So now I’ve got the inconvenience of replacing all my cards, wallet etc, the expense of buying a new phone and all that jazz. Oh not to mention the cost of replacing my phone SIM, new public transport pass and all those little things you take for granted. I’d just been to the optometrist and picked up my new glasses so they must have thought the glasses case held sunnies and they took those as well. Suckers. Good luck using my prescription for my crappy eyesight! Hoping those, at least, will be dumped and handed in.

The manager at Woolies was fantastic. He sat with me while I filed a police report over the phone and cancelled my bank cards. He gave me a free bottle of water and the best part is he insisted I take my shopping with me and come back and pay for it when I got hold of some money. That’s lovely service, really and very much appreciated.

I feel lost without my purse and phone. I feel weird knowing I don’t have any money, ID, drivers licence, medicare card, bank cards, and all the things it’s going to take me months to replace. Plus the nice, shiny new smartphone. I’d only just entered The World of Apps and was wondering why it had taken me so long to switch from my shitty nokia into this wonderful technological magical world. Oh, that’s right, because we couldn’t afford it since I’m on maternity leave with one income. Sigh. Send me good vibes and hope that the karma police, and more importantly the regular police, catch the bastard who thought stealing from a pram is choice they’d make in life.

Poor things. Must be hard being so furry. Simon and Garfunkel live in a movable enclosure on our tiny square of front lawn in about 4 square metres, so they’ve got enough room to have a bounce around and eat the grass. We then harvest (i.e. rake!) up the poo every week and move the enclosure to give the grass time to recover. We’ve got a small rabbit hutch inside for really hot days, so they’re lounge room bunnies when it’s over about 30 degrees. On warm but bearable outside bunny days they get frozen water bottles to cuddle up to. It’s very cute. Squidlet loves them with all his heart and they at least let him pat them, unlike the cat. I’m “aging” the poo and hay in a compost bin so that I’m not putting fresh manure on the garden.

So, yes, garden is shrivelling in the heat but the bunnies are alive and well. It’s all about priorities when you’re time poor!

We’ve been having far (far, far) too much take away since Squid was born and now he can entertain himself I’m looking forward to nipping that in the bud. Take away food should be something to look forward to as a treat, like our awesome local japanese place, burger joint or thai. Not an exhausted 9pm text to my partner as he’s on his way home from work ‘Squid had the crappiest day. More teething. Couldn’t put him down. Need food STAT’ and lo and behold we get red rooster or hungry jacks. Again. Because only really bad take away places are open at 930pm.

My goal for the next two weeks is absolutely no take away at all. I’m going to trawl through my recipes and find those that have less than 15 minutes preparation tops and preferably 5 or 10! This’ll mean mostly Trevor ones then, I’m thinkin’. Any suggestions on your favourite QUICK and healthy recipes would be fabulous Then next week I’ll be working from someone else’s menu plans. I’ve signed up for the million kilo challenge, with the goal of losing 12kg in 10 weeks. I’ve put on so much weight since having Squid that I sadly think that’s achievable Anyway, it includes a menu plan for each week and I’m planning on loosely following it, but I’ll have to adjust some to fit with my time constraints and baby-friendly food.

So in the mean time, this week’s Mad Dash Menu:

Monday:

lunch: leftover zucchini and mushroom slice based on this recipe and salad

dinner: tuna mornay (Budget Busters)

Tuesday:

lunch: sandwiches

dinner: lentil bolognese

Wednesday:

lunch: leftover lentils

dinner: chicken patties and salad (EDC)

Thursday:

lunch: leftovers again!

dinner: spiced meatballs (Dinner Spinner)

Friday:

lunch: spare

dinner: ‘fried’ rice

Saturday:

lunch: sandwiches plus afternoon tea for my 2012 Phoenix launch!

dinner: homemade pizzas

Sunday:

lunch: spare

dinner: spare

Baby’s calling (mamamamaaaaarghgurgleessaaaaahhhmmmm) better go!!

