One of a kind

My wonderful Grandpa passed away on Friday evening.

He lived an amazing life for 89 years. He and Grandma would've celebrated their 67th anniversary next month.

They have 5 children.

15 grandchildren and a whopping 29 great-grandchildren.



I would say a life well lived.



My Mum, sister and I have flown over to be with Grandma for a few days in the home that they've lived in for 63 years.









This house contains oh so many memories!



The "mysteries" of Grandma and Grandpa's house still come alive for me even now.

My Grandpa was the most incredibly skilled carpenter.

















Everything in this home has been made by him - from cleverly designed cupboards to ornately carved mirrors, ball and claw feet on lamp stands and matching side tables for their lounge chairs. There is nothing he hasn't thought of!









My sister and I were in his workshed yesterday looking for the vacuum cleaner. We stayed in that shed for ages.... It smells like Grandpa.

It's full of tools and gadgets and bits and pieces - tins with nails, little cupboards with tiny boxes and I'm betting Grandpa knew exactly what was in every single one of them.



When they built this home Grandpa planted some fruit trees. The peach and the apricot are STILL fruiting 64 years later.







(check out the thick trunk!)



Every year Grandma and Grandpa dry, stew, bottle and preserve fruit so they can eat them year round. Ok, so there are more dried apricots in Grandma's pantry than I've ever seen but they are better than ANY you'll buy in the shops. (My sister and I have slightly gorged ourselves and are suffering the windy consequences!!!)



Both of my Grandparents are "old-school". They make the most of everything. Reuse and recycle aren't new buzz words for them - it's been a way of life forever.

If Grandma needed something fixed, Grandpa could fix it AND improve it.

No, they don't throw much away. And yes, they have a bit of clutter. But they've had a full life and have lived every minute of it.



Our generation thinks nothing of jumping in the car to drive around the block to pick up some groceries. These two walked.

We chuck cheap socks out when they have a hole. Their generation buys good woolen ones and darn them if they wear through.

We grab a quick bite to eat and plonk in front of the tv but they set the table for every meal, with a placemat, side plate, cutlery and a glass. They sit at their little table in their tiny kitchen and they dine.

Younger generations pass the day by working and rushing and telling everyone how 'busy' life is. These spend their time living. Making their garden beautiful, pruning and planting and picking the flowers they've grown. Sharing a cuppa, a bikkie and a chat with one of the many many friends they've made. They wave hello to the neighbours because they know them and write letters to those who no longer live nearby.



My Grandma is a lady and my Grandpa was a true gentleman.









They are a rare and precious generation.

I shall miss him so very much.

Xx

Lucas' adventure

Yesterday was Fathers Day here in Australia. Marc bought himself a second hand ride-on lawn mower and he and Lucas were taking turns riding around the yard. Lucas wanted to mow so Marc and I went inside for a cuppa.
I heard Lucas calling "Muuuum" in a tone that no mother wants to hear and this is what I saw...


Yep, that is a STICK piercing my child's chest. It goes all the way in to where his tank top is sitting.
He was pretty freaked out - um actually we all were!
We had to call emergency services as the nearest hospital is 30mins away in the next country town. They were amazing. They sent out an ambulance to stabilise him and they deployed the rescue chopper to air-lift him to Royal Perth Hospital.



Guess who went with him?




Yep, me. (The pilot took the pic and told me to "smile" - can you tell by the clenched hands I wasn't smiling on the inside?) Now guess who suffers REALLY badly with motion sickness?? Me again!
Mind you I was too busy stressing out about my son.....




Choppers are loud, very loud. But we got to Perth very quickly and before I knew it I was in a waiting room and Lucas was off. They x-rayed him to see how far it had gone in and made sure it hadn't hit any vital organs or arteries and then removed the stick.



It had gone in a nice 3-4 inches - good work Lucas.

After quite a few hours in a very busy hospital he was heading home. Wound flushed out and sutured and him pumped with painkillers and anti-biotics.
My wonderful parents had met us in Perth and drove us all the way back home.

Here's the important parts.

As soon as this all happened I knew what to do, stay calm. Call 000, explain clearly, don't panic etc. But I also knew there was a need for something far greater.
Here's where I get bold about my faith in God. I was praying, but I was in 'Mummy' mode so I needed others. I rang my Mum, my best friend in my hometown and a new friend up here. Gave them a brief description and asked for prayer. Within minutes people in both towns were lifting up my son in prayer trusting and believing that nothing had been ruptured or damaged and that he would be healed by the Master Healer.
Our pastors called us from ROME to let us know they were praying and how much they love us.
We were overwhelmed with txt messages and facebook posts supporting and praying for us.

Let me say quite clearly - prayer works. The doctors all told me that "he's a very lucky boy". Any higher and the stick could have gone in his throat, any lower, his heart and any deeper, his lungs.

