Feel the Rhythm.....

Can you believe I have made ten Chinese Lanterns tonight because the boys wanted to "celebrate the Olympics"? Personally, I am not into the Olympics - there's that whole Human Rights issue that spoils it a bit for me, along with the whole - money for entertainment while millions starve, but, I keep that to myself ! LOL

It is so lovely to be home for the afternoon/evening routine. When I was working and would come home late I would REALLY miss this, even though I have the best husband in the world that would do homework, cook tea and bath the children, I always felt that I was missing out.

Kids thrive on rhythm and so do adults. It provides stability and security. Life seems to run smoother with a daily, weekly, seasonal and yearly rhythm. That's the way nature operates.

Today confirmed for me that I have made the right decision in leaving my legal career and choosing my family instead. It's really funny that most mothers agonise over the career/family decision when the children are small. It seems funny that I was home for 5 years when they were young then went back to work for about 2.5 years then made the decision to 'come home'. I remember my sister, who has children a lot older than mine, was talking about mothers 'coming home' when the children where in their later teen years, especially when they were in the senior school years because that's when they were needed most. At the time of hearing this I was dreading the idea because you tend to think that as they get older they become less reliant on you. As my children grow I realise that the reliance remains, it is just in a different format.

Another wise woman told me once that there are seasons in life. This is my season to nurture. I don't know how long it will last, but when I feel ready I will return to work. I have a really great boss who sent me an email today updating me on one of our cases and telling me to let him know when I get bored ! lol.......... We'll see when the season changes.

Today ... in review

Radishes are popping out of the ground, 22 corn plants think it is spring and have poked their heads up. Zucchinis are unfolding life dancers from Swan Lake and all is well with the world.

Hey Julie I tried your recipe for Lavash crackers and they were a sensational success!! ( Julie is Crazy Mumma from Towards Sustainability linked below). I rolled the dough out with the past maker to make them ultra thin. I couldn't believe how many it made. This container full plus the 8,432 that Hubbie and I ate as they came out of the oven and there is still half the dough mixture left.

The recipe was simply 3 cups of flour, 1 tsp salt 2 tbs poppy seeds 2 tbs sesame seeds 1 egg 1 cup of milk 60g butter.

They are identical to the store bought ones we got on the weekend to spread Camembert on. Of course they don't have any preservatives and probably cost about 45c to make. Now I will have to make the coriander dip again considering I have so much coriander growing.

Here is my favourite chocolate cake recipe

 

Preheat oven to 180 degrees.

2/3 cup of cocoa sifted then add 2/3 cup of boiling water. Stir and put aside.
In a new bowl beat together 200g of room temperature butter with 330g of caster sugar.
Once creamed add 2 tsp of vanilla and 3 eggs one at a time. Then stir in 2 cups of Self Raising Flour then add 125 ml of milk. Cook for about 55 minutes, or until you can poke a skewer into the cake and it comes out clean.

Today..... In A Nutshell

1. Wash bedding for number 2 son.

2. Make corned meat with Nanna's mustard for tea

3. Plant my Dutch Iris bulbs

4. Plant some more flowers out near the front steps

5. Make bread

6. Make a chocolate cake for afternoon tea

7. Make cookies to stock up the jars

8. Tidy the backyard gardening mess from yesterday's planting session

9. Measure space for the chook house and turn the sketch into a formal plan

10. Measure and design outdoor kitchen space ready for summer

11. Re-organise under sink garbage system - compost/ recycling/rubbish

12. Begin update of my household planner - focusing on budget.

13. Prepare for scrapbooking camp I am teaching at the end of August.

14. Juice fruit and make cordial

15. Tidy Office

16. Put bigger sign on front door that says "please make up my room" to see if there are any takers.

Time Out

This week I have been in Sydney for a couple of nights. ( wait for it.......) WITHOUT CHILDREN.

Hubbie went down to the Boat Show held in Darling Harbour and instead of going to the show I spent the time wandering aimlessly around the city. It was sooooooooo indulgent. I hardly spent a cent, but I indulged my greatest passion by spending hours in book stores. ( okay - I did make one purchase)

I love the ABC book shop in the Queen Victoria Building. Being a total fan of the ABC I have a wonderful sense of familiarity when I see all my favourite shows on DVD and see the books of many authors that I have listened to on Radio National.

The hotel we always stay in when we go to Sydney is the Citigate ( formerly the Charlton Crest) and it is right behind the ABC studios and across the road from Central Station. Being close to the ABC studios, we have seen a few of our favourite celebs hanging out. Last time we visited we sat across from "David" from the movie show discussing a film he had seen. I am such a groupie - I had to really stop myself from rubbing his arm and telling him how much I love him and asking whether he and Margaret get on in real life. Another time we saw Geraldine Dougue ( love Gerry) and .... the most exciting thing was when we opened our curtains and saw across into the ABC offices and a Banana in Pyjama suit was hanging up without any Banana inside it !!! Oh, the thrill of it all! ..... Was it B1 or B2 LOL !!!

Is it Kerry O'Brien in the suit ?

We dined in the restaurant which was having a Christmas in July special buffet and certainly ate our fair share of King prawns. The second night we realised that it was 9 o'clock and we were still sipping wine and eating slowly. At home it is such a contrast - early dinner, showers for the boys and all cleaned up and washed up before 7pm. It was so lovely having the time to actually talk to each other without filling the gaps with ' eat your vegetables' or 'use your fork'.

I went to Paddy's markets and was happy to get:

bulk sesame seeds
bulk poppy seeds
wasabi peas
a kilo of ginger roots
half a kilo of dried ginger

So, I will start saving now for next year's trip to the boat show, even thought I probably won't go to the actual show, I will wander the city without a care in the world.

