Supersized Sunday - Fishin' for the Family - Goodbyes & Mondays always get me...

SUPERSIZED SUNDAY



The Lady Avon




Avon River -
Gloucester/Gayhurst Bridge, Dallington

  This was an awesome Sunday, better than most!
We ate a hearty breakfast ( see the review in my last post!), cleaned and tidied.
Big Bro arrived, and the kids were set.
It became apparent, it has been a while since we were all together under the same roof.
We are so good as a family, I love it when it all works, and the kids are all home together, happy. It is so rare these days. The older teens have lives of their own... and I miss them, but not half as much as the younger two children do...
So there we all were, having some fun, the light banter and teasing, the cheekiness, the laughter. Oh the humour. Well... that of it which I can understand and relate to... some of it horrifies me, other parts make me laugh til I have tears. Happy Tears! I actually enjoy them, and I like the young men theyre becoming, for the most part.

FISHIN' FOR THE FAMILY
One thing as Ive said before is, we enjoy  fishing.
It makes it so much better when we are all together, but really we all just go to support the one of us who really knows what he is doing. The others of us are enthusiastic, but Gord (nearly 16) is a Pro. He knows Fishing inside out.  He lives huntin'- fishin'- guns and tackle etc.
We smile at his knowledge and his patience with us less proficient fisher people. His instincts are right on track, and he knows his stuff. He ties all the knots, knows which fish is what, and how to get them into the bucket...

So its fair to say, we dont mind cos he caught the most today and the rest of us just enjoyed being there, in the fresh air, cool though it was. Blaise, Dee and I all caught three apiece... yee-haa!

Yellow-eyed Mullet/Herring

What topped the day off nicely (apparently) was Gord catching an eel. A long-finned eel that Duncan stripped, gutted and cooked. All of them love eel once it is baked with salt, oil and lemon juice...

I guess I shouldnt brag, but Im so proud. My boys are all learning GOOD SKILLS that will tide them over, should TEOTWAWKI come. (The End Of The World As We Know It - Native American believe this will be The Event, or Change to come)

Eel prep

Goodbyes after dinner is never fun.  The wee girl sobs, the big guy gets sober and sad, and really it isnt a nice feeling for them to say Good bye to their big brothers. They love them. I love them. I wonder sometimes about where we fit in their lives now theyre bigger, but today left me with no doubt. We fit. We matter. They are part of us, and we are part of them... Aww, heck.



Mums the short one now!



Brother!

Duncan and Arlais

The Lazy As

So, then there were the obligatory photos.
And now it is quiet.  Monday is right around the clock.
I do wonder, and dare I ask... What will this week bring?

Heres hoping your weekend was relaxing, peaceful and Memory-tastic!
Love from My Heart to Your Hearth

E Butterfly
XXXXXX



Magnificent Monday and Other Stuff

A Magnificent, Moving Monday... Well, it started out just magnificent, but since I decided the magnificent part, its been a bit shaky too! A 4.3 to help us digest our breakfast with... Shake those cornies down...

So, where have we been lately? ... Not outside so much, a week inside at least because of three days of very heavy snow, though the snow did leave us on good terms with the beautiful weather post-snow.
Gorgeous blue skies, those billowy white clouds and some knock-out days in the garden!
Been cleaning and tidying mostly. Trying to organize the spare room into something other than Survival Central. Of course, now Im reconsidering :-) Maybe the Survival Stuff can go back where it was, and me and The Boarder - well, we can all just huddle in the lounge or curl up on The Sofa together and admire the view.  

Have had the kids down with *suspected measles* - they had some of  the symptoms, and Miss 4.11 came down with a  rash, but nothing seemed to *happen* other than temperature spikes and night and lethargy.
All over now,  ten days and we bounced back again very quickly, pleased to report... My children touch wood, dont tend to get ill apart from the occasional cold. Im very grateful for that I might add!

We have Tomatoes! <--- technically, just the plants... of course... But our seedlings have sown nicely and are cheerfully growing so they can see out the lounge window... Weve been watching them grow morning by morning, and noting who grew first - Tomato Chocolate is the laziest, and our Bloody Butchers seem to be having issues with which way is UP!  The little yellow cherry tomatoes just grew and grew - they took three days to sprout, and they have their first set of *grown up tomato leaves* now.
So most of these varieties we chose are supposedly early, so I hope they remember to Grow Strong.
We have a bbq dinner riding on whose tomatoes fruit first --- we cant have Uncle N winning because he cooks superb bbq!!

All in all, we have some fenugreek seedlings looking fantastic, some awesome Basil Red Rubin - very pretty purply red shoots! and then theres assorted tomatoes... Its going to be fantastic if we can successfully grow them all, Im stocking up on the Tomato recipes in anticipation...
Have some companions going in too, some calendula, some parsley and some marigolds, also looking to snip some cuttings from my lavenders.

