Changing With the Times

I guess I’ve always walked more than your ‘average’ person.  My family used to do long bush walks, hill walks (whatever walks really) as a fun family thing on a weekend or holiday.  We walked to school, we walked to the shops, we walked to church. 

Then when Munchkin came I walked a LOT.  Having a beautiful walkway just five minutes wamble from my front door is a great incentive.  I could go for twenty minutes (about as long as I could carry him on my back – with a stop at a seat at half-time!).  I’d often go at twice a day. 

 

Munchkin started out in a front-pack.  This is the beach.  Believe me, it is!

 

 

Then there was the fabulous back-pack.  Seen here modelled by Daddy and Munchy, arriving at the beach.

But now that Munchkin is wanting to walk more, things are changing. 



 

I like to set a good walking speed.  He likes to stop and look at everything.  Really, everything.

And he just can’t walk the distances I am used to going.

 

How fast time has flown.  Strolling on the boardwalk now no longer needs the stroller!

 

Munchkin has his own pram to push these days!

Plus there’s the other changes in our lives in the past year or so.

Such as me going back to classes.  No more distance study means more driving, more classes, and less time for walks in between.

Preschool also curtails the walking.  Munchkin simply doesn’t need a walk most days after preschool.  He’s pooped.  He’s been busy running round like a mad thing, building, digging, talking, creating.  I on the other hand, have usually been in class, or stuck here at my laptop working on an assignment.  Gone are the days of regular family hour-long walks.  At least until the temperatures cool down enough during the day for Boyo.  His night-shifts mean on days we can walk together, we’re not ready to head out till it’s pretty warm.  Too warm for Boyo many days lately.  But we’ve ad-libbed a bit, taking dinner to the beach instead of a walk earlier in the day, for instance.

It’s strange though, realising that this huge part of my life-style that I really love, that I pride myself in, is all but extinct.  I even drive to the shops to buy bananas.  It’s a fifteen minute walk.  One way.  On my own.  Which means it is never that simple.  So I’m usually stopping on the way home from preschool instead in an attempt to save time and sanity.

I used to have our stroller out almost every day.  Now, I might not have it out once a week.  Strange when I got to the point where it felt strange to walk without it.

Have you noticed how things change in your lifestyle dependent on the age/stage of your family? 

 

Life is a constant flux of change.  Some we are ready for, some we are not.  Some that is self-imposed, but much that comes against our will.

It’s not that walking is no longer important to me.  It just doesn’t fit with everything else as well right now.  I do hope things balance out again so I can enjoy many more walks in the years ahead.

 

On one of several jaunts up Mauao, Mount Manganui this summer.

 

In the meantime, the walkway is still there.  There is still a small hand to hold from time to time (and Boyo still likes holding my hand too!), birds to listen for, small things to notice as we walk, places to hide and jump out and 'scare' each other, and many fun adventures to be had.  Walking is relaxing.  Walking is fun.  Walking is something we do together, and I do alone. Sometimes we walk because we need the exercise.  Sometimes to get to a destination.  And sometimes just because it refreshes our souls.  I hope my son grows up knowing that.

 

Amy

Goodbye Girls

I made a hard decision recently to sell my beloved heritage chooks.
They just weren't laying enough eggs.  The heat and humidity of Tauranga does not seem helpful for my big Australorps, and my little bantams had just stopped laying completely (well, what I actually think happened is they got a virus which made them lay shell-less eggs, but that's another story).  So there was a lot of daily work in caring for them, plus feed costs, plus also buying eggs!

So after debating for a few months, I sold them.

I felt pretty guilty and spent a few days wondering how my darlings were doing, were they being looked after properly, had I done the right thing, and so on.  But in the end, I had to let it go.  I chose to sell them.  I chose to release my rights to care for them, and give that to someone else.  The best I can do is try to make sure the prospective owner looked up to the task, and they did.  The rest is now up to them.

My parents' backyard is now strangely quiet.  It seems empty, yet it is not.  The happy sounds of clucking hens is gone, and I miss it.

However, I do NOT miss the pressure of trying to get up there 3-4 times per week to help care for the chooks.  With classes four days a week, it was getting really hard finding the time, and when I did I was usually in a rush, constantly telling my son I didn't have time to play with him, and still never finding the time to do anything much in the garden.

We were going to get some Hylines.  You know, the egg laying hybrid machines?  I even went to pick them up, but the seller had forgotten I was coming.

