Is that Cinderella I see?

My cousin had told me about how she had put her 'little girls' to work, one day over the holidays. She gave them each a bucket of soapy water and set them to work; washing little dirty fingerprints from her freshly painted walls. She had been shocked at what a wonderful time that they had all had.

After a particularly trying day, near the end of our holidays, I thought I would do the same. With some basic housework on the to do list and some ratty kids that needed direction, I too, gave each of them a task. As I cleaned the bathroom, toilet and laundry, I gave them each bucket and asked them to wipe down the walls and skirting boards (one of my least favourite jobs). Guess what - it was pretty fun! I loved that we were all working together to make our home clean and tidy. There was a real sense of purpose and bonding, that I did not expect. It was time well spent.

Miss Moo Moo, went on to clean almost all of the skirting boards in the house, without having to be asked, however Spunky Monkey abandoned his bucket, five minutes in. He preferred instead to give orders. He wandered in and out of the house doing his own thing, occasionally coming up to one of us and saying: 

"Chop, Chop, lets get the job done!"

Miss Moo Moo had been saying how fun cleaning skirting boards was, however, after about an hour she said this:

"Cleaning skirting boards is fun. The first time you do it, it is really fun, the second time you do it, it is kinda of fun, the third time you do it, it is a bit boring and the fourth time you do it, it is a nightmare!"

I'm not sure how much cleaning/bonding time we will be having in the future!

Last weekend - Chinatown

Last Sunday, we took a day trip to Brisbane. Why? to eat, of course.

Yum Cha was the only thing on our agenda, it had been way too long since our last visit and we were not disappointed. These dishes, are not called YUM Cha for nothing. We all went crazy for the food, enjoying our old favourites and discovering some new ones as well. As always, the desserts were the biggest hit with the children, and the adults alike. And as always, we (I) ate way to much food.

We spend most of the day in Chinatown, wasting hours wandering around the supermarkets. Touching, smelling, listening; so much of it foreign to us. We did not expect the day to feel like a real mini holiday. The kids absolutely loved it.

Leaving at about 3 o'clock, we visited another favourite place, Newfarm Park. It was just the right amount of busy and the children, climbed, ran, played, hid and climbed some more, for just the right amount of time. Mr Moo and I sat with a coffee and some Chinatown treats, enjoying the late afternoon: the cool breeze and the happy sounds from the playground. Just as I was going to give the kids "5 more minutes" they came to say they were ready to go.

There is something to be said about sometimes, just not having a plan. This day was lovely because we resisted the urge to schedule in too much. We let the day, our surroundings and our children guide us. The park was an after thought, a whim, but it was the perfect end to our day. We all though so. Most of our school holidays have been spent rushing about, having to be somewhere at a certain time. This is not so relaxing. Sometimes it is good to throw the rule book out the window, to do just one thing instead of four things in one day.

And sometimes it is good to get away... even if for a day... even for a half a day... get lost in the backstreets of a different suburb... go to a different beach... try shopping at a different market. I can totally recommend it.

Feeling poorly

I guess that it was inevitable, that I too, would get sick.

A vomiting bug had spread through almost everyone we knew and I was the last person to get it.

We had had happy plans for our two weeks of school holidays: simple days of play dates, baking, sewing, crafting, beach walks and bike rides. But instead we've spent the last 10 days housebound. All of us taking our turn lying on the lounge feeling miserable, sleeping away days and not eating.

Today the little monkey's returned to school, better, not contagious, perhaps a little tired. I have spent the day trying to return order to our home. Clearing our family room of piles of blankets, pillows, clothes, soft toys, barbie's and lego. But it is a slow start back to 'normal'. I've just had to make myself a cup of coffee to be able to make it through to dinner time. Because in reality, right now, I would love to trade places with the girl in the picture above.

I believe some people are still on school holidays and others are just starting. Stay well and enjoy.

Almost there: Tamworth to Orange

We woke, excited, on day three of our travelling. As it was the day that we would arrive at our destination.



But first we had to have breakfast. We had to have breakfast at this little espresso bar, we had spotted while walking the night before.



The place was packed, with a great atmosphere: happy chatter, busy waiters, friends catching up and families, just like us. We sat out on the footpath and I peeled of my scarf and jacket and enjoyed the early morning sunshine. It was only 14 degrees, but I had the perfect spot. The kids ate sourdough toast with homemade strawberry jam and I had the amazing 'eggs royal' (eggs benedict with smoked salmon) and a very good coffee. Really, we should have started off our day early. But I just loved Tamworth and I'm glad we stopped and took the time for such a delicious breakfast.

And a quick tourist stop before heading off. It had to be done.







The closer we got to Orange the more I enjoyed the countryside. It was so beautiful.

We drove through such pretty towns. This is Coonabarabran.

I really had to be firm with myself when we drove through Gunnedah and right past the showgrounds were Porchetta Day was being held. I slowed a little near the gate, but the kids kept me on the straight and narrow.

"NOOOO! No stopping! We just want to get to Orange!"

They were lucky I was still very full from such a huge breakfast. Next time I might need to plan my holidays around this festival.


I fell head over heads in love with this farmhouse and it's surrounding buildings.




