Summer, saurkraut, sand and survival.

41 degrees celcius yesterday - and we survived! Thanks to all our preventive mulching and watering, the garden seems to have held up, and the chooks spent their day in under the bushes in the gardens and being very sensible.



Thankfully, the girls were still up on the South Coast of NSW with my parents having a ball at the beach, and blissfully cool.





We spent the christmas break up there enjoying family time in the sand and saltwater. Katie's cousin Harry even taught her to fish. In her crown and tutu: Of course!



But now it's back to the farm, and my parents have kept the girls for a week extra holiday to allow Ben and I sometime to arm ourselves against the next few weeks, where Ben will be undergoing his chemotherapy. My aim was to get the house clean (I can do this better when I dont have 2 little mud princesses here undoing my good work as fast as I can get it done!), get some meals prepped, my freezer and pantry full, and my paperwork in order. Plus go out for dinner, ride my horse, and sleep in a few times!

We accidentally grew 2 potatoes! Woohoo! #accidentalfarming #accidentalharvest

The garden had absolutley EXPLODED in the week we were away! I came come to a bucket full of peas (all now shelled and in the freezer!) and a nice little stash of apricots, which have a 'rust' on them unfortunatley, but still taste AMAZING and made a HUGE jar of apricot jam! Recipe here if you wanna try it: Super easy! Used it for plum jam and apricot - works great for both!)



And I planted some wheatgrass. Wheat grass juice: We'll be doing it lots. Here's a handy youtube how-to. And I was inspired to do it via this. Plus it's a really yummy green juice shot/add in for your juices. (Note: You really need a slow juicer or a mastication juicer to do wheatgrass. Normal centrifugal juicers dont work on wheatgrass. Not sure why, but I've tried, and they don't! I got my hurom-style juicer from Target for $60 and it's worked a treat! One day though, I'd love one of these babies...!)



So I bought my peat ($2 from Bunnings - bargain.) and soaked it in 4.5L of water in a bucket.



I soaked my organic wheat overnight in a jar on a windowsill til it started to germinate.



And I put down a thin layer of damp peat, a thin layer of wheat, and another thin layer of damp peat over the top and put it in my mudroom on the window ledge. I'll let you know how it goes...



I also decided to stock my freezer with food and easy crock-pot/slowcooker meals for hassle-free dinners on chemo days. I spent a whole day chopping veg from my produce market, but now have a freezer full of ziplock bags that I can dump into my slowcooker in the morning, add water, and come home to dinner done at night! things like Pumpkin soup, minestrone, lentil bolognese, veggie noodle souple (just add chicken if you like!), and mexi-beans. Plus I bought 2 BBQ chooks and broke them down into stirfry/soup pieces and put them in freezer bags for meals. And I froze some bananas and blueberries for smoothies. The freezer is *STOCKED*.



On the super-hot day, I decided to try making Belle's saurkraut from The Whole Pantry book. (Have you read it? Its beautiful. Santa bought it for me for christmas!)



Let me tell you - it is YUMMY. I had to stop myself from eating it all then and there! But it needs a few days to ferment so we can get some good bacteria going in there!



...Hurry up saurkraut!

Ben shaved his hair short the other day in preparation, and seeing him like that really brought it crashing down around my ears for a few moments, to be honest. It's gonna be a big few weeks and sometimes I really feeling the fear of the unknown creeping in. At those times I just breathe and repeate a few mantras:

1. Just keep going. Be in the moment. Do what you need to do. Get it done.
2. Ask for help.
3. This too will pass.
4. Breathe, slow down, be here.

Happy New Year to you and yours. Thankyou for stopping by my blog. It's nice to know we're not alone x

Christmas Concerts, Chemotherapy, Crayons and Cookbooks.

Things are winding up for the year, but it doesn't mean we're any less busy! Infact we're flying around to christmas carols, end of year functions, concerts, and presentations! Phew! We had a busy one when both Kate's ballet concert AND hip hop end of year concert were on on the same weekend!



