July is here...

Sunday and its Market day.

The fog is heavy today and makes for an interesting walk. I explore the new footbridge that has replaced the old rotting one...

John will go into Kingston this morning for his meditation class..so he does a quick scout of the markets first.

We buy bread from Cam and I get some vegies from Alex..then John leaves and I open the shop for the morning. Its very quiet  and I only have 2 customers but Tom gets his homework done and I catch up with Sandra.
We head out to collect kindling at about 2.30pm...we were intending to go up on the hill, but the rain comes down so we change plans and drive the Cygnet Coast Rd..stopping under trees to collect 3 box loads.

The rain stops so we take a look around the headland at Poverty Point. Its just magic by the beautiful shore of the Huon. The late afternoon sun is warming the rocks and the gentle lapping of the water is so peaceful.
Thomas and John skim stones..then take great delight in discovering all the fantastic fossils to be found in this area..

The late afternoon sun in the clouds is a beautiful sight.

We head home to prepare dinner and get ready for the working week..

Monday and its a dark and cloudy...but not too cold out.

We do the usual prep for the day..then Tom is off to school.

John goes up on the hill to harvest some Urtica that is growing on the house site. Steve has put his cattle back on the hill so John wants to collect the plants in case they are trampled.

Ryan is meeting John and our neighbour Nolan to discuss roadworks to be done on Cawthorns Rd.

I have a nice mix of orders and customers to keep me busy.

The afternoon is busy with customers coming in to browse and more orders to do...

We all take part in processing the Urtica..it is so vibrant...

After work I set up for Book Club in the shop tonight..this month's reading theme was 'magic'...hence the stars on the table.

We have a lovely evening of conversation and laughter...such a delightful group of women.

Tuesday and I start the day with a clean-up and re-setup of the book table.

The day passes with usual balance of orders , customers and stock to be made..

John does an Aurum/Rose /Lav cream and the Eucalyptus/ Plantago.

I have a Dental Appointment in Huonville in the afternoon...a nice drive...even if it is to the dentist!!

Good to get home and settle down for the night. We head to bed early...and I'm asleep in no time.

Wednesday and its lovely out today..not too cold. I get a bread underway...and we do the morning chores. A range of interesting orders to get on with this morning.

Ryan comes over for the morning to discuss some issues of concern to John. Its a productive morning for all.

Its cosy in the shop with the fire going..

The rest of the day passes with a range of jobs to be done.

I enjoy a cuppa at Red Velvet with "the girls" from St James. Sadly Robin is leaving today to head to a job in Latrobe..working with Tasmanian Regional Arts Council..co-ordinating touring exhibitions. I will really miss her delightful cheerful presence.

The fire is going in the flat when I return and we settle in for a cosy night.

Thursday and we all sleep in til 7.15...so its "up and at 'em" getting the morning chores done.

The day passes as usual with orders customers etc.

Ryan and Dave arrive mid-morning to address the roof concerns John has raised with them..

After lunch I go across to Tom's class and we do more aboriginal artwork...the students have already done the crayon with black paint over the top. Today we scratch off the black paint in aboriginal inspired pattens...they look very effective.

After school Tom and I get on with secret birthday baking for John..

I give Zumba a miss tonight...not feeling really tired .. Instead I rug up and take a walk around town..to get some gentle exercise.

Friday..Happy birthday John!!

We have breakfast early so John can get on the road to Hobart to get to the bank etc..

He agrees to open one present as Tom is busting to give it to him...

A gorgeous 'super battle droid' card and chocolate to go with it!!

The morning is a gentle pace of customers and orders..keeping me busy. I also bat the odd Birthday call that comes in for John (he is very good at avoiding these calls each year!!)

John returns with all his jobs accomplished.

Beautiful day out..

We unpack the load of stock bottles he has picked up in town...then I get on with labelling the batch of Aurum/Rose/Lav cream...now we have more labels in stock..(John did a big shop at Officeworks)

Before too long, tom arrives in from school. He is pleased to have a note saying after school activities begin again next week...he is keen to do rock climbing on Wednesday arvo.

The boys take the post up and go to inspect the May Ball photos at the Newsagency to see if they are worth ordering..

Then they swing past IGA to collect empty boxes that Sadie has kept aside for us.

Tom and I are going to make a roast dinner tonight for John.

Then we are going to the supper Room for Cygnet Cinema tonight at 7pm to watch a film called "Grow your own".. should be fun.

I can't resist taking photos of the afternoon sunshine..

I always delight in seeing cattle grazing in the paddocks out the back.

John seems to enjoy his present opening and birthday festivities..despite symptoms of a nasty cold coming on.

Had a terrific night at Cinema Cygnet...great film and fantastic atmosphere

Saturday and its a foggy start.

