Our new house!

Well, today was the day of settlement for the purchase of our new home. It was an exciting and highly anticipated day that we thought was rather a pipe dream when it all started only 5 weeks ago. We are so very thankful for the blessing of this home and all that has happened in purchasing it. We are moving this week and can't wait for you to come and visit.

It is a timber home on the north flood-free side of town. It was renovated in 2008. It has 4 bedrooms, office, 2 bathrooms, double shed and is just perfect for us. As you will see in the photos it is very green and colourful at the moment. We have plans to reduce the colour by painting some of the walls a neutral colour. And we need to paint the boys room as it is purple at the moment.

Tim & Chels had lived in this house for 10 years so it is very much a part of them. They have invested time and finances and energy into it and we are just so fortunate to benefit from their hard work. The house has evap air con and central heating and the very best of everything.

My main project is definetly the gardens. Mostly because all of the hard work with the house has been done. We will be able to make our mark when we redo the gardens. I will keep you posted. (My reading material at the moment is all house, home and garden magazines!).

Here are some photos I took today so you can come for a quick virtual sticky now :)

 

Our new home (street view) with double shed at end of driveway

Entry

Lounge

Kitchen with barstools included

Bedroom 1

Bedroom 2- the purple room

Bedroom 3- the pink room

Main Bathroom

Hallway

Laundry in a cupboard

Office

Master Bedroom (very, very red)

Ensuite

Covered outdoor area

Beautiful backyard- the grass is amazingly beautiful

the chook pen- with 4 chickens (they are staying until their new home is ready)

Front Garden- Project New House

Our beautiful baby girl

This is just such a typical photo of our precious B. Finger in the mouth, surrounded by her toys, her beautiful, long, curly hair in her face.

Thomas slept over

Kaleb's good friend Thomas stayed over after Kids Connect Friday night. The boys found it hard to go to sleep and were rather tired Saturday morning but still managed to have a nice time. We took Thomas home and spent some time at his house as well.

Joel, Thomas & Kaleb

The awesome Duplo they built together

Cyndi's Super Mix Bread

(Recipe to come)

Cyndi's Fruit and Nut Bars

(recipe to come)

Spikey Hair

Jas has a real nack with the boys hair that I honestly lack. The flavour of the moment is a spikey hair do.

Mr Joel John

We loved $1 Oreos

Despite all the changes we are making to how and what we eat, nothing beats yummy chocolate biscuits. And for $1 a packet, Oreos are the hit in our house at the moment. Bethany got in on the act and made a particularly yicky mess.

Bethany's Beautiful Hair

In the more humid weather Bethany's hair is amazingly beautiful (it is funny what we see in others as beautiful but annoying for myself).

School Interhouse Spelling Bee

Kaleb represented Taylor House in the Interhouse Spelling Bee. He did a great job and helped Taylor come 2nd overall. I was rather challenged by some of the words that the kids were asked to spell- not the grade one words thankfully- even the principal struggled with some of the words for the high school students.

The spelling word was flame

Cyndi O'Meara Cordial in the Thermomix

I made this Lemon and Orange Cordial today after Jas commented that there was none in the house. It is beautiful  and very simple.

Thermomix Cordial

1 1/2 cups organic raw sugar

1 1/2 cups filtered water

Peel from 1 lemon and 1 orange

3 cups juice (I used 2 lemons and 6 oranges)

1. Place sugar, water and peel in the Thermomix. Heat for 5 minutes, 90 degrees on speed 1.

2. Add juice and heat for another 5 minutes, 90 degrees on speed 1.

3. Strain and place in glass jars and refrigerate. Dilute 1 part cordial to 4 parts water.

(Can be kept in the fridge for up to 2 weeks)

PS I went shopping

Loaf Pan

Yesterday just happenned to be pay day- which is always an exciting day, especially when there is some extra left in the budget. I happenned across 3 beautiful and inexpensive pieces at a lovely shop in town called Eloquence- a beautiful bread tin, a tea bag box and a wire fruit bowl.

I made a loaf of bread in the tin this morning and it looks AMAZING. It actually looks like bread and not just a cake. It is a Stanley Roger Loaf Tin with an outside coating of non stick and a ceramic inside layer. I just couldn't leave it behind. And for $15 I definetly think it was well worth it.

Tea Bag Tin- I got the red one!

It is always so satisfying to go shopping for things that you can use and not just things to put away for later. I came straight home, put fruit in the basket, tea bags in the tea bag box and planned which bread to make.

Likes list!

Do you have a list of things that you would like to get- sometime soon or sometime later? We call ours a likes list rather than a wish list. Maybe it should be more correctly named our prayer list. However you call it, here are some of the things that are on my likes list at the moment. But are most definetly on the back burner as we buy our house.

