That Little Tart

Geez it's windy outside! It sounds like I'm by the ocean, not a forest. Spring schming! This weather's just weird. I'm home alone with the littles tonight and despite the spooky wind tunnel hoo hoo noises and the likelihood of another power failure I'm feeling quite cosy here in my little cubbyhouse.

That brings me to comfort food. If the weather doesn't become a little more conducive to outside activities soon, I fear that just as Winnie the Pooh found himself confined to Rabbit's burrow after consuming too many honeypots, I too may need to liberate myself via extreme fasting.



This particular lemon tart recipe has not helped matters. When I spied it on Leonie's blog I practically ran to the kitchen to whip it together. The photos are of the second attempt at baking this ridiculously yummy dessert, not because the first was a failure, but because the first one was pretty much inhaled out of the oven and scarfed before my camera had a chance to admire it.

Actually that's a bit of a lie. Leonie's lemon tart looked way prettier than mine, which was kind of goopy. But tasted good.



Needless to say, in the not too distant future, (ie. after I've tried out a few more bodacious baking recipes) I will boot away the Winter blues and big bellies with a decent Spring cleanse. I just hope I can convince my coinhabitants to do the same...

All the Pretty Little Peonies

Peony flower / timelapse from munich timelapse on Vimeo.

I spied this on Pia's beautiful blog which is always full of pretty things which inspire and are full of soul.

I fully intend to dabble in the art of peony growing in this mountain patch of mine. Lovely.

The Cocoa Incident

It happened in a flash, when I was chopping vegies right next to her.


I picked up the camera.



And let her go for it a little longer. She still smells sweet. I could eat her up.

A Week of Weather

First there was this.



Then this.


Then a bit more of this. (This one brought Bambi out of the woods).


And then, a little of this.



Which gave rise to this.

I failed to get a shot of the extreme wind which blew the barbecue cover into a ditch up the road and of the power blackout which lasted for most of Sunday. Two blackouts in the two months we've been here then. Not such a good rate.

Look Who Came To Visit.

Can you see them? Behind the cubby, through the fog.

We had heard we've had deer visiting and seen some evidence of nightime visits but it was under the cover of thick all-day fog today that they came to visit and nibble the grass. They can go for it if it helps keep the lawn trimmed. There's way too much of it.

It may be a different story once I have vegie seedlings in but for now, they're welcome guests.

Hibernation and Hill Chills

Hi there! I seem to have gone AWOL on this blog but I'm here, I've moved house and I've managed to get back on the interwebs.


It's been a curious month with such a dramatic lifestyle change from the inner burbs to the mountains and being a one car family I'm starting to feel a little stranded at times. But only a little. The girls and I have been having a completely snuggy time nestling into our new nest and making it our own while the baby-daddy goes out to work to support us. (Yay for that!)

We've had some visits from a few of our favourite people and many days of just hanging out together getting to know our new house and 'hood. Great coffee has been discovered within 5 minutes walk and a handy playground within ten. The only thing I'm really missing so far is the proximity to my said fav people and the sense of community that we came from. Actually, I miss Ceres too, and our neighbours and our cat. A bit more readjusting to do I suppose.

That may account for the strange melancholy that has washed over me occasionally. An emotional equivalent of the fog that descends on this neck of the woods. At times I have thought we'd literally moved into a cloud. The street light sometimes stays on for the whole day but then on others a patch of blue will open up in the sky and cast beautiful clear light on our hilly nest.

Buddha seems content in his new home.


I have a delicious sense of anticipation to find what is going to pop up in the garden in Spring and there are already brave bulbs bursting through the surface. I'm starting to get a sense of the work that will be needed to keep the weeds in check, the hedge trimmed and the lawns mown but I'm also really excited about learning more about gardening in a cool climate and making my mark on this garden. I have this place within walking distance to visit for inspiration. The gardens are truly gorgeous but I even get a buzz from loitering around the nursery, plotting future purchases...(maples, weeping cherries, fruit trees....)

Next step is to keep exploring, discovering the local markets and things to do. The places for three year old kinder are full for this year but we've booked a spot for next so that will bring a little more routine and rhythm.

A small person acquainting herself with the dishwasher.

Same small person acquainting herself with the dregs of apple cake mix.

A vignette en route to our new favourite house of caffeine (for me that is - just milk froth for them).

Tick

Mailswap letters out. Tick
Wardrobes moves out into the garage for sale. Tick
Whole family almost over flu. Tick (Still lots of coughing and snot and misery)
Many boxes of non-essential stuff packed. Tick. (And many more to go)
Many boxes of stuff chucked or in the garage sale pile for the weekend. Tick

So much more to do....

Our boring packing aside, for various reasons I have been thinking about community. Claire found the most lovely thing on building community recently. My misbehaving computer won't let me make this any larger so I hope you can read it.

So many of those points speak to me and I am definitely guilty of hiding in my hidey hole and keeping to myself but there's certainly a community thing happening around me that is really inspiring me to change.

Our neighbours kindly offered us the use of their trailer on the weekend and on discovering that our towbar was not compatible, offered their car as well. Then they also offered to babysit.

Another neighbour, who has an affinity with our ailing cat, offered to take him to the vet as she knew we're in a bit of a tizz with the move. She took him over, paid for it, refused repayment and is currently nursing him back to health.

I have a friend coming over tomorrow who is planning to put her babe down for her megasnooze here and take my non-snoozing children for a walk so I can get some quality sorting done. And there's 2 more of my golden girlfriends planning to do the same.

So you can see why I've been thinking about community. My only problem is in wondering how on Earth I can repay these generous people. (So far I'm thinking along the lines of lavish picnics at our new place once the snow thaws!)

P.S It's not snowing there yet but after the icy chill I experienced there the other day, I know it will!
P.P.S Here's another inspiring community-minded person.