Resolutions

I have been thinking about resolutions today. I don't normally make them, but I have been hit by a need to get more organised. I think things could run more smoothly and that I could use my time more efficiently.

The housework always manages to get done, even when the timetable is overloaded. Creative time, on the other hand, seems to evaporate when the schedule gets busy. The garden gets a bit neglected. The sewing room door remains shut. The days seem too full for fun and I hit the pillow worn out but not tired.

I have learnt over the last couple of months that I need time to be creative. It makes me a much happier person and fulfills me in a way that other activities can't. Whether it be sewing, drawing, writing, painting or crafting, I feel more positive when that need has been met.

I want to smile more, laugh and be open to the possibilities that present themselves. I want to say yes more often.

I want to relax more. To take those small opportunities of calm and peace whenever they arise.

I want to focus more on my health and write exercise that I enjoy into my days. Whether it be going for walk along the beach, riding our bikes, yoga in the backyard or jumping on the trampoline. When we are fit and strong, the day always seems easier and you sleep better.


The garden planner needs to be synced into my daily timetable. I have this dream that our garden can feed us the majority of our fruit and veg. At this stage though there are gaps in the seasons. We have weeks without lettuce and then a glut and that sort of thing. This is all about planning, whether you have a food forest or a high intensity system.

I want to plant weekly. Seeds and seedlings. Most of our seedlings are raised from seed in a small hothouse, so that requires some forethought. There also needs to be time for harvesting and preserving. Jams, dehydrating, bottling.

Part of harvesting and preserving is menu planning our nightly meals. I love to get up in the morning and already have dinner organised. I know what to prepare and that I have everything in the pantry/freezer/garden to make it. Focusing on seasonal eating is definitely cheaper, fresher and easier to get locally.

I generally write out a list of eight meals for the week and then we just pick and choose on the day. On our days that are full of outings, I like to have everything prepared in the morning and I keep it simple. It prevents those fast and unhealthy meals that can become a very poor substitute.

DragonGirl is year four this year. Even though we do a blend of life-learning and unschooling and our schedule has been pretty relaxed up until now, I feel it is time for a little more structure. It is partly about her prefered learning style and partly about me needing more time to do the things I need/want to do too.

One of the positives of home educating is that we can tailor our timetable and focus to suit our needs, and to make changes as the need arises.

Corby has been home for a week which has been great. Going to the beach, riding our bikes, watching dvds, sleeping in (even the kids did a few times!), going out at midnight to watch fireworks, painting Boo's bike, reading, snuggling on the couch outside. All nourishing to us and our relationships.

Besides catching up as a family and relaxing, it has given me the space to plan and prepare for the term. It has been a week of recharging, refocusing and reconnecting. I am very thankful that we've had it.

Winter Activities

Winter is creeping in. We hit -0 this morning, just as the sun was rising. All the deciduous fruit trees have dropped their leaves. We've been lighting the fire each night for a couple of weeks. And I've started planning more activities for rainy days.

We have been doing some felting and DragonGirl is keen to try out some tie-dyeing. We've got a couple of shirts prepared with elastic bands, marbles and knots and will apply the dye today. We've been on YouTube to get different technique ideas.

DragonGirl is working on a project most days. At the moment she is doing Wolves, so we have been reading about wolves, watching nature DVDs, drawing, making masks, exploring the idea of The Big Bad Wolf in stories and she is creating a lapbook.

We've also been making candles from flat beeswax sheets, carving candles, making candle holders from vines and repurposed glasses and playing endless amounts of Lego!

Boo has been helping me in the garden this morning. We planted out some more lettuce, broccoli and cauliflower in a sheltered, sunny spot of the garden. He also helped me to feed the animals and get the eggs.

He has been surprising me lately with his helpfulness. The other night he grabbed a teatowel to dry the dishes. He couldn't reach the sink, but did a very good job of drying the dishes and putting them away. It seemed like such a Big Boy thing for him to do. Though Grandma said that Big Boys aren't nearly as helpful...

The main focus in the garden at the moment is covering the ground. I've been marking out the rest of the garden beds out the back and plan on covering them with paper, hay, manure and compost. It will minimise rain compacting any bare soil and also prevent the grass from growing like mad. Last year we had to use the trimmer to keep the grass down because the ground was too wet to mow.

