Pressure and pleasure.

The days are getting longer now that daylight savings has started and while that’s great for all the extra ‘things’ I need to get done it also seems to mean the wee ones go to bed later. So not sure if the extra time is making any difference… First day back at school last week for the 2 bigger bubs so I thought an early night would be in need, but no. While they were tucked in early they still managed to play in hysterics for the next hour before they finally seemed to nod off. I have had all these jobs saved for when they go to bed but not once have a managed to get any of them done yet at night. They are still waiting for me in the morning and I am trying to find the time in the day to get them done. I spent the good part of 3 hours scrubbing out the bathroom the other day and still haven’t quite finished. We pulled the vanity out to replace with a new one and I thought it a good opportunity to give a thorough clean before the new one went in. I cleared everything out and scrubbed away. Still haven’t finished the floors (scrub the grout mostly) which I know right now it is something I should do today to tick it off. I am known for being a bit of a procrastinator so I will be surprised with myself if I actually manage to do this! No pressure…. Talking of pressure, speaking with hubby the other night we got into discussion about our training/exercise routines. Now since the kidlets have come into our lives, exercise has really taken a back seat for me. I used to be an everyday kinda girl and good at it too. I love to compete and really challenge myself. I still have it, but not as much as I’d like. Hubby is always very supportive of me doing whatever training I want but I always have the ‘excuse’ of the kids and he mostly seems confused by this. By no fault of anyone I have placed this pressure on myself. I am a stay at home mum and this is my ‘job’. No matter what fun and personal stuff is out there I always – always feel that my first responsibility is at home and to make sure the washing is folded and put away and the bathroom is scrubbed and the kitchen is sparkling, the veggie garden is growing and producing all our amazing food. And you know what, it is never finished – not for me anyway and the pressure I have placed on myself that I haven’t completed my work makes it very hard to move onto the other things in life that I also enjoy. I occasionally manage to do some other things I enjoy other than ‘housework’ but boy do I feel guilty for it every time!! I need to work on letting myself do things for myself without the guilt. I can tell myself this now, but whether I can actually do it, well, let’s see. Thankfully I have a very supportive man in my life and even though we often disagree on many things somehow we always seem to come around to the same place in the end. This personal pressure has never really been understood by either of us for years but finally I think we have had a breakthrough and hopefully things are going to improve. 

On my window sill... attempting to propagate rosemary and waiting for my pineapple top to sprout some roots.

Beetroot Relish.

Turmeric Paste for Golden Milk.

An egg from each of my girls.

The best book I have read in a while.

Bunches of Kale on my bench.

Fluro orange pumpkin from my garden.

The beetroots that turned into relish.

The view from my living room today.

 Now onto some lighter stuff. As the days get longer so are they warming up. The garden has lots of new beautiful shoots everywhere and pretty flowers attracting all those beneficial bugs to help my garden grow. I had a total failure with a round of seeds and was absolutely gutted as I wasted some precious heirloom varieties that were my only ones. I didn’t use the right potting mix for the seeds to grow and thought I would feed them seasol instead. Well that is absolutely what you don’t do. Apparently little baby seeds hate seasol and it is not a good substitute to use with plain potting mix. I have tipped all the seeds that were still in the pots into a bigger pot with all the nourishing soils and food they need and maybe just maybe the ones that were still kind of in tact will grow. I have plenty of garden beds ready for the new plants to go in and still pulling heaps of the winter stuff out as we go, feeding the family with this amazing organic and fresh food. I have reduced my spending on store bought veggies again as my garden provides pretty much our entire vegetable requirements. I spent last weekend planting another round of seeds and when I look at them all in their little pots I wonder if I have enough space to put them all. I have had problems trying to make sure I get every last little seedling a home and end up over crowding that particular variety. Something else I need to adjust in the garden this season. It is nice to have an abundance of food as I love to give it away too, but I am hoping this year I can be a bit more conservative on the amount I plant out. One other thing I’d like to mention, not sure if its on the upside or not, but growing all this amazing not genetically modified goodness that self seeds or ends up in the compost also continually pops up in the garden everywhere! I am 'weeding' out perfectly good stuff it feels. Mostly tomatoes and pumpkin I think, there are soooo many! Hard going isn't it.....

Cauliflower flowering.

An heirloom variety of Capsicum, not sure what if anyone can tell me.

Bees visiting my calendula.

Ruby the poser.

Rhubarb gifted from my mum.

Radish setting seed.

Broccoli in flower.

The jungle up the side of my garden. I pick from here everyday!

My second batch of seeds doing better.

In the kitchen I have been a bit on the slack side, probably because I am not over abundant in food from the garden yet and trying to figure out what to do with it all, but I am managing to whip up some delights. A hit was my turmeric-golden milk paste. I ending up selling some small bottles to a few friends that follow me on facebook (you too can here if you dont already). I still have heaps of turmeric so should do another batch soon. I also had heaps of beetroots waiting for me so I made up some delicious relish and gave some to my sweet neighbour too. I need to do some baking but lately the kids seem uninterested in what I make so it almost goes to waste. So frustrating when the wee ones will eat it one week but not the next. Keeping it exciting you might say....I sometimes think ordinary will do me just fine, haha. Anyway, the littlest kidlet fell asleep on the couch, so I am going to try and get as much as I can get done while she sleeps, talk soon C x