One of the best things, for me, about being a wife-mother-grandmother who cooks is providing good food for the people I love. It's not only the selection and cooking of food I love, it's also providing warm and comfortable situations when family connections are strengthened while food is being shared. Food brings people together and although it can become something mundane and uninteresting, if love is put into it as well as effort, it becomes more than just food prepared in a certain way. It becomes a significant and important part of daily life.

I've gone from being an ordinary housewife, using my food budget to provide as much as I can for the money I had, to being someone who looks for fresh food that's been produced locally and ethically. I almost never buy beef now, if I do, it's minced beef. Usually I buy pork, chicken or fish. Now it's always free range and if I can't get that, I'll go without and use something else. It's easily done. I always check labels, and never buy products from compromised locations such as China and Thailand. I only want to be a part of a food chain that considers kindness and quality of life along with nutritional values and profit.

Even though we're not growing as much in the garden as we used to, we still grow all our salads and herbs, some of our fruit, tomatoes, cucumber, chillis, kale and chard. We might still grow potatoes, let's just wait and see. If I didn't have the space to grow food, I'd spend some of my time looking for a suitable market where I could buy the best fresh food available.

It gives me a feeling of purpose to select, prepare and serve food for Hanno and me. I see it as an important part of my homemaking to provide food that will keep us healthy and supports our values. I love when our family gets together and we sit around the kitchen table and share a meal. That is the time when we catch up with each others news, use the time to forge strong connections and solidify our family ties.

And then Christmas comes along and the family gathers to celebrate. For me, this is one of the important times of the year. It's when simple food draws families together to celebrate their union and to remember that in addition to being a strong individual they're also part of a reliable and steadfast family. It is a time when we share what's happened to all of us during the year, when we pass on family stories and when we show our younger members, by example, that there is love and respect here. I always take the opportunity to provide food and drinks that my family and friends love and will remember. Food's like that - it helps us remember special days, people and occasions. All of us need to build good relationships with those in our family. We need those relationships to last a life time and luckily, good food, shared at a kitchen table, helps us do that.

Is food just food for you or do you think it's something more than that?

Still having computer problems so no photos today.  Sorry.  :- )


I know you probably don't want to read about this now, or ever, but global warming is a fact of life for us and it should be uppermost in your mind, particularly at this time of year when credit cards are running hot. There is no better time than now to make a stand and to stop buying into the mindless consumerism that many politician tell us is good for the country but we know is killing the planet.

I'm a proud Australian, I love my country and the people who live here dearly. But I am ashamed of our environmental policies that promote coal for the sake of the dollar when we all know it is fossil fuels that are doing the most damage.  Read this recent article for more info, and this.

This is today's Guardian headline: Australia has been named the worst-performing industrial country in the world on climate change in a report released at international negotiations in Peru.

It's a crying shame we have no political leadership on this. Those forward-thinking leaders and the new ways of industrial thinking have emerged in other countries - Denmark, Sweden and Britain. But not here. Here we choose the dollar over the environment. We're being lead down a pathway we should have left behind years ago.

I'm worried that we're not heeding the warnings from scientists all around the world that we have to change how we live. It seems to me that many people believe they can't make any changes that will matter. This crisis was created by all of us just doing what we're doing now - buying what we want with no thought of how or where it's manufactured or at what environmental cost. We don't think about how we'll dispose of all the rubbish we buy. We seem to think it will just take care of itself. And that's what we've been lead to believe all these years - that it's fine, don't worry your pretty little head over it, science/the government/new technology will save us from ourselves. Let's do it tomorrow, or next year, or ten years from now. Well, I think it's time to bite the bullet, let's do something about it ourselves - now.

It's wonderful if you've set your home up to be as environmentally friendly as possible but what will also make a real difference is if you start cooking from scratch, recycling, stop eating so much meat, grow some of your own foods, make your own cleaners, mend your own clothes, save water, cut down on electricity usage, use public transport. Be a good steward in your own home. Take back the ability to look after your own needs. Just live a simple life. If we all do it, it will make a difference.

Now is the best time of the year to stop spending. When all those Christmas specials are there luring you in, turn your back. I'm not saying you should not give any gifts, but only give half what you used to give.  Everyone will survive. Small steps. Don't do it all at once, choose your steps wisely and follow through. Once you decided to live a more simple life, don't be tempted to return to your old ways. If we can do this now we can all start 2015 with a focus on what we can reduce next year. I hope you'll join me because we're already waited too long.

