Negativity

breeds..

My Gran never, and l mean never, says bad things about anyone.  She will find something nice to say about them, or holds her tongue. 
I love and admire her for it.

Me, l've got in the habit of not only seeing, but gossiping about the negative qualities of some people.  And it has to stop.  The more you talk about it, the more you see it and the more you see it, the harder it is to see anything good in someone.

My mum is always negative and its turning her into a really sour person, not nice to be around.  I certainly do NOT want to be like my mother.

I want to be like Gran.  She is a feisty woman, not shy about sharing her opinion, is as self sufficient and self reliant as you can be at 80 with a fake knee and failing eye sight.  She is the ultimate girls scout, always prepared.  And she is nice, to people and animals and to be around.

Making plans..

We had a big talk to the girls about our fire plan tonight. Talking them through how we are prepared, FDI levels, why & what days we would pack our camper and store it. Where we would go, why we have to go /they have to go. Biggest thing was brain storming with them, what we would try to save.
They started wanting to take everything. They now get the concept of what is replaceable and whats not.
They like the idea that we would have a house ( our camper) like Bailey who lost his house and now travels in a caravan.. They know mum would cry if our house was burnt down/ squashed by a tree/ blown away/ washed away in a flood. But we would build again and it only matters that we are safe.
Zoe is not happy that the chooks would have to stay. Serioulsy 10 chooks, 1 rooster and a half grown chick.. hatchback car full of dogs & kids.. Will have to talk her through getting more chicks if we had to.

Rediscovering old habits.

I used to be very organised, the weekly menu plan so l knew what l had to buy, clean the fridge out the night before shopping while l was writing the shopping list, sort of organised.

Yet here l am, December 2nd, not only is the tree not up, its still somewhere in the loft.  Cards are not sent, or written, or even out to be written in.  2009 the year of flying by the seat of my pants, and it SUCKS!!

2010 is going to be the year of taking back control.  I'm starting early.  Like today.  I've rejoined flylady, the daily tasks, the routines, the support worked wonders when l was new to being the mother of 2.  Mother of 2 and drowning in housework, motherhood and a touch of depression.   Sounds strange now, but it really helped, l was organised, my house (after many months) was clean & decluttered.  I was proud of my home, family and myself.  I lost weight, as walking each day was a part of my routine.

I found and dusted my old control journal, the one with my routines, menus, christmas card lists.  I signed up for the daily emails setting out the zone l'm working on and giving me extra tasks to do each day. 
And l feel good.

Gardening in summer

chatty today arn't I?

I love to garden, flowers, veggies, herbs, fruit, creepers, ground covers..  l even enjoy weeding.
Summer is such a challenge, trying to get enough mulch on a shoe string budget, get it on early enough and thick enough to protect the plants, but no so early that it has composted before the end of summer.
Trying to keep water up, with limited tank water to spare.
Trying to keep the plants shaded from the sun on hot days.

I used to have a lovely cottage style garden, pretty flowers that needed watering every day, thriving herb & veggie gardens.  That was town water supply and a house block that used to be a cow paddock.. oh the crumbly black soil! 

Now l have to choose plants that are frost/drought hardy, low fire danger, bird/bee attracting and hardy enough to survive free range chooks & kids plus the pup.
I plant something, water it for a couple of days, then hope for the best.  Most plants l put in take a couple of years to establish before they get new growth, then they take off.  Grevillia, pelargonium, geraniums, daisy, lavender are all good shrubs. 
Pig face is my all time favourite ground cover, so many colours to choose from and it so easy to propogate.  Creepers, l like passionfruit, happy wanderer, not much else has survived, though l like the idea of grapes. 
All my fruit trees have established quite well, by the 3rd year they fruit well.  In some cases too well, poor peach tree was so laden last year it needed supports under every branch.  

Last summer l planted the last of my surviving veggies in pots and put them in the green house, just to keep them alive.  This summer l've mulched a lot earlier and have shade cloth to put up on the hottest days.  Next summer.. hopefully a tunnel green house.

Knitting news

I must dust off the camera and get photos of the projects l've completed.  There are so many, not just knitting, also project bags, dress ups & beading.

I'm on the home stretch of a sock, the 2nd sock in a pair destined for a fellow Raveler.  Rainbow swap, l'm going to try to make something in each colour of the rainbow, have 3 weeks of crafting time, wich should be more than enough.

Garden is cooking in the heat, l've planted tomatoes in shadey places to protect them from the sun, fenced those places to protected them from the dog.  Dog that has another 2 years before he matures enough not to chew everything.
My fruit trees are looking great, not as much fruit as last year, l pruned to stimulate growth rather than fruit.  Hoping they become stronger now and are better able to cope with our warmer climate.

Not so sweet dreams

Going to cut & paste from GG forum because l'm lazy..

[i]Kelly had a nightmare that Zoe was burnt in a fire and died. She wants to stay home with us.. think its the warmer weather and overhearing so much talk of fire. Not that we talk fire in front of the kids, but even shopping last night in Traralgon, every 2nd person we past was. *sigh* kids are asking lots of questions about our house being safe, will it burn down this year. Pretty shitty state of affairs l must say.[/i]


[i]Spoke to her (fdc mum) about Kelly, there has been lots of talk this week at school about how much was donated after the fires, because a local bike club was calling in to collect donations for the toy run. They also had a classmate visit this week, he lost his home & the family is now travelling for a couple of years. Pretty sure the above & the hot weather has kicked off her fears. Back to lots of hugs, talking, drawing and including her in preparation discussions. School psych said this is important as they feel they have some control, also know what to do to help/prepare instead of being a helpless bystander.[/i]

So much for congratulating ourselves on how well adjusted the kids are after what they experienced.
Makes me wonder how all the children that were in the thick of the fires are coping. 

On the 7th when l was sure l had made the wrong decision about where the girls were evacuate to.  Kelly assured me in such a confident, grown up voice that it was ok, they would be safe, not to worry.
I have a sickening fear that her dream is more than just a childish nightmare.  One more step down the path of paranoia? 

Smells like summer to me..

A friend said this, she could smell fresh mown grass..
Smells like summer here too.. smoke.

Neighbors are burning off, and we have a small fire in the area.  Not bad for the 2nd day of the fire season.  I have a niggling feeling that this summer is going to be hard.  Emotionally hard for sure, but also bad for fires. 

Its hasn't been an easy autumn or winter.  We have cut an lot of trees down that are close to the house.  They are now split and stacked for firewood.  We have burnt huge bonfires of leaves and branches.  Fire pump is permanently hooked into our main water supply, we have more long fire hoses.  Replaced all the garden hoses with them, makes it quick to water the garden ;)

I've been working, knitting, camping, gardening and much more.  I may even blog about it sometime soon.
After all the stress of summer is a very small part of my life.  Promise!