Then I found myself in a discussion with my mum about the workload for both of us (and my dad) and the busy year we find ourselves in.  The outcome?  We have decided not to have chooks.  We will go back to buying eggs.  It's quite a relief actually.  I miss my fluffy-bums, and find myself frequently feeling wasteful when I see a roach that I know a chook would love, or throw out the scraps from Munchkin's dinner plate thinking how much the hens loved rice.  But mostly I am enjoying it.  I have managed to do some serious gardening in the past few weeks, despite being really busy with assignments.  I'm hoping that will mean a good supply of winter veges, but I guess we will have to see. 

One of my reasons for getting chooks was to fertilise the garden.  They certainly seem to have helped with that, so we will miss that element of their work for us.  But we've started using some good fertiliser so it should still be fine.  I even got to speak to the creator of it (his name's Wally) and learnt a lot about how best to use it.  So we've got Ocean Solids and Rock Solids, both to use on the entire garden in slightly different ways as they have slightly different minerals and our garden needs a lot of input still.   Looking forward to seeing what a big difference it might make.  Our raspberries have been going crazy this year after a dose of citrus fertiliser last autumn and a good hard prune.  So here's hoping the rest of the garden does likewise!

Amy

Cancelled

As of Sunday, I have cancelled my social life.

Just thought I should let you know.  In case you want to, you know, socialise this year.

For social little me, this is a big step.  A giant decision in fact.  A life-altering state.  Or at least that's how it feels.  In reality, nothing much has changed.  I had a limited social life last year while studying.  Mostly it consisted of regular contact with one friend, and very sporadic contact with a few others.  This year, things aren't really any different.  There's just less available time.  To the point I'm finding it hard to reply to text messages and am forgetting things in my diary.  Oh dear.

The issue?

I have three assignments due in the next five weeks.  I started the first one yesterday.  It's not that I didn't want to start it earlier.  But I was working on my first (rather large) assignment over the past few weeks.  Handed that in earlier this week and my brain promptly turned to mush, and disappeared.  I have this picture of myself, chasing my brain down the road, screaming madly, "Come back!  Come back!  I still need you!  You can't just leave me like this!"

Yeah.  It's rather interesting going from complete overloaded adrenaline pumping "must-finish-this-assignment-or-else" to "I-just-can't-think-or-move" in the matter of a few hours.

Yesterday I finally found what was left of my tired brain, picked myself up, and started on my next assignment.

I have realised over the past week or so that I have an issue of poor mental expectations.  I am currently a full-time student, with a part-time mindset.  Not a helpful combination.  I've been a part-time student so long that I'm really good at juggling between study, small boy, husband, household, friends, etc, etc, etc.  But that isn't working this year.  I really do have to spend most of my evenings studying.  I really can't find any more than a 1hour slot during the week to see a friend.  I'm finding that a bit hard to get used to, as I've just spent the past four years able to socialise during the day with friends who (like me) have small children.  Now I really can't. I can make the odd (i.e. once every few weeks) exception, for an hour, but have to have organised dinner and various other things first in order to fit it in.  And really, who else wants to socialise at 4:15pm on a Monday afternoon??

My wonderful husband is reminding me that I've only got this year and next year left.  Then I am finished.  And it will be worth it (we sincerely hope so!).  He's also doing all the housework, plus a list of 'extras' each week.  Including some gardening (shock!  Boyo usually avoids gardening as if it were diseased).  He's set up our emergency water (that has been waiting to be done since we moved here nearly a year ago!), he's made a card with Munchkin for an upcoming birthday, he's trying to get our printer's yellow ink running again (a marathon effort), and generally doing lots of things I would normally do. Seriously awesome!  But unfortunately I can't socialise vicariously through him.  I just have to allow my world to constrict to study, home, and pretty much not anything more at present.  I'm learning to be okay with that.  Honestly, I'm too busy to moan much about it.  I just feel a little sad that the relationships I currently have are in all likelihood not going to deepen this year and that some might in fact dwindle completely.  I do hope my friends hang around, and prove me wrong, and actually take the time to seek me out.  But I'm not expecting too much.  I know how it works. 

It is 7:10am on Saturday morning.  My son should be awake which means breakfast, getting dressed, trying to be quiet as Boyo worked all night.  It means we will try to see our friends and watch some bagpipes play downtown, before we do various errands.  I suspect I will not get time to buy a bigger pot for my poor daphne plant.  I hope I remember to ask my mum if she has any elastic that would work on some shoes I've been given.  I have some fish stock to make.  And the garden probably needs yet another water, but will most likely have to wait until tomorrow.