Birdies Garden- Printspace Artprint
www.hardtofind.com.au

Food Glorious Food Art Print
www.hardtofind.com.au

Relax Me Bath Milk
www.hardtofind.com.au

Proper Bread Tin

Sally Wise Books

Jeff Hertzberg Bread Book

Donna Hay Magazine Subscription

Baking Bread

Baking, and prefecting the art of a great loaf of bread is hard work! I am yet to get there. Each loaf is different. Thankfully no one has complained and are happy to eat it. I did throw a loaf out yesterday that was just too doughy after baking (oh to have some chickens to give the duds too). This morning I made another loaf- Buckwheat and Whole Wheat. I have yet to cut the loaf open but it looks good from the outside.

I think the whole thing about bread is patience. Which I am happy to admit is not my strong point. I am either in such a rush I don't give it enough time, or I leave it too long and it over proves and goes like bubble gum. The Thermomix demo made it look so easy. I might have to get some more pointers. I am convinced that the dough changes when you grind your own grains. So when I add buckwheat or wheat that I have milled in the Thermomix it defeintly takes more time. And then when I had grains or seeds it takes more time again. But it is all worth it in my mission to eat better and bake better and to feed my family better.

Organic Herb Garden

While in Mitre 10 today (getting paint colour charts) I picked up this Organic Herb Garden kit on special.

The kit contains seeds for basil, coriander, parsley and dill. Joel and I set to work planting the pot and watering it, ready for a beautiful, bountiful harvest of herbs.

Buying a house!

For almost a month now we have been in the process of buying a house here in Dalby. EEK!

From the moment my friend told me that she was buying a new house and they were selling theirs, we have been in house buying mode. Can we? Will we? Can we afford it? Will they accept our offer? What will the bank say? What will our family/ friends say? Can we do it?

After alot and I mean alot of back and forth, we are almost there. The contract should become unconditional anytime and we will be in our own home for the first time in nearly six years. Since leaving Toowoomba in February 2006 we have been blessed with the most beautiful rental homes, but have deeply missed the ability to put a nail in the wall, to paint a wall, to do the gardens and to make these houses our own.

The house we are buying is amazing. It was renovated in 2008 and is just amazing. It is everything I have ever prayed for and hoped for and then some. I can't wait to have you visit.

Until then I am thining about paint colours, gardens and chook pens. And praying we will go unconditional really, really, really soon.

Thermomix Apricot Chicken Risotto

We enjoyed this wonderful Thermomix meal for dinner. Everyone gave it a tick of approval. As you can see it makes a huge amount so there was enough left over for another meal! Yay for leftovers.

Thermomix Milk Arrowroot Biscuits

I stumbled across this most amazing website yesterday and was inspired to make my own milk arrowroot biscuits. They don't look nearly as pretty as the ones from the website picture but they do taste remarkably like store bought biscuits. And the kids and Jas all approve. So yay for me!

This is a link to the original recipe and beautiful photos- http://melangerbaking.com/2011/07/13/homemade-milk-arrowroot-biscuits/

Shelley's Thermomix Milk Arrowroot Biscuits

150g plain, organic, unbleached wheat flour

60g organic arrowroot flour (organic tapioca starch)

65g organic icing sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

20g sunflower oil

55g pure cream

1. Place all dry ingredients in the TMX. Stir for 5 seconds, Reverse & Soft Speed.

2. Add oil and cream. Stir 10 seconds, Reverse & Soft Speed.

3. Place in closed position and knead for 1 minute. Add extra cream if dough isn't coming together.

4. Roll dough on Thermomat. Cut into shapes. Place on lined tray and bake for 8 minutes in a moderate oven.

Enjoy!

Keep Calm and Stop Eating

I fell in love with this poster when I saw it in the latest Donna Hay magazine. But do you think I can find it anywhere to buy? I would love it to put up on the kitchen wall in our new house. Well, either this one or one that says, KEEP CALM AND EAT CHOCOLATE. Or maybe both. One to counteract the other?

I found this image at http://keep-calm-and.tumblr.com/tagged/stop_eating

Alpha Celebration Night

Last night we celebrated the end of this year's alpha course. It was a great night of food and sharing. I was so pleased that my idea for a ? cake worked out too.

Some of the catering team- Trish (white apron) is an amazing cook and came up with the most amazing meals for $5 per person! She also likes to put doilies on plates.

Laura & I- Laura did an amazing job decorating each week and on kitchen clean up. I salute you Queen of the Dishes! Oh dear- how tired do I look??? EEK!

Dalby Christian Family Church Alpha 2011

Sibblings!

I took these photos of our precious three one night last week. They each have a unique relationship with each other, and yet are all part of the same. It is nice to spend time taking photos rather than breaking up fights too!