In the kitchen

Today I felt better than I have in a couple of weeks. I had sinus and ear pain which is the reason I’ve not been sleeping.

not sleeping means no energy. So I’ve only done the minimum, except when I had the girls. I don’t mind. Playing and interacting with them isn’t a chore

while watching reels on Facebook I came across a couple of recipes

I knew I had all the ingredients and decided well I’ll make that

first one was called apple surprise

cut up apples and place in oven proof pan cover with condensed milk

then you make a cake like batter and pour on top

I put brown paper in first, which the lady in the reel didn’t do my bottom was soggy instead of nicely browned

next time I’ll just grease the pan well and see how I go

it still tastes good and is a perfect dessert and morning tea for the boys

dinner. Hubby had already taken some out. Sausage is home grown, it looks greasy in the picture but it really wasn’t

lastly I made herb and cheese bread I actually started making this first. Obviously it had to rise and then a second rise. Because of all that it was the last thing to cook in the oven

it’s still cooling so we haven’t tasted any yet. It smells good so I’m hoping it tastes just as good as the smell

and lastly, we have a long weekend coming at the end of the week.

we will be going to the farm. We also have some friends coming to spend the weekend with us.

hubby has parked the van out front so I can pack it as I think of something that I need to take.

even so. I bet I forget something. In this case it doesn’t really matter as the town is only ten minutes away.

not like the old days of us camping out in the middle of nowhere. Us oldies need to be near doctors and hospitals these days

Mixed bag

No not a mixed bag of lollies, sweets.

as usual our lovely city, Melbourne, has lived up to its reputation of having four seasons in one day

woke to strong winds. Seriously strong it literally howling

not sure if you can see just how strong it was. But this poor buddleja was really moving

it’s was very cold so the fire was filled with logs and got it burning hard to heat up the house.

I had to drive to the post office and pharmacy to pick up. I couldn’t put off the pharmacy as I only had two tablets left.

i was fighting the anxiety the whole time I was on the road.

after getting back home, the weather changed. Although still windy we had sunshine. With that sun coming in through the windows it was actually getting very warm in here.

I let the fire go out. Unfortunately it changed again. The sun left it got dark and the wind picked up again.

there was nothing else to do. I re lit the fire. It’s just slowly taking hold.

honestly. The weather doesn’t know if it’s Arthur or Martha today

Done done done

If your involved with children and pre teens you will know that’s part of a song from K-pop demon hunters it’s not as scary as it sounds

we have watch that movie four times since Friday morning

those songs are now stuck in my head

Saturday the girls waited for the arrival of Ana. They were very excited

Ana was dropped off by mummy, daddy, and little Georgia

having all four girls here for the first time, we had to get a photo

all my girls. The oldest holding the youngest

after a short visit, and lots of grandma cuddles with Georgia, the family left for home. Minus one

I got a heap of photos printed from my phone, via an app.

they arrived this week and they’re all in here. The girls had fun looking at them all. While they were looking at all of them Ana exclaimed “ that’s my sister Georgia “

then they were remembering when those photos were taken. Like last Christmas

I think actually seeing physical photos they can hold and study was a new and exciting experience for them. It’s not something that happens much these days

I had promised them some painting time I purchased some canvases for them to use I loved not only watching them create art, but also listening to their conversations

chatting away about what they were painting what colours they wanted to use, and nicely sharing all the paints

this is melody’s masterpiece

Breanna painted a rainbow unicorn she wanted to draw it first, then painted it

Ana kept at it the longest

she was mixing colours and painting blocks of colours

like a true artist, she kept wanting to just add one more thing or “ fix” that bit

eventually we had to say “ I think it’s done now”

I had to scrub paint off her and put her and Brianna’s clothes to soak

after soaking overnight I washed them with a load of my clothes and pretty much it all washed out. Just a few little bits on Brianna’s top

All three girls were in bed and fast asleep by eight thirty

this morning we had our choice of cereal. All three had different ones

toast and hot chocolate

by mid morning they were hungry again. So a huge fruit platter was devoured

then they wanted pop corn.

they watched some television and played until Ana’s daddy came to take her home. Around 2.30. I think Ana was ready to go home and rest

we then got the girls in the car and took them home

we are now sitting, watching adult television, landline. And resting

it sounds so quiet now.

it was a great first time having all sleep over and overall it was drama free

I think we will have a group sleep over again some weekend soon

before they grow up and would rather go to their friends.

