Slowly but surely

Its gloomy outside and my body feels the same. I am sick with a cold and I feel downright miserable! Normally a cold only lingers with me for a couple of days, but this one is hanging around and ruining my days. I am just happy to get through the last few days knowing that the kidlets are fed and safe - thats about all I feel I can manage.... I am managing to get a few other things done here and there, but in no hurry at all. Just plodding along as my body and mind allows. I know that soon I will recover and all will still be waiting for me.

New seeds in.

Daisy-Jago.

Rosie.

Sally.

 We have welcomed more furry and feathered friends to our family with Daisy-Jago, a silver Tabby rescue kitten and Sally (white wyandotte) and Rosie (pencil wyandotte) the last of our chickens, bringing our tally to 5 girls out the back. I think that will be enough for a little while, although we do have hopes of adding more - eventually, to our beach farm.

Potatoes taking off.

Self seeded cherry tomatoes.

Flowering Rosella.

 I tried to get a few things done in the garden last week and managed to get some new seeds in and pull out some older, non productive plants - plus a few weeds and now the rain has come so everything is getting a nice water. I also bought some new seeds online and look forward to receiving them with some unusual heirloom seeds in the mix. I have been buying more vegies lately than I care to think about, which means I clearly haven't got the consistency thing going in my garden. Something I am sure will come and be learned with time. I often wish I had more space to grow things like an avocado and mango tree......but then I look over at the beach and remember why I am so grateful for where we live now.

One of 6 Dragon fruits.

My oldest Kidlet loves drawing and colouring.

Seeds saved and ready to be stored.

Bone broth and a few delights from the garden ready to make more Eggplant Kasundi.

 There are only 2 more weeks until the school holidays and I am so looking forward to them. This last term has been and whirlwind adjustment for us all and after the tease of the Easter long weekend I cant wait for more hanging out with the wee ones and slow mornings and cruisey days. We plan to camp for the second week of the school holidays, so I know there will be a whole lot of not much happening then. I will have to find a sitter for Ruby and Daisy as we are camping in National Park and these babies wont be able to join us. Well I am going to try and get a couple of jobs done now so take care and talk soon. x

Making room for more family

We are adding to our family and I'd like to introduce Ruby Ninja. At 9 weeks old, our little Jack Russell (JR) is an absolute pocket rocket - while she's not napping. She is completely adored already and will have a blast growing up with the wee ones. We chose a JR as they are apparently good little hunters and with us living so close to rainforest and the beach we get regular visits from bush rats and the like. So hoping little Rubz will learn to scare them off! 

The gorgeous Ruby Ninja

Rubz not sure about the girls out back, Jessie keeps a close eye on her.

Lottie and Maisie just starting to mingle with Jessie. Tonight they will all sleep together for the first time.

Jessie keeping guard.

The very large goanna that attacked Trixie (RIP)

It has been quite a traumatic couple of weeks recently for my beautiful chookies. We have had an onslaught from the goanna's. The one pictured attacked our big black beauty Trixie and unfortunately she didn't survive and now rests under the lime tree and will be remembered. The very next day another one, not quite as big attacked the babies, luckily I was there very quickly and managed to rescue Lottie, but not before she suffered some injuries. I managed to help her heal with some iodine spray and she has come full circle and going about her daily business as usual. We borrowed our sister's dog to come and stay with us for a week to help scare the goanna's away as they were coming daily (a few different ones each day) and I was stressing to the max! Thankfully it seemed that Bounty did her job and we haven't seen another goanna since. I know they will probably come back and now the weather is cooling too so they hibernate. Hopefully Ruby will have a crack at scaring them off next summer.

Teeny tiny rosella's on their tiny bushes.

Our birdseye chili.

Another chili, not sure of the name tho.....

