A new pendant for Christmas 2011 - giveaway

Well it's not entirely new, it's our beloved MIA pendant, you know the silver circle necklace worn by Johannah Griggs on Better Homes and Garden. It's been with us since we started and is one of our signature pendants.  Lots of our customers loved it but didn't have enough room to fit their entire family.  Now, we've decided to introduce  it using a smaller font as well, which means up to 46 characters can fit around the pendant.

Perfect personalised gift for Grandmas and Nanna's. Or someone with a large family!
You can win your very own, simply tell us which name you'd like to call it and why. The pendant is valued at $250.  Leave a comment on the blog and your details or under the image on facebook. Winners announced on Monday 21st November 8pm and the pendant is released for sale on Tuesday 22nd at 9am.

Have you ever forgotten something very important?

Well I must confess.... like all Mums we lead busy lives, with extracurricular activities, working, maintaining a house and caring for children, tasks here and there ... Often some things are forgotten along the way.... some not so important and some very important.

It was a sunny Wednesday afternoon, I was in town doing a few jobs, Miss Lulu was at daycare and Bella Boo with her familycarer.  My car was being serviced and I was running behind schedule. The car was taking longer than it was meant to  and as I was waiting around for it to be ready, kept thinking that there was something that I should be doing...... After a horrible sinking feeling, realised that Augie had gone home on the bus but there wasn't anyone to meet him... Now ours isn't your standard bus stop, it's in the middle of a gravel  road and maybe a car or three a day would pass, no bus shelter nearby and 5kms from our house, and there isn't any mobile phone service.... Nearly too far for me to walk, let alone a 6 year old boy whose day on the bus started at 7.25am.

After I pulled my heart from the ground, all of these thoughts ran through my head, he's left out there by himself that he'd be in tears, a random person (not that likely considering the lack of traffic) could have picked him up... Then I rang my mother in law, who like a 'supergranny' travelled at the speed of light to get to the bus stop. And in the meantime I wiped my tears and headed home not knowing what state I was going to find Augie....

Well it's fortunate that he's grown up to be a resilient child, our kindly bus driver patiently waited for 35 minutes for someone to arrive (ours is the last stop)... and then as he drove down the last 5 kms to our house met 'supergranny' on the road. You see he didn't want to drive to the house because he would have missed me on the road and he was worried  I'd be concerned that the bus wasn't at the stop (little did he know I was 50kms away) and he also didn't know if there were any adults at koolaman as he wouldn't drop Augie off and leave him to his own devices..... God bless him!

As for Gus' emotional state, he had a great trip home, wasn't concerned at all, in fact he enjoyed it as he had an uninterrupted ear with the bus driver  and the bus driver said that he shared many an interesting story (not sure if I like that or not).

Since that fateful day there have been a few systems popped in place!  I have a daily alarm on my phone for pre-school pick ups, school pick ups and bus pick-ups! And it goes 15 minutes early for me to make sure that I have enough time to pop arrangements in place, if they aren't already.  The bus' UHF radio has been repaired and the bus driver can call up the houses or the boys in the paddocks if needed and a UHF radio has also been installed in the car. And finally everyone at koolaman are made aware of any changes to the bus routine..

Have you ever forgotten something very important? I'd love to hear your thoughts.... 

Arriving at the bus stop, and I'm there to take him home!

Mother's Day 2011

How are you going to spend Mother's Day 2011?

It's sowing time at Koolaman Station and it's usually a picnic in the paddock while the boys are sowing the wheat crop. This year won't be any different, with a sausage on the bbq,  marshmallows for the kids to toast. Mother's Day is a quiet day, at least I don't have to worry about dishes. Last year the kids made special cupcakes complete with parasols.....

Don't forget to pop your Mother's Day order in by midnight tonight for WA, QLD and NT addresses, Visit our online store to place your order for one of our unique Mother's Day gifts in sterling silver or 9ct gold. Other states, have until midnight tomorrow 27th April to decide on what Mum would like this Mother's Day. If it's for a grandmum, what about the SOPHIE pendants with grandchildren's initials on each tag, a Mum who wears gold the GRACE pendant is perfect and for a Mum who has everything, try  the EDWARD keytag



SOPHIE sterling silver pendants - perfect gift for grandma



We're giving away a Liesel bangle this April for anyone who visits our stands at Magnolia Square or any of the other markets and fairs and pops their name in the giveaway....  The March winner was H Colyer from Joslin SA



LIESEL  bangle



The good things about living in the country! (and married to a farmer)

You can ring the pharmacist for medical advice (he's kind of like the local Dr anyway)  and he knows you and the kids. You can even ring the local DR and get to speak to them too!

