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.

It's Almost Here, Only Two Sleeps To Go

Christmas is only two more sleeps away.  Yay!  Things are already getting very busy on The Farm.  The spare fridge looks like this (all farming families have lots of fridges - food storage is valued!)

Very Christmassy Fridge 

You can tell The Farmer helped me stack it.  It is all very rectilinear.

The Farmchildren and I have made Christmas biscuits for the tree.  We were going to make gingerbread men. But I couldn't find the cutter. Failed the uber Mum test.  Again.  That's Ok - I really like the stars and hearts more anyway.

Hearts And Stars - My Favourite Biscuit Shapes

On The Tree

Star With Farmboy Shaped Bite (Did Not Make It To The Tree)

We had dinner with New York Uncle and New York Aunty last night.  We had a great night.  The mango meringue concoction was a hit.

Mangoes and Meringues

I would love to say the photo was taken on an angle because I was having a stylish, artistic moment.  I think it was more because I was having a post three glasses of champagne moment.

I think the blog will sign off now until after Boxing Day.  Then it will be a lazy beach blog for a few days, so expect a change of scene.

I would just like to wish everyone an absolutely wonderful Christmas.  I hope you all have happy times with your loved ones, wherever you are.

Take good care.

With love
A Farmer's Wife

Christmas Comes To Lego Land

Earlier on I posted about how the Lego men in our house were celebrating Movember.  This week they are celebrating Christmas.

Farmboy is a proud, card carrying member of the Lego Club.  This actually just means your Mum is dumb enough to fork out $20 once a year so you get a magazine/catalogue each month. (Basically Mum winds up paying Lego to advertise to her child....)

Anyway this week the Lego Club came good.  And sent Farmboy this.

A Lego Snowman

Yep, it's Frosty done Lego style.  He even has a little hook on his hat so you can hang him on the tree.

I am dying to hang him on The Farm Christmas Tree.  But Farmboy won't let me.  Apparently he wants to play with him.  There is only one thing for it - next year I am joining Lego Club too.

All That Glitters...

This has been a crazy busy week here on The Farm.  Farmboy has had his last day of preprimary with all the assemblies, parties, waterfights that came with it.  I had my own little party for a friend.  Christmas events seem to have been coming thick and fast.  We finished harvest which was lovely and tonight we have The Farm Christmas Party in town.

What stands out though, in my head, this week is the fact that my house has suddenly been invaded by glitter.  The Farmchildren have brought home a huge amount of stunning Christmas Craft from school/day care and every single piece has been incredibly sparkly.

I present some of their finer work.

Very Glittery Pine Cone Christmas Tree

Not Actually Sure What This Is But It Is Very Glittery Too

I could only choose a few because there were many, many excellent (and glittery) examples to choose from.

As a result of this we have a new decor in The Farmhouse.  Every single surface is covered in a fine layer of sparkle. (Particularly the jarrah floorboards).  It provides an interesting (but unplanned) festive feel.  Likewise all the occupants of The Farmhouse are being seen out and about with a little more shine than you would usually expect.  I have decided I have absolutely no choice but to embrace the glitter, both as house and personal adornment.  For the simple reason that no matter how hard I try to clean the stuff up, it just reappears.

In other Farm Christmas news, Farmboy has informed me that an excellent source (fellow student) has informed him (Farmboy) that someone else (Santa) informed him (fellow student) that it will snow here on Christmas Day.  Despite this extremely reliable prediction I have my doubts.  Not least of all because the long range forecast here for Christmas Day is currently fine and hot at 41 degrees celsius.  Taking into account this extra meteorological information I think the chance of snow would have to be slim to middling, at best.

Farmgirl has changed her Christmas present request to a fire breathing dragon.  She would like to be able to BBQ apparently ( I kid you not). The Farmer and I have refused on the grounds that given the info in the previous paragraph we feel a total fire ban will be declared.  Hence it would be very unfair for the dragon.

I hope everyone else has had a lovely week.

All Partied Out

The party yesterday was a great success.  Yay!  We love a good party here on The Farm.

I managed to resurrect the cupcakes so they looked like this.

Resurrected Cupcakes

I used my best Nanna china.

Nannaware

I got some baby bocconcini, grape tomatoes and fresh basil and made some mini Caprese salads on cocktail sticks.  They were yummy, healthy and looked very Christmassy.

Mini Salads

Farmgirl channeled Sarah Jessica Parker and rocked this somewhat eclectic party look.

And halfway through my kitchen looked like this.

Farmhouse Kitchen In Party Mode

Overall a wonderful time was had by all.

