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Why Every Busy Mother Needs a Garden

12/3/2015

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My son found an old book of garden poems at a local thrift store and bought it for me. It's called "Green Fingers - a Present for a Good Gardener" by Reginald Arkell. There are some wee gems in it. Like this one:

Mummy's Garden

Mummy has a garden
That is all her very own;
She often goes to sit there
When she wants to be alone.
When she feels un-so-ciable,
She won't come out to play,
And if I try to peep at her
She makes me run away.


Mummy's little garden
Has an arbour and a seat.
Sometimes she lets me sit there
As a most es-pe-cial treat.
Nobody must talk to her
Until 'tis time for tea.
I wonder what she thinks about?
I wonder if it's me?

Picture
My children aren't little any more, but I still remember how 15 mins of solitude surrounded by nature can do so much to restore a frazzled mother's peace and calm! In fact, that's still true, no matter how old the kids get - we all have THOSE days, kids or not! I'm so glad I have a garden - and yes, it has a seat (pictured above). :-)

Keep in mind that this book is from England, published in 1934. Approaches to child-rearing have of course changed since then. :-)
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Almost Amish?

13/4/2014

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On this cold, overcast Sunday afternoon, I watched the first two episodes of a new TV series - "Living with the Amish" - with my daughter. In it, 6 young people from England spend several weeks living with various American Amish families, getting a taste of the lifestyle. A very enjoyable program! But what is one to do in response to something like that?

When the credits rolled, I found myself slipping on an apron. After asking one of the guys to fill the woodbin and light the fire, and my daughter to bring the laundry in off the washing line, I headed into the garden and picked a bowl full of tomatoes, some celery, parsley and a marrow. After spending a few minutes checking on the progress of our monarch caterpillars and sampling some beans and strawberries, I headed inside to begin cooking dinner - making a tasty pasta sauce from the things from the garden, adding stored garlic and onions, home-canned tomato sauce, salt and molasses.

While that simmered on the stove, I pulled from the freezer some of the lemon peel I had put away for just such a reason, and began a batch of home-made lemon cordial. Going to the store cupboard I pulled out a catering-size can of pears, bought in bulk at a sale and put away. After mixing flour, baking powder, butter and sugar together, I spread it over the pears and slid the fruit crumble into the oven to cook for dessert.

Popping back out to the garden, I cut a watermelon from the vine, and brought it inside to be cut up later and enjoyed, the thought of all that sweet juice making my mouth water!

Feeling peckish, I took out a slice of homemade bread, spread it with home made grape jelly, and enjoyed nibbling on it while stirring things. That done, I mixed up a large batch of museli - wholegrain rolled oats, various nuts and seeds, with some oil, honey and brown sugar melted together and stirred through - in a baking dish, ready to slide in the oven when the crumble came out.

Supper almost ready, I hung the still-damp washing on the ceiling-mounted rack above the fire, where some sunflower heads also hang in paper bags to finish drying. Raising the rack back up on it's pulleys, I contemplated the simple pleasures of a warm house, the smell of good food cooking, and family gathered around reading and chatting. Feels good. Almost a little bit Amish.

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    Author

    This page is my blog formerly known as Kiwi Urban Homestead.

    I'm a Kiwi homeschooling mother of 5 living in a small town. After growing 1000 kg of produce in my back yard in 2013, I'm now expanding my edible gardens even further.

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