There is a glut of rocket here at the moment and it is starting to bolt so I thought I’d make use of Crazy Mumma’s Rocket and Walnut Pesto recipe. I can highly recommend it, it is just lovely! We were given the walnuts a couple of months ago and, since I snapped the nut cracker, we haven’t really been eating all that many even though we love them (I intend to grow them when we get our own house).
I didn’t blanch the rocket and I didn’t measure the ingredients, I just threw in a BIG bunch of rocket, the walnuts that I had (I lightly toasted them in the oven one night) and whatever cheese and oil we had left. I think it would have been better with more cheese and oil but Sophie was/is sick again with a gastro type illness so I couldn’t go out.
Sam and I have been eating it for lunch on spaghetti – just plain but oh so not plain! Yummy Yummy, go and make it!
P.S. I am hoping to have lots and lots of rocket seed so if you want some when they are ready….
I have started spinning for The Blanket. I can see that it will be a long process and I really should get some advice on it but I am ploughing ahead anyway. I have never spun such a long fibre staple and I am having trouble making thick singles – I think I’ll have to go back to the plan of making a 3 ply but I know plying will be a long task with lots of small skeins as I don’t have a jumbo flyer…
Anyway, here is some flicked wool that I am spinning:
I have a VERY LONG way to go for this one but I will enjoy the journey 
.
It’s deliciously cold in the mornings with a lovely sunny day…. here’s how it looks at 0730 as I crunch my way around the garden…. Talk about subduing those Spring urges !
My favourite jeans are no longer made 
and I am really disappointed as they are the only ones that I have ever felt comfortable in while looking good. The knees wore through a few months ago and I decided – after trying to buy a replacement pair of jeans without success) – to take a leaf out of Rhonda’s book and mend my clothes. I love to knit but sewing is not a strong point and Fregie Sacks were really the extent of my sewing ability.
My sister-in-law, Jane, is really quite amazing with a sewing machine and she recently made a cute dress for Sophie with a really funky patch on the front.
The patch caught my eye and I asked her to make me some patches for my jeans which she kindly did along with another gift here. She is great – I think she should start a business but 3 babies keep her busy!
I have finally patched my jeans and here is how:
Step 1 – Have a great sister in law who makes patches.
Step 2 – Iron the patches in place.
Step 3 – Wrestle with the sewing machine and sew an edge on the patches making sure to only sew through 1 side of the leg . Here is what I did:
Step 4 – Borrow a quick unpicker and unpick the incorrectly sewn pieces so you can put your jeans on and finish sewing.
I have embarked on the crusade of homemade compost. Now, I know that almost all of you who blog about gardening make your own compost and that I am behind the 8 ball on this but I have made it. It feels like the coming of age…. I am now a grown up gardener as I have a compost heap. Not only do I have a compost heap, I have an ACTIVE compost heap .
It all started with the lovely gift of 10 bags guaranteed weed free horse poo touted as “the poo of champions”. Indeed it is weed free as I have added it to parts of the vegie patch with no worries but my darling husband has quietly lamented the fact that so many bags are still sitting under the shed and muttered that perhaps I did not appreciate the gift. Now I don’t want any of that talk around here – I love to be given poo (and if you are reading this dear husband maybe you could find me some sheep poo?), it actually gets me excited with endless possibilities in my garden.
So, I had put 2-3 bags on my vegie patch (with good results) and needed to use some more so when I was making my last row in the patch I decided to pile up the weeds on some necterine prunnings and throw on some horse poo. The pile grew so much that day so I decided to muck out the chook pen and dump all of that on top (good Karma as I was given 3 new chooks the next day). I watered it in well and covered it over.
A week later I noticed that my in-laws had meddled with my pile. I sucked in a deep breath and went to investigate and happily noted that they had dumped all the Autmumn leaves onto the pile. A few days later Pete mowed their lawns and dumped the clippings on and I turned it. The next day I went to water it and get it ready for the clippings from our garden and noticed steam coming off the heap. I was pretty excited and I turned it again, Pete dumped more clippings on and I watered it in.
The other day I went to have a look at it – stop here and note how simple living involves such simple pleasures, it is such a slippery slop of simple joys – and forked up a bit and just couldn’t resist putting my hand in. It was HOT! Hot I tell you, I pulled my hand out with the biggest grin. I am making compost the right way!
