slightly seedy

You might remember a couple I weeks ago I mentioned that I'd made lots of plum jam from the cherry plums that my younger children had gleaned from the roadside. Consequently I had lots of plum seeds left over and because I'm always trying to come up with new uses for old or discarded items - I hatched a plan! Well, actually I tell a little white lie here - I had already hatched it last year so I just re-used the idea for this years seeds! 

Firstly I washed most of the remaining fleshy bits off them and then dried them in the oven for a while. When they are nice and dry, the last stringy bits fall off quite easily with a bit of rubbing and then you have a nice lot of seeds for........ stuffing!! 

Firstly the dry seeds were used by Fairy in her games with gnomes and other creatures and then I stuffed some into little felt bean bags seed bags that we use as throwing bags for multiplication practise. In the bags are last years seeds, in the jar are some from this season though I'm not sure what I'll do with this new lot yet.

I have to 'fess up at this point and tell you that I originally got the idea from a Swiss friend. She told me that when she was growing up they used bags filled with cherry pips as 'toe warmers' when they went to bed. All day the pip filled bags lay on top of the combustion stove getting thoroughly warmed and at night when they were taken to bed, they slowly released the heat onto cold bodies! 

I was so taken with the idea of using something that I'd normally throw out, and immediately saved cherry pips all summer - I still don't have enough for a hot cherry bag though!! 

There's always next years cherry season to look forward to..... !

Sowing seeds

Most days I manage to spend some time in the garden - partly it's necessity as we like to eat fresh food - and partly because I do really love to potter around out there. At the moment, it's not too hard to get out there because we haven't started our home schooling year yet, but next week it will all change. Next week we start on a whole new plan of lessons, books and handwork - so this week I'm trying to get a whole heap of gardening done. 

But that wasn't actually what I wanted to share. I wanted to mention that if you plant by the Moon, today was the day for leafy greens (yes, I know I should have let you know yesterday or the day before, sorry!)

Although I use an Astrological Calendar every year, I've never actually 'used' it for the planting bit!! This year I am being very diligent and have managed to plant roots, fruits and leaves at the right time so it will be interesting to see how they all grow. So far so good!! 

Today, I sowed kale and perpetual spinach that I'd saved the seeds of last year, dill, and two types of lettuce....... we eat a lot of lettuce! 

I've grown a few types of lettuce over the years but my favourite, and the one I plant every time, is 'Freckles' or Forellenschuss . Originally I bought the seeds because it was an Austrian heirloom (I'm patriotic!) but having used it for a while I've decided that it is just The Best!! 

It's tasty, it looks pretty in the garden but best of all, it's so easy to wash for dinner!! Only the outside leaves need a bit of a clean and the rest are smooth enough that I just check them and throw them in. Nothing seems to stick to them, there are no curly bits for greeblies to hide in and other than a bit of dirt at the bottom, they are clean!! 

If you like quick, I recommend them.

   

The very nicest part of my garden excursion was finding a tiny brown frog in the potato patch. Now that was very exciting - I love a bit of non veggie eating wildlife sharing the garden! 

And yes, our garden is very green and lush but I do water at least a part of it, most days. I decided that either we grew our own and used extra water and no sprays or we bought veggies with the same amount of water usage in a monoculture situation plus added chemicals. It helps that we are on town water for the first time in years - although we do pay for the usage and the privilege.

What do you think - is that a viable option, taking all issues into account, or not?

Ha ha ha.....

Last week, I mentioned that I'd packaged up a little parcel and sent it to a dear friend.

This week she received it. 

My friend, J, is a single mama with five delightful home educated children. We have been friends since our children were small and now that most of them are older, they too, have wonderful friendships with each other. 

She has had a large share of bumps in the road she is travelling and over the years we have often laughed over the most mundane things just to lighten life. 

We've laughed our way through lots of good times.

We've laughed our way past some not so nice times.

We still laugh over little mishaps and anomalies. 

I've shared some of my heartiest laughs and some of the funniest moments with J - a lot of them at the expense of our unsuspecting offspring!!!   

