Redistribution of Resources

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Posted on May 31, 2014

Today has been a cool grey day but after a long week in the office it was good to get outdoors for a while. The liquidamber tree was looking stunning in red a couple of weeks ago but now there is not much foliage left.

The Duke was mowing the lawn so I decided to spend some time in the vegie garden area. Much of the area has been covered with several pumpkin vines but they are gradually dying off. The have had the added benefit of killing off some of the weeds and grass that was growing in the area before we finished the fencing. It is my goal not to have any lawn within the fenced area. There will eventually be 9 raised garden beds as well as the blueberry patch which will be all mulced and other beds around the perimeter.

I am not sure how to keep the grass from growing on the paths between the beds but I started today by covering a small area between the ends of 2 of the beds. I used several layers of newspaper and then some mulch that The Duke had created some weeks ago when he muched a pile of prunings. I bordered the sides with some rocks, a commodity of which we have an abundance. This is a bit of a test case as I am thinking of using this method to cover all of the paths/walking areas once the garden beds are finished.

I moved the concrete besser blocks that were bordering this small area. It was one of the early garden beds we created when we moved here but it is now in the orchard area.

I did not take a ‘before’ photo but this is all that is left after the blocks were removed. There was a cherry tomato growing wild and spreading on the ground so I found a star picket and created a stake for the tomato. You can so it to the right of the photo. The plant looks pretty straggly but it still has flowers on it.

Here are the concrete blocks in their new location just inside the fence. This is the area where I am plaaning to plant asparagus. I am not sure whether it will be a temporary or permanent home for the blocks. Wherever I end up using them, I will also fill the blocks with soil and plant in them as well.

The cabbages and kale are growing.

I also planted some beetroot, rocket, radish and parsley seeds so I will see what success I have from those.

I hope you have enjoyed seeing my garden as much as I enjoyed the time spent working in it this afternoon.

Time To Take Three

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Posted on May 29, 2014

I have been very busy this week and working long hours in order to catch up on some things at work. I had planned to take a day off tomorrow but have changed it to Monday so that I can finish some tasks before the end of the month.

In between all of the busyness I managed to cross 3 things off my list on Tuesday. The first thing I did was to articulate what I was going to achieve by telling The Duke. Letting someone know helps to make you accountable.

My 3 things were relatively minor but need doing.

1 Make a dental appointment

2 Send an email to our accountant to make an appointment for our tax

3 Contact the owner of the venue where we will be holding a birthday celebration for The Duke

These had been rolling around in my head and going nowhere but suddenly they took on an unexpected level of importance once I had shared them with someone else. Best of all, it took a total of 5 minutes to do them. I now have the dental and tax appointments in my diary and some details confirmed regarding the dinner.

Recipes and Restoration

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Posted on May 27, 2014

In response to the comments from my Clean & Green post the links to recipes for both the cream cleanser and wool wash are under the tab at the top of the page marked “Recipes – Other”. Unfortunately, the wool wash one does not have any photos as they were a victim of my culling photos some time ago 😦 I do need to make some more again before long so I will take some new photos. Also, I have found that the mixture sets quite firmly so I will be experimenting to make it more like a gel or even semi-liquid. I will let you know how I go.

Since we finished restoring the silky oak dressing table we have been searching for a similar unit for The Duke’s clothes. Many that I had seen on Gumtree (online buy/sell site) did not have enough storage space. I was hoping for a silky oak piece but that was not essential.

On the weekend we bought this piece. The thing I really love are the small, deep drawers at the top. They will be perfect for separating socks and underwear.

The seller had owned it for about 20 years and never restored it. We will need to replace the bases of some of the drawers and do a bit of structural refashioning. The piece is not original as the top left-hand drawer does not match the others and the front of the unit looks as though it was once the back of a piece of furniture. Apparently it has come from Coober Pedy (an opal-mining town in the outback of South Australia) and there is clearly a lot of history so I believe it deserves to be restored. It needs a lot of work but we are confident that it will come up nicely. We intend to replace the wooden knobs with metal handles to match the dressing table.

We do not intend to embark on this project at the moment as we are trying to get things ready before we head overseas in a couple of months. So we have covered the piece with a heavy drop-sheet and left it until we have more time.

Project 333 – Changing Colours

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Posted on May 25, 2014

Over the past couple of years I have streamlined my wardrobe quite a bit. The neutrals I use are black and white with predominantly red accents. There has been a touch of blue and fuschia pink.

When I was planning what I would take on our overseas trip, I decided that the 3 fitted tshirts that I am taking would go in the charity bin before we come home. These tops are at least 3 years old and are definitely past their best.