Friends are very important when you are a farmer's wife.  Their support is invaluable.  I love it when we all get together.  And have a champagne or two.

Angels On High, On A Friday

Today is going to be a super busy one.  It is Farmboy's school Christmas Concert tonight.  He and his classmates are singing carols dressed as angels.

 As usual there are costume requirements.  We know costumes aren't my thing.  Fortunately this year I just need to provide light coloured clothing.   Farmboy has a white T-shirt.  Admittedly it has a 3D glasses wearing dinosaur on the front which may not give off quite the angelic innocent vibe we are after.  That's OK, we are going to turn it inside out.  The good news is that wings are provided.  The bad news is that I found out yesterday I need to make a halo.  Problem is I am at my day job all day today.  I have two options.  I can just tie tinsel around his head for a funky hip hop angel look.  Or I can con my long suffering parents into making one.  They are coming up from The City today to see the performance.  Mum, Dad - if you are reading this come prepared, with wire cutters and stuff....

Either way it will probably be a step up from last year.  Farmboy was playing Joseph but his head gear fell over his face.  This meant you could neither see nor hear him.  It was difficult to notice because there was about 40 other 4, 5 and 6 year olds on stage at the time and there was a lot going on. He was still a complete star to me....

Very Blurry Photo - But You Get The Picture

Anyway I need to get off this computer and get moving.  It is going to be a big day!

A Red Dress For A Farm Christmas

I am very excited as I went to the Post Office yesterday and there was a present. For Me!  Admittedly from me too, but that is how internet shopping goes.  I had ordered a dress to wear on Christmas Day.  I have longheld the belief that Christmas is as good an excuse as any for a new dress.

Just for a little while I want everyone to pretend I am a stylish fashion blogger type person.  The lovely Sydney Shop Girl posts beautiful pictures of her outfits and I thought I would channel her.  Only for today though, I think if I posted what I wore every day people would get sick of T-shirts, jeans, boots and thongs....

Incidentally I am lucky enough to have known SSG for many years ( we went to the same Uni ) and she is just as sweet and glamorous in real life as she is in the blogging world.

Anyway, back to the dress.  I searched a big shopping centre in Perth a week or so ago for what I wanted and found absolutely nothing.  That night I hopped online and found exactly what I wanted in ten minutes. It was a sign from The Shopping Gods.  So I click clacked away and bought it.  Should I be concerned I know my Visa details by heart?

Here it is.

My New Red Dress

It is made of a soft swishy jersey.  I love it.  On Christmas Day I am going to wear it with my Holster sparkly thongs.  I have had them for a long time and they make me happy.  They have a strong "Nanna On The Gold Coast" vibe which I adore. They even have glitter embedded in the clear rubber.  If ever there is a time for plastic-fantastic blingy footwear it is Christmas in Australia.

I bought the dress from Max Shop which is a NZ based company.  The prices are reasonable, the delivery time is rapid and the quality (particularly of their knitwear) is amazing.  Their range is huge, not all of it is to my taste, but I can always find something I like....

So there you have it - what I will be wearing on Christmas Day.

Utes, Rainy Days and A Very Rich Cake

We are well into Christmas Party Season here at The Farm.  Before I got married and moved to the country, December consisted of high heels, marquees and way too much champagne. The social whirl that is Christmas Party Season on The Farm is no less taxing.

We kicked off last week with Farmgirl's child care Christmas Party.  It ticked all the boxes.  There were things like red sausages and cupcakes.  Santa came and everyone got a bag of lollies.

Santa arrived in our local fire ute.

Practical Transport For Santa

(For those readers who are not Australian, what we call a "ute" is usually called a "pick up".  In Australia a "pick up" is what a single young farmer is trying to achieve when he heads to the pub on a Friday night.)

A ute is an excellent transport choice for Santa.  Practical, all terrain and reliable.  I know from personal experience that you can do lots of kilometres in a Landcruiser Ute, no worries at all. This a great feature if you are planning an around the world trip.   A good ute is also a comfy choice.  They even make ones with air con, which would be a handy extra if you were wearing a red, fur lined suit.

We have several more parties to come, including The Official Farm Christmas Dinner for all our staff.  It will be held at a local restaurant.  Then we will have my work party.  Same restaurant. (It is only a little town...)

Our harvest is held up at the moment by the weather. There was a cool change and it rained yesterday  It was a glass of red wine rain. When our crop is wet it can't be harvested.  Today has dawned bright and clear however, so hopefully things will dry up quickly.