Girls girls girls

No. Not the movie. But my girls. Friday began as always with Ana

there was crafting

this new” better” app won’t put pics in the correct order grrrr

so after breakfast we went grocery shopping as the big girls were coming here after school to stay for two nights

mummy and daddy have their 11th wedding anniversary and tonight a 21st to go too

we didn’t tell Ana and her dad took her home before the girls arrived. If she knew they were coming or actually had arrived before she left you wouldn’t be able to get her to leave at all

she couldn’t stay as she has a doctors appointment and today a birthday party to go too. She will be here after that

Ana having fruit loops without milk just like her cousin Brianna they don’t have milk and they have never had cereal together so obviously the weird is genetic lol

i had purchased some home made icey pole moulds. I used this mixed fruit juice

for a healthy summer treat

I poured the juice and Ana added the stick handle in

they’re now in the freezer and very set. We just need hot weather to arrive

once Ana left I had just enough time to enjoy a coffee and a little rest before the second shift arrived

the girls were dropped off before dinner I knew they would be I got some meatballs to cook in the air frier and some little hotdog sausages

I gave the the choice and they wanted both

the hotdogs were ready first they only need to be cooked until the water boils then taken out before they split

ten meatballs were longer and with some fruit and ice cream for dessert, they were well fed

we watched demon hunters and tangled before they brushed their teeth and went to bed they fell asleep almost instantly

today they were hobbits I gave them cereal, Brianna had it without milk then when grandpa got up an hour later he cooked them bacon and eggs

they did start crafting. Melody has made her parents an anniversary card, but grandpa had to go feed the stock. He asked if they wanted to come help

of course they did.

this time Melody drove the tractor and Brianna stayed close to grandpa

Brianna has asked twice when is Ana coming. I told her after lunch.

being outside will help pass the time until Ana gets here

so now your up to date

Act three will start and I’ll have three little girls here for the night.

obviously when Ana gets dropped off. Baby Georgia will be here too.

I hope to take the first photo of the four of them together life in the nest is hectic but of so good.

stay tuned for the next chapter

Warnings

For the last few days we have been getting severe weather warnings.

these screen shots are from the BOM (bureau of meteorology Australia)

earlier wind alerts called the winds “ cyclonic”

I don’t ever remember that word being used for our weather.

right now the sun is out and we have slightly strong winds. Nothing out of the ordinary. Last night we had lots of rain.

I woke up and there were puddles everywhere. It was even wet under our verandas, which means the wings were making the rain come in horizontally.

thunderstorms are predicted for this afternoon and evening.

I’ll prepare by having candles ready. All electronics charged and back up battery packs fully charged

I’m hoping that if I’m prepared it won’t happen.

if your in the warning zones pack everything outside, that can become airborne, away. Get organised and stay safe.

Class of 85

a few months ago on of our classmates reminded us that it was now forty years since we graduated.

I was not ready to hear that!

but the truth is the truth. So he organised a night at a pub near where our old school was and we all spread the word

so many turned out and we all had a great time. Reminiscing about those days. Trying to remember everyone in the class photo and talking about our lives now.

even though most of us are close to retirement age, it really did feel like it was only yesterday that we last saw one another.

unfortunately not everyone was able to attend. But for those of us who did it was a magical night that transported us back into the past.

A big thank you to Andrew for organising it all.

the photo you see was taken with all who were there. Two photos were taken. One of us being nice and one of us being silly.

i chose the silly one because honestly it kind of suited us all better

Another week

Oh my the weeks are flying by fast

I’m sure it was the weekend yesterday and it’s now the end of the week!

because the days just flew by I hadn’t shopped for fruits and snacks

Ana wanted to have “bricks “ for her breakfast

I didn’t have any in the house at all

we struck a deal she would have toast with raspberry jam, and then we would go to the supermarket

after over 35 years we finally got a small shopping centre, with a supermarket in the next street over

we headed off on our shopping adventure

she’s such a good girl she is happy to sit in the trolley and chat while I push her around the isles

we did a fairly substantial shop making sure to get the “bricks “

Ana also requested the fruit she wanted

once home, grandma cut up the fruit and served it as a platter

as you can see, she’s using the demon hunters blanket to sit on for her picnic

once again Ana wanted to make some cookies

I had all the ingredients for the 100 cookies recipe

apparently these are not “ real “ cookies because we didn’t cut them out with the fancy cookie cutters

I assured her that these were “ real “ cookies and promised that they would taste good

she did help make the dough into small balls and placed them on the trays

we then made the centre indent and added jam

after one and a half trays she got bored and grandma finished the rest on her own

once cooked and cooled we tried one and she was very happy with the way they tasted

it got a thumbs up from her

she also asked for a second one

A dozen were packed into a container for her to take home

once again we had an abundance of eggs

this two tiered egg storer was almost full.

one pie was cut and put into another container for Ana to take home

they could have the pie for dinner and cookies for dessert

we went out back to check on the chickens, sheep and alpacas

they all seemed to be happy

grandpa went to the farm yesterday and won’t be back until tomorrow. As I don’t like to go out at night when I’m home alone I didn’t let the chickens out to roam. The have plenty of room in the coop. As long as they have food and water they’re happy

the rest of the afternoon was spent crafting.

it was a nice way to just sit and enjoy a nice rest.

well it was for grandma lol

daddy soon arrived to pick Ana up and take her home.

grandma had some pie for her dinner. Has cleaned the kitchen and will now sit, watch television, and hopefully finish the last sleeve on her jumper