Family Photo's

At last !  We have had proper family photos taken !  With all thanks and credits to .Melanie Linklater photography .

Red Ramia Trading

A couple of days ago, Brad & I took a little afternoon drive to Myrtleford.  A gorgeous drive from here, towards Bright.  Myrtleford is a country town, lots of Italians.  It's sustained by grapes/ wineries, the timber industry, berry farms, hops plantations, and Brads favourite motor bike shop.
Until a few years ago, the most profitable industry there was tobacco growing.  It all finished tho - can't remember the details.  What remains is all the cute little funky shaped tobacco sheds made from steel corrugated iron.

My personal favorite shop of all time, anyplace (excluding the Queen Victoria Building ),  is Red Ramia Trading, at Myrtleford.

A huge bazaar like grouping of buildings filled to the rafters with quirky unique finds and treasures from all parts of Indonesia and Asia. All the space between the buildings is also chock full of outdoor things.  Cannons, flower pots, steel chairs, sun houses, staircases, lanterns, gates, doors, post boxes ...

Then there's also the wonderful Moroccan themed menu for lunch in the cafe.

The main entrance.

This is down the back between two buildings.

This gorgeous glasshouse is for sale. love the details and the doors and windows, the green metal work.  I can imagine this being over a swimming pool. 

Calligraphy brushes ?  beautiful ivory and other stones.

Teakwood printing blocks. So many beautiful patterns.

A Chinese carriage chair.  presumably you have your servants cart you about in it ?

A spiral staircase for sale, some iron chairs and fencing panels.

packed to the rafters.

Chapatti rollers

There are lots more amazing bits and pieces big and small i photographed, but this is a lot of photo's already : ).    The above is the most wonderfull Moroccan mint tea I had in the cafe, wish you could smell  it thru the picture...  ahhh.  

Come join me for a visit up there one day : )

Raspberries & Rainbows

Cold day today. 

A beautiful rainbow at sunset. 

I also planted some raspberries.

If Flopsy, Mopsy & Cottontail along with their brother Peter, think they might like to eat them (again), they should be very afraid.

My new rabbit traps (ebay) will be arriving this week.

I have been watching YouTube tutorials on how to skin and butcher rabbit .   I hope I am able to overcome squeemishness  and learn this new skill !  and eat 100% dinky di organic meat .

If it's good enough for the French ....

A bit pretty

My darling Crabapple trees are too gorgous this time of year.  

Eggs-cellent

Spring is springing and our chooks have returned to laying. Or earning their keep , or saving their necks !

Our chooks are the most spoilt chooks there ever was - no free range chook lives more 'free range' than these darlings who do have their own chook house, but prefer (are allowed) to roam 24/7.

They have started laying in some unusual places.

How about in this bucket at our back door ?

Another of the chooks has been laying right on the BBQ - the ultimate fast food ? 

a.k.a. Sally

Do you have a 'coffee' name ?

as of today I do.  In a noisy coffee house / cafe - 'Bronwyn', which many people never easily say anyways, just never seems to be understood.

 Bronwyn.  = " Robyn ? "  no .

Bron . =   "Ron ??? "    Nooooo .

giving up.

Sally  .  =   " Sally ".   that works.

'Sally', would like  Chai Latte, soy milk, no sugar.

Thank you.

Mt Talgarno

Brad took these pics recently , on one of our Sunday ' strolls '  !  up Mt Talgarno. Its pretty much directly behind our house. (on our neighbours land) .  From there we can look down to our home , across to Bethanga bridge, the Albury airport , Mt Table Top , its all so pretty looking over Lake Hume. 

Pinterest

Pinterest , - have you heard of it ?  Are you a 'pinner' ?  

I'm a newbie at it - but loving it.  Very cool, easy place to 'pin' up on my online virtual pinboards all those inspiring things to do, places to go, recipes to try,  OTT dream house ideas ! ,  outfits to  wear, books to read,  hmm , what else  , the thinks you can think if only you try ! (with thanks to Dr Suess ).

Check it out ?  see whats floating my boat ? (thus far)

http://pinterest.com/bronmodra/

Disclaimer :  I take no responsibility for any new addictive behaviours.   Please enjoy in moderation !   (note to self ! )

this morn.

