dishwashers, garden soil and not coping..........

The new addition to the kitchen is installed and has washed its first load without a hitch ....although there were some funny moments as Daisyson20 and I tried to work out from the pictures in the book where the rinse aid stuff should go. On advice we used one part white vinegar to ten parts water, glasses were sparkly arkly so think it will be okay. I bought the environmentally friendly dishwasher soap with citrus but it STINKS!!! and I mean that literally it cleaned well enough but boy it pongs...apparently I will void the warranty of I use bicarb as it is an alkalai ( I knew that) and it might wreck the inside of the machine (didn't know that). I got a name brand machine that only uses 11.9 litres for an eco wash. That is MUCH less than two sink fulls of water that we need to wash up dinner , plus one for breakfast and lunch. So all in all I don't think I am being an environmental vandal but I am concerned that none of the dishwashers I looked at had a high star rating and a high water rating. It was either one or the other so I chose water - for us with tanks and a family of nine - it is very precious.

The other "first pay packet" purchase is a load of organic ( no man made chemical additives) garden soil - cost me an arm and a leg but I needed some soil for the vegetable garden - ours was only the soil that came from underneath the old chook pen. So the beds are full and I have some beans ready to go in this weekend and hopefully I will plant out some other seeds on Sunday to go in in a few weeks. I have been diligently reading my what to plant lists from Gardengate (thanks Stewart!) and I have a plan. When I get paid again I am buying another load of soil and building some more beds inside the orchard paddock - these will get more sun through winter and I think they will be our main beds for the cooler months then next summer it will be back to the old site which gets full sun and dappled shade, even the lettuce seemed to cope quite well through the heat. I figure this way I will always have beds spelling and being able to be renourished - which I didn't do before.

Not coping??? Well not really there just seems to be so many things to do on these two days off but I am sure by next week when I am not running back to prep at 11.30, and all the kids will be back into their normal routines I will find myself with those few extra hours I am craving to get everything just so.

I feel like I am so disorganised but in reality the house is clean and reasonably tidy, the washing is done and thanks to a few hours of sunshine today is dry, the folding well that is another story....... The kitchen thanks to the new dishwasher is cleaner than ever, and I managed to get my tax done finally!!!! So really I am in a good place.

I am a planner I like to know I am ready for new changes and after coming home from holidays and going straight to work, I didn't get to do that. So off to take stock of where I am actaully at and get this house "Friday" clean. Then I will do some sewing work that has come in, cancel my ad in the local paper because I know now I cannot keep my sewing business going along with working outside and inside my home. In actual fact this will be a relief I always felt I had to work hard to build my business but now I am working and I get paid well for what I do it is so much easier. So I will tidy up these few jobs and that will be it.

Why the photo of "my mountain" well this is what I look at when I sit in those white metal chairs, I love the moods of my mountain and while this morning he was glum and drippy and brooding, this afternoon he is bathed in sunshine, and seems light and happy - guess who feels the same way.

Thank you for taking the time to share my world

daisymum

22 years.............the end of an era..........

Here is my youngest daisyboy at about 13 months, yesterday he started prep.

Things went very well and he was only a little apprehensive when daisydad had to leave. But came home all smiles and full of news including that "they had shot some kid out of a cannon" (will find out about that when we drop him off today).

It wasn't quite how I imagined the day to be. I left about 15 minutes before the bell to get to work. As I walked out of the school I thought well that is it, finally after all these years no toddlers at home.

I had a frantically busy day at work - so it probably won't hit me until tomorrow when daisygirl finally starts school again, the boys are off to school, and daisyson18 is at work - then I will have the house to myself...............................

Today though I am off to buy a dishwasher!

daisymum

Friday....hand quilting and banana bread

This is a photo of the a quilt my daughter made it is her first attempt at quilting. She sewed strips of scrap fabric of all different widths on to six inch squares of telephone book pages (makes them easy to trim to the right size. When all the sewing is done you trim and tear the paper away. She then sewed these to calico squares across the diagional (twice) cut down the middle between the stitch lines and opened them out to have a square made of a plain and a pieced triangle this method is fast for kids because you get two squares at once!! Then she helped me sew them altogether to form rows then the rows together and voila a quilt top is born.


Over the holidays I have been reading some of the Elm Creek novels and I really wanted to do some hand quilting so I picked it up and the stitches you see are what I got done in an hour or so. The stitches are big because I have used a piece of pola fleece that someone gave me for the batting (it washes really well in kids quilts).

I was having a wonderful time and was really enjoying the process and could feel myself relaxing when she came in and announced that she would rather have it machine quilted!!!!!!!!!!


