One of the things I try very hard to minimise around the house is waste. I freely admit that I don’t do a very good job of it, but I am trying. Wherever possible I’m reusing things or trying to replace disposable items with reusable versions (eg. handkerchiefs instead of tissues). With 2 kids who eat very little and can be picky, there can be a lot of wastage of food. The chooks are very useful in this regard, although I have started putting more of the scraps they would normally get into the compost bin. I’ve found that putting too much out for the chooks just attracts a lot of the introduced wild birds (sparrows, starlings, etc.) and they are annoying.
I’m not the best about keeping an eye on useby dates and using meat quickly, so it’s a fairly regular occurrence that we have meat in the fridge which is no longer suitable for human consumption. In these cases I try to give the meat to the dogs, so that it’s not wasted.
Last week was a particularly bad one for forgetting to use things so we had some lamb chops, a couple of steaks and a whole chicken that were just past their useby dates and in need of disposal. The dogs ate the chops one night and the steak the next, but they couldn’t eat a whole chook in one night and I didn’t want rancid meat hanging around in the fridge for any longer than necessary.
I’ve made the dogs some homemade food recently using minced beef, boiled up with vegies, rice and pasta, so I decided to do the something similar with the chook. I tossed it in the big boiler and boiled it until it fell apart. Then I separated the meat from the bones (the dogs can’t have the cooked bones) and minced the meat in the food processor and put it to one side. Next, I threw a couple of cups of frozen, mixed vegetables into the stock created by boiling the chook and brought it back to the boil. Then a couple of cups of rice and a cup of pasta went in. I also put a little oatbran in to bulk it up a bit. Once all of this had boiled a little I put the minced chicken back in and let it boil some more. After a while I turned it off and let it cool. Then I ladled the mix into some plastic containers to be stored in the chest freezer.
For the sake of a $6 chook, with some vegies, pasta and rice that I had around the house anyway, the dogs have got about a week’s worth of meals. This is not intended to replace the premium kibble they eat, but as an adjunct to it. It adds variety to the dogs’ meals, reduces the cost of feeding them and makes up for my absent-mindedness when it comes to using meat in the fridge.
Given the increased awareness in the world about waste, I’ve been very surprised and a little appalled by what has happened at Finn’s school this year. The school has moved to a new site and changed name, so has a new uniform to match the image change. There is supposed to be an 18 month changeover period to enable the kids to wear out their existing uniforms, but yesterday it seemed like 99% of the kids were wearing the new uniform. Now, the Preps were obviously going to be wearing it, the Year 7s were required to wear it as it differs a little for the senior kids and I knew there would be lots of new kids at the school (enrollment has almost doubled) and probably quite a few kids who would have outgrown their old uniforms. But I was horrified by the number of kids in Year 1 (Finn’s year) wearing all new uniform. These kids started last year with new uniforms and, here they are, fitted out completely again.
Finn is not wearing the new uniform, because he didn’t need anything new, and he is (unsurprisingly) not happy about it. I think there’s only one other kid in his class in the old stuff. We’ve told him he can have the new stuff in the next couple of weeks, so he doesn’t feel left out, but I can’t help feeling really resentful about it.
What happens to all those still wearable tops, shorts, dresses, and so on? OK, the stuff without the school insignia on it can go to op shops or be sold on ebay, etc. But the items with the school name and logo on them are largely useless to anyone else. Do they just go into landfill? And what are those other parents thinking? I respect their right to spend their money as they wish, but I really have to question the logic behind it.
On a planet groaning under the weight of our lifestyle, why would anyone add to that if they didn’t need to? Many of these households would be carrying a much larger amount of debt than Mark and I are and they are throwing money away on school uniforms their kids just don’t need.
There’s been a huge amount of discussion about the My School site: It’s great, it’s dreadful, yada, yada, yada…
I don’t really have an opinion, other than that it is interesting. I love anything that gives me information about things I’m interested in and I am keenly interested in the schools our family have, or have had, contact with, so I get a small, smug thrill when comparing Finn’s school with the other local government primary. I am unsurprised, but still a little proud, when I see the performance of my own primary (well, the Year 3 results at least) and secondary schools. But I don’t have much interest beyond that.
As a parent, what I care about above all is how my child is doing, regardless of the status of his school. Finn does not read or write well at this stage and no amount of green under his school’s name is going to fix that. The work done by the individual teachers and aides he comes in contact with, combined with our efforts as parents and his as the kid in question are what will make the difference and no national web site can show me that.
