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