There is something about Sunday afternoons. I'm not sure what it is but I know they feel different to every other afternoon. I'm writing Monday's blog now, Sunday afternoon, and feeling very relaxed and calm. The three of us - Hanno, Jamie and me, have finished lunch and now Hanno and Jamie are having a snooze, while I am her with you. :- ) Lunch was delicious, by the way, we had buttermilk fried chicken, green beans straight from the garden and Dutch cream potatoes. Jamie played at the table with his animals while Hanno helped me prepare the lunch.
I've been trying to get around to making a new apron and I haven't found the time for it yet. Maybe when I finish here I'll have a few hours. Who knows, when there is a toddler in the house, anything can happen. I did finish off my pin cushion-sewing kit and I'm very pleased with it. It's only a little preserving jar with a two-piece lid. It's a very easy project and it makes a lovely small gift for the sewers and quilters in your life.
Out in the backyard, the garden has almost given up. We haven't planted anything new for about a month and while I intend to plant eight self-sown pumpkin seedling vines in the compost heap to grow over summer, nothing else will go in until next March. I picked three good cucumbers yesterday and there is one small one still on the vine. I'm not sure if it will continue producing, if it does, I'll continue picking. The beans we had for lunch today were from a few bush bean plants that still look reasonably healthy, there is a lot of parsley, as well as onions and a few tomatoes. The corn is on its last legs and we picked three, although Jamie found one small cob on the dying stalks this morning and immediately started eating it. It's one of the lovely side benefits of having a toddler in a garden. When they see vegetables and fruit growing, they want to eat it. Apart from that, we have a few capsicums/peppers still producing and I picked a bag of small chillies yesterday. As soon as I washed them, I put them in a plastic bag to freeze. They'll be fine for cooking later this year and into next.
A mouth full of milk.
Playing with opa.
It is one of life's true pleasures to be able to slow down, do your housework in your own time and to produce real food for the table with close family there to appreciate it. And now we have Jamie with us two weekends out of four, he's growing up knowing that food is picked in the backyard and put into the harvest basket to take inside with the eggs. And if no one is looking, and even if they are, it's okay to eat what you pick straight away and get the benefit of that kind of freshness.
I wonder what you did on your Sunday afternoon. :- )
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Such a wonderful afternoon. Perfect, really. Your curly-headed, gorgeous grandson is a ray of sunshine. How could you *not* have a perfect afternoon with him beaming at the simple beautiful wonders of the world?
ReplyDeleteSunday afternoons are for relaxing in our house. After we get home from church, I make lunch for the kids and then either nap or relax stretched out on the couch to read, or catch up on some of my favourite blogs. It is nice to have a day when you can sit back and take it slow and not feel like you should be doing something "productive". We all need a little quiet time once in awhile. Sundays help rejuvenate me for the week.
ReplyDeleteYour garden is coming to an end and mine is just beginning even though we are both below the equator though on astray different continents :) I also had a slow day with a walk with hubby and dogs in the forest, home grown kale and mushroom lasagne for dinner and your 5 minute bread. Tha was my Sunday give a little take a little here and there.
ReplyDeleteIt was raining here Sunday arvo, so we watched a movie with the kids, their first ever old fashioned Western. I had forgotten how long some of those movies go for, 3 hours! But the kids liked it, it was The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, I haven't seen it in years.
ReplyDeleteSuch a lovely cozy post.. I love Sunday afternoons, too.. They are so unstressed and comforting..
ReplyDeleteIt is wonderful having grandchildren round and about, eh?
What a wonderful way to spend a Sunday, we spent all day out at a horse show watching my sister ride, it was a beautiful day here in Tassie so it was great to enjoy the warm sunshine at last! Our afternoon was spent not doing much after a day in the sun :) I love the little sewing kit in the jar and Jamie is such a little cutie, he looks around the same age as my son, they are great fun to do the gardening with at that age!
ReplyDeleteYour weekends with the little lad must be quite a delight for you both. I had paperwork and file tidying to do in preparation for handing over my voluntary job of secretary for our local Women's Service. As I have an injured knee as well, I propped myself up on the couch and watched ABC Sunday tv. My tv rarely goes on, so it felt quite decadent to watch in the daytime! Did you get the wild storms and hail on the w/e, hope your garden survived. Mine did, and is enjoying the good watering.
ReplyDeleteI hope your knee feels better soon, Nanette. No wild storms here, we were right on the edge of it. Sunny copped the large hail when she was at work at Mooloolaba. Last night we had long periods of soaking rain. It was wonderful listening to the rain falling on the roof.
