Coming into 2023, I'm actually feeling a little weary. But perhaps I can just put that down to the 1:30am bed time that I had last night, as for the first time in a long time, I've actually had a really nice, relaxing and restful break over this xmas and new year. Normally it feels really hectic, but this year was really lovely.
We brought in the new year with some of our neighbours, playing 500 which was really good fun and kaka and I made waffles for breakfast this morning, although, I think I'll stick to making piklets!
We went to Springsure for Xmas this year, to spend with Justin's parents and his sister also came down from Collinsville. Was so good to see them all and gave the cousins some time to spend together, which is something I always remember fondly from my childhood.
My ninja.
Some little fairies.
Such picturesque country at Springsure, I love all the mountains and valleys.
Christmas day, I was feeling a bit inspired to get out and take some photos, so I wanted to go up the mountain. The kids were keen to get outside, so we all ventured up the mountain side.
Up and up and up we went and I followed closely behind Kaka so that she didn't fall. Anyhow, we are about three quarters of the way up and Kaka turns to look around (obviously not realising how far up we've gone) and goes "Wholey Shit".... not sure what my appropriate response was supposed to be, but I just laughed and said "yeh mate".
We were running out of time and didn't venture up as high as we could go, but we were almost at the peak.
Missy got a prickle.
Dad to the rescue.
Santa brought some aeroplanes for the kids, which provided a great deal of fun.
Even Poppy Spike had a go.
There was also a small game of cricket.
Weekend prior to our trip to Springsure, the tide was just right for a spot of fishing. Justin hadn't been since February, as we have just been flat out and so it was too good an opportunity to pass up.
It doesn't normally take me long to tire of fishing, especially when a shark bit my finger and I was a bit wounded. So I was grateful when the storm cell rolled past and gave me something to focus on.
I wonder how many more times we will make it out to this spot.
Miss is such a good little fisher woman. Caught a little salmon, among other things, like catfish, sharks and shovel-nose rays. G man is also great at it too, but is was dad that caught the little barra.
Love some of these textures.
Went out one night chasing a storm, but I was a bit late. There was a cracker that went past our house one morning, but it was a bit scary and I opted to stay inside. One of our neighbours lost 3 steers to what he believes was a lightening strike, so probably just as well that I did stay put!
From my Phone:
For some reason, I have no idea why, these photos are actually in the correct order.... yep.
We went to the lions xmas party, which was good fun and the kids got a present from Santa, which they thought was really cool. They are such a good age now and G man even gave him a big hug which was cute!
Kaka with her best mate Haley.
Bit of rain we had at the start of December meant that the kids could go down for a nice swim in the arvo.
My dear friend Ange, gifted me a little Santa painting kit, so Kaka and I both did one.
I thought they turned out a bit cute.
D'artanian has been having a rest over the xmas break too. He's currently pretty happy out in the paddock with his little mare and foal. I'm not sure what he's going to think about having to come back into work tomorrow. I was impressed the the day after I turned him out, he let me walk up to him and give him a cuddle. So we shall see. The above, "learning to load in the truck" was a bit of a drama and took quite a bit of persistence. Yeh, we are still working on that, but I have had him in the truck a couple of times now, off the ramp and he's even done a little mustering stint at the neighbours. So he's doing ok.
I made this little cupboard out of an old pallet and I was pretty pleased with myself. It's not perfect, but it does the job! As I've moved kaka into my office, my space has diminished a fair bit, so my new little cupboard is a good addition.
This was the first shark I caught, it was the second one that bit me, and it happened before I even registered as I was trying to get to him to get the hook out. Then he had the nerve to cut his own line and go back into the water himself.
These fellas take some pulling in, G man is all over it now!
Dad got the barra.
I think he thought he was being funny taking a photo of its teeth!
Was a long day but, someone was a bit tired afterwards.
Looks fairly trivial, but it stung like hell! I had a pull a couple of his teeth out of my thumbnail (no, not big enough to be worth keeping).
The day after that, the couti-outi team were going fishing at the beach, so we went up for the day. Kaka went out, caught the first bream and then abandon fishing to go and look for shells, as if to say, "that's how it's done, way you go".
