and thanks for visiting my new blog - i hope you’ll visit often

i was so inspired by geisha’s amazing coffee photos on flickr, that i made a special stop for coffee at "the pod" in town today. jaz makes the best coffee & she makes it look almost too nice to drink – don’t you think?

which version do you prefer – colour or sepia?

The past couple of days have been delightfully overcast & cool. I even ventured out for a walk on the airstrip late this afternoon (with a million or so flies) & the vista was so lovely, that i hurried home to get the tripod & bigma!

a few of the things we’re loving this summer

1. summer storms
2. green grass
3. catching caterpillars
4. munching on mangoes

when i look back at this photo, i want to remember:

• the way you loved to suck the mango juice/flesh off the skin & seeds as i cut them up
• that you begged me to cut your hair (because the fringe was getting in your eyes) – next time you should wait til we can get to a real hairdresser!
• how you loved to play with the puppies (despite the scratches they sometimes inflicted)
• how you loved to wear button-up shirts – but rarely did up the buttons
• how precious you are!

I’ve always loved willow tree sculptures, so i was delighted to receive my 1st one from Madi for Christmas. Its called angel’s embrace – she says it reminds her of the way i cuddled her when she was a baby … & that makes it extra special!

the only downside to the recent rain is the abundance of bugs its spawned. bugs of all shapes & sizes have attached themselves to clothes on the line or made their way into the house … its seriously gross & trying to get rid of them is almost impossible (even the bug zapper can’t keep up) with any luck, this phase will soon be over – but in the meantime, if i can’t beat them, i might as well photograph them!

we started our homeschool year as planned today. madi was excited about getting into her year 3 papers. bear on the other hand, would have preferred to go fencing with michael & kenny! all in all it was a good day – we even remembered to capture some 1st day pics!

kenny arrived yesterday & the puppies are already competing with each other (& the kids!) for the title "kenny’s biggest fan"

Bananas are BIG in our family. Some people say you shouldn’t eat too many because of their high sugar content, but i figure they’re a healthier option than chocolate or muslea bars. what’s more, my kids love them, i love them & we all love banana cake!

the recipe …

Cathy’s Banana Cake

Ingredients:

• 2tbs butter
• ¾ cup caster sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp bicarb dissolved in 2 tbs milk
• 3 ripe mashed bananas

Method:

1. Cream butter & sugar
2. Add lightly beaten egg
3. Add milk & soda
4. Add banana & flour (alternately)
5. Bake for 30mins in a moderate oven
6. Enjoy!

There were scattered storms (& great clouds) around today. We only had 10 points at the house, but the hills were under the heart of the storm & Michael suspected the channels would be running. its a rare sight cause usually its too wet to get out there, but today we could! This is close to the spot where our recent family photo was taken – look at it now!

our mud monkeys!

brolgas

home

the sky tonite

i used a tripod & the bigma for this one.