18 March 2015

Life at our place

I was talking to a friend the other day and told her that I'd never been so busy in my life. It's true, I am busier now with family, friends, work, creative projects and a life that makes me feel such gratitude and peace that every day feels like a magnificent gift.  Most people think simple life is quiet and steady, and while it has those periods, it also has times like those we're going through now that are hectic and full of life. There are so many things happening here. You'd think that having two weeks off the blog I'd have a few posts lined up to share with you, but no, time has not allowed me to do that so instead, I want to update you on some of the things going on around our place with a few photos.


Sunny and Jamie are going to Korea today so they can be at Sunny's sister's wedding. Kerry is running the sushi shop while she's away. It's been wonderful having Jamie here every afternoon for the past couple of weeks. He comes in full of stories about what happened at kindy and while I make him a snack and a drink, it takes me back 30 years when I did the same thing for my boys. How time flies.



I've been tested with my cooking skills lately because Hanno has had a tooth out on one side, then next week he has one out on the other side.  Weeks of soft food have left me wondering if we'll ever return to the freedom of selecting whatever we want to eat and not what we have to eat. I've been fiddling around with lemons too, it feels good to see plenty of ripening lemons on the tree. Our new lemon tree is in fruit too this year. There is no such thing as having too many lemon here at our place. I'll show you what I did with them next week.


Pork meatballs with herb gravy, steamed cauliflower and potatoes.
I'm having a love affair with Medjool dates at the moment. Here they are baked in a bar cake with walnuts.
Homemade potato and sweet potato wedges ready to go into the oven. I forgot to take a photo when they came out.
Above and below is the front verandah now. It's been like that for a week. There was concrete cancer in several spots near the front door so we got a tradesman in to get rid of it and tile over the top. I would have liked to tile the entire verandah but we can't afford that so this little area will provide a safe entrance to our home and when everything is back in place, I hope it still looks like an inviting and relaxing place.


And the first of the raspberries crept up on us. Jamie brought in a small handful during the week. They're Heritage raspberries, the first time we've grown them here, and they look like being a good cropper. We haven't done any planting in our garden yet. We usually plant up in March, and we will do that, but we're slower now and planting has to wait until we have the time for it. I hope we have seedlings in the ground by the end of the month and even with our smaller garden we hope to produce enough herbs, lettuce, tomatoes and possibly potatoes to keep us happy for a while.

So there it is in a nutshell. I'll stop here and instead of talking about work, I'll do some of it. I'm sure you get the picture, it's probably the same at your place. It's just life expanding to fill the space provided for it. I hope you have a lovely day.


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23 comments

  1. I once had to write a post about work and leisure after a conversation made me reflect on how much "work" I perform as leisure. But, if you love it and it satisfies you, it doesn't feel like work! Best of wishes for the growing grandbaby!

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  2. How fun to have a granddaughter on the way to sew for! They do show their personality and our 3 year old granddaughter is all frills and girlie things and lots of pink. We are still waiting to see what our 9 month old granddaughter likes. Congratulations!

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  3. A wee girl for you Rhonda, that's wonderful. I'm the same with the garden, it just has to wait until I'm ready. Your date cake looks yummy.

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  4. Rhonda, it's a lovely busy you are in the midst of! I am an April gal too...and turning 50 this year. Time flies! I hope that your daughter-in-law has an easy birthing experience and you all find much time to celebrate and enjoy the new little one. (Oh, and sometimes those personalities develop in interesting ways: my daughter--now 9--always wanted to be a "princess" but frequently revealed herself to have the soul of a roller derby queen!!)

    I too am a lover of medijool dates. Totally with you there.

    Thanks for continued inspiration!
    Erin

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  5. With all those lemon rinds you will no doubt be extracting them in vinegar or meths soon. Your front porch looks great - those tiles are huge and suit outside use very well by the looks.

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  6. Congratulations on your first grand daughter... that surely is exciting time. :) Your food looks delicious, meatballs, potatoes and cauliflower is one of my favourite dishes. :)

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  7. Happy sewing for the new baby girl, Rhonda. I found it to be a lot of fun. The ruffled nappy covers are very cute and I made a few pairs of those. Your birthday is easy to remember as it is our wedding anniversary. We just had a storm come through now everything looks nice and fresh.

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    1. What a coincidence, Chel! My birthday is also on the 15th, as well as the wedding anniversary of our closest friends!

