the wild backyard

Kid-size veges

2011-11-11T23:04:00.003+11:00

Miss Tizz and the X-man were busy setting up their own vege garden this afternoon (with a couple of ring-ins from next door). If the snails don't do too much damage, we should have plenty of kid-size cherry tomatoes and mini iceberg lettuces ('ice cubes').

Watch out!

2011-10-27T21:57:00.000+11:00

The X-man started tae kwon do this week, and he's taking it VERY seriously!

We're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo!

2011-09-21T16:34:00.000+10:00

We met up with my parents in Batemans Bay last weekend, and headed ten minutes up the road to Mogo Zoo on Sunday morning. It's a private zoo, with over 200 animals, and involved in the conservation of and breeding programs for a number of endangered species.

My new favourite bread recipe

2011-08-30T22:43:00.000+10:00

I tried out a new bread recipe a couple of weeks ago, and it's become the family favourite. This one slices even better than the previous recipe, and has a lovely even texture that makes it great for sandwiches and toast.

It's another recipe from Down To Earth, and I've adapted it for the Thermomix, so all the hard work is done. If you're making bread by hand, go over to Rhonda's blog for her method.

Ingredients

2 teaspoons dried yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
¼ cup warm (not hot) water

4 cups baker's flour
1½ teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon milk powder
1.5 - 2 cups warm (not hot) water

Method

Place yeast, sugar and ¼ cup warm water in TMX bowl. Close lid and mix at speed 1-2 for a few seconds. Do something else for 5 minutes or so, and when you come back it should be frothy.

Add flour, salt, oil and milk powder, and 1 cup of water. Mix at speed 5-6 for 30 seconds, adding more water slowly while mixing until dough starts coming together. I usually need about 1.5 cups altogether, but it depends on the type of flour, the humidity, etc. and may vary. You really need to get to know how the dough feels, and that comes with practice.

Knead dough for 2 minutes on closed lid position.

Tip dough out onto mat/bench/board and knead by hand for a minute until smooth. If the dough seems a little dry, sprinkle some water on it and knead it in as you go. If it seems too sticky, do the same with a little more flour.

Form into a ball and place into a lightly oiled bowl. Cover (I use a little spray oil and cover with cling wrap to prevent the dough drying out, but a damp tea towel can also do the job) and leave somewhere warm and draft-free (not so crucial with the cling wrap) to prove. I've found this recipe rises much faster than the previous one I wrote about, so keep an eye on it.

Once doubled in size, tip out and knead by hand for two minutes. Shape and place in a tin lined with baking paper, or on an oven tray, sprinkle with water and add seeds if desired (we like sesame seeds). Cover (I use the same piece of cling wrap) and allow to rise again - about half an hour should do it.

Preheat oven to 250 degrees C. Bake on centre shelf for 6 mins, then turn oven down to 180-200 degrees and bake for 15-20 mins. You'll know when it's done by the fabulous smell and the golden crust.

Turn out onto a cooling rack. Slices best when fully cooled, but is delicious warm!

Coffee cake

2011-07-05T18:13:00.001+10:00

Just so I don't forget where it is ... this is Rhonda's recipe (from Down to Earth) for a lovely grown-up cake that I don't have to share with the kids!

Rhonda's photo from her Down to Earth blog - will replace with one of my own if I can manage it before I eat the whole thing! Or I could just make another ...

Daily bread

2011-05-11T23:12:00.001+10:00

I've gone back to making bread lately. I don't think much of the bland stuff you can buy from the supermarket, and I'm not even that fussed with bakery breads, but fresh homemade bread? Warm from the oven? Toasted the next day? Yes please!

For a while I made a loaf every few days using Lauke bread mix and a breadmaker. The big advantage was being able to use the delay function so the process started in the wee hours of the morning, and we woke to the smell of fresh bread, ready for breakfast. It was quick and easy - the machine did all the work, with reliable results, and the bread was an improvement over anything we could buy locally.

Then along came Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. Wonderful stuff - and very impressive as it did the initial huge rise in a container on the kitchen bench. Very easy, but a little more hands on (which was a good thing). Still very quick once the batch was mixed, and a delicious taste that only improved as the dough aged. A little messy because it was so sticky, and the container took up a lot of room in the fridge.

Then I discovered the One Minute Ciabatta recipe. A very simple, rustic loaf. A bit like the Artisan Bread in 5, but you just make a single loaf batch of dough. While it took me a little more than a minute (but not much more) to mix it up, it was completely hand made and full of flavour, having been allowed to rise overnight on the bench. And it made fabulous toast! We loved it with fresh rosemary and sea salt sprinkled on top.

And then there's the latest recipe I've been using, from a friend of a friend. It's made in the Thermomix, so the hard work - kneading - is taken care of, although you could certainly make it entirely by hand - it would just mean kneading for at least 8 minutes in stage 3 (below). It promised a crunchy crust, and a soft lightness inside. And it was nice, but not that great. Others did have great results though, so I tried again. Still good, but a bit dense. So I did some research, found some helpful tips, and tried again today. It came out of the oven a few minutes before the rest of the family walked in the door, and half the loaf disappeared rapidly, meeting with loud approval all round. Success!

So this is my slightly modified version. I've included some explanations of why I've done things in a certain way - understanding how the chemistry works certainly helps me in the kitchen!

Basic bread (in the Thermomix)

1. Activate the yeast: Pour 280ml warm water into the Thermomix bowl, and add 1 teaspoon of yeast and 1 teaspoon of sugar. I keep the yeast in the freezer, so this gives it a chance to warm up and start doing its thing, and the little bit of sugar gives it something to feed on. After a few minutes it should start looking frothy.

2. Add dry ingredients: 500gm flour (plain or baker's - either is fine), 1 teaspoon of bread improver (apparently this is optional, and I've heard some negative things about bread improver lately, but I have some here so I'll use it up, and then look at alternatives like ascorbic acid or leaving it out altogether), and 1 teaspoon of salt (don't skimp on the salt - it's not a lot, and it makes a difference BUT keep the salt away from the yeast until it all starts mixing together. Apparently straight salt will kill yeast) into the TMX bowl.

3. Mix: Close the TMX, and gradually increase to Speed 6 for 6 seconds or so to mix everything together. Set to closed lid position, and knead on the interval setting for 2 minutes. Tip the dough out onto a board or mat and knead for a minute to form a nice smooth ball.

4. First rise: Put the dough into a lightly oiled/greased bowl and cover with cling wrap or a damp tea towel - make sure it's touching the dough's surface, as this will help prevent the surface drying out and allow the dough to rise more. The dough needs to be in a warm, draught-free spot to rise well. It's been getting colder here in Canberra, so I searched around for ideas and came up with heating a glass of water to boiling in the microwave, then placing the bowl of dough in with the glass of water and shutting the door. The insulated microwave works well as a proofing box! This first rise could take anything from 30 mins to a couple of hours, depending on the conditions, but wait until the dough has doubled in size before proceeding.

5. Shape and second rise: Punch the dough down on a mat or board, knead for two minutes ('push' the dough away from you, fold it back on itself, turn a quarter turn, repeat), roll it out into an oval about 40cm x 20cm, and then roll it up into a big sausage shape (or shape it any other way you like - I don't think it matters too much - get creative!). Transfer to a bread tin or oven tray. Dampen the top with water and add sesame seeds (again, use whatever you like - we just happen to like sesame seeds), pressing them lightly onto the dough. Cover and allow to rise again for at least two hours.

6. Bake: Preheat your oven to hot - mine goes up to about 250 deg C (a hot oven will allow the loaf to rise quickly by turning moisture in the dough into steam, before it forms the crust, so you get a nicely aerated and soft bread). Remove the cling wrap or tea towel, sprinkle on a little more water (this makes a lovely crunchy crust) and put the loaf in the middle of the oven. Bake for 6 minutes, and then turn the oven down to 200 deg C and bake a further 20 mins. Keep an eye on it the first time you bake it - all ovens are different, and you may need to adjust the timing a little.

When it's done, tip the loaf out into a cooling rack and WAIT: if you give it at least ten minutes to cool it will be much easier to cut. Then try not to eat it all at once :)

Back to the routine

2011-05-03T12:57:00.000+10:00

School resumed yesterday, and I'm working, so the routine daily life is getting back on track.

So what did we do in the rest of the school holidays?

Tuesday night the short people spent at their Nanna's. It's the first night the X-man has ever spent away from The Husband, although I've been to Perth a couple of times and to Europe without him. You could (just) count the number of nights without one of us that Miss Tizz has had in nearly ten years of life.

On Wednesday, The Husband collected them and headed out to a friend's property on the other side of Queanbeyan, and they were gone most of the day (while I worked, catching up on things that seem to slide a little when everyone is here all day). By evening, when they arrived home again, I was very glad to see them. And then the squabbling kicked in again *sigh*.

The phone rang that night, with Grandad on the other end. We'd been thinking about heading up to Sydney for a few days, but the holidays were running out, and it wasn't looking too hopeful. That is, until the kids announced to their grandparents that we would be coming up the next day. So we did. I needed to get a day's work in first, so just after 5pm we were on the road, and the weather deteriorated the further north we went. Plenty of rain, fog and roadworks - always a great combination in the dark! But we arrived safely. As always when the kids see Grandma and Grandad after too long a break, it was a little crazy, but we love it (and them)!

Friday was grey and drizzly, but we decided to have a nice long relaxed lunch in Cronulla, as a belated birthday for Grandad and an early one for Grandma. Despite the rain, it was lovely to walk along the promenade and smell the salt air, and Miss Tizz was most disappointed she couldn't paddle. Next time!

Friday evening was spent in front of the television, watching The Wedding. Just beautiful! A big display of pageantry and little glimpses of a couple obviously in love :)

By Saturday night we were home again, and the weather cleared as we drove south (except for Goulburn!). And Saturday night meant the first episode of the new series of Doctor Who - we've been looking forward to it for months. And then Sunday (of course) involved laundry. And our 12th wedding anniversary! And baking ciambella deliciousness!

School holidays: Easter Monday on Tuesday

2011-04-27T00:08:00.001+10:00

As yesterday was ANZAC Day, today became an extra public holiday in Australia, and we've had a five day very long weekend. Unless, of course, you have a job in retail, in which case there is a good chance you worked at least part of it.

Today started with a late brunch of boiled eggs and toast soldiers, before Nanna turned up and we decided that tonight the children would go and stay with her for the first time. It didn't take them long to pack pyjamas and toothbrushes and clothes for tomorrow and a book each, and off they went happily. We haven't had any calls to go and get them, so we're assuming everyone is still happy.

The husband and I went to do grown-up sensible fruit and vegetable shopping, but the markets were closed, so we diverted to Max Brenner's for a restorative Italian thick hot chocolate instead.Chinese food and a Catherine Tate Show DVD rounded out a quiet evening.

Life is very difficult sans enfants!

School holidays: ANZAC Day

2011-04-25T17:54:00.000+10:00

Easter is late this year, and it and ANZAC Day have run together to make an extra-long weekend. One day we'll make it to the dawn service, but for this year, I went in to the War Memorial early in the afternoon for some quiet reflection.

School holidays: Easter Sunday

2011-04-24T23:29:00.001+10:00

I would have liked a little sleep in this morning, but of course the short people in the household were up and excited by 6.30am. So the hunt was on! Our Easter egg hunt is confined to indoors, and I was quite glad of that when I heard on the radio that it was only 5 degrees C outside!

We managed to keep a reasonable limit on the amount of chocolate consumed before breakfast and before getting ready to drive to Nanna's for morning tea with the cousins. We took our own Easter Bunny with us:

Morning tea morphed into lunch, as these family events seem to do, and by the time we headed home again mid-afternoon the chocolate stash has multiplied exponentially:

That's just one child's chocolate supply, and I suspect we will make it last quite some time!