So yesterday when my quilting buddy arrived I was telling her about it, as we looked at what we had completed or started over the holidays, as I was walking back out of the sewing room I spotted the corner of another quilt top I had finished at retreat last year - the perfect hand quilting project!!!! We chose some border fabric and backing (from the STASH) and I sewed them on yesterday now all I have to do is machine quilt daisygirls quilt so I can use the pins to pin my hand quilting project. This will keep me sane it is such a relaxing rewarding thing to do.


And then there was this other friend of mine who runs one of the fruit shops in the village...he walked into work and gave me a box of bananas...they all had brown spots on them but were firm and perfect for eating or smoothies - apparently people won't buy bananas with brown spots on them so he either has them sitting there getting browner with 99c a kilo on them or he gives them to me and I (with all my spare time) turn it into banana bread - some of which goes back to him for his staff morning teas.

Normally the box of bananas is a box but not full this week (becasue I have so much spare time) it was FULL!!!!





So here are some I baked earlier .............................
minus half of the ring one we had for morning tea.......








Here is the last batch inside Gloria being cooked and there was another containter of 2 dozen muffins already in the freezer......













Can you believe people won't buy bananas with a brown spot on them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So breakfast this rainy day (the water tanks just started overflowing) will be a pot of freshly brewed coffee and warm banana bread.

daisymum

Still here!!!!

Well I am still here but the last week has gone in a blur. I have only worked my scheduled days this week and I am pleased I put in the effort to spend the extra time last week at work becasue now I have things mostly tidied and can just walk in and start work without all the mess around me - SIMPLIFYING - DECLUTTERING - only this time at work.

Home ? well that quote that I am fond of giving to others about being a great mother, a fantastic wife and a wonderful business woman - just not all on the same day....has really come back to bite me in the behind. Boy it is SO TRUE - I think girl children should have it tattooed on their forearm at birth!!!!!!

Neverhteless as I read this I realise I still have my sense of humour something that was sorely lacking in the fog that was last week.

So today daisyson17 is 18 - henceforth he shall be referred to as daisyson18. Below is a photo of his birthday cake...complete with HSV commodore to adorn the top - we found it at Kmart for about $3 the other day heaven only knows how old it is and how long it has been there but chocolate is chocolate and holdens are holdens and $3 is small price to pay for my car mad son to have it on his cake.

I have a few more posts in the wings I decided the only way I am going to keep up is to write some ahead of time then include all the daily ramnblings when I pull it up to post....this may sound like cheating but I call it organisation from now on I need even more of that than before.

People are still bringing me their alterations and honestly I think I am going to have to can that part of my life except in a few rare circumstances I just don't seem to have time to get everything done with working. I have another load of pre fold nappies to make and a skirt to take up and another little repair job. I guess I will just have to get used to the idea that I won't be able to turn things around in a few days and people seem happy to wait so maybe I will see how it goes for a while.

Okay off to have a swim in the dam it is over 30 here already this morning - then we have a relaxing day of friends coming over (one of my quilting buddies and her kids), a bbq lunch and just kicking back and relaxing. Tomorrow well that is whole other story...............

daisymum

Sunday............

Wow where did the week go?

I ended up working everyday except Friday last week so today is a day of catching up on housework, and trying to be more organised for meals for next week.

Fortunately the house isn't too bad the kids and I got stuck in on Friday and did some things, but I have had a bit of a head cold so I was moving much slower than usual!!

As predicted daisyboy4 isn't taking me being at work very well and is very clingy and whingy, I am hoping that when he starts prep in a few weeks he will have so many other thing to occupy his mind that me not being there won't worry him too much.

Daisyson17 is studying externally so that means he will be home to pick up kids from the school bus etc so that is a blessing. he will be working at the local hardware store though three or four days a week and we are trying to work it so he works the days I don't and vice versa.

I have been reading another Elm Creek Quilt novel and so all I really want to do today is unpack the sewing machine and start sewing something! But we are having lunch with friends so it will have to wait until Tuesday when I have a day off.

Once I am over this cold I will get more organised and get some more photos to post for you all of the happenings in the garden. I have pulled everything out of the vege patch and have added loads of manure and am digging it over everyday just to break up the soil. I will plant out some seeds today I think if I have time and so in a few weeks things will be ready to go again but this time with more planning and rotation so hopefully we get good yields.

daisymum

Bragging.................

Daisyson17 just logged in and found out he has been accepted into the Bachelor of Creative Enterprise degree. He was a little disappointed he wanted the Environmental Management course but as his mum and seeing his results this is a much better fit for him.

I am so proud of him and I had to share with all of you

daisymum

One crazy week....

