at the moment I am...

reading...

A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainean, which is funny and poignant and thoroughly enjoyable.

watching...

season 4 of 30 Rock. I've borrowed it from the library and we are about to overdose on it as it is due back in a fortnight. I love Kenneth - equal measure hilarious as cringeworthy.

baking...

pink coconut cake because it is the cake that lasts for a week and neither of the kids eat it.

going away

One of the bloggers I read sporadically has packed up her family and moved to Paris for a year. While this could send me into a slump of misery and woe dwelling on the mundanities (i know this is not a word) of my life here, I choose instead to dwell on the fact that I am packing my family and going to the Bellarine Peninsula for the weekend.

slowing down

The pace has slowed here at number 55. We have been bustling for the past few weeks - interstate visitors for two of the last 3 weekends, Milly's Birthday and party - all great things but the pace tends to quicken and unless I do it consciously it doesn't slow down. So the past couple of days Milly and I have hung out - doing craft, reading books, making cupcakes, colouring in and having a tea party or two. This morning we glued the leaves from a tree we walked past on the way to school onto paper, added some glitter then headed in for morning tea while they dried on the clothes line. Once kinder finishes we will be drawing some legs and wings on Milly's bugs and a head and body onto my peacock.

how to turn 4

 

The weekend that a girl turns 4 is a big one and there are some important things to be done: Firstly, show Grandpa the contents of the party bags and give final approval to both the candle cake and the individually boxed cupcakes for your guests to take home...

 

After watching the clock for some time, head to your Pony Party where you must ride a horse called Buddy (and instantly fall in love with said horse)...

it is important to thoroughly enjoy yourself with friends.

..

The next day, on the morning of your actual birthday, open your presents on Mum and Dad's bed...

and be wanton in your expression of the the pure joy of receiving gifts. Once the gifts are opened and your parents are dragged out of bed, spend the morning in your pyjamas playing with these gifts...

until your mother cajoles you into holding a number 4 while she takes photos of you. And finally, be sure to find it difficult to conceal the happiness that overtakes you. Just because you are now FOUR.

a lesson learnt

So it seems that if you wake on a Sunday morning with a very sore throat and you spend the rest of the week feeling sick and exhausted but continue to: go to work and teach your classes (1 day); cook dinner (only twice - thankyou Michael and take away Chicken shop); tidy the house (4 days); do the laundry (4 days); take the oldest child to school (4 days) and the youngest to kinder (2 days); go into work on your day off while the youngest is in kinder (once - but bloody hell, what was I thinking?) and hunt for birthday presents for youngest (3 days)... you will wake up on the 5th day and be unable to peel your eyes apart due to the conjunctivitis-ey pink eye crust, then be forced to call in sick from work, go to the doctor, cancel your annual long weekend camping trip with friends, break your son's heart (due to aforementioned cancellation) and then lie about in bed (3 days and counting) looking at this view (dimmed as the light makes me squint my nasty eyes and cry out in pain). As for the view - my Miscanthus Gigantus are flowering outside my bedroom window so that is the upside, I shall go out and take a photo once I am better.

today's thrifted treasures

Milly and I wandered down to the shop on the corner today. She came home with a cradle for Barry the Baby (one of her dolls) and a 3D dinosaur skeleton for Sam. I came home with these - a beautiful split cane basket (the base detail deserves its own closeup), a tape dispenser to add to my vintage stationery collection and 8 more pure linen teatowels to add to the collection. I have about ten already that I use to (gasp!) dry dishes. I am thinking about using these to make cushions covers for the outdoor chairs.

Hello

It is possible to view the traffic and stats of my blog but I really don't pay much attention to it. However I am pleased that people beyond my family and friends read this. For instance, this week there have been readers from Australia, Japan, Netherlands, Georgia (the nation not US state), Denmark, Belgium, France, the US, UK, Poland and Germany. While at least one of these people landed here after a search for "crochet granny square rug" (sorry to disappoint you, it was a one off post and quite a useless google result, I am sure), some seem to be somewhat regular readers of perennial.

So - Hello and Welcome. Feel free to make a comment, and if you have a blog, let me know so I can read it. Carol

flowers everywhere

The house is full of flowers today. I had already bought and arranged the asters as a table centrepiece for lunch. When Mum and Dad were here on the weekend they bought me Gladioli and Easter Daisy. The Singapore Orchids on my desk were a gift from lunch guests. I am struck with some a horrible flu-ish throat infection so the flowers in every room I walk through are making me feel much better.

Happy Birthday

Russell and Amber have escaped to a glamorous holiday in Lord Howe Island. They have no phone reception and I am assuming they are diving, walking, relaxing, swimming so much they are not checking emails - but it is Russell's birthday. So - Happy Birthday Russ, if resources were unlimited we would be up there with you. Perhaps sailing on one of these...

Lots of Love xxx

garden update

I have not posted photos of the garden for ages. Last week I spent a very sweaty five hours in the front, cutting back, pulling out and tidying up. I deadheaded dozens and dozens of flowers - Dwarf Agapanthus, Achillea, Verbascum, Salvias. As soon as I had cleared it out the Sedum Autumn Joy popped against the grasses (Miscanthus, Stipa and Penisetum). The blending of the pink flowers and subtle purple in the grass seeds heads is really gorgeous. (and this will be the last time I make reference to my favourite season for a while)

offerings

Two days after posting about the arrival of autumn one of my lunch guests arrived today with a bag of apples from her tree. What could be more autumnal that that? (It was my turn to host the school mum lunch for 7 women and 10 kids - yes, I am exhausted).

autumn

My favourite season. I love the onset of cool evenings and darker mornings. Yesterday I made the first soup of the year - Minestrone. Milly and I have been shaving piles of  snowy Parmesan over the steaming bowls and eating it with sourdough toast for lunch. It feels indulgent and cosy. Soon there will be hours of work to be done in the garden. The beans are drying out and need to be picked and the potatoes are almost ready for harvesting. The garden waste bin is already full and the compost will soon be overflowing. I will sow the requisite autumn vegetable beds of brassicas and this year I am determined that they will not be allowed to go to seed and fuel the cabbage moths that land on us every year. We shall be harvesting and eating our winter greens.