Around Here

One more week of school and then we are half way through the school year which is hard to believe.  Here's what's been happening at our place.  I am completely lacking in photos of James this week as he didn't complete in the Sports Day due to a sore back and was off school with high temps earlier on in the week.

I love this photo of Sienna as she realized she was in for a 1st Place in the Shot Put and was terribly excited waiting for the announcement at the School Sports Day yesterday.

Hard at work running the 800 metres race. 

A collection of 1st, 2nd and 3rd her best efforts to date.

 Helping Karin cut up these lemonade fruits and juicing them.

My friend Karin on the juicing side of the bench.

Backyard flowers in the rain.

The lavender bush, a beautiful plant even without the flowers.

I photograph the one Autumn tree near our place each year and these are some of the fallen leaves.

My new red shoes among the Autumn leaves.

My beautiful girl.

Scenes from Autumn.

Sienna and her cuts and scrapes...always the sign of an active little person.

Rainy days and Autumn leaves in our neighbourhood.

Some Interesting Internet Reads

Here's a variety of interesting internet reads for you this week and a picture of my kids thrown in for good measure.

Remember the Father-Son team from Canberra wanting to crowd raise $70,000 for their Flow Hive Honey idea well they actually raised $12,285,723 (USD) which was 17,385% of target.  I would call that a runaway success.

Take a look at this stunning photography by Elena Shumilova that revolves around her two boys and their adorable dog, cat, duckling and rabbit friends taken on the farm their family runs.  Using natural light inside and she got her first camera in 2012.  These images are amazing and the "light" is stunning.

How Jessica Alba built a $1 Billion Company selling parents "peace of mind".

This is a cool Instagram account called "Subway Book Review".  It's interesting to see what everyone is reading.

How to build a business that fits your lifestyle.

Jo from Country Life Experiment shares tips on sterilizing jars for your home made jam.

An old article from 2013 with Rhonda from Down to Earth talking about simple living and other Australian blogs.

A review by Corrie of Retro Mummy of Margaret Fulton's daughters Thermomix Cookbook for families.

Water colours on wet paper from Kate at Picklebums.

A very interesting article on Raising Teenagers by Reannon at "She Who Rambles" which I can relate to even thought we are not at 13 yet in this household.

Looking for some healthy breakfast ideas here is a recipe for "Nut Free Granola".

An article from Tricia at Little Eco Footprints about doing what's important not urgent.

And a footy photo of James in action.

Cleaning the Microwave the easy way

I'm sure many of you who are deep into the "simple living" mode will already know of this easy cleaning tip with your microwave however, for those who don't, it comes back to the simple old "lemon".  Microwaves get very dirty all over the inside, the walls, the ceiling/roof of the microwave, the glass turn table and the inside the back of the door.  Basically it ends up looking disgusting until I decide to take 5 mins to clean it up.

I used half a lemon after I had already used it in the morning for my hot lemon drink as there's no point wasting the juice as well so it can serve two purposes.  I put my half used lemon in a breakfast bowl of water and put it in the microwave for 2 minutes and then I wiped the inside of the microwave with a cloth and as it was pretty dirty I gave it another 2 minutes in the microwave.  The steam from the hot water and lemon breaks down the grime and you can literally wipe away your hardened splatters as easy as that.

I found out this simple method about 4 years ago and each time I clean my microwave with this method I can't believe how easy it is.  Afterwards I just throw away the used lemon and it's nice and clean to start cooking again.  It always makes me feel really good when I do this and seriously you can clean it in 5 minutes however if you wanted to take your time 10 mins max and it's nice and clean.  It beats scrubbing hard dried food off the insides of the microwave.  No chemicals and not too much elbow grease and you have a nice sparkling microwave oven ready to use.  Everyone can find a spare 5-10 minutes to clean the microwave.

Baking in the Country

It has been a while since I posted "Baking in the Country" and you can read about it here and here so yesterday I got together with my good friend Karin at her house and we spent the day making "Strawberry Guava" Jam and "Bread Rolls".  We had a lovely day chatting and and getting stuck into our simple living pleasures.  Karin and I did a "Preserving" course together a while back and I haven't really done any preserving and wanted to build up my confidence again so after yesterday's session I feel like I could tackle some preserving at home myself.

I have never heard or seen Strawberry Guava's before yesterday and I have to tell you the jam is delicious.  We tried it on crackers with some Brie Cheese which is an alternative to "Quince Paste" and it was yummy.  I can't wait for the kids to try this jam as I think it will be a big hit with them too.  Here's some pictures of our day and I feel very refreshed and happy spending the day doing these simple pleasures even though it's a lot of work.  Try making the bread rolls as they were great as well.  This recipe does say it needs a 24 hour prove but we just proved it for 2 hrs but next time would try the 24 hour prove.  So to make the rolls quickly you need to mix the dough and set aside in a warm place for 2 hours then divide the dough into 8 pieces and shape them into the rolls and leave aside for 30 mins and then they need 25-30 minutes baking time.  So 4 hrs all up for mixing, proving, cooking and cooling but they are worth it.  Will make them using the 24 hour prove method to see if they are even softer inside.  Thanks Karin for a lovely day.

Around Here

Around here the kids have been having fun outdoors and James had his first game of football since his cast was taken off and received the "Player of the Week" award so he was thrilled.

This is James helping me with a photo shoot...yes anything goes.

Sienna mowing the lawn the old fashioned way.

Ready for Mother's Day breakfast.

Granny (my Mum) with James and Sienna.

Yum..we love our local cafe.

Double yum, my breakfast.

Footy training before the Friday night game.

Sienna being inventive with the power wing and the spare seat from the boot of the car.

She is having a ball on the driveway with this contraption she made.

Home made Foccacia.

James reading his book which he has now finished.

Taco's for dinner.

Happy Mother's Day

This is my 11th Mother's Day this year and to celebrate we went out to Breakfast with my Mum and my sister and then the kids and I went to the local shopping centre to do a photo booth strip of the three of us.

Around Here

Here's what's been going on this week.

Anzac Day Memories

New indoor plants.

Memories around our home.

Flute practise.

Height markings on the wall.

Cross Country and Sienna's yellow team were the overall winners.

James back on the guitar now his wrist cast has come off.

This smiley little girl.