Life is better barefoot

And just growing and appreciating life

2012-01-17T14:43:00.001+11:00

Remember our boy?

Well he's growing just beautifully.

He can't get enough of the breast feeds and he swallows his solids down with haste.

He's come a long way from being told he would be coming home on a gastro tube and oxygen prongs.

He doesn't even really need his breathing monitor anymore. He just wears it at night.

He's very determined and pushes himself to his limits.

Even when he's almost falling asleep if we prompt him to pull himself up or push with his legs, he'll do it.

He's a little trooper, that's for sure.

And a rather handsome one at that!

He's been home now for just a little longer than he was in hospital.

They've been an enjoyable 4 months.

He's 8 months old now.

Getting away from it all

2012-01-17T14:21:00.003+11:00

There's nothing like getting away from it all. Leaving home for a couple of weeks and just being on holiday. No schedules, no household chores staring you down and beckoning you to do.

Just time.

To do with as you please.

Christmas outfits to wear. Made from pre-loved sheets and pillowcases.

Aunties and cousins to camp with and hang out with by the beach.

Beautiful beaches to explore.

And plenty of wildlife to enjoy.

To blog or not to blog

2012-01-17T13:52:00.001+11:00

I've been contemplating closing up this blog. I still think about things to post all the time and even take photo's to accompany them. I just don't seem to get around to actually writing them up and posting them.

I do like having a blog though, so I'll catch myself up to date with a quick couple of posts and see where I go from there.

Here's a pre-christmas wrap up.

Kindergarten concerts with handmade skirts made from reclaimed sheets.

Pre-school graduation.

Handmade cards and reindeer food because I can't stand those candy canes. Soooo many candy canes! Who started the tradition of giving them out anyway?

Remember those advent calendars? This year they were filled with hankies made from reclaimed sheets and handmade soaps, body butters and bath fizzes.

And my first ever homemade gingerbread houses with lots of highly processed sugary treats (made in Australia is my only saving grace here unfortunately).

Pillow gifts

2011-12-05T12:37:00.001+11:00

The kids like to leave little gifts on our pillows.

Special works of art.

Carefully folded paper craft.

Scraps to show their cutting skills.

This is what the Noodle left recently.

One for Dad.

And one for Mum.

When boys turn five

2011-11-02T14:00:00.000+11:00

Now that the Little Dude is 5 he has become a nipper.

On Sundays he can be seen running along the beach in his navy surf cap and red rashie.

Now that the Little Dude is 5 he is very confident at little athletics.

On Fridays he leaps into the long jump pit with energy and pride.

Now that the Little Dude is 5 he is getting ready for kindergarten.

A stash of second hand uniforms is building in his wardrobe.

Now that the Little Dude is 5 he is becoming much more confident.

He makes friends quickly and sometimes even talks to grown ups.

But best of all,

Now that the Little Dude has turned 5 he has had his great mates stay for a sleepover.

His best buddy and his older brother.

An afternoon of presents and cake and playing.

His favourite pasta for dinner.

A bath that holds 5 kids.

A movie.

And best friends sleeping on the floor of his room.

The best kind of party,

When a boy turns five.

Holiday Fun...

2011-10-16T12:11:00.001+11:00

In a tent.

In the sun...

and the rain...

and the wind...

that nearly blew our tarp away.

Lots of fresh air.

And friends.

And plenty of time to play

So much fun!

The smell of bananas.

2011-08-24T14:45:00.001+10:00

When bananas start to smell like bananas, that's my cue that they're too ripe for eating. The Big dude disagrees. He thinks that's when they're only just coming good. Once bananas start going brown, in my mind they are definitely only good for cooking. The Big dude thinks they still have a day or two left of eating then. When bananas become squishy and squooshy we both agree that banana recipes need to be sought. The Big dude goes straight for the cake. He has a slightly scary liking of banana cake. But when there's a whole bunch of squishy squooshy bananas, well that's just too much cake.

So I searched the fridge and came up with a almost full 1 litre container of already expired natural yoghurt. Yoghurt is like that at our place. One day they'll eat it all in one sitting, the next they wont touch the stuff. Luckily I usually find it while it's still good. Before there is any fuzzy growth.

I searched the freezer and came up with a almost empty 4 litre container of vanilla ice cream.

So I whipped up the whole lot together with a bit of added honey.

I poured it into the ice cream container and chucked it into the freezer.

When it was almost set I whipped it back up and then returned it to the freezer.

Then I had a 4 litre container of frozen banana, yoghurt, ice cream.

The Big dude and the Chook devoured it.

The Noodle quite enjoyed it.

The Little dude thought it tasted too much like smelly bananas.

He takes after his Mum.

A new kind of normal.

2011-08-01T15:53:00.005+10:00

Eleven and a half weeks ago, I was laughing at my younger sisters protruding belly. She wondered at how big it was and her eyes bulged in horror when I told her it was likely to double in size before her baby was born. Eleven and a half weeks ago the pregnancy books had it all right. The tiredness, the discomfort, the weird floaty feeling when the baby moves inside you. Eleven and a half weeks ago we laughed at the constant need to pee, the clumsiness, the forgetfulness. Eleven and half weeks ago my baby nephew was forming nicely inside his warm, dark, mothers womb.

Eleven weeks ago things went horribly wrong.
No books talked of leaking membranes at 31 weeks gestation. It's too soon! we all silently exclaimed. While out loud we reassured and laughed at a long term bed rest prognosis. Eleven weeks ago my sister was injected with steroids to help her premature babies lungs grow strong. Antibiotics were ingested to stave off infection. All to no avail. Eleven weeks ago our baby boy was born. He came by emergency caesarean. A little bundle of screaming bitter-sweet joy.

We oohed and we ahhed but silently we were scared for the tiny, naked, foetus boy. With his shiny, stretched purple skin and his little shrunken chest. Red, white and black wires attached to his body. The connected monitors with constant beeps and jagged lines keeping track of him. His heart rate. His respiration rate. His oxygen saturation. A green gastrointestinal tube taped to his chin wormed down his precious little throat into his stomach. A white long line tube for delivering nutrients was inserted into the minute veins of his tiny arm. In his stumpy, blood encrusted belly button, was an umbilical catheter for withdrawing blood and administering medications. A blue tubed ventilator fed into his lungs to keep him breathing. His hands were taped to boards and pinned to his bed to stop him moving. His face was covered in tapes and tubes so we could barely see him. His legs were bent in an awkward breach position. We couldn't hold him. We couldn't touch. We could only stand, two at a time beside his clear plastic cocoon. And hope for this alien baby who came too soon. Eleven weeks ago we started a new kind of normal.
We laughed and we cried. And we Googled and Googled. And Googled some more. The statistics were reassuring. He should grow up just fine. A week or two earlier and the outcome was less good. But he was 31 weeks. He'd be home by due time.

Ten weeks ago my sister had her first hold. After days of standing and looking she got to be a real Mum. Her baby in her arms. The tears were all worth it. The pain and the sorrow. Forgotten in a moments embrace. A tiny finger curled about her own. But in this new kind of normal she must go home alone. Leave her boy in his plastic cot. Sleep on a mattress on the floor of a friend. No husband beside her to hold her tight. Just the lingering smell of disinfectant on her hands. A plastic pump clamped to her breast. Thoughts of her little boy in his box. And the hope that he'd be alright.

Nine weeks ago. Eight. And the progress is slow. We thought he'd moved up to high dependency but no he'd gone back to intensive care. We learned all the beeps and when to worry and when to ignore. We got familiar with terms like intubation and aspiration, CPAP and low flow. We laughed at his medications, morphine and caffeine and to help with discomfort there was glucose as well. We cheered when he started getting injections of milk. One millilitre each hour. Such a big boy now. We had to seek humour in mundane. In our new normal it helped to keep us all sane.

Seven weeks ago we received another blow. He has brain damage we were told. It can't be fixed and we can't tell you what it will mean. You will just have to wait and see. When he fails to reach his milestones, then we'll know more.
Fark! we thought as worst case visions flew across our minds. He'll be fine, we said We'll love him just the same. But we grieved the loss of a carefree ease for him in which to learn and run and play. We cried. We thought. We tried to laugh. We Googled and Googled. And Googled.
He has moderate bilateral posterior Peri Ventricular Leukomalacia. They were big words to get our heads around. Sometimes symptoms do not appear but in many a cerebral palsy diagnosis is expected and in our boys case it seems more likely that it will be less a case of if than a case of how severe.

Six weeks ago we knew we had to stop crying and get on with loving our boy and hoping he'd come home soon. We noticed though... all that drool. The twitching limbs. And he never made a sound. We laughed it off... just like his mum. His dad used to do that too. Yet secretly we worried, would it always be that way?
So we held his hand and told him to be strong and promised him we'd never say he can't. We'd simply keep on working out a new kind of normal.

Five weeks ago we had developed a routine. During the week my sister spent her days by his cot side. She went to bed late and woke in the cold, dark, pre-dawn to press a plastic pump upon her breast. A practise she repeated at intervals through the day. She worried about her milk supply and yearned to give it up. You've done so well, we encouraged her. It'd be a shame to stop now. She showed him such amazing dedication. What a wonderful Mum!
We went to visit each weekend and did our best to keep the humour flowing. We told our boy how naughty he'd been and ordered him home to us. We were not allowed to, but we always sneaked a little touch behind the nurses backs. A little reminder that he wasn't alone and we loved him very much.

Four weeks ago the doctors ordered supplements in his feeds. Protein shakes, we told him. You need to fatten up! But his precious little stomach didn't take well to these additions and his poo turned green and he vomited the whole lot up. So they packed him off to the children's hospital for further tests.
We crossed our fingers and we crossed our toes as the fear of Necrotizing enterocolitis filled our heads. Don't let them cut out his bowels we hoped. Thankfully they gave him his first real bath instead and sent him back to the only home he'd known.
We all sighed with relief and hoped his luck had changed. Yet we were getting to know what a bumpy road this new kind of normal would take.

Three weeks ago our little boy had blue crosses on his head. They sent him off for an electroencephalogram out of concern that he was having seizures. We scoffed at that. He's not having fits... that's just his quirky thing. And we were right. So they moved him up to the High Dependency Unit and they gave him a big boys bed.

Two weeks ago our baby boy should've been born. But no labour pains were ripping through my sisters body. Instead, nine weeks on and she was still standing by his hospital bed. The tiny foetus child had grown so much and was largely breathing on his own. Only one green tube remained taped down into his throat. Wires still monitored his status but the alarms rarely went off. He could swallow so there wasn't so much drool and we could hear him now without his mask and without his plastic box. Tiny newborn baby sounds, like magic to our ears. And we knew he'd be so much more than the boy of our helpless fears.
He's a placid baby for one who has undergone so much. There's been x-rays and ultrasounds, transfusions and an EEG. They're transferred him and injected him. They've taken so much blood they had to put some back in. He had bruises on his feet and wrists and burn marks near his toes. He always tried to get that green tube out and gagged when he succeeded. But the only time he really screamed was when they forced air down his nose.

One week ago things still seemed to happen rather slow. It felt like he was the forgotten boy because his mum took care of most of his needs. It was time for him to suck. His mum knew that but she had to fight and plead. I've had enough! she cried. When they finally watched they were amazed at his ability.
We were frustrated, annoyed, tired. Get him home to a hospital nearby we said. It's time. And they put his name on the top of the waiting list. And we dared to hope that he'd be home soon.

This week our boy is still in his hospital far away. His mum is still tired and we all are too. He has at least a week or maybe more before he can be moved. His feeding schedule is up in the air and they may send him home with his tube. Yet my sister has learnt that her voice will be heard if she speaks out loud enough. Don't dis his ability! We know he can do more than be that forgotten baby with the damaged brain. He can suck. He will suck. Just give him a chance! And remember that now we are living a new kind of normal.

edited to add: He did it. Take one supportive male nurse, one very determined Mum and one battler of a baby and you get a first proper breast feed, a much improved feeding schedule, a certificate and the go ahead to do 2 breast feeds a day. At 81 days old our little boy is feeding on his own!

This week is National Cerebral Palsy Awareness Week.
Hopefully, soon our boy will be home and we can give him a much needed hug.

Sometimes it's just too hard...

2011-07-12T14:52:00.000+10:00

... to lay a full sized egg.

So one day one of our chickens laid a wee little egg instead.

After months of laying full sized eggs one of our hens delivered us this perfectly formed miniature one. About a third the size of their normal lays. So cute. Such a delightful surprise. And thankfully our hens egg was back to full size the following day.

I said I wasn't going to...

2011-06-08T14:37:00.000+10:00

but when the Chook turned 6 she wanted a party.

Because she's in kindergarten and it's an important time for forming friendships,

I said yes.

So she got busy drawing up some invitations.

And I got busy sewing...

More celebratory bunting

And hankies.

Lot's of children's hankies.

Out of reclaimed sheets.

I cursed myself...

But it had to be fairly green.

So much better than balloons.

Triangle bunting.

Cubby house bunting.

Birthday bunting.

And the bright flags from Aunty Neehee's wedding.

The shed was cleaned.

The lawn was mowed.

The backyard looked a dream!

The kids had some work to do.

They had to earn their party favours.

First task was to decorate their party bags.

They had to listen carefully.

Then dance.

And sing.

And limbo.

And conga.

And dance some more.

And after each activity...

In a nice long line,

One at a time,

they collected favours for their party bags.

Marigolds they potted into little cardboard pots.

Handmade Soy wax candles.

Environmental toothbrushes.

A package of healthy yet tasty biscuits.

Hair ribbons in school uniform colours.

Some home crafted chocolates.

And a pack of Eco Hankies.

Then it was time for the cake.

Wholemeal and home made.

