this man is not using a light sabre (although it would be lots quicker if he did)
21.2.09
da boyz
oops! i better put this photo here. in fact i should have done it ages ago as this 'room' no longer exists.
the tool room: barricaded, fenced, fortified. blocked off in general to anyone who's under 1m tall.
bathing
i thought i better show you a picture of something shiny before you totally lost heart. here's our bathroom. in fact it's progressed a little since then as the plumber has visited again.
we now have a dual function shower connected. (one all round slow relaxing shower and another really intense massaging shower that you really need to pay attention to otherwise you'll end up in a puddle on the floor)
the electrician has been again so we have special lighting and the boiler is properly wired so we can close the window.
we even have heating in the bathroom!
and as for the other half of the house,
the heart
well, it's changin faster than you can almost document it! (this means i'll post photos later)
and do you remember the tooth in transit that we mentioned earlier?
well it popped last night.
xxx
mama b (looking forward to a good night's sleep)
20.2.09
the dump
i am a squirrel.
i am a squirrel-like magpie.
i am a squirrel-like magpie with womble tendencies.
yesterday we went to the dump. it wasn't the dump of old: the giant landfill crawling with dozers and screaming seagulls circling, where you were free to forage. it was the dump of new, the eco-depot- i giant concrete building where everyone neatly backed up their trailers to the edge to tip their excesses into a hole which the dozer quickly whisked away. the sorting and foraging is no longer done by me and you, it's done by a team of people who decide if it's useful or not and then send it off to the shed.
the shed is a really great shop where you can buy other peoples rubbish (little treasures) for 50c or so and use it to make other stuff with...
so the dump has lost its essence of freedom, of gleaning, of making good use of the things that you find... but it's now taking better care of our earth.
(but it still smells the same)
xx
mama b
(fosicker extraordinaire)
i am a squirrel-like magpie.
i am a squirrel-like magpie with womble tendencies.
yesterday we went to the dump. it wasn't the dump of old: the giant landfill crawling with dozers and screaming seagulls circling, where you were free to forage. it was the dump of new, the eco-depot- i giant concrete building where everyone neatly backed up their trailers to the edge to tip their excesses into a hole which the dozer quickly whisked away. the sorting and foraging is no longer done by me and you, it's done by a team of people who decide if it's useful or not and then send it off to the shed.
the shed is a really great shop where you can buy other peoples rubbish (little treasures) for 50c or so and use it to make other stuff with...
so the dump has lost its essence of freedom, of gleaning, of making good use of the things that you find... but it's now taking better care of our earth.
(but it still smells the same)
xx
mama b
(fosicker extraordinaire)
pink batts | orange dress
do you know what pink batts mean?
pink batts mean a warm house.
pink batts means toasty toes.
pink batts are a type of fibreglass insulation that you put into your ceiling and walls and being as we've ripped the lining off the walls in the lounge/kitchen space we've had the chance to put in some pink batts. which of course i did in an orange dress. - we must be coordinated, darling!
so future winters in the republic will be like tropical holidays!! (well, we still have our blankets just in case)
but on another front, i've descovered a chain of things... you know how t'internet works; i googled chickpeas & growing and stumbled upon a site called selfsufficient(ish). well, you know us. i've been prattling on for years about selfsufficiency and how to achieve it, about buying some land, about being part of a greater community of folk doing the same. bless the internet cos it has introduced us to just that.
a community of folk who grow their own.
so, it turns out we're not alone, that their are litterally thousands of people around the globe who eat what they grow and grow what they eat; who forage for their food, either in the sea,in the rivers, in the wild back country or in the urban parks; who bake their own bread; people for whom recycling means more than putting your stuff in the yellow bin....
little by little i shall start adding links to these communities for anybody who's interested in reading more. of course, i'll give you more recipes on how to make your own nutrient specific fertilizers, etc and keep you updated on the lives and loves of the citizens of the rara republic.
escape to the rara republic
you know you want to
xx
mama b
(colour co-ordinated)
pink batts mean a warm house.
pink batts means toasty toes.
pink batts are a type of fibreglass insulation that you put into your ceiling and walls and being as we've ripped the lining off the walls in the lounge/kitchen space we've had the chance to put in some pink batts. which of course i did in an orange dress. - we must be coordinated, darling!
so future winters in the republic will be like tropical holidays!! (well, we still have our blankets just in case)
but on another front, i've descovered a chain of things... you know how t'internet works; i googled chickpeas & growing and stumbled upon a site called selfsufficient(ish). well, you know us. i've been prattling on for years about selfsufficiency and how to achieve it, about buying some land, about being part of a greater community of folk doing the same. bless the internet cos it has introduced us to just that.
a community of folk who grow their own.
so, it turns out we're not alone, that their are litterally thousands of people around the globe who eat what they grow and grow what they eat; who forage for their food, either in the sea,in the rivers, in the wild back country or in the urban parks; who bake their own bread; people for whom recycling means more than putting your stuff in the yellow bin....
little by little i shall start adding links to these communities for anybody who's interested in reading more. of course, i'll give you more recipes on how to make your own nutrient specific fertilizers, etc and keep you updated on the lives and loves of the citizens of the rara republic.
