Alternative Suburbia

Winter garden blues ... again

2011-05-31T23:28:00.000+10:00

As usual, this blog is getting neglected in the cooler months. It's not even THAT cold here; I mean, I'm freezing but people from more southern latitudes would laugh at me!
It's so wet and soggy outside. I've been thinking about re-designing the garden beds for better access but every time I go down there it's so muddy and depressing that I just trudge my way back up to the house and dream of summer. I can't even bring myself to put up a photo of it because it's so muddily-depressive!
On a brighter note ... we've decided to take another road trip up north in mid August, so I only have to complain for a little while longer.

Some Writing from Indi

2011-04-19T21:50:00.000+10:00

I'd just like to document a bit of Indi's literacy journey, as crude as it may be. I'm terribly disorganised (which I'm pretty sure is an unschooling family's prerogative) so I think I should at least start photographing and trying to blog about our little adventure in learning-without-schooling. It's pretty likely that these documents will go missing in the massive pile of 'stuff to sort through' but at least I'll have a digital version now :)

This one is from a few months ago. Mostly copy work and asking 'how do I spell ...'

She copied these from reading eggs about a month ago. We have a couple of phonic-based programs on the computer and the iphone that she is free to use as she pleases.

This was from last week. She was nagging me about making a cake and wanted to make sure we had all the ingredients. Flour, eggs, milk, custard, cake, cupcakes.

This was thrown at me a few days ago. For those not fluent in inventive spelling, it reads:

Mum. I love you so much but I wish we could go on holidays.

(Me too baby girl ;) )

She has also started reading everything in sight; street signs, food labels, catalogues etc.

We have been reading some books together, just the regular simple beginner books, Fat Cat and that sort of thing.

We also found a couple of Dr. Suess books in a second hand shop today (who get's rid of Dr. Suess, honestly?! One of them was even in the freebie bin!) and tonight she read a few pages from 'Ten Apples Up On Top!' which we have never read before so I know she actually read it and didn't just repeat from memory. WOW!

Hooked

2011-03-16T15:59:00.001+11:00

I've started a Facebook page showing off some of my crocheted stuff. Here's the link if anyone wants to take a look :)

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hooked/205466002798437

Today's Classroom

2011-03-14T14:17:00.000+11:00

Indi practicing her writing in the sand

Breakfast?

2011-03-10T16:04:00.000+11:00

Yep. It's popcorn.

But wait; before you all go and call welfare and dob me in for bad parenting, have a think about it ... it's probably a whole lot healthier than what a lot of kids have for breakfast.

No sugar, no preservatives, no colourings, no added salt. Just air-popped corn kernels with less butter than you'd spread on your toast :)

2011-03-08T21:40:00.000+11:00

While we were feeding the guinea pigs last night, Indi noticed different types of seed in their food and decided she wanted to plant some. One type were sunflower seeds but we have no idea what the other type are. She is really keen on writing and sounding out words at the moment so I suggested she write down some info about it. She wrote the day and date, and the type of seeds she planted. Because we didn't know what the seeds were, she wrote down a description of them.

Indi raked away all the mulch she'd spread a few months ago and pulled up the remains of the corn stalks and most of the weeds. She was happy to find a Jade plant growing from a snapped branch that she'd chucked on the ground.

Planting the sunflower seeds along the wire fence

Planting the other seeds in a row behind

Watering

Once she'd planted and watered, Indi drew a map of her garden and marked in where she'd planted the seeds so she'd remember not to step on them (this was interspersed with yells of abuse at the dog who decided to tramp all over her freshly watered beds!)

The Perks of Being a Lazy Composter

2011-02-10T12:03:00.000+11:00

Every green person knows that compost is awesome. It's beautiful and dark and crumbly and.....well..... earthy. It's pretty much the best stuff for the garden; it nourishes and conditions the soil, it feeds the plants and it puts to good use waste that would normally be taken to landfill.
Good compost has a nice carbon-nitrogen balance, keeping the bacteria and microorganisms that break it all down happy and working hard. Good compost gets nice and hot; hot enough to kill weed seeds and some plant pathogens. And when it's all finished, good compost smells sweet and moist.
It's not hard to make good compost. But it requires a bit effort. It requires having certain ingredients available to you. And, most frustrating of all, it requires time. Those of you who know me know that patience and I don't get together too often ;) I want results and I want them now!

So I build a pile in the usual way; a bit of this a bit of that. We have guinea pigs and a rabbit and their manure keeps up the nitrogen content, along with horse manure (Indi goes horse riding once a week) and we've just acquired some pigeons, so that mess gets chucked in too. I usually give the guineas some pea straw or sugar cane mulch for bedding, so that gets chucked in when it's spent, adding a bit of carbon to the equation. Add the odd newspaper, clumps of seaweed, vacuum cleaner stuff, occasional grass clippings and weeds pulled up from the garden ... etc etc.

Then I leave it. It starts to warm up a bit, and I might even turn it once if I'm feeling energetic. After about 4 weeks it usually settles and shrinks to about two thirds of the size. This is the point where I should probably turn it and allow it to heat back up and finish the job. Alas, this is the point where I decide it's DONE and start shovelling it onto the garden as mulch. The way I see it, half-cooked compost has multiple benefits (besides me not having to wait another month or two):

More soil critters: spreading compost over the garden at this stage brings the worms up for the feast. Worms coming up from the deep ground aerate and loosen the soil, help to munch down the organic matter and then poop it all out, leaving wonderful rich castings. Especially useful when starting a new garden; the busy little soil critters do the hard work of breaking up the ground for me :)

Heat: Because it's still working, breaking down, heat is being generated. I find this especially beneficial when planting out before the ground has really warmed up, as it helps to spur my seedlings on.

Volunteers: By far my most favourite side effect! Plants popping up here there and everywhere from seeds that haven't broken down in the composting process ...

A cucumber wandering its way around the dwarf beans

A beautiful avocado seedling, one of 9 that have sprouted so far!

A delight to my eyes ... a tangle of of volunteer pumpkins and tomatoes growing among the corn.

I may not have neat piles of deep, dark, rich humus waiting to spread over my garden, but I do have lots of warm soil, lots of life within the ground and best of all, lots of healthy plants.

Powdery Mildew

2011-02-09T12:04:00.000+11:00

I've not had much luck with zucchinis this year. Snails and slugs devoured the first, second and third lot I planted, and now that I've finally got a few going (in a different garden that the snails obviously didn't smell out), they've been hit with powdery mildew.

Powdery mildew shows up every year on all the cucurbits, but it never seems to get out of control or weaken the plants too much, so I've never bothered doing anything about it. This year though the zukes have really taken a hit. They took off quickly, growing strongly and producing lots of fruit but then went downhill just as fast. Even the leaf stems were covered.

A quick visit to Dr Google came up with this basic spray; a tablespoon of bi-carb soda, a tablespoon of oil and a few drops of washing up liquid all mixed up in a litre of water. It seems to have done the trick. I sprayed them weekly for three weeks and I think I've beat it, or at least got it under control. Although they look a bit bare where I've pulled off all the damaged leaves the new growth seems unaffected and there are lots of new shoots ...

... Hopefully to be followed by lots of yummy zukes :)

Lammas

2011-02-03T19:07:00.000+11:00

Lammas has been and gone, and I've really not bothered too much acknowledging this sabbat :(

This is the time of first harvest; the turn from summer to autumn. The period of growth and abundance begins to slow and withdraw; as the strength of the Sun begins to wane, the Elderly Lord slowly prepares to be one with the earth again.
(Interestingly, this coincides with 'back-to-school' which to me usually seems like the end of summer and fun holiday time, where everyone falls back into the hum-drum routine of daily life. )

But I'm just not feeling it.

I guess it doesn't help that we have been experiencing gorgeous 38+ degree days, and the plants around me are literally growing before my eyes. Seeds are still sprouting like crazy and as I type this from my back verandah I am deafened by the sound of rain on the roof, which I'm certain is only going to spur the garden onward and upward.
It probably doesn't help that my kids don't go to school either, so we just keep on keeping on with the 'swim until 10:30 at night' holiday lifestyle!

BUT MOST OF ALL, I think I'm just realising that the traditional northern hemisphere Wheel of the Year just doesn't quite sit with our wicked Australian climate.
I've spent the last few months quietly trawling the online world for more info about the indigenous seasons (probably not the best way to find it, I know) and spending that bit of time up in Tropical Queensland last year was really really informative and inspiring.
I just feel like there is something missing ... something deeper in this great southern land that I'm not connecting with ...

So I'm not saying goodbye to the ancient ways, just looking for a deeper and more relevant path to follow :)

2011-02-03T00:09:00.000+11:00

I'm halfway through writing two blog posts but ...

My stepson is in Townsville

If anyone reading this blog isn't aware of the humongous cyclone that is hitting the far north coast of Queensland, click here

Please be safe Scott xoxoxoxoxoxo

Another Trip Around The Sun

2011-01-28T10:51:00.000+11:00

My little boy turns two today :)

Such a beautiful, kind, gentle little soul.

Happy Birthday Baby!

Summer Harvest: Carrots

2011-01-24T20:54:00.000+11:00

I thought it might be time to start pulling up some carrots. I can't remember how long they've been in the ground ... 6 months? Maybe longer.
They're pretty hard to get out, that's for sure. They kept snapping off in the ground! It's very dry though; we haven't had any rain here for about 3 weeks and they are in the newer part of the garden that is still a bit clayey.

Nevertheless we managed to get a few out in one piece. I fed the broken ones to the guinea pigs; they are carrot junkies :)

Roasted with some potatoes, they made a delish side to our quiche, which incidentally was filled with tomatoes, silverbeet, zucchini and spring onions ALL home grown :)

Tiny Winged Creatures ...

2011-01-20T22:12:00.000+11:00

Or at least they will be in a few more weeks :)

Check them out, destroying a lime tree

These fantastic little creatures are Papilio aegeus, caterpillars of the Citrus Swallowtail Butterfly. We discovered them on a lime tree that's been sitting out the front for months (I sort of forgot to plant it and it got shoved into the corner behind some other pots).
The one on the right in the top photo has just begun to pupate. Apparently they take anywhere from one to six months to emerge, so you'll have to wait a bit longer for those pictures!
We remodelled Indi's butterfly enclosure to contain them, which we made from a camping mosquito net.

Notice the lack of leaves on the poor old lime tree LOL!
This butterfly house has been loads of fun for us this summer. Mostly we've just hatched cabbage white butterflies because there are so many of the hungry little buggers hanging around the cabbages!

Indi also made this little booklet about the life cycle of the butterfly

She has also added words like 'pupae' and 'proboscis' to her vocabulary :)
If you want to see a picture of these butterflies, this website here is excellent. We use it all the time to identify creepers that we find about the garden.

Beans!

2011-01-16T20:46:00.000+11:00

Beans beans everywhere! I can't stop planting them. What's not to love about beans?

Twisting and twining over anything in their path

Beautiful buds

Bursting into pretty, petite little flowers

I've just planted some at the base of the corn

Indi planted some along her garden fence

The thing is with beans, they don't like to be too wet until they sprout or they might rot in the ground. I left half a packet in the rain the other week and they got drenched and were already starting to swell by the time I found them. I chucked them down in the space between the patio and the fence, just to see what would happen ...

