Homemade

Homemade has been on the agenda in an increasing way lately for us. Our sourdough loaves continue (and continue to improve methinks), the homemade butter still delights us and our visitors and now we've added homemade pasta to our repertoire.

Ian's spaghetti creations

My oh my, I had never really eaten pasta before Ian's homemade spaghetti noodles. I mean, I'd eaten that stuff that comes in packets, dried from the supermarket of course. But fresh, soft, long pasta made from flour and Henny Penny's eggs. *Mmmmm*.

The colour, texture and taste was truly wonderful - and the girls had seconds. Best of all though? Ian put his love and effort proudly into their creation. Seriously. Awesome. Any man who makes me pasta from scratch gets big ticks in my book.

Ian hard at work

So all this homemade, real food has got this mama thinking - what's so special about homemade? I mean, its trendy (think recycling, upcycling, repurposing etc...) and all that, but that's never been something to drive this mama.

What is it that's driving me and us on this homemade journey?

Firstly its all about connectedness and being more down to earth. My post-natal depression came as a surprise, but looking back I can see the lesson in the challenge - I've been too far from the ground for too long. I've been unanchored and floating. I thought that was the freedom I wanted (and perhaps for a while it was). From trying to be too much to trying to be like others to trying to do everything, I was exhausted even before we brought Rosie into the world. Handmaking things for us brings me closer to who I am and what I have right now.

Homemade is also about valuing the traditions of old, about connecting (again) with our family's past - Nan and Mum both knit, sew and fix cloth. They cook from scratch. They grow fruit and veggies. Pa, who is no longer with us in person, was the first one to be in the garden, growing and sowing, weeding and feeding. This is our heritage and its one that I want to carry on for myself and our little family.

Homemade is also about valuing our individuality. With homemade food, clothes, toys etc... we move away from consumerism, mass marketing and the treadmill urging us to have the same as everyone else. We are all individuals and our homemade approach helps to value and develop our uniqueness.

Focussing on a handmade home also brings balance to this world of technological wizardry and ever-increasing computing speed. Yes, this mama has an iphone, an ipad and blog that she loves, but she doesn't like the feeling of trying to keep up with something new everyday (every hour?). That speed leaves me feeling even more unanchored and increases my anxiety. Our girls deserve a chance to choose what works for them too. In our house we remain relatively unplugged from this world. Making things by hand, knowing where they came from and how they were put together balances the great unknowns of our technology and the system we live in.

This is why I value homemade for our little family of four learners. Most of the time though I don't think about these reasons. I just know that it feels good. That I feel calm and in control when I use my hands as much as my head to make something for us.

Wishing you, dear readers, a lovely, lovely day.

How does your garden grow?

Our Winter gardening continues with the planting of new asparagus crowns and two new rhubarb crowns. Also in are a lemonade tree, an Emperor mandarine and we've transplanted some strawberry plants to create a larger area of these lovely delicacies. We are of the firm opinion that you can never have too many strawberries! So these newbies were planted with love and are settling into their beds for the rest of the Winter, ready to wake up and grow once Spring arrives.

 Bethany watering our newly transplanted strawberry plants

Rosie and I made a study of our edible plants and created together some plant markers for the garden. I loved nurturing Rosie's creativity in this way.

Rosie is drawing her pictures of edible plants for the plant markers we put in the garden

The delightful camomile marker

Rosie in the winter garden

I'm also seeing a wonderful love of animals growing within our girls. They are really becoming more friendly and more comfortable with them as each day passes and its a joy for me to see this development of their identities.

The beautiful Miss Bethany with snowy the guinea pig

Rosie and Poppy, our least adventurous chicken, share a cuddle

This week's harvest includes lemons, oranges, parsley and red hot pokers (see photo) - a wonderful way to warm a Winter garden.

And for me? Well, a new pair of gumboots (yes they actually fit my long feet) are just the thing I needed for getting in with the chickens, digging in new plants and walking around in the wet grass. Now for some more gardening tomorrow before lots of rain arrives. Wish me luck...

