holiday

Some of you may have noticed that I haven't written a post for a couple of weeks now and that's because I took a little time out from my simple life for a little holiday, which by some standards, might also seem pretty simple, but was thoroughly enjoyable!

The first part of my holiday involved a weekend away with my girlfriends from our high school in Cairns Nth Qld(it happens to be 25 years since we left high school this year - that was our excuse)in Melbourne. Two of the girls flew down from Cairns, one from Brisbane and one from Sydney. This was the first time that we had all got together in 3 years and the first time ever that we had all gone away somewhere together. Since I had the youngest child and was able to get away for the least amount of time, the other girls all agreed to come to Melbourne which was close for me. I can't tell you just how wonderful our time together was. This was my first time away by myself since having had children and these are very special old friends. We explored places in Melbourne that even I had never been and we spent hours and hours just talking over long lunches and dinners with bottles of wine and then back at our hotel room in our pyjamas. Of course shopping was also on the agenda, and despite the fact that I had planned not to buy anything for myself I came home with this lovely flowered cup that I'm using as a vase, from a lovely shop that I had never visited before called Wilkins & Kent, 372 Little Bourke St, City. My friends in Mansfield had told me about this little gem - I thought that I had seen everything there was to see in the way of homewares stores but this one was definitely a bit special.

I'm also finding myself very drawn to this colour green and bought jeans AND a scarf in it...perhaps a little bit too much together...

Standout meals were had at Longrain and Maha - can highly recommend these places for both great food and great atmosphere!

I arrived home very happy to see my little family again but having had an absolutely wonderful time away with my friends. Of course all four boys had also had a fantastic time together and nobody needed me at all. It took a full day for the boys to stop asking their Dad, instead of me, for stuff they needed/wanted!

It was when I was on my way home on the bus to Mansfield that I heard on the radio how Jill Meagher had gone missing in the early hours of Saturday morning - so terribly sad to think that that had happened while we were having such a wonderful weekend. Of course the details of her death  became clearer over the following days and I know that many of you have also been very touched by the awful tragedy of such an end to a young woman's life.

After I returned from Melbourne we spent a day washing, packing, cleaning the house etc and then set off on a family road trip to Canberra. Son number one, Sam, came home from school one day last term and said that his teacher had told them all the great things you can see in Canberra and that it was only 5 hours drive from Mansfield and could we go there??? We thought that was actually a pretty good idea and set about finding some accommodation. We found a really good deal at Rydges Capital Hill in a family room and the hotel had a heated indoor pool. Sounded perfect! The hotel was actually getting a bit old and daggy but it really was a perfect arrangement. Our room had two separate rooms, two TVs, a kitchenette, a huge spa bath and of course, the heated pool (which was a huge hit). Sam said it was the best hotel he had ever stayed in. It was very close to everything including the Manuka and Kingston shops and restaurants. Canberra actually has a fantastic restaurant scene. We took the boys out every night and managed to eat some really nice food while also keeping them happy. There were families everywhere at the hotel so I guess many others had found the good deal on family rooms too.

We did something that I have wanted to do for many years - went to Floriade, the flower festival. I met with some opposition from all the boys in the family but it turned out to be a big hit when the ferris wheel, jumping castle and super slide were discovered!



Other attractions we visited, all of which were very much enjoyed by the boys, were Parliament House, the Questacon Science Museum, the National Mint and the National Dinosaur Museum. Unfortunately we had to skip the National Gallery this trip...

When we arrived home, the first thing to be done was to build a Dinosaur Museum!

Whoever would have thought that Canberra could be so much fun?!?

The best thing though is that we have really enjoyed spending time as a family and the three boys have spent a lot of time actually playing together, since they have had the opportunity to do so. The two biggest ones have rediscovered what great playmates they can be!

I was really happy to arrive home to a clean and organised house last night, since I had spent the day before we left working on it - pathetic aren't I!! I was telling my husband what a difference it makes to our homecoming for me - are you the same?

rhythm

Do you find that your weeks have a particular rhythm that you come to rely on to know what you should be doing and when? I always know that if I can manage Saturday, Sunday and Monday fairly efficiently then come Tuesday everything slows down a bit and I can catch my breath again. As I've already said, weekends with three boys and no husband are pretty busy and then I work on Sunday nights when he comes home to take over from me. Before I leave on Sunday night I need to make sure everything is ready for Monday - uniforms and clothes washed, folded and put away, cooking ingredients purchased for a cooking class I take as well as food and snacks for when I look after my little charge, Melody, on Mondays. While all that activity is lots of fun, Tuesday, when the only place I have to be is at the Mansfield Providore for a regular weekly morning coffee with a friend, seems like a little gift.