That we can take Merv his lunch and enjoy a long picnic with him down in the paddock under a tree.

Take-Away food simply isn't an option.

When Merv's not busy he comes in for several cuppas a day and takes the kids with him to check on the sheep.... and I have a moment to catch up on the jobs of the day.

Stopping on the side of the road for a toilet stop for three children, people driving past slow down to check if everything is okay.

The lamb and pork we eat is grown on our own property. Chooks have free range and we have the most delicious eggs! 

When the mailman arrives, he calls us on the radio to say that the mail has arrived , the previous one used to drop the mail on the kitchen bench.

The day I developed mastitis with my newborn second child, after having previously having experienced it with my first child, I rang my Dr who is 200km away who faxed the script through to the pharmacist and my mother in law who was in town shopping brought the antibiotics home with her.

Taking things home on "appro" still happens in country towns. 

The mailman only comes two days a week, but our next door neighbour works in town every day, and when I need to post parcels and I'm not going into town, I ring my neighbour and hang the parcels on the grid and she picks them up on her way past.

Run out to the clothesline (yes, we still have room for a clothesline in the yard) after a shower covered in a towel and not worry about any neighbours popping over the fence.

Our kids can ride their bikes on the tracks and I don't have to worry about any traffic.

Our kids at koolaman are fortunate to have their grandparents living next door and can ride their bikes or walk between the houses. 

You can still get driveway service at fuel stations

We know everyone in our street (road), in the district...

Very rarely, does someone just pop in and surprise us in our pj's.

It's a long way to come to Koolaman  for a visit and I love how visitors always stay longer than just for a cuppa.

These are some of the advantages of living in the country, on a farm and married to a farmer! There are plenty of negative but we're looking at the glass half full!

What are the good things where you live?

Life down on the farm

koolaman wool

Stacey and I grew up on a farm, and although it was a small distance from town, and we sometimes felt isolated, it's nothing in comparison to living at Koolaman. Koolaman is 50km from the nearest town and 70km from Balranald.  Today, as I negotiated (I wouldn't say drove - because that would infer I was in control)  the 40km stretch of dirt road into town, I wished that we lived a little closer to town, that we had a bitumen road from our front door which led us there. The deep boggy muddy stretch that in dry times would be described as a road took us twice as long as normal to negotiate. I also then thought of some of the things that we've done in the past week and how fortunate our children are growing up on a farm and the things they are able to experience.

It's been shearing time at Koolaman this week. The culmination of a years hard work, nurturing the sheep to grow a fine wool, to have it shorn off the sheep and sold at auction. It's a rewarding time and it's also one which creates a buzz around the property. There are ten staff on the shearing team who stay in the quarters at Koolaman during shearing, consisting of the cook, shearers, rouseabouts, wool roller, classer and a presser.

The kids have loved interacting with these visitors and dare I say the team have enjoyed having young kids interested in what they're doing. I love that our kids know where the wool for their jumpers come from as well as their roast lamb!

Lulu

And, as well as one of the busiest times of the year with shearing we had a visitor in the form of a 'crop duster'.  A most unusual sight in this Mallee/Riverina area. This year due to the substantial rainfall that has fallen, the crops at koolaman are looking the best they ever have. With high yields, (provided the locusts are contained - that's another blog to come) predicted, robust grain prices this year is something farmers have been hoping for ever since the drought began.

The reason for the visit from the crop duster is that although the rains have created these monster crops, it's also created problems with stripe rust which is a fungal disease and it loves this wet rainy weather. There is only way to remove it and that's to spray it with a fungicide and to do so by ground would mean that we'd knock down too much of the crop. The only option was to call in the 'crop duster'. If you've never seen these pilots in action you're missing out.... dodging trees and powerlines all the time spraying the crop from a few metres above it. Here is a photo of the plane negotiating a tree in the paddock.

Crop duster spraying fungicide on the koolaman wheat crop

That one day in September....

Months of training, every Tuesday and Thursday evening and then a football game every Saturday (which took up the entire day by the time we drove the 260km round trip to get  to the away matches)  every Saturday for the past 21 weeks.  The two local teams, the seniors and the reserves team made it to the finals. I admire the dedication, and the committment that the players have.  I also think more should be made of the committment that wives and partners (particuarly those with children) have too!

Last Saturday we barracked for Merv's team in their attempt to take home the Grand Final trophy for the reserves and unfortunately it wasn't to be.... Even after Joh's super effort at creating t-shirts and everyone wearing their red and white, the footy team lost by 12 points.  The senior match result was different and they won by a large margin. The disappointment felt by the reserves overshadowed by the win of the seniors.