Fortunately the rain doesn't look to have done any damage.  Many farms in NSW and Victoria have lost their entire crop to rain.  This is a so sad.  It is awful to get your crop so far into the season and then lose it (and any chance of a profit) right at the end.

A Soggy Fence Post, On Our Currently Soggy Farm

Farmgirl and I have been holed up in The Farmhouse so we don't get wet.  To fill in time we made Ree Drummond's Chocolate Sheet Cake.  It turned out beautifully.  I wimped out on the icing though.  I thought it would already be very rich.  So I just dusted the top with icing sugar.  Sorry Ree, I just couldn't do that much butter.  It was still amazing though.  I would recommend making this cake - let me know how the icing goes if you do.

Ree Drummond's Sheet Cake, Minus Icing

It would be super yummy as a pudding if you just warmed it up, added some icecream and some berry coulis.

Enjoy your day everyone.

The Arrival of Country Style, The Absence of Tinsel and My Wedding

I have just got the new issue of Australia Coast To Coast Country Style.  It has had a name change at some point that I obviously missed completely.  I am sure it used to be just Australian Country Style.

As always it has a super stylish cover.

Country Style - With Christmas Pony

They have put a traditional Christmas tree in the middle of a paddock and have enticed a lovely looking pony to have a nibble.   As I have previously mentioned on this blog, Farmgirl has repeatedly asked Santa for a pony.  I am afraid even a gorgeous photo shoot with a very cute pony is not going to persuade me to give in...

The magazine is full of lovely Christmas ideas.  The photo shoots are always my favorite parts of Country Style, and this is one of the best issues for stunning table and Christmas decorations etc.  Having said that, there is nowhere near enough tinsel (actually none at all that I can find) for The Farmchildren to consider any of it adequate as a Christmas decorating scheme.  As always, I am destined for much more glitter and sparkle than would pass muster in a decor mag.

I spent some of the weekend tidying out cupboards and came across the photo album from my wedding to The Farmer, now many years ago.  The Farmchildren found it hilarious and loved looking at their parents all dressed up.  Farmgirl was astounded that we had a life before she came along and upset because she wanted to marry her Daddy and now couldn't as he was already spoken for....

Our photos were taken in the pre digital image days.  I have tried to reproduce one below.

A Very New Farmer's Wife, On A Country Road

I had forgotten entirely about these photos.  There was a series taken of me, walking along the gravel track to our farm.  The photographer obviously liked them and used them a lot for promotional purposes.  Apparently there were images of me, blown up to life size, at bridal fairs and all over magazines.  Being tucked away in the country, and at the stage where I could no longer bear bridal magazines, I had absolutely no idea until a friend got engaged over a year later!  The memory made me smile.

On a completely different note I would just like to thank all the people who have taken the time to read this blog, particularly those who have followed, commented or emailed me.  I am still amazed anyone is reading it at all so love the acknowledgement I have received.  Especially the messages from readers who have told that, sometimes, my blog is a little bright spot in their day.  Thank you again.

Santa Does Exist Farmboy, He Does!

Regular readers of this blog will know how excited I am about this Christmas. The main source of this excitement has been The Farmchildren and the magic of their anticipation and strong belief in Santa.

Santa Will Definitely Fill One of These

A major spanner was thrown in the works yesterday evening.  We were sitting at the kitchen table eating dinner.  Farmboy looked at me with sad blue eyes and said

"Someone at school told me that Santa isn't real and it is just your Mum and Dad who buy the presents"

Farmboy is not yet six.  I quashed my immediate reaction, which was to throttle the child who burst Farmboy's bubble, on the basis of the fact that

1. Said child is only five and I can't throttle other peoples children.
2. It is technically true (but only technically).
3. Said child had probably been told the same fact by a horrible big kid and was just sharing the devastation.

I very quickly moved on to reassuring Farmboy that this was a big lie and of course Santa exists.  Fortunately Farmgirl's belief is so unquestionable that she helped me in this reassurance as opposed to asking awkward questions.

Farmboy is very sensitive and quite smart so I came up with the following examples of very scientific, empirical evidence in favour of Santa's existence.

1. People have proven photographic proof of Santa.  This is a lot more than can be said about things like the Loch Ness Monster and UFOs and lots of people still believe in those.

2.  Lots of songs have been written about Santa.  These have been sung by very well known and famous people like Elvis, Bing Crosby and The Wiggles.  People of this calibre would not have put their reputations on the line by singing about a fake Santa.

3.  Who else would fill the stockings?  It is a well known fact that Mummy is very tired and may even have had a few champagnes by Christmas Eve which means that she would surely forget.  Like she forgets things like library day at school.  And swimming lesson day.  And lunch order day.