Yesterday, being Monday, I had Melody and Ben's friend Mattie, as well as Ben and Teddy with me and we set off for a walk with a friend and her two little ones. While the kids' pace meant it was not exactly great exercise for us, it was certainly far enough to tire them out and make them very hungry. Fruit had to be handed out just to give them enough energy to get back up the hill to home again. Much fun was had just playing in this big muddy puddle and in the mail box - it's wonderful to watch children find pleasure in such simple things.

Tuesday - a chance to regroup. I'm feeling very satisfied with myself right now as I have several loads of washing on the line drying. Hanging out washing on a sunny day is one of my favourite household tasks. Like collecting the wood, it's a chance to be outside in the fresh air while still completing a job from the list that needs doing. The bush around my house needs only the slightest bit of a breeze to be able to hear the beautiful sound of wind in the leaves and that brilliant blue sky is just stunning. The boys are always so happy to be playing outside too if I am nearby hanging out washing.

With the washing on the line, house tidy, lunch eaten and cleaned up, Teddy in bed, I'm enjoying a cup of tea and writing this post. After this I'm going to www.dandi.com.au to order some fabric for cushions that I hope will inject that spring feeling into my lounge room that I'm wanting at the moment. That's before school pick-up, dinner and off to work again tonight. Feeling very happy with all this - little rewards we create for ourselves help us get things done faster and make everything worthwhile...

Do you do this too?

weekend activities

The weekend weather forecast was for rain, so I set about arranging a couple of 'play dates' for the boys to keep everyone entertained. On Saturday, son Number 1, Sam, had his friend Angus from school over for a play. When Sam invites a friend over, his two brothers also expect to be able to join in whatever activities are happening. So, to start with, all four boys spent some time playing with our toys in the lounge room. Luckily it was all very amicable, although I did hear Sam quietly comment, "you did come here to play with me you know Angus!" Luckily Angus was very adept at sharing his attention around.

Next, Angus was taken on a short expedition by our two big boys to catch tadpoles from the stream in the bush behind our house. Finally it was time to move on to bigger and better things - building a fire and lighting it using a stick rubbing method seen on Bear Grylls... Sam and Ben had been asking me for days to help them light a fire and I had been stalling by getting them to set up the rocks, collect the kindling and lay the fire. Today I couldn't think of any more reasons to stall and it seemed like a fairly safe day for it since it drizzled with rain all day. Now some of you may be gasping with horror at the fact that I was letting 5 and 7 year old boys 'play' with fire and to be honest, I was a little worried about what Angus' Mum was going to say about it. It actually seems to be quite a common pastime for families around here to light a fire and perhaps cook some marshmallows (I didn't have any) but mostly just enjoy sitting around and looking at it. When I first arrived I have to admit to thinking that it was a bit dangerous and probably not something I would allow my children to do! Of course, we're now a year and a half down the track and it suddenly feels like a very normal thing to do. Not surprisingly, the stick rubbing method was not at all successful, so bush mama here got out the firelighters and matches. Getting the fire going and building it up kept the three boys amused for at least 2 hours and it was also quite an educational experience for them - they learned how to gradually build up the size of the sticks and what types of wood and leaves burn well and not to get your hands too close to the flames. I supervised closely of course but not once did anyone do anything remotely silly or dangerous - this may change as they get older and more daring - but I hope I have given them a lesson in the respect and caution that we need to show for fire. Incidentally, Angus' Mum wasn't in the least bit worried about the fire - luckily!



On Sunday the rain was still around so we decided to ask a few neighbourhood friends over for morning tea and a play. Feeling slightly averse to (mess making) craft activities we decided to go for cupcake decorating instead. This was a big hit and really very easy to organise. The whole morning was really lovely and it meant that some down time afterwards while Teddy slept was quite justified!

Our previously mentioned Chinese friend, Lori, brought Chinese pancakes, which were also very popular. All the healthy morning tea had to be finished off before the cupcakes could be attacked.

