First week of Holidays

Sunday is a lovely sunny day...but still cold.
Tom moves from bed to fireplace to sunny table

We have a nice slow morning..John reads, Thomas plays and I enjoy a visit to market next door.
We decide to by some of Gerard's Organic sausages and go up on the hill for a BBQ lunch.
It's beautiful up there. John and I have a bit of a wander while Tom tends the fire. We keep in touch with Tom's 2-way radios.

 

After lunch the boys enjoy a climb and play while I collect kindling. John takes some more Macracarpa cuttings before we go home. We can see the snow capped mountains up the valley..

They drop me off up the street so I can walk home...and go to collect some Poplar cuttings.
They pot the cuttings up while I begin to organise packing bas for their Alice Springs adventure next week.

Hannah arrives and gets dinner going.. so lovely to have her here.
We enjoy watching Ben Hur Part 2 after dinner.

Monday is a busy busy day again. Lots of orders and quite a few tourists through buying books today.
John and Tom stock up the woodpiles in the shop.

 

The Council are busy pouring cement to make the driveway in the laneway..

Tom and Hannah enjoy morning tea at Red Velvet...
Tom enjoys playing with his mixtures.

More jobs are done through the day..and before long it's over.
Hannah is cooking a roast tonight...what at treat!! I can do a few other things instead of preparing the meal.
After a delicious meal , Hannah decides to head back to town...it's such a cold evening. She has to pick up a friend from the airport tonight..Brrr...
We are very glad to snuggle down with our books tonight..

Tuesday brings a heavy frost...A very cold morning...especially in the midlands of Tassie..a record breaking -12.1 degrees there!!
Tom takes a while to surface today.

Icy garden and paths..

 

 

The sun comes out and melts some of the ice.

Tom invites me up to Red Velvet for morning tea...really lovely

We get back to work and get a few things done..but it is fairly quiet today.
John and Tom make a Calendula Ointment.

After lunch Tom and I go into Huonville to have a wander and do some shopping in the 'big smoke'.
The day passes quickly and we are glad to get the fire roaring for a cosy night in..

Wednesday and another really frosty start. I have to be very careful crossing the slippery bridges on my morning jog.

We spend the morning getting orders done and attending to various tasks.
I have a haircut across the road...lovely and sunny and warm on that side of Mary Street!!

 

Lovely afternoon light on the hills

 

We go for a quick walk up on the hill after work...Beautiful..but chilly with the snow capped mountains in the distance.

 

 

 

Home for a warming Chicken/pumpkin curry and a cosy fire.

Thursday and it's a grey start ...so no frost. It's a bit warmer.
I go down to Garden this morning.
We do alot of shovelling mulch today. Looks good by the end of the morning even though it's just Kate , Liz and I most of the time. David (who used to come to garden)and friend James drop by about 11.45am and take over the wheelbarrows for about half an hour. Amazing how much was moved by 2 blokes with muscle...fantastic.

After a fairly quiet afternoon, we close up for the day. Tom and I learn another recorder piece before dinner...then it's DVD time..Africa - The Cape tonight..Great viewing as usual.

Friday and we take it a bit slower knowing it will be a long day.
Tonight we fly out to Sydney at 8.20pm...the first leg of the boys' epic adventure to the Alice.
The day is reasonably slow order-wise ..but we have lots of tourists through and sell a number of books.
It's a lovely sunny morning..not too cold out...then the clouds drift in about 2.30pm.
We have a slowish afternoon...with customers drifting in and out..
Soon time to close up and we will prepare for our evening journey.

The short stay in Sydney is fabulous. The boys do some shopping while I visit Pa. Amazingly Jane and Ali are in town..AND going to the opera! We  meet for dinner and enjoy soaking up the ambience of the Opera House. It's a wonderful evening.

We are up early on Sunday and head to the airport via Mrs Macquarie's chair...checking out the view for Lioba's visit.

The boys are excited about their holiday..All goes to plan.

They board and I go across to the other terminal to fly back to Hobart.
I have a delightful lunch catch up with Hannah then make my way home via the Channel Heritage Centre. I want to see the Lullaby Quilts on display. (they are the result of a project working with refugee and migrant women..based on the shared beauty/sadness of lullabies sung to children around the world) Stunning and very moving to see them.