With a recycled doll.

But the icing

and marshmallows

and candles...

Maybe not so green.

Yet overall, the 5 and 6 year olds declared the birthday party a success.

And hopefully they'll use the hankies.

And plant their plants.

And their parents will buy more of the toothbrushes.

And hopefully for their next birthday parties they'll be inspired to be

Less plastic fantastic

More keen to be green!

World Environment Day

2011-06-05T19:18:00.000+10:00

She didn't care that it was world environment day.

Nor that we were at the community gardens...

with the Garden Guru.

She was NOT having her photo taken...

With the scary, hairy man.

Busy Busy Busy...

2011-06-01T14:59:00.000+10:00

From do it yourself bathroom renovations which involved reinforcing the roof so we could remove a supporting wall...

To preparing for an eco party...

For the Chicko, who then fell off the trampoline and fractured her arm and was a bit precious for a few days and couldn't sleep, which meant that the Mum couldn't sleep either...

Add an impatient baby nephew who was born way before his time, 9 weeks too early following an emergency admittance, then transfer to RPA, then caesarean for my younger sister...

Include a scheduled birthday gift of a day out for the Noodle, with a last minute visit by the grandparents who came to stay to see the impatient, wee baby boy...

Not forgetting the celebrating of that eco party (more later on that) and the normal day to days of life with three littluns...

And life has been busy.

Apples and Orange

2011-05-16T12:58:00.000+10:00

We've just been to Orange. The Big Dude's little sister has taken up residence there for the next five years or so, so we went to visit. I've been there before, but not since I was a wee lass from the Riverina region. Before I moved to the Northern Rivers of NSW. Long before I became a Illawarra girl.

It was pleasantly surprising.

Pretty trees.

Great parks.

Fantastic local produce.

I was rather impressed to discover that the local food drive is big there. Even the visitor guide embraces sustainability and the 100 mile diet.

The wineries were pretty good too.

We do enjoy a good winery or two!

Is it bad that the kids do too?

One of the best things that Orange had to offer were the Apples.

We purchased some form a roadside stall.

Then we found a tree.

On the side of the road.

All alone.

Full of firm, crisp red apples.

Just waiting to be picked.

The big Dude pulled over.

He and the Chook walked down a well worn path.

We were not the first to discover this tree.

Together they collected some apples.

Until arms laden to capacity they were forced to stop.

Climb back up the embankment and share their bounty with us.

Not picture perfect.

But sweet and firm and crisp.

Cold from the air and fresh off the tree.

The way all good apples should be.

More Wildlife in the Wild.

2011-05-08T17:18:00.000+10:00

We were driving in Beecroft Peninsula...

When...

Stop!

I yelled.

The big dude dutifully listened.

And with a cloud of dust.

And a spattering of rocks.

He stopped the car.

And behold!

Shuffle shuffling along.

An echidna.

undoubtedly one of the coolest animals that is!

With it's long, pointed nose.

And its little, wary eyes.

Claws that are cute...yet sharp.

And all those spines!

What a find!

We were able to get nice and close.

The kids were even allowed one short touch each.

The quills pointed upwards.

The head curled low.

One spiky, defensive bundle of life.

Then back in the car to watch...

As the echidna shuffle shuffled gently out of sight.

Wildlife in the wild.

2011-05-05T14:27:00.000+10:00

We were walking in the rainforest.

The canopy stretching far above us.

The river giggling and bubbling and burping over the rocks beside us.

The children running and skipping and laughing ahead of us.

When we heard a noise.

What was that?

A lyrebird?

An echidna?

There was nothing there.

Maybe it was just falling rocks.

We were about to continue along.

But I'm stubborn...

What WAS that noise?

Then we saw it.

A snake.

A long, skinny snake.

A long, skinny, black snake.

So cool!

Come and see the snake!

We called to the kids.

We watched it for ages as it slid down rocks.

And slithered around trees.

And rustled over leaf litter.

Until it found a nice warm spot in the sun.

And curled up to bask.

It's not often that we see a snake in it's native habitat.

In a backyard for sure.

On the side of the road.

But not beneath the tall gums.

Not amid the forest debris.

So we considered ourselves lucky.

And went home mighty pleased.

Our First Easter Hat

2011-04-27T11:14:00.000+10:00

Now that the Chook is in Kindy, the time of the Easter Hat Parade has begun. So this year we made our first ever Easter hat. A couple of months ago, my sagely sister gave me a bag of leftover Easter crafty stuff gathered from the deepest corners of her musty classroom store room.

You might be able to use this as you'll need to make an Easter hat this year. She said.

An Easter hat? Okay. Said I.

And so came Easter and sure enough, an Easter hat was needed. So out came that bag of Easter crafty stuff.

But I decided we needed a hat that was more Us. So back went that bag into my cupboard stuffed with crafty stuff and out came a bag of felt from someone else's no longer wanted stash. And out came an old black skirt and a recycled yoghurt tub.

And so the Chook and I created a reusable, recycled hat, with none of the plastic or foiled, cheap, disposable Easter crafty stuff.

So in the words of the Chook...

Mum helped me make my Easter Hat for the Easter Hat Parade.

We cut out some flowers and some chicks from colourful felt.

I helped to sew them together and to sew on some flower buttons.

Mum sewed a safety pin to the backs of the flowers.

I used sticky tape to stick some black material from an old skirt to a bucket.

Then Mum pinned the flowers and the chicks to the hat.

My Easter hat looked good.

I liked all the colourful flowers and I liked the little chicks.

I liked the Easter Hat Parade. It was fun.

Next year I will have two hats to help to make.

The year after that I may have three.

I may yet need that bag of Easter crafty stuff. But for now reclaimed, recycled and reusable is just right for Us.

Learning about life...

2011-04-09T14:58:00.000+10:00

And death.

My first instinct was to say

Eeeewww!

Put that down.

But they were having so much fun!

So instead I took the lunch back inside.

Let them examine the poor wee mouse.

Then thoroughly washed their hands.

The golden fruit

2011-03-22T14:42:00.000+11:00

And by that I'm not just talking about the colour of this well loved fruit.

After the floods and cyclones that caused chaos in Queensland this year, commercial banana crops have suffered. So much so, that a bunch of these will set you back $11.98 per kilo. And that's just for the standard ones. They weren't even selling the organic variety at my local supermarket. So here I am, with a crop that requires very little attention... just chop down the old shoots and keep the new ones to a minimum, and the fruits are worth a fortune.

The only problem is that they ripen ever so slowly at first, and then BAM! they're all ripe at once.

Overnight.

Just like that!

So now the kids are eating banana's for breakfast, lunch and dinner... with a snack thrown in here and there and I'm searching for Banana recipes.

Last night's was Hot Banana Salsa, served on grilled fish.

Banana Salsa

2 Chopped Bananas

4 Diced Chillies

1 cup of Garden Herbs

(Coriander is great but we were out, so I used Lemon balm, Vietnamese Basil, Italian Basil, Garlic chives, Stevia and plenty of Mint)

Half a Diced Onion

2 cloves of Minced Garlic

1 Tablespoon of Fish sauce

1 Tablespoon of Rice Wine Vinegar

1 Teaspoon of Sugar

Mix it all together and then add

a handful of Toasted Pine nuts just before serving.

(I think that's what I put in it. Quantities are approximate and can be varied according to taste)

The result, one spicy, metabolism boosting way to use up some bananas.

It tastes great too.

Do your kids know what this is?

2011-03-14T18:36:00.001+11:00

I dare say that mine know it as something that Mum gets out when she is sewing.

That's the only time they see it.

That's the only time I use it.

I'm fortunate in that the Big Dude wears polo shirts to work. Give them a little shake and they're good to go.

That certainly saves us the argument of him wanting me to iron his work clothes and me saying 'No way, Ho-say'.

As for myself, I tend to pick wrinkle free. I am sworn off Linen forever. Lovely and natural it may be but that stuff sure does crease. Nope, it's mostly knit cottons for me! Well, actually it's largely my sisters hand me downs and whatever op shop finds I come across. I'm undoubtedly covered in wrinkles every day. I'm just so used to them that I don't even see them any more. My mother must cringe when she comes to visit!

Same goes for the kids clothes. Besides, they are ignorant as to the look of ironed clothing, so they really don't care if they are covered in creases. Thank goodness for that! I did contemplate doing the school uniform but I've gone for the wash it, shake it, hang it to dry, shake it, hang it in the cupboard option instead.

So the iron stays away.

Until its a child's birthday.

Or a new baby girl is born.

Name bunting inspired by Morning

I like it that way.

Yay for the rain!

2011-03-07T19:52:00.000+11:00

Our water tank ran dry.

It was a catastrophe.

Although not all that unexpected given that we've fixed it up so that it has a proper garden tap attached to the back of the shed for the vege garden. Another proper tap is attached to the front of the shed for the fruit trees, ornamental and native habitat plants. With those handy taps, the water was being used and the source is only one half of the shed roof. Connecting it to the other half is currently still a 'one day' project.

So, you can imagine how happy we were to see some recent rain.

Doubly happy actually, because it came just after our new, bigger, better water tank arrived!

The big Dude and I rolled and heaved and pushed and shoved that tank into place.

Through the gate. Down the driveway. Over the grass. Between the fruit trees.

There was a moment of angst when we got it a little wedged between the cubby house and the wood pile. But after a bit of lifting and a bit of tilting, a curse or two and an almighty hove, that tank finally slid into place. Nestled down the back in the corner between the fence and the cubby house, beneath the neighbouring Gum tree.

The Dude connected it up.

A trail of pipe runs across the top of the tank. Down to the fence. Along the fence line. Behind the Firewood shed. Down to the ground. Underneath our deck (OK so that calls for a little imagination as our deck too belongs to the 'one day' project list).

Then up to the gutter to collect the water off the whole of our western roof.

That's more than half the house.

So yay for the rain!

It should be a while before our water tanks run dry again.

Oh... and it sure helped with getting our seeds to grow.

Not so difficult after all.

2011-02-21T12:23:00.000+11:00

When it comes to organizing meals and menu planning, well, I fail.

Every time!

Cooking I can do. Preplanning what to cook, I cannot.

Lunch in our house is whatever I come up with at lunchtime. Dinner is much the same.

So I was a little stressed about the lunchboxes.

How was I going to come up with a healthy, hearty, lunchbox selection every morning?

Would I need a stash of gold coins handy to make a last minute lunch order from the canteen?

How would I go with the snacks? Would I end up resorting to plastic wrapped bars?

More importantly, would the Chook eat my offerings?

But you know, it's not so bad.

So far I've provided enough healthy, hearty food.

I haven't resorted to the canteen.

Snacks have proven to be easy, with not a plastic wrap in sight.

And she eats it... Mostly

(rice, pasta and frittata are off the list. She doesn't like them cold.

I think it's more that she doesn't like to be too different yet. We'll work on that).

So as long as I have fruit in the fridge, wraps or bread in the cupboard

and some yoghurt or cheese or dried fruit or preferably a constant supply of homemade muesli bars on hand, then I'm good to go.

Lunches are easy.

I don't know what I was worried about.

We can even forget about a drink

(and we did, most of last week).

The child sized water bubblers are a blast. So much better than the bottle in the bag.

We remembered today.

We remembered a spoon too. For natural yoghurt mixed with honey and vanilla.

Then there's nectarine for munch 'n crunch.

Egg and lettuce wrap for lunch.

Some yellow bell tomatoes and cucumber slices too.

I'm out of muesli bars...

that's on today's list of somethings I've got to go and do!

What!... No bread?

2011-01-27T15:05:00.000+11:00

That's actually a pretty common occurrence around here. I usually only buy bread once a week or two.

It's all Dad's fault.

When we were kids, he drove into town first thing every morning and got us some fresh bread for the day. Now, anything that is older than freshly baked this morning, is stale bread to me.

I'm not that dedicated.

So to me, our bread is always stale and as a result I just don't bother to buy it all that often. I enjoy baking it, but home baked bread never lasts the day. It's too good, so we eat it.

As for the store stuff, well, when we run out I just feed the kids something else. We've been happily surviving like this for years now.

The Big Dude complains every weekend.

Without fail!

The Chook was so in favour of today's substitute that she thinks the Big Dude would love it too.

"Can you make this again tonight Mum? because Dad didn't get to try any and he would think this is yummy too."

Well yeah!

OK, probably not tonight, but certainly again.

All I did was health up a stock standard basic pancake/pikelet mixture.

Take some wholemeal, self-raising flour

Add some flax seeds

& some LSA (ground linseed, almond and sunflower seeds)

A sprinkling of Quinoa

A dash of chicken stock powder

An egg

& some milk.

Mix it all together.

Cook big dollops of the mix in a lightly oiled fry pan.

Spread on some ricotta cheese

Add some slices of tomato

& cucumber

And wallah!

An easy peasy bread substitute that the kids all thought was YUMMY!

"Can we have some more please?"

Loving the learning!

2011-01-18T10:09:00.002+11:00

The kids are at a fantastic age at the moment.

They love learning!

They think it's fun to help with the chores.

Hanging out the washing.

Chopping up the vegetables.

Pulling out the weeds.

Washing the dishes.

I'm making the most of their enthusiasm.

Santa came good...

2011-01-07T20:53:00.000+11:00

and gave me a wooden spoon rest. Just like I needed.

Three cheers to mothers who read their daughters blogs!

It looks good as an egg holder too. For tiny first eggs.

Three cheers to adolescent hens who start to lay.

We were struck down by the flu over Christmas and the weather has been pretty wacky, but we're looking good for a great new year full of new adventures and challenges.

The Chook starts school... so exciting!

The Noodle starts pre-school and

fingers crossed,

touch wood,

the home renovations will be all completed by next Christmas.

