Parenting Fail

DD is toilet training her baby.

I had a little pony

I made a little pony
I hoped you'd let it stay
'Cause Mummy has been anxious
For some cute hair dressing play

I've seen you by the mirror
Admiring your pretty self
I think that you resemble
A pixie or an elf






























Oh - and that is a ginger beer bottle she's holding. An empty one.

Here are some layouts I managed to do on the weekend instead of weeding the garden.

"Bur-day 2u": this is what DD says when she sees a birthday cake. In fact, ANY cake is a birthday cake. If you ask her who's birthday it is, she will say, "Yidia!"

In case you didn't know you must sing "Burday 2 you, hip ray hip ray hip ray" whenever you have cake. I am sure you will do that now. Don't let me down.

I broke out the BG Lime rickey for this one. Love the paper, not sure I am happy with the layout.




























This one is an attempt to scrapbook those inevitable "school" photos. I've created a pocket for the class one to go on the same layout (behind the pink dot PP). They laminated the class one much to my disgust. Again, this one didn't really turn out how I envisioned but never mind!

making a pig of yourself

With the recent attention on the ethical raising of pigs for pork production I thought I would post about some sources of free range, organic suppliers that I use or have purchased from in the past (with good results).

This is by no means a post to induce guilt trip buying frenzies - what you do with your hard earned money is your business. But it does help to know of options available if your conscience is making you think a bit.

Eco-organics

I signed up to Eco-organics last year and have been happily munching their produce off and on since. You do have to register with them but once that is done, it's just a matter of filling in their order form and you'll get a delivery on either a Tuesday or Thursday depending on when you order. They will take internet banking or credit card (but you do need to wait for processing to get the latter set up).

I visited their farm just north of Kumeu last year. They send me weekly emails telling me what's new in the garden and what activities are happening. I rather like that connection with them. I've never had any issues with their services and I like knowing that much of my vege box is locally grown. Sometimes I've asked that certain veges are not put in (because we've got plenty in our own garden) and that has never been a problem. It certainly means I get a variety of vegetables.

I find this option works for me. I love going to Farmer's Markets, but I have so many commitments on the weekend when they are held, I find I don't get there regularly. I do grow some produce for our family but don't have the time or space to supply everything from my garden.

Eco-Organics are connected with Super-Janes Organic Meat. This is beef raised organically on the East Coast and it really does taste good. I've ordered packs from them quite a few times and been happy with the service and the cost.

Naturally Organic

Before finding Eco-organics I used Naturally Organic for a vege box. The quality of the produce was great but I found the delivery fee to be a bit steep. However, if you spend over $100 with them and live in the Auckland Metro area the delivery is free. They stock dry goods and other things as well, so it is easy to reach that target if you include things like flour, shampoo etc.

Their service is prompt and reliable, and they contact you if there is any problem.














Organic Direct

This website groups tgether a number of small businesses. Their aim is

"to assist organic and sustainable businesses to market and promote their products and services. With regularly updated educational and informative content, and easy-to-find business directories, we make it easy for consumers to make the conscious decision to buy organic".

I use them to order free-range eggs and chickens from Rolling Hills. Rolling Hills did a promotion via DH's work and I liked their eggs a lot. Of course, if I'm shopping myself I'll pick whatever free-range egg option is available. But if I'm also wanting to get a whole free-range chicken I can get a good deal through Rolling Hills: 2 Size 14 free-range chickens + 2 dozen free-range eggs for $44.70 (delivered free to my door). In fact, the last lot they sent me was actually 1 size 14 chicken and 1 size 16... so that was a good deal I thought.




















Havoc Pork

I've been impressed with the product from these folks. Their pork really does taste better than the stuff from the supermarket. Their sausages are great too. Unfortunately they don't have an online order option, but they are very responsive to emails. I notice they will now send a pack of a mixture of their products to the North Island for $125.00 (delivery included). I've also organised a pork fest with some like-minded friends and shared the cost of the delivery of a 20kg chiller box - we chose what we wanted, it was delivered to someone's house and we reimbursed that person. Works well.

These suppliers are just the few I know of. If you have any others you have used let me know because I'd be interested.