We have an adventure planned today. We are catching the bus into Hobart then going to pick up our new Subaru Forester...

Then we  head to MONA. I have arranged for us to have lunch at The Source Restaurant there..for John's birthday...

We had about half an hour to spare so went through  MONA to see some of the new exhibition...astounding as always..

We enjoyed a delicious meal at The Source...although John was not well at all...poor thing!!

We enjoyed the drive home in the Forester..

John basically crashed into bed ...very unwell with fever and terrible cough..

Tom and I had a quiet evening together...

Winter chill sets in.....

It has rained alot during the night...luckily it didn't come down during th Lantern parade.
Its really chilly outside today.

John gets to work doing more re-arranging...
I do some cooking and Tom ...Lego!!
I drop Tom out to friend Finn's place at Lymington..about 10 minutes drive along the coast road.
The back to do some more sewing.

Alex and Cameron set up their vege and bread stalls out the front under our awning...

We buy some goods and I get a soup going..
The weather comes and goes but the temperature doesn't rise much. But we are so cosy inside it doesn't really impact on us..when the sun shines we have it streaming in...its a good day.

Tom arrives back aboput 2 ish ...Melanie and Jason drive him home..nice.
He and John do a bit more in the shop ...
Evening starts to fall...and we decide to watch a new DVD John bought me yesterday...The Sound of Music !! Yes...you read that right!!. We heard some of the music playing on the radio on Friday..and it reminded us of what a lovely film it is...and thought Tom would like to see it...especially as John's dad was born in Austria.. It's a long film and we don't finish it as tom is nodding off after his fun day.

Monday and it is quite a wet morning so I don't go out walking ..
The boys do Tom's reading in the shop after breakie...and call to me to come quickly...with my camera...
What a sight...

We have stacks of orders today and work flat chat all day to get them done...
Tom has had a chilly but good day at school...he stops by the fire to "thaw out"...
As I walk Tom down to scouts...there is a sprinkle of rain which could easily turn to sleet...brrr.
We are glad to have our tasty homemade Chicken and Leek pies for dinner!! Very warming.

Tuesday and the morning sky is so clear. We have a fantastic sight of Venus and Jupiter.

There is a small frost today...and I walk with confidence towards Burton's reserve...just before crossing the road I skate on some ice..but manage not to fall over. Phew!!
Its truly beautiful out this morning...a group of black swans fly overhead. They make their way each morning to graze in the back paddocks.
Today we have a small wood heater installed in the work area...it takes most of the morning for the installation...and with doors open as the workman come and go..its really freezing..
But once we get the fire going in the afternoon, John sets up to fill an Urtica Urens gel...a warm spot to work now...

We go for a drive after work to see if there are any Pink Lady Apples for sale at a farm on Guys Road...then travel up Slab Road to take in the view of Cygnet from there... Then we go up to wattle Grove as the light is fading...to see if there are any Jonquils in flower. There is one bunch, but we suspect there will be more ..
Its pretty chilly and we can see snow covering Sleeping Beauty..up the valley towards Hobart...But it is stunningly beautiful up there.

Wednesday and again light frost makes walking a bit hazardous...

...especially over the icy wooden bridge...The sky is a magnificent blue..
John has the fires going in the shop/work rooms..and its looking real cosy.
The boys set up to do Tom's morning reading in the work area..

The sun shines... and Tom makes his way to school (you might just spot him in this photo)

The flat will be warming up too. It is quite a contrast walking into the flat after being in the shop..the flat has light and sun streaming in through the high north windows...the shop is dark and cool facing west.
I get a loaf of bread baking for lunch...yummy!!
There is no Kitchen lesson this week for Tom's class..Roy the teacher has to go to Hobart for a training day..
We have a few orders to get done..then concentrate on re-stocking shelves etc.
More orders come in again in the afternoon....
I enjoy afternoon tea with the girls at RV...catching up on their family news and listening to their "shop talk" about school...
Its pretty chilly walking home and I'm glad John has the fire going..
We have a lovely relaxed evening..Thomas doing some drawing, John sorting and cleaning books and I do a bit of knitting..finishing off another hat.

Thursday and there is a big frost again...just beautiful out early. (crunching across the grass reminds me of childhood ...walking to school through the Concord Golf Links..)

There is a sheet of ice over the puddle in the park

Its a stunning sunny day again...cold and crisp though. I go up the street at about 9.30am to take a photo of the old-fashioned mural painted toilet block before its demolished..and there is still alot of ice on the ground.

Balfour House looks like fairyland with its frosty garden.

