our harcourt/bendigo/malmsbury day-trip

new ways of dining...

this week i've been able to spend more time with my sewing machine, which has been so lovely. below is another crayon roll, but this time it's a gift for a friend to give to a child from her mum's group:



i enjoyed the process of refining my design (by adding an extra embellishment across the pockets and using a ribbon instead of buttons for tying it up), but got the most blessing from being able to support K in this crafty way.

during the past few days we've started dining in the beautifully communal way husband's family (both here and in friesland) do - with dishes and pots clustered in the centre of the table, for serving straight to plates as everyone sits together:



i want this to become our family way of dining - to practice sharing, serving one another, being generous and gracious and considerate of others. i look forward to seeing the beauty of this approach grow as our family grows.

finally, missy has been making some dining progress of her own - expanding the definition of finger foods to include things that i consider spoon foods, like hommus:



(i am okay about the mess, i am okay about the mess, i am okay about the mess...)

take care,
em

a fortnight of growing up...

apologies for my absence during the last 2 weeks - the cup day long weekend kind of threw out my blogging habit by a week, and the past fortnight has seemed quite full.

it also seems like missy has grown up a lot in the past fortnight. she took 11 steps in a row last friday and has been walking in short bursts each day since then. she's become quite a mimic, and now regularly says, "beep beep", whenever i open or close a door (regardless of whether she's in the way and thus deserving of a "beep beep" or not.) she's taken an interest in her spoon, and while she still needs help with scooping, she definitely has no trouble getting the loaded spoon into her mouth.

i think the most beautiful thing that has happened in the past week is that husband, missy and i have been able to have dinner together every night. with husband working on site, he's been home much earlier than whenever he's in the office, and with missy stretching her bed time much later than a few months ago, our family dinners have been a time i've treasured much. next week, or even tomorrow, depending on how things go, husband will be back in the office, so i don't know how much longer our dinner time togetherness will last. but it's been lovely while it's happened.

here are some pics of my ever-growing missy - from our dinnertime togetherness:





getting a proper haircut from beppe:



and to finish, i wanted to share these beautiful roses that my good friend generously gave to me a fortnight ago - her visit was uplifting, even if brief:



take care,
em

from our weekend on the farm...

though we missed the brunt of victoria's wild weather, the saturday afternoon sky still turned the colour of rain:



missy loved seeing the cows from a distance (and clinged to husband's shoulder for dear life when up close):



take care,
em

thank you big nanny mac for your colourful jumpers...

thank you big nanny mac for your colourful jumpers! the pink and red one has kept missy very warm today:



as did the gumnut baby beanie, along with her new navy cord coat, which kept her toasty on our walk in the sun this afternoon:



and this is what we found at the op-shop (along with some hot pink blundstones, which will serve missy well at pake and beppe's farm when she's walking):



it's a single bed doona cover, and though we don't own any single beds, how could i possibly leave it behind when it's so colourful and covered in words like quince? we'll find something to do with it...

take care,
em

a weekend in the south-west...

today missy and i drove back to melbourne after spending a weekend with my family in south west victoria. i love driving through the south-west, the landscape is shades of my favourite colours - lush greens and brilliant blues. there was a lot of water pooled on the sides of the road, remnants of last week's heavy rain. my parents' dam is looking particularly full and their lawn extremely lush:



we drove through a few rain showers today, but nothing too heavy - only enough to ensure there were rainbows in the distance for much of our journey. i noticed some other rainbows during the weekend as well:





take care,
em

happy birthday husband!

what better way to say "happy birthday!" than with a colourful dutch garland?



i am thankful for your company, your hard work, your delight in our daughter, your thoughtfulness, your love of family and home, your humour, for taking us to holland, and for (pretty much!) everything that makes you you.

take care,
em

goodbye pa...

i knew this day was coming. but that doesn't make it hurt less.

this photo was taken last november when missy was only two months old. it's the first time she met pa. he was having lunch when we came to visit, and after he'd finished and we'd gone back to his room, he lit up as he watched and held his second great-grand-daughter. missy was crying from hunger, but pa was so gentle and patient with her, even as she screamed and wriggled.



i've been thinking about my favourite memories of pa in the past few months, in preparation for this time when he has gone and only they remain.

my first precious memory is of a christmas day, probably ten years ago, when pa wrote nan the most beautifully heartfelt card, telling her how much he appreciated and loved her. he got a bit of a ribbing for sucking up, but i remember feeling so impressed by the gratitude and love he had for his wife.

my second precious memory is of an afternoon, just after husband and i got engaged, when i called in to visit nan and pa on my way back to melbourne. for some reason nan wasn't home, and pa delightedly recalled what it was like during the early years of their marriage and bringing up their children. it was clear that he found much joy in his family, and loved them very much - they were definitely fond memories for him to share with me.

goodbye pa, miss you already.

love em

baking biscuits...

i've just baked these anzac biscuits for our bible study group tonight, and i'm so pleased they've turned out well. this recipe brings back vivid memories of the night missy was due to be born (which turned out to be 6 nights before she was actually born.) i used this recipe to bake some biscuits so i'd have something in the house if people came to visit, but in my fat-lady-"hurry-up-and-be-born-now-baby" haste, they turned out quite badly - the butter and golden syrup separated from the rest of the mix while they were in the oven, so the biscuits spread out and were really hard - i've never had a "cooking fail" quite like it! husband and i ate them anyway, they tasted okay if you were prepared to test your teeth out on their rock-like exterior, so they were mostly gone by the time missy actually arrived, but i'm still not quite sure what went wrong that night.

now our house smells like biscuits. mmmm...

take care,
em