I have just realised that it has been 3 months since I have written a blog post!

I have been busy as usual. My tonsillectomy in January went well. I felt like I was swallowing razor blades for a while, but that passed quickly and all is now back to as normal as can be as I learn to deal with allergies as well.

Caitlin started full time school at the start of February and is loving pre-primary. She is very tired by the end of the week and was beginning to get sick by the end of term but overall has coped extremely well.

Mum and Dad celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary at the end of February. I went to tassie for 8 days (kid and husband free!!) as a surprise. My sister organised it on her frequent flyers and I am eternally grateful. I am so glad that I could be there for such a special occasion. We had a family get together on the day of their anniversary and the next day we had an open home, all of which went off amazingly well.

While I was in Tassie I got to meet some Dutch cousins who happened to be visiting at the time. Ab and Marietje are such lovely people. They are talking of coming to my end of the country in a few years, so I really do hope they make it.

I also taught 2 scrapbooking classes in Smithton, which was great fun. It has been a while since I have taught and it felt good. I am still not ready to go back to teaching regular classes. I have been thoroughly enjoying my other crafts recently. I have been sewing for the kids and also making gifts for my friends' children. It feels great to give handmade gifts.

I have been working really hard at simplifying our lives. I have been making and baking almost everything. We buy very little from the supermarket at the moment. I even made a batch of soap last week! I never realised just how easy this is! At the moment I have a sourdough starter brewing. It is beginning to bubble away and smells pretty interesting. I can't wait to make my own sourdough bread. YUMMY!

Mum and Dad have just been for a visit. They brought their car over on the train, had a night in Perth and then came to stay with us for 2 weeks. Dad got stuck into the vegie patch and between Mum and Dad, they have pulled our yard into shape! I said to Dad that he will need a holiday to recover from the work he has done here! The kids love having their grandparents around (for 3 days they had both sets together!) and play madly to make up for lost time. Mum went for Nannies help at school, which pleased Caitlin no end.

We had a gathering of friends and family for Easter which was relaxing and lovely. Kylie and Gavin and Leonie and Gary and all the kids came here, we all chipped in and made great food and enjoyed each others company.

Craig came out of hospital today after having his knee op. He is doing well and keeping his pain under control. He has some physio exercises to do and has crutches for long walking and uneven ground. He was upset today because he felt he was rushed and treated poorly on discharge from the hospital. They didn't even tell him when he needs to take his tablets next, or fill his scripts for him - he was told that he could stop off on the way home to get it if he wanted! I used to work at the same hospital and felt very embarrassed and sad that Craig was treated this way. Needless to say that I was crabby that my husband had been treated that way!

I have been loving some blog and web site hopping lately (I have a laptop set up in the kitchen and it makes the Internet quicker, more accessible and fun). Some of the sites I have loved are:

http://www.io.com/~sjohn/sour.htm

http://down---to---earth.blogspot.com/

http://www.dana-made-it.com/

http://leonie-stampcardnscrap.blogspot.com/

I will post photos when I have some on the computer, as I haven't transferred them over yet.