Yay - It's Saturday!

Amazing scenes up here at the hill!  Blue sky, sunshine, although for how long I don't know but I've sent Himself down to clean out the chook yard and I've got the washing on hoping to actually get it dry in the same day.  Oh what simple things give me joy!!!.Bit tragic actually.

The chooks have been living in less than perfect conditions lately with all the rain etc (not by chook standards mind you) so today fresh sawdust for the nests and floors and straw in the yard... after this they should be firing eggs out like Exocet missiles!!!!

Of course Himself is putting on a brave face inhaling the fumes down there with what I should imagine would be a slight hangover after spending the evening with the son-in-law at the local.  Thankfully they live opposite the pub so he was able to go over afterwards have a coffee etc and was fine to get home. However, I did question why the car seemed to be parked a little more towards my tool shed than normal.  His answer "so that you can get past love!".  Now we're not talking about driving past we're talking about walking past.  As anyone will tell you I can be quite self deprecating about my physical appearance .. I am not what you would call sylph like and have never had a great relationship with excess dieting or exercise and I admit that I could have 'TITANIC" emblazoned across my backside, however I don't think I have reached the stage where I need a whole bloody driveway to myself!!! But it was apparently said with love so all is forgiven.  I will however, leave him shovelling chook shite and inhaling those wonderful earthy fumes for just a little longer than originally planned.

Well, went down to inspect the chook house only to find 'my man' with a large bleeding cut on the top of his head.  Apparently in his slightly overtired befuddled state he forgot that 6'4" can't stand up in a 5'8" shed without hitting something. I'm surprised I didn't find him flat out on the floor but with courage beyond description he valiantly carried on with nary a moan, chopping wood, cutting down tree branches that were overhanging my clothes line, which unfortunately these days has sunk down to only about 4 feet above the ground, looks like a Barbie clothes line - but I digress.. and generally doing lots of little jobs that have been in my Nagging Repertoire for about the last 2 months.

I did weaken and bring a barrow full of wood up to the house for him and tidy his 'workshop' part of his shed up but all in all a lot more was achieved today than I thought would  be.

So here I sit blogging whilst he is watching another game of footy but that's OK. I figure with the things that were achieved today and the exciting promise of Himself accompanying me to the supermarket tomorrow it's only fair and equitable that he be able to watch the game.

So all in all we are at peace with the world in our little house on the Hill. We have a lovely warm wood fire, full tummies and the promise of more riveting adventures from Haven Hill to come.

Another day Another downpour

Taken Yesterday but really no
different this morning

Well, here I am again feeling just a little hooked by this modern technology!  Waking to yet another downpour of rain up here in the hills, it seems quite natural to get the wood fire going, have some brekkie and then sit at a computer talking to no-one!!  Certainly nothing wrong with me!.  However, at some stage this morning I shall have to don the red wellies and  the parka, go down and let the chooks out to forage around in their rain soaked yard, feed the poor old cat whose been banished to the shed as punishment for coming to the conclusion that she was just far too superior to use a litter tray or God forbid go outside and get her delicate paws damp in the dirt, and grab some dry wood to keep the home fires burning.  You gotta love the country in winter.


Just to add to this somewhat inane description of my life I shall also attempt to make a banana cake today.  As my family will verify cake cooking has never been my 'forte'.  My children had no idea what a sponge cake tasted like and thought that the ones they had at their friends places were raw because they weren't dry and crumbly like Mummy's.  I have improved somewhat with age although watching the Nut roll explode out of the tin the other day was a little disheartening.  It was like watching Vesuvius in my own little oven, quite dramatic.  I did discover though that either my tin was far too small or the amount of ingredients suggested by the Country Cookbook was actually for 2 loaves.  Never mind I shall persevere because 'failure is not trying' .  I have been lucky enough to have my kitchen renovated recently by our son-in-law Shane and one of my most prized possessions is my new stove.  I have always loved the AGA but as we didn't win X-lotto I got the next best thing for me,  which is a Belling Richmond.............love it love it!!! A bit of self-indulgence now with a photo attached.  Believe me it is wonderful ... I don't even have to cook on it I'd be quite happy to sit and look at it and buy take-away.

To this!!!

From this

Anyway, that's enough of a morning report, I tend to 'rabbit on' because I write like I talk so I'll go do the 'chores' now and see if there's anything to say later.

And in the beginning........

So good to wake up to!

Not a bushfire - Just a sunrise!

Well, this is my first attempt at a blog with  the encouragement of my daughter Katy.  She is a "blogger" from way back (inspiredkate.blogspot.com.au) and thought this would keep me occupied and possibly be a challenge.  It's been a challenge just trying to get this far but here I am sooo I guess I will just fill you in on my life!

I'm married with 2 daughters, and 2 grand-daughters, I live in the Adelaide Hills and have done for just over 10 years, I'm 'retired' but help out at 'Spice Girlz' on a regular basis which is a condiment producing business on the Fleurieu Peninsula run  by a cousin (in-law) Bronwyn and just generally do the mum, grandma thing when needed.

After moving around a lot and having lived in the suburbs for pretty much all of our lives, we decided that we needed to fulfill a dream and move to the country.  It never seemed to be the right time with the girls at school and work etc, but it all got the better of us one day when we were sitting in our  backyard at Somerton ( a beach side suburb) and could hear the neighbours conversation just the other side of the fence.

So we wrote a list of what we needed which included  an old house with 4 bedrooms,2 bathrooms, 5 acres and sheds and all with a budget of $150,000.00!  Well we got 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, sheds and just over an acre in a reasonably new house and we came in under budget!!  I've told people since that whilst we didn't 'get it all' , the biggest disappointment being that the house wasn't old, we have got so close to our dream that we are breathing down the neck of it, which I think is pretty damn good.

Since we shifted in we've created vegie gardens, herb gardens, chook houses, flower beds, paved, planted,built, renovated and we're only part of the way there. All in all it's pretty damn comfortable and cosy and even though the girls hated it on site 10 years ago and went back to the burbs to live AND said they would never move to the country, one lives 5 kms away and the other 15kms away near Mclaren Vale.  Now they would never go back and don't even venture down to "town" unless absolutely necessary.  My how things change!!!