the way it's meant to be ....

life is a bit chaotic at home.

• paperwork in to council ... check
• quote requested from Pooh Solutions for composting toilet that meets council requirements .... check
• waiting for call back from vendor regarding grey water reed bed system .... ugh
• power paperwork in for approval .... check
• shed's for shower/laundry/storage designed (pallets, btw!) .... check
• maggie still seeking motivation to sort and pack ..... STILL SEEKING!!!!!
• waiting for resolution to mobile phone dispute .... no data usage if i am not at home using our local wireless network ..... ugh
• kids starting to feel unsettled ..... BIG CHECK!

we put our paperwork in to council over a week ago.  we were told best case scenario is that we will receive approval in two weeks .... but expect four.  this council isn't all that up to speed with composting toilets .... so we are expecting some issues .... but we did it all by the books .... which means they have no space to reject it.  but ready to fight if we need to.  interesting how we are finding folks who are interested in doing deals with us because if we get this through council, well .... it opens up a whole new set of clients for them!

and in the midst of this we are spending our evenings tooling around the industrial estates looking for pallets ... going to friends farms who have piles of corrugated iron paneling behind their  barns that we can just "take" .... scrounging whatever freebies or cheap alternatives that we can.

but, back to the present .... we are spending our weekends the way expect too for the next few months.  up bright and early with the trailer and x-trail packed to the brim with all the goodies we've sourced to take out to the property.  unpack ..... let the kids play for a while and enjoy being on the land.  we have a new rule for the kids .... they work for 15 minutes and then get to play for 30.  right now the big chore is making piles of mulch from all the grass clippings from the mowing .... we'll have mulch for a long time i reckon!

and there is always a way to play .... even in the midst of chores.  the boys helping daddy lay out the ag pipe we've collected (drip lines in our future) to see how much we have ... and of course you have to test the sound carrying capacity!

so we work hard and then we play hard and then we relax .... cause let's face it ..... and the end of every day, this is the way it's meant to be ....

.... getting to know you .....

.... starting to sort stuff ..... check
.... starting to pack and tape up boxes ..... check
.... backyard being modified for rental .... check
.... seedlings and plants being given away ... check
.... arrangements coming together on the other end .... check
.... tenant for this house ..... check

so it's all a bit of "slow mo "right now .... i could bore you with what i'm packing in boxes ..... but honestly .... that is SO a waste of your time!  i might perhaps write a blog post on some of the memories i'm unearthing as i declutter .... but not now .... not today.

but rather .... i thot it might be interesting for you to see my "alter-ego", checking out the life i live when i'm not engaging with sustainable agriculture / creation care and dreaming about farming.  what is it that occupies my life?

my children.

my three gorgeous adopted Filipino kids .... the light of our lives.  

so take a sneak peak into my alter life .... go on .... it won't hurt, promise!  

The Mum Thing

Phase One: the physical declutter!

for those of you who read this blog as an adventure in sustainable gardening .... you will have to forgive me for what may seem a tangent at this moment in time.

it's easy to think about all the healthy stuff that you are growing and how good it is going to be for your family.  but right now, because our lives are in this in between space with the big move bush ... it is giving me the time to see that our desire to be simple is far beyond just what we eat ... because our lives are much more than that .... it is a conscious shift away from the technified, over- processed, chemical filled, media managed chaos that fills so much of our world.  it is a mindset to not over engineer .... but to do life as simply as we can.  and for us, right now ... that is about decluttering.

and  oh boy!  are we in the middle of that.  with this move one of the first things we have to do is DECLUTTER and get rid of stuff.  no small feet for two pack rat parents and three small children!  but it has started.  a good friend gave me a loving kick up the backside.  i need to walk the walk ... i can't talk about living a more fruitful simple life if my family has too much junk. so we are:

1. putting heaps of stuff out for the council pick-up this week.  if it is broken, has no potential use .... in the pile it goes.
2. not sure if it's of any use but think someone might find a use for it?  it goes in the pile for vinnies
3. haven't used it in 6 months?  still in good nick?  goes in the pile for our garage sale.
4. anything left over from the garage sale will go out in freecycle

.... and hopefully what is left over is the essentials .... those things that hold precious memories and fulfill immediate needs now.  because everything else just doesn't matter.

this move is giving us the perfect opportunity to simplify and declutter.  physically, spiritually and emotionally.  phase one is the physical ...  so that the living out of our lives reflects that which we are so wed to in our hearts.

reflecting the beauty and simplicity with which this world was created

that honours the way our Father Creator ordained things

that puts people and not things at the centre

that loves ... simply

some practical decluttering resources:

• How to Declutter by Letting Go of Your Declutter Excuses!
• How To Declutter Your Home
• 33 Ways to Declutter 

happy sigh

the mindset is starting to shift.  not so grumpy anymore and starting to think about the possibilities (more on that later) and being ever so grateful for what we have learned here.  

lots of bloggers do "wordless" days .... where they let a picture speak a thousand words.  i love those.  simple on words, heavy on content ... and of course, GREAT photography.  now, i'm not the worlds greatest photographer.  but just wanted to share a few things that i smile and reflect on and how happy i am with where they have come, and what i have learned from the process.

do you remember my mammoth snow pea experiment ... ala "river cottage" with the pea tree?  well, here is the tree when it went in.  the idea and the concept seemed great.  i was really happy.  but would it work?

and here is what they look like today.

and they are gonna give me some great snow pea's to munch on!   we'll be able to harvest heaps of these before we move.

and of course, the front bed has lovely crimson broad beans coming up too.

between this batch and those coming up in the back yard, i am hopeful that we will be harvesting at least some before we move.

and my artichokes.  oh how i love artichokes!  and here i have moved the babies i grew from seeds to the front yard, after a massive trim to ensure work went into the root system to get them settled.  i have to say ... i was concerned i had "over" trimmed them .....

but, i should not have worried.  they have come back a treat.  and while i won't be the beneficiary of the fruits of my labour (gonna get dug up yet again and given to a friend) .... i can say with great certainty that yes!  i can grow artichokes!  (and yes, that is spinach growing in front of the artichoke plants .... yummo!)

all-in-all we have been pretty happy with what we've learned from our planting in the front yard.  oh, and i forgot to mention the pea's .... greenfeast and golden rod ..... both coming up gloriously!

so it's time to be thankful for what we've learned and get excited about what the next step of our lives holds.  thank you for your patience and putting up with my grumpy doldrums.  plants are being given away to folks who will lovingly care for and grow them .... i am even giving some just sprouting plants to a young girl who wants to learn more about gardening .... <g>  see, even i can inspire the next generation.