Such has been life….

Moving into another house. Loving it here. A snip of a Rose here, finding a home for this. Food for a group , or just for one. Trying out this magic Thermal cooking machine the Bellini Intelli and Skinnymixers recipes or filing these papers(sigh).

Oh the garden is calling me again.

Sad to see the roses slowly finishing their season in the sun

Thinking of dear ones who are not with us any more, or ageing mother far away.

Time marching on.

Are we really that old?
I am young inside.
Yet today I seem to creak.

Fun visiting the farm

Were we ever that young?

But go it has!

I was reading through some old diary notes and this one struck a chord. March 2015. Fourteen long months ago.

Utter joy

U.N.F.O.R.G.E.T.A.B.L.E

Fast forward to yesterday morning.
Walking in the Botanic Gardens.

Two older preschool cousins and little Austin walking across rustic stepping-stones. Perfectly placed for little boys.

Us Singing songs, counting steps, pretending being on a bridge in a creek. I say “Can you hear the water?”
But children have such imagination with no prompting needed from adults!
I turn around and see…
Boys lying on stones , pretending to be on the deck of a boat.
Toes to head, head to toes.
Three little bodies all in a row

Repeat again and again.

Singing the ABC song as the stones were stepped upon.

Following the leader and singing the song. Little Austin chiming in and singing too….Bailey stopping mid stride and looking at me as if to say “how can little Austin know this song” ….

In all seriousness he wisely said “I learned him the song”

Infinitely P.R.E.C.I.O.U.S.

Just an ordinary day sharing morning tea.
Definitely not ordinary.

Finding a thing of beauty through the eyes of a child.

Budding artist and his abstract number flowers

We wouldn’t have it any other way
Wonderfully blessed
Making memories

AUSTRALIA DAY AT HOME
Jan 26 2015

A hard day here
Sitting on the back verandah on this Australia Day

Australia a land of contrasts indeed…
Deep fried in the intense heat yesterday
Grey, cool and overcast today
Wishing it was a trifle warmer with the sun showing its face
( we are never ever satisfied are we! )

Egg and bacon breakfast cooked by husband dear
Minding two grandies in their parents home
Children happy and content
Grandparents enjoying the luxury of a Verandah

Savouring the view over green lawn to surrounding bush
The old lush mulberry tree
Listening to the birds and their different melodies trying to out sing each other
Hearing the old hens give their distinct call

You know this is a home to a busy family
Basketball on the lawn
Tractor truck on the verandah
Bags of potting mix next to plants waiting to be potted

Long strips of curled up bark from the gum tree lying on the veranda from a made up and now discarded game of hop scotch (grandma did not want to be the first to draw with chalk on newly re painted decking)

Little boy calling out, grandma, I’m hungry

Joys of being a grandparent in this little corner of Australia

Our laid back Australia Day

Words for this day in Australia. Resilience. Support.

Life can be fragile ….like the poppy.

My version of resilience in a tough environment.

Planted nearly fifty years ago on a farm. An apple tree.

Love and care.

Wordless Wednesday

Photo by hotblack @morgueFile free photo

Anzac Day, a public holiday celebrated mainly in Australia and New Zealand to remember those who served and died in WW1 as depicted in our newspapers and Poppies used as a symbol of remembrance

For us it was a drive in the country from Bawley Point to Sydney early on Anzac morning…

Queen Anne’s Lace grasping onto the side of the rural road with its last flush of summer flowers in the icy breeze

Photo courtesy marykbaird@morgueFile free photos

Deserted shops on Anzac morning in Milton. A few cafés open, bursting at the seams and over flowing with their queue of hungry people or coffee addicts needing their morning wake up jolt

A chalk board sign “a yawn is a silent SCREAM for coffee”

Us deciding to continue driving through the rich dairy country with its brief ocean view and find brekky elsewhere to end our holiday

Cycle track winding through bush fire ravaged eucalyptus forest now sprouting an abundance of new growth…a hardy tree is our eucalyptus

Husband now wishing he’d been able to have his homemade gourmet meat pie earlier at a bakery as it’s a bit of a haul to the next proper town for breakfast….