What are you doing now and this Christmas to reduce your own environmental footprint?

We have a lot of flowers in the vegetable garden right now. They love the hot weather. Not only do they look beautiful and give us a harvest of flowers for the kitchen table, they bring in the beneficial bugs too.

I guess many readers are preparing for the holidays, it's a busy time of year. Australian schools stop for summer holidays soon and many people will be taking it easy until late January. Whatever you're doing, enjoy the change of seasons and the anticipation of all those hot days at the beach or cold days by the fire.

When I was younger, I always loved this time of year because it was the start of summer and everyone was thinking about the holidays. Back then, I lived near the beach so after work and often before work, I went swimming at Bondi. It was invigorating and had the ability to focus my mind like a razor. I always worked well when I swam before work. Now I don't like summer but I still like this time of year. Now it represents the end of another chapter when I check to see I've done what I was obliged to do, along with all I wanted to do, and I start thinking about the coming year. Now it's a time of reckoning and preparation.

Although we haven't spoken about it yet, we'll probably have Christmas lunch here at home. I'm sure Kerry and Sunny won't have the time or energy to prepare a large lunch so I'm guessing they'll be here, and possibly Jens and Cathy. Shane, Sarndra and Alex will be staying at home in Gladstone because the house they're renting is being sold and they have to move. They're hoping to come down during January. I'm trying to get some gifts up to Alex, in two medium sized boxes, and I'm hoping that someone who will be driving through Landsborough can take them to Gladstone for me. If you're driving that route sometime in the next three weeks can you please email me on rhondahetzel@gmail.com  Thank you.

Usually at this time I'd be wanting Thursday to arrive because it would be the first day of the Cricket Test Match at the Gabba. That, for me, was always the real start to summer. I'd have my knitting reading to go, plenty of ice cubes in the freezer and some books close to my lounge chair so I could watch cricket and read at the same time. But this year there has been the tragic death of a young cricketer, Phillip Hughes, who probably would have played in the upcoming match. He was killed during a game when struck on the neck with a cricket ball; such an unimaginable sadness, killing a fine young man, only 25. His funeral will be held today. So the matches have been changed around and the first match will now be held in Adelaide, a week late, to give his family, his fellow players and the nation, a chance to mourn his loss. RIP Phillip.

Yesterday, Sandi (Blinky) came over for morning tea. We had a lovely chat, talked about and showed our current yarn projects and looked at the garden. So the front verandah has been cleaned up in preparation for Sandi's visit and I took the same opportunity to move the plants around to their summer configuration. It's one of the tasks that marks the end of year and change of seasons. The garden usually gets a lot of attention now too. It needs to be able to withstand the heat of the coming months so new mulch is applied and all those plants that we know are passed their prime are removed and the garden beds tidied up. We don't do a lot of gardening over the hot months so the work is put in now so the beds look tidy and all we have to do when it's really hot and it doesn't rain, is to water the plants.  The two garden beds we wanted to be removed have gone and now the grass is growing over the bare patches.  Soon there will a beautiful place for us to sit in the shade there, either in the afternoon shade of trees or with an umbrella proving much appreciated morning shade.

We have two international visitors at the moment. Peter, our brother-in-law from Germany (staying with us) and Sunja, Sunny's mum (staying with Kerry and Sunny) from Korea. They're both going home again in about two weeks. Then I'll think more seriously about our Christmas lunch and I'll start making notes about some workshops I'll be giving next year. I'd like to give some writing and blogging workshops to, hopefully, inspire and motivate local writers who are serious about blogging and writing.

So that's me, what is the end of the year looking like in your home?

Hello everyone!  I'm still having problems with my computer and will probably have to take it back to the technician later today. I hope to carry on using Hanno's computer so my aim is to continue on tomorrow, as usual.

= = = ♥︎ = = = 

I read this very interesting article in the UK Telegraph recently. It tells us that young people are not as inclined to drink or take drugs now, less inclined to cause trouble when they go out, and more inclined to knit, cook, go to bed early and take care of themselves. The young tend to be more conservative and are more helpful than we are, "we" being those in our older years. I love that they are more helpful and hope they learned from our mistakes, although my guess is that common sense and economic reasons have more to do with it.

The other thing I found really interesting was that yellow line in the data. There are more over 65s drinking, more than the under 34s! The age group 45 - 64 has the highest percentage of sexually transmitted disease!  Good grief.

