December 15, 2010

12, 11, 10

day 12 saw... well actually I can't remember, which tells me one of the kidlets picked a card with decoration...

11 (done this morning) Was to have take out for dinner, because november was declared no 'junk food' month it is a special treat to have take out this month, I am hoping it will become more of a treat rather than a constant as it used to be for us!

day 10... 10... 10 days til familymas... how the hell am I going to get everything done?
- the big kidlet drew 11 and 10 this morning. 10 was a card for a cooking time, this she got to pick what she wanted to make and chose... pies! yep homemade pies in the pie maker it is... when? That is yet to be determined!!!

December 13, 2010

Advent 16, 15, 14 and 13

With the kidlets being all over the place at the moment due to parental commitments it means we have been lax in other things, the advent calendar has been behind in days on a regular basis!!

Big Kidlet pointed out to me the day AFTER I had "made sure it was correct" that it was STILL a day short *sigh*

So Day 16 - decoration
Day 15 - decoration
Day 14 - Decoration
Day 13 - Decoration

Today being day 12 has not been opened yet!

I know that there are 2 activities (at least) left in the calendar.

The seasonal table and trip to Holwell Gorge didn't occur yesterday as the weather was unfavourable to spending time in the bush, cold and windy.
So the trip to HG has been put off until the 21st december, we are doing our aquatic centre visit on the 20th. The weekday that hubby and big Kidlet are both on holidays. I am thinking a seasonal table will happen before then however when exactly I am not sure yet!!

In other news, 90 photo's are here ready for me to sort through and scrap into a xmas present for my MIL, my SIL's quilt is half way through the machine sewing and I am hoping to finish that off today, then I need to bind it all together and finally do the hand quilting... so much still to do!! But I am really happy with it so far!

I have familymas presents to wrap and layby's to pick up so I can wrap! Only a few more things to buy and it is all looking good for now :) (touch wood - if you are superstitious)

XX Merry Familymas XX

December 9, 2010

Advent 18 and 17

Day 18 saw the Big Kidlet drawing yet another activity card - This time the aquatic centre visit! I have no idea where we are going to fit these activities in at all!!

Day 17 today and the boy drew another decoration for the tree which his older sister proptly took from him with encouragement of "would you like me to do it for you?" and then rearranged each decoration that had previously been put on the tree, only to put it all back after being told it was not for her to decide where everything went, she would get her turn!

Really must get onto doing this quilt project, I have cut all the pieces I need to assemble them to make sure it looks good then iron them all down on the quilt top, sew them all in place, bind it all and then somehow hand quilt it all before december 24th... Plenty of time right? hahahaha

'tis the season to be stupid.....

December 7, 2010

21, 20, 19...

Day 21 of advent, again saw my boy help himself and somehow managed to lose the decoration he found in the card!

Day 20 saw the baby choose a card with a small felt circle "bauble" to put on the tree.

Day 19 and the eldest had her turn and again managed to choose an activity card, which will see us all in the kitchen making cupcakes for christmas sometime in the week leading up to christmas. Possibly the 23rd, so we can take them to the christmas eve celebrations at Aunties place the next day.

Day 18 today and they have not done the advent calendars yet, I have chicken wings in the slow cooker, ready for dinner left over salad from last night in the fridge and that is all I can be bothered with! Today saw the kitchen almost clean... and me feeling like an emotional time bomb!

December 3, 2010

Advent - learnings

With Advent happening here and me putting myself as the main participant because I made the calendar, pop on over to Chaos Sanctuary to read up on all things advent, I will be linking between the 2 blogs alot over the coming weeks because although I am the creator of our Advent adventures, the children will be learning much and that is what this blog is specifically about.

In a bit over a week the summer seasonal table will be complete and it will all be here in this space to look at and read about.

Days of Advent

So here is how the calendar count down works, you pick a random card.... Have a look what it inside, discuss (if needs be), write the number of days until xmas morning on the card and slot it back in the pocket with the number facing out like so....



Card 24 - day 1 of advent, as discussed earlier was to make a summer seasonal table - we have given this the date of the 12th December.

Card 23 - day 2 of advent, has seen the big kidlet pull another activity card, a trip to the Holwell Gorge, which is another activity we have been meaning to do and never found the time, we have decided that we will have a combination day and Visit the Gorge on the 12th of december also and collect things/take photo's for our seasonal table there instead of here in our little area of bushland.

Card 22 - day 3 of advent, this morning saw my son help himself to a card, claiming it was his little sister's choice, because it was her turn... inside they found a small felt bell to put on the felt christmas tree.

I now need to research the Nature's Table idea and give the oldest kidlet a chance to read through a few options and maybe make up an activity list for doing on the day. I am thinking a wreath style collage, using summer foliage, some printed photo's, a few summer coloured candles.... some interesting bits and pieces that we all choose to represent summer for us!

December 2, 2010

Debtcember - Advent - Summer

Debtcember as it is known on our fridge calendar, in true naming fashion, sees us not in Debt so much as having no spare cash to throw around!

It is the second day in december, the christmas tree is up lights and all and the kidlets are enjoying the randomness of the way they put it together on there own (a little help from dad for the lights)

The advent calendars have been started (yes there are multiples), 4 of them in fact! 1 chocolate calendar each for the children from Aunty A, and the Family Advent calendar hand made by me!!!