escape to the rara republic
you know you want to
xx
mama b
(colour co-ordinated)
15.2.09
12.2.09
progress report 2
tis a while since i last reported on the progress of building/demolition down here in the republic. i'd love to show you some shiny, dust free photos of a finished article but it seems like we only manage to get halfway when we have to stop and change directions.
oh well, at least we've got a bath now eh?
cos we've only got half a kitchen, with a loo in it, with no ceiling, and 50 years of dust floating down in search of sensitive nostrils....
but we've got the lino man coming tomorrow. yeeha!
and we've got the plumber back next week. woohoo! you know what this means don't you?
a finished bathroom!
we will be having a roman style bathroom warming party, bring your own towel. everyone is invited!!
xx
(sneezy) mama b
8.2.09
... the scottish play
round this neck of the woods there's a fire ban from the end of october until the beginning of winter, so when a girl's in need of some potassium for her tomatoes she has to use her imagination.
let me explain:
someone, i think it was the poms, discovered potassium carbonate was present in the ashes of a fire. this was quite a significant find for agricultural areas where the soil lacks in potassium. tis one of the most important soil bound nutrients that a plant needs for healthy flower development; even more important for our friend the potassium rich tomato.
using organic methods means you can't just pop down to the shop to buy a fertilizer (well, you probably can, but you know how it is round here). so i collected me some pine cones and popped them into my kettle bbq and, somewhat reminiscent of certain witches from a certain play, i manufactured some pot-ash.
but there's something primordial about fires. about playing with fires. watching the flames dance, lick, entice you into the golden warmth. i don't think there's one of us that could resist stirring up the fire or adding to it. fire ban or not, the child in me wants to send smoke messages. the mother in me curses that i wasn't more organised and had thought to bring the washing in before i got carried away.
so, pine cones burnt, simply add the ash to the bottom of your tomato plants (or roses) and bob's your uncle! even tastier tomatoes coming up!!!
xx
mama b (toil and trouble)
ps, here's a movie of our wee man, busking.
post post script:
fire bans are to be respected- lest we create a disaster similar to the fires currently blazing in Victoria just now. our builder is also a volunteer firefighter and has told us that lighting a bbq is within the bounds of the fire ban.
my heart brakes for the people who have lost their lives, homes and families in this terrible fire.
let me explain:
someone, i think it was the poms, discovered potassium carbonate was present in the ashes of a fire. this was quite a significant find for agricultural areas where the soil lacks in potassium. tis one of the most important soil bound nutrients that a plant needs for healthy flower development; even more important for our friend the potassium rich tomato.
using organic methods means you can't just pop down to the shop to buy a fertilizer (well, you probably can, but you know how it is round here). so i collected me some pine cones and popped them into my kettle bbq and, somewhat reminiscent of certain witches from a certain play, i manufactured some pot-ash.
but there's something primordial about fires. about playing with fires. watching the flames dance, lick, entice you into the golden warmth. i don't think there's one of us that could resist stirring up the fire or adding to it. fire ban or not, the child in me wants to send smoke messages. the mother in me curses that i wasn't more organised and had thought to bring the washing in before i got carried away.
so, pine cones burnt, simply add the ash to the bottom of your tomato plants (or roses) and bob's your uncle! even tastier tomatoes coming up!!!
xx
mama b (toil and trouble)
ps, here's a movie of our wee man, busking.
post post script:
fire bans are to be respected- lest we create a disaster similar to the fires currently blazing in Victoria just now. our builder is also a volunteer firefighter and has told us that lighting a bbq is within the bounds of the fire ban.
my heart brakes for the people who have lost their lives, homes and families in this terrible fire.
7.2.09
one love
february 6th, notable for waitangi day and bob marley's birthday.
and the day that calix first stood up by himself.
naked, at a festival, with dub and reggae beats bouncing about, our little man stands up and starts clapping.
happy birthday, mon.
xx
and the day that calix first stood up by himself.
naked, at a festival, with dub and reggae beats bouncing about, our little man stands up and starts clapping.
happy birthday, mon.
xx
3.2.09
jungle fever
slightly reminiscent of a south-east asian jungle, the tomotoes are in contest with the corn to see who can be the biggest. the corn are ahead by a coupla centimetres (a tad to all you folk using imperial measures). our mouths water as we wait for them to ripen.
meanwhile, citizens sunnie and chère are busy on the egg front, keeping us in quiche, soufflé and omlette heaven.
but all of this is nothing.
nothing in comparison to the progress our little man is making.
he's said his first real word.
none of the gobbledigook we'd first tried translating. oh no. we were in the garden, having lunch, when the pirate slinked past and calix leaned over the side of his chair and said
"ga"
(chat- french for cat)
xxx
mama b
meanwhile, citizens sunnie and chère are busy on the egg front, keeping us in quiche, soufflé and omlette heaven.
but all of this is nothing.
nothing in comparison to the progress our little man is making.
he's said his first real word.
none of the gobbledigook we'd first tried translating. oh no. we were in the garden, having lunch, when the pirate slinked past and calix leaned over the side of his chair and said
"ga"
(chat- french for cat)
xxx
mama b
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