We're the elders, we're supposed to be guiding and encouraging. We should be the ones handing on the stories and family history. Authentic family history and stories must be truthful and really reflect the history of the family. Elder duties are best served sober with the ability to answer questions, motivate and, hopefully, inspire. I'm not saying everyone over 60 should be sitting around knitting on the verandah (although I will be) but we should be doing something to help those younger than us live well. We should be role models.


From the linked article: We are increasingly polite: one government survey found that those born in the early 1990s are less rude and noisy in public than previous cohorts at the same age. We’re more likely than the over-55s to give to charity or volunteer.

While there is an element of the pendulum swinging back to the 40s and 50s in all this, which was something I expected would eventually happen, I didn't expect to see it happen this soon.

As the article indicates, the young are rebelling against rebelling. I majored in rebelling when I was in my teens and 20s. I had a good few years of doing, saying and being what I chose to be, regardless of the consequences. But then my children changed me. Of all the things I'd ever been, I was never a hypocrit or a liar so when Shane and Kerry were born, I turned the leaf over and started my life as a decent parent and (I hope) a good role model.


I don't see a reason for that to change now. I have grandchildren who will look to me for guidance - maybe not so much of the verbal kind but I certainly want to be a grandma they're all proud of. I want them to see me living the life I have chosen and not just talking (or writing) about it. I want them to look back and remember me as a kind and generous person who taught them about gardening and cooking and how to carry eggs, and to not be afraid of spiders. I want teach them there are good bugs and bad bugs, just as there are good and bad people, and help them develop the ability to tell the difference.

Young adults have found the contentment of knitting, cooking and being comfortable in their homes very early when it took my age group much longer to find that simple type of happiness. Instead of us being role models, maybe we should be looking at our younger folk and start wondering why they see the value in the quiet and slow and we don't. I hope they lead the way to a new kind of modern life, one in which shopping and debt don't play such a big role.  I know I have a lot of young readers because I get a lot of emails from them telling me what they're doing and the dreams they have for themselves. Maybe some of them will comment here today and tell us why it was easier than it was for the rest of us for them to choose simplicity over consumerism.

I'm back, again!  I picked up my laptop yesterday afternoon after two days away in the computer hospital. It's the first time we've ever been separated. Sob.  LOL It's strange how attached we become to our computers.  Anyhow, she's had a new hard drive fitted. The old one worn out after constant use over five years. I hope she'll go on for another five years.

The weather is very warm here and the storm season has started. We had good rain last night and the tanks are full, surely that's a good sign. I hope your weather isn't too severe although I did see on the news yesterday that parts of the US had heavy snowfall.  Stay safe, friends.

I'm starting to think about Christmas and will start acting on those thoughts in the coming week or two. How about you? What do you start decorating?

Enjoy your weekend. Take it easy, put your feet up, even if it's only for 15 minutes. 

= = =  ♥︎  = = =

The battle hymn of the papier-mache-mother

The Amish A People of Preservation - You Tube

What to do with old spices?

How to fold a fitted sheet - Martha Stewart on You Tube

Purl Bee's learn to knit video tutorials

How small farmers Fiona and Adam won chook lotto  And here is Fiona's wonderful blog, Inner Pickle. Many of you know this blog but for those who don't, you must visit. Fiona has some of the best cake, biscuit and slice recipes on the web. We've tasted Fiona's biscuits too. they're absolutely delicious.

How to make water kefir  Check out the rest of Tricia's blog while you're there. It's full of good accurate information.

Good morning everyone. I haven't quite returned to my previous posting time and I'm not sure I will. At the moment, late morning posting seems to be working for me.  Today I'm writing this on Hanno's computer because mine is being repaired. It will take at least two to three days so we'll have to see how it goes. I hope I'm back tomorrow but if I'm not, I'll be here soon after.


If you're like me you've discovered the pleasure of eating food flavoured with herbs. Even when our garden isn't fully productive I generally have parsley, oregano, mint, thyme and lemon thyme and a small bay tree in pots to keep me supplied with fresh herbs.  When the garden is in full production I have sage, lemon balm, rosemary, borage and comfrey as well.  But it's the herbs in pots I want to write about today because no matter where you live, they will keep the fresh herbs coming for your meals and save you money in the process.

