Weaving the Tapestry

Our Dexter Heifer

I can't remember why this has become so hard.
Perhaps life has created too many blocked ways for me to return here.
Perhaps my time for this blog has ended here but I can't let it go in my heart.

So many treasured events have been recorded here.
Certainly not all and certainly not for a long time.

But I still remember the children waiting for their birthday post and wanting to see what I would write  this year, and the cherished feast days and family celebrations. The everyday activities that mattered to us and that we had shared them together.
It all started with a desire to share our family life and to have a record of that life for myself and our family.

Gifts of love 

Then  I think it changed, without me even noticing -  I got sucked into the world of comparison and what would make my little world of cyber space more attractive to others and have them visit here.
I do think the world of blogging changed as well, the family type blogs had become a thing of the past and the more slick and fancy, information, how to type blogs became the way of the future and I felt inadequate in comparison. Blogging had changed- it wasn't personal anymore with visits back and forth leaving comments here and there, like a conversation. It was more just read and move on to another blog an,d move on again without that personal exchange, and I had not been able to keep up with those changes and so like my personality I turned inward and stopped enjoying and sharing what was close to my heart.

I still feel joy when I look at this blog and the memories shared, but I can't seem to think of anything to write. The joy and the desire are still here but the content seems to be lacking.

So in a bid to reopen dialogue  I would like to share some recent events that have happened in our lives.
Boring and everyday events but this is what make up the fabric of our live.  This is what weaves our family tapestry and it brings joy and contentment. It is what I cherish and that is what my blog was all about CHERISHED HEARTS AT HOME!!

Lenten Preparation

Its time for me to take a deep breath and remember my blog title and live it :)
So here a few of  our recent happenings in pictures-

Our first Jersey Cow- a long awaited dream come true

Making my soap for our Home business

Saxon has entered Vianney College as a Seminarian

Crazy brothers

St Patrick's display this year

Grand dumpling and one of the new puppies

More Grand Dumplings come for a visit at "Mama;s House"

First reader finished with real progress

Blessings to you and your homes, 

New Beginnings 💜

Well Hello there,
I'm not sure how it got to be so many moths since posting - again! Frankly I do as we have had so many things happening in our lives. I really do enjoy blogging but also have found that the style of blogs has changed over the years since I first started. The unique interesting family orientated blogs seem to be declining and the mega blog is more prevalent.

One of the most recent is the move we have made to a new property. No we have not sold our Tasmania house :)
We were given notice after 5 years of living at the one place that they were wanting to do major renovations and we had to vacate.
After  much stress and praying we finally were blessed to 'find' a new for us home
We have finally mostly moved in and are settling in to a new lifestyle
It certainly has been an interesting time for us as we have adjusted to a smaller home with very little to none storage space. On the plus side we have more acreage for our animals and some beautiful garden areas. However I still will not plant my many fruit and nut trees and berries until we reach our own place.

Our new place which we call 'The Storybook House' as it is just like one of the houses in an Enid Blyton book or other adventure English book. The house has interesting nooks and crannies and a beautiful gardens with lots of hidey holes for children to play in. The roses are simply magnificent and I have been picking them along with other flowers to dry and add to my herbal stores for medicines and edible delights.
Incredibly we have the most gigantic white mulberry tree and the mulberries are  ripening now. The children have been eating them off the tree and last night I made some white mulberry and rose sugar syrup to add to my pantry stores.

Our animals are settling in and we are about to start, very late in the season, a vegetable patch. These are the activities that bring me joy and fulfillment in my vocation.
We have numerous eggs as our chickens and ducks have settled in and we have hatched some Khaki Campbell chicks out. Our doe, Primrose kidded yesterday too as well as our Cocker Spaniel giving birth to her second litter of pups this year (hmmm we were not expecting her to have pups again so soon). Our sheep should be ready to lamb soon too and we are quite excited about that as well.
The bran cats have also had kittens and we are really hoping they will keep down the snakes that are around here.

Within days of being here we saw a koala that had traveled up the property to be safely picked up and placed in a tree on the opposite side of the road. Some of the younger children had not seen a koala in 'the wild' and so were very excited.

The opportunities for fishing and yabbying are endless as we have both a water channel as our property boundary and the river just behind in the local reserve We have had numerous walks in the NP and some paddling in the river.

As we come to the end of November we have two birthdays and are rapidly planning our Advent Study for this year, which the children are very excited about. We have also suffered great sadness and yet more tribulation. However these are the  days we are given and they again are moving quickly and we are living them to the best of our ability.