The Christmas Tree half
















The pocket half

















The christmas tree will be docorated by the felt decorations the children will find in the pockets.


















The whole Calendar, the only thing left to do it make up some cards for each pocket and put the decorations in the cards, 17 decorations and 24 days of advent..... so 7 of our cards have activities written in them.









The pockets each with a card poking out the tip top.
The design is such that the children randomly select a pocket pull the card out and discover what is inside, 17 have the christmas tree decorations and 7 of them have family activities, each card with an activity has a place to put a date to do the activity because we are so short of time this month we need to date things otherwise we will never get to them!











The first day (yesterday) Saw the boy child draw the first card, an activity card! We are making a trip into the bush on Sunday the 12th Dec, and finding some things that say 'summer' to us. Then we will craft and create out of those things and make a Summer Seasonal Table, something I have always wanted to get into with the kids and just never found the time.

I will post again tonight with the results of today's pick and a new photo showing how the count down works...

November 30, 2010

It seems that moment is here..

Or rather, I am so out of it that I need to do something to bring myself back into some semblance of 'calm and collected mother'!

The house isn't entirely clean but I got through the mammoth pile of washing to fold... vacuumed half of the house, cleaned half of the kitchen and well most of it has become mess again but not as bad as it was!

The advent calendar has another 18.7 pockets to sew on then 24 papers to write in and fold to add the number count down and the activities.

So much to do so little time and between that and my dearly loving son not allowing his sister to sleep I am losing the plot and fast becoming 'scary screaming mother'.

Sometimes I think it would be easier if I didn't care how I treated my children!!

anyway, off to sit in the corner and cry, then sew more, then hopefully photograph and blog with a new inspiration and joy about things to come.....

November 29, 2010

Monday strikes again!

and in 3 weeks from this very moment my hubby will be on holidays!!! for only 3 weeks but still! There is alot to do in that time and with any sort of luck what so ever we might actually get through some of it!

We really need to get some wood stacked up for the winter, in the hope that we do not run out! This winter was managed but barely and we had to buy in 1 load of wood. Work through the rain on a few occasions, hail on others, to keep up the supply and we went a few nights without a heater to keep us warm to save on wood!

So if we manage that it will be a blessing! We also really need to get some fencing done to get some livestock in, just sheep to start with, but the best laid plans and all that huh?

We really don't have any money to spend on fencing at the moment! maybe after familymas we can play catch up and get some stuff sorted out, we talk about these things alot but the reality is we have never put a plan on paper and into action! We talk about it for a while and then 1 or the other of us will decide it is time and start to do it without really thinking it through!
Most often it turns out well with some input between us both but at the same time it almost always ends in argument as well!

I have 4 spare days between now and Familymas, at least 1 of those will be spent recovering from the night previous! I do in all that have 1 day with just the baby and hubby here so maybe that day will be taken up with sewing for Gifts! I have 1 massive undertaking to complete in whatever spare moment I can get and I and hoping beyond hope that it turns out magnificently!

Back when I next have a 'procrastinating moment' that isn't filled by face book or forums!!

Going to Plan?

Does anything EVER go to plan?

I am a bit out of touch at the moment and things are dragging out alot.
Soon I hope to be doing some tie-dying, christmas is approaching and it seems that is going to be taking up most of the time that I have spare.

I have plans, but I think it needs to be taken slower than originally thought out.

Christmas, Familymas, Giftmas???

This year seems to be falling under all of those catagories!

Lets start at the baby,
She is almost 18 months old, she knows nothing of chirstmas, and her whole life is centered around her family... There is nothing she wishes for besides having a fun time, not being hungry or thirsty and sleeping when she is tired. It is the ultimate in a blissful life!

The 3yo,
He still doesn't understand what is going on, he is starting to want presents, but just because everyone is asking him what he wants! The biggest dilema we have is "Why is it christmas time in the shops, but not christmas time at our house yet?" and really how do you explain this to a 3yo?
I know it is confusing but the shops have to have christmas time early so that people can spend lots of money buying decorations and presents before it is actually christmas time!

The 8yo,
She is all about Giftmas this year, with a little Christmas thrown in, she wants to do 'christmas' songs, and learn 'christian' things. I am loathe to bring that into our lives and I am coming back to the same dilema I always have relating to this stuff, encouraging the thoughts that it is all about family, but we are always about family so how would being about family make christmas stand out from the rest? She is very much a book lover so at least alot of her presents are not going to be useless crap right?

November 26, 2010

General Madness

My house is the absolute shambles, I feel like my house looks and honestly I don't think the kids are much better!

The boy child has been off every evening for the last few days, his eyes hurt, his nose is snuffly and he is coughing a bit. Just that sounds to me to be hayfeverish and I guess it could be but why now and not a few months ago? Hopefully it is something as simple as a small cold and in a few days it will be gone!

I have been so lax in the parenting and house keeping department that I am losing touch with my self and my children, I have lost all emotional connects to my family and all I want to do is curl up in a corner and do nothing all day every day.

I have been baking every second day and cooking almost every night. I am over it all, I feel like all I am is a maid and nanny!
When I make an effort to parent well, I get rewarded with the children tearing my house apart or adding food from the pantry to their play when I turn my back for 5 minutes to get something else done!

I am just OVER. IT.

