A warm and lovely weekend

We've just had one of the loveliest weekends. Lovelier still because most of it happened without plans and in a simple way.

It started with rain at home on Friday night. Real rain that made puddles. It was so lovely that I went outside to dance in it for a while.

We didn't stay at home to enjoy the rain, but instead visited my mum, stepdad and teenage brother and sister for a casual tea. We helped pick some of their fruit and veg, Stu played a spot of cricket with my brother and we caught up with them all for the first time in a few weeks. I gave my sister her birthday present - a pair of crocheted leg warmers- totally unseasonal, but perfect for a girl who loves all things snuggly.

Leg warmers for my little sister (modelled by me)

Saturday morning, the boys asked if we could go to garage sales. For some reason, they were keen to go bargain hunting, so (armed with their money boxes!) we headed out to visit a few. One was the sale of some family friends. The boys spotted some boogie boards that they liked. They were prepared to pay, but were given them for free - best type of bargain! We didn't really find other bargains, though we enjoyed the browse, so we headed to the Warrnambool Sustainable Living Expo instead.

The expo wasn't very big, and we were a little disappointed that it was mostly stalls selling their solar panels, solar hot water etc, so not much for us. There was the new organic veggie box business there and we stopped to introduce ourselves and have a chat - they live in our little town and I think they're doing a terrific job of doing something that noone else was in our area. We were most dissapointed that there were quite a number of stalls handing out stacks of stickers, magnets and brochures. I try not to take brochures if I don't really need them as I feel it promotes waste and our kids are the same. It made me quite cross when stall holders said to take them anyway as they had heaps. But the worst of all was (this really made my blood boil) was the big box hardware stall that was giving out balloons on those plastic stick things - how does that promote sustainability? Piles of extra plastic off to landfill - not impressed.

There were however some good talks going on about growing food, backyard chooks etc which was good to see, though we didn't stop.

The most exciting thing for us at the expo was having a chance to look at some electric cars. They're way out of the budget, but fun to dream about!

After a family siesta, we headed out again for a fun family meal out followed by a concert that we all performed in (dancing and drumming) to raise funds for the Make-a-wish foundation. The concert showcased lots of different dance genres and schools from the area. It was a good night and I was made so proud by my family and all of my dance students who put on a fabulous demonstration of the joy, inclusiveness and beauty of belly dance.

Sunday morning was a true celebration of our evolving mini farm - the kids played outside in their pyjamas with their homemade toys. They caught escapee chooks to return to their homes and hunted for eggs. Meanwhile, I picked tomatoes and Stu and I prepared the kitchen for making another batch of passata. I peeled tomatoes, Stu washed bottles, then the boys came back in and all four our us ground the tomatoes and bottled them with a few basil leaves before processing the bottles in the Vacola. So much fun and I'm sure we'll be able to taste our smiles and laughter in each bottle.

Grinding up tomatoes

Cappings bottles is a team effort

The sun was starting to beat down by then, so after a brunch of fluffy pancakes with fresh fruit and homemade jam, we grabbed our gear for a trip to the beach.

We swam, boogie boarded, played in the sand and taught the boys to snorkel. Everyone was in such a great mood it was one of the best beach visits ever!
Sunday arvo, we topped of the weekend with a play at a neighbour's for the boys, a garden project planning session for us, a beer with another neighbour and a delicious home cooked dinner.

Fabulous weekend.

I hope your weekend was great too, and if not, I'll send a little of our sunshine your way.