Monday: 

Gifts: Dried Apricot Preserves, Strawberry Vanilla Jam, EDC Marmalade, EDC Dukkha, Flavoured Salts (fennel, olive citrus, chilli lime, saffron, vanilla), Cookies and Cream Fudge.

Lunch: HAHAHA like there was time for lunch

Dinner: Lamb with olive and citrus rub and leftovers of the most awesome salad in the world

Tuesday:

Gifts: Hot Chocolate, EDC Chocolate Hazelnut Spread, Spelt and Rosemary Crackers

Lunch: sandwiches

Dinner: EDC pasta, probably involving bacon

Wednesday:

Lunch: out!

Dinner: zucchini slice

Thursday

Lunch: zucchini slice

Dinner: Asian style fish fillets (EDC)

Friday:

Gifts: almond chop chip biscuits, cranberry and choc chip biscuits, orange shortbread, pomegranate molasses biscuits

Lunch: probably biscuits to be honest

Dinner: Prozac

Saturday:

Baking: Fruity pear mince tarts

Can’t think about eating anything. Oh all right maybe one mince pie

Sunday

Christmas! We’re having a big combined lunch at my mum’s house, with my partner’s family coming up from the country to join us for Squidlet’s first Christmas. We’re a cold meat and salad kind of family, but last year we had roasts on the bbq with salads because I was pregnant and couldn’t have cold meats. We liked it so much we’re doing it again! The in-laws are providing some organic, free range, couldn’t-have-had-a-better-life lamb from their farm, as well as eggs etc.  We’re taking salads to mum’s for lunch – that standby fruity harvest salad and a caesar salad using EDC dressing and the pear mince tarts. My brother will probably make his famous potato salad with basil and char grilled capsicum and there will probably be an Amanda’s salad, which is an in-joke. My mum is making her famous icecream cake with raspberry coulis. We’ve had this at Christmas for the last few years and mum puts in varying layers of whatever she feels like, but it’s always delicious! Cream, nuts, cherries, icecream, custard, choc chips…yuuum. Oh, and my Nanny is bringing a trifle, as usual. I think the thing I love about Christmas is the tradition. It doesn’t have to be stuffy, old style carols and trimming the tree together. In our house, it’s our favourite foods, the same people (with new additions!), the same old in-jokes that we laugh at every single year. Oh and then there’s a few games of ‘Gilchrist Tennis’ which my brother and I invented a few years ago. It’s just playing totem tennis while seated, because we were too full to get up and play If the ball hits your hand then you both have to drop the bats and play with your feet. My nephew scores in the most fluid way possible and only he knows the rules I guess you had to be there to understand, and we will be there again in a few days.

Merry Christmas!

My partner alternates shifts every fortnight so one week he’s home for dinner and the other we have leftovers mostly, as I’m busy dealing with the Mr 7 month’s witching hour (or 3… or 4 hours) and bedtime. The first menu plan I’ve ever done was a roaring success and I can’t believe how smoothly everything went, how little food we wasted and how organised I was for Squid’s meals too. I’m definitely a convert to meal planning!

The spanakopita from last fortnight was lovely and used up heaps of languishing silverbeet from the garden.  The ricotta was so easy to make. I’m never buying it again! Tenina’s fruity harvest salad was the hit of the week. We had friends round for a bbq and two weeks later they’re still raving about this salad! I think I’ll be taking it to mum’s for Christmas lunch.

