2 more sleeps

The holidays are coming to an end and I have 2 more sleeps until it's back to work.  I did the usual at the start of the holidays, you know...

"These holidays I'm going to...

• Walk everyday
• Use my Wii Fit
• Stretch
• Eat healthy
• Drink plenty of water
• Tidy the study
• etc, etc, etc,"

I dutifully consulted "60 Second Secrets" for a few suggestions on how to improve my life and here's the tip I took on board.

"Buy a bottle of apple cider vinegar today.  From tomorrow morning, begin to take a teaspoon or two of it each morning in a glass of water....It helps cleanse your insides, improves digestion and gives you a glow of health."

How easy does that sound.  So at the beginning of school holidays I bought myself a bottle, took it on holidays with me, bought it home again where it has sat waiting on the kitchen bench.

Richard did remind me this morning that it ain't going to work sitting in the bottle so I unscrewed the cap put 2 teaspoons in water and swallowed.

Hmmmm, goodness me.  It sent an involuntary shudder through my jaw, made my eyes go funny and then every muscles squirmed all the way down to my toes. 

What's that saying?  If it tastes bad it must be good for you.  If that's true I'll be glowing inside and out in no time.

I took my book but...

I went on a picnic today to the Mt Lofty Botanical Gardens.  I took my book just in case I had the opportunity to read a page or two but who was I kidding. 

There was quiche, salad and fresh rolls

and of course a picnic wouldn't be complete

without some bubbles...

We toasted each other and raised our glasses

to William and Kate.

We did have a plate crasher...

and we were mighty relieved that we found him alive

and kicking and not half eaten.

After sharing some vanilla slice, chocolate eclair and

honeystick we took a casual stroll around the lake.

Like all good things it came to an end...but it was

lovely while it lasted.

Acca sellowiana

This is our acca sellowiana - stuck down the side of the house, neglected and grass growing in the middle of it.

Fortunately it doesn't hold grudges and is providing us with a bountiful crop of feijoas.

Have you had one before?  The best way to eat them is just to cut them in half and scoop out the middle.

If they taste a little grainy, then they're not quite ripe.    They're at their best the day they fall to the ground and taste delicious. 

 

  At least I've got something to eat while I'm waiting for the veges to grow.

Planted

I snuck out early this morning to start moving the dirt - I so wanted to surprise the boys by having some of it moved before they got up...no joke I had filled one wheelbarrow full, opened the gate to go through and there's Richard.  Needless to say I was "allowed" to do my one and then he took over.  I did sneak in a couple more but then Michael got up and he took over from both of us.

The first thing we planted was a herb/grass just for pets.

Then we planted - snow peas, purple carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, leeks - all seedlings.

We planted some seeds of english spinach and carrots.

I sat down with a hot cup of tea after we'd finished

but that busy boy of mine just found something else to do. 

I have to take him to a party tonight and pick him up at midnight...I think I will be having a sleep on the sofa in between drop off and pick up.  It is a cheap price to pay for all the work he's done over the past couple of days. 

Now I need to get some mulch for the new vege patch and wait patiently for them all to grow.  Sadly I don't do "patiently" very well.

Waiting for the dirt

Spent most of the afternoon waiting for the dirt to arrive....ho hum...

So I did a bit more pruning in my quest for more sun, with a little bit of help from my friend.  Lulu had a great time dragging the branches around the garden.

Michael got the pick out and turned over the soil.

I added a layer of leaf mulch to the base.

The pots are probably as old as me.  I kept them when we moved my mother-in-law to live with us.  I've put some coriander in a couple of them and we'll put parsley in and maybe something flowery in the rest for a bit of colour.

While we were waiting the "man about the house" popped down to the city and bought a new bbq.  We didn't have many bbqs this summer as  the old bbq wasn't quite up to it...

It came with some great packing which I punched holes in, filled with dirt and planted some beetroot seeds.  We love roast beetroot.

And finally just before the last bit of daylight and after I'd come inside to start cooking tea...the dirt arrived.

