BevB's Backyard

Printable 2010 Moon Calendar for Australia

2010-01-26T10:30:00.005+10:00

Are you are looking for a simple 2010 calendar that shows the moon phases?
I found one that prints out on one piece of A4 paper on the Australian Fisheries website.

http://www.afma.gov.au/information/publications/fishery/moon_phase/calendar_2010.pdf

I hope everyone has an enjoyable Australia Day :-)

--
BevB

Veggie patch update

2009-05-27T12:26:00.006+10:00

Choosing a sunny position for your veggie patch is important. Unfortunately my veggie patch is too shady now that winter is approaching and I have lost all the squash, zucchini, pumpkin and watermelon I had planted. They were looking healthy, some had even started to produce, then suddenly they all died off just before we got all the rain last week.

This photo was taken about 11.30 this morning and shows the offending trees in the background....
The trees aren't going anywhere so I will have to find a sunny spot to have a winter patch next year.

Some things don't seem to mind the shade. I am picking sugarsnap peas, purple king beans and capsicum at the moment. Lettuce, celery and brassica's are looking ok, and the parsley is thriving, I had just pruned a lot off it just before I took this picture.....
I am picking 6 - 8 chokos a week....

These tomatoes self seeded from the compost I added to this spot. It will be interesting to see if they continue to grow through winter.

The pumpkin vine that self seeded is running rampant.....

But it only has one pumpkin on it at this stage.............

We live on top of a hill so we weren't too worried during the recent flooding rains, but the wind picked up and that is always a worry when you're surrounded by gum trees. It blew a tree over in the back paddock and tore a branch from a tree in the front paddock. The branch landed on top of this gate!

Have a great day.

--
BevB

Handmade Dishcloths and a Tea Cosy

2009-05-18T10:24:00.006+10:00

After making Tania's frugal scouring dishcloth I started looking at patterns for crochet and knitted dishcloths.

Finding free patterns on the internet was easy. The trouble started when I realized most are written to suit US and used worsted weight or kitchen cotton.

What is worsted weight?

I found a lot of conversions on this site -
http://www.crochetaustralia.com.au/webcontent3.htm

Worsted weight is equivalent to Australian 10 - 12 ply

Wouldn't that be too thick for a discloth?
Is 10 - 12 ply cotton available in an Australian brand?
I can only find 4 and 8 ply.

I like a thin dishcloth and I only had 4 ply on hand so I knitted up a basic version of granny's favorite.... too thin.... pulled it out and knitted two lots of 4 ply together and liked that result better.

I looked at the crochet patterns then decided to play around myself and settled on a square of half-trebles (US = half-double crochet).

Then I knitted up the Garterlac dishcloth which was a fun pattern to work with.

Here are the first 3 dishcloths......
The Garterlac one looks abit out of shape. I should have washed and blocked it before taking the photo. Too late now as I have already given these three dishclothes away to a friend :-)

I made these for myself.....

Versions of Granny's Favourite & King Charles Brocade

The King Charles Brocade probably would have looked better if I'd knitted it in a plain colour.... oh well, you live and learn :-)

All of the dishcloths above were made using 4mm needles (or hook) and 2 strands of 4 ply cotton.

I made the next two dishcloths for one of my sisters......

For pattern click here

Rose pattern click here

The rose didn't show up as much as I thought it would, so I knitted the next picture dishcloth on smaller needles and the picture stood out a little better. Sorry no photo as I was in a hurry to get a set of dishcloths ready for my mother-in-law for Mother's Day.

I haven't knitted or crocheted anything for years but it seems like now that I have started I just can't stop, which is probably a good thing as I might use up some of the yarn I have stashed away in the cupboards.

My latest creation is a tea cosy.....

Rosy Cosy pattern here

--
Bev

Veggie patch update

2009-05-01T07:46:00.009+10:00

I've been distracted by other things and haven't posted for a couple of weeks, so I thought it was time to take the camera back into the veggie patch.

Every clove of the Australian Garlic I planted in March came up and looks healthy. If they all mature to a good size I will have a great harvest :-)

The onions didn't do so well and if I don't get busy soon the few that have come up will be inundated with weeds!

This watermelon doesn't seem to have grown much.....
and I've now found another which is bigger than the first one I'd spotted.....

A stray pumpkin seed in the compost must have sprouted and has taken off. It's a big vine so I am trying to guide it out onto the lawn so it doesn't take over the whole veggie patch.
We've had a few tomatoes off the heirloom plants and I've picked 29 chokos so far.....
The 5 tomatoes on the left end of the paper towel are heirlooms the one on the right is a Health Kick (probably the last I will get off those plants as they look ready for the compost bin).
The green and red tomatoes in the basket came from friends. They're not sure what breed the tomatoes are as they self seeded in the compost.... perhaps from a home grown tomato or one from the supermarket. These friends are moving to another town and couldn't bring themselves to leave these beauties behind as they were the biggest and healthiest looking tomatoes they'd grown since starting a small veggie patch last year.
They begin house hunting in the new town tomorrow. The layout of the yard is an important part of the criteria for their new home as they plan to put in a lot of vegetables as well as some fruit trees..... just over a year ago that wouldn't have even been a factor! I wish them luck in their venture :-)

--
BevB

Choko's Galore

2009-04-16T08:59:00.008+10:00

I've picked 15 chokos from the vine so far and there's plenty more to come by the look of it....
Baby chokos are so cute! Here's one with the flower still attatched....

I found a recipe for Choko Salad on Belinda Moore's blog - http://belindamoore.com/choko-salad
I've made the salad twice now, and it has been enjoyed by most who've tried it.

Just to show I'm not totally obsessed with chokos here's a baby watermelon.....

and some baby squash.....

This Red-necked Wallaby was feeding just outside the front fence this morning....

Have a great day.

--
BevB

Choko Vine update

2009-04-09T12:45:00.004+10:00

Last October I posted this picture of the White Choko vine.....

It has really taken off and I had noticed it flowering recently, then last weekend I was shocked to see there was good sized fruit on it.....

This morning I picked these.....

Hubby loves them, but I find them a bit tasteless. I've only eaten green chokos.... maybe the white variety have more flavour?

I have been surprised how well this vine is growing as I have tried to grow green chokos many times without success.

If you have a favourite choko recipe, now would be a great time for you to share it with me :-)

Yesterday morning the feed tray was visited by a couple of Galahs.....

Have a happy and safe Easter break.

--
BevB

Drowned Worms :-(

2009-04-05T09:29:00.007+10:00

*
Worm Farm Lesson #1 - Always leave the tap open on a worm farm.

During the last 3 days we've had 218mm (over 8inches) of rain. Unfortunately it didn't even cross my mind that the worms might be drowning. And why should it, the collector tray is quite deep and has a centre mound... even the instruction manual says "It has been designed with a ‘mound’ in the centre so any worms that fall into this tray are able to climb back up. "
Lesson learned, don't believe everything you read! ;-)

After draining the tray, I left the tap open slightly and put a small watering can under it to catch any liquid fertilizer, and if it rains the watering can will overflow onto the ground!

--
BevB

Lamb's Fry, Bacon & Onion in Gravy with Mash....

2009-04-03T15:17:00.005+10:00

With the weather cooling down a little this week it was time to cook a heartier meal than usual so I decided to make an old favourite.... ok, it's not everyone's favourite, but everyone in this household loves it :-)

Lamb's Fry, Bacon & Onion in Gravy

Slice up a good size onion and lightly fry in a little olive oil

Add some chopped up bacon (3-4 rashers with all fat trimmed off) and lightly fry

Set the onion and bacon aside.
Coat slices of lamb's fry with flour and fry briefly in batches. I turn the slices as soon as the blood starts to show, then set aside when the blood shows on the other side.

Add some Gravox (gravy mix) to the leftover flour and enough water to make a gravy.

