Community Gardens, weeks 34 & 35

I'm just so excited to bring you a community gardens update that I'm putting it in front of uni assignments. No, I'm not procrastinating. Really. Ok, maybe just a little. 

I am thrilled with our progress though. Another picnic table has gone in, bricks and pavers have been cleared, long grass has been slashed. Take a look for yourself...

Ok, while these aren't my rain lilies, I'm a bit excited to see mine erupt into flower like this. 

See, another setting in place, near the bike track so that parents can keep an eye on their offspring. The bracing will be removed later and the area will be leveled and grass sewn.

I purchased some weed mat felt squares. They work great, as these gazanias growing on a sandy slope show. They not only suppress weeds, but keep the plants moist.

Thanks to hubby doing a bit of overtime, we have a complete shed base. Now, to find some able bodies to help build a massive shed...!

My sweet little garden helper. I love how much kids love this garden :)

Hubby and Mick had the fun task of clearing a path for the ride on mower. Not easy when the heavy shed is covered in wet cardboard thanks to an air-conditioned shipping container roof.

It's spring, the season of growth, and snakes. 

The new grass has already reached a height that allows for mowing. 

can't wait to have a complete grass lawn soon.

Oh dear, the belt came off again. A vital screw seems to be missing, but Mick and hubby saw to it quickly. Granted, i may have been a tad adventurous with the mower. 

Note to self, it isn't a 4WD.

The little veggie patch, just prior to harvesting, 2 types of carrots and beetroot. The next crop to go in will be cherry tomatoes.

This guy is becoming a little bit cheeky and bold, especially round lunch time. My 2 year old is terrified of him. 

This area has been cleared of all the excess bricks and pavers, brush cut, and now has a string line marking out the new garden bed edge.

Can't wait to build it up and plant it out.

It's amazing what a difference a mow makes, even when the edges haven't yet been trimmed. And a dumped foam mattress really does make a brilliant weed mat.

Sitting on the bench appreciating the view.

*Sigh*

Looking forward to seeing blooms as I glance across this view come summertime.

And there you have it, the up to date details. I know, I'm excited too! 

More soon! Until then, thanks for reading :)

It's update time

The pro's of taking so long to post again means that I have oodles to tell you!

Life, as it does, has thrown some pretty awesome curve balls. It's what makes living interesting, and also, allows for growth. 

One thing I have definitely been struggling with is diet. Not that I haven't started including some pretty awesome colours and nutrient rich foods, because I have. It's that good ol' balance. Portion control. Not eating my feelings.

And here is where I groan.

I've done well on somethings, failed in epic proportions in others. 

Take a look through to see what I mean :)

This mornings breakfast. thank you, The Protein Bread Co for this amazing, cakey bread. I topped it with a cup of frozen, mixed berries, a squeeze of lemon juice, a golden kiwi fruit and some fresh mint.

Yum!

Enter my high fibre, refined sugar free, gluten free nutritious Sunday start. 

See, something done right :)

And now, let me introduce you to my curve ball. 

After a few weeks of feeling absolutely fatigued beyond words, when my monthlies were due but didn't start on time, I decided to take a test, not expecting a positive at all. 

Are you as shocked as I was?!

Hubby was too. Incredibly so. It happened just before my 47th birthday, completely unexpected.

The elation was short lived. At 5 weeks, bubby went to heaven.

Just like that.

What a way to celebrate our 3rd wedding anniversary.

It involved much chocolate (thanks Max Brenner).

And that is where the diet went pear shaped.

Sadly, during this time, uni suffered a great deal.

Conceiving unexpectedly really shifted my focus and priorities.

I felt such relief that at last, I could do what has been held inside for so long.

I struggled to study, especially as some of the subject matter was down right offensive.

So, I now find myself 6 weeks behind in studies with one week left to do 2 critical reviews. However, come what may, I will be stopping studies for a season. Hubby is doing a grueling full time study load, and with travel to and from Brisbane a few times a week, it's just too much pressure for us both to be under.

And now, I can do what is really on my heart and not put it off. I'm actually really looking forward to a new direction. 

Having said all of that, I have managed to eat well often. Like this breakfast. perfect balance of protein, fruit and veg.

I have discovered this chewy, divine lower carb pasta from Herman Brot. I love it, and find that I need a smaller portion than recommended to feel satisfied, with less protein needed. I'm not vegetarian but am really trying to limit animal fats in my diet. My body loves me for it when I eat like this.

I finally found a way to make veggies that my family devour. This experimental veggie loaf used up several potatoes not eaten the previous night. When combined with some other grated veg, cheese, breadcrumbs and eggs, it was a winner! Seconds were had, and the loaf vanished quickly.

Portion control done right. A macadamia and parmesan crusted chicken breast with a simple salad. Incredibly delish.

Baked chicken breasts, tabbouleh and strawberries in a green salad, more healthy eating with good carbs. 

A successful experiment- beetroot protein balls. I had less peanut butter than usual, so wondered what would happen if I added a beetroot to the mix. I also added psyllium husk powder to thicken things a little, and success! Divine, chocolaty, guilt free bliss balls.

This is the freshly baked bread from The Protein Bread Co. It's definitely cakier than other breads, and takes longer to toast, but is so high in protein and fibre, it's super satisfying.

It also freezes very well.

Thanks to Woollies Taste magazine, I made this asparagus pesto, tweaked by me of course :)

And here is a divine dish for dinner, slathered in the above pesto.

Another breakfast done right, protein pancakes layered with fresh strawberries. So, so good!

Now that all is said and done, I'm keen to move forward. Weight gain isn't fun when spring is here and the daytime temps are already soaring. 

