Things I know because I'm a girl... #2

I know that Libra are now ripping me off in the trivia stakes, having taken to being more environmentally friendly using the plastic wrapping of their pads as adhesive covers and using only a third of the paper adhesive strip they used to use... Yay Environment! Boo Trivia!

1.   

I already knew that snails have teeth - really, any gardener worth their salt would realise that!

This list was inspired by Kindest Wishes, AJ

Things I love... #4

I wish I had the patience to persist with a new hobby; in particular I'd love to be able to sew.

Look at all these wonderful fabrics I could play with...

Helicopter Grey

Tegan Rose Wrens Red on Natural Hemp Cotton

Zanzabelle Green

Woodland Chain Blue Organic Cotton

Rose Charcoal

Kangaroo Paw Chalk

Karaka

Balloons Over Paris Grey

Trefle Mushrooms Black

Alice in Wonderland

Free as a Bird Blue

Ooh La La Red

These fabrics and many more (I feel another list of favourites coming up) are available from Duckcloth.

This list was inspired by range of fabrics seen at BHG Live (I told you it wasn't ALL bad!)

Kindest Wishes,
AJ

Something Other Than an Apple for the Teacher?

I love buying gifts for people and often receive comments such as "oh, that's exactly what I wanted/needed?" "How did you know I liked that particular piece?" or "How did you know I even liked that?!"

Some people are of course, notoriously hard to buy for, not the ones who "have everything" but the ones you don't feel you know well enough to personalise a gift for. Such as your child's teacher or coach. I tend to avoid commercialised products such as mugs, coasters, key rings and photo frames (bearing slogans like "Best Teacher" or "World's Greatest Coach") as I can't imagine what anyone would do with 20+ of those things to add to their home/office every year; year in, year out. I have enough trouble working out what to do with the Mum and Dad ones which are inevitably chosen for us by our children every Mothers Day, Fathers Day, Birthday and Christmas!

Try to think outside the box. Ask your child/ren what their teacher/s like; their favourite colour, favourite animal, what sort of jewellery they wear, their hobbies. These things might be be apparent in their teaching methods (for example a primary school teacher who is creative and enjoys creative pursuits is likely to provide a wider creative arts curriculum, one who is musical might use song or rhythm more often in her class) or in their appearance (a favourite, often worn colour, chunky or understated jewellery) or may have been brought up in classroom conversation.

This year R's (year 5) teacher was also one of their school choir leaders therefore we know she's musical, the children also seem to complete new art projects often and Mrs C also recently came back from an overseas holiday (where she went escapes me at the moment!) Therefore I could assume that a gift to suit these traits might be a little outside the box and personalised, rather than a generic "teacher gift".

Wooden Tambourine ($25.00 Three Worlds)

30cm Baby Djembe ($39.95 Three Worlds)

 

Present some art materials in a gift basket or box:

Chromacryl Acrylic Paint ($3.50 75mL tube Eckersley's)

Micador Metallic Pencils - Tin of 24 ($19.85 Eckersley's)

Primary Art - Teachers' Resource ($52.95ea RIC Publications)

This list was inspired by Mrs C.

Kindest Wishes,
AJ

What's in the Box? (Part 2)

The contents of your Halloween guessing box really are only limited by your imagination (or mine, if you're playing along!)

Here are some more ideas:

1. Goblins Ears (dried pigs ears; can be bought from pet shops as dog treats.)
2. Blood and Guts (canned, crushed tomatoes.)
3. Bats Hearts (canned, peeled tomatoes, warmed lightly in the microwave.)
4. Bloody Fingernails (uncleaned pumpkin seeds, they're a little bit slimey!)
5. Plastic Spider/s (wouldn't it be great if you could get a battery operated spider to run around inside the box?!)
6. Spiders Webs (the fake ones from a dollar shop or similar.)
7. Witches Hair (corn silk, straight from the husks or an old wig.)
8. Vomit (lightly warmed salsa.)
9. Goblins Bones (cleaned and dried chicken bones.)
10. Mummy Wrappings (wet, crinkly up and dry toilet paper, or an old pillowcase lightly starched.)

