June 2005 Updates
Week Twenty Two - 4 June 2005
Trev's survived his fixed wing and helicopter flights, in fact he came home quite exhilarated, not sure if it was the dangling above the earth without a safety line or net or the packet of cigarettes he bought to try and deal with his anxiety. He has only just admitted to it, and I've not got around to giving him a hard time about it. I don't think I will. Should we put that under medical expenses Trev? ;-)
The change in routine also meant Trev didn't bike to work most of the week and he found our weekend jaunt harder than usual. His fitness already compromised. It's something I've suffered from now that I don't get on the bike as much. "It takes so long to get fit, and you lose it so quickly", he puffs at the top of the biggest hill.
We have an overload of pak choi. I'm finding new ways to cook with it, and, like the pumpkin, does not come highly rated by one of us. Even when the steamed leaves are laid flat, run over with a rolling pin to remove excess water, then wrapped, dolmade like, with a fat wedge of cheese in the middle, dipped in batter and deep fried. Surely any child will eat something if it's battered and deep fried? Apparently not.
Caleb is off to a birthday party to day, Happy Birthday Corey! We'll be biking Caleb over and presenting Corey with a handmade gift and a promise of something bought at a later date. Caleb is very keen on this excursion. I'm sure he will find something edible there.
We didn't live entirely without the filthy lucre this week. Friday saw the complete collapse of the laptop keyboard. A day spent trying to resolve it resulted in considerable hair loss. So, we went out and replaced the only 'appliance' that we could never live without. Educational expenses? I wonder what legitimate expense a big fat bar of chocolate could be wrestled under?
Week Twenty Three
Only twelve more days till Christmas. Or so it seems. Caleb is collating a list of must have items. Mine is coming along nicely, most of which is very mundane, clothes that fit; for a starter, Caleb's being too small, and Trev's and mine currently being too large. I say currently as my list also has cheesecake, Lindor chocolates and several bottles of wine on it.
The anticipation is getting to the third level of excruciating. We have our medical check up booked in, a car service for the 30th and every moment of July the first is plotted out. Trev is on holiday for the next four weeks, all the better to make the most of it! He licks his lips wolfishly. Our preoccupation is with all things dangling outside of our six month adventure is getting obsessive.
On the home front, Possum's milk is up, the chooks are laying, the beans are sweet and young, the tomatoes juicy, the eggplants tender, the pumpkins, well they're just prolific, not much else I can say of a positive nature about pumpkins.
Caleb ate potato, leek, garlic, carrot, parsley and onion soup the other day and even said he liked it. He's eating salads, even with that revolting goats cheese and making yum noises. He's come a long way. Such a pity he puts a peg on the end of his nose when I made pikelets the other day. But then no one ever accused Caleb of having normal tastebuds, nose nausators and the rest. This is the child who hates marshmallows, fudge, toffee, scones and spent years voluntarily regurgitating home made chicken nuggets.
We've had a power bill this week that, while we knew it was going to happen, it still came as a shock. We owe $27 for the last three months. My records show we have generated less power than any other six-month period and used more. Part of this can be put down to charging the electric bike and by cooking more, as nothing comes instant around here. Bread being one of the undeniably power intensive foods we would normally have sourced from outside the house. We also use electricity to pump water to the house and to boost the solar hot water, something that we needed to do only twice last year, but so far this year around 10 times.
Caleb, the little revolter, told me this week that what he intends to do when he grows up is design a car that uses more petrol than any other. I nod and tell him what he does with his life is his business. While secretly despairing of him. Are we turning him into the ultimate consumer? Later he watches a television ad featuring large steel constructions,
"None of them are even thinking about how much energy it takes to make something like that. It's really bad".
I moderate his opinion with a bit of reality, "there are lots of ways to view lots of things and the environment is only one of them. Lots of people think about other things first, that's all"
But he has redeemed himself.
You might like to check out the latest addition to the Tell us about your house section with Nev & Linda Sweeney's home.
We're keen to add further inspiring examples of what it is possible to do in your own backyard. We'd especially like to hear from people who are renting, and have taken steps to reduce their environmental impact.
Week Twenty Five - 25 June 2005
"How many more meals is it before we finish Trev?"
"It's four more breakfasts, four more lunches and five dinners".
We've just arrived home from our weekend jaunt, which was longer than usual, involving not just the library, where Caleb discovers the dictionary of disgusting words, which includes words like 'scumber' - dog do do, and 'scorreggiare' - the Italian word for fart and insists on reading them out, very loudly and rolling around on the floor in paroxysms of laughter. We give up shushing, gag him, confiscate the book and retreat.
Next it's a trip to the art gallery. We race up and down hills, weaving around traffic and ducking onto footpaths to get there. Caleb urges a red faced and sweating Trev to pass me while we're going uphill. Last week the seat fell off while I was riding and I was left with just a hollow metal bar (could have been dangerous). This week, Trev adjusts the brakes, and I discovered halfway down a steep hill that they no longer work at all. I wonder if he thinks my premature death will get him out of the last few days?
At the art gallery there is an exhibition with a few prominantly placed female buttocks. "Boring" announces Caleb, "I like boobs". The words bounce off flat surfaces. We are gone before the echo has.
I'm wearing a pair of bright, red pooh bear mittens that Caleb refuses to, and thick jumpers, we rejoice in the cunningly contrived helmet shaped hairdo's we all sport when we clamber off at the next destination. Local parks for a swing, cross country to the Ten Pin Bowling centre where Caleb has arranged to meet his friend Jamille.
Then it's to the supermarket, we don't need much, flour, butter for Caleb's sandwiches, some of his favourite noodles (and some of Trev's), a few apples, potatoes and that is all we're really low on. I insist on wearing the backpack full of food, (I tell Trev I like the opportunity to make him look like … searching for respectable word choice … find none… a wally will do, same first letter anyway). I already have the 20 kilos of books on the back, and the bike's battery weighs 26kg on its own. Which is all very fine when you have a motor to assist you. Unfortunately the battery goes flat and I end up trying to push what feels like ten tons up an exceedingly steep hill. I walk. By the time we get home I'm ready to go stand on the scales again.
Highlight of the week- Trev's visit to the 'Wellbeing at Work' health check. His cholesterol result had us both chortling in glee. But I'll wait till all the results are back before letting that particular cat out of the bag.
fetta cheese with fresh coriander
Having Trev at home has been a treat. Apart from the fact he enjoys eating food, and is nice enough to provide Caleb and I with fantastic lunches and frequent hot cups of tea, he spends the day making gardening tools. He even sewed Possum a pair of designer, triple-thickness, Hessian curtains, blanket stitch hemmed with red plastic twine. Their purpose is to keep the drafts out of her house as the nights have been getting cold. It took a fair amount of practise before she could stick her head out without spending three minutes tossing around inside the Hessian. The moment her head was out she'd look up at us, laughing down at her, and let out a 'whraaa' of indignation.
This coming week is our last. We'll be putting a few more updates over the next couple of weeks to let you know how our transition into the consumer world goes. Hopefully we won't be swallowed, but spat back out. Though there will be a lot of swallowing going on. I'm planning on doing something good for the environment with a few bottles of Banrock Station Wine. Visit www.banrockstation.com.au for 2 million good reasons why - but only if you are over 18 - visiting the site is equivalent to 1.2 standard drinks.
(disclaimer: I'm not endorsing this wine for financial reasons bla bla bla).
Have a good 'un.
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