Category: Daily Life

Looking at my browser history, I seem to spend a lot of time checking my email and social networking (short, frequent visits). This is in between exercising my brain on Lumosity or logging into OTEN, with whom I’m studying. I also do a lot of Wiki and Google, which is mostly study related but I often also search for recipes (especially for the Thermomix). With the recent change of guard at the Fed election, my interest in Australian politics has rekindled and I’ve been spending more time on news sites like Guardian and The Conversation (don’t bother with the rubbishy news sites any more). These days I probably spend less time watching TV and DVDs than I do watching ABC iView and movies on Quickflix.

I love having days where you feel you are leading a full and contemplative life with plenty of things to look forward to. This John Burroughs quote sums it up:

I still find each day too short for all the thoughts I want to think, all the walks I want to take, all the books I want to read, and all the friends I want to see.  The longer I live the more my mind dwells upon the beauty and wonder of the world. I hardly know which feeling leads, wonderment or admiration.

Been a while since I posted here.. although to be honest I thought it was much longer, I see my previous post was only last April. Cool. I’m still taking Pristiq and doing pretty good, with only the rare low mood now, but I seem to be able to pick myself up out of it. A few months ago I gave up 16 hours a week at work to hire a job-share partner and it has been working great. She works 2 days, I work the other 3 days. We get on well together and I have more time for home life. I’ve joined the slow lane and I’m enjoying the pace.

We’ve had a few drops of rain in the last couple of days, not enough to saturate the ground but enough to give the grass a green tinge in some spots. I’ve been keeping the water up to the vegie garden and my potted plants, they are doing me proud.

I’ve been picking the tomatoes (took a few over to Lee-Ann’s yesterday) and the eggplants and capsicums should be big enough soon.

Did a spot of re-potting today, including a couple of new plants from Bunnings and a local nursery – Lilly Pilly,  Crepe Myrtle and Butterfly Bush. I’d like to plant out in the garden eventually, soon as I can work out positions where they will be safe from Spook and Ebby lying or trampling all over them.

Christmas began this year with vigil mass on Christmas Eve, held under the stars outside one of our little country churches. Dad and I sat on a rug on the grass, surrounded by hundreds of other parishioners. It was a beautiful evening and a lovely, simple ceremony.

The next day I prepared a couple of dishes to take to Christmas Day lunch at my parents. I made:

• quiche lorraine (from Thermomix Every Day Cookbook, prepared the day earlier)
• rum and banana trifle
• a layered salad of avocado, tomato, cucumber, lettuce with a simple lemon dressing

That done, and next door’s chooks and pony fed (while our neighbour is away), hubby and I sat down to a morning cuppa and exchanged our gifts. I gave hubby some of the later seasons of Old Harry’s Game. I discovered this funny BBC Radio series earlier in the year and hubby enjoyed it so much I promised to get him the remaining seasons. Hubby gave me some old episodes of Doctor Who (Spearhead from Space, and Terror of the Autons) and season 7 of Supernatural. Looks like I’ll be watching some TV!

Lunch at mum and dad’s was really pleasant. We had a lovely spread of food – barbeque chicken and turkey, some yummy salads including mum’s delicious ripe tomatoes sliced, sprinkled with fresh basil and topped with sliver of bocconcini cheese (mouth watering at the memory).

We did our gift exchange and settled down after dessert to watch the Sound of Music and let the food settle!

Checking out the asian greens growing in an old laundry tub on the veranda, noticed a lot of little black specks peppered over the stalks of each plant. Then I noticed a few of the leaves have been nibbled on. On further investigation I discovered around a dozen tiny little green caterpillar grubs having an afternoon nap in the crown of the plants. They were quickly escorted off!

This put me on the search for a good way to repel these little critters. I don’t want them eating my tomatoes! But I also don’t like the idea of using pesticides. So I found a couple of simple organic remedies I’m going to try.

A couple of gardening forums suggested using a garlic spray.. then I found this recipe for Garlic Fire Spray from Megan in NZ which sounds awesome. It is a water based spray with garlic and chillies, with a bit of vegetable oil and detergent to help it stick to the plants (and bugs). Best thing is.. I can whizz it up in the Thermomix!

The second suggestion I liked because it is so simple and friendly to Mother Nature – Pat Welsh says one of the best defences is to encourage birds into the garden. Place bird feeders and water fountains in the garden, the birds will come and pick off the grubs. She also goes with picking them off by hand when they are active (at night or early in the morning), which is what old Esther Dean recommends.

It reminds me of rather a macabre old garden remedy I read about recently. Collect a few grasshoppers by hand, then mush them up with some water. Strain the mix and then spray on your plants. Supposed to deter grasshoppers.. so glad I haven’t seen any of these in our garden yet!