Jalepeno chili's

The garden needs some love! I have been busy elsewhere, but things are still happily coming along. I have about 15 pumpkins about the place and the vine just wants to keep taking over everything. I have to continuously wrap it back over itself. There are about 7 different types of chili's growing around the place, not sure of all the types as some were given to us and we saved the seeds from the original chili. We love chili and find most often a meal seems lacking if it missing a bit of spice. The kidlets can handle a bit too. My paw paw tree has flourished this year. Last year they were wonky and small, now they are abundant and large. I love paw paw, would have to be one of my fave fruits! I really need to get some more seeds in the ground/pots and I will make that a must do for the week.

An abundance of paw paw's coming through this year.

Potatoes growing nicely in old washing basket.

Pigeon Pea growing nuts among the pumpkins.

More than half of our clothes are going to find a new home.

Finally we have started to sort out all our stuff (crap!) and by golly we have so much! I have spent the best part of the last 2 weeks sorting, selling, giving away clothes and shoes and toys and exercise equipment and pretty much anything else I can get my hands on. I am over it! So much stuff has just sat stored under our house (attracting you know what) and has not been touched in years. So its time to say good bye. Hubby and I even went through our wardrobes and were ruthless, getting rid of over half of what was in there. I would wear stuff I didn't really like just because it was there and I felt that I should otherwise it would be wasted.....no more. I do regular washing so I will always have clean clothes and so I have decided to just keep the things I really like and feel most comfortable in. Quite invigorating and addicting. I have gone a bit off the edge now though and look at everything with the evil eye wondering if we really need it or not.....will keep you updated and talk soon x

Fitness in my life

Not sure if anyone knows, but in between all my gardening, cooking and simple living I also love to keep fit. As I am getting fitter (since having babies) and as my babies get older, I am looking forward to doing some races again. BC (before children) I used to dabble in triathlons and pretty much any sport that was offered my way, so I have had a lot of stuff just sitting in the back of the cupboard or in storage waiting for the miraculous day that it would find itself in use again. Such things include my touch footy shoes (which are quite hard and I could probably do with a new pair for next summer season), my tri gear and my bike. Just a week or so ago hubby put the idea in my head about competing in the upcoming Camden Haven triathlon and just doing the sprint distance to get started. So I dug out the bike and got about checking to see if it was in any order to ride again - well hubby did for me. Sure enough he got it back up and on the go and I had my first session back on the bike on Monday and I will do another one today as I missed my run this morning because I rolled my ankle on the weekend at Parkrun. Soon enough I'll be wanting more, but for now time permits just little bits here and there and with that I am quite happy.

My bike and shoes that haven't seen the light of day for quite a few years!

Self seeding cherry tomatoes and sunflowers popping up everywhere in my garden!

Rosella's growing up.

My single carrot that is trying to grow has pretty much been eaten back by an unknown culprit!

My garden is full of wealth to our family.

On my windowsill.

Jessie and Trixie not pleased about the new kids on the block. 

Lottie and Maisie very curious about their new surroundings.

I have not been so busy in the garden as I have mentioned previously in my blogs, February was just too hot. And now hubby and I have pulled everything out from our storage under the house to sort and hopefully get rid of heaps of stuff. So now all this 'stuff' is in the way of my gardening table and procrastination is getting the better of me. I cant decide whether to just move it all out of the way or actually sort it and put away/do away with it properly. Either way its not a quick job - hence my procrastination. Although hubby also wants it to get a wiggle on (he would do it but I wont let him...)as he is about to brew another batch of his delightful beer. So far we have managed to sell a lot of the bigger items like our old personal training and boot camp gear. It was so nice to see it go after holding onto for all these years wondering if we would or should ever use it again. Hubby took the hard line and I finally came on board. It actually does feel nice to clear all this clutter out of our lives. So each day I spend about an hour just getting through what I can, slowly watching that space come back to us. Hopefully sooner than later though.

Salvia of somekind flowering - I think.....the plant was given to me and I forget what she called it.

Pickings from the garden for dinner one night.

White squash adorning our plates now.

An attempt at growing potatoes in baskets with elaborate covering to keep the chookies out!

Okra growing nicely thanks to Bridget for seed sharing.