But today wasn't just about chocolate. Oh no - we did science too! Miss Tizz and the X-man saw something on television yesterday about Gummi Bears, and insisted we replicate the experiment in our very own fully-equipped laboratory (otherwise known as the kitchen). The experiment involved dropping a Gummi Bear into a glass of water, and leaving it overnight. This was the result (with a control Gummi Bear for comparison):

We have all the fun around here!

School holidays: Easter Saturday

2011-04-23T22:49:00.002+10:00

Two out of three isn't bad. Bunnings DIY workshops for kids, that is. Today's was a bit of a fizzer: advertised as an "Eggcellent Creations Easter workshop", it involved colouring in and ... that was it. It held their attention for all of about ten minutes.

At least there was an Easter Bunny wandering the store:

But what really interested both kids was the Easter Egg hunt. Armed with a sheet of hints, they went searching through the aisles for nine Easter egg pictures, wrote down the colours of each as they found them, presented the completed sheet to the bloke at the front door, and collected their Easter egg prize.

Other than that, the day involved a lot of Ben 10, reading, keeping an eye on a second batch of hot cross buns as they rose in the bathroom, and Club Penguin. And noise. A lot of noise. Never mind - the chocolate high should wear off in time to go back to school in just over a week!

School holidays: Good Friday

2011-04-23T00:22:00.000+10:00

Hot-cross buns!
Hot-cross buns!
One a penny, two a penny,
Hot-cross buns!
If you have no daughters,
Give them to your sons;
One a penny, two a penny,
Hot-cross buns!

It's Good Friday, and so we made hot cross buns. No photos of them, but let me assure you they were very nice. Buns with sultanas, and buns with chocolate, and the secret is ... putting them under the bathroom heatlamps to rise! I wasn't organised enough to have them ready for breakfast - we're really not morning people - but they were delicious for lunch. And after that, we headed out to the National Gallery of Australia for the afternoon with friends.

A slight detour into Reconciliation Place:

... then back up through the High Court forecourt and across the footbridge to the old Gallery entrance. A wander through Pop Art, Modern Art, Surrealism, and some colonial art, then out to the Sculpture Garden and down to the lakeside to contemplate:

A short stop at the outside cafe near the new entrance:

... an opportunity to hide among giant pears:

... and back to the car via the National Portrait Gallery - featuring the orange blob near the front doors:

More than enough art for one day for the kids, so while the adults had a quick look round the National Photographic Portrait Prize exhibition, the under-10s hung out on the beanbags in the adjacent area until it was time to go.

School holidays: Day 4

2011-04-21T21:43:00.001+10:00

Day 4 of the school holidays brought another Bunnings children's DIY workshop (why have we never done these before? The kids have great fun, the mess is not at home - YAY! - and it's FREE!). This time they drew pictures and then transferred their designs to a calico bag with fabric markers:

Apparently I need to iron the bags to seal the colours. I know there's an iron around here somewhere ...

Time for a little wander around the aisles, looking like they worked there:

We can never escape without a detour down to the playground at the other end of the building, and once we'd prised them out again we headed off for a short visit to Nanna's house. Home for a late lunch and then we were out again, this time to Kippax to borrow books from the library (and somehow a Ben 10 DVD made it into the pile too), go to the bank, do a little bit of shopping, and (of course) run amok in the playground:

Love the colourful autumn background - this is the best time of year in Canberra, as far as I'm concerned :)

School holidays: Day 3

2011-04-20T22:29:00.001+10:00

Nothing to see here: move along.

No photos of bunyips, or even rocks today. Today was cool and on-and-off spitting rain, so we stayed in. Which wasn't such a bad thing, as it gave me a chance to finish off some work for clients that's been on the list a little longer than it should have.

It also gave Miss Tizz and I time to attack the tip she calls a bedroom. We sifted through books and clothes and toys and general detritus that's accumulated on her floor, and managed to eliminate a bag full of rubbish, a decent stack of surplus-to-requirements books, and a few items of clothing. Still plenty to do in there, but at least now it looks tidy from the hallway (just don't stick your head round the corner yet!).

And tonight we all sat together and watched Zathura: A Space Adventure, which is pretty much Jumanji in outer space, with some sibling rivalry thrown in for tension.

School holidays: Day 2

2011-04-19T23:10:00.000+10:00

Today started off with a trip to Bunnings with Dad. And they just happened to be there at the right time for a children's DIY workshop.

Each child came home with a decorated terracotta pot planted up with parsley, and apparently there's a bulb hiding in the soil too!

It was my turn in the afternoon, and today we headed off to Gungahlin to meet Alexander Bunyip.

He's a brand new sculpture (unveiled just last week) of a children's character created by author and illustrator Michael Salmon, and he now lives out the front of the new Gungahlin Library.

The library looked to be almost ready (apart from the fact that there aren't any books yet!).

We tried out the new bubblers:

... checked out the new Gungahlin Town Centre Park:

... and the Gungahlin College (college here is Year 11 and 12):

Then it was time for a stroll down the main street. Halfway down the shopping strip, we found a sculpture we hadn't seen before:

It's called The Goongarline. Created by Michael Utley, the plaque says it draws inspiration from Gungahlin's rocky hills (the Goongarline, in the local Indigenous language).

I was particularly taken by the tall steel posts:

... but the kids preferred the rocks, which became a flying carpet:

... and a crocodile:

When they spotted the spiderweb playground a little further down, they were off again.

And there was still time for ice cream, from the Cold Rock Ice Creamery:

School holidays! Hooray!

2011-04-19T00:12:00.000+10:00

We're quite keen on school holidays around here - no need to be anywhere on time, no homework, time to get out and about and have some fun. And today we headed up to Mount Stromlo.

I haven't been there since before the 2003 bushfires, when most of the complex was destroyed. It's clearly back in action again, if not the same as it was. And appearances can deceive: the big reflector telescope building was looking pretty good on the outside:

... but if you peer through the locked glass doors, you can clearly see the burned remains of the massive telescope:

The Director's Residence is in bad shape, and secured behind a high chainlink fence:

... but the cafe is back in action (although not open on Mondays):

The Yale-Columbia telescope building - or at least what's left of it - has been cleaned up, and visitors are free to walk in and around it:

... and peer through doorways:

... and out through windows:

... or, children being children, play 'tips':

... and hide from each other:

On the way home, we pulled off the road into the ACT Bushfire Memorial. It's been open since 2006, but I'd never been there. Today was the day.

The plaque near the entrance reads, in part:

The entrance memorial walls are made from the community's salvaged and inscribed bricks which contain messages of grief and gratitude. Beyond the walls a site framed by a grove of casuarinas contains red glass and metal forms that refer to the force of the firestorm and the lightning strikes that sparked the main fires.

An avenue leads to an amphitheatre enclosing a pond and bubbling spring. The glass columns bordering the pond contain details from photos provided by the community which speak of memory and human resilience.

School cross country

2011-04-09T17:00:00.000+10:00

He may not be a great athlete, but he made it all the way round (1000m) and had enough energy left to run the final leg of the race.

Afternoon tea - with a twist

2011-04-07T23:41:00.000+10:00

Is it a hotdog? Or something else?

The answer is on my new blog: http://dailyphotocanberra.blogspot.com

90 years of living

2011-01-24T22:56:00.000+11:00

Everyone has a story, and I learned some new things about my 90 year old great aunt last week. It was at her funeral - the only one she said she'd ever go to (and she was right). This is a brief version of her story.

Her (and my grandmother's) father, William, was a cabinet maker. He died in 1936 at the age of 48. Her mother, Florence (who I knew as Nanna) lived for 45 years more, until her death at the age of 93. Nanna's funeral was on my 16th birthday.

Phyll (Phyllis, but she was always Aunty Phyll) was born at home in 1920, in a house her father had built. The family lived in that house in Punchbowl, Sydney, for about three years, before moving to another home built by her father, not far away. This house later became the Methodist ministers' residence in Punchbowl.

When she was seven, the family moved again, this time into a new home in Myall Street, Punchbowl. This one was built by someone else, and she remembered her father saying that the house hadn't been properly built! Nevertheless, Aunty Phyll and Nanna lived in this house for over 40 years, at first with her father and sister (my grandmother, who later moved three doors down when she she married my grandfather), and later just the two of them.

She attended school at Punchbowl Infants and Primary Schools, and then went to Bankstown Secondary School. On leaving school, she held a couple of short-term jobs, until she became an apprentice dressmaker at David Jones Castlereagh Street store in Sydney city, aged 16.

Aunty Phyll completed her apprenticeship at the age of 20, and then left David Jones to work for a long period at Hansen's dressmaking factory in Clarence Street, where she became head machinist. This position involved making the sample dresses from the original designers' patterns, and these samples we sent out to the buyers in shops and were used as a guide for the other machinists. She would work out how long each stage of the dressmaking process should take, and maintain strict quality control over the production.

She was also head machinist at two other places in her career - one near Central Railway Station, and the other at Brookvale, in Sydney's north. She was a very capable and conscientious worker. She also did some dressmaking from home, including making wedding dresses.

Working at Brookvale meant a long journey from Punchbowl each day. In 1970, she and her mother decided to move to a unit in Lane Cove. This also gave them closer access to the cottage that she'd purchased at Long Jetty on the Central Coast, and they spent many enjoyable weekends and holidays there.

Soon after Nanna died in 1981, Aunty Phyll retired. She had worked for 46 years in the dressmaking industry, and was ready to make a full-time move to Long Jetty. She thought this was the best time of her life - swimming in the morning, gardening on her long narrow block which backed onto a creek during the day, going prawning in Tuggerah Lakes at night, and travelling to many places throughout Australia, including Western Australia and Kangaroo Island.

She had always been quite active, and enjoyed going dancing, playing golf, and especially going to the movies. She never married, but she did have a crush on Errol Flynn! Later on he had some competition on Harrison Ford, but she came back to Errol before she died.

Aunty Phyll was a very determined person, with strong likes and dislikes. She gradually trained those around her to do things her way, and this was particularly obvious with hospital and aged care staff towards the end of her life!

She was a good driver, and regularly drove from Long Jetty to Punchbowl to visit her big sister and brother-in-law (my grandparents). When they died (in 1993 and 1995), she started coming down to see my parents, in the Sutherland Shire, and at age 85 had no hesitation in driving through heavy Sydney traffic on a Friday afternoon to go home to the Central Coast.

She eventually sold her cottage and moved into a unit in Sutherland, but her time there was cut short by a fall, from which she never fully recovered. With restricted mobility, she spent some time in hospital, living with my parents and eventually in nursing homes, but they were a difficult three years for her, and not at all the kind of life she wanted.

Her death, less than two weeks ago, came suddenly. She'd had her hair done in the nursing home 'salon', had lunch in her room, and some time soon after had a heart attack (possibly combined with a stroke) and never regained consciousness. Within a short time she was gone.

We buried Aunty Phyll at Woronora Cemetery last Wednesday. Just a small group of about 20 - most of her contemporaries have already died, and our family is scattered through different states and weren't all able to come. But we, and Miss Tizz and the X-man, had a chance to say goodbye to a special person in our lives.

a speaking role!

2010-09-19T22:57:00.001+10:00

Once a term at school, each year group (Kindergarten, Year 1/2, Year 3/4 and Year 5/6 has a turn at presenting an assembly. It's a pretty big deal for the children, and a lot of work goes into showing to parents and other children in the school what the presenting classes have been doing.

The most recent assembly was by Year 1/2, and they sang for us, showed their artwork, did some yoga, and demonstrated a volcanic eruption. And, for the first time, the X-man had a speaking part. He read from his script, even though he knew it by heart and has been reciting his lines at home ever since, and that was probably a good thing, as he doesn't read as quickly as he normally talks!

neglected (and something to make up for it)

2010-09-09T00:12:00.001+10:00

I've been a little focussed on my imminent Big Travel Adventure, as evidenced over at The Wild Backyard @ 44, and have sadly neglected the original Wild Backyard of late.

