The Garden and its produce

Cucumber When we first arrived we went and bought cucumber plants, basil, oregano. Dad already had planted corn, zucchini, tomatoes. The cucumbers are already producing and are yummy. The basil shot off like a rocket. Zucchini and tomatoes aplenty everyday. Tilly picks from the garden and eats something off it everyday. So what to do with all the basil? Steve and I visited my favourite Italian Deli Vincenzo's and bread was made and baked while we had a coffee. It came back to us hot and smelling delightful. So inspired was I that after we brought the bread back home I sent Steve off with a bucket to collect the basil and I made pesto. Which was DE-Vine. Later that evening I made pasta with crispy bacon, roast tomatoes, rocket and a creamy pesto sauce. Yummo....

A little of Evie.

Farmyard fun...

Early morning

I was awake at 4 this morning. Evie was talking away, all ready for the day. Needless to say, I was not ready for the day. I eventually managed to get her back to sleep, only to be greeted with the chorus of a flock of kookaburra's outside my window and not very far away. And the old hymn 'This is my Father's world' immediately popped into my head. This is my Father's world. And to my listening ears, All nature sings and round me rings, The music of the spheres. This is my Father's world. I rest me in the thought, Of rocks and trees, and skies and seas, His hand the wonders wrought. This is my Father's world. The birds their carols raise. The morning light, the lily white, Declare their makers praise. This is my Father's world. He shines in all that's fair. In the rustling grass I hear Him pass, He speaks to me everywhere. It is so lovely and peaceful out here. Tilly is completely in her element amongst the garden and the wildlife, and the not so wild life. We are so lucky to be able to come home and enjoy this time, especially in the summer time. She is so at one with nature and notices even the tiniest little things. I've really noticed a difference in this trip than the previous trips, as she gets older and appreciates more of the world around her. Random lizard sightings, bugs and bettles, ring tailed possums in the shed, the cows in the paddock, the big bright yellow full moon, the twinkling stars, even the hot sun. She loathed the hot burning sun, getting angry at it one day when we were driving in the car. I talked with her about the purpose of the sun, it's perfect part in God's creation. 'Oh yes Mummy!! I love the sun!!' (Of course we have to allow for a little drama every now and then, Tills is quite dramatic at times.) But the thing that really has her enchanted is the garden here. 'Oh, isn't it just beautiful?' she'll say. She picks flowers every day. It is truly a blessing to have such a home to come back to for our special holidays.

Great times with the best cousins ever!!

Round up of recent events.

We arrived in Australia on Boxing Day in order to be here in time for the family reunion on my Dad's side. Pop would have been 100 years old on December 29 and a family reunion was arranged to celebrate the fact. And in recent months my eldest brother has searched the archives and come up with Pop's history, he was an orphan and noone knew much of anything about where he came from. As a lot of stories of orphans go in those days, it was a sad story. Especially as he had family living not that far from him, a huge family no less. And he knew none of them.... However he made his own happy family, eight children - Dad the sixth of them - and a beautiful loving wife, my Nanna. His name was actually his mother's. So there you go, we could have been something different all together! So back to the reunion. Some photos? My lovely mum and dad. Evie doesn't look real happy here? Truth be told the photos of this could go on forever as we are a large family. Eight siblings who in turn produced thirty cousins. So I'll just keep it to these two photos. A few were held up by the floods and couldn't make it, including two of Dad's sisters and a couple of cousins and their families. And Dad's three eldest siblings are no longer with us. So we weren't as big as we would normally have been. But it was a good night none the less. This Sunday we will attend another reunion. A meeting with all the family that noone knew we had! So, that's nice I think. And the day before all of this we celebrated Christmas with all of us together for the first time in I don't know how long. This was also Evie's first entry into Australia and thus first meeting with uncles, aunts and cousins. Tilly and her beloved cousins who provide a lot of entertainment. Missing the two littlest who are below.