Which was tonnes of fun and SO SO cute. Ben even came third in the Dad's Dance-off competition! (That was at the hip hop concert. Would've been a very different competition at the ballet concert.)



Thie girls have decorated and helped me wrap presents. Kate made all of her friends presents this year, and we made handmade gifts for the family. Our decorating in the house is fairly minimal, as we'll spend christmas day and boxing day with our families up in NSW. Cookie the dog will come with us for the trip, but Will and the chooks will stay behind to man the fort! They're being fed by a friend while we're gone. Ugh, I HATE not seeing my horse on christmas day. He is very much a part of my family and I hate that I cant give him his bag of carrots and cuddles on the day. Oh well, its only a few days.



At least he finally seems to have acclimatised to Melbourne, and is looking really well! Finally! He had us a bit worried there for a while!

It's been fairly hot and muggy - which the garden loves! - but which sends us inside most afternoons to escape the heat! The girls have taken to drawing and colouring of late. Its cute to see them getting along so well together. And though Tara still doesn't say much, she always lets us know in no uncertain terms what she wants. The girls are so different that way!: Katie was an very sweet, easy going, even tempered baby. Tara is a firey, spirited kid. She wants to do it on her own! She wants THAT one, no not that one, THAT one. She wants her pink hair clip, to wear these shoes, and what you're eating! She makes me laugh - she definitely knows her own mind already!





The chooks have been laying 6 eggs a day, and Lennon seems to have finally recovered his mojo! And his crow!



Mrs Fox seems to have settled down a bit now - I think her babies may have left the den. She's less ravenous for food, and we've not seen her or her young ones for a few weeks. Which makes me really happy as I've been able to let the chooks free range again for a good part of each day.







Tara adores the chooks, and they have absolutely no fear of her. She loves to collect the eggs and feed them bread scraps. Although you have to be sure she doesn't mix the 2 jobs up: Today she collected the eggs in her bucket, then promptly sat down took and egg out and threw it to the chooks. Whoops. I managed to save the other 5 and swap them for actual chook food before she tossed any more!



Its such a privildge to live here and have this life, and I feel lucky everyday with the freedom and space the girls have, and that we can grow this food and these animals. I cant imagine life in an inner-city apartment. It would certinly be very very different.



However we're not that isolated that we're cut-off from city amenities, which is lucky, as Ben recently received the bad news that he has had Testicular Cancer and will need to undergo some chemo therapy in the new year following the surgery he just had. It was certainly a shock, I was so sure he was going to be cleared, it took me a while to get a grip on myself. We have had such a tough and life-changing 12 months: Why was this happening to us?! Now?! When we have 2 young kids, no family around us, and just before christmas!? It wasnt fair! We're good people! ben is young and strong. We've been through so much already!? Why why why?!

I still dont know. All I know is that cancer happens to lots of very good people, and that we are strong, and we will get through this thing too. We have to. we will take it one step at a time, and do what we need to do. And we will ask for help. And we will breathe, and hug the girls, and cry, and be angry, and just keep plodding along. that's all we can do.

Of course I did what I usually do. I went to the library.

Oh the library. Place of safety, and wonder, and information, and the smell of musty, papery, printy booky loveliness. As the only child of a single mum who worked very very long hours when I was groing up, I spent alot of time in my local library. It was my second home. My safe place. I knew all the librarians by name, and they all knew me. I had a favourite spot. I knew the opening hours off by heart. And I still feel an overwhelming sense of 'home' the minute I walk into a library. Im quite claustrophobic by nature, but I love sitting between narrow shelves with books towereing on all sides of me. A Book Igloo.

I've borrowed a few titles in preparation. Food-related, of course. Because that's my other defense mechanism: cooking. Cooking and Reading. Yeah - that's exactly what you want in an alien invasion or a zombie apocalypse. The enemy will be bearing down, and I'll be quoting Jane Austin and whipping up a souffle. Brilliant.

