lanterns

using our lanterns that we made at Jos round the campfire at winter solstice at the table for dinner

winter solstice

kids, parents, friends
joined together to celebrate winter solstice

inspired

a class project inspired by Archies walk along the river collecting gum leaves
all the children made paper bags and then went out in the Kinder grounds to collect gum leaves

a gum leaf hunt

a walk in the winter sunshine.
this week the children had to collect gum leaves for kinder. there was a competition to find the longest gum leaf. as we walked arch decided to collect gum leaves and make a collection of big and small leaves.

gardening club

the kids are making a wicking bed (self watering garden bed) the boys are enjoying digging out all the soil.

sorry

i dont know whats going on with blogger/ my computer, i am sorry there are no photos for all my recent posts. i am trying to fix it  BUT it is not working.....
i'll be back soon !!!

pasta

you cant have fresh tomato pasatta/sauce without fresh pasta
so the boys and i made pasta this morning.
Hugo went up to the TV to watch the Stephanie Alexander DVD again, so he could write the recipe down.
100 grams strong flour to 1 egg
as we were in the middle of making it friends dropped in, so Seth joined in and helped.
it was fun and dinner last night was one of our best meals, so simple but delicious.
fresh pasta and fresh sauce.

we had heaps of basil left over from yesterday so arch and I made pesto this morning
yum

Tomato Day

On Thursday night I was watching Italian Food safari on SBS. the episode was on Tomatoes.
for a few years i have always thought about making my own Pasatta(fresh tomato sauce) but never got round to it, i have even saved all the Jars.
anyway this morning with no plans Hugo and Arch were watching a DVD, Real Food with Stephanie Alexander that mum had given them. On it Stephanie Alexander was making homemade Pasta. as i sat and watched i thought we should make some over the weekend and then i thought about the tomatoes and I decided that maybe we could do it and give the sauce making a go. so with no plans for the day i went and checked with John, and he loved the idea and  seemed to think that Preston market would be good for the tomatoes, and near there he recalled an Italian shop that sold all things Italian and food.
the moment i stepped into Costante Imports i was in heaven... anything you could imagine and wish for, pasta makers, biscuit makers, pizza ovens, sauce making equipment, wine making equipment it just went on and on and real 5th generation Italians in the family business that has been operating for all those 5 generations. john finally pulled me out of there with a tomato press and we were off to Preston Market. busy was an understatement but the culture, food, people and produce was great. a box of tomatoes and fresh vegetables, fruit, deli goods, meat and fish we left ready to start our Tomato day.

the Italian way:: tomato day

Following the Instructions from the TV show italian food safari, the boys and I set to making our Tomato sauce.
Hugo really did it all, from start to finish. Arch participated in most steps but wandered off in between.
1 :: wash and dry tomatoes
2:: cut top of tomato and then cut into quarters length ways (all 10kg !!)
3:: squeeze and squash tomatoes by hand to break it all up.
4:: place on stove and heat through till just under a boil, adding rock salt and freshly picked basil
5:: pass through tomato press. to remove juice from skins. we did this 4-5 times.
6:: bottle into jars
7:: place in pot, cover with water boil for 1 hour
i really just supervised and added extra muscle power to the hand squashing.
Hugo was really proud and then spent some time on Sunday morning designing his own label !!!

Easter Bonnet

all ready for the parade at school today

goodbye

this was our gift to Stephen, Archie drew on a teatowel and then i embroidered over his work. an aeroplane, in which Hugo wrote:: from melbourne to singapore and then the 2 of them and their suitcases.

lunch with all the family to say good bye to Stephen who is off to live in Singapore. it was like Christmas, catching up with everyone. Bitter sweet that Stephen is jet setting away, but great that we could all catch up, the kids had a great time and so did we. mum cooked up a storm as per usual, a sit down 3 course lunch plus nibbles to start and slices and coffee to finish for 17 of us !!

exploring

i love the beach no matter what time of year and today was one of those cold blustery days, perfect fro rugging up and walking along the beach. we don't spend a lot of time at the back beach but today it was the perfect exploring weather.

cards

some people may call me old fashioned but i do love a hand made, hand written note.
and unfortunately/or fortunately depending on how you look at it i try to instill this in my boys.
this weekend we are off to the beach to say goodbye to one of my brothers cousins who is off to Singapore to live.
the first card is by Hugo and the other two by Arch. up until a few months ago i couldnt get arch to draw or create very much at all, but now.... i can't stop him, and its lovely.
the bottom card is my cousin and his partner and their suitcase !!!

pancakes for lunch

an easter bonnet in the making

the start of our Easter bonnet...... a paper maiche nest

an award

a Maths computer program in Victorian schools called mathletics is very popular in our house. maths comes easy to Hugo at this stage of his schooling and he has been very keen to log into mathletics most afternoons at home. the incentive of a paper printed certificate has been his driving force, but today he aced it and was awarded this trophy for the week. the second ever student in his school for mathlete of the week, gaining the most 'points' for the week. well done Hugo

memories

after years of procrastinating, today i decided just to DO IT. a photo wall that is. a blank canvas wall in our kitchen has now become a focal point. i have selected photos from the last 7 odd years of our family and friends and displayed them in a collage. everyone helped and we had a great time reminiscing about events, special moments in our lives as a family and how we have all grown. its stared something though... i have got hundreds of printed photos now and want to display more.... off to find the next wall!!

festival

a weekend of :: great weather :: parades :: wildlife exhibitions :: friends :: craft :: food :: markets :: good times :: memories ::community :: music the festival really sums up our little town. it was big, busy and fun and when we finally got home Sunday night about 8pm we were exhausted. it was a weekend of fun, music, entertainment family and friends. our little town rocks !!!!