But for now, the sun is shining, so I think we'll take our bikes up to the park and record what we see in our Nature Journal's.

Face paint and the chickens

This is what I woke up to! Two very colourful faces.

They have been playing with face paint, tattoo pens and dress ups a lot at the moment. The drama course seems to have brought out their creative side. No, that's not true, DragonGirl has always loved being colourful. Boo is definitely getting into it too though...

We went to the zoo a few weeks ago when we ducked up to the Big City.

The kids loved seeing all the different animals. Boo hadn't been and DragonGirl was quite small when we went last. By far the best moment was seeing Boo's face as an Asian elephant sauntered past us on the walkway. It's one thing to know they're big, it's another to see it to scale.

As I mentioned in my last post, things have been cooling off. We've lit the fire a couple of times already.

We normally light it from Mother's Day to Father's Day, but we're trying to be a little more conservative this year. It's nothing that a pair of socks won't fix so far. Mind you, 4'c this morning was a little brisk!

These are our new chickens, commonly refered to as The Girls. They are our fertilisers, pest control, soil airators, mulch spreaders, plant pruners, composters and a constant form of entertainment. Well worth the effort of a bucket of veg scraps every day, some grain and fresh water.

They're still in the coup at this stage but we will run them all through the fruit trees out the back. I have been making little wire rings to put around any plants that I don't want them to eat too much of.

Today I am planting out some garlic, 3 feijoa and more lavender (I will almost have commercial quantities if I keep going!)

A few photos...

Boo came in from the dress-up box looking like this -


We went camping for a few weeks over Christmas. We spent most of the time at the beach, surfing, swimming, eating, making sand castles and just generally enjoying the sunshine.



One of the parks we stayed in had a simple rope flying fox which we would like to copy at home. The kids played on it for hours.

While the girls were playing on the flying fox, Boo was over near the tree doing the haka. It was so funny to watch. I'm not sure if he was trying to scare the girls away or impress them.

Parry's has a little rockpool which is sheltered from the wind and the big waves. It is definitely a camping spot that we'll continue to go back to no matter the season. It had something for everyone.

DragonGirl and Boo were rolling down the sand dunes and thoroughly enjoyed getting covered in sand and then running out to the ocean and washing off.

We've been picking apricots, plums, figs, boysenberries, strawberries and apples from the garden. We also have cabbages, pumpkins, watermelons and tomatoes that are close to eating.

Our sunflowers are in full bloom.

Summer is here in all it's glory.

The weather over the last couple of days has been stunning. We have been at the beach the last 3 days, soaking up the sunshine and getting a little pink on the cheeks.

The garden is blooming and fruiting at high speed. This morning I picked youngberries, strawberries, blueberries, lettuce, silverbeet, kale, spinach, 3 figs, 2 lemons and 4 plums, along with some lemonbalm, mint and thyme.

I also picked a heap of weeds which are flourishing too, for the rabbits.

Despite being separated the rabbits have still managed to have babies. (I am assuming Pegasus was pregnant before we moved her - though, it is the season for immaculate conceptions...) They were still closed eyed and wobbling around a week ago and are now quite agile and fast.
Circus is finished up for the year. DragonGirl really enjoyed herself though she is looking forward to drama starting up next year which is her favourite of the three activities (circus, drama and dance) on offer.

The group put on a performance last week for parents and the older kids. They were all proud as punch when we applauded at the end.

DragonGirl and Boo decorated a tree outside which Corby has named the Jolly Solstice Tree.

Normally I do the tree inside and hang decorations in the windows. As we move away from all things Commercially Christmas, the traditions are changing. The plastic tree and the tinsel will go to the op-shop in January and our tree will be outside from now on. I am hoping that next year it will be decorated with more homemade decorations and no baubles and plastic.

We've been making gifts, like this tic-tac-toe game which is made from felt, velvet, coloured thread and the clay buttons.

The felt, velvet and thread are from our Seasonal packs that we get from Spiral Garden. The clay is air-dry clay that we got from the local craft shop.

Friends of ours get their clay from a stream near their house and it seems to dry well. I think once our supply has run out, I will go and get some of theirs and try it out. The clay under our soil gets too crumbly when it dried, though I am sure with a little research I would find out there is something we could add to it.

