Whirlwinds and Beans... Fresh and Hand-picked!

Woo hoo! It is Friday again. Another week slips by.
I have to say, its been a real whirlwind this week (see the dog above)!
It went so quick, Im sure I didnt blink. Its been a low-energy, no motivation week unfortunately. Well, we all have days/weeks/months where things seem static.
Heres how it went...
It rained some days, big drops... The washing pile expanded... I looked  the other way and did some gardening...
I admired green tomatoes, of which we have plenty growing - all tucked up in their little green leafy nests... I oohed and ahhed over the non-acid tomatoes growing, theyre orange - transitory stage til red, Baby! So thrilling to think we will be eating our own toms soon! And another success story is our Scarlet Runner beans - a handful a day we pick. Theyre awesome. Im trying to decide which way to store the beans... At present we munch through them cooked as a stirfry... The kids like their crunch.

On Wednesday, We, as a family, walked on the beach... I had a hand or two and we collected some seaweed and made seaweed food for the Garden... Im sure I heard the capsicums singing as they soaked up their seaweed goodness! I love the way plants look when theyve just had some water/fertilizer. Its like they *perk up* and stand up straight :) Basil plants are delightful to grow. Their pretty green leaves gently pucker, like someone did some sewing and pulled the threads to gather their leaves... And the bonus is, they smell heavenly.

Pic From HERE

Theres a new resident on the Echinacea plant.
The plant has some broad leaves at the top, and under one of these leaves, there is a preying mantis. It was out on the top yesterday as we sat there weeding (I weed, Miss 4 sits on my knee) ...
The mantis caught a fly - a green bodied fly. The noise was terrific. A real battle til the death, of course the mantis won.
We watched, dear darling daughter was horrified at the ferocity of the mantis. *Let him go*, she said. *Let him go! ... Awww, youre awful* she said to the Mantis... who was sucking the innards out of the fly relentlessly. Hehe.
He didnt let go, he wasnt listening, and as we watched, one of the fly's wings fell off onto the leaf. Miss 4 couldnt look away. I have to say, it was quite interesting, but it lead to a few questions... Why?... Where?... When?... But Why Mum?

I spent time digging in boxes trying to find coloured paper and glue, so I scrapbooked with my darling daughter...(She loves glue and is very good with scissors around shapes!)...
I have yet to sit down and actually get working on any particular craft project, but Im picking up some ideas from ONE PRETTY THING which is one of my favourite places to visit online at the moment...
Also, there are places like Crafty Tart , Better Scrapbooking and Absolutely Crafty  that I spend time drooling browsing over.

Im planning to do more scrapbooking this year. I have a *To Do* list...I really enjoy the headspace I get to when Im creating something, and Id like to spend more time with Arlais in an enviroment that she enjoys too, and I love the way she picks up on new skills... She isnt interested in writing her name or counting, though we do spend time with those skills, we are both happier when colour, paint, glue or paper is involved... other skills will come from that too Im sure...

To my surprise, I found myself channelling my Mother this morning, and it wasnt to growl :-) ... My Mother loved to sing and she had a lovely voice. This morning while Arlais got dressed, we had a cuddle and I sang to her, she nestled in, which doesnt happen often, and I remembered songs that my Mum used to sing. It is now part of me, that part of her.
It makes me happy thinking about the times she and I spent together when I was little, though she has been gone for... wow, almost 14years! I want to create times for Arlais to remember of her and I, and our times together, so she can recall them when she is an adult. I hope that doesnt happen too quick. I like being Mummy to a little girl, confusing and cute, curious and annoying and all the other things that go with it.
I can hear Mum saying * She is so like you...* And that might not be an altogether good thing :-)

Two little Dicky-birds sitting on a Wall,
One named Peter,
 One named Paul...
Fly away Peter
  Fly away Paul...
Come Back Peter,
Come Back Paul...

 

graphics from HERE
 
The Pre-teen is happy. Still happy with his new class. Finding new friends... Discovering old friends from last year. The friends thing is getting confusing. Boys - friends. -Girls - friends. Boys and Girls... argh!! We are just discovering that some boys dont like it when their mates get friends that are girls, and who want to *hang out* too... Its just *that age* I think...And hes a good lad. We started homework last night... He did well.

So all in all, I think it is fair to say, its been *One of Those Weeks*...
Looking forward to the Weekend...
Family time, Shopping, Gardening, Sleep-ins... Even Sunday.

Love to Your Heart From Mine.
PS Dont forget your Valentine...

EButterfly
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