There must be more...


This list was inspired by
 H  A  L  L  O  W  E  E  N  ! 

Kindest Wishes,
AJ

What's in the Box?

I think one of the greatest Halloween games ever is the one where you have to put your hand into an enclosed box and try to guess what is concealed within.

Here are some ideas for what you can include in spooky, gross, Halloween guessing boxes.

1. Dried Tongues (dried apricots)
2. Stripped Veins (cold cooked angel hair spaghetti, only a few pieces)
3. Eyeballs (lychees, if you buy them in a tin they're already peeled and ready to use)
4. Skin (soft tortilla gently rubbed with oil)
5. Teeth (dried corn kernels/feed corn)
6. Brain (boiled whole small cabbage/cauliflower head)
7. Dried Ears (dried apple slices)
8. Worms (cooked and cooled, oiled spaghetti, add some parmessan cheese for "dirt" or real dirt if you like to give the effect of freshly dug worms. Alternatively use bait worms or oiled rubber bait worms.)
9. Dried Fingers (dried meat; "twiggies" or thin sausages.)
10. Maggots (cooked arborio rice in a small amount of cooking oil.)

More to come...

This list was inspired by
 H  A  L  L  O  W  E  E  N  ! 

Kindest Wishes,
AJ

An Apple for the Teacher?

It's nearly that time of year again; there are only 9 more weeks until the end of school, so what SHOULD you get for your child's teacher, coach or other important influential person. Some of my friends have already had this discussion, their suggestions included baked goods, chocolates, journals and pens. The best received gifts I have given my children's teachers were jewellery and fruit baskets (the jewellery was handmade earrings for L's first grade teacher and the fruit baskets were for L and R's teachers a couple of years later.)

The earrings, were hand made by myself and in this case I had simply taken notice of the jewellery L's teacher wore for the couple of months prior to Christmas so I was aware of what styles and colours she liked. The fruit baskets were, for us (in the Fresh produce industry) a cheap option, I bought some baskets from a dollar shop and filled them with as many different coloured fruits (and vegetables) as I could gather, then threw in a 3pk each of Ferrero Rochers and Raffaelos for good measure.

When we gifted the fruit baskets to the teachers all three of them exclaimed how beautiful they were, how different and how glad they were that they weren't chocolate; it seems teachers get a lot of chocolate as gifts!

Personally I would not give baked goods as a gift to a teacher as I know D won't eat anything that has been cooked in any private kitchen he hasn't been in himself. I MAY purchase some baked goods from a friend's patisserie and present them in a nice basket or gift box (including a card from the patisserie to both support my friend's business and let the gift receiver know that they have been baked in a commercial kitchen.)

Teachers must get a lot of "same-ish" gifts for Christmas and although I'm sure they'd use a lot of pens, notebooks and other stationery over a year, there only so many "Best Teacher" mugs and ornaments a person can use, surely? So, I'm trying to think outside the box and will see if I can find some ideas to post in an upcoming list.


This list was inspired by the joy of learning from a great teacher.

Kindest Wishes,
AJ

Seen in My Yard... #1

Noisy Friarbird

New Holland Honeyeater

Brown Honeyeater

Laughing Kookaburra

Willie Wagtail

'Though little Mr Willie Wagtail is seen 'most everywhere in Australian suburban yards I will never tire of hearing his joyful song and watching his sweet little tail wagging dance.

The photos used in this post were taken from the website of Ákos Lumnitzer an amazing local nature photographer.

This list was inspired by the knowledge that beauty surrounds us every day...

Kindest Wishes,
AJ

Things I know because I'm a girl... #1

'Though I hate the commercialisation of most things and in particular "feminine hygiene products" there's one thing I LOVE enough to almost forgive it... trivia!

