100 years ago

It was an early start this morning as we left at 7am. Rachel was so excited about today she got up really early. No one knows how early as she did not look at the clock - but it was before 4am (when Brendon got up). In our matching aprons and bonnets at the History Museum.All the school children got dressed up and got their instructions for the morning. Rachel took the instructions very seriously - you can see how well behaved she is on the right there - sitting up straight with shoulders back. She had such a wonderful time. I will put all the photos on her blog when I get the time but for now I will just show you a couple of the highlights.
Hannah did not want to be left out so she got some scrubbing done.

Ruth had a turn in churning the cream to make butter. We all got to taste the damper (a scone like bread) and butter that they made.

A couple of the mothers (and grandmother) dressed up for the day too.

I made a special bread for today and wrapped all the items in paper to keep with the theme of the day (the bread wrapped in a tea towel). Rachel had "worked" in the shop and learnt about how they only had paper to wrap things - no plastic.

On the way home we stopped to get Ruth's blood tests done. Unfortunately they were too busy this morning when we stopped in - so this was not first choice. She was very tired and so she did cry with the prick. But as soon as I said "should we ask the lady if she has some lollies for you" she got very quiet. She was given a bottle with a few jelly beans in and I was so surprised by her generosity as she shared them with her sisters.

There was still enough light (and enough energy in Brendon) to get the grass cut for our visitors tomorrow. The grass is not growing much but the weeds are. So it looks much better but you can see how dry it is with all the sand that is being blown around. The girls took turns riding with Dad.

Korslose Melktert

Crustless Milktart - My Ouma's recipe

1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
3 eggs (separated)
1 cup flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
4 cups milk (not too full)
vanilla essence

Preheat the oven to 140C.
Melt the butter.
Add salt, sugar and egg yolks.
Add flour, baking powder and then milk (slightly warmed).
Fold in stiffly beaten egg whites and vanilla.
Pour into two pie dishes and bake till cooked.
(Approximately 45min - 1 hour. When you shake the dish you will see if there are any sections that are still runny).
Sprinkle with cinnamon.

Kittens

The last few days Hannah has been waking up at 6:30 rather than 7. She comes up stairs and keeps herself busy which is great. I had to laugh though when I looked over and saw her sitting in the toy box. Very pleased with herself too I might add. :-)
When I got her dressed she spent quite a bit of time playing with Smokey. It's lovely to see how muck Smokey enjoys her.
Ruth slept in this morning. So eventually we headed in to help wake her up. Within seconds Hannah was up on the bed and Smokey followed. We had a good 15 minutes of fun here - all 6 of us. The girls each had a doll and Smokey was my "baby".

Later I looked out the kitchen window and from the look on Hannah's face I could see she had been up to something. She had decorated the bikes seats with mud. So she got the job of cleaning them. It's amazing how without having been told, they do know when something they do is wrong.

And just to make things clear. We have noticed over the last month how much smaller Smokey is compared to Tiger. This photo shows it really well. We had made an appointment for next week to get the kittens neuted. BUT we have cancelled the appointment for Smokey - because now that we have checked ourselves - we know that Smokey is a she. We had just gone on what we were told when we got them. So we are all having to learn to say she and not he. We have decided to not get her spade yet. We will allow the girls to enjoy having a cat have kittens once and then we will get her done (plus it's double the price for a female - so this way it spreads the cost out a bit).

Sweet food and swiming fun

The girls enjoyed making this pudding today. I had bought cream a little while ago with this in mind and now we have to use it before it gets to old (good excuse hey).

I made s special base for Ruth with some of her crushed gluten free biscuits. Check out Rachel's blog to see all that went into it. Rachel and I are both enjoying that she can do so much on her own now. She struggled to get the tin of caramel open but she kept trying and got it open. It's nice for her to know she can do it all totally on her own.
We had the pudding for afternoon tea when Dad got home and then we headed down to the pool... again.... :-)

Hannah started looking up and saying "sky". We realized this was what she wanted. And just like the jumping in yesterday she keeps asking for more and more. Eventually Dad had to stop because his arms were getting so tired.
I was really glad that my arm is doing so well that I was able to do a few lengths myself today. They are able to keep the pool at 25C and it was really lovely.
Hannah needed a potty stop just as we got onto our drive. So instead of buckling her up again she sat on Dad's lap and Ruth unbuckled and sat on mine. Dad then suggested Rachel open the sun roof and stand on the seat with her head out. So much fun from something so little. But this is what childhood memories are made of. Brendon allowed Hannah to steer on her own for some of the time and it got loads of laughs from Rachel as the car wobbled around on the drive. Hannah feels to drive you have to be moving your hands - even if just slightly. What's the fun in holding the steering wheel still. :-)

Water fun

The days are starting off very misty and cold but by lunch time we are all hot and looking forward to a swim in the afternoon with Dad. Today Rachel found she can swim without the cap and has no problem with her ears going under the water. I am so glad for her. She has so much fun in the water now.

Hannah loves jumping to Dad.

Look at how far Ruth can jump.
We are so thankful for these lovely summer days and the family time we get to have every afternoon.

Ruth got started on this "toy" this evening and did really well. She is registered with the Correspondence school this year and I got a call from one of her teachers today. We will post lots of pictures on Ruth's blog for the teacher to see what she has been up to.

I have been doing a lot of phoning today. I spent an hour this evening phoning around to organize a last minute fund raising opportunity we just received for Guide for this Saturday. With the new position I have as district coordinator I need to travel into town once a month for a meeting. When I worked out the traveling cost after my first meeting I could not help wondering how the unit in this district will be able to have enough money to pay for that extra expense. It will end up being around $400 for the year and finances are tight in such a small area. This was why I was so blown away by God's goodness if providing this opportunity for us to raise some extra money. All we have to do is host a morning tea for 35 people and we will be guaranteed $400. God is so good. He has even provided for a tiny concern I had for the Guides.

Sorting continues

Rachel continues sorting through the books. She is now sorting by author and then by title. The little page she has there on the bookshelf looks a bit like this. I have separated the letter according to the Alphabet song and hopefully soon she will be able to either jump in where she needs to with the song (if you are not sure about m and n then just start singing lmnop) and hopefully she will eventually have a better mental picture of where they are.
Rachel baked the Chocolate Crisps today and did a great job. Then she helped Dad get dinner ready as I had another physio appointment for my arm. It is already much better but the muscles are still very tight in my shoulder and on the outside of my shoulder blade. Amazing that the muscle tension and the pain are not in the same area at all. I am very thankful for an excellent physio. And I was again thankful for a lovely meal.

After dinner Brendon spent a bit of time in the veggie garden and Ruth and Hannah decided they wanted to feed the chooks some worms. It was so funny to watch how carefully Hannah carried the worm over.

Chocolate Crisps

150g butter or margarine

1/4 cup syrup

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 3/4 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 tablespoons cocoa

1 teaspoon mixed spice

extra sugar

Preheat the oven at 180C.

Melt the butter and syrup and then take off the heat.

Stir in sugar.

Add egg and stir well.

Add the rest of the ingredients and stir well.

Roll tablespoons full into balls and roll in extra sugar.

Place on a tray and flatten with a fork.

Bake for 12 minutes.

Leave on the tray for a few minutes.

Cool on a wire rack.

NOTE: This recipe works very well with gluten free flower.