Did you know...

2010-12-10T08:16:00.000+11:00

that there are many, many styles of wooden spoons out there?

I always just figured a wooden spoon was a wooden spoon. Sure, they come in different shapes and sizes but as far as using them, they all seemed pretty much the same to me.

Perhaps that's because my collection lacked any real finesse.

Flat handles.

Even blades.

Pretty dodgy really.

But now I have been enlightened.

'Do you stir clockwise or anti-clockwise?'

asked my father in law.

I'd never thought of it. Perhaps a little of both.

'Do you stir with your left hand or your right?'

Well my right I suppose. No wait, sometimes with my left.

'Here, this one is a nice one, feel how it sits in your hand?'

Well yes, it does sit rather nicely.

Who'd have thought it mattered how you use your spoon?

The big dude was a bit more of a wooden spoon connoisseur.

'I want a good one for the wok'

was his request.

'My wok ones are over here'

replied his Dad.

'You'll want this one too, it's good for curries and these ones are good all rounders'.

Well, we came home with a bounty, including some pretty nifty salad servers.

Tongs and fork scoops.

We didn't get a spoon rest.

I didn't need one before. My spoons were not worthy.

Now though, I can't leave them in the pot to scorch and char or boil and bubble.

So that's on the request list.

Along with a unique door stop. He makes those from the scraps.

And some chopping boards too.

But our proudest score, was our custom made request.

A tomato ripener!

One to fit along the window sill and hold our summer crop.

It's perfect.

We love it.

As a bonus it can be used as a bread board or a platter for olives and the like.

They're all handcrafted from Banksia wood. Mostly sourced from trees that come down in storms.

Polished with grape seed oil.

Our Doug is a clever man.

The king of the wooden spoon!

If you're ever at the markets on the far north coast of NSW, maybe you'll see him.

Stop and have a chat and check out his collection. It's huge! He might even enlighten you too.

Counting down

2010-12-06T12:19:00.001+11:00

My mum has been busy.

Just before the start of the month a parcel arrived in the mail for the kids.

24 handmade stockings to be threaded on a string and hung up to count down the days until Christmas.

Times 3.

One each.

Wow.

That's a lot of sewing.

It took some thinking to work out how to hang them.

And where.

In the end it was the hallway and two old, repainted canvases that were the solutions.
Now the stockings make a bold and arty Christmas dressing for our wall.

An advent calendar that cannot be ignored.

And next year I promise to fill it up with Eco activities to inspire and excite three little people.

Three Cheers...

2010-11-15T13:50:00.000+11:00

To No more Nappies Noodle Box!

Yay!

At 2 and a half,

our little Noodle has given up the nappies.

No more daytime nappies...

No more night time nappies.

In fact,

after 5 and a half years...

No more nappies at all.

Hip, hip hooray!

I had a dilemma...

2010-11-09T14:17:00.000+11:00

No hat!

It was Terrible.

I 'd been invited to a Melbourne Cup Luncheon and I had no hat.

So I thought I'd make a felt one.

That was way too much trouble and not possible to be made in time for the following day.

So a pillbox hat.

With some feathers...

and some buttons.

Just 15 minutes, that's all.

I got some recycled cardboard.

I traced around a CD three times.

I cut them out....

three circles.

I drew a line at a random point on one of the circles.

I rolled the circle on it's edge along a straight piece of cardboard....

from random point line, back to random point line.

I marked the length.

I cut a strip - double my required width.

I folded my strip in half.

I notched triangles into one half of the folded strip.

I wrapped my strip around one circle...

notched side on top.

I glued it in place...

you could use tape.

I glued a second circle over the top.

I had a cardboard hat!

I cut out a circle of fabric...

about the size of a small plate.

I glued the fabric onto my cardboard hat.

I glued my third circle into the inside base...

to tidy it up.

I glued on a plastic comb...

You could use some elastic.

I embellished...

I had myself a hat!

A bucket of beans (part 2)

2010-11-05T07:44:00.000+11:00

A container of beans sat before me.

Some were large,
some were small.
Most needed to be skinned.
So...

I put them in a pot.

I blanched them.

A colander of beans sat before me.

I contemplated.

I ignored.

Finally...

I rolled my eyes and pushed up my sleeves.

Then I pinched...

and I squeezed,

every last bean!

Some got frozen,

some got eaten.

Most got processed to a paste.

A spiced, chickpea paste.

They became...

Felafel's.

Broad bean and Chickpea Felafel's

Process 4 cups of soaked chickpeas

2 cups of fresh broad beans

1 onion and as many cloves of garlic as you like,

with 1 teaspoon each of coriander, cumin and cayenne powder and

1 cup each of fresh parsley and coriander.

Add a bit of mint if you like and the rind of a lemon.

Sir through 3 teaspoons of plain flour with 1 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda and season to taste.

Roll into walnut sized balls and refrigerate for 15mins.

Shallow fry or cook on the BBQ.

Wrap in some flat bread with sliced tomatoes, cucumber and lettuce and a good dollop of yoghurt tahini or minted yoghurt.

And the best part...

They ate it all.

Enjoy!

A bucket of beans (part 1)

2010-11-03T14:05:00.000+11:00

We've been getting the garden ready for summer.

So out came the beans.

Then we had...

lots of bean pods.

Lots and lots of bean pods.

A huge bucket of bean pods!

They sat for a while.

They haunted me from the peripheral of my eye.

I avoided.

I denied.

Then I took a deep breath.

I sat on the step

and I shelled.

and I shelled,

until...

with a little help from my friend

(who, when enticed to play said "NO! Me help me MUM!)...

That bucket of bean pods,

turned into a container of beans.

Lucky

2010-10-27T13:31:00.000+11:00

We are so lucky to have been born into such a fortunate country. Life is easy for us. No wars to worry about. We're not oppressed by strict religious laws. Our water is clean and our cities are not populated by thousands of makeshift homes pulled together from scraps of tin and board. We are able to be educated and even our failing health system is pretty amazing. We can walk outside without worrying about stepping on a land mine. We have beautiful scenery and the wealth and leisure time to see it.

I'm doubly lucky. Our family has plenty to eat and a solid shelter over our heads. We've not been abused, we've not been subjected to the negative affects of drugs. We're healthy and we're loved.

Sometimes we forget this, but there's nothing like a little time out to remind us.

This is my idea of bliss. How lucky can one be?

Time out...

A good book, fragrant green grass and a safe estuary for the kids and the Dad to play.

So much time to play!

Time to learn the art of checking the surf.

Time to discover nature.

Time to learn new skills.

Time to dance in the sand...

and time to laugh.

Time to discover when not to go barefoot.

How lucky we are to have time to reflect on how lucky we are.

Busy Times

2010-10-01T11:40:00.000+10:00

Life has been a bit crazy around here of late. Mum and Dad came to stay and after a couple of days The Dude and I managed to escape for a rather wonderful week away. Our first in almost six years. Now the kids are getting a bit older we might try to persuade Nanoo and Pokky that they need to stay with the kids for at least one week every year! Such fun they had - bus rides and picnics, temple visits and bike rides... three am wake ups and 6am starts to the day with three kids piled into their bed. Such fun!

Meanwhile, we got a week to ourselves. No time constraints. No early starts. No constant demands for attention or the meeting of needs. Wonderful! We kept busy though. Being our first real visit to Melbourne we had to make the most of having the freedom to explore.

The wonderful cafes, the brilliant fresh food markets, the docklands, the gardens, the fantastic public transport... and some of it free! The restaurants, the St Kilda pier, the Yarra Valley, the theatre and the pubs. The wedding that provided our excuse to be set free and the streaker that earned one hundred dollars off his mates to dare to bare all and shock the wedding party... and on such a cold day!

Our return saw us with three exhausted kids and two exhausted grandparents and a wedding in three days time. We purchased some last minute red shrugs to keep the girls warm in their dresses borrowed from a friend who had similar aged nieces in her own wedding party some six or more years ago. We dusted off the little Dudes op shop found suit. We polished his op shop boots. We helped the bride smash chocolate to decorate her self made cake. We cleaned the houses for visiting relatives and friends. Then Saturday arrived and we made ourselves beautiful and put up our hair. The bride did mine and the Chooks and I did the brides and the first bridesmaids. We added flowers and our great grandmothers brooch. We held bright bouquets of Gerberas, put together by a friend. We posed for many photographs taken by considerate friends.

We followed a trail of flowing flags that were sewn together by the mother of the bride. At the end of the path we swapped our heels for thongs and with a backdrop of the lovely headland overlooking the mouth of the river and the small island just off the shore, my younger sister got married. It was lovely, she was beautiful, the bridesmaids were stunning (by their own volition) and the kids were all rather cute.

Thus we are left with two more weeks before our next wedding to attend. It will be in Northern NSW and we will take the kids and make a week of it. This time camping in the wonderful National Parks that coastal NSW has to offer. It's happy times and busy times for us.

More muffin tins

2010-09-08T15:27:00.001+10:00

You know how life seems to move in a circular pattern? You do something a lot for a while and then it fades into a memory before being rediscovered and revamped for another round of use.
That's what happened to our muffin tin meals. One week we were having them every second day then suddenly we were having them no more. But I've rediscovered those tins and the muffin meals are back!

Perfect for a warm spring day.

Perfect for a selection of fresh fruit and vegetables.

Perfect for an outside lunch on the run...

use any form of table you can.

School readiness

2010-08-23T13:24:00.000+10:00

For my kids, I was always going to go with public education. I figured that it was good enough for me so it'll be good enough for them as well. But... perhaps I'm just a bogan, country hic, who never reached her full potential due to the substandard teaching tossed her way by lackadaisical public sector teachers? Nah! I always believed I could achieve anything I wanted and I did go on to obtain a bachelor degree and a graduate diploma. It turns out that I'm just lacking in any grand ambition. I'm just happy to be me. Simple... me.

So, I'd not really given my kids education much thought. They'll just go to the local public school... where else? Then it came time to enroll the Chook in kindergarten... and... discussions were had and doubts were raised. Is the public system good enough? Should I be buying the best private education available? Do the private schools really provide thousands of dollars worth of higher quality learning? What about home schooling? Surely that's the best solution for teaching the values most important to me and mine? Then there's the alternative schools... Steiner anyone? Montessori?

Well, Steiner's out as there are none in our area. Montessori I admit does hold some appeal. Unfortunately it is a bit on the pricey side and it is an 80min round trip away - not accounting for traffic. I can't justify that kind of travel when to me, the whole idea of childhood is to be able to run free with your neighbourhood friends. You can't do that if they don't live in your neighbourhood! So Montessori is out.

Homeschooling then? No! No, no, no. Not for me. I'm not exuberant and outgoing enough to nurture my children adequately through their entire education. They are already shy and withdrawn. They need to learn how to get out there and function in society. They need to learn from personalities that differ from their Mums. So homeschooling is out.

So private schools then? My options are Catholic and Christian. Now, I appreciate that religion can help guide people. It can give them strength and add meaning to their lives. I've been surrounded by those with strong faith my entire life. My father has it, so why can't I? What can I say? I'm a scientist by nature. I can't help but to ask questions that religion can't provide the answers to. So the schools? If they could just refrain from mentioning God! But they too are costly, so I wonder at the values this must impose. Status must surely be important. Keeping up with the Jone's anybody? Although, at least they have full uniforms - school bags included. Take a look at the bags in the public schools, they're a screaming advert for all brand name merchandise. But then, even the private schools have got the lunchboxes!

What to do? What to do?

I know of those who've survived public education to go on and achieve great financial success. I know of those who've squandered thousands of dollars worth of private education fees to become penniless labourers. I know mostly of those who are like me. I've learned. I've laughed. I've loved. I've cried. I've travelled. I've experienced. I've lived!

So what do I want from my children's education?
I want them to enjoy learning.
I want them to value education as an important opportunity.
I want them to be true to themselves.

So, it doesn't matter where they go to school because these lessons come from the home. If I can teach them to want too, then they'll make the most of any education.

So it's public school for now and we'll just work out the needs of each child as we go. I'm dreading the choices for high school though.

And now, about those Dora lunchboxes...

Three for three of us

2010-08-16T10:07:00.000+10:00

Our chickens are getting along in years now and have dropped their egg laying right down. So the time has come to get some new ones. We thought about getting some Pullets from the auctions so we wouldn't have to wait such a long time for them to grow up and lay some eggs... but where's the fun in that? We needed some new little baby chicks so the kids could watch them grow up and because they are just so, so cute.

We were wandering around the markets when we came across a stall selling chicks. That's what finally spurred us into making the leap from thinking about getting new chicks to actually doing it. We contemplated getting some right then and there but they were a lucky dip selection and we're not quite ready to be culling roosters. We'll save that for after all renovations have been completed!

So off we went to the pet shop where the chicks are sexed and we were guaranteed some girls. One day we will try our luck with a rooster and possibly breed some of our own. We're allowed to keep a rooster here in suburbia but I believe that it's a case of strike one and they're out. So any complaints from the neighbours and it's off with the roosters head! I find that a bit odd given that there are so many dogs barking all through the night, but it's just another reflection of how far removed we are from our food production. Maybe things will change now that backyard productivity is making a comeback.

Anyway, we love the new chicks. As Chookie says, 'there's three for three of us'. She is particularly fond of them and races out to feed them and cuddle them everyday. She also supervises their scratch time in the yard and puts them to bed at night. Chickens are great - pets with a purpose. Maybe we should get some Guinea Pigs too... fancy some cuy anyone?

'Do we really need...

2010-08-03T14:34:00.000+10:00

twelve chilli bushes?'

I asked Big Dude as we were sorting out the seedlings in the vege patch last spring.

