Same as it ever was

It's the event we look forward to all year. And already, so quickly, its been and gone for another twelve months.

It was the same as it ever was, our lakeside cabanas all in a row, the practical jokes and story telling, the grazing and lazy afternoons but somehow, to me, it felt different. 

Amanda is home, there was a new baby to cuddle and most of the great grandkids are older and move as a mini-posse of witches and fairies and princesses these days, it's great to watch. But there was something else. A number of us arrived with heavy hearts, weary bodies and minds, worn down by life's ups and downs, but this year there was a unity and togetherness that has been muted since we lost Grandpa three years ago. It'll never be the same without him, it still hurts desperately, but we're healing. And we're at our best together.

I reckon he'd have been especially proud of us all this year, his family.

The movie we made for Nana's 80th came together beautifully. Here are some final pictures from the archives. These photos have been such a gift, I have LOVED poring over the details and hearing the stories behind them.

My Great, Great Grandparents Lavinia and Nimmo on the front porch of their house in country NSW.

My Great Grandparents, known to everyone as Ma & Pa. She looks so angelic,
I LOVE her delicate fresh flower crown.

THIS is the Ma everyone remembers, she loved a drink and a smoke. She was a larrikin and practical joker.

My beloved Grandparents, Dennis and Joan, looking HANDSOME as ever.

My Dad as a ceee-ute baby! He'll kill me for posting this but just look at that big black curl!

Belinda x

Green Thumb

My Grandpa had beautiful hands. I loved the way he would clasp my hands in his, or gently squeeze my shoulders after a hug, his sparkling blue-grey eyes smiling at me.  His hands could build engines, make or mend anything and had two of the greenest thumbs ever. He was an amazing gardener. Every day at the break of dawn, he would be up and out, either tending to the garden or tinkering away on a project in his Kaboodle (shed) down the back.  His beautiful garden was thoughtful and considered, a breathtaking living artwork, always so tenderly cared for.

Ever since we moved into our first house earlier this year with a garden to call our own, I've become rather obsessed about growing our own veggies and herbs and attempting to grow plants in beautiful pots that don't die within a month. I'd like to believe that I innately have Grandpa's gardening genes, I've just got to work out where they've been hiding and hone those skills.

Truth is, I've never been good for a garden or a pot plant. I'm a serial killer but I am committed to change. I'm just not consistent, that's the issue. I'm now consciously trying to get into a routine. It's never meant that much to me, but now I get a ridiculous amount of self satisfaction when I've remembered to water the plants and prune dead leaves (there are always dead leaves, I don't think there should always be but there are) but when it's been a while and I can see they are starting to look miserably at me, thirsty, I get anxious with guilt!

I leave them a while too long, then I overwater. I'm sure I'm doing all the wrong things but I'm slowly working out the independents and the needys, who needs what light - I'm hoping that soon, it will all start to come more naturally. We'll see.

Spring is coming and the next project is to complete the transformation of what was originally a pond into our very own veggie patch. We'll be letting the soil settle in over the next few weeks then plan to plant in Spring. I've only just heard of mushroom compost and am now wishing we had've used that but I'm sure this organic potting mix will be just fine.

 I've started a wishlist of what I'd like to plant in this, my very first veggie patch.

• Strawberries
• Blackberries
• Green beans
• Tomatoes
• Cucumber
• Lettuce
• Maybe even a Plum tree??

Oh man, if I can actually grow stuff to eat from my own garden - I will be so flippin impressed with myself. I want to keep aiming for a more sustainable approach to how we consume, I love the link to our food in our own backyard particularly for the little one. It's not groundbreaking but it's a start.  From little things, big things grow*

If you have any tips or ideas, please do share - clearly I'm flying blind here and could use all the help I can get!

Belinda x

* reference to this Paul Kelly song.