imitation is the sincerest form of flattery

I try to be very conscious about how much time I spend on the computer while Kurtis is awake. It used to be not at all, but since I got a new laptop and wireless Internet this little device has been seducing me big time.
Apart from the fact that I recently read that some schools have removed their wireless network and gone back to the plug in option because of unsafe levels of radiation, you're simply not present when your on the computer.
I don't mean to say that I play with Kurty all day. I spend a fair amount of time, washing clothes and dishes, cleaning, tidying, vacuuming, cooking in fact anything to avoid pushing matchbox cars around on the floor!
Kurtis also likes to cook, clean and tidy and I try to include him in all these jobs when he's interested. I mean it doesn't matter how long it takes to do these jobs does it, 10 minutes, 30 minutes. Its the process not the product.
I guess that's the luxury of being a stay at home mum. I could clean this house top to bottom in 4-5 hours, it's a pretty big house. But instead it takes 4 to 5 days. Who cares (well sometimes I do if I know we are having visitors but Clint and I are masters of the 15 minute tidy which is totally fine if you don't look too closely).
What I love is watching Kurty with a spray bottle of vinegar and water and a cloth. He cleans floors, cupboards,windows, showers, most things really. He vacuums with the dust buster and the big vacuum, he loads and unloads the washing machine and hangs clothes on the line. He doesn't do any of these things properly except the laundry but that is so not the point.

Anyway yesterday he was asking for my old laptop for the millionth time and as I'm trying to delay his familiarisation with technology for as long as I can I said No, again. (our local primary school uses computers in Prep, he will not be "behind" if he isn't proficient before that and he can already take a mean photo with my iPhone. Don't ask me how I didn't show him!)
All he wanted was to imitate me so after 5 minutes of cut and paste Kurty had himself a laptop.

   The first thing he said was "mum can I have your iPhone I need to download some photos" so much for delaying familiarisation! He then went on to say something about a modem?

I made this really quickly as I was trying to get something else done but you could make it a lot more like the real thing with a bit of attention to detail

Junior laptop:-

1 manila folder
2 pieces of ribbon
texta
staples
magazine pictures (let your child choose and cut and paste them on)
glue

calculator (to use as a mobile phone)

= hours of fun.
OK not really hours more like 10 minutes here and there but he loves it anyway.

Kurty does not get to play with my phone, you may think that's mean when there are soooo many "cute" apps out there (I have been told, I haven't actually seem them) aimed squarely at his age group. If your wondering why I have made this choice click on the link below.
Its in two parts 7 minute each. Its Dr Charlie Teo on 60 minutes but if you haven't seem it before please watch. For your children's sake.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zq340oQPfK4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvyFbcCZlrI&feature=related

You may think its propaganda and that is your right but with the jury still out on the link between mobile phones and tumours why would you risk it? The fact is that children's skulls are thinner than ours.


Talk again soon,

Georgia xx

long time, no see

Well, like a lot of things in my life I started this blog with enthusiasm then one day just completely lost interest. No particular reason, I think I just realised that I really enjoy reading blogs a lot more than writing them and I always forget to take photos of stuff that I could blog about and I really do prefer a blog post with a bit of eye candy!

I think another reason for my lack of interest is the subject matter. While I'm truly happy about growing healthy food for myself and my family and I'm grateful for the learning opportunity for Kurty I don't love gardening and I probably never will. Although I hope it grows on me. (pardon the pun)

So I will use this blog for other things too. Namely as a record of events and occurrences and the little things that my sieve like memory could never retain on its own.

What inspired me to open up this blog again was that just a moment ago when Kurty was in the middle of this 3 hour day sleep (I can usually set my watch by him and yes at 3yrs and 8mths (OMG really) I really do know how lucky I am to have this time to myself every day) he cried out at 1.5hours and I raced in and yes at 3yrs and 8mths I still cannot let him cry alone for more than a moment, crying during the day when he doesn't get his own way, well thats another story.
Anyway I rushed in to "mum, my arm is fuzzy" bless him "that's pins and needles buddy roll over and it will go away in a minute". Probably only cute because I'm his mum but I thought it was adorable and I didn't want to forget it, and now I won't.
So the house is quite once more except for the chirp of crickets. Some people I believe quite like this sound, I think I used to be one of those people. Not any more now I bloody well HATE the little buggers. They chirp VERY LOUDLY day and night and have been keeping me awake night after night for months, since about October last year, lately I have tried ear plugs and some nights I have even gone to sleep in the spare bed which seems ridiculous. I even called Dawson's pest control, but they told me there is nothing you can do and they are seasonal. Which seasons is what I'd like to know! Oh she did suggest pouring boiling water on them but all this achieved was the death of one previously very nice plant.

