Lately, I've been collecting free things for our garden.
I picked up hessian bags behind the local fish'n'chips shop today. They go on top of compost heaps or worm farms to keep the soil moist and living
Also today at Greenhouse Park after volunteering I picked up three huge bags of really nice mulch
Yesterday I picked up free cardboard boxes (already flattened)
I've been collecting things to grow seedlings in, including egg cartons, toilet rolls, etc.
I collected seeds from a tomato and a pumpkin to dry and plant myself
I also use our green garden waste bin to collect rain water
I'm also making a homemade pesticide by recycling a dried pepper and a tablespoon of garlic.
Sometime I'll do a thing of how many things I've bought and estimate the cost.
My goal is to spend very little money to support a low-maintenance garden the produces food and provides habitat.
13 October 2009
My Own Lemon Tree
I wrote this post back in August when I hacked up the lemon tree.
Tuesday before last, when I came home from volunteering at Greenhouse Park, I cut some diseased branches off the lemon tree in the backyard. Ants filled most of these dead branches and I guess they were harvesting some kind of food (aphids) in there (reminds me of the Matrix movie where the machines were harvesting humans like batteries).
Did you know why pruning a plant is good for it? When branches are cut from any plant, the plant will aggressively put down more roots and deeper. This helps the plant to flourish in health and beauty.
When some neighbor or power monger “cuts” me, I certainly feel pain by it. But I can then put down deeper roots to drink Living Water. I can remember to breathe and bask in the sunshine. New fruit grows better than before and any neighbors whether cutters or healers, may receive blessing from me.
Often times the life I experience and the religion I already practice is described best after reading Christian Scripture. When I wrote the above, I was recalling bits from 1 Thessalonians and James about suffering, the Gospel of John about living water, and Galatians 6 about the fruit of the Spirit. I’m pretty sure the Hebrew or Greek words for “spirit” are the same for “breath”.
By the way, it's not really my lemon tree, but as renters I think we're sort of in charge of it.
08 October 2009
Caught Up with Greg
Greg pictured talking with my good Texan friend, Corey: 
Sunday, before lunch and communion, we had card games and conversation:
What a celebration to be caught back up with Greg. Greg is ten years my senior. Back when he was my age, I lived in Campbelltown and he lived in Minto. We used to play guitar some, eat chips w/ gravy on bread rolls. He'd take me and sometimes others fishing off coastline around Wollongong. Snorkeling, bushwalks, etc.
A few years ago, Greg found Nicole and I online through our blog. We caught up over e-mail. Then, we visited the Gong and Greg had us and our teammates over for a grand barbecue with he and his friend, Deon.
We'd lost touch after that. But after living in the Gong now since Australia Day early this year, we finally found each other! Greg's son, Ben, found me on Facebook last Friday. So, . . . it's been good to get caught back up, not only with Greg, but Ben and Mark as well. They came over for dinner Tuesday. I'll put those pics up later, I promise.
Sunday, before lunch and communion, we had card games and conversation:
What a celebration to be caught back up with Greg. Greg is ten years my senior. Back when he was my age, I lived in Campbelltown and he lived in Minto. We used to play guitar some, eat chips w/ gravy on bread rolls. He'd take me and sometimes others fishing off coastline around Wollongong. Snorkeling, bushwalks, etc.
A few years ago, Greg found Nicole and I online through our blog. We caught up over e-mail. Then, we visited the Gong and Greg had us and our teammates over for a grand barbecue with he and his friend, Deon.
We'd lost touch after that. But after living in the Gong now since Australia Day early this year, we finally found each other! Greg's son, Ben, found me on Facebook last Friday. So, . . . it's been good to get caught back up, not only with Greg, but Ben and Mark as well. They came over for dinner Tuesday. I'll put those pics up later, I promise.
22 September 2009
Relay for Life, part 1
Last weekend, we participated in the Relay for Life to raise money for and promote cancer research, support, and education. They asked, What can you do to save a life?