They just grow anywhere!

Indi's Place

2011-01-15T13:43:00.000+11:00

My cool little pixie living down the back

Hot summer days mean lots of swimming around here. They also mean that by late morning, we need to seek out some shade else we turn into lobsters.

Lucky for me, there's a little elfin child who welcomes us into her cottage down the back.

She makes us lunch ... mmmm avocado and vegemite sandwiches

Then takes us on a tour of her garden

Sometimes we even get to sample some fresh produce

After all that we like to go back inside as relax in the comfy corner (note the authentic crocheted rag rug, made by yours truly ;) ) until the sun passes enough that we can head back out to the pool.

Oh how I luuuurve summer!

Sew Cheap!

2011-01-12T21:42:00.000+11:00

I've once again dragged out the sewing machines in the name of 'upcycling'.
After much hinting, harassment and outright threats my mother FINALLY cleared out the ten-years-worth-of-crap that was clogging up her wardrobe leaving me with a veritable gold mine of material in the form of old clothes. After I dragged them all downstairs I decided it was time to hit that towering 'clothes-to-refashion' pile. Waste not, want not! :)

These shorts came from an old pair of jeans with various scrappy odds and ends making up the appliqued tree on the leg. The top is actually for Indi and was made from an old singlet top of my sisters. I'm incredibly impatient and lazy so I made the whole lot on the overlocker, except for the stitching around the applique.

These shorts were once a button-up shirt belonging to my brother. I actually stuffed them up a bit making them too low-rise but my good friend Karisma suggested just taking the waistband off and replacing it with a thick band of ribbing. Great idea me thinks! They are really light and cool so I think with a soft ribbed waist they'll make great pyjama pants. The top was an old white t-shirt. Again, all on the overlocker. Even the neck hole and arm holes have a rolled edge to save me having to concentrate too much in sewing a proper hem!

These shorts were a pair of women's stretchy brown pants. The singlet is a combination of a long-sleeved top, a couple of old sheets and a scrap of brown corduroy I found in the remnants bin at Spotlight a few months ago (ok, so this one isn't ENTIRELY recycled ;)). I love love love the way it turned out!

Gratuitous 'gorgeous baby' shot ;)

Summer Harvest: Purple Basil

2011-01-07T14:58:00.000+11:00

Soon to be married to the aforementioned tomatoes ;)

I haven't had much luck with basil this year. It seemed that the garden was something of a 'real estate heaven' for bugs in the early summer, so anything that I planted was quickly demolished by the hungry little blighters. I finally managed to get a few plants going in a pot out the front door. It's strange, because basil normally grows like a weed for me. Indi and I planted some more mixed seeds down in the main vegie patch early this week so hopefully they'll get up and going before the cooler weather kicks in.

Water Sprite

2011-01-05T20:53:00.000+11:00

Summer Harvest: Tomatoes

2011-01-05T15:18:00.001+11:00

Well, the 'silly season' is behind us for another year and I'm slowly finding a bit of time to sit down at the computer. There's been lots of fun stuff happening around here but let's start with the garden ...

I've had great luck with the tomatoes this year. I've been harvesting at least one or two everyday for the last few weeks. Not enough to be pushing them onto friends but enough to keep our bellies full :) And there's still heaps more ripening. These ones are 'Rouge de Marmande'.

I only planted eight plants this year but I keep finding 'volunteer' seedlings popping up from the half-rotted compost that I've spread around everywhere. This one crept it's way up through the corn and pumpkin vine and is looking very promising;

I was a little bit worried about them; soon after planting we got a LOT of rain. The plants out the back didn't seem too affected by it, but the couple out the front shot up nearly as high as my head (which isn't really all that high lol!) with soft, lush green growth. They looked lovely but in my experience tomato plants that take off so quickly and put all their energy into green growth seem to be the first ones that get attacked by the bugs! They didn't though, and apart from being bullied by some howling winds, they came through with plenty of fruit.
Next year I'll plant twice as many so I have some to give away :)

Forehead slap moment

2010-12-23T23:21:00.000+11:00

Picture this scene, if you will ...

End of the week, food running low. Pay day just a few more sleeps and, more to the point, just can't be arsed going to the shops because I have to go Christmas Eve anyway so may as well stretch it out until then.

So what's for dinner?

Quiche? Nope, ran out of cheese with the avocado toasties for lunch.

Pasta? Again, no cheese :(

Brown rice salad? Yeah! Grab a handful of beans from the garden and a few shallots; if only I had some corn ...

'Whatcha doin mum?'

(Rummaging through the pantry muttering to myself) 'Looking for a tin of corn. I'm sure I had one in here.'

'What for?'

'For dinner.' More muttering ...

'Why? What's for dinner?'

'Bloody rice salad! Now help me find some corn or bugger off!'

'FINE I WILL!'

At this point I turn around to see my spectacularly serendipitous daughter stomp out of the kitchen; but not before she threw this completely ravaged corn cob on to the bench. This corn cob that she picked from the garden. Which is one of a shitload floating about the garden at the moment. And here I am, tearing the pantry apart to find corn.

Rainy Day Sewing Project

2010-11-08T18:08:00.000+11:00

I found an old pair of jeans whilst rummaging around the laundry the other day that I'd shoved them in the material pile months ago after they'd ripped across the knee. I couldn't repair the rip, but they were too good to just chuck out so faced with a rainy (read: no gardening)weekend and a sick partner willing to laze about and amuse the kids, I turned them into a skirt for me and used the legs to make a pair of shorts for the little fella.

Making skirts out of jeans is so easy and quick. I've done a couple of them now. I added a floral border to this one.

I'm getting quite an old hand at whipping up these kiddie shorts too. I've made quite a few pairs now out of old pants and t-shirts. I had my first go at applique on this pair. The star is made from the leftovers of an old polar fleece jumper that I made into tracksuit pants a few months ago.

Two new wardrobe pieces out of what most people would chuck away; not bad for a days work by a total novice sewer!

Beltane

2010-11-05T14:09:00.000+11:00

The Sun is strong now

His light lingers late into the afternoon

Warming the Earth

Vines twist and twirl with rampant creativity

The Lord and Lady unite as lovers

Buds swell and burst into flower

As the Goddess swells with the promise of abundance and new life

Blessed be xo

A New Camera ...

2010-11-04T17:51:00.000+11:00

... And the blog mojo returns :)
Although I would be nice if I could have a turn at it.
May I present Indi's first photographic exhibition, entitled 'The Claw'.

And, in reference to the last post, I've decided to keep the blog going.

Why Blog?

2010-10-26T16:26:00.000+11:00

So it's been a while since I've posted again and I'm wondering whether or not to keep this blog going. It seems that the original intention of this blog -- to document the journey of turning a bare grassy suburban backyard into a permaculture paradise -- has fallen by the wayside, and now I'm not sure what the hell this blog is about or why the hell I even blog. At the moment I have lots I'd like to write about but I can't seem to get the words from head to screen. I suppose it doesn't help having two little ones tearing around the house interrupting my train of thought every time I sit down. Then somedays I feel like I'm missing out on the fun of a project because I keep thinking 'This will be a good blog post' and become so consumed by the idea of blogging it that I forget to just enjoy whatever it is we're doing.
I've toyed with the idea of starting a new blog, maybe a couple, and keeping a definite theme (gardening, homeschooling, craft etc) but then I think how entwined all those aspects of my life are; I couldn't really split them up into neat little segments like that and one would spill over into another ... just like it has done here. Maybe I should just stop being so bloody controlling with a theme.

Cassowary Falls

2010-09-04T15:14:00.000+10:00

Wednesday we took a drive up to the town of Daintree and went for a walk to Cassowary Falls. It was a bit of a rip-off; we had to pay $10 each to walk through private property but the falls were pretty nice and refreshing at the end.

Indi was happy because there was a horse lazing around the front gate. She named him ‘Fortune’.

The walk took us through an open paddock along a creek, then through some denser forest where there was a little pool and lots of big rocks

We followed this creek along until we got to Cassowary Falls. It was beautiful and green and cool, and we had it all to ourselves. We all jumped in for a swim. The boys swam all the way across to the waterfall on the other side, but I wasn’t that game!

Indi taking in the view

Little freshwater Perch came up to greet us

The Great Barrier Reef

2010-08-31T14:57:00.000+10:00

Snorkelling on the Reef has got to be one of the best things I’ve ever done. You really can’t appreciate the beauty of it until you see it for yourself. There are so many different types of fish and coral all combined in this magical underwater rainbow wonderland.

We jumped on a boat in Cairns and headed out to Moore Reef, which took about 90 minutes. Unfortunately we picked a windy day with a fairly decent sized swell, resulting in LOTS of sea sickness onboard! We were ok but Indi had a bit of a chuck in the last 10 minutes of the trip. I think Keanu might have felt a bit nauseous but he fell asleep about 30 minutes in so he was fine when we got out there. There wasn’t too many people on the boat--about 60 I think--and I reckon about 50 of them spent the majority of the ride with their heads in paper bags!

The company we choose to go with have a big floating pontoon on the reef. It’s great with little kids; they have a little swimming area for kids and an underwater observatory area and a semi-submersible boat that takes you around the reef. Lots of things to amuse the non-swimmers! Craig and I took turns looking after Keanu on board or in the swimming area while the other snorkelled with Indi.

Indi was AMAZING. She’d used a snorkel in the pool last summer but she kept saying she forgot how to do it. Well, she was wrong. She could hardly wait to get in the water and once she was in there was no stopping her!

It was so funny snorkelling alongside her; at first she couldn’t keep her head down for more than a few seconds because every time she saw something exciting she’d stick her head up and tell everyone! Then she realised she could talk underwater, so she was babbling her head off while we were swimming around.

This is ‘Wally’ the Maori Wrasse. He is pretty friendly; he comes right up to the surface and he lets people pat him on the back.

It was pretty rough out there for most of the day; big swell kept washing over us and filling our snorkells with water and the current was fairly strong but Indi spent a good couple of hours in the water throughout the day. Needless to say, she slept like a log last night! The first thing she said when she got up this morning was 'Mum can we go snorkelling again?'

Despite the rough water and overcast weather, it was an awesome day. There really is nothing like it. We've even been considering doing a dive course when we get home so next time we can scuba and see even more (and yes, there will be a next time!)

On The Road Again

2010-08-31T14:36:00.000+10:00

Well we’ve driven 3000 kilometres north and it’s time to turn around. We are in the car now, heading back down. I’ve been trying to blog almost everyday but we’ve been so busy exploring that by the time we get back to the van we are too buggered to do much other than pour a glass of wine and maybe watch a movie. Since my last post we’ve spent 4 days in Townsville and 8 days exploring Cairns and its surrounds. It’s been absolutely awesome and I don’t want to leave! I’ve got lots of great pictures and funny stories to write about. We’ve got a few big driving days so I’ll be able to write a bit while the kids are sleeping, so stay tuned!

