It all happens at Sunrise

Phil had to go back to work this morning, so just after he left, I got up and started my day.  The sun hadn't risen yet, so I pattered around quietly, trying hard not to wake the children.  Sometimes it's just better when they're fast asleep, and out of the way ;D It was already warm at 5:45am, so I knew we were in for a scorcher of a day.  I wandered around and planned what I should do today.  But first, I paused to look at the flowers :D

A Magnolia in a pot near the pool that I have been told numerous times would never, ever flower.  Yet here are the most beautiful scented blossoms.  It is the first time this magnolia had flowered.  I think it was a young bush when I got it.

 Some noisy Galahs in my pine tree in the front yard.  They annoy the gardeners no end, because they chew off the pine nuts, and leave them all over the ground, just like messy children.  They seem to laugh about it too!

 Chewing pine nuts

My Frangipanni Tree beginning to flower.  I pruned this tree back about a month ago, so it wouldn't overhand the carport any more.  Good thing I did, although it provides lovely shade over the pool, and smells delightful when it blossoms.

 I got rid of a lot of excess plastic bags I had stashed away for some unknown reason, and came across these books I got from my parents 10 years ago.  They have been in my 'meaning to read' pile, but I haven't gotten there yet.  Methinks it's time to look through my recipe books!

 The Ices and Cold Desserts books is by Margaret Fulton.  Check out her gorgeous photo!

  

A potato box that Phil made for me a few years ago.  Most of it is done.  I had to lacquer it.  He gave up on the lid.  Maybe someday... ;D

I finished putting away the last of the Christmas decorations this morning (except for the lights...it's way too hot to get those down today!).  This Nativity Set was from Avon about 8-9 years ago.  I think it's adorable.  Apparently it was available to consultants only, but a friend of mine at work was a consultant, I placed an order and she asked if I'd like one of these at consultant price ($10).  I jumped at that!

Now to finish the vacuuming.  There was no point doing it before while the tinsel was still out.  At least, that's my excuse, and I'm sticking to it ;D

Holiday Clean Up

Spring is well and truly over, so I can't call it a 'Spring' clean, but I'm going through my kitchen(s) and tossing out some things I haven't used in a while.  I'm scrubbing drawers and cupboards as I go too.

 I removed the remaining candy canes from the Christmas Tree.  There are fruit jellies attached to those, and they are absolutely scrumptious!  I purchased the children's school supplies already.  Woot, love the fact that it's done.  I decided to finally take the child locks off some drawers and cupboards. The rest were already put in the tool box in case they're ever needed again.  I doubt it though!

 Washing up cutlery storage holders.  I'm amazed how dirty these things get!  They only get clean cutlery put in them!!

A view of my storage containers on top of my downstairs kitchen cupboards.  I have one full of candles and torches, one with picnicware (plastic plates, cups and cutlery), one with rice, one with pasta, sugar and pasta sauce, and one full of sandwich spreads.

I keep some foil containers in sight in case I need to drop a meal off to a friend (after a baby has been born, sickness, operations etc).

I also have my giant electric frypan - thanks to my Dad who I'm sure was hinting that he'd like a million grandchildren.  It certainly comes in handy for pikelets and hamburger patties!  I have my indoor grill too that always sets off the fire alarm  :D

Garden Pickings, garden visitors and a sunburnt Hubby

Time is just flying by faster and faster, I tell you!  We've been having some fun here in the garden, and visiting family.  I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas, and a fantastic New Year Celebration!

One 'normal' zucchini and one variegated one that my daughter was very impressed with.

 Purple King Beans fresh from the garden.

 Miss Smokey escaped for 2 mins, and rather than head for the garden and demolishing the carrots, she decided to dig a very deep burrow.  She must have worn herself out digging that hole, because she wasn't as difficult to catch as she normally is! ;D

 

 My solution to keeping the sparrows away from my lettuce, Bok Choy and rocket - a bird cage I rescued in a Council Clean up.  It has certainly come in handy!  I use it on occasions if I need to isolate a bunny for medical treatment.  Thankfully that doesn't happen often.

 A Blue Tongue Lizard ventured into our garden last week.  I hope it sticks around. It is a very welcome sight here!

 The sun about to rise in Port Macquarie.  This was at 5:40am, 4 mins until the sun was scheduled to rise.

 And there's the sun, just peeping behind the clouds.  We could see the remains of Tropical Cyclone Grant, but I'll put that in another post.

 My Parents-In-Law's visitor - a male Bluey looking for their resident female.  He was munching on lettuce my Mother-in-Law was putting in front of him.  He was a really fat, healthy looking lizard who wasn't afraid of us at all.  He probably would have eaten out of our hand.  We wondered if he was the tomato eating culprit.  Two days later we found out that he was :D

A Silly Billy who decided not to take his rash vest to the beach the morning of our departure from Port Macquarie, despite me telling him I would get it for him and it would take 2 minutes "But we're not swimming, we're just going to dig in the sand".  Yeah right, how can you just dig in the sand when you have two children already in their swimmers and sunscreen applied ;D  He has been a very sore and sorry husband since we got back from Port.

Barney and Salt - Bonded Bunnies

 Barney (a Chinchilla - the grey coloured bunny) is currently my oldest rabbit.  He is about 6 or 7 years old now.  We rescued him from someone my husband knew.  They bought Barney for their 6 year old daughter, but didn't know how to look after a bunny very well, and got mad when he urinated on their couch.  I highly doubt they put out a litter tray for him though, or spent the time needed to train him.  Bunnies are actually easier to train than cats, but that's for another post. To cut a long story short, rather than hear that this poor bunny was going to be put down, my husband suggested that perhaps this bunny should live with us.  I only had Charcoal at the time, and Barney, being definitely male, wouldn't be a problem.

