inner pickle

weekendiness

Hope you've had a wonderful weekend, you lovely folk. 

xxx

things I know

Joining in with Yay for Home today!

 

Things I know:

1. The grass isn't always greener. Sometimes I wish I was someone else, or something other, or part of the gang, or perhaps better at self promotion. And then I take a good hard look at the absolute blessings around me and I think: bugger the big picture. This, right now, is wonderful.

 

 

2. If you leave the TV off, you might just come around a corner one day and find something truly amazing. 

 

3. Sometimes time stands still.

 

4. In flooding rains there'll be casualties. For me it was most of my basil crop. These four are the last standing from what was this:

But the fittest that survive tend to go a bit nuts with relief:

(Forecast: we are going to have cucumbers coming out our ears shortly. Should be attractive.)

 

5. I am so not ready for her to walk. So not ready.

 

6. Sometimes an after dinner walk is exactly what everyone needs...

 

... the best kind of therapy. (It's just a car. It's just money. We'll forget about all that but we'll remember these hills, that glorious light, hanging out together laughing.)

 

 7. After the rain, the sun comes out. 

 

Hello, Sunshine. 

xxx

new neighbours

In a short time we've become very fond of our neighbours. They're lovely. 

And as a special treat, one of the four legged kind had babies two days ago.

So we took cookies for our friend the farmer, and took another neighbour and trooped off down the road today to welcome them to the neighbourhood (er, however short their stay... they're looking for homes. And see their Mum? These pigs grow BIG.)

we collected some (other) neighbours dogs...

 

we stomped on cow poo (as you do)

chatted to other new arrivals

then had a cuddle with the cutest wee little piglets on the planet

and, again, we thanked our lucky stars we landed here. 

xxx

over here we are...

.. scoping out sunny spots for possible vegetable gardens

 

.. playing identify-the-citrus-tree. (Or we were, until my lovely new neighbour sheepishly admitted that because this place had been vacant for so long, she'd been nicking the fruit off the trees and knew every tree, in every fruiting phase!)

 

.. clarifying that all the world's a stage, er, septic tank.

 

.. sitting up!

 

.. and doing serious infant tai chi

 

What's going on over your way? 

xxx

all things bright and beautiful

Well hello!!

I'll be honest, as my little USB modem whirred to life for the first time this afternoon, I felt the relief of a junkie getting a hit. I didn't realize how plugged in I was until I was totally unplugged. I don't like it. I like the idea of meditating on a hilltop, but in reality I would suck at it. 

I'm a wired-up girl. 

And am now a happy one, plugged in, online. 

AND IN THE COUNTRY!!!!

*Long deep exhalation of breath*

No, the move wasn't smooth. The removalists needed an extra truck and the house we moved into was in a direly dirty state, and THAT from someone with a significantly low grime-odometer. But we're in the process of unpacking and getting the hang of the place, and honestly, we're thrilled to pieces.  

 

 This, above, is my back gate. 

We have neighbours, and they are delightful. Again? Could we be that lucky?

 

There's lots of exploring and for me, getting used to not having children permanently in line of sight.  

It's all very exciting. 

And now: cupcakes. First baking foray with this oven. Tilly's going to a birthday party for a little girl down the road tomorrow. Let's go see how this oven works, shall we?

xxx

 

the office

I've always loved my Dad's office. 

So much so that it's weird I meandered into a corporate job for quite so long. 

I love his water cooler...

and his co-workers...

and his team building events.

 

Er, for the record, Tilly dressed herself in that stackhat, perhaps in light of her Grandfather's car racing history and her optimism towards speed.

 Love hanging out with my Dad.

 

All photos today by Ad.

xxx

 

escape artists

Oh yessirree.

A last minute bolt. Our favourite, favourite rabbit hole. 

Where else can you

:: ride your bike in your jarmies?

 

:: run through the garden and pick up the fallen lemons...

... and thrown the rotten ones...

...over the fence? (This one)

 

:: Where else would we be spending the afternoon having a stack of fun exploring out the back?

 

:: Only here, this place, on the hill and in the paddocks I grew up in.

Deep breath.

And everything's good.

xxx

pretending we're elsewhere

What do you do when you live in the city and wish for a moment you were in the middle of the bush?

You go find a park.

 

And under the orders of the captain:

You build a make-shift shelter:

You navigate the rising river:

You collect firewood:

and you have yourselves a sunny, quiche-filled, sandwiched and caked picnic with friends. 

Perfect.

xxx

 

 

recharged

Well hello!

I hope you had a smashing weekend. 

We did. First overnight stay away with new baby: at Mum and Dad's so not really pushing the boat out I s'pose. Totally, totally lovely.  

What's not to adore about the farm?

:: Mum and Dad's tradition of putting out your particular family flag when you come? This is ours. My sisters and brother have theirs too. Christmas time was flag central. I love our flag.

:: The chance to hug trees that I've hugged since I was knee-high?

 

:: Hanging out in beloved violet patches that have been growing on the front driveway for about 150 years?

 

:: Enjoying those two smallies of mine as they play, utterly fascinated, with Mum's music box collection?

:: Enjoying the garden?

:: Playing hide and seek with Gran?

 

:: And if all that wasn't enough to love, Dad grows coffee. Great coffee. Hand harvested, processed and roasted on the farm. And now has an awesome new espresso machine. 

We could move in, surely? Reckon they'd notice? 

xxx

a girl and her (aunty's) owl

One of my sisters had an owl just like this one forever when we were little. Owlie. Very special. My other sister found this exact replica years later and thoughtfully bought it, I think just before Owlie was about to travel overseas on an adventure possibly likely to spell the end of his stuffing at the bottom of a backpack. 

I'm not sure, but I think the original Owlie did the travelling anyway. 

And this one stayed behind to be loved up by nieces of the future. 

 
Love that owl.

(Pics taken on my iPhone. Adam had the camera out the back of the hill, as you know.)

xxx