I’m not sure if there is any nicer way to spend my Sunday mornings than eating a nice breakfast; grannying around the garden; talking to the rabbits; and typing an update straight into my Squarespace post window.

The cyclone Lusci is moving down the west coast of New Zealand. Here in Auckland we had blustery winds yesterday - lost one rabbit hutch roof and branch off the lemon tree - but all and all it felt like the worst failed to eventuate here in the eastern suburbs. Looks like the Nelson Bays and Christchurch are coping rain and high winds overnight and today. Hope not too much water falls on the already saturated Canturbury and overburdened storm drainage systems of Christchurch.

So today was supposed to be stormy and wet here in Auckland, but it’s turned out to be grey and still. The ground is wet, but the rain is staying away. Bunnies are out in the garden, pottering around as only they can. 

Garden visitors

We have quite a lot of birdlife in the garden. One of the big draw-cards for birds is the bird bath in the middle of what we call the rose garden. It’s only a ‘rose garden’ by the skin of it’s teeth. Mostly it’s a round of dirt currently looking more like mud.

Birds love to drink and splash about in the bird bathThis little fella has been eating bugs all morning. He’d smoosh them along the ground, this way and that, and as bits fell off he’d eat them. When he’d had his fill it was time for a wash. We’ve never sure why birds like this bath so much. I know so many other people buy expensive bird baths only to find they’re never used by the feathered fraternity.

I used to think the birds felt safe in this bath because once upon a time it was surrounded by tall, thorny rose bushes; but as those have pretty much all been binned, it must be the bath itself as well as it’s position in the garden. Birds have a great view of who is watching them here, which is why it’s a bit difficult to snap a photo of them about their ablotions as they see me and my camera through the dining room window and usually fly away.

Grooming my next petWe also get a lot of cats in our garden with only one of them being ours. They like to lie on the fencetops and imagine eating rabbit for dinner. Mostly Bailey, our Jack Russell dog barks them away (she likes the rabbits but hates cats), but I’ve taken a liking to this chap. I think he’s a stray, and I’ve been feeding him on the compost-heap wall for the last couple of months.

He’s not looking as scrawny as he used to and he’s chasing the rabbits less and less. Sometimes, early in the morning, I see him leaving one of the empty hutches having slept in the straw for the night.

I think I’m making progress with him. While I can’t get too close, he’s stopped hissing at me and started meowing. He waits on the roof of the shed next door for me to pour food out in the mornings and evenings. By the time our dear old fat 12 year old Trixie decides to stop waking up, I should have this one named and tamed.

Breakfast

Quitting sugar has made me rethink how and what food I eat. 

Poached egg on a bed of greens

It’s not unusal to have a cooked breakfast in the weekends. This morning I felt like a poached egg. The old me (pre-IQS) would have had two poached eggs on buttered toast and a cup of black tea with sugar. That used to be a very satisfying start to a lazy Sunday.

Poached eggs on a bed of greens - you get two pictures because it was so delicious.This morning I had one poached egg on a bed of wilted spinach, zucchini, and avocado with a drizzle of olive oil. I took my iron suppliment right before I start eating my greens in the morning. Usually there’s some vitiamin C in the form on lemons on the menu to help the iron absorption, but this morning I’m all out of them so am relying on the green veg instead.

I’ve replaced that carb base of toast with greens and try and get those leafy vegetables into my system as early in the day as possible. Some mornings during the week I’ve been having green smoothies which really get those nutrients into my digestive system toot-sweet. 

Coco-nutty cerealI also added a hand full of homemade nuts and coconut cereal to a bowl with a tumble of fresh blueberries and a splash of coconut milk. This combo breakfast is fantastic. Sometimes as I’m falling asleep at night I have a gleeful feeling because I know I get to eat that when I wake up in the morning. Coco Nutty homemade cereal tastes amazing and easily keeps me energetic through the whole morning.

And instead of this breakfast being a satisfying start to a lazy Sunday; it’s now a satisfying rev-up for an energised Sunday. 

Rescue remedy

Twice now, since getting my new car, I’ve grabbed the wrong keys from the key rack by the door, and managed to lock myself out of the house and the car at the same time standing holding a key ring with none of the right ones on them.

At least the second time, I had my phone. I called my daughter, who just lives up the road and has a key to our house, but she couldn’t come around. Fortunately, my seven year old grand daughter has recently learned how to ride her two-wheeler. She was more than eager to come and rescue Grandma.

What an amazing kid and what a super-growing-up thing to do as well as another reason why living close to my children is a great idea.

This is what rescue looks like: Tandia biked over with the spare house keys.I have a few days off this week and am off to Melbourne to have dinner and a few drinks with friends. What a jet-setter!