Try felting

I wish I could really write. I haven't blogged because alot of what I have to say in spring is the same year in and year out. Blossom, seed, rain, sun, slugs, you know how it goes.




I've really been looking inward I guess, trying to decide how best to make myself happy while continuing to support my family. I feel like 15 years of mothering has been so rewarding but I need to also reward myself now and then too.




I've worked as a volunteer and an employee at Playcentre for many years. I've resigned from 1 of my paid days at Playcentre and it feels great! The other one I so love the people I come in contact with that I'm not ready to let it go yet.

I walked into Playcentre at 20 years old, shy and naive, I was greeted with open arms literally! Most of my closest friends I've met through playcentre, we've been there for each other through post natal depression, relationship trouble, financial highs and lows, moving and buying houses, having babies, discussing abortion, immunisation, religion, death, accidents, gardening, sewing, knitting and everything. I have no idea where I'd be now without my Playcentre family, that's why I find it so hard letting go. I know I have to start now cos in only two short years my youngest will be off to school.




This week the daughter I prayed for turned 7. The son who saved me got his drivers licence. I went to the movies with the Playcentre girls; saw "Mama Mia" and I LOVED IT! Wished I'd got up and danced. Was Pierce Bosnian serious?



We had a kid free craft day. For full time Mums it's such a luxury.



We dyed using the vinegar and food colouring method.Wet felted with thrifted fleece.

Tried needle felting with one who'd done it before,
and went away feeling totally inspired.



It's amazing just to get together and try it out. The results speak for themselves and what better way to spend a spring day than with new friends and old with good food and intentions.
PS. Broke my felting needle while waiting for photos to load. Bugger! PJ wanted me to put more hair on the dolls.

Garden notes

August has been full on with the weather and all the birthdays. I did my seed sowing earlier in the month with the first quarter of the moon. Alot of those seedlings are up and looking pretty healthy. We had a good spring rain this weekend quite warm and wet. I put all the seed trays out in the rain as rain is better for them than being watered by the hose. I think they get nitrogen from the rain?

While the "red head" was at Montessori this afternoon I potted on corn cockle, Phacelia, cornflowers and statice from their seed trays to punnets. They all help attract the beneficial insects into the garden. I separated and planted out some parsley and lettuces, then potted up my beefsteak tomatoes. My back gets sore at this time of year from bending over the seedlings and bringing them in and out of the glasshouse so they harden off. If you put them straight from the window sill or glasshouse to the garden the wind and cold is too much of a shock.I put some sweet peas into the garden too, scented plants remind me alot of my grandmother's garden. She had Winter sweet, Daphne, Freesias, Violets, Hyacinths, and Roses. I think of her when I smell any of those.

Kez asked me about frost cloth.It helps in spring to stop the frost killing plants. It's a loosely woven, white, light cloth which we get in our garden centres. We need to start alot of our more tender plants under it and things like young avocados and citrus spend the whole winter underneath it. In my old garden we used fronds of a native? fern commonly called "pig fern" draped over things to protect from frost. It was more aesthetically pleasing than the frost cloth.

The family sit on the sun room steps eating fruit and throwing the stones into this skinny wee garden next to the neighbours driveway. I let this apricot grow from seed and have espaliered it's branches about 3meters along the fence. This is it's 3rd or 4th winter and this year for the first time it has a couple of blossoms at the end of it's branches.

Giant red mustard, just because it looks so good.

Thank you : )

Thanks for all the birthday wishes, I feel a bit embarrassed really because I've been a bit of a non blogger lately, with pretty vague posts, no pictures and not alot of commenting. So I really appreciate people taking time to send me good wishes.

Take a peek at what else I got for my birthday. Beautiful spring/summery retro fabrics.

I've been making an effort to get some bags made:

This one though was cut out before winter out of an old wool skirt. I need to get cracking on some spring time ones now.