Familymas is getting closer and the closer it gets the more it becomes Giftmas in my head, all I am concerned with is what gift to get this person or that person and it is driving me nuts even though I am more organised this year than I normally am.
I have 4 days to finish the kids Advent calendar and ALOT still to do on that. So my project for today is to get through more of that.
I would like to make it an activity calendar but really I think there will only be a few activities spread through the 24 days.

So much to do and the stuff I want to do is put on the backburner again because other things just have to come first.

If anyone has some spare get up and go somewhere please pass it on down the line...

November 18, 2010

Thinking Thursday...

OMG yes it is Thursday... I am feeling behind the 8-ball but rather enjoying the blissful lack of awareness of what the day is....

I have created a new blog in an altogether new profile for my business dealings... if you can call them that, you can find it here

There isn't much there for now, but there is a link to my etsy store and I am going to update it with some photos of Fabrics and stuff as soon as I get the time to take the pictures..

On the Home front, I have a delicious smelling meal bubbling away in the slow cooker for dinner... I might blog it later if it tastes any good ;)
We have 6 baby chickens in the small coop with their mummy they hatched last sunday.
We are so thrilled to have run the risk and wound up with 50/50 odds on the eggs we set under her, well it was really a little more than that but 1 chicken met it's fate under mummy hens feet :(
We really need to sort out a bigger fenced off area for them to wander in as the cage isn't big enough for all of them anymore.
The weekend provided the weather is good will see to that and hopefully the completion of the dog pen. We really need to get that sorted as the dogs can't remain chained up most of the time, they get 3-4 hours each weeknight off the chains and then are off most of the time over the weekend. But giving them a pen rather than a limited chain space will be much better for them and they will be let out as often as they are let off the chains anyway.

There is alot of grass that needs cutting and alot of thistles that need brushcutting it is rather hectic when you don't have the equipment to do the jobs.

We had the septic tank pumped tuesday as it was overflowing... Apparently the job wasn't done in the last 2 years like we where told when we bought the place, but I can understand how you could lose track of that sort of thing.

My car will be fixed soon, well not fixed just maintained it needs a few required jobs done to it.

Um, after all that, I think I am out of thinking space...

Familymas is coming was to fast for me to prepare for and I am struggling to find the inspiration for all things familymas like....

Getting Started

First post on the new blog, don't really have alot to say!!

I am busy with all things house and a few things business, as it stands I await time to get into sewing some more sizes and styles.

I will be back to update when I have more to update on! Hopefully not long.

November 12, 2010

'award acceptance'

Well a dear friend Mummy Snow over at Snowflakes in the Valley has been kind enough to give me a Stylish blogger award. I really got it yesterday, but was not feeling deserving so today is the day :)





Rule and Regulations:

Share 7 random things about yourself...

1. My astrological sign is Cancer
2. I have 3 sets of oracle cards - that are rarely used
3. Most of my clothes are things I hate to wear, that are comfortable
4. I have always wanted to go to Antarctica and Egypt
5. I supposedly need reading glasses but rarely wear them
6. I sometimes feel like I don't belong in my body
7. I love cooking but hate sharing the kitchen with children.

Here are the blogs to which I hereby award the Stylish Blog Award.

An Everyday Mother's Musings
Calico Crossroads
Easy Cuisiny
Killiecrankie Farm
Primal Home
Relativity
Why would I want to grow up?

*The Rules for accepting the award are:
  • Thank and link back to the person who gave you the award
  • Share 7 things about yourself.
  • Pass this on to 15 other great bloggers you recently discovered.
  • Contact the selected bloggers and tell them about their awards.

November 11, 2010

update...?


Thinking Thursday

Well it seems this option is better than the previous one of Wondering wednesday, because my wednesdays are seemingly taken up with other things.
Every second wednesday my mother in law has my 2 youngest children for the day while I head into town for a social day with some gorgeous women.
On the wednesday that is not happen (this was yesterday) we get the fortnightly pay which means I need to head out and get groceries. As happened yesterday the day was pretty good I was happy to venture out to the grocery store 30 minutes away wiht my 2 young children.. the other child was at school.. when about 5 minutes out from the supermarket the youngest decided that she was car sick... On a stretch of road with no where to pull over, my baby vomited all over herself and her carseat. So we get to the supermarket and I go about cleaning up the baby, remembering that I didn't bring spare clothes, I pop the boot in the hope that perhaps there is *something* I can dress my newly naked child in.. "Hurrah" a bag of stuff left over from last wednesdays stay at Nan's. Thankful I begin to dress my youngest when the 3year old claims he feels sick... Thinking it is just a side effect of seeing his sister get all the attention I tell him calmly that I will not be long, and undo the buckle on his seat so he has room to move. He gets out of his seat and promptly vomits all over himself, his carseat and the back seat of the car.... Luckily the bag previously mentioned has a change of his clothes too. So I get the baby on my back in the Ergo, get the 3yo out of the car and proceed to change him. Then clean the car as best I can with...well rubbish that was on the floor! and we all head into the supermarket feeling a little more Blah about the day.
This feeling proceeded to get increasingly worse throughout the day even though nothing really awful happened again. By the time hubby got home that afternoon I was in the worst of moods and nothing was going to change that.... Thankfully though I am feeling out of place today, I am not in that awful mood!

Bring on next wednesday!!!