For now it's back to reality. There is no lovely lady to come in and straighten up the house while I am out. I am thinking of hanging a sign on the door that says " please make up my room" and just see what happens.

Getting Ahead

"When you have time, you do things for times when you have no time".
This is what my Grandmother taught me about Getting Ahead.

We all seem to be so busy these days that we are always running behind. We are late for work, late home and then have to get something 'quick and easy' to slap on the table for dinner because we simply 'don't have time'. We run our children all over the country side, yelling at them to hurry up.

We flit from one appointment to the next, having quick catch ups with friends on the hands free mobile while swapping the kids from school clothes to soccer gear in the back seat of the car with the other hand.

Why don't we have time ? Over the years have they shortened the length of a day ? Was 24 hours in 1972 longer than 24 hours in 2008 ? If you believe the hype then you would conclude 'yes'.

In the 1950s women were told that they could have so much extra time by purchasing labour saving devices. Clothes washers, clothes dryers, dish washers, kitchen appliances - all saved the housewife a tremendous amount of time. BUT.... where did that time go ? What did we fill it with ? Work outside the house ? Coffee mornings with friends, shopping ?

Our lack of time is a cross between a problem of overscheduling and perception. If you were to make a list of your priorities in life and then compare it to your diary you might be surprised at the results. For example, you might say your spouse is the most important thing, but when you glance back through your diary you may find you actually spent more time having coffee with friends or shopping than quality time with your spouse. Honestly answer the question - do you do too much that is not really aligned with your purpose or priorities ?

The other reason we don't have any time is because of our perception. If you ask anyone, they are busy. It seems to be the standard answer. How many times do you hear people say "i'd love to do that, but I just don't have time". The truth is we all have 24 hours a day.

So, when I do have some time left over I do as my Grandmother says and try and do things for times when I know I won't have spare time. Last week I had planned to do so much in the garden, but the miserable rain kept me from venturing out too far.
Instead invested some time. I made huge batches of biscuits and muesli bars, made soup with leftover amounts and made cordial. I also got an extra loaf of bread on. I have been making crunchy cookies lately as they seem to keep a bit longer. I put them in glass Moconna Coffee jars on the bench -It gives me great satisfaction knowing that I have made them for the family and I know exactly what is in them. I also put a huge batch of dough into the freezer for stand by. I usually always make a double batch so that I can make cookies at short notice

























These muesli bars worked out well. It's the recipe that just uses rolled oats, crushed weet-bix dried fruit orange juice and honey.

 

Soaring diesel costs push truckies to the edge

Picture from Food Magazine

Did you see the 7.30 report on the ABC last night ? If not you can see it here: http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/ or read the transcript here: http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2008/s2311384.htm You can also google 'trucking industry strike' for the latest in news articles.

It seems that fuel prices are crippling many of the truckies. We have heard drivers saying that every time they go to fuel up it adds $100 to the bill. The difficulty for us as consumers is that EVERYTHING comes by truck. Most things you find on the supermarket shelf have travelled many hundreds of kilometres to get to the store. Eating Local suddenly becomes extremely important.

In all the articles I have read and watched the drivers are talking about a strike, 'go slow' or blockade on the 28th of July. There has already been one ' go slow' on a Sydney Freeway. The Transport Worker's Union say they are not in support of a strike, however other industry groups have formulated a list of demands to present to government.

Online forums are buzzing with people talking about their husbands, brothers, sons and cousins who are truckies that are going to strike. Diesel prices have risen 50c a litre since October and their runs are now unsustainable.

This has a major impact on us as householders. I do not blame the truckies, as there are numerous issues which must be addressed for them. Regardless of how those issues are resolved or played out, the matter of importance for me is the impact on households. Ask yourself this question..... How long can you sustain your household without going to a shop ?

QUOTE:

" Truck drivers are planning a nationwide two-week strike that could limit the supply of food and fuel. Requesting better pay and conditions, the organisers, led by the Australian Long Distance Owners’ and Drivers’ Association, are asking truck drivers to strike for two weeks from July 28.
The planned strike could have serious consequences on food industry supplies.One of the transport company owners said that the stoppage would highlight the impact the economy would be subjected to if the industry was to collapse. “On day three of the stoppage shops will run out of food, on day four service stations will run out of petrol, on day five we will run out of [drinkable] water … and on day 10 industry will shut down because there will be no power,” Hervey Bay’s Peter Schuback said. "

SOURCE: Food Magazine: Food and Beverage Industry News

Be wise. Apply the 6P principle. Prior Preparation Prevents Poor Performance. Always make sure that you have sufficient supplies on hand to lessen the impact of any events which prevent you from obtaining food. You never know what these events may be: power shortages, floods, storm damage, sickness in the family, trucking strikes, petrol shortages. Having a good supply in your cupboards is a great insurance policy.

Garden Update

The garden is coming along steadily. I can't wait until the weather warms up a little to be able to get right into it.

At the moment we are growing tomatoes, lettuce, corn, capsicum, carrots, beans, peas, broccoli, radishes, strawberries, passionfruit, coriander, parsley,mint, zucchini, silverbeet. The corn that I have in is starting to go well, so yesterday I planted a lot more.

 We also planted extra beans.

Once the weather warms up a little I will put in lots more so that I have some staggered harvesting. I have been really enjoying the garden. I close the front gate and in my mind I am on 3000 acres.

The day I can sit back and eat a cob of corn freshly picked moments earlier will be the day that I can sit back in a state of joy and say that all is well with the world!