Return the lambs fry, bacon and onion to the pan, cover and simmer gently for about 30 minutes.
If your frypan doesn't have a lid put it into a saucepan.
We love it served with mashed potato. You can serve with other vegetables if desired.

Leftovers are delicious on toast the next day.

I haven't included quantities as I just add what I have at the time.
If you need quantities do a Google search for Lambs Fry and you will find plenty of recipes.

Have a great day.

--
BevB

Rainy day

2009-04-02T10:45:00.008+10:00

Weather Forecast for Today:
Rain periods. Some moderate to heavy falls and local stream rises possible. Windy with fresh and gusty E to SE'ly winds.

I like how they say "rain periods". It hasn't let up since it started early this morning and it feels like it's set in for the day!

The view from our back deck on a rainy day...

Moon Planting: 27th March to 2 April - New Moon
During this phase I put in a new lot of mixed lettuce seedlings as the last lot were starting to go to seed.

April 3rd to 9th - First Quarter
Sow or transplant fruiting annuals and sow green manures. Apply liquid fertilisers.

If you prefer a daily guide to moon/zodiac planting, check out the April Moon Guide at Cosmic Gardening.

If you're wondering what veggies to plant in your part of Oz check out What to Grow in April at Aussie Organic Gardening.

Have a great day.

--
BevB

Two Little Lorikeets

2009-03-23T09:14:00.010+10:00

These two Rainbow Lorikeets landed on the railing of our front veranda yesterday morning

and they were here again this morning

Moon Planting: March 19th -to 26th - Last Quarter Phase
No planting during this phase so I have been busy weeding, preparing a small no-dig bed for my potatoes and turning the contents of my compost bins.

Recycling: I've set up a worm farm in this Can-O-Worms I was given by a friend who no longer wanted it.... thanks mate :-)

I've put it in a cool spot close to the back door so my wriggly friends will be guaranteed plenty of treats.

Have a great day.

--
BevB

Roast Pumpkin Salad

2009-03-21T08:35:00.006+10:00

We had dinner at a friends house last night. I'd offered to contribute a couple of salads. I ended up taking Fried Rice and a Pumpkin Salad.

The Pumpkin Salad is always enjoyed when I make it so I thought I would share the recipe with you.

Pumpkin, Spinach & Pine Nut Salad

4 cups pumpkin, cut into large chunks of 3-4 cm
2 cups baby spinach leaves
Half a cup of pinenuts
Garlic
Olive oil

1. Brush pumpkin pieces with olive oil and roast in a moderate oven until cooked through.
2. Place spinach leaves in salad bowl and add roasted pumpkin. Warmth from pumpkin should slightly wilt spinach if this is the desired effect. If not just combine all ingredients when cool.
3. In frypan combine olive oil, garlic and pine nuts. Roast pine nuts until slightly brown.
4. Add roasted nuts to pumpkin and spinach.

I don't follow the exact quantities given, I just use what I think I will need for the number of people sharing the meal.

Optional Dressing:
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp mustard
1 tsp sugar
Mix together in a small jug and sit beside the salad for those who want it.

I have made the dressing in the past, but don't bother now as we enjoy the salad without it.

Have a great weekend.

--
BevB

"Waste not, want not"

2009-03-18T13:30:00.011+10:00

Idiom: Wise use of one's resources will keep one from poverty. -- waste not, want not.
This proverbial saying was first recorded in 1772 but had an earlier, even more alliterative version, willful waste makes woeful want (1576).

Inspired by Tania (at Outback blog) I used these 3 things....

to make this frugal scouring dishcloth.

My seed potatoes arrived in the net bag and the cotton has been floating around my cupboard for years so the scouring dishcloth has cost me nothing but a little time. It will be interesting to see how long it lasts.

I have another net bag from the garlic so I'm off now to start another one.

--
BevB

King Parrots

2009-03-14T13:49:00.006+10:00

The other day I posted about this King Parrot in the feeder.....

He was there again this morning, then his mate flew in to have a feed.....

So he headed over to the water bath and sat on the post keeping watch while she ate....

Some lorikeets flew overhead, calling out as they passed by and the King Parrots took off.

--
BevB

Australian Garlic

2009-03-14T08:33:00.011+10:00

I have been keeping an eye out in the supermarkets and greengrocers for Australian Grown Garlic, but it's always from China or other overseas countries.

Thursday morning I woke up to find an email from Green Harvest letting me know their autumn supply of seed potatoes and garlic are now available. Thank goodness! I ordered some Italian White Garlic, Pontiac Potatoes and seeds of Moon & Stars Watermelon and Lockyer Gold onions, then went out into the veggie patch.

Moon Planting: March 11th to 18th Full Moon phase.
Time to plant root vegetables so I put in a metre long row each of Baby Carrots and Detroit Red Beetroot seeds. I cheated and used Yates Seed Tapes so they'll be evenly spaced when they come up. Or should I say, if they come up! Unfortunately I don't have much success with small seeds.

Yesterday I was in a Woolworths and spotted some Australian Grown Garlic. That'd be right, now that I have ordered it online it is suddenly available in the supermarket! I bought some anyway, and told a young chap in the veg department to thank his manager for stocking it.

I checked the letter box when I got home from shopping and there was my parcel from Green Harvest. What great service :-)

Later today I will be planting garlic and onions. I will have to chit the potatoes.

Have a great weekend.

--
BevB

Neglected Patch

2009-03-11T07:07:00.010+10:00

I've neglected my veggie patch during the summer. The heat and rain of our wet season lead to many failures. All is not lost though as some things have soldiered on despite the lack of attention.

Yesterday I started to clear out the weeds and figure out what's left in my patch.

The capsicums are still producing fruit.....
The leeks are thin, but will still taste goodThe mixed heirloom tomatoes have taken off in every direction
The spring onions and chives are doing well
Plenty of parsley (basil & mint are both fine too - coriander died)
Mixed lettuce seedlings I put in last month are producing well
The silverbeet I put in at the same time have been attacked....
The beans had dried out so I collected some seed. I found some potatoes when I was preparing an old bed
And the carrots I though would never grow had matured while I wasn't watching :-) I pulled some up and left some in the ground.

Yesterday I planted seedlings of watermelon, squash, corn and honeypod peas, and seeds of butternut pumpkin, scarlet runner beans and telephone peas.

Have a great day.

--
BevB

King Parrot

2009-03-06T08:06:00.006+10:00

We often see King Parrots flying past and landing in trees out in the paddock. They have never come into our yard, so I was surprised to find one in the feed bowl yesterday.... perhaps the water bath hubby finally put up enticed it in for a closer look :-)

Have a great day.

--
BevB

Australian Owned - Australian Grown

2009-03-02T01:05:00.007+10:00

Many people rave about how much money they save by shoppping at Aldi so last Friday I took a stroll through an Aldi store, willing to give them the chance to take some of my grocery money, but they didn't get very much!

As I entered the store I put on my glasses so I could read the fine print on the packaging.... rice crackers made in Australia, in the trolley you go... tinned peaches from China, no thanks... breakfast cereals from Germany, you've got to be kidding! How many food miles does that involve?
Do they come by plane or ship?
What's wrong with Australian made cereal?
What's with all the weird brand names on the Australian made products!
Why do supermarkets need to sub-brand items?
Why are these items always cheaper than the manufacturer's brand?
Are they ripping our farmers off?
Does Aldi pay Australian taxes?

All these questions were doing my head in, so I grabbed a bag of potatoes, a carton of free range eggs, a free range chicken, a loaf of bread and got out of there!

For years I have tried to shop for Australian Owned, so as I drove home I wondered what had possessed me to even go to Aldi when I knew it was an overseas company.