Lots of pumpkins coming along, this one I pollinated today.

Carrot tacos da bomb for dinner. Seriously delicious.

 I also gave blood on the weekend and have been quite tired ever since. So I have been taking a lot of self convincing ever since to keep doing things. Besides the constant reminder of everything around me telling me what I need to do yet, I also have my own inability to sit still. I have never been much of a day napper, so unless I am about to fall off my feet I keep plodding along. Then I get the guilt's a bit when I have my wee ones asking me to play Lego with them (all the time) or play an imaginary game of some sort or anything else and I often say "just wait, mummy has to do her jobs". I do spend many occasions throughout the day playing with them for short bursts, they dont understand that I cant play all day. Breaks my heart. But then I hope that I am teaching them in some way the other factors of life that will become part of them too one day. Any hoo, I am off to do a wind-trainer session on my bike while bubby is sleeping, talk soon. x

In the kitchen

Its been too hot outside this last week to do much in the garden, so I have spent a bit more time in the kitchen instead, cooking up a few different things here and there. Trying out some new arvo snacks for the kids and getting a bit of a ferment on! So I thought I would just share a couple of the recipes I have used this week in case anyone is interested. Firstly I made Eggplant Kasundi. I kinda followed this recipe from Cityhippyfarmgirl with a few changes. This is a delish relish kinda thingy. Goes nice with eggs, steaks, sausages (thats all I've tried it with so far, but you get the gist).

Eggplant Kasundi

• 1kg eggplants
• 400g tomatoes
• 3 medium onions
• 5 cloves of garlic
• 1 knob of fresh ginger
• 2 tbsp mustard powder
• 2 tbsp cumin
• 2 tbsp coriander
• 6 tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup honey
• 100ml vinegar
• 100ml white wine vinegar
• 50ml balsamic vinegar
• 3 tsp salt

In a large pot add the ginger, garlic, onion and oil. Cook it up, stirring continuously over a medium heat, add your spices and continue to stir for a couple of minutes. Add diced eggplants and diced fresh tomatoes. Continue stirring intermittently, pop the lid on and let the mixture cook down a little further, (you want the eggplant to be soft and cooked through.) 

Add the apple vinegar's, honey and salt, continue cooking (stirring occasionally) over a low heat for approximately 1 hour or until mixture thickens and comes together. Pour hot mixture into sterilised jars. Store in the fridge or water bath to store for longer.

Eggplant Kasundi.

As some of you saw on my facebook page I also made a fresh batch of Kombucha. These are the different measurements I use up to 6 litres.

1L
70-90g sugar
1-2 tea bags
50-100ml previous kombucha 'juice'

2L
140-180g sugar
2-4 tea bags
100-200ml previous kombucha 'juice'

3L
210-270g sugar
3-6 tea bags
150-300ml previous kombucha 'juice'

4L
280-360g sugar
4-8 tea bags
200-400ml previous kombucha 'juice'

5L
350-450g sugar
5-10 tea bags
300-500ml previous kombucha 'juice'

6L
440-540g sugar
6-12 tea bags
400-600ml previous kombucha 'juice'

My Kombucha scoby (symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast) about to go into its fresh batch of tea.

So, firstly you boil 1L of filtered (dont use plain tap water, the chlorine in it will kill the scoby mother!) and pour into a glass jug with the sugar and tea bags. Stir until sugar is dissolved and let the tea brew until the liquid is room temperature or the same as the scoby. You must make sure they are both at the same temp otherwise the excess heat will kill the scoby as well. Pour liquid into a large glass jar (this really should be glass and definitely not any kind of aluminium or steel as this will effect it and again kill it...Sounds pretty hectic, huh?) - or whatever size you are using and fill with more filtered water. Add the scoby and extra kombucha 'juice'. Cover with a breathable cloth and secure with a rubber band and set aside where it wont be disturbed for as long as your taste desires. I leave mine for 2 weeks to develop a lovely carbonated taste. Be careful not to leave for too long as it will start to turn to vinegar. Dont worry about the sugar content, this is what the scoby feeds on, so by the time you drink it, all the sugar will be 'consumed' by the scoby and minimal if any by you. Then you are left with a delicious fermented probiotic drink that can aid your health in many ways. Check out these pages if you are interested in reading more.