 

 

 

 

 

The week passes very quickly as I have some large orders to dispense and pack. I'm glad we decided to keep the shop doors closed this week as I have so much packing to do. I have the occasional customer who knocks on the door...so I do make a few sales from front of shop.

 

The boys are reporting in during the week. They are thoroughly enjoying their time in the Alice...and are driving to Uluru on Thurs...

 

I will take up the blog again next week when they return...

Last week of term 2

The week begins with two very busy days...orders and a rose cream to make and pack.
The mornings are cool and damp...
Tom and John still get their reading done and Tom and I do our recorder practise each morning.. (Thomas is so keen he is always set up and playing before I'm ready...it's lovely to hear him happily playing)

 

 

I manage to get over to Tom's class on Tuesday to help with collating report folios then do a bit of art work for upcoming Tiddalick play in NADOC week.
There is action down our laneway in connection with the carpark development. The gravel/grass pathway is ripped up in preparation for concrete path..very sad..but the little plants may re-establish themselves along the edges to soften the look.

 

Wednesday turns out to be another hectic day .. John makes a big batch of Sphagnis during the morning so I bat the phone calls and dispense and pack orders...
We have a number of customers through today...enjoying the warmth of our fire.. It's one of those chilly days that doesn't warm up much..
We both attend admin work for end of financial year then when we look up and it's 3pm and Tom is through the door. Phew! No wonder we are sleeping well!!

We wake to steady rain on Thursday morning. I do an alternate walk today up the street and back...the rain continues..

After recorder practise the boys do their usual reading session...nice and cosy by the fire.

I decide to give garden a miss today.. Wet and cold out...and there is plenty that needs doing here.
The weather improves during the morning...and I begin to regret not going to garden..

..but I am feeling pretty tired...so I think it was a good decision. We have alot of tourists through the shop today..enjoying the warmth of the fire...and buying books too .It is an enjoyable day...not as hectic as the beginning of the week.
After school, Tom and I learn a new recorder piece..I bake a cake to take to supper at Cinema Cygnet tomorrow night.

Then it's dinner and an Africa DVD on the Congo before bed.

It pelts with rain during the night so I do my walk up the street again as the park will be water-logged. Last day of Term 2 today,, Tom can wear blue or pink today as a fundraiser...no prizes for what colour he chose!! He went very low key...in usual sports gear but with his beloved navy blue hoodie.
The weather is amazing...very chilly...rainy one minute then bright sunshine the next. I don't envy Talan today.

 

 You can see the next round of rain coming in...

John makes several batches of Arnica Tincture

 

Soon Tom arrives in from school then dashes back over the road to have a quick last play with mates.
We bake a birthday cake for John.

We have early dinner as Tom and I are going to Cinema Cygnet.. Sound of Music  Sing-a-long. (John decides to keep the home fires burning!!) It's alot of fun despite the chilly night.  Tom and I are warmly dressed in our Austrian Geiger coats (Tom is wearing Rudi's coat...and I wear Rudi's Austrian hat) We take the Viennese Kugelhuf (Susie's recipe) to have at supper time.. (we bring alot home again as there are alot of gluten free/vegans that attend!! John is not disappointed!!)

Saturday HAPPY 59th John...It's a freezing morning. We head into Hobart and are thrilled to see the big dump of snow on the mountain..

 

The morning is spent going from one showroom to another..looking at Bathroom/Kitchen items/windows etc in preparation for our house building.. (one day!!) John and I are soon "over" looking at toilets and taps...
Thankfully it is soon time for lunch. We are celebrating John's birthday at the Cornelian Bay Boathouse Restaurant. Beautiful spot down by the water...and luckily in the sun does make a bit of an appearance on such a chilly day. We really enjoy a sitting and having a delightful slow meal ( a rare thing for us to sit for long) The food is delicious. John has Lamb with licorice and prunes and I have Salmon cured in Ginger beer served with seaweed crumble..Tom has a plate of cold meats and some fries on the side..

We head home via JB HiFi...where we pick up a video to watch tonight..John's choice...Ben Hur.
The weather come in again...

We stop just out of Huonville to look at the flooded paddocks by the river.

Once home, Hannah drops in with friends Ash and boyfriend Tijs. They have had lunch at Red Velvet and have been up to Wattle Grove to see our land...They said it was sleeting up there..
They head back to town as Hannah and Ash have to work tonight.
We have a relaxed afternoon, then settle down to Part 1 of Ben Hur...Fantastic..