Most fresh herbs at Woolworths cost $2.98 a bunch. If you buy a bunch of parsley, chives, basil, oregano and bay leaves each week, you'll be adding about $14.75 to your weekly shop for those basic herbs. It will be more if you're adding a greater variety of herbs.  Of course you could use dried herbs, but fresh herbs give a special taste to the meals we cook and they add nutrition, which dried herbs don't. Herbs are really easy to grow in pots.  The added benefit is that if you're renting, you can still grow them, even if your landlord says you can't have a garden. They're also portable, you can take them with you when you move and you can place them exactly where they need to be - anywhere from full sun to full shade, depending on the herb. Most herbs need good drainage. That just means that when you water your herbs, or if it rains on them, the soil needs to drain off the water so the roots don't get water-logged and die. If you have clay soil, herbs will not grow well. So the solution is to grow the herbs in pots - and to vary the size of the pot according to the amount of that herb you usually use.

For instance, most herbs will do very well in a normal pot of about 12-20cm. Remember you need to give the plants enough space for good root growth because the size of the root ball will determine the size of the plant. If you restrict the roots, the plants will usually remain small. So use a bigger pot rather than a smaller one.  Don't go the opposite direction and go too big because most herbs need to be able to fill the pot within a few months and some like to be root bound. Herbs such as mint will easily fill a large pot and grow well if you give it good potting soil and enough water.

Above - our oregano pot which sits in the entrance of the bush house, with morning sun and shade the rest of the day.
Below - our mint needs repotting. I hope to do it today because when I took these photos this morning, it looked very sad. I'm going to put it into a larger container - I have an ancient enamel baby bath - cut the plant back to ground level, moisten the soil and fertilise, and it will grow like the clappers.
I've grown herbs here in plastic troughs and polystyrene troughs but the polystyrene does disintegrate quickly when it's left to sit in the sun. Plastic pots are better for herbs because they retain the moisture a bit better than terracotta ones. So use your common sense. Don't go overboard buying containers if you have something suitable on hand. Recycle old containers, buckets, olive oil tins (minimum size 4 litres/quarts), polystyrene boxes but if you've only got terracotta, use it, you'll just have to water it a tiny bit more. If I were to buy something new to use, I'd go for two 4-5 litre plastic/rubber, two-handled tubs. You could make up two very good mixed herb gardens in two of them. Make sure you plant the herbs together that need the same conditions. For instance, most Mediterranean herbs (parsley, rosemary etc.) like drier conditions, herbs such as mint and oregano like moist, not wet, soil.

Some herbs can be difficult to propagate from seeds so I generally buy seedling herbs or I start them from root cuttings.  Mint and oregano easily grow from root cuttings.  Just get a piece of the plant with a bit of root attached, place in on the top of your filled pot - use good quality potting mix - tap down the soil over the top of the root, water well and leave it in a shady place to establish. After a couple of weeks, when you've seen some leaf growth, place the pot in a suitable place. Most herbs need full or partial sun but oregano and mint both like shade with only a small burst of sunshine in the early morning.

 POTTING MIX 
Buy a good quality potting mix but not the one with all the additives. You'll be doing your own fertilising so you don't need additional time-release fertiliser or water retainer. Potting mix here has a red Australian Standard stamp on it, that is the one we use. If you're overseas, buy your basic standard potting soil. Please note: you can't use garden soil, it will kill the herbs because it won't drain effectively in a pot. Remember to re-pot your herbs every two years.

 WATERING 
The sunnier the position, the more water the herb will probably need. Pots need more water than your in-ground plants. I water my pots every two days in summer but watch yours and see how long they can go without wilting. When you know that, water just before you know the plant will wilt.

 FERTILISING 
The slower a herb grows, the more flavour it will have, so don't go crazy with the fertiliser.  A monthly, very weak watering with comfrey fertiliser, or an organic liquid fertiliser as a weaker than recommended solution, will keep your herbs in tip-top shape.

 PRUNING 
You'll be using the herbs frequently so that will count as pruning for most of the year. Plants such as mint and oregano love to be cut back about once or twice a year.  Wait till the end of the season when the plant is naturally weaker, and cut it off to soil level. Then fertilise with a weak solution of whatever fertiliser you use and watch it spring back into growth.