Now, we live a long way apart and only manage a hearty laugh now and again, on the phone. So I thought it was appropriate to remind J to look at the funny side. 

Look for the fun.

And laugh. 

*****************************

 Thanks to everyone for your thoughts on our Mother Blessing - we are still waiting for a little baby blessing.....! 

And thank you too, to the many lovelies that take the time to pop over and visit regularly. There are almost 40 of you that are 'following' me and I think it might be time to have a little giveaway to acknowledge how much I enjoy your visits. 

Perhaps after The Big Event......!!! 

I have linked to Natural Suburbia for Creative Friday. Pop over there and have a look at more lovely handwork.

Blessed be

On Saturday we held a Mother Blessing or BlessingWay for our very placid mama to be. I had heard about BlessingWays a few years ago but have never had one for myself or attended one, and after some research, I decided that my Golden Girl would love her own. The best way I can think of to explain it is a Spiritual Mother Shower! Basically it's to give the mama support of the womanly-energy-type as well as some pampering and positive input.

Here is a great explanation I found -

A BlessingWay is one of the traditional sacred healing ceremonies of the Navajo, associated with pregnancy. The BlessingWay has recently returned to become a meaningful celebration in modern times. Unlike the traditional baby shower, the ritual doesn't include playing games and giving gifts for the baby. The idea behind the BlessingWay is to surround the mom-to-be with support and encouragement as she counts her days down to the birth.

BlessingWays are performed late in the pregnancy and give the mother-to-be the strength for the deeply spiritual rite of passage she is about to encounter during her birth. Although society seems to have trivialized birth so that baby showers are often commercially bent without much reference to the sacredness of the birth experience, women can choose to gather instead to honor the work of the mother and recognize birth as the transforming experience it is. The intention is always to create an atmosphere of reverence and love. Since BlessingWays are part of the creative process which is birth-anything can happen. BlessingWays are joyful celebrations.

We started with an introduction to the meaning behind Mother Blessings and lit a candle to signify the light that the new baby will bring to us all. Then we crowned the mama to be with a meadow grass wreath - she is after all, a fertile Mother Earth, her body holding the promise of Life. 

My mischievous friend lightened the occasion a little by producing these vibrant jelly rings denoting a ripe cervix, with baby emerging - head first, of course!  

While laughing, chatting and sharing birth stories, we took turns knitting a few rows for a soft woolly blanket. There was a bit of painting, some creative writing and lots of stitching for a banner to hang in her birthing room. We also gave her a bead each, with our wishes for her birthing and new life as a mother.

  

Thoughts and encouragement were written on yellow card and pasted onto a watercoloured background - all painted by lovely friends! 

Neck and shoulder massage followed by a foot soak and some pampering for those tired feet!

To end, we formed a circle holding a continuous piece of yarn which we then cut and wound around our wrists - this is to symbolically link us all during her birthing.

We gave each woman a candle to take home - these are to light when she goes into labour, to keep her in our thoughts and remind us of the new light soon to emerge and join our world. 

Some of us stitched, painted and created this banner with thoughts and best wishes for the birth - to give her something she could focus on while in labour.

I took these home and later sewed them all together. 

Luckily my trusty film crew were on hand for the photo shoot! 

It was a really special afternoon and My Girl told me later that she felt honoured and loved and very ready to birth her babe with so many good vibes. It was a first for all of us there but some of the women  who have yet to have children thought it was a perfect way to celebrate and encourage a new mama.

I'd never done this before but I think I could get right into the groove with a bit of practice - with four daughters and three prospective daughters-in-love, I might just get all the practise I need!!

I found a few useful sites and the links are below - but I'm sure there are hundreds more that just didn't happen to pop up on the first two pages of Google!!  

Here is another link that I found useful  - yes I copied her lovely pic! 

Another one  

And one more

 Some people choose to call it a Mother Blessing rather than Blessingway because a Bessingway is a sacred Navajo ceremony and most westerners don't strictly adhere to their culture. It is partly for this reason that I choose to call it a Mother Blessing, and partly because it's a bit more explanatory.    

