Tomato, green beans, and kale harvest and preservation
The weather was not cold and quite refreshing this past Sunday, and so my partner and the kids decided to have an impromptu barbeque and harvest some of our permaculture garden’s bounty. My almost-four-year-old son was intrigued enough to join me for negotiating the kale plants and crawling the tomato jungle to extract the ripe specimen. We ended up with two large heaps of kale and two large bowls of tomatoes, resulting in some delicious dishes.
We cast. Hands empty, we wait.
In the early days of my relationship with my partner, he gave me a book to read. It was called “Faded Sun”, by C.J. Cherryh. I have since read many of her works, and she has become one of my favourite science fiction authors. However, “Faded Sun” has a special place in my heart, as one of the people in it — mri — have articulated what a key principle I have understood and harnessed in my life.
Book: Beyond the Rainbow Bridge, by Barbara J. Patterson and Pamela Bradley
Title: Beyond the Rainbow Bridge: Nurturing our children from birth to seven
Author: Barbara J. Patterson and Pamela Bradley
Source: borrowed from a friend
ISBN: 0-9647832-3-1
Available online
This is a wonderfully down-to-earth book discussing the Waldorf philosophy of education based on the anthroposophy writings of Rudolf Steiner. It talks about the subject matter in an accessible way, …
Permaculture garden first tomato harvest
After some time we had without power, I refused to go back to the electronic world. Instead, I took the baby into the garden, and she happily played while I dodged tomato branches and searched for hidden ripe treasures in the jungle that my garden has become. In the process, I have discovered a ripe red Romanian pepper, quite a few Thai hot peppers – still green but promising, two surprise butternut squashes (and by “surprise” I mean that as I was looking for tomatoes, I have bumped into a squash hanging …
Loss of power or gain of time?
It had been a very productive and busy morning this past Friday: I’ve taken care of many errands and was setting things up to have a no-distraction writing session in the afternoon. The baby drifted off to sleep, I tucked her in, and came downstairs to get into the zone. Unexpectedly, the room appeared quite dark, and, as I looked out the window, I realized that it was due to a large storm cloud hanging ominously overhead. The thunderstorm hit in about two minutes – just enough time for me to pull the stroller inside from the back yard.
Puzzle: Dragon of the Lake
Size: 500 pieces
Dimensions: 35.56cm x 45.72cm
Producer: Ceaco, Glow in the Dark series, 10-puzzle pack, 2013, No. 103013-21081-A
Artist: Jan Patrik Krasny – Jan Patrik Krasny was born on 8. may 1955. He graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague (1976-1982). Since his childhood he has been attracted by comics, which he has published after 1989 in several magazines and newspapers. The core of his …
Don’t delay maintenance or maintenance will delay you
Schedule and take care of maintenance tasks as they arise. Don’t wait until you reach for the resource in question only to realize it is unavailable without additional time investment.
Puzzle: Zodiac
Abolish perfection
Let go of the absurd conviction that everything needs to be done perfectly. Do your best. That, by definition, is the best you CAN do.
Combine activities
Find creative ways to combine activities that can be performed concurrently, to have more time for what you enjoy most. Don’t hesitate to experiment.
If you have a garden and a library, you will want for nothing
Puzzle: Tower Bridge in London, 3D
Size: 120 pieces
Dimensions: 76 cm x 12 cm x 23 cm
Producer: CubicFun, 3D Puzzle series MC, #MC066h, complexity 5/6
Original packaging: http://www.cubicfun.com/index.php?m=Products&a=show&id=43&bid=1
Puzzle: Following the St. Basil’s Cathedral, Taj Mahal, Parliament Buildings of Canada, and Read more
Puzzle: Neuschwanstein Castle in 3D
Size: 98 pieces
Dimensions: 41.5 cm x 18 cm x 33.5 cm
Producer: CubicFun, 3D Puzzle series MC, #MC062h, complexity 5/6
Puzzle: Following the St. Basil’s Cathedral, the Taj Mahal, and the Parliament Buildings of Canada 3D puzzles, I am now perpetually on the lookout for other higher-complexity puzzles made by CubicFun, and my partner found one in …
Puzzle: Sunset Blaze by Viktor Shvaiko
Size: 504 pieces
Dimensions: 45.7 cm x 27.3 cm
Producer: Sure-Lox pieces. Company unknown – I do not have the box anymore. If you have this information, please do share. There were 4 puzzles in the box: Autumn in Paris, Buca Francesco, Rue Lafayette Paris, and Sunset Blaze – all by the same artist.
Artist: Viktor Shvaiko
Puzzle: I have assembled a Read more
Puzzle: Buca Francesco by Viktor Shvaiko
Size: 504 pieces
Dimensions: 45.7 cm x 27.3 cm
Producer: Sure-Lox pieces. Company unknown – I do not have the box anymore. If you have this information, please do share. There were 4 puzzles in the box: Autumn in Paris, Buca Francesco, Rue Lafayette Paris, and Sunset Blaze – all by the same artist.
Artist: Viktor Shvaiko
Puzzle: Lovely puzzle with beautiful imagery …
Puzzle: Rue Lafayette Paris by Viktor Shvaiko
Size: 504 pieces
Dimensions: 45.7 cm x 27.3 cm
Producer: Sure-Lox pieces. Company unknown – I do not have the box anymore. If you have this information, please do share. There were 4 puzzles in the box: Autumn in Paris, Buca Francesco, Rue Lafayette Paris, and Sunset Blaze – all by the same artist.
Artist: Viktor Shvaiko
Puzzle: Crisp and bright colours, …
Puzzle: Autumn in Paris by Viktor Shvaiko
Size: 504 pieces
Dimensions: 45.7 cm x 27.3 cm
Producer: Sure-Lox pieces. Company unknown – I do not have the box anymore. If you have this information, please do share. There were 4 puzzles in the box: Autumn in Paris, Buca Francesco, Rue Lafayette Paris, and Sunset Blaze – all by the same artist.
Artist: Viktor Shvaiko – Russian artist Viktor Shvaiko was …
Seize the power of short time intervals
There are multiple ways to occupy your baby for 10-15 minutes and many activities do not take longer to complete. Seize those short intervals to get daily chores out of the way.
Puzzle: Colmar, Alsace, France
Size: 1000 pieces
Dimensions: 66.52cm x 51.12cm
Producer: Big Ben
Puzzle: Beautiful puzzle, not completely trivial, due to many small colourful regions. Some of the best places to tackle first are the blue of the sky and the water, sky and rooftop boundary, bright yellow regions, and the orange and grey building in the right quarter of the picture. The white umbrellas, green neon lights, umbrella reflections, and tall building in the centre …