A lot seems to happen in two weeks.

Snail inspection is a very serious business. Said snail was duly rescued from the dangers of the path and relocated to the garden by animal loving Isla.

 Always plenty of cuddles and playfulness with my two little girls.

Isla attends a Steiner Kindergarten on Thursday mornings. I was lucky to be there for two Kinda days this time. I love it almost as much as Isla does, and I always feel the need to slowly wander among the vege and flower gardens, check out the chickens and watch the children playing on the climbing equipment made from tree branches. The teachers, Lucy and Summer, are beautiful souls. It's no wonder the children love them so much.

I was away from home for nine days, and spent a couple of days visiting my sister in Gippsland.  

She took me up to  Walhalla and what a wonderful day we had visiting this beautiful little village high up in the mountains near Baw Baw.

All across Gippsland the Waratahs were in stunning full bloom. 

The Star Hotel, Walhalla, Vic

View of the town from one of the walking tracks.

Back with my daughter and little girls, the weather turned cold and wet again. 

Although I do try, I'm not one to sit idle so, some of those lemons that were about to drop off their tree in the back yard, now sit pretty in a jar and will be ready for use in a few weeks.

This family are addicted to Jembella Farm Worcester Sauce so I brought the main ingredient from home (Plum Jam) and purchased the vinegar and spices from their local supermarket. Now they have a whole batch of it instead of the one small bottle that I could have carried in my luggage.

My return home was greeted with the most beautiful spring weather and, feeling refreshed from my break, I'm busy catching up on all things.  

Yesterday was spent cleaning the house and fluffing my nest, settling back in, finding my rhythm and feeling such deep gratitude for all that surrounds me here.

Today I'm pickling beetroot and bottling Kombucha.

I love putting raspberries into the bottle for the second ferment. They store so well in the freezer from last season's crop. Here you can see how the colour and flavour seeps into the Kombucha over a week or two. The bottles are really gassy and bubbly when opened. Hold it over the sink.

Our beetroot crop is wanting to go to head, so Brian has picked more than a bucket full while I was away. They keep well in the fridge and I'm pickling a few jars every day.

We are surrounded by flowering trees, and neighbour's paddocks are full of Salvation Jane (Pattisons Curse) so we brought the bees home from their usual placement last night. I donned one of our new half bee suits this afternoon to get a closer look at them. 

Now you might think I'm overly pernickety, (Brian certainly does) but the sight of this drink can attached to our barbeque for catching the fat, was like fingernails scraping down a blackboard. I can cope with a bean can, or a pineapple can, but NOT a Coke can that was purloined from a rubbish bin at work. You'd never see one of these here. I wouldn't even mind if it was a beer can... Really..!!

A recycled paper bag from my stash soon remedied the eyesore.

The hour is getting late, there are a couple of sourdough loaves to be mixed up in readiness for baking in the morning, and a cup of tea waiting.

Oh the simple life for me......... contentment!

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