Food Renegade - Kombucha health benefits
Wellness Mama - the Benefits of Kombucha

Apple Cider Vinegar day 1.

And finally I have started to make my first batch of apple cider vinegar. This may sound grose, but I keep the kids half eaten apples, give them a rinse then chop them up and put into a jar. I add the apples to about 3/4 full then top with filtered water. For each cup of water I add a table spoon of sugar. Make sure the sugar dissolves (I gave a good few shakes with a lid on), cover with a breathable cloth and secure with a rubber band. Leave to sit on the bench for a couple of weeks, it should 'grow' a mother on top - this is great, it means its working.  Drain of the liquid (keep it, discard the apple bits) and leave again for another 2-4 weeks until it has a lovely vinegar smell. This can then be stored indefinitely but I am sure it will be used up pretty quickly. 

Hope you all try one of these or all of them, let me know how you go. Talk soon. x

Housewife and happy

Now that our daily routines are starting to work themselves out so too is my daily routine. However I do still manage to get side tacked very easily, so I sought out some daily and monthly cleaning routines to see if it helps me. Today hubby gets home and comments first thing about how tidy the house is looking. I followed a cleaning routine from start to finish and the results were happy housewife alright! I managed to get the house looking spic and span in no time. So I have stuck the routines up to see if its something I can maintain and if ultimately it works. I got my routines for daily cleaning here and monthly cleaning here. I'll have to adjust and add some tasks here and there, but it pretty much covers everything. So along with all that I also whipped up a few quick cleaning products that are nice and safe to use around my family as well as some more of my favourite homemade laundry liquid.

Dragon fruit flower, next to see if it fruits. Fingers crossed.

Ginger starting to look like its getting ready for harvest.

German Pickling cucumbers that just seem to grow like crazy - everywhere. Very hardy.

My basket bounty - just a regular day,

Red Mignonette Lettuce seeds I saved.

The garden just keeps on keeping on. Admittedly not as much seems to be happening at the moment. Everything seems to be relaxing a bit for the next growing season. My seedlings got a little feed of seasol and have sprung new leaves so they seem a bit happier. I wonder though if they were a little stressed and perhaps now wont be so plentiful - live and learn I guess. Our dragon fruit has set of a single flower again this year, so hopefully it will soon follow up with a beautiful fruit. I do wish I could grow more fruit here. we certainly go through it, though the main fruit consumption does not seem to grow so well in this area. I sometimes feel we are in the worst spot for fruit growing being not quite hot enough for tropical fruit and not quite cold enough for the well cold kinda fruits. I have a nice bunch of paw paw's coming on, but the tree doesn't seem to get enough sun during the fruit ripening stage so takes forever and then the possums get to them before me anyway! In saying all of this though, I am going to start adding a fruit tree collection just to see if I can grow them. They will all live in pots so that I can move them around, but I guess they wont get that big - which is OK as I dont really have the room anyway.

Making Laundry liquid.

My favourite way to roast a chicken.

Tortillas for dinner tonight.

Local Honey we buy, made/collected at a High School near Hubby's work.

Hubby's latest obsession - He will guest post soon too, so keep your eye out.

Homework.

Puzzles with my boy.

Mostly I have been spending my days blissfully getting around my home, taking the kids off to school and other lessons as needed. The comfort of my own place appeals to me so much, that I often feel I could just stay home and keep myself happily occupied for days and days. I used to feel that I had to be out socialising but the stress of keeping that up just wore me out and now I quite contentedly just do what I want when I want and we all seem so much happier for it. The kidlets have developed a lot more independence and desire to find things to do for themselves and if they make a mess or break something its not so bad, its our place after all. Time to go and bake some school muffins, talk soon. x