Gnoman Empire

In the middle of the Aussie bush, there is a little place called Gnomesville. There is no infrastructure, apart from a couple of picnic tables. There is no signage explaining how this place came to be. It has not been created, started or promoted by anyone in particular. It just is. A little place where gnomes seem to live and breed at an incredible rate.

Little clusters of gnomes spread far and wide.

As it was quite a drive to visit Gnomesville, we talked in the car about a list of gnomes we would search for. K suggested a gnome sitting on a toilet - and she found one.

Lots of little shelters are scattered about - from sheds, to doll houses. Some have been left by a particular family, sporting group, community group or some other association of people. Others could possibly have been erected by the gnomes themselves.

A thirsty Gnome.

Although the label looks like this 'MCG' may have started with the Hawks, some West Coast Eagles gnomes have since joined the game and possibly some umpires as well.

K has fun deciding which paths to follow and acting as the 'leader' for the day.

A few gnomes have been lovingly hand painted. This couple stand out amongst the many store bought individuals.

The gnomes continue along a long path through the forest - well past the picnic table in the backgound.

You have to keep an eye up as well - gnomes appear hanging from the trees, in the bushes and tree stumps and everywhere in between.

 

A gnome with a wheelbarrow and one with a lawn mower were both on our 'list'. We found them both together, sitting on a stump.

A gnome with stars - on the list.

The gnomes have started spreading over the fence and into the bush/paddock. I wonder what the owner of this land thinks of the encrouching tribe - and countless tourists.

These sleeping gnomes were cute.

 

 

 

 

 

K liked the ballerina gnome.

Hanging around.

 

On a warm day it was lovely to walk though the shaded bush and see something you just don't see everyday. Although we weren't organised to bring and leave our own gnome, there were plenty of other families doing just that. As the gnomes have continued to spread and more and more area is taken over - it will be interesting to see what happens with Gnomesville in the future. I can see the local council deciding the traffic, gnomes and tourists need some managing - and subsequently fencing the area and charging an 'entry fee'. You never know. Gnomesville could continue to floursih under the watchful eyes of the gnomes themselves, or big brother could finally see an opportunity and want to play a part.

Ho Ho Ho

Christmas is always fun and this year was no exception. K woke at Nanna and Grandad's at her usual wake up time of just after 5am and excitedly hustled Mum and Dad out of bed.

Her stocking (large bag) contained all the necessary things a nearly five year old desires - new pencils, toy lizards, slime, books, tattoos, marbles and more.

In previous years I have wrapped gifts from Father Christmas. This year they were all together in the bag, or nearby on the floor.

Her larger present from Father Christmas was a little shop - complete with new cash register, scales and play (Australian) money. K loves playing shop. I hope the new addition will continue this role playing for some years to come as we learn more about money, addition, subtraction and other skills.

Father Christmas also delivered some dress ups.

Christmas morning was spent as Superman - before it got too hot to be wearing much at all.

About a week later K also wore this outfit to the shops when Mum went to do the grocery shopping. It actually resulted in quite a few adults greeting/chatting to her which was good - we need to work on answering adults when they speak to us (K frequently refuses to answer/acknowledge adults).

Due to the temperature soring well above 40 degrees, a few inches of water provided a welcome opportunity to get and stay wet for most of the day. The adults all sat outside and the pool was well supervised.

On Boxing Day we started to explore our gifts. Here K is playing with her 'slime' whilst dressed as a witch.

Fireman K also went for a walk to find some fires.

Talking to the other Fireman to see where they are.

Spraying water on the roof.

 

The next few days were spent in and out of the pool due to the heatwave that continued.

 

Christmas was lovely. It was particularly nice to see the focus shift to the little kids with them the centre of everyone's attention. Most of my cousins now have little tackers and whereas a few years ago there were a lot of adults, now the prominence of small children in the festivities has actually I think ensured more peace and greater enjoyment in the day.

Reindeer Food

For Christmas gifts this year, K made Reindeer food and Reindeer noses, thanks to some other clever ladies and kids on the web.

Reindeer love oats - and the blue sparkles (jelly crystals) ensures the reindeer can see the food shining on the lawn.

K had fun filling the bags to distribute to her friends at daycare.

K spread the food on the lawn at Nana and Grandad's house where we were staying Christmas eve.

We made 'reindeer noses' for the adults/teachers at daycare and other adults who wanted to say Merry Christmas to. K had a lot of fun counting 8 brown and 1 red nose into each bag.

I apologise in that I can't find the link to thank the person/s for the above templates. I will add it in as soon as I can track it down. If you do a search for 'reindeer food' you will find plenty of crafty ladies sharing their ideas.

I think Reindeer Food may become another one of our traditions - at least for a little while whilst we still believe in reindeer that visit us on Christmas Eve.