On such a windy day

1 - 7, At the Strawberry farm, 8. Ready to make jam, 9 & 10. A great poster and book we brought at the museum

This morning, I could well have stayed in my pyjamas and pottered around the house, as the wind whirled and whistled outside our windows. But it is strawberry season! And I would feel remiss if we did not make at least one visit to the strawberry farm to pick our share in the patch. Our hats blew away over the rows of strawberries as we picked and wandered happily. There was strawberry ice cream to tempt the children back out of the patch, and while they hovered between the playground and our table, I started sketching strawberries in my nature journal, attempting to weigh everything down to prevent it from blowing away! Miss Five joined me to draw a treasure map and Master Eight examined a tiny spider that had been found crawling across my sketch book, while my sweet toddler was content with slippery slide and sand pit. Before we left, our butterfly net was waved around by small, excited hands, and three insects joined us on our homeward journey.

This afternoon Master Eight and I visited the Qld Museum to participate in a Behind the Scenes tour of the collections stores. From expanses of social history items to pinned and preserved natural specimens, we wandered through the secure sections with our guides and learned about the history of the museum and the precious objects housed within. For instance, only 3% of their collection is able to be exhibited at one time, and with items usually being on display for a period of 5 years, it would take 2,500 years to get through each item they currently own - and more items are added daily!

What a lovely day indeed, complete with 2 kg of strawberries now hulled and frozen ready for jam making, if the children don't eat them all first... 

Preserving Moments

 1. Six little Cumquats / Kumquats, 2. Found while walking, 3. Slicing, 4. In sugar syrup, 5. Draining, 6. Candied Cumquats, 7. Cutting and baking pear chips, 8. Meanwhile, one sleeping toddler.

 After school drop off this morning, the toddler and I set to work on our to do list. His list seemed to consist of scooter riding, jumping on the trampoline, digging holes and having me pretend to fix his cars pretend flat tyre several times. My list included the usual - dishes, laundry and tidying - as well as a spot of preserving pears and kumquats and finishing the last of my paperwork.

We both managed to cross everything off our lists, but only one of us managed to squeeze in a nap.

Free Fridays

 1 & 2. 'Floragings' - floral foragings found whilst out walking, 3. Wax Geraldton flowers, 4. More thrifted jars, 5. Free Friday's flowers and herbs, 6. This week's reading pile.

When my Mother was growing up she said they couldn't often afford to buy fruit, but that it didn't matter, as everyone in the neighbourhood had fruit trees and they all shared. They all knew who had what. That house had lemons and mangoes, that one avocado, that house had pawpaws. And the fruit was traded between them. I love this idea! 

When I grew several huge watermelons one year, I trundled them up and down the street, sharing them with the neighbours. Recently, I read Margaret Simonds lovely book, 'Six Square Meters', in which she mentioned cutting back her lavender bush and leaving the cuttings on the sidewalk for people to take. At once sharing with her neighbourhood, but also ensuring she did not have to dispose of them!

So, last Friday, I set out an odd collection of jars, teapots and vases filled with water and a sign saying 'Free', and filled each container with parsley and lavender. Many parents walk past our house to pick up their school children, and before the sun had set, each string tied collection of loveliness had been taken. This week I repeated the offering, adding Camelia and rosemary. Again, these gifts from my garden were gladly received and only the empty containers remained.

A positive result of this little offering is that I have spoken with parents who have previously walked past daily but that I'd had no excuse to speak to. I have noticed that the children are the most excited partakers. Diving in while their parent hangs back and then warms to the idea. I also feel more a part of my community. And there is a sense of joy and satisfaction that comes with sharing what one has grown.

I intend to keep putting out these floral gifts each Friday, which will change with the season, and I hope that others will be inspired to join in and do the same. xx

Sundays

1. Dear old teddy has made it to the mending pile, 2. My favourite Emily Martin print, 3. Mr three is currently obsessed with cars and scooters, 4 & 5. Winter flowers, 6. Helping build the chicken coop, 7. Pollen hunters.

If I had a dollar for everytime my children said, Mum, this weekend...
Or each time one intentionally annoyed or provoked the other...
Or even each time I had to repeat myself when talking to them.

And yet, all the money in the world couldn't replace this morning, when my three-year-old climbed into bed with us and said, 'Mama, I love you', for the first time.
Or the way that Miss five says 'bizert' instead of dessert.
Or the way Master eight compliments me on whatever I am wearing.

Ah, my babies. What would I do without them? xx

In the kitchen

 1. Melting bees wax in an aluminium jug in a water bath, 2 & 3. My first bees wax candles, 4. Homemade pasta, 5. Homemade pasta and pasta sauce with sausages, 6. Cherry tomatoes in the garden, 7 - 11. Preserving 2.5kg of tomatoes by bottling pasta sauce 12. Failed soap experiments

I've been drawn to the kitchen this week. Making and cooking. The sink has been filled with pots and pans. The windowsill is now bare of tomatoes. Jars have been cooling on benches. First strawberry jam, then soap, pasta sauce and pasta, more pasta sauce and candles.

My first adventure in cold pressed soap making was unfortunately a failure. I had such high hopes! My mixture just wouldn't saponify (the chemical reaction that creates soap from oils and lye), no matter how long I stirred it. I used my normal kitchen scales to weigh the oils and lye (caustic soda), as I found our digital kitchen scales needed a new battery. So, I think the issue was with the precision of the weights, despite my best efforts. I was disappointed, but not deterred, and will be trying again.

Pasta sauce was a success! I made home made pasta and pasta sauce for the children. They fought over using the pasta machine and ate it almost without complaint. I thought it was delicious, even the next day for the easiest of lunches, so I bottled up another four jars of pasta sauce and added them to the pantry. I put the vintage jars I found at the op-shop to good use, only loosing one to a crack after boiling them. I picked up the tomatoes for about $1.40 at the produce store, so I will be going back to see if they have more. (One great thing about a Queensland Winter is that you can still grow tomatoes.)

I ordered a few supplies from Aussie Candle Supplies, along with bees wax from my friend, to make my first candles. It was simple and fun, but the wax didn't go nearly as far as I thought it would! It really is all about experimenting. Despite ordering thicker wicks, the wick was not thick enough for the larger jar. As a result, the candle doesn't melt to the edge, but rather melts only a centimeter or so from the wick, causing a hollow around the wick and below the surface of the candle. Lessons learnt.

What have you been up to in the kitchen lately?

A new nest

I'm slowly feathering a new nest for myself online. A space to document our days as a family of five on a journey to a slower, simpler, sustainable life. A departure from the blog I began when I was expecting our first child, which has since evolved into my business website. A place to record my thoughts, share my inspiration and practice my photography.

And so I begin.