A proud catch and feast for a king

Joining in with Trisha and My Little Drummer Boys for
Wordless Wednesday

5 Random Things I am thankful for this day

1..Summer Fun and memories
2..Cool days a coming
3..New lavender buds-love them
4..Comfort food for a cool morning
5..Observations from being with little boys

1..Thankful for the lovely family and friend times we shared outdoors during our summer here in Australia. Summer fun, Beach fun, picnic times, impromptu cricket games in the true Australian fashion when all that was available was a tennis ball and bats. Camp chair and Esky/chilly bins were pressed into service as stumps. Fun had by all…

Summer time is also our wedding anniversary so am thankful for the lovely time and meal we shared a La restaurant@home and a fabulous bunch of red roses from Aldi for $5. So love them.

Eating out at home in pleasant atmosphere

2..On to today and Oh so sad…today being the last day of Summer and the sky is definitely NOT showing summer weather. It’s grey and miserable with constant drizzle. Cool enough for me to search out my sheepskin scuff slippers this morning instead of bare feet. Thankful for warm feet.

Cold weather approaching and summer has passed

An upside of overcast weather is that photographs come out much better because the sun is not leaching out colour. I just use my iPad for convenience

3..Lots of buds happening in my garden on my Lavender hedge which I grew completely from my own rooted cuttings with a huge dose of patience. Happy days cause I love Lavender.

4..Cool weather this morning made for wanting a warmer breakfast but not as heavy as porridge. So out comes the trusty Couscous. A very easy and quick meal with only the breakfast bowl to wash up….cook according to directions on pack. I used the microwave. Towards the end add a few sultanas. Allow to stand for a while. I also add a drizzle of olive oil when cooking. I make sure there’s a bit of liquid left once couscous is cooked or else add some more then stir in a bit of milk powder and a drizzle of Maple Syrup. Breakfast done and nice warm stomach…thankful..(I think making it with quinoa would also work and be somewhat healthier, but more expensive.)

5..Observed one little boy on Wednesday…daddy snoozing on lounge chair after a long day at work. B going up to daddy with…Tickle Tickle…not much response…sometime later B climbs up and crawls under daddy’s arm, daddy cuddles him and continues napping…B rubs his fingers on daddy’s arm for a while, lies there for a while and slithers out again down the side of the chair…like a little puppy. It was so cute but because I was cooking I couldn’t take a photo and just observed. Too sweet and precious daddy time x

Observation about B’s little cousin on Tuesday during showering time. I put a bit of shampoo on H head and then proceeded to wash and rinse shampoo off….little voice piping up “awww grandmaaa” every time I put a container of water on his head…I was spoiling his fun playing with his toys…awww grandmaaa

Drawing of a field of flowers with colourful “blooms”

Grandchildren are SO precious and take our mind away from the cares of the everyday. Indeed thankful for blessings.

What are you thankful for on this day? Count them and you’ll be surprised.

So another week ends. Blessings

By Alexa
Photos belong to me too

Joining in and thanks ….
A rural journal blogspot Random 5 Friday

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

What of this day…

With our typical Sydney summer’s day of blue sky and cicadas shrilling away in the background, I pause for a moment to reflect on the last few happy but busy family days.

Some vibrant jewel coloured Gerbera flowers in a bouquet given by a little hand. Red and orange and yellow and cream…a luscious mix.

Stunning little smile with pearly teeth when a little boy sees that grandma is there in HIS house in the middle of the night as he stands in a dim hallway having wakened suddenly.

Same little boy desperately fighting sleep with his eyes opened oh so wide as he holds on to the awake moment, then stating so suddenly “sleep please” whence he is gently rolled and tucked into bed.

The quiet of night with all asleep as compared to the busy happenings of family and children.

Quiet absorbed play of a little one with a large plastic container full of water and two cups. Pour from one cup to the other…over a nearby leaf….onto toes….onto grass …into sandpit…Hand in water to make handprint on wood like grandma did….foot into water and footprint all with his own thinking…Drink water ….all this showing that we really don’t need much to keep us happy….think back to when a small thing was really appreciated. What was it?