However, a friend suggested today that I post a couple of poems, written by Miss Tizz, that I proudly showed off to her recently. Miss Tizz was selected to attend a poetry workshop at a nearby school, along with five other students from three different schools in our area. She wasn't too sure about it, but her teacher thought it would suit her, and I think she may have been right (of course, this is a proud mama speaking, so I may be a teensy bit biased!).

BUSHFIRE

Green, beautiful, gentle, trees swaying in the soft breeze.

Flames, angry, uncontrollable, destructive.

Smoke, billowing, putrid, rising, racing, up, up, to the sky.

Wind, smokey, unbreathable, gusting.

Firefighters, sweating, tired, hoping no one is hurt.

Bush, dry, powerless, defenceless, victim,
hoping to regenerate soon.

FLAMES

Flames, red, orange, burning, dark clouds of smoke, billowing out.

Too dark, but too bright, confused, scared,
my eyes sting from the smoke, don’t know where to go.

Fire, everywhere, surrounding me.

I need help, quick!

Suddenly, I hear a siren, a siren so loud, it is almost deafening.

Hurray, help is here!

Oh no, I am collapsing! Help!

Finally, groggily, I sit up.

I’m in hospital and I see my family.

I feel something inside me - a burst of joy!

zebras in Lake George

2010-07-20T20:12:00.000+10:00

Returning from Sydney on Sunday afternoon, we pulled up at the big rest stop on Lake George. And right there in front of us was a small herd of zebras!

Not real, of course, but surprisingly realistic, especially from the other side of the fence.

They were made by Canberra sculptor Alan Aston and painted by artist Julie Aston, and were the subject of some controversy, although I hadn't heard about this previously.

I just love them! They make me smile :)

independence

2010-07-15T10:45:00.000+10:00

Oops! Somehow a month has gone by without posting on this blog - too travel-focussed I think ...

It's been school holidays in this part of the world. I started off thinking about all the things we *should* do, because it's school holidays, before it occurred to me that many of those *shoulds* are simply good marketing. Kids' movies come out timed to coincide with school holidays, and people go - even if they're not very good - because it's school holidays. All sorts of courses and holiday care programs and more - mainly designed to keep kids busy and entertained. Yes, some working parents might need vacation care programs so they can continue to go to work, but a lot of it seems to be because parents don't think children can survive without being entertained constantly.

It's a bit of a bugbear of mine. I know there are theories about attention spans becoming shorter, but none of that will change while there's passive entertainment on-tap. So I threw out the 'Holiday Happenings' booklet, and left it to the kids to work out what they wanted to do. And - not particularly surprisingly - they've managed. Some of those things have involved electronic entertainment (and the weather has been cold and wet, so they've made good use of their iPods and DS games and the Wii), but they've also done lots of reading, playing with character sets (listening to the X-man with the Doctor Who and Ben 10 toys - together, putting on voices and setting them up in all sorts of situations is hilarious!), playing with friends, running around outside when it's been dry enough, swimming (their lessons have continued through the holidays, and we've gone early so they can have a couple of hours of playtime as well), drawing and more.

They've also both learned to use the toaster. At 7 and 9, we figured they were old enough to understand the safety aspects of using an electric appliance, and they've proved their competence, so now they're allowed to use it (mostly) unsupervised. And they're thrilled with being given a little more responsibility.

The X-man also requested to help with cutting up vegetables for dinner, so we stood side-by-side at the kitchen bench last night, both armed with chopping boards and sharp knives, and prepared dinner together.

2010-06-13T23:51:00.000+10:00

A couple of years ago, the X-man bought me this bird ornament/air plant for Mothers' Day. Now, while it's not the sort of thing I would buy for myself, it was chosen and presented with love, so it's a bit special.

It sits on the kitchen windowsill, and asks for nothing but an occasional dribble of water. And then it just sits some more.

But a couple of days ago, I noticed a long purple thing sticking out of it. I thought one of the kids had stuck something into it (a toothpick? a tiny roll of purple crepe paper?) until I had a closer look.

It's a flower! I have no idea if it opens more than this, but it's a pretty decent effort for such an unassuming little plant.

Because I like to know things, I've just done a little research on these plants. They're called Tillandsias, and they only ever flower the once. But that's not the end of the plant. Some of the leaves around the bottom will start to die off, but the plant will 'pup' - small plants (usually 1-12, but can be up to 60 in some species) will start growing near the base, usually in about two months.

the whole world in her hands

2010-03-18T00:27:00.000+11:00

The girlchild and I spent a few hours over two afternoons this week putting together her jigsaw puzzle globe. The puzzle itself isn't difficult - the pieces are grouped into hexagons and pentagons and are pretty straightforward - but making flat pieces of cardboard into a self-supporting sphere is tricky!

A little silliness along the way ...

... and we ended up with a completed globe, ready to take in for news.

Note the trapdoor in North America - the final frustrating piece!

wild sex in the wild backyard [leopard slug edition]

2010-03-10T23:41:00.000+11:00

The husband noticed something odd going on outside last night as he put the bins out:

Then an irridescent blue penis appeared ...

... and then another ...

While this pair were hanging on a wall, they apparently often hang in mid-air from tree branches. They're hermaphrodites, and after mating, they've both headed off to lay about 200 eggs each. Sometimes their penises get so tangled up they can't separate, but there's a solution to that - they chew them off. It doesn't put a dampener on their sex life though - they just use their female apparatus instead!

If you're interested in more information about these slugs, just Google 'leopard slug'.

March - the month of destruction

2010-03-04T22:00:00.001+11:00

Early March each year sees the neighbours' driveway looking like this:

The first time we saw it, we wondered what on earth was going on.

And then we looked up:

They're after the red berries you can see in the bottom left corner, but their sharp beaks snip off twigs and leaves and half the tree ends up on the ground. There were ten cockatoos in the one tree this evening, all happily snipping away, oblivious to the mess below. And they are gorgeous :)

in the wild backyard today

2010-02-20T23:58:00.002+11:00

voices from the other room

2010-01-13T13:27:00.000+11:00

X-man: You have to hug me for the rest of your life!

Miss Tizz: No way!

X-man: Then I will sit on you.

Of course - makes perfect sense to me ...

emergency lunch

2010-01-07T13:31:00.000+11:00

No bread in the house. Lunch time. No-one wanting to go out to the bakery. Hungry family. What to do?

5 minute microwave damper

2 cups self raising flour
1 cup water
dash of apple cider vinegar*

Mix everything together in a microwave-proof bowl (don't overmix). Microwave on high for 4 minutes, turn out onto microwave turntable, cook for another 30-60 seconds (times depend on your microwave oven - mine is pretty old).

Slice, slather in butter and jam (or something a little more nutritious, but we were after quick today) and eat while still warm.

Ok - so it's not pretty, but it's fast and filling, and everyone liked it.

* The vinegar has quite a strong smell before cooking, but you can't really smell or taste it at all when done.

magnificent!

2010-01-03T00:14:00.000+11:00

Isn't the flower of an artichoke a magnificent thing?

The whole plant, so you can get an idea of the size of the flower. So glad we let it go to seed!

getting lost in the interweb

2009-12-31T21:56:00.011+11:00

Ok - so I'm not a party girl, and there's rubbish on the television, so I'm going to wander the internet to see what I can find, starting right here, and checking out people's links. The list will grow as the night progresses ...

1. Yours truly - fabulous blog of course, when I'm not busy posting daily over at 44
2. Belgian Waffle - one of my favourite blogs, and Emma posts most days, so nearly always something interesting to read
3. Craftastrophe! - 'because handmade isn't always pretty' - oh yes!
4. The Bloggess
5. SexIs
6. Robert Pattinson Life: So so wrong - Robert Pattinson panties - Ewwww. I'm hoping this blog trail takes a turn for the better soon, or I'm backtracking and taking another side road.
7. All Kristen Stewart Blog Source - once you get into the Twlilight world, you just go round in Twilight circles, so I'm backtracking to The Bloggess's blogroll ...
8. Always home and uncool
9. Polite Fictions
10. ... for a different kind of girl (and I so want one of these!). No blog links, so I went to the next blog ...
11. Jessica Marie Clauser
12. Cigarettes and purity
13. Zoe Strauss
14. The Girl Who
15. The typing makes me sound busy

And after starting here in Australia, heading to Belgium, the US, a quick skip over to China, and ending in a southern US state, I'm calling it a night and heading for the leadup to 2010 and the (televised) fireworks.

I hope 2010 is a fabulous year for you :)

seedlings!

2009-11-19T17:32:00.000+11:00

The short people of the household and I planted some seeds ten days ago, and they're up and well on the way already! Between them and the very happy silverbeet, I'm feeling quite chuffed about my worm wicking beds.

If a dog was your teacher

2009-11-17T00:16:00.001+11:00

I came across this on The Way Through the Forest blog.

------------------------------------------

If A Dog Was Your Teacher

If a dog was your teacher, you would learn stuff like:

When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.
Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.
Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy.
When it's in your best interest, practice obedience.
Let others know when they've invaded your territory.
Take naps and stretch before rising.
Run, romp, and play daily.
Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.
On warm days, stop to lie on your back on the grass.
On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree.
When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body.
No matter how often you're scolded, don't buy into the guilt thing and pout... run right back and make friends.
Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.
Eat with gusto and enthusiasm. Stop when you have had enough.
Be loyal.
Never pretend to be something you're not.
If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.
And MOST of all... When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by and nuzzle them gently
--Author Unknown

tickled

2009-11-05T10:10:00.000+11:00

I haven't had the best of weeks/months/years, but every so often I come across something that tickles me despite all the heartache. And this is the one for today ...

Cookie!

It's a long time since I've watched Sesame Street, but for some reason I just love Cookie Monster. Perhaps it's the way he valiantly tries to overcome his cravings, only to succumb in a massive binge of pure pleasure.

I can't stand Big Bird or Elmo, but I do like the Bert and Ernie double act. Particularly love how annoyed OCD-Bert gets with Ernie when Ernie is bored and being painful. Reminds me of my family :)

warning: this is a bit gross

2009-11-01T00:05:00.001+11:00

Ok, so maybe a LOT gross. Sorry about that (but you can click on the photos if you'd like to see a bit more detail).

We noticed that the lemon tree was attracting flies for some reason (the husband thinks they're attracted to yellow). There seem to be an awful lot of them this year - we've had alternating wet and warm weather, which probably has a lot to do with it.

There are a few types of flies, including big blowflies (erghhhh), and it's quite close to the front door, so not particularly desirable. We didn't want to use sprays, so we bought a few of these flycatchers from the hardware megastore. And do they work or what! This was about two days worth of flies!

I'm not exactly relishing the task, but I'm going to have to empty the traps out and re-set them with more of the liquid attractant soon (we've also put traps in the pear and apple trees). Or go with the husband's idea and just toss the whole thing and put up a new trap ... tempting ...

the key

2009-10-26T12:07:00.000+11:00

The key to yesterday's photos, that is, just in case you wanted to know (left to right, top to bottom) ...