In other news I have washed and dried the fabrics for the quilt christmas gift and am headed to my mothers on the weekend to cut it all in preparation.

I have almost finished a pair of trousers for a friend.
I have a new ETSY store
and today is a day for relaxing and taking stock of where I need to go from here :)

November 7, 2010

So it is Sunday

What is going on around here?

Well, I have sewn 3 things to sell on my facebook business page. If you are interested send me a comment here or comment on the photo's if you can.
If not you can email me mindtomat@gmail.com

I also made a cape for a birthday present for the oldest sproglets friend. She went to the party yesterday.

We have freshly mown grass and lots of washing done thanks largely to Hubby who did it all while I was sewing!!!
I am now in a situation where things are becoming more involved and I think I might be pushing myself too much, which is what I was afraid of in the beginning, I don't want to burn out and the only saving grace at the moment is that I am loving what I do.
Unfortunately the housework is losing out to the things I enjoy doing and it means that I need to stop and take stock... so today rather than do the patterns I was intending to make, I am going to try and clean house. Hence my procrastinating blog post!

I have 1 item that is on the go, the sproglets advent calendar, which I really should focus a bit more attention to also otherwise it will not get done before it needs to be used.

I have a big christmas project on the cards which will take alot of work and must get on to that sooner or it will not be done in time for christmas!
I have a smaller christmas project on which will be a little time consuming but should work well and give me some time out when sewing is not an option and it is something that sproglet 1 can join in with :)

After all this I need to find more time to make some more stock and sell some stock and buy some more materials and, and, and....

Now I have to go investigate what the Dog is barking wildly at....

November 4, 2010

Thinking Thursday

As an off shoot to wondering wednesday, because well I missed wondering wednesday!..
I am hitting the Blog with "Thinking Thursday"

Why is because I couldn't "think" of anything to call the post and it was a day late for 'ww'!

So what have I been doing?

Yesterday I went to a lovely cooking circle where we cooked and ate a magnificent risotto, mmmm roast pumpkin and asparagus thanks in kind go to Hilbarn for supplying the fresh produce boxes we got the ingredients from... In kind with that another thankyou goes out to hilbarn for the 10 gorgeous white roses I received in this weeks box.

A huge thankyou to the home we invaded for our cooking circle and the 3 gorgeous women (and babies) I shared the day with :)

In other news I have started a business venture! You can find me on facebook
It is a slow process because if I try and take it too fast I will over commit and it will all fall apart, and that is not the idea behind this.

I have a few projects in play and a few in mind, some are xmas presents some are business related and yet another is an advent calendar for my children... so a few things on the cards, not too many on the go just yet tho :)

Hopefully sewing a few things today to get the ball rolling with business related stuff :)

October 27, 2010

Wondering Wednesday

I thought I would take a look about and see what I could come up with for ideas to get me blogging more often, the inspiration is there, I just never find the time, or I am all set to go and nothing comes to mind for me to type out.

So seeing alot of things around such as "wordless wednesday" "unschool monday" and the like on alot of blogs about the place I thought I would start my own type of "day".

As it happens I did this on a wednesday and as such because I was wondering what I could do for inspiration I came up with Wondering Wednesday.... so maybe by next wednesday I will have more 'wonderings' to share!!!

I do have a really lovely blog post to do about the visitors our property has had since we moved in, and another about the bounty that Nature has provided us with while being here, but the photo's are still not on the computer and I just haven't found the inspiration to get all the cables connected and do it!!

I have been wondering alot lately about how I can go about making a little supplementary income for us here, get some debts sorted out and save, save, save for some fencing and livestock to get ourselves set up just a little bit!!

Not being the type of person to rush at things, I am trying to sort out some sort of business name first and the ideas just are not flowing where I want them too. I have a plan of action, products, services etc... but just not a name! I want a name that will suit if my business develops into something that I have not yet thought of.
Just so lost in my own head space that nothing is making sense and I can't find what I need in the chaos of my head!!


Homestead news - Broody hen 1 who had chickens late and lost them both within days, is now in a neat, tidy and secure broody box, with 12 fertile (hopefully) eggs. is about 2.5 weeks we hope to have about 8 chickens under her... I would much prefer 12 but don't want to be too optimistic.
Dog Pen is almost there, 1 more post hole to dig and post to put in then a half dozen star pickets? and the fencing can go up! Should get done this long weekend if I am lucky.
What to go to the local market on the weekend too but finances are tight and I am not sure I will make it.

October 21, 2010

Religion

The journey to learning around religion is a hard one to make. I myself am pagan, more specifically Eclectic Wiccan, and while I would LOVE for my children to follow my path on that journey, I am determined to let them make their own religious decisions... But does that mean I can put up with the possible 'brainwashing cult' down the road, taking over their lives? Or is it my responsibility to stop them from falling into that trap?
Christianity in all it's forms is much the same as that brainwashing cult to me... does this come under falling into a trap too?
Do I tell them the pure raw basic facts about a list of religions and then just hope they take those facts on board?
Do I just teach them the basics to life and to respect the lives and beliefs of others around them and hope that will be enough for them to find their own way?

My dilema in all this, is that I want my family to celebrate with me when it comes to pagan festivals. Halloween, or All Hallow's Eve (Samhain), is something that I would celebrate at the start of May! The beginning of the dark time of the year...
Right now we are coming to the celebration of Beltane on the pagan/wiccan calendar.
I want to celebrate with them, but should I go all out or should I just let it lie?