I'm also blogging at:

The Room of Infinite Diligence

I'm going to move my librarianship related blogging to the blog above. It's a joint blog with some other librarians. This is what we're about:

The Room of Infinite Diligence is community blog consisting of a number of professional librarians from around New Zealand. We hope that you will find our musings both entertaining and thought provoking. We also hope that not only will you read us, but will engage with us to create a community of thought, where librarians from all parts of the sector can discuss the issues and problems of interest to them.

This blog (Walking Upside Down) will be my personal blog for stuff about me, my family, crafts, reading round ups and rants.

And just for your entertainment:

DH to DS: Do the lions in Africa eat zebras?
DS: No. They eat meat.

bag winner!

Thanks to Random.org we have a winner! :-)

Step right on up

Beverley said...

rain streams down window
blurred lights shining through dark night
nice and warm inside

7:03 PM

Beverley - email your address to me at pdugmore2001 at yahoo dot co dot nz and I'll send them on down.

Thanks for playing gals ;-)

It's been 3 years

since I started this blog - my actual blogaversary was last month but what with one thing and another I didn't post about it then. So to celebrate (albeit belatedly) I'm having a giveaway.

I'm giving away a set of Onya Weigh eco bags. You can see a photo of them on the website.

These are really neat inventions to replace the plastic produce bags you get in the supermarket. They are see through so the checkout operator can see those pesky stickers on the fruit and what sort of vegetable it is. They weigh next to nothing so won't add anything to your bill. Mine arrived yesterday and I'm delighted to see these ones will fit in your handbag. I'm all for things fitting in my handbag.

You can read more about Onya bags at their website.

So if you'd like to be in the draw to win a set of 5 Onya Weigh bags you know what to do*.

Actually... since I don't think one should get somethin' for nothin' I'm going to make you do something!

*throws head back*
MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA. HAHAHA. HA. HA.
*cough*

In order to be in to win you need to tell me what is outside your window while you write the comment. In haiku format.

*rubs hands together*

Here's mine:

Upright in stacked rows
Silent until opening
Reference books wait

*NB: I will post overseas. Comments close on Wednesday 13th midnight New Zealand time.

birthday suits

Me to son hooning around house after his shower: Have you got your pyjamas on yet?
Son: No! my skin is all out.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

April Reading Round Up | Book Circle book of the Month Review

Break no bones/ Kathy Reichs
Struggling with a lackluster teaching position at an archaeology field school in South Carolina, Temperance Brennan discovers a fresh skeleton among ancient bones and traces leads to a free street clinic where patients are going missing. ~ from the blurb
Anyone who has read Reichs before will recognise the typical style of the book. But even so, I enjoyed the twisty bits.

The wedding officer / Anthony Capella
Naïve and already war-weary, James Gouding takes up a position in Naples in 1943. What he doesn't anticipate is that this involves a limited menu of fried Spam fritters and interrogating the would-be Italian fiancées of members of the armed forces. James's chance at true heroism arrives when a German tank is sighted and he is caught in its path. However, it is the imperious and dogmatic Livia who opens the hatch and yells at him to stop being such an idiot. Livia gladly becomes cook, translator and general factotum to James. The two begin to fall in love, but the eruption of Vesuvius triggers a chain of explosive events that will force the two to flee behind enemy lines and will alter their lives immeasurably.~ from the blurb
I really loved this one. I want to have an Italian grandmother who will cook me Italian food that gets described in this book. Apart from the salivatious (is that a word? if not it should be) food descriptions I also enjoyed the realistic romance.

Cataloochee: a novel /Wayne Caldwell
Against the backdrop of Appalachia comes a multilayered post-Civil War saga of three generations of families - their dreams, their downfalls, and their faith. Nestled in the mountains of North Carolina sits Cataloochee. In a time when "where you was born was where God wanted you," the Wrights and the Carters, both farming families, travel to the valley to escape the rapid growth of neighboring towns and to have a few hundred acres all to themselves. But progress eventually winds its way to Cataloochee, too, and year after year the population swells as more people come to the valley to stake their fortune. never one to pass on an opportunity, Ezra Banks, an ambitious young man seeking some land to call his own, arrives in Cataloochee in the 1880s. His first order of business is to marry a Carter girl, Hannah, the daughter of the valley's largest landowner. From there Ezra's brood grows, as do those of the Carters and the Wrights. With hard work and determination, the burgeoning community transforms wilderness into home, to be passed on through generations. But the idyll is not to last, nor to be inherited: The government takes steps to relocate the valley's people to make room for the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, and tragedy will touch one of the clans in a single, unimaginable act. ~from the blurb
Interesting story. Found the muti-layered aspect to it a wee bit confusing at first but the characters are intriguing. Quite good.

