On Holiday

Today we're off to begin our holiday to Vanuatu. First stop is Aunty Margaret's house where we'll spend the night, and the cousins can play together while the grownups enjoy dinner (and I look through Maggie's wardrobe to see what I can take with me!). Then early (much too early!) tomorrow morning a taxi will take us to the airport to meet Granny, Papa and Boo's three big cousins.
Boo's fever-pitch with excitement -- he adores the 'big boys', loves the airplane, and can't wait to swim and splash all day long. Vanuatu is a wonderful place to visit, and the resort is perfect for children to explore.
We're planning plenty of swimming, snorkelling, canoeing, lazing, eating and sleeping (that last one sounds good to me!)
See you soon!

The Simple Woman's Daybook

~ Do visit Peggy's to see all the Daybook links this week. ~

Thursday September 25, 2008 ...

Outside My Window... the night is dark, with thick clouds blocking the stars from view ...

I am thinking... that I must remember to take Boo's bottle with us on holiday, or there'll be drama at bedtime ...

I am thankful for... modern medicine: specifically, the antibiotics that the doctor gave me today to nip an emerging chest infection in the bud. Hopefully I won't spend the next week or so coughing on the beach ...

From the kitchen... a salmon, broccoli and cheese quiche, served with tender crisp green beans and carrots: the perfect meal for using up almost every last item in the fridge ...

I am wearing... candy-striped flannel PJs (I won't wear a summer nightie until the nights are almost searingly hot), a heavy woollen dressing gown in light-blue checks, and pink, green and blue striped socks ...

I am creating... the layout of a new book on computing, which needs to be finished in the morning before we can leave!...

I am going... to Vanuatu on holiday! Tomorrow we drive to Auntie Margaret's house in the city, where we will stay Friday night as our flight leaves at 6am on Saturday morning ...

I am reading... Boo's glowing preschool report, which makes my heart sing with pride, and makes me laugh as I realise how well his teachers know him already (quote: "oh what a talker! Boo can talk to us about anything, and his love of stories is evident by his concentration and contribution to discussions about them.") ...

I am hoping... to pack everything I need quickly and easily tomorrow, and not forget a thing! ...

I am hearing... the quiet hum of the computer, and steady tick of the tiger-striped clock that Boo's kind and clever Great-Auntie made especially for him ...

Around the house... are scattered articles waiting to be packed, bins to empty, and flowers to discard ...

One of my favorite things... is getting on a plane and knowing that there is nothing else to be done except to relax and enjoy the ride -- and that soon the world will look, smell and feel so exotic ...

Here is picture thought I am sharing ...

Springtime

Young love (Boo gives a flower to little Trinity) ...

... blossoms unfurling ...

... bees humming busily around freshly opened pussywillow.

Wisteria in Bloom

The perfect place to sit now is on the Manor's patio, where the scented clusters of wisteria are hanging in heavy masses of lush blooms.

The Sabbath Day...

I stayed much too late in bed this morning, reading an un-put-downable book (The Memory Keeper's Daughter), relishing a late morning and a quiet house to myself, and enjoying the luxury of a soft bed and warm covers.

Only 10 minutes before the visitors were due I jumped out, flung on clothes and ran a brush through my hair, while hurridly slicing refrigerator biscuits and placing them in the oven to bake.

Jumps and Greg had arranged to spend the day repairing my Mum-in-law's wooden verandah and building a set of solid new steps down to the lawn.

So Rachael and I watched babies play, drank generous cups of tea, and fixed lunch for when the boys took a break from building.We chatted and caught up with our family news, while we soused lamb chops in rosemary infused olive oil, chopped olives and fresh red tomatoes for meditteranean pasta salad, sliced thick wedges of blue camembert and set out crackers and dips with vegetable crudites.

Later Tara and Tim arrived with baby Trinny, and we managed to fit in still-warm slices of impossible pie, swirled biscuits, shortbread fingers, dark red grapes and tangy strawberries .. before taking a much-needed turn about the garden.

The children were entranced by the chickens, and loved the fields, but we didn't make it any further than the sandpit, where they dug and played until it was time to go home.

Such beautiful children, all of them. We're so lucky.

Bonny ...

... and blythe ...

... and good ...
.. and gay.