It doesn't take much to get a small group of your favourite herbs growing in pots in the backyard or on the window sill. If you put in the time to do that, and to water them, you'll save a lot of money over the course of the year.  When you get into it, work out ways to dry or freeze your leftover herbs so you never have to buy herbs again. That is entirely possible, it just requires the desire and the commitment to do it. I think it's a very worthwhile frugal, self-reliance project.

I promised another post about my trip, so here it is. Before I go on though, I'd like to thank everyone who commented on the previous post and who welcomed me back to the blog. I sometimes think of giving up this blog. Blogging has changed a lot in the past couple of years but as long as I have such loving comments, I'll keep writing. Although we still live very simply and that will remain the focus here, my thoughts often wander to other things that not many people write about, such as ageing and dying. So along the way there will be a sprinkling of those posts and a few opinion pieces too.

First there is the solo drive down to the Blue Mountains. After weeks of anticipation and waiting, THE morning when I get up early, earlier than I usually do, make a thermos of tea, get into my car and drive into the dark-soon-to-be-light. The first part is manoeuvring through local and city traffic to reach country roads before there are too many people and cars around.  I made the trip from home to my first stretch of country road, near Ipswich, in under two hours. Okay, everything's good. Get the music cranked up and let's get this show on the road.  What follows is a lot of loud singing of songs you'd never believe I like, but I filled my lungs with sound and joy and happily drove mile after mile.

There are so many unused railway stations along the way. I think that's such a shame for two reasons: we should have less trucks on the roads and more trains transporting goods around.  And we should be allowing a family to live in these buildings.


There was a lot of food growing in plain sight of the highway. Here I noticed some wild fennel but there were also apple and pear trees, and blackberry brambles.

I spent a week with Tricia out in the world. We ate out, met people, stayed at home and talked, watched movies, knitted and sewed. It was an absolute joy. But as the days passed by, my thoughts returned to home and then after a day or two more, I wanted to be there. There was nothing wrong being where I was, I just wanted to be in my chosen place, doing my work in silence, surrounded by trees.



There is such a wide chasm between being out in the world, where anything can happen, and my normal days, alone and quiet with Hanno, inside our bubble. Having chosen to live as we do and where we do, it's comforting to know that I can make these solo trips and still come home feeing the same way - that this is where I belong. Home has a way of letting you know where you're at your best. I surrender to that feeling and I'm staying put for a while.

Hello everyone!  It seems like months since I've been here with you.  I missed writing my blog but I was so busy doing nothing, I didn't have time to post while I was on the road. And I guess that deep within me I felt I was collecting bits and pieces to share with you later on when I had the chance to think about it all. I really needed a holiday and I've come back tired but reinvigorated and motivated to keep the blog going. 

Tricia and I met in Tamworth. She travelled up on the train from Sydney; I drove down and we met when the train arrived. For those of you unfamiliar with Australian towns, Tamworth is noted for being the country music capital of our nation. There were a few cowboys in ten gallon hats and a huge golden guitar and, of course, lots of country hospitality.

Here is Megan, wrapping my items.

We overnighted in Tamworth and travelled out to meet Megan and Duncan at the Odgers and McClelland Exchange Store in Nundle the next morning. The long and winding road leading to Nundle is an easy drive through rolling hills, passing a few isolated homesteads. I couldn't quite believe it when I set eyes on the store. It was exactly as I'd seen it in photos, an ageing timber building that you could imagine people from a different time shopping at.  We walked inside and there she was - Megan embraced me like we were old friends, I introduced Tricia and we met Duncan, who had been busy packaging up parcels being sent out all over Australia.

I love finding people who live where they want to live and make a living right there in their chosen place. It's not an easy thing to do but Megan and Duncan have built up their customer base by delivering quality goods as reasonable prices. Their family is now reaping the benefits of their decision and all the hard work that followed it.

And then we started looking around. Oh my! What a place. The shop is full of the tools of household production. Cleaning brushes from Germany, enamel cook ware, cast iron pans, beautiful ceramic bowls, soaps, balms, all sorts of washing up kit, tea, tea making paraphernalia, jams, sauces, brooms, buckets and gardening tools. I would like to tell you I admired it all and left, but in fact I took many, things with me. I did take only what I'll use though and everything I have will make my work here easier or more enjoyable.

One of the many reasons I love this shop is that when you're walking around, browsing through the items there, you actually feel like you're in a really old store and you're a part of it. The shop is 125 years old, it's not been renovated, painted or changed. There are no computers, no modern till or cash drawer. My purchases (or a list of my bartering) was written out by hand on a piece of paper. The store is an artefact from bygone days and truly authentic, right down to the squeaky floorboards and hatch to the cellar.