I am finding it harder and harder to find the brands I want at Coles & Woolworths, so from now on I am going to buy the bulk of my groceries from my local independantly owned Supa IGA store or online from Brisbane based Only Australian Groceries. I might pay a few cents more but at least I know these companies are trying to make Australian products available to us.

Made in Australia – what does it mean?
Product of Australia – what does it mean?
Australian Grown – what does it mean?
Find the answers at - australiangrown.com

Fightback For Australia has a list of Aussie brands - fightbacknews.com.au

IGA stands for ’Independent Grocers of Australia’ - www.iga.net.au

Only Australian Groceries have a rating system for the products on their website:
AAAA = Australian owned, Australian made from Australian materials or ingredients.
AAA = Australian owned, Australian made from local and imported ingredients.
AA = Australian owned, imported product, packaged in Australia.
A = Australian owned, imported product.
Website - www.onlyoz.com.au

Rainbow Lorikeets

2009-02-25T10:29:00.006+10:00

During the last week Rainbow Lorikeets and Wattle Honeyeaters have been visiting the bottlebrush tree. This morning I also spotted a Pale-headed Rosella.

So far I have only been able to get photos of the Lorikeets as the Honeyeaters and Rosella have taken off as soon as I try get a picture.

Note for those who have been asking - The duck family have been spotted in the paddock and dam a few times during the last week.

Have a great day.

--
Bev

Floods and Fires

2009-02-11T06:32:00.004+10:00

As a person born in Victoria and living in Queensland it's hard to watch the devastation that is unfolding in areas of both states.

My heart goes out to all who are affected by these two disasters.

All over the web I am finding people asking where they can donate, so I am adding some info here.

You can donate money to the Premier's Disaster Relief Appeal to help those affected by the North and North West Queensland floods.

Via phone
Call 1800 173 349 and provide your credit card details (24 hours a day)

In person
Visit any Queensland branch of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, NAB, Westpac Bank, ANZ Bank, The Bank of Queensland or Suncorp

Internet banking
Account name: Premier's Disaster Relief Appeal
BSB: 064 013
Account number: 1000 6800

Mail
Cheque made payable to ‘The Premier's Disaster Relief Appeal’ and posted to:
Premier's Disaster Relief Appeal
C/O Department of the Premier and Cabinet
PO Box 15185
City East QLD 4002

To donate to the Red Cross State Government Victorian Bushfire Appeal Fund:

* Visit www.redcross.org.au
* Phone 1800 811 700
* Any NAB, ANZ, Westpac or Commonwealth Bank branch
* Any Bunnings store
* By direct deposit to the Victorian Bushfire Relief Fund - BSB 082-001, Account number 860-046-797

People wanting to help victims have been asked to give money rather than goods. Donations can be made by calling 13 72 58 or via the Salvation Army website www.salvos.org.au

Myer Bushfire Appeal
* All proceeds to the Salvation Army. Donate at any Victorian Myer store.

To find out about donating blood go to www.redcross.org.au

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I love a sunburnt country,

A land of sweeping plains,

Of ragged mountain ranges,

Of drought and flooding rains.

I love her far horizons,

I love her jewel-sea,

Her beauty and her terror

The wide brown land for me!

Second verse of My Country by Dorothea McKellar

Where Did The Week Go?

2009-02-01T06:18:00.007+10:00

This week just seems to have disappeared!

Australia Day.....
As I said in my last post we were going in the boat for two nights. We met up with friends out on the water and had a lovely time even though it rained quite a bit Sunday afternoon and evening.

Here is our Australia Day sunrise.....

and our Australia Day breakfast.....

Here are a couple of pelicans we met along the way.....

Garden....
This week (26th jan - 2nd Feb) we've been in the New Moon phase. I planted a new lot of lettuce and silverbeet seedlings.

Weather....
In our backyard we've had a lot of sun, rain and humidity, while my relatives in Victoria have been coping with the heatwave.

Cleaning my insides.....
I am still "almost" clear of dermatitis :-) I had a visit with the naturopath on Tuesday and am now doing a bowel cleanse for 10 days. I am using my rebounder every day and the body seems to be toning up.

Birds.....
We recently put a terracotta tray up on a fence post. This gives me somewhere to put food scraps out for the birds, and keeps any visitors safe from our dog and cat. They never harm the birds but they do tend to chase them out of the house yard. So far I have only seen a few magpies and a couple of sulfur-crested cockatoos enjoying the scraps.

Have a great day.

--
BevB

Australia Day Weekend 2009

2009-01-24T08:53:00.009+10:00

Hubby & I will be staying on our boat for two nights.
If the fishing and crabbing are successful,
we will be on a seafood diet :-)
If not, we will be eating the chicken & salads I have prepared!

Happy Australia Day to all

Have a great weekend.
Stay safe.

--
BevB

Rebounding for your health

2009-01-23T12:13:00.008+10:00

I have been reading more and more benefits of rebounding. I am beginning to think I should have thrown more money at this idea rather than buying the cheapest rebounder I could find ;-)

So far I have been doing 5 mins of Health Bounce, 5 mins of Rebound Walking then another 5 mins of Health bounce each morning while I watch a segment on Sunrise. I usually time it so I catch the news and weather. The morning shows are great for exercising to as they have the time right there on the screen :-)

The Health Bounce is so easy….
Standing with your knees relaxed and feet slightly apart, hands on hips, bounce up and down without taking your feet off the trampoline surface.

Rebound Walking is easy too….
In the center of your rebounder begin a walking in place movement, moving your arms back and forth.

I am also doing 2 minutes of the Rebound Bounce whenever I feel the urge since I read this.....
It takes only two minutes of rebounding to flush the entire lymphatic system, while cleansing and strengthening cells and lymph nodes. A further benefit to the body is that during this brief time span the white blood cells of the immune system triple in number and remain elevated for an hour.
Click here to read the full article

According to N.A.S.A. rebounding is 68% more effective than jogging! Some of the benefits I've been reading about online include....

Lowers blood pressure, cholesterol and triglyceride levels
Provides a zero impact calorie blasting workout
Helps you breathe better with increased cardio-respiratory function
Promotes better bone health
Aids in cleansing the lymphatic system of toxins
Improves digestion and elimination of cellular waste
Help your skin look years younger without makeup
Relieves constipation
Strengthens immune system
Reduces stress
Improves posture
Can help reverse heart disease.
Increase your libido
Helps Arthritis
Anti-aging benefits
Improves vision
Diminishes varicose and spider veins
Strengthens muscles

It almost seems like whatever ailment you have, bouncing on a rebounder can help.

Have a great day.

BevB

Greening My Insides #6

2009-01-20T08:10:00.016+10:00

The Green Your Insides Challenge is about greening your home, and paying attention to what you put on your body, in your body, and around your body.

Dermatitis Update....
I am happy to say "I am almost clear of dermatitis at the moment" :-)
My naturopath and I are both very impressed as we knew the holiday season would put a lot of temptation in front of me.

I was already avoiding sugar and dairy foods, and the testing we'd done before Christmas gave me a list of other things to try avoid....
Food: Corn, bakers yeast, egg yolk, lettuce, sweet potato, wheat & yogurt.
Environment: Cabmium, chromium, nickel, parasites & tin.

I found dairy, sugar and wheat the hardest to avoid as they are in so many yummy foods.

Most the time I was good, but there were times when I just couldn't resist.
I made up for the bad stuff by drinking more water ;-)

Water....
During every visit to the naturopath he has stressed the importance of drinking water.

We are on tank water here so we carried our own water for the trip to avoid the chemicals.... and the unpleasant taste in some town water supplies. When that ran out we bought containers of water and decanted it into our smaller bottles.

Since arriving home we have installed a Brita On Tap filter in the kitchen to avoid the parasites that can be associated with tank water.

How much water is enough? For me, it's around 1.8lts per day.
Click here to learn How Much Water Is Enough for you.

