Kangaroo Paw

My mother has the most beautiful border of kangaroo paw along the drive. This is the first year it has flowered so spectacularly, and although I longed to pick a bunch of the velvet soft stems, I knew it was forbidden.

So imagine my delight when I neighbour handed me a pair of scissors together with an invitation to cut as many as I wanted from his garden.

They last for ages ... I'll have weeks and weeks of pleasure seeing them on my dining table.

Baby Birds

I was so delighted to discover that a Wattle Bird had nested in our grape vine, which twines along our verandah. The first day I peeked into the nest, I saw one perfect egg, and one half eggshell with a tiny scrap of baby bird huddled inside. Over the next week the babies grew, and from the sofa I could sit with a cup of tea and watch the mother bird fly down to feed her ravenous little offspring.



Then yesterday I invited friends over to see our babies ... and when the littlest visitor was lifted up to see inside the nest she shook her head and said "It's empty."
I don't know what happened to our little birds, but I am so disappointed that we will not see them grow up and leave the nest.

First tea party

Ah, it all began so elegantly.
Clean shirt ... dainty sips of watered-down cordial.

Of course, pouring's a little tricky if it's your first time. You're bound to miss the cup every now and then.

I'm not sure if pouring cordial directly in your yoghurt counts as 'good manners'.

And drinking straight from the pot is likely to get disapproving stares if you're at the Ritz.

But luckily I'd banked on mess and we were camped out on the verandah for our party. And watery mess is part of the fun!

In My Garden

Firm-hearted cabbages, ready to be picked (and made into coleslaw).


Bunches and bunches of delicately fragrant sweet peas -- for some reason all in mauve and pink this year (but who's complaining?).

Brothers, soaked and happy after playing in the rain and stomping in puddles.

So Many Words

Today he said "apple" for the first time, and "no", as well as "again" and something that sounded very like "garden". He pokes out his tongue when I ask him to, and waves goodbye (with two very floppy hands) to everyone. He gets a joke, and will offer me a biscuit he's eating ... then as I'm about to take it suddenly pull it away and laugh as if this is the funniest thing in the world. Playing "this little piggy" is funny, too, but "Around the garden" is just too ticklish, and he tucks his hands up under his arms if I ask him to play. He'll make his hands into little stars -- fingers spread wide, with fists opening and closing -- when we sing "Twinkle", and shriek loudly at the end of "Row Your Boat" (our version goes something like "and if you see a crocodile, don't forget to scream .... aaaaahhh!").

He loves to romp with me in bed in the mornings, and he knows that the last sip of tea in my cup belongs to him. There's trouble if I forget and gulp it all down! I keep a box of biscuits next to my bed, and he'll ask for "Bi" (which is distincly different from "Boo" -- which means "book") and point to the box. When I open it he'll help himself to as many biscuits as he can fit in his pudgy little paws, then proceed to strew crumbs about my bedclothes as he nibbles while marauding ... pressing buttons on the phone, putting on and taking off necklaces which I keep in the drawer beside my bed, and poking and pulling apart bits of my blood-sugar meter. These are all unbreakable things, and considered morning 'toys', since they keep him happy while I'm drinking my tea.

Home

Mum and Dad are home from Africa.
Goodness we missed them -- home just didn't feel quite 'right' without our daily chats and cups of tea, and the boys both pined terrible. Several times I found Adam hammering at their door and forlornly crying "Papa! Papa!", even after they'd been gone for three weeks. Eric talked to them on the phone several times a week, and told them in endless detail every bit of his days.


Since they've been back there's been no time for jet lag -- Eric's had a sleepover already, and each morning he rushes over as soon as he's wolfed down his breakfast and thrown on his school uniform. Adam clings to Granny like a monkey, and shrieks if Mummy tries to disentangle him. And I'm just delighted to have five quiet minutes to myself after almost a month of being the sole entertainer to two little boys!
Yesterday was Papa's birthday -- an evening barbecue, then candles atop a sinful pile of Mars Bar chocolate brownies. Eric made him a card, and we all sang "Happy Birthday" with gusto ... we're so pleased to have them here to celebrate with.

The Strawberry Stealer

Anytime we're in the garden together, Adam slips away to the strawberry patch. He finds his way through the net and up into the raised bed, and searches among the green leaves for ripe berries.

He adores them ... and their juicy sweetness is really a world away from those foamy red nuggets you buy at the grocer's.

And if he eats a few worms or grubs along the way ... well, it's just extra protein!

Boots, Hats and Coats, Darling ... (with the odd string of beads)

Adam loves to dress up. Shoes, hats, boots, beads, socks ... they all get held up to me with gestures and grunts which make it very clear they're the latest fashion and must immediately be put on.

Blue plastic boots, worn with very little else, are obviously big this season ...

... and it's never too early for a little seasonal wear, it seems.

Everything's Coming Up ...

Roses, of course!
Today Grandma and I wandered through the local rose show, held in the little School of Arts in the middle of town. It was wonderfully peaceful and pretty, especially since we were kidlet-free. Then off to see the local artists' show across the road, and afterwards a quiet cup of tea at Grandma's to admire her new lounge suite.
A serendipitous find this morning at a garge sale, the lounge was bought and installed within the hour! Which made for a busy morning, so a peaceful afternoon was just what I needed.
Then home to swim, bake three gingerbread houses, pick sweetpeas, and pray that my husband didn't fall off the roof while installing the new television aerial!

At the Dentist

Strangely enough, both my boys love to go to the dentist and the doctor. It seems they enjoy being poked and prodded -- but mainly I think they love the attention and sense of importance it gives them.
Eric went last month and to my embarassment needed his second filling. He didn't flinch (the dentist was very quick and sensible about it all, I must say), and even told his Papa later that he was planning to eat all the sweets in the world so that he could get another cavity and go again!
Adam also relished the attention, smiled and "hallo'ed" everybody in a loud voice, then happily opened his mouth wide. You'd think that the toothbrush they gave him was the best toy in the world, and he's been chewing it and dragging it about around the house since then.

A House Full of Roses

Last year I bought six rose bushes, and this year put in another 11 fragrant David Austin varieties -- mainly pink, cream and apricot hues. I hoped that in three or four years I would be bringing baskets full of fat-petalled blooms into the house. But it's happening now ... so many buds open each day that I'm already giving bunches away. Heaven!