Another Harvest

I so love harvesting food from the garden!

Just had to share some more harvest photos with you.  Yummy.  I used a lemon this morning for a lemon and honey drink, then tonight our soup had celery, silverbeet, and spinach from the garden.  And of course Munchkin is eating a mandarin almost every day.

Amy

Fencing

I came up with a somewhat novel solution to the problem of our no-fence.  By no-fence I mean that Munchkin can in essence wander from our front door, down the driveway, past the front unit, and onto the road.  What is more likely is that either our car or our neighour's van or car would have an altercation with him.  As he is smaller than they are, I have been feeling somewhat worried that he would almost undoubtedly come off second best!  But he does so like to be outside.  We have a lovely backyard, which is fenced on three sides.  Just not from the driveway.  It also doesn't really have good all-weather areas...they are right around the back of the house, in an area we almost never frequent.  So I wanted to find a way to fence our yard for my peace of mind and Munchkin's safety, without great time or cost, and hopefully managing to get a small amount of our front area (pebbles and concrete) included so he can have something to do on damp days other than soak his clothing crawling through the lawn!  Yes, he does still crawl, when walking isn't fast enough, or the ground is too uneven.  Common occurrences when outside.

Here is the solution:

It is a pet playpen.  Or rather, two.  My parents have one for when Munchy visits them, and it works really well.  So I got two cheaper versions, hoping to join them together.  Slight glitch when I discovered that they don't open out completely flat like my parent's one due to how the hinges work...solved by having a non-straight fence.  It is actually quite stable.  The hinges are pegged into the ground, along with some extra pegs here and there.  I am quite pleased.

And what did Munchkin get up to while I was busy trying bits of fence this way, that way, and the other way again?  Exploring, of course!  Under supervision, I might add.  Despite the fence-building, which meant that the whole process did take the better part of our afternoon. 

We both enjoyed our time outside.

  

Amy

ps - no worms were harmed in the making of this blog post!

How to Plant Strawberries in 10 Minutes

My previous strawberry plants kicked the bucket.  Big time.  Only one of about 20 plants seems to have survived. I don't know what caused their demise, but I suspect perhaps the compost was too strong?  I did mix it into the soil, and didn't use all that much...I guess I will never know.

My parents are amazing!  They generously came to my rescue on Sunday with a whole lot of replacement plants.  Only, that meant I had to PLANT them.  With assignments to do, baby to look after, and limited time, it took me till Tuesday morning to find 10minutes.  10minutes because that was how long Boyo had till he had to leave for Polytech.  I rushed outside, got the shed open, gloves on, handtrowel in hand, and go to it.  Might have been easier if I owned a garden fork.  I am hoping that in a month I might (my birthday is coming up!).

Quick weed.  Dig hole, hold strawb, fill hole, move onto next one.  Don't think too hard and don't worry too much about the plants.  If they are going to survive, they will.  Knock on the window from Boyo.  Five minute warning (he's keeping an ear out for Munchkin so I can be outside while he is still asleep).  Take photos for blog to prove I've done it.  Not so great, as it is only just light, but they will do. 

Water with hose.  Trim off old leaves, fruit and flowers (these are confused strawberries! it is winter and they have fruit!).  Throw some hay around the plants.  Put tools away.  Done!  Quick prayer that they all survive and produce us delicious strawberries this summer!  Boyo heads off and Munchkin wakes up.  The rest of the day awaits.

Amy

Free Rice - July

Drum roll, please. 

Free Rice for July was:

4,320.

I am pretty happy with that.  Correction.  I am really pleased.  Considering I have been studying this month, that's a really good result.  Over half was on 2 days near the end of the month. I went on a bit of a word-fest. Grin.

Amy

Blanket Fun

The final two squares are FINISHED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

YES, I am excited!

I've started crocheting the last two rows. 

Munchkin helped me decide how to order these last 16 squares. 

Okay, so he was really just besotted with the blanket, but I figured that the child who receives it would probably love a photo of a cute little boy with their blanket, so I snapped away while he played, and played, and played!  Very cute.

Amy

Grateful

I was hoping to link this up with Things I'm Loving...but I guess I will just have to wait for Paisley Jade to open up another linky!  It's Wednesday and I have time to blog...so the blogging must take place, early though I be!    Linking up now! 