Although I was only supposed to be working three days a week this week I worked Monday, then went in on Tuesday because they needed me to, so I worked until 3.30 then flew home grabbed the kids and went to the library and off to do a birthday present shop for a sleepover party this weekend. I worked yesterday and this afternoon they need me to go in for a few hours as well.

Meantime I have to get the night time group for patchworkers organised finish off my tax return for the accountant, get my domain name registration paid for, get daisyson17s quilt off to the quilter so she has time to do it before his birthday oh and did I mention the washing, ironing,
folding, cleaning?

I know it is only the first week but I am wondering how I am going to cope with this - I am so tired today I would love to still be in bed.

It will probably be different when the kids are back at school I won't have that nagging guilt that I should be with them not at work.




I know I will be drummed out of the green network for this but I am buying a dishwasher we had one while we were away and it was so easy we still only needed to put it on once a day and I used bicarb in it instead of the chemical powders and it worked very well. So with this fortnights pay check I am off to buy one, nothing fancy just something that has a high water and electricty rating then in the mornings I can load the brekky things into it and the kitchen is clean when I go off to work, it will get filled with the dinner dishes and put on then. Is this a cop out???





Off to get a heap of little jobs done and spend some much needed time with my children this morning before I go back into the office this afternoon for I what I hope will only be a few hours.





daisymum

I'm baaaack.......

Here is the quilt I finished in the week before we went away for daisyson17s best friend (daisysonbf in photo - clever boy got an OP1). It is made of recycled shirts from the op shop!!

Heres where we parked and spent Christmas morning after the whole present thing (at the foot of the coloured sands on Rainbow beach)...daisydad smiled all day - I started to think "our traditions" were really "my" traditions - so from now on things will be a bit different - it was such a relaxing wonderful Christmas. I missed the decorations that we have bought each child each year and the excitement that goes with pulling them out and remembering and putting them on the tree but honestly that was about the only thing I was lamenting - so a new tradition will be born incorporating that element and getting rid of the rest of the STUFF - talk about simplifying Christmas!!!

First day of working mum world.....................

Although I have had this little job for a few months now it has always been on a Saturday yesterday I went off for my first weekday of a working week....it went somehting like this.

After not wanting to get out of bed becaue I am still in holiday mode I got up got dressed, changed clothes, changed shoes, left far too early only to arrive at work without the office keys...call daisyson20 to bring them to me, boss stops in and opens the office on her way to first appointment, a great start!!

Kitchen is filthy, office untidy, there is literally a pile of files with my name on them (think to self wasn't anyone here for the last three weeks???) work work answer phone work, work, clean answer phone....

text message from daisygirl big brother is picking on her blah blah blah....think to self didn't know you could send a 7 SEVEN page text message......

work work, gobble salad I made last night at desk in between phone calls, work work, answer phones.....

Need coffee ......coffee shop next door closed - it is only 3 o'clock!!!!!!

5.25 okay leaving now I have left a list of things for "otherworker" to do tomorrow, I think we need to blah blah blah.....

5.40 shop for chicken thighs for dinner think there is some curry paste in the cupboard somewhere, ring daisygirl put on rice cooker for me honey?

6pm arrive home - house is amazing the kids have tidied up and cleaned the little boys room - you know THE LITTLE BOYS ROOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Boxes of toys for goodwill, no lego on the floor and the clothes folded and put away - there are even fresh vases of flowers - I love my kids!

6.40 dinner - did I mention that daisydad and I have decided no wine during the week anymore we will go back to our old ways and drink only water with dinner - BUMMER - I need wine!!

by the way I have to work again tomorrow.....................................

So this morning I got up at 4.30am drove into town and got the bread I forgot yesterday and pulled everything out of the vege garden, got a nice basket of eggplant, tomatoes, beans and the tiniest potatoes I have ever seen. Will stop and get some manure on the way home to add to the soil.

off to fold some clothes and stick a load of washing on the line before work.

its great to be back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PS: the camels wandered past us late on Boxing Day afternoon as we sat on the beach north of Ranbow Beach about 8km south of Inskip Point. It was quite surreal they are so quiet and slow and gentle their hooves barely mark the sand - I think i would like to go about my life like a camel, needing little and leaving only the barest of footprints.................................so from time to time over the coming year you may see some other photos of those camels just to remind me what I am aiming for.

daisymum

What "Christmas at the Beach" looked like

Almost back...

Hi everyone finally ventrued to check the emails after three weeks and have had to answer about 100!!!

We willbe back fokm holidays this weekend but as I start my new three day a week job on Monday don't expect a blog update until Tuesday.

Finally after 22 years I will be part of the actual work force again. Wish me luck!!

See you all next week.

daisymum