How beautiful......Amy's words describing her first impressions of her school.
The children take great pride in their school grounds.
They range in age from 5 to 19 and are very thankful and polite to the teachers and volunteers.
Her job each morning, after her 25km tuk tuk drive ( two or three wheeled open carriage pulled behind a motorbike wearing a face mask because it's so dusty on the dirt roads), is to fill the tank with water from the well, which then runs through a filtering system and is used for drinking.
The children wash their hands at the well before each class. The soap is donated by a group in town who melt down the leftovers from hotels.
Talk about real life Hay Day!
And back at Frog pond Farm........
Thank goodness Bill's a bit of a handyman or nothing would ever get done here.
The gravel between the shed and the tank makes it a much more serviceable area now, especially when using the pump at the tank.
Sadly our dam has been dry for a few weeks now.
The ducks still wander in each morning and stare vacantly at the empty hole.
In anticipation of the next downpour, Bill has extended the pipe that runs into the dam and it now pours in from above ( reminds me of Nessie!).
I've been working on a project.
This old sewing machine was rescued by Dad many years ago while working at a farmer's property. It was in pretty good condition and I had used it as a display table.
The timber top was completely burnt in the fire but the metal base remained intact.
After the fire, we put a bit of wood on the top (probably from Bunnings throw away pile) and used it as an outside bench while waiting for the shed to be built..
I decided to turn it into a table for the garden room so got busy with the wire brush to get the rust off.
And a spray or two with some Kill Rust.
We found some left over floorboards in Bill's stash and I have applied a couple of coats of clear varnish. This will be the table top.
A final coat tomorrow should do the trick.
A walk around the garden path tonight.....
Some warm days are in store for us.
Stay cool everyone.
Some people just seem to add colour to the world without even trying.
This sweet girl adds colour to our world every single day.
She uses every colour in the box.
And we adore her.
She arrived in Siem Reap today to begin a three month voluntary school placement in a rural village called Prasat Char, 25 km north of Siem Reap.
I think this adventure of hers began when she visited Cambodia a few years ago with her friend Jules.
Siem Reap is reknowned for the awe inspiring temples of Angkor Wat.
These beautiful kids touched her heart back then and she has never forgotten them.
She has boarded the plane loaded with goodies for the children and teachers, donated by her wonderful friends and family.
We are all oozing with pride at what she is doing and have been overwhelmed by the kindness that people have bestowed upon her both in gifts, thoughts and words.
Thank you everyone. Amy has been so touched by your generosity.
Almost midnight and coffee time!!!
Then home for chocolate ( comfort food ).
She will always be VIP Class to us.
The old crow bar was the only implement up to the task of breaking up the dirt........thumping.
Bill needed to dig holes.
Big holes.
Seven of them.
I struggle to pick it up, let alone pick it up and thump at the same time.
Hundreds of thumps later, the banksia rose hedge was finally relocated into it's new position.
The weekend has been cold and windy.
But this glorious burst of colour on the red flowering gum has been a feast for the eyes.
It's not a weed......
It's a hollyhock. I wonder what colour it will be.
It's always exciting to see these spears pushing up through the mulch. It signals the arrival of the white belladonna lily. Can't wait to see how many we get this year after splitting up the clump last year.
More bandicooting.
Kepflers this time.
I just keep boiling them and smothering them in sour cream ( To be perfectly honest, I just want the sour cream ).
I don't know what it is about the Peace rose, but it seems to photograph so well.
And this was in gale force conditions....
Thank you Ruth. This huge rock seems very much at home right there!
There were celebrations and gatherings yesterday.
Bill's Dad turned 87.
Such a lovely afternoon.
The dirt pile is well and truly gone now.
This is one of Bill's favourite photos.
Oh how we miss you little man.
Seems such a long time since Christmas.
