Farm Life

Its been a busy year - both on the farm and with the jewellery business.  I'm looking forward to a little time off while the kids are on holidays - they are growing up so fast I need to spend time with them while they are still at home.

Whilst we always have  alot of work to do on the farm, we do have a bit of fun too!   This year we gained four poddy calves (calves that lost their mum or were ignored by their mum so they need multiple daily feeds initially to survive).   We have Leopold, Jack Black (he's black of course), Cocoa (he's brown/black) and the latest is Mick Dugald (another black angus).   They are friendly but usually keep a bit of a distance unless they are in their post feed 'coma'.   You can pat them, hug them... and imagine their secret desires lol.  So in their milk coma (evidenced by milk froth around their mouths!), we thought Leopold might want to grow up to be a reindeer... and I reckon he looks pretty grand trying out antlers!   We didn't want the others to be jealous so they all got a set :)  (Mick Dugald arrived after the fun and games so no picture of him.)

So Happy Holidays from me (and the calves) to you, wherever you may be!  

A lot can happen in a year... (or not quite a year in this case!)

Well, look at that… it’s been a whole 9 months since I last wrote a blog post… to put that into perspective, I could have had a baby in that time!  But I haven’t!!!   No, life just got busy. 

March started with a rush of shows and jewellery making and didn’t stop till later in May.  My son had his first year away at school and I spent quite a bit of the year going back and forth between home and his school to see him.   Winter was very mild and I spent more time out and about that I normally do, then of course it was back to the bench making jewels for spring and summer.   

Husband travelled to the US for almost a month in spring, which meant I was wearing the Farmer Piper hat for far longer than was comfortable and it took more time to do everything being a single parent.   I did far more spring shows than I have in the past testing new markets… then summer arrived.  Orders kept flowing til a couple of days before Christmas when I had to call it quits for sanity’s sake.   And now it’s January! 

In hindsight there were lots of things about 2013 that I'd prefer to just block out, it was one of those years when everything went wrong ... repeatedly and of course everything cost way more than expected.   On the positive side at least we were all healthy and as happy as everything going wrong allowed.  

So what’s in store this year?  Well, I’ve had some time for reflection over the last couple of weeks and there are some things that need refining both on the home and jewel fronts.

Home 

• Take more time out to cook.  Healthy meals.  I was doing quite well till around hubby’s trip O/S … and  I think that stress took its toll in poor food choices, getting on that awful roundabout of being good for a few days then bad for a few days.  

• Garden more.   I’ve had a wonderful friend helping me the last year and the house paddock is finally starting to look a little bit more like a garden (albeit a park like garden) - but ONLY if I spend time maintaining her work!  So, I need to water more.  (HINT: for all you other non-gardeners out there, water is the KEY, even I can make things grow with enough water!).   Admittedly, this is hard when it appears we’re in the midst of another drought on the farm, but I can see the need for at least a small portion of an oasis for Farmer Piper to chill out in/around.   

• Continue to visit son regularly at school – he enjoys it and I need it!    And continue doing things with the girls, they’re growing up so fast! If this means more time away from home, that's a small price to pay.

• Schedule more regular times for farm bookwork so I don’t get buried in it every 3 months when the GST is due.

• Start playing the piano again… it’s been months and although I’m certainly no “artiste”,  I do enjoy it.

• Exercise more, the shoulder muscle I tore over a year ago still isn’t quite right, but I’ll have to make time for some version of activity.

(We had a blackout last night and I got so much done, albeit by candlelight… I think I need to pretend there is a blackout once a week for a few hours, it might help me do some of these resolutions!)

Jewels

• Be more selective with shows and find more indoor ones.  I have been at the mercy of the weather more times than I care to think about this year and it hasn’t been enjoyable for anyone involved.   

• Ask my clients to recommend events/shows – they know me and have a good idea where I would be a good fit!   I tend not to want to put myself forward, but doing a host of shows that were less than average in 2013 made me see my folly in this regard.  It won’t be easy but I’m on the upper side of 40 (a tad too close to 59 actually!) and need to have more confidence to ask.

•  Keep my website up to date and blog regularly.  I did very badly in both areas in 2013.  Facebook & Pinterest took its toll – it’s so easy to get caught up and lose time there.  So, a regular session of website work, adding new stock before I become overwhelmed at the amount and more blogging… I'm looking forward to getting back into the groove!

• Make more jewels (I should do OK with this one!)

