I have been slack...very slack

Just cleaned out the fruit and vege drawer in the fridge. It hasn't been done for quite a while (the last time I cleaned out the fridge I ran out of time to do the fruit and vege drawer). It was disgusting - 1/4 full of fruit and veges in advanced states of decomposition (not just a little bit of mould) and 1/8 full of things not fit for human consumption (ie. starting to go mouldy).

Nice and cozy...

Yesterday, we finally finished installing the insulation in our roof. It feels good to have finished what has been a challenging task at times (squeezing into very small, tight spaces). And although we haven't had many really cold nights yet (and no really, really, cold nights yet), we have noticed on those nights, that the heaters in the kids rooms don't need to be turned up anywhere near as warm as we were having to last year to keep their rooms at 18C (we learnt last year that WHO states that inside living temperature for general health [with specific benefits to respiratory health and rest] is 18C and at the lowest 16C for any length of time.)

We've only just finished the stuff in the living/dining room ceiling so have yet to find out what we notice in relation to evening temperatures (when we're sitting around after the kids are in bed) or morning temperatures (when we first get up in the morning) after a cold night.

Queens Birthday

Here in NZ, we had a public holiday today. The kids were very appreciative of the extra day in the weekend and wanted to know why we had the holiday. We told them it was the Queens Birthday holiday (which it is!). Ben then asked if we were having cake, seen as it's a birthday and all... which sounded like a good idea to us...

It's June

And I'm sitting here in shorts and a T-shirt with no shoes on. We haven't had a heater on all day. One of the following must be true:

1. Our new insulation is doing a marvellous job.
2. I'm just really tough.
3. I'm just really crazy.
4. Winter is really yet to arrive.

I think it's the last one.

We have a golfer!

At the park we went to yesterday there's a mini-golf course. On the way home, I tried to explain to Ben how golf worked - he's never really seen it before. Anyway, this afternoon he wanted to go outside and play with a ball, and wanted something different (he wanted netball or soccer actually!), so I suggested how about golf. We don't have any golf clubs in our house, so I had to make one... and we weren't about to make holes in our garden, so we had to improvise:

PS: I think it must be a video weekend or something!

Here we go again...

Yesterday, I did my first session of serious planning/preparing materials for Kids church next term. We are going to be looking at Colossians. So far it seems to be going quicker than the last couple of terms (maybe because I'm getting more practised/getting more of a rhythm to the whole process).

Planning ahead...

While waiting to fall asleep last night (which I found rather difficult - it was the 1st night in a week that I hadn't had the assistance of an antihistamine to induce sleep), I realised that our really busy half of the year is about to start (as it has been for the past 3 years). It starts with Peter's birthday at the end of this month; school holidays in July; then we have both Joanna's birthday and our annual snow holiday in August; followed soon after by 3 weeks back in Brisbane for holiday/work (QCS marking); October is more school holidays and Naomi's birthday; November is Ben's birthday and mine and then as you are all aware December is school holidays and Christmas.

Some videos...

Took the kids to the park yesterday afternoon... and took some video on my phone. Dodgy quality, but that's not really the point is it:

performance

Joanna performed in an impromptu performance during mat time at kindy last week.

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Soup

I'm enjoying soup season at the moment (I might get sick of them as it will be soup weather here until November!). It is great being able to stick a bunch of ingredients in a pot and in a matter of 30min max, have a great tasting soup (I've been using Donna Hays '25 Fast soup' recipes from her winter magazine last year). They are an easy way to have a meal that is packed full of veggies without you really noticing it. Soups are also great for making double quantity and freezing half to use as an easy meal later. I'm also going to use some of the halves to give to a couple of friends who are pregnant and due in the next couple of months.

The soups I've been making include:

• tomato, salami and chickpea soup
• honey-roasted parsnip soup
• asian chicken and corn soup
• sweet potato and chickpea soup
• pea, spinach and ham soup
• tomato soup with meatballs