4.  People have written beautiful stories about Santa - "The Night Before Christmas" is all about Santa and it is one of Mummy's favorite stories.  Mummy is very smart and pretty and would not like stories about pretend people.

5. We all have beautiful, magical imaginations and so Santa exists.  Grown ups like Mummy, Daddy, Granny, Grandpa, Nanny, Boppy and numerous Uncles and Aunts all have such imaginations and all believe in Santa.

6.  If you don't believe in Santa he doesn't come.

Fotunately Farmboy was more than happy with the above facts and was well reassured about Santa's existence.  Crisis averted.

It did make me realise though that my beautiful babies are growing up.  And I am not always going to be able to protect them from the unpalatable truths about life.  There are always going to be things that will happen to them that I can't fix.  The best I will be able to do is comfort and love.  Hopefully it will be enough.

Puddings In The Post

Busy day here on The Farm.  I had to run quickly into town (well as quickly as I could given it is a 70km round trip) today.  I try not to go into town on a Thursday as it is the only day I have fully at home.  But anyway...  The only good thing was that I got the chance to pick up our mail from the Post Office.   And there were lots of exciting things...

First of all our Christmas Puddings arrived.  Yay!  As a bona fide Farmer's Wife it would not be unreasonable to think that I would make my own.  No way - there are other farmer's wives out there that will make them for me.  And package them beautifully.  And post them.  Perfect.  My kind of puddings.

They are made by two gorgeous ladies at The Gravel Road Pudding Company.  They have closed their mail orders for this year but I know they supply a number of gourmet outlets in Perth.  I highly recommend you keep an eye out.

Here they are, all gift boxed and glammed up.

Gorgeous Homemade Puddings

All I will have to do on the big day is pop the puddings in the microwave.

Pudding - Ready to Roll

I also received some Christmas wall stickers which I have put up in our kitchen.

See, they make a cute tree type effect.

Sticker Christmas Tree

Because I put them up, they are not completely straight.  That's ok.  I know if I leave them like that for long enough The Farmer won't be able to cope.  He will then make string lines and other farmer type arrangements and fix them.  Problem sorted.

Like all good farmers he needs things in straight lines.  He will dig up the seedlings I plant in the vegie patch and reformat them if they don't meet his exacting standards.  It's a farmer thing.  Trust me.

On a slightly different note I would just like to encourage anyone who is shopping in WA tomorrow to buy lots of very expensive fruit and veg at Woolworths.  They are donating all their profits from the sale of fruit and veg on Friday the 3rd of December to the CWA.  The CWA have set up a fund to provide assistance to drought stricken farmers so they can still have a special time at Christmas.  It is called Christmas For The Country.

Anyone reading my blog will know that we have been incredibly fortunate on The Farm this year - we have crops and hence a harvest to bring in.  We are truly in the minority in Western Australia this season. Many, many farming families are having the struggle of their life to keep their head above water due to a disastrous lack of rain.   So people - get to Woolies and buy lots of super expensive things like cherries and mangoes.... Remember we all need farmers because we all need food.  It's that simple.

Alternatively - click here and see how you can donate to the CWA.

Enjoy your day.

PS- I tried to post a little link to the Gravel Road ladies but their website seems a little under the weather.. . Sorry

A Christmas Tree Snob No More

After saying just recently that I would hold off on putting up our tree, I gave in yesterday.  Not just because we were all excited but also as The Farmer had his first day off in ages and wanted to be involved.

I must admit to being a bit of a real Christmas tree snob.  I, ever so slightly, turned my nose up at fake trees. When at home on The Farm for Christmas we have always had a real Christmas tree.  We have a special expedition and cut down our tree, sometimes a gum tree, sometimes not.  This year I decided the time had come to give in and buy a fake tree.  I was sick of the mess from real trees. They were also often well past their use by date by Christmas Eve.

The romance of a real tree has well and truly gone for me....

I took myself off to Big W and purchased a "Hudson".  I chose it for the simple reason that it was the biggest tree they had.  I have decided that fake trees are like fake diamonds.  If you are going to have one, you might as well have a really big one.

So here it is.

The Farm Christmas Tree

I think it needs a few more decorations.  Other than that I love it.  I am a fake tree convert.   The Farmchildren love it too.  Farmgirl woke up this morning and ran straight in to check it hadn't gone anywhere in the night.  She has also disappeared a few times today and I have found her lying underneath it "just looking".

Here are my two favorite decorations.