" Joy is what happens when we allow ourselves to recognize how good things are. Joy is not necessarily what happens when things unfold according to our plans."

Marianne Williamson

Blessings to you and your homes,
 

Anzac Day Plans

Each year we celebrate Anzac Day in our home.
Not all years are the same but we do have a few themes we try to do together regardless of what else is happening.
We nearly always attend the Anzac Day march in honour of the fallen who have given their  life for the ideals they held dear.

'Greater love than this no man hath, that a man lay down his life for his friends.' John 15:13

I cannot think why anyone would not want to commemorate these brave soldiers and others who have gone to their death to defend the defenseless and protect us from evil.

Traditionally we make Anzac Cookies- really was there any doubt 😏 We have two recipes- this is our trusted and true long time recipe 

ANZAC COOKIES~

1 cup of rolled oats

1 cup plain four

3/4 cup of sugar

3/4 cup dessicated coconut

1 Tablespoon Golden Syrup

1/2 cup butter

1 1/2 tsp of Bicarb Soda (Baking Soda for non Aussies)

2 Tablespoons of boiling water

1. Mix oats, sugar, coconut and flour together

2. Melt syrup and butter together

3. Mix soda with boiling water and add to melted butter and syrup

4. Add to dry ingredients

5. Place tablespoon of mixture on greased baking tray

6. Bake in slow oven 150-160 degrees C for 15 to 20 mins

This is a THM recipe 😊

We also make damper preferably in the camp oven if there is not fire ban.

The children have often dressed up  in their favourite military outfit and played games of tactics and spying for hours.

Naturally we have crossword puzzles, word search  and colouring pages to do while I read bits and pieces of information for them to learn.

We will probably also draw poppies using Art for Kids- which we love for the younger ones and perhaps from a real poppy for the older ones.

We hope also make a felt poppy for decorating the table

Copy work will also be done and this is a lovely piece to print out and have on the wall to memorise as well.

We have a few books to read that we own :

The Poppy – Andrew Plant

The Story of the First World War for Children -John Malam

Lest we Forget – Kerry Brown

Digger - Mike Dumbleton

We also like to watch a movie or two-

We tend to be a  little 'liberal' in our translation of what can be termed an Anzac movie (essentially a war movie as there really aren't any specific to Anzac Day) so for us we have-

War Horse

Five Children and it

The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe

The Sound of Music

A Little Princess

Bednobs and Broomsticks

Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang

The Railway Children

Battle of Britain

For older viewers-  (definitely parental review)

Breaker Morant

Gallipoli

The Lighthorseman

Here is a list of Australian war movies ( I have not previewed any yet but simply sharing)

Naturally we will need to have a game of Two up  ( be warned the video contains in my view a couple of swear words)  and this one with live action is good to see it in action

I have lots of other preparations in my notes for the school year but thought this would be a good thought provoking post for anyone interested in celebrating ANZAC Day.
To finish off here is  the -Ode and Last Post - We will remember them

Blessings to you and your homes,

 

Changes and Reflections

I had thought as the new year, yes the start of 2018, would be a wonderful time to reconnect here with this space.
I had thought that somehow this year it would be different, that someway I would be able to carve out a time a few times a week to share as I have in years long past.
Only this evening as I was working on my study programme for one of the online courses I have been completing that I accepted that my life is so incredible different to what it was a few years ago.
In many ways it is the same and yet in many subtle ways it creates a different lifestyle that has changed who I am and what I can do - and tonight I am finally able to accept that and move on.

So what is new and what is old in my home and  in my heart?
Well lets begin with what is not changed- the essence of who I am and how I live my life.

Firstly I am still blessed and will be blessed all the days of my life to be married to my childhood sweetheart and the mother of our 12 beautiful children here on earth and our two precious souls who we did not get to have live with us.

I have been able to live my vocation of wife and mother at home for most of my mother hood. We have had the privilege to have our children learn from birth to 'graduation' from our Home Education programme and become better and stronger as a family because of that, it is essentially our lifestyle......our very LIFE!

Within that though there has been change. We have 'graduated' from our Home Learning 7 students to higher education and the workforce. This only leaves me 5 students at home which was a very heart wrenching experience for me as I prepared the 'new school year' supplies and I only made 5 small piles of those supplies.

In the last 5 years we have moved from our 'perfect home' on 5 acres we built 95% of  with our own hands, learning many skills we had never thought we would need, to a rented home we live in, while we try to sell that outgrown (not in size but lifestyle and dreams)  house so we can put down fresh roots in this place we now call home.