By about 1:30pm we stopped at a beautiful park in Gilgandra for a late lunch, Again, it was another beautiful park and we had a hard time trying to pull ourselves away from it. The afternoon was lovely, warm sunshine and gentle breezes. I lay on the picnic blanket watching the leaves dance against a perfect blue sky, I listened to the sound of the children laughing with new found, park friends. Bliss.

When it was time to leave Orange, we did not jump up, eat breakfast and get on the road. No. We pottered, we repacked, we had another cup of tea. We left at about 11:30am. Half an hour into the drive, I wondered would I ever make it back to Queensland. I felt so very tired. I was coming down with the flu.

So after only half and hour, we stopped for a coffee, a quick op shop and a walk around. There is nothing like new oppie finds and caffeine to recharge the batteries. We were soon on our way again, and heading back to Tamworth.

We stopped for a late lunch here, yes, another beautiful park. I think this was Coonabarabran. And again I had to force myself to get up and get going again. These cold climate parks just remind me so much of my time spent overseas. Oh, the trees! I love the age, the shapes, the bark, the unusual leaves and the shade they provide. Tree love. Yes, indeed!

Go here, to see who else will be blogging daily for Blogtoberfest.

Day two: Stanthorpe to Tamworth

We were a little bit slow getting started on day two of our trip.




We woke to freezing Stanthorpe temperatures and torrential rain. Everyone woke up early and climbed into bed with me. We refilled our hot water bottles and snuggled deep under the covers. When I peered out of the window, it looked as if it would rain for 40 days and 40 nights. However while I had a shower the kids did a 'go away rain' dance.





Picture two children dancing around a very tiny cabin and singing: "Rain, rain, go away, come again another day". (I'm glad I was in the shower) But it worked. By the time I was dressed, the rain was gone.

We (I guess that's me) wanted to go to the museum in town. We ate a simple breakfast and then went down town for a bit of op shopping until the museum opened at 9:30am.


We loved the museum, there will be a separate post about this. I love historical museums with buildings set up this way. We were still in Stanthorpe at 12:30pm.




Today, it was the brilliant yellow of wattle edging the side of the road, that caught my eye.

We drove only to the next town of Tenterfield before deciding that, we were indeed, hungry for lunch.

We stopped at a beautiful little cafe and bric brac store. After wandering through the shop we lunched out on the the back verandah, in what I can only describe as, the most perfect secret garden. Lunch was delicious. A proper homemade hamburger with piles of fresh salad, and great coffee, the kids had ham and cheese toasties and chocolate milkshakes. We didn't leave here for another hour and a half.

That might have something to do with the fact that I lost my car keys!!! Hmmm. What to do when you are very far, far from home with very far, far to go and no car keys? After much searching and only moments before I sat down and cried, Spunky Monkey, kicked something that jingled. There they were, upstairs in the bric brac shop, half under a turkish rug.

Phew!!









This was one of the most enchanting gardens I have ever known. The abundance of blossom trees and bare branches, some blooms rediscovered and loved for nostalgic reasons (wisteria and the may bush). I loved the chill in the air. It was a temperature that I had not experienced since leaving London over 15 years ago. It was so peaceful, I could have sat there for days.

I will be writing later about my love affair with the seasons. Again, that will be another post. I love the seasons.

It was a big afternoon of driving and no stopping, straight through to Tamworth for the night.

As Spunky Monkey slept, Miss Moo Moo and I watched the landscape out of the window change from apple orchards to paddocks. Spacious green hills, dotted with woolly sheep and black cows that we were not used to seeing.

I have always loved driving through the countryside during the late afternoon. This was a favourite time of my driving day. The children were usually quiet and I got to listen to my music. I could enjoy the way the golden sunlight would dance through the shadows of the trees, across the road and into the paddocks beyond the old worn fences. This was the time that the galah's and parrots would be feeding on the shoulders of the road. I loved seeing all of this bird life. It seems ridiculous to say, but we never see this. As the birds fed in the quiet of the late afternoon, it reminded me of that time of day on my Nana's farm. It was nice.

After checking into a motel for the night, we headed straight down to Peel Street to get some dinner.

We instantly loved it. We loved the wide footpaths and twinkle lights strung up in the branches of the deciduous trees lining the street. We loved that we could sit alfresco and eat our pub dinner. We can't do that anywhere near where we live. And can I tell you, Mr Moo does a pretty good steak, but the $12.00 rump special that I ate that night, might just be one of the best steaks I've ever eaten. Yum.

I ended up finishing off, not only a huge steak and chips, but half of the kids schnitzel deal too. It was just as well we were able to walk it off. After dinner we leisurely wandered the length of Peel street: window shopping, running, laughing, jumping, climbing. (I was not running, jumping or climbing)

Hanging out with Smoky Dawson in downtown Tamworth.

On our second day of driving, on the way home, there were less stops.

However, we did manage to while away well over an hour at this lovely park in Glen Innes. We made a picnic of chicken salad rolls, strawberries and chocolate hazelnut wafers. The kids enjoyed the playground and I enjoyed a few moments with a Country Style magazine, before I was beckoned to come exploring. Once again, we were head of heals in love with the trees in this park.

We couldn't return to Queensland without taking photo of the kids, hands down, favourite tree. The beautiful weeping willow. We will miss seeing them on our travels.

Go here, to see who else will be blogging daily for Blogtoberfest.