I'll be back.  Sometime.  Probably when I feel like moaning about my lack of social life!  Hehe.

Amy

Berry Bliss

We've been loving fresh berries this summer!

The strawberries in the Big Garden have had a bumper year.

The raspberries now look to be similar.

Plus we've collected small handfuls of wild blackberries a few times, and stocked the freezer (almost to overflowing) with blueberries.

There is a name for this:  berry bliss!

And with lots of berries to eat, there have been some delicious treats.

 

Strawberries with plain yoghurt, coconut, and maple syrup, with just a sprinkle of icing sugar on top.
Yummy dessert!

Blackberry and pear smoothie (with a healthy dose of greens too, of course, but I forget what!). Just look at that gorgeous light purple colour! 

I just love berry season!

What seasonal delights have you been savouring lately?
Amy

My Lettuce Free Life

If you listen in on any gardening show, read any gardening book, or follow any gardening blog, you'll probably be told that lettuces are among the 'must haves' for the novice gardener.

They are quick and easy to grow, we are told.
They taste delicious, so people say.

Poppy-cock.

Well, that's what I think at any rate.

Lettuces are NOT easy to grow.  Why anyone ever claims they are is beyond me!  They have to be one of the most finicky, fussy, annoying vegetables EVER to grow.

And at this point, right here, you might start to get the idea that I have not had a great deal of highly rewarding salad production.  You'd be mostly right.  I can grow lettuces.  I can, honestly (sometimes, if everything works in my favour).  But most of the time, there are just too many variables outside my control.  You see, the thing is that lettuce doesn't like to get too hot.  Or too cold.  Or too damp.  And definitely never too dry.  It has soft, juicy, succulent leaves just begging to be munched by every marauding insect that roams the earth. 

(Short interruption as the writer goes to check text: reminder from husband not to forget the sprinkler.  Opps, that's right, I am trying to water the garden and blog at the same time, probably not a wise juggling act.  Sprinkler now off.  Husband thanked.  Wet shoe removed.  Wet sock and skirt drying while writer continues writing! - moving the sprinkler never works the way I intend it to...)

Lettuce is a pain to grow, at least in my temperate bordering sub-tropical Tauranga, NZ climate.

I currently have three lettuce seedlings in my garden.  Bedraggled, I wonder if they will survive to produce me anything edible before succumbing to the heat?  My parents garden does have lettuces.  Mollycoddled lettuces, but lettuces none the less.  Twice daily watering of seedlings, fertilizer, mulch, and (the piece-de-resistance), a cloche with shadecloth over the top.  Shade, and protection from the chickens, blackbirds, and sparrows that would just love to nibble on tender lettuce leaves or dig in the nice moist earth for worms.  They are looking good.  I am hopeful.

But in the meantime I am buying lettuce from the Farmers Market.  Our silverbeet and beetroot have grown like crazy this summer, so I'm not to fussed about lettuce.

Once the heat of summer leaves, the Big Garden (my parents') will hopefully be stocked up with lettuce and other greens for winter smoothies, soups, stir-fries, and salads.

But while my garden will have beetroot, celery, kale, and silverbeet, it will probably not have lettuce.

Because there's another reason I don't currently grow lettuce.

Would you???!!

I killed over 100 snails in one raid, then a week later Boyo and I killed maybe 321?  Plus slugs that were eating my veges left, right, and centre.  I forget, it was awhile ago - but suffice to say we were squishing as fast as we could and stomping on quite a few without even intending to!  He held the torch, I stomped in the gumboots.  We were a ruthless, efficient, snail-killing machine.  There were snails EVERYWHERE!  Nice gentle rain after a month without much, and they all wambled on out from their hiding places in the agapanthus.  Seriously, if you are a gardener, you should NEVER grow agapanthus.  Talk about snail heaven!

Just don't tell my son.  He loves snails.  Munchkin has pet snails.  He did notice the carnage, it was a bit hard to camouflage hundreds of squashed, dead snail bodies strewn over our lawn, but fortunately he was easily moved to other more interesting things. 

Infestation under control?  I hope so.  My son has got about 3 new snails in his terranium from gardening endeavours over the past week or so, so I've obviously not got them all yet...

Amy

Gardener's "Gold"

My worm farm is overflowing.
Okay, so if you know me you probably realise I am prone to exaggeration.
But it is pretty close.
We (Munchkin and I) only emptied it a few weeks ago.  And it is again nearly full to the brim.
The corn is probably what tips the balance these days, but we don't put cobs, just the leaves as the worms actually like them.  And if it wasn't that it'd be something else.  Feijoa skins if we get enough given to us!  Or cabbage, cauli and pumpkin from winter soups.

