Together

Having good people around makes so many things better. 

Not everything, we need time for just us, but many things are made better by the company of someone special.

A cuppa tastes better with a friend to chat to.

Digging holes is less like a chore when you do it together.

Laughing with a good friend is like therapy.

Watching a movie is nicer cuddled up with someone you love.

Sad times are made more bearable with a hand to hold.

An op shop bargain is better with someone to share it with.

We're social creatures, things are just meant to be done together.

I'm thinking about this because I'm planning a belly dance class for duets. Beginner duets that is - mums and daughters, sisters, friends etc who can come and learn belly dance together, because it is more fun that way.

I love dancing with my troupe mates.  All three of us is good, but dancing duets is special.  There is a link between the dancers that is almost physical.  A warm bubble around us that means that we dance together and feel the music together.  Most of my favourite belly dance moves are ones designed specifically for duets.

I started my belly dance journey with my mum.... something to do together.  It didn't last long, mum has a busy life and it wasn't perfect for her.  But it was fun while it lasted, and taking those first tentative steps into something new was so much easier for having someone to do it with.

Sometimes I think that's why I blog - it takes all of my little things and gives me someone to share them with.  Being able to share those simple things and knowing that my blog friends are going to enjoy reading about them makes them feel even better.

My boys are lucky.  They live with their best friend and do everything together.  They never have to go anywhere alone.

I feel very lucky too as I'm surrounded by wonderful people.  I have people that I can enjoy doing so many things with.  My hubby, my best friends, my mum, sisters, brothers, step mum, grandma and my dancing sisters.  They're all so different, and yet so perfect for doing all of the different things in my life with.  Love them all.

11 years

Eleven years ago, we got hitched. A white wedding in the botanic gardens with family and friends present. Despite the February rain and the unseasonal chill, it was a beautiful day.

The last eleven years have been full of adventures and boring days; great times and not-so-great times; laughter and tears; new arrivals and sad departures but through all of it, we've been together. As promised in our wedding vows - best friends always.

Our challenge today, to choose one photo for each year that represents just one of the high points of that year. It was tough to choose just one, and we've had to leave out so many holidays, pets and good times, but here they are - 11 years of us.

2002 - We got married! 

2003 - We went to Thailand for the 2nd time

2004 - We brought home our baby boys
(and despite the look on Stu's face, were thrilled!)
 



2005 - We bought our new home.

2006 - Our beautiful dog Buddy joined the family.

2007 - We began renovations on our house - removing the old chimney.

 

2008 - My belly dance journey began

2009 - We took a family holiday to the Gold Coast.

2010 - Little Hurley became the baby of the house, a friend for Buddy.

2011 - A family trip to New Zealand.

2012 - We renovated our kitchen!

2013 - Relay for life as a family with our school. 
A great way to spend your wedding anniversary.

It's been an amazing 11 years and I can't think of anyone else I would rather have spent it with.

Our life less ordinary

If someone had asked me ten years ago, what I would do with a weekend in 2013, I don't know what I would have told them. I probably would have predicted spending it with Stu - right. I might have hoped I would have a couple of kids in tow - right again (though I would not have predicted the identical twin boys I ended up with!). But as for the rest....? What I do know is that there is NO WAY I would have predicted the list of things I've been up to with my little family this weekend!

Friday saw me planting out some more seeds in my vegie garden, hanging out with the kids at home and studying the new fitness program I'll be teaching next term. That night, we met Stu in Warrnambool to work on our tiny school's fabulous, parent run, pancake stall at the night markets. We worked really hard, but it was so much fun!

Saturday morning found us in the garden fixing a gate to stop our over friendly chooks camping on the back door step (and possibly being hurt by the dogs). Mum stopped in to say hi, then later, in the spirit of tiny towns, one of our friends and neighbours dropped in for a cuppa. We emptied our waterless toilet and made some adjustments, and spent some family time discussing the possibility of getting a milking goat, and debating the best solar power option.

That night, after a homemade curry packed with homegrown veg, I dressed up in a belly baring costume, did my hair, put on too much makeup and went to a local restaurant. It was completely booked out, and I was there to belly dance.... people really enjoyed watching me (and my dance buddy) performing the dances I had choreographed.... AND I got paid for doing it!  Can you believe that?!

A job as a belly dancer? !  I never would have guessed that one!