Red rose (duh!) - the roses are horribly neglected and just magnificent, again :) I just love them - treat them badly and they love you just the same.
Silverbeet in the wicking beds. The snails and aphids and other assorted creatures decimated everything else, but apparently no-one likes the silverbeet much. Including the family. I will have to find a way to disguise it, because if it's the only thing to survive, they're bloody well going to eat it!
Tomato plants in the hydroponic cabinet that the husband swapped someone something for. I suspect it was used to grow something herbal in a previous life, but it's now doing a good job of getting the tomatoes started indoors while there's still a risk of frost. They're getting a semi-hydroponic treatment - they're still in their pots with soil, but they're getting the light and heat and hydroponic nutrients, and they're loving it.
Yellow banksia rose - there are actually three banksia roses tangled up together - yellow, white and pink, and they became so heavy that they bent the star picket supports that were holding them up. They make great subjects for therapeutic pruning.
The 'front' lawn/play area. Technically this is our front yard. We're in a battleaxe block, so our front faces out onto a path rather than a road, but we don't have an open front yard that we need to keep pretty for passers-by, and that isn't much good for anything else. The kids have a cubby house, a swingset and a climbing frame here, and room to run around like maniacs. When we eventually get around to levelling it, the trampoline will probably come round here too. The green mass on the right hand side is the collapsed banksia roses. We'll cut it back and put up something stronger to hold it up again ... some time ...
Teensy pears, just forming. Not much sign of the pear and cherry slug yet - must remember to look up what to do about them.
Orchids from the MIL's greenhouse :)
Baby tomatoes (see #3). The husband hand pollinated them with an electric toothbrush (don't ask!).
Fuzzy little peaches (I think). Birds and bugs generally get to them before us, but I figure we'll eventually get something.
Pittosporum flower cluster. Click on this one to enlarge. Pittosporums aren't my favourite plant. There are loads of them flowering around Canberra at the moment, and we have a pittosporum hedge, but I'd never looked very closely at them before. Just beautiful!
Part of the 'orchard' - front to back: peach, apple, pear, pile of rubbish. At least the rubbish pile is diminishing. Hopefully this is where I will eventually have a chook run, so they get shade from the fruit trees, and they can have the fallen fruit and associated grubs and insects.
Olive tree - there are now three or four in various places around the yard, but this is the oldest.
May bush, and the remains of the hyacinths.
Pink banksia rose.
Double delight rose - one of my favourites.
Another rose - no idea what this one is.
Buds on the banksia roses - just masses of them (click to enlarge - they're just beautiful, even at this stage). I love the potential of the garden at this time of year :)
Citrus lineup - a lemon tree in the ground, and the pots have a cumquat, a lemonade, and another citrus I can't recall.
Apricot. Again, we've never had fruit from it before the critters attacked, but it's growing rapidly. If you enlarge the picture, you can see the roofline of the preschool behind us - it's purple! Love it!
White banksia rose.
Artichoke - it dies right back over winter, and then seems to spring back all of sudden.
Bush rose - there are a few of these. They flower for a long time, starting off a bright yellow/orange, and fading to a pinky-red.
Baby apples starting to form.
Another double-delight rose, in full bloom.
Forget-me-nots.

wander through the wild backyard

2009-10-25T23:48:00.001+11:00

still alive!

2009-10-23T00:08:00.000+11:00

We've had rain, we've had sunshine, and there are things happening in the wild backyard. And things growing in the house too! Will update with photos by Sunday, I promise :)

holidays!

2009-09-29T21:06:00.000+10:00

Not for me exactly, but school holidays for Miss Tizz and the X-man, and I'm happy to take what I can get :)

After a cold, wet & pretty miserable weekend, I had a lot of work to get through before the fun could begin. The kids amused themselves for much of the day, drawing, reading, watching tv (and I may have snuck out for a couple of episodes of The Flintstones with them) and general running amok, before it was time to head off for swimming lessons. And it all fell apart from there, at least as far as the X-man was concerned. I don't know what it is with him, but he's generally pretty reasonable, until you add water. He morphs into some unrecognisable, horribly behaved creature the minute he gets into the pool. Every.Single.Week. I give him the pep talk on the way to swimming - lots of positive talk about how fabulous it will be if he tries really hard. He promises to behave, promises to listen to his teacher. And then it happens again. Every.Single.Week.

So he's about to find out that I'm serious when I say his lessons are about to come to a grinding halt. He doesn't think I'll do it. But I will.

But today we all woke up happy again, and headed off to the Australian War Memorial for a few hours.

It's been a while since we last visited, and there have been lots of changes in the interim. We didn't see everything, but the kids were enthralled enough to want to go back for more.

The building was opened in 1941, and consists of the central commemorative area (including the memorial pool with the eternal flame, the cloisters down each side with the roll of honour - the names of Australians who have been killed in conflict, and the Hall of Memory, with the Tomb of the Unknown Australian Soldier), the museum galleries in wings to either side and a new section at the back, and research facilities.

But the thing that captured the children's imagination most on this visit was the dioramas. We only got as far as the WWI galleries - the amount of death and mud and destruction in that area was enough for now.

The following paragraph is the description of the Mont St Quentin diorama from the War Memorial's website:

This diorama [below] relates to Mont St Quentin on 29 August 1918 when the Germans fell back to the line of the Somme west and south of Péronne, closely followed by the 5th and 2nd Divisions. Here the right and centre of the Australian Corps were brought to a standstill, first by the destruction of the bridges across the marshy southward stretch of river; second, by the immense tactical strength of the right-angled bend of the river in the vicinity of Peronne. Successful action by the 3rd Division on 30 August north of the Somme, however, led to enemy retirement on to Mont St Quentin and Peronne. That night the river was crossed at Feuilleres by the 2nd Division, which in three days of fighting against the Prussian Guard, completely carried the height of Mont St Quentin at the angle of the river commanding Péronne, while that town was captured by the 5th Division on 1-4 September by fierce hand-to-hand fighting. This turned the flank of the Somme line. The diorama shows the 6th Brigade about to resume the attack from Elsa Trench.

44

2009-09-22T00:52:00.001+10:00

I've started something new, because I can ;)

Finding myself

2009-09-10T15:31:00.003+10:00

Apparently
I'm supposed to 'find myself'.
I hadn't realised I was lost - I thought I was right here
but apparently not.
Perhaps I can have a quick look
while I'm searching for the kids' homework
or library books or school shoes.
Or my husband's papers
that were on the table just five minutes ago.

Perhaps there's a small part of me left behind on the stage at high school
(I was going to be the Next Big Thing, you know).
And another part in with the dried up paints that I didn't have time to use
(I have all the right equipment, just didn't get round to it).

I think there might be a bit on the shelf at the supermarket
where I let the children choose nutritionally-devoid, full of sugar, rubbish cereal
because I couldn't stand the whining any longer
and just wanted to get out
before I left behind my sanity
as well as my good intentions.

I'm almost certain there's some of me
in amongst the laundry (clean and dirty) waiting in piles for attention,
and in with the unwashed dishes that seem to breed in the kitchen sink
and in the notes from school and party invitations
and meeting agendas and family calendars and emails from clients.

There are little pieces of me on the world wide web
and with people who matter
and some precious gems that manage to keep their hopeful glow
locked deep inside.

.

Ever wondered what a skinned dinosaur looks like?

2009-08-20T21:07:00.000+10:00

A duck!

In ... and out

2009-08-20T20:35:00.004+10:00

In:

One little dragonfly from Perth that hitched a ride home in my bag, and now lives by my computer:

One discarded cabinet from a neighbour's throw out pile. It needs a little work, but I like it too much to see it go to the tip:

One tall bookcase which, tipped on its side, makes a perfect home of oversized books which have been sitting in piles all over the house:

One very large wooden box, which was apparently once used for shipping a computer (presumably a very BIG one!), and has been converted to a cubbyhouse. Needs some TLC, and a lick of paint, but the kids are very excited:

Out:

A carload of excess computers and peripherals, to a government-sponsored e-waste recycling centre last weekend:

How on earth we accumulated three excess monitors, a couple of very old Apple laptops, 6 or 7 printers, multiple keyboards, etc etc is beyond me. And that's after getting rid of NINE monitors last year!

Also out: a couple of large plastic bags full of plastic bags (and we mostly use green bags for grocery shopping, so I have no idea where all of these ones came from), a large wheelie bin full of papers for recycling (which doesn't go out until next Tuesday night, so we've started 'sharing' the mother-in-law's recycling bin this week, and we could easily fill another as we sort and toss years of accumulated 'stuff'), a big box of toys and household items (technically not out yet, but set aside for donation to the school fete in November), another bag of clothes donated to a local charity, and a full trailer load of broken bricks and pavers and pallets and other assorted junk has gone to the tip.

I am LOVING clearing this place out! Many many thanks to the dear friend who is getting us organised and motivated :)

Let's talk about the weather

2009-08-20T20:29:00.003+10:00

Very strange weather in this part of the country, or maybe I've just forgotten what August/September is like. It's been unseasonally warm, and very cold, and foggy, and rainy, and cood but bright, and we've had icy winds that cut to the bone and hail too. And that's all in the past week!

The hail last week didn't last long, but it was heavy enough to temporarily fill the gutters so the rain that followed overflowed in a delicate waterfall.

And then we had just enough sun to make it sparkle. And make me smile :)

Run!

2009-08-19T16:10:00.004+10:00

Whose silly idea was it to hold a school athletics carnival in the middle of a Canberra winter? Actually, I was working at home in the warmth, but the husband braved the chill winds and threatening skies.

The school colours are red, white & blue, and the house teams follow the same colour scheme. The houses are named after Australian authors: Jennings (red), Klein (white) and Gibbs (blue).
We're Gibbs :)

Miss Tizz likes to get into the spirit of things (and accidentally into the 100m race as well as the 70m, even though there was a pretty good chance she'd come last - she's as athletic as her mother! - but she just focussed on the house points she earned by entering. That's what makes me proud :) )

The X-man, on the other hand, refused face paint and hair colour, and was lucky to find his place in the race lineup. Have I mentioned that he can be a little vague?

GO GIBBS!

I never thought I'd be such a concrete fan

2009-08-19T14:46:00.007+10:00

Ever since we moved into this house ten years ago, we've been talking about how painful the garage 'apron' was - little pebbles, that found their way into the house frequently - not fun to step on in bare feet - and which tended to allow puddles to form, generally right where you stepped as you got into & out of the car. So finally we did something about it ...

This is pretty much what we started with. The pebbles are where the cars are parked. There's a significant drop off the driveway to the left (significant enough that a friend's car got stuck when she didn't back out straight, oohhh ... about a year or so ago - it's been like that for way too long), and that's part of a wooden pallet laying down in it so we didn't go into mud up to our ankles when it rains. The husband has started dismembering the fence & gate ...

... with help from the short people of the household. Hey - who let the X-man loose with a big hammer?! And don't ask about the 'parts' cars - that's a sore point.

From the inside of the yard, with half the gate gone, as well as a section of fence.

Fence & gates all gone, and a trailer-load of rubbish to dispose of. And then the professionals arrived:

In the first day, the concreted-in fence posts were pulled out, the conifer that was far too close to the garage and home to a colony of wasps every summer was removed, all those blasted little pebbles were scraped off, and the surface was leveled. With some help from the short people and their heavy equipment ...

The reo goes in:

Day 2: the big pour ...

And more on Day 3:

Of course, wet concrete is far too hard to resist (for big & small people) :)

And, apparently, the neighbourhood cats. Humph!

Never mind, all fixed, and the slab is complete, apart from drying time.

Hibernation

2009-08-19T12:58:00.006+10:00

It's been nearly seven weeks since my last post, and for a lot of that time I've felt like I've been in hibernation. It's winter here, so the temptation is there to just cocoon indoors until spring arrives.

Despite that, a lot has happened. Just after my last post, I hopped on a plane and headed west to Perth to spend a few days with The Crone. It made me realise just how 'rich' I am, that I could just drop everything and go when I was needed. It wasn't under the best of circumstances, but because of that we didn't plan anything in particular, and had the opportunity to just 'be'.

I stayed in the Perth suburb of Guildford, which was established early in the history of the colony. The Rose & Crown Hotel (where I stayed) was built in 1841, and is the oldest operating hotel in Western Australia, and the second oldest in Australia. It's been extended and renovated, but the main structure is essentially the same as over 150 years ago.