And look at this lovely customer walking around. Yes, it's Tricia. She enjoyed the experience as much as I did.

If you're new to my blog, I'd like you to know that I don't take on the many advertisers who ask me for space with the promise of dollars. I go instead with a select few merchants and primary producers who deal in the things I use in my home. They're good quality, usually hard to find, and they last day in and day out, helping me keep house in the way I choose to. I never recommend a business unless I know I can truthfully say I use their products and I'm happy with them.

Here they are, our littlest loves - Johnathan and Alanna, with Tricia.

The following day we were in Blackheath in the Blue Mountains. I had a wonderful time with my sister and her family.  I saw two of my four nephews, David and Danny, met Alanna, Danny and Laura's daughter, for the first time, and reacquainted myself with little Johnathan. He's growing fast and is a real cutie. While I was driving back I reflected on my visit to Tricia's and realised, yet again, how fortunate I am to have the family I have. To celebrate The Family, yours and mine, I've included this lovely song by the Avett Brothers, which was one of the many I listened to on my trip.

Solo driving is a wonderful way to stir up memories and to discover more about our beautiful land. I'll do another post about the trip soon because I had a lot of time to think as I drove those country roads, and I have more photos to share with you. 

And then I arrived home, drove in our driveway, beeped the horn and Hanno walked out. We hugged and over his shoulder I could see our garden. I was sure we'd lose some plants because of the very hot weather that had come too soon. But there it was - cosmos blowing in the breeze, lush parsley, lettuces and green onions. Rows of bok choy, cucumbers almost bursting out of their skins and enough growth on the cherry tomatoes to sink a ship. It was a wonderful way to be welcomed back home. And the best part was that I was missed and I missed being here. So that's it for me for another year. I doubt I'll travel anywhere so far away again in the coming 12 months and I doubt I'll be in another shop for a long time. I've had enough for the time being and enough is all anyone could want.

I'm off to visit my sister in NSW tomorrow and I'm so looking forward to it. I have most of my bits and pieces packed, later today I'll pack my clothes and toiletries. I feel like I'm setting off on the Queen Mary for an extended trip in a luxury suite (with butler service), but in fact I'll be packing a sandwich and driving myself along the New England Highway to meet up with Tricia in Tamworth. She's travelling up on the train from Sydney. We'll overnight in Tamworth then visit the Odgers and McClennan Exchange Stores in Nundle, about an hour's drive away. Meeting Megan and Duncan and looking through their store will be one of the highlights of the trip for me.

I'm looking forward to meeting Tricia's granddaughter for the first time, seeing Jono again and catching up with my nephews. I have this little sunsuit for Alanna. I bought it from one of Sarndra's friends in Gladstone at her Facebook shop. This lady does beautiful work. I can't fault it and will be very proud to give it to Alanna, even though I didn't make it myself.

Although I don't want to do much while I'm away, I've packed my embroidery cottons and needles to finish off a small sampler, and an embroidery I will make into a cushion cover.  I've also packed a book or two and my camera. I'll be taking photos.

Also packed is my current knitting project - an organic cotton blanket for my soon-to-be third grandchild. It's a big job but it feels good knitting up this beautiful cotton. I think our little baby will be comfy cozy under that blanket.

Okay, only two more things to do before I go - pack my bag and, just before I leave, make a sandwich and drink to have along the way.  I'm making a havarti sandwich on pumpernickel to have with my Thermos of black tea and a bottle of plain sparkling mineral water. That's probably not the standard they serve on the Queen Mary but it's fine travelling food and will keep me happy and alive.

Farewell my friends. I'll post a few photos along the way and be back late next week.  Look after yourself while I'm gone.  xx

It's been a whirlwind week here with a lot happening as we cruise into the end of the year.  Over the weekend, I'll start getting myself ready for a road trip to visit Tricia. She's travelling up to Tamworth on the train, I'm driving down to meet her there and then we'll visit the Odgers and McClelland Exchange Stores in Nundle.  We're really looking forward to that.  But I have a lot of organising to do before I take off, so I'd better get to it.

I hope you have a delightful weekend.  Thanks for your beautiful comments during the week. It gave me a lot to think about.  Till next week, friends!

   x x x ♥︎ x x x

Candle making tutorial