OK, so chicken experts, give me your tried and true methods of dealing with chickens who want to sit on the nest all the time?
My littlest girl (who has suddenly grown in size, but I think she's just puffing and fluffing herself up) went broody yesterday and I spent a little bit earlier on today trying to keep her off the nest after collecting one egg and allowing the other girl to lay. She certainly isn't like the previous older girls were when they were clucky - they'd just let me reach in, pick them up and put them on the ground and take the eggs. Not this one, she squarked, pecked, scrabbled and fought her way to stay on the nest. I wouldn't mind so much, except that we're going away soon and have a friend coming to collect the eggs (and Simon has just fixed up the little door through the side of the coop and into the nesting box for her to do that), but there's no way she'll be able to do it with her in there defending the eggs like that.
I tried covering the box with a blanket for the rest of the day to keep her out, but nope, she pushed her way past that and sat in the dark anyway.
October 29, 2008
October 28, 2008
Pumpkin and beetroot
Well, not together...but what awesome colours nature produces.
A bit more of the pumpkin was turned into a delicious sweet soup tonight (almost too sweet for soup lol).
Still have almost half a pumpkin left...off to check out other ideas you've all given me.
We decided to make a batch of gluten free playdough today and instead of colouring it with our only remaining food colouring in the cupboard (blue) I suggested we try using beetroot to give us a pink dough. So we boiled up the chopped beetroot and covered it in water and boiled it for a few minutes (I only needed a cup of boiling water for the recipe).
It worked really well! (this was taken before it set into a ball of dough!)
Then with the remaining pink water I couldn't help but think it was a waste to just toss it away so pulled out one of Danielle's very faded pink tops that could do with a spruce up. I was aware that beetroot dye doesn't tend to hold it's colour well, and I also didn't have the setting chemical required (can't recall what it is now). But it was worth a try.
It looked gorgeous as I pulled it out of the water, but of course once rinsed it returned pretty much to it's original colour (or maybe the lace down the front took up a little colour).
A bit more of the pumpkin was turned into a delicious sweet soup tonight (almost too sweet for soup lol).
Still have almost half a pumpkin left...off to check out other ideas you've all given me.
We decided to make a batch of gluten free playdough today and instead of colouring it with our only remaining food colouring in the cupboard (blue) I suggested we try using beetroot to give us a pink dough. So we boiled up the chopped beetroot and covered it in water and boiled it for a few minutes (I only needed a cup of boiling water for the recipe).
It worked really well! (this was taken before it set into a ball of dough!)
Then with the remaining pink water I couldn't help but think it was a waste to just toss it away so pulled out one of Danielle's very faded pink tops that could do with a spruce up. I was aware that beetroot dye doesn't tend to hold it's colour well, and I also didn't have the setting chemical required (can't recall what it is now). But it was worth a try.
It looked gorgeous as I pulled it out of the water, but of course once rinsed it returned pretty much to it's original colour (or maybe the lace down the front took up a little colour).
October 27, 2008
A Simple Spring Day
We've had quite a bit of wet blustery weather (and yesterday had a cold southerly coming up which added an icy feeling to the air) that has kept us inside a lot and meant racks of wet washing sitting inside the house for a few days (and the days I could put them out on the porch the air was too damp to dry anything anyway).
Yesterday evening I checked the weather report for overnight temperatures and noted that it would get down to 4 degrees and that the wind had dropped off and the sky had cleared to a perfect blue - so not wanting to risk losing my potato and tomatoes we went down and covered everything over with a bale of straw that we use for the chickens nesting box. There was no frost, but I slept better knowing that it wasn't of concern.
So we welcomed the sun back today and just a gentle breeze to air the house out again.
The chickens were out for ages in the potato patches - scratching, dust bathing and basking in the sun.
Nathan had woken with bright ideas jumping out of his head lol - he retrieved a mug from the freezer that he'd frozen a toy dinosaur in the day before, removed it from the mug and spent a while smashing it from its icy surrounds. He was then keen to make a dugout in our dirt bank. So, he and Simon set to digging out a hole - of course, the bank wasn't really big enough to do much with, but he's now keen to put something inside it and rebury it.
The kids had fun collecting up the straw and leaping in it and pretending to be baby birds. Then gathered some lettuce and beetroot from the garden for lunch.
I caught up on more laundry and made lunch to enjoy in the sun.
The kids came in from the sun and sat down to draw for a while...
Simon took the kids down to the beach in the back of the bike trailer while I decided to make a gluten free pumpkin pie for dessert to take with us to my parents...
Now find other uses for the rest of the pumpkin. Still not halfway through it. I think we'll be having pumpkin soup tomorrow night.
Pumpkin Pie
sweet pastry:
175 g all purpose wheat free or gluten free flour (use appropriate flour depending on dietary needs)
100 g butter, softened (plus extra to butter the tart tin)
2 tbsp sugar (unrefined preferred)
1 large egg yolk
1 tbsp water
filling:
225 g pumpkin flesh, mashed if fresh (alternatively use tinned)
50 g sugar (unrefined preferred)
½ tsp mixed spice
1 large egg, beaten
185 ml evaporated milk (we used Carnation Light)
preheat oven/initial cooking temp: 220°C, fan 200°C, 425°F, gas 7
reduced heat after 15 mins cooking: 180°C, fan 160°C, 350°F, gas 4
1. Lightly butter and dust with wheat free or gluten free flour a 20cm (8") tart tin, if it has a removable base then it will be easier to remove the pie from the tin when cooked.
