40th Lunch

Today I made lunch for friends and family, to celebrate turning 40.

It was a lovely day...Thankyou!

I picked up an old book for 30 cents, but it was not that interesting and better used as a decoration.

The ribbons are masking tape.

I saved old drink bottles to put the flowers in.

I always like to try new recipes with friends.

I made an orange and almond cake and filled it with creme patisserie, raspberries and strawberries, then iced it with a little whipped vanilla cream.

The venison and kangaroo were lovely and the beetroot and orange relish I made complemented nicely.

The duck ravioli and orange sauce was a hit.

P made some pork and fennel sausage rolls and they were yummy too!

Fortieth Birthday

On saturday I celebrated my 40th with the boys...

Pears in Watercolours

I was ready to leave the pears painting half way through, however they kind a grew on me and turned out ok.

The bowls, well the shadows just don't quite work. Oh well it is all about learning as you go.

Art - Ink and Watercolour

The boys did some composition, ink and watercolour lessons...

They arranged their shells of choice and did some line and dot ink drawings, followed by watercolour paintings.

They are improving each time (with some help and guidance). They are very proud of their work and so they should be!

Roos out the back

Organic Farmstay Holiday - South West

This week we went away for three nights, down south to the Margaret River Wine region, a birthday present from Nanny and Poppy (thanks again).
We stayed at a place called Burnside Bungalows and Organic Farm and the boys had an absolute ball!

Where we stayed -
This is a secluded farm stay, an organic one, with a vineyard, orchard, veggie garden, olive trees, macadamia trees, capers, avocado trees and plenty of animals too (geese, chickens, guinea fowl, cows, wild guinea pigs, pigs, piglets, kangaroos, plenty of birds and all sorts of native animals.
The bungalows are limestone, have all you need, are basic in their decoration but are comfortable and warm with the wood fire going. 
The best thing about this farm for me is that everything is organic! The geese and chicken graze under the trees to keep grass and pests under control. The guinea fowl wander everywhere searching for insects (even on the verandah) and the veggies are so healthy looking (and tasty). 
Every morning the boys would go and feed all the animals and learn lots about the animals and organic farming and check on the one day old piglets.
In the afternoons we would collect organic, free range eggs and our dinner from the veggie patch...fresh snow peas, beetroot, broccoli sprouts, kale, lettuce etc.
The gum boots came in handy for walking around the farm and in puddles and the boys said it was their favourite holiday stay.

Things we did -
It rained on and off most days and it was cold, but we did quite a lot and didn't let the weather stop us from having fun.

The beaches are beautiful in this area, Dunsborough, Yallingup, Canal Rocks and further south. Even in stormy seas, the view is beautiful. The surf was up too!

The art gallery and shops are interesting and all the taste testing is always fun for the boys (chocolate, fudge, venison, jams, chutneys).
There are so many xlnt wineries and vineyards, however we only stopped at a couple. 

We had a devonshire tea at The Berry Farm and sat with the birds, had lunch in Margaret River, coffee in Dunsborough, watched glass blowing, went to the limestone caves (more on that next month) and saw lots of funny things as we passed by in the car...baby lambs peeking over the long grass and mother duck leading the long line of babies down the road.

Sat by the fire and read books and toasted marshmallows.
Collected gum nuts.
Climbed the bunk beds.
Left crumbs for the little birds at our doorstep.
So many other things.
We had a lovely time away and very educational too, now the boys ask whether we are eating organic food every time we have a meal, just because it tastes so much nicer!
Hopefully all our food will be home grown soon.