Duckie Feet

Some friends have given Farmgirl a pair of flippers that their children have out grown.  Her immediate response was to describe them as "new shoes".  Farmgirl likes new shoes, she gets that from her mother.

Farmgirl With Duckie Feet

She is calling them her "Duckie Feet" and has worn them almost non stop since she got them.

On land.  In the water.  Even to bed.

Farmgirl and Duckie Feet, Action Shot

I Went Online Shopping. Again. Farmboy Turns Six. Blog Love.

Regular readers of my blog will know I am fairly handy with the internet when it comes to shopping.  Living on The Farm I have limited access to shops.  I do try and do as much locally as possible, but if something is not available, my next port of call is always my laptop.

Through the wonderful Sydney Shop Girl I have made a fantastic new online discovery.  Victoria's Secret.  I never knew they did anything other than underwear, but they do!  Yay!  And with the Aus dollar being so strong against the US dollar it is very, very cheap.  Even with the fairly high postage. My rule with high postage is to buy a few items to even it out a bit on the per item basis.  The Farmer thinks this may be a somewhat dubious concept in economical terms...

So, anyway, after reading of SSG's experiences with Victoria's Secret I could hear my laptop calling me.  I hopped online and found a wonderland of swimwear.  Eventually after doing some sizing research I ordered a "tankini" which is just a singlet type top and bottom.  It arrived a few days ago and I must say I am really impressed.

Tankini Top

The quality is amazing and, even including the postage, they were still cheaper than a similar item in Australia.  This was without using my" buy several things to lessen postage" rule.

I love it when I find a good internet bargain...

In other quick news, we had Farmboy's cousins around for his birthday earlier in the week.  It was very small soiree and there was only four children.  They had an ice cream cake and played non stop on a slippery slide on the front lawn of The Beach House.  It was very simple but Farmboy told me it was his "best birthday yet".

Here are a few photos.

Very Pastel Icecream Cake.  With Six Candles

Farmgirl, Watersliding

Also, super exciting news.  Fiona over at Cattle,Kids and Chaos has given me a blog award.  My blog loves recognition!  Thanks so much Fiona. It made my day.  I will get onto it in the next few days.

Jurassic Park Goes Coastal

We have had an absolutely fantastic weekend here at The Beach House.  The weather has been stunning and we have done lots of beaching, eating, drinking and spending time with friends. I now have that lovely, sleepy, relaxed feeling you get after spending a day near the ocean.

However The Farmer and Farmboy have been interfering with the casual, nanna by the sea style vibe I have been aiming for in the Beach House decor department.

Look.

Tyrannosaurus Rex and Tyrannosaurus Rex Skeleton, Both Very Scary

I have been invaded by dinosaurs.

Back To The Beach

Today I am spending all day at my day job but then this afternoon we are heading to The Beach House.  For almost 3 weeks.  Yay and double yay!  I still have to work for the first week but fortunately it is only just over an hours drive from the coast back to town so I will commute for three days.  After that we are completely on holidays....

I am so excited.  The Farmer is a bit of a workaholic (like all farmers I think).  And the problem with living where you work is that even the weekdends quickly morph into work days.  So as much as I love life here on The Farm it will be wonderful to have some family time all together at The Beach.

Close friends are coming out for the first few days so I may neglect the blog a little.  Don't worry though, I will make constructive use of my time doing things like swimming, eating cheese and drinking champagne...

Farmboy's Birthday, An Attractive Shade of Green

This coming Monday is Farmboy's birthday.  He will turn six.  I am sitting here wondering what happened to the last six years.  My beautiful baby is now a fully fledged boy.  He can ride a bike with no trainer wheels, catch the school bus and come extremely close to beating me in a game of Draughts/Checkers... Watching him grow into such an adorable kid has been magical.  However I am now faced with his requests for a birthday party...

Last year he had a large "Pirate Party" in the front garden of The Beach House.  It was a great day with what was intended to be a lunch time soiree extending well into the evening with some very merry grown ups by the end... This year we have decided to go low key (having made a decision to only have a proper party every second year) and have some friends around for an ice cream cake and late afternoon drinks.  We are heading to The Beach House again tomorrow so once again that will be the location.  I have decided that the ice cream cake will come straight from IGA as I think I can only face that Women's Weekly Cake Book every second year as well.