Christmas Looming - but first Halloween???

Halloween, don't get me started... Try reading this....

History

Historian Nicholas Rogers, exploring the origins of Halloween, notes that while "some folklorists have detected its origins in the Roman feast of Pomona, the goddess of fruits and seeds, or in the festival of the dead called Parentalia, it is more typically linked to the Celtic festival of Samhain, whose original spelling was Samuin (pronounced sow-an or sow-in)". The name is derived from Old Irish and means roughly "summer's end". A similar festival was held by the ancient Britons and is known as Calan Gaeaf (pronounced Kálan Gái av).

The festival of Samhain celebrates the end of the "lighter half" of the year and beginning of the "darker half", and is sometimes regarded as the "Celtic New Year".

The ancient Celts believed that the border between this world and the Otherworld became thin on Samhain, allowing spirits (both harmless and harmful) to pass through. The family's ancestors were honoured and invited home while harmful spirits were warded off. It is believed that the need to ward off harmful spirits led to the wearing of costumes and masks. Their purpose was to disguise oneself as a harmful spirit and thus avoid harm. In Scotland the spirits were impersonated by young men dressed in white with masked, veiled or blackened faces. Samhain was also a time to take stock of food supplies and slaughter livestock for winter stores. Bonfires played a large part in the festivities. All other fires were doused and each home lit their hearth from the bonfire. The bones of slaughtered livestock were cast into its flames. Sometimes two bonfires would be built side-by-side, and people and their livestock would walk between them as a cleansing ritual.

Another common practice was divination, which often involved the use of food and drink.

The name 'Halloween' and many of its present-day traditions derive from the Old English era.

Origin of name

The word Halloween is first attested in the 16th century and represents a Scottish variant of the fuller All-Hallows-Even ("evening"), that is, the night before All Hallows Day. Up through the early 20th century, the spelling "Hallowe'en" was frequently used, eliding the "v" and shortening the word. Although the phrase All Hallows is found in Old English (ealra hālgena mæssedæg, mass-day of all saints), All-Hallows-Even is itself not attested until 1556.


See? Here in the southern hemisphere where we are heading INTO SUMMER... it IS NOT HALLOWEEN!!!

Trying to teach my daughter that, is another story and even if she gets it she doesn't care because all she see's is an opportunity to dress up and have a party!

At this time of year, here in the southern hemisphere we should be celebrating the coming of summer and all it's bounty. Try this on for size??

History

In ancient Ireland the main Bealtaine fire was held on the central hill of Uisneach 'the navel of Ireland', one of the ritual centres of the country, which is located in what is now County Westmeath. In Ireland the lighting of bonfires on Oidhche Bhealtaine seems only to have survived to the present day in County Limerick, especially in Limerick itself, as their yearly bonfire night and in County Wicklow in Arklow[citation needed], though some cultural groups have expressed an interest in reviving the custom at Uisneach and perhaps at the Hill of Tara.

In Irish mythology, the beginning of the summer season for the Tuatha Dé Danann and the Milesians started at Bealtaine. Great bonfires would mark a time of purification and transition, heralding in the season in the hope of a good harvest later in the year, and were accompanied with ritual acts to protect the people from any harm by Otherworldly spirits, such as the Aos Sí. Like the festival of Samhain, opposite Beltane on 31 October Beltane was also a time when the Otherworld was seen as particularly close at hand.

Early Gaelic sources from around the 10th century state that the druids[dubious ] of the community would create a need-fire on top of a hill on this day and drive the village's cattle through the fires to purify them and bring luck (Eadar dà theine Bhealltainn in Scottish Gaelic, 'Between two fires of Beltane'). This term is also found in Irish and is used as a turn of phrase to describe a situation which is difficult to escape from. In Scotland, boughs of juniper were sometimes thrown on the fires to add an additional element of purification and blessing to the smoke. People would also pass between the two fires to purify themselves.

The festival persisted widely up until the 1950s, and in some places the celebration of Beltane continues today.


See Halloween = the end of summer
Beltane = the beginning of summer...

There is a difference there right?


Now as for christmas, I am not CHRISTIAN....
But traditions are traditions so christmas is henceforth named "Family-mas" in my blog.
Unfortunately with my family "Giftmas" would also be appropriate!!

So with Family-mas getting ever closer it is time to start considering what gifts the children and various other family members, will be receiving. I am struggling alot with this. It is time to start writing lists, of things needed and wanted to try and work out an appropriate path to take.
Finances are not great either so it will be a struggle to get anything done early as we will need to wait on other things until the last pay before the day!!

October 15, 2010

Creativity and Craft

I would love to claim sole responsibility, for the product featured in this post and although I did make it from measuring to drawing pattern to finished, I did not create the basic shape of the pattern without some inspiration in the way of a tute from here. The tute gave me the basic idea and I went from there, I can't find the exact thread again, but I am not a member and could view it so you could try a search for "Wrap Jumper Top"

This is actually a wrap around button up top for my daughter, I don't have measurements, it is about a size 1, I can measure the pattern if anyone wants me too.

This is the pattern I made up, without the seam allowance, You put the straight edge on the fold of your material and cut around it allowing room for seams.



I cut out 1 piece in each fabric of choice...