I've sort of been pottering in the garden in between working and trying to practice positive parenting. I planted some early seed potatoes which I plan to cover with frost cloth when they pop up, I put in some carrot seed, ever the optimist that one day I'll have a really good crop of carrots. I'm still holding off on planting alot of seed, the hardy herbs and sunflowers have popped up as well as the tomatoes and peppers on the window sill. I've been enjoying reading the New Zealand Gardener magazine lately the collector edition book at Christmas really got me hooked. The monthly magazine suggests to soak the glasshouse for a week to get rid of salts that might build up in the soil. I'm giving that a try as last year the glasshouse plants didn't take off very well and that might be why.

From the universe

In the free box at the op shop, a birthday present for me.

35 feels good.

Snow, tra la la

I guess I should have known that as soon as I posted my tra la la spring post we'd be hit by a huge snowy winter blast. L wasn't able to make it over the "Hope saddle" to get back to work because it was closed with 2 ft of snow for three days. Friends in Murchison said they hadn't seen it this heavy for thirty years.
Aside from the cold, the wet and the fear that the shed roof was going to blow off, life carried on as usual.
I feel grateful to have:
a shed still half full with dry wood,
celebrated 15 years of motherhood,
some seedlings coming up in the glasshouse,
a night out at a book party and laughing till my sides hurt,
a Mum who works all week then saves my sanity by having the two littlies for the night,
apricot blossoms so close to popping,
and 10 chooks laying 9 eggs a day.

Spent the week sowing seeds, skipping spring is in the air and swearing at the chook that got in the garden.

Growing in the kitchen

At a recent seed swap with friends I was also given some Kefir grains. You use them to make a fermented milk drink which is good for your digestive system. I didn't know much about it and let my first lot perish somehow, so now with a fresh batch of grains I'm determined to keep it growing this time. Here's some info I found on growing Kefir , but I'd love to have advice from anyone else who's using it. My friend didn't tell me to wash the grains each time so hopefully that is where I've gone wrong. The ever suspicious and fussy kids are not keen on the taste but I plan to sneak it to them in fruit smoothies as summer comes. My friend told me the Kefir is something that should be given, not sold so if I can keep mine alive I'd be happy to share with anyone who wants to try it. I see there are plenty of people offering it for sale on "Trade me" and through the web if you're further away.

Again I'm wishing I had a goat or cow to milk, maybe I spend too much energy in wishing and not enough time in making things happen!

Sowing or sewing

Helen made a good point about pruning, if the weather is nasty don't do it. Disease can very easily enter through fresh cuts. I try to do the pruning with the moon but not if the weather doesn't suit.

The new seeds arrived in the mail today, I can't wait to get planting! I'm holding off till the first quarter of the moon to give them a really good start. I bet folks have already got tomato and pepper seeds going but I have learned in my garden that the late frosts will set back all the early seedlings so much so that the late ones catch up.

A bit of distraction is needed so I've got a project on the go to keep me busy. Fingers crossed this dress suits me cos I love the fabric, I've been hoarding it for a couple of years!!!

And one more thing, does anyone eat Jerusalem artichokes? I roasted them the other night, all the kids said "Yuck" and I wouldn't go for them again unless I had no other root veges to choose from. I wondered if anyone out there had a better way of cooking them?

I've been playing with the layout and adding to my link list because everyone has probably had enough of garden photo's and goings on for this week. I just realised I haven't actually talked to another adult since Wednesday. I've been fostering friendships here though which is nice when it's too cold to go out.

Pruning

Lance use to prune apple trees for a job, I found his tools today. I Love pruning!

It was a bit silly of me to not take Mum up on her offer to prune my roses though cos I still have alot of other pruning to finish.

Completed the biggest fruit tree this morning and my least favorite bramble, the boysenberry - they're so prickly. If you're turning a small section of land into a garden I'd leave these off the plant list unless you really love them. I've got four which I thought were going to produce enough berries to make jam, eat fresh , bottle and make wine out of but these four bushes take up as much space as the raspberries, require twice the effort in pruning and yield about half as much. I'd go for a thorn less blackberries and raspberries instead. Our single blackberry probably produces as much as those darned boysenberries all put together. To prune the boysenberries and blackberries cut out all last seasons fruiting canes and tie up the growth that came up during summer make kind of a fan. Easy. Peach trees I've got sussed too. Before......