So to our home came Barney. I could tell straight away that he had been through a tough time.  He was very skittish and not very trusting.  He still isn't very comfortable around people, but I am very patient with him, and he will tolerate pats on his nose and gentle cheek rubs.  He has never bitten me or the children, which is fantastic for a bunny who had trust issues.

He lived with Charcoal for a while, but those two didn't really bond.  Charcoal was too much of a people bunny, and Barney didn't know what to make of this funny lop eared rabbit who thought he was a person.

Two years ago we rescued/adopted Salt and his sister Pepper.  Salt (a Himalayan looking Havana) is such a funny character.  He is timid, but placid and loves his cheeks rubbed.  He will hop away, then realise he does actually want to be patted.  He and Barney bonded instantly.  They definitely call them 'snuggle bunnies' for a reason.  There is just something about bonded bunnies that is gorgeous.  They look after each other, they share, they are gentle with each other, they snuggle up to each other, they preen each other, and they really don't like being separated from each other - they pine.  Of course, they mate each other too.  *Gross!*  Barney is the dominant male in this pair.

Salt is very vocal.  He likes to chatter away to me in his little bunny whimpers to let me know he is happy, that he likes what he is eating, that he wants to be patted, that he is curious why I am patting Storm in the hutch below and not him, and that he needs some more water in his water bottle. 

He is a sook as far as bunnies go (pretty normal for male bunnies though!), but he is well behaved.  I had to bring him inside to treat him for a mild eye infection, and he decided to sit on his towel and not move for an hour.  Any other bunny would have been hopping all over the house.  He was curious, but he is a fast learner. A stamp or two of my feet when he started to wander, and he was back in his spot as quick as a flash.  He got flat leaf parsley as a reward :D

Barney is just starting to show signs of slowing down.  He is more lethargic and doesn't eat as much as he used to.  He is very happy though, and who knows how much longer he'll be around for.  He will continue to be loved just as all my other 'bunny children' are.

Both these bunnies were moved out of the wooden hutch they were in, and back into a metal hutch, as they're both chewers.  Two destructive boy bunnies who weren't content to chew through other things I provided for them (like fruit tree branches, cardboard boxes, cardboard rolls, telephone books etc). 

Barney managed to chew his way through into Storm's hutch, and somehow bit Storm's mouth, resulting in a visit to the Vet because it wasn't healing very well, and causing permanent damage.  Poor Storm has lost feeling on one side of his mouth now, but he seems to be okay.

*Sigh*...bunnies!  They're just like naughty children, aren't they!! ;D

Week 51 of the 2011 Food Storage Challenge

Image from lunchboxmagazine.com

I can count, really I can, but this challenge is a 51 week challenge, so that you can have a week off post Christmas to recover ;D  So this is the last post for the 2011 Food Storage Challenge!

It has been quite a journey, but I hope as you have followed along, that you have learned what your family will eat, what you can store and how to better prepare your family in an emergency situation, should one arise.

$10 Plan
Use the remaining money and purchase as much spaghetti sauce as you can.

$20 Plan
Use the remaining money and purchase as much spaghetti sauce as you can.

All that pasta we stored needs something else to go with it.  You can store plain tomato sauce, or ones with veggies or herbs already included.  The choice is yours!

I will do one last post on this challenge, and that will be an overview of all the weeks in one document.

Don't forget to "Store what you eat, and eat what you store".

Just some Lego Holiday Fun

So what exactly do I spend my time doing in the school holidays?

Well, this...

 Fabuland from the early 1980's

 For injured Lego people...

(like the ones that get decapitated, or become legless, or armless...)

 A 1980's Italian Restaurant

 Star Wars - getting right into it.  Storm Troopers - v - Ewoks in full swing

 A very old doctor's surgery.  She doesn't even have a face anymore!

 City Cleaning Business.  So big it doesn't even fit on the Lego board streets!

 The brand new Airport.  The plane is MASSIVE, I tell you!  It needs about 4 Lego boards just to fit it on.  I'm going to have to track down some plain grey boards, if they still make them.

 A close-up of the airport.  My son's favourite (thanks Pok!)

My daughter's favourite Lego.  Part of the Belleville range complete with Mama dog, and Puppy dog.  Spongebob's house in the background. 

 And this is what happens when my husband is set loose on Lego City.  He created a plane crash complete with very injured people.  He called in ambulances, the Police and fire trucks and...council work crews?  Nice one Phil!

I can't even fit it all into the picture.  Did you have any of these when you were growing up?  Feel free to share your Lego experience!

I have to add that these Lego creations were a combination of ones that my husband and his family had when they were growing up, and ones my Dad just  brought up so that we could 'look after' them.  Also ones that my children (and I) have been given as presents.  I'm sure that Santa is bringing more on Christmas Day.  I know I for one have a Hillside House sitting all wrapped up under the Christmas Tree *grins*

Looking for the Rainbows wherever you go...

 On Monday night this week, my daughter excitedly pointed out a gorgeous double rainbow forming in the sky.  It was absolutely beautiful.  We all rushed outside in the rain to see the rainbow before it disappeared.  They don't last long.


This picture isn't the double rainbow we saw, it was one that I had taken earlier in the year.  They are lovely, aren't they!

 We have a gingerbread decorating tradition in our family.  On the first Monday night of December, we invite friends around to have a Christmas dinner with us, and decorate Gingerbread Men.  This was taken about this time last year when my Brother-in Law and Sister-in-Law visited from Japan.  We all had a great time 'taste testing' the lollies, and decorating the gingerbread men.

 Contented?

 Did you know no matter what colour a bunny's fur is, they always have green feet?  Even my two day old bunnies seemed to have green feet.  It's a funny kind of odd.  Such big feet too! :D  I just adore my cuddly Storm.

Hello neighbours!