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Things We Like | September 2016 Edition

It seems like ages since I shared some of the good things we have been enjoying. The warmer weather is here, my creativity is slowly returning, and I’m keen to give this old blog a little more love and attention. To begin with, here are some things we like at the moment!

Podcasts

I’ve been listening to podcasts on my way to and from work. They are much better than listening to the news, which is nearly always depressing. My faves at the moment include Young House Love Has A Podcast, The Chris Loves Julia Podcast (both are home DIY podcasts of blogs that I have followed forever), This Family Life by Nicole Avery of Planning With Kids, This Glorious Mess by The MamaMia Podcast Network. I’d love some recommendations for a few more.

Flowers

It’s always a lovely surprise to be given flowers from your graduating students. No teacher expects gifts from students, but it is nice to feel appreciated. This lovely bunch is sitting on the dining table in my back room, reminding me that Spring is here too!

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Fresh Home Grown Asparagus

We have been enjoying our first crop of asparagus so much. I blanch them and serve them with soft boiled eggs that have butter, salt, and a drop of cider vinegar added to the yolk. Just dip the asparagus into the yolk and eat. It’s like your own hollandaise sauce. The kids are pretty partial to the asparagus too! Stay tuned for a few asparagus recipes in the next week or two.

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Swimmers

As soon as September comes each year, the kids start thinking about swimmers and swim club. After last season’s swimming success, Hannah has decided she wants to do squad training for swim club, so we have got online and shopped around for new pairs of swimmers. The girls have both got some racing swimmers, as well as rash vests and boardies for swimming at the beach. Toby is not yet swimming well enough to need racing swimmers (12 meters doggy paddle is his race of choice), but we picked up a rash vest and shorts for him. He assures me that they make him “look like a shark so I will swim soooooo fast”. Ha. Bring on warm Friday evenings spent by the pool chatting I say!

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School Holidays

My work has unexpectedly turned into quite a demanding beast this year. I have been relieving at a higher level for the last 6 months, and while I enjoy the challenge, settling into a new routine and managing to get everything done has taken both a lot of time and mental energy. For the first few days of the holidays, I slept in and then sat on the couch reading and crocheting, giving my body a chance to relax a little. Now that we are well into the holidays, it’s all hands to the deck in sorting the house out ahead of us having to move out when our renovation start ins (hopefully) a few weeks. The non stop rain is really putting it behind, so I’m using the holidays to cull any unwanted items, and get organised. We’ve been to Canberra for a mammoth clothing shop – all 3 kids have their summer clothes sorted, and I’ve tackled cupboards and shelves, culling unwanted stuff which some how breeds (despite my minimalist tendencies).

My Camera

Yep – with work being crazy lately, photography and the camera have had to take a backseat. With the beautiful afternoon light, and the school holidays giving me a slight reprieve, I’ve been grabbing the camera and snapping a few photos around the farm. I’ve been experimenting with Lightroom (photo editing software) to make some pics black and white. I particularly love photos of old farm equipment. The worn patina just lends itself to black and white photography. I currently have a Canon Eos 7D, but I’ve had my eye on a 5D Mark III for sometime. One day…

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Captain Underpants Books

Toby is just getting the hang of reading, so I introduced him to some Captain Underpants books I picked up (at an Op Shop). They totally appeal to a small boy sense of humour. I’m trying to find lots of books to get him hooked on readers too. After two girls, we have plenty that appeal to them, but I need ideas for what else would appeal to a boy who is just beginning to read independently. Got any recommendations?

Thank God You’re Here

I often look through the DVD sections of op shops to see if there is anything I like, and I picked up series 1 of Thank God You’re Here for $2. We have been enjoying watching it with the kids. Totally hilarious (though some of the jokes go straight over the kids head). Op shops are great for picking up old movies and TV series, and because they only cost a dollar or two, I’m happy to pop them back in our donation box when we have finished with them.

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Instagram Stories

I tried to like snapchat, but to be honest, I don’t have time or energy for another social media channel. So stories gives me the opportunity to see behind the scenes (and share behind the scenes too), and see all the beautiful pics at the same time. Win Win in my book. (you can follow me here).
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Got any good podcast recommendations? What about some good books for Toby to start reading? What have you been enjoying lately?

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Previous Post: « 21 Things To Do To Simplify Your Life Now!
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jacq Lives Here says

    October 11, 2016 at 4:47 pm

    I’m with you on the podcast front, Jo! Don’t know how I managed without them now! I listen to something every day walking to and from work, in the kitchen when prepping dinner, and when cleaning the house… so basically all the time!
    Some current faves:

    For learning things whilst having a giggle at the same time:
    – No Such Thing as a Fish – from the researchers behind QI – each week they discuss the 4 best facts they have found out that week – it’s a great mix of humour and smarts!
    – Stuff You Should Know – hundreds of episodes discussing just about every topic you could think ok

    For human interest:
    – The Moth – a story slam format of people telling stories in front of a live audience
    – Mortified – a sotry slam format of people reading aloud their childhood diaries (a good giggle!)
    – This American Life – a US public radio show that has some interesting focus stories

    For life:
    – Straight & Curly – a life improvement goldmine! Hosted by Carly from Smaggle
    – The Beauty Brains – two scientists that debunk lots of Q&A about beauty