After dancing, I came home to a peaceful home (it was screen free Saturday of course) and cooled down with a homemade apple cider, hanging out with Stu and our books for a quiet night.

Early this morning, I was out and about with Stu for a run - yep, a run! Stu is helping build up my running stamina. Once I was spent, I was home for some yoga before breakfast.

The rest of the morning was spent processing three of our home raised chickens for the freezer - a job that, while not exactly pleasant, was surprisingly satisfying and not as horrible as either of us expected it to be.

This afternoon, I have watched brand new chickens hatch, completed paperwork for this terms belly dance classes, crocheted a small gift and baked bread for the next couple of days. And while I was doing that, Stu was working on the belly dance website and the kids were enjoying their favourite thing - time together at home to just play.



Hatchlings!  Six hatched and at least two more on the way!

I'm exhausted! But would I change a thing? No way! And I would love to know what I'll be up to 10 years from now.



Welcoming in the new year

Happy New Year to you all! Yesterday we farewelled 2012 with a fabulous family fun day. And as we leave 2012 behind, our family leaves behind a massive roller coaster of a year.

Last year's early and fun Christmas celebration with my family - an hour before Stu had a seizure and we were catapulted into the roller coaster that was 2012.

A year during which my husband was diagnosed with epilepsy, and due to his massive seizure last Christmas, was unable to drive for 3 months, causing some pretty tough times for us. But through this, we found out how supportive our community and family is and also, through the scariness of watching my husband have a seizure and be transported off in an ambulance, I realised just how much he means to me.

It was a year when our bank balance started off fairly low, and our main source if income was snatched away by a company closing down all of its rural and regional branches and thus making my husband redundant. But it was also a year when we became more self sufficient, and eco friendly and much less consumerist, resulting in us not only making a massive dent in our 'carbon footprint', but also saving a lot of money. And it was the year that Stu was offered a job by a business contact and was therefore lucky enough to walk from one job, straight into another.

It was a year for watching generations change. We sadly farewelled three grandmothers, and while we and our children felt the loss, we were probably most hit by watching our own parents grieve the loss of their mothers. But as we farewelled those three special women, we welcomed a new special woman into the world. The arrival of our first niece, Clover,was not only a truly amazing time for me as I was invited to share in her birth, but we've loved watching her grow these last few months, and hope to continue to be a special part of her life.

As I listen to my happy, healthy, bright and gentle children play in the next room and look out to my thriving garden and animals surrounding our uniquely special home, I am very grateful for all of the experiences we've had this year - good and bad - as they have shaped our family into what we are today as we head into 2013.

I already have a job, thankyou.

The boys went back to school this morning to begin their final term of their second school year.  They are getting so grown up. 

Stu didn't go to work though.  His company made him redundant on Friday and while they've given 10 weeks notice, they were told to take today off anyway.  His redundancy wasn't a surprise, we've been waiting most of this year for the company to set a date.  You see they made some new grand plans that involve cebtralised call centres and jobs in the city and no more rural and regional branches.  Stu has been with them for over 7 years and the only other remaining lady in his office has been with them for 36 years.  The office will close just before Christmas.


So how will this affect our family? We are fairly confident that Stu will get another job in the next couple of months.  If he does, things will go on as normal.  If he doesn't, then I will look for some sort of "stop gap" job to help out until he does.  But despite what some people seem to think I should do, I won't be looking for permanent employment.

Since the boys started school (and occasionally before that) I have frequently been asked if I've 'found a job yet' or when I'll be going back to work.  Thanks for your concern folks, but I already have a job, in fact I have several!

In terms of the employment that I put on my annual tax return, I teach belly dance and perform regularly.  This earns enough each week to cover basic weekly expenses such as fuel and food.  But more importantly, I love it, it keeps me fit, and it doesn't put out my family.  I am here each day when my boys go to, and return from school.  I am able to spend time with them and my husband, and cook dinner for and eat with them every night.  My paid work fits our family life.  If I returned to secondary school teaching (or office or lab work, all of which I've done in the past), I would need someone to care for my kids before and after school, I would need to do preparation and marking in the evenings and I wouldn't have the time or energy to be the homemaker, mother and wife that I want to be.