Then put right sides together pin around the edges, and sew leaving an opening for turning, I left the straight edge that is to become the top front of the top, right in the centre of this pic.


I used an overlocker to sew around the inside as I thought it would be easier than trimming the seams down later so that turning it right way out would look flat and more professional. I did not realise at that stage how difficult it was to sew curves with an overlocker, so after a steady but SLOW pace I managed to get around the whole thing, it probably does not help that the Husky lock in question is OLD, and a little worn out ;)

Turn your fabrics right side out,


Fold the unsewn edges in, sew along the opening, add some button holes and some buttons and you are done.



Close up of the buttons and buttonholes, this was my first ever attempt at button holes and I am very happy with the result, but they could be a bit neater. My intention was to make it reversible but in the interest of it looking neat I don't think that will happen.


And the model for whom the top was sewn :)



Don't mind the daggy nappy!

Things I would do differently....

1. I will do the next some with the sewing machine and trim it, or try a more up to date overlocker, the cutter on the one I used doesn't do its job quite right....

2. Try and get the button holes neater

3. Sew buttons on both sides of straps, through only the top layer of fabric!

October 13, 2010

Creativity - A Blessingway Flag/Quilt Square...

How do I start? It all started with a gorgeous pregnant woman, Lauren, put it out there that she would like contribution for her blessingway, to give her courage and support through the final stage of her pregnancy and birth. As creativity strikes her alot it was requested that we use a red theme so that it can be made up into a beautiful quilt for her and her family to treasure in the years to come.

Of course I jumped at the opportunity to support another mother through her journey and as such the research began, I decided on a goddess being 'born' from a lotus flower.
Lotus flowers are a symbolism for opening your mind, heart, and body to receive the new life that is coming forth. The opening of the cervix and vagina, as you give birth.
The goddess to provide strength and support throughout the process.

I hit google images with those thoughts in mind and found these images.

The images and the fabric square Lauren posted to me to use.

Next I did a search through my fabric stash (a rather small one I might add) to find the fabrics I could use.
The design I ended up with in the beginning stages of being sewn
The finished product, I am very happy with the result, I hope Lauren is too :)
Close up of it to see a bit more detail :)

October 8, 2010

The Missing Egg Mystery...

So we where collecting 6 eggs a day from 10 chickens, 2 of which we know are not currently laying, then one day there is none.... OK not to uncommon being that sometimes it may take them a little longer to make an egg. The next day there are 3, then 2... hrm ok maybe they have really slowed back. What have I done to cause this? Looks around the chook pen expectantly Hazzah! One egg on the ground! On occasion they just randomly drop an egg somewhere. But that is still only 3.... then I have a discovery.....





Can you see the little white specs?


Getting closer now and you can definately see them here...


Apparently the best place to lay is in the centre of a man fern in the chook pen.....
16 hard discover eggs....

I hope you enjoy then Mama Possum and Family

October 6, 2010

The Soup :D

Ok so before I get into the nitty gritty of the soup.... This is the pride and joy of my kitchen... hopefully to be upgraded in a few years to a better version!

I love my combustion stove, it does cooking, heating and hot water... and you rarely have to clean it because everything just burns off anyway! lol.





And now for the soup..... I am calling it Pumpkin Soup, it tastes great and I am utterly surprised by how it turned out :)

Ingredients:

1 carrot
2 medium Butternut Pumpkins
1 onion
2 parsnips
2-3 celery sticks
1 small swede
6 small round radishes
2 L Chicken Stock
Handful fresh Coriander

All the vegies where diced into approx. 1cm pieces.

Throw some butter in the pot and add in the onion, fry off with a sprinkle of each -
Ground: Garam Masala, Cumin, Cinnamon, Paprika, Lemon Pepper, Garlic powder (or spices/herbs of your choice)

Throw in all the vegies except coriander, stir well cook for 5 minutes of so before adding the 2L stock.



Cook for about 3 hours (on my stove) until vegies are soft!
This is the coriander which I added about 2 minutes before blending


Blended soup

Fresh bread rising to go with the soup, cooked in the electric oven because my stove's oven does not reach a high temperature (reason 1 for upgrade)


And the finished product, served with Fresh Parmesan cheese. I would have added a little cream too but we had none :) It is very sweet soup and delicious :)

October 4, 2010

Putting the pieces back together

So after the last post things are looking nicer around here.

We have the beginnings of car situation sorted, Hubby is looking at a car sometime this week, just a cheap daily for him to go to work in until we can save up and get a new car.

The tractor is on it's way to being repaired, thanks alot to a friend who helped to (or rather did) jack it up, pull it to pieces find the problem and compiled a solution...

Hubby helped a friend of his out with Bee's on Saturday and was stung on the hand, and after a mild reaction found himself rather useless in the tractor and wood cutting stakes when our friends came out to help yesterday! But we have enough wood for a week or so in the stove and as the weather warms that is all that is needed :)

The work drama's are averted (for now).

And we are on a mission to restore our finances so that we are not set back too far in our plans.

Homestead:

Well lets just say... refer to previous post!!!

Emotional Front:

I am feeling much more positive and ready to face the world... or rather the household, because as yet my world can not extend past the boundaries of where I can walk with 2 small children in tow :)

Realisations

I have come to realise that the title of this blog is a bit out of place.
Everything we do in life is a journey to learning about something.
So ultimately this blog could be titled "A Journey through Life" and still have the same basic fundamentals.

