Our room – the kitchen is behind on the left, and the bathroom on the right. The price includes fresh bacon, and eggs from the onsite chooks, for breakfast. It was a peaceful place, and we had a lovely time walking around the garden, sitting with a pot of tea enjoying the view, or talking over crackers with pate and a glass of wine. Yes, we do know how to party!
A bit more of the view –
We reminisced about the years gone by, and talked about plans for the years to come. It’s fairly common for us to take time to sit and talk, but there’s something about a cuppa tea on a wooden verandah, with mountains in the distance, that just takes it a bit above the ordinary…
We had hoped to see the stars last night, but it was too cloudy. We caught the sunset, though!
Well, winter came back for a visit. It’s still not quite as cold as it could be, but my toes are gently freezing…yesterday the wind was so strong that I didn’t even consider putting the washing on the line. I had visions of our clothes winging their way to the river, and beyond! The asparagus has sprung up again, and is ensuring that we don’t have to buy any for a while. It seems the wildlife is also finding its way to the garden – I surprised a snake in our yard today, just next to our back path. It was only about a couple of feet long, so mid-size, I guess… they can move fast, can’t they? Don’t know what sort it was, but I thought I’d stay out of its way.
We’re off on our anniversary jaunt tomorrow, or at least an overnight stay not too far away. It’s been many years of winters, washing, and anniversaries. Not so many snakes, though. 😀 But, it can be easy to let things slide, and take all the good stuff for granted. Time to take stock again, and remember what’s important. We’ve had our moments over the years. But we’re still here 🙂 🙂 And there are a lot more years to come!
One of my favourite activities! It’s all taking shape so far – boxes being emptied, various items finding their place. There are a few niggles to sort out – we’ve had to swap out the roller blinds. There were two, quite old, ones that shed plasticky bits every time they moved. Not what you want for the kitchen… There are some storage spaces to figure out, but we’ll get there 🙂
We’re settling in well. Even had some asparagus from our own garden for tea! My shelves are filling up with books, and I’m even managing to get them in some sort of thematic order this time. Maybe. Tomorrow will be our 29th anniversary. Sweet Bean turned twenty a few days ago. How did I get so old? 😆
It’s been a good 29 years. ❤
Here we are, still happy, and looking toward the next 29 (30?) years!
Our Anniversary – 27 years! – was on Wednesday, so we decided to go away. Sweet Bean was at school camp – we dropped him off, then continued on to our (sedate, not quite riotous) adventure ❤ . We stayed in Bardon, at the Fairy House. It’s apparently a landmark, and is also on airbnb. We rented the studio. There is also a loft (above the studio), which I would imagine is a good size for one person. Everything in the studio was compact, but well laid out, and there were touches of luxury everywhere. The bed was very comfortable, and the towels and bath mat were thick and, well, luxurious! Toiletries were provided as well, so we didn’t have to pack much. It’s on a major road, and there’s no on-site parking, so it’s a good idea to pack smaller bags rather than one big one. It’s not too far to walk – there’s parking in a side road – but you have to cross the busy road without a crossing or lights.
This is what you can see from the road – the door is to the loft. The studio is down a fairly steep set of stairs.
Looking up – there’s my God heart (yay!)
The balcony outside, which we never got around to using, and the doorway to get inside. Yes, it is as narrow as it looks – yet another reason to pack smaller bags! I measured it with a normal sized tea towel – the width of the door is narrower than the length of a tea towel.
The dining nook and compact kitchen are either side of the door as you come in, and the bed and living area are in one long room further inside.
Yes, that is a very large shower. It’s built for two – each side has its own shower head and taps. Interesting 🙂
We were very comfortable, and it was surprisingly quiet for being on a noisy road. There are a lot of places to get food around the area, and the buses are fairly regular. We left the car parked down the side street and took the bus in to Paddington the next day. My Babe went to the Guitar Shop to get some accessories and try out a bass guitar or two, and I browsed the shops along the street. We had coffee/tea at Lil Gypsy.
It was their second birthday so there were free cupcakes!
