The quilt which was an 18th birthday gift is now in the hands of the recipient.
Yesterday was the 18th birthday of our elder granddaughter. Her growth from baby to young lady is beautifully captured in the reel of photos below.
It has been an absolute joy to witness her transformation and watch her finish her secondary schooling. She is now poised on the threshold with exciting life and career prospects ahead of her.
Congratulations!!
It is now 4 days since our granddaughters arrived from Queensland. They are here for 10 days and we are trying to find a balance of interesting things to do with a 16 year old and 14 year old.
After we picked them up at the airport we found a spot for a picnic lunch before we headed home.
A spot of mulberry picking rounded out the day.
On Tuesday we headed to Bendigo to buy a birthday gift for Miss 16 as well as a couple of other errands.
Yesterday we went to nearby Lake Cairn Curran for a BBQ picnic lunch, paddle in the water and a walk with the dog.
Here is a view I captured while waiting for lunch.
Finally, we picked up this DVD from Castlemaine Library before the girls headed to the local pool for a swim. We watched ‘Picnic at Hanging Rock’ in preparation for our outing today. It was interesting to note that some of the scenes were filmed in a town where we used to live, although the film was made long before we moved there.
Our first view of the rock.
Almost at the top.
A view of the surrounding country.
A quick op shop stop on the way home and Miss 14 found this pair of denim shorts for $4. A sundress completed her haul for the day.
Tonight we watched ‘Looking For Alibrandi’ on SBS On Demand and they both enjoyed this movie. We have plenty more adventures planned so most of the regular chores have been put on hold while we enjoy spending time with this special pair of teenagers.
I was looking back at the date of my last post which was a little over a week ago. Since then my focus has been firmly on my family. Even though GMan and I are the only ones living here, we are fortunate to have plenty of contact with family. Sometimes it seems to come all at once as has been the case in the past week.
Last Monday I went to Brisbane. I took my mother to a specialist medical appointment then we treated ourselves to lunch at Fuzzy Duck Cafe. I would recommend it. This was en route to visit my aunt who is in an aged care facility. Visiting has not been possible during COVID19 restrictions so it was good to be able to see her.
I stayed in Brisbane overnight and after another appointment the next day I picked GMan up from a dental appointment and we headed home.
It has been school holidays for the last 2 weeks and our daughter and granddaughters arrived on Wednesday evening. The girls stayed until Saturday afternoon while their mother went to work for the remainder of the week and picked them up again on Saturday.
During their stay we prepared meals, sorted through my fabric stash, went to the gym, shopped for shoes, went to the beach and park and checked out the garden.
Miss O making french dressing and learning the principle of adjusting the seasoning to taste.
Cutting broccoli for the soup.
A successful shopping trip to buy new sandals for Izzy.
More cooking – pizza bases ready for toppings.
The beginning of a dress for Miss O from a piece selected from the stash.
Some of the regular housework goes by the wayside when there are visitors and this time was no exception.
The refrigerator looked somewhat chaotic. There were several leftovers that I could incorporate into meals the following day.
I had invited my sister and brother-in-law for lunch on Sunday but had no specific menu planned for the meal. We did a small amount of grocery shopping late on Saturday afternoon.
Our lunch was predominately a selection of small plates and salads which worked perfectly as we sat outside in the very pleasant spring weather.
Photographing the spread was overlooked until I brought the salads out.
Homemade hummus, guacamole and sourdough bread, rice crackers, vegie sticks and brie for starters then kale salad, rice salad, cucumber and onion salad ad tomato wedges to serve with mini meatballs, vegie kofta balls and spiced cauliflower bites. Fresh fruit salad made the perfect finish to the meal.
While it sometimes works out that a particular period of time is mostly taken up by a single facet such as family events, I am trying to create more balance in the spread of activities in my week. More about that tomorrow.
Education comes in all sorts of guises and is not necessarily undertaken in the classroom.
It has been school holidays here for the past two weeks and our granddaughters came to visit for a couple of days. As always, they enjoy activities which they do not have access to at home.
The citrus trees still had plenty of fruit so they picked 2 buckets full of oranges and then it was time to squeeze them.
They both had plenty of opportunity to hone their skills and Olivia was also able to cut the oranges.
The weather has been very dry recently and last week was particularly hot so watering the garden was essential. There is not a lot growing at the moment but plenty of water has ensured that the young bean plants survived the heat.
It is difficult to think of anything that is more important to learn than nurturing, picking and preparing your own food. I find it very gratifying to be able to share these skills with the girls and encourage their interest.
When I began the ‘Sew My Stash Sunday’ series I was really confident that I would do some sewing every week and always have something to share. Unfortunately, that has not been the case and some weeks I just end up beating myself up (metaphorically speaking) because I have not met my goal.
So, I have decided to put this series to bed for the moment and I will post on a Sunday if I have done any sewing in the previous week and have something to share.
The last week has been a bit topsy turvy as I spent a couple of days in Brisbane. My mother had a specialist medical appointment and Izz had a night in hospital to have her tonsils and adenoids removed. I spent the time with Miss O and attended a school music concert in which she was singing in the Junior Choir. Here is a photo I took of her in the obligatory black trousers and white shirt.
And another with one of her friends before the concert.
I did not manage to get a photo but they all had vests to wear as well which were provided by the school. The back was plain black and the front was black with multi-coloured musical notes and symbols. They all looked very smart in them.
The coming week is going to be similar as once again I will be away from home for a couple of days.
On Sundays I usually try to get myself organised for the week ahead and today it was even more imperative. I have made sure that we both have enough clothes for work and underwear clean and ready. Meals are planned for the week. Lunches are semi-prepared.
Do you use some of your time on Sundays to prepare for the week ahead?
Today I want to share a story that my daughter told me. The words, “I’m so proud of her” were what she said at the end of the story.
Miss O, now 6, has just started Year 1 at school after having completed Prep last year. She is a bright little girl whom we all love dearly but she is very shy.
Talking has not been her forte and when she was at daycare there were times when the staff would bribe her to talk! Social interactions were a real challenge so we were all concerned as to how she would cope at school. She was lucky to have a brilliant and supportive Prep teacher who gently encouraged her.
As well as being at school Miss O goes to before and after school care and it was feedback from one of the co-ordinators that swelled her mother’s heart. Miss O is not only settled and comfortable in her environment but she has taken a couple of the new Prep students under her wing and is teaching them a particular card game at after school care.
It may seem a small thing but it such an achievement for her. I wonder if it is a bit of a case of ‘been there, done that’ and she knows how it feels and therefore has a real empathy for others who are feeling out of their depth?
We are all so proud of her.
No organising happening here today as we are too busy having fun. Miss O and Izz are staying for a couple of nights as it is school holidays here.
It has been a full day which included picking strawberries at a local farm as well as buying some fruit and vegetables and getting hair cut. That was just this morning!
Then it was time for lunch.
A platter which included freshly picked carrots and avocadoes plus some cracker biscuits. A cup of water and some strawberries rounded off a healthy lunch.
The weather has been really quite hot the past few days but even though it was much cooler today it was still warm enough to play in the pool.
Climbing ‘mountains’, hide and seek and racing around the yard used up some excess energy.
And taking a moment to smell the roses AKA cannas.
organised castle 