Thanks to the "Odd Spots" on the adhesive covering strips I have learnt:

1. On a clear, dark night a human can see a candle burning 50km away.
2. As much as 50L of maple sap is used to make 1L of maple syrup.
3. When glass breaks, the cracks move faster than 5000km/hr.
4. The Guinness Book of Records holds the record for being the book most stolen from public libraries.
5. On average a 4 year old child asks 437 questions a day.
6. The bullfrog is the only animal that never sleeps.
7. Every year the Moon moves a further 3.82cm from the Earth.
8. If you attempted to count the stars in a galaxy at a rate of one every second it would take around 3000 years to count them all.
9. Just 20seconds worth of fuel remained when Apollo 11's lunar module landed on the Moon.
10. The favourite horse wins fewer than 30% of all races.

I read something in a local history segment in our local paper about an inn here at the edge of the river at which a lantern would be lit if the path up the face of the mountains was safe from bush rangers and an inn at the ridge of the mountains which had a reciprocal arrangement. I remember when I read it thinking it was interesting and clearly the lanterns would have been able to be seen but I couldn't imagine how; in our modern age where most streets are lit every 50m or so it seems hard to see 100m away when we turn a dark corner. However, I then remembered how much easier it seems to see things in the dark when you're out camping, away from the artificial light and how many more stars you can see in the sky.

I knew from being a Mama that 4 year olds ask a LOT of questions but I never would've guessed four-hundred-and-thirty-seven! Wow! That is a whole truck load of questions!


This list was inspired by Libra ;)


Kindest Wishes,
AJ

BHG Live - Somewhat of a non-event

Yesterday afternoon we went to the Better Homes and Gardens Live event at Sydney Showground yesterday. Really; it was a glorified Home and Food Expo with occasional appearances from the tv presenters ('though not the host of the tv show!) Think Sydney RAS Easter Show dome exhibits without the arts and craft sections, far less fresh produce and a "steam mop", "magic sweeper" (according to the kids this is very much different to a "swivel sweeper" but I couldn't see it,) and "sham wow" or similar on every corner and my goodness, way less seating in the eating area than anyone could've imagined possible. We ate our lunch (bought from the cafe there) sitting on the floor near the cafe; along with several (maybe 40-50) other people in what seemed to be a kind of systematic dance for available floor space.

D had agreed to come along with me and the children on the basis that the advertising had stated that "children's activities" would be available. There was, of course, no mention of their being an extra cost for the children's activities. I'm sorry, but to have exhibitors charging people for children's activities (once we saw that it cost $5 PER CHILD to enter the petting farm we didn't bother with the cost of the face painting) just doesn't wit right with me. Having children's activities available is surely a big draw card for the organisers or such an event? I wouldn't mind at all paying a small price per cup for food for the petting zoo or a small cost for the face painting (and I'm talking about $1-$2 each) to cover the coast of materials plus a tip for the facilitators but more than that and I think that someone's pulling my leg... off, literally!

There's good and bad in everything though; the outside area featuring horticultural exhibits was like having a nursery full of specialists rather than your usual suburban "garden centre" where the staff know a little (or very little) about some of their stock. I bought some Lilium bulbs (Oriental and Christmas/November Lilies) a blueberry (for Dawson he LOVES them and let's face it, who wants to pay full price for blueberries?!) and a couple of bromeliads. We were lucky enough to be around when the Debco people were pulling apart their display and were gifted some basil, chives and (I think) oregano (D actually got those and they're in a bag that I haven't opened yet!) Some lovely little bonuses for my Kitchen Garden.

Food doesn't count for BNNM; does that include food plants? Can I stretch it to include plants? THey're kind of an investment right? *blush*

This list was inspired by could've been better Better Homes and Gardens.

