River Cottage Australia

Are you a fan of River Cottage? I have been for many years, I love Hugh's passion and commitment to living as sustainably as he can. So when I heard there was to be an Australian version, I was very excited. Seeing the River Cottage principles with an Australian twist will no doubt inspire me to take on some of the ideas for around my own home. Especially the veggie garden, or veg garden as Hugh would call it.

The first episode aired last week and featured a sourdough starter, something I have had on my list of 'one day I'll get around to it'. It seemed remarkably easy so I have added the ingredients Paul used (whole wheat, spelt and rye flours) to this week's shopping list and hope to get it started in the next few days.

xoxo

I did not receive anything for this post! I just love the show! Cheers.

Goodbye Tigger

Yesterday we lost our cat Tigger. We are all devastated, even though we knew it was coming, she had been unwell for just over a month, but we did our best to make her comfortable in her last weeks. She was almost 15 years old, so that's not too bad an innings for a cat. But it also means that I have had her longer than I have had my kids, and they are finding it difficult as they don't have any memories of our home without her.

Tigger was a housewarming gift from two of my cousins (and best friends). She was tiny when she arrived, so tiny that my cousins didn't believe the seller when they said she was 6 weeks old. But she was and she remained a tiny cat even fully grown. We called her Tigger because she was orange and stripey (just like the real Tigger) and because we had just moved into our first home, 6 months pregnant with our first baby and were decorating the nursery with a classic Pooh theme.

Tigger had an accident when she was around 6 months old, we still aren't sure what happened, but it resulted in her having to have her tail amputated, something she never got over. Cat's have too much pride and are far too vain to ever get over losing their precious tail. We used to joke that she had been in a bad mood since that happened.

Goodbye my sweet, cranky, teeny tiny Tigger, we will miss you dreadfully.

Are you kidding me?

It has been a wet and cold couple of weeks here at Homespun Headquarters so I have spent quite a few hours doing something I don't normally do - watching TV. I have recently bought the three seasons of Downton Abbey (what a brilliant show) and just this weekend finished Season 3 and without giving anything away for those who haven't watched it - Are you freaking kidding?????!!!!!

What the devil are they doing to us? I am utterly devastated by the final scenes.

Are you a fan? Are you as shattered as me?

xoxo

World's worst housekeeper?

World's best procrastinator?

Most unorganised?

Worst blogger?

Ok, maybe I'm not up for those titles (except the last one, lol) but some days it sure feels like it, doesn't it? When the house is a mess, the kids are fighting and the cat has missed the litter tray again... Sometimes I feel like giving up and moving to Tahiti.

Except I can't. I would be bored and miss the chaos too much. But oh for a chance to see if I wouldn't...

The inconsistencies in my schedule sure have made themselves known now I am back at work everyday. How did I do it before? Oh, that's right, I was hopeless then too.

And I'm pretty sure that I'm not the only one who feels like this sometimes, am I? Please tell me I'm not... pretty please...

But right when you need her, that little angel on your shoulder starts whispering in your ear. You can do this, you just need a routine. Just carve a few minutes out of each day to plan, plan for today, plan for tomorrow, plan for next week. Be positive, make 'I love a clean house' your mantra instead of 'I hate housework'.

And she's right.

So I'm off to tackle the ironing pile, right after I clean up after the cat.

xoxo

A Day Off

It has been crazy busy here at Homespun Headquarters, I have been at work every day since starting, but today I finally have a day off! Yay!

I have a massive list of things I need to catch up on, the vege patch has been terribly neglected so it will be one of the first things I tackle today. I have spent almost no time with the chickens, just occasionally ducking into the backyard for a quick hello and I'm off again, so they could do with some spoiling today too. Maybe a handful of sunflower seeds will have me back in their good books!

My Etsy store is going along okay too. I have had a handful of sales, which I am quite excited about, but I need to continue expanding the range, so perhaps a little trip to the local yarn store today is in order too.

And let's not talk about the housework that needs to be done!

Anyway, it is nearly time to wake Miss 14 up, so I must dash.

xoxo

Flying chickens

Of late, most morning and afternoons I am met with this sight...

Cheeky buggers!

It appears Australorps and Leghorns are somewhat flightier than Hyline Browns. Despite having their wings clipped, these girls and quite happy to fly onto to the top of the fence and then over.

They totally annihilated a batch of seedling I had planted so for the past few weeks I haven't planted anything, despite some beetroots more than ready to fly the greenhouse.

Apparently chooks are happy to fly onto anything solid, but won't fly onto anything that moves so this week Mr Homespun and I will be adding some fencing wire around the coop to try and discourage these naughty girls!

xoxo

Hi ho, Hi ho...

Good grief, it's been nearly a month since I last posted! I still haven't posted about our trip to Tassie but it has been busy, busy, busy here at Homespun Headquarters because next week, after two years at home, I am returning to work. Heck, who am I kidding, I am a mother - I will be returning to paid employment, lol.

And this will be a good thing.

I think.

Because I am returning to my old job. Not at Borders, I would be elated if that were the case, but the job I had prior to that one. One which by the time I left I didn't like much any more.

So why am I going back to it? Well it had it's good bits too. The workplace was nice, most of the people were lovely (although some were just horrendous) and I made some lifelong friends there. And the pay will be good, because that damned bottom line has to make an appearance, doesn't it?

But even after a couple of weeks I'm still not sure whether this is a step in the right direction. When I think too long about it I get teary and snap at the kids (although that could be just hormonal too!). So I have decided to give myself until Christmas and if I'm still miserable about the whole thing I'll give it up.

I just have to tell Mr Homespun about that bit...

xoxo