2. Into a large mixing bowl put the wheat free or gluten free flour, softened butter and sugar. Mix together until it resembles large breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolk and water and knead into a smooth ball of pastry dough. If the pastry appears too dry and crumbly then sprinkle with a little more water until it makes a smooth ball.
3. On a lightly floured surface (again using wheat free or gluten free flour) roll the pastry out to a size large enough to completely line the tart tin including the sides, trim the edges to neaten the pastry. You may find that the pastry is too fragile to roll out, in that case simply press it into the tart tin using floured hands, then trim the edges.
4. To make the filling place the sugar and spice into a large bowl and mix together. Add the pumpkin flesh and mix until well combined.
5. Add the beaten egg and mix until well combined. Then stir in the evaporated milk. You should now have a smooth batter.
6. Pour the pumpkin batter into the pastry shell, you can fill the pastry full as the batter won't rise, and put in the oven at the initial baking temperature shown above. After 15 minutes reduce the oven temperature to the lower temperature shown above and bake for a further 30-40 minutes.
7. Check how the cooking is progressing after approximately 25 minutes (at the reduced temperature) by gently slipping a thin knife or skewer into the centre of the pie. If the pie is still very runny it needs further cooking. The pumpkin pie is ready to remove from the oven when the filling is set all the way to the centre of the pie.
8. When fully cooked remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tart tin, serve at room temperature or cold. The pumpkin pie should be stored in the refrigerator.
Yesterday evening I checked the weather report for overnight temperatures and noted that it would get down to 4 degrees and that the wind had dropped off and the sky had cleared to a perfect blue - so not wanting to risk losing my potato and tomatoes we went down and covered everything over with a bale of straw that we use for the chickens nesting box. There was no frost, but I slept better knowing that it wasn't of concern.
So we welcomed the sun back today and just a gentle breeze to air the house out again.
The chickens were out for ages in the potato patches - scratching, dust bathing and basking in the sun.
Nathan had woken with bright ideas jumping out of his head lol - he retrieved a mug from the freezer that he'd frozen a toy dinosaur in the day before, removed it from the mug and spent a while smashing it from its icy surrounds. He was then keen to make a dugout in our dirt bank. So, he and Simon set to digging out a hole - of course, the bank wasn't really big enough to do much with, but he's now keen to put something inside it and rebury it.
The kids had fun collecting up the straw and leaping in it and pretending to be baby birds. Then gathered some lettuce and beetroot from the garden for lunch.
I caught up on more laundry and made lunch to enjoy in the sun.
The kids came in from the sun and sat down to draw for a while...
Simon took the kids down to the beach in the back of the bike trailer while I decided to make a gluten free pumpkin pie for dessert to take with us to my parents...
Now find other uses for the rest of the pumpkin. Still not halfway through it. I think we'll be having pumpkin soup tomorrow night.
Pumpkin Pie
sweet pastry:
175 g all purpose wheat free or gluten free flour (use appropriate flour depending on dietary needs)
100 g butter, softened (plus extra to butter the tart tin)
2 tbsp sugar (unrefined preferred)
1 large egg yolk
1 tbsp water
filling:
225 g pumpkin flesh, mashed if fresh (alternatively use tinned)
50 g sugar (unrefined preferred)
½ tsp mixed spice
1 large egg, beaten
185 ml evaporated milk (we used Carnation Light)
preheat oven/initial cooking temp: 220°C, fan 200°C, 425°F, gas 7
reduced heat after 15 mins cooking: 180°C, fan 160°C, 350°F, gas 4
1. Lightly butter and dust with wheat free or gluten free flour a 20cm (8") tart tin, if it has a removable base then it will be easier to remove the pie from the tin when cooked.
2. Into a large mixing bowl put the wheat free or gluten free flour, softened butter and sugar. Mix together until it resembles large breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolk and water and knead into a smooth ball of pastry dough. If the pastry appears too dry and crumbly then sprinkle with a little more water until it makes a smooth ball.
3. On a lightly floured surface (again using wheat free or gluten free flour) roll the pastry out to a size large enough to completely line the tart tin including the sides, trim the edges to neaten the pastry. You may find that the pastry is too fragile to roll out, in that case simply press it into the tart tin using floured hands, then trim the edges.
4. To make the filling place the sugar and spice into a large bowl and mix together. Add the pumpkin flesh and mix until well combined.
5. Add the beaten egg and mix until well combined. Then stir in the evaporated milk. You should now have a smooth batter.
6. Pour the pumpkin batter into the pastry shell, you can fill the pastry full as the batter won't rise, and put in the oven at the initial baking temperature shown above. After 15 minutes reduce the oven temperature to the lower temperature shown above and bake for a further 30-40 minutes.
7. Check how the cooking is progressing after approximately 25 minutes (at the reduced temperature) by gently slipping a thin knife or skewer into the centre of the pie. If the pie is still very runny it needs further cooking. The pumpkin pie is ready to remove from the oven when the filling is set all the way to the centre of the pie.
8. When fully cooked remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tart tin, serve at room temperature or cold. The pumpkin pie should be stored in the refrigerator.
