Weekending

:: Canoeing, canoeing, canoeing – I opted out this time because of my hip but the boys were in and out of the water for 3 hours (there was lots of adventuring to be had on the shores)

:: I sat watching the boys, listening to the water, chatting with other canoers/kayakers and enjoying the Spring Edition of Peppermint Magazine. Worth buying just for the beautiful cover if you ask me :-)

:: Making Blueberry Cream Cheese Icecream. It’s delicious…the recipe says to mix the blueberries through the icecream at the last stage but we decided to add frozen ones when serving.

Lazy Sunday Afternoon

After a busy last week of the school holidays we enjoyed the last day by entertaining extended family for lunch. And who could have asked for a more beautiful day!! We don’t get to catch up with Mr B’s brother and SIL as much as we’d like so we make the most of it when we can.

With 3 gluten free people coming, I cooked up my gluten free go to meal. A summer harvest frittata recipe courtesy of Jude Blereau. This looks and smells divine (I love the smell of basil) and makes use of any seasonal vegies you can find.

And then what to cook for dessert? I turned to Donna Hay for inspiration for this gorgeous dessert – apple slice. I changed it to a pear slice, and made a gluten free and gluten version. All I can say is yum…I’ve never used Donna Hay recipes before but this did not disappoint.

It’s back into Term 2 tomorrow and hopefully this nice weather will last just a little bit longer. I don’t mind winter (who doesn’t like to snuggle and cocoon at home) but I’m not ready just yet for the arrival of constant cold and rain.

I’ve spent the last week thinking of ideas for kindy lunches (the pear slice was a trial run for a baked goodie), placing an order with Yalca fruit trees for some more fruit trees for our yard and booking in for some crochet classes. I’m not as comfortable crocheting as knitting and cant wait to sit with someone IRL to ask all my questions :-)

Lazy Sundays

Artwork by Art Harrison

Planted

- mixed lettuce, baby spinach, roma tomatoes

- yet another round of Lebanese cucumbers (that’s 12 seedlings that have been eaten so far by snails / slugs…grrrr)

Cooked

- Banana & Date Muesli Slice

- Grilled fish & roasted vegetable salad

- and we started a bake-a-thon preparing for a long week ahead – a few loaves of bread, 2 batches of muffins and gallons of chicken stock

Reading

- The Creative Family by Amanda Blake Soule

Project

- sewing, sewing, sewing…making a few carry bags and racing madly to finish the backing on Little B’s advent calendar.

Lazy Sundays

Artwork by Art Harrison

Planted

- pumpkin, zucchini, sunflowers

Cooked

- Broccoli and leek soup with rice

- Cupcakes with purple icing (courtesy of red cabbage leaves)

Reading

- Home love: 100 inspiring ideas for creating beautiful rooms by Megan Morton

Project

- racing out in between rain showers to plant my new seedlings (thanks Belinda :-)

- having lunch with my brother for his birthday (hence the cupcakes)

Lazy Sundays

Planted

- Black Beauty eggplant, Green Sprouting Calabrese broccoli, Burnley Sure Crop tomatoes

Cooked

- Lemon cordial

- Roast Vegetable Tart

- Chocolate Pudding (yummmmm!!)

Reading

- The Bonesetter’s Daughter by Amy Tan

Project

- Lazy days of…

Soccer

 Gardening

Scooters &

 Growing veggies

Lazy Sundays

Artwork by Art Harrison

Planted

- parsnips & carrots

Cooked

- plaited rolls

- spinach & chicken dumpling soup

- butterscotch pear pudding

Reading

- The Passage by Justin Cronin

Project

- digging around in Granny B’s fabric stash for ideas, lots of weeding and experimenting in the kitchen.

