A Lovely Afternoon

We all got up fairly early this morning considering it was Saturday.  I boiled some eggs and made sandwiches for me and the kids, curried egg, mayo and lettuce for them, and a roast beef and salad for me.  I packed some yoghurt, WW lamingtons, K Time bars and fruit and made a big thermos of tea for me.  Partly due to financial constraints but mainly so we could eat within my (our) points.  Normally we would stop at Woolies at Temora a buy a bbq chook, or bbq meat, and then give in to the kids and get cakes and sweets and chips and it usually costs us a bundle.  I had planned to stop and get a big bottle of something for the kids to drink but the shop at Barmedman only had coke so they got individual cans, and then Josh wanted milk and Em jerky so it cost more than I was happy with.  We had dropped Phill at Junee and driven on to the mineral pools at Barmedman.  There were only two lots of people there, one group were bbqing outside the pool area in the lovely picnic/bbq area, and they left soon after.  We ate our sandwiches and it was actually really nice, like a proper picnic and we vowed we would always do it that way.  The kids got in the water, tentatively as it was very full from the rain and looked murky.  I didn't get in because the people who were there had a very strange, young adult son, who looked as though he wasn't the full quid and just stood in the water staring at the kids and me, and sometimes doing bombs off the pontoon.   Sometimes he would laugh inappropriately loudly at some nonsense that they said.  I watched them carefully and later when the people left I got in.  It was lovely and not dirty at all.  The mineral salts are so relaxing and although it's hell on our hair, leaves our skin so soft.

One day I'll get them NOT being silly for the camera.

Maybe....

My lunch.  I don't know what it is but tea just tastes so good out of my thermos, outdoors.

Must take after their father....

I dove off that pontoon, lucky there was nobody else around (and no photos!)

We stayed till 4.30 when some people sat up from us and started smoking.  As we left more families filed in so it was time to go anyway.

We drove home through the beautiful countryside, through Temora, Springdale, then through pretty little Stockinbingal and onto the road to Cootamundra.  There was no radio reception at Barmedman and Emily not only didn't object to me putting on a CD she even put it in the player for me!  She laid back with her earphones on and Josh went to sleep and I was happy driving and listening to Lee Kernaghan, thinking how lucky we were to have the life we have now.  It's taken a while to get to this point but we're definitely on the right track.

We got home and Emily made dinner for her and Josh (will wonders never cease?) and I cooked myself a small piece of steak and a shitload of vegies.  (That is a recognised unit of measurement in Australia).  I went over in my points today, due in part to the milk I had in my tea at the pools.  I used a little carton of long life Point One that was in the picnic basket rather than taking some of my skim allowance.  Also I decided to use the two teaspoons of olive oil that is recommended in my mushrooms and zucchini for dinner.   But that's okay, we now have 49 weekly points to fall back on for those occasions.  How anyone loses weight when they use all those points every week is beyond me, but some do.  I won't be trying it.

I put an olive oil/ apple cider vinegar treatment in my hair tonight, it badly needed it.

Kids are hogging the pay tv in the loungeroom and I'm comfy in the bedroom watching "Hot Shots".

The clean washing has just about blocked the doorway out there so I guess I know what I'll be doing tomorrow!  One of the kittens has his eyes open already.  Big feline trouble is brewing, I can feel it in my whiskers.