'Yes!' he replied with force and a wee bit of condescension.

Great! I thought to myself as I envisioned bucket loads of shiny red chilli's. There's only so much Chilli Jam a girl can make.

Sure enough, a couple of months later and we were burning all over from harvesting the bright red pods. They sat in the kitchen for a day or two while I contemplated my fate. Fingers drumming... what to do? what to do?

There was of course, the requisite chilli jam to be made. A couple of batches worth in fact. Then, for something different I tried out a garlic and chilli sauce - not bad, but I don't have much need for sauce. I tried my hand at pickling in brine - still awaiting consumption. I whipped up a couple more jars of chilli relish - I like this, but I just forget to eat it and Big Dude does prefer his jam! Then I made some Harissa - good, but a bit overridingly hot, without too much flavour.

That took care of that!

Then it was time for the second flush when I'd barely recovered from the first. Once again the kitchen was swamped by containers overflowing with chillis. More jam was produced - apparently one can never have too many jars of this awaiting consumption and fortunately I do have a friend who's penchant for chilli jam almost rivals that of the Dude, so some was gifted out. I introduced finely diced chilli into the kids meals. I aim to have them enjoying the burn within the next few years, but for now it's slowly does it with most of the seeds scraped out. The Little Dude does enjoy himself an accompaniment of jam though, so as a chilli eater he wont be long in the making. I froze some. Then I had myself another attempt at making Harissa... and I read the recipe wrong... and it was FANTASTIC!... Spicy. Tasty. Packed with a punch.

We certainly DO need 12 chilli bushes. I'm addicted to this stuff. On poached eggs, on salad wraps, on casseroles, with hummus on a cracker. YUM!

Of course, now we're out of chillis - even the ones I froze.

Looks like the vege patch will be overrun with chilli bushes and capsicum plants this summer.

Seriously Spicy

Harissa

50g small hot chilli's chopped (about a cup of processed chilli's)
5 red capsicums grilled, skinned and sliced
5 cloves (or more) of garlic
5 generous teaspoons of ground cummin
4 generous teaspoons of ground coriander
sea salt to taste (a good amount)
olive oil (enough to make a nice paste)

Process the lot.

Spoon into sterilised jars.

Top with a layer of olive oil.

Refrigerate (else it might just self combust).

Seriously good Passionfruit Curd

2010-07-20T11:05:00.000+10:00

The passion fruits have been prolific of late, so I made up a couple more bottles of passion fruit cordial, froze some pulp into cubes for later use and decided to have a go at some curd because that's what my Dad used to do when I was a kid.

Turns out that this stuff is seriously delicious.

I've been waiting for my sluggishly laying chickens with their case of the winter blues, to lay me enough eggs to make some more.

Passion fruit Curd

whisk together...

4 eggs
2 egg yolks
3/4 cup raw sugar

add and stir...

3/4 cup passion fruit pulp
125g butter

microwave uncovered on medium for

6-10 mins

whisk every minute

until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Pour into sterilised jars.

Let it shine

2010-07-01T10:17:00.000+10:00

Yay!

and just in time for the electricity price rise.

We opted for a local installer and Australian made panels.

We are very grateful to the Sustainable Illawarra project for contributing $3000 towards this to honour a prize we were fortunate enough to win.

Thank you!

Unfortunately the funding on that project has dried up and it has come to a close. On the up side, Kiama council has decided to take the information gathered by the project and turn it into Kiamasphere - a community information and sharing hub on all things sustainable.

Today, I'm just happy that the sun is shining.

Chicken Changes

2010-06-22T10:14:00.000+10:00

When we first got our chooks - about a year and a half ago now, we were happy to let them free range in the backyard for most of the day. Sure, we got annoyed when they scratched all the dirt and litter out of the garden and onto the path. Sure, it was a bit frustrating having to wear shoes all the time or run the risk of smearing chicken poo all over your bare feet. On the whole though, they did little damage and we all got a long quite well.

Then...

We built our extension and I decided that it'd be nice to have flowers to pick and to smell. I also started to sneak vegetables out of the patch and into the 'ornamental' garden.

Suddenly the chickens scratching around became a problem and I was constantly chasing them out of my newly planted seed beds.

so...

We (well, let's be fair - big Dude) finally created a run for them that attaches to their pen. He added a little hinged door and now they are happy to scratch around under the citrus trees. I am happy that they have room to move without digging up my garden. The kids can now run outside barefoot without the risk of poo.

We're happy all round.

Except for one chicken - she's a bit of an escape artist. She's discovered that she can jump the fence from one of the rocks surrounding Fuzzy ducks water bath.

Some days she forgets and stays enclosed without a worry. Other days she prowls the fence line plotting her escape and once she finds it we have a constant battle of wills...

She jumps out, I scold her and put her back in.

This continues until I have enough of either constantly going out to catch her or constantly hearing the kids telling me ' mum... the naughty chicken is out'.

Then she gets locked back in the pen.

In the pen, further changes have been made.

We used to just have a big plastic tub for the water. I hated having to change it because it was turning green. It seemed such a waste to tip out so much water. Then, enter one duck and the water was just plain disgusting after only one day. I was sure the chickens were going to get ill from sharing their water with Fuzz. There's a reason chooks are not supposed to be housed with ducks - they say. But mine get along quite nicely so a solution had to be found...

and it was...

PVC pipe with nipples!

Add some caps on either end. Screw in some chicken nipples - I ended up ordering these online from Brookfield Poultry Equipment. Add some silicon if necessary and there you go... a clean and efficient chicken drinking system that will provide them with water to last for weeks. So now the water is enclosed and stays clean, I just need to top it up every now and then.

The chickens didn't take long at all to adjust.

I grabbed them one by one and pressed their beaks to the nipples so they could see how they released water. The pipe is attached to the fence at about chook head height and they just touch and drink.

They do still share Fuzz's bath water on occasion - but as it is not right near the food, it doesn't get so unhygienic and Fuzz usually drinks from the nipples too.

Now...

if only they'd get over the winter blues and start laying again, we could all be mighty pleased with our chicken changes.

Rainy day rainsticks

2010-06-17T13:41:00.001+10:00

With plenty of rainy days lately, we've had to find things to occupy us that don't involve too much muddying up of our very boggy backyard.

So, we found some cardboard tubes and hammered some nails into them.

Then we covered up the ends with tape,

one at a time so we could put some rice and pasta in the middle...

Cooked up some flour and water into a runny glue...

Shredded some old newspapers...

and got messy.

Paper mache was soooo much fun!

A few drying days later, we painted our base colours...

Added some drawings and stickers...

and now we have some rainsticks to play with.

Milking time.

2010-06-04T14:52:00.001+10:00

I enjoyed reading this post from my sister so much that I stole it to put on here.
It's about our trip to the dairy farm.

On a recent trip to a dairy farm, we were much too busy watching the cows so didn't take photos. Instead, I drew some quick pictures of what we did.

We stood next to an enormous cow, whose feet were as big as Noody's head!

We stood in puddles of cow wee as we listened to the dairy farmer talk about the milking process.
Choosey put her thumb down the milking machine - but we couldn't get any milk from her!
We were almost squirted with milk from the cow's teat and watched as the milk flooded through the tubes and pipes.

Then we saw some calves that were born that day. While we were eating our lunch, the little calves were being born.

They were a bit wobbly on their legs!

We raced along-side Farmer Michael as he drove to the calves. Buckets were filled with milk and the young calves were fed. Some of the bigger calves were very hungry and fought over the buckets. I got slimed by some of the calves as they wrapped their rough tongues around my finger. (It was a little bit sore the next morning - from their enthusiastic sucking!)

Choosey helped carry the milk to the calves. She even started to clean up the buckets afterwards - until she got some slobber on her finger and left the buckets in disgust.

The dairy was fun. We enjoyed some banana-flavoured milk before we left the farm - smelling of cows, wee, poo and saliva.

I'm so glad that we are able to give the kids the opportunity to enjoy these kinds of activities. I know that some of my fondest childhood memories are from visiting farms and doing outdoorsy things. What lucky kids they are!

Birthday Busyness

2010-05-26T15:06:00.004+10:00

The past couple of months have seen a lot of birthdays, so the sewing room has been a hive of activity...

measuring

cutting

pinning

taping

ironing

sewing

unpicking

re-pinning

re-sewing

stitching

and gluing.

There's been the making of personalised pencil wraps and some library bags to match...

fairies

spiders

and musical birds
(I've forgotten to take pictures of some and lost photo's of others - accidentally deleted perhaps?)

There's been aprons as well...

boy ones

and girl ones with frills and love hearts.

From me there's been cursing and cussing.

I scratch my head and wonder 'what was I thinking'...

it would be so much easier to just go and buy a book.

Quicker too!

And why can't I use new fabric?

All this extra unpicking,

and that's before I've made the mistakes!

But then when they're finished and old becomes new and they're made specially for one little person, I'm glad for the time and the effort.

I hope the kids are too.

Fun for free

2010-05-11T10:15:00.006+10:00

Although RJ is still trying to get his head around this idea, mothers day around here is all about the mum having some time off to do as she pleases by herself... without the children. Fathers day on the other hand, is all about the dad spending some quality time with the children, hanging out, playing, going on an outing... all day with dad.

This year, however, Chookie overheard me mentioning that an outing to the Illawarra Light Railway Museum might be in the cards. As she's now old enough to really take in what adults around her are saying and to remember details for later (must remember this when speaking!), she decided that she really, really wanted to go. Of course the other two jumped on the bandwagon and decided that they really, really wanted to go too, so go indeed we did.

We met up with some friends and while I definitely missed out on curling up in the sun with a good book... or taking time out to go and have a coffee... or going for a nice long, relaxing walk... we had lot's of fun.

Around here, for the past few years, mothers day has coincided with the beginning of the week long festivities that is Kidsfest Shellharbour. Well actually, I think it's a very deliberate combining of dates and not at all left to chance. 'Kidsfest Shellharbour is all about celebrating the area's children and promoting Shellharbour as a child-friendly City' as written on their website. We love Kidsfest. We wish it happened every week!

Here's what we joined in on at the train museum. Apart from the train rides (which help to fund the museum), all the activities were free.

We got our faces painted (and made cards while we were waiting).

Butterflies and Spiders and Pink Cats.

Rode on the steam train.

Iced, decorated and most importantly ate, delicious arrowroot biscuits.

Examined and sniff tested the ingredients of gingerbread dough, before shaping biscuits and waiting for them to bake in the camp oven. Then we sat in the shade of the many native trees and ate them all up.

We helped to paint the kidsfest banner... and paper... and ourselves... and our dads.

We tried out some Hoola Hooping.

Took a ride on the miniature train and stopped for some poses on the big one.

We had a wonderful day outdoors, beneath the trees, with lots of space to run, music to listen to, swings to be swung on and so, so much more stuff to see and do.

Much more fun than reading a book in the sun!

Skill Building

2010-04-18T14:39:00.003+10:00

Chookie is growing up fast. Next year she will be going to big school and now she has an inquisitive mind that yearns for new challenges.

She has been learning to ride her bike and to read and write.

Now, thanks to a wonderful crafty activity full of tracing and cutting and colouring, she is learning how to tie her own shoe laces.

A Bunch of Bananas

2010-03-27T12:07:00.004+11:00

Our house is poorly orientated. With an east-west aspect, a concrete driveway borders the southern side of the house. We are left with one precious little strip of northern space, just over a metre wide, along the other side of the house.

RJ wanted to concrete over it to save on maintenance.

I convinced him that we needed to grow banana and paw paw trees.

So last year, Mum and Dad got some banana suckers for us, from a friend of theirs up north. We proudly planted two Lady Fingers and two Cavendish varieties, with a couple of mountain papaya's in between.

Then we ran a tube under the house to collect the washing machine grey water and disperse it via a system of neatly punctured holes, to each of the plants (eventually we plan to run this system down through all the fruit trees as well, but at the moment I shift the end of the hose between the other trees manually).

The bananas and papayas have thrived.

Perhaps a little too much. My beautiful, high, northern-window-light is currently filtered through a spectacular green mass of gently swaying and rustling leaves. Delightful in summer, but the leaves might have to go once the weather cools to uncomfortable.

In the meantime, we have banana's.

A whole bunch of them.

I have no idea which variety they are although they look rather small so I'm guessing Lady Fingers.
I hope they taste good.

I hope they hurry up and ripen.

I hope we get some more.

I'm so glad we didn't concrete the space.

RJ is too, he's very proud of his banana trees.

Cockatoos go rrrrraaaaaaak

2010-03-12T14:06:00.004+11:00

We've been watching cockatoos.

They're noisy little things.

Little dude loves them.

"MUM! Cockatoo's go rrrrraaaaaaak!"

Lychee Lost

2010-03-03T13:53:00.005+11:00

I'm really not a big fruit eater. I try my best, but some days I fail miserably at getting my recommended daily intake of two servings. I have to make a conscious effort to always have a supply in the house and to make sure I offer some to the kids every day. Rambutans though are an exception. I could just about eat a bag full of them in an hour. I remember travelling along a road in Indonesia where large rambutan trees formed the vista. Their many branches laden with heavy clusters of hairy, red fruit. We stopped and a plastic shopping bag of them was passed to me and I was happy to sit in that car for the rest of the day.

Unfortunately, we don't have any rambutans on hand. Luckily, I find that lychee's make a suitable alternative. Longans are not too bad either. I'm not sure if I can grow longans here (must google that), but I do know that I can grow lychee's and I can say that I am the proud owner of a teeny, tiny, little lychee tree that bore me two fruit this year. I watched with eager anticipation as the flowers turned to fruit that grew and grew and ever so slowly turned red. I expected them to drop off way too early to ripen as my little tree really doesn't seem big enough to grow fruit at all. They didn't though and I was mighty pleased.