Yeppoon to Townsville

2010-08-23T12:46:00.000+10:00

We spent Tuesday night in a van park in Yeppoon right on the beach. They had no powered sites left which was a bit of a bummer. but at least we got to have a hot shower and get some washing done.

We’ve been having a bit of trouble with the battery in the van. Well, not so much the battery as the wiring between the van and the car. The wire is too thin to charge the battery properly while the freezer is running. We have two batteries now and we bought the trickle charger with us so it’s not too big a deal but we’ll have to change the wiring when we get back home.

Anyway (there I go again, trailing off!) where was I? Oh yeah, Yeppoon. We went down to the beach before we left on Wednesday morning. The tide was low and I mean LOW; it’s a loooong walk to get to the water! It’s still a bit funny to look out at the ocean and see no waves.

We drove around the point to Emu Park on the way out. There is this cool sculpture out there on the headland called The Singing Ship. It’s a tribute to Captain Cook.

The upright parts are actually pipes so when the offshore wind blows its ‘sings’; a really eerie, haunting sound that is supposed to be what the wind sounds like in the sails.

From there we drove up to another little park just north of Mackay. We didn’t stop in Mackay but it looked like a really nice town. The van park that we stayed at had this gorgeous rainforest walking trail out the back but we didn’t get any photos. By the time we set up and went for a little wander, it was dark. We picked a bad night to stay there too; the paddock full of sugar cane right next to the park was ready to be harvested so we were quite abruptly woken at the first light by the massive harvester starting up and working his way through the cane! Oh well, at least we got a good early start Thursday morning!

We stopped at Bowen on the way through and had lunch at a cafe on top of a hill. It had an awesome view of the ocean and of Bowen (and not a bad feed either). We even saw some whales playing in the bay!

From there we headed straight up to Townsville to see the boys. We were very happy to set the van up and be able to relax for a few days without having to get in the car!

Beaches and Rainforests

2010-08-17T14:31:00.000+10:00

Day 4 and about 1400 kilometres. We’ve seen some beautiful rainforest and beaches already and the weather is so bloody WARM! We’ve been sniggering smarmily because apparently the weather back home is horribly windy and hailing.

We spent the first night in a caravan park at Woolgoolga. We’d planned on going further but it was getting dark so we pulled into a powered site. The next morning on our way out we took a quick drive up to the headland because Steve hadn’t seen it before. It’s a magnificent view, over 180 degrees; the photos don’t really do it justice.

From Woolgoolga, we headed up to Coolangatta for a quick catch up with my dad. As usual, the Turkish pizza restaurant was delicious and we left there with very full bellies!

That night we pulled into a free camp area near Landsborough called Jowarra Park. It was really nice and shady with lots of bush turkeys wandering around. We had a little fire there and Steve pulled out his didgeredu for a little play. The next morning we followed a short walking trail through a patch of rainforest There were some MASSIVE old figs and rose gums. The kids really enjoyed it. I can’t wait until we get up to the Daintree rainforest; they’re going to love it!

This strangler fig looked amazing;

Once the kids had had a bit of a run around, we jumped back in the car and headed towards Noosa, but we ended up at Coolum beach. Not much swell, but the boys went in for a quick surf anyway. The kids also decided that a swim was in order.

We then drove the coastal road up to Noosa Heads; what a beautiful drive it is too. We’ve been blessed with gorgeous warm sunny weather and the ocean was sparkling azure blue. We had to head into Noosaville to buy a few things for the van; some light globes and a new battery. We had a borrowed one from a mate and it died the night before. Well, we thought it died. Turns out it was just a fuse but we needed to buy our own one anyway.

We found another free campsite in a small town called Tiaro. It was gorgeous too; right on the banks of a the Mary River and we woke up to the sounds of the bush birds. Steve got up really early this morning to get some sunrise photos and saw a platypus! He didn’t get a picture though because by the time he’d set the lens up properly the little fella had gone.

The kids had a good morning playing down near the river.

Now we are back on the road heading toward Yepoon. We’ve decided to get a site in a van park tonight; I need to do some washing and we’re all in desperate need of a shower!

We're Rolling!

2010-08-14T14:51:00.000+10:00

Well, we are on the road! (Literally; I’m typing this from the front seat of the car heading north on the Pacific Highway) Man I’ve been busy; I’ve been trying to sit down and blog all week but there has been so much to do. But it’s been sooooooo fun packing up our little van; I haven’t been able to wipe the grin off my face all week!

Firstly, thanks to everyone for the recipe ideas; I now have a freezer full of delicious home cooked food ready to heat up in a flash. Tonight it’s chicken and bacon casserole with rice.

Secondly, we’ve had a last minute change of destination and decided to scrap the Darwin leg of our trip. It turns out that stepson number two, who normally resides in Darwin, is down in Townsville with step son number one doing some kind of ‘war-game’ thing so we can catch up with both of them at the same time.

We were still going to go to Darwin regardless, but when we sat down and wrote down a rough guide to driving times, we realised that we were going to be really rushed. Darwin is another 2500 kms from Townsville, so that would’ve meant 5 days solid driving, but we’d only have had enough time to stay for 3 days before making the 5 day trip home again. Somehow I can’t imagine the kids being too enthusiastic about that! Also, Craig is an interstate truck driver; he drives AT LEAST 5000 kilometres a week. It wasn’t going to be much of a holiday for him.

All is not lost though ... instead we’re going to head further up the QLD coast and spend a week or so exploring Cairns, head out to the Barrier Reef, and take a trip up to the beautiful rainforests of the Daintree.

So we left home this morning at about 9.00 am, after a rather tumultuous evening of last minute packing and tidying. Our first stop was Hawks Nest, which is only an hour and a half away from home but the boys needed to have a surf (yes, I do mean needed. If they don’t surf they turn into grumpy trolls hehehe). They’ll probably only have three days to surf because there’s not much swell up north.

It’s a beautiful beach. The kids and I had a walk, run, did cartwheels and just generally mucked about to expend some energy before we got back in the car. It obviously worked, because they are both asleep in the back of the car right now! We collected some awesome shells too so we can do some cool crafts when we get to Townsville.

We grabbed some lunch at the local bakery, and now we’re doing a couple hours of solid driving. We’re running a bit later than we’d hoped, but hey, it’s OUR holiday so who cares? Ha ha ha ha! It just means we’ll be setting the van up in the dark when we get to the campground.

Well, that’s about it for today. Tomorrow we are going to meet up with my dad in Coolangatta and have lunch in this great little Turkish Pizza place that we’ve been going to for years, and then head up to Noosa. Stay tuned!

Kitchen Goddess

2010-08-06T11:27:00.000+10:00

That is what I've been the last few days; cooking up the proverbial storm in anticipation of our trip.

A few months ago I was perusing the shelves in the 'Australian Travel' section of the bookshop for a particular guide that lists all the free and low cost campsites along the major roads throughout Australia. Turned out that the bookshop didn't have it but it became one of those 'Wow right-time-right-place' moments' when I got chatting to a lady also eyeing off travel books. Turned out that she had travelled around Australia twice already, with two little kids in tow and was more than willing to share a few hints, tips and funny stories:

'Glow sticks! Make sure you get heaps of them and put them around the kids' necks and wrists so you can see them when they're running around at night, which they will do once you hit Darwin because the weather is so bloody awesome and WARM all night, oh and the night time markets make sure you don't miss them they are amazing, oh and ... '

LOL! She just got me so KEEN to travel!

Anyway ... (I have a habit of trailing off mid-post don't I? LOL!) She was telling me how they took an extra freezer in their van and cooked enough meals for a few weeks, froze them flat and then just pulled one out and re-heated it at dinner time. Great thinking!

Craig needed a new fridge for his truck anyway so this week we went and bought one. Good timing because we got it at a discounted price and a sh*tload of useful free stuff with it!
So it's just been cooking cooking cooking. I've been chucking dinner in the slow cooker of a morning and then proceed chop, fry, blend and stir. One big pot of bolognaise, a wok-full of green curry chicken and vegies, and I'm about to embark on some rissoles ...

Anyone got other recipe ideas? I reckon I can fit about 20 meals in the freezer so let's brainstorm some delicious home cookin' peoples!

Imbolc Stirrings

2010-07-29T16:41:00.000+10:00

I was drawn outside in the wake of some heavy rain. Everything was so still ... calm before the August winds.

The sun is shining brighter everyday, slowly but surely gaining strength, warming the earth.

Stirrings in the belly of the goddess. She is awakening as the maiden and the mother, rejuvenated and youthful, ready to nurture the new life.

Slowly unfurling toward the warm sun.

Blessed be xo

Beautiful Blogger Award

2010-07-26T19:48:00.000+10:00

The lovely Ariad from Rainbow Love Farm has awarded me with a Beautiful Blogger Award.

Thankyou Ariad!
I'm not usually one to get caught up in stuff like this but I owe lots of my creative inspiration to other bloggers, so anything that gives me the opportunity to share is OK in my book :)

There are two conditions to accepting this award:

1. Add a link and note of thanks to the person giving the award.

2. Pass the award on to the bloggers whose blogs you love

I could list heaps of blogs that I'm into at the moment, but I'm just going to pick one this time, my dear friend Cords at over at three in a shed.

Alternative Suburbia Hits The Road!

2010-07-26T17:46:00.001+10:00

Thats right folks; in three weeks we're grabbing the kids, the surfboards, a guitar, a ukulele, a didgeredoo and our best mate Steve, and packing up the little Jayco to head north for a month-long road trip!

The excuse for the journey: My two eldest stepsons are in the army; one is posted at Darwin in the Northern Territory and the other at Townsville in Queensland.
So our plan is to travel up the East Coast to Townsville over four, maybe five days. This is about 2100 kms from our home on the NSW Central Coast (about half way between Sydney and Newcastle on the map). We'll spend three or four days there with Scott (eldest stepson), and then we'll head over and up to Darwin--another 2500 kms-- to spend a few days with Zach (second eldest stepson). We haven't decided whether to head back to the coast or take the inland route home.

Needless to say, I'm very excited! I spent a short but memorable part of my childhood travelling around this country and I'm so happy that now we have the opportunity to do it with our own kids, even if it's only for a month. Not only that ... I get to leave behind our daytime temperatures of 18 degrees celcius to bask in Darwin's balmy 33 degrees celcius.

So has anyone travelled this route before? Any hints and tips? Must see places? I'd love to hear your stories.

Otherwise, stay tuned and live vicariously!

Toy Catalogue Time

2010-07-21T22:10:00.000+10:00

Eeeew.

Indi is sitting upstairs reading one of the glossy consumeristic tomes.

Indi: 'MUM! I found something I would love you to buy for me!'

Me: 'What is it?'

Indi: 'A cubby house!'

Me: 'You have a cubby house out the back!'

Indi: 'But this one has swings.'

Me: 'You have swings out the back too!'

Indi: 'But these swings are attached to the cubby house.'

Me: '(insert are-you-for-real? face) I'll move the swing set next to the cubby house for you.'

Indi: 'Oh just forget it!'

I'm not sure if I won or lost that argument ... ?

