2012 - a year in review

So here we are, the very last day of 2012.  The closing of a year always makes me stop and think back to what has been achieved or endured over the previous 12 months. 2012 has provided lots of good moments, milestones and new experiences too.

We've completed a full year with Miss K18 living away from home, Master B15 has been to Victoria to play in a school cricket competition, Miss K12 has been to Sydney and Canberra and has waved goodbye to primary school forever.

We celebrated my Dad's 80th birthday and Master B's 15th - they share the same birthday.

We've been on a cruise for the first time (which turned out to be the trip from hell due to a severe gale which, had it been summertime, would have been called a cyclone and which chased us around the South Pacific).  Only Miss K12 and I would be brave enough to go again!

Port Vila - the only place we got to see - we arrived after dark in Noumea & didn't think it was worth disembarking and the extreme weather conditions meant it was too dangerous to launch the tenders in Lifou

Last summer's soya bean crop was surprisingly good, given very wet growing conditions but the building industry has taken a distinct nosedive, meaning our earthmoving business is very quiet.  

I have been following the concepts of Dave Ramsey and for those familiar with his seven baby steps, I am pleased to say that I completed baby step 3 this year - my fully funded emergency fund. 

2012 was the year for new household appliances too. Its funny how it happens that appliances need replacing all at once!  We bought a new fridge, TV and microwave and I chose to buy a Thermomix (my Latest Big Thing that I mentioned yesterday).  I must tell you more about that ;)

It's been a year which has trundled along with no major bumps in the road, a year of consolidation in fairly ordinary economic conditions. I have a sneaking suspicion that 2013 may  be more of the same, but I'll be very happy to be proven wrong.

So no complaints, but no real cause for excitement either :)  How has 2012 treated you?

Today's stats:

Min 16.1 Max 29

Rainfall: Nil

Eggs: 4

Til next time,

Kath

It has been a Very Busy Day

On Christmas Eve, my gorgeous first born, Miss K18 moved house.  Well, actually she moved from a tiny 1 bedroom 3rd floor shoebox apartment on the inner north of Brisbane, to a luxuriously spacious 3 bedroom plus office home on the southside.  I'm still debating whether it should be called Brisbane or Gold Coast, as it is halfway between.

To celebrate the move, a kitten was obtained, as all good homemakers require a pet! Fortunately the kitten is a little cutie pie and while it is a girl, the name Garfield has been applied and kind of suits I guess.  The arrival of Garfield also meant that I could declutter my world to the tune of a litter tray, a scoop and a large bag of litter.  My puss-cat, Molly, is far too mature to require a litter tray these days!

Between them, Miss K18 (who is on holidays from her hairdressing apprenticeship for another week) and Miss K12 cooked up a scheme whereby little sis goes to visit her big sis and play with the kitten this week.

Which is excellent - other than Mum has now had a trip to not quite Brisbane & back today and again on Friday to collect.  Oh I'm a big sook, it was a very enjoyable day, actually. Miss K18 had a Myer gift card from her Uncle B, so we took ourselves off to the Logan Hyperdome for a shopping spree.

I think she did an excellent job of quickly expending $100.  She bought:  A toaster (Sunbeam reduced to $29), a purse (Jag brand also reduced to $29), a shirt for boyfriend D ($17), a spring form cake tin for $10, a Very Cool potato masher (I missed how much that was), not sure what else?? and at the end of the day has $3.90 left on the gift card.  Very admirable spending in my opinion :)

So what did I buy?  Well at Myer, I bought some silicon muffin pans, for use in the new Latest Big Thing in my world.  Don't worry, I promise I will tell you more when I get a chance.  Oh, spend:  $6.95 (30% off original price).  

Then I shouted lunch at the Hyperdome before we headed a bit further north to:  IKEA!!!!