The memory keepers daughter / Kim Edwards
In a tale spanning twenty-five years, a doctor delivers his newborn twins during a snowstorm and, rashly deciding to protect his wife from their baby daughter's affliction with Down Syndrome, turns her over to a nurse, who secretly raises the child.~from the blurb
I admit I've put off reading this book because I thought I might find it too sad. I have a problem reading about "bad-things-happening-to-children" so was a little unsure if I'd like the book even though it had been recommended to me. As it turned out, I really did enjoy the book. Bad things don't happen to the child after all ;-) The character development in the book is great. Highly recommend it.

Letters from the Bay of Islands: the story of Marianne Williams / edited by Caroline Fitzgerald
Previously unpublished letters from Marianne Williams have been brought together into this book. Combined with background history and snippets of letters from her contemporaries and friends/relatives the book portrays the kind of life this pioneer of New Zealand had. I found the book very interesting from both the point of view of a New Zealander and a woman. We have such a cushy life in comparison. I also liked the primary source viewpoint on the relations between Maori and Europeans.

---

Book Circle: Book of the Month

In defense of food: the myth of nutrition and pleasures of eating / Michael Pollan
Michael Pollan's bracing and eloquent manifesto shows us how we might start making thoughtful food choices that will enrich our lives and our palates and enlarge our sense of what it means to be healthy~from the blurb

I knew that Pollan's book would appeal to me but wasn't sure how the rest of the book circle would feel about it! His style is easy to read but I thought the topic might be onerous for folks who aren't as obsessed with food like I am.

Pollan develops his thesis by discussing how we got from food to their individual components (e.g. vitamins) and why this has created problems for our society today in terms of health, biodiversity and even our social culture.

I particularly liked his advice (in the last chapters of the book) where he details his opening statement of Eat food. Not too much. Mainly plants.

I really do recommend this one especially if you are concerned about your family, the environment or your health. It's not preachy, it doesn't advocate going back to being hunter-gathers and it's not filled with scare-mongering hyperbole.

Read other reviews - updated as I read them or remember reading them (please remind me if you've already posted!). Or by visiting the list of book readers on my side bar :)
Sharon, Suzannah, Mel, Kate,

You can find more about Michael Pollan from his website but you can also listen to him here at TED Talks.

thames layout & philosophical discussions with kids

P1010997
Originally uploaded by pdugmore2001.

A follow up layout for the holiday photos.
____________________________________
My grandma died on Tuesday which naturally involved some discussion about death and funerals etc.

Mr 5: Why did MummysNan die?
Me: Well, her body was so old and worn out that God decided it was time for her to go to heaven. MummysNan is Pop's mummy so he's a bit sad right now.
Mr 5: Are you sad?
Me: Yes, I'm a bit sad too. So now we need to get ready for the funeral.
Mr 5: What's a funeral? *he's been to a few already but I think the word was new*
Me: A funeral is when we put MummysNan's body into the ground because we can't have her body with us anymore.
Mr 5: And the digger digs the hole!

And as we drove into the cemetary he saw the plot opened...
Mr 5: There's the hole that the digger made! That's where we are going to put MummysNan eh? Because she died eh?
Miss 2: Digger!
____________________________________________

After a tanty incident involving an annoying little sister and the discman I was having a frank discussion with Mr 5.

Me(in a cross tone): Don't you know how to be good?
Mr 5 (in a small voice): Yes. But sometimes I forget.
Me: *melts*
Miss 2 (in the background in a smug, self-satisfied voice): Timmy naughty eh. Yes. Timmy naughty.

Stay tuned for Reading Round ups and the Book fo the Month review :-) Oh and a giveaway.. soon.