Thank you October, you were amazing!

Mulberries

Expanding my range with cultured honey.

These flavoured versions are mind blowing.

October is often the month we have loads of juvenile king parrots visiting.
Far from shy, we often have 8 of them chatting away...

...or cheering you on

Coming back from New Zealand with rain, lots of it.
Here you see one of the dam overflows, releasing water into the gully.

All the rain is doing wonders for the garden, which is now is full blown Spring growth.

At last, the start of the cabin build!

Coinciding with my parents flight out of Amsterdam, the pressure in on!

Laura approved

And of course a massive thunderstorm rips through just before the roof goes on.

Quickly erected, wired up and a toilet hooked up onto the new septic system, it has already hosted our first overseas visitors and a Tim’s mates sleepover.

It will still need a couple more coats of oil on the outside, a finish on the inside walls and doors. And a bit more permanent furniture, other then the comfy queen size bed. 

Any friends and family visiting, we can now offer you a place to sleep, with a gorgeous morning view over the dam... Be welcome...

Jacaranda’s are coming in flower. The start off of the Jacaranda festival.

When you have a massive basket of eggs sitting on the kitchen bench, you make brioche.
Letting the dough rise long and slow in the fridge, with a dash of sourdough starter, improving the taste big time.

Sunday morning baking, scrolls with homemade fig jam...

These two...

The reality of having your whole family living on the other side of the world. When they visit you have them all to yourself, for weeks on end. Leaving many good memories behind.

Planting out the new orchard with the kids. It’s making my heart sing.

I managed to find a lemon myrtle tree, treasure! Growing alongside are an aniseed and cinnamon myrtle and a macadamia tree.

So far we’ve planted out mostly natives, wanting to support our local bees and butterflies. 

We might even end up with enough blossoms to sustain a beehive!

Besides natives, we've managed to plant a lemon tree, we’ve transplanted bananas, a lychee tree and a have quince tree on standby. A friend has kindly taken cuttings from his trees, soon we will be planting out coffee and Brazilian cherry trees.

We’re still waiting to plant: apples, avocado and a lemonade tree. Dreaming big!

Saying yes to all the challenges that come onto your path for a whole year  brings you to many interesting (and scary!) places. This year has brought me outside of my comfort zone many times.
This week I got asked for a feature for the “Keeping it Local” in the local paper.
They did a video feature of Nerissa and me at work as well...
Find it here... Can you here the nerves raging in my voice?
And what’s with the accent?!? Hearing yourself talk on video is weird, big time...

Making jacaranda ice-cream with the children: frozen blueberries and banana, yoghurt, macadamias and a spoon of quince paste, to get the colour just right...

March

Alex and Sophie have joined Tim on the Aikido dojo.

Aikido’s philosophy stands for the art of peace (not pieces). 

Self defence, changing the energy of an opponents attack into deflection, without harm.

when it’s too hot to cook...
Dinner, has become a very simple affair at our place, afternoons are mostly filled with after school activities, not leaving much time to cook. Lots of salads, fruit, legumes and a bit of meat.
Corn has been our main carb stable for the last couple of months, making the most of the summer harvest. Leftovers are highly favoured, making the meals a bit more diverse and are providing me with lunch.

Rosie, our free as a bird new “pet”.

Alex’s 5th birthday party, his best friends and whole kindy class!

Dragon fruit in flower, so big!

The dam’s new vegetation along the dam wall is starting to look much and healthier, more important it’s becoming stronger! She’s at maximum level, it won’t need much to start a flood now.

Rainy days and rainbows, Summer has started to pack her bags,
but while I’m sitting here dripping with swear on a muggy 35 degree day, she hasn’t left the building just yet.

Sick days, 

our feisty 3 year old turns into a teddy bear, and only wants me as a pillow.

Inspired by a glut of eggs and a free Saturday morning.
Baking bread with a dark chocolate and walnut swirl.

Expanding the granola, 

now also in the kitchen and on the shelves at A Perfect Blend Espresso Bar in Grafton.

Launching the snack packs, rebranding one of my granola’s, loving a good pun.

Besides, I’ve started developing a new granola, something for when the colder days are upon us.

I love this part of my work.

Biggest Playgroup has come and gone, at least 200 kids turned up for the day and had a ball. 

A big event to organise for the committee, but a great way to showcase where we stand for: play and a strong community. 

 The main bathroom, finished!

Loving our very basic and natural new shower and vanity.
(Much easier to clean too!)