    Reply
  2. Elisa @ With Grace & Eve says

    October 2, 2016 at 10:02 pm

    We are devouring Aussie asparagus right now! So good. As are school holidays. The slow rhythm they bring has been just what we needed, but school is back tomorrow… and kind of wishing I had a couple more days with my girls up my sleeve! Love that black and white shot. You’ve inspired me to get my camera out tomorrow and have a play xx

    Reply
  3. jess64au says

    October 2, 2016 at 3:14 pm

    fly guy is good fun and so are the weirdo books by Ahn Doh

    Reply
    • Jo@CountryLifeExperiment says

      October 2, 2016 at 3:17 pm

      Will def have a look out for them – thanks

      Reply
  4. Emma - a simple living journey says

    September 30, 2016 at 10:15 pm

    Spy kids can be fun, the tree house series also.

    xx

    Reply
  5. Sarah says

    September 30, 2016 at 9:36 pm

    My little boy absolutely loves reading, he is 8 now. When he first started reading young novels we started with Zac Power books. He would sit and giggle along reading them, they have the right amount of boy stuff I think haha! There are different levels, I think ‘Spy Camp’ might be the easier ones, but best to check that.

    Hey Jack books are good and simple too, my boy never got into them really though. They are by the same author as Billie B. Browne books.

    My boys favourite books now are Captain Underpants. And he also really enjoyed a new series out, by the author of Dork Diaries, I think it’s called “Max Crumbley”, it’s a comic type look, like Captain Underpants.

    Reply
    • Jo@CountryLifeExperiment says

      September 30, 2016 at 10:19 pm

      Will definitely checkout Zac powers. I got a few Hey Jack books but he hasn’t really got into them either

      Reply
  6. Jodie says

    September 30, 2016 at 12:18 pm

    My son enjoyed reading The Cat on the Mat is Flat by Andy Griffiths when he was first starting reading. It definitely appeals to little boys with a sense of humour!

    Reply
  7. thesqueakywheelbarrow says

    September 29, 2016 at 9:53 pm

    I’m not sure how old Toby is…but my youngest son learnt to read thanks to Emily Rodda’s Deltora Quest Series. .A little easier is the Tashi series by Barbara Fienberg. Golden oldies!

    Reply
    • Jo@CountryLifeExperiment says

      September 29, 2016 at 10:23 pm

      My older two have loved Deltora Quest – they are great starter books, but they are a little too advanced for him. Will look up the Tashi series though – Thanks!

      Reply

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Hi, I’m Jo

I'm a city girl turned farmer's wife, school teacher, ideas woman, and mum to three country kids. Country Life Experiment is all about simple country living, growing and making our own food, and life on our family farm in rural Australia. Join me as I give country living a try. Read more...
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A lovely, easy Christmas with family, good food, a A lovely, easy Christmas with family, good food, a few presents, an afternoon swim and dinner on the veranda as the sun set. Time to stop and be thankful for the many blessings of the year. I hope you had a lovely Christmas too!
We have been mulling over how to fix up the drivew We have been mulling over how to fix up the driveway and lead up to our house for a while. Currently it’s just a dumping ground for old bits of metal and a big pile of mulch, but C would like to create a turning area and put in a garden. First up though, there’s a huge old stump that needs to go. What better excuse is there to have a fire on Sunday afternoon? C and the kids jumped on the quad bike and trailer, and hauled back a big pile of sticks and logs to help the stump burn. Once the fire was going, marshmallows were found and roasted. No better way to spend time together.
Team work makes the dream work. We were asked rec Team work makes the dream work. 
We were asked recently whether we “make” our kids work on the farm. The answer is of course not. Having said that, all three love to help out whenever they can. They all work hard because they want to; because they take pride in working hard and contributing in a meaningful way to our family life; because they love living on our farm and don’t remember life before we moved here. Whether it be planting trees or doing sheep work or feeding animals, they all want to be involved. As a parent, nothing is better than watching them grow in skill and confidence as they work along side you. We’re so glad that we get to spend time with our three, working together.
We’ve had an unexpected addition to the family ☘️🐑. She is a lot easier to look after than the other family members but she does try to escape her yard and head butt people. Poddy lambs are super cute but they tend to think they are a human. Clover the lamb is sure that Meg is her mum. Can’t think why… 🤔🤣
The perfect way to end a long winter weekend: toge The perfect way to end a long winter weekend: together, cooking damper around the remains of the bonfire.
It’s been a tough few weeks on the farm. We got It’s been a tough few weeks on the farm. We got through shearing without a hitch (thankfully 🙏) but we’ve had a run of the flu followed by Covid run through the family since then. The kids and I have tested positive (this is my second time getting it 🦠) though so far C has managed to avoid it. There has been a lot of lying on the couch feeling pretty ordinary. Han had to reschedule her driving test for a 4th time due to Covid, which is disappointing for her because she wants her freedom and for us because it would be so much more convenient if she could drive herself places. Just to add in to the mix, our hot water system has chosen now as a good time to die so we’re on cold showers until we’re all out of iso. This is not meant to be a whinging post but sometimes life just sucks a bit and it’s good to be real. Fortunately, the sight of the fire going with a stack of wood next to it cheers us up. Things will improve soon. Onwards we go…

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Hi, I’m Jo

City girl turned farmer's wife, school teacher, ideas woman, and mum to three country kids. Country Life Experiment is all about simple country living, growing and making our own food, and life on our family farm in rural Australia. Join me as I give country living a try. Read more...
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