So, what’s your year looking like…  are there lots of  achievable resolutions or are there some high level wish lists there?

I like this view… although I think I’ll change the  muck about “on boats” to “in planes” since there certainly aren’t any boats around here… or water to float them in -  but aeroplanes we have in comparable abundance ^_^

Till next

Annette :)

Photos 'pinched' from The Bottom of the Ironing Basket blog... as she always has such good pictures there!

The Morning Dilemma or Cows, Kangaroos, Council Workers and Creek Crossings

Some gorgeous baroque pearls (up to 20mm in size) in natural colours that I sourced through the buying group, made into a simple but eyecatching pendant.

I am part of a group of lovely (mostly) women from across the world who band together to buy quality gems and pearls so that we get good prices and very often different and unique stones and/or cuts.     Some of our members attend the Tucson gem shows each year and keep on the lookout for special things.

  

One of those ladies had returned home from the shows yesterday and listed what she had found and what was available for us to share, try and buy.  We got to have a look for a few hours then at a certain time this morning we were to send our ‘want’ lists and she would fill them, in the order they arrived.

All sounds good, right?  The time today was arranged so that most people around the world would be up and my local time was 7am.   Normally this would be perfect.  It’s the time that I get the children out of bed and ready for school and I’m usually up earlier checking overnight emails, out in the garden, getting mail ready to go, and so on.

But, last night The Farmer tells me I have to drive him down to our furthest property (about 40km away) first thing as he needed to do some work there and had to drive the tractor that was already down there, home.  “Ummmm,” I start, “but there’s a buy on at 7am, I have to be here or I’ll miss out!”   He looks at me oddly, but relents and agrees to leaving earlier (aka in the dark) so that I can hopefully get back in time.

So we’re up in the dark at 5.30am, he breakfasts, checks his emails, gathers his things.  While I bounce up and down looking at the clock.   We leave about 6.05am and it’s just starting to get a little light. 

There was a storm last night and a bit of water on the road, the rickety bridge at the end of our lane is as rickety as ever and there is still mud on it from the flash flood last weekend.   The highway is clear, the main road after that is fine, then onto the last, more isolated, road that starts fine, but then becomes populated with kangaroos, bounding across the road in front of us.  One is so fast that it slips and slides a few feet along the road and we wince thinking of gravel rash!   The last part of the road is dirt, full of corrugates (really bumpy bits caused by people braking or accelerating) and with a few “gotcha” corners (you really don’t want to go round them fast).   We arrive at 6.35am.  Hmmm, I think silently, not looking good to get back by 7!

There are cows in the front paddock.  I eye them off.  They look back at me.  I estimate the time it will take to drop The Farmer off and decide I can’t leave the gate open as then I might very well be faced with them getting out and having to get them back in!  So, I open and shut the gate.  And the next one - although I warily leave that gate open estimating the nearest cow won’t make it there in time if I’m fast enough!

We whizz past the tractor and the Farmer sees my concerned look but assures me it’s just to check the tarpaulin is still on the super (phosphate – fertiliser) after the storm.   

I tell The Farmer “I’m going to miss the buy!”  He laughingly says “What, are all the ladies sitting there poised to press “send” on their computers at exactly that time?”   “Of course”, I reply, “they’re as addicted as I am!” 

Then it’s back to the shed, we get out, he gives me a  peck on the cheek and in I hop to reverse the trip.  It’s 6.40am.   

First gate – the cow was close but she hadn’t quite made it as far as the gate, so I quickly shut it after me.  Next gate – lucky I DID shut it, look at them all within a few feet of the gate and I’m sure they would have gone through.    On to the dirt road which I take carefully if a little slow for my liking, I pass 2 magnificent Wedgetail Eagles that are feasting by the side of the road.  You don’t often see them close, so it’s always surprising to me how big they are.    Only one black tipped wallaby debates whether it will dodge out in front of me, I slow down and it decides to hop off back into the scrub.  Good decision!

All is clear on the main road and highway although I pass my in-laws house at 7.01am which is still a few kilometres away from home.   

On the lane there are council workers looking at the rickety old bridge and the sign posts that were bent at 90 degress in the recent flood.  I dodge around them, waving good morning and continue on my way.   I turn into our drive, trying (unsuccessfully) to avoid the deep puddle just after the ramp and notice as I fly (well , I go as fast as I can – about 50km/hr) up our drive, that the fuel light is on – lucky I didn’t run out as I hadn’t checked that earlier!   

