Sneak preview

When Sister-in-between was visiting she decided to have a dress of mine copied by a local tailor.

Today I picked it up.

Not sure I want to post it - it fits me quite well...
Little Sister

The serenity!

This morning I was home alone.

Did you get that?

ALONE!

A rare and much enjoyed treat!

Sometimes it's literally months between 'home alone' times.

I love my family, but I spend a lot of time with them.

A bit of time alone helps me love them all the more.

I didn't do anything particularly special.

In fact I did an assignment.

With a cup of tea on the side.

But it was QUIET.

There were NO INTERRUPTIONS.

For nearly 2 whole hours.

What joy, what bliss :)

Little Sister

Shouldering the load!

With all three sisters living out of town, little brother was left to "shoulder the load" for Mother's Day. Getting in early, the 'one brother' took Mother for Saturday breakfast at the botanical gardens. Mum enjoyed her poached egg on toast with tomato and mushroom. 'One brother' had a huge serve of bacon, eggs, mushrooms, tomato and hash-brown. Happy Mother's Day Mum! We all love you very much xo.

Loving the pink . . .

Busy day ahead

Am loving my new skirt

Pink always lifts my spirits

xxx

Sister in-between

HOT!

This week has been HOT! High temperatures and high humidity; the kind of energy-sapping heat that consumes all my motivation and patience. But, taking a leaf out of Sister-in-between's book, there's a lot to be thankful for even in this kind of heat:

1. Swimming pools: until a few months ago we were living in a small, provincial town that was even hotter than here. I used to get pretty desperate some days, trying to entertain 3 little kids who were overtired, hot and grumpy, when I was feeling the same way! There were no pools and even the river was tepid at this time of year. Now we're living in a bigger town with swimming pools! At the end of the school day it's bliss to take the kids for a swim; to be able to exercise and have fun together. I am VERY thankful.

2. Mangosteens: this fruit is one of my all-time favourites. If you can manage to break open the tough skin without completing squishing the delicate white fruit inside (I have about a 70% success rate!), they not only look beautiful but taste scrumptious. The kids have discovered that the number of little flower-shaped petals on the underside of the skin corresponds to the number of juicy segments inside - tricky! They are only available in HOT season :)

3. My house: we are living in a comfortable 2-storey house with shady mango trees around it. On the hottest days it is still bearable downstairs, if you stay close to a fan (upstairs is another story...). Next door is a building site where a new house is being erected. The labourers live on-site in a wood and tin shack. I can't imagine how HOT a tin roof would be in this weather! I have nothing to complain about...

4. Storms: we had a ripper of a storm last night; one that made the house shudder! There is nothing like a really wild storm with cooling winds after days of climbing humidity - what a relief! The thunder and lightning had the kids blocking their ears and we had to grab the candles and headlamps for a bit, but oh it was SPECTACULAR!

So I guess I had better stop complaining about how HOT it is :)

Little Sister

Coffee ...

Today Big Sister was given a second hand, nifty blue coffee machine!!! It uses coffee pods so no grinding and messy clean up! Can't wait to try it out!
Thank you to 'coffee buddy' at work - it will sure beat the instant!
Xo Big Sister

Old Mother Hubbard . . .

Tonight I did an 'Old Mother Hubbard'

The cupboard or in this case the fridge was bare.

I managed to rustle up some bread (that may have been fresh yesterday), apples and some watermelon,

and called it 'dinner'

Little Miss had a science project so leaving the 'Capable One' in charge, I headed out to do the much needed grocery shop.

This post was going to be a grumble . . .  about the horrific battle through the mish-mash of local vehicles, and the need to drive up the wrong side of the road towards oncoming motorbikes in order to enter the carpark, and the lack of car parking spaces once there.

My grumble was going to continue, to describe the unwanted giggles and comments made about my heavily  laden trolley (by other shoppers who are there daily rather than weekly), and about the ridiculous 100 item system which saw me having to pay through 2 transactions as I had 102 items to buy.

I then stopped and began to count my blessings  . . .

The checkout assistant carefully packed my trolley, wheeled it out of the centre and down to my car, where he unloaded it . . .  all the while smiling.

His smile soon became mine as I arrived home and was greeted by my 'house fairy', who helped me to carry and unpack all my groceries.

I realised just how lucky I am

xxx

Sister-in-between