Exercise....
The next step in my life style change is exercise. The naturopath recommended getting a rebounder (mini trampoline) as it's much cheaper than a gym membership and it is gentler on the joints than pounding the pavement.

After reading the leaflet outlining benefits I realised this is going to help Green My Insides as it strengthens the cells by eliminating waste and increases blood flow, helps circulation, oxygenates the blood and brain.... and it's considered aerobic if I exercise more than 20 minutes.

So I picked up a rebounder this morning, then called past the naturopath to pick up an exercise sheet.

Meet my new friend....
Ok, that's enough exercise for today.... I'll get serious tomorrow ;-)

Have a great day.

--
BevB

I'm back :-)

2009-01-16T09:16:00.011+10:00

Our Holiday....
Hubby and I usually go camping, boating & fishing with friends on a local island after Christmas, but the weather forecast wasn't good this year so we decided to go to Plan B, a road trip.
In the early hours of Boxing Day we got in the car and headed to Victoria to surprise visit my three sisters, one brother and their families as well as some old friends, in Melbourne, Geelong, Colac and Maffra.

It was lovely to catch up with everyone :-)

Here are some pics I took in one sister's garden....

Rainfall 24th Dec 08 to 9th Jan 09 ....
When we arrived home on 9th January there was 116mm in the rain gauge.
We'd had a good shower of rain Christmas Eve but I forgot to check the gauge Christmas Day so it is included in the above reading.

Vegetables....
It's amazing what happens to a neglected veggie patch during two weeks of sun & rain!
I came home to weeds taller than veggies, over ripe corn and beans, lettuces that had gone to seed and pak choy full of bug holes.

Here's how the veggie patch looked when we arrived home.....

Bed 1 -

Bed 2 -

Bed 3 -

I have spent some time in the patch each day this week pulling weeds and plants that aren't salvagable. This morning I picked some ripe tomatoes and a capsicum.

Have a great day.

--
BevB

Christmas 2008

2008-12-25T23:41:00.013+10:00

Wishing you and your family
a safe and happy holiday seasonImage used with permission
Santa's Cookies by Alf Caruana

The presents have been opened
The phone calls to those far away have been made
The in-laws have been visited
And too much food has been eaten
Christmas Day is over for another year :-)

Hubby and I chose our own presents this year.

An Easy Cook Health Oven for me....

and a Bone "Rough Rider" mechanics creeper for him....

I won't be blogging for a couple of weeks
so I'll take this opportunity to wish you all
HAPPY NEW YEAR

New Years Eve is our 20th Wedding Anniversary
Here's a much younger "us" being confetti-ed :-)

--
BevB

Growing Challenge #5

2008-12-12T20:56:00.009+10:00

The Growing Challenge -
Grow one additional type of fruit or vegetable than you did last year, and grow it from seed.

I have been busy with other things this past week so there hasn't been much activity in my garden.

Progress report....
The corn is now taller than me and is forming some good looking cobs

I caught this predator in the act on a corn plant

I am picking Purple King beans daily

The carrot tops finally seem to be growing. I can only hope the actual carrots are growing as well!

Reminder to self - do not take photos into the sun!

Moon planting....
The pak choy and silverbeet I planted during the New moon have come up.
The carrot and beetroot seeds I planted in November came up, but something demolished them.
Due to being busy I missed the best moon phase this month for planting my next lot of fruit crop.
I guess I will have some bare patches in the garden for awhile :-(

Birds....
One Sulphur-crested Cockatoo has been visiting daily

--
BevB

Morning visitors....

2008-12-10T07:48:00.011+10:00

This morning I was drawn outside by the noisy screeching of a large flock of Sulphur-crested Cookatoos.

What a racket they were making as they flew from tree to tree calling out to each other, then as quick as they came, they were gone.

Later, about 10 came back.... some were sitting in the old gum tree....

.... some were on the fence posts.... and some were grabbing the wholemeal bread I had thrown out onto the lawn.

As each one got a piece of bread it would land on top of a fence post to devour it's treat.

Have a great day.

--
BevB

Greening My Insides #5

2008-12-03T07:00:00.026+10:00

The Green Your Insides Challenge is about greening your home, and paying attention to what you put on your body, in your body, and around your body.

What caused my dermatitis?
For nearly 20 years I have believed chemicals were the cause. The dermatitis began under my wedding ring while I was working in a take away food shop, and then crept over my fingers, across my hands and up my arms. My duties at work included preparing foods for the day (slicing lettuce, tomatoes, onions, cold meats, etc. for sandwiches & hamburgers), serving customers during the lunch rush, then cleaning the shop and kitchen. Saturday was the day I cleaned our house from top to toe.... and Sundays was family day.
I did all the cleaning at the shop and at home without gloves, so it's easy to assume the chemicals in the various cleansers were the initial cause…. and other things irritate it.

What irritates my dermatitis?
Friction - doing housework, driving the car, gardening, etc.
Heat - hot weather, driving into the sun, exercise.
Various things I come in contact with, often unknown.
The juice from vegetables makes my hands itchy if I don't wear gloves while slicing, dicing, etc.

What triggers a major breakout?
Most the time I can’t pinpoint the cause of a breakout, but on a couple of occasions the offender has been obvious.
A certain brand of shampoo/conditioner caused the worst reaction I’ve had (see Greening My Insides #1). Their advert says “it won’t happen overnight, but it will happen”…. believe me, it happened overnight! Within 30 minutes my face was itching and by the next morning a stranger was looking back at me from the mirror!
Touching lettuce triggers a breakout that lasts around two weeks. I discovered this a few years back when I was preparing a salad and forgot to put gloves on while I shredded the lettuce. Usually eating lettuce doesn’t cause a problem, but recently I prepared what I thought was a healthy lunch... shredded lettuce, grated carrot & beetroot fresh from my veggie patch, grated cheese, sliced boiled egg and ham. Within 30 minutes I felt a burning sensation in my top lip, which was followed by peeling for the next two weeks.

Last week I was thinking about my reaction to lettuce so I went to Google and typed - lettuce dermatitis – into the search box. I found an interesting article at DermNetnz.org which said - Lettuce is an occasional cause of allergic contact dermatitis particularly in food handlers, chefs and market gardeners. It tends to cause hand dermatitis, which spreads up the forearms.

My mind went racing back to the first chore of the day at work.... slicing a full box of lettuce.
Is the humble lettuce the cause of my dermatitis?
I will never be certain what the initial cause was, but it was food for thought, so I printed the page and put it in my handbag.

During my visit to the naturopath last week I read out what I had learned about lettuce while he was giving me the low level laser therapy. I asked his opinion on RAST blood tests and prick tests for allergies. He informed me he could test me with Kinesiology Allergy Tests. He felt he could eliminate many things to reduce the amount of testing via conventional methods if I wanted to follow up further. He tested me for lettuce, carrot & beetroot that day to show me how it worked. I reacted to the lettuce, but not to the other two.

During my visit yesterday we did more testing, and will continue to work our way through a few more during each of my future appointments. I am only going once a week now so this could be a slow process.

So far I have the following lists....

