Oranges in Springtime ..... And a little Marmalade

  

I finally picked the oranges!  What a harvest it was.

Beautiful sweet, juicy oranges.  Right at my back door.

I doubled the recipe which called for 1kg of oranges.  Hmmm, that took care of three of these large beauties!

The need for four cups of orange juice took care of a lot as well.

Sixteen beautiful bottles of orange marmalade.

I also boiled some of the oranges and pureed them ready for the freezer for future use to make Orange and Almond Cakes.  Five of them!  

What a wonderful morning of finally enjoying my little home.  I just love to create and I think that making jam can safely come into the category of creating. 

To grow produce and use it is a most satisfying feeling.  I just love it.

Not only to be able to use my own produce in my own home, but to be able to share it with family and friends is truly something that I enjoy.

This part of my life is certainly nothing new to me.  I have lived my whole life watching the women of my family make and bake not only for our immediate family but to share with the community in which we live.  Whether it was our immediate family, our neighbours or our extended community in which we lived.

I feel truly blessed to have been part of this wonderful experience of learning from my Mother and my Grandmothers. The gift of giving of ourselves however large or small the gift, whether it is a physical gift or just a thought, to be able to be a blessing to others is truly something wonderful we can share.

I will hopefully continue to share myself with others through my creating. 

With Spring finally here comes the promise of a new crop of beautiful oranges.

My garden smells delightful!

Christmas 2014

It's here.  Christmas 2014. Goodness I really don't know how.  Exhausted as usual.  

So finally a little bit of Christmas arrived in my home. Better late than never.

Wishing everyone a lovely day. Happy Christmas.  

Hobart....

Just spent a lovely week in Tasmania with my beautiful girl.  This week was our special celebration for finishing school.

We did a wonderful day trip to Bruny Island and sampled some beautiful food the island has to offer. The Day Tour group we used was great with a really good guide, Tim, who provided us with a lovely day out.

We enjoyed a really lovely day driving up through the middle of Tasmania and down along the east coast. So nice to wander in towns without any time constraints. Beautiful little antique shops and lots of bits and pieces to see, ducks to feed and coffee to drink.  

The boats on the harbour are just beautiful. There were two different cruise ships in during our time there as well.  Fish and chips by the sea. Lovely. 

A day at the Salamanca Markets was most enjoyable. We also found a really lovely farmers market as well. Truly delightful. 

The historic buildings and bridges in Tasmania are just wonderful. I love wandering the streets just looking at the buildings. We stayed in a delightful cottage built in 1890. A lovely little kitchen and lounge, a claw foot bath and a steep staircase to the delightful bedrooms in the attic. 

The Royal Botanic Gardens in Hobart are just beautiful. Filled with beautiful plants. I particularly enjoyed the roses and the beautiful border plantings. The vegetable patch was gorgeous. 

I think one of the loveliest places we visited though was Providore in Hobart. What an amazing store concept. Beautiful coffee, food and gifts all in an amazing setting.  

Absolutely love Tasmania and hope to visit again soon. 

Oh My......

Can life get any busier or more crazy.  I'm not sure, but I am sure trying hard to keep up here.

 

It's been so long since I posted that I doubt anyone is still in my little corner of the blogging world.

 

 

 

January my baby girl begin her final year at high school. And what a year it is so far.  So proud of her and her wonderful achievements so far.

 

February saw a beautiful wedding in our family.  Mitchell and Amie had a beautiful day which I'm sure we will all hold dearly in our hearts forever.  Everything was just stunning.

 

Cameron and Alexandra were also in the wedding party.  So proud of all of them. 

February also saw Cameron move from Darwin to Melbourne - what an achievement by 23 years old - he has a lovely little apartment on the main tram line into the city - he loves it and so do I!!!!

I've been fortunate to have two trips down already - what a lovely city.  So grateful for a bed to sleep in when I visit - we also visited for the Easter weekend.  It was just wonderful.

 

So much to see and do. 

 

 

A beautiful drive into the Macedon Ranges was also a lovely Easter Monday outing.  I can't wait to see more of the beautiful towns there.

So, this year is not only flying by but is extremely busy as well. 

A constant flow of activities, all of which are not really mine, but others.  A busy shop continues to fill the days as well.  I just look forward to moments in the garden and moments where I can just enjoy a little time enjoying a cup of tea and a little magazine reading.  I am truly easily pleased!

Iffley, Goomburra

 

Fifty years ago, my Nana and Pop left this home and took their family to a different place.  A place with further opportunities for farming.  A place that was my home.  A place that has allowed my family to be successful in their farming venture.

 

I have spoken about this home before here.  I had never visited this home.  The home of my family for generations before.  I have heard of it for the whole of my life and have never quite fathomed how my Nana left it.  What a sacrifice of love and devotion to her family.

 

 

 

A little while ago, the  family who live here were in contact with my Dad.  They were interested in the history of this home and of the people who have lived there before them.

 

We were invited to visit.  I was so thrilled.

 

And so, we visited.