I've borrowed Belle Gibson's The Whole Pantry - she's a woman living with inoperable brain cancer, who is treating herself wholistically and using alternative means. I've borrowed The Cancer Fighting Kitchen - I gotta try this broth! And Pete Evan's Healthy Every Day - which is a bit intimidating, I have to say. Ceviche? Okra? Yuzu? Gremolata? Whut?! Slow down, Pete! Slow down!



But first: Christmas. All that can wait til after christmas.

I've made my Nanny Dorothy's famous christmas pudding - an annual tradition - and it's ready for custard and cream! Here's the recipe, passed down through 4 generations of women in my family, and the pudding making-torch will be passed to Katie when she's older.

Make it. And eat it warm, with custrad, surrounded by your loved ones. And dont forget to tip your face skyward and tell Dorothy how yummy it is. Give her a thumbs up: She'd like that.

Dorothy's Famous Chrissy Pud


500g mixed dried fruit (whatever you like! I like sultanas, blueberries, cherries and currants.)
6 oz plain flour (Yeah it's ounces. it's an old recipe k?! Try finging a converter online. There's an app for that...)
1/2 t mixed spice
1/2 t nutmeg
2 oz breadcrumbs
4 oz butter (do yourself a favour use butter, not marg!)
1 grated carrot (see?! Veggies! Healthy!)
3 oz brown sugar
3 eggs (please choose free range x )
dash vanilla
1 t lemon juice
1 t Parisian Essence (Yes that's a thing. It's in the supermarket. Near the vanilla essences and food colouring and stuff...)
Brandy to flavour. (Or rum essence in a pinch)


Soak fruit in brandy (or essence) overnight in a sealed container, shaking occasionally. In a large bowl, sift flour and spices. Add butter and belend well. Add crumbs, fruit mix, carrot and brown suagr. Mix then add beaten eggs and essences. (If the mix is too thick, you can moisten it with a little milk.)
Place in a well-greased pudding tin, placing alfoil across the top then the lid to ensure a good seal.Place pudding dish into a large boiler pot. Fill pot with boiling water, so water leverl is just under the lid of the pudding dish. (Place a marble or two in the water - if it's beginning to boil dry, the marble will 'ting-ting-ting' on the side of the pot and warn you!) Constantly top up water as needed. place lid on and boil 5 hours.



Well, I hope you have a wonderful chrissy/holiday with your loved ones.
How will you spend it?

Drive safely, be happy, give generously, laugh muchly.
xx

Plums, poultry, preserving and pom poms.

Hill Shadow Inventory:
Rooster - 1
Chickens - 14
Horse - 1
Dog - 1
Fox - ?
Humans - 4
Daily eggs - 3 or 4
Sleeps til christmas - 24

Unfortunatley the closest we've gotten Tara to Santa is waving to this reindeer at the mall.



...well, it's a start.



And our garden produced this amazing beetroot which was ready before all the rest - isn't it beautiful?!



It's getting warmer and warmer! The girls are in dresses, sandals and shorts.



UGH! STOP PRESS!
Chickens - 13

Can you believe that?! Just as I was typing that last bit, Mrs Fox took another one, right from our front door step!!! There's feathers everywhere!

The scene of the crime.

At first I did a quick head count and I was horrified that she took Katie's favourite chook, Shiny. But luckily, Shiny has a favourite hiding spot on her own round back under the fig tree, and a quick check found her to be there as usual, oblivious to what had just happened round front.

Shiny: lives to dig figs another day!

Phew! I have no idea how I would've broken that to Katie this afternoon!

Lennon is recovering beautifully from his ordeal and has actually begun to crow again in the last few days. Unfortunately I think it may take him a while to regain his former glory. His crow sounded a mix between an old fashioned car horn ("A-HOO-GA!") and a set of deflating bagpipes.