From the 'Historic Guildford' brochure:

The traditional owners of the Swan Valley are the Nyoongar people who have lived in the area for over 40,000 years. Their creation stories tell of the giant serpent or crocodile like creature, the Wagyl, travelling from the hills in the east to the ocean in the west, creating the Swan River on its way. The Swan River is the Wagyl’s home and it continues to reside there today.

It was the fertile soil of the Swan Valley that led to the first European settlement at Guildford soon after the Swan River Colony was established by Captain James Stirling in 1829. The river quickly became the first highway through the region, and Guildford developed into a busy river port and trading centre.

Much of Guildford’s original town plan, including the central church square, subdivisions and general land use, remains as it was leaving a largely intact early 19th century English market town. A visit provides a rare glimpse into early colonial settlement with many fine, well-preserved civic, commercial and private buildings dating from the 1840s to the 1920s and 1930s.

Early settlers were granted large allotments of land and many of the impressive estates and beautiful homes established at this time are still intact.

One of the bridges over the Swan River - Guildford is actually an island:

I always find the history of a place fascinating, and especially how what came before has influenced and shaped what is visible today. So naturally I drifted towards the visitors' centre, which is part of a small complex including the old courthouse and gaol.

When surveyor H.C. Sutherland prepared the original town plan for Guildford in 1829 he set aside substantial areas facing Stirling Square for civic and government buildings. The 'precinct' on Meadow Street, between Swan and Helena Streets, was the site of most construction activity.

The first government buildings built in the precinct were two prison cells, a constable's room and a set of stocks. Remnants of this structure form the earliest part of the old gaol, still on
site today.

Convict work crews built the Courthouse in 1866. At the same time the gaol was extended and an exercise yard was built for prisoners held there.

I was fortunate enough to find Mercia on duty at the museum, made my gold coin donation, and had her undivided attention and guidance through the property for far longer than I had available. Her family has been in the area for a long time, and in fact she was born and grew up here, and has seen the township develop. She has donated many of the personal items to the museum collection (and mentioned that she borrows back some of the big cast iron pots when she has a crowd to feed), and knows how to operate most of the old equipment, include the heavy axes and huge saws from the timber-cutters, the horse equipment (she and her siblings used to ride to school), and the kitchenware. If you're ever in Guildford, drop in and have a chat - she can tell you all about living conditions for a family in a cottage like Taylor's Cottage (above right), show you how the child's bed that converts to a chair works, and convert you to using a Coolgardie safe rather than a fridge!

But as interesting as it was, history wasn't the reason for my visit, and I was privileged to help shop for a 'Little Gem' magnolia in honour of Xavier.

Sleep peacefully, little elf.

2009-07-04T19:08:00.003+10:00

The past few days have been hard. A very very dear friend found out her unborn babe had died on Wednesday, and birthed him on Thursday. Her baby, Xavier, was a very much longed for boy. She's on the other side of this wide brown land, and it's never felt quite so wide before. I'm going over soon, but I wish we were closer.

So ... something brief today.

The husband needed a new hot water bottle (despite the warnings, he insists on using boiling water, and eventually the old one sprang a leak. In the bed. He got the wet patch - heh!). Of course, a new hot water bottle needed a new hot water bottle cover. In bright bright orange and black.

Apparently I have to remove the decorative elements though. I did insist they were manly geometric shapes, but no dice.

The other thing I've made this week is coconut macaroons:

1 tin condensed milk
4-5 cups shredded coconut
1/3 cup plain flour

Mix.
Drop teaspoonfuls on a tray lined with baking paper.
Bake at 180 C for 10 mins.

Allow to cool, and try to pack some away before they all disappear at once.

------------------------

And lastly, a gratuitous lemon photo, just because it's beautiful and bright and just what I need.

Saturday night in front of the tv

2009-06-29T18:50:00.003+10:00

I like watching The Bill. There - it's out - my big Saturday night is sitting in front of the tv watching a combination police drama/soapie. And crocheting.

At least it gives me a couple of hours every week to work on a big project, and the latest one is finished:

Appropriately for someone who spends Saturday nights in front of the telly, it's a giant granny square blanket. It's big and it's heavy and I don't want to think how much all that lovely wool cost. The photo doesn't really do the colours justice - it reminds me of raspberry and chocolate and cream, and it's really delicious :)

Strange things in my house

2009-06-27T20:05:00.001+10:00

My own little vampire

2009-06-21T17:09:00.000+10:00

Red eyes and all!

I have an 8 year old. How did that happen?

2009-06-21T16:24:00.002+10:00

Miss Tizz turned 8 on Friday. We had an early morning of opening presents on our bed, passing phone calls to the birthday girl, and then the usual mad rush to school, leaving behind a mountain of wrapping paper ...

After school there were presents from Nanna, and then we headed off to see Night at the Museum 2 at the movies. We all enjoyed it, although I suspect the kids had no idea who half the historical characters were. Hmmm ... maybe there's opportunity for a history lesson there (even if it is US-centric) ...

And then there was cake:

Yep - the birthday girl is wearing a sundress in the middle of winter. I swear that girl has her thermostat set to something completely different from the rest of us.

But check out the candles! They have different coloured flames!

A+ for me!

2009-06-12T16:30:00.004+10:00

Blood type, that is.

- Australia needs 21,000 blood donations every week to ensure adequate supplies
- About one third of all Australians will require blood at some stage in their life
- Only about 1 in 30 Australians donate blood
- When you make a whole blood donation, 470ml is taken - less than one-tenth of your total blood supply, and your body replenishes this within 24-48 hours.

Facts from the Australian Red Cross Blood Service website

2009 is the Year of the Blood Donor. This Sunday, June 14, is World Blood Donor Day.

If you've ever considered blood donation, I urge you to make an appointment. It's not for everyone, but if it's something you can do, it will only take about an hour of your time, once every three months, to become a regular donor.

----------------------

Oh, and I'm still blonde. And feeling kind of beige ...

Loving ...

2009-06-10T15:54:00.004+10:00

Kirsty MacColl. I have a couple of her albums, but somehow managed to miss this song, until I heard it on ABC radio this afternoon.

Love it!

The Book Thief

2009-06-08T17:39:00.003+10:00

Set in Nazi Germany, narrated by Death, a story of resilience, the power of words and of standing up against that which is wrong. There are many reviews on the internet, but I recommend you just read The Book Thief without knowing what to expect.

I don't like to think what this is teaching my niece ...

2009-06-07T14:55:00.003+10:00

My sister's little girl turned two recently. Her parents bought her an enormous dollhouse, and it was suggested we might like to give her a Barbie doll to go with it.

I'm not really into Barbie (except for the Harley-Davidson Barbie - with motorcycle, leathers & red hair - that the husband gave me for my 35th birthday - she's cool!), and spent quite some time looking for one that wasn't dressed like a tart ready to go and pick up at a sleazy nightclub. And I didn't think a princess or a fairy or a mermaid quite went with the house.

Eventually I found this one, and - bonus - she had a normal looking dog accessory:

It wasn't until I was wrapping it that I turned the packaging over and saw this sequence of pictures:

Give Tanner dog a treat! [Yep, ok, feed the dog. That's good].

Push down her tail ... [and dog treat exits from her backside ... okaaaay ....]

Clean-up time [well, I guess that's good - you need to clean up after your dog, and she comes with her own pooper-scoooper].

But see that bin at the side of the picture? The one that you put the scooped poop into? What you can't see is that is has a hole in the back of it, and that the doggie treat box fits onto the back of the bin, and one thing leads to another and all of a sudden - like magic - the treat box is full and you can feed the dog again! Yay!

Ewwwwww!

It's birthday season again! (and a hair colour update)

2009-06-07T14:36:00.005+10:00

The season for multiple family birthdays has arrived again. My mother turned 70, one of the husband's aunts had a birthday, the youngest cousin turned two and the X-man turned 6, all in one week.

We were in Sydney for his actual birthday, and he shared an enormous Black Forest cake, made by an octogenarian (although you wouldn't know it if you met her!) neighbour with his grandmother. Then there was a chocolate mudcake, from the local bakery, at home the day after we got back:

There was another mudcake yesterday, when we got together for lunch with the other side of the family to celebrate the three cousins' birthdays that fall within three weeks. After gourmet pizza and chocolate cake, we rugged up and headed out to a local park in the cold, so the kids could run it all off.

The X-man was pretty keen on the flying fox, but not so Miss Tizz:

Note: the X-man's Ben 10 obsession shows no sign of abating, and Miss Tizz chooses her own clothes. I take no responsibility :)

Hair colour update

I'm blonde again, at least temporarily. We (the hairdresser and I) were aiming for white (nope - not white-blonde, pure white), but my hair apparently 'throws a lot of gold' (I love my hairdresser for not calling me brassy ;) ), and after two lots of strong bleaching and toning (and the best part of four hours) this is how it ended up:

There's still too much 'gold' in it, but we're going to have another go at it when it's had a few days to recover.

Red letter day!

2009-06-03T11:37:00.003+10:00

Today is a fabulous day!

It's raining (which is a little inconvenient at times, but we need it - it's been very dry here), it's cold & gloomy, but it's the day we discharge our mortgage. We have no great secrets on how to pay a home loan off in less than 10 years - a lot of it was luck (we were househunting when the market was at its lowest, bought privately and avoided a lot of fees, and were able to pay off a lump sum when the husband retired on disability grounds [not sure if a permanent disability counts as luck, but heck - you work with what life dishes out]), but it's a huge relief to know that within a few hours we will have finalised the loan and completely own our Australian dream.

At this point in time, our only remaining debt is one credit card with a $500 limit (and we pay into that each time we use it). In the current financial climate of uncertainty, that's a very very good feeling indeed.

BEFORE & AFTER - Miss Tizz's room

2009-05-24T22:50:00.005+10:00

I've been threatening the children for ages that, if they didn't make an effort to clean up their rooms and put at least some things away, I'd put pictures of the disaster areas on the internet (I know - I'm cruel!). Well ... my threats, bribes and tears of frustration had absolutely no impact, and on Saturday I gave up and blitzed Miss Tizz's room.

The husband was dispatched to obtain sturdy packing cartons. The children were warned that this was their last opportunity to put away (PROPERLY! DON'T JUST SHOVE IT IN THE BACK OF THE CUPBOARD BECAUSE I WILL FIND IT! I AM YOUR MOTHER AND YOU HAVE NO SECRETS!) things they didn't want to lose, and were given the chance to participate in the cleansing operation. They opted to opt out, which I figured meant I had a mandate to do whatever I deemed necessary (mainly for my sanity).

Understand that the photo below was taken a few months ago, and it got worse. Much, much worse. Clothes, shoes, toys, books, important things for school and Guides, CDs, hair bands, pencils, and paper. Lots and lots of paper with notes and drawings. Ephemeral stuff, a lot of it, never to be looked at again.

She couldn't get to the cupboard easily for the stuff, so clothes were piled on whatever surface was handy. She's a prolific reader, and tends to have three or four books on the go at any one time, but they were rarely put away once read. And I was busy, so I let it go on way too long.

I realise it's my job as a parent to teach her to deal with these things, and I let her down. So we've decided to go back to basics in some ways, and start afresh, and hope to do a better job this time.

So ... on Saturday I started with clothes. I sorted out the things that could be hung or folded and put away, and dealt with them first. Other things of indeterminate cleanliness were diverted to the laundry. Two big packing cartons were moved in, and most of her toys, those papers and other items were sorted into rubbish, recycling, store and keep piles. The 'store' pile was packed into the cartons, sealed up and is under her bed, not to be opened until further notice. The very small 'keep' pile consists of items that she uses frequently, or which are needed for a specific purpose. The rubbish and recycling piles went straight out the door to the bins.

And now she has room to breathe.