We had an early xmas at my mums, with my brother and his family. Once again, always good to see them and for the cousins to hang out together.
Mum, my brother and I all had a mint cocktail, so I made a similar mocktail for the kids and they thought they were pretty cool!
G man
Hayley
Jack
Emma
Kakak
Kaka was even super impressed that I managed to put a unicorn on her cup! Which is a talent I didn't know I had!
My little butterfly whisperer.
Smoko date with my girl!
We went to Couti-Outi to help muster some steers with them. Was such a lovely day out. The kids came and I gave my Brumby a ride so we had a lot a wins. The weather has been so kind to us over the xmas break and it's been so nice to be able to relax without the sweltering heat. We are so blessed to have such beautiful friends and neighbours.
Missy, riding with her eyes shut to avoid the dust. Lucky Bobby knows where he's going.
D'artanian didn't buck me off which is always good. We still have a lot of work to do though. Stopping is not our strong point, he likes to go!
Supreme Mustering Team.
Justin's new horse "Chester" who would be about 17hh at least beside my little midget dude. Looks a bit funny! Least I can jump on mine!
I attempted to make these little santa dudes for xmas, but didn't have any black for the eyes, so I used silver balls and unintentionally created an army of undead santas.
They just ended up looking creepy as hell!
This is what they were meant to look like.
And then I cooked them and it got worse! Good for a giggle but! And still tasty!
At Nanna's for Xmas, we had mudslides, prawns and rum-balls alongside a plethora of other delicious food. And we had some friendly banter over whose desert was the best... mine of course!
I made a gingerbread house at home and packed it up for assembly on xmas eve. I have a few plans for next year to improve the model. My roof crashed and I had to 'weld' it with that much royal icing that by the end, she was pretty solid. Santa didn't seem to mind and took a huge bite and each time someone would walk past, it would get a bit smaller.
I think the kids had fun decorating it though.
I also sent my husband out to get us a xmas tree........ yeh, he came back with a wattle tree...... that he removed because it was on a fenceline. *insert facepalm here* Honestly! Didn't make any difference though, the kids had a lot of fun decorating it and it looked lovely just the same. Still had that same nostalgic smell that I remember from my childhood, which is the most valuable of all!
How awesome is this time of year with all that beautiful fruit. My favourite!
More cocktails xmas day! After all the present unwrapping was complete.
Our trek up the hill.
What a gorgeous view!
My father- in-law owns all those mountains. I reckon that's pretty cool! I must remember to take my drone out on my next visit.
We also go to meet baby Hayley for the first time. Mango and Greer's newest addition. She's a bit cute. I love the look on Kaka's face here. Was a bit funny, cause I was nursing her and Kaka comes over to me a bit indignant and goes "you're mine"! I said, "don't you want a baby sister?" She goes, "nope, I want you all to myself!" Least she's honest!
Boxing day we went to Serpentine to see Mel and H and the kids had a play in the dam. So nice to catch up with that community, they are a great bunch of people.
As much as I don't get to see these girls, it always good to know I have them in my circle.
My best mate! We've had a bit of a long year this year with some up and downs, mostly related to not having found our new home yet. But I'm hoping that 2023 is going to be our year, just got to keep being positive.
We have a week here and then I'm off to photograph the Brangus Youth Camp for 4 days which will be fun, and then we are off to Cania Gorge for a while, if we manage to find a caretaker for our dogs. I'm really looking forward to taking some photos there and seeing some of our friends.
I thinking of not doing this particular trip away anymore. While it's always great to see our friends, it just a bad time of year for us as we are trying to get back into our routines and the swing of things, but trying to change the dates, seems to come with its own set of obstacles.
Plus this year we are doing a Grazing for Profit School as well as I've got a couple of people coming to do a horse riding pub crawl with me, which should be sooo good especially with my two cousins coming, as they are an absolute blast to hang out with!
Hope you all had an amazing xmas and fantastic new year! I hope this year brings you much joy and adventures.
With Love