The Police are blitzing this part of town lately checking warrants, registrations and licences.
It seems ironic that because of our bottlenecks with traffic works, they use that to their best advantage.
The traffic is so slow at rush hour anyway because of the holes that open up so frequently, or the roadworks that is ongoing, but this morning they had the incoming traffic slowed to a halt almost as they checked the cars...
It isnt a worry for me at the moment, but sometimes it can be a few days in between getting things ship shape, and its a big stress for most people round this part of town.
In My opinion, the cost of living has risen, but wages and benefits do not reflect this rise. I do worry about where it will leave people, as their first and foremost concern is surely family care and comfort - power and food, warm clothing and footwear, over whether vehicles are legal?
Another stressor now of course, is having to have a *second supply* of things, in case of power cut or earthquake. It IS a stressor here.
It doesnt always equate to *bad planning* if you dont have everything you need, it may be that there is just not enough funds to spread between the things you need from day to day, and the things you *may possibly/probably* need in case of emergency.
ARE YOU PREPARED? Do you have things stored for your family?
It is something I am coming up against, but I tick along ok. It is a question that is often asked when you talk to people - Do you have a first aid kit? Do you have stored food or water?
For me - it is a must. Basics. As I said to Mr EB yesterday, God I hope we dont have to survive on my survival kit, as RICE is the main component! Im sure I love rice... sigh.

 Im committed to planting my garden with vegetables and companion plants rather than the usual perhaps showy plants/flowers that I would like...
It is simply, it makes sense.

Well, on that note, I must go and rethink my supply cupboard.
I have masks and gloves, water and matches, lantern and tarpaulins to find homes for.

Healing Thoughts to my friend Spencer,
We love you Spence.

Thinking Of You, and Your Garden
May all Your weeds, be edible :-)
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
EButterfly






       

Here Comes The Sun! Frosty out there...

Monday Morning... and here I am again.
HERE COMES THE SUN... just makes me wanna sing... doodin doo dum, Here comes the Sun!
Went out to do the school drop off, and boyo! It is COLD.
Came back through all the fog, and took some photos. Its very clear until you look ahead, then White. Love it. Guess this is what kills all the bad bugs off our plants, or spurs seeds on so theyre ready to Grow... Gotta love Nature in its Wonder!

Had a look at my garden. It may not have fared so well after this frost. Everything has drooped. Maybe they need the warm kisses from the suns rays to keep em going!



Silverbeet/Coloured Chard *Bright Lights*




My new Geranium plants... Ice, Ice Baby!



Bergamot

Still growing Tomatoes - Up the Tree. It is taller than my 5ft 10 high!

Parsley On Ice!

Time to go and find my handy dandy Gumboots :-)

Love.
EBUTTERFLYXXXXXXXX

Lazy Days and Sundays, always get me down...

I know, its meant to be Mondays, as far as the song goes... those too, sometimes.
Cant explain it, it just is.
Sundays here always seem to be melancholy, low energy, catch-up days. Its the end of the week and Ive wrung all the goodness out of everything, my wallet, my spirit, my children, until theres not much left... The late nights, the stressors and the bills, the early mornings, the hilarity and the struggles, it all catches up and ends in a Sunday...
So forgive me if I huddle away somewhere reading, lazing in the sun, doing the small things, not expending too much energy. Reading, napping, baking, bouncing on the trampoline with the littles, or in the garden, I ignore the piles of washing or the dishes until I gather enough energy - but that wont be until late in the day.
A day of rest? Not for any traditional reason, perhaps - but here on Sundays we do tend to be economical with movement and low on enthusiasm.
I end up with wriggling littles in bed, and put the covers over them in the hope they get the hint to go back to sleep... Usually that is the indication to wriggle harder, giggling at each other not-so-quietly, and eventually Mum gets sick of it, and will so ungraciously hurl herself out of bed - to stand and admire the garden, waiting for the jug to boil. Ahh, coffee the elixir of All That Has To Be Awake.
Requests  follow for pikelets with jam and chopped up banana or sausages and sauce, wrapped in bread and butter - it could be boring old toast, or cereal with fruit... but who knows... such is the Sunday routine round here at the Lazy A Ranch ...
So next time you knock on my door on a Sunday, and you hear hushed voices and scurrying in the hallways... youll know what is going on... because here it is, in print...
Its SUNDAY and we're sitting it out, cheering quietly for the bitter ends of the week to subside, awaiting the onslaught of the new week, and a shiny bright new Monday. Fresh out of its packet, with all its fresh energies...

The rain of the day has stopped,  and l it leaves behind a fresh clean palette - its late and the sun is just dipping down into the night.
Tomorrow is Sunday again, Im hoping it will be a brilliant sunny new beginning for all those who somewhere need a new start in their lives... Today has been an earthshattering day for me, and I am left realizing how truly fortunate I am...

Thinking of You --- Stephen, Alicia and Joshua.

All my love,

EButterfly 

our roses amongst the scarlet runner beans, oaks aside