We spent a few hours out, but were very tired after a while – how can spring be so hot?! Took the bus back, had a sleep, watched a bit of Netflix… One more night, then we had to pack up and leave. Check out time was 11am, so we took our time. Had a lovely lunch on the way home at the Goodfolk Cafe. I’m not a vegetarian, but I enjoy vegetarian food if it’s cooked well and delicious 🙂
Mushrooms in a butter cream sauce with sage, lemon, a poached egg and crunchy maple kale on sourdough spread with goat’s cheese. There were supposed to be capers, but I didn’t see any. Not sure where the maple was either… still, it was very satisfying! I had a kid sized chocolate ganache milkshake as well, since there was no way I could have managed an adult sized one. We took our time and enjoyed the experience. By the time we’d finished, it was time to pick up Sweet Bean from camp, then home to unpacking, washing, and sleep!
…and love ❤ Our anniversary was during the week, so we decided to celebrate with a day out today. Nothing too strenuous – went in to New Farm to get some lunch (and coffee 🙂 ) at the Deli there, then off to New Farm Park to eat it.
Our view
Last time I was there it was summer, and the rose bushes were dry and bereft of flowers. Today they were a bit blowsy and tired, but still beautiful. The bees were having a grand old time!
The flower of love…
We looked round an Op Shop near the park before lunch, and bought some books and bits and bobs. I found a new friend just as I came through the door. I thought he was a dragon but he has some griffin-like qualities – although probably not enough eagle.
Stopped at Koorong on the way back for some more books. We’ve got an inspection coming up, so with a marathon of cleaning yesterday and walking all over the place today, I’m glad to be sitting down resting now. Think I’ll have enough energy to finish off the sour cherry pie from lunch, though 🙂
Today we’ve been 26 years married – not one of the “big” years, but still worthy of celebration. Last year we celebrated Silver, and went away for the weekend. This year we were going to go away, but it hasn’t worked out. We’ll probably go out on Saturday. As the years have gone by we’ve celebrated more quietly. Landmark anniversaries mean bigger plans, but why not think big for the years in between? We’ve been side by side through hard years as well as good, and we love (and like) each other more all the time. That should be a reason to throw a party! Today we went out for breakfast. Nothing too exciting; just a chance to sit back, talk, and spend time together. I usually take a photo of the food, but forgot to this morning. We took the selfie instead 🙂 I did take a photo of my caramel latte, which came as a latte with what tasted like home made caramel sauce. Yum!
Our view was uncluttered – there’s still social distancing in place, so not too many people about.
Lights, greenery…
…and bunnies!
A sign for our times.
And a sign for our lives.
A quiet day, but lovely. Now to start on the next 26 years! ❤
It’s not that far off midnight, but I still have time to talk about the day…
Our anniversary today – twenty-three years today! ❤ We just had a quiet visit to the cafe, and snuggled on the “new” sofa watching a DVD this evening.
My hot chocolate – hearts! Yay!
We shared some cake – chocolate orange cake.
This is the one we brought home to have while watching “Bridget Jones’ Baby” – Rosewater and pistachio cake (gluten and dairy free).
A new mural on the wall in the parking lot behind the cafe.
…and some flowers near where we sat to eat.
Both were plants we had in the old house, and both smell sweet.
It’s been a good year.
Time to dive in to the next one.
This has been a good week in a lot of ways – some things have become clearer, and there’s been glimpses of light in the future… It’s also our 22nd Wedding Anniversary today -yay for us! 🙂
We went to a lovely little cafe this morning to celebrate. I’ve been there twice before -once on my own, once with hubby. It’s called Rafter and Rose, on Ellenborough St, across from the cinema. It’s down a little alleyway with lots of greenery outside. The food is great!
The first time I went I was on my own… I’d forgotten how nice it is to spend unhurried time on my own with a cuppa.
This was my view…
This was my food 🙂
That’s a hot chocolate and something called a breakfast muffin – basically croissant dough plaited and covered in cinnamon sugar, then baked in a muffin tin. Very sugary, and I couldn’t eat it all. Took it home for later, though.
The second visit was with hubby. We needed some down time, and sat outside with the flora and blue skies…
We shared a sour cream and blueberry scone with our cuppas.
And today… I wasn’t feeling my best, but it was worth taking time. We sat and chatted and enjoyed each other’s company. Lovely!
I like the bits and pieces on the walls…
a bit of creativity, a bit of eco consciousness, a bit of inspiration.... hopefully not a lot of pompousness and blathering :D
i'm not entirely sure what's going on here... let's travel along and see...
1000 Fields of Roses 