As the partner of a teacher, I can be a bit concerned about the results for Mark’s school inasmuch as they affect and reflect on his ability to do his work and the flow-on effect on his morale. But I refuse to place much store in them because I don’t believe that Mark’s school’s results really have much to do with his individual performance as a teacher. I know that he is a committed and engaged teacher and fronts up each day prepared to do his utmost to teach his classes. That’s what matters to me.
So, while I find the My Schools site interesting and kind of fun to play with – a bit like Googling old boyfriends, I don’t have much more to say for it.
My birthday this year has been all about books. As I mentioned yesterday, Mark bought me four. I bought myself Stephanie Alexander’s Kitchen Garden Companion and today some more books arrived in the mail and Rhonda came to visit with a gift which contained yet more books! Such an excellent birthday!!
The books which arrived in the mail were the first 8 in the Sookie Stackhouse series, on which True Blood is based. I tried to be good and borrow them from the library, but the waiting list for them is too long. And they were a bargain on ebay. In the meantime Rad has loaned us the first season of True Blood on DVD so my dilemma now is whether to read the books or watch the series first. Hmmm…
Rhon’s gift was Meeting Fairies, which looks like a lovely read, Homework for Grownups, which looks both a bit of fun and a bit useful in years to come and a set of Tasmanian Oak knitting needles, all wrapped in a Tibetan book bag (although mine doesn’t look like any of the ones on the site).
All in all, as I said, a most excellent birthday!!
It comes but once a year – my birthday. Mark’s right. I don’t like to make a fuss. I am frankly embarrassed by fuss, but I do like to show off birthday presents and that’s what this blog entry is all about. As usual, Mark has done a splendid job, buying not one of the things I suggested but all of them. And they’re all crafting books! (Can you guess what’s been on my mind a lot recently?) Here they are in no particular order:
Amanda Soule Blake’s books, The Creative Family and The Handmade Home.
Meet Me At Mikes (actually I’ve become a bit of a devotee of Pip Lincolne and Meet Me At Mikes)
And, finally, a fabric covered journal to write down ideas in.
If I never actually make any of the things in those books, they’ll still be a great source of inspiration. My head is buzzing already, just from flicking through them.
It’s Mark’s first day back at work for the year, although the school doesn’t actually start until Monday, so it’s just me and the munchkins at home for the next 3 days. Part of me was dreading the prospect, while another part was kind of looking forward to it. Ordinarily I spend a fair amount of time on my own with Finn and Leila, but during holidays we tend to be all together, almost all the time and so I don’t get that one-on-one interaction with the two of them. Of course, by the end of the year I’m well and truly ready for a break from it, but now, after a five week break, I’m ready to get back into our ‘normal’ routine.
So far today we’ve spent a bit of time on Reading Eggs and I asked Finn to identify words on some flashcards to see just how many he remembered. He got 22 out of 110 which is a disappointing, but no surprise, given that he was saying “don’t know” often without actually looking at the cards. Our boy is not enthused by words.
Leila demanded Wiggles (her latest obsession) and so is watching a DVD, in spite of my ‘rule’ that there would be no telly until after lunch. Everybody had a pretty late night last night and Leila was up at 6 this morning so I’m opting for the path of least resistance. Good intentions can wait until we’re better rested.
I’ve had a few potential blog entries bouncing around in my head. One is about resilience. There’s another about just how lame our efforts to be ecologically aware really are. And a third one about my first efforts at crocheting granny squares. Mentioning them here is no guarantee that they’ll get written. When I sit down to type these things I find that eloquence eludes me and what comes out sounds ridiculously clumsy and lame. I suspect it’s just a lack of practice, but I could also just be a crap writer … No way really of knowing, I suppose until I actually write something, is there?
Purple multi-focals. My prescription is just high enough that I need my glasses to read just about everything and was always taking them on and off and forgetting where I’d left them. Now I just need to get used to looking through the right bits at the right times.
Ok, so I’m a little late on the New Year resolution bandwagon. I never feel as though the year has really started until after the 28th of January (my birthday), so I’m actually a bit early. And, in any case, this year I’m making ‘Not-Resolutions’, so it doesn’t really apply to me at all.
These ‘Not-Resolutions’ are, as far as possible, not about self-improvement. They will not include determinations about losing weight, getting fit, starting a course of study or any of those sorts of things. They are, instead, things I would like to do this year, which may, or may not, have an element of self-improvement associated with them. If they do, it’s purely incidental and not actually the goal of the ‘Not-Resolution’. The goal is always to do something I want to do. No more, no less. Read the rest of this entry »
The problem with having a broken night’s sleep and then having a nap in the middle of the following day is that I find myself unable to sleep the next night, ie. right now. This means I will be tired tomorrow and may well need another nap to get through the day, which will affect my ability to sleep tomorrow night as well.