DeleteWe had a very special treat for all of us today, we went to the cinema downtown with the children for a new Norwegian family movie. It is a very rare thing for us to do - and we all enjoyed it. When we came back, we all spent some time outside, some late-autumn work in the garden, some playing in the last streams of sun this afternoon. Around four pm it is getting dark. We still do not have any snow, which makes everything much darker around here. It will brighten up when the frost arrives. So - then inside - I cooked dinner, the children played and my husband and I shared some wine in the kitchen while cooking and talking. Candles lit, fire in the oven, all well. Then nice long dinner with the whole family. Time to talk and laugh. Some crocheting and a quick bread made for tomorrow - and then evening meal with the children, while we read a book together (Harry Potter, right now). Tucking small ones to bed, singing for them, doing some laundry, cleaning up.... Nice afternoon.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful day!
DeleteWhat a lovely afternoon. We're having a quiet one too, just relaxing at home. Our daughter should be getting up from her rest time in a few minutes so it will get a little livelier very soon. We have salmon in the outdoor smoker for dinner, I can't wait to eat it.
ReplyDeleteYour grandchildren will have fond memories of their time with you eating home grown veggies and wandering around the back garden. Regards Kathy A, Brisbane, Australia
ReplyDeleteI spent the weekend recovering from my operation which was nearly a month ago now and I'm pleased to say I'm doing very well indeed. My husband, who never gardens, managed to chop down our back yard hedges to fence height. I think he realized then just how overgrown they had become ... good job hubby :) and hello neighbors!
ReplyDeleteWishing you a speedy recovery to good health, Lucy. xx
DeleteI spent Sunday afternoon washing all the windows, now they are lovely and sparkling. I love that basket! we are also slowing down for the wet season. I am thinking of laying cardboard down over the beds to stop the weeds taking over.
ReplyDeleteToday was one of my favorite kinds of days. It rained all day and I spent my time in the kitchen making vegetable stock, baking muffins, roasting pumpkin for pie and making parsnip quiche for supper. Productive and satisfying!
ReplyDeleteSue, lessnoise-moregreen.blogspot.com
Just loved your post...What a gorgeous grandson...We had a quiet day today as I was feeling a little "under the weather." My husband fried some fish and hush puppies and made cheese grits and baked beans....sooooo good. Thank you dear Don! Blessings, Carolyn in Florida
ReplyDeleteSunday was always a day of rest when we were kids. No shops were open, it was Church in the morning, a roast for lunch, and the rest of the day was spent reading, snoozing or sunbaking in the garden. Things have changed: shops are open, wineries are open, and workshops are conducted. Hubby went for a 200k bike ride with mates and I participated in a calligraphy workshop with a friend. We both enjoyed our day, but I have to admit, your Sunday afternoon sounded blissful.
ReplyDeleteAdore this post, Rhonda!
ReplyDeleteJamie is blessed with the finest curly-locks EVER(love them:-)!
Lovely to see interacting with Opa; fortunate you all are!
THANKS FOR SHARING!
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I just love seeing the pics of Jamie. My youngest child is 5 now (and has the same dark curly mop of hair as Jamie). I'm treasuring every moment.
ReplyDeleteHi Rhonda. Looks like you had a lovely Sunday afternoon. My husband and I were not feeling to great yesterday so didn't go to church as is usual. It was a PJ day but we relaxed and sometimes that's just what you need to do. Love the photo of you kneading bread. I did a bread post on Sunday about my bread making and wheat grinding. By the way, thank you so much for including my blog in your weekend reading last week. I was thrilled!
ReplyDeleteLOVE a nice relaxing Sunday here - we so often seem to be busy, out and about, and doing things, that a Sunday with no plans at all - like the one we had this week - is a real treat. Bit of baking (muffins for MrEH's breakfasts for the week), a walk, some flopping on the sofa with books or newspapers - can't beat that! Thanks for sharing your sunday with us.
ReplyDeletesuch a sense of peace and contentment...lovely
ReplyDeleteI've just made one of those sewing kits a few weeks ago too. Haven't posted the blog post yet, thought it might be a nice idea for a Mother's day gift in the new year. Love that you can pick up the mason style two piece lid, preserving jars from the supermarket now. Makes them affordable to make. If I could find some old mason jars with a bit of character that would be nice though.
ReplyDeleteWe made your basic muffin recipe a couple of days ago and put raspberries in them. The kids loved them, here's the post. Regards Kathy A, Brisbane, Australia
ReplyDeletehttp://oursimpleandmeaningfullife.blogspot.com.au/2013/11/rhondas-muffin-recipe.html