I may write more later about it on the blog, but for now here are some photos.
My daughter is the little girl on friend/teammate's shoulders. He, Shawn, organized our team, which included a rocker from Sydney. The rocker's band is Sunset Riot. See lead singer, Del, reclining on the grass behind my pregnant wife. :-)
I may write more later about it on the blog, but for now here are some photos.
My daughter is the little girl on friend/teammate's shoulders. He, Shawn, organized our team, which included a rocker from Sydney. The rocker's band is Sunset Riot. See lead singer, Del, reclining on the grass behind my pregnant wife. :-)
Don't Oppress me
You shall not oppress a resident alien; you know the heart of an alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.
- Exodus 23:9
18 September 2009
Spring
Sunday morning I got up before Ella for the first time in a long time.
I ate a banana and left only to realize I forgot my cell phone. I came back and got it with just enough time to pick up several guys in Port Kembla. There were five of us from the Port Kembla Men's Group offering our services at Spring into Corrimal, an event that attracted 30,000 people. Here's a photo I took about 9 AM:
We set up a make shift coffee shop next to a food stall at the top of a car boot sale. Here's a photo of the car boot sale:
Here's a photo of the coffee shop. The two guys to the right and little dog are with the men's group.
After setting the coffee up I took a tour of the car boot sale and snatched up a wicked grab. I bought a Kathmandu baby carrier backpack for $40 AUD. New would probably cost $200 AUD. It's really as good as new. Ella hated getting put in it the first time. But once she realized how fun it was to ride in, she looks forward to it with great zeal.
When I found the backpack I only had $20 in my wallet. I gave it to the woman selling it and said I'll be back. I got a loan from the men's group to pay the rest. At the end of the day I spoke with the woman's husband. They were incredibly proud they were giving/selling the backpack to a good home. They asked if I thought we might take it on a trek. I said, "Oh, yes!" I asked them if they were interested in a Food Swap at North Wollongong garden. They were highly interested. I gave them my e-mail address.
I ate a banana and left only to realize I forgot my cell phone. I came back and got it with just enough time to pick up several guys in Port Kembla. There were five of us from the Port Kembla Men's Group offering our services at Spring into Corrimal, an event that attracted 30,000 people. Here's a photo I took about 9 AM:
We set up a make shift coffee shop next to a food stall at the top of a car boot sale. Here's a photo of the car boot sale:
Here's a photo of the coffee shop. The two guys to the right and little dog are with the men's group.
After setting the coffee up I took a tour of the car boot sale and snatched up a wicked grab. I bought a Kathmandu baby carrier backpack for $40 AUD. New would probably cost $200 AUD. It's really as good as new. Ella hated getting put in it the first time. But once she realized how fun it was to ride in, she looks forward to it with great zeal.
When I found the backpack I only had $20 in my wallet. I gave it to the woman selling it and said I'll be back. I got a loan from the men's group to pay the rest. At the end of the day I spoke with the woman's husband. They were incredibly proud they were giving/selling the backpack to a good home. They asked if I thought we might take it on a trek. I said, "Oh, yes!" I asked them if they were interested in a Food Swap at North Wollongong garden. They were highly interested. I gave them my e-mail address.
10 September 2009
Coffee, Chess, and Relay for Life
Yesterday . . .
I showed up to Port Kembla Men's Group and was quickly recruited to make coffee for anyone. Three men in the group had been telling/showing me how to do it right over the past two weeks. On Monday last week I went with A. to serve coffee in Berkeley. He showed me how to steam the milk and that was my job the whole time besides clean up, etc. (Worthy of note: I burned my arm on the coffee machine when I picked it up hot.)
