Wordless Wednesday 28 September

There is a story to go with this photo but that is for another day.

I am linking to My Little Drummer Boys

Monday Menu 26 September

I am all go this week.  It is nearly the end of the third term of the school year and we have just moved house.  On top of that I am working three days a week and life is generally busy.

My menu is my life saver so here it is.

Monday  Indian Coconut Chicken Curry

Tuesday  Homemade hamburgers

Wednesday  Thai style Beef Stirfry  (scroll down to see the stirfry sauce recipe)

Thursday  Spaghetti with mince sauce

Friday  baked flaffel on rice with salad

Saturday  beef sweet and sour Stirfry on noodles

Sunday  bbq yet to be decided

Here is mondays meal.  We have just had it and it is sure one to be repeated.  (Food photography is much harder than it looks.)

I am linking to I'm an Organising Junkie.

Travelling with children

There is nothing like a list at your finger tips of things that will help keep you children entertained when in a car travelling for long distances.  I recently had a need to think about some of these.  i know that reading a book, or colouring in do not necessarily conjure up ideas of happy stomachs so I think that simple and old fashioned are the best.

1. I spy.....great for all ages.  Starting with colours even developing into a number plate version of I spy
2. A game of 'It'.....I guess this is like playing a game of tag but with no room to run around you use words only.  The 'It' person has a phrase they must say everytime they are asked a question.  Lets us say the phrase is 'smelly socks'.  Now everyone in the car asks questions of the 'It' person who only can answer saying smelly socks.  It truely is a barrel of fun.
3. A scavenger hunt is something for all ages.  Here are a few examples from the the net.
• one from The Organised Housewife.
• Try Planning Fun Road Trips
• Even convert this idea by Martha Stewart into a scavenger hunt.

Personally anything that keeps them laughing is good for me.

Wordless Wednesday 21 September

I just could choose which photo today but it really should be entitled 'Girls can do anything'.  My 10 year old took the photos.

Mother (me) and son installing the door handle

So the existing space needed some adjustment.

Of course there is a need to pose with the tools.

I am linking this post to My Little Drummer Boys.

The Hockey Season is Over

After two school terms of spending Saturday mornings watching McKenzie and Andre play hockey it has finally come to a seasons end.  While I love standing at the turf watching, this year the weather was more often wet and cold (with no protection from the weather) even bitter.   Just sometimes I wish my children had chosen a sport like badminton where they are alway playing indoors.

Anyway, as a very proud mother of my childrens effort and improvements this year, here they are enjoying one of their final games of the season.

McKenzie is quite short and young in her grade.  The year 8 boys are starting to be much taller than her as you can see.

Andre, well here he is defending a penalty corner.  He is the little hockey player in the blue top.

I can't wait to see what next years hockey brings. 

Monday Menu 19 September

Here I am finally and hopefully now I have moved house I will be back regularly posting menus on a Monday.

Monday  Chicken Salad with wholemeal pasta

Tuesday  spaghetti bolognasie

Wednesday  Cold meat (done in the crockpot) with salad as there will only be two of us at home for dinner.

Thursday  Then leftovers from wednesday

Friday  bacon and pumpkin pizza

Saturday  vietnamese vegetable spring rolls

Sunday    bbq - with these side dishes.  I am thinking that the kebab sticks will be a starter.



I am linking this post to I'm an Organising Junkie.

Moving the Pool part 2

So the pool was moved from the yard last friday.  I shared the photos in a post here last weeks.  Since then it really has rained so much that the ground I am trying to get ready for lawn seed, (being spring it is the right time of the year for grass seed) has just been too saturated to work with.

Meanwhile I sit here looking out my window looking at all the manual labour that I will need to put in to help get the yard into some sort of order.  Nothing too ambitious to start with a bit of grass would be good.  So to give you an idea.  We have 1.5 acres and these views show where the yard is going to be.

So starting from the left.  There is that pool that was pulled out of the ground.  We are not sure what will happen to that at this stage.

Scanning across you can see right in the front the spot that the pool came from and just a small clump of tree for a little privacy.

Then you can see out the left of my view.  They are fruit trees you can see and supposidly a mowable lawn.  Mind you quite a bit of work will be required to get that grass into a state that a lawnmower will go over it.

Of course there is nothing like completing the picture.  Then there is the finishing work required on the deck.  Hmmm.

I feel the strengthening of my bicepts and tricepts. major muscle groups happening.

Moving the Pool

As you may have already ready we are moving into our new home.  It is taking sometime to actually get to the stage when we will sleep there because there has been this pool right outside the ranch sliders at the house.  Four ranch sliders give access to the pool just metres away.

 Initially we thought that this fibreglass pool would need to be broken down and covered but the local digger man thought otherwise.  Naturally the intial thought remained as plan B and then this is what happened.

A little preparation first to remove some of the decking last saturday and then friday...well just take a look.  At 7.30 am the digger arrived...naturally it is a Little Yellow Digger just like in the book.  It is about to clear some of that garden and transplant the trees to provide a privacy belt.  Then a trench the depth of the pool was dug and the pool was popped and no long sucking onto the clay soil below.

The pool is still in one piece.

A ramp is made with the soil.

This is where the magic happens.  One little yellow digger and a strop haul it out of the ground, very slowly.

There we have it.  One gaping big hole the level of the water table evident and the pool out there is one piece.  It must be our very lucky day as the digger driver tells me we needed to take out a Lotto ticket.

Watch out for more photos tomorrow so you can see what the yard now looks like just two days after the earthworks have been done.

If we are really organised we might just be able to move into our house this week.

Favourite Finds on Friday.

I have found some fabulous links this weeks so thought that I would share them.

1. Firstly moving house and all I thought I might just have to have a go at this storage idea by Anna White.
2. What about this ottoman from The Country Chic Cottage.
3. I love the chalk board hereby Cecilia Rosslee this might just make it to my kitchen I think.....maybe I will use magnetic paint if there is such a thing.
4. I love these crochet hooks by Donna Duncombe.  It is just a pity I don't crocket.
5. Then there are these laundry bags from Freckled Laundry.

An ebook review

Did you know that there is close to 100 days to Christmas.  Personally it is very difficult to get my head around this as spring has only just started.


Anyway I have been reading this ebook 100 days to Christmas.  It is like a way to be planned and stay on top of things when Christmas comes you way.  I am thinking that last minute jobs just might become a thing of the past. 

Now while I am a person that likes to be well planned and organised the reality it does not always happen that way. What with 16 of September making just 100 days untill Christmas...a very scary thought I must say especially as I am in the throws of moving house which seems to be taking forever to achieve.

This ebook was written by Created by Jennifer Tankersley of List Plan-It.  It includes some planning pages to get you started along with some budgeting ideas, what to do if you are into the handmade gifts, planning the baking etc etc.  In fact it seems that no stone it unturned.  Add to that a little inspiration and I must admit I think I might just be hooked into someone else helping with the planning.

It does, for us who live here in the land Down Under (New Zealand), include some planning around some USA holidays which we do not fully embrace but hey nothing like a little insight to what other  parts of the world do at this time of the year.

For me it is worth printing out and even linking to the facebook page.