Okay, I'm sure you have all had enough lush mama pics and seeing as it's not long to go till the birth I promise I will stop showing them ....... soon they'll be baby pics instead :) 

This week....

 I saw some interesting cloud formations - there have been a few strange clouds hanging around in recent times, some of which had me thinking of alien invasions and old Star Trek movies,  though I only took a pic of this one. 

We made 20! jars of plum jam. The children went gleaning along a back road near us and brought back a box of cherry plums. We ate a lot of them raw but the jam is going in the store cupboard for those dreary winter days when something summery is called for. Some will also be gifted - and yes I know there's a lot of nasty sugar in jam but I'm making the best use of the free food around us. 

I tied up the top branches of the espaliered pear tree. I am new at this and learning as I go...ahem.. I think I need a detailed book....

I cooked an almost-Aussie meal of homegrown peas, carrots, mashed potato, gravy and tempeh (told you it was almost-Aussie!) It was ok but I think I'll find other uses for the peas, you know....like in things!

And this week I also wrapped and sent a long overdue gift to a very dear friend..... I'll show you what was in there next week, when I'm sure it's been received and opened!

How was your week? I hope it was memorable, what ever you did.  

Lost in transit

I was all primed to write an amazing post this evening about a new board game that we've been shown but for some reason I don't seem to be popping up on anyone else's side bar - which means that it looks like I'm being slack and not posting! 

Maybe it's this new look Blogger home page that's not got it quite right? 

Is anyone else having any minor dilemma's? 

I'll have to be content with posting some of the many photos that I've been taking lately - it's amazing how often I think, "I'll take a pic of this for the blog"and then take 20 or more! And it's amazing how many digital photo's there are stored on our computer - the Best Man is on a mission to clean out so I'd better get rid of some...

These are some more pics of my Golden Girls rustic place. 

I hope the Blogger people sort themselves out soon.......

At last...

We finally have zucchini big enough to eat!! I'm sure some of you will laugh and think fondly of your own prolific zuke crop but it's a bit of a novelty here and I really love them! I didn't get any planted until just before Christmas (our holiday is my excuse!) so of course I've been waiting impatiently for the inundation!!  (The button squash in the background are from the Farmers Market..... but I did grow the onion!) 

Summer doesn't feel like summer to me without copious quantities of my favourite veggies - zucchini, beans, tomatoes and cucumber - all of which are heat lovers ...... and heat is in short supply in Tasmania. Last summer was a disaster, with frost in February and lots of cold days, so the heat we are having this year is very welcome indeed. The Very Best of Men is working towards putting up a 10 metre long poly tunnel for my summer veggie fetish. Mind you, he is also working towards building an extension for our Shoe Box Cottage, and he's also .... well...... just working...... so we'll see which comes first, second or not at all!!  

This variety is called Costata Romanesco and is so delicious, nutty flavoured and tender - I planted it last year for the first time and was so pleased with the flavour that it's definitely a stayer. The seeds came from The Lost Seed company and I'm going to try saving some of my own seed this season. 

Just in case you were wondering what I was making here is the 'recipe' -

Sautee onions in oiland/or butter, add a bit of curry powder and zucchini in large cubes. Stir till combined and add a bit of water. Cover saucepan and steam over low heat till tender. 

Season with salt and pepper or tamari or all of them. 

We all love this with anything but especially steamed potatoes! 

I also have a delicious raw salad recipe but I can't find it anywhere and can't quite remember the dressing that goes with it.....sigh..... I'll let you know when I find it.... 

Currant-ly

We have been harvesting quite a lot of these little red and black jewels lately. They look like little gems, don't they, hanging so succulently from the branches. These are another plant I'd never grown before but red and black currants are something I'm going to have to get used to using in the kitchen. When we lived in a warmer climate we grew guavas, citrus and kiwi fruits, pepino, watermelons and passionfruit. The cooler climate here in Tasmania means a whole new range of culinary delights but also a steep learning curve both in the growing of them and cooking them! 