I am now going to start a new heap and let the old one mature while turning it every so often. I am hoping that in 6-10 weeks I’ll have lovely compost to play with. I still have about 5 bags of “poo of champions” left so I can see a few heaps on the go at once if I can find the space.
I recently borrowed a copy of Gardening Australia’s Permaculture & Organic Gardening DVD with Josh Byrne and found it to be a very inspiring. He basically converts a “normal” suburban house block into a permaculture garden – it really is great to watch and feel both reassurance about how I have done things and inspiration and motivation to extend and excel.
Anyway I have taken one of his ideas and run with it in preparation for Spring and Summer…. reusing old bike tubes for ties! What a GREAT idea! I just can’t stop thinking about Cadel Evens as he wears his yellow Jersey and how he could but up all his old bike tubes and sell them as elite performance tomato ties….maybe I’ll start a new business selling reused bike tube tomato ties….
Here is how I made mine:
Step 1 – Obtain an old bike tube – I went into the local bike store and the man retrieved one from the bin for me. It had been repaired a few times and was beyond fixing for it’s roll as a bike tyre so it was destined for the tip but I have SAVED it .
Step 2 – Gather your tools – you can use a cutting board and Stanely Knife as I began using or simply a pair of scissors (this was the easier and most comfortable option for me).
Step 3 – Cut out the valve – I don’t know what else this could be used for so I tossed it but if you think or know of anything please let me know.
Step 4 – Cut the tube on one side so you can lay it flat and then proceed to cut strips – I left most of mine long with the idea that I will cut them to length as I need them.
Step 5 – Grow lots of yummy vegies that need tying so you can use your new ties and make sure to reuse them every year! Or, use them to practice counting and wear them as a scarf when it gets really cold .
I got a job – working for my brother – for a week and I now have some money to spend on wool processing. I am now searching for someone to wash and card a fleece to see how it comes up. So far I have emailed a couple of places but if you know any or can recommend one more please let me know .
I was hoping to have lots to show you today but life just hasn’t turned out that way. Instead of doing what I had planned we finally got our new front door on and we are so happy! I can’t believe the difference in the reduced draught and the amount of light it lets in – needless to say we are all very happy !
Last week I rescued my apple trees, some herbs and some Jerusalem artichoke tubers from my Melbourne garden and they are hanging out to be potted up and planted out….it’s raining here (another great thing) but I am hoping to get it done today….
There is snow on Mt Hotham and, while it is lovely to look at, it is very very cold!
Knitting is progressing slowly – maybe I’ll have something to show at the end of the week but for now it’s all pretty much the same. I have been drum carding alpaca and silk for Henley Perfected and have now done about 1/2 of what I need…..slowly slowly….it really is a labour of love!
I am thinking about trying to get a local SnB group together but I am not sure how to go about it. There was an article in the local paper about all the people knitting for the Guardian Chemist Guardian Angel project and it got me thinking that there is certainly more than just me knitting in this country town!
I guess I’d make up a flyer after deciding on a venue and stick it on local notice boards and maybe put an ad in the paper? What do you think? Have you ever started a group? What if no one wants to come? Can my sense of self worth and pride take that?
Over the next week I will do some research on it all and report back…. this blog helps keep me real!
I read a lot of blogs and I mean a lot. I read them first thing in the morning, I read them at morning tea and I read them in the afternoon when I get the time. Sometimes I knit while I read but I am not very good a concentrating on either task then. There are some blogs that I read EVERY day that they post – I subscribe to most of the blogs I read through bloglines so that when I am away or too busy to play on the net I can catch up.
Today I did just that and caught up on Little Jenny Wren and her post Truth Beauty & Goodness and it has once again inspired me with my house keeping. I read Down to Earth every day – I love the way Rhonda writes, I like they way they live their lives and it makes me feel that there are people out there like me at all different ages and financial situations – and I particularly enjoyed Rhonda’s cleaning posts here, here and here.
I am the sort of person that really feels a clean house a clean mind… when I am surrounded by clutter and mess I tend to feel a little stressed….more so because I know this affects my husband . Still, I am a realist, I have 2 babes 13 months apart, live in a small 2 bedroom house, love to knit and spin instead of house work, run an on-line business and am my mother’s daughter (she had a house cleaner for many years).
These blogs and posts, filled with general living, housekeeping and craft, inspire me to do more – that’s why I read them. They inspire me!
