They 're Here...

Introducing our Chooks......Mabel,Carla and Peck!

( I wasn't too sure about giving them names  but  the kids were keen. Guess which name Fraser chose!)

We went to the Poultry Farm and picked them up this morning...

They seemed to settle in really well and it has been a fascinating day watching them up close and personal.....

We decided to go with the Hy-Line breed....mainly because we could get the right age for laying this weekend.These are about 19 weeks old. It would have been fun to start with some baby chicks but after all the effort to get to this point we would like them to lay sooner than later..

They have been petted so much this afternoon I am sure they will be tame in no time at all...even Meg has decided that they are not too bad after all and that she is cured from her "bird phobia".

The other part to the backyard work going on was to have a second raised garden bed for vegetables....so that is how we spent some of the other part of the day ( the part when we weren't watching chooks)

Hopefully we have chosen well and will have a fine crop of "veggies" by the Spring months.

Here is today's cop of lemons from our tree that fruits all year round.

Well as the sun set we guided our chooks to their nightly resting spot and so far they have remained perched there.....overall a very satisfying and productive day.

1 for Me

After finishing a bag for my sister this week I developed handbag envy...then I decided it was time to replace my very tired black canvas bag I picked up in Tasmania a couple of years ago.

So today being my creative Friday I set about to make my very on  bag.....

If I lived closer to IKEA I would have gone and bought some more of their fabric but just had to settle for Spotlight....I am still pleased with the result.

I am more pleased that I actually made myself something to keep....now to tackle the list of requested projects.

My Creative Space

My Creative space has been spent whipping up the first of something with my IKEA fabric for this.....but unfortunately this bag is winging it's way to Europe on the weekend on the shoulders of my sister.
So I will have to get to work and use the other pieces for something equally as creative to enter. 


Check out this week's other creative spaces here.

Urban Chookies

Our backyard make over in preparation for our chickens moved a step further over the weekend. We had to half fill the garden beds with yellow sand then the top half with vegie mix soil....

We took the opportunity of planting an orange tree as well....

Then tonight we had our new "Urban chook home" delivered and set up by a very clever friend.

This is a very clever design that you can check out here for your very own....now all that is left to do is source 3 ladies to make this their home....we will be off in search of them over the weekend.

Retail Therapy

A trip to IKEA was in order today......I did have a list with something in particular on it....

I was after some of their fabric so that I could attempt a creation for a competition the store is running...

and we all know that even if you have a list there are always other things to pick up along the way that were too much of a bargain to walk past.

and who would have thought that we could also do this while at the store.....

 lucky I had some help with this as I needed a decoy right at the busy intersection.

Now off to come up with a suitable entry.

At Work

Sunday's are a work day for me.......I get to hang out with these great kids in my church......

So technically it is part of my job but oh what fun we can have.....

I love the opportunity to sow into their lives ....I love seeing them have light bulb moments where something we have been sharing with them impacts where they are at.

Oh and I secretly love having the opportunity to let loose and have some unexpected fun....( not sure about having it captured on camera though)

Oh For Friday's

Warning to my family: read on at your own risk...

I hesitate to write  about my Friday today...because while they were hard at school and work.....I was indulging myself in lots of time at my sewing machine and catching up on missed episodes of  Sea Patrol, Packed to the Rafters and 
Minute to Win it.
The house was very peaceful and I was very productive.

My Creative Space

Just a little playing this week....a little idea I was wanting to try out . I am always trying to think of things so I can have I the present stash ready.
Now that school is back I am looking forward to my snatch of creative space time tomorrow.

Check out this week's other spaces here.

Sweet and Sticky

The best recipes are those that are handed on by friends or family....this is one of them.

Sticky Date Pudding with Butterscotch sauce

1 3/4 cup coarsely chopped seeded dates
1 1/4 cups water
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
60g butter
3/4 cup castor sugar
2 eggs
1 cup self raising flour

Butterscotch Sauce
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup cream
200g butter

1. Preheat oven to 180 d. Grease deep 20cm round cake pan, line with baking paper.
2.Combine dates and the water in medium saucepan, bring to a boil, remove from the heat, add soda,stand 5 minutes. Blend mixture until smooth.
3. Beat butter,sugar and one of the eggs in a small bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in remaining egg. Stir in sifted flour and then date mixture.
4. Pour mixture into pan, bake 55 minutes. Stand pudding 10 mins before turning top side up,onto wire rack.
5. Meanwhile , make butterscotch sauce.
6. Serve pudding warm with sauce.

