our visit to the garden

Yesterday was one of those days that I just could not be bothered doing anything.  I was bored. That’s right, I said it! I had cabin fever.  It’s been raining for about a week or so but who really knows.  I think IMAD was bored, too. She was a bit clingy and wingy. Anyway, all I know was that it felt like I’d been doing ‘mum’ things for ages and I needed to shake things up.

So, I asked her if she wanted to go on the train! Yup! Of course she says, “ ‘rain, ‘rain”!

So we bundled up with jackets and headed out.

She loved the train ride into the city. She loved watching the rain on the window and waving at all the people. She had a little snack on some dates. Thankfully we got on an express so it only took 40 minutes to get into the main train station.  I thought we’d probably go to the museum or library because it was raining, but when we got into the city the rain had stopped. It was still cold and damp in the air but we needed to be outside.

We headed toward the bank of the Torrens River.  I used to love going down there on my lunch break when I worked in the city.  It was fun taking my daughter there. She had no idea why it was special to me, but she loved seeing the Moorhens and Black swans. I couldn’t work out if the swans were just checking us out, or if they were angry we didn’t bring bread or some lentil sprouts!

We walked along the river, passed the fountain that blew river water all over us, and even stumbled on a ‘love-lock’ bridge. I’d never known it was there before but people must have been locking their love there for many years.

We made our way down to the botanical gardens and ended up in a café for coffee and baby cino and to eat our sandwiches! There was sooo many birds in the café! I thought it was a bit off putting but IMAD loved watching them. I mean, I can cope with the odd spoggy flying in for a crumb… but this was different. There were ducks, moorhens, pigeons, top-knot pigeons, pee-wees.  It was pretty full on. We kept shoeing them away with the umbrella, which IMAD thought was hilarious!

Then we went for a bit more of a walk around. We talked about the flowers and trees and it was so relaxing getting out in the fresh air, somewhere out of the ordinary for us. 

She’s been there before, but I don’t think she remembered. I think she might remember this though… Then I snapped out of my rambling, because it was raining pretty heavily!  I tried to put the rain cover on the pram, but it was pretty close to IMAD’s face and I think she felt claustrophobic and a bit frightened. So she ended up holding my brolly and I …

…well I had to make do with my scarf over my head and the drowned rat look!

We ran out of the park and across the road to the veranda of a pub. I ended up buying IMAD her own umbrella so I could have mine back. We have a few grown up size brollies, and now she has a kid’s size one…. Which she’s barely put down since.

She wanted to leave it up on the train, so too bad if anyone was superstitious about that!

When we got back to the car, she screamed bloody murder all the way home because she wanted her “brellaaaahh, brellaaa, breeelllllaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh”

It goes to show how much fun you can have on short notice with very little planning.  

*And I just want to add that I walked 6kms!

Rubbish

So... Lets talk about sustainability.

It's a word that gets thrown around a lot. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. I'm sure most of you are rolling your eyes already! But we all know it's a fair point.  Does anyone really make changes in their own life to do anything about it?  We all know that we consume way too much, chuck out way to much, and generally don't think about what happens next.

One of the reasons I've been thinking about this is that a council near me is changing the way their bin system works.  They will be picking up the landfill, recycling, and green waste bins fortnightly, rather than weekly.  As you can imagine, there are a lot of people asking themselves how they are going to deal with this enforced change. Can they live with throwing away less rubbish or unwanted items? How can they, as a household, change their style of living to accommodate this situation.

Some people assume that public dumping will become a problem. Others think people will try to put rubbish in commercial dumpsters, such as the local supermarket.  I heard one person say that the bins are too small, and that if they are not emptied weekly, they will need bigger bins!

I think, as a society, we need to change the way we see rubbish.  Instead of automatically throwing something away, can we ask ourselves, "What could be another use for this item?"  Can we cheat the system in a way and buy things that come with less or no packaging? Then that packaging wont end up in our bins!

I don't have the big answers. I don't know what we can do with every single piece of plastic that gets thrown away. But I do know this ~ if each of us try to re-think our own choices, the problem would become smaller.

I thought it would be fun to share with you what I did today! I know it's only a simple thing, but I thought it was kind of inventive in a way...

I drank my coconut water, made pudding with the coconut meat, and turned the coconut into a pot plant!  I can use the mint that is growing in it for cooking, instead of buying mint packaged from the supermarket!

Fresh Coconut Water

Coconut Pudding
(Saved for my toddler)

Mint Planted in a Young Coconut

I know the young coconut will decay eventually, but isn't that the whole point?


Leave a comment!
Thanks for reading!

Specifically About Over-thinking It

Let’s set the scene… 

You and your family are invited to a new friend’s home for dinner. You arrive on time, you are on your best behavior, (and really hoping your husband doesn’t say anything embarrassing). You don’t know the family all that well, but both husbands work together.  You know you have a few things in common, but you are still unsure how well you will eventually get along. 

You knock on the door, and the wife comes to open it. She is done up all pretty, and bubbly, and welcomes you into her warm home. “Hi, how are you?” “Did you find the place ok?”, you know how it goes – all the pleasantries.

Then comes the awkward part… “Would you like something to drink?”, she asks. “Yes, please, that would be great!” You answer, like you’ve not just had a drink before you got in the car!

“What would you like?”, she asks sincerely.

Ummm…. Such an unexpectedly loaded question!

What would you like to drink? 

Now here is what I mean by awks… She hasn’t offered any options. Does she mean tea or coffee, or wine, or soft drink, or something completely different?

You are not about to say, “A shot of Tequila please, my kids have been driving me mental all day!”  But you are not really gunning for a cup of weak herbal tea either.

Do you ask for a glass of wine, knowing you brought over a bottle to share? Or does she think you bought it as a gift?

You realize you've shot yourself in the foot because you can't change your mind now - you've already said you wanted something! Backing out would seem crazy weird!

Meanwhile, as these thoughts are rushing through your head, you are suddenly conscious that you haven’t said anything at all yet and everyone is starring at you in a deafening silence, as if to say, “it’s only a drink – say something!”

Startled you blurt out, “Oh, water for me thanks!”, “Really, are you sure?”

Gahhh… so you get your boring water, and have to shut up about it!

All the awkwardness of this moment can be avoided.

After all, you have been invited over for dinner. Now, I’m not saying the hostess needs to list any and all of the beverages in her house for you to choose from, but a simple guide would be great!

A simple phrase such as, “Red or White?” would be a great indication. Another great hint could be, “Would you like a cold drink? I have…” after which the guest can develop a picture of something sensible to ask for.

“I’ll join you with a glass of red, please.”


There, done. How hard was that?! 

...and the evening goes on!