I miss exercise, and need to stop making excuses and get my butt back into it. Yes, its magpie swooping season, but as I've discovered before, with sunnies and a hat, a hit doesn't kill. Ok, it kinda scares the absolute poo outta me, but yet, here I still am to tell the tale.

One week of uni left. Though I considered withdrawing and accepting the penalty, I have to finish what I started, and give it my best, come what may. Who knows, I must just pass :)

I hope this encourages you to not give up, even when life gets weird, messy, busy and/or painful. 

Fingers crossed I bring you much more soon. 

Until then, thanks for reading :)

Community Gardens, week 33-progress!

I've got to admit, pretty darned thrilled with the progress that has occurred this week! The C3 College students worked their butts off over two days. Hats off to the youngsters, some of whom had never even used a shovel before :) It's fair to say, hubby and I were impressed! And grateful.

Below is a snapshot of the week...

A mystery flower is revealed, a hippeastrum. So thrilled to see free blooms appearing after transplanting some stray bulbs discovered on clearing months ago.

Oh dear, some inconsiderate people ripped a path heading towards the creek. Lucky for us, the ground was still too boggy, making their very large wheels struggle. We are assuming that these dears were attempting to dump in the creek yet again :(

Hubby and I back at Bunnings, loading the trailer with cement for the shed base.

A picket fence it is then! This small section of fence was removed from another inside area. I got an idea, and it's a winner, so we are now getting a dear octogenarian to make us a larger version to line the top and bottom section of garden. Can't wait to see it completed.

A palm I've never been particularly fond of came down-yay! It was spiky/stabby and growing weed trees in it. Now, the church signage can clearly be seen from the road, we have a space for the upcoming Christmas production, and a blank canvas for the planned cafe area. Exciting progress!

Here, hubby is showing Ben what needs doing. Ben did an awesome job helping reduce the tree into movable pieces.

I had the help of a lovely girl, who smashed out the garden edging for me. Looking forward to getting proper concrete edging in place, and the bench seat painted/ paved underneath.

It's amazing how great things look with a weed and a tidy up.

The front flower garden was looking a bit neglected, and the weeds were higher than the daisies in places...

So, beautiful, sweet Ruth helped me weed. Talking to this girl was the best and made the task and easy one. 

The pile in front is the amount of weeds removed. Thanks Ruth! 

The back of church is getting a desperately needed makeover.

With this wall painted, we can get onto assembling a herb wall here now.

So thrilled with the help these girls gave in clearing the creek out, even those terrified of bugs and spiders.

A child's bike, some concrete edging, and an entire back car seat was removed from the creek bed, buried under years of growth. 

All we need is a digger (or some amazing people!) to dig the leaf litter out and create a creek that flows, not overflows.

These girls rock! They managed to pull out building reinforcing steel.

Youth and enthusiasm is awesome. I watched in fascination as this guy jumped on the shovel each time he wanted to dig. If I tried, the outcome wouldn't be pretty :)

These girls smashed digging out the patio area.

These boys mixed cement like a pro. 

And considering these girls had never laid pavers before, I'm blown away at their effort. New shed base coming up.

Hubby and the boys getting ready to install a new picnic setting.

Work in progress...

And the completed table and chairs. All it needs now is a concreted base for stability.

What a week! With so much done, the motivation is at an all time high again. Seeing progress is always encouraging.

Hubby came up with an idea that has at last put my mind at ease regarding the bike track too. With local kids making their own 'improvements,' I was getting a little stressed, but hubby suggested we start collecting tyres and line the track, making it clear, and safe. He also said we would add a checkered flag starting line. I love the idea, and hopefully, the locals will too. 

So, you know what you can do with any old tyres lying around guys :)

This is your lot for the week. And what a week, wouldn't you agree!

Until next time, thanks for reading :)

Community Gardens weeks 28-32

It's so good to be able to post again after several busy weeks. We've had an anniversary, birthday, wet weather and injuries to contend with. I am also at the pointy end of my uni semester. 

The pics below give a clear overview of the work that has been happening over the past month and a bit, even though they aren't in order. Slow and steady, but moving forward week by week :)

Really can't tell you how good it is to have the ride on back from its service/repair. 

By far my fave job on Thursdays- ride on mowing.

Excited to see a bulb emerging from a transplanted mystery plant. I'll soon know what it is :)

Spring is here, and so are the blooms!

This is looking back onto the main garden. Can't wait to see these sleepers turned into picnic settings.

After a few weeks off, I was determined to get stuck into weeding the slope.

I had recently planted two more bougainvilleas- a gold and a pinky/purple one. The jasmine has started flowering too.

I noticed a few queen jumping ants as I weeded away.

It wasn't until I tackled the bottom of the slope that I realised how vicious, and painful, these little beasties are! 

Weed spray it is!

This pile was all I managed to collect from the bottom half.

Notice the small path, though. It's a new addition to guide people towards the bridge.

Here, Graeme, Ben and hubby are working on getting the new shed base ready. It will be wonderful to have a sealed storage space big enough for everything.

A kookaburra hunting in the new grass. We have noticed that since clearing and resowing grass, birds seem to be far more prolific. It's a great encouragement to have wildlife returning to the gardens.

The view from the old umbrella tree stump :)

Soon, lush lawn and a picnic setting will fill this scene.

Some of hubby's amazing paver work.

While I was away, a new pathway was created, which will soon link the entire path.

Here, Ben is wetting down the surface to seal the concrete mix.

And here it is, the newest section of pathway, leading up to where the seating area will be.

Exciting progress!

Next week, we are blessed to have the C3 College students up from Oxford Falls. Sixteen volunteers will be helping us tackle as many big projects as possible during their 6 hour day. 

I can't wait to see the results!

So much done, so much to do.

Watch this space- more coming soon :)