Good morning.

Today I lazed in bed a later than I should have but that's the joy of winter isn't it; snuggled up in - between flanny sheets and a cosy doona. And then - the piece de resistance - porridge! :) YUM.

The forecast is for rain for the next month (!) so I've washed everything in sight to take advantage of the beautiful sun. It's a lovely day; lets hope the forecast is wrong.

Mark finished painting my office and we're just waiting for the trim to harden then everything can go back in. It's a lovely shade of pale dove grey with white trim. I'm looking forward to decorating it; looking for new curtains tomorrow. The grey is a very peaceful colour and I need the room to be uncluttered and relaxing to work well. I can't think in clutter. I tend to like mono-chromic or French provincial so there'll be dashes of black, white and maybe a little red.

Not sure about the red though because I have the most beautiful piece of fabric that I've had for literally years in a sort of pastel floral. It's very floaty and soft I'm thinking it might make a gorgeous cushion cover and maybe a tassel for the cupboard door. I'd love a big old wooden desk but the one I have is the perfect size and shape for my work and the room so I'll work around it.

I'm going to a morning tea on Friday of local ladies who do craft and are into the same things I am such as cooking from scratch, gardening etc. It should be huge fun, meeting new people and learning new things. I have to say though, when it comes to crafts, my enthusiasm far exceeds my expertise!

I seem to have a to - do list as long as my arm today, better get to it. Am about to go down to the bush and get some wood to start the fire later on and to stock up before it starts to rain. The fire was blazing last night so when Mark came home the house was toasty. We had a pork stir-fry and home-made custard with stewed pears and then curled up in front of the fire - doesn't get much better. The ducted is a huge blessing but I really do prefer the heat from a fire.

                                                       Don't the leeks look lovely?!

Feast / Famine.

Today I was reminded of that old saying "it's either a feast or a famine." The chickens are going overboard now after taking a little while for the new ones to settle in and begin to lay. A month ago I had to buy eggs now I have them coming out of my ears and have given away dozens. It is nice being able to share. Such good little chooks!!!

  I have a big pot of lavender outside the kitchen window and it's overflowing at the moment. I love anything lavender and I think a little bit of greenery inside always looks cheerful in winter, so I brought a few sprigs in yesterday. I made that little blue jug 27 years ago! I was pregnant with my first child and he gets married in less than two weeks.

I also had three phone calls from friends, two of whom wanted to come for a visit. How lovely! I can sometimes go a few days and not hear from a friend and now three in one day! And these are the sort of people you WANT to hear from too which is even better. :)  We all have the kind where our heart sinks a little when we hear their voice. lol - you know the conversation that goes . . . .  . . .
Other person " hi how are you "
ME " great how are you?"
Other person - (hesitates and then gives an almost imperceptible sigh), " oh .........not bad."
After the obligatory "round-the-mountain" small- talk the real reason for the call comes out - it's all so predictable! I finally got smart, now I check the number before I answer. lol.

I got lucky today though, such enjoyable, laughter-filled calls - like I said it's either a feast or a famine! :)

Whoa - winters here!

Oh my goodness it was a chilly morning here. Mark had to wash the windows of his work car to get the ice off it so he could see and even as he drove out of the yard it began to ice up again! Brrrrrrrrr!

I got moving after having a cuddle with the pup and got the washing started. It's a pain at this time of the year trying to get it all dry before the afternoon cold and damp closes in. I've been laid low with an awful cold so didn't do much at all, washing, made salsa to go with the salmon for dinner and made a pear cake for desert. I pulled the blinds back in the family room and dozed on the chair in the sun for a few hours. Bliss!  The pear cake is lovely; not an original however. I had extra pears so trawled the ipad (sitting in the sun under a blanket) to see what I could make; easy and quick being the order of the day as I just couldn't be bothered fiddling for too long in the kitchen. I may have gotten the recipe from Simple Savings - I get so many fabulous recipes from that site - I highly recommend it. If not then I can't remember, but accolades to whoever made it up. Lovely with a little ice cream or cream.