People wonder what I do all day.  Well it isn't lunching at cafes and shopping with friends.  If I'm lucky, I might have a cuppa (at home) or a long phone call with a friend once a week. I will either have lunch with Stu or browse the opshops with a friend about once a month.  The rest if the time I spend working.  Today I have made more household cleaning products and my herbal hair rinse.  I have washed and hung on the line all of the bed linen (and will soon be bringing it in to remake the beds), I worked in the garden, planting, weeding etc to make sure we are growing enough vegies for summer and I also checked on the laying chooks and our newly hatched chickens which will, in a few months either join the laying flock, or become meat for us to eat.

I've also been working on the pizza oven project with Stu (because he is home), and found time to begin making another homemade gift for the Christmas pile - of which, along with the birthday presents, will be nearly all made by me.  This week, I need to do lesson plans for my term of classes, sew some (recycled fabric) shorts for the boys and do some of the less regular chores, like window washing.  I will do the grocery shopping tomorrow, but also bake bread, make our butter spread and cook pasta from scratch.  I also hope to buy a cheesemaking kit this week so I can add to our list of homemades (which already includes most of what we eat).  I don't have time to socialize, watch tv or read all day, but I do find time to think while I work about new hairbrained schemes brilliant ideas to save us money and make us more sustainable as a family.  I have a job.  This job(s?) may not earn a paycheque, but what it saves us financially, and give us in terms of quality of life is priceless.

But how do we go financially? My husband's job earns a decent income (we think) though it is still below the Australian average.  We don't recieve any benefits from the government, though we do get some family tax benefit, and my bellydance pay too.  We own both of our cars, have no credit cards, are paying off more on our mortgage than we have to, and we are doing fine.  No-one in our family misses out on anything they need or really want.  We holiday each year and sometimes go out for tea or do other things like the pool or a movie.  We're doing just fine.

So to the people that ask about my job status, I just want to say, thanks for your concern, but I already have several jobs and a comfortable, happy and full life.  We don't need to change.

Green changes - Better late than never

While shopping with the kids yesterday, I was playing the game where I tell the kids what I want and they scurry off down the aisle of the supermarket, racing to be the one to put it in the trolley. 

The first item was a canned fruit.  They found it quickly and brought it back.  Then I sent them back to replace it with the store brand, cheaper item because that's what I've always bought.  But the moment of having the prettier, more expensive can in my hand gave me a moment of pause, and with my two mini greening detectives by my side, we flipped all the cans to discover where the fruit came from.  Thailand, Indonesia and Australia were our choices, and so, we bought the one that was a little dearer and briefly discussed food miles and supporting Australian farmers.

The next item was a baking ingredient.  Again, I grabbed my trusty budget brand.  This time though, a store special made me pause.  I flipped the two packets to check where they were made, and while hunting on the packet, the ingredients of the cheaper brand caught my eye.  Ingredient number 1 was palm oil! I literally threw the pack on the ground like it had bitten me.  I've read about palm oil and really don't want anything to do with it.  Needless to say I bought the other, more expensive product, that didn't contain nasty ingredients.  (for the record, both products were made in Australia from local and imported ingredients).

I felt sick and guilty, the same way I'd been feeling each time I thought about all the times I've bought intensively farmed chicken and pork, and all the chemicals we've unknowingly pumped into our bodies over the years.  This is green guilt - feeling bad for hurting the planet.

But I'm OK now.  I'm OK because while I know we've made some bad choices in the past, we made them unknowingly.  I hadn't, in the past, thought to turn over the packet and read.  Our shopping needed to nourish and fit the budget, and it did.  But now I have spent a lot of time learning, and it is no longer acceptable to me to buy many if the products I used to.  Should I feel guilty for all of my past purchases? I don't think so.  Not only does guilt not help, but I didn't realise or know at the time, and I was just doing what I thought was OK.

Now I know, and if I go back, then I should feel guilty, very guilty.

I've always thought of myself as environmentally friendly, but the sheer number of changes we've made so far this year, and the amount that I've learnt is astonishing.  So it turns out we were a fairly washed out shade of green before, and I know that while we are now among the most green people I know, that it is possible to get much a much bright shade.  I also know that each change we make is better late than never.  Yes, it turns out I've been buying palm oil products, and that's really bad, but by stopping now, I am making a positive change for the future.

The whole point of this year for us is to get greener, step by step.  And each positive step we take is better late than never.  We are still relatively young, and our children have their whole lives ahead of them.  The years of doing good deeds for the environment are going to far outweigh the years of unintentional bad choices.