Kate and I made sure we made encouraging comments. ("Gee Lennon, that sounds... er... well that's really... um... yeah good try, Mate!")

Christmas activities are ramping up: Concerts, parties, and Katie's kinder graduation (Where did THAT time go?!) are all in the next few weeks.



One of the events I did check in at was the open day of our local Steiner School. Although I dont wholly agree with the Steiner/Waldorf approach to education, there is so much I love about it: The avoidance of commercialism, the focus on nature, the peacefulness, the importance of creativity.

Feeling totally inspired when I got home, Katie and I made a 2-storey fairy house in the yard, and Kate spent ages furnishing it with feathers, leaves and flowers.





In the afternoon, while Tara had her sleep, Kate and I listened to Tchaikovksy's Swan Lake Suite (My favourite!) and made pom-poms.



Look! We have apples!!!



THREE APPLES!!!

Yeah ok: not real great for a whole tree. But the poor tree is on its side, totally eclipsed and deprived of water and sun by the 2 massive cypress' next to it. So it's a wonder it's managed to survive at all, let alone bear fruit.

I was hoping to have some apricots or figs to make jam from for christmas presents this year, but alas - no dice. Still green and under-ripe. BUT! I just happened to taste a bit of the 'ornamental' plum in the front yard, and knock-me-down - it's edible!!! They're just little plums! And it seems the birds have been fooled too - they haven't noticed them! So I've picked a bunch and spent this morning having my first attempt at jam-making!

Little kitchen helper fairy.

It's a sticky red mess in my kitchen, but i'll let you know how it goes! Here's the recipe I used.

And lastly I made this raw vegan caramel slice this week.

Oh. My. Word.

Do your self a favour - download the Raw Desserts App from Ascension Kitchen and make a batch.

You're welcome.



Have you finished your christmas shopping?
Are you making any handmade gifts this year?
Do you Waldorf? Steiner? Montessori? Homeschool? Unschool? None? All?

Go count your chickens.
xx

Chickens, christmas, and cans of catfood.

That fox. She has me paranoid. At every cluck of a chook now, I bolt outside like

It's totally nuts. Plus our chickens seem to have totally gone off the lay. 15 chickens only producing 2 eggs a day. Hum.

The chicken forum I follow on facebook suggested upping their protein as they will be trying to recover their feathers after life in the battery farm. And you know what they suggested?

Cat food.

(Yeah, I know.)

But we'll try anything, so bring on a the tinned Whiskas and we'll see what happens I guess!

As things head toward christmas, Im really thinking about what Im going to give for gifts this year. I LOVE giving presents! It's one of my FAVOURITE things. BUT, I hate commercialism and giving "stuff". There is a practical side of me that hates the frivolity and waste. I hate wrapping paper, I hate birthday cards, I hate useless plastic gimmicky crap. So this year I am trying to give what I love receiving: handmade and useful gifts.

I'll go into more detail post-christmas (just incase anyone on my gift-giving list happens upon this blog! *spoilers!*)

But I do love how busy the end of the year gets. I love the end of year festivities: concerts, parties, catch-ups... FUN!

OOH! And DECORATING! A new house to decorate! We dont even have a tree! Where do we start?!

Get thinking! Only 5 weeks to go! 5 WEEKS!

Longer post next time, I promise x

Whales, wool, water and wily foxes.

What gorgeous weather we've been having!!! I'm sneaking in a quick post and a coffee having put grumpy Tara down for a morning nap, and dropped Katie off at a transition day for 'big school' next year. EEP.

It's meant to be in the 30s today (celcius that is! Late 80s for any US readers! :) Hi there!) so I've whipped off the horse's rugs, filled up all the water troughs and bowls, and given the garden a good soaking last night.



Ben and I mulched it thickly on the weekend to try to combat the heat, and the plants have TAKEN OFF! They LOVE the mulch! We have so many salad greens at the moment - they're growing faster than I can pick them!: Rocket, silver beet, butter lettuce, and mignonette lettuce. But I'm not complaining! ;)





It's as high as a elephant's eye!