I think I can have one more day of play in the garden and then I'll have to start getting ready for the start of a new term. If I get inspired really quickly I might have some more playtime later in the week.



Too much shade

Who would of thought I'd complain about too much shade.  But I do...I've got the smallest patch that gets full sun for growing veges.  Whenever I mention that we need more space for another vegetable patch I get the "Hmmm, well maybe you could get rid of the pear tree and then use that spot". 

Yes that would work...not...right in the shade of another big tree and next door to the boys' bonfire pile.  So I stamped my feet a bit yesterday and gave an ultimatum about which shade tree was coming down...

"Hmmm, maybe you could get rid of the apple tree and then use that patch - you'd get full sun there".

So I called his bluff (he knows I love the apple tree with a passion) and said okay then, Michael get the axe.  Michael was gobsmacked because he knows no-one's allowed to touch the apple tree...

"Hmmm maybe not the apple tree because it blocks out the balcony on the 2-storey house up the road.  We'll trim all the shade trees and then you can put a new patch in the middle so it'll get more sun."

So Michael got the axe and trimmed up the tree we call "The Twins" -  2 trees that grew in the same spot.

And here's a rough marking of the new patch.

Still in the shade early this morning but there's

more chopping to be done yet.

I bought the plants yesterday so Richard has to ordered the soil today.  Michael and I had a lovely time choosing our stock. 

Michael is our "doer", he likes to be busy outside and as part of his schooling this year he is doing a horticulture certificate - hopefully leading into a school based apprenticeship next year.

Looking forward to a good day in the garden.



Oakbank Races

Easter Saturday means Oakbank Racing Carnival for us.  To get a good spot at the racecourse you have to get there early, so the alarm was set and off to bed we went.  What I wasn't expecting was for my mobile to go off in the early hours and have Tom tell me he'd been in a car accident.

 Half asleep I got some sketchy details from him but he was ok.  Relief.  I offered to go and get him but the Country Fire Service was there and as he's a member he was giving them a hand.  I was going to get him when they got back to the station. 

One of the CFS guys dropped him home and that's when we got all the details.  It was one of "those" accidents that emergency services are surprised that people have walked away from.  They'd crashed through a safety barrier and fence and ended up on their side backwards in a creek - wedged between the bank and a big tree.

Richard and the CFS guy went to collect our car from the friend's house and they drove past the car accident.  Richard said he felt physically sick seeing the car.  I had a look at the scene tonight and goodness it could of been so different...they could of been seriously hurt with just what had happened but had they crashed into the tree that they brushed against it would of been such a different story.

Tom's a bit sore and looks like he might have a broken finger but that's all...I'm very proud of him he stayed calm, helped the others get out of the car and called 000 to get help.  He was very subdued this morning but after being with his friends at Oakbank was brighter this afternoon.

We did have a lovely day but a fair amount of time in my mind was spent with "What if..." every time I looked at him.

Louise, me and Carol

Breakfast - a good hearty breakfast fixes many things.

My boys at either end - before they put on their fancy pants.

And with their fancy clothes on.

Hope that Easter Bunny finds you all in the morning.



"Left Neglected" by Lisa Genova

Left neglected...one thing this book wasn't.  I stayed up late last night reading and started again early this morning - 400 pages finished at 11.45am.

Blurb says:

"Sarah Nickerson is like any other career-driven supermum in the affluent suburb where she leads a hectic but charmed life with her husband Bob and three children.  Between excelling at work; shuttling the kids to football, day care, and piano lessons; convincing her son's teacher that he may not, in face, have ADD; and making it home in time for dinner, it's a wonder this over-scheduled, high-flyer has time to breathe.

Sarah carefully manages every minute of her life, until one fateful day, while driving to work, she looks away from the road for one second too long.  In an instant all the rapidly moving parts of her jam-packed life come to a screeching halt.  A traumatic brain injury completely erases the left side of her world.  For once, Sarah must relinquish control to those around her, including her formerly absent mother.  As she wills herself to recover, Sarah must learn that a happiness greater than all the success in the world is close within reach, if only she slows down long enough to notice."

