Happy Homemaker Monday

Linking with Diary of a Stay at Home Mom for Happy Homemaker Monday.

On the Weather Front


I don't want to be hot any more! I really do not like the summer at all, which makes me feel very unAustralian and makes people think I am strange. So I was happy to read an article in Earth Garden magazine, where the writer was equally unimpressed with summer!
As Tanya Jenkyn writes in EG No 174:
"For the record, I am NOT a summer person by any stretch of the imagination. As everyone around me stretches with joy like a well-fed housecat as the first rays of summer sun hit their upturned faces, I recoil like a vampire in the face of a garlic wreath."
I agree!  Tanya then goes on to say she should just move to Tasmania - my all time dream!
So I am hoping for it to cool down and rain very soon.

Reading


May I Be Happy - A Memoir of Love, Yoga and Changing My Mind by Cyndi Lee. I am really enjoying this, although I do tend to love these self-discovery, introspective journey type books. I picked this up as I am planning to incorporate yoga into my everyday routine this year (won't be standing on my head any time soon though!)

Not me!!

Watching


I watched the new Ben Hur DVD last night. It was easy to watch and quite interesting. I haven't read much about Ben Hur so cannot comment on the historical accuracy.
Tonight I plan on watching The Butler. I saw this when it came out a few years ago and loved it, so am looking forward to a re-watch.

I'm Hoping


Same as last week - that the school holidays never end. As the end draws closer, I (and the boys) are getting more and more upset that it looks like they will have to head back for another year of school. I just need to try and pretend to be positive about it, but it is very difficult.


I'm Learning


Or trying to learn and remember some of the names for the basic yoga poses. I'm sure it will become second nature after a while.




Crafting


I have been getting in some knitting, later at night when the weather has cooled down a bit. Working on a heat mat for my teapot. And still quilting away at grandbaby's first birthday quilt (31st March deadline - I've got this!)

Grateful For


My sweet boys. Away from school, their true natures are beginning to shine though again. Particularly Mr 12, who doesn't have to try to be 'cool' in the holidays.

Dreaming Of


Same big dreams every week! But I need to start having some smaller dreams, so also dreaming of fields of flowers. I have been looking through the spring bulb catalogues that are just starting to arrive - so many gorgeous tulips, daffodils, ranunculas.

Favourite photo


I haven't had the camera out very much this week, but I think this photo of my surprise chick is my favourite. One of my hens (who I thought had been taken by a fox) appeared last week with this solitary chick.

Devotionals, Scriptures, Key Verses


I mentioned this one a week or two ago when I said I had decided to make it my motto for 2017. I had been reading Living Courageously - You Can Face Anything, Just Do It Afraid by Joyce Meyer. I always find Joyce Meyer to be an absolute inspiration for me and this book was no exception.  I found it amazing that I had reached my age and not worked out this simple concept - that if you don't do the things you are afraid to do, you will never do anything. So obvious!

Have a lovely week!

We Met Oddball!

Today we went to Warrnambool for a swim and Cuddlepie insisted that we go to 'Penguin Island' (actually Middle Island). He absolutely loved Oddball  - you may remember me talking about the movie here - and wanted to go to Oddball's island.

He was swimming and didn't notice the ranger and the two Maremmas enter the water. The ranger walks them across to the island in the afternoon and picks them up in the morning. Cuddlepie was so excited when he saw them!

'I got to pat Oddball!' he yelled.

We were pretty thrilled with our brush with fame!

You can read about the Maremma penguin program here.

Home From Our Holiday

We are home from our short holiday. All had a good time, including Miss Ballerina, who stayed home to study, work and enjoy the peace and quiet.

We left for Melbourne for the first day, stopping in Ballarat for lunch.

Keeping lunch away from the swans at Lake Wendouree, Ballarat

When we reached Melbourne, we went straight to Mum and Dad's to visit before Dad starts his next chemo and stem cell treatment this week. 
That night, hubby and Legoman set off on the tram to the MCG to the football, Hawthorn v Collingwood. It was a very close game and Legoman LOVED it!