SO ... A Needle Pulling Thread

2010-07-06T15:34:00.001+10:00

Who remembers "The Sound of Music"?
I do. Well, it's kinda hard to forget when your partner sticks it in the VCR player every chance he gets, and when a certain Facebook friend (who no doubt has seen the movie twice as many times as I have ;-)) keeps posting random quotes and song lines on my wall!
Anyway, it appears that the frugal spirits of Fraulein Maria her curtain-come-lederhosen-clad charges have infiltrated my psyche because I just made a pair of pants out of a tablecloth.

LOL! Ok wait ... let me explain.
Lately I've been tinkering about a bit with the sewing machine. I've never been very good at sewing (too impatient I think) but I found some pretty easy sewing projects online and thought I'd give them a go. After a few stuff ups, I've managed to produce a heap of pants and a t-shirt for Keanu and a tiered skirt for Indi, all made from recycled clothing; old shirts, dresses, pants and the likes.

Somehow, in a haze of google searches, I came upon this pattern. How cool are they! (and heaps of good sewing tips too.) Suddenly I remembered a gorgeous piece of batik print fabric that my sister bought back from Bali last year. It would be perfect for this pattern! But I don't want to stuff it up; the piece isn't very big. One wrong run through the overlocker and all would be lost.

Hmmm ... need to make a test pair. But what to use?
I could go to Spotlight and grab a few metres of cheap cotton OR I could be my usual impatient tightarse creative frugal-minded self and raid the linen closet. I chose plan B ;-) I couldn't use an old sheet, because that would be cutting into my crocheting stash (remember the mermaid and the bag?) but digging deep I found this old tablecloth that I picked up in a second hand store years ago. We haven't bothered with tablecloths since the kids started eating at the table so I figured it wouldn't be missed.

Turns out that the claim is true ... these really are SIMPLE and COMFY pants. I made them without one mistake! You can see that I've changed them a bit around the waist; I've sort of accentuated the front tie and hidden the back one (which is just bias tape because it was all I had lying around).

And I'm wearing them backwards. They sit better on me that way.

All in all, I'm REALLY happy with them. Not particularly good for winter; I probably wouldn't wear them high on a hill with a lonely goat herd and they'd be no good to Climb Evr'y Mountain ...
but I Have Confidence that they will become one of My Favourite Things ...

So Long, Farewell!

Winter Crochet

2010-07-04T20:43:00.001+10:00

Howdy y'all!

Haven't been around here much lately have I? I'm still hibernating :) It's been soo cold here and we haven't been doing a whole lot other than snuggling under the doona until late in the morning and lazing around in the warm winter sunshine when it's about.
But it is great weather for crocheting, so I thought I'd return to blog land with my latest warm creations.

I decided to crack into some of the wool I got for my birthday. This stuff came from my friend Cords. It's a blend of wool, soya and acrylic and is so delightfully soft!
This is great wool to work with when you have kids around; it has a boucle-type texture and is very forgiving if you miss a stitch here or there because of pint-sized distractions ;)

So far I've made a beanie for Keanu and (finally) a pair of fingerless gloves/wrist warmers.

Hooray! No more frozen wrists from resting on the computer!

I've still got a couple of balls left ... any suggestions? Maybe a cool dread-headband???

Solstice Lanterns

2010-06-16T21:22:00.001+10:00

Next monday is the Winter Solstice in the Southern Hemisphere. For those who don't know, the Winter Solstice marks midwinter; the shortest day and longest night of the year.
From a Pagan viewpoint, the Winter Solstice represents the rebirth of the Lord, the Sun, in the eternal cycle. It signifies the end of the darkness, as the days slowly but surely get longer and life returns as the Earth once again is warmed.

Of all the things I miss about living on the North Coast, I think the Winter Solstice Lantern Parade rates the highest. Every year on the Solstice we would line the streets of Lismore to watch the beautiful spectacle parade down the main streets. The whole community was involved; school kids, local charities, groups and businesses. Everyone carried a lantern, ranging from small triangular lanterns decorated by little school kids, to huge dragons and Unicorns and earth mothers, some taking three or four people to carry them! The groups would be interspersed with different bands and musicians creating a celebratory atmosphere.
We'd follow the procession down through the town to the river, where a spectacular firey finale would await. Indi was only a baby the first time we went, but I still remember that awe-filled look in her eyes at the fireworks. Once the smoke had cleared, everyone strolled back into town to celebrate with a street party with market stalls, food, street entertainers and of course music!

So, in leiu of such a warming event, I've decided to create some little lanterns of our own to welcome the return of the sun.
I've used the Star Lantern Tutorial from CHILDHOOD MAGIC to create these lanterns (thankyou Ariella!)

First we painted the circles. We just used cheapo water paints.

Here are the finished designs. I painted both sides of mine (the red spiral one and the central sun/flower one), but Indi only painted one side of hers (the rainbow serpent-looking one). She decided that catching lizards basking in the winter sun was more exciting than painting!

Once the paint was dry, we painted the paper with olive oil to make it translucent. I did this on newspaper to minimise mess. We painted both sides of the circles (ideally, we'd have sourced some proper translucent paper, but what can I say ... I'm disorganised, a cheapskate, and I like a challenge!)

Blot off the excess oil as best you can, then hang them somewhere inside to dry a bit.

Once they are dry(-ish) it is time to fold! The actual folding part was bit tricky for Indi (almost 5), but she enjoyed watching. She took the job of cutting the edges off the circle to make it an octagon.

About halfway through. I can appreciate how origami is such an addictive pastime :)

And here is the end result!

I have to get some electric candles to light them up for our weekend solstice celebration; real candles will be too dangerous considering that they are paper soaked in oil!
BUT I'm terribly impatient and just couldn't wait to see what they'd look like lit up ...
So I snuck outside with a candle and the camera while the kids were playing with Craig ...

Beautiful, don't you think?

Hot Dog

2010-06-09T14:02:00.001+10:00

I felt sorry for my little fox terrier, Rocko ... he stands at the back door shivering and looking miserable. Hopefully this helps him to stay warm!

Just For a Giggle ...

2010-06-07T21:07:00.001+10:00

Indi discovered the Photo Booth program on my computer today ...

Salt Dough

2010-06-04T18:53:00.000+10:00

Another rainy day... another day of inside play.

Today we made some salt dough figurines. Here's how we did it ...

One cup of salt

Two cups of plain flour

Mix them together in a bowl

Add one cup of water, a little at a time, and mix with a knife until it's workable enough to knead. Knead the dough until it is smooth and consistent.

Create!

The best thing about this craft is that Keanu could join in too. Indi always wants to do things that are a bit above Keanu's capabilities, so it's nice to find something that we could all enjoy.

Here are our final designs ...

Indi made the horse herself and we made the mermaid together. We used the garlic crusher to make the hair and mane. The other one is a 'cookie' with sprinkles on top.

We baked them in the oven at about 100 degrees Celcius. They took 2 hours! I don't think the cookie is even hard through to the middle. Next time we might have to make them a bit thinner!

We did plan on painting them this afternoon when Keanu was asleep, but I guess it was just too much excitement for Miss Indi, because she has slept all afternoon too!

Crocheted Bag

2010-06-03T19:01:00.000+10:00

Here is my first 'Ravelry' project.

I bought this cotton from Spotlight on clearance. I'm not really fond of the colour, but for less than $1 a ball I couldn't very well leave it there!
I stuffed up on the straps too; one of them is twisted! I suppose you have to expect these things when the majority of your crocheting is done one-handed with a squirming baby breastfeeding on your lap.

Now, on to some of that marvellous wool I got for my birthday ...

Tea for Two

2010-06-02T20:28:00.000+10:00

What a glorious sunshine-filled day! Nature is never as beautiful as when the sun comes out after the rain; the colours are so intense! I feel really energised tonight after spending the first day outside in what feels like weeks.
After spending the morning pottering around the garden, playing in the cubby, choosing a spot in Indi's garden for her raspberry plant, hanging some washing, and planting and transplanting a few things we decided that an afternoon tea party in the sun was in order.

My friend Ben bought me some beautiful tea for my birthday this week. It's a blend of green tea, olive leaves, rose petals, spearmint, cornflowers and chrysanthemums. I've been saving it for when I can actually sit down, relax and enjoy instead of my usual make a cup then run off to hang washing only to return to a lukewarm mug!

It's a tea to indulge all the senses; when the water is poured over it all the flowers swell and open up. It looks very pretty in the crystal teapot.

Keanu was asleep, so Indi set up a rug on the front porch in the sun.

It was really enjoying just lazing about in the sun, kinda lost in her idiosyncratic ways, when I realised how little one-on-one time we actually spend together.
I remember when she was younger and we lived up North. We'd spend our days together in no rush to be anywhere or do anything in particular. It was just the three of us; soo little mess!
Most days now it feels like I barely have time to stop for a cup of tea! Craig is away a lot with work, so I'm spreading myself pretty thin to give both kids time and attention, keep the house in some sort of order, as well as finding a little bit of time for myself (which I really need to do otherwise I turn into an irritable crabby so-and-so).

It doesn't leave a lot of opportunity for peaceful tea parties, so today I'm grateful that I had the chance to spend a little bit of time with my beautiful daughter Indica Rose xoxo

Brrrrrrrr! An Update from Coolsville ;)

2010-06-01T16:56:00.000+10:00

It's cold and wet and windy and we've been stuck inside for days. The wet washing is threatening to rise up and overtake the house and the kids are going a little bit crazy because we haven't been outside to play.
We've been staying in bed later and later and then we need to turn the lights on early in the afternoon because it's so dark.

Certainly not weather conducive to gardening! I managed to get out the back today for a short time in between the rain. It's so wet! The poor vegies look like they're about to float away.
It's too wet to plant anything unfortunately. Over the last few weeks I've been gifted lots of plants; a couple of avocado trees, some raspberries, a red cordyline, not to mention my broccoli seedlings that are patiently waiting to go in the ground, the pineapple tops that we sprouted still sitting on the kitchen bench and the poor lime trees that have been sitting miserably in their pots for way too long.

On a bright note, the zygo cactus' have started to flower. What beautiful intricate flowers to put some colour into the grey days!

And some jonquil bulbs from a friend last year have popped their little green heads up.

On the craft front: lots has been happening. One thing I do like about the cold weather; snuggling up with a crochet hook and loads of yarn! I've jumped on the Ravelry bandwagon so have loads of inspiration. This coupled with the fact that I was gifted loads of gorgeous yarn for my birthday on Monday has led to lots of projects being started.

Not a lot to report on the homeschool front. We were doing a lot of outside activities but the weather has put a stop on Indi's garden for the time being. The closest we've been to outside education is digging up worms to feed to Nim.
She has been very interested in earth sciences lately. We've been reading a book about the universe and our planet. I picked this book up in a second-hand shop a while ago (I have an addiction to those 70's style kiddie encyclopaedias ;) ) and it's been very useful.

Today we read and talked about how the earth spins on it's axis, creating day and night. Indi deduced that even though it's night time here, it's daytime on the other side of the earth. I showed her how the axis is tilted and, as the earth revolves around the sun, this is what causes the weather to change throughout the year. We also looked at how the moon 'changes' shape and why it does so. If this cloudy weather ever buggers off I'd like to create a moon calendar with her.