This week, I am loving MY HAT

Seriously, this is the bestest hat EVER.  It comes right down over my pour, beleagered ears.  In all honestly, I have to admit that I own three hats.  All for practical purposes.  My light polarfleece pink and purple one is good for warmer weather.  My blue one (which Boyo still claims is his, but I tell you, he did give it to me!) is an in-between warmth.  I wear it to bed.  Or at least I do normally.  I appear to have misplaced it somewhere between morning and night on Monday and have yet to discover just what I've done with it this time!  I had to wear the pink one.  Which is okay I guess, but it isn't as long, so comes off my ears.  Do you get the feeling that I get earache?  Frequently.  Easily.  A lot!  Sometimes for no apparent reason.  Usually because there is a very slight, minute wiff of a breeze.  I also own a headband, bought for me by my wonderful mother-in-law.  It gets used almost every day over summer.  It's too hot for wooly hats then.  But I STILL get earache.  Ugh.  I am currently in love with my hat.  Again.  I was last year, and the year before too. I can't imagine not being so next year!

Daphne.  The scent is just delicious.  The next-best-thing to having your own daphne bush is having a neighbour with one.  It kind of just floats in and out on the breeze.  Lovely. 

I'm so grateful for a boy who is well and happy.  After both of us being sick for several weeks, I am SO enjoying being in his company, and having him sleep long-long-long-long times (he played catch-up mode all last week, sleeping till 8:30 most mornings - this week we are back to usual 7-7:30 wake ups).  I have gotten two assignments done!!!  Couldn't have asked for a more important week for Munchkin to sleep well than last week.

I love BUNNIES! 

My friend's bunnies.  They are Bugs and Lola.  And they are the cutest things ever.  They are very, very tame and laid back.  Plus they have a baby just Munchkin's age, so don't seem to mind little fingers having a 'gentle' pat.  Munchkin thought Lola was just wonderful.  Mummy wanted to take Lola home.  There is something so therapeutic about stroking an animal.  Boyo does tell me from time to time (when I talk about getting a pet) that I could just stroke his head.  But it is not the same!  Animals and people, we were meant to go together somehow.  I am reminding myself that we are getting chooks.  And that 3 chookies and one small boy will be enough to look after for the next year.  I'm planning plenty more visits to Bugs and Lola for more loving-the-soft-fluffy-bunny-cuddles!

I must admit to a slight addiction.  I am a late bloomer.  Chocolate has snuck in on me by degrees over the past few years.  A few months ago I found the Destitute Gourmet's Self-Saucing Chocolate Pudding. 

Ah.  Bliss in a bowl!  I can't eat chocolate at night you see, the cocoa keeps me awake.  Sleep being at a premium, I had been left to fight my cravings alone and desperate.  No longer.  I have a new friend.  I love Self Saucing Chocolate Pudding.  Too much.  Well, maybe not.  I don't eat biscuits or cake during the day...so maybe it's okay to indulge at night?  I am a sucker for that gooey, sweet, chocolatey taste.  Warmth.  The chocolate smell wafting through our house.  Mmm.  I am almost drooling.  So loving my pudding.  And so want to have some more right now!

Amy

Waste Not Wednesday

As I have been thinking about food wastage, and trying to waste less for the good of our finances and good of the environment, I decided that this is the week to do the breadcrumbs.

I've been putting it off, you see.  Such a chore.  The foodprocessor actually does all the work!  I just have to be nice to it and not put too much bread in at once.

Boyo throws his crusts out to the birds, but I usually try to save mine seeing as it is fairly expensive, nutrious bread to be just giving away to the local wildlife (who, incidentally, are very well-fed by our back neighbour so need nothing more from me!).  And no, I have not been able to bring myself to eat the crusts as yet.  One thing with my homemade spelt bread is that the crusts are rather chewy.

So here's what I used the crumbs for:

Tuna Mornay.  Very easy!  My recipe originally came from a Junior Cook book, but I found it a bit complicated, so I made a lazy-woman's version. 

Like this: make a white sauce in a pot on the stove (1/4c flour with 60g butter, melted, then you VERY gradually and slowly, while stirring constantly, add 2cups of milk while cooking it on a medium to low heat - it kind of thickens itself as you go).  Add a diced onion and a cup of defrosted frozen peas (or corn, or celery, or whatever!),  flaked tuna (large 425g tin) with its brine or spring water, salt and pepper, and 1/4 tsp of nutmeg.  Pour it all into a greased dish.  Sprinkle with breadcrumbs (1-2cups depending on how generous you are feeling or how many bags of them you have to use up in the freezer!), then sprinkle with cheese (I was lazy and just added the cheese to the tuna mix!).  Bake.  Maybe for 40mins?  Eat.  Yummy.  See, I told you it was easy.

Note to self: Next time, put the dish on the bottom rack of the oven.  The top one cooked the breadcrumbs a bit more than I like.  Crunchy.  Still very edible, but it can be improved!

Now, I'm wondering what else I can use breadcrumbs for.  Seeing as I just put over 10cups of them in my freezer.  Not a lot of room in my freezer, so I don't really want them staying there terribly long. I do have a salmon and breadcrumb dish I can make, but it would be nice to have at least one more easy, healthy option to use up all these breadcrumbs!  Anyone have any ideas?

Amy