John and I get some orders done..enjoying the warmth in out workspace .
There is a funeral in the Town Hall this morning for a local woman. I did not ever speak with her..but would see her delivering the Classifieds each week..She was certainly a presence in my week and I will miss seeing her in her lovely long tartan skirt.
It is very moving to witness family and friends coming together to prepare the hall etc. After the service they line the street and wave Bev off...such a beautiful tribute...

John spends alot of the afternoon/evening re-arranging the bookshelves. Its alot of work and takes time to get it alphabetical. I've made more category tags for the different sections.. We are really looking like a bookshop now...

I go ovet to Tom's class to do some art/craft activities...Its alot of fun as usual. We work on background sheets for Aboriginal art to be displayed nest week for NAIDOC week. We wet paper and stick on pieces of earthy coloured crepe paper..then peel the crepe paper off again...leaving colour patches over the page. The children will then glue a cut out kangaroo, snake etc on top... Its very effective.(even though my hands turn a strange colour!!). I really enjoy being in the classroom...the children are lovely and Kim and Sharon are such delightful women to work with..
taking the last of the post up...and the pavers are still icy in places...amazing.
Tom works on his homework while I light the  fire and get dinner going.
Off to Zumba tonight. Claudia really keeps up the pace tonight..I can't believe I actually get quite hot on such a cold evening. Its all good fun..even if I struggle to keep up with her moves!!
Nice to get home , shower and have a quiet read before bed.

Friday and its already 11 degrees when I go out walking..
John is doing more in the shop with the books when I get back..and Thomas has his head in a book.
We enjoy breakie and get on with the morning chores before school/work.
I give Sandra a call as it is her last day at the pharmacy at Pennant Hills...the end of an era..John and I have anguished about leaving Sandra behind and now feel relief that she has a good future to look forward to working at Cherrybrook. But today will be a strange day for her I'm sure..
Its a fairly quiet day order-wise...but that gives us time to get on with other tasks.
We have a number of local customers today which is lovely.
Tonight we are attending a very special event at Peppermint Bay ... we will be dropping Tom off at Ryan and Minky's place then going with them to an intimate dinner and performance by Richard Tognetti (Artisitic Director of Australian Chamber Orchestra..and Violinist extraordinaire).
It is a wonderful evening.... We arrive about 5.45 and enjoy a drink in the bar area. Eventually more patrons arrive from Hobart by boat. We are served small bowls of  Clam rice,sea urchin butter with wild garlic....delish!!!
We are then invited to take seats in performance area set up at the other end of the building. We are treated to a varied mini concert..given by Richard Tognetti, a female ACO colleague and Brian Ritchie. The program ranges from classical to contempory classical to folk to punk rock...they obviously enjoy themselves...and whilst alot of the music wasn't to my taste, it was fantastic to be exposed to some amazingly technically extraordinary music.
We then take our seats for dinner...a wonderful meal devised by Dave the chef at Peppermint Bay..

Raw Tasmanian Kingfish, Kohlrabi, Mustartd Oil,Mustard Leaf
Smoked marrow Raviolo, Nettle sauce Black truffle.
Grassfed wagyu oyster blade, Salsify, Alexanders, Oyster sauce
Angelica Cake, Lemon, Liquorice, Yoghurt

We thoroughly enjoy the company of Ryan and Minky and the evening is a memorable, once in a lifetime experience. We are very aware that we would never have this sort of opportunity in Sydney. Ryan just happened to be told of the event and immediately thought to invite us along too...

You can just make out Richard in this photo...his signature spikey hairdo is framed by the lit doorway behind him..

Tom has had a really nice night with Arlo, Ruby (Minky's 11 year old daughter) and their babysitter Zoe..who is just lovely. We are glad to snuggle into bed when we get home...

Saturday and we have a slow start (for us anyway).

I make my way into Hobart to do some secret Birthday shopping for John. Its a beautiful sunny morning.

My well laid plans don't come together so I have to do a bit of back-tracking..but I manage to get all I was after in the end.
The boys had plans to buy some star pickets etc and take some of the trees up on the hill to start planting...very exciting...
When I arrive home they are not there so I go up on the hill and we meet one another on Cawthorns Rd. There are cattle back on the land so John has not planted anything...We go down and just wallaby proof the trees in a safe area away from the cattle.

There is a new calf...born this morning down by the dam

We drop home for late lunch, then head over to Woodbridge. Last night Dave  served up dessert with a garnigh of Wood Sorrel (Oxalis). John is hopeful it will be the Oxalis we need for a cream that we could make...Dave generously takes time to draw John a mud map of where to find it. We go in search..but unfortunately it does not appear to be the variety we need.

Thomas is delighted with the warm hat I found for him at Salamanca Market this morning

We head home and soon decide to get through early showers to settle down for Harry Potter DVD.

We are glad that we watch it early as by 8pm we are all well and truly looking forward to our beds...