 

Tears flow now as I remember this day.  It was wonderful.  To see my Dad walk the farm and tell us the stories.  Some of it I had heard many times in my life.  Some of it new.  All of it wonderful.

 

My Dad was brought home to this place as a baby in January 1942.  My Nana had moved here as a bride in 1940.  My Pop lived here his life with his parents.

 

This is our family home. 

 

Not that where we have been for the past fifty years is not, it is in the original history of our family arriving to Australia and taking up this land in the Goomburra Valley that holds my attention and my heart.

 

 

We strode accross these paddocks and saw where the animals had been kept and the buildings that had housed them.  Many of them built by Pop and Dad.  Many of them older than that.

 

 

The Wisteria that I have been told of over the years, magnificent in its stature, growing on the arbour built by our family.

 

Oh to see it in the Spring - I may have to take a little trip!

 

 

 

 

 

Stories of a young man helping his father build a barn with timber cut from the farm and allowed to develop in age to be used and of the barn up the road which is identical built to help a family member.

 

 

 

 

Yards and fences built by the hand of my Pop. 

 

I wanted to stay forever.

 

The method the same as the one my Dad used on the fence around my vegetable garden.

 

 

Eva and Mike so kindly invited us into their home.  I could almost not contain myself.  I felt tears slipping down my cheek constantly as I remembered my Nana and the wonderful woman that she was.

 

We went from room to room and Dad told me where each precious piece of furniture that I own had once been in that beautiful home. 

 

I imagined the card afternoons, the birthday parties and the dinner parties.  All in a different era when the ladies arrived and left their hats and gloves on Nan's bed until home time.

 

 

These handles all original to the house, I couldn't help but touch and remember those who have lived here and are no longer with us.  Worn with time but beautiful forever

 

Iffley, a moment in time etched in my heart forever.

 

 

For the love of Vintage.....

 

I've been on the hunt again.  A little spare time on my way home and I find myself finding my favourite vintage treasure shops.

 

I have had to put my love of old and interesting bits and bobs on hold while our budget was so tight.  Thankfully, we are blessed with a little more in our budget through our newest work venture.

 

 

 

This little grouping is particularly lovely.  Two beautiful handworked pillow cases and a wonderful small table cloth.

 

I love to wonder at those whose hands have worked these beautiful items.  How does anyone part with them.

 

 

 Stunning hand crochet edging and tiny, weeny stitches.  So much love and thought. 

 

 

 

My fascination with hand towels continues - I must count them one day - or maybe not!!

 

I was on a mission for more - the ones above have been saved, too precious to cut up - only the raggy ones get cut and made into something else.

 

Old linens are a little hard to find where I live and so I continue to look and hope.

 

I did find some lovely ones in a condition not really worth saving and have had a lovely time creating once more. 

 

It was wonderful to be in my sewing room and just creating.  Yes, some late nights but oh so worth it.  You see, I am taking part in a market in a couple of weeks.  We are doing a joint stall with our bakery.  Beautiful Christmas food - cakes and puddings, white Christmas, rum balls, apricot balls and of course we will do some macarons. 

 

 

 

Three years between markets for Eleanor and Ruby.  I am quite looking forward to it.  However, the unknown side is a little daunting - maybe it will all come home with me!!

 

 

 

 Bracelets made with buttons made with vintage stitching.

 

 

Vintage stitched magnets.

 

 

 

Pushpins (thumbtacks) for the notice board.

 

 

 

Now to just get the next idea on the go - all in amongst the Christmas cake making!

Summer, Birthday and more........

The last month or so has disappeared into a blur.  The children are back at school and into week four already.  Goodness!

With all the rain we have experienced the growth in the garden has been amazing.  By the time it stopped raining every weekend, we had a huge mess to clean up.  Where to start.  I don't know how many trailer loads have been taken to the dump (tip)!  Our garden is just four years old and thankfully though, the rain has meant that after some little plants just sitting and surviving in the long drought, they have finally taken off. 

Earlier in the season, I poked some sunflower seeds into the ground.  They are about 6 feet tall and about to burst into some sunny yellow fun. 
They are certainly brightening up my vege patch.

For weeks I tried to get my beans to grow.  The constant wet soil and lack of warmth earlier in the summer made it impossible to get them to sprout.  When I was almost ready to give up, they grew.  I had bought a beautiful tee pee and they have clambered up and look wonderful.  I have just this week started to pick my delicious beans.

 This week saw another birthday.  I had beautiful flowers delivered to my work, and a lovely bunch brought home too - the ones above are picked from my garden this morning.

The highlight of my birthday week was certainly seeing the most divine Michael Buble in concert on Friday night.  That man is gorgeous!  It was wonderful!

Other lovlies in my vege patch at the moment are basil, potatoes, lettuce, parsley, tomatoes, corn and spinach.

Hopefully life will return to some sort of normality again and my blogging will become more a part of it.

I can't believe summer is almost over.

Here's hoping we get a few more weeks of warmth.  Hopefully right through till Easter.