Kindest Wishes,
AJ

This Week I've learnt... #1

1. Dr Suess' real name was Theodor Seuss Geisel. Is there any child who hasn't loved a Dr Suess story at some time in their lives? (If you haven't you've definitely missed out and should head out to your local book store or library immediately to experience the whimsical, non-sensical, rhyming humour of this master story teller.) R has, on our latest library visit, rekindled a love for Dr Suess and was even reading the book she borrowed (which contains three stories) as we walked home from the library! Dr Suess stories are not only fun and easy to read, drawing children into a love of reading but they are also great teachers of reading in context as children discover which character each passage is about by combining the words and illustrations.
2. I have an aspidistra; also known as a cast iron plant. Actually, I already knew that, my Dad told me that's what it was, I just kept forgetting it's name. Although the aspidistra is commonly kept as an indoor plant I have learnt through reading that it will also do quite well outdoors, as long as it is in shade and not watered too frequently. This plant (which is in the process of dying off slowly at the moment due to being in the sun and bursting at the seams of it's pot) may just be the ideal plant to put under my pine trees and spring is the ideal time for separating it. My aspidistra is definitely ready to be moved and I can use it as the centre of that space with the clivia around it to quickly fill the space. The lady next door has also said that I can take some of the spring star flowers from her garden so they will brighten up that patch a little more. I also learnt that the aspidistra flower grows from the base of the plant.
3. Whilst googling for the pictures of violets I used yesterday I learnt that violets are edible. That's right, violets, both the flowers and the leaves, are edible. We used to sell honey at fruit and vegetable markets, direct from the producer and I often thought about making infused honeys with chilli, rosemary, ginger and various other plants. Catherine Alice reminded me of this when I stumbled upon her blog and she had put some violets into honey to infuse. Isn't it funny how once you know something (violets are edible) that same knowledge repeats itself to you again and again?
4. I learnt what a Chameleon skeleton looks like; see the picture below. Karen, The Graphics Fairy, has been sharing a series of skeletons in honour of Halloween. You can visit Karen to see skeletons of men, an elk, a chimpanzee, a hand and I'm sure there will be more to come in the next couple of weeks.
5. Cottees Cordials are now being produced in new 1L double concentrate bottles, replacing both the 750mL and 2L bottles. Thanks to Kidspot Social I was lucky enough to receive a bottle of Coola flavoured cordial to trial.  I'm very pleased to report that it still has the same great taste we love!

Cat in the Hat, The Grinch and others...
Do you know who they are?

Aspidistra flower; beautifully unusual.

Mango, Dandelion and Violet Salad.

Chameleon Skeleton.

New 1L Double Concentrate Cottees Cordial.

This list was inspired by incidental learning.

Kindest Wishes,
AJ

Common Edible Flowers

I've been thinking about what I can plant in the Kitchen Garden wondering which flowers might brighten it up a bit.

I already have nasturtiums, lavender and violets available elsewhere in my yard and am looking to add to those.

Here are some ideas:

Marigold: edible flowers (soups, salads)
and leaves (treat as spinach.)

Chammomile: I have some of these already
though not yet in flower. Tastes faintly like
apple; good for a calming tea.

Sunflower.

Carnations.

Snap Dragons.

This list was inspired by a spirit of food exploration.

Kindest Wishes,
AJ

You have to start somehwere...

And I have; this afternoon I started working on what will become the Kitchen Garden.

The first little section has been dug through and as much as physically possible the grass/weeds removed. I started on the edging with the sandstone too, after deciding it would look more "done" and therefore be more likely to motivate me to continue to finish the project!

Northern side.

Western side.

Please note: whilst I am aware that this is not a perfect example of garden edging it is my very first attempt at building any sort of edging, very much a process of trial and error and error and error but I'm pleased with the results so far and of course, it will look better once it's been planted around!

