Puppy love

Amidst much excitement, we welcomed Jack to our home today. He has been smothered in love and cuddles already.

Nature watching

We found the Golden Orbweaver's nest yesterday. Spun in gold.

One of those days

Children: full of so much love, joy, energy, life. I love them dearly, but CRIKEY they break a lot of things.

Watering is good for the soul

I was feeling a little low this morning. So many new trees bitten by the frost. So many things broken (don't believe those types of crockery that say they won't break - everything breaks on tiles), and the almost-3-year-old being very almost-3 (grumpy).

Then I stepped outside to water some plants, and found myself catching glimpses of beauty.

A new rose,

some pak choy poking their shoots out through the dirt,

a new apple tree basking in the sunshine.

And then I heard my boy counting to 200 again. There's something so heartwarming about children discovering things on their own, and the way they celebrate it by repeating it over and over....

And I saw my big girl making puppets for her little sister.

And just now we have had a very quiet lunch due to the children listening very hard for a noise from our guest - a click beetle.

The smell of fresh bread

My brain is full of rosters and schedules at the moment. Any more and it might explode. I do enjoy a spot of organising, though. Okay, okay, so if there was Organisers Anonymous I would have to join it...

So as a distraction I tried making some Turkish bread this afternoon. It just came out of the oven a few minutes ago - yum!

And I am determined to finish littlest chicken's quilt before her birthday - I've hit the halfway mark now...

Juicy apples

Yesterday we stopped at a roadside fruit & veg stall - I think it was the corner of Armidale Rd and Waterfall Way near Ebor - the man was selling organic fruit & veg, and he had picked the apples from his trees when they were ripe. Oh my goodness - I can't tell you just how crisp and juicy and delicious the apples are! We bought some fresh hazelnuts too... it looks like I'll be the only one eating those, though...

Relaxed, refreshed, rejuvenated

Don and I left the children with my parents this weekend and escaped to Dorrigo to celebrate our 10 year wedding anniversary. (I was the only one with tears in my eyes - the children had a blast!) We stayed in a gorgeous little B&B (called MossGrove), and did some bush walking. I think I managed to take a photo of the majority of fungi we passed by in the rainforest...

A quiet nook

Don't you sometimes wish you could still fit into a small nook in your cupboard? For a bit of peace and quiet, time to reflect, and perhaps even clean your toes?

Just the usual

Not a whole lot happening here at the moment. Just the usual plus a bit more bike riding (I didn't realise how hard it would be to go up hill with a toddler in a seat on the back!). A few extra trees and veggies planted. A bit of sewing, mostly hemming, apart from this exciting little article:

Any guesses?