i'm grateful for . . . things to do on a grey skies kind of day

Greetings all,
Joining in with Maxabella Loves today (it's back) . . . i'm grateful for . . . what you can do when you're home with grey skies looming, which are bringing the children down with cabin fever & wishing they could be swimming, bush walking, riding bikes or just having fun in the sun.  Our family car is still at the mechanics, sure it's a million dollar service by now - they're waiting on parts as our 16y.o. beloved Landcruiser needs a bit of love & some hose replacements, so we can't drive anywhere as a family of 6. 
Anyway . . . welcome to my House of Happy Distractions.

 Under the pegola at our back sliding door . . . the children planted this bounty of fresh herbs & salad ingredients on NYE.  They water it lovingly & update me on lettuce leaf growth & are on constant snail watch alert.  The half wine barrel continues to serve us well (truth be told, we had to tip it upsidedown, rearrange all the wooden panels & nail the metal bands back into place to revive it before adding fresh soil & planting) . . . + that $5 wooden tool box finally has a purpose!!  I planted some agaves in the tool box between the herbs so it's not empty in Winter.  I have my green thumb moments!!

 I started cutting into the new fabrics from my latest RetroMummy collection, that kept me happy indoors too & maybe tomorrow i'll actually sew something together. 

 My husband made his first ever cheesecake, a chocolate one, assisted by our eldest daughter, mmmm.  Those beaters didn't stand a chance with our son.  I've had a sliver of the cake, delicious, but remember, diet!!  I should stop saying diet, it's just a healthy lifestyle, but i can happily blab that i've lost 3kg+ this week!!  Trust me, i have the sore bike bottom to prove it.

 We had an early dinner with some amazing garlic, rosemary, fennel seed & olive oil on sour dough bread fresh today from the markets - i even nibbled a slice of bread, mmmm, carbs.

Goodness, what on earth could this be turning into??  Amazing what you can do with a $17 giant glass bowl/ vase/ vessel & $4 in pebbles & shells from Hot Dollar.  Stay tuned for more on this particular children's adventure.

 On last night's 12km solo bike ride, i did stop to pick smell the roses, some just happened to fall into the cane basket on my bike & make their way home with me.  I also swallowed a fly, oh, i couldn't cough it up, eekk!!  My Bear Grylls moment.
 

 More free fun - our middle daughter found the bubble maker her teacher gave her on the last day of school & off she went with her twin sister onto the driveway.

 This kept them entertained under those looming clouds for ages.

 Some huge bubbles were coming out of that hoop.

There you go, it's not all doom & gloom on those grey days in the school holidays, between breaks in the rain, just look around you OR come over to my place.  My mantra is only boring people get bored.  My children never dare use the 'boring' word!!  Guess what, not a television on in the house all day!! 
Then the finale, the knock out blow . . . a 6km walk around the lake after eating that cheesecake for dessert, mmmm.  I burnt double calories as i had to piggie back a weasy 9y.o. the last couple of kilometres home, facing into the cold wind.  Score!!  We'll all sleep well tonight.  Love Posie
PS last chance for the Tangled movie ticket giveaway!!