So here I am taking a journey, everyday spent with (or without) my children allows me to learn more about them, myself, my husband and our family dynamic.

I am not taking anywhere near the amount of photographs I want, I have a whole stage of my life that I am missing photo's from, I have photo's of our land, not all of it mind you! I have photo's of my children, I have photo's of pets. I am missing photo's of the other aspect of our lives, the social aspect, I am missing photo's of friends, of my children playing with their friends, or me and my husband talking/working/playing with our friends...

That is a BIG thing to be missing, so I am going to work at taking the small camera with me EVERYWHERE I go so that I can work on remedying this situation.

Children:

Little J, has recently cut her first 4 molars, she seems to have a bit more trouble with these teeth, we had a day or cuddly time with a slight fever on and off.

K, enjoyed a play date yesterday with some friends.

I, seems to have the most news, in the school holidays we had her eyes tested after she complained of "fuzzy eyes" at school. It appears that she is long sighted, and she now has reading/writing/watching glasses, which she adores!!
We got a purple pair for home and a yellow/green pair for school.

Adults:

Both hubby and I had a great time yesterday, me chatting randomly with a friend, while hubby tried valiantly to be useful, working on the wood with another friend. He was stung by a bee on Saturday and while only having a mild reaction, his hand swelled enough to make it difficult to do much of anything. When you can not clasp your hand tightly it is hard to use a chainsaw/axe. Not to mention the heat and pain that is caused when you get swelling like that!

September 23, 2010

And so it came to pass...

That all the children of the world held their breath and waited for everything to fall apart.

Right, so now that everything has fallen apart maybe I should elaborate somewhat.


We have now only got 1 chicken, the few days after the first died the other chick for the same egg batch died. Then a few days ago I found one of the bigger chicks drown in the big drum of water that I thought it could get too.
The drum is now gone, a simple solution which I should have done a while ago and didn't.

We are having work drama's with hubby's work and car dramas with hubby's car.
We have a tractor that the wheel fell off, literally broke off!!
We have enough wood to last me a day and a half in the stove, and nothing more.

So in the pipeworks:

We have friends coming on the weekend to help with wood cutting and gathering, and the possibility of fixing the tractor.
I have the car organised to be looked at on monday, and as the mechanic is moving to NSW next week... yes my mechanic is moving *cry*... He will only be having a look and advising me on what we should do with the car. So we will see what that leaves us with.
The work drama is nothing I can fix I just have to wait until they do what they are supposed to!


From the Homestead:

We have fixed the backyard (the smaller one) so that the dogs can not get in any more.
We are yet to fence the larger area to keep the dogs out of that but it will need to be done soon.
We have all the materials for the dog pen to be built but it seems to be getting no where in a hurry so that will hopefully be looked at on saturday morning and with any luck completed by saturday night.

The chooks keep getting out to find more food in the lush green grass outside their pen, which wouldn't bother me except that the dogs manage to find them and go into 'food' mode.
We need to change their litter on the floor of the shed and get them new stuff, we have nothing to replace the old litter with at this point!
They need lice dusting, worming and oil treatment for scaly mite.
Again we have nothing I need to do that with yet.

There needs to be a plan set in place for the location on the permanent chook house and runs.
along with so many other things.

I still haven't even done the 1 garden bed that I have available to me to do for various reasons and now that it is coming into summer Hubby thinks we will not have enough water to have even 1 garden bed kept well.


From the emotional front:
I feel like hell in all maners and am just over dealing with it.

September 10, 2010

Matters of the Heart

My Son Turned 3....

3 years ago yesterday I gave birth to my son at home, present at his were 2 midwives, my mother, My Husband and my (then) 5 year old Daughter.
It started something wonderful.
I brought him to the world in a matter of hours (3.5? total, need to look it up again) without drugs, interventions (aside from a doppler) or random heads popping into my loungeroom to check out what was going on.
I used my power to bring my son to me in the most blissful natural way you could imagine.

I followed that up a year and a half later, by bringing my second daughter earthside without any medical 'help' what so ever! I freebirthed in my home, with my husband and my mother the only other people present.

But, Back to the matter at hand, not the crazy homebirther who doesn't care about her children!

My son had his first birthday, as requested by him in all my prep work he was to have a dog cake. The day before his birthday he changed his mind, as 3 year olds do, and requested a Helicopter cake.

So a helicopter cake it is..... was







He had a wonderful day, with wonderful presents...
Poppy fixed the sand box and filled it with sand



Aunty A bought him a scooter and some clothes

Aunty E bought him a box of cars, for the sand pit, and some clothes



Nanny K bought clothes and a wiggles book

Nanny J bought a Tinyrannosaurus book and a PS2 Game with matching pairs and puzzles

Big Sister bought a Totem Tennis set, and Mum, Dad, and little sister got him an Art easel, with a Chalk board, Whiteboard, Felt board, Magnetic board and clip board, it also has a shelf with paint pots.



Aunty S was not able to make it as she is sick :(

We had a lovely day.

Now today is spent with no power as there are works going on 'somewhere' luckily I have a fully charged laptop battery to type this post out and put it on the blog when power is restored with the photo's.

We are all rather bored as the weather is not all that great either.