It was an oppotunity to start planning my wardrobe for spring and summer as it will be well into September by the time we arrive home. I am thinking of a change of accent colours to purple and jade green. Coincidentally, a work colleague and The Duke both commented on how good the purple tshirt looked when I wore it last week with white trousers and a black/white patterned jacket. I already have a couple of pieces to get me started.

I bought a lightweight travel shirt last week which is also purple (although the colour is not true in the photo).

Now that I have made a decision about what colours I want for my wardrobe it will be easier to go looking just for those rather than aimlessly hoping to find something I might like.

Clean & Green

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Posted on May 21, 2014

In an online discussion group of which I am a member, the challenge this week was to make some changes in your routine to make your life a little greener. It was noted that actions that are good for the environment can also be beneficial to your purse.

When I stopped and thought about this, I realised that most of how I choose to live is a result of making the best choice I can in the prevailing circumstances. Some of these things are what I have always done and others are changes I have made but it is so long ago that I do not even consider them as particularly green.

Here are some of our household patterns.

Use locally-made, environmentally-friendly washing liquid, laundry soaker, dishwashing liquid and dishwasher powder from Kin Kin Naturals.

Make my own wool wash and cream cleanser.

Use bicarb and vinegar to clean most surfaces.

Hang clothes outdoors to dry or in front of the fire. Use clothes dryer rarely.

Run our home on tank water, grid-connected solar power and solar hot water service.

Grow some of our own fruit and vegetables. This week I have picked lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, radishes, pak choy, lemons, oranges, mandarins. grapefruit and avocadoes.

Compost all our scraps or feed them to the chickens.

Keep chickens for our own supply of eggs.

Catch public transport to work.

Complete multiple errands when making a trip in the car.

Re-use as many resources as possible.

Avoid processed foods.

Make choices when shopping to avoid packaging – buy bulk/loose goods.

Use my own bags/containers when shopping.

Heating from a slow-combustion heater fuelled by wood collected from our property.

Give away items no longer needed via Freecycle or op shop.

Buy only what we need.

Repair things that we already own.

This is not a complete list but is an indication of what we do every day to lighten our footprint on the planet.

What choices have you made that could be viewed as ‘green’?

No Celebration Today

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Posted on May 14, 2014

NOTE: The subject matter of this post is political and includes my opinions.

Last night was Budget night here in Australia. It was the first budget delivered since the election of the new government last year. There have been so many leaks and hints over the past weeks that people may have been forgiven for thinking that they had heard it all by the time last night rolled around. How wrong we were!

The governement have been hammering the message about the dire straits of the debt and deficit in this country and how everyone has to share the pain. From my assessment of the budget there is pain, YES (lots of it)………….shared, perhaps……………..equitably shared, NO!

I wanted to write this post last night but I was simply too angry to even contemplate putting my thoughts together in a coherent manner.

I would like to point out that my anger is not about what I or my family will lose personally, both now and in the future. I am angry that the sick, disenfranchised, elderly and those least able to defend themselves have been viciously attacked whilst big business have emerged virtually unscathed.

Here is a list of some of the measures announced – it is not complete and the time frames for introduction vary. I and most others do not have all of the details but I understand enough to be very, very unhappy.

As far as I can see I can expect to pay more for fuel with the reintroduction of the fuel excise to be indexed twice-yearly. This will also affect the cost of everything, including food that is subject to transport costs. I will have to make a co-payment to visit the doctor, have a blood test or an x-ray. Prescription medicines will rise in cost. The eligibility for an aged pension will rise to 70 years.

Our income is such that we are not liable for the debt levy which is being applied to all those earning in excess of $180,000 per annum. However, we have sufficient room in our own budget to accommodate the increase in costs that I outlined in the previous paragraph. We plan to have adequate superannuation to fund our own retirement without having to work until we are eligible to access the aged pension.

So, I should be pretty happy, right? I am not because I fear for others in our society who are not so fortunate. Check out this graphic for the ‘Winner and Losers’.

Here are a few examples of some of the negative changes. There are far to many to list.

No unemployment benefits for 6 months if you are under 30
Changes from Newstart to Youth Allowance for 22 – 24 year olds
Eligibility for aged pension to increase to 70
Superannuation Guarantee Levy to be frozen at 9.5% until at least 2018
First Home Savers Account to be scrapped
Schoolkids Bonus abolished
$7 co-payment for Dr visits and also pathology and radiology
Funding slashed to CSIRO, ANTSO, ABC and SBS
Abolish PHIO (Private Health Insurance Ombudsman)
Increase in cost of prescription medications on PBS ($0.80 for concession card holders and $5.00 extra for the rest of us)
Abolish the Australian Renewable Energy Agency
Cut funding to the National Anti-Tobacco Campaign
Gonski school funding model disbanded – cuts in education funding
Allowing hospital emergency departments to bill for “GP-type” visits
Cut funding for human rights education
Higher university costs

Here are some of the beneficaries that you may not have heard about yet.