King of the Clover

Grandma's front lawn is overrun with a luxuriant green mass of clover, covered in armfuls of upstanding white flowers and visited by hosts of buzzing bees.
Sadly, the clover will be facing the noxious fumes of weed killer on the weekend, so this afternoon Boo and I plonked ourselves in the middle of this glory, intending to look for four-leafed clovers.
However, despite the incentive of a 20c reward for each lucky charm, Boo soon decided that running from a distance and throwing himself bodily into the soft mass of greenery was much more fun.
And then he anointed himself as "King of the Clover". Which of course necessitated a crown.

I hereby anoint you "King of the Clover" ...

... and lord of my heart!

Best Wishes

Huge tangerine bouquets of Clivia took only minutes to pick from our front garden, and made lovely 'Thank You' and 'Congratulations' gifts for two friends.
Oh, it was sad to let these Italian biscuits go away untasted: but I couldn't resist how beautifully the charming packaging co-ordinated with the blooms!

Evil Empire

Now that Macca's has reduced the price of soft-serve cones to 30c, Boo and I generally plan a trip to the Evil Empire to coincide with weekly grocery shopping.

For less than half a dollar (unless I cave in and treat myself, too, but this still means I'm charged under a dollar) I generally get almost an hour of quiet time to sit and read the latest newspaper (free of charge), while Boo explores the play equipment, makes instant friends, and enjoys his icy treat. I think the cost of the dozen paper napkins I use cleaning up the melted icecream on his face probably leaves the company out of pocket!

Car Parking

Ten bright racing cars: numbered and ready to go.
Boo enthusiastically rolled them into the car park onto their matching carpark places. Then we did it again, this time in order, with number 1 in the lead (and Mummy helping Boo guess which number was which).
As Boo doesn't recognise all the numbers yet, this is more a matching activity than anything else. But I figure that the more he is exposed to numbers, the sooner he'll get the idea.

Finally I stuck coloured paper on the parks on the reverse side of the card, and Boo ignored the numbers and parked according to colour.
This is a variation on an idea from A bit of this and a bit of that, where you'll find plenty of good ideas for children's craft.

Birthday Flowers

I'm an April baby -- and to my delight this pretty vintage tablecloth declares my birth flower to be a sweet pea (a flower with the most heavenly scent!), and my stone to be a diamond.
January claims the carnation and garnet, February the violet (strangely portrayed in a vivid red hue) and amethyst, and March the jonquil and bloodstone . May babies are born under a lily of the valley, with emeralds to adorn them. June is the rose and the pearl (marking this tablecloth as distinctly based in the northern hemisphere, as we'd be lucky to see a June rose down here). July belongs to the larkspure and ruby, August to the poppy and sardonyx, and September to asters and sapphires (which is, incidentally, the stone I chose for my engagement ring). October is the month for calendulas and opals (both which I dislike, so I'm fortunate not to have been born then) and November for chrysanthymums and the topaz. Finally in December the turquoise and narcissus come to the fore.
Quite a bit of fun on this for the paltry sum of a 50c donation to the church fete.

What's your birth flower? And is it one of your favourites?

Morning

Homemade strawberry jam on rye toast looks perfect atop a darling handpainted plate bought at the church fete for 50c.

A blue sky and sun shining through the new leaves.
The morning spent busily cleaning and cooking (a savoury impossible pie for Grandma's Tuesday suppertime visit: while the others are out at a tabletennis competition we curl up and watch an episode of Wendy Craig's Nanny, once Boo has been put to bed.)
Then a picnic lunch outside with Boo curled in a soft blanket against the wind, and a happy half-hour together counting and sticking pictures and stickers in his workbook.

Fete Fare

We've always known this as 'fudge' at our place, and it's been a fete staple since I was a little girl; but generally it's called 'Scotch Tablet'. It's a very rich, very sugary sweet, which has a crumbly consistency and a caramel taste. Made from butter, condensed milk and sugar, tablet will give your dentist plenty to smile about ... but the taste is worth any number of dental visits!

250ml of milk
425g tin condensed milk
900g sugar
100g butter
1t vanilla essence

1. Melt the butter and sugar, then add the condensed milk, vanilla and milk.
2. Stir and turn up the heat. Keep stirring until the mixture reaches boiling point.
3. Turn the heat down low and stir for 45 minutes (you'll need a chair and book to keep you going here -- or share the duty with a friend and take time for a chat).
4. Remove from the heat and beat for several minutes with a wooden spoon. Put a small bit on a cooled saucer to test: if the tablet sets then it's ready to be put into shallow greased trays.
5. Score the tablet surface by marking it into squares. Allow to set and get cold.