Needless to say I loved it.  It was one of those books that I had to finish and left me thinking about how different life would be if the same thing happened to me.

Put your hand up if you're guilty of moving, checking or texting on your mobile phone while in the car.



Yes I thought so.  Most of us have done it at some stage, if you're not guilty of it, give yourself a pat on the back and if you are guilty like me then maybe it's time we stopped.  While the book isn't based on a true story, Lisa Genova did research the brain injury called Left Neglect.   It doesn't sound like fun.

This is the second book by Lisa Genova I've read and loved so I'm off now to check the library catalogue and see what else she has written.

Hope you've all enjoyed eating Hot Cross Buns today.

Home sweet home

We had to come home today - boo hoo...

I woke early as the sea was very very noisy and I could hear the waves crashing on the beach.  That early that the moon was still wide awake.

Out the back of house the sun was just rising. 

We all helped pack up and before I knew it we had

the puppies in the car and were heading home.

The house was absolutely freezing when we got

home and had that sad unloved feeling, and

cluttered.  Unfortunately no fairies had come in

while I was away and done something with my

piles of things needing attention.  Although Tom had

 vacuumed the house when he popped home

to go to a party on Saturday night.

The puppies are exhausted from their busy week

at the beach and after a serious sniff around the

garden they found their favourite spots and snoozed.

The worse thing about going away is putting

everything back where it belongs when you

get home.  The boys (all 3 of them) have gone

to a father/son night at our friend's house, so I

think it's up to me to unpack.

And as for all the dirty washing - maybe I should

of left it behind at the beach house.

I don't think I'll do it all tonight, although I should,

because I've started the next book and I want

to get back to it.  As comfortable as the bed was

I am looking forward to sleeping in my own tonight.

Apparently I'm going to really notice a difference

in the shower as the one at the beach house didn't

have a water saving head like we have at home.

Richard said he felt he had to dance around to get wet under our shower this afternoon.

On the upside tho...I've got a couple of exciting

purchases coming up.  Very very exciting - well for

me at least.  Can't wait till they arrive so I can share

them with you.

Port Elliot Day 6

Stepped right outside my comfort zone today and went for a ride on this.

Don't you just love Tom's face...oh no she's got

the camera out again...

No, that's not a smile on my face - it's more a

how the hell did I get talked into this.

I have a fear of boats and deep water. 

I spent a lot of the time looking into the water

to make sure that Jaws wasn't going to leap out

and chew me.

I'm thinking that maybe in a previous life I was on

Titantic and as I tried vallantly to get aboard

a lifeboard I was nibbled on by sharks.

I did have "fun" but the blood was pumping

pretty fast through the veins as we "dragged off"

what I perceived to be big waves.

 

As we bobbed up and down on the waves, I decided

 that if we capsized I would calmly swim for Seal Island instead of just waiting in the water for someone to rescue me.  Who am I kidding??  I'd be

thrashing wildly about and screaming.  Enough to

attract a whole army of sharks.

Here's the link for the boat ride.  If you're ever in

Victor Harbor I'd recommend it.

http://www.thebigduck.com.au/

We're having a quiet BBQ at home tonight.  The

weather has changed and it's quite cool and looks

like rain at any moment.  We're all ok with that as

we head home tomorrow.  We've had a wonderful

week together and as Tom finishes school this year,

it maybe the last holiday together for awhile.

And just because I can here's the man I gave my

heart to...

Pages of "The Shack" read today - 90 - and finished.

Port Elliot Day 5

Oh my goodness I'm so full - again.

Another great meal at the Port Elliot hotel.  It was schnitzel night - yummy.  I offered to cook pasta tonight, not Richard's favourite, and surprise surprise he suggested we eat out. 

This morning we headed off to Granite Island for a walk. 

As we walked along the beach I found some

cuttlefish that had been worn away to

reveal a special shape. 

Who did I give my heart to?

Richard of course.

I'd love to make a necklace from it but I think it might fall apart if I drill a hole in it. 

Here's the other side.

Pretty but not quite as special.

Pages of "The Shack" read today - 43