Booky Stuff

Firstly, I’ve still been reading quite a bit, and working my way through my book lists for the year. I am too lazy to write a review of each, and not really all that good at book reviews anyway, but I do want to keep a record of what I’ve read, so I’m just going to list them here and maybe make a comment or two.

Alice in Wonderland – Lewis Carrol.

Didn’t love it, but E5 did. Maybe I found the nonsense slightly frustrating at times. Anyway… it still remains a must read at least once in childhood and maybe even as an adult, but I’m happy to borrow it, and for me it’s not a must own.

Morgan’s Run – Colleen McCullough

Loved this book. It’s the story of a man Richard Morgan who is falsely accused of a crime in and found himself transported to Botany Bay (Australia’s first penal colony) in 1788 on the First Fleet. It is a great tale which spans the years from 1775 until 1793 and depicts life for a convict in Botany Bay and later when  he is transported to Norfolk Island. I loved learning about this period of time. Richard Morgan’s name is in fact listed on the historical records as being a convict on the first fleet, and did live on Norfolk Island. I was fascinated by this because there was also a convict on the First Fleet whose surname is my maiden name. I’m not descended from him because it seems he died a couple of years after arriving and before becoming a free man. There are no records of offspring.

The Sea – John Banville

Hmmm…I liked this book, but didn’t really leave a lasting impression. Well written etc, but didn’t do anything for me.(Is that bad? It’s a prize winner and all.)

Captain Corelli’s Mandolin – Louis De Bernieres

I was so looking forward to reading this book, but I’m sorry to say I didn’t finish it. Just didn’t really get into it. I know I’ll revisit it someday though. I’ve read great reviews though! he he. Oh, and I own it, so I know I’ll try again someday.

The Willoughbys – Lois Lowry

Grabbed this off the shelf in the children’s section at the library the other day. I’d heard it was good. I read it myself to see if it’d be a good one for the kids. Almost all the way through I had my doubts that I’d read it to them, but when I got to the last few pages, I decided it’s probably a goer. It’s a book about four children who decide that since they have such ghastly parents, they should really be orphans. It’s full of great words like nefarious and irascible and odious, but has a glossary at the back for the youngsters. It’s a booky book in that it references other great old fashioned stories like Mary Poppins and The Secret Garden and Heidi. It’s was a bit Roald Dahl-ish in it’s slightly dark story, and was also very funny, and I loved the perfect ending.

I’m currently reading The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain, and loving it. Also reading Absolute Power by Ian Wishart… not sure what I think of this one yet.

And speaking of books, I paid more fines at the library the other day…my husband jokes that they should roll out a red carpet for me when I come since I probably nearly own the place by now. I should get VIP service he reckons…. So, I so needed this! This is ELF! It’s a personal email reminder service that can track multiple library cards and send you customised emails when your books are nearly due or over due. (I still don’t know why the library can’t do this itself. In my case they only send an email when you already have a lot of fines owing and they’re getting to the point of charging you for the books.) But anyway….I hope it works for me!

Favourite Things

I asked my kids some of their favourite things.

“Hey B3, what’s your favourite…?“

Colour? white

Food? noodles

Drink? Juice

Friend? E5

Toy? train set

Story? Thomas, Thomas and Thomas the train

Dad? Daddy

Mum? Erin

“Hey E5, what’s your favourite…?”

Colour? Rainbow

Food? Pizza

Drink? Coke

Friend? Caleb….and Corban, Annalyse and Katherine

Toy? fairies

Story? Princesses and Fairy Godmothers

Dad? Dad (giggle)

Mum? YOU!

Just a moment in time….love my kiddies.

Make me a daisy chain

I’m becoming one of ‘them’

Not that long ago, I used to think people who were ‘green‘ were a bit odd. I just thought it wasn’t a big deal and wondered why people went to such trouble over little things. I used to think natural body products were inferior and that if I used them I’d have b.o. and end up with hairy legs and no make up and frizzy hair and maybe even braless…eeek perish the thought! If someone had told me they used cloth sanitary products I’d have thought they’d really gone too far. Home birth was rather earthy too, and home schooling for weird religious fanatics.

EeekkkK! Something has happened to me and I’m becoming one of them! And it’s happening rather quickly. In the last 3 years I have…

• Stopped using disposable nappies and wipes. Now I use cloth nappies (exclusively) as well as cloth wipes. I can’t remember the last time I bought them. Our rubbish has reduced considerably it has saved us money, and it feels much better knowing I’m not using an item once and throwing it away. Our rubbish bin used to fill up so quickly. And it stank. Yes, you have to wash them but it’s not hard to use a washing machine. My poor ol’ Nanna had 6 children and for at least the first 4 would have washed everything by hand. I started making my children’s cloth nappies a couple of years ago and also started selling them in a little business.