.....after

When you select your tree or seedling from the garden centre have in mind the shape you want. All mine are vase shaped cos I reckon that's the easiest. You prune it to have four or five evenly spaced main branches. I like them to start low so they can be picked without a ladder. During summer I prune off alot of the new really fast leafy shoots and in winter I fix anything I don't like shape wise. Thin it out so there will be good airflow and sun reaching fruit to ripen. I shorten the end growth to try and keep the tree vase- ing out wards instead of upwards where I won't be able to reach the fruit. I don't let my fruit trees produce fruit for their first two years, picking off all the flowers so that they put all their energy into producing a good root system is worth it.

I found some buried treasures today too. Last year I didn't have room to put yams in, I've missed them, so I was pleased to find some wildings under some weeds. The Jerusalem artichokes are mammoth! I've grown them in the past for their ability to make a tall screen but these beauties will have to be tasted. I'm a bit nervous cos they don't look delicious.

Garden notes july- seaweed

I'm obsessed with seaweed.

I've been helping out a relative by managing a holiday home for him at Kina beach, after cleaning ready for guests I thought I'd pop out to the peninsula to give the dog and kids a run around. My heart beat with excitement ,( I know! I'm a pretty low maintenance chick.) when I saw masses of seaweed and leaf mulch deposited on the beach. Thank goodness my cruddy old station wagon was due for a clean out, I was able to fill a sack, some supermarket bags and 4 of my reusable bags with seaweed. When I got home, of course I didn't have enough. So I went again the next day with lots of sacks and some bribed helpers.

So that's the asparagus patch by the neighbours fence, it's thoroughly covered. The peach tree is living on borrowed time, if it doesn't produce with significantly less brown rot this year it's out of there. The little triangle patch next to the glass cloches and baby mandarin is also covered. Haven't decided what's going in there yet but I just love my garden at this time of year the control freak in me likes everything mulched and weed free.

See I've mulched more beds here with pea straw and seaweed over by the naughty chook ( prison) run. They go on weeding duty in this run if they get in the garden. No one's in there at the moment as they're all behaving and laying eggs.

Other jobs being done this month: Half the pruning is done, the rest is waiting for the last quarter of the moon next week to finish it off.

I'm not doing carrots at the full moon, my garden's too cold and wet but I've got pea seed in behind the asparagus right up against the fence where it's a little warmer.

The brassicas in the glasshouse are looking very happy on a diet of worm juice.

Cuttings of grape vines are done but there's still plenty of time to do cuttings of berries, grapes, herbs etc.

Tree tomato looks dead in the frost. Passion fruit is holding on.

Seeds are sorted ready to plant in the next first quarter. I'll do hardier herbs and veges in the glass house and tomatoes and peppers on the window sill inside. Feeling more low maintenance excitement here!

Not feeling like going back to work!

Knitting

Last week I set up my stall for an event our Playcentre had organised. We had quite a few people through the doors but I didn't make many sales. I'm pretty convinced it's because food and fuel are now so expensive people don't have as much disposable income. I'm optimistic about continuing crafting to provide a little extra for the family though as I know there is a movement out there which appreciates handcrafted items which have far less impact on the environment. My Mum is a great spinner and a good but reluctant knitter so we've combined our talents in making these vests. Since they didn't sell last week (alot of work still needs to be done to re- educate people on the benefits of pure wool garments) I've listed them on my Felt shop.
Finished this cutey, cutey kimono cardy too. Not too sure yet weather to sell it or gift it to someone so I can see it being worn.

Midwinter birthday

Yesterday we celebrated the red head's 3rd birthday. It was very low key, we all have awful head colds, sore throats and two of them have earache. The olive oil infused with garlic, strained and then poured into the ear seems to be helping them with the pain along with paracetamol when the temperature gets high. Daddy's at work in Reefton so Granny came to help out, back just in time from my brother's family in Adelaide.