Beautiful day.....

Look at the colour of that sky!! :D

 

 

O' what a beautiful morning
O' what a beautiful day.
I got a beautiful feeeeeeeeeling
Everything's going my way!

image

Thanks to a stepmum who introduced me to a whole selection of classic Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals, every time I wake up to warm glorious sunshine, this is what I end up singing.  I also start imagining cornfields and cowboys.... Hmmmmm.... Thanks Cathie!

Then in an effort to feel somewhat cooler, I force myself to start singing U2's Beautiful Day.  I feel better about myself for a while.

But that old musical tune invariably ends up back in my head and the only way to get it out is to start singing Christmas carols instead! Again, thanks Cathie! Love you to bits, but these bad habits of mine are ALL your fault!

But it is a beautiful morning.... And everything does seem to be going my way........

8 elements of a simply perfect day

I'm a homemaker.  This is my job. 

Each day I fill with the stuff that keeps our family working.

I find that if I do something of each of the following in a day, that day becomes perfect in its simplicity and I feel fulfilled in my role.

I also find that the variety in the day is enough to keep my mind busy and to keep the household chugging along.

These are my 8 elements of a perfect day (in no particular order).

~Housework~

It might be as simple of loading the dishwasher or putting on a load of washing, or it could be a whole house clean and tidy.

 

~Gardening~

Dig a whole new garden bed, plant a hundred seeds, weed under the trees, mow the lawns; or simply wander around the yard looking for new growth.

 

~Crafting~

Usually work on gifts for others, sometimes on something for the house or for us. 

 

~Cooking~

A simple dinner, or enough bread and cakes to make a bakery look sparse.

 

~Reading~

One blog post, or a whole book.  Fictional escapism or recipes and plans.

 

~Animal care~

Some time spent chatting with or cuddling the dogs, cats or chooks.  Feeding them, looking after them.

 

~Connecting with the family~

Taking time to properly talk to my husband and children.  Learning something new about them or reminiscing about the past.  Making sure I hug each one of them at least twice a day.

 

~Dancing~

For exercise and for my other job.  A whole class, a performance, some choreography or a boogie to a song on the radio.

They don't always happen.  Its OK if they don't.  Sometimes life is so busy with other things, or one element gets so big it squeezes out the others.

But the days when they do all happen are so good.

Yesterday was a perfect day.

Today is shaping up pretty well too.

How's your day?

How to do nothing....make icecream.

Its been a week of coughing, sniffling, washing our version of hankies (s'not paper tissues), aching muscles, chicken soup and too much TV.  The boys and I were struck down with the dreaded lurgy.  Its been a doozy and we're just starting to feel human again now.

Yesterday was the big school excursion to see Annie in Melbourne.  We'd paid, and the boys had been looking forward to it for months, so they went.  I was too sick to see them off.  They got there, they saw the show, I got a phone call in the afternoon to tell me that one was asleep and to ask permission to give the other panadol.  By the time they got home at 9pm, they were exhausted and crashed to sleep very quickly.

I thought they'd be home recovering today, but they've gone to school (their choice) and will no doubt be having a quiet day there as more than half of their class is away sick.

I've been trying to be gentle on myself.  I've given myself permission to watch TV and drink tea and do not much.  But I'm hopeless at doing nothing, and I sit there thinking about all the things that need doing.  So I've compromised.  The house is a mess, but the washing is done and the dishes have been put away.  I ate leftovers last night and have agreed to buying hot chips for dinner tonight, but I baked a batch of bread and biscuits today.  I did the groceries yesterday, but only went to one supermarket rather than my usual round the town trip to get the best and cheapest options.  I will be teaching my classes tonight, but they will be gentler than usual, and I'll ask my students to help out.  For me, these compromises are taking it easy.

I'm just not good at nothingness.  Yesterday, with a whole day to myself (the kids gone from 8am-9pm and Stu from 8.30am and then overnight), I wanted to do something special just for me.  People suggested going for a massage, to see a movie, a long bath, or a quiet lunch out.  I know that these are things that many women love, and I certainly don't begrudge them those luxuries, but I find that sort of thing very tedious.  I sit there, knowing I should be relaxing and enjoying the moment, but wanting to be anywhere else doing something.....anything!

