A very strong and brave woman I know went to a GP recently to ask for a referral. This was after a few years of ups and downs, researching (for herself) for a treatment for her seemingly untreatable ailment, only to be told by the GP (speaking of her ailment) “it’s not going to kill you, you know, it’s just a nuisance”! The woman asked “do you know anything about this said ailment?” to which the GP replied, “NO, it’s not an area I have studied”.

So I don’t need to mention that no opinion was actually sought, just a piece of paper, nor do I need to mention the lack of bedside manor, zero empathy or extreme rudeness displayed by this medical professional. There was no encouragement or positivity or even happiness for the strong and brave woman who has gone out and searched for her own answers and quite possibly found a cure by being tenacious and determined. My point? I’m not ragging on GPs, there are unethical & irresponsible practitioners of all kinds (including Naturopaths), my point is, don’t be discouraged, don’t give up & don’t take no for an answer, you are responsible for your own health & happiness. People are being told they have 3 months to live and then ridding themselves of cancer by taking control. Never accept the words “just live with it” if it means your life will not be lead the way you want it to be!  This strong and brave woman has had tissue boxes shoved in her face because she’s supposed to have broken down, been told that no treatment would work and it’s all about management from here on in. She has sought and tried treatments that have not been successful, but this has not stopped her from continuing her search, perhaps this next one will not work, but she will have tried and I have hope. In fact, I’m excited because this treatment is the first of it’s kind in Australia and groundbreaking around the world, so I’m scared too. But it’s not about me, I’m just writing this from my view point, I can’t even begin to imagine how this strong and brave women feels. 

The chickens should come first not the blog! But when I get excited (or angry, frustrated, happy, sad) about something, as well as telling everyone about it, I write about it! So finally, after much reading, day dreaming, longing, and more reading, I’ve chosen my chicken coop! (yes I bet you thought I was going to say something much more interesting than that didn’t you!) And I found ONE place that sells the coop, hay, feed, waterer and feeder (perhaps not exactly what they are called?), but most importantly….THE CHICKENS too!.......

I don’t know what exactly it is about having chooks that appeals to me. I know they are great pets, they have personalities of their own, so I think it will be fantastic for my children who are two and four & continually harass our poor old dog so they'll get to learn to love and care for more fragile living creatures! The eggs are definitely appealing and one of the original draw cards! As I get more into the veggie garden I am excited by the prospect of being able to use the chook poo/hay combo as an organic fertiliser and I am also very keen on the idea of having another disposal for our food scraps, as the worms don’t have the appetite I had first anticipated so I’m still putting a lot of waste into the green bin!

I’ve been known to jump in head first without researching things but there are a few reasons why I haven’t been able to do that in this situation, therefore I’ve been able to really find out what I’m getting myself in for and there seems to be nothing anyone can say that is going to put me off. I’m fixed!!

Today I learnt that you can't put the chook manure straight onto your garden, it has to sit separate or in the compost for about a month before being introduced (unless the plants are quite mature), so I'm going to have to hijack another small section of the garden for 'manure management'! Slowly but surely I will get rid of those pompus box hedges!

There are a few considerations and things that may make being a chook owner a little more challenging (yes other than 'manure management'). Firstly we have to secure the veggie patch or apparently the chooks will ravage it. Secondly we have to secure an area of the backyard so they don’t go places they shouldn’t (like in the house) when they are left to roam & forage. People have told me and I've read, that they poo all over everything, dig up everything, they attract rodents (they want their food) and foxes (the chooks are their food). I'm also concerned that our dog may not think the chooks are welcome in his yard so there will definitely be some kind of timetable drawn up so everybody gets their fair share of 'outside time'. I also read an article today that recommended chatting to your neighbours before going down the chook road to see how they feel about the situation. I'm definitely all for avoiding a run-in with those we share a fence with, they are lovely people, but this chat is not going to happen because no one is going to stand between me and my chooks (just kidding, I'm not that crazy, I'm just not going to ask my neighbours permission!).   