I've only been there once before and that was with the ever patient, but obviously 'bored while shopping' emitting OH.  So, today - with 2 daughters who emit exactly the same vibes as their father - I got to browse and buy STUFF!!  Not too much for me - some cute little jars to store whole spices to use in abovementioned Latest Big Thing ($3.95 per pack of 4, I bought 3 packs):

But for new homemaker Miss K18 I bagged some absolute bargains.  For about $13 we got: a dirty clothes hamper, a toilet brush and a matching rubbish bin.  If I had been an IKEA family member, I could have got an additional 15% off the sale items, but sadly, I'm not and didn't know how to become one before I went through the checkout.  Thinking I might join the family though (somehow that strikes me more as Italian than Scandinavian!), now that Miss K18 lives southside ;)

All in all, a day well spent, glad I'm home but also glad the girls are getting to spend some quality time together this week.  Miss K12 sorely misses her big sis, but will also be pleased to come home by Friday.  I'm sure Miss K18 will also be glad to see her off ;)

Todays stats:

Min 20.5 Max 28

Rainfall:  Nil

Eggs: 5

Til next time,

Kath

Wicking Bed - on a miniature scale

I have been reading about the benefits of growing veges in wicking beds for quite some time on various blogs and on Simple Savings, a forum I am a member of.  I have been wanting to build one of my own for ages, but Chris doesn't think I need one, seeing as we garden conventionally on a large scale already.  (Until the sheep eat the plants, that is).

Anyway, being the obstinate and independent creature that I am, and with a generous Bunnings Christmas gift card from Chris's brother, I decided that these holidays I would have my bed. Then the procrastinating frugalista kicked in and I decided to scout around the sheds to see if I could improvise and create a bed without spending any money.

A little blog browsing came up with a mini wicking bed design constructed in a styrofoam box.  Yay, I have one of those! Then I needed a pipe work system.  Yay, I also have one of those where we ripped out an old poly water line!  I needed some gravel - yep leftover white stone from some landscaping, some soil - wow I'm lucky we have our own delicious compost where we clean out the cattle yards after weaning calves (manure and straw mixed & decomposed).  Plus a bit of mulch. 

So for the price of the plants, I have created this little wicking bed.  Parsley in one end, and strawberries in the other.

The box will get full morning sun until lunchtime, which I hope will be sufficient.  The afternoon sun is too hot around here at this time of year, so I think the location should suit.

My idea is that I will test the concept on a small scale and if its as good as I think it should be, I would like to install larger beds.  I think that I could cope better with the maintenance on a bed like this than the constant battle against weeds in our large gardens.

Do you grow your own veges and what are your thoughts/experience of wicking beds?

Todays stats:

Min 17.7 Max 28

Rainfall: Nil

Eggs: 4

Til next time,

Kath

Hold on... We're Halfway There

Okay, I admit it, I love a bit of Bon Jovi, and it aptly describes where we are at with the soya bean planting.  Everything was going great guns and then bam, a quick sub-tropical storm stops play.  We are however, halfway there.  A fine day tomorrow will see us (well, I actually mean my hard working OH, I have many talents, but I don't drive tractors) back planting again.

So what do Miss K12 & I do on a damp afternoon after the sheep and chooks have been put away?  We play Go Fish, Snap and Scrabble, of course.

My Mum is a Scrabble Officianado and has encouraged all the Grandkids to play at every opportunity.  Perhaps we should thank Nanna for assisting literacy in the next generation :) She has certainly encouraged a love for the written word in a couple of my children and Scrabble is brought out each holidays to challenge and enjoy.  Master B15 usually oversees and provides advice to whoever is most in need.

I have a little secret though... we never word score.  And if necessary (for the juniors only, mind you!) we sometimes let a letter or two venture off the side of the game.  "Son" makes a legitimate word in my world ;)  And I'm not inclined to check the correct spelling of some words. For example: "nono".  Miss K12 asked "You know when you say something is a no-no, does that make it a real word?"  Well, what was I meant to say, for goodness sake?? So for the purpose of this excercise, nono is a real word, okay?!

On the card playing front, my father-in-law is the go-to man.  He has taught Miss K12 many card games, which he plays each week with the oldies at the Parish aged person's home.  (They love him to bits, by the way!)  Hmmm, seems the baby of the family is receiving the rewards of the Grandparents with time to teach.

Grandma and Grandpa included a crisp new pack of playing cards in Miss K12's Christmas parcel, so we are enjoying a game or two of Solitaire, as well as the quick two-player games over the glorious Christmas/New Year break.  Absolutely no need for "Boxing Day Sales" in our house!