I am so thankful for God's protection over my family. For His divine blessing on our lives. For His peace that enveloped me all of yesterday.

I am so grateful for loving friends and family who care for us. My parents, Marc's parents, the owners of the pub who gave Mum n Dad a room for the night and refused to charge them (we had no beds), the new friend who bought dinner over for us this afternoon and the one who came bearing chocolates and gifts and hugs tonight.

We feel so loved guys.
Thank you all and Praise Jesus.

Xx

A long overdue update!

This is one very neglected blog I must say........

What have we been up to lately - well since I last posted in May?
Plenty.

Winter sports have finally finished - yippee!  It was a rather chilly winter, but in typical Western Australian fashion, a very dry one.
The Avon Descent white water race took place the first weekend of August and it was the driest on record - in some placed the competitors were carrying their boats over the rocks.  I'm not joking.
Two weekends later was the Targa West car rally.  Both of these were super busy days in the bakery.
That's the Toodyay news.

Lucas has been doing paid "work experience" (well that's what I'm calling it on the homeschooling report anyway) on a local farm catching, mulesing, crotching and drenching lambs.  He gets up early every morning and is ready on time, comes home stinking of farm and sheep poo, washes his work clothes and hangs them up on the clothes airer by the fire and crashes in bed early.  It's an awesome adventure for a nearly 15 year old and he was bought home tonight with 5 orphaned lambs that are now going to keep the grass down for a while - until we do something else with them......

Miss Bethany is turning into quite a lovely young lady.  She is 12 now and an absolute delight (ok, so she has her moments.......)  There are times when she is more than happy to sit and read a book or paint or draw and then there are times like tonight when I went looking for her and found her outside with an axe chopping firewood!

Marc is STILL working long long hours 13 days a fortnight!
I have my times where this really gets to me I will admit but it's all good and things will settle down eventually.

We went back to our hometown last weekend for my Dad's 70th birthday.  My brother and his family were down from the Northern Territory so we took the opportunity to have some long overdue family photos - Mum and Dad, us three siblings and all the grandkids.  It was a lovely, although somewhat crammed and rushed weekend.
Whilst down there we signed the paperwork to put our home on the market........  Me being me, I cried.
Big sooky la las I know, but it was hard knowing that all the work and memories we've sown into that home over the past 7 years is going to be enjoyed by someone else.  I got super emotional and sulked a little on the way home (I know, I know - grow up Linda!)

We got home late Sunday night to find the dog missing.......
We called and called but no little white bundle of fluff came.  Emotions were already high and a dead beloved family pet was not what we were prepared for.
Beth opened her bedroom door and Toby came flying out!  He raced outside for some water and escape and left us to deal with the mess of Beth's room - AAAAAARGH!!!!!  He was accidently locked in there ALL weekend!  We have to replace the old manky carpet, the door and some truly awful curtains.....
Little turd is lucky I didn't wring his neck!!!!

We've been here nearly 7 months now and are thinking it's time to get a place of our own.  As much as I'm fond of the beautiful place we are renting, it's time for me to 'nest'.  I want to plant and paint and make something "ours" again.
We had a look at 10 acres of land for sale yesterday and I'm dreaming again.  You know, the little hobby farm, self-sufficient lifestyle, solar passive home, blah blah blah.........
We'll see.

xx

The Bakers Wife

What's been happening up here?
Plenty!

Last weekend our little country town came alive and stepped back in time.
The annual Moondyne Festival is celebrated here, a re-enactment of the capture, escape, re-capture and escaping again of Moondyne Joe. (acting the part is none other than the local Real Estate Agent!)



A convict who seemed to be quite the larrakin, stealing sheep, hiding in the bush and who was very skilled at escaping! In fact the last time he was jailed the Governor in Western Australia had a cell made especially secure and swore that if Joe could escape again he would pardon him.... He escaped.

How very Australian to now have a festival in honour of a criminal....

About 70% of the people made the effort to dress in period costume.
I as The Bakers Wife


Also our staff



None of us particularly wanted to dress as floozies or wenches, but others in the town certainly didn't mind!






The 'lady' on the left is usually a very mild mannered librarian!! I don't know the other two but I'm sure their normal day jobs are a lot less raunchy!

It was such a fun day and I love that everyone got into the festivities and dressed up. There were other activities in the town - wood chopping displays, carnival rides, art & craft, cake stalls, oh and a cleavage contest......!

I can honestly say that this Bakers Wife is having a ball. We love it up here and are settling in nicely.
The kids have started winter sports, Beth doing netball and Lucas playing footy. I've joined a few things at church and am loving it.
As I write now, I'm snuggled in my bed with yummy flannelette sheets, watching the sun rise and clear the fog over the hills, listening to the birds calling and singing. I can see my citrus trees ripening their luscious fruits and see my winter vegies being kissed by the morning sun - all the while thanking God for bringing us here.

