I am a hopeless blogger

I think partly because I keep too many blogs, because I get busy and different things take different preference at different times in my life.

Anyway... I'm back, its been 4 months since my last blog post....

LOTS has happened in that time.

The biggest news is i took a shopfront for my business, so am now located at 81 Poath Rd Murrumbena, 3163 for any melbournites who ever want to pop by for a visit! I took the lease early march and spent a lot of the next few weeks renovating the place then shopping and moving in! Its still not finished but is great to finally seperate home and work. I LOVE that work is left at work and when I come home I am just 'me' not worker me. The kids like it more too I think! I'll have to get some photos and post them in here soon.

Personally lots has happened, I finally finally gave up smoking, 100% for good. Its been around 2 months now and I feel so much better for it!

I finally had my hip operation last week, it was found I had torn the ligements across the hip joint, or so i think thats what he said post op when the surgeon visited me! I see him tomorrow for a check up so will find out more then. hopefully this will mean I can start gettigng active again in a few weeks time.

Pet wise we have grown our menagerie by 2 more chooks so we are back at 7 again now. The girls are all still laying well , most giving us an egg every day. the 2 new are only 12 weeks or so old now so are living in the over sized rabbit hutch until they are bigger and can start mixing with the other girls.

We lost one of our guinea pigs a few weeks ago, poor thing, it was the one we adopted a year or so ago form the animal shelter, we knew she ws old when we got her but really no idea how old so no idea how or why she died. At first I was concerned it was neglect as with me growing the business, the hubby has been doing more round the house and taking over what was my role here as he isnt working much at all, but then found out that indeed piggy was still being fed regularly so prob just old age.

Garden wise, its in dire dire need of attention!

Houe wise, ah yep same as garden!

But life is good and I want to try post back here a bit more often.

another month on!

I havent done an update for quite a while again!

I will get back to regular blogging here eventually!

I took a month off work and spent lots of time wiht the kids which was good, also went away to the beach for a week which was also relaxing (or as relaxing as 6 plus kids in a small 3 bedroom house can be!)

I'm still going along with most things.

The chooks are giving us lots of eggs and boy are they yummy! I think 2 are still not yet laying, but the rest are and we get 4 eggs most days. I'm having alittle bit of drama with themlaying where they please at present instead of in their house as they free range from sun rise til sun set!

Our bunnies and guonea pigs are great, all healthy and thriving and all the animals are giving us loads of mulch and manure for the garden. I have been heaping it below the lemon tree and the tree looks healthy now. I'll have to take a photo.

I'm participating in FebFast
http://www.everydayhero.com.au/Susan_Darcy
If you wish to sponsor me you can but please don't feel you have to. I just think its a good idea health wise for me and also to raise funds for youth drug and alcohol users.

The vegie garden is going OK. The lettuce/silverbeet bed has mostly gone to seed so i am hoping to get a fair amount of lettuce seed for future use as the guineas and rabbits love it all.
The tomatoes have been great though the chooks stole a few! I have a few plants I planted later that are just coming in to ripen now and the other ones are nearly ready to pull out.

We've been enjoying plundering the potato patch and feasting on home grown spuds! This is first time I have had success with spuds!

The garden does need a bit of work though. I need to plant more and start preparing the front beds and try to improve he soil. Everything out the front stayed stunted all season, very weird! I need to do a soil test still, I just didnt rush due to holidays and being busy.

I'm still knitting, still only dish cloths though i did knit wrap to use for photo sessions for newborns!

thats it for now. Lots more to update but will do it later :)

echo echo echo.......

Yes yes I'm here :)

Thanks for the messages asking after me :)

The biggest reason for my absence in posting is that this time of year is the busiest for me business wise. I am behind business wise also which isn't at all good. Everyone wants photos in time for xmas, every year I say I will organise it better and havent managed yet again. I will rectify it though and I will get on top. Plus I am shutting up shop for 6-8 weeks over december/Jan to be ready to start afresh all organised in the new year.

Now lets see, other than work.

Queensland:
It was really great! I worked but most of my jobs finished by 10am so I had the days to explore. I drove all along the coast (from Brisbane down the gold coast) and also drove inland and through the part of the hinterlands and Mt Tambourine. I loved tamborine it was gogeous!
I sipped wine with new friends often and ate fabulous often too and I made the most of my child free time but just enjoying the peace.
Poor Husband at home ended up haivng to deal with 2 sick kids with gastro! Oh well, he definitely had a new appreciation for me once I got home!

The Garden:
Out the back is growing great! My Tomatoes are thriving, I also have them self sprouting everywhere form lasts years crops so have transplanted some and given some away.
One chilli plant died but the other 2 are going really well. zuchini, pumpkin, cucumbers, beans, lettuces are all going great. some of the capsicums are thriving too.
Out the front is a different story.
I think the soil sucks! I used mostly a heap of dirt we got from someone who mulched a tree. The father in law brought it home and I didnt really want it at the time but hoped it would be OK. I added manure and compost and blood and bone to it but nothing wants to grow in it.
Everythign is turning yellow and dying and just stunted in growth. I am now adding lots of the animal litter to itin the hope it improves in time. i am going to transplant heaps of the self seeded tomatoes to it and just see what happens. I focused more out the back this year anyway.
Oh my potatoes out the back are booming too as is my passionfruit. I have recently planted a heap of seed too - radishes, silverbeet, spring onion, parsnip, carots and some lettuce out the back beds too and they have all sprouted now.
My lemon tree seems to have coped so far wiht the heavy prune I gave it and is starting to show alot of new growth. I pile most of the animal hay and litter under it all the time too so maybe thats helped.
I reconnected the hose fomr the washing machine this week too as the grass is already starting to really brown and die, earlier this year!