• Stopped buying cleaning products such as window cleaner, floor cleaner, surface cleaner, shower and bathroom products. I now use Enjo cleaning cloths…microfibre fibres that clean really easily and thoroughly just using water. I’d never have believed this was hygienic enough but now I am convinced. I’m not a clean freak, but I think even a clean freak would be impressed with these. It’s not cheap initially although is offset by not having to purchase consumable chemicals ongoingly and there are cheaper brands (haven’t tried them) but it has made me realise once again that just because there are products available, it doesn’t mean you have to use them. The cleaning isle at the supermarket has every specific product available and so we think we need them. I like to ask myself what our grandmothers would have done and many so called old fashioned methods work just fine, and are cheap or free, healthier in our homes and better for the environment.

• Stopped buying disposable sanitary products. Initially I started using cloth pads. These are so much better than they sound….thinner than you’d expect, way more comfortable than disposable ones and not at all hard to clean or care for. They’re not ugly raggy things….they come in colours and prints or you can make your own. There are many designs available i.e. with or without wings, with an attached waterproof layer or a snap in one etc etc. Additionally, in the last 5 months I’ve started using a Mooncup. This is a reusable menstrual cup. To save me getting all personal on the internet, go and have a read about it at the Mooncup website. They take a bit of getting used to but is a one off cost of around $55-60. They should last for several years. You’ll have saved it’s cost in disposable products within 4-5 months depending on what you normally buy. They are healthier than tampons, having never been associated with Toxic Shock Syndrome. Again, no landfill and I love walking past that aisle in the supermarket.

• Stopped buying disposable breast pads when breastfeeding. I used one packet that were given to me as a gift when I had my last child. Reusable Cloth pads work just as well, can be washed in the shower or chucked in the washing machine with anything else. Again…saves money and land fill and none of that gel stuff near our bodies. My boy is weaned now so I gave them away to a friend.
  

• Stopped using commercial shampoo and soap. I have started using natural shampoo bars. These are made from all vegetable oils with added essential oils. They clean the hair just as well as shampoo, are cheaper and have no chemicals going down the drain or affecting our skin. My hair is very thick and curly, and I’ve been quite happy with how the shampoo bar is leaving it. It’s slightly less manageable when wet without conditioner, but once dry , there is very little difference. There are plenty of home made conditioner recipes on the internet which I will probably try sometime once I get used to the idea of putting egg or mayonnaise or beer on my head. Ha ha ha ha. I’ve been enjoying the shampoo bars and naturals soaps so much I decided to retail them as part of the fund raising for my Zimbabwe project. You can see them and other products as well as read about the project over here at my Make a Plan blog.

• Become a recycler. I used to be rather lazy about this but the new HUGE 240L recycling bins provided by the city council are great. I love that you can chuck every thing in together. I now recycle all tins, paper, glass, and most plastics.

• Started a compost bin. We were given two bins. I don’t actually use the compost because I’m a terrible gardener, but at least our scraps are breaking down nicely on our own property. With the compost and recycling if we forget to put the rubbish bin out it’s not the end of the world, as we can easily last 2 weeks on our little 120L wheelie bin.

So there you have it. I’m a bit green myself, and when i consider that I’ve also had a home birth and am home schooling, I realise I’m becoming stranger by the second!! I still use regular washing powder, dishwasher powder and dishwashing detergent. And I’m just a tad reluctant to do away with commercial deodorants. Can anyone convince me the natural deodorant stones actually work? and do any of them keep you dry like the commercial ones do?

Do you any natural products? What are your favourites?

Happy Birthday to me!

I am backdating this post so that it’s posted on my birthday. That way it won’t confuse me if I read this when I’m really really old.

I love how these hand made cards that come from three different countries all complement each other, and all have green! (Loving greens and pinks)

Of course we had cake and candles because it isn’t a birthday without those…

Some fresias from my garden as a present from me to myself just because, (I also bought myself some new knickers but you can’t have a photo of those!) along with daffodils from a friend.

D took me out for dinner to the Beach House. Our friend Zoe babysat the kiddies for us. Our dinner was lovely, and it was so nice to be together to eat and to have each others undivided attention. I couldn’t stop smiling when just as we sat down, one of my current favourite songs came on. It was Wonderful Remark by Van Morrison. Felt like a special present just for me.

My mother’s group friends sang happy birthday and surprised us with a cake too! I say ‘us’ because I share a birthday with a good friend so she and I were in it together. We’re celebrating her birthday at her place on Sunday.

So, that’s me at 32.

Funniest Dream Ever

“Hey Mum…” says E5 as soon as she comes out of her room this morning. Her face has a big smile on it as she goes on. “I had the funniest dream! I dreamed that I laid so many eggs, on three nests! I was wearing these Pyjamas and I accidentally did a poo on one of them!” she ends with a theatrical whisper.

She chuckles to herself and I laugh too. I love this kid. She is so funny and full of life and fun. When she smiles her whole face lights up. It’s fun laughing together in the morning.

