We went for the noise and smells; lights and rides; dagwood dogs and fairy floss, but mostly for the fireworks..... because we both just love fireworks!
Lunch, freshly selected from the garden. Black Russian tomatoes, beans, snow peas, shallots, wild rocket, lettuce, nasturtium and fresh laid eggs.
OK I have a confession.....
So I made some yesterday. I altered the instructions as my jars were only small and couldn't fit whole ones....especially of this girth. I just salted the quarters and threw in a few cloves and peppercorns (if I had cinnamon sticks in the pantry I would have added those as well and maybe a bay leaf) plus some extra juice and....squish and shake.
These should cure over about a month and last about 6 months...ready for spring and summer salads, olives and maybe a last minute warming indulgent winter tagine. I'll shake and turn them every day.
And still on my intercontinental kitchen journeying and again ending some procrastination on the subject I plucked some of my mint, which has been loving the overnight rain, while out picking peas for dinner this morning. It was time to actually make that Moroccan mint tea I love so much.
So into the teapot it went with some nice organic green tea, steaming water and sugar (I just kept it at a teaspoon...not tablespoons like those sweet toothed traditionalists love so much).
Mmmm I've just finished my first cup now.
I'm going to make some mint syrup that Sabrina has made on her blog next!
And when I can get my hands on lots more lemons I have bigger plans for them too.
Well finally after my original post about these "extensions and renovations" I am ready to lift the veil.
Yes, our house may be some of the things I mentioned in that post...but I like it that way. It keeps us connected as a family, close and more entwined in each others lives and happenings, nurturing what I hope to be a continually bonded and open family.
"The Girls" however? Well, they needed more space....
Here's the new front door..... it just needs the builders hand print...(and a new sign).
And here it is...... "Chateau Chook"!
The garden bed down the left side is already sprouting comfrey for greens for the girls and garden fertiliser, and the bed down the right, which has been claimed for the moment as a sun bed for the dogs, will grow a grapevine come spring...if you look closely you can just make out the wire strung across the outside to hold it's leafy tendrilly canes.
What used to be the chookies entire house has now become the bedroom alone....
I'm certain they are very happy. Max unfortunately is not as there are no more free egg breakfasts. Oh well.
When my girls are not free ranging now I can easily throw treats and greens over to them to scratch in as I potter the garden.
And....the even more exciting news.....we are extending the family! (No sorry no more babies) We are on the adoption waiting list for two new baby girls. We are hoping to get our phone call sometime next month to go and bring them home with us and I am waiting with baited breath. They are like gold, a fairly old and rare breed here. They should look something like this sleepy little one when we pick them up. Not a great photo but I will wait to reveal their true identity at a later date.
And, a commendatory note to our very own Bob the Builder......Thank you Roger, you did such a fantastic job and I am very very grateful! You're cleverness, your ideas and creations are always treasured and appreciated more than words can say. Lots and lots of eggs (hopefully) and parsley (I'll grow some curly leaf just for you) coming your way!
And as for my conundrum over which fruit tree to plant in the new rock bed....well, you know I was leaning towards citrus and that's how it went. My dilemma was made even easier by taking Mia with me to the nursery where she promptly chose amongst the citrus a delicious Blood Orange....let me tell you I took no convincing. Mia helped plant it that afternoon and then she spent time talking to it to settle it in to it's new home afterwards. I think it's going to be her baby.
On the creepy crawly front....I decided to move and dig up my compost bin ( for various reasons one being to create fertile space for my summer srop of Sugar Baby Watermelon, yes, yum!)....which is why "the girls" were out because there was a resulting bug feast to be had....my goodness! Aside from the white ants (termites) I dug out, and subconsciously let myself dreamily and dare I say it, densely believe were baby bull ants (yes, true, but only because bull ants were nesting in there too I swear), I dug out this huge curl grub with a rather loud gasp of shock. I wish I'd put it on my hand for the photo. I have never dug up such a large one before....Ha! the things that amuse me.....a sign of a healthy compost heap maybe? As for the termites.....I'm silently worrying (hence my dreaming about them last night in their winged stage flying into our house!) but I'm trying to remain in calm denial...I somehow think I will loose this mental battle though. 
