Saturday, February 21, 2009

Totally Awesome


The week in short

So, we have now had over 16 inches of rain so far this year. The veggie patch that I was so proud of a few weeks ago is now a decaying mess, after most of the plants became so water-logged for so long that they now have the dreaded "root rot". Oh well, at least I grew them from seed, so it's not like I spent heaps of money on setting it all up. Plus, there's nothing like planting seeds and watching them grow more and more every day.
Now that we've had a few days of sunshine (although there is more rain on it's way this week) the temperature and humidity is so high! According to our sources (weatherzone) the 70% humidity makes the temperature seem at least 4 degrees higher than what it actually is. Anyway, it sure is hot!
Now, most every morning while I'm making breakfast I look out of the window and see kangaroos everywhere, outside the fence, grazing; but on Thursday morning I looked out to see a young--ish one inside the yard (with his mummy right outside the fence)! Right outside Miss A.'s bedroom window, the only way it could have gotten in was to jump over the fence. It was quite a thrill to see them so close, but a little concerning for it to be so close to my beloved veggie patch...
L. has been bull-dozing trees recently, specifically peach trees. After a few years they bear less and less fruit and it's more efficient to just get rid of them and plant new ones, which he will be doing soon. He hasn't yet decided what, but probably stone fruit of some description.
I have spent the last 3 days listening to Miss A. ask me "are you thinking what I'm thinking B1?" *sigh* to which I am obligated to respond "I think I am B2" even though I have no idea what is coming next, it's one of the most annoying phrases, and hearing over and over again is really really...annoying. She is really enjoying gymnastics, so 'bananas in pyjamas' aren't the only thing in her life :). When she first started she was completely overwhelmed with the other children all running around her, but for the last two weeks she has actually participated in all of the activities really well, which is great. L. came along to the last session and took a few snaps...

Whoo-hoo!











Steady...





















What a big hill!








...And L.'s favourite...

And as for Master B., we're planning on taking some portrait-type photos of him soon, 'till then...

Aunty R. does a good job of watching him during gymnastics :)...zzzzzzzzzzzzz

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Wet Wet Wet

Well, as much as I (B.) am enjoying the rain, L. is starting to get a bit "over it". Our place is just a big, muddy, slushy, mosquito-ridden, toad infested bog at this point. It has been raining most days for the last couple of weeks, and only has the odd chance to dry out, and really that's not enough. And it would be nice for Miss A. to be able to play outside again.
Also forgetful Jones (L.) forgot to turn on one of his paddle wheels on Friday night, so he has been picking a a few hundred kilos of dead fish. It's wicked fun, just ask him. He was hooking up syphon hoses trying to stop his fish ponds from overflowing, and was so busy thinking about that that he forgot to flip a simple switch... He's not impressed.
When he gets a chance, I'll get him to take a few photos of things around the house (so you can see how wet it is), and around the farm, just so you can see what's growing these days, other than fish.
My veggie patch is pretty much done with producing cucumbers, thank goodness, I had them coming out of my ears, well, not literally, but the crisper in the fridge and the bottom shelf were choc-a-block with them. My veggie patch is also pretty much flooded and totally over the rainy weather.
Miss A. has been going to toddlergym for the last three weeks, and after a few emotional breakdowns during the first 2 sessions (she gets very overwhelmed around other children), she has finally warmed up to it and we had a really good time last week. We were going to take some photos during the last session, but unfortunately L. wasn't able to make it in to take the photos, and I am too dense to understand his camera :).
L. bought me the most awesome Valentine's Day present, and gave it to me early, on Thursday. 'Tis an electric violin, and is totally awesome. it is purple and shiny and new and awesome (he bought it on ebay :) ). It's a silent electric one, which is what I need, because I haven't been able to practice my violin decently for a couple of years, since Miss A. was born. Let's just say the children don't appreciate fine music :D. So now I can plug in a pair of headphones and it's totally awesome. Don't have an amp yet, but hey, accessories are something to work towards :D, amp, effects pedal, etc... Did I mention it's awesome? Well it is...awesome. We'll put a photo of it on sometime. Totally awesome.