flowers for me

tonight as i was calling the boys in for dinner i went to the front door and was greeted by Hugo carrying this bunch of flowers that he had spent ages collecting in the garden. the bunch of flowers was nearly as big as him. He had the most beautiful smile on his face and he was so happy to give them to me.
we came inside and put them in a vase.
thank you my darling Hugo.
its the simple things in life that are the best. and these flowers made my day.

Gardening Club

Tuesdays is gardening club at Hugo's school. it is such a lovely way to finish the day, a group of like minded students across all ages congregate together in the school garden. each week the students are given tasks like planting, weeding, cultivating seedlings, taking cuttings of herbs, watering and pruning.

left overs

its great having chooks, most of our scraps go to them, the boys had a few bits left on their plates tonight, so outside to scrape them off and the chooks get dinner as well !!!

camping

this weekend we went to sheepyard flat, which is near Mansfield on the Howqua river. it is a popular camping spot. its beautiful country. we went up on saturday morning and came home sunday afternoon. it was really relaxing and lots of fun. Hugo spent most of his time riding his new motor bike and Archie rode his bike, played in the dirt and ran around. the river was warm on saturday so the kids played and played. they built a rock island to try and dam up the river :: fun :: laughter :: real camping.
dinner was cooked and eaten before sun down on the open fire. the kids had a ball and so did we.

traditions

its funny how traditions form without even realising. somehow over the year we have started to have dinner out on a Friday night :: a number of reasons have contributed to this :: me working on a Friday, end of the week, and a night that john gets home at a reasonable time.
tonight we went to a new Japanese restaurant near us. it was great. the boys love Japanese as do we :: the clean fresh flavours and simple yet beautifully presented food.
yum.

Chefs Tool Box

last night i hosted a party for this range of cookware called The Chefs tool Box
it was a great night. i had about 10 friends over and we all had a chance to sit, talk and catch up ( which is rare with out kids these days) at the same time a lady came and demonstrated this cookware which you can then order and buy. we had stove top pizza and sticky date pudding. its a great idea, a selections of the products are used to demonstrate the cooking of these 2 items and then we all get to eat it at the end. i spent $$ but i also ended up with some great deals as i had hosted the party. there are great non stick cook ware as well as flexi bake pans, muffin tins, baking sheets etc.
the scales are fantastic.....
needless to say i need to find room in my cupboards for all i bought and i am looking forward to cooking.

i want to knit

Knit hat, yarn, and knitting needles
Knitting is a method by which thread or yarn may be turned into cloth. Knitting consists of loops called stitches pulled through each other. The active stitches are held on a needle until another loop can be passed through them.
Knitting may be done by hand or by machine. By hand, there are numerous styles and methods. Flat knitting, which can be done on two straight needles or a circular needle, produces a length of cloth, while circular knitting, which is done on circular or double-pointed needles, produces a seamless tube.
Different yarns and knitting needles may be used to achieve different end products by giving the final piece a different colour, texture, weight, or integrity. Using needles of varying sharpness and thickness as well as different varieties of yarn adds to the effect
quote :: winkipedia, the free encyclopedia. www.winkipedia.org

i have the need to knit.
I'm not sure why, but i am feeling quite grounded at the minute and i feel that knitting is something i can do anywhere. i don't need to pull out the sewing machine, i can just sit and knit. something that would be great to do over Easter and just here at home as well. i would love to knit and then teach Hugo as well ( not sure how john would feel about this !!!)
but i don't now where to start. my mum taught me to knit as a child but i never remember how to cast on or off and i can only plain or Perle stitch. maybe i go back to mum and ask her to start me off again. but how do i improve and what do i knit.
i am over squares or scarfs but of course it has to be something really easy. i saw this great magazine in borders today called vogue knitting and there was this great wrap which was classified as easy but I'm not sure........

sunday fun

today was again busy at our local festival. after watching the billy cart race and looking at the kids market, we left for awhile and went to a local oval where Hugo had a turn on his motor bike. after some initial hesitation ( which i was glad of ) he was off..... going around and around and around, lap after lap after lap. the boys had fun together and it was a real male bonding couple of hours.

festival

this weekend we have our local festival. a whole weekend of parades, markets, stalls, food, wine, good friends, locals and a sense of community.
saturday morning there is the annual parade. Hugo was in it in the school section and he had great fun.
we spent the day wandering around the market, catching up with friends, drinking and eating and listening to some fantastic bands.

drawing

we don't seem to have done much drawing over the last few months.
today was a good friends birthday. Hugo decided to draw the card. we decided on a motor bike so Hugo looked outside and drew his new pee wee 50.
i think he did a great job.

rainy days

today it was wet and cold.
it rained and rained and rained. and we all pottered around inside, reading books, reading the papers drinking coffee and hanging out. Hugo and Archie built a cubby under the dining room table and played Lego most of the day.
it was one of those great wintry days.
good friends came over in the afternoon and stayed for dinner. a perfect way to end a really cosy homely day.

new toy

ever since Hugo was born John has always said that he would buy Hugo a little trail bike. i have argued for years to hold it off and wait till he was at least 6 or 7 so he had more of a grasp of how a motor bike worked.
well somehow after catching up with friends yesterday we have bought their pee wee 50, which is a kids Yamaha trail bike.
i somehow don't feel as nervous or upset as i thought i would but i have been laying down my rules !! no riding until he is bigger etc etc. i think it is all falling on deaf ears.

boys and their toys !!!
oh to be a mum to girls !!!!!

picnic in the park

today the alpine resort management board of mount buller held their annual picnic in the park at the base of mount buller. there is the most beautiful park on the banks of the delatite river, in the township of merrimba.
there was local wineries, food, bands and good friends. we found a spot under the trees and stayed all day. it was great.
we ended up back at a friends house for a bbq dinner. by 8pm i had 3 very tired but happy boys ( and i big tired (intoxicated) boy !!!)

long weekend

this weekend is a long weekend in Melbourne, we have Monday as a holiday. as of Friday afternoon we weren't doing anything, but then we spoke to some friends that were going to Mansfield. we have got some great friends that live in Mansfield and merrijig so its always nice to go up. we also have a block of land that one day we will do something with.
we ended up staying at this great place. it was advertised as a farm stay, not that there were any animals but it was great for the kids to run around.
Saturday night we went to the merrijig rodeo which was fun.

dress ups

tonight when i went to pick Hugo up from his friends house, the family invited us to stay for a roast.
during the course of the afternoon/evening by boys dressed up. this is Arch.
he is loving babies at the moment.