Around the edge of the garden there are small spaces between the existing concrete path and the sandstone in which I'm going to plant some small violets; either Johnny Jump Ups or Native Violets. Everywhere I've seen Johnny Jump Ups growing they seem to have more flowers than the Native Violets, however the Native Violets are smaller and therefore may be better suited to this position. I have seeds or plants to propagate available of both of these violets, it's just a matter of making the decision.

Johnny Jump Ups (Viola Tricolor)

Native Violets (Viola Hederacea)

This list was inspired by a work in progress.

Kindest Wishes,
AJ

Everything out of it's place...

This morning R put the empty peanut butter jar in the recycling box, without rinsing it out first. The recycle box was not in it's usual place under the kitchen sink but was instead on the floor at the end of the bench.

SCORE! Peanut Butter straight from the jar! WooHoo!

You can see in the look on D jnr's face that he was certain he would NOT be allowed to eat peanut butter from the jar and he was right, ordinarily he wouldn't be allowed, however, since it WAS nearly empty and since he wasn't sneaky about it (he literally came and sat right next to me) I let him have it.


For a little while. There's only so much stickiness a Mama can handle!

This list was inspired by mischief and mayhem and the ability to go with the flow, sometimes.

Kindest Wishes,
AJ

So much grass so little time...

Here's another small section of the back yard.

At the bottom of the first photo is actually an L-shaped section of path (yes, a path that leads to nowhere.)

At the front left of that photo you can see a small patch of dirt where I have started pulling the grass to try to create a garden space. There's a small part already done at the back of the compost bin too.

Speaking of the compost bin; it was one of my greatest finds to date, someone around the road from here had decided that they no loner had a need for it so I bought it home in pieces, rebuilt and for the grand total of $zero had a compost bin. I've wanted one for a long time but always thought the cost of buying one would be too high.

I've been thinking that I need to put plants around the bin to disguise it; both it's appearance and it's smell(which is actually not too bad.)

Looking at the front garden a couple of days ago I couldn't help but be disappointed at how quickly the chamomile I bought has grown. I know that seems like a strange thing for a gardener to say but it has grown from about 5cm tall to approximately 25cm (high and wide) in only a month so it's definitely outgrown it's place in that garden.

Looking at the chamomile made me think that I should put herbs around the compost bin; I have the chamomile, a feverfew, curly parsley, opal basil and can, of course get more. I also have two lavender plants which are waiting for removal to a garden with more space and some peppermint seeds.

The third photo shows more grass; what it doesn't show is the sandstone, that's why the grass is so high there, it's growing around a pile of sandstone so can't be mowed! You might just be able to see the sandstone in the fourth photo?

The sandstone was also a great find, via Freecycle, the amount that is there (enough to fill a 6x4 trailer) would've cost me a small fortune to buy and I'm very reluctant to invest any real money into a rented property. My initial intention was to build a pond with the sandstone as a border however I am now going to use it to create a border around the planned Kitchen Garden.

First things first; there's a lot of grass to be cleared (as you can see) it's been way too hot today but hopefully I can get some more cleared this evening. I love daylight savings! 

This list was inspired by the backyard jungle.

Kindest Wishes,AJ

Things I love... #3

I love to find beauty in the small things... and playing with my new (second hand) camera . ;)

This list was inspired by nature's beauty (at Bicentennial Park, Homebush, NSW.)

Kindest Wishes,
AJ

The Vines...

After we got home from the park on Sunday evening I was on a bit of an energy buzz and decided to get some more plants into the yard. The plan here is that the vines will take over this section of the yard and kill off all the weeds over spring giving some new grass a chance in autumn before the frosts come in for winter.

Lebanese Cucumber

Jack Black Zucchini

Jap Pumpkin

Sweet Corn

Zucchini (more corn)

Overview of the space.

 Of course there are seeds to be grown in this space also; spaghetti squash, button squash, baby bear pumpkin and two types of watermelon.


This list was inspired by creeping, crawling vines...

Kindest Wishes,
AJ