Maternal Health Awareness Day Donation...

It was Maternal Health Awareness Day on Thursday, 23rd January. I was able to donate at a Red Cross Blood Drive near Odon the following day, Friday, 24th January. I made sure to eat a healthy lunch and drink plenty of water before the donation.

This donation day, I particularly kept Candace - and other friends and new mothers that we know who have struggled during and after pregnancy - in mind. It is so important to create awareness for maternal health issues and the struggles that new mothers often face in their walk of motherhood. I also wore my maternal health awareness t-shirt to create some additional awareness! :)

 My yummy salad I made for my lunch at work.

 The back of the t-shirt.

  Blood donation going well. :)

Poetry Tea Time...

We continue our tradition of poetry tea time, started several years ago, as and when time allows. It was frigid this past Sunday (19th January) and so we had a time of rest and relaxation, reading books and drinking cups of tea, inside the living room. Poetry tea times are awesome!

 I read from this brilliant book.

 Eliza reaches for the tea pot.

Eliza and Riaan love poetry tea time!

Turkey Vultures Galore...

I was driving down the Main Street in Odon, Indiana, recently. I glanced up and saw masses of large dark turkey vultures congregating together on the town's water tower and in surrounding trees. It was worth pulling over to safely snap a couple of photos. I just wish I had had my proper camera with me on this occasion!

A closer look through the digital zoom. :)

Bringing back the Beans...

It's been a while (years, in fact) since we last played this fun game, Bohnanza (or Beans), together. Last weekend, Riaan went into the games room - our spare bedroom - and came out with the box and declared that he wanted to learn how to play and thus we should play it again. We created new happy memories while reminiscing about the fun times spent playing this game on Mercy Ships, where we first learned to play it. One of the last times we played Bohnanza on the ship was in November 2012, with our good friends Phil and Ali. I subsequently played it again when I was back on the ship in 2014, but since then we have hardly played it all. It's time to change that!

Soggy January...

We've had a very wet and rainy January, and as it stands we're on track to receive at least double our usual rainfall for this month. This has meant that the ground is quite soggy and saturated. Temperatures have also been quite mild and this means that the month is trending as much warmer than normal. We received 4.6 inches (around 115 mm) of rain over a 48-hour period between the 9th and 11th of January. We didn't have any major flooding issues, but we certainly had a fast-flowing river going through our back garden!

 View out the front door to the corner.

 Water flowing to the storm drain.

Lots of standing water around this letter box near our place.

Homeschool Preschool Fun...

Our eldest has been doing some informal homeschooling recently. He has been learning his numbers and letters, and I've also introduced him to the continents and oceans of the world. He loves learning and is soaking up so much knowledge. We're so proud of him!

Working on his numbers and world geography. :)

New Year's Eve 2019...

We spent the last few hours of 2019 with good friends in Washington here. We played board games, drank steaming cups of tea and ate yummy snacks. There was plenty of laughter and good fellowship and community to welcome in 2020. It was the first time in several years that we went somewhere (and were awake) for the New Year!

Food, fun and fellowship for the New Year!

Festive Cycle...

Despite having a cold, I decided to go for a brief cycle on Saturday, 28th December. It was a balmy 16 degrees Celcius (61 deg F) and I did a lovely 18 kilometre (around 12 miles) loop on my trusty bike. And once home, I treated myself to a brown cow - a traditional South African drink and a favourite in our family! :)

A brown cow is made by mixing Coca-Cola with milk. :)

Christmas Day 2019...

We had a very relaxing Christmas day. We spent the morning at home, opening presents, before having an early lunch of leftovers from our Christmas Eve dinner. And since the weather was perfect and it was a balmy 16 deg Celcius (61 deg F), we decided to spend the afternoon at one of our favourite state parks, Spring Mill State Park.

The kiddos played at one of the play areas and we then took a lovely hike along a quiet and peaceful trail. We also went up to the old gristmill and marvelled at its advanced technological intricacies for the 1800s. We even walked up to the source of the stream that provides the water for the mill - Hamer Cave. The water flows out of this underground cave system and makes its way down the valley. The flume (that carries the water to the mill) begins a short distance below the cave.

Spending our Christmas outdoors was a much-needed time of fresh air and quiet for the soul. It may very well become a recurring part of our Christmas traditions. :)

 We continued our tradition of putting a shoe outside our door the night before Christmas. :)

 Christmas morning present time.

 Jungle gym at Spring Mill State Park.

 Riaan had a blast!

 Eliza was pensive as always. :)

 Hiking through the forest.

 The bare trees make fantastic patterns above us.

 Riaan was very excited to find a lamp-post. It was as if we were in Narnia! (Which he has been listening to lately.)

 Red-bellied woodpecker.

 The flume that carries the water to the mill.

 The historic mill.

 Water flowing down through the Pioneer Village.

 Hamer Cave (to the left), source of the mill's water.

 The pump house at the upper dam.

 The lower dam wall - to the left - where the flume begins its journey to the water mill.

Walking back after a lovely Christmas day!

Christmas Eve 2019...

We held our family Christmas meal on Christmas Eve, as is our annual tradition here. I spent most of the day in the kitchen, working on the stuffing and the chicken, roasting potatoes and other vegetables. We had a lovely meal followed by Christmas pudding, mince pies and brandy butter.

After the meal, we spent time doing a puzzle, playing games, and watching some of the BBC Chronicles of Narnia series, based on the books by C. S. Lewis. Watching the BBC Narnia series during the school holidays was always a family tradition of ours back in Cape Town. It was a fun evening spent together as a family. :)

 Our stockings hanging in the living room.

 Mini mince pies. Yum!

 Mixing up the stuffing for Christmas Eve dinner.

 Roast potatoes are the best!

 Our Christmas roast chicken. :)

 Christmas cracker corny jokes.

 Pouring brandy over the pudding before setting it alight. It's a Commonwealth tradition.

 Christmas pudding with brandy butter.

Watching Narnia as a special treat on Christmas Eve.

 Puzzle fun.

 Playing a card game at the dining room table.

 Opening one present - slippers - before bed.

My little reindeer-girl. :)