The Baynhams

As we drove home today Rhiannon had Murphy sitting on her lap. She opened her window and let him put his head out to see the street from a different perspective. He loved it!

I was in the passenger seat and was able to see him in the side mirror and took this fun snap on my mobile.

I have been very interested in the benefits of essential oils recently, particularly their anti-viral/anti-bacterial benefits. Working in a hospital I get exposed to many different pathogens and obviously follow all suggested guidelines to use protective equipment and good hygiene techniques to ensure I don't become unwell or unwittingly bring any nasties home with me. Occasionally there is a bad outbreak of something. We are all aware of the horror stories we read in the media about Ebola and Norovirus outbreaks. A colleague spoke to me about "Oil of thieves" Its a blend of clove, lemon, rosemary, cinnamon and eucalyptus essential oils that were supposed to have kept graverobbers fit and well during the bubonic plague. I have no desire to test this oil in quite such a dramatic way but I did recently buy it to use about the house to keep us fit and healthy. 

During the recent storms we lost power from Monday through to Saturday. The last time we had such a long time without power we all came down with vomiting bugs. This time I ensured we were meticulous with hand hygiene and ate only non refrigerated foods and I also burned Oil of Thieves in a tea-light vaporizer which I think may have helped. It certainly made the house smell good and made me feel I was "doing something" to keep us well. 

I had ordered some funny little "diffuser bottles" on necklaces from China on eBay a few weeks back. they were only $2 each. The idea is that you fill the tiny 1ml bottle with an essential oil of your choice and wear it around your neck. You can either open the tiny cork and rub a drop of the oil between your hands and inhale it. Or you can just allow the oil to slowly vaporise through the cork as you wear it. I was very happy to have this little bottle around my neck as day after day passed without power. So worth the small amount of money it cost!

As we sat in a house with no power last week, surrounded by stories of loss and devastation on our battery powered radio as the storm raged on we received a little ray of sunshine. News of a baby being born to our niece in the UK. 

I made the card a few weeks earlier when we heard the scan results and found out a baby girl was expected. In the chaos that surrounded us last week the card seemed even more appropriate.

Welcome to the world Layla Jean. The world is a sunnier place now that you are in it!

Oh the crazyness. Our beautiful Rhiannon turns 15 today. Our first day to wake up with power this week and now we have the candles out again! With no ability to use the oven over the last 6 days we chose some cute macarons as a birthday cake. Easy and simple. Spirits were high as we ate and sang her Happy Birthday. Murphy as always was never far from her. They have become inseparable since he arrived in our family last July. It was too much to hope he would blow out the candle with her. He looked more interested in trying to sniff the macarons! 

To our gorgeous 15 year old. It only seems like yesterday you arrived into our lives with an explosion of chaos and laughter. You bring colour and happiness to our family. Always do what makes you happy. Be creative. Be daring. Don't follow anyone else's path. Create your own one. You have only one life. Live it your way and relish every moment. We love you more than words can say.

I attended two ANZAC day memorials this year. One with the staff and patients of the hospital I work at and one on ANZAC day itself with my family. Both were very moving and gave me plenty of time to be grateful to the many lives that have been lost so my family can live, work and play in a safe country. 

We are so very grateful to so many people at the moment. Friends who have invited us into their home to eat when their power returned before ours. A friend who turned up at the door and "demanded" a basket of my dirty laundry and then returned it a few hours later along with two cans of cold beer and some limes from her garden! Friends who delivered their generator to our door because their power had been restored and they wanted us to be able to borrow it. All the friends, neighbours and family who kept in touch by text messages, making sure everyone was doing ok. It really made us feel part of a supportive community. 

BUT the biggest "Thank-You" goes to the men from Ausgrid who have worked tireless day and night returning power to us all. This crew worked hard all day and then finally, with a big fluoro pole and to rounds of applause from us on our doorstep, WE GOT POWER!

My poor Passionfruit plant has survived its metal arch collapsing, followed by cyclonic winds and downpours of rain and still it sends out tendrils looking for something to grab onto. Gareth counted over 100 fruits still attached to the vine and we must have eaten or collected 60 or 70 off the ground over the last week. Passion Fruits have become a staple part of my morning breakfast and looks like they will continue to be for a while to come! Anyone out there with Passion Fruit recipes to share? I'd love some inspiration!

It's eerie as we enter Day 5 without power. We've been told it may be sometime next week before it returns. In the meantime we listen to the emergency broadcasts on ABC radio using our battery powered radio. We light candles and keep moral up with board games and snacks. It's a novelty but it's wearing thin a little. The only consolation is that we are all safe and well and under one roof. We haven't lost any of our possessions and we have fared much, much better than many people across our region. We have a lot to be grateful for.

This is the view outside our front door. This tree is one of four that have fallen on the small stretch of road where we live. There are so many trees leaning on power lines it is no wonder that over 200,000 homes are without power today. We have lots of candles and batteries and will just have to be patient as power gets restored to hospitals and aged care and then hopefully to residential areas. Stay safe everyone. 

 

My daughters are growing up too fast! One minute they were little girls but more and more I find myself stepping back and letting them shine as they become confident individuals. I am so proud of them both. This gorgeous selfie with Sian makes me look at her and see the beautiful adult she is becoming. I can't believe how quickly the months are flying by. I'm feeling old!

I was alone in the kitchen and just one small slice of Lemon Tart remained. 

One tiny, small, minuscule  slice and no-one around to see me eat it...

Or was there...

There is an adventure park near us where you pay money to be allowed to climb into harnesses and battle through an assault course high up in the canopies of the gum trees. Climbing rickety ladders, hauling your body weight along on ropes, flying through the air on zip lines. Did I mention you actually pay for the privilege to do this?

Crazy people!  

Well here are the two favourite men in my life who had a ball spending today doing just that! They loved it and had a great time waving at me from way above the ground while I happily stayed down low taking photos. 

I'll probably do it next time *cough

I stripped our bed and threw the linen down the stairs then came down to find Murphy all cuddled up on it! He has a tough life!

 

Look what we found on our afternoon walk with Murphy! I wasn't game to kiss it. Mr B is all the Prince I can handle right now!