Up the next morning and off to Apollo Bay. 

Love the hills leading down to Apollo Bay

Metal fish at the wharf fish and chip shop, Apollo Bay

My sister, brother-in-law and niece joined us for one day. We all went for a walk called Maits Rest Rainforest Walk. I just love forests, trees, greenery of any sort, so believe me, I have culled my photos right down so as not to bore you with one hundred photos of this forest!

Whirlwind so wanted to spot some parrots but they weren't exactly walking quietly!

Cuddlepie spent some of the time back at our unit making a forest of his own

Some of the rolling hills just out of Apollo Bay

Looking back to the town

One of our stops on the way home was Loch Ard Gorge near the Twelve Apostles. It is named after a ship, the Loch Ard, that was wrecked here in 1878. You can read about it here. There were only two survivors. The ship was carrying luxury goods and amazingly, this porcelain peacock was recovered intact.

The two survivors reached this beach 

The ship was wrecked on the rocks at far left of the photo. The gorge where they washed ashore is to the right.

We had a lovely time away, but funnily, Whirlwind wanted to get home to start gardening again! He is so like me!

Good to be home and look forward to catching up!

Signing Off For A Short While

We are off for a driving trip for a few days, so I will not be blogging for that time (although I may schedule a few quick posts). 

Off to the city first, to see dad before he starts his chemo and for hubby and Legoman to attend the football.

Then off to the beach for a few days.

Although there will be no swimming involved, being the middle of winter!

Have a lovely few days and I look forward to catching up when we return!

Happy Birthday To My Littlest Man

Cuddlepie had his fourth birthday party today - his actual birthday is on Wednesday.

He had a ball with his little friends and we had a great time catching up with their parents.

Party food!

Miss Ballerina and I made the cake he had choosen himself from my trusty, well-loved Women's Weekly birthday cake book. 

See, it is so well-loved, it is in pieces! 
My mum gave me this book when Miss Butterfly was born as this was the one all mine and my brother and sister's birthday cakes were cooked from. It is so lovely to look through it each time there is another birthday and remember all the other birthdays for which the different cakes have been made.
The cake Cuddlepie chose was also the one I made for Miss Butterfly's first birthday, nearly 20 years ago!

Cuddlepie said he loved it and he had the best birthday ever. In fact, the word he used was awesome! 

It was a cold day here today, so the party was indoors. It was lovely to see all the kids just having fun playing. I didn't organise any games or activities, no bouncy castles or magicians, just plain old-fashioned playing! It is astonishing to me how competitive parents have become with birthday parties - it seems sometimes it is not even about the birthday child any more, but about doing one better than the last party. 
We had a lovely time, and once everyone was gone and the noise had died down, the dog felt comfortable coming inside.

Do you think the dog can get any closer to the fire?!

Come To The Circus!

When I was a child, I loved Enid Blyton and loved the circus books. I absolutely wanted to run away and live with the circus! 

And the circus is in town! 
Silvers Circus is here for six shows and we went this afternoon. It was super expensive - $147.50 for all of us, phew! But it is a special event that only comes around once a year, so we enjoy the outing.
These photos were taken with my phone so aren't the best.

The boys were happy as there was popcorn and fairy floss (cotton candy). 

The Wheel of Steel was scary; well, it was for me who doesn't like heights!

Image from www.silverscircus.com.au

 Gypsy Gomez was amazing with her hula hoop display. Her stomach muscles, oh my!

Image from www.silverscircus.com.au

And what boys (including hubby boys!) are not going to like the Globe of Death, where three motorbikes ride around inside a giant metal globe.

Image from www.silverscircus.com.au

The circus is great fun. No animals any more, of course, so completely different from the Enid Blyton books and from when I went to the circus as a child, where there are chimpanzees dressed in clothes, elephants, tigers, performing dogs and horses.

Times have certainly changed from when these circuses were performed.

One day, I would love to attend a Cirque du Soleil performance. I've seen them on TV and they are amazing!