Our neighbour was picking up the kids to take to school this morning.  So we walked up to the road to meet her.  Was so pretty with the sun shining on all the dew drops hanging on the fence , and highlighting the amazing patterns of spiderwebs.

Wish I'd thought to grab my 'real' camera !

So from my phone ; 

so very many things

so, im a bit behind.  where to start ?

since I last blogged, we have been blessed with joy and had sorrow interwoven too.  

  : )  wedding of Annie K & Mark S

 : )  wedding of  James H and Kate S

  : )  week long visit from the effervescent Estefanair

  : )  24 hour  date  with Brad in Melbourne

 : )  few days visit from Shirley B and Helen E

  : (   the v. sad death of Brads cousin Cameron H

Mallacoota

We spent Easter at Mallacoota.  Loverly spot , by the sea  : )  

Biggest caravan park that I have ever seen tho ! , but still good.

Our good friends Rohan & Jo T were there too and we spent our days mostly with them.

Thanks to the joys of F/Book status updates, discovered some other friends of ours were also in the park,   Cameron & Heather D. so had a catch up with them too. 

It was pretty cold in the water, but kids will always go in   : )

Neah 

 Here the girls are playing 'Sleeping Queens'.  An excellent card games for their age group.  In our rented Jayco Expander caravan.   (We have sold our camper trailer to a good home ).  Was a bit comfy 'camping' in a caravan,  aircondtioning, heating, etc, etc !

12wbt update - wk 8

Wondering how I'm going  ?  

I'm in such a positive headspace about all this.  So far I have lost 7kgs.  So it could have been more  - but you know - I'm going, yay to me !!  

The challenges have been sick kids - very sick for 3 plus weeks.  Darn whooping cough.  The twins had it , just at the very tail end of it now.  Thankfully Neah's immunisations were up to date, and she was spared (well, the actual illness , but not I guess the disrupted family routine, less of my time,  the impossibleness of a full nights sleep , thanks to the loud whooping etc, etc).

The best bits - feeling fitter - actually running on my treadmill - being inspired by the amazing transformations of the contestants on The Biggest Loser.  I place my laptop on my treadmill and watch it online at a time convenient to me . And then play mind games with myself - if the contestants are being yelled at on a treadmill, etc, to go faster / harder etc , then I do that too !   LOL

A couple of weeks ago we had a wonderful extended weekend away to Thredbo / Mt Kosciuszko.  I walked to the summit with Neah (her 10th birthday).   Took 3.5 hours return (to the chairlift) and I burnt 1993 calories !  huge !  A really hard Super Circuit at the gym on a Saturday morning (V. v. early .. )  burns on average (for me) approx 650 cals.

 Australia's highest mountain

Four weeks to go !

www.12wbt.com 

Dragonfruit

It's a funky looking fruit.  I only ever used to see it on the breakfast buffets in in tropical Cairns when we used to holiday there when i was a child.

Now it seems that its fairly available in our supermarkets, so we had to try one.

We like it ! A bit like kiwi fruit. 

Goal !

12WBT

Today is DAY ONE,  the beginning  of less of me !  ?  

Well that's the plan anyways.

I'm a bit excited,  (for transforming results ) and a bit scared (of failure - u know , not finishing) .

But here goes  I'm of to a good start.

Michelle Bridges - Bring it on !

Hope ya'll all be cheering for me ?

www.12wbt.com

What is 12WBT ?

Acronym for  12 week body transformation.

Basically Michelle Bridges, (personal trainer extraordinaire , and "The Biggest Loser' tv show trainer),  'trains' you online.  Exercise  programs , (beginner (me), intermediate and lean & strong etc ),  bi-weekly motivating video's,  menu plans, etc, etc.

Have yourself a very happy day x

CrabApples

A photo I took this afternoon - my beautiful crabapples near my front door.

11 years wed

Brad and I went out for a super nice lunch last weekend. 11 years married : )

Venue : one of our favourites, All Saints winery at Rutherglen.

Rained and rained, i loved it -

We love the gardens there.

The gorgous avenue of trees lining the driveway.

A newer avenue of trees

Ripening fruit on the vines.

Brad keeps getting better with age too - like a good wine ! lol

special day.