Do you play board games at your place?  What are your favourites?

Today's stats:

Min 18.7 Max 29

Rainfall: 18 ml

Eggs: 5

Til next time,

Kath

A prickly proposition

A couple of years ago I decided to plant a pineapple top in the vege garden, just to see what would happen and how long it would actually take to happen.

Well I'm very pleased to say that it was worth the wait, and the little corner of the vege patch which this plant takes up, because.... tadaaa.... I have a pineapple!!!

Notice the nibbled leaves on the pineapple tops (I say tops, because for some reason it has two)?  Well these are the culprits:

My little flock of sheep have discovered the delights of the vege patch and obviously pineapple tops are quite appetising.  Who knew?!  They have also eaten all of the tomato plants and I didn't get even a single head of broccoli this year.  I'm not sure how, but we're going to have to sheep proof the sheep fencing I think.

Hmmm, anyone for a nice roast leg of lamb???
Min 19.6 Max 27.1

Rain: Nil

Eggs:5

Til next time,

Kath

Contemplating Calendulas

A lovely guy at work named Bruno, heard earlier this year that I love calendula flowers.  He happens to be our head gardener (I work for a Council) and being the wonderful human being he is, planted many main street gardens with gorgeous calendula during winter.  Even better, he provided me with buckets of flower heads to dehydrate!

I was inspired to plant my own seedlings, but being a bit of a procrastinator when it comes to all things garden related, put in my own plants very late.  In fact they are still flowering now, regardless of the heat and humidity we've been enduring.

The flowers are small compared to Bruno's, but every time there are sufficient blooms to make it worthwhile, I have been picking them and tossing the petals in the dehydrator.  I was very surprised to see calendula petals available online recently for $69.99 per kg.  Mind you, that would be a MASSIVE bag of petals, as they weigh next to nothing.  Still, I'm happy to dehydrate and save my own :)

I've used the dried petals in a couple of projects so far.  I have been making soap for a couple of years using Rhonda's recipe (from Down to Earth), I love this soap!  Then I noticed that Christine from Slow Living Essentials used calendula petals both in her soap making and also in a wonderful calendula salve (here and here).

Inspired by both these wonderful ladies, I now use their recipes and create wonderful natural products for my family to enjoy.  Kirrily18 suffers from eczema and won't use anything but my home made soap now as she gets no reaction from it at all, unlike commercial soap which drives her crazy.  And apologies that a finger or three have enjoyed the salve in the photo below, not very artistic!!

I hope Bruno's planning to plant some more calendulas this winter...

Today's stats:

Min 19.6 Max 27

Rainfall: About half an inch overnight, enough to stop any ideas of planting soya beans

Eggs:  3 

Til next time,

Kath

Chapter One, Page One

Merry Christmas everyone!  Yet another year has slipped into the shadows of memory and despite my best intentions and serious contemplation, I haven't managed, until now, to write the opening post to my blog.

I have been thinking about blogging for a couple of years, but have always doubted that anything I have to say will be worth reading. Then it occurred to me that it doesn't actually matter, that this blog will serve as a record, probably not daily, perhaps not weekly even, but a record nonetheless of the seasons passing at Springfield.

So, today is Christmas Day 2012.  We have enjoyed a lovely lunch here shared with my parent-in-law and with Miss K18 and her boyfriend coming and going. OH (the other half) and Miss K12 have gone fishing to one of our farm dams which we stocked with silver perch years ago.  

We have a strict catch and release policy so we can enjoy catching fish for years to come, but sadly today one fish swallowed the hook.  Looks like fresh fish for tea tonight!  Final tally, Miss K12 3 fish, Dad none :)

Master B15 is chilling in a way only teenage boys can manage, especially enjoying his new Call of Duty Xbox game.  Uuughh, too gruesome for me!

A storm is coming over Mallanganee range but it doesn't look too serious and not really coming this way.  I'd better go & lock up the chooks just in case it rains. Tomorrow will be a big day if it doesn't rain.... soya bean planting time!

Today's stats:  
Min 18.3  Max 32.2
Rainfall:  Six spots
Eggs: Just 1 lonely egg

Til next time,
Kath