Into the open garage, hop out, dropping the keys on the rack, run to the house, boots off at the backdoor, trot into the house, yell at the children to "Get Up!"and press “SEND” on my computer.  It’s 7.10am.  

A bit late, but I may get lucky!!!

Till next :)

Annette

What happens if you land on my bench...

The weeks are rolling by so fast and I sometimes  feel I’m swimming upstream – all my good intentions for this season haven’t  quite making it into reality!

Nevertheless there have been some bright points. 

On the family front, after almost a year of no piano teacher (since our last, fantastic and irreplaceable teacher left to move to the coast) we’ve secured the services of a highly regarded teacher from a nearby town who is willing to come and teach in our little town.  The children had their first lesson with her last night and everyone survived even to the point of being a little bit excited.

On the farm front, the very last heifer had her calf this morning – 6 days overdue, but hey, she got there in the end and all by herself! Yay!  No more checking heifers 4x day!  

And on the jewellery front, I’ve been creating a few things and definitely enjoying the process.  It’s so hard, of course, to work with such gorgeous stones and pearls day in and day out (as if!).

I have been hoarding some gorgeous pearls that I received quite a few months ago.   The dye master where I have been buying my pearls the last couple of years was willing to experiment with some brighter colours and I managed to obtain a few drop pairs and a couple of strands in magnificent colours – specifically fuschia and violet and a couple in softer tones of lilac and rose.  I pulled them out earlier this week - here is a pic of some of the pairs…

And hey presto now they’re earrings! 

I added gems to all the drops, as they are such lustrous pearls they deserved a little sparkle!   The lilac have some pale lavender-pink sapphires, the rose have pink topaz, the fuschia - bright pink sapphire and the violet (you can just see them around the edge) have amethyst.   (There is another pair of pearls that snuck in here to the left – a natural pink matched with pale pink sapphires).

So that’s what happens when  you’re on my bench.  You get sparkles added and go off into the world to make the world prettier for one special woman!

Have a good week - go out and sparkle! :)

Annette

Winter school holidays, new calves and rock cakes

I survived the winter school holidays - yay!   Apart from having an event of some sort (half of them involving visitors here) the first week and a nasty dose of the flu in the second week, on the whole I found the term break more bearable than normal.

The children are obviously reaching an age when they don't need their mother to entertain them so whilst I still had numerous invitations for "playing a game", on the whole they managed to play amongst themselves or have their heads in a book, preferably sitting in some winter sun somewhere around the house.   My eldest boy, now as tall as a man (at 14!), was called upon to help his Dad more often than in the past and whilst he grumbled about being dragged out, enjoyed it once he got there and got some good 'boy' time away from us girls.

So its back to normal programming for a while.  I enjoy this time of year.  Sitting near the fire reading, soaking up some weak (instead of blazing) sunshine and starting to excute the upcoming spring collection.

The other nice point about this time of year is that its calving time.  Although the heifers (first time mothers) do have more problems, requiring checking at least 3 times a day and even then you can't solve everything, the sight of bouncing little calves definitely lightens your heart.

This heifer had given birth a few hours previously.  The little tyke was still a bit wobbly and the mother was skittish so I took a quick photo before leaving them alone to get know each other better.

I mentioned on facebook a couple of days ago about my baking frenzy and one of the things I had cooked was Rock Cakes.   My friends in the US, however, didn't know what these nasty sounding things were - so I thought I would show my American bloggy friends what they look like and give you the recipe in case you want to try them out!

I believe they originated in the UK, although looking at UK recipes for them they appear more bread like than cookie like.   My recipe is from my husband's aunt and she's been cooking these for over 60 years.  I think they're more like a crumbly cookie and they keep for ages in an airtight container :)

Rock Cakes

Makes about 20.

2 cups of Self Raising Flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
125g butter
1 cup sultanas or mixed dried fruit

Put flour and sugar in bowl.  Melt butter (unless its nice and soft) and lightly beat eggs. Add the butter, eggs and sultanas to the flour mix and stir till well combined.  The mixture will be stiff.   Place heaped spoonfuls on a baking tray and sprinkle with a little extra sugar.  Bake in a moderate oven for about 10 minutes or till just golden on top.   If you find they spread too much a preheated tray will prevent this.

Enjoy!