It's back to the drawing board and as we look forward to free weekends and Tuesdays and Thursday nights at home, 2011 will be here before we know it.

somewhere OVER THE RAINBOW...

Rainbows never fail to amaze me with their beauty and this week we were treated to a double rainbow  over  Koolaman. You can see the main rainbow and the second one popping out on the right. 

Here is mother nature in all her beauty with a double treat for us at Koolaman.... And to wash away the rainbows five minutes after this image was taken  the skies opened up and it rained and rained and rained..

There are some organised koolaman clients out there who have been placing their fathers day orders for our cufflinks, keyrings and pendants.   Here's a sample of what we've been busy creating. To ensure your Fathers Day order is received in time, please place your order at koolamandesigns.com.au before the 30th August.  And look out for the new cufflinks which will be launched next week, we know you're going to love them!

 

Winter Holidays @ koolaman

School holidays are over. On the last day of the holidays it rained for most of the day today and the girls and I were looking for fun things to do inside. Lulu's idea was to paint our nails, a beautician in the making.... It looks like it might have been torturous and bloody but there was far too much laughter happening while the toes were being murdered. Lulu & Belle might need a bit more practice of painting the nails and less of the toes!

We had a couple of days in Melbourne, where we went to a footy match to see Gus' beloved Hawks... Melbourne turned on the cold weather and despite our best efforts we had to duck out at three quarter time and watch the last quarter of the "best game of the year" from our hotel.

 Watching the players warm up... and getting a bit of practice in for when the Hawks score a goal....

We can highly recommend dinner at Carltons Bistro Two Dozen. A beautiful restaurant we'll visit again, next time without the kids. Not because kids aren't welcome, that's not the case at all, we arrived early and we were all waited on by the staff, all delighted to be able to help us out. No, the reason I want to go again, is to enjoy a drink in the wine room downstairs, before dinner and then be able to sit back and take my time  digesting the  delicious meal. It's situated at 180 Rathdowne street and is easy to find, I'm looking forward to another date with bistro two dozen...

Gus in the wine cellar at Bistro Two Dozen

Gus Lulu and Belle loved the Disneyland on Ice show...

And, don't forget Father's Day will soon be upon us... We've got some new things to show you soon but in the meantime you can admire the Henry cufflinks here.  Pop the 30th August into your diaries. This is the last date for orders to ensure delivery for Fathers Day.

Fun in Brisvegas...

Brisbane is a beautiful place to visit. We love the weather in June, with it's subtle hints of winter. Dining alfresco in the middle of June wouldn't happen at Koolaman....but it does in Brisbane and it's absolutely delightful.

The weekend was packed with action as we exhibited koolaman designs in two locations. We were at the the ever gorgeous Mathilda's Market on Saturday morning and the busy three day Pregnancy Babies & Children's Expo at South bank Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Our able assistants Tessa, Tara and Susan helped us over the weekend. Thanks girls!

We saw some interesting things around Brisbane and here is one of them if you look carefully you'll see a  small dog in a seatbelt on the back of a motorbike......only in Brisvegas....

Here is another it's the urban pram bike the taga bike which wouldn't go well on the bumpy gravel roads at
Koolaman but wouldn't it be delightful if you were in the city and had to pop down to the shops, with the baby and toddler in tow.....

And finally a very big  thank you to everyone who popped their details in our weekend giveaway.


Congratulations to Kelly Rowling who won the TULLY bracelet in our combined Mathildas Market/Pregnancy Babies and Childrens Expo giveaway.

If you're in Canberra this Sunday, visit us at Mathilda's Market at the Hyatt Hotel 9am -1pm, we'll be exhibiting the entire silver with character colllection we'll also have another giveaway, this time with the popular  MIA pendant as worn by Johanna Griggs and Julie Goodwin.

See you in Canberra on Sunday!

Brisbane here we come!

Look out for us in Brisbane this weekend. We're going to be in two locations! FRIDAY, SATURDAY and SUNDAY 18th - 20th we'll be at the Pregnancy, Babies and Children's Expo at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, South Bank Brisbane. Save yourself $14 and download a ticket to the Expo from our website under the exhibit tab or download from here. You can get the best advice and find out the latest parenting products and innovations. A must for pregnant and new parents!

CHLOE pendant pictured with a large ball chain

We'll have on display our entire silver with character collection, the silver seeds collection and some new items not yet available at our online store. We'll be personalising all of the orders on site, if you're looking for something special, visit us, place your order and wait around for pick up.

