"What would you like mumma? Pumpkin soup, or tea? "
"Oh a cup of tea would be lovely".
"OK, I'll be just a minute".
"There you go mumma"
"MMMM delicious".
"No you have to drink it like this!", animated pretend slurp slurp.
"Oh I see, like that".
Lemon verbena tea.
With leaves and flowers freshly plucked from the garden.
The little Bowerbird knows you can make real lemon verbena tea, she and her big sister like to make a real pot to have with honey. It's tangy and very refreshing, my favourite herbal tea. She also likes to pick the leaves for smelling and squeezing.
The beautiful wooden play kitchen was a gorgeous gift from Christine at Slow Living Essentials, whose girls had outgrown it. It sits right outside our front door, creating happy chaos on our verandah. Whenever she gets a chance, this little one is cooking up all sorts of delights. She needed yellow water for her pumpkin soup yesterday so we added some food die. Usually there is something from the garden in the brew, particularly bits of succulent that are easy to break and squish.
The beautiful apron she is wearing was a gift from Nanna, who was given it from a kind neighbour who knew she had granddaughters. So much love and generosity is overwhelming. Makes me feel like another cup of tea.
Speaking of generosity, I have been getting lots of spoiling from Nenek (Indonesian for grandma, also known as mum to me). Nenek went to my brother's today, after staying with us for a week. I'm feeling exhausted. She is such a whirlwind of activity, even when she's ill, I wish I'd inherited a little more of her busyness. I was meant to be looking after her, but she did a great job helping sort me out. There's a reason why her house looks immaculate, and mine does not. It was so lovely to have her to play with, we've been visiting local cafes and opshops, cooking up a storm, and taking a daily stroll of the garden. My middle one came home from school and said "Where's Nenek?". Even though we'd explained she was going to my brothers, he honed in on a more positive comment. "But I thought she said it wasn't a proper goodbye?", "Yes, not a proper goodbye, we'll see her again before she goes, but she won't be staying with us". "Oh". Yes "Oh", perhaps that's why I'm all worn out, even 1/2 goodbyes are hard. Jakarta is such a long way from home.
Our awesome Autumn has put her well on the road to recovery, this eternal sunshine is ridiculously divine. Just a couple more days of bliss before the cold change arrives. I need some foul wet blustery days in order to feel inclined to clean the house, rather than frolicking in the garden.
Linking up with 1000 Homes of Happiness Playlist, even though we're only just in the outdoors, there is definitely some fun with nature happening in our kitchen.