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Things I Like | September 2017

Yay for school holidays – and not a minute too soon. Every year teaching seems to take more and more of my energy, and the holidays are so needed. That’s not to say that I’ve not got work to do over the holidays. Between marking, planning, and catching up on whatever I didn’t get finished at the end of the last term, I will be keeping busy. I am, however, hoping to take some time off to catch up on sleep and other important things.

I was sent a copy of Slow by Brooke McAlary* I’ve been a fan of slow living for a while, despite the fact that lately, we have kind of fallen off the bandwagon. Reading it has refocused me on cutting back, and saying no (and meaning it) – two areas that have taken a knock lately. I’m reading it slowly so that I can take in each part and ponder it.

I’ve also downloaded (and read) The Mummy Bloggers by Holly Wainright. It was both hilarious and bitingly close to reality. I have picked up afew more books at the local op shop to get into over the next week or two as well. Holidays are the perfect opportunity to sit down with a book and get back into reading. I’d love some more suggestions of what to read next.

I’m making lots and lots (and lots) of woollen hexagons for my current blanket project. Seriously, I can knock a hexagon out in about 20 minutes these days, which is good since I need to make so many. I’m loving the colours and imagining the final result. Once I have finished making the hexagons, I’ve got to sew all the ends in, and then join them together so I have a lot of work ahead of me. My goal is to get it done in time for the local agricultural show next March. It’s good to have a long-term goal…

For many gardeners, September is the hungry month. The winter veg has finished, and the Spring crops haven’t yet come in. For us, however, September means one thing: fresh asparagus. It seems churlish to complain about having so much of a luxury, so I won’t, but those delicious green spears are poking up much quicker than we get to them. If we miss even a day or two, there are suddenly so many spears needing harvesting. Fortunately, the chickens are also back on the lay, so we are enjoying asparagus with soft boiled egg. If you can get your hands on some fresh asparagus you should totally try this – boil the eggs until soft, and blanch the asparagus in the same water at the same time. Once the egg is perfectly cooked (we do 3 minutes and 20 seconds an egg, but do more or less according to the egg’s size), cut the top off, and grind in some salt and pepps, then add a big knob of butter and a few drops of apple cider vinegar. Use the end of the asparagus to dip and mix the yolk, and you have your own hollandaise style sauce, right in the egg. There is truly no better way to eat asparagus.

Now that the warmer days are beginning to come, the trees in the orchard have begun to flower. CB and the kids are building a chicken coop right next to the orchard for the girls’ latest business venture (they are breeding silky chickens – stay tuned for that another time), so I have wandered down several times to check out their progress, and to admire the blossoming trees. It seems like no time at all since we first started planting the orchard, but some of the trees are reaching the top of the trellis already. Just imagine all that fruit this summer!

On Wednesday, we went for a drive to town to get some shopping done. Longtime readers will know that I’m not a shopping person. I love a good farmers market, but all other forms of shopping are not for me. Unfortunately, the kids tend to grow out of their clothes from time to time, and Toby had just two tee shirts that fitted, so a trip was seeming inevitable. Whilst I hated buying the fast fashion tee shirts and finding shorts that were not too short for the girls was hard work (in the end we got some from the boys section – why do girls shorts have to be so short??), we got it done with a minimum of fuss, and we got to enjoy sushi for lunch (the kids and I love sushi, but don’t get it very often). We also picked up a new apple slinky machine. Ours gave up the ghost after 4 years of solid work. I finally got some new tea towels as well. Our old ones were looking less than respectable, and so it was time. We managed to knock a few other little things off the list that we needed and now that we have got the basics covered, any additional shopping for the season will now be done online only… well let’s hope so anyway! It’s almost embarrassing that new tea towels make me happy, but there you go!

Got any book suggestions for me? Have you tried asparagus and boiled eggs? Do small things (like new tea towels) make you happy?

*As per my disclosure policy, I was sent a copy of Slow. All opinions are my own.

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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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