We're not finished, but it's made a huge difference. We still need to cull books (or build a library!), deal with the two cartons, sort and cull clothes, and more, but for now we're going to keep on top of what's left in her room and see how we go over the next few months.

I don't think she'll miss most of it. We had a quiet chat after the storm had passed, and she was relieved that the *stuff* was gone. It was all too much for an almost-8-year-old, and she couldn't deal with the conflict of wanting it gone and not being able to decide what should go. And quite frankly I've been expecting far too much from her and not doing a lot to guide her.

This parenting gig is hard.

But onward ... next stop - the X-man's room.

Worms at work

2009-05-20T09:36:00.004+10:00

The 2000 worms are now installed in their new homes, and (hopefully) hard at work eating through our kitchen scraps and autumn leaves.

I should have taken a photo of the worm feeding tubes before they were installed, but basically they're large diameter tubes, about 50cm long, with 15mm holes cut randomly into the bottom half. They're sunk more than halfway down into the soil, and the (pierced) lids from the worm buckets fitted almost perfectly on top to keep out pests, keep it from drying out, and so the worms aren't exposed to direct sunlight.

We left the worms to settle in for a few days before starting planting.

So the watering tube is at one end of each bed (at the bottom of this photo), and the worm feeding tube is halfway along on one side (to make it easy for the kids to feed the worms). The beds are heavily mulched, and the soil is staying quite moist underneath. So far the plants seem to have coped with transplanting, and no snails have discovered them yet! At this stage, we've planted brussels sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli, peas, snowpeas and onions, and I have some winter lettuce & pak choi to go in.

And did I mention we have a new apple tree, a new lemonade tree and are thinking about berries and hazelnuts?

Baby it's cold outside

2009-05-15T09:44:00.003+10:00

The wintry weather is upon us. The view from my window is a little bleak:

Add a cold wind into that, and today I'm quite happy to be stuck inside with lots of work. And green tea. Lots of lovely warm green tea ...

I've got worms!

2009-05-11T15:53:00.004+10:00

Lovely little wriggly composting worms, that is.* 2000 of them, according to the label on the bucket, and now safely (I hope) in their new homes. Yes - after a short (hah!) hiatus (shush now - we were letting the gardens beds settle and mature, honest), there has been some progress.

When I pulled the straw apart to dig the holes for the worm feeding tubes, I was greeted by beautiful damp, dark soil. We've filled the 'pool' at the base, and it overflows as it's supposed to so the soil doesn't get waterlogged or the worms drowned. So far, so good.

I'll start feeding the worms, and give it a few days before planting.

*I was thoroughly spoiled for Mothers' Day - not only did I get worms, I also received earrings from the X-man (chosen from the school stall all by himself), a pen holder for my desk from Miss Tizz, together with a handmade tea cup card with a real tea bag attached, and a Lexx soundtrack CD (the husband is coping well with my obsession, and the CD is on high rotation - with headphones!).

Before and after - Work desk

2009-05-04T14:24:00.004+10:00

I work from home. I am not very domestic. My house is a disaster area. I have fabulous friends who know this and love me anyway, and even drop round for coffee sometimes (we have a dishwasher, and clean coffee cups - haven't lost a guest yet!).

Between us, we have started a challenge to focus on specific areas of our homes that need attention, and to keep accountable, we are taking before & after photos.

So ... here's my desk, first thing this morning.

I spend many hours here each day, between work & play (way too many, but that's another issue), and it tends to accumulate work-in-progress, bills, computer-related 'stuff', receipts, various items of office stationery, children's homework/toys/artwork, bits of paper with incredibly important information on them (like phone numbers without names), bags of cosmetics I want to give away, but no-one seems to want them :P - all the usual detritus. There's also a laptop under there, and a Wacom tablet.

I spent a little time today dumping all the stuff in a box, cleaning the desk, and sorting some of the things I'd removed. The box isn't empty yet, and it's not particularly beautiful, but there's been a big improvement in my work space:

Now, the big question is - can you wash a mouse mat?

100 ideas - #3

2009-05-04T14:18:00.002+10:00

"Buy something inexpensive as a symbol for your need to create" (Keri Smith, 100 ideas)

100 ideas

2009-05-02T23:38:00.003+10:00

I've been in a rut lately. Some days have been better than others, but they've all been in a bit of a canyon.

But tonight I came across 100 ideas, and it's really caught my imagination :)

I feel like I'm waking up!

10 years ago

2009-05-01T10:14:00.002+10:00

Giveaway

2009-04-30T11:07:00.004+10:00

My gorgeous Crone friend is participating in a Pay it Forward activity. Much as I am tempted to put my name down, I'm actively trying to cut back on commitments for a while so I can get some other things under control, but I'd encourage you to check it out - it looks like fun!

BUT ... I would like to give something away ...

The backstory is - I like cosmetics, and I've found THE makeup brand that I want to stick with - Mirenesse. Lovely lovely stuff that stays where it's supposed to - all day - and washes off with water. I joined their VIP program, which means every two months I receive a surprise box of beautiful things - their amazing mascara, lip gloss, cleansers, foundation, and more.

So ... I've accumulated quite a bit of Mirenesse gorgeousness, and some of it could be yours, absolutely free!

Just leave me a comment telling me your deepest darkest tragic makeup/hair/fashion secret, and one of 3 Mirenesse packs could be yours. Each pack will include at least two full size items, plus sample/travel items. Winners will be randomly drawn.

Gratuitous

2009-04-29T15:26:00.001+10:00

Not over my Kai crush yet ;)

Love this city

2009-04-27T15:35:00.003+10:00

Love The Whitlams.

The husband took the short people out for the day, and I've cranked up the stereo - a mix of Energia, Pet Shop Boys, The Whitlams, a 2002 hits CD (think the Ketchup Song!) while working my way through a mountain of washing that's accumulated with the rain and cold snap we've had over the long weekend, and baking ham & cheese scrolls for back-to-school lunches (and 'turtles' just for fun).

Love this City (The Whitlams) is about Sydney - the city I spent my high school & university years in, and returned to after a few years outback, before heading to Canberra.

It was busy everywhere he went
There was a crowd over the bay
And a fireworks display
It's all very strange for a Thursday night thought he
Then it dawns on him as a cracker explodes
And who the hell is he going to blame?
It dawns on him - the horror - we got the Olympic Games
You gotta love this city for its body and not its brain
And he screams "My city is a whore, opened herself to the world
Jumped up and down in pastel shirts
And lathered up thinking about designs for T-shirts"

Enlighten me

2009-04-24T13:23:00.001+10:00

I like that I'm loved and groovy, but what is MM?

Invasion!

2009-04-23T20:27:00.005+10:00

Last night we witnessed a Dalek invasion - at the National Museum of Australia.

It was all part of the International Year of Astronomy and Earth Day, and there were some *serious* star gazing activities as well as the Daleks and craft activities. Not that we visited the Panetarium or star-gazed through the big telescopes outside or heard the universe explained in 20 minutes - I think the organisers seriously underestimated how popular this event would be, and it was a bit chaotic.

I was pretty unimpressed by the kids (and adults!) who mobbed the Daleks - pushing them and grabbing onto their weapons. They actually did a bit of damage, and at least one Dalek left the Hall rapidly when it all got a bit out of hand. I know my children would have been hauled away if they'd even thought about behaving like that - I don't understand what the parents of these kids are thinking (or perhaps not thinking!).

But it was worth going just to see the Daleks ;)

Fire!

2009-04-22T15:09:00.006+10:00

I've lived in Canberra for 12 years (how did that happen?!), the husband has been here over 30 years, and yesterday we discovered something we hadn't seen before.

The Canberra Fire Brigade Museum is housed in an old fire station in Forrest. It's open to the public on most Saturdays (except public holidays) from 10am-2pm. We just happened to be passing yesterday when one of the men who work on restoring the vehicles opened the doors and drove one out, saw us watching, and invited us in (my sister and her children, visiting from Sydney, were with us).

While I'm definitely not into cars & trucks, there is something about a lot of shiny red paintwork, brass and copper fixtures, wooden ladders worn smooth with use and lines of uniforms that attracts attention.

I think I heard something about Model A Ford in relation to this one (my eyes kind of glaze over with that sort of info):

The X-man tells me the firemen needed umbrellas if it rained while they were in the vehicle below (the section on top is a spare carriage part - it's an open vehicle):

And this is is a canvas jumping sheet:

It was held by 20 firemen for trapped people to jump down from burning buildings, but only used as a last resort because it was notorious for causing injury to both the jumper and the people holding it.

On the right is a stretcher used to get injured people out of mine shafts, sewers etc. in a vertical position. The scaling ladder on the left could be added to a maximum of four others (because of the tapered design).

There are quite a few more fire engines, hose carts and other pieces of equipment on display,a nd the husband is keen to go back when it's open and the engines are out the front, so he can have a proper look.

Journey

2009-04-15T15:43:00.003+10:00

[Nope, not about Kai this time]

The short people of the household are apparently going on a Journey to the Centre of the Earth. We saw the 3D movie a little while back, and Miss Tizz has been (sporadically) reading the Jules Verne novel, while the X-man has been studying the photobook of the movie (his reading skills aren't quite up to the novel yet!).

So today they each packed a bag for the journey. They decided they needed a spellbook (to slow down the dinosaur), a stuffed toy (to cuddle when things got scary), wool and a crochet hook (they've resumed interest in the craft), and the X-man had something extra. A duster. Why? In case the centre of the earth is dusty.

Duh! Why didn't I think of that?

The dead guy

2009-04-15T14:34:00.003+10:00

I've been giving Kai some more thought (as you do), and perhaps the attraction is that he goes into cold storage when you've finished with him, and stays there until needed. A very attractive quality ;)

And he's steady - no emotional outbursts, matter-of-fact and black-and-white. You know exactly where you stand with Kai - he has no agenda.

[I'm sure I'll get over this little obsession soon, and we can get back to normal random posts ...]

Is it wrong?

2009-04-14T19:49:00.003+10:00

Wrong or geeky? To have a totally age-inappropriate crush on a dead Divine Assassin with a really bad hairdo?

Perhaps it's his maturity (he's been dead for over 2000 years), the fact that he's unique (the last of the Brunnen-G), or perhaps it's his battle song ...

Purple - 4.5 weeks on

2009-04-13T20:46:00.003+10:00

Seeing as quite a few people seem to lob into the Wild backyard via hair colour searches, I thought I'd do an update of the Joico bleeding purple 4 and half weeks on. Still bleeding! Aaargh! But it's now produced a rather interesting effect ...

I am now stripey!

I'll probably go back to pink, as it holds better, especially with a red base, unless my hairdresser comes up with any bright ideas to stabilise the purple better. Which may not happen for a while as she's just about to/in the middle of/just had a baby. Methinks she may be a little distracted for a while ...

Chocolate!

2009-04-11T20:13:00.002+10:00

We had a family Good Friday lunch yesterday with the mother-in-law, brother-in-law & sister-in-law and their two offspring. None of them are religious, but for some reason that they can't explain (except that MIL promised her mother, and her sons promised her) they don't eat meat on Good Friday. I'm happy to go along with it - I won't knock back a big slab of barbecued salmon for lunch :)

I did desserts, and in keeping with the Easter theme of the weekend, I made white chocolate and passionfruit mousse, served in chocolate Easter eggs.

White chocolate & passionfruit mousse

Ingredients (serves 6)

3 egg yolks
1/4 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup passionfruit pulp
150g white chocolate
300ml thickened cream
3 egg whites
6 medium Easter eggs

Method

Use an electric beater to beat 3 egg yolks and 1/4 cup caster sugar until pale and creamy. Fold in 1/2 cup passionfruit pulp alternately with 150g white chocolate, melted, and cooled slightly. If the chocolate is too hot, the mixture will seize.
Beat 300ml thickened cream until soft peaks form, and in a separate bowl beat 3 egg whites until firm peaks form. Fold into the passionfruit mixture.
Break tops from 6 medium Easter eggs and sit eggs in serving glasses. Fill with mousse and refrigerate for 3-4 hrs or overnight until set. Serve with chocolate shards for dipping.

