Quiet simple living

The last few weeks have been pretty quiet for us. Mr Fix It goes in for his operation after the weekend and other than a run up to Sydney for a CT of his heart we have stayed home. The Crookwell family have been crook..pardon the pun...with the winter flu thing again so it has been prudent to stay away.



We did drive  to the Laggan monthly market one Saturday. It decided to sleet and try to snow as we walked back to the car. There is a family joke that we can break a drought if we try to pack the car, but it has never snowed as we try to put purchases in the boot before. We had a whole lot of gluten free goodies baked by the lady from the next farm up the road and a few other home made goods. The snow didn't keep up. So it was just cold and wet at home. Good  for a movie and a night in front of the fire.



The moon rises here are spectacular. The full moon shone through the clouds and I got these pictures.  The wind was blowing the right way for there to be internet (there just doesn't seem to be any other explanation for why the aerial gives two bars one night and none the next)  so I downloaded a few new crochet patterns. So I have ideas for the next few projects. Got to finish  the current one first of course.



The simple life is not a lazy one, although I admit I am not frantically running in and out like I do when we are both working somewhere. There are still activities to fill the day. Cooking from scratch fills up time as well as stretches the budget. Keeping on top of the dampness means I need to empty, wipe out and repack storage regularly. Funnily enough this job also has to be done in the hot NT as well. Mould loves closed up caravan lockers. The cold weather, as well as the rain results in dirty floors and dirty clothes. A few more clothes than we wear in the tropics. Washing means lugging water to the twin tub a couple of times a week. None of these tasks are onerous and the days have developed a soothing rhythm that I don't mind. Not bored yet.





K keeps an eye on the power water and bottled gas situation everyday. Our son-in-law took K out for serious wood collection a few days ago so the shed wood fire is merrily burning as I write.



Mr Fix It has always got a project on the go. He is working his way through a box of fix it treasures he found in the storage container and setting everything up so I can manage things for the week or two he will be on light duties.



So I am enjoying the quiet while I can. Fresh bread and chocolate cake ready for a snack. Homemade lasagne and quiche  for dinner, kettle boiling on the fire, washing dancing in the sun...no rain today...and the rams munching nearby. Mr Fix It doing something in the shearing shed after a trip to the tip to deposit our rubbish.




Cheers Sue

A Ferg on the Move

Unusual neighbours. Wombat and joey

The dogs, we are minding the two elderly ladies of the property up here near the caravan, have been growling and barking quite loudly at odd times day and night of late. 

There are rabbits, wallabies, foxes, echidnas, ( there was an echidna on the hill  on Monday) birds and of course sheep wandering the farm. So I guess there are plenty of things to bark at if they get too close. I'm sure the local foxes get a kick out of standing just out of reach.

However the girls are  pretty good about letting us sleep and are usually tucked up  their kennels out of the cold at night. The barking was getting a bit annoying and K had been out with the torch trying to find out just what was spooking the ladies to no avail.

Just before sunset Thursday K called me out to see who had been upsetting the dogs. We knew we had a wombat that liked to spend away warm days in the blackberry bushes behind us, but had no idea it had company.


  There she was out munching with her joey, ignoring the dogs who were going off properly, and pretty much ignoring us too.

She marched up the hill. The joey hesitated then ran up to mum. I managed to get close enough to grab some shots then the little one took fright and thundered back into the blackberries.  Mother wandered back too and then we heard them thumping along the path they have carved out among the blackberry bushes. Good thing they have thick hides.

So now we know what is causing  the current spate of   growls at night. Now we just have to sleep through it.

Joys of country life....

Cheers Sue

A Ferg on the Move.

Grandparent fun. Alphabets and kid's TV

Doing a spot of baby sitting this afternoon. Dad is doing farming stuff and mum has business that is easier without a young entourage.



So we are having an exciting afternoon being grandparents.