Here though on this rented property we have done more of the 'dream' life than we did while on our own home territory.

Which brings me to the change of circumstances we now live with.
Our children are older and let me tell you that in itself means VERY LITTLE time for alone time.
I think it is something that many an older parent probably has said to those with lots of little children running underfoot through the ages, and those younger parents probably believed it little.

When we had just young children, when everyone was under the age of 12- 13 we lived a much simpler life! We lived a lifestyle revolving around our family, learning and our home. We had 'control and order' in our day because, I believe we had all we needed in those simple lives.

However the wheel of time turns whether we like it or not and we all age, parents and children alike. Children leave the nest and start their own lives and some fly a long way away to the delight and sadness of those left behind.

The reality of the children becoming young adults means that there comes added changes and responsibilities for both parent and child. These change the WHOLE structure of the family, it changed the whole way of life of our family, one in which the older children do not see in the same way.

Older kids and young adults have entirely different needs and  desires that take much more time from you as a parent that can not be understood until it is experienced. This of course can not be structured into the day but is often a late night event or overlapping some other crisis in life.

Now do not think for one moment that this is a whinge or a whine. I LOVE my 'big kids.' I love the relationships I have had develop with them. They are truly the people I love to spend lots of my time with. Life is different is all because of the 'time travel' of our family.

Other changes in our family have been the 'homesteading' and preparing for a more 'self sustaining' life style.
We have started here in this home that is not ours, the makings of our future self sustaining lifestyle.
We have been growing in many ways as we follow this long awaited dream, a dream that even now is evolving as we grow in this lifestyle.

We have been growing our homestead from our very first arrival of 2 chickens that were a gift from friends to where we are now with a very nice beginning for our future plans.

Are you interested in our little homestead and what we do here? Well I am going to share anyway. I am really proud of where we are now as well as where we are heading. Our children at home are a huge help in keeping this going and some are very active in wanting to utilize the space we have to the maximum out put of what we can have here.

So our little homestead has:
Poultry-
* Chickens- we have gold lace wyndottes, buff orpingtons, an australop rooster we are crossing with Isa Browns to produce a chicken that lays 'everyday' for its life time.
* We have Pilgrim Geese- 7 geese and 3 ganders (one will be our Michaelmas dinner this year)
* Peking Ducks- 1 drake and 5 ducks and two Saxony ducks ( 2 little ducklings)
* Turkeys- 2 Toms and 6 hens with 4 new hatched chicks
* Quail
* Budgies
* Doves
Goats-
We have Anglo Nubian goats that we breed for milk and meat if we don't sell the offspring. We have yet to actually eat one of our goats, but that's the plan if they don't sell!
We started with 2 does and 2 bucks for breeding and had a successful birth of triplets from one of our does. The other one, my favourite, has yet to produce a kid yet.
We plan to milk our does but we were unable to do so with our first-time mum of triplets, and plan on making cheeses and soap from our own goat milk.
Sheep-
These are a new addition ( we have raised potty lambs before for meat) but these are Suffolk Sheep that we have for breeding. We will raise the lambs for meat at this stage as we don't have room to increase our herd here. We also plan on milking the sheep and making cheese from the milk.
Pigs-  We have again a breeding pair. These are Large Blacks an old heritage breed that are fairly docile and sweet.
Meat Rabbits -
Dogs- a cocker spaniel as a family dog and our two older boys (at home) have a border collie pup each they bought
Cats- we have some lovely barn cats that have been very excellent at keeping snakes away this year.
Guinea Pigs- a couple of girls and a boy

Our other main part of our homesteading is growing as much food as we can in a temporary state.
We have quite a few fruit trees and 'Aussie bush foods' and I try to grow edible weeds and flowers to add to our supply.
At the moment I grow these in large pots and try to establish the trees so that when we move to our own home again we can plant these straight away. We did this year have some successful fruiting from our trees and of course our various berries.

This past Spring and Summer we have attempted our first major vegetable growing season. We planted three 'trampoline gardens'- again we have had to do this in a temporary  way as we cant invest in the major requirements of a permanent garden.

We have just started to re-prepare for our winter gardens :)

As we try to treat our illnesses and injuries naturally I am increasing our herbal plants to add to our dried stocks for medicinal teas and home made cleaners and body care products.

In our growing knowledge and skills of this lifestyle ( I do teach our children that REAL Learning happens your whole life not just in school or even school hours) I have been following an education programme as well, which again does not allow a lot of free time.
I have completed a short Homeopathy course and a Family Herbalist Course.
Currently I am working on a Foraging Course, Medicine Making Course,  The Art and Science of Plant Medicine Making Course, Confident Family Herbalist Course and a Permaculture Course.