October 25, 2008
Fabrics....mmmmm.....
I have been into sewing since I was about 11. Over the years I've sewen many things and always thought I would be right into sewing my kids clothing right from the start. Well, it rarely entered my thoughts when they were younger, but I still held out dreams of doing that one day...
Well, my kids are now 5.5 and 3.5 and only Nathan has had a pair of trousers made by me which were refashioned from an old pair of his dads pants. They are pretty cool and he wore them right through the winter just gone. And, until a couple of months ago, Danielle hadn't had anything made for her either until I made a little shift dress that I designed and whipped up from a large size brown linen tunic top. It seems that I've refound my sewing love - just wish I had a local Spotlight just down the road (or maybe not, my credit card might just suffer instead!).
Yesterday were near a spotlight and I had Simon and the kids drop me off for 1/2 an hour for a browse around. I had in mind to buy up a stack of summer prints to make some cute skirts for Danielle as I'd seen all around the net using the Lazy Days pattern. Of course, I then needed to buy a plain coloured t-shirt to go with each of the colours. Just as well I hadn't sorted out t-shirts for summer just yet anyway...
I bought 5 prints with contrasting ribbons, and made her up two this morning (the photo shows them folded in half). Super easy, and so cute. Danielle loves them. She was in the blue one originally till it got wet from splashing the broom in the paddling pool, so switched to the other one for the rest of the day. I can see these as being great little muck around skirts over summer. I don't have plans for making up the other fabrics this summer, but we'll see...
Well, my kids are now 5.5 and 3.5 and only Nathan has had a pair of trousers made by me which were refashioned from an old pair of his dads pants. They are pretty cool and he wore them right through the winter just gone. And, until a couple of months ago, Danielle hadn't had anything made for her either until I made a little shift dress that I designed and whipped up from a large size brown linen tunic top. It seems that I've refound my sewing love - just wish I had a local Spotlight just down the road (or maybe not, my credit card might just suffer instead!).
Yesterday were near a spotlight and I had Simon and the kids drop me off for 1/2 an hour for a browse around. I had in mind to buy up a stack of summer prints to make some cute skirts for Danielle as I'd seen all around the net using the Lazy Days pattern. Of course, I then needed to buy a plain coloured t-shirt to go with each of the colours. Just as well I hadn't sorted out t-shirts for summer just yet anyway...
I bought 5 prints with contrasting ribbons, and made her up two this morning (the photo shows them folded in half). Super easy, and so cute. Danielle loves them. She was in the blue one originally till it got wet from splashing the broom in the paddling pool, so switched to the other one for the rest of the day. I can see these as being great little muck around skirts over summer. I don't have plans for making up the other fabrics this summer, but we'll see...
The BEST pumpkin
This evening I decided to cut into the last remaining pumpkin from the autumn harvest back in March.
I harvested 10 from memory, gave 3 away and ate through the others. By then, we were totally OVER pumpkin and we haven't eaten any in this house for probably 6mths. The last pumpkin (which was my 6.3kg beauty) has just been biding it's time out on my front porch getting good air and light (so 7.5mths!).
I had a sudden urge to cut into it to add to our roast meal tonight and was impressed with the deep orange colour on the inside. The previous pumpkins were quite pale, almost yellowy and not all that flavoursome (in fact, bordering on bitter).
YUM! It cooked up so well too, and was very sweet and moist and about the most delicious pumpkin I've ever tasted. Nathan declared that it tasted like "goodies and sweets" and gobbled it up.
Now, just to figure out what to do with the remainder!
I harvested 10 from memory, gave 3 away and ate through the others. By then, we were totally OVER pumpkin and we haven't eaten any in this house for probably 6mths. The last pumpkin (which was my 6.3kg beauty) has just been biding it's time out on my front porch getting good air and light (so 7.5mths!).
I had a sudden urge to cut into it to add to our roast meal tonight and was impressed with the deep orange colour on the inside. The previous pumpkins were quite pale, almost yellowy and not all that flavoursome (in fact, bordering on bitter).
YUM! It cooked up so well too, and was very sweet and moist and about the most delicious pumpkin I've ever tasted. Nathan declared that it tasted like "goodies and sweets" and gobbled it up.
Now, just to figure out what to do with the remainder!
October 20, 2008
The garden today
The main garden beds. Not all that clear due to not being raised not bordered. Simon got the push mower out and redid the paths between the beds today so they are a lot tidier than they have been.
The peas along the front of my house.
The potted tomatoes. Much bigger than those in the main garden bed.
The peas along the front of my house.
The potted tomatoes. Much bigger than those in the main garden bed.
October 19, 2008
Crazy Talk
I found myself laughing and highly amused the other night.
My parents came over to catch up and have a glass of wine on Friday night. Somehow the conversation moved onto emergency preparedness after having watched the Disaster Awareness doco's the week before. Since my mum works in the big city where the highest risk exists (and the fact there is only one road out of the city and probably a good day or so walk home) we started playing around with different scenarios. She works up on the 7th floor and was saying that she's been gradually building up her supplies at work (walking shoes, change of clothing, water bottle, snack food etc) and then stepdad got in on it and they started talking about where she'd go for the safest place in the case of the building collapsing and then how she'd go about getting out of the building. Now, my parents are keen cavers and climbers - so of course, this was going to feature as a part of the escape plan. Next thing you know, my mum is now going to have: a 25 metre rope, harness with a variety of clips, overalls (just happen to be white), dust mask and goggles. I'm literally rolling around on the floor stiffling the laughter as they get down to serious conversation. So if you see the lady walking the hills after the big one wearing that arrangement - look out, bet she's a scary sight and you'd wonder what toxic scene she's just come from! Of course, at least she'd have a good chance of getting out of her building - you'd just hope the tsunami wouldn't then rip up the street and get her. Yikes!