The house:
is CHAOS!!!!!!
Because I am snowed under wiht work the house has been sorely nelgected!!!! I just aim for the bare basics each day and am happy if that gets done. I think I might to get osme paid help in to get back on top :(

The Kids:
are all great!

The animals:
are all growing! Stella the rabbit is gorgeous. she free roams out the back now as well as the house. she eats form the vegie garden but doesnt demolish it, probably because there is plenty there. The guinea pigs are all gettign bigger and healthier.
The dog is the same old same old. actually we realised she is getting old! she is about 13 or so now!

The worm farm:
takes care of itself mostly :) I just add every few days and they are multiplying well now!

Op shopping:
I still go most weeks, if not more than once a week. Its my release! I've picked up loads of great books and stuff for the kids. When i have more tiem I'll start reposting my bargains!

Oh I am still knitting, still basically, nothign fancy but i am building a collection of dish cloths now and I find it really relaxing!

NEWS!
After much discussion we are seriously considering selling in a year or so and moving into the Dandenongs! very exciting!

I am sure there is heaps I have forgotten but will try to get back to more photos and updates :)

Just so you have at least one photo here is my Bunny Stella, taken this morning in one of the vegie gardens.
isnt she pretty :)

Guinea Pig Home

I bouhgt the guinea pigs a new hutch from ebay last week. Its really great, its 2.75m long and 70cms wide so heaps of space for the 3 little piggies to run around in! Plus it has an area undercover and also an area with no bottom so they can munch on the grass at their whim :)

I did have ot make some adjustments ot it though.

This is it as I picked it up.
Before shot, it came in 2 pieces. The main hutch part was fully enclosed with wire so I had to remove it form the end where the hutch was to attach on.


Inside the hutch BEFORE. It has a wire bottom and is just a bit too open for the piggies.AFTER:
This is the first after shot, before puting the last bits in.
I went and bought some timber and got my neighbour tocut it for me with his electric saw.
As you can see I enclosed the sides in more to protect them form the weather more.

I added string to the roof atached to the frame to make it easier to leave open.
The renovated inside :)
I covered the entire floor with wood.
Then I built them a covered home/sleep area (the box bit) and they will have a ramp (its there but I took it out after the photo as itsd not attached or safe yet)
The box part comes out easily for cleaning.
All finished with the piggies inside.
I bought about 10 metres of fleece from the op shop during the week and am cutting it up an trialling it for their bedding. under it is newspaper at the bottom then nappies on top then the fleece. this should mean cleaning is easier and not needed as often (before i had to do a full hutch clean every day)
There is a tray with paper and hay inside the box also.
They LOVE it!
They started running around and jumping all over the place like mad when we popped them in there.
they have sooooo much more space then they did before and I have been watching them tongiht through the window and they are consatantly back out to the grass for extra munching (even though I picked a big handful and added their daily veg to the covered area!)
My second kknitted dishcloth!
Love the colours, I want to knit myself a head band from the same cotton.
This one was much larger/longer than the last as Joey requested bigger cloths.

another piggy :)

Yesterday my middle daughter and I had some time together so we headed off to the keysborough animal shelter andJaime picked out a guinea pig for herself.
This is Ginger (middle guinea) and she starting to settle in here at home. There has been a bit of nippiong going on as they assert who is the dominant piggy which clearly being an adult guinea pig, has become the head of the trio.
I today gave them a nice bath each and a blow dry and did a thorough clean out of their hutch. Am bidding on ebay for a bigger hutch too now.


Also our rabbit has fallen in love with our dog! I am cracking up laughing here watching them play with each other and Stella is doing binkies all over the place showing her happiness.

Knitting, gardening and more new pets!

I haven't been a very good blogger recently!
I've been a bit flat emotionally, need to see the doc to discuss my meds. But then again it is also that time of the month so maybe thats all it is.

I have been busy again though and have lots to update on!

The wrom farm is coming along well. I havent set up the second one yet but will soon. I give the worms food every few days to once a week and they are getting it though most of it now. You can see a mouldy apple in there the kids add to it sometimes too!


I planted tomato plants and some basil and chilli and a mini capsicum in the front bed of the new beds. Yes they are bought seedlings, I am going to grow more by seed though too, we just eat loads of tomatoes in the summer season and I magaed to grab quite a few different varieties including some heirloom toms and some diggers toms as seedlings.
My parsely self seeds each year and i always have an abundance with our new animal friends enjying it I have made sure i am transplanting the constantly emerging seedlings as they grow so we have an even more plentiful supply.
The radished are coming up more each day!
The snow peas are coming along very very nicely.
This is the potato bed and I also planted parsnip seed at the far end.
Last weekend the girls and I went to the market shopping for new pencils and a visual diary for them to make into their 'nature diary'
Each of them decorated their books and are journelling some of the things we are gorwing, writing about our pets and writing about any projects we do.
This week are growing carrot tops!



and here is my beautiful bunny Stella again. She has settled so well into our lives. we love her dearly :) She is a indoor house bunny mostly though she has a run outside she goes int for some sunshine and grass munching.
nibbling parsely leaves, one of her fav snacks!
and yes I am a sucker! We have 2 more new additions ot the house!
Meet 'Puss'
and 'Boots'

our darling new guinea pigs. Puss is just 5 weeks old and Boots is 12 weeks old.
The kids adore them and they are much more kid friendly than the rabbit so Stella is happier too :)
Plus I have so much more animal manure and hay for the compost and garden beds now.
I found a good cheaper produce store yesterday too and I will be growing a lot of their food for them.

Oh and my sugar n spice yarn came in so am part way through knitting my first dishcloth!