Last weekend, Ben was recovering at home from his surgery, so the girls and I headed into the city for World Vegan Day.


Best choccie cake EVER.

What a great day with stalls and music and FOOD! Still can't get my head around Textured Vegetable Protein (blerg.) or some of those other vegan 'meat substitutes' (YUCK. Why bother!?) but we ate the most AMAZING chocolate cake, some delectible blood orange gelato, and Kate drank a whole bottle of rasberry kombucha! (Which I didn't think she'd be into! More fool me!)



I've thought alot about becomming vegan over the years. I was lacto vegetarian in my late teens for about 3.5 years, and I really dont 'enjoy' eating meat, or ever crave it at all. Mostly I find myself eating it out of habit, social obligation, or some misguided way of getting 'enough protein'. Which are all crappy excuses really. (Hey, if Scott Jurek gets enough protein from a vegan diet, I think I'll be right! LOL - have you read his book 'Eat and Run'?! HIGHLY recommended.)

But as I get older and I'm horrified by the treatment of animals in factory farms, I find it harder and harder to justify eating meat and dairy. That and the fact that I feel better and less bloated when I eat vegan. I think eating conventional, supermarket sources of meat and dairy involves switching off part of your brain, and turning the moral and emotional side of you off to do it. And I'm finding that harder and harder. Especially now as a mother.

It's something I've been exploring more and more. Seeing images of the live meat trade and high density feedlot farming makes me despair at the human race, and the way we justify our actions as some sort of "for the greater good". When in fact if you imagine these same conditions and treatments happening to humans, you'd be absolutely horrified.

I had the same reaction after watching a documentray called 'Blackfish' recently about Tilikum the Orcha at Sea World, Orlando. The whole thing just breaks my heart. And one of the most disturbing images I found was the 'harvesting' of the whales semen for the captive breeding program! Can you imagine anything more soul destroying and disturbing?! Can you imagine if a human male was kept imprisoned and exploited sexually that way?! But humans can justify it as a "captive breeding program" - to breed more CAPTIVE Orchas. To perform. For us. Right. (Don't kid yourself that the calves and their mothers will be released into the wild to boost Orcha species numbers

I just.

Cant.

It's one of the reasons adopting our ex battery hens makes me so happy. Yes occasionally one gets picked off by our resident Mama Fox (DAMMIT!) but mostly we're smarter than her and we let them out when agisters are coming and going in the afternoon tending to their horses, so the Mrs Fox keeps her distance. They get out of their chook house - which is actually quite big - for about 2 or 3 hours a day at the moment, but things should get easier as Mrs Fox's pups grow up and move on, and she's less frantic for food. So mostly our girls and Lennon spend their day in the straw, then their afternoon like this:







I wish we could let them out all day again, but we just have to keep them safe while Foxy is feeding her pups. I actually dont have a problem eating eggs from our chooks. I know exactly how they are treated, and I know they probably wont be hatched into chicks anyway (despite Lennon's best efforts) as battery hens are Isa Browns (or ours are!) and are bred not to go clucky so that they will produce more eggs for the industry. So our girls never go clucky, and would have no clue how to hatch them anyway! Ben and I have talked bout maybe getting another hen or two of a different breed - one with more maternal instincts! - and maybe letting some eggs hatch to chicks. More research to be done there!



Not much exciting happening in the kitchen, except I dad attempt a batch of soap.

Failed miserably.

It hasn't set, and I dont think the lye I used was strong enough, as it's still quite soft, oily and crumbly.


The first hint I got that things might be going wrong: "Pour mixture into moulds." - POUR?! It's like mashed potato!!!

Back to the drawing board...

Do you eat meat?
What issue gets your blood boiling?
Any fox deterence hints?

Wear your hat and sunscreen! It's gonna be a warm one! And check your pets have cool clean water today!
xx

But I did knit these - you like?