Carrots!

When we put in the water tank and then set about filling the associated garden bed with plants, the girls were really keen to have carrots. The seedlings we got at Bunnings did not last long, but I've got a few gardening friends now. One of these fountains of knowledge on all things gardening gave me a ton of advice and hands on help sowing some carrot seeds back in March in the hopes that we too could achieve carrot greatness. 

You can see some of the carrot plants growing in this picture, from back in June. They took ages to germinate, and I'd actually given up on them when I found that of the over 120 seeds we had planted, some had germinated. I say some. I counted ten plants. Not a great start. 

But I duitifully watered said carrots and they grew with the rest of the garden bed, and at long last, it was time to pick them. So we did. To much amusement. 

Yep. Our carrots were teeny tiny. 

But I guess it's good that they were at least fun to pull up. And they were crunchy as well as cute. And our guinea pigs loved the leaves. Carrots, who knew they could be so funny? I don't know if we will ever achieve carrot greatness, and I'm not rushing to try again, but I guess if I had more garden beds it might be an option. 

Spontaneous Garden Bed

They say that during COVID-19, Bunnings was the shop that made money. I'll believe it. With people stuck at home, lots of people turned to their gardens to fill the time. Given that we already do a fair amount of gardening, I don't know that we quite fit that category, but we did do some spontaneous stuff during the lock down. 

It all started with our compost. Steve takes good care of it, in the three bins we have out the back behind the fruit trees. It was looking particularly healthy, and we were talking about how we had noticed the trees really respond when we had just used it on their roots. 

Out the front of our house, along the fence, we had put in (over a year ago now) a couple of trees that will eventually grow up and shade the house from the hot western summer sun. They were taking a little while to grow and the soil quality there was pretty average, so we were thinking of dumping the latest batch of quality compost dirt straight onto it, to help those trees out. 

But why just dump your compost on the grass around the trees and hope for the best, when you can build a garden bed out of leftover bessa blocks you've got lying around (from knocking down the bbq that originally came with the house out the back) so that all of that awesome nutrient rich soil doesn't get lost? Exactly. 

So suddenly, those trees you planted (in hindsight, not very uniformly we must admit), are now part of a garden bed made out of bessa blocks. The compost is in, and making everything look amazing and green. The eventual plan is to actually cement the blocks together to make the garden bed edging a little neater, but given that we ticked absolutely everything else off the list of things to do when COVID-19 hit, we had to leave at least one thing there right?  I mean, what's a to do list without anything to do? Really, we are doing that list a favor by not bothering to finish the garden bed edging.

When we do finish the edging, I'm going to use the holes in the bessa blocks to plant flowers for a pretty boarder. Until then, things are messy and we don't mind. The compost grew lots of tomato plants and pumpkin plants too, and we are just letting them do whatever for the moment.

We like plants like that. 

Pets Again

The girls have been asking about having pets for a long time. Rachel especially who loves her animals. We have had stick insects over the last two years, but I was secretly glad when the last lot died of old age and I no longer had to stop and pull leaves off gum trees while driving through Tarragindi.

Even though we kept telling the girls we would not be getting pets, and sensible reasons why, every now and then I get the urge to have something cute and cuddly to love. So when someone in our community was giving away three male guinea pigs and their cage, I was spontaneously excited. Steve didn't say no, so I drove round one morning in the holidays to have a look at them, less than twelve hours after responding to the original post. 

The first morning with guinea pigs.

The family were downsizing to prepare for a move and couldn't take their guinea pigs with them. They were happy for me to take them then and there. So I did. I was a little bit in shock as I drove home with a cage full of guinea pigs in the back, and it was pretty funny to see the girls reaction to these very suddenly appearing pets.

Rachel, drawing guinea pigs in her sketch book

Their names were Groot, Gambit and Loki, but we wanted to rename them to really make them ours. Name discussion took a good day and a half before we were all settled and happy with the names. I told the girls a firm no to any names that were descriptive or cutetsy. Speedy, Fluffy, Furry, all got resounding nos. It wasn't just my way or the highway though, we did pick with a fair amount of democracy.

Dr Rupert Marmalade

The first name we settled on was Dr Rupert Marmalade, who we call Marmalade for short. He is the crazy haired, orange/ginger guinea pig with red eyes, so his name suits him very well. Dr Rupert Marmalade is a character from The Bad Guys books by Aaron Blabey which the girls love. He is a guinea pig in the book, and not to give any spoilers away, but the crazy suits him well.