The remainder of the compost that didn't go into my new bed filled several garden pots where I have sown a few of my Spring seeds that I want to get going early. The site of my patch is warm so they should be fine. I have sown half a dozen Rosella's and a few Japanese Raisin Trees...I'm very excited about the Raisin trees though I don't expect fruit from these for quite a while. These can take 3 months to even germinate and the Rosella's 6 months to reach fruiting hence me wanting to get them both going early.
And...as a reward for reading a slightly well, long winded, post about garden bits I am planning on revealing the new "extensions" any patient people may have been waiting to see, tomorrow. Honestly I didn't mean for it to take so long to post about but with little ones and this and that it's dragged on....I should be out to take photo's of it this afternoon. I have to say I'm loving it!
Maybe a closer look will help.....
Yep buds! All over my Jasmine vine.
I thought I was imagining things, or more honestly mistaking new leaf buds for flowers when I was out doing the laundry the other day. But, here they are. My favourite flowers of all. It won't be long now until every room in the house has a vase full of soft white and pink blossoms and an aroma so sweet and individual that lingers and lingers in and out of my days and my dreams. That scent is the best scent in the world, well other than burying my nose in my babies velvet soft hair.
There are things that mark the years and seasons...the repeated passing of time. For me it's usually smell that transports me to recollections and memories of places and periods of my life passed, and Jasmine is the one that most strongly bears me on my reminiscent voyages.
It's appearance also helps me survive the remainder of winter with hope and anticipation of warmer days. Funnily I never fail however year after year to get excited that Spring has made an early arrival and then the last cold snap of winter graces us with one last chill before we can really bid it farewell for another year.
I was thinking about how my garden looks and is growing and producing over winter and trying not to worry about how the coming ravages of our summer here will take it's toll. I've been watching our friends overseas with pleasure as they are already enjoying their summers and noticing with interest how some of our seasonal produce is still the same even in our differing climates.
The end of our winter will be the end and beginning of another cycle...the end of kind cool weather gardening, the beginning of hot sun and dry earth again....time for me to prepare and accept the change and choose my new seeds and methods wisely...and be patient if I need to bow down and just let summer do it's thing.
I know it's nothing new, nothing innovative or unprecedented, especially to the home gardener to exercise such consciousness of these cycles, of seasons, planting seeds, growth and reuse but I couldn't help contemplating for the moment on the serpentine nature of of it all and well, it's correlation to life. 
Everything starts with a seed doesn't it? My pumpkins, my veges, our thoughts, ideas and actions; life may radiate into many branches in between, bearing sour or sweet fruit over it's own time depending on how our gardens are tended, and how many of our "scraps" we use to compost it...the lessons we learn and unlearn that power and direct our growth.
I'm not one really to go off with trying to sound sage like and sharing quotes but in a moment of serendipity this morning I read this from my celestial seasonings box while preparing my tea:
"Live each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences of each." Henry David Thoreau
Nice.
And I also get to use another new favourite thing....my needle wallet, made by Mum. I just had to show it off.
Now if I can only stop procrastinating I may have something to show off by the end of the weekend.
What a contradiction I am....to be itching to sew and then procrastinating when I have the most opportune time while Bam is asleep and Mia is occupied and snuggled up...maybe that's it, I want to just snuggle into nothingness while it's raining too?
Nope, I'm off to sew.....happy weekend all.
It's getting closer to revealing our new addition. This afternoon I managed to add a splash of colour, a lick of paint (I know it's really daggy but I love that phrase) to it....be it in the form of a coat of good old reliable "Brunswick Green". Well I was actually hoping for the old faithful "Mission Brown" but the tin I was generously lent had unfortunately turned to lumpy water.