OK LIST
Food: beetroot, carrots, cashews, rice, rye, seafood, soya
Environment: flower pollen, grass, mould

OK BUT AVOIDING LIST
Avoiding for now because I am on a cleansing diet, or the food is acidy.
chocolate, strawberries

AVOID LIST
Food: lettuce, sweet potato, wheat
Environment: parasites

Lettuce was obvious, and I suspected wheat, so no surprises there.
Sweet potato was a shock, and to think I was about to start eating more of it!
"Parasites! Do you mean fleas and things like that?" I asked.
"No" says the naturopath "The ones in your body"

Ok, they're curable so I can deal with that.... but now I keep imagining big fat juicy worms and other nasty parasites crawling around inside me!
There's no point worming one person in the family so look out hubby, teen son, dog and cat, you're all about to get a dose of worm medication :-)

I researched the symptoms of parasite infestation and was suprised to see Skin Conditions listed when I read Classic Symptoms of Parasitic Infections . According to this site intestinal worms can cause hives, rashes, weeping eczema, and other allergic-type skin reactions. Cutaneous ulcers, swellings and sores, popular lesions, and itchy dermatitis can all result from protozoan invasion.
Further reading informed me that parasites can infect virtually every part of the human body including the abdomen, blood, buttocks, chest, diaphragm, digestive tract, respiratory tract, feet, hands, genitals, liver, muscles, skin and upper arms..... and humans can play host to over 100 kinds of parasites.... oh my goodness, big fat juicy ones, long skinny slimy ones, itsy bitsy fuzzy wuzzy worms.

Do You KNOW WHAT'S INSIDE You? is also an interesting read.

Ok, I have learned more about parasites than I have ever wanted to know!
Be diligent people.... worm your family and animals regularly.

--
BevB

Growing Challenge #4

2008-12-02T06:06:00.012+10:00

The Growing Challenge -
Grow one additional type of fruit or vegetable than you did last year, and grow it from seed.

During the past week I have been clearing the veggie patch of plants that have finished producing or gone to seed. The wet weather ruined the squash, zucchini & pumpkin so I will have to start fresh in that area.

Progress report....

The Sebago Potatoes are flowering....

and I am picking 28 spotted ladybirds off them daily!

The corn will soon be taller than me!

Moon planting....
New Moon: a good phase to plant leafy vegetables.
Seeds sown: wombok, pak choy, silverbeet & spinach.

I probably should have waited for the next moon phase, but I also planted out this choko my father-in-law gave me.....

Speaking of the moon.... did you look up last night and see the alignment of Jupiter, Venus and the moon?

It looked like a giant smiley face in the sky!

Have a great day

--
BevB

Last Day of Spring

2008-11-30T06:16:00.012+10:00

Rain....
3mm in the rain gauge Friday morning
and another
3mm in the rain gauge this morning
Total November rainfall in our backyard - 446mm

Compost....
The two compost bins I bought earlier in the week have been assembled and set in place with the original one.

Australian Wood Ducks....
I spotted mother duck and the three ducklings out and about again yesterday. As soon as mother duck realised I was there, they were off!

Down the hill....

across the track....

towards the dam

Have a great day.

--
BevB

Australian Wood Ducks.... and more rain!

2008-11-27T13:03:00.011+10:00

Rain....
There was another 50mm in the rain gauge this morning.

Australian Wood Ducks....

We often see ducks in the paddocks or on the dam, but there is one pair of wood ducks that seem to be here all year round. I commented to hubby the other day that we haven't seen any ducklings this year. He reckoned they probably had them hidden after what happened last year!

You see, last spring we saw the wood ducks with a heap of tiny ducklings following them around, but unfortunately each time we saw them over the next week there were less and less ducklings, until one day there were none. We were left wondering which predator had snacked on the poor babies.... snake.... goanna.... or perhaps something else. Nature really makes me sad at times.

When I drove in the driveway this morning I spotted the wood ducks in the paddock and there were some medium size ducklings with them. As soon as they heard me mother duck was off down the hill with her babies following. I raced inside to grab the camera hoping to be able to get a couple of pics of the ducklings before she hid them.

It was my lucky day as mother duck must have stopped in her tracks when she thought I had gone. Here she is with three ducklings....

Father duck is further up the hill keeping a look out!

He makes a sound.... oops... mother duck knows I'm back and she's heading further down the hill....

behind some scrub....

across the track....

then the ducklings disappear over the bank of the dam as mother stands guard....

(can you spot the ducklings backside disappearing)

then mother duck follows her ducklings....

So it seems the wood ducks are being more protective of their ducklings this year. I hope I get to see them again before they are grown up :-)

Have a great day.

--
BevB

Morning Stroll..... and more rain!

2008-11-26T08:21:00.015+10:00

Rain....
After a few dry days we've had more rain overnight.
32mm in the rain gauge this morning, and it's raining again now.

Our dam is full....

.... and the wood ducks are loving it :-)

Blooms....

The agapanthus bud I photographed last Friday has opened

These are in flower now (not sure what they are)

.... and here's another shot of a gorgeous gardenia.

Bugs....

There are stink bugs in the mandarin tree

and this fellow was climbing the mango tree

Recycling....

Two bed frames are now trellises

We spotted them across the road from a friends house. They'd been put out for a council road side collection, so hubby grabbed them. The blue frame has Purple King Beans climbing up it, and the red one is waiting for the next bean planting day.

Compost....

My 240lt compost bin

I have been waiting for hubby to make me a couple of compost bays from some mesh we are recycling, but he now has other plans for it! So I called in at Bunnings while I was in town yesterday and bought two more compost bins the same as the one above.

Vegetables....

While I was at Bunnings I picked up this punnet of heirloom tomatoes

There's one plant each of Black Russian, Mortgage Lifter, Tigerella & Green Zebra. This will give us a chance to try these. I can then buy seeds of the ones we like.

Have a great day.

--
BevB

Greening My Insides #4

2008-11-22T09:57:00.013+10:00

The Green Your Insides Challenge is about greening your home, and paying attention to what you put on your body, in your body, and around your body.

It is now six weeks since I started seeing the naturopath again about my dermatitis (see Greening my Insides #1). There has been a big improvement but I've had a setback the last few days. I'm not sure what has aggravated it. One thing may be the trigger or there may be a few contributing factors.... doing more housework than usual & preparing food last Saturday for a hoard of visitors.... eating some of the yummy food I'd prepared instead of sticking to my diet.... something I've touched.... or it could just be the heat and humidity we've had lately.

The naturopath had planned to start reducing the laser therapy and homeopathic treatment but after seeing me yesterday he changed his mind. He mentioned Hair Analysis so he will be looking into cost and the best place to get this done if we decide to follow this route. It is interesting to note that my Zinc levels were down again.

Wheat grass juice
A couple of weeks ago the naturopath told me if I was going past a juice bar that sold shots of wheat grass juice, I should stop and have one to increase the amount of chlorophyll in my diet. He recommended doing this twice a week.

Me, consume wheat grass..... I never thought I'd see the day!

Problem - The local shopping centres I frequent don't have juice bars and I didn't want to start going to major shopping centres as I'd be inclined to visit the other shops and spend money on things I don't need.

Solution - I went to a health food shop and bought some Organic Wheat Grass Powder
I told the naturopath what I had done. He said this is the second best option, then told me I can build up to taking it every day seems I now have it on hand.

So I put 1 teaspoon of wheatgrass powder into some juice....

Gave it a stir....
.... and down the hatch it went!

Well, it tasted like they had squashed a whole bale of hay into that teaspoon of powder!

This sent me searching Google for other ways to get more chlorophyll into my diet.

I found that -

Algae is the highest known source of chlorophyll (... yuck!)

Dark green veggies like spinach, Spirulina, wheat grass, broccoli and alfa alfa are also very rich in chlorophyll content.

Eat greens! This is the easiest way to make sure that you are getting plenty of chlorophyll in your diet. Dark greens like spinach, chard, collard, broccoli, green beans, peas, celery & parsley

I eat my greens so I figured there must be a reason the naturopath wants me to get extra chlorophylll, so I have perservered.

I have altered the preparation a little, I now stir the wheat grass powder into a little water then add some juice.

This makes for a smoother mixture and seems to have improved the taste.... either that or I am getting used to it ;-)

Wheat grass.... now if that doesn't make me green inside, nothing will!

--
BevB

Birds, blooms, bugs.... and more rain!

2008-11-21T06:21:00.011+10:00

.
20.5mm in the rain gauge this morning.