Last year I was a complete uber Mum and produced this.

Pirate Cake

I was super proud of my efforts but a bit upset with the colour.  Cake decorating supplies are pretty basic in a country supermarket so I could not find brown food colouring.  I debated going for a Gaudiesque multi coloured extravaganza as primary colours were definitely on offer.  Then I remembered something.  All parents know from years of experience with play dough and paint sets that if you mix all the primary colours together you get a fetching shade of khaki.  Just like this.

Farmgirl's Playdough (With Glitter)

Analogies to dog poo are completely acceptable at this point.

And so I created a lovely muted khaki pirate ship.  Actually I was very fashion forward in my thinking as the military look is now well and truly in.

Anyway I am definitely looking forward to the low key "party" on Monday afternoon.  A couple of friends, a cake and some candles will be enough for Farmboy to have a wonderful day.  And will be much more relaxing for his Mum.

2011 Here We Come

As sometimes happens our quiet New Year's Eve got hijacked by some friends and turned into a much bigger night than was planned.  The Farmer is still in bed and looks like he may be there for sometime...

We had a great evening.  Some friends plus a neighbour (who just happened to be passing by at about 6pm) spent the evening at The Beach House with us.  We sat under the back verandah and drank champagne and ate seafood.  I went to bed at the very respectable time of 12.45am.  At this point I decided discretion was the better part of valour.  This was a decision I was super glad of at about 7am when The Farmchildren woke up.    I can honestly say I don't know what time The Farmer came to bed. That's OK - I asked him and apparently he doesn't know either...

Our evening started with these excellent nibbles...

Nibbles For New Year's Eve At The Beach House

I made some yummy crayfish.  I will post the recipe on another day. (I am seriously considering a whole post devoted to "The Western Rock Lobster"!!)

I love it when a low key evening spontaneously turns into a great party.  Some of my best New Year's Eves have been in that vein.  The reverse being also true, sometimes when I have had huge plans I have been disappointed.

I have been reading lots of blog posts and really enjoyed seeing others resolutions and recaps of 2010.  I haven't really made any huge resolutions for 2011.

This is for a couple of reasons.  The first being that I often make plans and they get thrown completely awry by life, the universe, whatever...

The second being that unfortunately I suffered some health issues in 2011 that resulted in lots of time in hospital and surgery etc.  They are resolved now but have left me thinking that just being myself, being  healthy and spending lots of time with my family and friends will be more than enough for me in 2011.

Happy New Year Everyone!

The House Paddock

A Dolphin for New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve is going to be laid back and relaxed here at The Beach House. We are having champagne and sea food, and some friends are popping around for a quiet drink.  We may or may not make midnight. Since the arrival of The Farmchildren our New Year's Eves have been considerably more low key than they used to be...

We started our day with an early morning swim at the local marina beach.  We call this the "Baby Beach" because it is absolutely perfect for small children. Shallow clear water, clean white sand and shaded grass.  All the boxes are ticked.

Baby Beach

While we were sitting on the grass putting on sun cream we saw a dolphin swim right into the shallow water.  By the time I had found my camera it had swum out a little way.

Dolphin Fin (With Attached Dolphin)

It was a wonderful start to the day.

I hope everyone has a great New Year's Eve, wherever they may be.

Take good care.

Farmchildren as Beach Babes

My Idea Of A Perfect Beach House

I don't like super huge beachside houses.  I prefer the fibro shack type numbers. I am not sure why - I think they evoke memories of my childhood summers spent on the Southern Coast of WA in a very basic, but idyllic, fishing town.

I have been giving some thought to what I think makes up the perfect beach house.  I have come up with the following requirements (and our Beach House doesn't quite meet them all but that's OK, we are lucky to have a house at all....)

1.  Beach Views -  I love sitting quietly in the evening with a drink watching the sun set over the ocean.  Our house doesn't have views but I have found sitting on the front verandah and watching the birds play under the sprinkler is an adequate substitute.  I sit here.  It's enough.