Love that they can be more crazy than me. I appear totally normal now.
The extent of my get away pack has involved getting together a change of clothes for all of us (to deal with all seasons) and a pack to put it in. Still need to sort out water and some food. Currently, just the clothing is in my car in plastic bags awaiting the next stage.
My parents came over to catch up and have a glass of wine on Friday night. Somehow the conversation moved onto emergency preparedness after having watched the Disaster Awareness doco's the week before. Since my mum works in the big city where the highest risk exists (and the fact there is only one road out of the city and probably a good day or so walk home) we started playing around with different scenarios. She works up on the 7th floor and was saying that she's been gradually building up her supplies at work (walking shoes, change of clothing, water bottle, snack food etc) and then stepdad got in on it and they started talking about where she'd go for the safest place in the case of the building collapsing and then how she'd go about getting out of the building. Now, my parents are keen cavers and climbers - so of course, this was going to feature as a part of the escape plan. Next thing you know, my mum is now going to have: a 25 metre rope, harness with a variety of clips, overalls (just happen to be white), dust mask and goggles. I'm literally rolling around on the floor stiffling the laughter as they get down to serious conversation. So if you see the lady walking the hills after the big one wearing that arrangement - look out, bet she's a scary sight and you'd wonder what toxic scene she's just come from! Of course, at least she'd have a good chance of getting out of her building - you'd just hope the tsunami wouldn't then rip up the street and get her. Yikes!
Love that they can be more crazy than me. I appear totally normal now.
The extent of my get away pack has involved getting together a change of clothes for all of us (to deal with all seasons) and a pack to put it in. Still need to sort out water and some food. Currently, just the clothing is in my car in plastic bags awaiting the next stage.
More spring cleaning? What's come over me?
Friday and Saturday I suddenly felt an urge to do some more rearranging, sorting and cleaning. So I took down our bedroom curtains and gave them a quick wash in bathtub (we've been in this house 5.5yrs and I've never thought to do that before lol). I repinned the blockout fabric on the back and our room is nice and dark now since it gets direct fullmoon light which I find really disturbs my sleep for a few days.
I then found more cobwebs to get rid of!
I decluttered one of my kitchen cupboards - how many platters does one need? Two have been moved on out and that leaves two.
Danielle's clothing has been gone through again and some has gone off for our playcentre garage sale and the stained stuff has gone into the recycling clothing bin for rags.
I weeded the garden alongside the path leading to the front door and my front herb garden.
I sorted out my bathroom cabinet and ditched a few old bottles of unused items.
Completely cleaned my grubby laundry!
Wiped off smear marks from the bedroom and hallway walls (whitish walls...) and the inside of the windows.
I advertised on Freecycle for anyone to come and collect the dozens of self-seeded pumpkin seedlings from my garden before they become compost!
OK, so that feels good. Maybe I'm compensating elsewhere because my garden doesn't need me at the moment (well, I do need to get some stakes in the ground still for the tomatoes and beans I guess which will be tomorrow's job) and I am in-between crafting or preserving.
I then found more cobwebs to get rid of!
I decluttered one of my kitchen cupboards - how many platters does one need? Two have been moved on out and that leaves two.
Danielle's clothing has been gone through again and some has gone off for our playcentre garage sale and the stained stuff has gone into the recycling clothing bin for rags.
I weeded the garden alongside the path leading to the front door and my front herb garden.
I sorted out my bathroom cabinet and ditched a few old bottles of unused items.
Completely cleaned my grubby laundry!
Wiped off smear marks from the bedroom and hallway walls (whitish walls...) and the inside of the windows.
I advertised on Freecycle for anyone to come and collect the dozens of self-seeded pumpkin seedlings from my garden before they become compost!
OK, so that feels good. Maybe I'm compensating elsewhere because my garden doesn't need me at the moment (well, I do need to get some stakes in the ground still for the tomatoes and beans I guess which will be tomorrow's job) and I am in-between crafting or preserving.
October 14, 2008
A few spring firsts
No pics coz I don't think they would do it justice anyway.
This afternoon while the chooks were out, one of them was scratching around in one of the potato patches quite vigorously. So I went and shooed her off since she was right in at the plant and potatoes are poisonous for chickens (well, the skins are anyway, so assuming that the greenery is too?) and didn't want to risk her tearing my plant out. Well, what do you know, she'd uncovered a little spud about 3cm long. Amazing. I was really surprised to see one that big already (considering that was about the size of some of end of seasons potatoes last year!). So things are definitely looking promising. Just need to resist raiding the patches. And keep up my momentum on mounding up the plants.
I noticed over the weekend too that my courgette plant is looking lovely and strong. The first one I planted disappeared, but the replacement plant is thriving and has it's first flower. Very cool.