So, on to this week’s belated menu:

Monday:

lunch: sandwiches

dinner: teriyaki beef from Meat on the Menu (Squid – veges and couscous)

Tuesday:

lunch: sandwiches

dinner: minestrone soup with olive and rosemary spelt bread (Squid – same)

Wednesday:

lunch: minestrone (Squid – same)

dinner: leftover lamb tagine with pilaf (Squid – same)

Thursday:

lunch: out

dinner: falafel, hummus, leftover pilaf and salad (Squid – same)

Friday:

lunch: falafel kebabs (Squid – falafel and flatbread)

dinner: fish pie (Squid – same)

Saturday:

lunch: leftover fish pie

dinner: lamb bbq and Tenina’s seeded quinoa salad from the dinner spinner

Sunday:

lunch: cold meat and salad

dinner: roast pork if home, picnic if going to carols by candlelight

Really, really have to start thinking about Christmas, what to make as gifts etc. My plans of being all organised and ready early this year? Yeah, utter failure

Monday

Lunch: leftover roast chicken (Squid: apricot and yogurt)

Dinner: Arancini balls with salad (made with leftover mushroom risotto from EDC recipe) (Squid: risotto)

Making: spelt bread; chicken stock and vege puree for Squid using chicken bones and freezing

Tuesday

Lunch: sandwiches (Squid: chicken “casserole” made yesterday)

Dinner: slow cooked lamb tagine made in the morning (Squid: tagine + pumpkin/sweet potato/potato puree)

Making: pumpkin/sweet potato/potato puree and freezing

Fast forward to the present and I’m now loving my time as a stay at home mum to my gorgeous 6 month old boy. He’s a really happy baby now that he’s able to lunge around and grab, well, anything within reach really!  He loves ‘talking’ and ‘singing’, which are just freaking adorable. It took a while to get here though. The first few months were tough. In fact, I remember a pregnant friend calling me up a few weeks after Squid was born and I said in a feverish tone something like: “no, really, they say it’s exhausting and really hard and you prepare yourself for it, but NOTHING can prepare you for this. Nothing, It’s a total mindf*ck. It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done. EVER”. At the worried silence on the other end of the phone I tacked on “oh, but also the best thing ever. It’s truly magical”. And it is.

It’s taken me this long to recover some brain cells though and even then they’re still stumbling around in the dark after a hard night. There’s enough of them that I’ve got stuck into the garden again and I’m contemplating things like work. I know, right? Probably a guaranteed way to get those brain cells comatose again. I may have to change the name of this blog though, as in true mumsy fashion I’m branching out from gardening and knitting into (really crappy) sewing and more cooking. My nannafication is now complete. I’m a rabid thermomix fan for cooking and I sing its praises to anyone who doesn’t back away slowly from the maniacal glint in my eye.

The vege patch is coming along after a year of neglect. I’ve planted some tomato, zucchini, cucumber, pumpkin, rainbow chard and capsicum. Chilli is going great guns and the silverbeet from last season is still hanging around. We got a couple of lemons off the dwarf tree in it’s first year and more are coming out now. I’m hoping to really get it looking nice outside again. There’s a chance at least, because Squid LOVES his swing so it’s pretty much the only place in the house I’m guaranteed to be able to do something without him getting upset. Hooray!

The raised garden beds have been pretty much planted out and they are going strong, mostly green leafy veg, herbs and brassicas. Is it wrong to feel proudest of those plants that I’ve raised from seed vs the bought seedlings? Go you little seeds! The lettuce and pak choi are the oldest grown from seed and are lookin’ good (see photos). We haven’t had any snails or slugs yet (touch wood) hence the lush leaves

I’ve potted a dwarf lemon, dwarf lime and a curry leaf tree (the three pots behind the bed) so hopefully they’ll stabilise before it gets chilly here. I’m surprised that things are actually growing in the shady part of the beds too. Things besides mint too (though that’s there too). Awesome.

I’ve planted a few things: a borage and greek basil I bought recently, and some lettuce seedings that were just-about-big-enough. The plan was to interplant with strawberries, but the mushroom compost is quite alkaline – pH of around 8.5 when I tested it fresh! Hopefully that will go down over time or I”ll have to add some sulphur. Strawberries like slightly acidic conditions so I’m thinking instead maybe I’ll put  them in pots on the front veranda. Besides watering my seeds and watching them germinate and grow (marginally more interesting than watching grass grow) I haven’t done a lot to the garden.

