Finding joy in the everyday

My sons make me laugh sometimes. At Christmas I sometimes give them gift ideas for their father or myself - being boys they do need some guidance in this area!   This Christmas I found a lovely necklace (below) that wasn't too expensive ( I am conscious of the price as I don't want them spending large amounts of money on gifts!) that I thought would be good if they were stuck for ideas.  I showed the necklace to my youngest son (who has just started to work in a restarant) and said this would be perfect and I would have T and C stamped (their first initials) on the little tags. He said he thought the necklace was lovely.  I said it was $30, and he replied " Thats far too cheap to spend on you,  mums should get far more expensive gifts" !!!! Butterfly necklace by Flights of Fancy (Madeit.com.au) The next evening my eldest son rang and asked if I could send the link for the necklace.  He also liked it, but to echo his brother, " Mum, that's ...

Summer has arrived, its been quite hot around here (excluding today which is quite cold). Not a lot can be done in hot weather - well, that is what I tell myself!!! For me, summer is a time for reading - and I have a pile to get through. I have j ust started to read Blue Ribbons Bitter Bread by Susanna De Vries about the life of Joice Nankivell Loch, a remarkable Australian woman that I doubt most have ever heard of. Joice Loch was an extraordinary Australian. She had the inspired courage that saved many hundreds of Jews and Poles in World War II, the compassion that made her a self-trained doctor to tens of thousands of refugees, the incredible grit that took her close to death in several theatres of war, and the dedication to truth and justice that shone forth in her own books and a lifetime of astonishing heroism. Born in a cyclone in 1887 on a Queensland sugar plantation, she grew up in grinding poverty in Gippsland and emerged from years of unpaid drudgery by ...

If someone asked me to describe summer by using the smell of food I would have to say beetroot cooking. I have fond memories of my mother cooking the home grown beetroot in the pressure cooker and allowing me to remove the outer skin once cooked and cooled. She would then slice and cover the beetroot in vinegar/water mix and we would eat it all summer.  Yum. My homegrown beetroot is always poor (very small), but fortuntely it is cheap to buy at the farmers market so I often buy a bunch and fill my kitchen with those summer smells. My husband doesn't like beetroot so I get to eat it all myself.   In winter I love to roast the beetroot in alfoil (with a dash of oil) and eat when slightly carmalised.  Did you know ( source - this link contains some interesting recipes) : Beetroot is high in fibre and folate and contains manganese, vitamin C and potassium. The bright purple colour is from antioxidants called betacyanins that may help prevent high blood ...

Lots of parcels have been arriving in the post of late (Christmas presents), but there were 2 that I have been looking forward to receiving.  One of these arrived on Friday - Victorian Farm .  You might remember but I wrote a review about the DVD series of the same name - it was brilliant and I highly recommended it.  Finally I got around to buying the book and I am so pleased as it is full of information, recipes, crafts, hints, gardening, farming etc...  Here are some of the chapters: Background history of the Victorian Age Agriculture - advancements in agriculture during this period all the way through to how to grow crops, keeping pigs, sheep shearing, making fertiliser, veg gardens etc Victorian arts and crafts Victorian cookery and domestic life Victorian clothing Health and hygiene Celebrating the seasons If I was homeschooling, this would be a wonderful resource to have. I am particularly enjoying the gardening and domestic life parts of t...

Art Friday: Toilet roll art by Anastasia Elias French artist Creating miniature worlds in used toilet rolls. An idea for your next art class. Each one of these takes Anastasia about 1 hour.  See how all of these are made plus more! http://chicquero.com/2011/11/29/toilet-paper-rock-and-roll/

As a lover of books, I loved this facade at the Kansas City Public Library - how cool is that and how creative!! Here is a temporary facade of "books"in Cardiff, Wales Taking their inspiration from the Kansas Public Library, an art group in Tyumen, Russia transformed a rundown building in a local school yard into a bookshelf. Brilliant idea. 

"Children have only one childhood.  We can fail in business and oftentimes start over and make good. But if we fail in the teaching and training of our children we never get another chance." Tomorrow's world will be shaped by what we teach our children today. *** A mother's patience it like a tube of toothpaste.  It's never quite gone! (all quotes are from the book "Amish Proverbs" by Suzanne Woods Fisher) Isn't this the sweetest illustration.  I still have my mother, I can't imagine how hard it is when you loose yours. To all those who no longer have a mother to talk to (now in heaven) - in my prayers.