Sadly, the plum tree looks bare of fruit. The few plums that were there seem to have disappeared. It's an inbetween year, but I thought we'd still get something...
With the weather warming up I'm going to look at putting mulch around the plants to retain moisture. So far I only had some grass clippings available, so the beetroot got that lot - I'm hoping the roots fatten up before the plant bolts - they've been in since the beginning of winter and I'm not sure what's going on with them. Will see what else I can scrape together for other areas.
Should probably get a few more seeds going too. Still plenty of gaps down there to be filled... ;)
This afternoon while the chooks were out, one of them was scratching around in one of the potato patches quite vigorously. So I went and shooed her off since she was right in at the plant and potatoes are poisonous for chickens (well, the skins are anyway, so assuming that the greenery is too?) and didn't want to risk her tearing my plant out. Well, what do you know, she'd uncovered a little spud about 3cm long. Amazing. I was really surprised to see one that big already (considering that was about the size of some of end of seasons potatoes last year!). So things are definitely looking promising. Just need to resist raiding the patches. And keep up my momentum on mounding up the plants.
I noticed over the weekend too that my courgette plant is looking lovely and strong. The first one I planted disappeared, but the replacement plant is thriving and has it's first flower. Very cool.
Sadly, the plum tree looks bare of fruit. The few plums that were there seem to have disappeared. It's an inbetween year, but I thought we'd still get something...
With the weather warming up I'm going to look at putting mulch around the plants to retain moisture. So far I only had some grass clippings available, so the beetroot got that lot - I'm hoping the roots fatten up before the plant bolts - they've been in since the beginning of winter and I'm not sure what's going on with them. Will see what else I can scrape together for other areas.
Should probably get a few more seeds going too. Still plenty of gaps down there to be filled... ;)
October 13, 2008
Chook house modifications
Well, we are due to go away for 4 days before the end of the year and I've been concerned how to manage things with the chickens.
In the past I've had a friend or my mum come by to collect eggs (if there were any) and to give them some fresh scraps and check water if we've been going away for more than a few days (and leaving them enough pellets inside to help themselves).
However, last time we went away for 10 days back in March one of the chickens freaked out at my friend, flew past her at the door and over into the neighbours backyard. So, my friend isn't keen on collecting eggs any longer and it wasn't an issue over winter when they were off the lay. But, now that I'm getting 2-3 eggs a day and we'll be gone for 4 days - that's a lot of eggs to just let accumulate. I'm worried that they'd get squashed and turn my hens into egg-eaters.
So, Simon's planning how to make a little access hole in the side off the coop, and then a hole in the nesting box to reach through and collect the eggs without having any escape artists! Should be an easy job.
In the past I've had a friend or my mum come by to collect eggs (if there were any) and to give them some fresh scraps and check water if we've been going away for more than a few days (and leaving them enough pellets inside to help themselves).
However, last time we went away for 10 days back in March one of the chickens freaked out at my friend, flew past her at the door and over into the neighbours backyard. So, my friend isn't keen on collecting eggs any longer and it wasn't an issue over winter when they were off the lay. But, now that I'm getting 2-3 eggs a day and we'll be gone for 4 days - that's a lot of eggs to just let accumulate. I'm worried that they'd get squashed and turn my hens into egg-eaters.
So, Simon's planning how to make a little access hole in the side off the coop, and then a hole in the nesting box to reach through and collect the eggs without having any escape artists! Should be an easy job.
Just hangin'
Just hangin' in the garden waiting for things to grow. Getting little buzzes from seeing new growth on plants that I've transplanted.
Just hangin' and enjoying life, finding the simple pleasures around our own home and backyard.
Just hangin' on edge wondering how the global financial situation is going to play out.
Just hangin' and getting our Civil Defence kit in order especially after watching a few doco's on TV last week as a part of our National Disaster Awareness week. Since I live in a place where "The Big One" is going to hit it made me refocus and reassess things.
I do wonder how to prepare for all the different possible scenario's though? We're in a good position for a Long Emergency type scenario where we'd be based in our own home. However, as far as getting away *right now* we aren't (or even to just relocate things outside of our house were it to risk falling down). I have everything scattered around our home but not sure how much to bring together and where to store it nor what to put it in.
Urgh, I need help to not just hang and take action. Off to hunt down the civil defence website Now!
October 05, 2008
Braving the Spring weather
Well, the weather seems to have warmed up quite a bit, even if it has been rainy and windy on and off over the past week or so.
So, I decided to give it a shot and get the rest of my spring seedlings out.
~ I planted one bed with corn seedlings.
~ I sowed two more beds with corn seeds (had to fight the chickens off from nicking them before they got covered over).
~ On each of the corners I transplanted some pumpkin seedlings from my garden bed at the front of the house where they had popped up. And I think two of the plants might have been cucumber??
~ I then dotted about 4 bean seedlings into each bed - a bit random really, but hope it all works out all right lol. So that is the three sisters ready to do it's thing. Wasn't planted out as the online instructions usually suggest, but we'll see how this goes.
~ In one bed I put my 9 tomato seedlings around the border and will need to put some stakes in tomorrow since last year they got away on me and I got too lazy/overwhelmed to try and implement a system at that point and they splayed out all over the ground which made it tricky for walking down the paths and for harvesting. Four other tomato seedlings are down in the lower garden against a trellis wall, five other seedlings are in large pots on my porch and another three are at the front of the house. So I'm hoping this will give me a larger crop to prepare a longer lasting stash for use throughout the year.