So as you can see our lives have very much evolved and we have added much more to our Home Learning Lifestyle which is very much a full and rewarding life.

Blessings to you and your homes,
 

Comfort Food is Good Medicine

I spend a lot of the my time in our kitchen.

After all this is the area where a major part of our lives is directed at.

We all tend to want at least three meals a day, plus often there is a snack involved at least once a day, not to mention the various drinks etc that also tend to come out of the kitchen environment.

Of course there is a  huge difference between simply eating and being presented with a atmosphere of dining pleasure.
Food prepared with love and care that is presented in a way that says you are special has many more health benefits than plonking the food on the table, or sometimes not even that.

Studies show time and again that proper digestion is achieved not only with healthy food but a pleasant environment and time to actually eat without rushing and allow food to pass through the system at it's correct rate.

I am a big believer in making food from scratch.
Not only does it save you money but it allows personal satisfaction in being able to provide a dish that not only gives the person preparing it joy but also the recipients who are eating it also with a sense of worth.

Naturally when preparing food from scratch you can tailor make that food to the personal preferences and desires of the family or guests.

Some of the foods we eat carry very strong childhood memories! Food that was served in a way that appealed to the senses in some way. Or perhaps at a time of year that triggers fond memories of that event - traditions that happened again and again over a number of years.

I also love the idea of providing from our own backyard the food we give to those who eat at our table. There can be nothing better than the satisfaction of providing a gift of love in a beautifully prepared meal from the time of planting or growing to the now ready to eat phase.

It is such a blessing to  know that a family member requests a meal that is one that you have made as just a normal meal, nothing special in your eyes, but to the other person it  is so more than that - it is special. It is a treat to have again , it is comfort food!

Over the years it has amazed me what each  of the members in my family consider comfort food.

Some have been around since before the older children can even remember a time with out them.

Some of the foods and drinks have been added over the years and not every item is loved by all. However  I think there is something absolutely special to be asked to make a favourite treat, some comfort food that not only fills the senses but provides nourishment for the soul as well, by someone you love so much.
Wouldn't you agree?
That is a gift to be treasured every day.

Blessings to you and your homes,
 

It's Birthday Time!!

It's been quite a while since I have shared a birthday and I am reminded often by the children why Have I not done 'My Birthday Post'

So here is our Miss Arwen's 8th Birthday

The most decorated part of a birthday in our home is the breakfast table.
After the birthday child has gone to bed we all 'whizz' around decorating the breakfast table, wrapping presents, decorating the seasons table and putting out the stars for the birthday child to walk down stairs to the seasons table in the morning.

 A very excited birthday girl was up early to get a good start on the day.

 It is all ready and waiting for Miss Arwen to arrive

After the hand-made cards are given it is time for the Birthday bag to be opened.
Each child is allowed to make a list of what they would like for their birthday and we try to provide gifts from the list.

 Breakfast is always the birthday child's choice too and we have started to have some interesting choices for this lately.

Arwen wanted Peach and Pies with whipped cream this year.

 I had to run into town for a couple of things and because of the VERY early start our birthday girl fell asleep within 5 mins of being in the car 😊

 "The Sweet Shop Cake" is a family tradition. Each of the  girls has had this except Myffwyn now. Each year the other girls try to convince Myffy and Arwen to have this cake and finally this year Arwen agreed.

It is incredibly hard to stop cream from melting on a cake in an Australian summer and this day was very hot and humid. So although I had planned on making this cake earlier in the day, I a glad I didn't because it would have been a complete disaster by dinner time.

After a long day it is time to blow out the candles and have a sleepover with her special friend who had spent the day at our house.

And now a  small reminder that I have my St Valentine's Day eBook ready for Sale - only $14:99 AUD and $11:83 USD
Please consider buying  this for your family.
It has some lovely traditions to start with your family. Also colouring pages, recipes and activities to do together to bring more meaning to your St Valentine's Day

Blessings to you and your homes,
 

A Round up .......again!!

What can I say? I guess it's the result of having a full life!
Here is another catch up post on what is happening, well happened in our lives lately.
You do know that a picture is worth a thousand words right?
So here are a thousand pictures, well not really, but it surely will have lots of images in this post.

It's only just been cool enough lately to really enjoy the outdoors again.
In the summer of which we have had a very long dry spell of, we certainly do enjoy the swimming but it really gets to a point where we are hanging out for the Autumn season.

