Bits & Bobs

Disclaimer: I promise this post won’t have any more baby related stuff in it!  No doubt you are all well and truly Fealy babied out with all the news and photo’s of our little Kipp’s arrival, so we’ll give you a post off from baby stuff!!  A big thank you so much to everybody though for all the lovely emails, text messages and comments on our blog and Facebook Page that we received – it was so lovely to get them all!!

There are so many bits and pieces that I have really wanted to tell you about over the last month!  I thought they all deserved their own blog posts but time just seems to gallop at the moment so I’m just going to blurt them all out here!

First though, check out what just wandered out of the garden this morning while Matt and I were having smoko ……………………………..

10 Brand Spanking New Ducklings – good job mother ‘Georgia’!

I think there is seriously something in the water here at Blue Sky Produce at the moment – it is a veritable breeding ground, look out all our visitors coming over the next couple of months hehehehe!!

Also, look how much our new little pup ‘Beau’ has grown too – how on earth am I supposed to get anything done with all this cuteness around???

Beau 8 Weeks old now

For the month of April I pledged to be a ‘Super-Freegan’ /ˈsuːpə ˈfrēgən/ :- a fearless crusader who rejects large corporate supermarkets in favour of smaller, local retailers and producers.  

I really believe that we need to support our small local businesses (butchers, bakers, landscapers, farmers markets etc) more and that if we all made some changes in our shopping habits we could see some huge differences.  The Big Supers hold all the cards, they offer consumers convenience but at a cost to farmers, producers and the environment.

However, my crusade efforts failed dismally this month and I have been feeling really bad about it.  I do most of my shopping at our local IGA rather than the Coles, but I didn’t manage to buy all of our bread, fruit and veges, meat etc from the local smaller retailers.  Sigh, hang head in shame!! So, in order to redeem myself, even though April was designated ‘Supermarket Free Month’, I am going to try again in May – does anybody want to join me?  You can read all about Supermarket Free Month here and join the Facebook group here if you are interested.  There are heaps of tips on how we can change our habits, where we can shop and why it is important we do so – check it out!

The other thing I have been feeling a bit bad about is that I didn’t get organised and join in with ‘Neighbour Day’ this year.

“Neighbour Day is Australia’s annual celebration of community, bringing together the people next door, across the street or on the next farm for a beer, a barbie or just a cuppa.  It is held on the last Sunday in March every year, and is the perfect day to say thanks for being a great neighbour”.

I had thought it would be a great way to introduce ourselves (we’ve only been here nearly 8 months already and only met 2 neighbours!!) to some of our neighbours by having them all over for afternoon tea, then as I ran out of time to organise that, I thought maybe I could just bake some bikkies and drop a little packet off to each of them with a note to introduce ourselves, but in the end I just didn’t get organised to do anything.  Gah – another fail for the month!

We had the best neighbours in Brisbane and we are really missing having that easy relationship of being able to borrow things (although I’m pretty sure the Seaborn’s were glad to have all their tools back in there rightful places when we left!) and send the kids over for a play, and Friday evening spotanteous BBQ’s or fish ‘n’ chips with tired, grumpy, crying kids but at least it was some socialising! Anyway, I am vowing to join in with ‘Neighbour Day’ next year and in the meantime I’ll just have to work up the courage to have the farm neighbours all over for a drink one Friday soon!!! I’m a bit nervous that we’re not ‘Farmer’ enough yet for the neighbours – eeek – wish us luck!

Did you do anything in your street or area to celebrate Neighbour Day??  Oh and check out the Neighbour Day Facebook Page – there is a competition going at the moment where you can win $500 if you can tell a story about a great neighbour!!

Lastly, something we are getting very excited about at the moment is our new ‘All Terrain’ camper and the two week camping trip we are planning for late June/early July.

‘Black Betty’ – our new ‘All Terrain’ Camper currently set up in the back yard.

We have purchased a 17ft All Terrain camper complete with moon roof and add on kids room. Check out the You Tube video below if you are interested in learning a bit more about them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=XmfCWJaE3hE

We are planning to head via the Burke Developmental Road, to Lawn Hill National Park, Gregory Downs, Cobbold Gorge and finish at O’briens Creek meeting up with lots of the family, for our two weeks away and we are super excited!  Has anybody camped/travelled this route before?  We would love some tips on things to do/see, places we must camp??  Tips for camping with a 6week old baby???

Lawn Hill National Park

Cobbold Gorge

O’Briens Creek

So there you have it, a bit of a mish mash post of a few bits and bobs – hope you are all well!!