Once a year a few Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos visit the trees across the road. They only stay for one day but I always hear them as they crunch their way through the gum trees.
This photo isn't the best as it was taken from across the road. I daren't go any closer in case they fly away.

The gardenia is in full flower and is filling the air with it's delightful perfume.

Close up of a gardenia

The first agapanthus bud of the season is bursting open.

You would think with all the rain we've been having the bugs would be gone, but they seem to have doubled in number!

The 28-spotted ladybirds are happy feasting on my eggplant bushes
I am finding loads of grasshoppers on the beans, eggplant and broccoli.
This cabbage moth was resting on an eggplant bush....
and this lycid beetle was on a lettuce.
Still trying to determine whether he's a good bug or a bad bug!

And who is this tough looking fellow playing in my beans?
Off to do some research now!

Edit: It looks like it is a Pod-Sucking Bug (Riptortus serripes), also known as Brown Bean Bug. This explains why I found it on my beans!

--
BevB

Growing Challenge #3

2008-11-20T06:14:00.009+10:00

The Growing Challenge -
Grow one additional type of fruit or vegetable than you did last year, and grow it from seed.

All the sun and rain we've been having certainly makes the veggies grow!

The carrots are a little bigger, hopefully more is happening under the soil than above!

The corn is getting taller every day

The first Golden Nugget pumpkins
These brown onions were grown from an old packet of seeds that was a few years out of date. I didn't expect them to grow so any harvest is a bonus :-)
The potatoes need hilling up again
Two sweet potato vines are coming along nicely in the bath tub experiment

I planted more Baby Carrots and Detroit Red Beetroot seeds this week.

--
BevB

Dare I say it.... More Rain!

2008-11-20T06:08:00.004+10:00

Readings from the rain gauge....
Tuesday morning 15mm
Wednesday morning 65mm
This morning 106mm

Total rainfall in our backyard during November is 315mm

Award :-)

2008-11-19T11:39:00.005+10:00

I've been tagged for an award by daharja at Cluttercut
Thank you daharja :-) I feel very humble indeed.

Here's the award....
This award acknowledges the values that every blogger shows in his/her effort to transmit cultural, ethical, literary, and personal values every day.

Now I get to tag others for an award :-)
I enjoy many blogs so it is hard to select just a few, but here we go....

Gavin at Greening of Gavin - for taking to "green" like a duck to water!
Rhonda at down to earth - for sharing her and Hanno's simple life
and
Rhonda at SubtropicalHappiness - for sharing her journey to self sufficiency

Have a great day :-)

--
BevB

More rain.... and more to come!

2008-11-17T10:06:00.004+10:00

A mid afternoon storm yesterday and overnight rain has put another 51mm in the rain gauge.

We got off lightly as areas close by had damaging winds, large hailstones and flash flooding, with local news reporting "Storm fury worst in 25 years", "Super cell on brink of tornado" and futher north "Brisbane declared natural disaster area"

It's still drizzling as I type and the outlook for the next few days is bleak, so there won't be much activity in the veggie patch this week!

More rain.... and full tanks :-)

2008-11-14T07:00:00.010+10:00

I thought I'd heard a long range forecast for a dry November but it must not have been for our backyard. Another 9mm overnight brings our total rainfall to 59.5mm in the last 10 days.

We rely on rain to provide our water so it's always nice to know our tanks are nearly full. We have two tanks which hold approx. 10,000 litres each.
The plastic tank is for the house, and more recently the veggie patch. The tin tank is the original house tank and now provides water for 3 cows when the dam is low.
We can switch the house over to the tin tank when needed but rarely do. Having a second tank has made a big difference as we haven't needed to buy water for over two years

A smaller tank catches any excess water.
I call this hubby's "play water" :-) He can use this to wash our vehicles and anything else he feels like cleaning. He uses a pressure cleaner and has become more conservative so rarely runs out these days ;-)

Have a great day.

--
BevB

More rain.... and a few potatoes :-)

2008-11-13T06:35:00.013+10:00

Very light showers earlier this week showed as 3mm in the rain gauge when I checked yesterday morning.
Overnight rain last night gave us another 25mm.

Here's the view from the back deck on this misty morning....

Yesterday I up-ended this large pot as the potato plants had finished dying off a couple of weeks ago.....

and this is what I got for the effort.....Not a lot, but still better than nothing!

Greening My Insides #3

2008-11-12T07:38:00.017+10:00

The Green Your Insides Challenge is about greening your home, and paying attention to what you put on your body, in your body, and around your body.

Cleaning my bathroom

There was a time when I only used the latest chemical products to clean the bathroom. The bathroom has a lot of different surfaces so there was a super shower cleaner, creme cleanser for the hand basin & bathtub, spray and wipe type product for walls, towel racks, etc., glass cleaner for the window & mirror, a toilet cleanser and something fancy for the floor. That was six different cleaning products creating a chemical nightmare in the smallest room of the house!

It all changed when I went to the naturopath about my dermatitis 12 years ago (see Greening My Insides #1 ) and I started learning how to live chemical free. Slowly all those harsh chemical cleaners were replaced with greener products or homemade cleaners, then these were whittled down to the few items I use today.

Shower: I clean my shower with a cheap organic shampoo and a green scourer sponge.
Method: Squirt a small amount of shampoo onto a wet scourer and scrub the tiles, tap fittings and glass screen. Rinse off with water. Open the window so the breeze blows through and air dries the shower, or you can can wipe the shower dry with a dry cloth.
Hint: Once you have the whole shower sparkling clean, keep the scourer & shampoo in the shower and quickly clean one wall or screen each time you have a shower. You will never have to do a major clean of the shower again :-)

Toilet: I clean inside the toilet bowl (and under the seat) with cheap vinegar and a toilet brush.

Method: Pour some vinegar into the toilet bowl. Grab the toilet brush, scrub the inside of the bowl and under the seat, then let the brush sit in the bowl for a while. How long is "a while" you may be asking.... while I clean the rest of the bathroom.... or I just leave it there until the next time I need to use the toilet, this option works better if nobody else is home at the time :-) After a while, brush the toilet bowl again and flush. Rinse the brush in the flushing water. Return the clean brush to it's holder. Wipe the rest of the toilet over with microfiber clothes (see below).

Window, mirror and all other surfaces: I clean the rest of the bathroom with microfiber mitts and cloths.

Method: Dampen a microfiber mitt with water, clean the surface then wipe dry with a dry microfiber cloth.

Floor: I use a microfiber mop.

Method: Open the window, mop floor with a damp microfiber mop and allow to air dry.

Notes: This style of cleaning saves me a lot of money, helps the environment and it's better for our health. Not only does this help my dermatitis, I've also noticed we get less coughs & colds since I've reduced the amount of chemicals in our home. Coincidence, or not?
I'm not fussy with brands of microfiber mitts/cloths. I find the cheaper brands such Oates and Sabco work just as good as the expensive Enjo brand.
If you can't afford microfiber mitts/cloths, or you're a frugal shopper, try using face cloths. Just remember you need two cloths, one damp for cleaning, and one dry to finish off. This may be a greener option than microfiber and is what I plan on using when my microfiber cloths wear out.

Additional information on microfiber from http://www.answers.com/microfiber

Microfiber textiles tend to be flammable and emit toxic gases when burning. They are made with synthetic fibers such as polyester and nylon (often constructed from polypropylene), which are made from petrochemicals. Microfibers are not made from a renewable resource and they are not biodegradable. However, the petroleum energy used in fertilizers, pesticides, transportation and processing to produce cotton and other renewable resource fibres may outweigh direct use of the petroleum as base stock for producing fibre.

Have a great day.

--
BevB

More rain.... and bugs!