Sophie and Jupiter

The second name we liked was Jupiter. Steve and Sophie both like space, and I don't remember who suggested planet names, but Jupiter was the one we liked the best. Jupiter is a mixed bag of colours and the biggest guinea pig we have. He is also not the brightest crayon in the box, as he will often try to eat food from the others, even when there is food right in front of him.

Jupiter

The last guinea pig to get a name was the white one with black markings on his eyes. It took us a long time before we found something that suited him. I realized that his black markings reminded me of a mask, and I had recently re-watched The Princess Bride, and was reminded of the Dread Pirate Roberts who comments: "Masks are just so terribly comfortable, you'd think everyone will be wearing them in the future." Oh, so true Dread Pirate Roberts, so true.

Westley

Anyway, the girls were not fans of calling this last guinea pig Dread Pirate Roberts, even when I suggested we could call him Roberts for short, and since I had said no to many of their names, I felt it was only fair that they could say no to mine. Thus I suggested Westley as a compromise. They agreed and our guinea pigs were named.

Rachel and Westley

After we got them, I had a good half a day of regret over the whole thing. What had I done? What would we feed them? How do you keep them alive? Are they getting enough food? What will we do if they fight? But that night I cuddled Westley while we watched a movie and I felt better about the whole thing.

After a week though, I have told Steve that he absolutely has the power to veto any future pet decisions. They are cute, fairly easy to care for, but at the end of the day, it's something else to think about, be responsible for and costs money. I'm glad we have them, but I don't think I'm cut out for pets in the long term.

Rachel holding Marmalade, watching the other two in their makeshift outdoor cage.

Of course, having guinea pigs was a fun excuse to get out the power tools and do some building. After we had them for a week, juggling them back and forth between their inside cage and the grass, (and having to capture an escaping Westley a few times), I decided we needed a proper outside enclosure that could stay out on the grass and they could live in semi-permanently. I wouldn't mind setting up a bigger run for them, or somehow make a larger movable enclosure that the kids could sit in with them on the grass as well, but slow steps. I'm a little busy with a million other things at the moment anyway.

Get Into the Car

So often lately, I see the fingerprints of God in our every day lives. The way that I try and try to love our daughters with patience and grace gives me glimpses of how God is so relentlessly pursuing us with his love. As with the Cheezel's Moment, this too came unexpectedly; I was getting the girls into the car.

For some back story, if you are new to this blog on the internet, I run a family day care, so my car is usually full of a variety of car seats. The full five-point-harnessed kind, and booster seats. I am so used to installing them and swapping them around because of the variety of kids that I look after through the week.

On this particular day, I'm clipping the girls in, and there are three booster seats in the car (and a five point harness car seat too, though that wasn't an option for them). In the back of the car, there are five seats total, three in the middle and two in the boot. I asked the girls to get in. They usually have "set seats" or at least, certain booster seats that they usually use. On this day, Sophie asked to it in a specific car seat, but her usual booster seat was in another space. So I swapped the booster seats over for her and clipped her in. Not a problem.

It struck me, as I was doing this, that this is what God wants for us. When he created the world, he put humans in and invited them to be a part of the system. He told them to rule over the beasts and the land, within the framework he created. When I ask the girls to get in the car, it doesn't have to be a dictatorship, where they are only allowed one option. They can contribute, and have a say, within the framework. Sure, they still need to clip in (safety first people!), and be in an appropriate seat, but within that, I'm more than happy to allow them to shift things around.

I think it's too easy to think that God made us and we are pawns in a game. Or that we can only do what he wanted. Read it again people. God's desire is for us to partner with him. To have a say, and to be co-rulers. We don't need to fight for control, or tell God, "my way or the highway".  That's not what God is about. The parameters God gives us are for our safety, much like telling the girls they need to wear their seat belts, but within those parameters, well, there is the room to move.

Again and again as I read the bible, I see the times where God meets the people where they are at, and holds their hand and says "yep, I can move that car seat for you". Take Moses at the burning bush. Look at Gideon with the fleece. This isn't people "in control" or "getting what they want", it's God being patient and compassionate with people who don't get it yet, but that he wants to use anyway.