Soccer season,
the admin site of it is keeping me rather busy, many evening and free moment spend, 192 registered!
And now all 4 have decided to play this year!
Coaching session with Alex, lesson 1, there’s no climbing involved in soccer.

Loving the change we’re seeing in Sophie, she has been seizure free for 2 years, and spasm free for a year. Something to celebrate!
Last month we lowered her medication, a risk, but we suspected that they were making her sleepy, making it hard to concentrate, to take on challenges and learn.
Already she has so much more energy, she’s tackling things a school, has energy to play and wants to do things, it’s making my heart sing...
Piano lessons, aikido and now also soccer, because there’s more to life then academics.

I’m trying to hold down the fort, while hubby is in Thailand, with his mate Erik.

Tim spend all weekend building a hydraulic arm, David get’s to test it.
I love it when they challenge themselves while helping and encouraging each other.

Looking at my poor (pumpkin) overgrown garden.
My fingers are itching, but my back is sore, signalling me, it’s carrying enough and wants some down time. So I listen, for now.

Winter holidays

I asked the kids to make a wish list for the holidays, for our staycation.
They decided on:
- BMX-track
- Cinema (Despicable Me 3)
- Library (on the last count we had over 60 library book in rotation)
- Play overs and sleepovers with his mates (Tim).
- A new playground to visit
- Tramping through the waterholes
And I’m happy to say we manage to tick them all off!
Some were even crazy brave enough to go swimming.

Another Full Moon party,
which coincided with Davids 3rd birthday.
A rather cold night, perfect fresh bread and pea & ham soup

Definitely not a baby anymore

With a temper that comes with the age (and being the youngest), it’s going to be a long year...

Lots of baking, Turkish breads have been very popular.

Laura, only 2 years old. She’s so very much like David, so clever and strong, but oh so stubborn. She’s starting to fill out a bit more, we’re getting ready for the next step in her training: lunging.

I used to train horses, lots of horses when I was a teenager. Those crazy horses no-one could ride, or had never been ridden before, they were my forte. Training was something I didn’t thought about much, it was done on an intuitive base, because they were all so different.  Topped up with a sense of feeling infallible, so common in teenagers. But it changes, hard, when you become a mum and little ones depend on you.
To be honest I was about to throw in the towel last week. Thoughts of “If something happens to me, we’re screwed” and “I haven’t ridden for so long, do I still have the touch?”
I’ve become so cautious, her getting exited I think of the damage she could do to the kids, every time I see her buck, I think “ouch”. I’m not a worrier, but I’ve found that with every child, the thoughts going around in my head have increased. There is always so much to organise, plan and do.
Horses are so sensitive, they pick up so many feelings. Me going in tired and overwhelmed, it gets picked up and mirrored back.
Being conscious of that, I want to try to use that, to learn from that. To empty my head and work in little baby steps. It doesn’t matter how long this might take. She’ll make a wonderful horse, she’s solid, surefooted and has an exuberant energy that can take her places.
I want to give it a couple more months, trusting myself. If it doesn’t come back to me, I’m sure we can find her an owner who can take her to the next level.

Tomatoes, so many tomatoes in so many different varieties. From tiny cherry tomatoes, to yellow ones, mini roma, large roma, to the huge tennis ball sized whoppers and everything in between.
Some of them are planted, most of them are making the most of these wet months Having come up from seeds and kitchen scraps from the 6 years I’ve been planting this garden.
It’s one big tangled mess of plants, growing in, up and over everything else. It’s like an Easter hunt finding them all. The upside is that the king parrots find it very hard to find them too...

Teamed up with basil some make it to our elderly neighbours, by courier.

My sister (left) winning at again at Henley, this time the Princess Grace Challenge Cup. We’re all so very proud of our aunty Lisa.

Proper single size beds for the youngest 3, who were still in small beds. 

Such a beautiful bed, only to found her napping here...
Or behind the cupboard/drawer block, where she’s made a cubby.

Alex is still telling everyone he sees that he now has a bunk bed,
there was never a question where he would sleep...

Marzipan filled speculaas (Gevulde speculaas).
Some special baking for a gathering of Dutch families living in the Northern Rivers area.

Working bee at playgroup

Looking back at our wedding 11 years ago.

 Lemons

Jonquils are starting to pop up throughout the border, such a happy, quirky sight.

Seeing how much more grows through the winter, if you water it a bit more...

has been enough incentive to improve the irrigation system for the garden. 

With a separate system for the border, giving the perennials and fruit trees a boost in their development and fruiting.