DragonGirl and I have also being making the hoops for the wreathes. These two are made from cuttings from the apricots trees I just planted and from an obnoxious vine that keeps trying to take over the yard.

We will decorate them with shells, seeds, dried leaves, flowers and scraps of fabric and ribbon.

Learning new things

I've only got a few more weeks left of the Creative Journalling course I'm doing. It's been great to learn new things, explore new mediums and do some favourites too. We get to paint, glue, cut, dye, collage and many more things.

Last term we collected and exchanged paper napkins. Some of the designs you can get are amazing and I've often thought that they look too lovely to use.

I chose 3 different napkins and then made a design, highlighting it with gold paint.

I love having 3hrs a week that is entirely for me. DragonGirl and Boo are being taken care of and I get to sit and create to my heart's content.

Homeschooling suits us all and I enjoy having the time with the kids but it's nice to have a break too. While J-Boy was visiting, he found the constant noise and company a little too much. I was a meany and didn't let him watch much tv (because I didn't want the kids watching it with him) and in the end he resorted to playing lego with earplugs in!

One of the best things about home educating is that we get to set our own timetable (or not set one as the case may be) and that means trips to the beach that we otherwise wouldn't get.

While J-Boy was here we went out the dinner and he got all dressed up. This one's for you Mum...

You could smile more darling, you have a gorgeous smile.

I found this next picture on my camera while I was loading them onto the computer. Corby took it while I was away.

On his soapbox? :)

Last week was all about socialising for us. We had visitors every day and of course enjoyed every minute of it!

This week is all about gardening. I picked up 8 new fruit trees on Friday - they were at wholesale prices through a friend which is why I got so many. Two apricots, two apples (heritage red and green), a peach, a green plum and two pears. I just need to find spots for them now. I am thinking 3 out the front in the mandala garden, 3 in the middle section and 2 right out the back.

And the mulch arrives tomorrow, ready to spread out on all the gardens. I am going to focus on the front and the ones down the very back of the yard.

Spring time is busy in the garden.

Sewing and crafting has cranked up a notch too in our household. I organised my work space which has made things easier. It's so great having the granny flat to work in. I've got orders to get out and of course christmas is coming.

We don't really celebrate 'christmas' as such but we give gifts and feast together with friends. For us it is a celebration of Summer, growth and harvest, the beach and endless entertaining.

Spring is in the Air...

...despite the weather saying otherwise!

I've been busy in the garden when I get a chance (in between rain and hail) and it's coming along really well.

I got this lot of plants this morning, ready to plant out over the weekend. I am going to put them into the existing gardens and fill them up and then will get on to digging some more.

The fruit trees are all waking up and in flower. This is a good shot of the plum tree's new shoots.

We've got bulbs coming up that were planted by the last owner. Some of them are really interesting. Like this one, any ideas what it is?

I've finished down the side of the house finally. I edged with pavers, fed the soil with compost, manure and seaweed, then planted and mulched. It will be great once it is established. It's close to the back door, gets all the morning and midday sun and is protected by the house from the horrible south winds.

We are getting some more fruit trees over the next couple of weeks and I want to start the garden at the very back of the yard.

The plan is to put in sunflowers, corn, tomatoes, peas (for green manure) and melons. I am going to make traditional rectangular garden beds using the pavers for edging.

We got the pavers free from up the road. We had to pull them up but it was worth the effort to have them to use around the place.

Sunset watching

We went up to Perth last weekend for the night. It was mainly a crop checking exercise. Corby likes to see how the farmer's are going - what sort of growing season they're having.

This time of the year is normally spraying, rock picking and lambing on the farm. Lambing and rock picking are Corby's least favourite things and the spraying is only made better by the cool machine it's done in.

We managed to find some accomodation near the beach and spent the evening there watching the sun set over the water. I don't think we'll ever live inland again, after leaving near the beach. It has become a large part of our lifestyle.

I would have liked to have done some op-shopping while we were up in Perth. It's the first trip we've done up there in 18mths, but everything was shut (minimal Sunday trading). It made for a cost saving weekend, but what's the fun in that?!