Increased funding for school chaplaincy services
A new icebreaker ship
Funds for Australian Drug Commission
Medical Research Future Fund
$1 million for accommodation for students of Australian National Ballet

A quote I found online:

“No progress on tax avoidance, no sign that Australia will responsibly lead the G20, no reform of expensive concessions to the rich: this budget is a massive moral failure”

And finally, absolutely nothing positive for the environment and the effects of a changing climate but that is hardly surprising since Mr Abbott does not believe it exists.

Celebration Central

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Posted on May 11, 2014

In the midst of our busy lives it is good to take time out to celebate.

Today is Mothers’ Day and I was lucky enough to be able to spend time with my mother, sister, one of my daughters and 2 granddaughters as well as my husband, brother and brother-in-law. We gathered at a cafe and shared some morning tea before adjourning to a local park where we could sit in the sun and chat while the children played on the playground. It was really special and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

A special thought for those whose mothers or children are not in their lives either through death, distance or estrangement.

Meanwhile, I have been working on creating the invitations for The Duke’s milestone birthday celebration in a few months time. Here is a photo from the ‘archives’ that I am using.

Finally, there will be celebrating this month when two much awaited babies arrive to loving families that I know.

What is happening in your life and the lives of those around you that is worth celebrating? Take time out and share the occasion.

Autumn Has Arrived

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Posted on May 10, 2014

After a long summer that seemed it would never end, we finally have autumn in abundance.

The past week has seen the minimum temperatures drop to single digits and our maximums are only in 16-18C range. That is a drop of about 10C from a fortnight ago.

Casserole and vegetables was an enticing option for dinner. I made this in the slow-cooker a couple of days ago.

The feather doona is on the bed and the fresh blue/white cover has been swapped for a patterned plum-coloured one.

Fruit and Flowers

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Posted on May 6, 2014

We planted the new blueberry bushes on Sunday.

We bought 3 each of 4 different varieties that seemed appropriate for our climate. I collected enough rocks to create a border around the new patch. At the moment there is residual grass but we are planning to mulch the entire area. We will order a load of pine mulch which is acidic and suitable for the blueberries. Underneath the mulch we will place several layers of newspaper to suppress the grass.

The passionfruit vince which we bought at the same time as the blueberries has been planted next to the chicken run so that it can grow on the fence..

Finally, I wanted to show you one of the ornamental plants in our garden. It is a gorgeous apricot hibiscus which was here when we came. The shrub is nothing to look at but the flowers are stunning. Here is one that managed to escape under the old sleeper which is placed to stop the chickens escaping under the fence. There are lots more buds on the plant and soon it will be covered with beauties like this.

We are considering planting the garden bed infront of the verandah with a selection of hibiscus shrubs. There is a display at Woombye (Sunshine Coast) on Saturday so we are hoping to go and get a few ideas.

The New Arrivals

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Posted on May 3, 2014

On Thursday evening there was a card in our mailbox advising that there was a large parcel at the Post Office for us to collect. We collected the box early on Friday morning before we went to work. It was our fruit trees that we ordered online from Daley’s Nursery. We ordered 12 blueberry bushes and a passionfruit vine.

Here is the box after I had slit one side open (as suggested in the attached instructions). The plants were well-packed and in excellent condition. Once again, we followed the directions and removed all of the wrapping and put them out in full sun.

We watered them well and have placed them in the area where they will be planted – hopefully tomorrow. It may be a bit difficult to see in the photo but I had already placed rocks to mark where we are going to plant them so it will be a relatively simple matter of digging the holes. The ground is quite soft as we have had some rain. Blueberries thrive in a slightly acidic soil. I have never actually tested the pH of our soil but the other indicator is that azaleas and camellias grow really well in our area and they like very similar conditions.

We have four other blueberry shrubs which are in the area which is now the chicken run. You can read about them in this previous post. We did not give them as much care as they probably needed but we still managed to harvest about 1.5kg of berries this summer. That was predominantly from 2 shrubs. We have now pruned them quite hard and mulched them thoroughly.

The other exciting news is that we have completely finished fencing the vegetable garden area.

As well as the completed fencing you may also be able to see the black hoops over the garden bed in the distance. This is some large poly pipe which I am planning to use as a frame for some exclusion netting to keep the white cabbage moth off the broccoli, kale, cabbages and cauliflower. I am looking at buying the vege netting from Green Harvest. We are fortunate that this business is located in Maleny so we are able to place our order online and then pick it up in person.