Busy Making

Today's harvest-you only get out what you put in.

Lately I feel like I'm so busy making things, not the crafty, creative things that I really feel the urge to be making, just everyday things, and I can't understand why I'm so tired. I'm busy making my toddler happy and attempting to educate her on a daily basis, and whilst it is the best kind of busy to be it also the most demanding. I'm busy making Lara's little sister, yes I'm six months pregnant and in denial that very soon I will be pushing out another babe. I'm also in denial that making babies is exhausting work, and can't come to terms with the fact that I like to nap when Lara naps, because that is when I should be getting jobs done-and not writing. I'm busy trying to make room in our home for said new baby. Don't get me wrong, we have the space, we've just managed to fill it with shit, a lot of which I've recently joyfully donated to charity, yet Mark and I still have sentimental things that whilst we never look at, if he knew I got rid of them I'd be in the bad books. This is where I need to confess that I also have a lot of craft stuff which I rarely make the time for these days, but I just can't seem to come to terms with getting rid of, because as I already said I REALLY want to make stuff. For example I have an old suitcase filled with materials, there is no way I'd throw the suitcase out, so it may as well have something inside it, right? And some of those materials are stunning left overs from when my Nan used to have ballroom gowns made for her, so I simply can't part with them-or think of a way to display them that won't leave them victim to children and dogs.

For the second time in my life I'm over food. It's a pregnancy thing for me. But this time I think it also has something to do with the fact that I feel like I'm constantly making food or thinking about making food. Luckily I have a brand new kitchen that I'm happy to be in. I've been enjoying making bread for my family, which if I'm honest was mostly brought on by the fact that you have to break a note to get a nice loaf of bread from the shops these days. So when I'm busy making bread I think about how delicious it is going to be, how much Mark and Lara are going to appreciate it, and that as a 'Professional Mum' I'm doing my bit to manage the family budget.

I'm also busy making the house clean and tidy which has never been one of my strengths (as I write this I should be taking Lara's nap time as an opportunity to mop the floors), and making our veggie garden productive, which took a big step backwards during our renovation. So after moping the floors I need to go out and plant some seeds in the veggie garden. Fingers crossed it isn't raining when the time comes for planting, but I'd be mighty appreciative of Mother Nature if she watered in my seeds for me. For a while there we were getting a bumper crop of beans, but a sudden heat wave took out two plants. My eggplant from last season is doing so well that it provided us with yummy dinner last night and enough left overs for today. That said I probably need to plant another eggplant plant, haha. The cucumber, yellow zucchini and tiny tomatoes are all showing promise. Oooh, that reminds me I need to plant more lettuce seeds too, you can't have a salad without lettuce.

Spot the eggplants...and lots of bare soil where food should be growing.

Hopefully in the next few days I will make time to make the house festive for Christmas, and might even get busy making some gifts. One can only hope. Now where is my magic Genie to clean the house? ----- Hours later, and WOHOO, I've managed to vacuum, mop and plant seeds all whilst Lara was sleeping. Days like these make me think I should start every day with coffee. Whilst planting seeds I did a quick harvest (see first pic), it was quick because there wasn't much to pick, but considering the amount of effort I've been putting in to the veggie garden lately I'm lucky to be getting anything from it. The only fertilising I've been doing is throwing used coffee grains over the garden, when it really needs a good dose of Seasol. Maybe that will happen tomorrow, time/coffee will tell. First things first, I seriously need to do some real desk work tomorrow. Sometimes I need to remind myself that busy is a thousand times better than bored.

Snacks for Lara and I...the cold snap today was not liked by any of us.