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  8. great blog post, Rhonda; I know that anticipating a little granddaughter is wonderful, and I love all the pink you're sewing in preparation for her birth

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  9. Thanks Rhonda for another lovely peek into your everyday life. I do so love reading what you're up to. I finally got round to downloading your books the other day and am very much enjoying reading them. I'm doing a lot of thinking at the minute, about moving house and changing jobs, and I'm reading some of your old posts again to help me work out what I really want - it's so hard to know sometimes! I know I want to spend more time at home, and reading your posts is making me realise that more and more.

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  10. How exciting to have a granddaughter on the way and making little pink clothes they look so adorable. It's lovely that you can spend time with Jamie in the afternoons. I noticed that Adli had those dates the other day. I've had a few recipes call for them (wholefood recipes) and didn't know what they are but found out last week. Have a good week. Regards Kathy A, Brisbane

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  11. Oh a granddaughter, how lovely!! I was always determined to not force pink on my 2 girls, but it finds its way in :) Now my 6 year old is a complete girly-girl, she has her own 'make-up' and will spend ages preening herself and loving it! (I don't know where she gets her love of it, I haven't worn make up since my wedding day, nearly 3 years ago, and I dont own any!!)

    Poor Hanno! My Dad had to get ALL his teeth removed last year (not in one go luckily, he chose to do it in stages), and we brain stormed lots of ideas for meals for him until he could wear his 'new teeth'. He had lots of risottos, soup and yoghurt - 'baby food'!

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  12. I'm glad you're getting a wee girlie in the family, Rhonda. What a blessing.

    I think your tile work looks very nice. I wish we could grow lemons here but we are too far north. Maybe one day we can have a greenhouse then perhaps we could grow a dwarf lemon tree.

    Deanna

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  13. It is okay to like pink for your new granddaughter without being stereotypical. I think it is charming and actually have not seen pink for a new baby girl in quite awhile. It seems most people want o avoid the stereotype, so pick a soft green, or yellow, or lilac instead.This is so exciting for you! I can't wait until she is here. I know you will share pics of the new little member of the family.

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  14. Hi Rhonda, I too am expecting a baby girl grand daughter in April, also my first grand daughter, an exciting month for both of us. I have been sewing a few violet wraps as well as pink, I love your comment about waiting to see what this little person will be. I also really enjoyed this post. Best wishes to Hanno and you.

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  15. Sweet little babies. Nothing smells better.

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  16. Congratulations coming to you for the upcoming birthday and esp. the new baby!

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  17. Like you we had boys, 3 of them, the first grandchild turned out to be a girl and we are just having the best time sewing things that boys don't wear! I am glad she will be our son's job when she is a teen as I suspect boys are easier than girls! Girls smell better though! Congrats!

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  18. As always your comments are always interesting even if it is just the ordinary. What is the sauce/seasoning on the wedges?

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    1. I splash on some olive oil, then rub on salt, pepper and paprika.

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    2. Oh thankyou. I use the same but obviously I'm too light handed as yours looks so much more inviting

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  19. I always love what you post, you have such wonderful ideas. I'm so glad your posts can appeal to all us in every age group, too. Some really fun to read blogs just aren't relevant to me now that my kids are grown and I have grandkids.

    You've given me even more reason to want to come visit Australia like I have wanted to since I was about 10. You can tell you love your country and your life so very much!

    You and I share the same birthday, so perhaps your wonderful new little granddaughter will join us and have it for her own too. Whenever she comes it would be wonderful.

    Hugs, and God Bless,

    Catherine

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  20. You are going to enjoy this child so much. I am a mother who had 2 sons. I always always wanted a daughter. God did not send me a daughter. He did give me a grand daughter. Oh my how special she is too. March 16 was her 15th birthday. Gosh how time flies. I have 3 grand sons. They are wonderful and I love them so very much, but watching my grand daughter grow into woman hood has been so wonderful. Just this past weekend she and her family were in San Antonio TX for their school's robotic program. Her robot (that she built with her own 2 hands) too 4th place in the Nationals and she was approached by MIT people telling her she needs to apply to go to college at MIT. I am so proud of her. She has brains under her pretty face too. Her brother is no slouch, he is on honor roll too. I love how these kids have taken the ball into their court and plan to pay for their college themselves. Both parents are in the medical field. Both parents are still going to school. It seems to run in the family.

    When Sabrina was little I got a thrill out of sewing her clothes. When she was bigger she let me know that she wanted pants and shirts not dresses. She is an out doors girl. She is going to go far in this world and I am so proud to be her grandmother.

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