2008-11-09T08:39:00.014+10:00

My garden has been watered again overnight. Another 15mm in the rain gauge this morning :-)

I have found a lot of grasshoppers in my veggie patch lately....
and my brassicas have been visited by many cabbage moths....
which leads to lots of these fellows!

There are good bugs too. Lots of these Transverse ladybirds which are predators of soft-bodied insects such as aphids.and Fungus-eating Ladybirds which feed on fungus & black mold.
The eggplant bushes show bug damage, but are flowering and starting to produce fruit :-)
The gardenia bush is starting to flower

Have a great day.

--
BevB

Growing Challenge #2

2008-11-06T19:22:00.007+10:00

Growing Challenge -
Grow one additional type of fruit or vegetable than you did last year, and grow it from seed.

The carrots don't seem any bigger than they were over a week ago.

The corn is coming along nicely.....and so are the potatoes

Since taking the photo above, I have hilled the bed up with more straw.

Two sweet potato plants have suddenly appeared in the bath tub experiment.

We received another 41mm of rain last night.

--
BevB

Morning stroll around the patch

2008-11-04T07:17:00.011+10:00

We received 7.5mm of rain over night.

It's a glorious morning, everything looks clean and fresh so I took a stroll with the camera.

The first of my tomatoes are nearly ready.
(Health Kick planted as seedlings)

The last of the potato plants have died off in the lefthand pot so I will leave it for another week before upending it to see how many potatoes we have. The righthand pot isn't doing so well as the
28 spot lady beetle attacked the plants.

A squash ready for picking
A busy bee working in a squash flower
A yellow zucchini ready for picking....
and a green zucchini on it's way to maturity
Here's a green zucchini I picked Sunday morning
It was over 25cm (10") long :-)

Have a great day.

--
BevB

Greening My Insides #2

2008-11-01T06:23:00.021+10:00

The Green Your Insides Challenge is about greening your home, and paying attention to what you put on your body, in your body, and around your body.

In Greening My Insides #1 I focused on my dermatitis which has made me pay attention to what I put on my body. The products below are what I have settled on after a lot of trial and error. They work for me, but they may not be suitable for you.

Personal hygiene......

Body: I use Aqueous Lotion to clean myself. It can be used as a soap substitute and a moisturiser. I chose the Skin Basics brand because it's free of colour, perfume, lanolin and propylene glycol. It's hypoallergenic and pH balanced, and helps maintain skin’s natural balance.
Hair: Over the years I've tried different shampoos & conditioners suitable for dermatitis, finally settling on Hope's Relief. Their products are suitable for eczema, psoriasis, dermatitis and dandruff. They're unscented and sulfate free. The ingredients are organic herbal extracts, vitamins and Manuka Honey combined with the gentlest cleansers. I also use their moisturising cream. Hope's Relief products were developed in Australia by Jacqueline Hope, a fully qualified Naturopath based in Victoria.
Teeth: A mix of equal parts salt & bi carb soda for my own teeth. Soap and water for my dentures.
Deodorant: Some days I use a natural mineral salt stick and other days I use Avon On Duty roll-on. The roll-on does contain 17.5% aluminium chlorohydrate so some may consider this a bad choice, but I don't have a reaction to it so it stays for now :-)

Hubby and teen son aren't as green as me. They hang onto their favourite brands of toothpaste and soap but I have changed them to an organic shampoo :-)

Cosmetics.....

I never had a bad reaction to cosmetics, but I did notice every time I put make-up on I felt really tired, so for many years I didn't wear any. Eventually I threw out all my cosmetics as they were so old they were bound to have bacteria growing in them.

I heard about natural mineral make up so I went online to research brands, ingredients, etc. I chose Inika Mineral Cosmetics because they're Australian Owned and their products are pure and natural, made from crushed mineral pigments. They contain no harsh chemicals, fillers, talc, bismuth oxychloride, GM ingredients, parabens, preservatives or fragrances. Inika is also 100% certified cruelty free and 100% certified vegan.

Here's my everyday make up bag....

Yep, that's it, a foundation, kabuki brush and a lip gloss.

Here's my special occasion make up bag....

Mascara, lip liner, 2 lip sticks and an eye shadow.
Note: Eyeshadow is from Masquerade Professional range.
It was a marked down bargain :-) The others items are from Inika.

All mineral cosmetics are not created equal, so do your own research before trying a brand. Many of the big names in mineral cosmetics add other ingredients to their products. For example you will often find fillers which dilute the pigments and mean that the cosmetics are not as pure. They are cheaper to produce like this so may suit the frugal shopper who doesn't have any skin conditions to consider. You may also find ingredients such as Bismuth Oxychloride which causes irritation to some people or Talc and Parabens.

Other.....

I don't use perfume on my body. On very rare occasions I spray a little onto the clothing I plan to wear.

I don't use sunscreen. I cover up well. An added bonus of mineral make-up is that it provides some natural sun protection.

I don't use insect repellent. I cover up.... or slap myself a lot! ;-)

If you have a skin condition or allergies feel free to add a comment on what works (or doesn't work) for you.

--
BevB

Growing Challenge #1

2008-10-25T09:54:00.008+10:00

I have decided to participate in the Growing Challenge.
Let's see, Rule #1 says to grow one additional fruit or veggie than last year.... well that's easy, I didn't grow any veggies last year :-)
Hang on, the other part of the rule says it has to be from seed.... well I was in a hurry to get the veggie patch underway so I bought a lot of seedlings, but I did grow my beans, radishes, carrots and some of my corn, tomatoes and spring onions from seed.

More recently I've put in some seeds of Watermelon (Sugar Baby), Pumpkin (Butternut & Golden Nugget), Cucumber (Armenian heirloom), Capsicum (Seven Colour Mix heirloom) and mixed Squash (Sweet 'n' Kwik) so I will have to wait and see what comes up and what doesn't. I also put in seed potatoes and sweet potato tubers.

--
BevB - Zone 4 SE Queensland, Australia

Greening My Insides #1

2008-10-24T15:01:00.011+10:00

I’ve just read Melinda's Green Your Insides Challenge and thought this was a timely find as I have been seeing my naturopath over the last two weeks due to my dermatitis getting out of control again. At the moment I’m having Low Level Laser Therapy twice a week, taking Dr Reckeweg R23 homeopathic treatment for skin conditions, zinc and fish oil supplements as well as a detox diet. The detox is definitely greening my insides :-)

A little history.....
My dermatitis started nearly 20 yrs ago under my wedding ring then quickly spread over my hands and up my arms. Doctors and 2 skin specialists prescribed many lotions and potions to no avail. Patch tests didn’t show any allergies. Cortisone creams made my skin weaker. Taking anti-histamines, washing myself with aqueous cream, wearing cotton gloves and avoiding harsh detergents helped. Eventually I was told to learn to live with it, which I did until I washed my hair with a popular brand of shampoo & conditioner. Within 20 minutes my face and neck were itchy, the next morning my face was puffed up like a balloon with slits for eyes and a button nose. One look in the mirror reduced me to tears so mirrors were avoided for awhile ;-)

Hubby insisted on taking me to a doctor. He was determined there must be something they could do, and was then shocked and disgusted when the doctor said there was nothing more to be done than I was already doing. The only thing we did learn was that if I hadn’t been taking my antihistamines regularly I’d have likely ended up in hospital.

During the next couple of weeks I slept a lot (not a good thing when you have a toddler in the house), went through two face peels and lived on antihistamines, then hubby mentioned a naturopath sign he passed every day on his way to work and reckoned it was worth a try seems the doctors couldn’t do anything. The naturopath said the build up of chemicals in and around my body had got to a level I couldn’t cope with anymore. After a detox, supplements that benefit skin conditions and some educating I was on the road to being able to control my dermatitis through diet and trying to live chemical free.