So the garden, if your interested, has been good, good for zucchinis that is. I think we pick one or two a day and that has been going on for ages although I think things seem to be slowing up now.
I have only thrown one away of which I'm very proud.
I have made:-
a very yummy zucchini slice (thermomix recipe)
zucchini, feta and ricotta fritters    yum
zucchini chocolate cake      I liked it more than the husband and kurty just wanted icing on it

Zucchini has been a pizza topping, a filling for chicken soft tacos, grated into pasta sauce, added too minestrone soup, pumpkin soup and vegetable soup, added to garden salads, rice salads, pasta salads,beetroot carrot and apple salads and coleslaw.
I'm sure there has been more and I have a recipe for a zucchini,carrot and shallot risotto planned for tomorrow.

I'm too lazy to write any recipes but message me if your interested.


Today Kurty came out with two other little gems. Dad said as they played with a footy "I'll kick it to ya" to which Kurty replied "I'll kick it to you dad, not ya" I was soooooo proud. And then at the beach this morning as Kurty hitched a ride on Dad's shoulders I asked if he would like me to carry him for a bit (to give poor sick dad a break, he is suffering with a horrible cold right now) "No thank you mum, I'm rather happy up here"
Seriously sometimes I think we are raising an upper class English school boy not a three year old Aussie kid.
Still I'm not complaining I'd rather Kurty sound like a snooty little rich kid than a bogan. Is that snobby of me?

Mind you take a look at the photo below, seems were not all that far from bogan status around here after all.
God help me.

Harvest

The good news..................

We are now the proud owners of not one but two zucchini's. Feeling pretty chuffed. Kurtis picked them and started eating one on the spot.
I have a great recipe for the yummiest zucchini slice I've ever had, we'll be having that in the next day or two.

Oh and we have a little baby eggplant, so cute.

The bad news.....................

Something is eating our basil and our corn. What could it be?

Lots of space in the veggie patch to plant what, any ideas?


And totally unrelated cuteness. The other day I thought Kurtis had been pretty quiet for I while, so I thought I had better check things out. This is what I found.

Kurtis was reading stories to Max in the back seat of our car. 

So please tell me what to plant now. I do have books and charts and Internet access but it would be easier if you just tell me :)


Georgia xx

not just butterflies and bumblebees

THIS

PLUS THESE

= THIS

I spent a lot of time penning a witty little explanation of the pictures above but I have been wrestling with the computer tonight and it seems to have disappeared. I can't be bothered trying to recreate it sorry, so long story short. I thought the pretty little white moths were the culprits but after most of the damage had been done I found the perfectly camouflaged caterpillars. They now live in the park across the road. Needless to say I'm not planning on making cauliflower soup any time soon.

Kurtis and I were very excited. I thought this flower was a good sign but never having grown any food (except herbs) before I didn't know if this was a good sign or not. I thought I had heard of things "going to seed" or "going to flower" before and I thought this may happen after the plant had fruited.  I made a note to myself to ask someone without sounding like a complete fool. Anyway before I had a chance to do that Kurtis and I were out surveying the progress in the garden a day or two later and I said to Kurtis "I hope we get some zucchinis" to which he replied "They're here mum" as he pointed to the fat green stem behind the flower. I must say it looks a lot like a zucchini and I'm rather inclined to trust him. What do you think? 

And I cannot believe how quickly they grow, they would have to be three times bigger than everything else we planted at the same time.

Our first strawberry.

Luckily I took this photo for you as proof because when we went to check on it today,  it was gone!

When I asked Kurty where it was he just said, with a very serious face "someone must have eaten it". Someone indeed.

spiders

Spiders, usually I'm ok with them, unless its a huntsman. For some reason huntsmen make my skin crawl. Its always been this way much to the disappointment of my husband who occasionally gets woken up in the early hours of the morning by me holding an ice cream container and a piece of card. He knows what to do but is never happy about it.
We had one this morning after Clint had left for work. It was down quite low compared to their usual hangout near the roof. I saw it and ignored it because I have heard that fear is a learned response and I don't want to pass my issues on to Kurtis.
Kurtis saw him shortly after.