OK, time for me to put my farmer's hat back on and check the heifers - maybe they'll be some new bouncing calves since this morning :)

The Wanderer has Returned and Clutter Concerns

Woodgate Beach

The last few days at Woodgate proved a bit busier as we got a little more active - the kids had us riding everywhere, walks, runs and swimming at the beach and since we couldn't put it off any longer, some jobs around the house - painting, organising and cleaning (since it will be months till we get back and no one cleans like you do!)

As promised from my last post, here are some pics - they were taken in the late afternoon so the beach is rather shady unlike most of the day.


We enter the beach here

Looking for interesting shells is a regular activity

The girls having races on the beach :)

After a mammoth 12 hour trip yesterday, we're back home. The kids are far better at travelling these days but my oh my we were all stiff when we emerged.

My first impressions of being home, albeit in the headlights since it was dark - the grass hasn't grown much so there hasn't been much rain (not so good for the crops but good for son who does the mowing!), it's decidely chilly (like slippers and jumper chilly ... rather different to the heat and humidity of the last couple of days) and on entering the house, 'thankgoodness its clean and tidy but we've just got too much "stuff"!'.

I realised in the last few days on holidays, that the kids had actually been perfectly happy with a minimum amount of things - well, apart from running out of books to read. The rest of the time, they rode their bikes around Woodgate, went to the beach and played games that we keep up there.

But here we are back home and they have 'stuff' everywhere. Stuff that they hardly (if at all) look at let alone use or play with. And I'm not much better - while my studio is full and a bit chaotic its what I need to get things done.  But the study is overflowing with my (and everyone's) excess 'stuff', the garage is likewise full, as is the storage landing in the shed.

I have been hit with the clarity of eyes that have been unused to clutter and my need for those built-in wardrobes in at least 2 rooms (that we've been talking about for at least 4 years) is coming to a head! It will be a good excuse for a clean out in those rooms at least, and I need to take a firm hand with all those 'one day it might be useful' items that ends up the study ... before getting moved to the garage ... and then onto the shed. The next stop should be the tip, but how often does that really happen in anyone's life!?

So I'm on a mission - I badly need to get back into the studio but I will have to set aside time for the great clutter cleanout! Well, at least until I run out of steam and get too used to it all again.

Any tips for me in my endeavour to live (or at least get back to) clutter-free?  If so, do let me know, I'll need all the help I can get!

Ciao
Annette

A trip to the Sydney Opera House

Last week just whizzed by – nothing new I know, but this time I was actually OUT rather than IN (and just distracted by everything that comes along so that I'm busy!)

The long weekend was very chilly long weekend – which the children and I spent inside the majority of the time, with books, near the fire (actually I seem to recall quite a lot of ironing getting done and not much reading for me).

Hubby had taken off to Qld for an aerobatics competition on Friday and wasn’t due back until late Monday afternoon, so son and I had to round up the cattle that were going to be picked up to go to sale and put them in the yards. Apart from one snorty bull who we managed to go around (he wasn’t supposed to be there!) the cattle were very well behaved and actually followed the fence instead of spearing off into the centre of the paddock as they often do. We got them into the right corner, up the laneway, through the holding pen and into the yards, just as hubby flew over and half an hour before the truck arrived. Son and I were rather chuffed it all went according to plan.

Tuesday morning involved heavy monitoring of the children cleaning the car (I seem to remember being able to wash and vacuum a car, why can’t they?) and getting ready for a drive to Sydney leaving lunchtime. Hubby was off checking cattle and of course arrived back earlier than expected (it’s always either early or late… never as expected) and was ready to go before anyone else in the house. Typical. But we all managed to get dressed up and ready for our outing.

Five hours later we arrive in Sydney, looking only slightly rumpled, at my sister-in-law’s house. A quick spruce up and bite to eat and we were off again to our final destination of the evening – the Sydney Opera House! (Thus the photo at the top of the post!)

As the children study classical piano with their concert-pianist-trained teacher, we decided an evening of listening to one of the world’s best pianists was in order. After huge sums of money were sent to the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, we obtained tickets to hear the renowned Lang Lang play at the Opera House. The whole experience was marvelous. We found our way to the northern foyer, listened to a talk on the music that we were going to here then found our seats in the magnificent Main Concert Hall. Hubby and I recall going there as a child but only for a tour, so this was a first for us too. This was the main concert hall (it looks like we're wayyyy up the back, but we could see everything quite clearly - close enough to see smiles on performer's faces) :



The Sydney Symphony played the first two pieces (Mendelssohn and Sibelius) and then Lang Lang came on and with a flourish began to play Tchaikovsky’s with the Orchestra. It was all wonderful! Even the children enjoyed it although one of the girls said she was too tired and just wanted to go to bed! I gave her a look that said “not on your nelly, girly” and she sat there, waking up sufficiently to enjoy it.