It’s about 12 yrs since I last saw my naturopath. During those years I have been able to keep my dermatitis under control dealing with minor outbreaks when I’ve come into contact with the wrong thing. I’ve improved our home a lot, but I’ve slowly let my diet slide and more recently I unknowingly entered chemical laden environments in the outside world. When the dermatitis was on my face again I realised I couldn’t keep doing this on my own it was time to go back to the naturopath and start at square one.

This time I will be having follow up visits and we will be working out a new diet for me to stick to so my insides stay green forever. In future posts I will write about some of the changes I’ve made over the past 12 years as well as changes I will be making now.

--
BevB

Zucchini & Squash....

2008-10-23T18:15:00.003+10:00

I picked butter beans and broccolini for this evenings dinner, then found these zucchini and squash ready for picking.

--
BevB

Herbs and more veggies....

2008-10-23T06:42:00.005+10:00

We've had storms pass through the area two afternoons this week but they missed us and we've only had 2mm of rain.

I stopped in at a garden center while I was in town yesterday. I bought another punnet of baby spinach and some herbs, parsley, mint, basil and coriander.

We're harvesting broccolini, butter beans and purple king beans daily and still getting a few honeypod peas.

butter beans

purple king beans

The potatoes are starting to come up.... and so are the weeds!

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BevB

Flowers, veggies and bugs

2008-10-16T13:46:00.012+10:00

Checked the rain gauge this morning, we've had another 10ml.

Earlier this year I popped into to see an old friends parents and they gave me some cuttings of a catus which I just stuck in the garden above the retaining wall. I had planned to pot them up but I got slack, and it seems they are happy where they are as I have been rewarded with flowers already!

In the veggie patch the mizuna (an asian green) has gone to flower....

Of 6 broccoli I planted only one has formed a head so far....

The broccolini are producing well....

The first of the squash....

and the first of the green zucchini...

and more yellow zucchini.

I also found a few of these beetles on the zucchini leaves

I hope this is a good beetle, not a pest like the 28 spotted ladybirds that keep attacking my potatoes!

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BevB

IMPOSSIBLE QUICHE

2008-10-15T08:37:00.004+10:00

A few nights go I made an Impossible Quiche for the first time, and we loved it.
There are many versions of this pastryless quiche around. Here is the recipe I used, but see my notes at the bottom for changes I made on the day.

IMPOSSIBLE QUICHE

3 eggs (preferably free range :-)
1 1/2 cups milk
125gm melted butter
1 cup grated cheese
3/4 cup Self Raising flour
1 cup ham or bacon (chopped)
1 small onion (chopped)
1/2 cup grated carrot (see note below)

Beat eggs with a fork or whisk, add milk, butter and cheese, give a stir, then add flour, ham and vegetables.
Pour into large quiche dish and bake in mod oven (180C) for 45 mins or until golden and set.
Serves 6 good size portions

Note:
I didn't measure the ham, I just used whatever was left over in the fridge from sandwich making.
I didn't use any carrot, instead I chopped up broccolini, silverbeet & spinach from the garden and some shop bought cauli. It was more than the 1/2 cup of carrot but the quiche still turned out great.

The original recipe I'd been given used margarine but we only use butter.
Have you ever compared how butter is made to how margarine is made?

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BevB

Not much happening here.....

2008-10-14T23:23:00.005+10:00

It rained in the early hours of last Friday. When I checked the gauge early in the morning we'd had a lovely 45mm, then over the weekend another 11mm, so the gardens had a nice watering and the tanks are topped up. We're in a semi-rural area so the tanks are our water supply. It always feels good to know they're nearly full.

Hubby didn't work today so we went into town. We called into Bunnings to get a few things from the tool section. I decided to grab a punnet of mixed lettuce seems most of mine had bolted to seed the last week and I hadn't started any seedlings. I must get more organised!
While we were in the garden section hubby picked up a compost bin for me. He'd noticed me admiring them each time we saw them :-)

I harvested the first of our butter beans this afternoon. Only 6 but they went into the fried rice along with the freshly picked peas, spring onions and baby broccoli (or broccolini).
While I was in the veggie patch I also noticed some of the potatoes are poking up through the straw.

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BevB

Seeds and Seedlings

2008-10-09T10:15:00.003+10:00

Once the decision was made to start the veggie patch I was in a rush to get it going fast. I planted whatever seedlings I could get my hands on at my closest garden centres, and grabbed seeds of everything else. Fortunately a few were organic seeds or heirloom varieties but many were not!

I ordered a copy of Australian Organic Gardening Resource Guide and catalogue from Green Harvest which arrived quickly in the mailbox. Soon I will be putting in an order for some of the heirloom vegetables. The hardest part is deciding which ones to try first :-)

Easy vegetables for beginners - While I was shopping for seeds I saw beetroot, carrots, radish and spring onions available in Yates Seed Tapes and thought what a great idea these are for beginning gardeners or those who hate thinning after seedlings come up.

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BevB

How Green Am I?

2008-10-09T06:46:00.009+10:00

I took an online quiz to find out how green I am living and here is the result....

Your Life is 76% Green

You live a very green life, and you're aware of how your actions help the earth.

Of course, it's hard to be totally green. But when you make a tradeoff, you know why you're making it.

How Green Is Your Life?

So there's still room for improvement around here, but at least I am 3/4 of the way to being totally green :-)

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BevB

Early Morning Stroll & more planting

2008-10-08T10:56:00.006+10:00

Around 6:00 am this morning I took my ritual stroll around the patch to check for unwanted bugs. I also took the camera.
I have a few large pots in the veggie patch. The 1st one has Spring Onions & Chives....

The Spring Onions were free, well sort of ;-) I planted the bottoms from some supermarket spring onions and haven't had to buy any since. A couple have gone to flower so I will see if they self seed.

The next two pots have potatoes at various stages....

The tallest ones are supermarket potatoes that had begun the sprout in the cupboard. The other pot contains potatoes that had grown in the garden from the veggie peelings I had buried. They were growing where I had other things growing so I transplanted them.

The 4th pot has a white choko in it.....

I noticed the dwarf butter beans and climbing purple kings are beginning to flower....

so I planted more later in the day.

This is the last of the mandarins....

and the first of the zucchini....

I been reading about moon planting so I'm trying to follow the recommended planting phases. As we are in the first quarter today I have direct sown seeds of the following fruiting crops.... Beans (dwarf Butter & climbing Purple King), Sweet Corn (Terrific F1), Watermelon (Sugar Baby), Pumpkin (Butternut & Golden Nugget), Cucumber (Armenian heirloom), Capsicum (Seven Colour Mix heirloom) and mixed Squash (Sweet 'n' Kwik)

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BevB

Veggie Patch Overview

2008-10-06T14:34:00.005+10:00

After the last lot of chickens died hubby said "No more chooks" so we recently converted the chook pen into a veggie patch seems this area is fenced off from animals that may wish to come in for a snack! I'll work on getting chooks again sometime in the future ;-)

An overview of the patch a few days ago....
Bed 1: mixed lettuce, asian greens, spinach, radishes, cauli, brocolli & cabbage....
Bed 2: corn, eggplant, baby brocolli, brussel sprouts, honeypod peas, butter beans, purple king climbing beans, beetroot, onions & tomatoes.... (2 views to show the whole bed)....

Bed 3: Under the straw are Certified Seed Potatoes (sebago, as this was all I could get locally) and a few kipfler from the cupboard....

Bed 4: This is a garden in the middle of the yard as I was running out of room and soil to put anything else in the converted chook pen. Here we have cucumber, squash, zuchini (yellow and green) and golden nugget pumpkin....

there is also an experiment in Bed 4, a bathtub with some sweet potato tubers....

At the moment we are harvesting silverbeet, spinach, beetroot, peas, baby broccoli, spring onions, chives, lettuce and asian greens.

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BevB