Wild Flowers

I love this time of year as it spells the start of the 'wild flower' season here at our farm. Just before Spring and well and truly before things start to heat up the sweet scent of flowers lingers in the breeze and the sound of bee's a buzzin' can be heard all around....

So yesterday afternoon when our noses led us to this hidden bush of 'pee the bed' daisy's we couldn't help but take just a few - even if the old wives tale states that if we do we'll 'pee the bed'... *^_^*
Their scent is heavenly and when I woke this morning it was the first thing I could smell wafting though my home....


 Do you like fresh picked flowers fragrancing your home???

What's your favourite???

Are you a sucker for their fragrance or their beauty???

that day is TODAY....

The birthday celebrations came a week early here at 'Darling Downs' for our biggest girl of 6 - Connie, with the arrival of 3 miniature ponies late yesterday afternoon!!!

The excitement was bursting from each and every seam as my little girls savoured the joy of riding their very own ponies for the very first time....

I couldn't help but radiate from the side line as I watched my girls engulf themselves in the wonder of their new horses.....

I have a really good feeling about this new adventure we're starting on as a family of the 'horse-y' kind - I'm not sure why, but deep down in that place that always seems to be right, something keeps telling me that 'this is good, really good'!!!!!

 

It has been a good 6 years since Brad (DH) and I have had a horse but we always knew that one day they would enter our lives again, especially once we started a family - I guess that day is today...

Spring In Mind...

Crochet has been my choice of craft these past couple of weeks and with the weather starting to warm in the preparation for Spring I'm finding myself leaning towards thinner yarns...

This hat was originally started with the visions of my daughter Connie in mind... Half way though I realised that it was way too big but continued on regardless and now have a new Spring hat for ME!!!  

  

The pattern was a freebie from here and the yarn I used was Malabrigo Organic Cotton - such a dream!!! The flower on the side I found on Pinterest for free here...

I've also started on a scarf for my Millie girl in some gorgeous Malabrigo Arroyo - this pattern is a freebie found here...

Have you been working on anything this week with Spring in mind???

on the road again.....

Wow - were has the past 3 weeks gone???

The days seem to be ticking away at a rocketing pace lately which is bringing the arrival of Bub #3 closer and closer. So while my newest baby continues to grow I've been lucky enough to savour the opportunity for a couple of trips away... 

A few weeks back 3 gorgeous local 'rural' ladies and myself set off on a road-trip to the Federal Conference for ICPA....

It was AMAZING!!!! We were spoilt rotten by the Hay Branch who hosted the conference and I came home refreshed and invigorated - proud to be a mother of Isolated Children and excited about the motions people put forward.

Then last week saw us pack up the car and head off to the Louth Races...

The weather was gorgeous and even though my girls weren't up for having their photo taken by me, they smiled their little hearts out when we were all interviewed and photographed for a very special magazine (details about that another day... *^_^*)

In between these trips we packed the swags and hit the road for a 3 day camping trip - bound for Tibooburra. The Peak Hill Station clearing sale was our destination and we're so glad that we went... Many bargains were found (and purchased) but my best score of the whole day was a huge old meat safe - photos will be coming soon, promise...

This weekend we are hitting the road again - this time on a secret mission to pick up a special present, an animal of the hay eating kind, for my Miss Connie's 6th birthday which is in a weeks time.... Wow - can my little girl really be turning 6???

Here's hoping you're enjoying some time outdoors at the moment while the weather is gorgeous - Connie has just informed me that it's only 9 days till Spring, her favourite time of the year, and you know why??? Because her 3 little daffodils are ready to flower and we get to put our tomatoes in the gardenbeds we've been preping for the last couple of weeks....

{{{{Big Hugs}}}}

Sweet Little Shawl....

A few weeks back now I made a sweet little shawl using some of the most softest Baby Alpaca that I'd ever come across... 

 

The shawl pattern was 'Dory' by Goodknits and the yarn was Eki Riva's 8ply in Cherry Red and Navy... I used 2 balls for the body of my shawl and not even 1/2 a ball for the edging. The combination of a beautifully written pattern and silky smooth yarn made for a completed project in only 1 night - gotta love that...