~ The little chickens are really brave around me now and come up quite close without jumping away if I move too suddenly or close to them.
~ We moved their tractor off the garden beds and situated it down the bottom of the section where there is only just enough room to move it sideways once before needing to put it back to where it was. These two patches will need to suffice till I have harvested the other planted out patches.
~ I now have ONE spare 2x2m patch to find something to go in it once I've dug it up/dug in the straw and chicken poo. Should be nice and soft still from last year though since we don't stand on the beds (aside from the chickens) once they've been dug (and the kids have been trained to always go around too lol) to maintain their airiness.
~ At this stage, I only have capsicums to find a space for - but may put these along the front of my house since it's a sun trap there and plenty of space next to my peas (will need to check for companionship I guess).
And, to reinforce the mantra the kids like to chant once we've planted out...
GROW LITTLE PLANTS, GROW!
So, I decided to give it a shot and get the rest of my spring seedlings out.
~ I planted one bed with corn seedlings.
~ I sowed two more beds with corn seeds (had to fight the chickens off from nicking them before they got covered over).
~ On each of the corners I transplanted some pumpkin seedlings from my garden bed at the front of the house where they had popped up. And I think two of the plants might have been cucumber??
~ I then dotted about 4 bean seedlings into each bed - a bit random really, but hope it all works out all right lol. So that is the three sisters ready to do it's thing. Wasn't planted out as the online instructions usually suggest, but we'll see how this goes.
~ In one bed I put my 9 tomato seedlings around the border and will need to put some stakes in tomorrow since last year they got away on me and I got too lazy/overwhelmed to try and implement a system at that point and they splayed out all over the ground which made it tricky for walking down the paths and for harvesting. Four other tomato seedlings are down in the lower garden against a trellis wall, five other seedlings are in large pots on my porch and another three are at the front of the house. So I'm hoping this will give me a larger crop to prepare a longer lasting stash for use throughout the year.
~ The little chickens are really brave around me now and come up quite close without jumping away if I move too suddenly or close to them.
~ We moved their tractor off the garden beds and situated it down the bottom of the section where there is only just enough room to move it sideways once before needing to put it back to where it was. These two patches will need to suffice till I have harvested the other planted out patches.
~ I now have ONE spare 2x2m patch to find something to go in it once I've dug it up/dug in the straw and chicken poo. Should be nice and soft still from last year though since we don't stand on the beds (aside from the chickens) once they've been dug (and the kids have been trained to always go around too lol) to maintain their airiness.
~ At this stage, I only have capsicums to find a space for - but may put these along the front of my house since it's a sun trap there and plenty of space next to my peas (will need to check for companionship I guess).
And, to reinforce the mantra the kids like to chant once we've planted out...
GROW LITTLE PLANTS, GROW!
October 02, 2008
Flylady in a day...
Well, after my little admission about my lack of housekeeping skills, and waking to a lovely sunny (but chilly windy) day, I felt inspired to get stuck into some deep cleaning since the garden is in good shape and didn't require me. I tried flylady about 3-4 years ago and love the idea, but the reality is that I don't much like schedules (I actually like the idea of schedules but for some reason I find it hard to stick with hehe) and after a few weeks it all goes out the window. So this is the way it goes - I let it all go, but just as quickly it can be back in shape. It certainly makes it a much easier and less daunting task due to the fact that my house is pretty much clutter free. So to begin the cleaning I don't need to wade past any crap to get to the surfaces.
So, starting about 9.30am I approached the kitchen and began haphazardly attacking things as I noticed them. First up was the plastics cupboard - as I was putting away a few dishes that Simon hadn't been able to fit in the cupboard when unloading the dishwasher because things were spilling out all over the place, I rearranged that first. Walls had fly poop cleaned off, the formica part of the bench was cleared of stuff (kettle and tea making things etc) and a thick paste of baking soda was liberally spread all over and scrubbed around using my hands, this was left to sit for a while and remaining baking soda was used to polish the stainless steel kettle and sink. I wandered to the fridge to get something out and was met with crumbs and butter smears so I got distracted from what I was getting and cleaned that. Then I remembered I hadn't brushed my teeth and wanted to tie my hair up, so off to the bathroom and got distracted while there and ended up cleaning the bathroom and toilet. Then Nathan was wandering around with a little brush thing which after he'd had a go at swishing cobwebs I continued on with and did the whole house (that was just plain embarassing how many "low down" cobwebs there were in some places). Can I blame that on only being 5ft tall? What about the 6ft hubby in the house though lol? I then walked outside to toss some crumbs out the door and got distracted (see the theme here...) with the state of the porch - so I removed a build up of junk in the corner, rearranged my seed/planting supplies, tucked the kids bikes in neatly, removed a few things to go to hubby's garage (he loves that hehe) and swept it all down. Back inside I finished off a few incomplete jobs and gave the house a good vacuum (this is one job I do do a couple of times a week) and then while it looked good and the kids had taken off to the garden I decided (shock horror) to mop the floors. While vacumming I decided the fireguard can now be removed and the wood baskets and surrounding area tidied up.