I can't believe it's three years since he was born. I'm kind of grieving that breast feeding and nappy days are over. I miss my baby. He was born 10 days over- due and though I went to bed every night thinking, get it over with tonight, I woke up every morning saying thank goodness. It wasn't till my friend who was due three weeks later than me rang and said "hurry up I'm at the hospital with a baby" that I got a move on. I had him at 5 past 6 that night. Much easier labour than all the others and not worth all the worry I'd been putting into it. I'm sure it helped to have a brilliant midwife. The big kids came in moments after he was born but seemed more interested in looking at the placenta than their baby brother.

He started Montessori this week, settling in alot easier than I had expected. I thought the structure would cause all sorts of problems for him but he's OK and I'm looking forward to a bit of breathing space.

Being a teenager's Mum.

I think I've figured out how to keep the teenager happy and stay sane. Every other night after tea bake muffins for the school lunches, banana and chocolate chip are popular.
Several nights a weeks get all the kids into the car just as the moon is coming up and pick the teen up from sport. Let the littlies out to run around in the dark on the soccor pitch as the frost begins to settle. ( That will stop them fighting in the car while we wait)
Finally on Friday night let all the mates come over to hook their lap tops together to play games and eat you out of house and home. At 2am remind them they have sport in the morning and maybe should sleep. Next day when sport is finished feed the stragglers. Then to avoid looking at all the computers, wires, junk food, sleeping bags and smelly but lovely boys in your lounge room - go out to the garden, plant garlic, prune the plum tree and weave a fence.

Felt flowers

Think I have got "french knots" sussed now with this wee consignment of brooches for a local craft co-operative shop.
Have had my head buried in soppy novels since last post. Trying to avoid thinking at the moment. Too much going on, trying to figure out direction, passion and priorities. Well life actually.

Will be sure to let you know if I figure it out.

Garden notes June, updated

As we approach midwinter I was amazed to find a green pepper in the tunnel house today. Note to self: plant more into tunnel house in late summer. Moon calender says good for planting so put peas in for spring. Looking longingly at the raspberry canes, they're due for a good pruning. More garlic needs to go in at solstice. Amazing winter weather, no rain for about 6 weeks since girl drowned in Motueka river. Very surprised local Iwi didn't place a tapu on fishing, or bless the river.

Need to complete pruning of fruit trees over next 4-6 weeks. Would like to give stone fruit a copper spray, their productivity was very average last year.


In response to comment: As I understand it, copper is an acceptable organic alternative to dangerous pesticides, used for about a century. It is used as a fungicide on fruit trees. Last summer I had quite a bit of leaf curl in two of my peach trees and the fruit went on to develop brown rot. It has been suggested to me that copper spray might help while the trees are dormant and then again at first sign of bud movement. Other strategies I've tried are under planting with garlic and spraying with dilute seaweed. I picked off alot of the leaf curl and burned it and am also raking up the leaves and shrivelled brown fruit now they have fallen off. If I was choosing trees again I would go for older varieties which have more resistance to disease. My seedling "black boy" peaches didn't suffer at all. Please leave a comment if you have any ideas/strategies about brown rot in stone fruit. Also I'm living in fear of silver leaf, which I think slowly kills fruit trees. I suspect a greengage I bought last winter has been showing signs of it. (silvery looking leaves) If it appears this spring I shall have to take out the tree I think so it doesn't spread to my other trees.

Morning

I really must learn to use my camera properly so I might be able to capture how beautiful the light is. These photos don't do our midwinter sunrise justice but I wanted to post some. We got up early and drove to Ruby bay for sunrise, it occured to me that most of the sunrises I've witnessed have been here on this beach. We camped here alot when I was a child so it's a very special spot for me. I've sat here desperate in tears, round a fire with friends and sometimes just to contemplate life. My older children have seen sunrise here before but it was very exciting for the littlies. We looked for the seven sisters. I'm certain I found them but all the stars looked bright to me. We talked about why I'd dragged them out of bed so early and we made an offering. For awhile we snuggled in our blankets and drank hot milo then listened to the birds waking up while looking for toggles at the high tide mark. As a youngster I walked alone alot following the river through the bush, saying hello to fantails, moreporks, lizards and water rats. I use to stop and talk to a giant totara and ran screaming at my Dad when he started chainsawing down a Kahikatia for firewood. Thismorning reminded me I miss it.


