Image by Rob Scotton – Funky Chickens |
A few months ago I wrote about losing some of our chooks, we did our best to reinforce the chook yard but not long after we lost the remaining two chooks plus all of our ducks. Muddy Hubby and his offsider spent a day or so digging a trench and cementing around the chook yard to reinforce it for fox proofness. It has sat idle for months, I haven’t been game to replace the chooks for fear of it happening again.
I have watched the local poultry sites and kept an ear open for any chooks that could possibly be sacrificial chooks, old girls that don’t have much life in front of them, or who are no longer laying. Nothing kind of fit the bill.
Then our neighbours let us know they had some ready to cull. They have a flock of about 30 chooks, and their son (he is 6) is seriously getting into breeding and looking at speciality breeds, so he is keen to cull what doesn’t suit. So Voila we now have chooks again.
I am so grateful for the generosity of our neighbours in giving us some chooks to test it out, so far so good.
I am grateful for the fresh eggs we are getting every day. We have made many things that we can eat on our ‘Pear Diet’, including Meringues and Quiches.
I am very grateful for the joy it brings to the Muddy Kids faces each day to visit the chooks and check the eggs, water down the yard to help keep them cool. Lets face it is also beings joy to me to have some feathered friends back in the chook yard.
So this week while I am Grateful for Chooks, others in the blogging world are grateful for other things. Please pop over to 52 Weeks of Grateful at Village Voices and check it out, Maxabella hosts a great link up every week.
This last week has been a busy one, the first week of swimming lessons, Muddy Hubby away, the heat, the insane heat, a baby shower, followed by a kitchen tea, it’s all served to make for a lovely time, but messy house, but really, I’m too hot to care.
So in this busy hot week I have been very grateful for airconditioning, it is only in a couple of rooms in the house, but it’s still making it cooler than the 47.5 degrees it hit on our inside back verandah in the shade! I have never been so grateful for airconditioning since I was living in the Territory in the build up to the wet season.
I have been grateful for the plastic pool that has kept the kids cool each afternoon as they splash around and pretend it’s big enough to do everything in that they’ve been doing at swimming lessons.
I am so very grateful for my Mum for coming to visit again (despite her house being burgled) to look after my Muddy Cherubs for a day so I could go to the Kitchen Tea.
I am grateful that for now Muddy Hubby hasn’t had to fight any bush fires and (touch wood) that our properties are so far safe from fire. I know that call will come for Muddy Hubby to go and lend a hand, but for now he is safe.
Surprisingly this week I have been most grateful for the Rural Fire Services ‘Fires Near Me App’ and their Facebook Page which have kept us up to date with what’s happening and whether or not we need to be on alert, I do wonder how they did it before social media!
Bushfire Currently Burning in the Nearby National Park |
So an eclectic list of Gratefuls this week, as I make sure I take the time to join in for 52 Weeks of Grateful over at Village Voices, kindly hosted by Maxabella. It’s a lovely spot to visit, please check it out, you’ll be pleased you did.
Start as you plan to continue……I’m going to give it a go anyway with my first Grateful post for 2013. Things fell off the wagon for me linking in with Gratefuls, somehow, as often happens, life gets in the way. Sometimes something has to give and for me it was regular posts and regular grateful posts.
For a new year that is incredibly hot so far, I am very, very grateful for the kind and generous gifts my beautiful Muddy Kids received for Christmas, they have made the time we have to spend in airconditioning that much easier to bear. With the novelty factor of new gifts and the perfect choice of some gifts they are that much happier to be confined indoors for a few hours each day.
From Barbie and her million accessories, hairstyles and outfit changes to the Fluro Pink Zhu Zhu Pet we have been awash in imaginative play scenarios from weddings, to babies to coffee dates, they’ve done it all. One of my all time favourites – Mobilo!! This has literally kept the kids entertained for hours, as they build so many different things, and the best bit is the Muddy Girls build things for my Muddy Baby Boy to play with so everyone is happy!
The biggest hit though, thanks to my wonderful sister and brother-in-laws and nieces and nephews are the swags, the Muddy Kids just think they are the bees knees and they make camping in the airconditoned lounge room at night so exciting and that little bit more comfortable.
So this week for the start of the year I am so incredibly grateful for the generosity of family and friends keeping my Muddy Kids entertained, inspired and happy inside.
From Sunny Monday Morning |
To the Bogged Bus on Thursday morning |
Linking up with Maxabella at Village Voices for 52 Weeks of Grateful. Make sure you check it out.
Last weekend we headed back to my home town of Sydney to see my wonderful Mum and catch up with some wonderful friends. Each time I return ‘home’ I am reminded of how much I love my home town, how wonderful it was to grow up in such a diverse and culture rich city of Sydney. To grow up around the harbour and on the water with boats. To grow up going to shows in Sydney and watching musicals with amazement. To me I will always love Sydney and will never get tired of spending time there for visits.