All amongst this I made the kids a snack (our vege box arrived late morning so we made a fresh fruit salad and had it with yoghurt), helped Nathan construct something he's working on, dressed baby dolls with Danielle, made a batch of muffins, sat down with a few cups of tea and checked in with emails, hung up a load of washing and folded and put away a few other loads.
A conversation with a 5yr old "mum, why are you cleaning" (lol), me "um, because things are looking a bit dirty. I clean (said indignantly), what do we do regularly?". Him "we vacuum, clean the windows (yes I do!), you do the washing (laundry), we tidy the crap (oh yes, I'm good at modelling some things) up...".
An all round productive and satisfactory day.
So, starting about 9.30am I approached the kitchen and began haphazardly attacking things as I noticed them. First up was the plastics cupboard - as I was putting away a few dishes that Simon hadn't been able to fit in the cupboard when unloading the dishwasher because things were spilling out all over the place, I rearranged that first. Walls had fly poop cleaned off, the formica part of the bench was cleared of stuff (kettle and tea making things etc) and a thick paste of baking soda was liberally spread all over and scrubbed around using my hands, this was left to sit for a while and remaining baking soda was used to polish the stainless steel kettle and sink. I wandered to the fridge to get something out and was met with crumbs and butter smears so I got distracted from what I was getting and cleaned that. Then I remembered I hadn't brushed my teeth and wanted to tie my hair up, so off to the bathroom and got distracted while there and ended up cleaning the bathroom and toilet. Then Nathan was wandering around with a little brush thing which after he'd had a go at swishing cobwebs I continued on with and did the whole house (that was just plain embarassing how many "low down" cobwebs there were in some places). Can I blame that on only being 5ft tall? What about the 6ft hubby in the house though lol? I then walked outside to toss some crumbs out the door and got distracted (see the theme here...) with the state of the porch - so I removed a build up of junk in the corner, rearranged my seed/planting supplies, tucked the kids bikes in neatly, removed a few things to go to hubby's garage (he loves that hehe) and swept it all down. Back inside I finished off a few incomplete jobs and gave the house a good vacuum (this is one job I do do a couple of times a week) and then while it looked good and the kids had taken off to the garden I decided (shock horror) to mop the floors. While vacumming I decided the fireguard can now be removed and the wood baskets and surrounding area tidied up.
All amongst this I made the kids a snack (our vege box arrived late morning so we made a fresh fruit salad and had it with yoghurt), helped Nathan construct something he's working on, dressed baby dolls with Danielle, made a batch of muffins, sat down with a few cups of tea and checked in with emails, hung up a load of washing and folded and put away a few other loads.
A conversation with a 5yr old "mum, why are you cleaning" (lol), me "um, because things are looking a bit dirty. I clean (said indignantly), what do we do regularly?". Him "we vacuum, clean the windows (yes I do!), you do the washing (laundry), we tidy the crap (oh yes, I'm good at modelling some things) up...".
An all round productive and satisfactory day.
October 01, 2008
Where I'm at with the natural cleaning
Johanna asked me in my comments from a while ago for an update on how I get on with natural cleaning.
Well, it's just business as usual around here and I'm not sure I've tweaked any of my routines a lot really. (Possibly due to being one of the world's worst housekeepers so that's not hard lol). I keep our home tidy at the end of the day, the kitchen is tidied daily and I'm on top of the laundry (wash every 2nd day) - but other housework, well, let's just say I we do it when it appears to need it or we're expecting visitors. ;)
Tools of the trade...
Baking Soda - an all round essential item in out house.
Gets used for washing hair (haven't used shampoo on my hair for almost 2yrs now and loving it).
A decent dollop gets dropped in the toilet and scrubbed around
It gets sprinkled in the handbasin, shower and bath and wiped with a wet microfibre cloth for a sparkling shine
Anti perspirant - it's an odour neutraliser and absorbs moisture. Love it. My only problem is forgetting to put it on at all, so if I stink it's not coz the BS has failed, it's beause I was too lazy or forgot to put it on! Great to have in a little container in the glovebox of the car when needed.
Vinegar and Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV)
ACV is used as the conditioning component of my hair washing routine and stops my hair from being so frizzy and keeps it in better control.
Wet carpet cleaners - use white vinegar in place of the shampoo
I would like to say that I use vinegar in hot water to mop my floors (but is it worth mentioning a routine that only happens about twice a year?? oops).
I would also like to say that I use it as a spray (50/50 water/vinegar) as an all purpose spray for benchtops, tables, stovetops, toilet seats etc, but in reality I get away with a good wipe down with a microfibre cloth (not that same one for toilet and kitchen though!) and plain old water.
(And for the record, we are not a sickly family who suffer for my poor housekeeping). LOL
I don't make any homemade cleaners, I really fail to see where I can improve on the above except for dishwasher and laundry powders. I have found though that neither work so well for me and I haven't dabbled around enough to find one that I like yet. I would love some recommendations though for ones that work, without relying on tricky to source ingredients.
Well, it's just business as usual around here and I'm not sure I've tweaked any of my routines a lot really. (Possibly due to being one of the world's worst housekeepers so that's not hard lol). I keep our home tidy at the end of the day, the kitchen is tidied daily and I'm on top of the laundry (wash every 2nd day) - but other housework, well, let's just say I we do it when it appears to need it or we're expecting visitors. ;)
Tools of the trade...