…for me I think back to sharing a moment with family. Even though it was just brief meeting at Adelaide airport a year or so ago. As I was preparing to fly back home to Sydney from Adelaide airport, having with my girls and their little ones visited my mother. My sister flew in from Perth to visit our mother too. It was a planned overlap for mum to have a longer family time to enjoy. Yet us sisters, my girls and their babies only manage 30 minutes due to flight times and little children. A meet and greet and hug and laugh and kiss and tear up, as we all had to continue on our life’s journeys.

Back to the present…..Older children happily devouring a favourite home made meal pre prepared by mum of lasagne…”we always have seconds of lasagne …”

Large Backpack school bags ready packed for first day back to school. Food and drinks and books and caps. Big black school shoes ready to go, boot/ trunk of car filled with school bags and swimming gear for little one.

courtesy jeltovski at morgueFile free photos

Courtesy jeltovski at MorgueFile free photos

Everyone in car, little one likes grandma’s car seat, seat belts on and off we drive in the semi rural countryside…and so starts another school year for everyone here in Sydney….the precious summer holidays are over….more on that another time.

Family life is a busy one, and with a little one and older siblings it covers a whole range of needs.

Many lessons are there for us along life’s journey. To Find Patience, tolerance, kindness, to be a peacemaker, helper, prompter, learner, discoverer, mediator, and learner again.

No matter what age we are, young to old, these apply. In all avenues from work to play.

….So, soon it’s time for grandma to go back to her home…..a little voice says, “Grandma stay at my house? Grandma sleep in my house?….” Precious memories.

Now I’m back to my own life, a different world. Retirement boring? Never

A little catching up and reading…..words….words…
Frugal Fatigue…Blogosphere…Frugal is make your money work for you…and I like this one, thank you Heather…Time is wealth…..

All these are a world away from life of the last few days that I was privileged to share.

Courtesy hotblack at MorgueFile free photos

Tag words given for the above photo were woman, girl, reading, coffee, shop, leisure, relax, quiet, peace, alone. My addition would be joy in the aloneness to refresh the soul and to garner strength for the next need that arises.

…later I will continue on my little journey started the other day.

Have a good day all.

By Alexa

Photos as stated with thanks from http://www.morguefile.com

Refreshing water on grass (by Rollingroscoe)

Hallo

Word picture written on a Thursday 5th December 2013:-

Sights and sounds of summer yesterday…
A hot still blue sky
Cicadas chirping, um screeching
Missing the hiss of a sprinkler
….old fashioned sound from my youth …no water restrictions
….Children’s hysterical laughter as they run and play, chase and scream under the sprinkler’s rainbow

A summer day (By imelenchon)

Word picture written on Monday 16th December 2013:-

A new lavender hedge grown enough to proudly show off its plump flower buds….look at me, look at me,
Overcast skies and an occasional sprinkling of light rain but with a balmy temperature
…Hope you can enjoy a lovely moment today if only briefly
Love you dearest sister
Hugs and God Bless you and all yours

Sounds this summer morning Friday 10th January 2014
Listen…..What’s that screeching buzzing noise …. Ahh Cicadas. That’s what set the theme for this post.

Now at this very moment of writing….At it’s usual
time ..the amphibious water taxi flying l.o.w. and s.l.o.w. overhead on its way from base to Rose Bay close to Sydney Harbour.

What a fabulous job being able to fly over our beautiful Sydney Harbour and surrounds each day in nice weather. Then back again to base at 5pm. L.o.w. and s.l.o.w. A nostalgic sight. Always makes me think of the “Biggles” books our son read many, many moons ago.

Now the mundane everyday happenings which keep a household running smoothly. Give the veggie patch some water and put snail bait out for the pesky slugs getting to my lush young Basil plants. Check the new rocket seedlings. All looking good for tasty additions to salads. Oh, and those spring onions are shooting nicely where I planted the white onion bulb ends from bought spring onions / shallots.

Wash a woollen blanket for a quick dry today so I can sort out some spare linen and quilts and put away in space bags. Tidy cupboard. Yay!

…and so a day continues in its cycle. Heavy work, easy work, paper work, thinking work, planning work, finishing work. A balance and a harmony.

Hand washing country style by jdurham

Life can be a struggle sometimes don’t you think…and when it gets a bit too much find something beautiful in the day.

Alexa