Unbeknown to us, it was Lang Lang’s birthday and the orchestra had organized a birthday cake after the concert – at 29 years old, this young man has the classical music world at his feet and he hammed it up on stage whilst the Sydney Symphony played and the audience sang “Happy Birthday”. One wag in the audience called out ‘speech’… and Lang Lang obliged! After an encore performance, he was presented with bouquets of flowers, one of which he pulled apart, presenting a flower to each female member of the orchestra. Lang Lang taking a bow :



Post concert the parking station was at gridlock, so instead we went for hot chocolate and a selection of treats (huge jam biscuits and incredibly rich chocolate pots!) at the Lower Concourse which houses bars and cafes with a magnificent view of the harbour bridge.



A photo opportunity or two was snapped (the above one blurry, but courtesy of the waiter in the cafe!) before wending our way back to sister-in-law’s house and a well earned rest.

More things to do in Sydney on Wednesday, including a visit to the orthodontist for the children and then the long drive home.

A day off on Thursday (well, housework and associated timewasters) and then Friday was the Zone Cross Country held in town where I worked all day for the P&C on the cappuccino stall. End result – very tired and windburned.

I finally made it to my bench this past weekend to do some orders and I'm hoping for some creative 'me' time there soon!


Till next :)
Annette

Mice, sparkling gems and an award!

Yet again, I continue with my very poor blogging habits. I seem to remember blogging each week up until recently – how did I find the time!? I must be lacking in organization at the moment…

I thought about posting about the mice we have here on the farm. There is one in particular that consistently steals food out of the cat’s bowl. A fat, glossy little mouse he is ... and very careful to come out ONLY when the cats aren’t around. And when there is only one, a mouse can be pretty darn cute.

But some mouse stories aren’t so nice when they’re at, whilst not quite plague proportions, at least far too many of them. And the rats! Luckily we have bush rats, which I’ve found, at first hand, look just like massive mice. (And along with huge Bogong moths last month, I secretly started to wonder if something very strange was going on that was growing monster wildlife!)

So instead, I thought I’d stick to the jewellery front and what I’ve been up to.

I’ve been busy recently with a show and orders, but have also been sidetracked into my box of special gems. "The box" is getting so full that I decided I either needed a bigger box or had to create some jewellery to share these beauties around. Since shops are few and far between out here to find a larger box, I went with the latter choice and made some pieces with the sparklies!

Th pink amethyst, pink topaz and rock crystal quartz sterling silver necklace at the top of the post is one. Scrumptious, isn’t it? Rather springlike considering we’re in full winter here, but that’s the muse for you – she takes you where she will!

I made a wintry necklace too – with smoky quartz, petro tourmaline and vermeil. Rich and luxurious.



Then I got started on earrings ….

With everything from muted shades of pink and blue with rose quartz, pink topaz, pink tourmaline and iolite...



To rich red garnets and pink topaz reminding me of cool days and warm fires...



To colourful amethyst, peridot and blue topaz ...



And more ... like my favourites - these one made with swiss blue topaz, peridot, pink topaz, green topaz and apatite ...




See why I like my “special box”!? And, it’s a much nicer post than one about mice!

In other news, I was recently honoured to receive The Versatile Blogghttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifers Award from the wonderful Kelly of Vital Traditions all the way over in Washington State. I had the pleasure of being the roomie of Kelly at a conference a couple of years ago in Queensland, and she is honestly one of the very nicest people you could ever meet! Oh, and her all natural body products are THE BEST!



As part of receiving this award I need to pass this on and I've selected some of my daily reads for the award (check them out, you may find a new favourite!):

BushBelles
Gifts of Serendipity
Write Expressions
The Laurel Hedge
Cattle, Kids & Chaos

And, lastly before I sign off, I want to give a shout-out to Paula K and her new Smart Woman venture. Paula started the amazing and popular Connect2Mums site a couple of years ago and I've known her since those early days - she's a fantastic mentor and businesswoman, so if you're in small business (or thinking about it), pop over to her Facebook page and say hello!