And finally, an update on the guinea pigs.
I'm sad to say that we lost another baby :( so just one little fella left. Worse still, one of my males died aswell. Just like Bali; he seemed fine in the morning when I went out and fed them but was dead by the afternoon :( .
The little baby seems to be doing great though. I still have him inside with Jazzy; he's very vocal and scampers around and eats with gusto, so I really hope he's going to be ok.

Crocheted Hat For Indi

2010-05-24T18:17:00.000+10:00

She has been interested in witchy-type things lately, which I took as a good excuse to make another funky design with the rainbow wool ... ;-)

She tied the spider on herself...

... which was promptly pulled off by Keanu!

Orphan Babies :(

2010-05-23T22:30:00.001+10:00

I'm sad to report that Bali the guinea pig died last night from unknown causes, leaving her three little babies all alone :(
Unfortunately I don't have another lactating sow who could feed the little ones either.
I've brought them inside with Jazzy, who is the oldest, most maternal guinea pig we have and so far she seems happy to have them huddle under her.
They have been eating grass and vegie scraps for about a week now, so hopefully they are strong enough to survive on that but tomorrow I'll give them some bread soaked in milk and see how they take to that.

Stay tuned ... and send love to the little piggies!!

Dog Poo, Worms, and a Mexican Walking Fish

2010-05-21T17:32:00.000+10:00

We recently acquired a Mexican Walking Fish named 'Nim' along with a fabulous tank, courtesy of Karisma (who most of you probably know from here). I've set the tank up in the kids' playroom; a great executive decision on my part, as I often find Keanu pressed up against the tank mesmerised by the little albino amphibian ...

Anywho, I digress. Nim came to us with the specific instruction that he only eats fresh food ie. worms. Being that my daughter is something of a bug fanatic, Aunty Karisma thought it perfect that Nim should come to live with us! So after about a week of plucking juicy big worms out of the garden I suddenly remembered about my worm farm!

About 18 months ago, I started an experimental worm farm to dispose of the dog poop. At the time we had four dogs and in a suburban backyard the poop was getting to be something of a problem. I didn't want to bag it in plastic and put it in the bin -- that, to me, is just the same as using 'disposable' nappies. I didn't want to compost it either, as we use the compost on edible crops and dog poop can carry all sorts of bacterial nasties that can be easily transferred to humans. After a bit of searching I deduced that worms could be used to compost poop ... so long as that's all they were fed (i.e. you can't feed them poop and vege scraps at the same time). So armed with a box of worms, a couple of styrafoam containers and a whole load of doggy doo I set up a little farm.
It started out veeeeery slowly; a few months in there seemed to be very little action. The poop didn't seem to be getting touched, and the worms didn't seem to be multiplying. The box got shoved in the back corner where it is nice and shady and that's where it stayed, full of poo, all but forgotten until we had to replace the fence. This meant that we had to clear up all the crap that had accumulated in those little-used corners of the yard. My brother and I went down to start moving it all, when he asked what to do with the styrofoam box.

'Chuck it' I said. 'It's full of dog poo; a failed experiment.'

'Are you sure? It doesn't look like dog poo ... it looks like pretty good soil.'

'What?'

Sure enough, there was little dog poo left in there and, when we turned it over a bit (with a shovel of course!) we found it to be FULL of big fat wriggly red worms!
So not-so-failed after all. We moved it out of the way with plans of extending it but again it kinda fell by the wayside. Until Nim came along ...

We trudged down to the back garden, wrestled with the grass (which is still threatening to strangle us even with this colder weather ... we have the greenest backyard in the suburb!) and found the styrafoam box ...

A thorough dig turned up absolutely no worms at all :( I guess they all left to find greener pastures -- or should that be browner pastures? He he he!
In their wake though is a box chocka block full of glorious dark worm castings ...

So this weekend I'm going to go buy another box of worms. I found a few more styrafoam boxes when we cleaned out the garage last weekend. We only have two dogs now, but that is still more poo than I'd like to be dodging when I go out the back! Once it's established again, we'll have an environmentally friendly way of disposing of dog poo which in turn provides a source of food for Nim who in turn provides nice fishy water that I can use on the garden!
Ahhhh ... biodiversity!

Homemade Laundry Detergent

2010-05-20T16:53:00.000+10:00

A few days of cold cold rainy weather has seen me spend most of my time in the laundry; washing, ironing, hanging, airing, everything possible to avoid using the money-sucking dryer (I weakened and used it twice in 7 loads of washing.)
So on that note, I thought I might share my laundry detergent recipe.

It's really easy to make, fairly good for the environment (well, at least better than the over-fragranced-shop-bought ones) and best of all it's CHEAP! It costs bugger-all to make 10 litres. And yes, as far as I'm concerned bugger-all is a standardised unit of measurement ;) .
Most people probably know how to make it; it's a fairly common concoction but for those who don't and are interested, here it is.

What you need is:
1 cup of soap flakes. I use the cheapy homebrand laundry soap and either grate it or grind it up in the blender.
1/2 cup of washing soda
A good swig of essential oil. I use eucalyptus.
About 10 litres of water.

So first, I chuck the soap flakes in a saucepan with about 1.5 litres of water, whack it on the stove over low heat and stir it gently until the soap flakes completely dissolve.

Once the soap flakes have dissolved completely, add the washing soda. Stir it around for a bit; it should start to thicken up. Once they have dissolved, I add the essential oil. Stir it around for a bit longer, until it is all combined and smelling lovely ...

Then tip it into a big bucket and make it up to about 10 litres with hot tapwater. Stir it around a bit more until it's all mixed properly.

When it's cool enough you can pour it into bottles. I use old juice and milk bottles. Sometimes, if I'm feeling lazy, I just leave it in the bucket and scoop it out of there.
Once it cools it will solidify a bit. If you tip it into bottles, leave a bit of 'shaking room' or else it will come out like slugde.

I use about a half cup per load in the top loader. I only used half that amount in the front loader. It doesn't foam up like store-bought detergents, but it does the job for me ;)

Baby Guinea Pig Love

2010-05-19T21:57:00.000+10:00

Here are Bali's babies ... I'm such a sucker for baby guineas. I call them my 'turners' ... they turn my vege scraps into nice hot manure that keeps the compost heap warm over the cooler months ;)

Look at the beautiful colours in this little one!

That's Bali, the light coloured one in the middle; Jazzy on the left, and Haania on the right

Little baby enjoying some grass with mumma Bali

munching with Aunty Jazzy :)

A Little Harvest

2010-05-18T20:17:00.000+10:00

Ok, so my garden is nowhere near where I'd like it to be. Truth be known, my whole Alternative Suburbia dream is nowhere near where I'd like it to be!

But tonight we ate stuff from the garden, and that makes me happy.

Nothing huge, just an eggplant and some basil, mixed with a jar of passata and some pasta. We didn't have a lot of money this week, so I'm raiding the cupboard to make a decent meal. So while I'm still working on providing the staples, the eggplant and basil certainly made a tasty contribution to dinner.

Sunday.

2010-05-16T19:01:00.000+10:00

I always feel a little melancholy on Sundays. No, maybe melancholy isn't the right word. Maybe pensive.
Craig usually goes back to work on Sundays.
Sunday is when I like my solitude.
Think about the week gone, think about the week ahead.

This cold weather helps.
I feel like hibernating.

And Some Rainbow Crochet For My Girl

2010-05-11T10:35:00.000+10:00

Warm Little Hands

2010-05-10T10:27:00.000+10:00

We are certainly starting to feel the chilly breath of winter around here of late, so I have been jumping back into the winter crochet.

The Budding Entomologist

2010-05-05T16:22:00.000+10:00

The problem: An old leaky fishtank, a bug-crazy daughter and a mamma getting a wee bit tired of finding snails all over the house.

The solution: Build a snail terrarium!

A quick Google search to find out what snails require.

An old fishtank with a crack in the bottom, former home of Crabby Labby, RIP.

A layer of soil, about 4cm deep.

Next some greenery, for food and shelter.

Snails like dandelion leaves, which are abundant in our front lawn! We also picked leaves from the plants where we most likely find snails.

And in with the snails!

An Alliterative Look at a Sunny Sunday

2010-05-02T16:26:00.001+10:00

Splashing

Surfing

Strolling

Snuggling

Sandy

Seaweed

A Planting Tutorial by Indi

2010-04-30T20:28:00.000+10:00

How to plant dwarf butter beans in your garden...

Step 1. Admire the colour and texture of the beans that look like little black beetles.

Step 2. Poke holes in the ground. Nothing quite like the feeling of dirt under your fingernails.

Step 3. Drop a shiny bean into the hole.

Step 4. Firm the soil down.

Step 5. Water well, and wait for the bean shoots to pop their little green heads out of the soil. Be sure and check every few minutes of the day ;)

Thankyou, Indi.

End of the Light

2010-04-29T17:15:00.001+10:00

This weekend marks Samhain; the end of the light half of the year on the Pagan calendar. Though I'm not specifically Wiccan, I do try to observe the seasonal turning points and the cycle of the year.

My understanding of Samhain is when the masculine aspect of the divine leaves the earthly realm, returning to the cauldron of life, becoming one with the goddess to be reborn of her in the spring. It is a time for reflecting on death and reincarnation, and remembering those who have left this world. It's also a time for tying up loose ends, and ridding ourselves of things we no longer need.

For some reason I am feeling very connected to this particular Sabbat. Perhaps because I've had such a busy and fulfilling summer; we've swam in the ocean, played in the sun from dawn 'till dusk, lazed on the green grass, plunged our hands into the warm earth and feasted on her abundance.
The last week or so I've had such an urge to be outside. I've been gardening with an almost furious passion; perhaps sensing the end of the warmth of the soil.
I've also noticed myself clearing the house of clutter, again with a furious determination.

Tomorrow we will build a fire in our outdoor fireplace and, as the sun falls and the masculine aspect leaves our realm, we will light it and farewell Him.

Blessed Be xoxo

Indica Rose's Garden

2010-04-27T13:54:00.001+10:00

We have decided to keep the cubby as a play house, not a chook house. Indi and Keanu love playing in there and it makes it easier for me to do work in the backyard because they are amused--and distracted from the pool!
So, we put the verandah back on the front and Indi has decided she is going to make her own garden.

Putting the verandah on.

Once the verandah had been 'tested' by Keanu, we dug up a little patch along the front.

The first thing she planted ...

... a bromeliad that we'd split up the day before because they had outgrown their pot.

I'm really happy that she is enjoying being in the garden and getting her hands dirty. As for the chooks, well, I guess we'll have to think of another plan!

Let's see whats growing

2010-04-26T10:45:00.000+10:00

I'm stealing a few minutes to write while Keanu is having a feed (one-hand typing, so excuse any typos please!)

I've only just started getting out to the veggie patch and tidying things up, now that the weather is starting to cool off. The last few weeks of summer just kinda frazzled what was left in there. At this point, I'm planning on growing what I can over winter, then I might plant some fruit trees and turn it into an orchard. It's hard to get stuck into the garden with Keanu around; he just runs straight for the pool as soon as he is outside!