Ingredients.
 1 kg pears - peeled, cored and sliced
2 eggs
1/4 cup of milk
1 cup white sugar   { I use Natvia, which is a natural substitute (Stevia) and I use a bit less than a cup as it can be a little sweet for some people)
1 1/2  cups plain flour
1/4 tsp mixed spice

Method.
Preheat oven to 190 c.
Grease a spring-form pan or round baking tin and dust with plain flour.
Mix eggs and milk together.
Add sugar, mix well.
Add flour and mixed spice and beat until it resembles a thickish batter.
Fold in pears, making sure all are covered.
Pour into tin.
Bake 45-55 minutes until golden brown on top.
Cool in the tin for 20 minutes.
    And yes that missing bit was YUM!

I've got some bulbs to go in tomorrow, they should have been in a week or two ago; never mind, they'll be O.K. They're tulips,daffies and freesias. I'll put them around the gates that are leading to the secret garden; they should look gorgeous come spring.
There's a bunch of leaks to be pulled so I'll make some soup to pop in the freezer.

Oh I've just bought a cheese making kit; that's next on the agenda. I'm really looking forward to trying that.

So.......it's quiet and peaceful here at the moment, cold but peaceful. :)

A THOUGHTFUL DAY.

It's a lovely sunny autumn day. The horses are milling about, the birds have been in for breakfast and a swim and have gone to....well .... wherever they go through the day. Have just picked some onions, capsicum, and beetroot, 3 figs, and got 7 eggs from 6 chickens (???) Washing is hung and the bread maker just started up and scared the heck out of me! I'm making some fruit bread for my eldest; hoping it's ready before I go over to their house for a barbeque lunch. Doesn't a meal made by someone else taste soooooo much better than when you have to do it yourself? :)

It's a thoughtful day today. A boss where my daughter works passed away today after only being diagnosed with cancer a few weeks ago. Her passing must be so incredibly devastating for her family and friends; today will be forever etched in their minds. It made me think again at how quickly life can change; how fast what was so important one day pales into insignificance the next due to a change in circumstances. How easy it is to be caught up in the trivial things and miss the beauty that's all about us - be it family, friends, our home. An attitude of gratitude can turn a crappy day into a brilliant one.

* This was sitting in my drafts from a couple of weeks ago. Thought I'd pop it in. :)

Tuesday - again.

I had a giggle this morning as I roamed about the bush area down the back of our land. Mark was loading the wheelbarrow with wood to take up to the house and I was trailing through the bush with a big plastic container dragging behind me picking up small sticks for kindling. (We put the fire on last night and had it raging thanks to my little "chips".) It was lovely just wandering about in the sun. Mark confessed when he was watching me a few weeks ago doing the same he thought I was wasting my time as they wouldn't burn effectively, and the soft wood he had chopped would be much better. Haha - silly boy - I'm not just a pretty face you know!

There's something rather mellow about a warm autumn day and just wandering about; and being followed by some very excited chickens. They followed me down to the folly; a new place for them; and just had the best time scratching about in the mulch under the trees. When I left though they quickly followed me back up to their yard - they don't do brave. :)

Tuesday.

A lovely morning here today. Its so warm through the day  - hard to believe winter's just around the corner.

Monday.

Well I'm finally back. Life takes over completely on occasions and sitting at the computer for anything other than work just doesn't happen sometimes.

 It's awfully quiet in the garden at the moment. There's onions, beetroot and capsicums to get each day, and of course herbs and a few straggling strawberries. The fig tree is having its second and best flush of fruit. We just bought a lovely lilly pilly and I'm assured it will give us masses of fruit. After buying it I thought maybe we should have gotten 2 to be very sure so I'll pick another one up. The colours are lovely - and so is the fruit! I remember my friends neighbour had a huge lilly pilly in their side garden close to the fence. My friend and I use to eat handfuls of the berries every summer.

This crazy big toadstool is in the dog yard. I'll have to pull it out shortly but I quite like how big and silly looking it's become in a few short days so I might just leave it to see what happens and if it gets even bigger. Shame it's not edible - I'm a big fan of fungi.