only had raspberries today, so after being given a vintage pickers' bucket, we were pointed to the direction of nirvana. Rows and rows of lush ripe red raspberries. We have raspberries in our garden, but not enough to make any jam, so I figured a few kilos were in order. We picked and picked for what seemed like hours. For sure we'd have at least 4 kilos.
When the sun got too hot and the children started to look a little pink - and not just from the scoffing of raspberries, we took our massive haul to the farmer to be weighed, for which we paid the princely sum of ten dollars for 1.5kilos.
Boy it's hard work too. Miss E did a fabulous job before the farm's slippery dips beckoned, those steep cool old school metal ones, long banned by councils for being too dangerous.
So, that took up a good, oh, three hours. What's next?
...So in a flash of what I thought was pure brilliance, today we headed off to the local PYO farm. A gorgeous place in a secret little valley.
They only had raspberries today, so after being given a vintage pickers' bucket, we were pointed to the direction of nirvana. Rows and rows of lush ripe red raspberries. We have raspberries in our garden, but not enough to make any jam, so I figured a few kilos were in order. We picked and picked for what seemed like hours. For sure we'd have at least 4 kilos.
When the sun got too hot and the children started to look a little pink - and not just from the scoffing of raspberries, we took our massive haul to the farmer to be weighed, for which we paid the princely sum of ten dollars for 1.5kilos.
Boy it's hard work too. Miss E did a fabulous job before the farm's slippery dips beckoned, those steep cool old school metal ones, long banned by councils for being too dangerous.
So, that took up a good, oh, three hours. What's next?
Now we are six...
...it was bound to happen sooner or later, but I would have rathered the later than the sooner. I had mixed feelings about this little tooth falling out. Delighted by her excitement at losing a tooth, but as she took one big step away from being a small child and a giant leap towards being a big kid, I felt more than a pang of nostalgia for my long gone little one.But it did provide the opportunity to start a new family tradition, which made me happy. I sewed a little pillow, inspired by Soule Mama, with a tiny pocket for the tooth. I've also been enjoying a book by Susan Perrow, who tells a story of the tooth fairy leaving small gifts like feathers and pebbles for her children. Elsa was filled with wonder and delight at receiving a small diamante jewel from the tooth fairy. There's magic in that, from which I can also take comfort for this inevitable rite of passage.
Summer Harvest Part 1
We've been enjoying our daily handful of strawberries and raspberries from the garden for a few weeks now. Delicious!
And we've picked a bumper blackcurrant crop to make jam and cordial. Three years of pruning, mulching, weeding, feeding, watering and netting has paid off - Yippee! However, the berries are really for the children.
Here is the apple of my eye from our garden; a good 70 heads or so of beautiful, pungent, purple garlic. I love to plunge my nose in this basket and inhale the heavenly fug. Divine.
Summer Daze
And so we wrap up the little break between Christmas and New Year. We've had such a lovely quiet time at home. It's been blissful not to race around but just hang out with the family.
The weather has been cold, summer seems to have come and gone. The daze have been filled with eating leftovers, baking treats, reading stories, and afternoon teas in play tents.
In between rainy days, Da has started to build a tree house. A little space to sit and dream. I'm so proud! Those lucky smalls!
Looking forward to summer's arrival any day now, surely, but at least all this rain is doing wonders for our bumper potato crop. Doesn't it look so lush!
We send our love and best wishes to you for a peaceful, healthy, delicious, and happy new year, cheers to all!
The weather has been cold, summer seems to have come and gone. The daze have been filled with eating leftovers, baking treats, reading stories, and afternoon teas in play tents.
In between rainy days, Da has started to build a tree house. A little space to sit and dream. I'm so proud! Those lucky smalls!
Looking forward to summer's arrival any day now, surely, but at least all this rain is doing wonders for our bumper potato crop. Doesn't it look so lush!We send our love and best wishes to you for a peaceful, healthy, delicious, and happy new year, cheers to all!
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