 "Mum there's a big spider"
 "I know buddy I saw him too, he's a big one isn't he"
 "he's a Daddy Enormous Legs"

Oh how I laughed. I think Daddy Long Legs are the only ones he knows the name of and he's never seen a Huntsman before as they always seem to come out at night and I have them removed immediately.
So he just figured that's what they must be called. I told him they were called Huntsman but he thought Daddy Enormous Legs was really a much more appropriate name and I really can't argue that one.
Then something amazing happened. I got the cardboard and the ice cream container and I calmly put him outside! Amazing what you can do when your child is the motivation.

So why am I telling you all this? Well, this blog has been a funny thing. I used to wonder why people would put there thoughts out there for anyone to read and I also used to wonder who read them. Then I started to read them, and found them interesting, entertaining and fascinating. I love to be a fly on the wall to peoples thoughts. I have always been a reader and sometimes you can stumble across blogs that are well written and thought provoking or just delicious eye candy from all the amateur photographers and crafters and interior stylists.
Then a friend suggested I start documenting the birth of our veggie garden and here we are.
What has surprised me most is that in a few short posts I have been read in 6 countries! AUS, USA, UK, Canada, Sweden and Malaysia. What the?    I don't even know anyone in Canada or Malaysia. Even more surprising is how chuffed I feel that people are reading what I write.

I also love how permanent this is, I have a crap memory and I mean REALLY crap so I am going to start documenting other things here too. Veggies take awhile to grow so I need to diversify if I want to post regularly.

Stay tuned.

 
 
I do love photos in blog posts so here is mine for today. I love beautiful houses and this is one gorgeous kitchen.
I should have taken a photo of the spider but I know I people with real arachnophobia can't even look at a photo of a spider without freaking out and I don't want to be put anyone through that!

Image from a blog that I enjoy daily The house that a-m built. 

Georgia xx

unbelievable

So I did it. Finally. And boy did I laugh. After saying that my printer wasn't compatible because the installation disc said XP and Office 2000 I simply plugged the thing in and it installed! All by itself! I'm amazed. I guess discs to install hardware are old school. I am so glad I didn't go and buy a new printer without checking this first. So all this time I had a way to get my photos over here. Who knew. (probably all of you)  I am hoping they will now upload quicker than before so here goes............

So to update you.
Not everything died after the hot spell we had the day after I planted. I worked out how to protect the tomatoes on hot days (they are actually feeding us right now although Kurtis eats the ripe ones in the backyard each day so I can't collect enough for a salad )  That is my late Grandmas beach umbrella, looking at it takes me straight back to Portsea back beach circa 1976. I can smell the coconut oil now.......

Status update:

zucchini - growing very well, with any luck we will be eating zucchinis eventually
eggplant - growing well, has a couple of purple flowers?
cabbage - being eaten by cabbage moths
watermelon - still small seedlings
rhubarb - still small seedling
basil - growing well
tomatoes - growing well
strawberries - fruit is growing
cucumbers - not much change since planting
corn and sweet corn - growing well
carrots - got fried in the heat, thought I would leave them there to see if they recover
pac choy - moths are loving it
spinach - thought it was lost in the heat but new growth shows it may just recover
celery - lost to the heat
cauliflower - moth food
cos - two out of three look ok
dill - doing well
chives - thriving
coriander - thought it was lost but looks like it may recover

 As I went out to start planting this is the scene that awaited me.

Kurtis after planting, looking very unimpressed. He had a good time with the planting he's just not into having his photo taken.

Well those took awhile to upload, not as long as the old laptop but still longer than I would like. I believe you can take photos on the iphone and upload straight to your blog. That sounds great, with any luck I will have that nutted out by Christmas.
So any ideas about how to stop those moths? I was given a suggestion but I forgot what it was, I really need to write stuff down!

Worm update - they are still not eating much but after re reading the booklet that came with the farm I realised my worms are babies and therefore don't eat much. They take 3 to 6 months to mature so no need to panic yet.

Well I can here my boy stirring from his afternoon siesta so I must go. You can look forward to more regular updates from now on, or not, depending on whether you have enjoyed the previous ones.

Georgia xx

 

Don't go away

I promise that today I will work out how to put photos on to this computer. I have been putting it off because I'm lazy and i don't like all things technological. I also don't like to break a promise so now I have promised you something I WILL follow through.

Watch this space