I checked my reddening fruit daily to be sure to pick them when they were ripe.

Then finally, "Tomorrow" I said to myself, "they'll be good to pick tomorrow".

So the following day I went to pick my lychee's, when "Nooooooooo!" they were gone. Madly gesticulating and wildly scouring the surrounds, I roared
"Who picked my rambutans?"

Oblivious to my angst, RJ related that Chookie had touched one earlier and it had fallen off in her hands and was now sitting on the kitchen bench.

Well that calmed me down a bit, for at least there was one sweet and juicy, delicious, home grown lychee to be enjoyed.

And the other?

lost.

Hopefully there shall be more next year.

A Faerie in the Garden

2010-02-12T10:25:00.004+11:00

Unfortunately, there's not a great deal more on offer in our garden at the moment. I must say though, that this little fairy is rather cute.

The recent hot and humid weather we've experienced has caused all the tomatoes to split and the bushes to die off. The beans are looking scraggly and the silver beet has shrivelled and died. We're still waiting for the next harvest of lettuce and corn and the whole patch just looks a fright.
On the upside, the chillies are going great guns. I must google more chilli recipes as although RJ frequently professes his love for Chilli Jam, there's only so much of the stuff that a girl can be inspired to make!
Of course, a good days work over the weekend should have the garden looking reasonable again. I just find it rather un-enthralling when it is in such a state of disarray.

In the home, my project list is piling high. I have artworks to create, cushion covers to sew, a quilt that still needs to be completed, clothing to be refashioned and there's plenty of architraves and skirting to be painted.
I'm feeling rather unmotivated. I'm not sure if it's the weather that is redolent of the Far North Coast or the time of year when life is just starting to form a routine again. Perhaps I'm just feeling lazy.

I have, however, started going to the gym. I've conceded defeat and come to the understanding that I am not currently in the position to lose my excess (can it still be called baby weight when my baby is almost 2?) body fat by my traditional method of walking. When I was at my ideal weight, back in my child free days, I walked everywhere. Reliant on public transport and perpetually running slightly behind schedule, I briskly stepped my way from location to location. Even after getting my first car (Nan's little blue laser called 'Charlie') at the ripe old age of 26, I still opted to go public often and rarely drove into town. Back then it took me a good 40 minutes but it was a walk worth taking. Beautiful beaches and plenty of hills to create nice firm buttocks.

Then I had the kids.

Walking wasn't so bad with just a baby in a pram although the access into town was restricted to the sandy beach there for a while when the roads were being altered. So I stopped walking into town. Then there were two and walking with an 18 month old and a newborn turned from brisk to an amble. I pretty much stopped trying when the third arrived. Trying to exercise with a 3 year old, an 18 month old and a newborn was beyond me. So now we stroll when we're out and about and that does very little for the buttocks. Unfortunately, the nature of RJ's business means that he's up early and home late more often than not so that leaves me little time to get out and about on my own.

I was happy to blame breastfeeding and pregnancy for my excess weight for a while. Then I took liberty in the '3 in 3 years' excuse. Then I just got sick of not feeling like me anymore.
So I've joined the gym and the time for excuses has come to an end.
I had aimed to reclaim my figure by early next year, then my sister got engaged and will be married in September. I'm to be bridesmaid along with our elder sister, so now my weight loss deadline has jumped forward considerably. The hunt for dresses has already begun, so now I need to be fit and trim by probably sometime in May.
Lucky I joined the gym.
Even luckier, the kids have fun in the creche.

So while the garden suffers and the projects pile up, I'm getting active. I'm Spinning and Stepping and Pumping and Stretching and occasionally even Boot camping.
Of course I'm also making Chilli Jam.

Holidays

2010-01-17T14:58:00.003+11:00

Wow, I’m so out of tune with my blog at the moment that I feel like I’m writing my first post again and don’t quite know what to say.

A week before Christmas we headed up to the warm Far North Coast of NSW. There we spent three weeks gazing out over the mighty Clarence River.
We swam at the beaches of Brooms Head and Yamba.
We watched storms over the cane fields and danced in the rain.
We enjoyed the nightly spectacle of hundreds of thousands of flying foxes setting out from their colony to feast during the night.
We braved the stench of the bats and their eerie screeches to get up close looks at them dangling upside down from their roosts during the day.
RJ and I sat and chatted with family and old friends while the kids ran wild with their cousins and new friends.
We took a ride in a ferry boat to swim at Iluka bay and spotted dolphins and jelly fish and all sorts of birds along the way.
We made friends with Mum and Dads’ resident kookaburras and magpies and butcher birds, frogs and water monitor too.
We saw kangaroos and emus and the Red Wiggle as well.
The kids got to eat out at the local Chinese because Pokky likes that too. Then we introduced them to Tapas (Dora eats that you know… Mum this fish has eyes in it… yeah it’s yum…Oh, ok).
We went to sports day on the beach and ran in the races, played cricket and swam in the pool.
We slept in a tent and a caravan and got to go for drives in other peoples cars.
We slipped, slopped and slapped and still got brown from the sun.
On the way home we stopped at Crowdy Bay National Park where we saw a sleepy koala, feisty boxing kangaroos and a nosy goanna.
We swam in the rock pools and wrote our names in the sand.
When we got home we had a garden to tame.
A carload of toys to relocate (mostly pre-loved so at least my conscience got a break).
Bills to pay.
Clothes and camping equipment to put away.
We had a good holiday…
Lots of fun and adventure.
The kids laughed and played and smiled every day.
It took me a week to recover.
I’m only just starting to feel sane.
The kids want to know when we can go back to Nanoo and Pokky’s again.

Homemade Beauty

2009-12-03T18:43:00.007+11:00

I finally got around to making some deodorant. It's taken me the best part of a year but after reading about this homemade concoction here and here, I decided that it was time to stop thinking about it and to just give it a go.

It's great. I've been walking around for a week now, randomly sniffing at my pits. Well, sniffing of the wine tasting variety - shove the nose right in there and breathe in deeply. Not a hint of body odour. It passes the spin class test. It passes the frantic Christmas shopping race from shop to shop in the hot sun. It's a winner. I love it.

I put it into an old commercial stick deodorant dispenser, but it's just as easy to dip your fingers into a tub.

While I was at it, I decided to give some lip balm a go too. I got some inspiration from here and added quarter teaspoons of coconut oil, beeswax, olive oil and honey together. I like it, but I added way too much beeswax so I plan to remelt it and add some more oil. It's so simple though. Why have I not been making this for years?

Finally, I put together a batch of melt and pour body butter bars that I discovered here.
These feel great and moisturise beautifully. They're a tad greasy, but I've had scabby, dried out fingers for over a year now that drive me nuts because they get soil in them and then I'm left with black cracks in my fingers which is a rather inelegant look. Apparently a combination of sewing and gardening does not lead to ladylike appendages. These body butter bars seem to have done the trick though and my fingers are regaining a supple smoothness such as would befit the wearer of a fancy dress.

Thus far my op shop browsing excursions have left me short of finding the fancy dress. I can however recommend a foray into the makings of homemade body treatments. Easy, satisfying and a little bit luscious.

I got my ingredients here. Service was quick, efficient and friendly.

Natural, calorie free sweets.

2009-11-20T19:58:00.003+11:00

Just pick a leaf and off you go.

We couldn't get the eggplant seeds to grow this year. We tried a couple of times and not a single one came up. So, before it was too late in the growing season to really bother, I caved and went to buy some seedling. At Bunnings, no less.

Now one can't just pop into there and grab the selected item and head for the checkout registers. No! one must browse the entire garden section.

So there I stood, in front of the herbs, sampling the slightly aniseed flavour of Thai Basil (good - ended up with one of those in my trolley), Vietnamese Mint (quite a bite - too peppery for the days palate) and various other leaves of different shapes, colours and sizes, when suddenly from the corner of my eye I saw the label STEVIA.

What fun!

I'd heard of Stevia rebaudiana before but had never imagined that it might be stocked at my local Bunnings store. I cautiously popped a leaf into my mouth - could it really be sweat? Looked just like your average green leaf to me.

It could.

It was.

What fun!

I had to have it.

I took it home and gave the kids a sample. They loved it. I chopped a leaf up in their salad. They ate the lot. Mixed a leaf into their silverbeet stirfry. They ate more than usual. I'd be best not to get carried away and cause them to develop an unhealthy appetite for sweet foods. I'd be best not to use all the leaves before I've even put the little plant into the soil.

It's nice to have a little calorie free sweet treat living in the garden.

Making Cheese

2009-11-04T07:32:00.003+11:00

About a year ago, I went along to a Sustainable Illawarra Cheese making workshop. Until then I'd never really thought much about making cheese, but this course was well subsidised so only came with an affordable $30 price tag. Even better, with a baby just starting to wean herself from daytime feeds, it came along at the perfect time for me to grab a bit of 'Escape Time' from the kids. Perhaps 'Quality Daddy Time' for the kids is a nicer way to phrase that!

It was nice to do something a little out of the ordinary and I discovered that although it is time consuming, cheese making is really rather simple. It even allows for mistakes and for the home consumer, the strict sterilization techniques we were taught at the workshop, don't seem to be completely necessary.

My most recent batch of Feta - served on cucumber slices with chili relish.

At the workshop, we participated in the making of feta, whole milk ricotta and mascarpone. The Feta is the most time intensive, needing cutting and curd turning, then straining and more turning. It's definitely best if you remember to start this one fairly early in the morning. I'm not too good at that myself and inevitably need to get up in the middle of the night to turn my feta one last time. Feta also needs one of the lactic cultures to be prepared 8-16 hours in advance. Wouldn't you know it, I forget about that darned Mesophilic Homofermenatative Culture every time. So I wing it and chuck in a bit extra and add some more rennet and cross my fingers and hope that it works. So far so good. The texture is not quite what it should be, but the taste is certainly there. Next time though, I'll try to remember to begin my preparations the night before!

Whey based ricotta - served with roasted walnuts and lashings of honey.

Whole milk ricotta is divine and oh so easy. All you need is a thermometer and some white vinegar or lemon juice. Unfortunately, the yield is not so great, so I don't tend to bother making it. Whey based ricotta though is perfect. Creating something out of the feta leftovers is a fantastic bonus. I can't believe that they didn't teach us this one during the workshop! OK, so the taste is not so rich and creamy as the whole milk ricotta. Served fresh though, with cinnamon sugar, or honey and nuts, especially while still warm - yummo, what a treat!

My first attempt at minted haloumi - served pan fried on a bed of grilled eggplant with a garden salad.

I keep my eye open for the organic non-homogenised milk whenever I go to the supermarket. With three little kids still drinking large amounts of milk, I can't afford to buy this everyday, but when it comes on sale, I usually buy whatever they've got and that's when I make cheese. I know, I know, I really need to make friends with the local dairy farmers - unfortunately, I'm just not good at that sort of thing, so I'm working towards it slowly (still at the thinking about it stage really).

Anyway, my latest milk supply came shortly after I'd just made feta. It would've been boring to make more of the same (although I could've remembered to prepare my culture and thus could've compared the two) so I decided to give haloumi a go. It took a bit of time, but was pretty easy really. I love the mint in it.

Next, I aim to make mozzarella.

Perhaps one day I shall do a Gavin, get a cheese fridge and start making wensleydale,

Confessions of a Crafty Hoarder

2009-10-27T10:37:00.002+11:00

I've always been a lover of the arts and crafts. Even my year 1 school books documented that:

'when I grow up, I want to be an artist or a scientist".

This theme continued throughout my primary school books and then was forgotten about once I entered high school. I must say, it blew my mind a bit to discover these childish yearnings after I had completed my Bachelor of Science in Environmental Biology.

Who'd've thought it? Destiny perhaps?

More often than not though, I kick myself for not having the strength of mind to go the other way and pursue a career in the arts.

Of course I'm not too old - perhaps I'll become both!

The problem with having an interest in arts and crafts though? - the monumental scale of hoarding that is involved!

I've a fantastic collection of paints and pencils, pastels and clays.

There are papers and boards, ribbons and inks.

There's glues and tapes, staples and strings.

Little bits and pieces that might be useful for something one day, as decorations, kids crafty bits, or the finishing touch on a special project perhaps.

There are frames and canvases and brushes of all sizes.

I have cottons and threads and buttons and zips.

As well as elastics and needles, thimbles and pins.

I've got fabrics reclaimed and fashions waiting to be remade.

So much stuff can be viewed with potential. I tend to have a repeated dialogue with myself that goes something like this:

"That's been sitting around for ages, I should throw it out"

"Oh but I could do something with it, turn it into something else"

"I'm never going to have the time, It's just going to be taking up space, I should just chuck it"

"But I could use it. I'll find the time, It'll be great"

"OK then, I'll just put it in here until I'm ready to do something with it".

I now have recycled kitchen cupboards full of the stuff. It took me a whole day to sort it all out and locate it from various hiding spots throughout the house. Then just when I thought I'd finished I found another 3 bags full!

I even have a dedicated collection of wool, complete with knitting needles and crochet hooks.

Will I ever accept that I can't knit, or will I always have the crafty enthusiasm that tells me that I can do anything...

so long as I find the time?

2009-10-18T09:03:00.003+11:00

350.org is an international movement which aims to promote global action on climate change.
They are "dedicated to building a movement to unite the world around solutions to the climate crisis--the solutions that science and justice demand." (www.350.org). With a mission to "inspire the world to rise to the challenge of the climate crisis" (www.350.org), they are focusing on the number 350 which scientists are saying is the safe upper limit in parts per million (ppm), for carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. With a current level of 389ppm, 350ppm is looked at as a practical and achievable target.