Thankfully, I found my luxurious moments where my body relaxed and my thoughts slowed.  I went to the nursery in a moment of clear skies and wondered the aisles daydreaming about the garden.  I imagined all of the fruit that I hope to one day grow, and I bought myself a beautiful big orange tree and a feijoa bush (cheaper than a massage and will last much longer too!).  Then, when I came home from town, I made icecream.  I took my time, seperating eggs, pouring cream and watching the beaters change runny, slightly yellow goo into fluffy, snowy white peaks.  And then I folded it all slowly together and swirled the top.

My luxuries are homemade and simple.  They bring a smile to my face, which relaxes every muscle in my body. 

Do you find luxury in making and doing?  Or in the nothingness of a massage or bath?  Either way, I thought I'd share my very simple icecream recipe with you - if you're like me, you can meditate watching the beaters, otherwise, make it and then eat it while in the bath :)

Basic Icecream

1. Beat 6 egg whites until stiff.  Beat in 3/4 cup of icing sugar.
2. Beat 600ml of cream with 3/4 cup icing sugar until thick.
3. For whole egg vanilla icecream, beat the egg yolks with 2 teaspoons of good vanilla and then fold into the cream.
4. For other flavours (use your imagination here - strawberry swirl?  peppermint choc chip? honeycomb? cookies and cream? banana? chocolate? etc etc etc), fold your flavouring of choice into the cream instead.
5. Carefully fold the egg whites into the cream mixture until well mixed and then pour the lot into a 3-4 litre container and freeze.  No extra whipping required.

NB: A chef once told me that this isn't icecream.  He called it something else.  I say, whatever!  It tastes like icecream, works like icecream, is cheap and made of real food.  If supermarkets can call some of the crap they sell 'Icecream', I can call this icecream too.

The things we're doing.....

I felt that I had nothing to blog yesterday or today.  It felt a lot like this:

"What have you been up to lately?" asks friend/family member/random acquaintance bumped into

"ummmm..... not a lot really" answered, while thinking "But I have been busy just living!  I've been doing so much, but feel like I have nothing to report - how is that possible?!"

So, I thought I would share a little list of the 'not a lot really' things that we've been up to.

• Stu and I re-taught ourselves how to play Gin Rummy and played late Saturday night while drinking Baileys.
• I danced at an 80th birthday party, where the guest of honour was thrilled to have us there and danced with us for 10 minutes.  It was the best gig ever!
• I started to hack into the pittosporum hedge that runs the side of our block.   We're going to gradually replace it with citrus and avocado trees which will also give privacy but with the added bonus of food.
• I hosted the AGM for our belly dance group at our house.  It was a pretty straightforward meeting, but the afternoon tea and company was exceptionally good.
• I found some kids yoga sessions on You tube and can't wait to share them with the boys.
• I've had each of the boys home sick from school for a day.  Neither of them were terribly sick, but a day on their own/with me seems to have been good for them.
• I received my Digger's club order.  I was so excited!  I have now planted my tammarillo tree and my kiwiberry and am looking forward to starting to plant my huge pile of seeds.
• I've discovered (a bit late) River Cottage and am enjoying watching the first season on DVD with the whole family.
• I enjoyed having my teenage brother stay with us for last week while he did work experience.
• I have been talking to my sister-in-law regularly for baby updates.  I am getting very excited about its upcoming arrival.
• My chooks are slowly starting to lay again as the days are getting slowly longer - an egg a day this past week.
• I started washing my face with honey as I had run out of cleanser and needed an alternative.  I love it!
• Stu has been planning and thinking a lot about his brew shed and we've been plotting to use homemade alternatives for expensive items he'll need.

See.... not much, but a lot at the same time.  Thanks for listening :)

When will I ever need to use Pythagarus theorem??

Ah, the wisdom that comes with age.  The moments where you fondly recall something taught to you by a parent or teacher and realise that it was indeed useful afterall.  I was a good student, but even I occasionally succumbed to the obnoxious teenagers' rant of "When am I ever going to use that?  Aren't you supposed to be teaching life skills?".  It wasn't often, but some things just did not seem worth learning at the time.  My teachers would just smile and tell me to just do the work - infuriating!  I did the work and passed the tests and then promptly forgot the lessons...... or so I thought.