She chose the post title too…thinks it’s cool that we’re writing about it.

The Perfect Storm – Sebastian Junger

The Perfect Storm – Sebastian Junger

(This is going to sound very lazy, but I’m too tired to write a proper review of this book. I’ve been out in the garage this afternoon moving boxes (67 so far and that’s just the beginning) and taking an inventory of their contents. The boxes are the medical supplies for the Zim project. And I’m tired. )

Anyway…I read this book because I’d seen the movie and if I enjoy a movie that was a book first (does that make sense!?) I like to read it.

I enjoyed this book. It was meticulously researched. The author presented factual information about the fishing industry, the construction of fishing vessels, how storms work, how waves (in particular freak or rogue waves) work. He discussed the wind and the ocean currents. All these things to build up the known information about the story.

The story that is about the Andrea Gail. A swordfishing boat that was lost in a massive storm. The entire crew of 6 were killed. The story also covers the rescue of various other vessels caught in the storm, and the resulting death of a rescue swimmer.

While the story does cover the human drama, it’s mostly a compilation of fact and an attempted reconstruction of events on the Andrea Gail. Once the crew lost radio contact early in the storm, there is obviously no way of knowing exactly what happened on board.

I’m glad I saw the movie first, because I’d otherwise have been bogged down in information that I’m not particularly interested in (meteorology etc. ) I did find in interesting, however I can’t say I’ve learned much…retention was low! A good book for people interested in meteorology, boating, fishing, or search and rescue. If you’re less technical and prefer the human aspect of the story get the DVD.

For the love of Books

She loves to read. She takes a stack of books to bed with her every night and sometimes reads for over an hour before I tell her it’s way past sleep time and she reluctantly puts them at the foot of her bed for tomorrow. (Or to crash down off her bunk in the middle of the night with a bang!)

The Hedgehog Returns

Our little friend came back last night. And I know why. R1 leaves little snacks all over the place for him. He came to eat saltanas.

He was so happy munching and we were able to get so close we could hear him eating. And take a million photos in the dark.( None of them are very good.) Of course once the children figured out he was eating saltanas, they ran inside to get the container and emptied the whole lot onto the driveway in a little trail for him Hansel and Gretel style. He’ll probably come back and finish them tonight.

(I don’t quite know why I’m so fascinated with this hedgehog…probably to most NZ’ers they’re terribly normal and common. But I’d never seen one before coming here. Didn’t even know they lived in NZ…introduced of course.)

Stickability and Lemon Pudding. Yes, totally logical.

What happened to Monday Monday? I don’t know…I was sick and here we are and already it’s Tuesday Tuesday.

I don’t know why I do this to myself all the time. That is, give myself extra pressures in things that don’t really matter. Like posting every day for a month for example! It’s day 9, I’m already a day behind, and I still have 21 days left in the month and diddly-squat to say. Silly me. But I won’t give up. I’m like that.

(It’s my mother’s voice in my head. The exact words elude me, but something like….’if you start something you finish it’. I used to agree. I used to think it was the right thing to do.. that if you start something or make a commitment to something you should always follow through. So, if you start a ballet class, and decide you hate it, you should at least stick it out until the end of the term. If you start a book, you should finish it, even if you don’t like it… just for the sake of perseverance, ‘stickability‘ as my Mum says. And you know what….it’s true sometimes. I think it’s important to have perseverance even when things get hard. Life is hard and it’s good to have the strength of character to hang in there sometimes even if you want to bail. But I’m starting to learn that also there is a time for recognising a bad decision and getting the heck out of there. It is not such a bad thing to admit you’ve made a mistake.)

Anyway, it’s all quiet in our house this afternoon…my older two are off playing at a friends house, and the little one is asleep. D is home (took the day off to look after me because I was sick yesterday, but now I’m better. Whoops. But then his car wouldn’t start this morning, so it was rather convenient that he’s off so he’s out there now tinkering with it) Often when our house is quiet and I have a little more time on my hands, I get a little more inspired about dinner. Most of the time I consider myself a reluctant cook, but tonight I feel like making a nice little pudding for desert. It’s easy and delicious and reminds me of a childhood favourite which we called Lemon Swiss Delicious.

Citrus Sponge Pudding

1 cup caster sugar

1/2 cup SR flour

3 tbsp desiccated coconut

1 tbsp finely grated lemon rind

1 tbsp finely grated orange rind

2 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp orange juice

2 eggs, separated

125g butter, melted and cooled

1 cup milk.

1) Combine sugar, flour, coconut, lemon rind, orange rind in a bowl. Beat in lemon juice, orange juice,  egg yolks, butter and milk.

2) Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form and fold into citrus mixture. Pour mixture into  a greased 4 cup capacity oven proof dish. Place in a baking dish , with enough hot water to come halfway up sides of the pudding dish and bake at 180 C for 45 minutes or until cooked. (Will be slightly browned on top.)