Tales of an Ordinary Life

Yesterday I went for a walk along the Brisbane River. It was a glorious winters day that only Queensland can deliver - with those crisp bright blue skies. Even though I was in the midst of the city I was reflecting on the play of nature, light and the concrete structures and how they all tend to sit together in harmony. This is a carry basket in a mangrove tree - a hangover or a reminder of the floods in January.

I don't know about you but at the moment weekends don't seem to be about relaxing too much at the moment. They seem to be more about cleaning, cooking and running around to soccer. This is a note to self to stop and enjoy the weekends a little bit more. I have a couple of Saturday morning rituals that I strictly adhere to, firstly it is up early to the local farmers market to buy fruit and veg for the week. There is a baker who has woodfired sourdough there on site every Saturday, so it is a treat for the week. When that bread gets home it is topped with a freshly poached egg - yes fresh I go down to check if the girls have laid any eggs that morning an if so that is my breakfast, with the local papers of course. Soccer beckons by mid morning so there goes my Saturday morning bliss. What rituals do you have on the weekends?

Every term the School has what is called a pupil free day, where the teachers get a day of inservice training. This does not affect the Kindy kids so earlier this week I had the older two kids at home for the day. We decided to go to the Botanical gardens, which are only 10 minutes from our home. They have such an amazing and diverse bunch of plants from all over the subtropical world. There is also a lovely Japanese garden complete with amazing bonsai trees, some being nearly 50 years old! Our highlight is the sculpture trail which the kids meander through the gardens looking for each sculpture. So on our pupil free day the two older kids ran through the gardens experiencing the delights of both the natural and artistic worlds.

My mum gave me my one of my granny's cookbooks a few weeks ago. I do not know if it was a favourite but it was certainly well used. I had such a giggle this morning over some of the recipes especially making a salad with lemon jelly crystals! How much have our palates changed. But saying that I did find some unusual recipes which I am keen to have a go at.

Unlike other parts of the world our winters here in Brisbane are mild but it feels cold to us. So most trees still have their leaves and plants still flower. Actually some only flower in winter. I just wanted to share with you some of their splendour!

I am often reflecting on the topics of simplicity and gratitude and realise how much these two go hand in hand. I live in a rather affluent part of Brisbane and see how easy one can become discontent with every thing you have as you are constantly comparing ones self to others in the community. Rather than choosing to view life as full and and abundant. That desire to accumulate is so insidious that often it creeps into our lives and we do not realise it is there until it is well and truly entrenched. So as an ode to the simpler things in life I want to speak out some of the things in my life I am grateful for: That I have all the basics of life. That I am loved I can sit by a gum tree and enjoy a lovely fire That I have a curious mind and enjoy finding out how things tick I can curl up and read a good book - that I have often borrowed from the local library for my hens that are scratching the ground as I write, that I can give them a good life. my photo's they give me a time and p...

Taking the kids out of the house we ended up down by Moreton Bay for a bit of fish and chips and a bit of scootering (it is the new thing to do in our home). I arrived feeling very weary and stressed but being by the water blew all that away. I had forgotten to bring my camera, which I was not happy about because the light was beautiful and in my minds eye I had all these lovely shots lined up. In the end I had to make do with the iphone and I love the quirkyness of these photo's. What is it about the sea that refreshes our soul? No matter how you are feeling it just ends up invigorating the soul. But saying that the bush does that too.