The last days of summer

A lazy all day picnic by the river, the children in the water for at least 4 hours straight, searching for crabs in the mangroves, parks and playgrounds, a casual barbecue at our house, scooter rides, late afternoon walks, sandcastles, late, long breakfasts, cubbie houses made from sheets, going out for dinner, relaxing on our back deck in the summer breeze.

Blissfully sun kissed.

Seven children and a couple of grandparents. We have spent the last three days enjoying beautiful weather the best way I know how, with family.

In truth, our Summer does not end with the beginning of Autumn, there will be many summery days still to come. I just seems all the more relaxing when you are sitting back, enjoying simple pleasures, with some of your most favourite people.

I'm grateful for...

Oh yes, this week I am grateful for so many things:

• I'm so very grateful, that, at the moment, all of my direct family and friends are safe and have suffered no loss from this great disaster on our doorstep.

• I'm grateful that my uncle's heart operation went well, in a city that was under water.

• I'm grateful and proud to call myself an Australian and a Queenslander.

• I'm grateful to be part of the blogging community and what it can achieve.

Go over to 'maxabella loves' for more gratitude posts.

Please don't forget that the Queensland Flood Appeal Auction starts here on Monday 17th January. A master list of other crafty auctioneers can be found here.

AND

Don't forget my Queensland Flood Appeal Dolly Drive. Perhaps you'd like to join us.

Just like a big hug!

I have just had one of the loveliest weeks.

My cousin came up for a visit for a few days with her three little girls (ages 1, 2 and 4) Her husband and older children were left at home to go to school and to work.





We mostly hung out at my place, which was a nice change. On Monday my aunt (her mum) and my mum came for lunch. I asked my cousin to bring a loaf of bread and mum to bring some ham. As usual with my family, we ended up with a feast. Please note our feast included freshly boiled and farm fresh bantam eggs and homemade feta cheese. Thanks Karen. We happily chatted the day away with our four little girls playing around us. Day turned into night and it was all into the bath, make-shift pajama's and a quick spaghetti bolognese for dinner.

Read more about this day in someone else's words, here.





Other things we did:

• Karen taught me how to make homemade feta cheese, however, I think there was to much talking and tea drinking to take any real notice of the steps involved.
• We took Spunky Monkey out of school one day and spent the morning at the beach. Picnics and sandcastles.
• Karen came along with me to my Craft Night and was very productive with her advent calender pockets.

But most of all, this woman (my very special cousin) gives me wings. My spirit soars in her presence. Like I said before, one of the loveliest weeks.

But, it doesn't stop there.... Last night, my other favourite cousin rang from far away, I hadn't spoken to her in a while. It was so nice to fall back into the soft cushions of my couch and chat away to her for hours. Wouldn't it have been nice, if she could have visited for the second half of the week.

And....

Then there is my Mum.

My wonderful mum, who canceled her hair appointment today and came over to sew up a dress we had cut out (I was suppose to be learning to sew - that's another story) I decided, just yesterday, it would be the perfect dress for an outing on the weekend.

I love you Mum xx Thank-you so very much!

DON'T FORGET MY GIVEAWAY - DRAWN TOMORROW NIGHT!!!

Head in the clouds

I have been Tasmania dreaming again.

But this time, my dreaming is more specific, more of a checklist, perhaps unrealistic.

The perfect house: A rambling old farmhouse (restored, of course) Dark polished wooden floors. White: inside and out. High ceilings. A fireplace with an old fashioned mantelpiece. Lots of windows. Lots of light. A few acres, not too many. Five minutes from town (for supplies). Thirty minutes from the beach (for exploring) Thirty minutes from the city (for the culture: movies, theatre, funky shops, etc)

But of course, the perfect house would not be perfect, unless my cousin, her husband and her five children lived down the country road. Our kids would grow up together. We would eat too many home baked morning tea's together. We would share our Sunday roasts. We would produce swap.

Hmmmmm!

So you see. I am dreaming, dreaming, dreaming. But what a lovely place dreams are, a place to go and feel so very happy, if only for a moment.

A delightful day

(photo taken at ages 2 and 3 years old in our old bathroom in Brisbane)

Yesterday I spent a delightful day with my cousin’s eldest children and Spunky Monkey at the beach. They are now 10 and almost 12. Wow! They hold a very special place in my heart, as we spent a lot of time with them when they were little. But things change. First, my cousin moved, then we moved, we had babies, then she had more babies. And in all the craziness that are now our times together (7 children between us) I sometimes seem to miss these older 2. So, I was incredibly grateful for a change of circumstances that had me spending some time with them. It was a pleasure and left me with a warm fuzzy feeling inside.

It was a magical day, lots of swimming (the water was divine!) boogie boards, skim boards, exploring, climbing trees, crabs, sandcastles and of course ice-creams.

Meet the family

This is the Southpark version of us done here a few years ago. I found it again recently and put it in the kitchen. It makes me smile, I’m not sure why? It seems we only have two family photos of the four of us. One taken when Miss Moo Moo was just 2 weeks old and the other taken last year with Santa, the kids look terrified.

There’s me, Mum, general head of the household. Mr Moo, a graphic designer, who is quite handy to have around, especially when setting up this blog. Thank-you Mr Moo. Spunky Monkey who is a bug crazy, sandpit loving boy of 4 years old and Miss Moo Moo who is 3 years old. She loves princesses, pink, barbies, pink, fairies, pink, mermaids and pink.