Happy New Year

For as long as I can remember my mum and dad hosted New Year's Eve parties. There was always lots of people - adults and kids - and the night was spent playing board games and chatting and generally having fun. I remember as a kid having so much fun running around in the dark and staying up really late!!
Lately though, there have been less family as they are growing up and doing their own things, and the friends that used to come have moved on or away......And mum and dad are no longer up to hosting the parties.....so I've taken it upon myself to revive the days of old and keep the tradition going.

Here's Louis with the big stack of board games (just a few that we own). We tidied up the garden, lit the lanterns and got ready for a little gathering. We were lucky that a cool change blew through, dropping temperatures from the high 30's to the 20's.

This is the little nook where my dad settled himself until the sun went down. I love this spot in the garden - it's gorgeous on those really hot mornings when you take your breakfast outside and sit in the shade of those vines........

Here we are at night, enjoying a few games......there still weren't many of us but at the end of the evening we decided it was so much fun we will make sure to invite more next year.

Part of the tradition of New Year's is to eat Oliebollen - a dutch treat reserved for this occasion. I remember when I was growing up that my dad would spend the whole day making them - usually in 40C heat! He would sit under the grapevines with a deep fryer and I would love to watch him do it. These days he doesn't make as many but we still love them so he makes us a few :)

Happy New Year my friends - I hope that 2011 brings much joy and happiness your way

l

x

A gift from DaisyChain

 In amongst the chaos that was Christmas, when I was up to my elbows in cookie dough, a parcel came for me.
Louis was convinced it was for him!

 Inside was a gorgeous bag and cushion from the very talented DaisyChain.
I had intended to photograph it as soon as I had finished my gingerbread dough and when I went to find it I discovered this:

How can you argue with that?
Louis might think it is his pillow, but I know better ;-)
Thank you Jenny :)
l
x

Merry Christmas to all

 

One of my favourite photos of the night - my beautiful Emily and her big cousin Ben. Isn't her dress just beautiful.

Eagerly awaiting the present unwrapping. We have a big family with lots of brothers and sisters, cousins etc. It makes for a very special night.

Christmas morning - what better present can you get?!

Merry Christmas to all my blogging friends. May 2011 bring much joy and happiness your way :)

Changes...

There have been some changes in my life which have been all consuming!

This is where I have been spending a lot of time lately....

I've got a casual library job with the Prospect Library which has been all consuming. This is kind of hilarious given that I haven't done that many hours - but with my studies and my children.....and my desire to be perfect at a job I have never done before.....well lets just say it's all consuming :)

But I hope to blog more soon - once the kids are on holidays and I have more time at home. And I hope to post about my knitting adventures and other crafty pursuits. And I also hope to catch up on all of your blogs - because I haven't really been spending much time on the computer at all :(

Of course with the Christmas season upon us, there's a good chance you won't see me until the new year ;-)

l

x

Our road trip

During the school holidays I decided to take my boys to Kadina to visit my sister, Dineke. Being a one car family (and David needing it for work), we had to take the bus which was probably the most exciting part of the holiday. Sorry, no pictures because I just wasn't that organised.
I did however manage to get shots of the beach at Moonta:

 And a couple of photos of the boys and my wonderful mum at a wonderful little coffee shop in Moonta. We had the most delightful cake and coffee there.
And don't you just love the boys hats - my niece, Karen, bought them for the boys at an op shop - $0.50 each!
We were joined on our second day by another sister, Jo and two of her children. I love the way all of the cousins get on so well, from the very little to the very big. It's one of the nice things about being part of a close, big family.
Kadina is a great break for us - it's very relaxed up there, no hustle and bustle - just slow and easy. I'm looking forward to heading back in the next holidays :)

A little time for us

After 16 years, David felt it was time for a little holiday on our own. This was inspired by the fact that David has just started a new job and for a little while (we hope) he will be doing lots of hours. Having children spread out over a few years meant that we never really got to have a break on our own. Not that we minded really - but I guess the time was right for us to finally have a weekend away together - just the two of us. The only small problem was that the weekend in question was right in the middle of the holidays, right on a long weekend :(

But, with a bit of negotiating and a lot of determination, we managed to find some accommodation for Thursday and Friday night instead (luckily David didn't have to work on Friday).
Thursday was busy - not only was I packing for the boys, who were going to my mother's for a night and my sister's for a night, I was also packing for us - AND I had also offered to look after not one but four other boys - which in the end meant that I had 7 boys under 10 in my house (the neighbour's boy decided to get in on the action too). Not that I minded - they all got on so well that it actually worked out to be a blessing (much better than having my boys continuously asking if it was nearly time to go yet.....).

 In my haste I forgot to pack my camera, so you will have to put up with my terrible phone pictures and you will have to trust me when I say it was wonderful. We stayed at The Vintage - which was absolutely beautiful- in the library suite (because that's what I'm going to be one day - a librarian). I loved all the books on the shelves - so pretty - and I didn't really bother with reading the books - I just gazed at all the different titles - finding treasures everywhere.

the view from the front of the house

the entrance hall

the Picasso print which I really liked

We had a two lovely days of long conversations that were never interrupted, long moments of sitting in companionable silence - reading, knitting, we visited galleries where we didn't have to worry about the kids breaking things, touching things and we ate under the stars, with a gorgeous glass of 'just bought' red and some lovely takeaway. But most importantly, we packed up on Saturday morning feeling happy and eager to get back to our family.

The lounge room (it was so lovely to recline on the chair and read)

Someone else's treasure pt II

My sister used to clean for a lovely lady. Recently she sold her house and moved into a retirement village and as a result, we cleaned her house for the last time. It was sad to see the empty shell - the house used to be filled with treasures and lots and lots of photos - it was a pleasure to clean because there was so much to see. Anyway, when I had finished doing the inside of the house I went out to ask her if she wanted me to do some of the outside of the house. I found her in the shed and as I walked in I spied this beautiful sewing machine on the floor. Naturally I was beside myself and I exclaimed (read blurted)  "isn't that sewing machine just gorgeous" to which her head popped up rather excitedly and she said "do you want it?". Apparently the only reason it wasn't in the bin was because it was too heavy for her to lift......can you believe it???!!! She told me it wasn't much use because the foot pedal was lost but I didn't care - this sewing machine would make the perfect ornament in my overly full house :)

I love other people's trash!

Okay, this is a pretty crappy photo - but you get the drift - they used to make sewing machines pretty - what a shame they don't do it any more!

cheers

l

x