Now the Question is What to do next....

And a few days since typing this I am only just posting it now...
The kids did some painting outside under the verandah, and I didn't do a great deal!

Matters of the Hearth...

Chickens.

We got another chicken yesterday when my son turned 3 (more on that in the next post)
Then again this morning chicken number 4 had hatched, so we now have 2 hens with 2 babies each.

Hen A - was moved to a box outside, but still in the chicken coop, when she got broody

Seen here with her 2 babies (just hatched)



She was moved to ensure the comfort of the other Hens in laying so we could still collect some eggs.

Then came:
Hen B - Went boody in the same nesting spot we moved Hen A from about 2 weeks after we moved her.

She went broody sitting on 1 egg, the next day had 2, and eventually she ended up with 8, only 2 hatched.

Hen B with her 2 lovely chicks.



In the mean time all the other chooks where laying under Hen A, so when she had 13 eggs I finally got sick of all the eggs being laid there and I marked them all with a texta so I could collect eggs daily that where unmarked.
A week or so ago marked eggs started to go missing, we suspected Rats but have since learned that older eggs explode under the Hen and she will 'clean up' the mess.
We were starting to come to the conclusion that we would get no chickens from Hen A as she had been sitting 2 weeks longer than Hen B and Hen B's chicks are a week old, being hatched on the first day of spring.
Now, a week later, Hen A has her own 2 chickens, Hen B had abandoned her eggs a few days ago so I removed them, Hen A is still quite protective of her eggs so obviously she still wants to try and hatch some more.
They will stay with her until i am happy that she has abandoned them then they will be removed.
We have been collecting 3-4 eggs daily from the remaining 8 Hens that are not mothers.

The Hens and our Rooster (we call him Rooter, original huh! lol), having a feed of vegie scraps, missing are mum and bubs A...(pictured above)



and Blue hen here, sitting to lay...




A few days since I wrote this also, the afternoon of the day this was written we lost the little yellow chick from Hen A.
So only 3 chicks now.

September 6, 2010

The little man's Journey to 3

So the little man turns 3 years old tomorrow, this post is about him and the journey he is taking.

At the moment he is still struggling to find his place in the family dynamic, he seems to find it hard to find a balance, but i guess going from one side to the other is the juggling act he needs to follow to find that balance.

He has spent a bit of this morning playing outside, and now he is crying for a playstation game which I am not giving him and then he wants all the things that I can not possibly give to him today. Such as going for a drive in the car... which we do not have!

I can only assume that there is something underlying going on but I can not figure out what it is.

He has wanted his birthday to happen for a few months because the last 3 months are the families busiest months of the year regarding birthdays.

He has requested a chocolate dog cake with 1 candle and lollies.
He will have that request.

He is such a stunning little man to be the mother of and much more of a learning curve for me than his sister was, he is more affectionate, trying, and boisterous than she ever was.

I love you little man happy birthday for tomorrow.

September 2, 2010

Blessing The Way

Yesterday I had the pleasure of joining with 3 other lovely women to bless the way for our gorgeous friend to bring her new Babe into the world.
It was the perfect day for it, the first day of spring. There was already a wonderful energy around.
The gifts we bestowed on our friend offering her love and protection.

gifts

The cards read like this:

Release your Fears

Let the Birth of the coming child be easy.
Keep all fear and negativity far from me.

Whenever you feel fear or dread of the coming birth,
Open the bag and breathe your fears gently into it.
The crystals will absorb your fears and negative thoughts
Offering you Strength, Protection and Love in it's place.

After the birth, cleanse crystals under a full moon.
It is beneficial to gift the crystals out
or return them to Nature.

AND

Maternal Nature

To assist throughout pregnancy and birth,
keep this pouch near you to gain the benefits of the crystals within.

There are 5 crystals in this bag and a definition of what each mean in the card also.
________________________________________


The Quilt, Hand Crafted by me, both drawn and sewn.
Incorporates the spell work I did for her to give her the strength of conviction I know is inside her to hold her own, surrender to her power and bring her babe to earth in the most blissful, radiant and natural way.

The reading I wrote to go with the Quilt to remind her of where she stands and that we will stand with her.

We honour the Mother Goddess in you.
You are part of the never ending cycle of life, death and rebirth.
You are another link in the chain between those who have been and those yet to come.
You are Strength, power, love and compassion.
You will birth with all the energy that has been before you
and offer your energy to the flood for all that follow.
We will hold you up, supporting your needs, offering guidance and encouragement.
We stand with you, ever in your presence.

Blessed Be.


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Flags came from near and far to empower her journey.

and the last of the flags
close up flags
more flags

Henna as a combined effort, a design my friend created for her belly, started on by another friend while I tried to sort out my flag, (the last one, with the blue flower) and then finished with a few small improvisations by me.

henna belly again

The beautiful Goddess in Question donning her Henna and the
necklace with beads from far and wide...

in all her glory

Close up of the necklace.

necklace

The Binding of wrists, to show that we are all connected to her journey, we will all cut bands when we hear of her labour or birth, to signify the end of one journey and the beginning of another.

wrist binding

To finish the day I arrived to collect my children to be told that a goat had given birth to twin girls an hour or 2 before hand. I got home to find 2 freshie chickens had hatched, and this gorgeous Sunset...

sunset from my house 1/9/2010