November - Love @ 2 years 3 months

One thing we've both noticed since moving to this new town is how much we miss the sea and the salty breeze from the east. As the last, humid days of spring rolled around, the days gradually grew longer and the impending summer heat could be felt radiating from the earth in blurry waves. In the evenings, tall storm clouds drifted up from the south, floating low and dark over this riverside town.

The temperature tends to soar before the storm breaks, reaching the high 30s (that's in the mid to high 90s for you delightful northern visitors). The bonus for the brief half hour or so following the rain (providing there was no hail) is that puddles rapidly form, making the best wet playground for Love to slosh, skip and splash in the potholes of our quiet cul-de-sac. Most days I need to hide her bright orange gumboots when she naps, otherwise she'll insist on wearing them, and only them in all her birthday suit glory (cute bum, though).

This month Love taught me that yoghurt makes for a sweet moisturiser, if you don't mind the stickiness. Which, unfortunately I do. There's always a risk leaving her unattended with a small tub of yoghurt for even a second as it will usually end up smeared in creamy patches across the table, oozing down her arms in gloopy drips. On the plus-side, she smells amazing and usually enjoys a shower afterwards. Downside? She usually picks the most inopportune time to up-end her tub, like when we're getting ready to leave the house and she rarely wants to dress post-shower so I often find myself dripping naked chasing a dripping naked toddler as she runs, screaming hysterically from room to room.

We managed to visit the coast every weekend, staying in our old beach house. We attended a relaxed beach wedding together, which was a treat for me as I'm usually the photographer, rather than a guest. After the ceremony, I drove Love to a nearby headland and she fell asleep in my arms as the sun was setting over the mountains. Sunset is my favourite time of day in the spring time; a celebration of nature and light, warm air and hopes for the summer. I especially love the Christmas colours. Deep hues of red with the natural greens one can find on any coastal headland or beachside forest on the Mid North Coast.

I spent one night apart from Love this month when I travelled to Brisbane for a live show (Kooza by Cirque du Soleil). Though I felt the beginnings of a cold, I rested in every available moment, enjoyed Korean barbecue with my company, drank tea and allowed myself to sink into my seat, absorbing every colour, light, stunt and musical note from the live performance and band. I'm grateful I went and the reunion on my return? Well it was the perfect way to begin summer.

What are your traditions at this time of year? Are you ready for Christmas?

Bella x

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Life Lately

Life Lately

The dreaded flu | bird watching | double chocolate cake | pirate ship | rare family days together

When we returned from Malaysia, one of our neighbours greeted us in the street. I was still in my pyjamas mid-morning, feeling a little tired and sore from the cramped plane seat, but otherwise happy to have slept in my own bed. Mike asked me about our trip and how the baby coped. He stopped talking to cough and sniff and tell me how he and his wife had been sick with the flu for two weeks, missing work and generally feeling awful. I was relieved that we had missed the nasty virus going around our neighbourhood.

Over the course of the next week, we planned Love's first birthday party. Here and there, neighbours dropped in to welcome us home and tell us how sick they had been. Again, I felt relieved that we had chased summer to tropical Borneo and avoided the dreaded sickness that is so common every winter. You can see where I'm going with this...

At her party (which was a raging success and totally worth the week-long preparation; but that's for another post), neighbours arrived, bringing their children and smiles. We laughed and watched on as Love interacted with other small children, feeling pride and disbelief that a whole year had passed by since we welcomed our baby girl. Most guests were healthy or had recently recovered from the flu, except for a handful, who were very obviously still sick.

I scurried about after one particular child, wiping everything he touched, encouraging him to play outside and to wait for me to bring him some watermelon or strawberries. He touched everything in his path, coughing without covering his mouth and could barely talk through rosy, flushed cheeks. Even his little curls seemed to hang flatter against his feverish little head.