This move has done wonders for our family; Marc and I are closer and stronger in our marriage he is truly my best friend. The kids are enjoying being kids - hanging tyre swings from Gum trees, making rope swings over the river (and usually falling in and getting muddy). Beth built a teepee out of sticks yesterday and was sitting in it having a ball. They are making friends and so am I.

I'm very grateful God brought me here to be The Bakers Wife.

Hiccups and Humility

Well we've been here in this lovely country town for nearly 4 weeks now and boy have some things happened.....
The bakery is going well (a little quite on the really hot days as yet again Western Australia is having heat waves in our "Autumn").
I know only too well the sound of Marc snoring as he is working at least 12-14 hour days....

I've had a few hiccups myself.
To the point where I called Mum in tears last Wednesday.  She jumped on a train and came and stayed for 3 days for me.
Why?

I've worked in dentistry for over 2 decades as a therapist/hygienist, cleaning peoples teeth.  Short story is that over these 24 years I've had some problems with my neck, shoulder and right arm.  It went from a dull ache to searing pain overnight just before we moved up here and has been relentless since, including a horrible numbness in my hand.  The local Doctor sent me for ultrasounds, physiotherapy, then a CT scan to find the problem.  It's an hours drive to the radiology clinic so not just a pop into the next suburb.
I called the next day to find out my results and get some answers/direction only to find myself listening to a recorded message letting the town know that literally overnight the local Doctors clinic had closed down........ I'm not kidding!!!
Panic set in.
How the heck do I find out what is wrong?
Who is going to help me?
What on earth am I going to do??
How do I get out of this pain?
H E L P! ! !

MUM,
She calmed me down, she prayed, she told me what to do and by the end of the day I had seen a Doctor in a neighbouring country town who is sending me straight to a neurosurgeon as I have something wrong with the discs in my neck impinging on my nerves. Praying that I don't need surgery, but so very thankful that Mum was here.  It doesn't matter that I'm turning 42 this week, I needed my Mum.
But mostly I needed what Mum has taught me all my life.
I needed God.

Last week I was leaning totally on my own understanding.

Yesterday I was at church and God reached into the depths of my heart and reminded me to trust HIM.
With all my heart.

R.E.S.P.E.C.T

Ever really watched your husband at his trade?
Ever gone to work and actually seen what he does day to day?

I met Marc when he was a kiln operator at the brickworks factory and certainly didn't go and watch him bake bricks.
Then about 5 years ago we started our own Handyman Service - doing mostly cleaning, gardening, repairs etc. To be really honest, it wasn't the most romantic of businesses........
He was getting restless, bored and totally exhausted.  Plus the added downfall of waiting, and waiting, and waiting, to get paid by the companies we did jobs for.  It was time for a change.

When Marc was 14 he started his apprenticeship as a Baker/Pastry Cook and worked in the industry for about 20 years, including many years as Bakery Manager in one of the big chain supermarkets.
He always said he'd only go back to baking if he was doing it for himself - not a company.

Well as you all reading this blog know by now - that's exactly what he's doing!
And I for one am so very proud of him.


Making puff pastry



Viennese biscuits



Meat pies of many different varieties




My favourite - mushroom pie (best ever in my opinion!)


Family quiches


Yep - he's been a busy little cookie this week getting ready for tomorrows opening.

I've never seen him in this environment before though, this is all new to me and it's like a fresh look at this awesome man I married.
He's practising his trade, his gift, his passion - and I'm watching along with such respect and admiration.
I'm seeing him in his element and my heart is welling with a new found pride for him.

He's the man!!

xx

Update

Just a quick update for you all (well those of you who aren't on Facebook or Instagram)
We are here!

We're having problems getting our phone connected, therefore no Internet - so this is from my phone....
We are renting a gorgeous place on 5 acres about 4k out of town on the river.



The verandah looks out over the property - to the 40 odd fruit bearing trees/grape vines, the 2 dams with ducks living on them, a paddock where we will pop some sheep for our freezer (sorry Deb!), the rolling hills, the wildlife, oh I could go on and on but I don't want to bore you......
Let's just say this place is gorgeous.

A new friend came over for a cuppa on Friday with her 5 boys. The kids all went exploring along the river and came back muddy, wet, dirty and HAPPY! Mr 14 said to me later "that was probably one of the best days of my life Mum!"

We did return home last night to this though



A fire along our driveway which was started by sparks from a passing freight train (um, yeah - we did pick a house right next to the rail line....)
But check out this



My son, my hubby and the new neighbour had it under control before the fire brigade got here. This is a pic of Mr 14 using the hose from the truck IN HIS WHITE CRICKET PANTS!!!!
Never mind, the grin on his face is worth it to me!

I'm still unpacking and getting things arranged, we have our mattress on the floor in the lounge as the carpet in our bedroom smells of cat pee (eeeew) but we are here.
Will keep you posted.

Xx