We've had 2 weeks of sunshine which has been magic. All the more appreciated after a South Coast wet Winter. I've spent as much time as I can out in the garden, weeding, pruning, feeding, digging new beds. The compost bins are all nearly full again which means it will be ready to spread out by mid-Summer. Perfect timing really and completely unplanned.

Seedlings - literal and metaphorical

Term 3 has kicked off with a bang and I am feeling very optimistic that the second half of the year is going to be a bit smoother than the first.

I think we are often given challenging situations to learn from. I find that I rally and rage when things are tough, but I come out the other end with clarity as to what I want/need to do. I'm grateful for the people who listen and support me through it all.

The Creative Journalling course has started back up and I got a spot which I'm very happy about. This term we are going to be doing an equal mix of writing and art and keeping a visual journal.

We did the covers on Tuesday and this is mine -
It's not quite finished and is bound to evolve through the course.


Last week I got busy in the garden and did up a few trays of seedlings. I went out the other morning and they're already up and started. I think the clear plastic over the top made a big difference, as the last lot without it took a few weeks to get going.

Aren't they lovely!

Compost

I just spread out my first load of home-made compost! Very exciting! (well, if you're a gardener you might understand...)

I built our compost bins using 5 old pallets that were out the back. I held them upright using star pickets (again, they were out the back) and secured them with some found wire.

You can see them behind the retro strawberry stand.
I lined the left bay with cardboard and then covered it with black plastic, leaving the floor open. The plastic was left over pond liner from the tip shop, so it was made from all recycled materials and it cost me nothing.

I've only been filling it for about 4mths and got out 5 wheelbarrow loads of compost. I took off the top layer and put it into the next bay, ready to begin the next lot.

We have used foodscraps, newspaper, grass clippings, manure, seaweed, leaves (green and dried), dust from sweeping and vacuuming the house, lint from the dryer, hay from the rabbit hutch and dirt.

I spread it around the bananas -

And made a new garden bed for the garlic, another fruit tree and some herbs. I have put some potatoes at one end as well. I lightly dug up the ground, spread out the compost, some sheep manure and then topped with pea straw.

It's all being watered in by the rain as I write this.

The Sun peaked through for a moment

We put on our scarves, gloves, beanies, jackets and gumboots to go outside and enjoy it!

I've made a Winter scarf for myself this year.

I've got another started in a fibre that looks a bit like dreadlocks. I'll match Corby! :)

I've got to finish the chicken coup so I'm grateful that it is fairly clear today after the rain last night. I am definitely going to have to put some tin on the roof to keep the chickens and rabbits dry.

Besides Corby wanting fresh eggs, the chickens will be useful in other ways. Manure for the gardens, pest control, turning the vegetable beds at the end of each season, just to name a few. The coup means that the rabbits will have more room to move too.

Tea break is over, back to work!

We've got chickens coming!

Our lovely neighbour has gifted us some chickens and when I have the coup finished I need to go and pick them up.

I was going to build a coup out the back but it meant starting from scratch and buyng in all the materials. In my commitment to making use of what we've got I decided to convert the old greenhouse.

I've pulled the shadecloth off the front and put chicken wire down on the floor - after clearing out all the junk that was in there. I am now starting on the sides with the wire. I will also put a few sheets of tin on half the roof (which we have behind the shed) and I think wire on the other half wouldn't hurt either.

Hail and Raw Chocolate Fudge

The weather is pretty aweful today. We've had high winds, lots of rain and even some hail. A typical Winter on the South Coast of Australia I guess.

Weather that drives us indoors is challenging because we homeschool and because we all like to spend most of our time outside. Suddenly all the things you want to do outdoors have to be done urgently and you have a complete blank on the things you could be doing inside.

Today we have done a few puzzles, played Snake and Ladders, Uno and Patience. I've spent too much time on the internet, learning, checking out art sites, shopping and catching up on my favourite Blogs. The kids watched Swiss Family Robinson, painted and right now DragonGirl is doing some workbooks and Boo is driving his truck through rice he spilt on the floor, to make patterns.

We also made some raw Chocolate Fudge with nuts, dried fruit, agave and coconut. I got the basic recipe from http://www.raw-pleasure.com.au/ and then did a few variations.

We are all counting the minutes until Corby gets home...