Within two days I was on my back, unable to move with a high fever and terrible aches throughout my body. I'm not certain it was the little boy but he did seem to be very sick when we came in contact. I felt sorry for him, with the fresh understanding of how uncomfortable and generally unwell he must have felt but at the same time I wondered why on earth his parents thought it wise to bring him to a first birthday party.

I was fearful of Love catching it, especially following her twelve month vaccinations, which she had the same day my fever spiked.

How she managed to stay healthy for the first week has got me stumped. All I can think is that breastmilk is the nectar of the gods, a miracle potion of sorts and something I don't think scientists will ever properly understand the mechanics of, but I digress. After the first week, Love did fall ill with fevers over 40 degrees (nearly 105 F). We took her to our wonderful doctor and then later the same day to Emergency when her fever wouldn't break with medication and a tepid bath. After several worrisome hours, we drove home with a sleeping baby.

If the first picture could tell a story, this would be it. Love's fevers peaked and waned every few hours for over a week. Her little nose ran constantly and she detested having it dabbed at or wiped. She was so sick that she could barely move and she woke constantly with heart wrenching whimpers. Breastfeeding, constant temperature checks, round the clock care and mama cuddles were all I could offer to comfort my sweet girl as her little body fought the virus. I worried for her and wished I could take her discomfort away as she fell asleep against my chest in the shower. Skin-to-skin. My exhausted little cherub.

I empathise with those families who must go through their own personal hell with seriously ill children and send out silent prayers for their babies to find peace and comfort, health and love with their supportive families by their side.

As Love's health gradually improved, we visited a visiting 'pirate' ship, the replica caravel, Notorious. This was a day spent together as a family, one of those rare days where we could all venture outdoors together with no particular place to be. Those kinds of days are liberating.

Love was captivated by the ropes and darkened timber below deck. I have a few photos to share from that day, which I will try to post soon, once I finish editing some portraits from a recent family session (their preview can be viewed here on our other website).

So the last couple of crummy weeks have turned around with our good health returning, excursions to pirate ships, the unfaltering care from my sweet husband (the superhuman, who avoided the flu altogether and who incidentally baked the most delicious organic double chocolate cake I ever did taste) and finally, the beginning of spring.

Have you managed to avoid illness this winter? What were your remedies whilst you waited out the virus-immunity cycle?

My best tips were rest, hot soup, hot camomile tea, more rest, warm showers, spare boxes of tissues and hand sanitation gel on the bedside table, clean sheets and unmedicated saltwater nasal spray to clear the nasal passage (suitable for breastfeeding mamas). I also took some ibuprofen to manage my fever but you should consult your healthcare professional for any medication advice.

Welcome spring, your longer sunshine and warm afternoon breezes have been missed.

Bella xx

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37/52 Beach Grass

A portrait of my family once a week, every week in 2013

Coco: Watching the graceful birds soar in the sea breeze.

This week we worked hard, took time off, visited the dentist, played one-on-one soccer with a fox terrier cross dachshund as referee- Somehow she won??

Byron captured this image of Coco hidden on a sandy dune, surrounded by tall pale green blades of beach grass. She secretly watched sea birds parade along the shore before darting out and chasing them into the water. As always, they evaded her by the magic of flight.

This image for me whispers of summer. On a warm spring afternoon, they explored a deserted beach one hour before sunset.

I love spring, the longer days, the colourful flowers in seaside gardens and the sweet scent of orange blossoms as they begin to bloom. I love spring because it reminds me that life begins a new cycle, powered by the same sun light that beams throughout spring into our seemingly endless summers.

Bella xx

Joining in with Jodi and world of talented bloggers

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Afternoon Tea and Apple Turnovers

What I love about Spring, apart from the warmer weather, the annual stripping of the winter layers, and exhilarating spring clean of my overflowing wardrobe, is the joy of sharing afternoon tea in the sunshine.