On my chickenless drive home from the farm that we're buying them from I ask my son.... "are you going to help me look after the chooks?" and he replies "yes...and we're not allowed to chase them"!! I think he'll be a great help!

So anyway, there's all the hype about my next adventure. Feels a bit empty and lonely, but I'm sure my next instalment will be full of life!!

Happy Living!

Part 2 - The girls are here!

We finally have two chooks! Some of you might think 'big deal, why would you want those', or others may be thinking, 'big deal, we have them too' (actually if you have chooks you're probably excited for me because you know how amazing they are!) But, now they're here, in our back yard, and I'm one happy little chook owner! Our kids love having them as part of our family and my husband has taken to them too. They definitely give the kids a sense of responsibility because they are able to help feed the chooks, change the hay, let them out and usher them back in if needed, and the best part, collect the eggs (although we've lost a few between the coop and the kitchen so we're working on that!) and we've all been spending much more time outside in the backyard the last few weeks (helped by the beautiful weather of course).

The first week when we let them out to roam free they just wandered around the yard exploring and foraging and didn't really take much notice of us. Now they follow us around wanting some company, they will peck at any part of you if you stand still for more than a few seconds and are generally really good company! They are absolutely beautiful birds and fascinating to watch too. If they're out to roam free I'll keep going outsite to check on them, see what they're up to and make sure they're still there! Seeing them wander around gives me a sense of peace & satisfaction, perhaps I could describe it as a very earthy feeling!

I still have a lot of questions about the best things to feed them, everybody I speak to and everything I read says something different, to the point of total confusion, but we'll get there eventually. I'll leave you with that for now, I really have no intention of boring you with my chook tales, but it's hard to keep the excitement in! No doubt you'll be hearing more as my next project is to get a range of herbs into the garden that are beneficial for the health of our feathered friends.

She can scream the house down at any time of the day, but often its 3am. Taking her clothes off during a moment of intense frustration seems to give her some kind of emotional freedom and if she doesn’t want to be carried or walk on her own from day care then god help the neighbourhood!

She is fiery, ferocious, moody & dramatic. It sometimes feels like she is an Octopus with the constant challenge of keeping her hands off things, anything and everything that’s in reach is fair game and will be pulled, poked, prodded and investigated. She can be full steam ahead and stop mid stride to check out something that’s stolen her attention, then continue on her merry way, in a hurry!

She is completely obsessed with opening and closing doors of any kind, to the point that I would like to take all the doors off all the rooms & cupboards in the house!

With the climbing abilities of a monkey she can follow big kids up any playground ladder with ease, wiggle her way out of her car seat & basically thinks the whole world is her climbing frame.

She enjoys feeding the dog all of her food, especially breakfast because that’s the meal that’s most likely to stick in his coat.

Tantrums in the supermarket are a given!  She won’t sit in the trolley (front or back), is too little to walk along beside me without pulling everything off the shelves (because of the Octopus arms) and refuses to be carried the right way up without kicking and screaming. Her brother cops a wallop on the head (from her) because somehow it’s his fault that we have to do grocery shopping.

The kitchen cupboards & their contents are preferred over the toy room & anything that’s put out of reach is, in her mind, easily accessible by grabbing the stool, moving it into a strategic position and adding an extra 30cm to her height, if that’s not enough then it gives her a little less distance to climb & there it is.  

Most often she knows exactly what she wants, which clothes, which story, what she would like for breakfast, it’s always a unanimous decision when she’s given the opportunity to make her own day to day choices. But other times, like at the supermarket or at 3am, she wants nothing, no cuddles, no Pink (her comforter), no Mummy, no walking, no carrying, no drink, no story, nothing! When she wakes in the middle of the night she’s asks for a “wink of water?” then upon offering will push it away and say ‘NO WATER’ then “wink nilk?” Then ‘NO NILK’ (not a typo, she calls it milk, nilk!).