Next Saturday is 350.orgs Global Day of Climate Action, where they are

"calling on people around the world to organize an action on October 24 incorporating the number 350 at an iconic place in their community, and then upload a photo of their event to 350.org website." (www.350.org)

In the Illawarra, people can join in by going along to Futureworld and attending their Futureworld eco-technology centre open day and brainstorm banner.

The University of Wollongong is also planning to showcase photographs of people performing simple sustainable activities, in an image of the word 350.

Lot's of different activities are being held around the globe. To find one near you, check out this interactive map.

Unfortunately, we'll be camping on Saturday, so we'll miss out. I'm very much looking forward to camping though. It's been a while since we've had the time to do this. I believe that it will be Miss Noodles first time. Miss Chookie and Mr Little Dude were both only a couple of months old for their first camping adventures. We'll be going with a whole bunch of other families, so with plenty of children on hand, we might just have to build a 350 sandcastle and host our own unofficial action day event.

Blog Action Day 2009: Climate Change

2009-10-15T14:41:00.003+11:00

When I first heard about Blog Action Day and saw that this years topic was Climate Change, I thought to myself "I should do that... sounds easy enough". So I signed myself up.

Then I got to thinking and I realised that I really don't know that much about climate change. The pressure was on.

What to write about?

It should be good... Informative... Knowledgeable... Well researched.

What had I gotten myself into?

Finally I decided that I'd just write about why I thought it was a good idea to write about Climate Change in the beginning.

Basically I think it all just comes down to climate change being about the environment and the environment is something that interests me. I know... I know, it's terrible that I'm not really all that interested in climate change in itself, but there you go, that seems to be the way it is. Now don't get me wrong, I'm by no means a sceptic. I believe the climate is changing, I'm just not completely sure of what that means for us. I know a bit about global warming and how the ice caps are melting and the glaciers are receding at a rapid pace. I understand that this is leading to flooding of coastal areas. I realize that Earth is really just one big ecosystem, so everything is interconnected. Changes in the atmosphere and oceans will lead to all sorts of crazy changes in the weather. I've also heard about global dimming which just complicates matters more. Now we have to consider that some pollutants actually have a bit of a slow down effect on global warming. Then there's the doomsday notion of a point of no return which we may be rapidly approaching. In this case, we'll soon be spiralling down a non-reversible route of catastrophic destruction!

Some may fear that the end is near and therefore bold action must be taken. I figure if the end is near then I'll either be wiped out with everyone else or I'll try to find a way to keep existing as best I can in whatever the circumstances may be.

So why bother with trying to be more sustainable?

Because I should.

Because we all should.

It all comes back to that great big ecosystem we call Earth.

There's no denying that humans have done a grand job of stuffing up Earth on a monumental scale. Of course we'll experience repercussions from that. So of course we should be doing our best to change our ways and be more sustainable... more accountable... more aware. Nature is wonderful. Apart from all the life giving qualities it provides us with, it's beautiful.

The trees... the birds and animals and insects... the waterways... the colours and smells and sounds... the people's cultures and rituals and beliefs.

Somehow we've lost touch with that. Somehow we think it's more important to have more. Somehow we've forgotten how to think much beyond the self.

It's time we remembered how to share.

With nature and with each other.

So for climate change action day, I urge you to slow down.

Sit under a tree... lie on the grass and make shapes out of the clouds... take a dip in the ocean... close your eyes and listen to the bees... smile at a stranger... laugh with a child...

Remember what it is that's really important to you.

Is it having more?

Or is it laughing?

loving?

living?

Bulk Baking Frenzy.

2009-10-10T14:03:00.005+11:00

I'm trying to do more baking these days. I'm a bit of a last minute cook though and therefore tend not to plan ahead well enough. Waiting for yeast action to happen generally takes a good couple of hours longer than my last minute rush to get some food out on the table. This doesn't bother me though. In a recent attempt to be more productive with my time, I drew up a meal planner and a daily events planner and after giving it my best for a couple of weeks I concluded that I prefer to do it my way. Unorganised chaos though it may be, I enjoy cooking a 'what's in the fridge/garden/pantry' meal much more than one that is pre-thought and prepared for. That said, I really do want to do more baking.

For energy efficiency and making the most of that spontaneous burst of baking creativity, bulk baking is definitely the way to go.

Here's my first effort...

fancy bread

pita

cupcakes

water crackers

and a plaited loaf.

The pita is a hit with the husband and the kids love the crackers. Of course they love the cupcakes too but we try to keep them as a treat.

Now I just have to source some bulk wholemeal flour to ensure that I keep the bulk baking frenzy as a regular occurrence.

Blog Action Day - October 15th 2009.

2009-10-06T20:32:00.002+11:00

Blog Action Day is an annual event that unites the world's bloggers in posting about the same issue on the same day on their own blogs with the aim of sparking discussion around an issue of global importance. Blog Action Day 2009 will be the largest-ever social change event on the web. One day. One issue. Thousands of voices. [http://www.blogactionday.org/]

Take a single day out of your usual blogging schedule and focus it on an important issue - CLIMATE CHANGE.

You can register your blog here.

A glut of Avocados

2009-09-28T13:15:00.004+10:00

I'm so glad that Avocado season has arrived.

Fresh in salads, pulped into dips or chopped up for pizza toppings. Avocados are great.

Recently we had a weekend in Sydney to celebrate the 3rd birthday of our niece. Before setting off, I noticed that we had an avocado that would've passed it's expiry date before we got back. I couldn't just let it go to waste, so I rather hopefully chucked it whole into the freezer.

RJ's sister lives in the Northern Suburbs of Sydney, in a small but charming cottage, with a surprisingly large garden of the old fashioned sort. Hidden behind the chook pen, there are two large avocado trees, a large (unfortunately sterile) mango tree and a fully fruiting mulberry tree. There are also a couple of clumps of ginger growing and plenty of space for a seasonal vegetable patch.

Lucky for us, the avocados were fruiting nicely and we were able to gather up a couple of armfuls to take home (along with a stash of ginger roots). Unfortunately, they all ripened up at the same time. So I pulled the frozen avocado out of the freezer and let it defrost in it's skin, before mashing it up with a little salt and pepper and declaring it perfectly fit for eating. Yay! now there's a handful of avocado's sitting in the freezer and we didn't have to gorge ourselves with over ripe avocados or feed them to the chickens. We can now eat them at leisure.

Cloche de beurre

2009-09-20T15:39:00.002+10:00

I first found out about butter bells when reading a post at Towards Sustainability. I liked it. I immediately wanted one of my own. Yet, alas! there does not seem to be a manufacturer in Australia. Then Taurus Rising wrote a post about her new and rather beautiful cloche de buerre, further enhancing my desire to find a nice butter jar of my own. A pretty green one like hers was most ideal.
I wasted a bit of time searching on the Internet for an Australian manufacturer but came up with nothing, so decided to take inspiration from Dance of Small Things and make one of my own. Over the next month or so, I scoured the home ware and bric a brac shelves of the local op shops until I finally found a nice sized ceramic dish.

Unfortunately green it is not, but I do like the cute little handle on the lid. My luck was with me on that day and I also found a small ceramic cup that fit nicely inside, with enough finger room to lift it in and out. My intention was to glue the cup to the lid. When I tried that though, the glue I used wasn't strong enough and it came apart shortly after. Never mind, I just lifted out the cup and kept it separate and found that that works just as well. I was a little concerned about the use of strong adhesives so close to food anyway, so I was partly relieved that it didn't stick.

So now I just fill up my cup with butter and wouldn't you know... it fits one 250g block just perfectly! I put some cold water into my ceramic dish and then place my cup full of butter in upside down. Pop on the lid and leave it on the bench. When I want some butter I just take out the cup and sit it wherever is handy. It stays nice and soft and hopefully wont go rancid.

So far it works a treat and we've had hot enough days of late that I daresay the butter would've started to go sour in the standard butter dish which I'd previously been using. I believe that I'm supposed to change the water every few days. Maybe more when the warm weather really kicks in.

I must say, I'm rather pleased with my improvised butter bell or cloche de buerre.

A Bunch of Beans

2009-09-07T17:58:00.003+10:00

I figured that Dad grew up on a farm, so he'd know how to cook Broad Beans. A surprise visit provided me with the perfect opportunity to ask.

So, I say "Dad, how do I cook broad beans?"

and he replies "Oh, is that what what you've got in the garden? I was going to ask what that tall stuff was."

So it was back to 'google' for me.

I found out that you should pick off the tips of broad bean plants after the flowers have formed.

I also discovered that these can be eaten. So off to the garden I went and picked the tips and sauteed them lightly in olive oil and lemon. Not bad. Not gastronomically amazing, but certainly edible.

Broad beans are typical of winter plants in that they seem to take ages to grow and then just as you're thinking about preparing the garden for the summer crop (and eyeing off all that growing space being consumed by the rather large stalks of Brassicas and broad beans) they start to produce abundant quantities of wholesome backyard goodness.

Little Dude is in broad bean heaven!

He can't get enough of them.

As I sit splitting pods and squeezing out plump, green beans, he stands by anxiously asking for "More Mummy, More".

He eats faster than I can supply.

So a quick lesson was given in how to pod a broad bean.

Now he can feed himself and I can gather enough broad beans for dinner.

A Splash of Colour

2009-09-03T12:51:00.003+10:00

I love seeing bright, colourful and cheerful houses. When it came to selecting our colour scheme, however, we opted for more subdued tones. Although the actual planning process of redecorating can be fun, the hands on painting is not so enjoyable. My job is always to do the cutting in of the corners and edges. I find it to be slow, fiddly and tedious. That's why we went with the neutral colours. Fingers crossed we wont look at our walls in five years time and wonder what we were thinking! Hopefully a few touch up jobs will see us through for many years to come.

Anyway, so we need splashes of colour to brighten the place up. I'm working on the inspiration for some wall canvases that the kids and I will paint. I've purchased some op-shop glass bottles to paint and I have some ceramic dishes to be jazzed up some too.

The best colour though, comes from my friend who gives me beautiful bunches of bright, springtime cheer. Just the kind of colour we need!

Flowers

2009-08-26T11:17:00.005+10:00

I've always been a staunch fan of native gardens.

Unfortunately I'd be kidding myself if I were to say that I enjoy the act of gardening. I really don't gain any satisfaction from bending over a patch of soil, picking weeds, taking the time to prepare, fertilise and nurture a garden. I never have.

I recall with satisfaction (my sisters with wrath!) the days spent weeding the garden in my youth. My entire family gathered around the beds, hunched down, dirty and sweaty... Me looking down at their progress from the kitchen window.

Well... someone had to make the lunch and prepare the icy cold drinks to soothe those weary bodies! Fortunately I was always the one who was quickest to take this task to hand.

I always did prefer to work in the kitchen! My older sister still hasn't forgiven me for shirking the hard work and yet getting all the praise (those lunches were always delicious!).

Hence my love of natives. With minimal effort required to have a colourful, flourishing and often spectacular garden, who wouldn't be a fan?

I love the angular shapes of the Kangaroo paws with their bright colours and strappy green leaves. The grasses wave about in the wind and their various colours catch the light in different ways. Eucalypts look spectacular when set against a stormy backdrop of heavy grey clouds and lit from the front with a dusty yellow light from the fading sun. Bottle brush and Grevillia's attract the birds year round, while native Lily's are always green and lush in foliage.
Mostly I love that native gardens are largely low maintenance and look good year round.

In fact I'd never even entertained the idea of growing non-native ornamental flowers. Vegetables are different - they have a purpose, but flowers... just to look pretty... who could be bothered with that?

But then I met my friend Morning. She always has flowers. Planted along her drive, across an arch to her front steps, over her railings and surrounding her porch. Then there's the ones inside... showy displays at the entrance, scented bouquets on the table, delicate posies in the bathroom, a single stem by the couch. They smell beautiful and have all sorts of wonderful and exotic names.
So I began to grow some of my own. I started with some bulbs. I love their showy colours and bold shapes. Mixed seeds have been thrown into some pots. I've also ventured into planting some purchased pots of already flowering sweet peas and pansies (I couldn't wait - next year I'll grow everything from seed, I promise).
Chookie loves them... So do I.

Google doesn't always get it right!

2009-08-14T12:20:00.004+10:00

Meet Fuzz.

We purchased Fuzz from a local pet shop, just before the new year.

Such a cute little duckling at only a few days old and a delight for the children to play with.

Of course I never bothered to ask about gender when buying Fuzz, so we've been wondering ever since.

Until around a week ago, that is.

About 2 weeks ago I was collecting the two older kids from their pre-school when Noodles stopped to admire their resident duck, Donald.

Donald is all white, with a larger beak than Fuzz and sports quite a loud and obvious Quack.

"Ooh" I said, "our duck doesn't quack like that".

"Maybe it's a male" replied the lovely Lauren (childcare worker and guardian of Donald). "Male ducks don't quack"

So I got to thinking that Fuzz was likely to be a male. After all, the two ducks were the same age and Donald had begun to lay an egg each day about a month ago.

There was nothing left to do but 'google' it... So I did.

Googling it indeed confirmed that males don't quack. This came from various believable sources. I can't reference sites for you, I wasn't organised/motivated enough to note them down. But then I deduced that Fuzz was most likely a Muscovy duck (Lavender perhaps?) and one site mentioned that Muscovy's don't really quack and although I can't remember how it described the noises the two genders make, I do recall thinking that Fuzz was possibly leaning more to that of the female. Hmmmm???

Then, however, I read that male Muscovy ducks will wag their tail when spoken to and often raise their feathers above their head. This is Fuzz all over. Never so fast have I seen a ducks tail wag, as that of our Fuzz.