I've had to scratch all the mulch away when I plant things, because it is full of slaters and they love the taste of newly sprouted seedlings. It seems to have worked; the snow peas have all sprouted and are nearly an inch high. The last two lots I planted out were gone as soon as they popped out of the ground.

I've harvested a heap of burpless and crystal apple cucumbers over the past few months. The vine grew right up through the star jasmine; so high I couldn't even reach the fruit at the top! I didn't get any pictures though - my camera is dying a slow and painful death and only works when it wants to.)

Here are my beautiful eggplants. I've planted these out the front. This is the first time I've grown them; they are such beautiful plants I just want to plant them everywhere. I've harvested a few fruits and I'm going to make a vegetarian lasagne with them this week.

And the bromeliads, bursting out with colour. This is my 'comfort' garden ... when everything else get eaten by the bugs I come and stare at this one! It always looks green and healthy.

Here she is

2010-04-23T15:21:00.000+10:00

I have a real aversion to crappy plastic playthings. I find myself leaning more and more toward simple, imagination-inspiring toys for my kids. Unfortunately, such toys don't come cheap :( so I decided to make my own ...

My beautiful crocheted mermaid. I'm very proud of this one!

Indica Rose has been running away to play with her every chance she get's so she has taken a while to finish, but the end result was worth it ...

The look on Indi's face when I said 'she's finished!'

Bear with me

2010-04-22T15:42:00.000+10:00

I'm back to my usual, cheery old self again, but I can't find any time to write a blog post. Every time I sneak away to the computer to write, 'life', in the form of two little kids, gets in the way. Even now as I type this, Indi is screeching at me. *Sigh*. Perhaps tomorrow ... ? So many things to write, so few babysitters hehehe.

2010-03-25T16:48:00.000+11:00

Sometimes there is no alternative suburbia. Sometimes it's just suburbia. It doesn't matter how many 'alternative' names I give it; I still walk onto the back verandah and look into the living rooms of three other houses.
Every bus that pulls up out the front, every screeching school kid zooming by on a scooter, every power-walking pram-pushing mother that struts past is just one more turn of the vice clamping around my brain.

Chook house

2010-02-16T17:51:00.000+11:00

Ok, so here is stage one of the 'getting chickens' plan.
My darling man and our uber cool friend Steve spent all weekend--in 35 degree heat, 99% humidity, and pouring rain no less--dismantling, moving, and rebuilding this cubby-come-chook-house for me.

Craig and his step-dad built it about fifteen years ago when the boys were little. It's huge; probably a bit of overkill for a couple of chooks. I could house about 10 in there, but I don't have that much grazing area at the moment, so we might just start with two or three. We've sat it so it backs onto the little vegie patch. I think I'll grow a passion fruit vine over it. Or maybe some Jasmine ... mmmmm. Not edible but oh-so-sweet in the moonlight! Or maybe a choko vine. Then the chooks can eat the fallen chokos.
We still need to build a wire run for them, and add some nesting boxes. Hopefully we can get that started next weekend.

Being Valentines day, monkey-man here thought he might pinch a flower from the neighbour's garden for me while he was bolting the roof down. Such a sweety xoxo

Some beachy crochet

2010-02-14T16:03:00.000+11:00

A little beach bag, just big enough for the car keys and a good book. This is crocheted from old bed sheets torn into strips.

Some barefoot sandals ... these are quite beachy too, don't you think? I've already got an order for another pair!

Things we haven't done this week ...

2010-02-12T14:02:00.001+11:00

... Wash dirty nappies!

Before Keanu was born, we decided that we would try a 'no nappy' approach to his elimination needs.
I'd read a little about elimination communication a few years ago on parenting forums, but Indi was too old by then for it to be of much relevance. Once we found out Keanu was on the way, I hit up google and read as much as I could find. He was born in the warmest month, which made it easier because we didn't have to worry about keeping him rugged up all the time. He spent his first few months in either a singlet or nothing. The first couple of weeks I just put a folded nappy under him when I fed him, and kept a close eye on him watching for any signals as to when he was going to go. Then I started to hold him over a bucket when I fed him, as I noticed that he liked to pee (and usually poo) when he was drinking. It's funny how excited we all got every time we caught a wee or poo in the bucket!

Keanu lived in the sling for the first few months, so it was easy to pick up on his need to go. He very rarely peed on us while he was in there; whenever he needed to go he would squirm about and use his knees to push his body away from whoever was carrying him. We really only put a nappy on him at night. By this time, we were totally hooked on EC and just amazed at how much he could communicate to us at such a young age. Sometimes I would just take him without even thinking; sometimes I would be on the other side of the room and yell out 'wee!' a few seconds before whoever was holding him copped it on the lap!
Once he decided to leave the sling and crawl, however, we discovered the beauty of linoleum floors! I don't think that we were missing the signs, more that he was so intrigued and fascinated by the world that he didn't realise he needed to go until he was wet! Some days we were perfectly in tune, others I spent the whole time mopping the floor.

When he hit about eight months, I decided to try him overnight without a nappy. I prepared myself for a night of no sleep, expecting to be up three or four times taking him to pee, waking up like a cranky grizzly bear ...
Turns out I couldn't have been more wrong! Just like in the daytime, he didn't pee while he was sleeping. Wow, I wish I'd tried it sooner! As long as I wake up when he does in the morning--which most mornings is not until around eight--and take him for a pee, we can say that, for the most part, we are night dry.

We still use nappies on occasions--even 'disposable' ones sometimes-- but generally our little boy just gets around in little training pants. As long as we are aware and in tune with him, we can help him to do his business with a bit of dignity.

Things we've done this week

2010-02-12T12:55:00.002+11:00

Snooze on the beach ...

enjoy the best summer fruit ever ...

take care of some important business calls (see, boys really can multi-task)

practice our 'bick flaps' with dad

beading (pretty sure this one ticks a few homeschool boxes too ... pattern recognition?)

and start planting some seeds in the garden.

If it takes a village ...

2010-02-07T19:55:00.001+11:00

... to raise a child, then we're in trouble because my little village seems to be getting smaller and smaller!
Aunty S and her boyfriend have gone on a holiday to QLD for two weeks; Uncle J and Granny have basketball every weeknight and haven't been getting home until 10pm, and Craig was away four nights last week with work. Oh, how I miss all those spare pairs of arms!

Of course, all this has to coincide with Miss 4's 'question time' phase of childhood. If I had a dollar for every time I heard the words 'Hey mum, why does ...' this week, well ... I'd have a shitload of dollars.

What a draining week. Now my little man is sick (well, not sick sick, but he has a high temperature), which is really a blessing in disguise because it gives me an excuse to slow down and not stress so much about what isn't getting done. After spending today just pottering around with him stuck to my side, I've realised just how inattentive I've been lately to both his and Indi's needs. No wonder she has spent the last few days acting like a defiant little so-and-so; all she has heard from me this week is 'In a minute ...' and 'I can't right now ...' and 'NO!'
*Sigh* Let's hope next week brings some quiet mindful moments!

Our new caravan

2010-02-03T21:28:00.001+11:00

Well after months of searching and researching, we found a nice little van for ourselves.
It goes from this ...

to this ...

with a minimal amount of effort. Well, about the same amount of effort as it took to set up the tent.

It's very roomy inside,with a double bed at each end, a U-shaped lounge (that converts to another bed) and seats and a table for four (that also convert to another bed!). It also has a 90L fridge, sink and a two burner gas stove.

We need to do a few things to it; firstly we want it to be self-sufficient power-wise, so that we aren't reliant on powered sites at caravan parks. It has a small 12v system at the moment, just enough to run the two internal lights and a maybe a portable dvd player but we are looking at getting a bigger battery and wiring the whole thing to charge off the alternator.

Our first real trip will be up the coast in the April school holidays. After that we will do a month long trip; all the way up to Darwin to visit stepson #2 in the army, then across to Townsville to visit stepson #1 and back home down the coast.

Oh I can hardly wait! Meanwhile, I'm having lots of fun setting it up inside like a little home, scrounging around the thrift shops for bits and pieces of kitchenware, and lurking around 4WD and camping websites and forums online.

Happy Birthday Baby!

2010-01-28T10:36:00.000+11:00

One year ago ...

Sink into that warm, deep water. Take a deep breath, close my eyes. Draw down the power of the Goddess and feel the energy rise as a new life enters the room ...

Bliss

Happy 1st birthday my darling little boy xoxo

Op shopping

2010-01-21T12:32:00.000+11:00

For all my friends who complain that I buy all the good stuff from the op shops before they get there ... you are going to hate me more for this one ...

What a score! I can sit here and watch Indi in the pool now.

Still here

2010-01-17T00:25:00.000+11:00

Still alive.
Still here.
Still sane.
Still stuck in suburbia.
Oh, except I bought a caravan!
A little shining light at the end of a stagnant tunnel.

Playing with literacy

2009-11-20T11:41:00.001+11:00

Indi has been showing lots of interest in letters and words lately. Here are some of the things we have been doing together.

The chalkboard has been getting a workout. She likes to draw a picture, then I write the word for her to copy. A few backwards letter in this one!

Again, a few letters around the wrong way, but certainly a good attempt.

This is one we have been doing for a long time ... writing letters in the sand with chopsticks. She has been having trouble with 'e', until we realised it was like a spiral (one of her favourite things to draw).

Other games she likes include wetting a little broom in the pool and painting letters and numbers on the pavers with water, and spraying 'words' on the fence with a water spray bottle.
She has also been playing starfall again. I signed up for the free trial of the Reading Eggs program, but she doesn't seem to be getting into it much. She is more interested in the games they have while loading the next lesson! Having said that, I've noticed a few little things she has done that have come from the lessons, so she is obviously picking something up from it.

Garden log

2009-11-17T11:29:00.000+11:00

Just a quick one so I remember when I planted stuff.

This weekend I planted:

more corn and a cucumber out the back
two capsicums and a tomato out the front
parsely and rocket from the nursery 'sick bay' (hey $1 a punnet, I ain't leavin 'em behind!) and the chives out of the pot in the old wheelbarrow.
the philodendron-thingy near the pool filter.

This week we ate:

LOADS of silverbeet
some broccoli
basil, parsely, shallots, and garlic chives

...and the bloody dog dug up the lemongrass! GRRRRR!

I shall return with a wonderful long blog post as soon as the kids remember how to sleep.

Barefeet sandles

2009-11-13T13:06:00.000+11:00

I made these for a bare-feet loving friend ...

I wish she'd hurry up and come visit so I can give them to her ... KARISMA! Where are you!

I have to go make a pair for Indi now; she has taken a bit of a fancy to them, which is pretty funny because she can never keep shoes on her feet normally.

First cherry tomatoes

2009-11-12T10:01:00.000+11:00

Yum yum yum.

Blog meltdown!

2009-10-28T23:23:00.000+11:00

Dear diary

I officially have a case of brain-dead-blog-meltdown.
Meh. Blah. Sna.
I can't think of anything to write!