There’s been a few night when I’ve sat on the floor in her room while she’s rolling around crying, screaming, offering her cuddles, winks & dories (drinks & stories) at regular intervals and all of a sudden after 30-45 minutes of this I find something she wants, maybe a book of a doll. Now I ask you, who on earth has the energy for this at 3-bloody-am?

So now she’s moved up to a ‘big girl bed’ and I’m currently sitting in the kitchen listening to her rustle around downstairs, I’ve given up putting her back into bed, if it didn’t feel slightly illegal or abusive I’d lock her in there and deal with the consequences (clothes & wipes all over the floor) tomorrow. After one hour I set up the port-a-cot next to her bed and within approximately 10 seconds she’d climbed out, of course! I forgot she was part monkey! She’s standing here next to me staring at me, wondering why I’m not getting off my stool to put her back in bed. I’m trying a new tactic! Perhaps she can stay up and we’ll have a cuddle on the couch.

No doubt this all sounds bad! And maybe you’re thinking “wow, I’m glad she’s not my kid!” (Who’s currently in the cupboard playing with the cups). But all the things I’m writing about are all the things I love about her, her strength, persistence and resilience. I love that she knows exactly what she wants and obviously at 3am I am the one who has the problem because I don’t know what that is or how to give it to her. Her intense curiosity will cause her spills or falls and she gets straight back up (she’s now trying to get herself a drink of water from the cask of Pureau with her drink bottle).

The majority of time she’ll go to sleep quickly and sleep right through, in fact she loves to sleep-in most days, but when she’s having a bad night it can last a week or two. The positive part is that I (& so does my husband) do love those middle of the night cuddles (when she’s decided she wants one instead of the moonlight tantrum).

She doesn’t take any crap from anybody, she is one of the most affectionate and loving kids I’ve ever met and she always wants to make sure everybody is ok. If she thinks you may not understand her or haven’t heard her she’ll ask the question again ever so gently with her face right in yours, about 5cm away in fact, head tilted with questioning eyes.  

Her tones and inflictions are spot on with the inquisitive nature of her mind, she mimics the sounds my husband makes on her guitar and so desperately wants to impress and be like her big brother and is devastated if he ever does anything to hurt her.

She’s a Cancerian (like my Mum and my husband), she’s two and a half years old on Christmas day 2011. Born with the head of a mouse and the heart of a Lion, I love my little girls with every ounce of my being and I only hope I can do right by her as she grows up to make sure her strengths are nurtured and her weaknesses become her strong points. God only knows (if you are religious of course, which I’m not so it’s really just a figure of speech) that she and her brother are challenging my strength, resolve, tenacity, courage, patience and whatever else (I’m too tired to think of more intelligent sounding words) every day, every hour, every minute. But I am better off for knowing & loving them both.

Now she’s in the small appliances draw and she’s hopefully tired enough to go to sleep when her head hits my shoulder (after my head hits the couch) after I get her to stop whacking me with the whisk!!

We bought our house two and a half years ago with a very formally landscaped garden and have been slowly adding or changing things to make it more ‘liveable’ and child friendly. We’re also slowly including things to make our house more sustainable & self sufficient, the whole process has been significantly hindered by the fact that we have an internal water feature caused by a very very shonky roof that needs replacing, so that’s our first priority. Now that the ball is rolling with the roof, it’s time to move forward and start some more interesting and satisfying projects......

We don’t have a compost bin because we use the council’s green waste bin that gets emptied every fortnight and the kitchen scraps & have been going in there. We’ve thought about getting rid of the green waste bin but then we’d have nowhere to put all the garden & lawn clippings and a compost bin wouldn’t be big enough to take them all.

I’ve got a long ‘wish list’ of things I want for our yard and kitchen so we can make more of our own food from scratch (bread, juice etc.) and to make our backyard more of a working yard rather than one that just looks pretty. The outside list consists of:

1. Veggie Garden – TICK!  
2. Worm Farm – TICK!
3. Chooks – still working on that one!