Back behind the lens

Today was Steve's birthday, but it wasn't such a great day for me. The morning was taken up with phone calls and resulting jobs to do - a new piano student for next term, a Stampin' Up! order to make - and then I took a meal to a family from church with a new baby.

Last week I was feeling completely inspired by this clever lady's ideas, but when the time came this morning I was happy to provide a nice chicken and corn loaf, with potatoes cut and drizzled with olive oil, salt and rosemary ready to go into the oven tonight, some green beans and some bake-at-home rolls. I seem to be making quite a few meals for church families these days, and I'd really like to get better at it so it's not a big deal for me and so that the meals I give are more complete, and .... maybe one day ... beautifully presented too ...

About lunchtime I started to have a bad headache and back pain, so the rest of the afternoon was kind of a painful blur. But around 6.00pm I started feeling more normal, which was great, because Steve soon came home, we gave him presents and headed out for a nice dinner at a local restaurant.

Not such great-looking decor in the restaurant from this angle!

I loved my Beef Eye Fillet with Potato Mash, Sauteed Vegetables and Peppercorn Jus. Steve had a Triple Meat dish with chicken, lamb and beef, Greek salad and chips (hey, you only have a birthday once a year!). The girls had a kids meal, and as usual didn't finish the pizzas because they weren't the same as the ones we make at home! Then Steve and I finished up with some yummy but filling Caramel Cheesecake.

The older the girls get, the more fun it is to go out to dinner - phew!

The most exciting thing that happened for me today was that we received our new camera, a replacement for the one stolen last weekend. So I took lots of photos this evening!

Our living room while the girls watch I Dream of Jeannie

(excuse the mess)

Trying a peppermint tea cure for my headache. after I tried the heat cure, the ibuprofen cure, the chocolate cure, the Dencorub cure and the sleep cure. Between them all, something worked! My new favourite mug from KMart.

The Vegetable Garden in Bloom

Who knew

that vegetables

have the most

beautiful flowers?

First three photos: Carrot flowers
Last photo, above: Bean flower. Such a plain name for such delicate papery translucent petals and lovely curling tendrils. I'm sure the botanical name sounds better, but I'm not going to google it now ... these photos taken with our old camera this morning.

This Weekend ...

... a hot weekend
... a little shopping
... helping with the girls' school assignments
... cooking for various functions
... watching Laura dance at a St Patrick's day party
... church this morning
... lunch with some church people
... visited Steve's parents
... then out tonight, walking to our local park where a festival was held, amazing music of other cultures, delicious foods from other countries, lovely things to buy (and bought by us!), great fireworks, then a walk home in the dark ahead of a southerly change.
... missing our camera!

Happy St Patrick's Day!

Top o' the mornin' to you!

We have a lovely morning here, cool but sunny, but it will be warmer later in the day.
This photo was taken in December at our last Irish Concert. Laura will dance on Saturday at an informal St Patrick's Day concert in someone's home, and will probably get to wear the same lovely dress again. Unfortunately Emily has given up Irish Dancing for the time being, but she is feeling quite busy enough with band, choir and high school homework.

Treasure

This peaceful scene (photo taken last July) shows where the crime took place. The crowbar was thrown into the lavender before they exited out the gate. The window where they broke in is just to the left, out of the photo.

This morning I read this to the girls:

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:19-21

My prayer is that my girls and I will learn to put our treasure more in heaven, and the things of God, and less in our possessions and comfort.

A Break-In

I've been looking forward to showing some more photos of our study - last weekend we actually finished painting the whole room, and I'm very happy with it. I love the wall colour and art on the walls, and I've mostly de-cluttered the room. I've been waiting for a good, bright, fine day to photograph the room to show off what we've done ...

But last night while we were out, our house was broken into, and our camera stolen, so you'll have to wait for show and tell.

At first we didn't notice anything amiss when we arrived home at 10.00pm after a family party. Then I looked in our bedroom and saw all my jewellery drawers pulled out and all my costume jewellery strewn around and my underwear tipped out onto the floor. "Has someone been in our house?" Steve didn't believe it at first - he thought that was how I left the bedroom! We looked around a bit further, and yes, someone had been in our house.

Fortunately they only took a guitar, the camera and about $20 in loose coins, strangely they left so much behind that was right next to the things they took. We think they were mostly looking for gold to sell.

We've spent the day today contacting police and the insurance company, and had a fingerprint forensic officer visit twice, once before and once after we discovered the point of entry. At first we couldn't figure out how anyone got in, unless they had a key, but it seems that they got into our shed and took out a crowbar and jemmied their way in through a window. They then somehow climbed over much mess (around the girls' desks) without disturbing it too much, probably spent about 5 minutes inside and then left the same way, shutting the window behind them somehow. While the forensics lady was here I discovered the crowbar thrown under a lavender bush nearby.

Now I have lots of black and white dust to clean up, I've done a quick clean but will clean better tomorrow. It's sticky stuff and hard to clean off the paintwork.

The girls are a bit freaked and it's weird to find your undies thrown on the floor and think that your top drawer has been ransacked. Not fun. But we're doing ok. It's been kind of a bonding experience and today we did a bit of detective work piecing the crime together, which was kind of interesting.

So I guess I'll be posting some old photos I have on file for the next little while, although the girls have cameras I could use if I need one. Looking forward to getting a new camera now ...

Done!

This is what things looked like about 12.00 yesterday - first coat of ceiling done and first coat on the wall. At this stage I was panicking because the paint looked purple - especially right up next to the original yellow. I was also hoping things would look a whole lot better with the picture rail painted the right colour!


But by 11.00pm the ceilings, walls, picture rail and skirting board all had two coats of paint, the piano and sideboard and all the china were back in their proper places.

This morning I woke up exhausted and with a very sore hand, but it was worth it!

Of course I still have the other half, really more than half of the room to do ... and I want to find a mirror to go over the sideboard, and frame some sheet music for the wall ... and hang the new blind on the window ... can't wait till it's finished!