Well, brekky was had at Maccas in Nowra ….fresh and hot…soft egg and bacon brekky mcmuffin and piping hot tea…who needs a gourmet cafe anyway ;). There’s always another time!

A small spot of trivia as we chatted….being Anzac Day here in Australia…this year is 100 years since WW 1

More scenes spotted on our drive…people enjoying the break from work and able to work on their autumn chores in the garden…so nice seeing a husband and wife team together setting out pot plants along the front picket fence for a bit of colour …

Names driven past that caught my imagination.
MJ Fox Plumber
Roger Roberts Creek
Foxground
Gerringong
Kiama Downs

After having spent a magic time weather and family wise it’s home to Sydney and rain happening on the last stretch but not at home!

Rain and Anzac or cold and Anzac go together typically at this time of year. But we were blessedly spoilt for our time at the beach.

I typed in the car as we travelled along and prettied up this article once home, having unpacked and loads of washing done with me having done two back to back trips.

…anyone for coffee?

Older memories of Anzac Day when our children were little in Adelaide, South Australia. It being that time when all short-sleeved t-shirts and tops were packed away and winter clothing prepared and thought about hastily as inevitably pants legs and sleeves were too short. So too with PJs and dressing gowns and slippers for little toes. Things were passed down, sewn or as a last resort purchased. Days before eBay, Target, Kmart or Big W. The sewing machine got going and knitting needles a clicking.

Do you have childhood memories of this transition Autumn to Winter time?

WHO…World Heath Organisation

A bit of trivia information for you today…

Google was my friend today taking me to Wikipedia, every man’s fount of knowledge and easy to understand. There I just learnt that on April 7 every year W.H.O. celebrates “world health day”. This commenced in 1950 being the year before I was born….and THAT makes me feel old!

Each year a different topic is discussed with Vector Borne Diseases being chosen for this year.

Vector-borne diseases” are infectious agents such as viruses, bacteria and parasites that living creatures carry and pass on to other living creatures…..cited by the British Columbia Ministry of Health.

http://www.health.gov.bc.ca/protect/ehp_vector.html

What is a vector? Well a common one is the humble mosquito. Not very humble though as there a many varieties of mosquito in different parts of the world which cause a multitude of illnesses. I suppose the most commonly known one is Malaria which is the scourge of the tropic as also is Dengue fever….A friend of ours travelling in the Philippines contracted this and was very ill and still suffers at times some of its effects.

Another is the Varroa mite which attacks healthy bees and causes hive collapse due to weakened bees, with devastating effect. Google the word to find out more.

This attack on bees has the potential to have massive effects on food production. Little hard-working bees which we see every day in our gardens, amongst the herbs, on flowering trees, on our Australian native trees, the eucalyptus gum trees. All over the world. They are the backbone of our ecology, the food bowls…..besides providing that golden honey.

How can we encourage bees into our gardens? Plant flowering herbs or companion plants in amongst our established garden….
and watch that little bee next time. Pause a moment to observe it and give thanks….and in so doing we feed and refresh our inner being.

…..this short post was sparked when I was cleaning out my emails late last night. There was one advertising world health day, so I had to check it out, and as they say the rest is history.

Short and sweet today.

Breathe and observe.

Joining in with http://essentiallyjess.com/fish-chips-blogging-ibot/

I Blog On Tuesdays

Vintage drawing courtesy “Graphics Fairy”

Driving to the hairdresser early this morning I had to remind myself that we now have a new school opened in a local street. Note to self was “watch out for the low speed zone” whereas for the last 20 something years we just drove without thinking…

…and so my mind wandered….

It happens again, the long summer break school holidays, or vacation as they say in other parts, have ended in Australia. Our older grandchildren went back Tuesday before last so as to be able to complete the required number of weeks of education for the various exams. The younger ones the week after.