My lovely new gumboots for working in the garden

Our Red Hot Pokers (Kniphofia) create a lovely, warm boundary to our garden

Lemons growing well in the front garden

Just a tidbit please

This mama has slipped off the sugar-free wagon. It happened slowly - a dessert here, some honey there, an accepted offer of chocolate....a donut from the bakery....caramel slice....
*sigh*
So delicious, these little tidbits...and so, well, satisfying.
And yet I can feel myself begin to clog up. I can feel those crazy cravings return and demand my attention. I can watch as I bend my days in order to incorporate more sugar here and there. Its subtle and subversive but most definitely alive and taking power from me.
'Tis a curious thing, the recognition that your life is being driven, to some extent, by the forces of a chemical found commonly in everyday life.
Don't get me wrong here, I don't necessarily believe that sugar is bad, just that I don't have a very strong ability to say no to its wiles. My tolerance is low and I'm easily swayed.
But I've also had enough of this. You see, I want to be in control. I want to know what my limits are - how much I can have before I'll tip over the edge and cravings will start to rule.
But I need to be gentle with myself. Like many things in life its a journey, sometimes magical and enlightening and sometimes just baby steps and forgiveness for falling down again. This Mama definitely needs to be gentle and let her inner child learn and grow, and let her inner critic take a long holiday.

Little treasures

Its the little things in life that make all the difference to the big things I think. This Mama often looks to the big and bold when things become a challenge and seeks to fix or change or throw something out and then 'it will all be better'. But time and again this proves me wrong and I see that its the little treasures, the small efforts, that make the difference. All that is required is a little shift in perspective and suddenly is seen afresh by this tired Mama's eyes.
This is how it has been for our home these holidays. Our $21 challenge finished up a couple of weeks ago and finally, finally, dear readers, I finished going through all our expenses for the past financial year.
And my what a shock! I knew that my penchant for books probably meant that I spent too much there. And I knew deep down that the delightful Sassy Road in Mount Beauty probably received too much of our loving cash (but oh my the clothes are amazing). But $1000 on books? No! $1700 at Sassy Road? Wow.
And that doesn't include the money I spent on my daily visits to our little supermarket or the coffees and 'cinos and treats...
*ahem*
All these little treasures certainly added up to a big overspend last year.
So the talk around our home lately has been about shifting our perspectives just a bit more. A bit more of a focus on relationships with people rather than things. A bit more love. A bit more homemade and upcycled. A bit more mindfulness and a bit more organisation. And all these little bits...well they might just shift the budget back in the black too. Its baby steps for us again - just like Bethany.
Further to this week's budget blasting are the challenges we help our own little treasures through on a daily basis. Like our overspending on expenses, Rosie often overspends her energies and is overwhelmed by emotions and how things feel on her skin. Her path through life is often complicated by her sensitivity - sometimes a blessing and sometimes a challenge - very much like this Mama herself. And sometimes we look (again) to big and bold changes and things to 'fix' Rosie so that she may feel calm and confident. AND again these are surprisingly dead ends that lead nowhere. For its little treasures that make this difference - a smile here, a cuddle there, reading a chapter of a book together, a hot drink or some fresh popcorn. These little things can break a stalemate and release the pent up emotional friction so that she may breathe freely again, even if only for a moment. Its these little treasures that this Mama works on each day.
And in her own way, Bethany struggled to breathe last week. As a virus took hold she was a miserable little one who needed lots of cuddles, help sleeping and multiple trips to our wonderful local doctors. And as we made our way through this illness together, it was the little treasures and attentions that brought us closer together and slowly brought her back to health.
Wishing you days full of little treasures with your little ones...

Our little treasures creating art together

Our budget spreadsheet - very exact and organised, but its what this Mama needs to take control of her spending!

 

Winter days

A lovely day was had by all during today's family ski day. This mama had a wonderful, chatty ski with a friend, devoted Daddy Ian took his oldest girl up for a ski on the slopes in her pink ski boot and snowsuit and Bethany wore the little purple ski overalls that we dressed Rosie in when she was one.
There is something special about our times in the snow in Winter. It has been a cornerstone of our lives since we met, and continues to play a large role in the life of our family. We love the crisp, freshly fallen snow that slides beneath our skis and launches from our hands as snowballs. We love the sun glinting off the ice particles, transforming the snow into a Winter fairyland.
There has been much talk around our home lately about the importance of snow to us, especially since the snow has fallen so late this year. To some degree we had become a little melancholy about better days and snow seasons in the past, and I must admit, this Mama was a little sceptical about any falling at all this year and was deeply involved in the development of our garden instead. But suddenly there it was - fresh, white powdery snow falling up on the peaks - and our Winter has transformed happily into another ski-fest.
Today we shared our snow times with friends at the Birkebeiner Nordic Ski Club - our favourite family-friendly club and place to hang out when we're up at Falls Creek. You know its a special place when ordinary members are ex-Winter Olympians for Australia (and future Winter Olympians I'm sure), you're surrounded by Olympic memorabilia and yet you feel like you're at home. This is a truly special family club that we love being a part of.
And towards the end of the day, after everyone else had gone back down to their warm homes and Rosie and her Daddy were up skiing, Bethany and I shared a quiet time by ourselves in the clubrooms, reading through books, playing with toys and crocheting a little more.
A heavenly day...