I sincerely hope I'm not coming across as all knowing, or perfect in my parenting. I'm really not either of those things, but I'm just struck by the fact that God invites us time and again into a loving relationship, and I got to see a glimpse of that just by asking my daughters to get into the car.

2020 Reading

One of my resolutions for this year was to make sure I kept reading. I'm happy to say that I feel I'm doing well with this, thus far in 2020. June saw a bit of a lull in the reading, but I'm getting back to it.

The following list is about six months worth of reading, so rather than overwhelming you with an enormous dump, I'm breaking it up a little with some paragraphs of reflection. I guess this kind of post is more for my own nostalgic and memory prompting purposes, rather than entertainment of the masses, but just in case it does interest someone, anyone, here it is.

The Healing in the Vine by Tamora Pierce
The Deadly Curse of Toco-Rey by Frank Peretti
Princess Ben by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
The Fire in the Forging by Tamora Pierce
Caraval by Stephanie Garber

I started the year with a bit of nostalgic reading; lots of things I read as a teen and loved as well as some newer ones. Caraval I picked up off the local grapevine and read in a very short space of time. Wouldn't mind reading the others, but I don't think I'm as taken by it as others I have seen who have read it.

The Power in the Storm by Tamora Pierce
Women of the Word by Jen Wilkin
Good Life in the Last Days by Mikey Lynch
Artemis Fowl by Eion Colfer
Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George
The Book Jumper by Mechthild Glaser

I was reading of the Circle of Magic series by Tamora Pierce, even though I have searched my book boxes and shelves again and again for the first book for the last two years to no avail. In the end, I just read the other three that I did have and was content with it. Women of the Word and Good Life in the Last Days are a deviation from the usual fiction content of my reading list. The latter was kind of hard to get through, but the former was quite encouraging.

I re-read Artemis Fowl after seeing the first trailer for the film and being completely outraged at what I saw. The book is brilliant and I think the film will totally butcher the criminal-mastermind character of Artemis. So sad. Read the book people, it's so good.

These next books are written for a younger audience, more pre-teen than teen I guess. To be honest, I was not impressed by any of them.

Wolf Girl (book 2) by Anh Do
Emily Feather and the Secret Mirror by Holly Webb
Awful Auntie by David Williams
Jane of Lantern Hill by L. M. Montgomery

The more I hear of David Williams, the more I want his books to be better than they are, but I'm always disappointed by them. I don't think I'll waste any more of my time on them in the future. Jane of Lantern Hill is much underappreciated in my opinion. Anne of Green Gables may be more famous, but Jane is just delightful, and I wish more people loved it as I do.

The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski
Blood of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski
Time of Contempt by Andrzej Sapkowski
Baptism of Fire by Andrzej Sapkowski
The Tower of the Swallow by Andrzej Sapkowski
The Lady of the Lake by Andrzej Sapkowski

These ones are all part of The Witcher series, the first of which was just made into a series on Netflix. I thought the first season on Netflix was really well done, and pleasantly surprised when I read the first book and found the show had been very faithful to the original material. Rarely does this actually happen (*cough* Artemis Fowl *cough*). I will say though, that while I pushed through and read all of the books I had, the later ones in particular, are a bit of a slog and I'm not sure they are worth the time investment.

The Magic in the Weaving by Tamora Pierce
Trickster's Choice by Tamora Pierce
Trickster's Queen by Tamora Pierce
Reckless by Cornelia Funke

Here is the point in the year when I was visiting my sister and discovered the first of the Circle of Magic series on her bookshelf! I don't know how long she's had it (at least two years!), but I was glad to reclaim it at long last. I then continued my Tamora Pierce reunion by reading the Trickster's books, which were less satisfying but still enjoyable.

What we've been reading with the girls!

They love the Bad Guys series by Aaron Blabey and would happily (and do) read each book again and again. We listened/watched Taika Waititi read James and the Giant Peach on YouTube and I read the girls Danny the Champion of the World. Now there is some quality kids reading right there. Hot Dog was ok, but nothing to write home about.

The Bad Guys by Aaron Blabey
James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
Danny the Champion of the World by Roald Dahl
Hot Dog by An Doh
Hot Dog 2 by An Doh

I'm hoping to read The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis with the girls next, but am having a small dilemma about where to start. Do I just do The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe? Or start at the beginning and hope it will be interesting enough to engage them until that second, and arguably most famous installment?

If you made it to this point, feel free to let me know what you think!