Wagga Wagga to Worcestershire & back again
I think the last seven days could best be described as a week of new beginnings. Spring’s arrived, lockdown’s been lifted in my part of Australia and those two events combined have just made everything feel that little bit cheerier.
This is the week that was…
Continue reading “The week that was”
August has turned into quite a month. It started with catch-ups with friends and exploring local parks. It’s ending with working from home and shopping for essentials only. The one week lockdown that was recently announced for regional New South Wales has turned into two and it’s anyone’s guess as to when restrictions will be lifted.
Despite the recent onslaught of statistics and information relating to this latest COVID outbreak on Australian’s eastern seaboard, I’m still finding little joys in the every day. Now more than ever, it feels like that’s important and should be celebrated.
This is what’s been making me smile this month…
Continue reading “What’s making me happy: August”
About 11 months ago, Adam and I decided to embark upon building a new house. To be perfectly honest, we probably thought come August 2021 we’d have moved and be settling in to our next home – but we still haven’t actually broken ground yet.
There were delays that were out of our control, which pushed progress back by a good couple of months. At one stage we nearly abandoned the project altogether, it just felt like we were running into hiccup after hiccup. In the end though, we just couldn’t walk away. We loved our block of land and decided we just needed to ride with the speed bumps. And now we’re getting tantalisingly close…
Continue reading “The 2021 project”
Midwinter is upon us and it certainly feels like it. This month has been damp, cold and over the last few weeks the COVID situation in New South Wales feels like it’s gone from bad to worse. Deepest, darkest winter is certainly living up to expectations. On the flipside, the rain’s been good for the garden and local farmers; there’s been ample time for snuggly stories with Paul; and I’ve been able to wear my favourite jumpers on repeat. So there’s that – and a few other things too.
This is what’s been making me smile this month…
Continue reading “What’s been making me happy: July”
It’s been a week of contrasts at our house. It started slow, grey and sickly and ended with friends, farmyard animals and sparkling sunshine. It’s been a week very much focused on Paul, but likewise also focused on finding snippets of time just for me.
This is the week that was…
Continue reading “The week that was”
This weekend just gone has been a tough one for many people in Australia. COVID infection rates are on the rise again, there’s been new lockdowns announced and restrictions affecting day-to-day living are back. The situation is evolving rapidly and perhaps that, combined with the fact that it’s been chilly, wet and dark for a few days has got me craving comfort food.
Comfort food is highly personal. For some it might be sweet,but for me it’s savoury and specifically in the form of a potato. Yes, the humble spud whether it be mashed, roasted, in the form of a hot chip or a crunchy crisp, makes my heart sing.
In recent years the jacket potato has triumphantly made its way to near top of my potato products line-up. For years I was of the understanding a jacket potato was any potato in its skin, generally boiled, and then often cut open and served with sour cream, bacon and spring onions. Then I met Adam and he introduced me to jacket potatoes of the English variety and I’ve been a convert ever since…
Continue reading “Adam’s jacket potatoes”
It’s been a bit of a month. Between my head-cold (which dragged on for around a fortnight) and Paul’s stay in hospital, June has felt a little underwhelming to be completely honest. The days are shortening rapidly and we’ve had a run of foggy, drizzly days , but I think that’s been a bit of a blessing. It’s encouraged recuperation and resting and I feel like I can confront these last few weeks of June with a renewed energy. Despite the stresses of the last few weeks, as always, there were still moments of joy.
This is what’s been making me smile this month…
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May seems to have absolutely flown by and I can’t quite believe that we’ll be half way through the year in a matter of days. It’s been a busy month workwise for both Adam and I, and also a month of seeing people I care about go through the lowest of lows and highest and highs. We’ve had our first mornings frosts of the year and the darkness seems to close in quicker and quicker each evening now too.
Here’s what’s been making me smile this month…
Continue reading “What’s been making me happy: May”
On a grey, cool morning just the other day I decided it was time to pick the first lemons from our tree. Big, bulbous fruit had been ripening on the branch for a few weeks and the lemons looked and felt just right. If you’ve been around here for a little while, you’ll know I love pretty much anything lemon-flavoured and normally when our tree bears fruit I gravitate towards making a dessert. After trawling recipe after recipe though, I just couldn’t find anything that really whet my appetite. Then one night I got a real hankering for proper old fashioned lemonade. The type that’s a cloudy lemon colour and not too sweet. The type you’d drink out of a straw from a nice glass, sitting under a tree on a sunny day while picnicking, Enid Blyton The Famous Five style. Again I trawled through recipes until I found one that had minimal ingredients and could easily be rustled up with little notice.
The end result hit the spot perfectly…
Continue reading “Old fashioned lemonade”
It’s been a rather quiet seven days for me, as I stepped away from the normal routine to care for Paul who was struck down last week with a combination of viral and bacterial infections. As the week went on though the cheery, cheeky toddler returned and I tried to make the most of the one-on-one time we had. It’s been a week of glorious weather, of subdued pottering and of heightened perception of the world around me.
This is how my last seven days looked…
Continue reading “The week that was”
Wattle and Ash 