Gran's Folding Bed

When I was a little girl I used to sleep on Gran's old metal folding bed when I stayed at her house.  It had a lovely, musty, friendly smell.

When Gran came to stay at our house she was often given my room and I had the privilege of sleeping in the lounge room on our folding bed.  How lucky I thought I was to be able to sleep in the lounge room on the folding bed!

My grandmother gave me her folding bed just before she died and we have used it for many years.  It has survived many sleepovers and never seems to be the worse-for-wear.

We got the old bed out last week for a young house guest whose parents had to go away for a few days.

Just looking at it makes me happy.

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Milky way

Adoro milk glass, branco, brilhante, ou azul, turquesa, a lembrar os dias de céu límpido... Adoro pratos para bolos e, em milk glass, são a minha perdição - literalmente! Flores e milk glass - a combinação perfeita!

Credits:
Style Me Pretty
Flores del Sol

I love milk glass, white and shinny, or turqoise, reminding me of clear blue skies... I adore milk glass cake stands, I absolutely love them! Flowers and milk glass: the perfect combination!

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Father's Day Weekend

We were thrilled this weekend to show our new home to family members for the first time.  My parents-in-law came to visit all the way from Oamaru in NewZealand.

It was a strange weekend, with torrential rain and falling trees on the one hand, and celebrations on the other as we shared our home with others and enjoyed a rare (for us) three generations Father's Day.

For a while on Saturday there were about fifteen in the house, as along with grandparents there were a couple of teenage gatherings, as some headed off to the Royal Adelaide show and others rehearsed for a school performance.  Needless to say, an enormous amount of food was consumed!

We also fitted in a spot of antiquing (my mother-in-law's favourite pastime), and this morning I attended the first Essential Edibles event in Adelaide.  The second photo in this post shows the back of my head.  With uncanny foresightedness, Lisa from Sustainable Communities SA picked the only sunny, non-wet or windy period the entire weekend for our gathering.  It was a wonderful time and I came home with lemongrass and rose seedlings, some mandarins and some lemons.

Happy Father's Day to all the Aussie Dads out there!

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Backyard Harvest: Italian Parsley

Parsley is one of those wonderfully useful herbs that everyone should grow in their garden. Indeed, a garden is not necessary; parsley is easily grown in a pot on a sunny windowsill, on a balcony or in a courtyard.  

A friend once told me that parsley will either love you or hate you - and if it loves you (or your land) you won't be able to get rid of it; it'll keep self-seeding forever. 

I much prefer the flat Italian parsley to the curly variety, which seems to be used mostly for garnishes.  I use fresh parsley to lift pasta sauces in the cooler months when sweet basil is out of season, to make homemade stuffing for roast chicken, and to flavour simple dishes such as boiled new potatoes.  It works especially well in garlicky dishes.  In summer I use parsley to make taboulleh.

What did you make or grow this week?

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First Day of Spring

Spring has returned.  The Earth is like a child that knows poems.  

Rainer Maria Rilke

Please don't be mad if I confess that the photo above is not a spring picture at all, but was taken last autumn.  There is not a rose in bloom to be found at present.

I am so ready for spring, for lush spring growth and blossom trees and baby peas and gentle sunshine.  For roses in bloom and fuzzy ducklings in the creek and the first local strawberries and golden wattle.

However, today was cold and grey and did not feel like spring at all.  It felt so wintry I spoiled the kids with popcorn and hot chocolate with whipped cream for afternoon tea.  Clearly, nobody told the weather that the season had changed!

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Flower power

São meus, meus e só meus! Adoro estes papéis-de-parede dos anos 60 que chegaram esta semana! Preciso de ideias para a sua utilização. Quem me ajuda?

They're mine!! I'm in love with my new wallpaper... well, not exactly new, as they are back from the 60's! I need ideas for their usage! Can somebody help me?

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Busy

buzzing

growing

building and playing

reading and writing

How have you been keeping busy?

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