Visiting Grandma's Beach House

Wading ...
... digging ...

... and braving the evening waves that wash around our very own island (there's Boo, Rory and Aunty Margaret).

Family is special.

Daddy's Footsteps

"Walk a little slower, Daddy"
Said a little child so small.
"I'm following in your footsteps,
And I don't want to fall.
Sometimes your steps are very fast,
Sometimes they're hard to see;
So walk a little slower, Daddy,
For you are leading me.
Someday when I'm all grown up,
You're what I want to be;
Then I will have a little child
Who'll want to follow me.
And I would want to lead just right,
And know that I was true;
So, walk a little slower, Daddy,
For I must follow you."

Author unknown

Reflection

Reeds in the lagoon.

Beware of the Clifts!

"Beware of the Clifts!" shouted Boo as he hurled himself down the side of a sand bank at the beach today, again and again.

Terese and I made an 'executive decision' to hold Mum's group at the seaside (as only the two of us could make it), and we couldn't have made a better choice. The weather was perfect, and the babies dug, run, jumped and threw themselves about. Then we all happily picnic'd on the grass beside the beach playground, until it was time for tired and sandy people to head home.
It's starting to feel like summer is just around the corner.

Diddle Diddle

A bunch sunshiney calendulas and misty purple lavender made a lovely gift for a friend's kitchen dining table. We lunched on hearty vegetarian risotto and tiny chocolate chip muffins, and watched our two boys argue, shout and cry almost without pause as they fought for possession of the same toy. Still, we mums had a nice chat and enjoyed eachother's company ...

Dad's Day

Each year in Australia we celebrate Father's Day on the first Sunday in September.
For days before, Boo busies himself making cards and gifts for Daddy and Papa. This year we made the most beautiful teddy cards from a template on the internet, and Boo stuck bright popsicle sticks around photo to make photo frames.
He dictated messages:
Dear Papa,
I love your jellybabies and I love you!
and
Dear Daddy,
Happy Father's Day. I like playing in the park with you.
We plan to keep the celebrations low-key, and spent the afternoon having a picnic in the park and relishing the sunshine after several days of rain.

Opera Bouquets

My mother is a member of our little town's Country Women's Association, a group of energetic women who meet, bake and raise money for charity. Each year the CWA hosts an opera extravaganza in the village. Four accomplished singers fill the tiny village hall with their booming voices, and the audience listens in delight to famous arias and songs.
At intermission the ladies of the CWA circulate with trays piled high with cheese, fruit and biscuits, and wine is handed about. But the gourmet supper after the singing is for many people the highlight. Endless cups of tea and coffee are poured from steaming teapots, and everyone is plied with savoury bites and sweet treats until they can eat no more.
This year mum and I baked trays of slice, sausage rolls and pastry swirls, and spent a morning filling vases with fountains of flowers, all picked from our gardens, to place upon the tables in the dining hall.

Something Special

Granny had a tiny bit of jelly left over from making jelly slice today, so guess what she did with it?
Poured a tiny trickle into half a dozen of her prettiest crystal sherry glasses. Just for Boo, to eat with a tiny spoon while sitting primly at the table on his best behaviour.
Granny has the precious gift of making something special out of everyday little bits and pieces.

Spring is Blossom Time

Inspired by our blossom tree, Boo and I made cherry blossom trees from coloured paper and pink tissue paper.


We have a book which we often read, which contains lovely pictures and poems about the seasons. Here is springtime:
Spring is blossom time,
daffodil and tulip time,
little lamb and cuckoo time,
waking up and singing time.

We read the poem for each season, then made a tree for each.
Summer:

Autumn:

And winter:

And here's Boo's bedroom wall, with all our trees hanging above a line of paper washing. I think it looks lovely and bright and crafty!

Blossom Tree

Boo and I picked up this 'magic tree' at a dollar shop week. When set up it simply looks like a piece of green cardboard -- simply empty the sachet of liquid into the base and wait for rainbow-coloured crystals to appear.

Beach Babies

Space Ranger

New Covers

My mother kindly spent the weekend replacing the covers on my verandah furniture, and now they look fresh and new for the coming summer. I love this fabric -- it looks perfect with the pale green paint on the decking, is plastic backed, won't show the dirt -- and was marked down to $4 a metre!