It's a great worm farm, and family sized.  But I guess we just eat a lot of fresh food. 

A good problem to have, but I am still not comfortable with leaving good food wasting in a rubbish bag when it could instead be enriching my garden and therefore my food and personal well-being.  Big garden prunings go in the fadge in the back corner.  My dad is going to swing by and add it to his truck one day when he has room on a green waste run for his business.  But that's nearly full too.  After just a couple of months...and we have at least 4 deciduous trees on this small section and autumn on the way.

I've wanted a compost bin for awhile.  Actually, I'd like two.  Just basic ones, nothing too fancy, but one that is being filled and one that is decomposing.

This is the week.

I finally bought one!

I found it at the Warehouse.  It's similar to my mother-in-law's which I know works well for them.  It fits snugly where the worm farm was (till it got too hot and was moved under the lemon tree).  And it cost me $30.  And I managed to put it together (just!) by myself.  Grin.

 

It already has some prunings and a container of food scraps in it.  Hooray!

I took a few photos of the garden while I was out there this morning.  It's been a long time since I recorded what is in it...

Beside the house.  Dry, and needing some soil TLC but still growing tomatoes (aren't my stakes fascinating?!)...some violets conveniently found it too hot and died off so I now have a bit more space for my veges...as I already transplanted violets under the lemon tree where they are very happy I remain unfazed. 

Beside the shed. Another rather dry little garden. The rosemary and fennel were here when we arrived.  Will be taking the fennel out soonish, I've just left it to self seed into the garden beside it.

The 'main' vege garden at my house.  Area on left to be planted in beetroot soon.  Zucchini taking over lawn.  Kale (dark green at back), and celery.  And I've got herbs along the front. 

So there you go.  Hopefully a richer garden soil next year than this, but good food to eat anyway in the meantime!

Amy - proud compost-bin-owner

When You're Feeling a Little Bored

Sometimes even a good thing can become a little same-old-same-old.

You know, when you've used it so many times that you're just feeling a little jaded?

Seemingly overnight, something that you or your kids just LOVED for weeks and weeks is now sitting, unused, forlorn, forgotten, gathering dust.  The kid's moved on.  The old toy's forgotten.  And you're left with a house full of unused stuff.

Ever found that happen in your house?

I think one of the great unacknowledged tragedies of our modern, instant-gratification, new-is-best generation is our inability to really milk something for all it's worth.  We're really not good at getting every little drop of use and goodness out of things before discarding them for something newer, faster, brighter, shinier.  Our landfills are testament of our passion for the short-term fling, the buy-it-cheap, use-it-fast, and throw-it-away-as-soon-as-it-starts-looking-tired mentality.  It's sad.  And what's even more sad is that we're raising an entire generation (several of them in fact) who know only this.  They don't really know how to look after belongings to make them last the length of a person's lifetime.  They don't know how to repair, mend, or replace parts to renew an old appliance or give new life to an old toy.  They don't know how to use their imaginations to create something new from something old.  They get easily bored, easily distracted, easily led to the latest gadet or fad leaving behind them a wake of half-used toys, discarded clothes, and unwanted gifts.

But what do you do?  It's such a pervasive attitude that runs throughout our entire society, half the time I find myself giving in to it without realising why.  Why do I need new cushions?  Does it really matter that a few of them don't match, when I have a pre-schooler who likes to play with them, drool on them, and pillow fight with them?  Surely I could just wait a few years.

I've watched friends give away or sell unwanted toys, after discussions with their child about how they don't use it any more so they should let another child have it instead.

I know a few folks who hide half the toys in a back cupboard somewhere, while the child plays with the others.  Then every few months some toys are 'swapped out' with cupboard ones.  It's like having new toys all over again!

Here's a solution from the Munchkin:  When you get bored of using something for one purpose, find another way to play with it.  Engage your imagination.  You'll have already seen that Munchkin LOVES his sandpit.  He loves to dig in it, he loves to zoom cars around a  race track or through bridges.  But even sandpit play can get boring.  Recently the cars got to have a rest, and the toy animals came out to play instead. 

It was amazing listening to my little guy create intricate story lines around all the things his animals were doing!

So, when you find your kids (or yourself!) a little bored, perhaps instead of something completely new, it might just be time to move things around a bit, change how you play with or use them, see them in a different light?

What creative ways has your family reused or otherwise adapted the use of something recently?

Amy