Found this to refer to for fishing and planting.

Garden notes June 08

Got a big bale of pea straw for mulching. Half the garlic is planted. By traditional moon calenders the moon is not right but I'm experimenting this year with planting it at Matariki which is Maori new Year. You can read more about it here. The kids and I are getting up early tomorrow to see if we can spot the seven sisters constellation at the beach. I don't even know where to look but it seems like a fun way to greet the New Year. I want to see for myself if the constellation is bright because it signals a good growing season and I may have to rely on my garden this year more than ever.

Well it seems I've been ruffling feathers again at work. Apparently my friends have known for years that I thrive on conflict but it's only really dawned on me in the last six months or so. I'm sure I'm not trying to make waves but maybe I'm a bit addicted to it. "Hi I'm Gilly and I'm a **** stirrer" I like to think that I stand up for a just cause, equality,integrity, honesty and what I believe in, does it matter if I enjoy debate/always think I'm right?

I shall spend a few days meditating on it while in the garden. I'm not all that great at self reflection but I don't really want to make people prickly.

Knitting

I've quickly finished a couple of projects this week cos I want to start this: (From Special Knits by Debbie Bliss.)

I don't have a littlely this little but it's just so yummy I have to do it.

A warm balaclava for L cos he's freezing in his caravan in Reefton. Don't I look a bit freaky modelling it? I was thinking these would be easy presents for boys and blokes. I often sew for girls birthday parties but usually end up at "The Warehouse" or a book store when a boys present is required. And a rather dull but snuggly, warm, quick jersey, for the red head.

Keeping it real

If I truly had to be self sufficient this year I think we'd starve or get scurvy. I could barter lemons and grapefruit, but I have planted nowhere near enough winter veges! I might have saved enough pumpkins to see us through but the canelenni and berlotti beans only yielded enough for seed for next season. I'm giving broad beans ( fava) another chance after being totally put off them as a kid. About about a months worth of corn is frozen with about the same of tomatoes, a row of salad veges are in and drying apples is on the agenda but I only see them lasting a month as well. The frozen berries should see me through for jam and smoothies and there are a good crop of cabbages, spring onions and celery but I forgot to plant more beetroot for winter. The brassicas are getting eaten, we'll be all right, we'll just dim the lights for dinner! ( so the kids don't spot the caterpillars) and there is rhubarb for puddings after all. When the situation dawned on me I got motivated to clean out the glasshouse. I gave it a good scrub ( to improve light) and pulled all the old tomatoes out. I will put some pea seed in when the moon is right and hope they are ready for spring. We'd survive on calaendula and chickweed if worst camre to worst, from under the roses. I looked for my garden diary to compare the seasons and couldn't find it so I'm keeping my garden notes here on my blog from now on. ( see below)


In other news..... a great garage sale day! Got curtains for the sun room we turned into a bedroom for the "teen". Also I've been a fan of retro tablecloths for years, long before they were trendy in fact. Four today, couldn't believe my luck. One large sale was to fund Herceptin treatment for a local, defiantly no haggling on my behalf, I hope they made heaps. NZ Health system sucks!!!!! Fancy having to have a garage sale to fund cancer treatment.


In other news, the "teen" is at his first party with girls tonight! Oh to be a teenager again!!!!!!!!!! Very exciting.

Garden notes May 08

A very late feeling autumn this year, warm clear days. Still some raspberries on canes and grapes on vines. Beautiful autumn colours.. Dug in lupins ready for garlic. Mustard planted 3 wks ago all up and inhibiting weeds. Planted more mustard last week. Gabe knocked all buds off cherry tree. Arrrrah! Fejoias dry, Water more in summer. Cabbage white caterpillars eating brassicas. Paper wasps disappearing. Chooks off the lay. Finacially challenged, no lime this year. Good compost heap -leaves, weeds, sheep poo.

