Terrariums...

A gathering of a few things at home.  Goggle and youtube searches by Miss 7 and a head full of ideas saw us head out collecting.

The rain and wind did not stop us.  With shovel in hand, bucket over arm and raincoats on, we ventured out.  Stopping to investigate and talk about the different moss along the way and searching for the piles that were the perfect green.

Scooping down again to gather rocks and a few succulents.

Home to put it all together. 

What a wonderful activity to end the school holidays.
Have you all had a great time?
I am not looking forward to the routine of getting out the door 5 days a week in the pea soup sky and sleet that greeted us on our walk to school this morning.

Two new additions.

A week ago we welcomed two new members to the family.  Meet Myrtle and Ernest.

They have spent the week rearranging the wood chips, hay and dirt around the house.

They must feel at home as they have both started laying.  It called for boiled eggs for dinner to celebrate. 

How does your garden grow?

It has been a long time since I have had a vegetable garden.  Some times we know that we are only going to be in a location for 12 months and honestly, it is just too much hard work. 


I started a herb garden as soon as we got here.  Since then, and seeing the success that I have had with that, I have been harping at my husband to build me some planter boxes.

With a little harping and a slight nudge (They have been upgrading some of the homes around here and with that have been pulling down old fencing,  I used my initiative and went and asked what they were going to be doing with the old wood and was told it was heading to the dump and if I wanted it that it was mine)

I am now known in this parts (well by my husband and anyone that asks) as the 'Good Idea's Fairy'

I now have three vegetable patches down the back fence.  I bought mostly seedlings (I have waited all year to start growing, I didn't want to have to wait to see the little green shoots pop out of the dirt)  I also purchased a tomato and capsicum that were a little bigger. 

I also have some seeds planted as well.

The kids helped me to plant a few seeds into peat pots and we have been watching them grow on the window sill.  It won't be long before we are able to plant them out in the garden as well.

And we are all enjoying eating the strawberries that border the herb spiral.

This is what the yard looked like when we moved in.  Already it has changed alot and I am hoping that soon we will have vegetables to feed and supplement our meals.

In the Garden #9

I thought that I would share with you my little herb garden.  Some of you may remember the herb garden  I built when we moved in.

I collected all the odd bricks, broken pots and rocks that I could find and went to work.  I am so pleased how it turned out and pleased to report that most of my herbs survived the winter and the frost.

The only herbs that lost were the lemon grass, chilli and basil. (but then they are all warmth loving herbs and plants)  I'm thrilled that the strawberries are already flowering. The thyme has also gone to flower and is bringing in the bee's to work their magic.

My Creative Garden Space...

There is not alot on the crafting front here. Well there is but it is rather slow going. The change in the weather is playing havoc on my hands and they are not liking the purling of this knit. 

I have been in the garden.  Trying to turn a pile of  bricks into a herb spiral.  I am getting there.  So far this project has only cost me the soil, straw and the herbs.

Looking forward to getting it finished so I can get the herbs in.

The inspiration for the spiral garden comes from The Nature Learning Centre Blog

Thinking that I might have to cast on something in the round just so I have something to knit when the hands won't let me purl.  For more creativity of the yarn, thread and material kind, pop over here

Exploring our new environment

We have been spending the days going for walks and riding around our new neighbourhood. The new hood is different to that of many.

We are a community plopped in the middle of a defence training ground.  We are 14km from the nearest town and you can flip a coin at the front gates and decide which road to take to explore (that will take you over an hour to get to) 

We share our neighbourhood with the animals on our flag.  They wonder up to our front yard of a night and have a nibble of what green grass we have. I have not managed to snap a photo of them up close yet.  Our friend seems to want to spring them and enjoys watching them run away from her.

There are plenty of birds to find and identify.

We are all feeling very content here and at home.  The boy (who loves to explore and collect rocks and sticks) is in his element here. 

I have plans for this spot in the backyard.  It will become our vegetable plot. 

A Silky Worm

We have eight little friends living happily at our house at the moment. 

They eat and eat and eat and have started to spin the yellowest of yellow thread.

The kids are amazed and I can not stop checking on them everytime I walk past.

I hope you have all had an enjoyable weekend.

Things I'm Loving

I never seem to remember to do this post before the linky stops me.  So here goes.  Joining in with Paisley Jade's - Things I'm Loving Fridays  Yes I do know that it is Saturday.


Loving this photo of Miss 3rd Girl Posie, taken on Thursday during our knitting/crochet session.  She is using her toes as tention to help pull her french knitting through - so cute.

Loving that teaching the four of them also gave me the confidence to teach Amelia.  She has been asking for ages if I could teach her how to knit and I keep telling her when she is 6.  Her sixth birthday is quickly approaching and I know that my Mum has a little sewing/knit kit ready for her, so there will be nothing standing in her way.

Loving longer days and sun shinny afternoons. A picnic on the front lawn,  'restuarant'  style during the week, complete with wattle cuttings and milky tea.

Thie joy on this little girls face when she came out of Acrobatics today and told me that she did a handstand.  (I was a sneaky Mum and took a video through the window)

Wonderful feed back from a friend.  We traded services.  Haircuts for Knits (not the creepy crawly variety either!)  Here is the beanie that was requested for a friends 40th birthday.

Hope that you are all enjoying a wonderful weekend.

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.-soulemama

I know that these posts are meant to be word free - but it needs explanation.  

This is a photo of a tent in our backyard.  If it was warmer out there I know that there would be two little people who would love nothing more than to sleep out  in it.

This is a photo of them inside it reading stories with torches before bed.

(Not sure how much reading was occuring?  But they were having fun and lots of laughter and lots of "Don't shine it in my eyes" was occuring)

Red, Red, Red

Red Yarn, Red finished cardi, Red jumping boy, Red Bottle Brush and Red Rosella.
I am home from a quick weekend getaway with a group of Mummies to recharge the batteries and renew the soul.  Lots of laughs, chatting, knitting, sitting by the fire and a view that I could get used to.  Thrown in with great food, company, lots of cheese and a little bit of wine.

Hope that you have all had a great weekend.

Getting Pinned

I have found another (clear throat)  ADDICTION. 

Becky mentioned the other day that she was a little hooked and enjoying it.  Without a second thought I managed to get an invite from Elissa and I was in creating boards and pinning.

It is GREAT.

I have managed to clean up not only my desk but also the favourites that I have been saving on my computer are now all here in one place - how great is that for orgainisation?

One of my favourite things is the ability to pin anything from anywhere (by adding a little tab to your tool bar)  I had a few cut outs of ideas the other day and they are now gone and replaced with pins on pinterest.

And because a blog post is not complete without a few pictures here are a few favourites at the moment...

Let me know if you are pinning, I would love to follow you.  If you too would like to PIN - send me a message with your email and I will send you an invite.

Rainy Day Fun...

When it rains it pours at the moment.

With so much still closed and being cleaned up at the moment the kids are going a little crazy inside. 

The skies opened and the rain fell.  There are many people that are a little on edge at the moment with our weather after the past week - I have a friend in Toowoomba who said she was in town during a down pour this week and the street just went quiet, I'm not surprised, the poor things. 

So, what better activity then to pop your raincoats and gummies on  - after I checked the BOM site to make sure that we did not have a storm warning (very important to know - considering that the man of the house has had two very encounters with the bolts from the heavens)

The rain came down so fast that the kids even had boots full of water.

'Mum Stuck'