A crocheted beanie using fibre from North East Yarns that I've been working on.

Our days

As the Winter solstice slides past and we feel ourselves move into the second half of the year we begin to look forward to the growth of Spring and Summer.
School finished up for the term with a special day of activities and the bringing home of much delightful artwork and storytelling. I do so love Rosie's drawings when she is engaged and full of stories about what is taking place in them. My favourite at the moment is her drawing about Little Red Riding Hood (see photo) and the Big Bad Wolf (there was another about the Three Little Pigs too). They are so priceless, these drawings, like snapshots into the fantastic world of a 5 year old where anything is possible and everything is in technicolour.
And for me? Well, I've taken what feels like a natural break from the blog and really enjoyed some times with the girls while it's school holidays. We've played and worked, and much of that was one and the same.
Our days have been filled with garden work, playing with friends and a big family trip into Albury-Wodonga for our monthly shop, annual purchase of fruit trees and new plants for the garden and a big play at an adventure park.
Oh my, the joy on Bethany's face as she swung to and fro at the park. And the joy on my face as Rosie quickly and easily made new friends and smiled constantly. A proud mama moment again.
The kitchen has been a busy place with pumpkin soup, homemade pasta sheets, more sourdough loaves and homemade butter starring on our menu repeatedly. And are they getting better, these loaves and pats of butter? Well, the proof really is in the tasting but lets just say that these are still a hit with the Ian and the girls and I admit to a certain amount of pride at these homemade achievements too.
In the garden the chickens remain healthy and adventurous and are often to be found in our neighbour's yards during the day. So far there have been no protests, and I'm sure the cat next door is more afraid of our hens than they are of her, however we have plans to add to their current pen so that we may concentrate their manure-producing capacity and allow them to keep our fruit trees free of pests. This is our permaculture solution in action (providing we can convince the chickens to stay in their area!).
We're also adding to our fruit trees this year with a new dwarf cherry, a dwarf apricot, a lemonade tree (mmm...I can taste the homemade lemonade already) and an emperor mandarin (for easy peeling). Add to this 2 new rhubarb crowns and 5 asparagus crowns and a whole lot of rain and you have a lot of garden work for this mama to get her green thumbs into.
And with rain falling down here in Mount Beauty and snow falling up in the hills, the fire has been our constant warm companion these last few days. This has inspired much knitting, finger-knitting and crocheting. Several beanies and fingerless mittens have been churned out by this mama as she's sat, warmed by the flames, while her little ones play and run. Ahhh, I love this part of Winter....the time indoors, the creativity, the chance to make something to warm a loved one, the crackle of lovingly collected timber and girls in thermals and handknits...
sigh.
Happy holidays to you all.

This was the first beanie I crocheted (I had to be my own guinea pig!)

This was the second, Rosie chose her rainbow colours and was adamant that it must have a pink stripe.

The girls in their matching thermals

The first loaves

The second loaves - better looking I think!

The delightful Little Red Riding Hood, drawn by Rosie at school and brought lovingly home

The girls at the adventure playground

The sourdough fruit loaves I tried next - needs more work I think, but tasted good.

Nurturing a new violinist

I've been thinking about writing this post for a while now. I'm just so.........well, overwhelmingly excited that Rosie not only wants to play the violin, but that she's willing to practice, take advice (most of the time) and commit to getting better.

And the concentration I've seen, oh my it almost breaks my heart with joy to see her so dedicated and in love.

From practicing with older girls at school to enthusiastically listening to music and writing her own music at home to a first performance with friends at arts night (thank-you my lovelies), I see a girl blooming with her own confidence all of a sudden.

I want to explain why this is so important to me, but I'm having trouble with the words and all I can say is that it makes me a very happy Mama indeed to see my oldest littley expressing herself through music and growing creatively. Sigh. Happy. Mama.

Homemade butter

Yes, I made my own. Something I've been wanting to do for a long while. And it tastes just like butter.

After purchasing cream that came from local cows I used firstly my cake mixer to make a batch (which was quite slow I admit), and then my food processor to make another two batches (much quicker). I used some instructions from Down to Earth about making butter easily at home if you're interested.

The photos are worth a lot more than my words today.... enjoy.