Belated family Christmas.

My family of origin are quite spread out (NSW, VIC, NT) and it was too tricky at Christmas time for us to all get together. Instead, we decided a belated family Christmas was the way to go and, taking advantage of the recent long weekend, we made our way from Alice Springs, Darwin, Sydney and Wollongong to my sister and her partner's place in country Victoria. I love it when we all get together, even more so now that Hazel is here. We ate, drank, patted the horses, chatted, laughed until we cried (a certain book about poo is to blame for that!), drank coffee, ate some more and the menfolk got stuck into building a railing for the deck. Here's a snapshot of our time together. It might not have been a 'real' Christmas, but it was everything Christmas should be - without the stress of the silly season.

(Linking up with Em for The Beetle Shack's weekly stills collections)

The holiday feeling, it lingers.

Linking to the lovely collection of weekly Stills by Em at The Beetle Shack.

A treat for ya feet.

Would you believe, I have never had a pedicure. Nope! Not ever. Partly due to my excessively ticklish feet, but mostly due to laziness. That's not to say my feet don't need a pedicure. Things can get a little dry and a little extremely cracked from those long summers doled out by the desert.

Here is a little treat I whipped up after a quick search of the internet (I don't even remember where I found the recipe!). Try it. Your feet will thank you for it. Mine sure did, although I have spared you a foot portrait (phew!).

Pour some olive oil into a small bowl. Stir in some sea salt. Add some drops of essential oil - I used lavender, and some fresh rosemary leaves, shredded a little. Mix it into a paste, and it's time to slather it on. Best to do it in the bath, or with a bowl of warm water handy to wash it off. But not until you've spent some time massaging it into your feet. It feels and smells a treat. 

Lavender oil from Mount Wayo Station Lavender Farm. The only thing I bought at the Alice Springs Show!

Sea salt

Rosemary...mmm

Mix. Then slather.