SATURDAY June 19th ind us at Mathilda's Market 9am -1pm. The entire collection will be on display here for four hours only at the Brisbane Racing Club at Eagle Farm, 230 Lancaster Road, Ascot. Mathildas Market is a fabulous niche market that offers unique, stylish and affordable baby & kids goods that are lovingly handmade or manufactured. The market is indoors, rain hail or shine you'll be able to view koolaman designs and the collection as well as gorgeous other stall holders and their wares like Suzy Allen and her gorgeous collection of little skirts, tops, little frocks and rain coats. At Mathilda's we'll take your order and the order can either be picked up from the PBC expo, South Bank on Sunday or posted free of charge to you on Monday.

And a little of what's been happening at koolaman station, we've had some tradesmen creating an outdoor space for us to use all year round... shade in summer and protection from rain in winter and what better way to keep the tradesmen returning but to make delicious morning teas and lunches...

Gussy, Lulu and Belle enjoyed these MORE than the "tradies" did!!

Play time at koolaman

Sometimes I can be a 'bad mum'! The one that doesn't have paints in the house and the craft box is packed away because the mess last time was too much to cope with. After all isn't that what playgroup and pre-school are for anyway! Besides, we have a backyard as big as a city and there are so many things to play and do outside. I faltered this week and in my haste in becoming a "good mum" got the playdough bits and bobs out and we made some playdough. But it was too sticky! Not like the one at pre-school at all which is perfect, doesn't drop too many crumbs, doesn't stick to your hands and feels as soft as a babys bottom. 
If anyone can help me with a great play dough recipe then please pop it into the comments section. You don't need to have a google id, just ensure you leave contact details  or email them to us at koolaman designs. For your trouble we're randomly going to give away one koolaman designs apron, embroidered with our logo and just the thing for a "Good Mum" to be wearing in the kitchen!

 

Washing up! koolaman style

The beach

After a family gathering in Geelong we spent a couple of days at the beach. Lulu couldn't remember going to the beach before and Bella Boo (18 months) hadn't ever experienced beach sand between her toes and the smell and the taste of salty water.  The kids ran and played and swam and then did it all again, and at the end of the day fell into bed exhausted.

 

And, on the days when we thought it too cold to swim, the kids from koolaman, stripped off and played and swam in their underwear.

Holidays and Mud

As I mentioned in my previous blogs Koolaman Station has experienced a large amount of rain in the past month. Luckily for us and unlike our farming friends in the north we haven't experienced floods.

The rains resulted in some large mud puddles and with cousins visiting for the New Year, the lure of the mud was too much. Gus Lulu and their cousin Tom ran, jumped, splashed and frolicked in the mud puddles.

And, here is Ned. Ned is Tom's youngest  brother and he would have loved to have been playing in the mud, but after breaking his leg on Christmas Day and now in a plaster cast from his chest to his ankles he was confined to the wheel chair or lying on the bean bags .

Fortunately for Ned and his family his outlook is very good. His break will heal and he'll be able to run and jump and splash with us in the next holidays.  As you can see from this photo Ned's in very good spirits. He even managed to work out how to thrust himself off the bean bag and drag himself  around the room by the end of his holiday at Koolaman.

Harvest at Koolaman

Harvest time is one of my favourite times of the year, it means summer, Christmas and holidays. The culmination of six months of preparing the land for sowing, then seven months growing the wheat it's finally harvest time. All the preparation in the world can't make a crop grow if it doesn't have any rain. This season  started to be a very promising year indeed but with a two month period without rain in the middle of the growing season saw our bumper crops reduced to  'hopefully there will be a harvest' crop. 
Koolaman was fortunate and we did receive some rain much later in the season and we watched  our bumper crops reduced to below average yields but at least we've able to harvest some wheat. And amazingly, because of rain (the most amount of rain to fall in one week in over twelve year) the harvest has been delayed well into December which hasn't happened for years.

Harvest images at Koolaman Station

 

Master Gus turns 5

We love birthdays at koolaman, any excuse to get friends together for a party. The most recent party was for Master Gus who turned five. To celebrate I tried to make a 'chick hicks' cake however inspiration eluded me and I made use of a toy car on top of the cake.
Fortunately at Magnolia Square, we met Kate from Sambellina who has the most beautiful partywares. The Sambellina party wares made up for the uninspiring birthday cake. Stacey and I admired the bright coloured plates and cups from across the row at Magnolia Square and took some home with us for Gus' Birthday.

On the road again

We found this echidna wandering along the road as we were returning from the first Sydney Magnolia Square event, which was great fun and a huge success. There were lots of Sydney koolaman designs - silver with character customers who came to view and purchase their pendants. We were busy hand stamping the pendants for customers orders over the three days. We can't wait until the Christmas Magnolia Square in Sydney when we return.