It also means that I find myself either lying in bed letting my head run away with itself, looking for things to worry or be annoyed about, or sitting up phaffing on the internet, wondering how something so big and varied could be so terribly boring.
I was just lying awake, listening to the dog shaking her head (ear troubles), and I had a bit of a revelation. Since I tend to forget these 3am revelations in the daylight, I figured I should record it while I wait for the pooch to settle down.
The tidiness and cleanliness of our house has been a big cause of anxiety for me since I stopped working. The other homes I’ve been into around here are always spotless and neat. Our place is crammed with stuff (which I am perpetually trying to reduce) and comparatively grubby. Since looking after the house is a big part of my responsibilities as a SAHM, I feel like a bit of a failure when I compare our home with other people’s. I know we shouldn’t compare ourselves to others, but, honestly, who doesn’t? It hasn’t been helped that the default position of the other women I’ve met has been that their homes are ‘filthy’. If a floor so clean you can eat off it is filthy, what does one make of our poor ruined carpet? I hope you can see my problem here.
The whole issue has been on my mind yet again because Finn has a friend coming over to play tomorrow. Mark organised it – I have been too paralysed by anxiety to arrange any play dates at our place, to my shame. I was starting to make a mental list of all the things that would need to be done before this boy came to our house when I had my revelation: This is our house. This is how we live. Not anybody else. Visitors need to take us as we are.
I will tidy up a bit. I may even wave a cloth in the direction of the toilet and bathroom, but that’s the limit. I will resist the urge to behave like a lunatic all morning and make everyone else miserable trying to make our house reach someone else’s standard. At least I’ll try.
I’m pretty sure I’ve posted about this before, but it bears repeating.
Over the last couple of years I’ve used this post on Girl Detective as my inspiration for the kids’ Christmas presents. I really like the sentiment of it and I find that using it as a guide makes it easy to keep within a budget when I go to the big sales in the middle of the year. This year their five gifts will come from Santa. Since they can’t read yet, I can tell you what they’re getting.
Finn first:
To Hug and Love: A Ben 10 watch and a Bionicle – nothing says the gift has to be soft and he will love these.
To Read: A set of these books. They may be a little old for him, but I’m hoping he’ll enjoy sitting and reading them with Mark and I.
A Game: He’ll be getting Junior Scrabble in the hope that a game that promotes reading and learning words increase his interest in those things.
Artistic Expression: A box of Lego bricks. Yes, he already has lots of Lego and will definitely get more, but all those sets always lack the basic bricks which can be used to make so many more things.
Activity: We’re all sharing this one so I’ll explain it later.
Now, for Leila:
To Hug and Love: One of these dolls. It’s about the size of a newborn baby so we can pick up cheap baby clothes to dress it in.
To Read: A set of little Fairy and Ballerina books. As Leila has largely inherited the Finn’s books, we don’t have many girlie books around. These are an introduction to all things frilly.
A Game: We’ve got a Mr Potato Head game. She loves ‘Tato Head’ and this should be an introduction to co-operative game playing.
Artistic Expression: A box of Duplo bricks. She has played with Finn’s Lego, but it’s time she had some of her own. This will expand the Thomas Duplo she inherited from Finn and the Duplo we recently picked up at an op shop nicely.
Activity: There are two gifts of ‘activity’ this year from Santa. The first is a Totem Tennis set that can go camping with us, or to Grandma’s, or anywhere we may need something to do. I always wanted one as a kid, so there’s a bit of childhood wish gratification for me in it too.
The second (and big one) is a Nintendo Wii. Given that Mark and Finn enjoy playing console games together, it seemed an obvious thing to get this Christmas. Lots of the games are played standing up and moving around, which is a very good thing and there’s a big range of games so that something should appeal to each of us. And it’s been a while since we had a big new gadget to play with.
The presents for the kids from us are more indulgent. Finn is getting the ‘big new drill‘ from the Lego Power Miners range that he’s been talking about for months, as well as some Ben 10 books and a DVD. Leila is getting a Ninky Nonk, a little set of Charlie and Lola books and a Playdough set – all things she adores.
This is all very indulgent, but then that’s what Christmas is really about for us non-religious types, isn’t it? Mark and I are not buying gifts for each other this year – the Wii is filling that space – and we will help Finn choose something small for each of us from him and Leila. The thing I love is that, apart from those gifts from the kids to us, Finn’s gift for Leila (she’s got him a big Bionicle) and the Wii which is still on layby, it’s all wrapped and packed, ready to be put out on Christmas Eve. Beats putting up a trampoline at 10pm.