It's really lovely when the younger ones are so keen to cook and Vellvin and Trahaearn made a beautiful Wedding Anniversary cake for us earlier this month.

 Like I said the Autumn weather means lots more outdoor activity. So its time to fix up the bikes- we get lots of punctures in the tires. Naturally Daddy and I had to have a turn checking them out.

 Autumn foliage is a beautiful addition to our beauty inside.

 The Mud kitchen is always popular but again in ccoler weather it really gets a lot of use.

The children prepared a beautiful Anniversary Dinner for us. We had to stay away for this and they surprised us with the decorated room and a lovely dinner.
They asked if we wanted to go out for dinner but frankly I always love to celebrate at home with the blessings that are our children.

I have started a new ferment for our family - Jun Tea. It is prepared almost the same as Kombucha, I need to update how we do this.
Jun is made from green tea and honey.
It has a lovely gentle flavour slightly less sharp.

 Second ferment on the right with a fruit flavoured tea. It is really quite nece without the second ferment unlike Kombucha in my opinion

 We attended the Anzac Day parade as we do each year

 We have been doing a fair bit of weeding, of the non productive gardens that are here on this rental property. The fact it is unproductive means we really don't bother much with this garden at all.

 Mothers Day naturally brought Breakfast in Bed for Mummy along with some beautiful home made cards and presents that I have been eyeing off for a while

 At dinner time that night the center piece was made by Rogan who used Mother Earth and some of the Root Children and Flower girls to represent each of my children.

I have been wanting to try Soap Nuts for some time now and a friend ordered some for herself so naturally I begged her for some to try.
First impressions are that it is highly effective. Now I just need to work out the cost comparisons between this and home made detergent

I have been waiting for some time to add some different herbs to my collection of herbs. I have especially been looking for some herbs for Asthma and lung problems. These are not available locally so I have been researching the best price from various on line providers.

Again with the cooler weather we have been doing our reading outside for learning.

These are some of the books we have been reading lately :)

Another great spot for reading too

Our Autumn has a new cat that now lives in side. I have never been that fond of inside cats but this one is quite cute inside.

A major part of our time over the last couple of months has been preparing Vellvin for her Debutane Ball.
It was a very beautiful ball and the pre organisation was amazing. They did dance practise every week that they had to travel 1 1/2 hours to and were very dedicated.
Saxon was partner to one of Vellvin's friends and so the four of them spent some lovely times together.

I finally made Vellvin's dress in less than two weeks before the event. I was very blessed to have help from a very dear friend as we had to alter the pattern to achieve the look we needed.
Naturally Vellvin was so very beautiful!!

We have had a couple of sleep over visits lately with our grand dumpling and after we did a major tidy up of the garage the piano was accessible again.
Saxon had a lovely time getting the little one to play with him.

Arwen and I made a pumpkin cake with Emmer flour. I had found this on line when I was looking for Einkorn flour which seems impossible to find in Australia. So if you know anyone who sells it here I would love to know.

I did get this beautiful sourdough starter sponge from the Emmer Flour too. It made lovely textured and tasty sourdough bread the children 'gobbled' up very quickly.

So one day there was a fire across the road and these two ran out the front to see the fire truck at work. I love kids in trees. Don't you?

It's not often that I get to have a little cuddle in the morning with this precious girl. We had a lovely time one morning just the two of us chatting for a while beofre the other children woke and found us.

So......... the birthday season has started!!
That means I get to stay up late and make felt birthday crowns and Saint Peg dolls.

We struggled for a few weeks with a lot of hay fever in the family as the weather seemed to be all over the place. Time for Home Made remedies that actually alleviate symptoms and don't harm the body in the process

The joy and learning that is expressed by our children as they dress up and create whole new worlds is always so rewarding to see.

A little help from his sister and he has played with this outfit for many days. He especially loved the feather in his helmet.

Daddy and Trahaearn on the swings for some special time together.

I loved making these water colour painted butterflies for Easter baskets this year too I really delightful and quick craft project

My companion in the morning after he gets up and makes his way down stairs to his 'kitten bed'. He snuggles up here until he is ready to completely face the day.

What do you do with the left over gingerbread cookie dough you made at Christmas time? You freeze it and bring it out on days when little ones need a distraction, and then they can bake cookies on their own. Then they can proudly distribute them to every one at home and save some special for those at work.

Finally we are at the end of this pictorial tour :)
Really it is just a taste of every thing that is happening but still a taste is better than nothing right?

Blessings to you and your homes,