Sesame seed wafers

I'm a big fan of quick easy recipies which don't create too many dishes.

I use this one alot for school lunch snacks.

85gm butter

1 egg

1 cup flour

1 cup toasted sesame seeds (or chopped walnuts or pumpkin seeds)

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp vinilla essence

1/4 tsp baking powder

Cream butter and sugar. Add egg and essence, beat well. Mix in rest of ingredients. Place in teaspoonfuls onto a tray and flatten with a fork. Bake at 180 C for 10 mins.

A day in the life

I saw this at Sunny Corner Farm, who joined in from Little Jenny Wren. Today was pretty typical so I've joined in too. I woke early about 6 said to myself what day is it? Oh Thurs, PJ is sick still, don't have to go to Playcentre, I'll lie in. Got up at 7 am when PJ told me her bed was wet. Bother not again why is she bed wetting after several years of being dry? Is she missing her Dad? At work three hours away or her Granny visiting a new baby cousin in Adelaide? Don't know, changed the bed for the third day in a row, just as well the weather is good. Made breakfast for the two little ones, checked the big one had packed his lunch and organised him to light the fire when he gets home from school. Showered while they ate breakfast. Neighbour came over to borrow a lemon. Got kids in car by 10 to 9 to have skatey boy at dental nurse by 9.15 for his filling. There was an argument about who was going to sit in the front and PJ told me she was still dizzy and might be sick. Great, pack a wet flannel and a change of clothes. 9.15 dental nurse, 9.20 post office. Left small kids in car while I posted parcel, quick flick of a magazine. Hospice shop-nothing cheap enough for me. Txt from skatey boy, waiting at the library for me. 9.45 "Mum I saw your car at the intersection it looks really hippy". Dropped off overdue books. Sally Army and Red Cross, more of nothing for me today. Give the kids a chocolate milk for behaving in the car. Home by 10.30 all hungry, make sandwiches and cut up fruit for morning tea. Tell PJ since she's still sick she needs a nap. Try and convince the red head to come out and feed the chooks with me, nah he'd rather annoy his sister by bouncing on the bed. Got him outside by about 11.30 and he helped me plant peas by the neighbours fence. She poked her nose over offered me some old magazines and we arranged a garden visit to a local permaculture garden for next week. Inside for lunch and an hour knitting a scarf I've been promising PJ while watching Dr Phil of course. Drank about the third coffee for the day, got the rat bag into bed and cooked some macaroni for tea. Got some wood in for the fire , did the dishes again and went through the hair plaiting technique which PJ is trying to learn. 3.10 Skatey boy bowled in, "I don't want to go to soccor" and I'll argue the fact for a minute. Wake and cuddle the red head, get wood for the fire then into the car for tap dancing. (PJ's feeling better) Library again, a few books out this time, my card's lost can only get three. Skatey boy to soccor, back to collect PJ from tap then everybody can have a run around in the cool evening air until practice is finished. I crochet the tassels onto PJ's scarf while standing at the field. Txt from L he's got 24hrs off and is off for a social life in Westport tonight. Lucky for some. I picked up a bottle of wine in anticipation of the hyped up foursome when we arrived home. Fire's going. ( He's a great kid.) Turned macaroni on to bake, cooked a few sausages, picked some spinach , rocket and lettuce for a salad by cell phone light from the garden. Small kids have just gone to bed, bathed and having talked to Granny in Adelaide, happy. Teen is on the lap top, skatey boy is watching TV and eating cereal after eating more tea than me and a bowl full of ice cream!. Me checking e-mails, writing blog post. Plan to put washing by fire to air and maybe finish sewing a bag I cut out yesterday, while watching survivor out the corner of my eye.

That was Thursday! Another day in the life 15th next month.