Image from here

Fast Forward 15-20 years from high school, and I've now been on the receiving end of those questions.  As a science teacher, you get them a lot.  But as a maths teacher, you get them even more.  Most students don't question basic arithmetic, money, time, fractions etc, but algebra, Pythagoras theorem, trigonometry, probability and quadratic equations are not only harder to learn, but harder to anticipate ever using outside of the classroom. 

Guess what?  I think I've used them all.  Every single one of those crazy maths things plus the knowledge I picked up in every one of my high school subjects (English, science, geography, woodwork, metal work, cooking, sewing, agriculture, and even my least favourites - history and PE!).  And every time I find another use for one of those things I chuckle to myself and wish I could go back and tell my teachers.

Image from here

So thank you Mr Peck for making me do all of those Pythagoras problems.  I only wish you could have answered my question..... "When will you ever use Pythagoras theorem?  Why you'll use it when you are designing experiments at university in your early 20s; you'll use it when you build a cubby house for your twins in your late 20s; you'll use it again when you are designing a cold frame made of recycled materials in your early 30s; and you'll surely use it countless more times in between and into the future."

My newly made cold frame is made of recycled pallets and window and will be used to grow my own seedlings this summer.  I will think of all of my high school maths teachers each time I use it ;)

Do you find yourself using your lessons from school in unexpected places?  Or does this make me a bit of a geek? :P

Compromise and priorities - work, home and family

I feel as if I've been lost in the haze of school holidays!  It is lovely having the boys at home - playing, chatting and learning with them - but I feel as if I've lost my routine and can't fit in all the work and home tasks around the family.

I had a little panic attack the other day because I wasn't ready for my next term of teaching/dancing (lesson plans, choreographies and performances) and I was't able to get closer to ready because I needed to be with the boys and I couldn't just sit and play with the boys because I needed to do a multitude of jobs around the home and somewhere in there I needed to find time for me! Aaaagh!

So I took a spot of me time first (cup of tea) and thought about it.  As most stay at home mums would agree, there is very little time for thumb twiddling in our daily routines.  While my children are at school: I do the grocery shopping; clean and tidy the house; work in the garden (both for visual appeal and for growing food); plan meals and gardening calenders; pay bills and budget; cook food for that day and for the week ahead (all from scratch); wash/sort/mend clothes for the famil;, shop for any items that we need; make the homemade presents that we give; and do all the preparation that my part time job requires.  I also take some time for me - to see friends, read/write blogs and sometimes craft for my own pleasure.  I believe that the role as housewife/homemaker is a full time job, and my family and I are all very happy with the way the roles in our family work.

But every time my husband has holidays or there are school holidays, a spanner gets thrown in the works.  How am I supposed to get through all of the things on my list when I also need to spend time with them?  I want to spend time with them.... I love spending time with my family and my kids are growing up way too quickly to miss.  So something has to give.  Holidays are a time for compromise.

I chose to do less preparation for next term and to spend less time on my personal things - I'll find time when the boys go back to school.  In return, the kids have helped me with some of my jobs, and they are great at entertaining themselves while I'm busy.  And this weekend, Stu has helped me get through the list of homemaking tasks so that the burden feels somewhat lighter.

Slinky apples and a 'Where's Wally' puzzle - perfect family time!

My little mountain climbers!

And because of that, we've been able to enjoy the holidays, while still meeting our family's needs.

We've been to the library and the shops.  We bought new school shoes and pottered in the toy section of the shops.  Lachlan came with me while I donated blood (he wanted to see what happened and was a great support person).  We have all chipped in on a puzzle and played board games.  We spent the day at the Fun4Kids festival (courtesy of me teaching two workshops there), where the boys rockclimbed, fenced, cooked, hammered, danced and played until we were all exhausted.  We've written and read lots of stories and had cuddles galore.  We've been for walks and played in the garden.  And we've had time to just 'be' in each others company.

I've remembered that being a homemaker/housewife is a full time job, but it stems from being a wife and a mummy and they have to come first.  I wrote the title of this post before and find it interesting the way I wrote it - work, home, family.  We need to remember our priorities are the other way around - family, home and then work.  My boys aren't babies anymore, but think I should print myself a copy of this old poem - especially for school holidays.

Song for a Fifth Child

Mother, oh Mother, come shake out your cloth

empty the dustpan, poison the moth,

hang out the washing and butter the bread,

sew on a button and make up a bed.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?