I prefer to feed my family most of their fruit in fresh format. I can't see the sense in cooking up vital enzymes and vitamins and then adding sugar to the denatured mix, so I try to use fruit as fresh as possible. Sometimes, though, it's just not possible...... and these tiny treasures have vexed me greatly. 

The children will eat the red currants fresh from the bush if they are very very ripe but the black ones are not to their taste so I tried to find some way of cooking them without losing too much of the good bits! Unfortunately, they are just as tangy cooked as raw, so in went the ubiquitous sugar - loads of it actually! We had blackcurrant fool, blackcurrant topping on yoghurt and the most exciting of all (for my cordial deprived children at least), was the cordial. It even smelt like the Ribena I had as a child! 

Next season I'd like to have a bit more of an idea how to use currants - maybe with honey? or perhaps they freeze well? Any ideas/recipes would be greatly appreciated. 

   

I also think next year I'll use the red currant pic as my header for the Christmas season - it does remind me very much of a summery version of holly! 

My psychedelic love child

I've just spent most of the weekend at my Golden Girls cottage in the bush. The Best Man and I went for a lovely meal cooked for us by her partner and then spent Saturday night and Sunday lazing and chatting. 

Our girl and her man are both creative souls and have a flair for putting 'bits' to good use. Although they only rent this house, it's just how they would like a house to be - woody, earthy and eclectic. I'm sure they are both reincarnations of a pair of old hippies - naturally, the Best Man and I both feel quite at home in their house!!! 

They have a little veggie garden happening, as well as these old wheelbarrows filled with tomatoes, beans  and basil, and were excited to show us their first harvest of garlic and shallots. 

Baby finally has a little shelf for all the things s/he needs - don't you just love the colours? She's a believer in basics, my girl, and is not interested in loads of extras, so there won't be any rockers, climbers  or gadgets. Just a mama, a bubba and the necessary woolies to keep baby happy.

I laughed when I first saw this pic - they look like a pair of old timers, don't they?  

The cottage is old with gaps and cracks but very quaint and quirky, though they have certainly created a warm, cosy nest to welcome their own love child. 

Oh, the memories of our early days when we lived in just such an old tumbledown house, without a lot of responsibilities, without many possessions and with the whole of life to look forward to....  

Disposable trivet

While I was at the beach for that short time last weekend, I didn't just take loads of photo's. Oh no, I didn't. I also spent some time picking up sticks with Fairy Girl. It was an exacting task and she tired of it reasonably fast - "Do they really all have to be the same size?" Well, mostly.

Now a confession - I have a fascination with drift wood and would bring it all home if the clan didn't insist otherwise. So when we came across loads of driftwood piled on the high tide line, I knew the time had come to make my own disposable trivet, just like I'd seen here a few weeks before! 

I'm not going to offend you all by giving you a detailed how-to...... I'm sure the photo's are self explanatory. There's a half knot between each stick, it's knotted at both ends and it's really surprisingly firm and tight. I knotted it up quickly while we were having brekky this morning and there were a few wild guesses - a bridge for the guinea pigs? a hippy style blind? a doily? Ahem! 

And the best thing is, I can compost it when it breaks - thats the kind of disposable I like!  

Joining in with Creative Friday again this week.   

At the seashore

 We went to the sea shore on the weekend. It wasn't a particularly beautiful part of the coast line - right in town - but it held beauty in small measures. 

All manner of unusual creatures have made their home on the shore. Squishy blobs. Sinuous threads of life. Muscles in hard cases. On rocks. In pools. Under sand. 

 There's something special where Ocean and Land merge. Perhaps it's just that it's the limit for most of us. The Ocean is not our world..... there is a whole new world out there under the sea, a mysterious world. Looking out over the waves is like trying to see through opaque glass and wondering what is on the other side. I can only imagine what may live beneath the surface.

 The possibility of finding something washed onto the shore from The Deep, keeps my eyes glued to the ground, just in case! 

I feel invigorated after my visit and am reminded why I love a stormy sea and windswept beach.

This year I will spend more time at the seashore.