Panda Progress

Last week I had the luxury of a day at home alone. This doesn't happen very often as His Lordship was away for the week and the kids were safely ensconsed in school/day care, and I am usually at work. It was a little quiet for a time, but I got used to it pretty quickly and started working on some more toys for Michelle. This little pile is some flat pandas, so sad and without breath, is now full of stuffing and happy.

Glog Update:
I am trying shallots, I bought some from the supermarket and planted them in front of the Artichokes. Later I am heading over to my sisters to raid her rhubarb patch (thanks for the suggestion Dora).

I also grabbed a bag of horse manure from my mother's place yesterday, which I am going to dig through the spot for the potatoes.

Egg head of Alfred Hitchcock?

Alone at breakfast... I may be grasping a little, but could it be that I had a vision of Alfred? If so, what the hell does that mean?

Nevertheless its a flippin cute egg head, no?

Glog - a - long

I am pretty excited that some of you are going to glog along with me. I have been trialling the production of actually growing things and then eating them for a few months. We started last year with a lot of enthusiasm and have had more failures than success, but I am still keen to make it work.

So focusing on what did work -

Lettuce! Yes, lettuce I was amazed how easy it is to grow and how delicious it is to eat fresh and not from some days old plastic bag. Easy and delicious - it is apparently able to be grown year round including the frosty bits, I must get some more and plant it. (I didn't have much luck with planting seeds but seedlings worked really well)

Basil and coriander in pots. This only worked when I put the seeds in planters and put them on the kitchen window sill. Something about seeing them everyday and so close to the tap, they got regular watering and they grew and grew.

Cherry tomatoes, it is still too early to put them in here in Tassie but they were also good.

The failures included the apparently super easy peasy zucchini, the tres facile pumpkin vine, broccoli (apparently wrong season), bok choi and strawberries plus many more I am too embarrased to list.


But my sister lent me this book and it is easy to follow and a comprehensive section on each type of vegetable. Next, I am planting Asparagus...

Learning Gardening

I started writing a GLOG last year when the kids and I wanted to grow some veggies. It seemed like a good idea to note down what we planted, when we planted and what happened. Looking back it seems we were a little ambitious and most things didn't really grow, survive or thrive. We did manage to get some tomatoes to grow, but almost every thing I planted from seed failed (except some radishes). It has been quite a useful thing to do and I now know I am not very good at watering.

So this is a new year and I thought I might take the GLOG global and post a few things here as we start planting and thinking about growing this year.

These are the Principles of our GLOG ...

"This is our garden's logbook, or glog. We want to keep a record of our garden as it grows (or not) so we can learn from our success's and failures.
The aims of our gardening adventure are to:
- grow nutritious food
- watch the cycles of life
- harvest water
- teach ourselves through action
- eat well and exercise
We would like to grow herbs, fruit and vegetables to eat and flowers to use around the house.
We hope to work organically, reduce our shopping list, reuse materials and equipment and recycle."

Or put simply by a 5 year old - Learning Gardening.

This is... My most treasured childhood possesion

When I was 6, my sisters and I were taken to a toy store in England and told we could choose whatever we wanted. This is it. He is lovely painted porcelain and when you wind him up he turns around to a tinkling tune.

I also have a very gorgeous stuffed Winnie-the-pooh which I love, but, the kids are allowed to play with him, so I guess he is a little less precious.

Which also reminds me of my favourite all time joke... ready ...

Q. What do Winnie-the-Pooh and Jack-the-Ripper have in common?

This is part of Angela's "This is" meme, of which I contribute very badly, but this week on time (nearly)

A. The same middle name! (tee hee)

Winter time

1. Sunday Morning, 2. Snowy Mount Wellington, 3. Miellerie Tasmanian Honey, 4. Winter Shadows

I have been thinking about a post for a few days, and finally after getting a nudge from my far away friend (how was the sunset set ems?), here is something.

Winter in Hobart can be a little unpredictable, usually we have some cold weather, but it never seems to stay consistent for months on end. We are lucky, I guess to not be blanketed under snow for months on end (I am thinking Fargo or similar), but living on an little island surrounded by the southern oceans can result in a lot of conversations about the weather!

It is not that I think talking about the weather is boring, au contraire, in actual fact I think it gives more ability for us to connect with each other as a community.
And so when I read that Harriet and her tribe at Dick and Dora are cold, I can relate. And when Rita recommends a perfect winter pie at the Red Velvet Lounge, I am trying to think of a way to get there.
And when on the other side of the world Amanda from Soulemama starts her Days of Summer posting as a reflection of the passing seasons, I think, yeh I can do that and then I remember that posting a picture a day reflecting on days of winter is unlikely to occur. So instead I will offer a couple of pictures of the snowy mountain from our windows, the winter shadows and some wonderful Miellerie honey* that I finally found at Merediths** (get there immediately and buy some).

* Some of you might have seen this wonderful French Aparist on SBS last week, he lives in Tassie and makes to most delicious organically produced, cold extracted, unheated, unprocessed, pure raw honey (I am copying this from the jar, not reciting it from my heart). I am feeding the kids a teaspoon a day for its medicinal properties. Yum, 1 for them, 2 for me.
ps. this jar of Honey is from the nectar of the Prickly Box, but there was also Leatherwood and Tea Tree. I couldn't decide so I decide to get the jar with the most intriguing name.
** Merediths is on the main road just outside of Margate, heading towards Snug.