daily life

Hello again dear friends, it has been a while.  

Daily life happened and blogging took the back seat. It has been a bit hectic around here of late.

As expected, we are now empty nesters, with our son and his girlfriend moving into their first home. So very proud of them.

We have been kept busy running back and forth between houses sorting out bits and pieces and doing work that needed to be done.  They have been busy painting and settling in.  The house now has their own personal touch.

Back at home it is very quiet. Something that I am still getting used to.

I am not used to doing such a small load of washing and only once a week! Or cooking for only two. It feels so strange.  And the house stays tidy...amazing!

I had a busy day cleaning and sorting and tonight I have time for a blog update!

I get to do a bit more of this ~smiles

I really must tell you about this mother hen who took us by surprise recently. One afternoon, she showed up out the front of our house with ten baby chicks in tow. It appears she was able to sit on her eggs without us knowing. Later we found her nest with all the hatched egg shells under the jasmine shrub in the front garden. 

We had workmen coming and going, and all through the hot weather I was putting the sprinkler on not knowing she was there. She sat so quietly right through the heatwave with temperatures in the high 40's. Not once did she falter, she sat tight keeping her babies safe and warm. Now that is dedication for you. That's what we all do as mothers, we do anything to protect our young.

During the heat of Summer, we try to prevent our chooks from going broody. So this was a lovely surprise. The chickens are all doing well and growing fast.

Here is her little hiding place.

In between the busyness, I have been baking.

Date loaves.

Apricot slice.

Sourdough loaves.

Sourdough starter brewing on the laundry bench.  The warmest place in the house...perfect!

Then there was this delicious healthy apple pie, and it is vegan!  

Our garden is producing well so we are eating lots of fresh veggies. In this dish are homegrown eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes and capsicum. Also included are onion, garlic and mushrooms. Cook with big sploshes of olive oil, a touch of lemon juice and lots of oregano, real Mediterranean goodness.

Lunch ~ Tuna slice and salad.

Vegan lunch for me. 

We had a couple of birthdays in March.
This was the gift I gave my eldest daughter.  She is a Down to Earth follower.

And here she is with a special fluffy sponge cake baked by her Nanna.

 Our son also turned twenty one and we celebrated with a family meal at a little old pub in nearby Quorn. Here he is cutting the cake with his girlfriend.

Oh and I had another fantastic op shop find!  A queen sized  granny square patchwork quilt in perfect condition. I do not think it has been used at all  *doing a little happy dance here!

The price $20!

We came across some new friends while out walking at my parents. These little cows were very keen to investigate what we were doing.

And these cuties in the adjoining paddock were also very inquisitive. Aren't they so pretty? I hear they do not have nice manners though, and like to spit, so I didn't get too close haha!

The vegetable garden in Autumn. 

I am picking heaps of tomatoes, capsicums and apple cucumbers at the moment. Also eggplants, spring onions and rhubarb.  The zucchinis and silverbeet are not really producing anymore. I will be pulling the plants out soon to make room for some winter vegetables.

 In the gathering basket.

The tulip pelargonium is flowering again.

 Easter bunny craft.

Well dear friends that is all the news for now. I hope to be back to regular blogging with all this new spare time on my hands.

Hope you all have a lovely weekend.  It is going to be a hot one here, 36C (96.8F) tomorrow and 41C (105.8F) on Sunday, then a few cooler days thank goodness. We are off tomorrow to forage some almonds from the side of the road and will go early to beat the heat.

See you soon xx