Well, that's not entirely true. I can think of lots of thing I'd like to write about.
I'd like to write about co-sleeping and how much it sucks for us at the moment.
I'd like to write about ECing, and how Keanu can actually say when he needs to poop now.
I'd like to write about how much I hate Craig being away from home, and how much more he hates it.
I'd like to write about the tons of books that I've read over the last few months.
I'd like to write about christmas and the usual depression it invokes in me and my struggle to keep my kids as far away from it as possible.

There are lots of things I'd like to get out of my head. I just can't seem to find an exit for them all.

A little garden update

2009-10-22T21:12:00.000+11:00

Peas that sprouted from the mulch.

Little zucchini starting to grow.

Broccoli flowers.

Silverbeet has been a staple in our meals for the last few weeks.

The potato I planted ages ago has finally sprouted.

The 'quick-grab' herbs growing at the front door. The basil grew all through winter.

Indi's cherry tomato. We'll be lucky to get fruit off this one; she keeps 'accidently' pulling of all the little green tomatoes.

Our star jasmine bush near the front door. I can smell it now as I type this ... mmmmm! I love the way it wafts through the house of a night.

I'm still here!

2009-10-21T23:45:00.000+11:00

Ok, so i haven't been blogging lately, and I'm starting to feel it! I do enjoy writing here. It's like a nice comfy little place to come and empty my head.
Time to sit and ponder, however, seems to be disappearing. I have LOTS of stuff in my head that I want to write about, but haven't had the time nor frame of mind to sit down and put it into legible order. I feel like I've had a bit of an intellectual overload lately; studying, reading (like, 2 books a week), homeschooling thoughts coming and going ... It's all been wearing me down so I've spent the last few weeks just 'chillin'; crafting a bit here and there, reading a little bit, dumbing it down with some Facebook (no offence to facebook friends!) but mostly just 'being' and spending time with the kids.
But I want to stay in the habit of writing a little bit every week or so, so I'll start small ...

Last week I finished the blanket I was making.

A perfect fit for the cot, that Keanu now sleeps in (through the day ... sometimes! If I can be bothered to take him out of the sling.)

I had to force myself to put it on the cot; it's so soft and warm and snuggly. It had a nice place on the end of my bed for a few weeks there!

More babies

2009-09-08T13:03:00.003+10:00

Turns out she wasn't just gorging herself on all the spring grass!
Three very cute, very white baby guineas.
I'm curious about their colouring ... seeing how papa guinea is a dark chocolate-brown colour. I'll have to go do some research.
Poor Jazzy; we've been calling her fat for weeks! I thought she was finished having babies, after all she is nearly five years old. I'm glad she had more though, she is a great guinea pig. Not scared of anything, even Indica!

Latest crochet ...

2009-09-06T17:40:00.005+10:00

I bought this gorgeous wool the other day ... it looks like mossy green dreadlocks.I actually went to get some wool to finish off the rug I've been crocheting, but there was none left, so I guess it will just have to be a bit smaller that I planned. Anyway, this delightful stuff was half price, and as I've been eying it off for a few weeks, I thought I'd spoil myself and grab a few balls. I've used two balls to make this shawl ... I still have three balls left .... hmm what to make?

Playdoh comes here to DIE

2009-08-31T19:46:00.004+10:00

10AM ... freshly made playdoh.

Introduce Indi ...Add some kitchen implements, puffed rice, chilli flakes, milk, and a mother with a natural learning philosophy (and obviously lots of free time to clean up mess) ...
And you get this ... playdoh murder. I mean rainbow cake.

2009-08-21T19:47:00.001+10:00

We've been busy ...

and that's how a retired dog house becomes a (potential) chook house.

oh, and the vege patch got a bit bigger too.
It's actually been a really busy and productive day, but I'm too fucked to be bothered typing about it right now!

Indi's photography exhibition

2009-08-19T14:02:00.003+10:00

I turn my camera on to upload some photos to the computer, and this is an example of what I find ...

Love it!

Just because she's little, doesn't mean she isn't a person

2009-08-14T18:44:00.003+10:00

Lately, I have been a shitty parent.
I'm sure I make my kids' lives miserable on several occasions throughout the day.
I've been falling into bad parenting habits, the worst of which is creating power struggles with Indi by trying to 'put it over' her. There are really no excuses. I can say i'm tired, I can say that I'm overloaded because Craig's gone 5 days at a time, I can make a million stupid excuses, but deep down I know that I know better, and this is certainly not the person I want to be, and certainly not the parent I want to be. I know that fighting and screaming at each other acheives nothing. I know that deep down.

But unfortunately, deep down is not where I go searching when I've asked her to do something about 80 billion times and she seems to be ignoring me.
If I did stop and think rationally, I would realise that she is not ignoring me. She can hear me just fine. She just has more important things happening at the moment. I would see that this is a very familiar situation. The only difference is that I'm usually the one 'ignoring' and she is the one asking me to do something. Except when it's me, I don't call it ignoring. I'm doing something that is important to me, and I want her to accept that, and trust that I will give her my full attention when I'm finished whatever task it is. I expect her to wait patiently until I'm finished.

So why the hell do I think that she should to jump to attention when I demand something?
Because I am an idiot! She is like a little mirror of me ... and most of the time, the reflection is not what I want to see. So here I make a conscious decision to return to my respectful parenting ways;
To respect her as a strong minded, beautiful, unique individual capable of kindness, love, respect, and courtesy, not expect things from her that I wouldn't expect from myself, and not repress her ability to know what is important and meaningful to her.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

a step in the right direction

2009-08-13T22:38:00.002+10:00

I cleared up a debt today, a Centrelink one.
Not a massive one, but one that has been dragging on for the last 6 or so years. It's the first one to go since we sat down and consciously decided to be debt free.
We still have a way to go, but it feels good.
One teensy step closer to buying some land and/or travelling bus!

2009-08-11T12:17:00.005+10:00

It's been a busy few days for us all. We had a trip to Wagga Wagga to visit my eldest stepson, who is training in the army. It was a nice day down there, suprisingly. Last time we went it was absolutely freezing, but this time it was quite pleasant. In our wanderings about town we discovered a 2nd hand bookshop and spent too much money as usual. But I did manage to score a copy of a Bill Mollison permaculture book. Haven't read it yet though; I've been a bit greedy lately and have bought lots of books, so it's in the queue!
We planted a few more things in the garden ... some zuchinni seed (mmmmm I love zuchinni), and some sugarsnap peas to grow up the fence. I chucked some more silvebeet into an old pot to keep near the door. Hopefully it will grow big and strong, and be easy to pick in a hurry when I don't feel like running own the back for greens.
I planted some eggplant seeds into some little pots to sprout before I put them into the ground.
Indi planted her cherry tomato seedling into a big pot out the front ...
We mulched it wth some straw, and now the cat keeps sleeping on it! I'm sure it will bounce back though. I spread a bit of stinky used bedding from the guinea pigs' cage over the top, hopefully that will keep her off (and won't burn the plant!)
Spring is definately approaching. I've decided that I am a descendant of the bear family. Winter is hibernation time! I never feel like doing anything when it's cold, least of all going outside.
We have had some gorgeous days over the last few weeks, and I feel so much more energetic. Starting to defrost I guess. I love going outside and smelling the jasmine and buddleias.
The horseradish that I planted the other week is starting to pop some little sprouts out of the soil. I've never grown horseradish before so I'm interested to see how it goes.
We have been eating little bits and pieces out of the garden, not a lot; a pumpkin that became a delicious soup, steamed silverbeet, some shallots, chives and basil. Enough to keep us wanting more, and keep us keen to expand the gardens.
Oh yeah, and in my quest for cool green areas around the spa and pool, I planted this tree fern ...Risky, but I'm hoping it will pay off. I planted one the same size six months ago when it got full arvo sun for about 3 hours a day, and it is thriving and double the size now. This one is getting midday sun for about 4 hours or so, but is in crappy soil. It's looking good so far, and it's raining at the moment. If it can just get a hold in the heavy clay, it should be right.

I just checked the mail ... got an assignment back ......................................................
HD! And a letter from my new tutor saying that it was a joy to mark!
I'm very happy with that, because we are all still trying to get into some sort of rhythm with Craig's new job and I have been finding it hard to sit down and get into that 'assignment' frame of mind. This one was actually completed a week late (the college doesn't set completion dates, but I set them for myself), and I was hoping to have the next one completed by yesterday! Oh well, life gets in the way sometimes.
Anyway thats probably enough of my ramblings for now. I'm going to get this next assignment finished ... right after I finish crocheting that rug, clean the kitchen, research what fruit trees i'm going to plant, finish reading that book, start crocheting a new pair of swimmers for summer, look online for some new fire twirling equipment, finish doing the tax returns ...

And just like that ...

2009-08-01T20:18:00.004+10:00

... Kellie got her groove back!

OOOOOOhhhhhhh yeah!

Don't you love the way you feel after being outside in the garden?

As you might have guessed, I did as promised and got started in the garden today. And what a glorious day it was (yep, i'm wearing a singlet top!)

I planted Broccoli, silverbeet, lemongrass, and comfrey.

Then I mulched the gardens.

Granny had a great suggestion re the watering problem. The garden is in a great spot for sunshine, but the hose doesn't reach because it's right down the back. Luckily for us, there is an overflow drain for the pool close to the tap that runs out right near the garden. So we put the hose in the drain, and put a watering can at the other end and voila problem solved!

I feel so much better for being outside this afternoon.

Friends like these

2009-07-31T21:50:00.002+10:00

I had a visit from a good friend today, who has inspired me to get outside and start this friggen garden. I've been staring out from the inside thinking about going out but always find a reason not to, and that is very unlike me.

This backyard is so depressing lately, I think because I just keep looking at what I can't change. The pool is in a stupid spot and facing the wrong way. The house throws a monsterous shadow over most of the backyard at this time of year. Anyway you look, you feel like you're spying on neighbours because all the houses are so close. The ground is like rock.

Thankfully Cordi came over with her infectious passion for growing stuff, as well as a bag of plants and strict instuctions to go and plant them! So late this afternoon I took a look with fresh eyes...

The pool is in a stupid spot ... yes but who cares? WE HAVE A POOL! And not a crappy little pool either; it is 10 metres long. It is awesome in summertime and Indi swims like a champion because of it.

The house casts a huge shadow on the yard ... meh i'll plant shade loving things and have a mini rain forest! Tree ferns all round!

Spying on neighbours yards ... hedge fruit trees along the fences.

Heavy clay ... mulch! No dig gardens are the only way to go anyway (in my opinion).

So to my darling friend Cordi ... mwwwaaaaaahhhh! You have re-sparked my Alternative Suburbia dream.

Thoughts...

2009-07-30T19:25:00.002+10:00

Human beings in general are just an easily -bored species I reckon. I mean, why else would we be where we are? TV's the size of a living room wall? And dare I say ... the Internet? And WTF is Blu-ray???????
It's not enough to just 'be'. We have to 'do'.
Why do we need to go to work?
We need to go to work to make money for petrol, so that we can drive to work.
Sometimes I feel like we've created this whole world of crap to amuse ourselves. Or distract ourselves.
Birds don't go to work. Neither do wombats. Or kangaroos. They just be.
I think we're ripping ourselves off somehow.