Baking Soda - an all round essential item in out house.
Gets used for washing hair (haven't used shampoo on my hair for almost 2yrs now and loving it).
A decent dollop gets dropped in the toilet and scrubbed around
It gets sprinkled in the handbasin, shower and bath and wiped with a wet microfibre cloth for a sparkling shine
Anti perspirant - it's an odour neutraliser and absorbs moisture. Love it. My only problem is forgetting to put it on at all, so if I stink it's not coz the BS has failed, it's beause I was too lazy or forgot to put it on! Great to have in a little container in the glovebox of the car when needed.
Vinegar and Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV)
ACV is used as the conditioning component of my hair washing routine and stops my hair from being so frizzy and keeps it in better control.
Wet carpet cleaners - use white vinegar in place of the shampoo
I would like to say that I use vinegar in hot water to mop my floors (but is it worth mentioning a routine that only happens about twice a year?? oops).
I would also like to say that I use it as a spray (50/50 water/vinegar) as an all purpose spray for benchtops, tables, stovetops, toilet seats etc, but in reality I get away with a good wipe down with a microfibre cloth (not that same one for toilet and kitchen though!) and plain old water.
(And for the record, we are not a sickly family who suffer for my poor housekeeping). LOL
I don't make any homemade cleaners, I really fail to see where I can improve on the above except for dishwasher and laundry powders. I have found though that neither work so well for me and I haven't dabbled around enough to find one that I like yet. I would love some recommendations though for ones that work, without relying on tricky to source ingredients.
Electricity
In the post today I received a letter from my electricity supplier informing me that they'd taken a look at our electricity usage over the past year (we've been with them a year) to check that we are on the best plan. Well, it seems we are. We switched to a "green" company last year which not only meant that the company generates all it's electricity using renewable resources but are also a carbon neutral generator and retailer.
So anyway, they said over the last year our usage was 5174 kWh units. I was kind of surprised really. Last year when I blogged about changing retailers and deciding to go with the "low user plan" we were using just over 7000 kWh and I thought we were doing well. So I was pleasantly surprised to see that our usage was quite a bit lower yet there have not been any major changes to the way we do things. Which really only leaves...
~ The new "larger" hot water cylinder we had installed when the last one died (around the same time as we switched electricity company).
~ The hot water cyclinder in our kitchen died about 9mths ago (both cylinders would be near on 60yrs old, so pretty good run really!) and we haven't bothered to replace it so we're saving on not wasting hot water to rinse fingers and dishes. The only inconvenience being that we need to bucket water from the laundry about 3 metres away once a week to handwash large items that haven't fitted into the dishwasher.
~ Large upright freezer has been continually turned on (but not the most economically since it is half empty).
~ I have been more diligent in turning off my computer every night (but we could still turn off other electronics instead of leaving on standby).
I did notice that we only got the small fan heater out maybe 3-4 times over winter which I usually use for a 10min stint on really cold mornings to heat Danielle's room for the kids to get dressed in, whereas last year we had it running a lot more than that. This year though, I reckon there were a lot less frosty mornings. Equally too, over summer we rarely needed to use the fan whereas the year before it felt hotter during the days??
Our power usage does not include any other home heating since we rely on our wood burner (which we got away with only buying 4m3 this year and supplementing on a bit of foraged wood). We run the dishwasher every day and the washing machine probably 4 times a week on a cold wash only (have dropped 2 loads a week now that Danielle is no longer in washable nappies during the day). And we don't own a clothes drier. Simon and I have a shower every day and the kids a bath about 3 times a week.
So anyway, they said over the last year our usage was 5174 kWh units. I was kind of surprised really. Last year when I blogged about changing retailers and deciding to go with the "low user plan" we were using just over 7000 kWh and I thought we were doing well. So I was pleasantly surprised to see that our usage was quite a bit lower yet there have not been any major changes to the way we do things. Which really only leaves...
~ The new "larger" hot water cylinder we had installed when the last one died (around the same time as we switched electricity company).
~ The hot water cyclinder in our kitchen died about 9mths ago (both cylinders would be near on 60yrs old, so pretty good run really!) and we haven't bothered to replace it so we're saving on not wasting hot water to rinse fingers and dishes. The only inconvenience being that we need to bucket water from the laundry about 3 metres away once a week to handwash large items that haven't fitted into the dishwasher.
~ Large upright freezer has been continually turned on (but not the most economically since it is half empty).
~ I have been more diligent in turning off my computer every night (but we could still turn off other electronics instead of leaving on standby).
I did notice that we only got the small fan heater out maybe 3-4 times over winter which I usually use for a 10min stint on really cold mornings to heat Danielle's room for the kids to get dressed in, whereas last year we had it running a lot more than that. This year though, I reckon there were a lot less frosty mornings. Equally too, over summer we rarely needed to use the fan whereas the year before it felt hotter during the days??
Our power usage does not include any other home heating since we rely on our wood burner (which we got away with only buying 4m3 this year and supplementing on a bit of foraged wood). We run the dishwasher every day and the washing machine probably 4 times a week on a cold wash only (have dropped 2 loads a week now that Danielle is no longer in washable nappies during the day). And we don't own a clothes drier. Simon and I have a shower every day and the kids a bath about 3 times a week.
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