Hello there dear friends,
I know it has been quite some time since I have popped on here and shared a few of our moments with you all. But I am back and ready to be at it again. Over the last few months technology wasn’t kind to me at all. The battery on my cellular finally died and the itty bitty digital camera decided that it did not want to be part of our family moments any longer. I then decided not to replace the cellular with a replacement iPhone but rather save and wait and get a decent camera. So that’s exactly what I did. I got a cheapie cellular and Rob gifted me a beautiful DSLR camera for my birthday. Oh how I have missed capturing sweet moments of my family and I couldn’t be more pleased that I waited patiently for just the right one – it was so worth it in the end.
So here we are – still plodding along and keeping safe through this pandemic. Our country has finally gone into level one of our pandemic lock down which means that all restrictions have been eased and the economy can start to reopen again. Of course, these months have been hard not only for ourselves but for many. Jobs have been lost and we even felt the pinch when Rob was retrenched.
We of course decided that we would not be going down without a fight. Rob spent his time building a homemade distillery and we now make artisan rum and gin. This was perfecting timing. Just after we ran our first run of rum our government decided to ban all alcohol sales. The breweries all took a tremendous knock but for us we were able to keep a few friends happy and keep providing food on our family table. My soaping has sadly taken a knock as well but I hope to get some made soon again now that I can order more supplies and get orders couriered to those who support me. Thank you so much for the love and support and your patience.
Here in our part of the world Spring has sprung. Yet this past week all we have experienced is rain day after day. I finally relented and bundled the small ones up and let them free range in the rain and slop away in the muddy puddles.
Our kitchen garden has provided abundantly for us over the last few months and I am always thankful that we have fresh food that we can pick from the garden. So far, for the new growing season, we have planted beans, carrots, potatoes, tomatoes and basil, and we threw in a packet of mixed herbs and greens into the earth to see what will sprout. I think there are new seedlings of aubergines and a fresh tray of spinach that we need to plant in the raised bed as the ones we have growing have come to an end. I am praying for another yield of chillies in November so that I can get another batch of sweet chilli sauce to add to my pantry for the rest of the year - but I feel with all this rain we may not get that far. Onions and our next harvest of beets are ready to come out too. I just keep praying that we could have a few warm non wet days so when the onions do come out the ground they have some time to dry out before I pack them into the veggie cupboard. But in saying this it is the growing season and we should be getting our hands into the dirt and growing more food soon.
Otherwise life has been quiet and we have kept our minds and hands busy with home school lessons and home keeping. Our family van is almost ready to get us out and about again. I think a drive into the mountains for a picnic or few days away at the beach is in order.. Don’t you?
I hope you are all well and safe?
Take care – God bless.
Angela