Furthermore, while some sites stated quite clearly that Muscovy ducks have had their flight ability bred out of them, others stated them as notorious escape artists through the mechanism of flight.

Oh the conundrum!

What of our duck - male, female or sterile hybrid?

We took all the information on board and decided that Fuzz was most likely a male.

Then what to do?

Buy a female duck and raise some chicks?

Cook Fuzz up for dinner?

We wanted a female duck for eggs. We'd never tried duck eggs before, but we wanted some sort of reward for putting up with the duck poo all over the back door step.

Then, within the week, an egg.

An egg a day.

In the words of Chookie... "Fuzz is not a roast duck anymore".

Problem solved... Google doesn't always get it right.

What to do with duck eggs?

I'd never eaten/cooked with/stored duck eggs before!
What did I do?
'Googled' it - of course!

Protecting the upholstery

2009-08-07T07:50:00.005+10:00

Now that we've moved into our new extension, we're using a nice big dining setting so that we can have family dinners and all the time together and conversation that is afforded by that lovely tradition.

Our dining chairs are upholstered though. Not unusual by any means, but rather unfortunate when little children like to make a mess of their hands and then rest them (or perhaps clean them) on the seat that is cushioning their little bottoms.

We figure that we can get them re-upholstered some day in the distant future if they become too dirty. We'd rather they stay nice for a while though, so preventative measures had to be taken.

First step - Send the kids off to their Aunts place to do some cooking.

Enter one pile of fabric - rescued from the depths of an op-shop remnants box.

Create a newspaper template and then spend a little time on the sewing machine (fingers crossed - of course!). Add a little time for some reverse sewing - as termed by Donna at Casa Famiglia.

And here you go - Protective seat covers.

Just in time for the kids to return with some chocolate cake.

Lucky the covers are elasticised, so they are easy to remove and throw into the machine for washing.

Pecking Poultry

2009-07-27T12:15:00.005+10:00

The Chooks have been pecking at each other lately. So much so, that some of them are starting to look a bit on the scabby side, with bald spots on their necks and torn tail feathers.

I'm not sure if this is due to an attempt to alter the current social order in the pecking line, or if it is due to boredom.

They've not been let out to wander freely among the yard quite so much of late. I'm attempting to grow some bulbs to have something pretty to look at, so I'm trying to prevent the Chooks from scratching them all up. Thus I've only been letting them out for a limited time before sunset. I've given up on the Sweet Peas that I had planted along the back fence. They've long been scratched away or covered in thick layers of scratched up mulch.

However, I'm clinging to the hope that the bulbs might grow and produce some flowers to enjoy.

That means that the duck has been locked away a bit more than usual too, as it tends to eat the foliage... rather more than is desirable for continued plant survival. I've already lost a Kangaroo Paw to Fuzz. Possibly a Tulip too.

So anyway, back to the poultry - if it's boredom that is the culprit for the case of the missing feathers, then it is my responsibility to combat this. As such I have been tying up some green pick for the Chooks to occupy themselves with. They do love to peck at a rich green Brassica leaf. Throw in some Nasturtiums and Silverbeat and they'll happily jump all morning.

It's rather amusing to watch the jumping in progress. It could just about keep me occupied all morning too.

Here's hoping it helps to stop the excessive pecking so the Chooks can grow back their feathers and be healthy looking once again.

Chookies Duck Update

2009-07-19T10:08:00.002+10:00

This is Fuzzy Duck.

He poos everywhere!

Fuzzy Duck sitting on a box at the back door - with poo.

A perfect week for washing

2009-07-08T09:24:00.005+10:00

Last week saw perfect weather for washing.

Crisp blue skies.

Warm golden sunshine.

A flapping breeze...

Strong enough to lift the clothing in a gentle, drying caress.

Not so strong to whip them up and twist them around the line.
Just perfect.

Now to put them all away!

Today is miserable.

Overcast,

Threatening to rain...

Noodles pulled her Nappy off last night,

Leaving her bedding in a sodden mess...

Then she spewed.

All over her clothes.

All over mine.

Towels were used to mop it up.

Loads of washing,

Less than ideal weather!

This one's for Tricia's Line Link Love over at Little Eco Footprints.

Passion fruit Cordial

2009-06-29T14:54:00.007+10:00

Our passion fruit vine produced rather abundantly this year and we are still picking some of the dark purple fruits to eat. During our morning wander down to the vege patch today, I was promptly directed (by the finger pointing, grunting and staunch refusal of little miss 1 to be removed from the area) to supply Noodles and Little Dude with a half a fruit each. I barely managed to tear the fruit in two before they were sucking up the sweet, orange pulp.

Pyjamas, gumboots and sticky juice dribbling down their arms - what a way to start the day!

Meanwhile, we've had some ripe passion fruits sitting in a container in the kitchen for weeks now. Half forgotten. Just waiting idly for something to be done with them. So today was the day to do that something and passion fruit cordial that something was.

PASSION FRUIT CORDIAL

3 and a half cups of raw sugar
3 cups of water*bring to the boil and then remove from the heat.

half an ounce of Epsom salts
1 desert spoon of citric acid

*add to sugar water and stir to dissolve.

12 passion fruits

*add and stir well.

Serve diluted with water, carbonated water or champagne.

Store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

I'm rather pleased with the result. It tastes quite nice.

You could probably try straining the pulp to remove the seeds, but I'd only bother to do that If I had plans to make a passion fruit cheesecake at the same time. If only I'd had the ingredients for that this morning!

Green Hangers

2009-06-24T08:49:00.002+10:00

I was at Bunnings the other day, getting in a bit of extra exercise by walking its many long aisles, checking out different types of bins and buckets in order to order our recycling better and searching for some flower seeds to soften our largely native gardens.

While checking out some sturdy black tubs of ideal cupboard size, I happened upon these...

Green Hangers.

They are 100% recycled and biodegradable and purchasing them helps to support Climate Positive.

Even better for me, as they were on the discount table, they only cost $1 for a pack of 10 so I grabbed some for the kids as I'm sure they shall be needing more before too long.

A green bargain that made my day.

A Noodle Gnome

2009-06-15T12:51:00.002+10:00

We have no garden gnomes so today I had to dress our little Noodles up as a gnome and stick her in the garden for a photo. Why? Because I love a good blog give-away and The Veggie Gnome over at The Mad Gnomes strike Again! has asked us to send in the gnomes 'for a mad give-away'.

They have some great prizes, but the fun part for me is in discovering new blogs - there's nothing like a give-away to get the comments flowing. There are so many great, fun, interesting and informative blogs just waiting to be discovered! Too many really.

Noodles quite enjoyed playing the part of a small, fairy story being ... even if she didn't much capture the essence of a little old man. Besides, it's always fun to play in the garden.

Winter Warmth

2009-06-11T08:16:00.006+10:00

We've been building an extension onto the back of our house. It is one big, open plan room that will incorporate the kitchen, dining and living areas. RJ has started to build the kitchen now, so it is really beginning to take shape and look like a lovely, live able space. I'm certainly looking forward to cooking in a nice, spacious kitchen where I'm no longer removed from the rest of the family.

When doing the designing, my main wish was for a northern window. The original house only has one tiny little toilet window on the north wall and all the bedrooms are at that end, so with an east-west aspect, it has previously been an icebox during winter.

Now I have a lovely northern window which is angled with the line of the roof and up high so we can't see too much of the neighbours. It lets in a beautiful amount of winter sun to fill the living area with light and warmth.

It does get quite chilly here in winter, so we had to consider our heating options as well. We didn't particularly want a reverse cycle heater/air conditioner as we don't feel that it really gets hot enough to warrant the cooler.

We are not connected to a gas line so gas wasn't an affordable option.

There's no way a little radiant electric heater would heat the space.

A pot-belly fire place was the way to go.

So, RJ sourced a second hand one that was still in good condition, albeit a little outdated in appearance. Recently he completed the feature stone wall to back it and the hearth upon which it would sit. Next the pot-belly was installed and ready for a test run. We'd been saving timber from a few trees that had to be removed (we've planted new ones to replace them) and collected kindling from my sisters front yard. Soon we had a blazing fire that heated the spacious room beautifully.

It is very relaxing to stare at a fire as well and much more captivating than the television. Imagine the hours we can while away staring at the dancing flames and glowing embers. I reheated the remains of a pot of soup on it the other day. I'd love to have a go at cooking a hearty casserole on it but as long as the sun is shining in through our lovely window, it's not really cold enough to warrant having the fire going for long enough to do so. I'll have to wait until the next truly wintry, cold and rainy day.

Chilli Relish - The One Cup Recipe.

2009-06-02T12:00:00.004+10:00

RJ has been on at me for some time now, to make him some more Chilli Jam. The chilli's too have been little red beacons of fiery reminders, hanging from the bush... begging to be put to good use rather than to dry out and fall to the ground, wasted and forgotten. Poor little chilli's! Mustn't allow that.
So today was chilli cooking day.
I've been wanting to try out a family recipe from RJ's Grandmother for a few months now. Chilli Relish, that has to be about as simple as recipes come.

CHILLI RELISH

1 cup each of:

Minced Apple

Minced Onion

Minced Chilli

Sugar

Vinegar

and a pinch of salt.

Put it all together in a pan, bring to the boil and simmer for 1 hour.

Add a handful of your favourite herbs at the end if you like.

I added basil to one jar and sage to another.

Yum!

I also cooked up a dose of the chilli jam (which, by the way, tastes great on a dollop of natural yoghurt) for RJ, but because I'm such a lackadaisical measurer and ended up with an extra cup or so of minced apple, I added the extra apple to the chilli mixture and then only put in 4 cups of sugar. I'm interested in seeing if RJ likes it better this way. I think I do.

These recipes are pretty much foolproof. I'm a bit of a slap dash cook in that I rarely measure anything properly and hardly ever bother to follow a recipe more than the occasional first time attempt at cooking something. Even allowing for this, these preserves turn out fine, so they get a thumbs up from me.

I give my jars a good wash and rinse, then half fill them with water and sterilise them in the microwave by bringing them to the boil for about a minute. The lids I wash and then pour boiling water over, just before screwing on.

Now the Chilli's have been dealt with, we seem to have accumulated a surplus of apples, so I'll have to find some ways to use them up.

Our Great Green Transgression

2009-05-26T15:00:00.011+10:00

This is our great green transgression.

I know, I know... how can we claim to be trying to live more sustainably and yet drive around in a monster beast of a 4WD? We really don't have any excuses.

We both spent many childhood hours traversing 4WD tracks to get to different points of interest.

RJ's first car was a beaten up hunk of a fisherman's model Land Rover.

Still, we managed to travel around Australia in a standard Mitsubishi Magna and off roaded it well beyond what was advisable without any problem. So why did we then buy a beastly 4WD? RJ's dream I suppose. I'd have been happy with a much smaller, fuel efficient model.

Yet I must confess... I like this car. Terrible I know, but it is lovely being up high enough to see the ocean as I drive past. Putting the pram in the back simply entails folding it, hoicking it up and and shoving it in. None of the taking off of wheels and weaving below child restraint straps like I have to do when travelling in my sisters Astra's. We are able to (just barely) squeeze three child seats into the back. One baby one, one toddler one and one side less booster tucked into the middle and used with a safety harness. I honestly don't know how they'd fit into a smaller car.

I don't feel guilty about owning a 4WD. Ours has been off roaded and it will be off roaded again - more so as the kids get older.

I do feel guilty about driving it as an everyday car.

I try to minimise it's use by making sure that any journeys are for multiple purposes. I try to walk places where possible (quite a challenge with 3 little ones and lots of big, tiring hills to traipse up and down). I make sure not to wantonly let it idle. I started the year aiming for at least 1 car free day a week. These days we usually manage 3 or 4.

Now I can finally say that I also offset our carbon emissions. Greenfleet will plant some trees on our behalf.

I purchased a few extra too - just to play it safe.

The Downside of Digital

2009-05-18T07:45:00.004+10:00

I've been thinking about camera's and photography a bit lately. Largely because I have thousands of photo's that I need to sort through and the task is so big and so time consuming that I have been very effectively putting it off for quite some time now (thereby making it an even larger task by adding to the collection all the while!).

I remember when I got my first camera that a roll of 24 film would sometimes last me a year or more. Developing was expensive and basic cameras didn't have a great zoom so portrait shots often turned out to be a bit disappointing.

Not so now! I have a budget variety 8.3mpx Fujifilm point and shoot. I can snap off 24 photo's in a matter of minutes and my 4x optical zoom allows me to compose my picture how I want it. Printing is cheap but even better, I can create digital albums and slide shows or still movies, thereby saving all that paper and ink.

So what's the downside?

Too many good quality photo's! Sure, the advantage of digital is that if they don't work out you can simply delete them. But most of them work out - unless of course the subject closes their eyes or moves last minute. So most of them are worth holding onto and often the others can be 'fixed' with a little digital editing. Hence my dilemma of thousands of photo's needing my attention.

This wouldn't be so terrible if I hadn't gone and created a very thorough, printed account of Chookies first year. It's great! wonderful pictures and little snippets of things she did and said. Something for her to cherish when she gets older and to pass onto her children one day.

Of course I started one for Little Dude but am yet to get beyond his second week and as for Noodles, well hers is still in the too hard basket.

I'm trying to take it out of there and cross this project off my list, but first I need to sort through the thousands!

When I've selected and printed the best pictures and their first year albums are sorted out, I'll create some movies with the rest.

Then I'll have to edit the latest five hours of video tapes that are also sitting in that basket.

The downside of digital - a few minutes can create a few hours of work!

Yet, rather than learn my lesson and take fewer photo's, I covet a DSLR camera - we have one of the film varieties and I know how the feel of one of these in your hands can make you want to snap away like a pro.