While I sat in the lounge room in the Crookwell house lengthening the band on a jumper for the baby, K was singing the alphabet song with Miss Four and a Half and putting magnetic letters on the fridge in   order under her supervision. Seems he got it correct so she must be a good teacher. They made sums as well. Lots of twenty-tens.



Master Nine Month Old is not quite crawling. He  combines commando crawls, rolls and twists to get pretty much anywhere he likes. Hands and knees rocking has been in the repertoire for a week or two now. Look out mum!



All of my grandkids have had to learn not to touch my necklaces.  It  become quite the game. Master Nine Month Old checks out which one I have on and sneaks his hand to the edge of my collar, while gazing into my eyes just to see if the rules have changed today. Not likely buddy! Even I you do give good kisses.



K is now supervising TV time from the floor and doubling as a climbing gym for the kids. He is quite an expert on ABC kids programs. He and Miss Four and Half have a conversation ongoing, him saying she is  in the road and her insisting she is in the room not on the road. I try not to chuckle too loudly. The baby is rolling under K's arms and then out again, giggling.




The only thing wrong with all this is that the other families are so far away. One of the few really rewarding things about getting old is watching your own brood become parents and responsible adults. Our three are managing that ok it seems.



Oh well......




Cheers Sue



A Ferg on the Move

Still moving

Lately I  have  been toying with whether I should change the on the move part of my blog name since we have been camped here for 8 months. The grass had literally grow under the wheels of our van. However in the last 8 days we have moved over 2600 km.  Enough to justify the moniker I think.



We have just got back to the farm and our caravan home after a quick dash to Adelaide and back. 2400 k

We needed to pick up some solar panels from a friend so we thought we would just pop over to get them and see a few people.



The panels are going to be set  up to charge batteries for lighting on the three sheds here. A useful project for Mr Fix It who gets twitchy when he  hasn't got a something on the go.



We also got to see the mums, mine and his, a couple of close friends, our brothers, mine and his, and K's baby nephew. Missed  one of  my  two brothers unfortunately.



K's mother fed us from her bountiful freezer. Three cooked meals a day and very forceful offers of snacks to go with  cups of tea. I couldn't convince her that we were full. (I'm suspicious she thinks K is so skinny because I don't feed him enough.  )



Both our mothers are masters of managing on very little. Nothing wasted. Shopping strictly to a researched list. Making meals from almost nothing. It never ceases to amaze me how far a pack of veg can go.



Mum Ferg baked lamingtons for us to bring back 1200 km for the Crookwell family. Made with Crookwell farm eggs that had travelled 1200 km to get to her kitchen. She cooked her cake recipe from memory.  She covered half lamingtons with chocolate and coconut and half covered with red jelly. The whole exercise was accompanied by stories about cooking with our kids and stories about her early life. In fact the entire time we spent in her house was accompanied by stories.



My mum and I caught up with family things while she knitted and I crocheted, the antics of the dogs and cats in front of the fire keeping us amused.  K and my brother talked wool machines and electronics.




Good times



We were happy to get home to our camp and  sleep in our own space.  Not happy to risk the safety of the solar panels overnight in a motel car park K drove the 1200 km back in one day. Early 5am rise.. We had a dream trip. Easy all the way. Although we left the usb drive with all our music in the other car so the soundtrack got a little repetitive. Only had the cds in the stacker. Becky Cole, Eric Bogle, Celtic Thunder, Bee Gees got a workout by home time.  I switched them all out quick smart at the caravan.



We took our granddaughter shopping while mum and dad had appointments today in Canberra. 240ish km return with the usb drive of music fortunately.



Miss 4 and half  is a very accomplished shopper. She discussed the merits of every toy and after choosing her presents insisted on carrying her own shopping bag, with the receipt in it cos that's the proper way.



(While we are discussing grandkids, the eldest lad in Brisbane had his birthday this week and for once I managed to time the post properly.  There was a beautifully worded thankyou on my message bank when I got in service range this morning. He is getting really grown up.)



So as we drink our cuppa at the Crookwell house before we drive back out to the farm I am happy to sign off.....



Cheers Sue

A Ferg on the Move