I have finished Stupid Shawl. Only stupid because it took SO FREAKING LONG to finish. The pattern is actually really nice, and is exactly what it says it it – a simple yet effective shawl!200g of 4ply in a straight either stockinette or garter stitch really did my head in after  a while though. My fault for deciding to double the pattern, really. I like the finished product though, in the end:

To recover I’m doing some much shorter projects for a while including some quick presents, a slouchy beret for me and a cream Biggles scarf for Pilot Boy as a congratulatory present for when he gets his private pilot’s licence very soon Actually it’s a nice suave herringbone pattern but I”m calling it a Biggles scarf. Dammit. I’ve also ordered stupid amounts of yarn lately. Bendigo Woollen Mills have brought out this cashmere blend that is rather lovely and soft…and I’ve somehow ordered 43 (just added them up…oh dear) balls over 3 orders. *scuffs feet* they’re only 50g balls…ahem. Not to mention the lovely 4 skeins of Lush yarn that are staring at me, waiting to be put away. It’s infinitely pettable. Do they have a Yarn Anonymous? My name is Wendy, and I have a problem.

So to start we ripped up the existing paving and made some raised beds (wow, that sentence doesn’t match the amount of effort at all – this took 2.5 days in total…)

I feel kinda sorry for the previous owners who laid all this paving. Ahem.

I’m really happy with the way the beds turned out. Doesn’t look like the lack of mortar will be a problem and it’s easy to shove ‘em back in place! Love the bricks too – very pretty colours and much nicer than the paving.

The black blob is a seriously unphotogenic cat. She is a ninja. A very ungraceful ninja. Quite surprised she’s managing to keep her balance there to be honest.

With the beds built, a trip up to Greenlife Soils for bales of straw and pea hay and a trailer load of poo was in order.

Aaaand if you look to your right – straw!

10cm sections of the bales laid out tighly in  a mat. I watered in some seasol over this. These beds took 3 bales.

The pipes sticking out are for the greywater irrigation system that Pilot Boy is going to install when we get over the bruises from this weekend.

Next comes:

POO!

Around 5cm or less of blended sheep and cow manure, to be precise.

Can’t say I smelled too pretty at this point.

In fact, by way of a ‘good morning’ my retired neighbour came out and said “I love the smell of napalm in the morning!”. We have awesome neighbours

On top of the manure is a dense 20cm mat of pea hay.

I just peeled off the bale in sections.

These beds needed 6 bales to cover them: the rectangular bed has an area of 2.5sqm and the alien shaped one is 5sqm.

I love this photo. It looks so snug sitting in there

More seasol applied and we’re ready for….

…

…

MORE POO!!!

’nuff said.

Another <5cm layer of manure went on top.

We took yet another trip up to Greenlife for a trailer load of mushroom compost. This was spread in a 10cm layer and given a good soaking. Actually I watered in each layer as I chucked it down.

Aaand, we’re done! This will settle down to about the height of the beds once the material starts decomposing. A nice, rich organic mixture ready for planting! I’m going to leave it for a couple of weeks, although you can plant in it pretty much straight away by digging a hole and putting some potting mix in with your plant. The only upkeep they need is some more compost and mulching with pea hay every cropping season.  Very happy with the final result. I’m going to ram some stakes down the holes around the outside of the beds to help steady the bricks and fill the holes up with some fine gravel. This will also hopefully help with any excess drainage issues as well as looking good.

Now I’ve got to sow some seeds and get ready to plant. I have some pak choi, lettuce, a few carrots and one lone, surviving basil ready to go. Seedwise I’ll sow some spinach, silverbeet, snowpeas, beetroot, parsnips, herbs, rocket, broccoli…..and we’ll see what comes up!