She's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I've grown shiftless as Little Boy Blue

Dishes are waiting and bills are past due

The shopping's not done and there's nothing for stew

and out in the yard there's a hullabaloo

but I'm playing Kanga and this is my Roo.

Look! Aren't her eyes the most wonderful hue?

The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,

for children grow up, as I've learned to my sorrow.

So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.

I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.

by Ruth Hulburt Hamilton

Linking up with the Accidental Housewife today for a housewifely post - perfect timing Mrs A - just when I felt like writing about being a housewife... :o)

Two cars or one?

We're a two car family, but this week we only have one.  My mum had one of their cars die, and they were in a real jam, so we let them borrow one of ours for the week, thinking Stu was only working one day this week.  Turns out he is now working all week again, so we're having to do the one car juggle.


We live in a tiny town (a primary school, a pub, a general store and a couple of hundred people), 10 minutes drive from our nearest small town and 25 minutes drive from our big town - Warrnambool.  The kids go to school here, Stu works in Warrnambool, I teach belly dance in the small town and do the shopping in Warrnambool, so there is a reasonable amount of driving done by our family each week.  It is usually very easy to manage, but with only one car or one driver it becomes a real juggle.

http://www.tropicalnsw.com.au/aaa_site/album/environment/rural_road.jpg

At the start of this year, Stu was unable to drive for medical reasons for three months.  This had its moments of being stressful, but thanks to kind friends and family and his work hours being a bit flexible, we managed.  The most challenging moments were when he couldn't get a lift and I had to bundle the kids in the car to do a 1 hour round trip to pick him up, or when I was working and he needed to get the kids somewhere.  But we managed.

This week, with only one car, Stu has taken it to work today, and I'm left at home with no way to go anywhere today and tomorrow.  I think this is great!  I have a huge list of things I want to get done over the next couple of days, and don't have to worry about fitting in a trip to town to do the shopping.  Tuesday is usually shopping day, but I have plenty in the pantry, fridge and freezer and will make do for a couple of days.  The real challenge is going to come when I have to go to work during Stu's work hours on Thursday and Friday, but we'll find a way around it.

Unfortunately, the solutions to these problems won't work long term for us, otherwise I would love to get rid of one of the cars permanently.  Think of the savings!  I would halve the payments for registration, insurance, car servicing and maintenance.  We would have an extra space in the carport and the money from selling the extra car.  We would also be saving on trips to town (if they're more challenging you're less likely to do them) and therefore petrol and spending.  And on top of all that would be the environmental savings.
Perhaps one day we'll be able to do it, but for now, the odd challenge is enough.

How about you?  One car or two?

Fairies (or Faieries or Faeries) in the garden?

I looked out of the kitchen window this morning to see a very pretty sight - a group of toadstools pushing up through the damp Autumn earth.  "I think there are fairies in the garden!" I declared. Which led to this train of thought.....

Are they Fairies or Faeries?  Which spelling should I use? And do I believe they are there?

I was brought up reading and writing the word "fairies"  and then when I was in my teens a range of books started to hit the shelves calling them "faeries".  I wondered about this spelling, and even wrote it a few times myself, but just didn't feel right doing so.  Its like the word magic and the alternative spelling magick.  The words all mean the same thing, and are all accepted spelling, but how do you decide which word to use yourself?  Wandering the internet, I find that pagan and magic(k) websites tend to use the spellings that include an 'e'.... does this mean if I declare myself pagan I should use those spellings?  Which spelling do you use?  why?

And then the even deeper question - do I truly believe in fairy folk? 

I believe in nature and the amazingness (OK, now I'm just making up words!) of every living thing.  I'm a trained biologist and teacher, therefore I understand the workings of living things, and still find the life-cycles of plants and animals to be miraculous and awe-inspiring.  I've been pregnant and completely understand the science of reproduction, and yet the idea that a gamete (effectively a half cell) from me and one from my husband came together and from that chance meeting I now have two beautiful and amazing children who grow and think, still blows my mind!

So as I watch my children and my garden grow each day, it isn't so hard to expand my mind and believe that their are creatures that I never see and don't know about, who live around us and enjoy the nature in our garden.  And would it hurt to believe in their magic?  No, I think it makes us better people to believe in some sort of magic - however we spell it.

What do you think?