Pretty Gold Bird

Egg With Bird, Also Very Pretty

Interestingly both of these decorations were gifts from different Danish friends.  The fact that they were given to us by such lovely people makes them super special.

Farmgirl loves anything sparkly.  I noticed a few decorations were missing.  She had removed her favorites from the tree and chosen to decorate her bed with them.

Evidence of Farmgirl's Magpie Tendencies

I asked her why she chose those ones and she said.

"Because they are pretty."

I haven't had the heart to put them back on the tree...

A Farm Christmas

This year I am getting very excited about Christmas.  The reason for this is The Farmchildren.  Farmboy is almost six and Farmgirl is three and a half.  They are at the stage where they are completely enraptured by the concept of Christmas.  Last year was magical - even if they did wake up initially at 2.45 am and The Farmer and I had to put them in our bed to stop them getting up...

I have been thinking that there will probably not be that many Christmases left where there is this level of magic.  So The Farmer and I have decided to milk every bit of a joy out of this one we possibly can.

It has started already.  Farmboy's class are doing "Hark The Herald Angels Sing" for their item at the Christmas concert.  I know the sight of Farmboy and his gorgeous classmates dressed as angels will make me want to cry.  Farmboy himself is interested in the word "hark".  We have explained it means something along the lines of "stop and listen".  He now walks in the kitchen and says

"Hark.  I would like an apple."

It makes me laugh everytime (and is better than a few other words he has picked up at school lately).

The Farmchildren's Christmas wish list changes daily.  This morning Farmgirl wanted a penguin, but only a small one.  Farmboy wanted a leopard seal.  When asked why he replied

"Because they eat penguins"

The potential of the almost six year old mind for evil is astonishing...

I have gone overboard on the planned decorations for the house.  We will have a big tree and lots of traditional decorations in our formal dining/lounge room.  I have a funkier theme planned for the kitchen and TV room.  I am resisting the urge to put all the decorations up until early December.  I think the wait for Christmas is going to seem long enough for The Farmchildren as it is, without going too hard, too early.  There is also only so many times I want to redecorate that tree..

The Farmer bought Freddo Frog advent calenders.  So I have hyperactive Farmchildren to look forward to every day for 25 days.  The Farmer has also decided he wants lots of lights outside.  It has been suggested I make a trip to the local hardware and stock up on supplies.

With the exception of a few items, I have tried to do as much Christmas shopping as I can in our small town this year.  Like many towns dependent on agriculture for business, it is suffering somewhat because of the poor season this year.  I also like wandering into the local butcher and discussing the size and type of ham and turkey I need.  Or chatting with the post office ladies about the best wrapping options for a lazy farmer's wife...

We have close and extended family coming to The Farm on Christmas Day.  And some friends too.  I am looking forward to planning our menu and cooking for them all.  I have decided to do the traditional Christmas dinner and all the trimmings.  I think that simple things done beautifully is the best way to go.

A Small Christmas Tree - Very Cute According to Farmgirl

I am hoping we have a Christmas to remember.

Random Thoughts on a Wednesday

This Wednesday is much better than last Wednesday.  Yay.  The Farmchildren have been well behaved and the day went smoothly.  I am also cooking a little lamb roast for dinner and can smell it from here, so this is improving my mood no end.

The weather has changed suddenly as it is raining.  It isn't the hot, sultry, summer "gin and tonic" type rain.  It is more the cool change, "glass of red wine" type rain.  It will slow our harvest up a bit but we are at the stage where a day off will be welcome for everyone.   I can hear our workmen on the two-way planning a night at the pub as I write this...

Red Wine Rain

In other, very important, news I have solved the Christmas present wrapping dilemma.  The ladies at our local post office have helped me find these.

Christmas Gift Bags

Yay.  They will solve the lost sticky tape on Christmas Eve dilemma.  You could even make the presents look good after a couple of glasses of Champagne.  This is a challenge that I have failed to meet in previous years.

I have also decided to pass my lovely Cherry on Top blog award to Amanda over at Not a Ballerina.  Amanda has a fantastic blog, largely revolving around her experiences both traveling, and working as a travel writer.  She is a beautiful writer and her blog is well worth a look.  I particularly love her posts about her family holiday to Europe in the 80s.  The fashion alone is inspiring.

It is going to be a pretty short post tonight.  Sorry all, but there is roast lamb and red wine in the kitchen with my name on it.

Edited to add:

Farmboy's class is running the school assembly on Friday.  He entertained us over dinner with their "item"  It is a funk/hiphop version of Humpty Dumpty.  All in all we have had a lovely evening.  Dinner and a show.