Source

Fresh Living - March 2005, Page 36

Recipe by Michelle Southan

The disappearing lake

2009-04-10T22:49:00.005+10:00

This is a lake not too far from Canberra - Lake George.

Not your average lake, it can completely vanish, leaving a broad grassed plain (like in the photo above) which is mainly used for grazing sheep. At other times it can be one of the largest freshwater lakes in Australia. There have been numerous theories about how it works, but apparently the consensus these days is that because it's very shallow, even when full (ranging from 0.8m in depth to a maximum of 7.5m), the large surface area combined with the windy nature of the region means that evaporation rates are very high - it simply dries up very quickly under drought conditions. The lake has currently been dry for quite a few years.

On the far side of the lake the turbines of the controversial Capital Wind Farm can be seen.

Every time we make the trip to Sydney we drive past this lake, and on our most recent trip we decided to stop at a lookout that we normally shoot straight past. We discovered a memorial plaque - the tragic story of a local family who perished in a boating accident:

This memorial is dedicated to the memory of
the Lynch Family
Christine Agnes Lynch Aged 5 years
Brenda Ann Lynch Aged 12 years
Ethel Hope Lynch Aged 33 years
John Leslie Lynch Aged 38 years
and
Raylee Monica Koppman Aged 12 years
Lost in a boating accident on Lake George
12th January 1958
"Now safe in God's care"

The Queanbeyan Age published this article about the family 50 years later:

A son remembers

TRUDY TAYLOR

11/01/2008 7:52:59 AM

FIFTY years ago a 13-year-old Queanbeyan boy's world fell apart when he lost his entire family in an accident at mysterious Lake George.
This weekend he will return to Queanbeyan to commemorate his family's tragedy.
Now aged 63, Barry Lynch became an orphan in 1958 after his parents and sisters - father John Leslie (Barry) Lynch (aged 38), mother Ethel Hope Lynch (33), sisters Brenda Ann Lynch (12) and Christine Agnes Lynch (6) - drowned in the lake when their 12-foot skiff capsized on January 12, 1958.
Mr Lynch's cousin, Rayleigh Monica Koppman (12), also drowned in the accident.
Father Lloyd Reynolds, who was the parish priest at the Catholic presbytery, was the sole survivor.
Mr Lynch said the family was boating on the lake to celebrate Christine's birthday.
He escaped being caught in the tragedy because he was holidaying at Numeralla.
At the time the Lynches lived in Collins Street. Mr Lynch senior worked for the Department of Works, Mrs Lynch was a full-time housewife and all three children were students at St Gregory's.
"When the accident took place, we were battlers," Mr Lynch told The Queanbeyan Age.
"We had no financial reserves, and because of the massive cost Queanbeyan launched an appeal through The Queanbeyan Age.
"I'd now like to thank those people," he said.
After the accident Mr Lynch moved into Furlong House (in Morisset Street) with his grandparents. He also became a ward of Legacy.
"A legatee by the name of Stan Reed was particularly supportive - he was like a father figure to me. I owe that man a lot," Mr Lynch said.
"I think of Stan quite often and how fortunate I was to have him as my guardian."
Mr Lynch attended St Gregory's school from 1950 until 1956.
He then went to Queanbeyan High School in 1957 before enrolling at St Patrick's Boarding College in Goulburn from 1958 until 1961.
On completion of high school he moved to Sydney and worked in the earthmoving and construction industry and now holds certificates in industrial engineering.
Mr Lynch has organised for a memorial service to be held as part of this Sunday's 10am Mass at St Raphael's Catholic Church.
There will be reflection for the family during Mass and lighting of candles in remembrance of the family.
"I would like people to attend the church service on Sunday," Mr Lynch said.
"It will give me some closure and be a celebration of my parents' and sisters' lives.
"Queanbeyan hasn't forgotten about this accident.
"It is time for everybody to put some closure on it.
"It's not a sad thing, but about closure," he said.
Mr Lynch is also trying to arrange for a commemorative plaque.
He wants it to acknowledge his parents and sisters and also thank the people of Queanbeyan for the support shown to him as a child to be placed in the town park.

These are the stories that history is made of.

School's out!

2009-04-09T19:58:00.002+10:00

School holidays officially started here at 3pm today :) But before we launch into the next two weeks of routineless mayhem (and I'm determined we are going to do lots of fun things, and I'm not going to work the whole time), I need to tell you about the X-man's acting debut.

This is the X-man's kindergarten year. There are three classes of about 20 children each, two pregnant teachers, and one not, so there'll be some changes and disruption partway through the year. The X-man will cope with this - change doesn't faze him at all.

The school holds assemblies each fortnight, with each year group (Kindergarten, Year 1/2, Year 3/4, Year 5/6) hosting an assembly each term. Last Friday was the first Kindergarten assembly for the year, and I don't envy the teachers one iota having to coordinate 60 small people. It's only half an hour or so, but that's a long time when you're 5 and wriggly, and the attention of the rest of the school, the teachers and the parent audience is focussed on you!

The X-man had a speaking role! Four - count them - FOUR words! And a costume! He was a paramedic, and he was there to help his friend Sara when she hurt herself and called 000 (the emergency number in Australia). "I will help you!". That's him in the middle of the front row, wearing dark green (with reflective tape stripes!).

Ok - let's check the medical kit one more time ...

... and you're on! Woo!

[Sorry about the photo quality - indoors, not enough light, not enough *real zoom*, moving targets]

And that was that :)

Apart from all the Jolly Phonics songs they'd learned so far, a little addition demonstration (3 + 4 = 7), and a rousing rendition of This Old Man, all the way up to 10, which the audience spontaneously joined in, and which got louder and faster as it went on.

Can't wait for next term!

It's a boy!

2009-04-08T23:40:00.004+10:00

"Underbelly" was a very polite way of putting it S :)

But it's definitely the back end of the Big Merino in Goulburn, and it's definitely a boy!

According to Miss Tizz, the top picture clearly illustrates the merino's brain. The backstory to that comment is that a few years ago, she and the X-man were in the bath together. Miss Tizz was quiet for a while (highly unusual!), then suddenly burst out with "Why does he have a brain under his willy?". Of course, that was followed by "Where's my willy and my second brain?".

Mystery photo

2009-04-07T12:16:00.005+10:00

What is it?

Relay for life

2009-03-27T23:19:00.003+11:00

Tonight we attended a candlelighting ceremony in memory of family and friends who have died from cancer. It was part of the Relay for Life event run by the Cancer Council. Each of the bags with candle-shaped lights inside is in memory of someone lost to cancer, but the event - while tinged with loss - is also full of hope: the candles line an athletics track at the Australian Institute of Sport, and teams are running and walking around the track for 24 hours to raise money for cancer research.

Ooh pretty!

2009-03-26T17:06:00.002+11:00

Occasionally I come across something that just calls to me. On Sunday I found this:

And for the princely sum of $5, it was mine!

Don't forget your toothbrush!

2009-03-26T12:28:00.003+11:00

Miss Tizz has gone on her first 3 day school camp. Yesterday morning Years 3 & 4 piled onto two coaches, ready for the drive to the campsite near Picton, NSW. She was last onto the bus (and we weren't late, she just took her own sweet time getting into the line), and scored a seat right at the front, so she would have had a great view on the way.

We had one excited little girl yesterday morning - up and dressed WAY earlier than normal, and literally jumping up and down with the thrill of having, in her words, "three whole parent-free days!". We wished the teachers all the best, and they tried really hard not to look too terrified.

They should be having a ball - the activities planned include a hayride, sheep shearing and a sheep dog demonstration, boomerang throwing and whip cracking, archery (which Miss Tizz is particularly looking forward to, after trying it last year), and a campfire with billy tea & damper.

I've cancelled all plans for this weekend in anticipation of someone needing to catch up on sleep ...

You know what's worse?

2009-03-22T00:14:00.002+11:00

What's worse than not knowing what to say to a friend who's dying, way too young? Knowing that you delayed visiting them because you didn't know what say, and now it's too late.

Go tell you family & friends how much they mean to you, spend some time with them even if you don't know what to say, because you don't know how long you'll have with them.

Purple

2009-03-20T20:50:00.004+11:00

This is how my Joico purple hair is looking after two washes:

I really like the colour, but I think it may be trying to take over the world!

I have to put a cloth nappy over my pillowcase at night:

My showercap was never this colour before (and that's keeping my hair dry - you should see the colour run when it gets wet):

My hairbrush:

Note: those little padded tips on the bristles definitely weren't purple two weeks ago. Hmmm - I've never looked at the brush this carefully before - just look at all that purple hair & fluff - and I clean the hair out of it regularly.

I'm certainly not risking wearing white at the moment - anything around my neck turns purple very quickly. Fortunately it (mostly) washes out, and the sun bleaches most of what's left, so no permanent damage.

And my skin! I have purple ears, and neck. I wake up with purple shoulders. I touch my hair and my fingers come away purple (which Miss Tizz thinks is excellent fun. Problem is, it then ends up on everything you touch - like my diary:

I love the colour, but I don't think I'll use it again - way too much bleed - unless we can come up with some method to make it stay put.

Makes me happy

2009-03-20T12:00:00.005+11:00

Today's Google image, that is :) The very hungry caterpillar, by Eric Carle, celebrating (according to Google) the first day of autumn, although we normally consider March 1 the first day of autumn in the southern hemisphere. March 20 is the autumn equinox (at least this year - the equinoxes are usually the 20th, 21st or 22nd of March & September).

Whatever you want to call it, this image makes me smile, and I don't want to lose it, so I've copied it here (with apologies for any copyright infringements).

Surviving

2009-03-19T13:25:00.002+11:00

... on caffeine (strong, white & one please, and none of that decaf rubbish) & adrenaline.

I'm working appalling hours (the number of them as well as the time of day - and night), and turning into that dull Jack person you were warned about.

Hopefully soon I'll have it under control, and will write something vaguely interesting, and maybe get out into the backyard again ... I might even be able to rustle up a giveaway just for fun.

(How's that coffee coming along? Not hassling or anything ...)

In two weeks I have ...

2009-03-13T17:15:00.012+11:00

Worked. A lot. A number of clients are involved in a conference at the end of the month, and are desperately trying to get documents printed in time. Being at the end of the process, things are a little hectic around here right now, and it's not finished yet.

Read several books:

I'll have to read the rest of the Twilight books soon - I do love a good vampire tale!

I read the Dinotopia children's novel before handing it over to Miss Tizz, just to make sure it was appropriate for a 7yo (and I recently read The Princess Diaries for the same reason).

Mary called Magdalene is the current book by the bedside - it's a novel, because not too much is known about the historical figure, and very interesting so far - she's currently plagued by Canaanite gods & goddesses.

Watched a number of episodes each of Torchwood (Season 1, Episodes 1-9 - definitely a show for adults! Oh my! Dr Who was never like this!) and Lexx:

Crocheted (while watching the above):

Changed my hair colour - this one is a Joico purple - it's quite bright in the sunlight!

(Like my superhero cape? Trying to prevent the colour from bleeding all over me - I've been waking up in the morning with half my face purple! Nearly forgot about it today when I went to answer the door ...)

Sewed patches onto Miss Tizz's Guide sash (and unpicked the ones I put in the wrong place :P):

Picked apples & pears:

Made more bread from the Artisan bread in 5 minutes a day recipe, and made my first batch of English muffins. The baked product disappears too quickly, so here's a picture of the dough (you can't say I don't thrill you with exciting photos!):

And the I worked some more.