So sad to see the end of fun and relaxation. A time for the minds to wind down, for families to regroup and refocus again. For extended families to catch up and reconnect. Little cousins with older cousins, siblings, aunts and uncles, mums and dads, grandparents and friends. Mentoring time.

A slowing down and de-stressing. No bus to be on time for, no school bell to hurry for, no constant homework and assessments to schedule for, no sporting activities to be fitted in and uniforms always washed and gotten ready for.

Now holidays don’t have to cost a fortune! There’s so many family friendly activities. Just do research, ask around organise yourself to take food and drinks from home and you’ll all be right. Besides saving a bundle of money your children will feel more nourished and sustained by the home cooking. Eat at a fast food outlet and you’ll all feel hungry again very quickly due to the sugar spike.

Carry this over to back to school. Having appointments or activities like swimming after school? Plan your day and have sustaining after school snacks with you to be devoured on the way to wherever you are off to!… And for mum too….

At times, with the children cook with them and discuss a plan for a theme like a Mexican or Chinese meal.

For home schoolers this can incorporate learning about the culture or geography and history of that country. The learning to make and prepare a new recipe is adventurous but make sure it’s children taste friendly….In this way you are passing on skills….life skills, as mentioned in a previous post. The best part being that they won’t even notice that it’s a lesson….

” care enough to train a child, not merely treat them to a good life” Dr. Tim Elmore.

But as with all things, special things are only special because they happen sometimes and by looking forwards to them. If we always ate chocolate it wouldn’t be such a delight. Yum yum.

If we always lived by the beach I am sure it would become commonplace, and also, we would not notice the great beauty of our surroundings…

EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.

Let’s not become complacent about things in general. Can you see the extraordinary in the ordinary.

Bye for now
Alexa

Beach photos belong to Alexa-asimplelife , written by Alexa.
Vintage drawing courtesy http://thegraphicsfairy.com

Memories… walking through fields of grass  

Photo courtesy Proven Winners

Son newly practicing  his abseiling skills using the huge gum tree in our yard with all his ropes and tackle instead of the cliffs and canyons.

Same son lying on lounge in his suit utterly spent after a gruelling day at American Consulate for his interview to migrate? and live in USA to be with his now wife.

At Sydney Airport with family saying our goodbyes with tears  in our hearts. Son and his wife entering restricted area for  Customs where we could not follow but only look and observe them walking away as they returned to USA….a little 2 year old voice calls out plaintifly…. “come back!!!!” . Our son told us later it was the hardest thing he had to do to keep walking and not look back. As I write this it makes me tear up again.

Son writing some poetry…I saw a quote recently…”Poetry is Code” . That must be why he is a programmer.

The smiles on daughters and sons in law faces  at the birth of their dear children.

Me knocking on daughter’s locked front door- knock, knock,knock….little voice from the other side calling “mummy” , footsteps running,  “grandma.”

Me carrying a restless unhappy  little boy who is trying to wake up properly. Whistling occasionally as I walk around among big gum trees  in the still Australian bush beyond the back fence-line …a little voice pipes up “Music”

Me going for a walk in the same still bush on last day of this year with 2 little boys, cousins, trying to find where the tractor that we can hear chug chugging away is. We find it, and holding my hands we just stand there listening and watching from  a distance…chug chug chug, a tractor connected to pump water from a dam for the cows….Very soon its time to go back for tea. One little boy runs to a huge tree and tries to hug  and climb it. Arms are MUCH too little so I lift him up and he walks up the tree horizontally… up and up, way above my head. Another voice pipes up “me too, me too”. So up we go and again and again till grandma’s arms wear out!

“Grandma, God is little cause he can come under the door…he can see everything”.

…and a little funny one, “Grandma can you lick the gravy off my meat I don’t like gravy” from someone quite a few years ago now

Life is full of memories or is it the other way round, memories are life