I know that the farm is my home and I couldn’t be happier but feel very lucky that I can visit my home town of Sydney, stay with my family and that my Muddy Kids get to experience Sydney in all it’s glory. We take them to the park and on ferry rides, out on the harbour on the boat, we watch the fireworks or try new foods. My Dad (Hi Dad) will on rare occasions even make fresh sushi for us.
Often I think the most exciting part for the Muddy Kids is watching the garbage truck collect the garbage or counting how many buses go past. Or at the moment, going up and down stairs, with a two-storey house it’s a novelty to ‘play upstairs’ then bring everything down and ‘play downstairs’.
So this week after a visit back to my Home Town I am reminded how grateful I am to have grown up there and have the opportunity to share some of the same experiences with my Muddy Hubby and the Muddy Kids.
Linking up with Maxabella, over at Village Voices for 52 Weeks of Grateful. It really is a great place to stop by and check out some lovely blogs and read some beautiful gratefuls, make sure you take the time!
In the effort to be a little less stressed and try and go with the flow a little more, I’ve had to let some things that I really love move to the wayside for a while, try and focus on the bright side of life and the everyday.
I’m really missing boot camp and my body is showing the changes with me not going, but on the plus side I am grateful for the chance to take my Muddy Organiser to Ballet and watch the joy it brings her, watch her confidence grow and her dancing definitely improve!.
I have been annoyed at having to travel to the big office for work this week but very grateful that I could tick off things on my to do list and move forward with some projects, at the same time as seeing some wonderful work people face to face, always better than the phone.
4 of my coffee mugs have been broken in the last week or so, plus 2 child locks on the cupboard doors as my Muddy Bubby finds his feet with walking and exploring, so while I will miss my lovely mugs I have something to put on my Christmas list and absolutely adore watching the look of excitement and pride on Muddy Bubby’s face as he gets more confident with walking.
I have zero freezer space left after packing away all my Pork, Ham and Bacon, but on the bright side we have been having beautiful roast Pork and I have finally managed to get sublime crackling!
I am struggling to get my head around living with a Vegetarian, who used to be a Vegan who has certain things she can eat and certain things she won’t, but am loving being able to expand my cooking repertoire and have an excuse to try new recipes.
The Ducks have moved out of the house yard and into the Duck Yard for day and the Chook Yard (foxproofed) at night, I worry every night when I hear funny noises that it’s the fox coming back to take them, I send Muddy Hubby out to check, and when he’s not here I traipse out myself ready to take on the fox. On the bright side our back step is no longer covered in Duck Poo and the Muddy Girls have been using the Duck’s box as a stage to sing and dance on.
Each day when I focus on the bright side it makes my day go a little better, makes me remember to be grateful and appreciate what I have. Linking up with Maxabella at Village Voices for 52 Weeks of Grateful. Take a moment to think about what you’re Grateful for, you won’t regret it!
This week I have taken a step back to breathe, to focus each day on something I am Grateful for, to try and take on some advice and prioritise.
Sunday I was grateful for some family time, to tick off some of the jobs on the to do list, spend time together, play with our ducks and get them started with training on their new Duck Feeder and just be together as a family.
Monday I was Grateful for time to play with my Muddy kids, to stop and roll around on the grass and chase the ducklings and push them on the swing, to have fun with my kids and enjoy them and their little personalities.
Tuesday saw me be grateful for lots of things, a wonderful school who organise a Year 6 Buddy for my Muddy Organiser, who she absolutely adores and who has made the transition to school that little bit easier. I was grateful for my wonderful Muddy Sister-in-law who didn’t hesitate to say Yes and look after Muddy Bubby so I could volunteer to help make Kinder – Year 6 Buddy lunch. I was grateful for a fantastic OT who listened and didn’t hesitate to offer help where she could.
Wednesday I was grateful for healthy kids, for Muddy Kids who push my buttons, but are here and healthy and who I love with all my heart. I was also grateful for good friends, as always, who helped organise the next days expeditions.
Thursday I was grateful for the sales they have at the shops in town. As they don’t have any storage space for last seasons stock they mark everything down really low to help it sell so they don’t have to store it – it’s a big win for us! I was also grateful for the enthusiasm my Muddy Organiser showed on going to the 4 schools carnival and being soooo excited about marching in the march.
Friday I am extremely excited and grateful that I am finally getting our NBN Satellite Internet installed today, I am hoping that this is as good as it’s supposed to be, because if it is it will make my life a whole lot easier and I won’t spend hours waiting for my downloads and uploads like I do at the moment.