Out of the mouths of babes

2009-02-28T14:47:00.004+11:00

I was singing the first couple of lines of ABBA's Gimme Gimme Gimme (A man after midnight) while doing some crafty stuff with Miss Tizz this afternoon. She started singing along, and I turned to her and said "What will we do with a man after midnight?" (heck - she's 7 - how bad could the answer be?).

Not skipping a beat, she answered "Make him do the housework!".

Sounds good to me :) Any volunteers?

Who's eating my fruit?

2009-02-22T22:49:00.007+11:00

Wicking beds

The beds are made, they're settling in, and just waiting for rain, worms & planting. The weather forecast mentioned rain many times last week, but nothing more than a few drops came of it. Tomorrow's forecast for the local area says "A thunderstorm in spots" - what's that supposed be? A fashion statement? I think I may end up resorting to the hose - after all, that's what those white watering tubes in the beds are for:

Next I need to bully the husband into finishing the worm feeders (he has more time & more sharp power tool experience than me). It all seems to be taking forever, but it's getting there ...

At least something's eating out of the backyard

The apples are looking lovely, aren't they?

But turn most of them over, and you'll find something like this:

Telltale signs of codling moth. The pears aren't immune either:

And then there's pear & cherry slug:

... and birds ...

The white cockatoos seem to prefer the pears, and the rosellas (ok - I'm not 100% sure they're rosellas, but they're green & red & blue & very pretty) prefer the apples. At least someone's eating well!

Baking

Speaking of eating, I made up my first batch of dough from the Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day book today. The children have been bringing home their sandwiches barely touched, so I thought little crusty rolls, accompanied by a small salad, might be more tempting. The rolls are certainly tempting me!

You can find the master dough recipe on the authors' website, and variations of all sorts floating around the internet. I found this a little salty, and then read that the amount of table salt should be reduced by about a third or more if you're using table salt instead of the kosher salt in the original recipe. But it's certainly delicious and easy, even like this (that blurry one in the foreground is no more!). Mmmmmm ...

I need your advice

2009-02-20T13:28:00.003+11:00

... but before that, a Victorian bushfire update. The death toll is now 208, including a firefighter from Canberra who was hit by a falling tree while he was on the job. Wonderful people, who quite literally put their lives on the line for the rest of us. Please continue to donate if you possibly can, as the recovery is going to take a long time.

---------------------

So now, your advice please. As I've mentioned before, the wild backyard includes an apple tree & two pear trees. I've been reluctant to spray the trees, especially while the children are young, but haven't been able to keep the codling moth under control, so I will probably prune them back hard in winter, spray this year, and then continue with natural methods (unless anyone else has any great ideas! I'd prefer not to spray with chemicals, but I need to do something about it).

In the meantime, I have a LOT of fruit again. It's quite confused fruit, due to the odd weather we've had lately, but overall it's not quite ripe. And it has grubs. I'm reluctant to throw it all out, so what can I use it for? We're not big jam/jelly eaters, although I know the apples would be good for pectin, so no point making litres of the stuff.

So what do you suggest?

Weekend of horror

2009-02-08T18:36:00.003+11:00

"Victoria is reeling from a weekend of ferocious bushfires which have claimed at least 65 lives and razed more than 600 homes to the ground."

ABC report on a weekend that has devastated hundreds, probably thousands, of Australians.

You can contribute to the Red Cross bushfire appeal online or by calling 1800 811 700. The Red Cross is also encouraging people to donate blood.
Bendigo Bank Bushfire Appeal.
Tax-deductible donations to the Victoria Bushfire Relief Fund can be made from Monday 9 February at all NAB branches, or via the internet - details here.

I'll post details if I find other ways you can help.

About a year ago

2009-02-06T18:17:00.004+11:00

I started this blog nearly a year ago, and while some things in the wild backyard aren't much different, we're finally making progress towards growing some of our own food.

Both wicking beds are now built, lined, painted inside with the sealant, and have 200mm of sand in the bottom as a water storage area.

I had hoped to get the four trailer-loads of soil it will take to fill them before Lee comes back next week, but with temps in the high 30s, including 39.6 degrees Celsius today and a predicted 40 degrees tomorrow, it may not happen. We're planning on hiding inside for the weekend, and only venturing into the heat if it's completely unavoidable!

In the meantime, the fruit trees are getting sunburnt, attacked by codling moth, and being feasted on by native birds. Hopefully we'll get something from them, and when the fruit is finished we'll do some heavy pruning and serious pest control and be off to a better start for next season.

On the family front: the children survived their first week of school. The X-man was most impressed that he scored four stickers from teachers for good behaviour and listening :) and Miss Tizz has decided she wants to learn guitar (I think she has visions of being a rock star, so thankfully the school has 3/4 size guitars we can hire before we outlay too much on an instrument only to find she loses interest after a few weeks).

Two at school

2009-02-03T10:40:00.005+11:00

Yesterday was a big day in the wild backyard: the X-man started 'big school'. He's been keen to go to school five days a week ever since he started preschool (two days a week) last year, and now the time has finally arrived.

I suspect he'll be a little tired by the end of the week, but he has a lovely teacher & had a great first day :) He has lots of preschool friends in his class, and a big sister to see at lunchtime, so there were no first-day tears or nerves - just lots of excitement!

We've had a run of hot days, although not to the extreme experienced in some areas further south. Two of the capsicums got sunburnt - the plants are fine in the Earthbox, but the fruit not shaded by foliage has been badly damaged. I'm planning to include shade for the new wicking beds to avoid this sort of thing:

I've started reading up on composting worms, and how to look after them, as they'll be an integral part of the wicking beds. I came across a recommendation to start with 1000 worms per household member (so 4000 for us, divided between the two beds). For those with knowledge in this area - does that sound about right?

Still on the wicking beds, the husband came home with a container of Diggers Eco In-Ground Timber Protecta last week. According to the website:

Diggers Eco In-Ground Timber Protecta is the eco-friendly answer for consumers seeking a safer alternative to creosote and common timber treatments.

Diggers ‘Eco’ provides improved protection against moisture and deterioration on timber and masonry surfaces by providing a tough bitumen coating. This coating increases the life of building materials in outdoor, below ground applications by sealing toxins in and keeping moisture out.

Eco’s unique formulation is not classified as hazardous according to the criteria of the Australian Safety & Compensation Council. In December 2008, it was registered as a certified product for use on organic farms by the Biological Farmers Association (BFA). The BFA is the regulatory body for conformance with all leading organic standards around the world. The standard is viewed as one of the most respected and rigorous standards for organic production internationally.

The revised plan is to paint the inside of the timber around the wicking beds with this stuff, above the 'pool' (which is already lined), to seal in the CCA, rather than plastic-lining the whole thing.

Lee the gardener is back tomorrow morning, so there'll be another wicking bed update in the next few days.

And one last thing - I don't think I've introduced you to my Christmas present ...

Earthbox capsicums & wicking bed progress

2009-01-27T21:20:00.006+11:00

Earthbox update

The three capsicum plants are all doing well - and they're all fruiting:

The plant on the left is producing two fairly large, standard-looking capsicums:

The centre plant has one fruit at the moment, and although it's a bit longer & thinner, it still looks pretty much like a standard capsicum:

The plant on the right - the tallest of the three - is producing something quite different:

And, of course, being the methodical gardener that I am (shut up - stop laughing!) I have no idea where the label from the punnet has gone. I think they were all supposed to be the same variety, but clearly they're not. Lucky I like surprises :)

Wicking beds

After much research & thinking & talking, the wicking beds are finally a happening thing.

Today we went from timber* & couch grass-infested dirt:

We laid weedmat (can't pull out all the grass, can't nuke it, so we're going to try smothering it - or at least excluding it from the growing media), and started building (the husband & Lee the Gardener - who provided most of the labour - with the X-man as apprentice looking on). We've used coachbolts to hold it all together, and a decent drill & rattle gun made the process reasonably fast and painless.

Once the bottom sleeper course was together, the 200um plastic liner went in, followed by the ag pipe & coarse sand:

We found the end cap & the 90 degree joining piece for the pipe didn't fit properly, so we'll need to do a little digging in the sand to put the proper ones in before the soil goes on top (the kids are already convinced it's a sand pit!), but in the meantime we put together the rest of the bed walls:

And we made a start on the second bed:

I'm pretty happy with how it's all coming together.

* Yes, it's CCA (copper chromium arsenate)-treated pine. While it wasn't top of my list of materials, due to a lack of conclusive studies about arsenic leaching, we decided to use it because of durability, ease of use, availability & cost factors. The 'pool' section at the bottom is completely lined, and we're going to also staple heavy-guage plastic around the inside of the rest of the box, and drill drainage holes just above the top of the 'pool', inclined down towards the outside, so any overflow will run straight out. This fact sheet has more information, and the results of a chemical review by the Australian Pesticides & Veterinary Medicines Authority is here. The plastic lining is recommended in both documents, and there's also evidence that any arsenic leaching is restricted to about 150mm immediately next to the timber. Root vegetables within this distance were found to have slightly raised arsenic levels, most of which was within the skin & was removed with peeling. Above ground vegetables showed no increased level (and that's without any barrier lining).

Plans

2009-01-26T18:29:00.005+11:00

We're building wicking garden beds. Serious ones! I've spent a few weeks gathering information & materials, and tomorrow Lee the gardener will be here at 7.30am to help put them together. The cross sections above give a fair idea of how they will be constructed (except I forgot to mark the mulch as a top layer), and I'm hoping to remember to take photos along the way.

Stay tuned ...

Nuts

2009-01-21T10:49:00.006+11:00

Macadamias from the tree on my aunt & uncle's farm:

Pecans from a tree on the husband's aunt's property:

And chocolate peanut clusters:

Chocolate peanut clusters

1. Melt chocolate (any type of chocolate will do, but the better quality, slave-free ones will leave you with a better taste in your mouth - literally & figuratively)

2. Add peanuts (or any other type of nut you prefer). Mix to coat thoroughly.

3. Drop teaspoons of the mixture on a tray (foil or baking paper makes them easier to remove) and refrigerate to set.

4. Try to not eat them all at once.

Summer holidays

2009-01-19T15:16:00.003+11:00

Forgive me, gentle readers, for abandoning you for this past month. Since we last spoke, our family has been visiting the past (the fabulous dinosaur exhibit at the Australian Museum in Sydney), the future (the Star Wars exhibition at the Powerhouse Museum), and the extended families in Sydney and Grafton & surrounds.

We've had lunch on the banks of the Macleay River, and dinner on an island, overlooking sugar cane fields and the South Arm of the Clarence. We've sweltered at the Big Banana, laid flowers on a grave at Beresfield near Newcastle, and been disappointed to find a milk factory shop remembered from childhood supplanted by yet another Hungry Jacks. We've had major gearbox problems, and had people go out of their way to help us get back on the road (big thanks to Cullen Autos of Taree & NRMA Premium Care!).

And now we're back.

It's still school holidays, but I'm back at work and in the thick of it already. So just a few quick updates, and hopefully I'll post a little more regularly from now.

Earthboxes

Three weeks on their own, with no attention, some very hot weather, and a little rain, and they survived! Mostly. The snowpeas and capsicums did well, but the peas and spinach succumbed to less than ideal conditions. The kids stripped the snowpeas and ate them before they got anywhere near the kitchen, but there are more coming on. With a little TLC, I think they would produce a pretty good crop.

The second box has three very healthy looking capsicum plants, plenty of flowers, and a couple of baby capsicums.

The apple and pear trees are loaded with small fruit, but despite good intentions we didn't get around to spraying them (or treating them in any other way) so we'll lose a lot to codling moth. This winter we're planning to prune them back hard and treat them properly, and hopefully go a long way to dealing with the problem. At least the birds are having a good time in the trees!