A little moment.....

I looked out the window tonight as the last daylight was fading and just stopped. I hadn't stopped like that in months. No one around me, nothing I had to do, just reality and I. I noticed things I hadn't had the time to notice over the last year; trees swaying, leaves green and vibrant, clouds moving, birds singing goodnight, a beautiful moon. 

Wow. It's like stress and being busy keeps you strong. Distraction and constant tasks build walls around you. It's a little scary how it all gets crumbly and starts falling away when you stop for a few minutes. It makes you weaker and the exhaustion seeps in. 

It's crazy though. How lucky am I? I walk past those trees everyday and mostly don't even acknowledge them. Yet they are amazing, we are lucky to live in a land so green and full of life and water. I feel very lucky. How did I get here? 5 years ago my life was very different, since then time has flown, and I haven't looked back. Whatever turn I took to get here in life, I'm bloody glad I took it! :)

From a childhood of turmoil and unease which I thought I couldn't break out of, to a life here in the beautiful remote countryside with an amazing family and amazing friends, a man like no other, and two children that have melted my heart. I feel like karma has given me a great big hug and said 'There you go. You deserve it. ' Well thank you. Thank you very much. The weight of my gratitude right now weighs even more than the weight of the hardship in finding my way here. 

We must not underestimate what we can achieve. The mind is an amazing tool of which we still know little about and our bodies are made of much more than we can comprehend. I'm glad I woke up a little just staring out the window. I'd hate to think life just passed me by. It's very short when you think about it. I appreciate everything and the people around me, and most of all I am thankful for the love and lessons my kids have taught me. There is no better way to learn true fear and unconditional love. 

Lets stop and listen to the wind in the trees every once in a while in our busy prioritised lives and think about the ones we love. Whatever the future holds, you have them - whether in spirit or in body. Shake off the disease that is negativity and take just one step at a time towards karma giving you a great big hug. :)

Green Breakfast smoothie

I've been asked a few times what I put into my breakfast smoothie, usually with a look of disgust on people's faces that see it. But wait till you taste it! It's good! And healthy, fills you up without being heavy too.  The main reason I do it is because I'm trying to get more raw leafy greens in my diet. 

So here goes: 

Ingredients:

 (excuse the 'rustic' style measurements, it's all about fun and personal preference so alter if you think you need to)

5 handfuls of fresh, washed spinach

2 handfuls of fresh chopped pineapple 

1 handful of blueberries

Half a litre of apple juice - not from concentrate!

Half a litre of GOOD water (not chlorinated, fluoridated tap water)

1 tbsp of organic hemp oil

1 tbsp of organic wheatgrass powder/or spirulina, whichevers handy. 

Blend it all up and voila! Pop eye? You can do better than that!

I'm not a nutritionist but I know the spinach has lots of iron. This can't be absorbed without vitamin C so hence the apple juice & pineapple.

The pineapple is in there as it makes it all taste yummy, and as well as the blueberries it is full of antioxidants. 

The hemp oil is for essential omegas, and the wheatgrass and spirulina may taste yuck, but are soooo good for you and go totally unnoticed with the pineapple in there. 

If there is no spinach then the leaves off our sprouting broccoli and kale are just as good. 

Enjoy! 

'Precious Play' ideas: Miss J's garden #2

What is going on with this weather? Crikey! It's not really like May is it? It's cold! At times I wonder if our little seedlings will be ok at night in 3-6 degree Celsius temperatures. Where will this climate change take our future food? .....

Miss J's garden corner was looking ready to sow a few weeks ago anyway so we decided to dig it. The seeds we'd sown previously in heated propagators didn't seem to take off so we opted for sowing the seeds directly instead. A little late, but everything was late in the garden this year as its just been so cold and wet. I think I'm going to put the heated propagators up for sale. They haven't produced anything strong ever. No idea why. 

All our seeds are heirloom organic seeds. What's the point in supporting giant food and seed companies selling hybrid seeds and having to crawl back to buy more GM seeds every year. I'd like the control to be in our hands, and I'd like homegrown organic non-sprayed veg grown from our own seed.  Miss J had the option to pick any seeds from the pile and decided she'd go for peas, carrots, and lettuce. Great! She loves eating peas and carrots, maybe this will get her eating lettuce! 

We dug over her garden, and 'groomed' it. ie. took out all weeds, lumps, stones (the big ones anyway) and sticks and added our own compost from last year. Then Miss J made 'semi' straight lines with the side of her hand, little trenches, and spread the seeds as evenly as she could before covering them  up gently. It didn't have to be perfect or symmetrical, what's the fun in that! ;)

Then off she went to find one of her 4 watering cans and filled it with river water and watered in her seeds. Voila! Very proud of my little girl. This time it's bound to work. I have much more faith in the polytunnel beds than in that propagator. 

....... That was about a month ago, and now?! Seedlings! Yippee! The carrots and peas are up, not quiet sure what happened to the lettuce, lol. Slugs or fairies maybe :)