Involuntary downshifting

Stuck at home with sick kids isn't as bad as it sounds you know. They slept most of the time, so since I was cleaning up sick anyway I did some l o n g over due housework, the cupboards and doors all look clean now and the worst of the dust has been delt to. (Must add sugar soap and disinfectant to the shopping list). I like being at home, uninterrupted by paid work, grocery shopping, meetings and sport practice. I like running out of groceries and getting creative with food, the "well" children had sushi in their school lunches today cos the bread, butter, milk, cheese and junk food have all run out. There's an oversupply of fresh veges and fruit but the "teen" thinks he's dying! I wish I could stay at home for another week but I have an appointment for "skatey boy" to have a filling in his tooth tomorrow. Other than house work and a spot of gardening in the adorable autumn weather while they slept, I've created a couple of sewing disasters: I planned for this to be my new bag, it looks great but doesn't really keep it's shape well while carrying it, I think I made the handles too short and a heavier weight interfacing may have been better.

The skirt is perfect except it doesn't suit me at all, I've tried it with heaps of combinations of tops/shoes/ tights etc and just can't make it work for me. I'm gutted cos I've been bonding with the fabric for months trying to decide what to do with it. I've hinted to L that a new pair of boots would set it off perfectly, but he's not biting. I don't know if I can part with it yet. If I can't make it work I may put it in my Felt shop . I listed a few bags there today.

Sorry, blatant self promotion. (council rates are due this month.)

Lastly, a present left for me at the back door while I was out in the garden. Cool eh?

Bread and Pumpkins

In response to correspondence from my last post. Thanks so much for the feedback.

I buy a special variety of pumpkin seed called "Austrian Oil Seed"pumpkin from Kings seeds in Auckland. I think their catalogue might be available to Australians too. These pumpkins have no hulls on their seed so you simply scoop out the seeds, dry them in the sun and they are ready to use as in my last post. I'm too lazy to shell regular pumpkin seed so we feed that to the animals. My Dad use to roast them in the old coal range then we'd all sit around cracking them open with hammers. A good activity in downshifting I suppose? The flesh of the Austrian oil seed pumpkins is not to my liking so we cook it up for the chooks and that's how you turn pumpkins into eggs! The reason I don't save my own pumpkin seed but buy fresh each year is that pumpkins cross pollinate so easily that within a few years the fruit would no longer be true to seed and I'd be back to pumpkin seed with hard shells. It can be done though, you have to get the whole neighbourhood to grow only one variety and then save seed from it or you have to hand pollinate then tape up flowers and mark the pumpkin. Koanga Gardens in Northland describe the technique well in their Garden Centre Guide by Kay Baxter, which I currently have on loan from a friend. It is a skill I aspire to master but will leave it until I have time for such activities.

I base my bread recipe on Alison Holst's basic white bread recipe. At the kneading stage I add approximately 1/2 - 1 cup of cooked brown rice. This keeps the bread fresh and moist longer. At the end of kneading I add seeds and sprinkle extra on top. I'm a beginner bread maker too and am just experimenting with what I can add. I often add some wholemeal flour too but it doesn't rise as big and the kids won't eat it as enthusiastically. I'm introducing it slowly.

Here's Alison Holst's basic recipe:
1-1@1/2 tsp Surebake or similar yeast
2 tsp sugar
2 cups warm water (as warm as a babies bath)
3 cups high grade white flour
2 tbsp oil or melted butter
2 tsp salt
2-3 cups of extra flour
My additions cooked brown rice and seeds, experiment with quantities.

Put the first three ingredients into a big bowl and mix well. When the yeast has dissolved, stir in the first measure of flour. Cover the bowl with a plate or glad wrap and put in a warm place for 30 mins. ( In the warming cupboard or near the fire. It needs to rise to about twice the original size.
Stir the mixture to deflate it then stir in oil or butter, salt and as much flour as you need to make a dough which is firm enough to form a ball (add rice here). Turn it onto a floured bench to knead. Knead dough for 10-15 mins add flour to stop sticking on bench and hands. You know it's ready when it kind of starts to spring back and it looks different, kind of satiny.(add some seeds here.)
Halve dough and put into buttered loaf tins with room to rise to twice it's size. Press seeds on top you might need to brush loaf with melted butter first to make them stick better. Stand bread in warm place again till risen to twice it's size. Bake at 200 C for about 30 mins or until lightly browned.