Chairs For Afternoon Drinks

2.  Easily Sweepable Floors - Lots of kids in and out equals lots of sand.  Sand is one of those things that fit into my "not worth stressing over" category.  Any floor that can have a broom go over it meets this criteria

3.  No Over Styling - Beach Houses should have relaxed decor.  A daggy 70s twist is ideal.  Some furniture should have come straight from your Nanna's shed. Coastal Chic Nanna Style is perfect.  Nothing should even approach magazine perfection.  It helps if the outside appearance is enhanced by lots of beach towels thrown over the verandah rail.

4.  A Drinks Fridge, Preferably Outside - We have the perfect example.  It has even been painted blue for a relaxed coastal vibe.

Drinks And Fish Fridge

5.  An Outside Shower (With Hot and Cold Running Water) - Perfect for salty, sandy Farmchildren.

6.  Lots of Bedrooms - A dormitory style arrangement would be perfect....  I am thinking of instituting bunk beds in our house.  Living areas don't seem to be as crucial as everyone is outside most of the time.

7.  Dishwasher - I know I sound like a princess but you spend days in a house with 8 adults, 2 kids and one sink...

8.  Easy Care Garden - I have a soft spot for buffalo lawns by the beach.  Again I think it is the childhood memories evoked from that prickly feel on bare feet.

9.  A Location With A Sea Breeze - Great for cooling purposes on hot afternoons.  Farmboy calls the sea breeze "salt and pepper wind".  He says that if you stick your tongue out, it tastes just like salt and pepper.

9.  Lots of Friends and Family That Come To Stay - This is the best bit really.

Bougainvillea, Back Garden of Beach House

Arrival of Country Style At The Beach

It is calm and peaceful here now.  We had an absolutely fantastic few days with The Beach House choc a block with people.  So much food, champagne, fun and lots of beach time.  Now, as the weather has cooled a little and the guests have left, I can feel myself starting to relax.  Which is good.  The lead up to Christmas was crazy busy for our family and I think we all need some down time.

The Beach House is in a crayfishing town not too far from The Farm.   I must be honest and say I love being a town dweller for a little while.  When you live in the middle of nowhere and cook every meal your family eats, something as simple as a fish and chip shop seems extremely luxurious.  I even relish being able to food shop every day, and buy on whim, rather than doing the mammoth food shops I do when we are at home on The Farm.

The Farmer and the male half of the extended family went fishing yesterday. They didn't catch a huge number of fish but there was plenty for dinner.

Blue Boned Groper In Front, Pink Snapper Behind

Today I had a quiet wander around the local shops.  Having a house full had made me realise The Beach House was a bit light on in the mug department. Nothing is more annoying than having to wash a cup when you want a coffee...

There is a gorgeous kitchen shop in town and I popped in and found these.

Lovely Stripy Mugs

I love having lots of colour in The Beach House.  I know the lovely lady who owns the kitchen shop.  I met her a couple of years ago when I had to stock out The Beach House kitchen.  She was really helpful at the time and gave me lots of freebies.  Anyway, today when I went in and picked up these mugs she smiled and commented that she had thought of me when she stocked them!  I took this as a strong sign from the Shopping Gods.  So the coffee mugs are now living happily in the cupboard.

I also found the latest Country Style at the News Agent.  Like the blog it seems to have adopted a beachy theme for January.

Country Style

The cover shows a beautiful table near a stunning bay.  I would love to sit there and have a nice peaceful cup of coffee.  I think I would be a tiny bit worried about snakes biting my ankles though as there is an abundance of windswept coastal grass....  That's OK - if I am imaging my dream beachside afternoon I will just imagine the snakes away.

I hope everyone has had a wonderful few days holiday and that you are all happily winding down after Christmas.

Take care.

A Beachside Boxing Day

The Farm Family have escaped to the beach. Yay!  We had a wonderful day yesterday.  Food, presents, family and friends.  All The Christmas boxes were well and truly ticked.  This morning we loaded up with leftovers, children, in laws, dogs, the boat and headed to the coast.

We are now firmly ensconced in The Beach House.  Which would be lovely.  Except it's hot.  Like 40 degrees hot.  And The Beach House is weatherboard.  And has no air conditioning.  Apparently the sea breeze is due any second....   It's OK though - I still love the beach.

The Beach (Not Our Boat Though...)

How could I not?

I hope everyone had a gorgeous Christmas.  One more thing, don't turn the cricket on...unless you are a Pom.