2009-07-20T18:17:00.007+10:00

Ahhhh, starting to feel somewhat normal again.
What a couple of weeks it has been. I don't do sickness very well. Luckily for everyone around me, I don't get sick very often. I was thinking today that the last time I felt this bad was about 9 years ago. Thats a pretty good run of healthiness! So here's hoping that this bout has kick-started the immune system again and I won't be out for another ten years.

I can't say the same for Indi though, she is having a really hard time shaking it off the poor bugger. I hate it when kids get sick. Keanu only had it for about 4 days ... gotta love the immune-building powers of breast milk!
SO I've finally made it back to the computer. Lots has happened since I last wrote, and I've been wanting to write everyday but have only made it as far as checking the emails every couple of days and then going back to bed.

Indi turned 4 last week!

My little baby girl is 4 years old. WOW!
Bali, one of our guinea pigs had two gorgeous little babies. It is my strongly-held opinion that baby guinea pigs are the absolute cutest baby anythings in the world.

We haven't named them yet, but I think they are both girls.

Today was a really really nice warm (ish!) day, so I made a 'potato cage'.

We have a huge roll of this wire that was once a fence, and I cut a piece and wired it into a cylinder. Then I chucked some weeds and prunings at the bottom of it.
Sit a sprouting potato on top...

And cover with straw.

Hopefully the sprouts will make it out the top of the straw, then I will keep it mulched up as high as I can to get the maximum number of taters.

During my last two weeks of sickness and bed-ness, I read The One Straw Revolution by Masanobu Fukuoka.

WOW. My new favourite book of all time. Awesome stuff.

2009-07-09T23:59:00.002+10:00

Ugggghhhhh I'm sick! The kids are sick too. Yuck yuck yuck. I feel awful. I'm so congested, and my throat hurts, and my patience is about 0.000002 seconds long. The house is a chaotic nightmare. Mum got stuck in traffic because of an accident on the freeway so wasn't home until after 10:30. Craig is still away in the truck. Arrrggghhh what a week!
Justin (my brother) came and took Keanu from our bed this morning after he had grizzled for close to 3 hours. Thanks Jussy, you're a legend.
Indi said this morning 'I love you mum, I'll take care of you.' Thanks baby girl, you're a legend too xoxo

I was planning on keeping this blog devoted to all things garden related. Maybe I should start another one for moments like this ... ?!

2009-07-07T14:30:00.007+10:00

Hooray! I manged to get a little bit of gardening stuff done last week. Just in time too, because guess what? It's raining again!

We had some really nice (I could almost say warm) days early last week, so I chucked the baby up on my back, tied him on with a piece of sari fabric and headed out to enjoy it. Honestly, I looked like one of those ladies in India who pick the tea leaves! I wonder what the neighbours think when they peek over the fence ... ?!

I weeded the little vege patch. The layers are breaking down down nicely, and the soil is starting to become more friable and black, instead of the clay that I started with. I left the tomato plant in there, sprawling all over the place ... who knows, we might get a little bit of fruit off it. It's the warmest spot in the yard and a couple of homegrown tomatoes are better than nothing at all.

I also managed to turn the compost heap by myself, which is hard work believe me. Not the actual turning, but emptying it all out of the bin. It is very heavy! I made the compost bin from our council green bin ... not sure that the council would be really impressed with the bin-defacement, but i'll be buggered if I'm sending all my garden waste to their depot to sit and turn into beautiful rich compost, that they then sell back to me at an inflated price. And my other 'proper' compost bin is still in storage. I'd prefer to just have a pile on the ground in a corner somewhere, but the dogs take a liking to it and it gets spread everywhere.
The bin works pretty well considering it doesn't have a great deal of air flow. I got some awesome compost out of it in the summer, but it's a little slow in the winter which is to be expected I guess. Plus I haven't put any manure in there to keep it warm (besides the guinea pigs bedding, but thats not really enough to heat it up).
The pile on the right is from the bottom of the bin, and the pile on the left is the fresher stuff off the top, so it's not doing a bad job. It smells a bit sour, so I'll have to get some lime this week or maybe some blood and bone to sprinkle in there.

Anyway, it's coming along slowly, which is better than not at all!
Now I need to make a list of what we eat the most of, so I know what to plant first. I need to start buying a punnet of seedlings a week, or a packet of seeds. I've been saving the milk cartons so I can raise some seedlings ready to plant out as soon as it's warm enough.

2009-06-23T16:31:00.004+10:00

Two days of lovely warm sunshine ... and the washing still isn't dry. Add to to-do list - move clothesline!

One of the problems with these mass-produced lego-land houses is that they have a couple of set designs to choose from and they just whack 'em up in a matter of weeks regardless of whether or not they are suited to the block of land. The upstairs of this place offers gorgeous lake views; too bad there are only two windows to view it from, one of them being the step-kids room that only gets used once a fortnight!

This also means that the position of the house causes three-quarters of the backyard to be in shade for three-quarters of the day during the winter months. Not exactly ideal gardening conditions. I've wiled away many an hour dreaming up the perfect house design for this block ... sun drenched winter patios to the north laced with the decorative bare wood of grape vines that become cool green shade houses in the summer ... if only we coud convince the Matriach to bulldoze ... LOL!

So the backyard is still like swamp lands. I did tug on the old faithful gumboots and wander down the back late this morning and was happy to see the lone tomato plant fruiting like mad, despite having absolutely no attention. I even found a couple of pumpkins hiding under a tangle of vine and grass.

This is all I have to call a 'vege garden' at the moment. >>> Pretty sad really. I built it in my second trimester when I was full of energy. It's a no dig garden; I started by chopping up the ground a bit with a mattock to make it easier for the worms to get up, then I put down newspaper to smother all the grass. I covered that with some horse manure, then some semi-rotted compost (hence the self-sown pumpkin and tomato) , and finally a layer of pea straw. Then the heat of summer kicked in and floating around in the pool with a big belly seemed much more appealing than struggling to bend over and plant seedlings and lugging a watering can down to keep it alive.

Now that I can see past my belly button, It's time to get going again.

My aim is to mulch this whole area and make it a big a garden/orchard.

<<<<

This will be my hard core food production area.

I think I need to start sourcing bulk supplies of garden ingredients.

It gets all day sun, even through winter...

Better make a spot for the clothes line too!

A small beginning

2009-06-21T22:32:00.003+10:00

Still raining. I'm not complaining though. Rain is good. Just kind of dampening my plans to get things started!

Mum bought home a passionfruit vine today from a friends house. Hurrah! I said. We have our first plant for our alternative suburbia!

Hopefully tomorrow will bring enough sunshine to plant it in

the ground.

I think I will plant it in the garden near the pool fence so it can weave its way along the top and hang its yummy purple fruit within Indi's reach. She loves passionfruit. >>>>>>>>>>>>>

When we lived at Evans Head, our washing machine died and we had to go to the local laundromat. The fence at the boundary of the carpark had a huge passionfruit vine growing through it, and Indi used to love picking them and bringing them in to me to open for her while I was doing the washing.

*Sigh* if I don't get out in the garden soon, I'll just have to start writing about other things in my life.

Next post coming soon ... 'Things I do when it rains a lot' LOL!

So what is Alternative Suburbia?

2009-06-18T20:55:00.000+10:00

Perhaps I should write a bit about my purpose for this blog. I know, I know, intro's are supposed to come at the START of something, not three posts in but I was just keen to get blogging (everyone else is doing it!)

So. Alternative Suburbia. How to describe it ..? Maybe do the best you can with what you have.
I am not a people person. I am doubly not a five-bedroom-brick veneer-double-garage-nuclear family-2.4-children kind of person! Yet that seems to be where I find myself. Well, not the nuclear family and 2.4 children bit; eight people encompassing three generations living as what I like to think of as a tribe in a house owned by my mum, plus two stepkids on the weekends and two older stepkids who have joined the armed forces and visit when they can is hardly a normal nuclear setup! What can I say? I'm drawn to big families.
We live this way for many reasons which vary according to my mood. Mostly, I tell myself, it's because we are pooling our resources, reducing our 'carbon footprint' and saving money. Sometimes I tell myself it's because we are failures at life and are too useless to get our own house. LOL! But not very often.

Anyway, i'm procrastinating. The point is, I generally hate suburbia. I hate lawns where the blades of grass all face the same way. I hate English Privet pruned into the shape of a box around the letterbox. And I hate the fact that we have 700 square metres of land and still have to go to a shop to buy fruit and vegetables.

So I'm going to change it.

I want a rich green canopy of fruit trees, and heavy vines weaving in and out of the fence. I want lawns that smell sweet when you walk on them. I want big fat hens wandering around scratching up the fertile black soil. I want to be shoving boxes of excess food on to my friends. I want grubby kids that are in tune with the natural cycles of the earth.

I want to create my Alternative Suburbia ... and I want to share it! Enjoy!

Still Raining

2009-06-17T17:00:00.000+10:00

I was again woken by the most glorious golden sunshine this morning and proceeded to do the usual thing I do on a sunny morning; eight billion loads of washing.

Then the sun did it's usual thing; pissed off behind big rain clouds.

So again, instead of getting out the backyard, I spent most of the day finding interesting places to hang washing in the house. The laundry is like a clothing maze. Seriously you could get lost in there.

So while the yard gets boggier and soggier and my plans get pushed a few days further away, I pass the time by crocheting. Idleness is the glove into which the devil slips his hand, they say!

Some hats for my little man, gawd look at that smile. Melts my heart!

Not sure what this thing is. I started making them a few weeks ago (in the last big downpour of rain) and the kids love them. They are quick and easy anyway, and a good way to use up bits and pieces of wool.

I did manage to get out in the backyard in my gumboots and take some pics; 'Before' pics, i'll post them later. It is so easy to stand out there and visualise this jungle-like forest of edible delights. Not so easy if I try and put a shovel in the ground and turn the soil. It's very very clayey.

Nevertheless, it shall be done! It looks like we are stuck here for another two years or so, so i've got plenty of time to do it.

2009-06-16T22:19:00.000+10:00

It's a slow start to my Alternative Suburbia!

I've had this blog sitting here for months now and haven't done much with it. Yesterday I said we would go out and get that garden tidy this afternoon. Of course, it is pouring rain today. And it is supposed to continue for the rest of the week.

This is the longest I have lived in one spot without a vegetable garden! I mean I've pulled a few pumpkins and a bit of silverbeet, but they've just grown with no input from me (my favourite type of garden!) I also noticed some potatoes popping up out there. Oh, and that weedy looking tomato plant down the back has a bit of fruit on it too ... I guess it's not all bad then.

OK, so to inspire myself to get into it, here is a list of things to do when the rain stops:

1) Turn the compost (from my uber-cool compost bin made from the council green bin ... hey, I didn't call it alternative suburbia for nothin'!)

2) Pull the grass up and plant something in that little garden down the back.

3) Build a chook pen. Ok, well at least pick a site for it and draw a rough design.

4) Dig a hole at the other end of the new pool garden ready to put something in (not sure what yet ... )

5) Extend garden near patio. And dig a hole ready for a soft green mossy tree fern (I love tree ferns!)

Now if only the weather would warm up I'd drag my sorry arse outside and do it!