So, when some new shades of Eki Riva 8ply hit my shelves yesterday I couldn't help but dream of a new colour combo - light grey....

 

and baby pink.... What do you think???

To celebrate the arrival of more of this gorgeous yarn I've whacked a whopping $3 off per ball - that's over 25%!!!!!! 

Check it out here....

Homemade Cordial....

We were gifted 2 big 20kg bags full of citrus fruit from the neighbours about a week ago so we've been cooking, juicing and eating some of the most delicious Mandarins and Lemons I've ever tasted - thank you Hanson Family!!!!

One of my favourite things to make with fresh citrus juice is Cordial... 

We've made lemon cordial, mandarin cordial and even a lemon mandarin cordial combo (my fav!!!)...

To make my version of 'Cordial' I start with a sugar syrup. To make a basic sugar syrup I bring 1 cup of water to the boil then add 1 cup of sugar - stir until all of the sugar is dissolved (about 2 mins).

While my water is boiling for the sugar syrup I start juicing up approx 15 pieces of citrus fruit...

I then add the hot sugar syrup to my juice, gradually tasting as I go until I'm happy with the sweetness (sometimes I use all of the syrup and sometimes I don't - depends on the fruit)...

15 pieces of fruit mixed with desired amount of sugar syrup will usually fill up a 600ml sauce bottle... I mix the cordial up at a rate of 1 part cordial to 4 parts water... I find this Cordial lasts really well for approx 2 weeks in the fridge (it doesn't last any longer then that in my house - we drink it all)...

Because I love this Cordial in the heat of Summer the best I've juiced and frozen enough citrus fruit to make about 5 litres of Cordial - all I'll have to do is make my sugar syrup when our thirst for Citrus Cordial hits in Summer...

Do you make home-made Cordial??? What's your fav recipe?? 

Comforting....

We love our wood fire here and during the cooler months of the year it seems to smoulder 'round the clock... There's nothing quite as comforting as the warmth that fire and hot coals creates....

We have A LOT of timber on our farm but seen as though a trip over to the river to visit my Dad had been planned we decided to make it a family outing and filled up a truck full of wood to share. We spent the afternoon in good company splitting our mega load and topped it all of with a delicious BBQ dinner...

We were all as surprised as each other when this little critter was found inside a hollow log after splitting it....

My girls thought it was fantastic and watched the little bat dart up and down its split log for a good hour before we decided to finally let it go back into to wild...

Are you a wood cutter??? What kinds of critters (if any) have you found living inside your timber??

Super Squishy

Following a great free pattern that I found on Ravelry the other day I knitted up a super squishy double wrapped cowl in just 1 evening....

The yarn I used was the new Malabrigo Aquarella - a delicious super bulky hand painted Merino Wool...

The pattern called for only 1 skein but I kept going until I'd knitted through 2. 

Slashed Prices!!!

I'm so excited to finally get the chance to add some of my latest Malabrigo shipment to my Website this week and to celebrate I've slashed the prices on some old stock....

New Malabrigo Worsted

 

Skein Silk Cashmere 65% OFF

 

Debbie Bliss Pure Silk 65% OFF

 

Skein Sock 60% OFF

Pop on over to my SALE BIN to check out even more great savings before they all sell out...

A Jumper for Millie...

I finished the jumper I started for Millie back here just over a week ago and its been worn everyday since....

So far I'm loving this new (to me) Australian yarn and after several washes in the machine it seems to be holding up to the rough and ready lifestyle my knitting projects seemed destined for... I'm only experiencing a little bit of 'fluffing' on the surface of the jumper but have been assured that this will settle down in time....

How do you treat your hand knits??? Do you always hand wash or are you open to chucking things in the washing machine??

Also, have you ever used Biggan Yarn - has it 'fluffed' for you??

Winter

It's that time of year again - the wattle is out and its little balls of golden goodnes are being enjoyed by even the littlest members of my family this year.....

Old jars are being transformed into vases and adorning every room in the house which is bringing with it a hint that before too long Winter will be on its way out...

So today with a chill in the air and mud on our boots we cherished our morning Winter outing... There was fruit ready for picking, weeds that needed pulling, leaves to be raked, garden beds to be prep-ed and wood to be chopped....

What are you doing in the fresh Winter's air today???