Belonging to a close and caring community really enriches my children's lives and mine. We are very lucky.

winter again

The signs of spring are still everywhere but here in the high country it's feeling a lot like winter again. The temperatures have dropped to around 8 degrees during the day and it has been raining a lot - they did get a bit of snow on Mt Buller though. During those few days of beautiful sunny spring weather last week, it was so warm that we didn't even light our coonara for three or four days in a row since our house seemed warm enough that it would just have been a waste of wood. That changed yesterday when I arrived home from town to an absolutely freezing house. So,  it was time to stock up the wood basket and light the coonara. Our coonara is basically our only form of heating in the house so during winter, keeping the coonara going, becomes quite central to the rhythm of my days. First I take the wheelbarrow down to the woodshed and fill it with wood to take up to the verandah and unload into the basket outside the back door.

 



There were times last year, when the weather was so wet and cold, that it didn't seem right to take children out in it, especially not a new baby, so my little trip to the woodshed felt like the only time in the day that I could get a little fresh air and freedom - and I really appreciated it.

To light the coonara and get a really strong fire going takes some time and attention. Once going well it needs more wood periodically and to be shut down low when going out. My big challenge is to try and get enough wood into it, late enough at night, for it to still be going in the morning when we all get up, which makes for a far more pleasant morning all around. When I first moved  here I found all of this quite a chore and it seemed like one extra thing, to add to all the others, that I needed to get done in a day. Now it has become a habit and one that I really enjoy - one of life's simple pleasures...

My husband has just had two days off, so apart from helping to keep the coonara burning, he cooked dinner each night. What a treat - he is a very good cook, but being so busy at work, I usually tend to do the day to day cooking. Since he only cooks on holidays, his meals are usually a little extra special...

The first night it was spaghetti with prawns, rocket, chilli, zucchini, garlic and parsley.



The second night it was pork cutlets (purchased from the Hook and Spoon butcher in Benalla)with a fennel and red wine vinegar reduction. Mmmmmm...

country style

I have, for many years, been an avid reader of home magazines - in fact, I'd probably be many thousands of dollars richer if I had not bought quite so many of them in my life. Over the past few months I've been refraining from this habit fairly successfully. Having just got ourselves a new house and a hefty new mortgage, this seemed one way in which to tighten the purse strings and, after all, my thirst for photos of gorgeous inspirational homes can be satisfied very well by reading blogs and emagazines. However, when I passed the September issue of Country Style today in the newsagent, I just couldn't resist. The front cover is simply gorgeous and totally appeals to my romantic sensibilities. Actually, I'm feeling very inspired by the cushions in the photo, to make a few new ones for my lounge room that will bring the spring bloom feel to the house. After all the children were in bed tonight and the kitchen and house had generally been restored to order I took some time to lie on my aforementioned Nanna's daybed to enjoy some more inspiration. I've always liked Country Style but since moving to the High Country it has, of course, become my new favourite magazine - seems very relevant now...

This is how the daybed looked earlier today...

The five days of stunning weather that I mentioned in my last post ended today when a very windy and stormy change came through. The weather cleared briefly at about 5.30pm and the light over the mountains and through the trees was absolutely stunning. My novice photographs really don't do it justice but perhaps they'll give you a little bit of an idea of how beautiful it was...

Simple pleasures...

spring snow!

This scene on my way home from town never fails to take my breath away, but over the last few days it has been particularly captivating. Last Thursday we had snowfalls which left Mt Buller and Mt Stirling and even Mt Timbertop with a great covering. This was then followed by days of brilliant sunshine with no clouds so we could admire these amazing views. Thus, we have, at the moment, not only the snow capped mountains but also beautiful signs of spring everywhere - especially the wattle and blossom trees.



The excellent covering of snow has been great for skiers and tobogganers. As I've mentioned, my husband works on weekends, even Father's Day weekend, so he wasn't around on Sunday. Luckily there are a bunch of us around here in the same situation, so we all decided to take the children to Mt Stirling for some fun in the snow on Father's Day - minus the Dads! In our family it was something of a breakthrough because Ben and Teddy, who hadn't taken to the snow on previous occasions, actually started to really enjoy themselves! Sam, on the other hand, has loved it from the first moment that he hit the snow. The warm, sunny weather made for perfect conditions for kids.

Aside from tobogganing, playing "Bear Grills" on the side of the hill, was the favourite pastime of the day. Some cool icicles were found there too...



All this was less than half and hour's drive from home - feeling pretty lucky to be able to enjoy all this right on our doorstep, as well as to be part of a wonderfully supportive community.

Thank you to everyone who has been reading this blog - it's so much fun to know that you are out there and hopefully enjoying what you find here. Special thanks to those who have left me some lovely comments - I really appreciate them. Please do visit again...Jx