And they pulled and they pulled....

We had a great time today, the Munchkins and me and Nana and Grumps, harvesting the garlic!
The bulbs were big and fat. Some HUGE! We had great fun re-enacting scenes from 'The Enormous Turnip' with all of us lined up pulling on huge garlic bulbs. Younger Munchkin had the biggest grin on his face each time he landed on his bottom with a thump and a handful of garlic.

We also harvested our 2 raspberries (one for each Munchkin) and 2 small but tasty carrots. Can't wait for future seasons when the raspberries take off. Oh and coincidentally there were 2 fat strawberries too - so that was easy to share too!

Molly - the Amaranth is about 4cm high!

Other than that, today was spent weeding - there's a task that never ends around here, and transplanting seedlings that looked crowded. And I planted potatoes in one of the blue tubs we recently inherited. That'll be an experiment, but I'm pretty confident they'll work.

In addition to that - another batch of Loquat Chutney, and 2 jars of Mulberry and Rhubarb Jam. Yes! Today was HIGHLY productive!

:)

Beltane Blessings!

We have some new arrivals to mark the height of Spring! 5 little chicks - 4 buttermilk colour and one black. They are absolutely adorable and keep us glued to the chook pen for long spans at a time. Mother Hen (Stormy) is being a wonderful mother looking after them beautifully.

Pics when my camera batteries are charged!

Beltane Bouquet!

I realised today that I have the garden I always wanted. I remember when we first started planting our native garden and other bits and pieces saying to hubby 'I just want a garden where I can go and pick a beautiful bouquet for the house, anytime of the year'. Well we've reached that point! And this weekend being the end of Winter/arrival of glorious SPRING was the perfect time to go out and do some A-Septembering!

The display you see is sitting in our entrance - what a lovely way to start Spring!

Now to go and do some more Spring cleaning and decluttering!
:)

There's treasure in dem der Hills!

Funny how things work out. We went garage sale hunting this morning - making a start on our christmas challenge (re-used, recycled, second-hand or home-made gifts). would you believe it we didn't find a single one.
In particular I've been looking for some of those wrought iron triangle thingies (iron lace?) that you find under the posts of old federation style homes. The plan is to make some bookshelves out of them for the wall in the hallway. Feeling rather disheartened we thought we'd stop in at a friend's place and ask where she found her 'goodies' (she has heaps of lovely recycled ornaments in her garden). As we were driving to her place we passed a lady who was writing a sign up on an easel. We thought, 'must look at that again when we go back' (being curious people!).
Well, we did - and it turns out she was having a garage sale! Hooray!
I asked if she had what we were looking for and she didn't but said she had bits of wrought iron, and kindly showed me through to her shed where we found THESE!
Please click on the image to see them in more detail. They are the sides of 2 seats. In retrospect I can't believe I hesitated all of 30 seconds thinking - gosh I'll have to do them up, worry worry - my woodwork skills are pretty shocking etc.
I didn't really look at them properly until I got home, and the detail on them is gorgeous. Nothing like the cheap nasty stuff you buy at Bunnings but pay a heap for. The lady had bought these back in the 70's. They are heavy and solid and beautiful and.... she sold them to me for $20 (for the 2 sets!). I am so very pleased - what a treasure and what a bargain.
I will have to drop round some tangelo butter or something to her as an extra thank you because I almost felt a little bad to take them for that price.

Hubby LOVED them and is excited about doing them up. We're starting tomorrow morning and using the old floorboards from our old place as the wood. Stay tuned for more pics in a couple of weeks when these hopefully will be transformed into beautiful garden furniture!

Tickly Throat Tea

Younger munchkin has been snuffly and coughing the last few days and it's been keeping him up at night. Last night I made him a tea that worked wonders and gave it to him again before bed tonight. He is sleeping soundly now as we speak.

I'd used honey and thyme before (both have weak antibacterial/antiseptic qualities) but I also read that yarrow was good for colds and sage was good for drying the mucous membranes (but warned to use it sparingly and not prolonged use).

So the tea was simply a teaspoon of honey, heaped teaspoon of thyme, 2 sage leaves, 1 yarrow leaf, and the juice from half a lemon. Steeped with a lid on for 8 minutes and Voila! Younger munchkin said it was delicious and has stopped coughing long enough to fall asleep and stay there. :)

With winter here there are a lot of snuffles going round. Why not try it out if they catch you!

Cwm What?!

My sister has been visiting tonight and said she really thinks I should make a mention of what 'Cwm Goch' means. It is Welsh and means 'Red Valley' (Cwm is Valley, Goch is Red).
We named our property Cwm Goch because Hywel's Grandfather was born and raised in Wales on a property of this name. It was named for the red poplars which grew there - Valley of the Red Trees.
Since we live in a Valley with Red Gum (Marri - see recent post) thought it was appropriate and a nice way to keep some family history alive too.
So there you have it. Cwm Goch explained!

Winter Solstice Warmer

Tomorrow is the Winter Solstice - shortest day/longest night of the year. We plan on enjoying a little bonfire with the kids to mark the night and it looks to be very cold!
So for those others of you who'll be out tomorrow night - or indeed anyone who likes a hot drink, I thought I'd share with you our very special hot chocolate recipe!

These amounts are for 4 people - the amounts are variable though. Mix and match to your taste preference.

Ingredients
4 cups Milk
About 100g good quality dark chocolate
1 tablespoon cocoa
1 heaped tablespoon of sugar (skip this if you like it bitter)
1 cardamom pod
1 tspn cinnamon (or a cinnamon scroll)
1 Vanilla pod (or 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract)
1/2 tspn nutmeg
2 cloves
A pinch of ground chilli (this is important!)

Method
Pour the milk in a saucepan. Grate in the dark chocolate. Add the cocoa and spices and gently simmer (don't boil) until its hot and the flavours have infused a little. I leave mine for about 10 minutes.
Pour into cups. Top with a bit if grated chocolate. YUM!

The flavours are divine and the chilli gives you a warm feeling in the back of your throat as you drink it. Perfect for a cold winter's night!

Hope you like it as much as we do. :)