Lazy Sundays

Artwork by Art Harrison

Sowed

- more pak choy and lettuce

Cooked

- I was banned from the kitchen by Little B & Granny B for most of the day due to secret shenanigans in preparation for my birthday later this week :-)

- Veggie shasliks & Quinoa Salad

Reading

- Knitting tips by Debbie Bliss

Project

- well, banned from the kitchen, I spent the day mooching around the garden, knitting and reading a good book on the back porch enjoying the sunshine. Followed by a game of soccer on the grass with Little B.

Lazy Sundays

Artwork by Art Harrison

Germinated

- pak choy and lettuce mix

Cooked

- My first loaf of spelt bread!!

- Chicken Noodles

- Chicken Stock

Knitting

- yay I’ve finished the back of my jumper. AND I’ve started on the front :-)

Reading

- The Winter of Our Disconnect: How three totally wired teenagers (and a mother who slept with her iPhone) pulled the plug on their technology and lived to tell the tale by Susan Maushart

Project

- Horsing around with Mr B’s vintage lambretta

Plus a little gardening of course – who could resist in this sunshine – lots of weeding and we layered up our new veggie beds with compost, manure and soil.

Lazy Sundays

Artwork by Art Harrison

Germinated

- Totem Cherry Tomatoes, Burnley Sure Crop tomatoes, Yellow Oxheart tomatoes

Cooked

- Chicken & Shiitake mushroom Noodle Soup

- Pear Jam

- Gingerbread Cookies

Reading

- The Amtrak Wars, Vol. 2: First Family

Project

- so what to do when Mr B is away, and I have spent the last few days being used as a mobile doona and tissue by a sick Little B? Why get sick myself of course :-)

Lot’s of this

Some chicken & shiitake mushroom noodle soup

Some cuddles

Lazy Sundays

Artwork by Art Harrison

Seeds ordered

- Scarlet runner beans, Blue Lake Bush Beans, Muncher Lebanese Cucumbers, Greenfeast & Massey Gem Peas

Cooked

- Cupcakes, cupcakes everywhere

- Tuna Spelt Spaghetti with Goats Cheese

Reading

- Gwenhwyfar: The white spirit by Mercedes Lackey

Project

- New veggie beds – hooray :-)

- Getting ready for a friends birthday

- Knitting an egg and lettuce sandwich

Lazy Sundays

Artwork by Art Harrison

Cooked

- Chicken Noodle Soup

- Plaited rolls

- Pear Crumble

Listening to

- I Am Sam soundtrack

Reading

- The other half lives by Sophie Hannah

Project

- We started on our back deck area renovation. Up went all the fence extensions to block out our neighbour who is too close for comfort.

- Then we planted a few succulents as we begin our new garden bed along the same fence line. It's a sort of desolate area that needs cheering up - next stop some salvias.

Lazy Sundays

Artwork by Art Harrison

Cooked
- Veggie burgers with roast veggies
- Baked Rice Pudding
- Gingerbread Cookies (hammers, planes & dinosaurs)


Reading
- The Swimming Pool by Holly LeCraw

Project
- How to spend a lazy sunday?

Crocheting a beanie

Making some bread

A little car chasing, sorry racing

Checking out some rogue veggies that have sprouted in the veggie patch

Lazy Sundays

Artwork by Art Harrison

Garden Preparation

- have made a bulk order of seedlings from our local CSA, these beautiful seedlings are being grown locally so are more suitable to our climate (thanks Belinda :-)

Cooked

- Banana Spelt Muffins 
- Grilled Flathead, Roast Vegies and Lentil Salad
- Slow Cooker Yoghurt

Reading

- Homemade by Readers Digest (lots of interesting recipes that I can adapt for Little B)

Project

- we have spent the whole day out in the garden. Sprayed our peach, nectarine and pear trees for leaf curl (we lost all our baby peaches to this last year).

- Digging over the summer beds, ready for spring planting. Just need some more cow & chicken poo :-)

 
- Digging out some space for new veggie beds at Granny B’s (goodbye annoying bushes).

Granny B trying to rip out the roots