Butterscotch Sauce. Combine ingredients in medium saucepan; stir over heat, without boiling, until sugar is dissolved. Simmer 3 minutes.

Serves 6

Oh my goodness it was good....sweet , sticky and very filling.

Come to and End

The uniforms are washed and ready....bags have been located...lunch boxes are waiting to be filled....
school holidays are done......

Tonight called for a little "MasterChef" pizza cooking....

'cause I weakened and bought the magazine last week.

although there was some deviation from the prescribed recipe....

Chocolate, Strawberry Jam, Banana and Pineapple!!!!!
I know it sounded just a bit too over the top to me as well but....

it went down a treat with just about everyone.

Our last ode to the holidays, eating pizza straight from the oven, straight from the kitchen bench...no niceties and table settings tonight.

Set in Concrete

Concrete experts we may not be but it was a great opportunity to save some memories for times to come.

Cold as Ice

One of Meg's school holiday wishes come true.

Family and Food

We had a rare moment today ....Lunch with our siblings....we are really close both in relationship and proximity but with the busyness of life we rarely have moments where we can sit and enjoy each others company especially with 6 kids between us.
(Have I ever mentioned that my sister and I married brothers???)
Today we did....

Then in the evening it we were all together to celebrate this special lady's birthday....my Mother-in-Law..
She is warm and embracing, passionate and dedicated and has created a wonderful thing that we call family.


I was on birthday cake duty.....I have wanted an occasion to try a cake that I tasted while in Tasmania visiting with my sister.
She had a beautiful friend who kindly shared this recipe with me so I thought you might like it also?

I shall call it ..
"Marketa's Cake"

300ml single cream
300g vanilla yoghurt (or sour cream)
2 tspns sugar
825g tinned sliced peaches
pkt of digestive biscuits


Beat cream until thickened, add sugar and yoghurt, mix well.
Drain peaches, saving juice in a bowl.
Using a springform baking tin...
Layer 1 - soak biscuits one by one in the juice and lay them in the bottom of the tin, making sure the whole base is covered with biscuit.
Layer 2 - A thin layer of the cream mixture.
Layer 3 - Lay tinned fruit over the cream layer.
Then repeat layers until you reach the top of the tin. The final layer should be a cream layer then you can decorate the top with whatever you like.
Then refrigerate overnight.

N.B You can use whatever fruit you like however it is easy just to use the juice of the tinned fruit.

My Creative Space

There has not been much time put aside for creativity this week with school holidays and the outdoor project we have going on.
But I have taken a whole pile of outgrown or outworn winter "jammies" and thought I would make a quilt for Fraser.....

Check out over here for other creative spaces.

Yah for the Sun

When we woke this morning we were very pleased to see the sun and no wind....today was the day to go and fetch our new shed.....

After surveying the details of the shed and marking every piece so as to be able to reconstruct it later....

We took this and .....

with lots of this....

and some of this....

We ended up with this....

Now we just need to find all our markings and put it all back together again.
(actually we have already made a great start on that too)

Too Many??

The weather has been rather nasty here the last few days...so it was time to tackle some inside tasks.
The bookshelf to be precise.
My question ..."Is 291 children's books too many for one household?"

Yes that is how many I counted and that is not including the box in Fraser's Room or the ones on Meg's bookshelf in her room.
Some of the books are very old ,some were gifts,some were from my teaching days,some even belonged to grandparents.....but one thing they all are is read by everyone over and over.

For My Mum

Today is my mum's birthday.....

(photos taken from originals and slides)
She was a beautiful person, who loved people, was kind, brought the best and the worst out of me, wanted the very best for me,encouraged me and left me too early.

My father-in-law returned a letter that was sent to them from my mum and before he even said what it was I knew her handwriting straight away....this letter was written to thank them for attending her surprise 50th birthday.....

4 years before we said goodbye.

Happy memories and Happy birthday to her!