Lucky our budget wont allow for one of these for a while.

I'd best get sorting before it does.

Forest Fortune

2009-05-06T15:07:00.003+10:00

We are very fortunate in that we live near a beautiful, remnant of rainforest, tucked into the side of the Illawarra escarpment. With a range of rainforest types, including; riparian, subtropical, warm temperate and dry.

Chookie, Little Dude, Noodles and I often pack a picnic and head out for a morning adventure in the 'Jungle' as Chookie calls it. We set off on our walk with a search for snakes and crocodiles in mind.

Carefully placed and well built boardwalks allow us to meander through the understory where we see many plants, including ferns, mosses, lichens and funghi. We also keep a look out for a Superb Lyrebird. We usually see a male, tail feathers spread in a showy display or busy at work scratching in the ground. Occasionally we see an echidna shuffling through the leaf litter.

Crossing suspension bridges, we jump with joy and marvel at the cascading waterfalls and bubbling brook below. At another bridge we always see some Eastern Water Dragons, 'soaking up the sun's rays on a moss-covered river boulder' (NSW DECC). Occasionally we spot an eel or some small fish swimming in one of the waterholes.

'Along the Minnamurra Rainforest track, you can see large sandstone boulders. As the cliffs have weathered away over millions of years, these boulders have tumbled from the cliffs into the forest below' (NSW DECC).

Among the many and varied vegetation types, we gaze at Tree Ferns and Elks, Red Cedars and Figs, Eucalypts and palms. We look up, we look down and we hug a tree trunk along the way.

A sensual delight, we breathe in the fresh, crisp smells and run our fingers along the different textures of leaves and bark. We move from dark, shadowy areas to those dappled with light before emerging into fully exposed sunshine. We hear the calls of birds, the rustle of leaves, scratching in the undergrowth, insects chirruping and water burbling.

Usually we complete the lower loop walk which takes us from the understory to high up in the trees and back again. Sometimes we brave the steep climb all the way to the top of the Falls walk where we are rewarded with the glorious sight and sound of a tumbling waterfall, complete with a beautiful rainbow at the base.

We always have a wonderful, yet exhausting time when we go to the 'jungle'.

Sweet Chilli Jam

2009-04-29T09:46:00.003+10:00

Our Chilli bush has flourished this year. Who would've thought that a bush that had been surviving on neglect for the past 5 years would come to life with such vigour when given a regular watering? I shall endeavour to keep the watering up in the years to come.

The abundant, vibrant red fruits pack quite a punch in the heat stakes and given that I've fallen out of the habit of cooking with chilli since the arrival of the kids, I needed to find a recipe that would use many at once.

So, chilli jam it is.

1 large capsicum (red or green)

24 chillies

1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar

5 cups of raw sugar

1 pinch salt

1/2 pack of jamsetta

Process the capsicums and chillies until finely chopped.

Bring chilli mix and vinegar to boil - simmer 15-20 minutes.

Add sugar, jamsetta and salt - stir until dissolved then boil until ready (check according to instructions on jamsetta packet).

Ladel into sterile jars and seal appropriately.

Decorate said jars for gift giving or eat the lot yourself.

Next I'll try a recipe for chilli relish that I've just been given.

MACLEAN MARKETS - fruit tree finds.

2009-04-16T13:24:00.006+10:00

An unexpected trip to the NSW Far North Coast last week, led us to some rather pleasing finds at the local Saturday Markets. After visiting RJ's father at his handmade wooden spoon stall where he sells ladles, spatula's, pizza servers, platters, wooden spoons of all sorts and sizes and groovy little door stoppers to use up the leftovers (all made from locally sourced Banksia timber), we came across a truck load of fruit trees... and there we stayed.

It was delightful to be able to amble through rows and rows of exotic fruit trees, most suitable to be grown in Sub-Tropical climates like ours, but difficult to source locally. Yet here they were and at a fraction of the cost.

RJ kept telling me to pick what I wanted but I had a dilemma in that ideally, I would like everything. Unfortunately we don't live on a farm and we have budget restrictions, so we were limited to a few selections.

We chose a Lychee: Litchi chinensis

A Satsuma Plum

An Autumn Fruiting Heritage Variety Raspberry: Rubus idaeus

A Pepino: Solanum muricatum

and a Black Sapote or Chocolate Pudding Fruit: Diospyros digyna.

We were also given a couple of small Mulberry seedlings that had sprouted up from underneath RJ's Dad's Mulberry tree. Add to that an armload of tall ornamental grass (not sure what it's called but it has long, greyish coloured leaves), an esky load of freshly caught Clarence Coast Whiting and a bagful of Grandpa's shirts for my sewing stash and our car was loaded up to capacity for the long drive home.

So we now have 24 fruit trees, including:

4 bananas

2 mountain papayas

1 mango

1 feijoa

1 fig

1 coffee tree

2 mulberries

1 olive

2 mandarins

2 oranges

1 lemon

1 pepino

1 raspberry

1 blueberry

1 black sapote

1 plum and

1 lychee.

We also have 5 Bush foods, including:

1 macadamia

1 finger lime

1 lily pily

1 lemon myrtle and

1 midym berry (I think).

Our Ornamental Natives include:

2 grass trees (ticketed of course!)

12 kangaroo paws

1 dead waratah (must replace)

1 clump of flax grass

2 gymea lily's

3 native iris'

1 orange flowering gum

1 jervis nightshade (or something like that)

2 birdsnest ferns

2 cycads

about 5 diffrent types of grasses

a couple of other things and

about 7 larger trees that were already established when we moved in. Add to that our Neighbours gums and grevillias and we really do have some nice places for the native wildlife to visit and for us to sit back and relax and take in 'the serenity' of.

Until I wrote this I didn't realise how lucky we truly are.

We've also got the ongoing vege garden and room to turn a bit more lawn into more productive growing space when we have more free time and money.

All in all, I'm quite pleased with how our garden is coming along. Now if only the fairy's would come and remove some of those pesky weeds that so enjoyed the recent rain!

MORE FROM THE SEWING TABLE

2009-04-05T13:33:00.003+10:00

This year I'm trying not to contribute to other peoples junky toy collection. More importantly, I'm also trying not to purchase cheap, wastefully packaged and poorly produced, throw away merchandise. So for birthday gifts this year, my aim is to only give handmade, preferably from reclaimed or recycled fabrics, which is a wonderful idea I got from Little eco footprints. It can be a bit tricky trying to come up with ideas, especially ones that will be appreciated by both the little receivers and their parents.

Chookie was given a pre-loved Dora pillowcase for Christmas and she absolutely adores it, so I thought that might be a safe option. As such, for Eric's birthday I designed and sewed together this cute little alien/monster motif onto a plain white pillowcase. I know he likes aliens and monsters as that was the theme for his party. The fabrics are all from my stash which includes some given materials some purchased materials and some reclaimed materials. I purchased the pillowcase new (then Chookie attacked it with some scissors - hence the ball near the eye) but will work toward purchasing a stash of op shop purchases just for this purpose.
Upon completion I realised that I should also make some gifts for other upcoming birthdays (after all it is birthday season!) so quickly put together some wallets out of scrap felt that was given to me. The monster/alien one was so cute I had to make one for Eric as well. Jack and Eric get a monster/alien as they are only 4.

Leo however is 6 so I thought he might be too old for cute little green things and opted for bats instead.

My stitching could do with some practice, but I was tired (the kids have been brutal towards us at night of late!) and figured that the children wouldn't notice and the parents would be too polite to say anything.

MENSTRUAL MATTERS

2009-03-27T12:09:00.005+11:00

I find it pretty astounding that until very recently I had never heard of menstrual cups. I think they must be the tampon manufacturers best kept secret! According to the Museum of Menstruation and Womens Health, they've been around since at least the 1930's, yet I menstruated for almost 20 years before reading about them in Linda Cockburn's book Living the Good Life.

I promptly got on the internet and found The Natural Company , an Australian company who sells them and other sustainable feminine products. I placed an order and was very excited when my package arrived in the mail. To think that I could eliminate all that waste that accompanies tampon manufacture and use, not to mention the avaoidance of the threat of toxic shock syndrome!

You should have seen the widening of my eyes when I opened it up and was confronted by my Keeper. "No way" I thought to myself... "that can't be comfortable". My sisters too, were sceptical and my husband was plain horrified. In short, it looks a little more daunting than the standard tampon and I was not too sure how I'd fare using it.

But you know, it's not that bad. The first time I used it I knew it was 'a keeper', in accordance with it's name. It does take some adjustment time though and sometimes there's an urge to just reach for the old methods. I find it fantastic during the lighter days and a bit more of a hassle during the heavier ones. It's really no more of a hassle than tampons though and as Linda mentioned in her book, it does take getting used too, but then so did tampons.

If you've never heard of menstrual cups and have a need for them then I urge you to give one a go. There are a few different brands on the market Women today can buy, including the reusable The Keeper, sold since the late 1980s; the one-time use Instead, which Ultrafem started selling in 1996 in the U.S.A.; the British Mooncup; the Canadian DivaCup, made of silicone; and the Finnish Lunette cup (MMWH). As far as the rubber Keeper goes, worn internally, it is comfortable and hygienic with a life expectancy of 10 years. Bound by biology to menstruate for approximately 35 years, the Keeper is a clear money saving choice (The Natural Company) at a cost of $45 including postage and handling.

HAND-ME-DOWN SKILLS

2009-03-19T09:40:00.006+11:00

I remember with fondness, being about ten or eleven and sitting beside my grandmother while she taught me how to stitch. Green doilies fringed with white lace and imprinted with a pretty little girl design over which I practiced my new embroidery skills. I wonder what happened to those doilies... no doubt my mother still has them tucked into her linen cupboard somewhere.

We spent a few of Nan's visits putting together little craft projects. It was nice and relaxing and very satisfying to see the end result. Of course it could be frustrating too and I also remember developing my unpicking skills at the same time. Nan was a patient teacher though and her casual lessons were very enjoyable.

Thirty years later I began to reacquaint myself with the art of stitchery. A friend coerced me into joining a beginners patchwork group. We were to produce a traditional, hand-pieced and hand-quilted sampler quilt. Now I can assure you that I was none too pleased at the thought of all that hand stitching and I've never been too fussed on the look of a sampler quilt. I was, however, pleasantly surprised to discover that I still found stitching to be a relaxing pastime. Two years on and my yet to be finished quilt has been silently gathering dust in a not quite forgotten corner for a few months now. This is not entirely my fault as the creche offered at the craft hall was unfortunately closed and as such I've not been able to continue with my weekly sewing excursions. I plan to finish my quilt but it has made it into the 'to do' list, which somehow always seems to get longer... never shorter.

My quilting managed to inspire me to take on more sewing projects and recently my sewing machine... which sat largely unused (yet definitely appreciated) for the past ten years, has now found a home out of the cupboard and on the desk top. It now gathers dust there and has added a few items to my 'to do' list!

I was further inspired to try my hand at some simple embroidery again. I purchased some ready made black aprons and some bright primary coloured cotton, traced outlines of my kids hands and stem stitched around them. The resulting look is very effective and they make great gifts for family.

Unfortunately my Grandmother has recently passed away and never got to see my return to embroidery (she saw my yet to be finished quilt though and was very proud). I do hope that my mother will follow the tradition and teach my children the art of stitchery when they are a little older. It is nice to have such a pleasant memory to hold onto and nice to find joy and relaxation in such a simple activity.

A NATIVE ENCOUNTER

2009-03-13T07:44:00.004+11:00

We are fortunate enough to have friends living on 7 acres nearby and we often visit them at their place for picnics on the grounds. Our latest picnic affiorded us with a visit from this lovely little spiked marsupial.

The echidna was very brave and appart from the occasional curl into a protective ball, it continued to forage for ants. It's cute little snout prodding at the nearby grasses. It's slim pink tongue flicking in and out.

It was the perfect subject for an impromptu biology lesson for Little Dude, Boo and Chookie.

HANDMADE GIFTS

2009-03-05T08:25:00.002+11:00

The birthday season has started!

I joined a new parents group at the local family care centre after I had Chookie. The idea was that I would meet other new mums and form a social network that I was missing since I was not from this town and now not talking to co workers everyday. I was lucky enough to be blessed with a wonderful group. Most of us still meet up regularly (usually once a week) and have a wonderful time chatting, relaxing and watching our children grow. The babies are now about to turn four and their birthdays all fall within the next three months. A couple of further additions to the baby count also share this time for their birthdays and then we have another little spate of birthdays towards the end of the year. Now, however, is definitely the crazy birthday season. Nearly one or more a week until the end of May.

The trick then is to come up with a gift that is thoughtful and not too wasteful and not just another book or toy to be tossed in the heap and frazzle a mothers already frayed nerves by constantly littering the floor.

I came up with this idea:

Chookie came home from pre-school singing a cheeky monkey song:

5 cheeky monkeys swinging in a tree

teasing Mr. Crocodile

you can't catch me ee

you can't catch me

along comes Mr. Crocodile

quiet as can be

SNAP!

4 cheeky monkeys swinging in a tree...

So I made up a crocodile hand puppet and 5 monkey finger puppets and there you have it, a thoughtful, not too wasteful gift that has the potential of littering the floor 6 times more than a single toy. Oops, but they're very cute, the kids love them and enjoy singing with them and they are a great way to use leftover scraps of fabric that have been sitting in my cupboard for years, or were given to me from someone else's cupboard. Besides, if the monkeys get stuffed into the crocodile after play time, then it only consists of one toy to frazzle the nerves.

My next aim is to use reclaimed or recycled fabrics. I have started to collect and add to my stash already.