I can wrap a light pastel spearmint cardigan around my shoulders as I stir my apples on the stove without shuddering from the cold. I can enjoy an extra couple of minutes of sunlight during the afternoons for reading or relaxing but the best part of the onset of Spring for me? I can sit outside again on my small, pretty balcony with a delightful pot of tea to be shared for two with freshly baked gluten free apple turnovers direct from the best little local bakery in the building... My oven.

I'm not ashamed to admit that these little turnovers win me over every time I bake them, and with a fresh new gluten-free twist on my mother's recipe, how can we possibly resist? Before you serve you will need: One dear friend, with whom you can laugh about anything. Dessert wine optional.

Mum's Apple Turnovers

Sweet Apple Filling

4 Jonagold apples (peeled, cored and chopped into small cubes)
1 William's pear (William's bon chrétien pear- sounds so fancy! Prepare like the apples)
2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated raw sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 cinnamon scroll, or 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 generous pinch nutmeg

To a large heavy based pot add the apple and pears cubes, lemon juice, brown and raw sugar, salt and spices. Simmer the apple and pear filling over low heat, stirring occasionally. Cook until the apples pieces are soft and golden and cooked all the way through. You will notice a little bit of liquid in the pot and can continue to cook until this evaporates, otherwise you'll need to drain each spoonful when you transfer it to the puff pastry to prevent leakage when they bake. Once cooked, allow the filling to cool completely.

Jonagold apples are excellent for baking if you want an apple that will keep it's shape during baking.

Gluten Free Puff Pastry
You can opt to bake your own, or go out and purchase:
Cheat's Option: 1 packet of store-bought gluten free puff pastry (you will use about 2-3 sheets)
For lovers of pastry with gluten, the regular puff pastry is perfect for this receipe.

Preheat your oven to 190 degrees Celsius.

Remove puff pastry from the freezer and cut one sheet of puff pastry into 4 squares. The puff pastry will begin to soften and become difficult to work with not long after it is removed from the freezer, so remember to work with one sheet at a time. Rotate the pastry squares so they look like diamonds, then scoop one generous, drained spponful of the sweet apple filling into the centre of each pastry diamond. Roll over one of the diamond corners to the opposite side and press the edges closed so that you end up with a perfect little bulging triangle. Brush each turnover with water, then sprinkle with cinnamon and fine sugar or with a generous pinch of raw sugar crystals, then bake the turnovers in batches on parchment paper-lined baking trays at 190 degrees Celsius (375 degrees Fahrenheit) for between 8-12 minutes, or until they are golden and flaky. Make sure the pastry is cooked before removing the turnovers from the oven to cool slightly on a wire rack before serving.

You can dust the turnovers with cinnamon and castor sugar, but I preferred to bake mine with a few large granulated raw sugar crystals on the top... It's nice to have a little bit of extra crunch when you eat these, fresh from the oven.

If serving hot, warn your guests that the filling may burn them. I love to serve the hot turnovers with vanilla bean ice cream and rasberry sauce, but they are also delicious with caramel sauce or custard.

If you want to plait the pastry to make apple danishes, slice thin strips into each side of the pastry diamonds taking care not slice all the way through, otherwise the apple filling will leak all over your baking tray, which you don't want- Trust me. Spoon your apple filling into the centre of the diamond, then work quickly to fold opposite layers of the pastry strips on top of each other, alternating sides so that it looks like your pastry has been plaited.

If little windows are more your cup of tea, then carefully slice little holes into the pastry of one square using a paring knife, then use another pastry square as your base. Spoon the apple mixture onto the bottom square and seal the parcel with the pastry square with the cut-outs. The choices for turnover and pastry designs are endless, and you can have a lot of fun making these, allowing your creative imagination run wild (Who said playing with food was a bad idea?!).

I love to serve apple turnovers warm with a pot of tea on a little table on our balcony, overlooking the city skyline in the afternoon sun.

Your turnovers will last about one week if you store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator but in all honesty, they're best eaten freshly baked.

Check out these beautiful flaky layers of crispy puffed pastry. The secret to the best puff pastry really is in the layers!

Bella xx

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