Anyway, yesterday the group needed me to make coffee because the two main baristas were preoccupied and fully busy. One was preparing and cooking chooks/chickens, pizzas, and bread in a built wood-fire oven. That was lunch for the men's group and at the same time practice for a wedding reception coming up. The other barista was out back painting and doing some work on his car to get it ready for rego/registration. The back up barista is in Ireland and traveling abroad for the next several months. So, I got my chance to practice.
One thing I've realized is that often baristas in coffee shops have served me overheated milk in cappuccinos. Also, I like the flavor of coffee, which means it's got to have the creme (sp?), all the flavor and oils in the beans besides the caffeine. So, the coffee that has a medium light brown, smooth color and texture is lovable while instant type coffee has become for me "unloved". (The way you get this lovable coffee is by adjusting the coarse-/fineness of the grounds. Eg, if you get the grounds too coarse, the hot water will run quickly past them and only pick up caffeine and some of the flavors and come out blackish. You really want the hot water to pick up as many delicious flavors as possible, running in a slow, medium light brown stream. If you can ignore the sugar and see the espresso around the cream/milk sun pictured, you'll see what I'm talking about.)
There is definitely more to good coffee than bitterness, caffeine, and wasted milk.
One more note about yesterday . . . P., a Macedonian, beat me royally in outdoor chess. Apparently, I play too slowly in addition to stupidly. But P. and the rest of the advisors were kind enough not to call me "stupid," just "slow". So that's okay. One 36-year old told me I should play more aggressively when I'm down to just my king, queen, a rook, and two pawns. It sure wouldn't have hurt. That's a lot like life. When you're down and out or stuck, don't be proud or timid; make drastic changes. Or like Jesus said, if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out. It'd be better to thrive with one eye than to dwindle with two.
I think it was yesterday, too, that I registered for Relay for Life, a cancer support walk-a-thon sort of thing.
I showed up to Port Kembla Men's Group and was quickly recruited to make coffee for anyone. Three men in the group had been telling/showing me how to do it right over the past two weeks. On Monday last week I went with A. to serve coffee in Berkeley. He showed me how to steam the milk and that was my job the whole time besides clean up, etc. (Worthy of note: I burned my arm on the coffee machine when I picked it up hot.)
Anyway, yesterday the group needed me to make coffee because the two main baristas were preoccupied and fully busy. One was preparing and cooking chooks/chickens, pizzas, and bread in a built wood-fire oven. That was lunch for the men's group and at the same time practice for a wedding reception coming up. The other barista was out back painting and doing some work on his car to get it ready for rego/registration. The back up barista is in Ireland and traveling abroad for the next several months. So, I got my chance to practice.
One thing I've realized is that often baristas in coffee shops have served me overheated milk in cappuccinos. Also, I like the flavor of coffee, which means it's got to have the creme (sp?), all the flavor and oils in the beans besides the caffeine. So, the coffee that has a medium light brown, smooth color and texture is lovable while instant type coffee has become for me "unloved". (The way you get this lovable coffee is by adjusting the coarse-/fineness of the grounds. Eg, if you get the grounds too coarse, the hot water will run quickly past them and only pick up caffeine and some of the flavors and come out blackish. You really want the hot water to pick up as many delicious flavors as possible, running in a slow, medium light brown stream. If you can ignore the sugar and see the espresso around the cream/milk sun pictured, you'll see what I'm talking about.)
There is definitely more to good coffee than bitterness, caffeine, and wasted milk. One more note about yesterday . . . P., a Macedonian, beat me royally in outdoor chess. Apparently, I play too slowly in addition to stupidly. But P. and the rest of the advisors were kind enough not to call me "stupid," just "slow". So that's okay. One 36-year old told me I should play more aggressively when I'm down to just my king, queen, a rook, and two pawns. It sure wouldn't have hurt. That's a lot like life. When you're down and out or stuck, don't be proud or timid; make drastic changes. Or like Jesus said, if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out. It'd be better to thrive with one eye than to dwindle with two.
I think it was yesterday, too, that I registered for Relay for Life, a cancer support walk-a-thon sort of thing.
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