Mystery Picnic Adventure

We gave Andy a Mystery Picnic Adventure for his birthday. Choosing the family, south of the lake option, The first online clue led us to began our adventure at the Fyshwick Markets. We wandered around the markets looking for Deli Planet. Inside Andy and the girls picked up some delicious looking antipasto.

Back in the car, the next clue was deciphered and we made our way to the Kingston shops searching for Bitter Sweet. Again Andy and the girls came out with a random selection of sweet treats!

The next clue sent us to the Kingston Foreshore - first to 7th & Bake Patisserie cafe where we picked up a loaf of sourdough before looping back to Local Press. The gang emerged with a selection of juices.

With our picnic goodies all picked up the final clue led us to Bowen Park. where we found a shady spot, spread out the blanket and sat down to begin our feast looking out across Lake Burley Griffin. It was a beautiful spot.

As for lunch - it was a bit of a hit and miss affair. There were some very yummy bits, some not so yummy bits and not much for our little vegetarian to munch on. Anyway it was a fun way to spend time together on a Sunday in the beautiful sunshine!

Let There Be Light

While Ella and a very fluffy Indi relaxed in the sunshine, Andy and I put up our new deck lights. It wasn't quite as straightforward as we'd hoped having decided to string a guide wire from one corner of the house to the other going through the Chinese pistachio tree. With no swaging tool we improvised with the use of a hammer and pliers to squish the clamps.

We enjoyed the first BBQ of the season under very bright lights!

 

A Close Call

Poor old Willow was looking very sick in the chicken coop. She was not moving and could barely hold her head up. After close inspection, we couldn't see any outward signs of a problem with Willow so we popped her inside the chicken house thinking that she wouldn't survive the night.

In the morning we were surprised to find Willow still with us. Katy decided to do some research on sick chickens. Internet veterinary advice was to place her inside a box with a towel over the top in order  to keep her warm. We relocated Willow to the laundry hoping to keep a closer eye on her.

Both of her eyes were closed by this stage and she still looked like she would pass away at any moment. Every so often, we would place her beak into a small dish of sugared water and she happily swallowed a few drops. 

Another night passed and Willow was still hanging on. She was looking a bit perkier and Katy thought she could go back to the coop. Slowly Willow regained her strength and was back to normal - wandering and scratching around in the coop with both eyes open. Willow survival was definitely a direct result of Katy's care! 

A Fresh Take on Dinners

The girls have agreed to cook dinners - Ella two and Katy one - as part of their choice of chores in exchange for pocket money. We have been doing this for several months encouraging the girls to choose the meal they wish to cook. Recently their dinner have become very repetitive and one may say lacking inspiration! 

Various friends and work colleagues have been impressed by using Hello Fresh - a company that provides meal kits which are delivered to your door. Thanks to a friends freebie voucher, we decided to give Hello Fresh a go.

The beauty of the Hello Fresh set up is that the girls choose from a set weekly list, the meals that they would like to cook. The said three meals arrive on our doorstep on Monday morning packed into a big box. It is Ella's job to unpack the contents.

Unfortunately in our first order, the lamb was missing and a packet of beef in it's place. Not quite sure that pistachio crusted beef works. Also the recipe card was missing and we instead had 2 copies for the dessert. Not a great start really.

Over the next three nights, Ella and Katy were excited to be cooking. Pistachio crusted lamb, Halloumi and tomato relish burgers and Creamy bacon and tomato fettuccine with pear salad were the meals of choice. Each meal had an easy to follow recipe card outlining the steps to produce the meal.

I must admit, that despite the cost and excess plastic packing, it was lovely to have the girls making dinner so happily! We will continue on with this plan for a few weeks and see what happens.

Hello Leo

I finished my run as Andy and the girls were emerging from the washing machine ocean totally dejected by the rubbish conditions. After a quick dip, we headed back to the cabin for warm showers and breakfast before packing up.

A bit of shopping in Mogo - browsing in shops is such a novelty - lollies and art supplies were purchase plus coffee. Then we were on the road to Canberra.

Back in Canberra we made a beeline to the Chalmers/Rothery house to meet the newest member of their family - Leo! An adorable 16 week old spoodle! Lots of cuddles were required from all members of our family.

That evening, Leo and his family came over for dinner and a play with Indi! It was exhausting work trying to keep up with the demands of a young puppy!

Birthday Boy

Andy had a great 48th birthday down at the coast. Navid joined us for the morning surfing session. Andy had multiple successes in standing up on his board! Ella less so and almost paddled over to New Zealand at one stage. Katy found conditions difficult and got cold quickly.

Following the morning surfing session, we made our way to the Mossy Cafe for a lazy lunch. The afternoon was chilled as the weather closed in. Dinner was a casual affair as we bought Thai from the street van and ate it on our deck. Most of the family wandered down to the beach for an evening stroll.

Beach Birthday

We escaped ACT at the first opportunity as covid restrictions were relaxed enough to head down to the coast. Surprisingly the roads and caravan park were much quieter than expected. We arrived in Broulee with enough time for an afternoon surf especially as the beach was only a few hundred meters walk from our accomodation!

We had an excellent session in the surf despite the waves looking rather big. Luckily for us the big ones were breaking a long way out so we ended up surfing the white wash waves. Katy had the best time and gained so much confidence with her numerous standing up successes.

New Bike

Andy's new mountain bike arrived just in time for his birthday!! He is pretty stoked and immediately put it together and headed out for a ride! From his tales of two stacks (thankfully no injuries) in two days - the new dual suspension and different handbag width might take some time to bond with.

Skater Chick #2

Ella has got caught up in the skateboard excitement and bought herself a board. Unlike Katy, Ella seeks out the steepest hill in our suburb and tries to skate down as fast as possible often with Indi helping out by pulling her along! Both Andy and I can't bare to watch her!

Covid Life

And life continues. Home schooling is going ok. Andy is surviving working from home and seems to be working at all hours. I'm still at normal work also doing longer hours.

Katy and a group of friends have taken to waking at 6.30am and connecting via some sort of video call. They then do a short work out together, each in their own bedroom. Once completed, they make breakfast together and chat while consuming it. By this stage, the video call ends as the girls independently get ready for home school!

Ella's finished crocheting a blanket from alpaca wool.

We had a load of firewood delivered which required to be chopped into smaller pieces and quickly so we could get access back to the garage!

Indi gets to go out often with different family members!

And the rare day I got to stay at home, I enjoyed one of those gourmet lunches which I'd been enviously hearing about over dinner :)