The Boom-Boom Book

According to E - for reasons best known to herself* - and with apologies to Eric Carle. 

In the light of the moon, a little green egg lay on a leaf.
One Sunday morning the warm sun came up and - pop! - out of the egg came a tiny and very hungry boom-boom.
He started to look for some food.
On Monday the boom-boom ate through one apple. But the boom-boom was still hungry.
On Tuesday the boom-boom ate through two pears, but the boom-boom was still hungry.
On Wednesday the boom-boom ate through three plums, but the boom-boom was still hungry.
On Thursday the boom-boom ate through four strawberries, but the boom-boom was still hungry.
On Friday the boom-boom ate through five oranges, but the boom-boom was still hungry.
On Saturday the boom-boom ate one piece of choc-o-late cake, one ice-cream cone, one pickle, one slice of Swiss cheese, one slice of sam-a-li, one lollipop, one piece of cherry pie, one sausage, one cupcake and one slice of watermelon. That night the boom-boom had a stomachache!
The next day was Sunday again. The boom-boom ate one nice green leaf and after that he felt much better.
Now the boom-boom wasn't hungry anymore - and he wasn't a little boom-boom anymore. He was a BIG, FAT boom-boom.
He built a small house, called a cocoon, around himself. He stayed inside for more than two weeks. Then he nibbled a hole in the cocoon, pushed his way out and...
the boom-boom was a beautiful butterfly.

* but which are apparently very funny. She now walks around with the book saying 'I call this the boom-boom book!' Quite possibly the cutest thing ever.

Conversations and play

E is playing. She is perfectly absorbed in her own company.  Animals are going in and out of the farm house in an order apparent to no one but herself. A running commentary accompanies it.

Look at this place. That where aminals live. Come right here.

Can I come in, say tiger?

Yes.

Can I come in, say dog?

Yes. You must stay in.

Oh no, where is pig? Pig fell down. Oh look, Mummy, I found hen! I found hen! But where is ankleosaurus? I don’t know where ankleosaurus is.

That’s allll of the aminals.

Now let’s shut the door.

All of the aminals are going to bed.

I am enjoying 10 minutes to drink an interrupted cup of tea and marvelling at the pleasures of a $4 plastic farmhouse from the op shop!

Dunsborough holiday mark 2

At about this time last year we spent a week in Dunsborough with friends and had a thoroughly enjoyable time. We repeated the exercise a fortnight ago, over the long weekend, in a rented house with Granny and Grandad.

The house we stayed in was right on the old Dunsborough foreshore and it was simply amazing. Four bedrooms, two king bedrooms each with ensuite, a bedroom with two single beds for E. (When asked what she did on holiday, E will tell you "we went to sleep. I had TWO beds!")

Here is the house from the outside:

 

If you walk down the front steps this is what you see:

If you cross the footpath that you can see at the edge of the grass above you find a little path:

And at the end of the path is the beach. Quite possibly the most perfect toddler beach in the world. At low tide there was 50 metres or more of ankle depth water, zero waves, rock pools and sandbars.

 

It was so safe we were quite happy to let E explore without having to hover right over her, (although D did decide a certain minmum of clothing might be prudent!) Needless to say, we spent a lot of time there.

Other features of the trip included a lunch at Duckstein Brewery - a table right next to the in-house playground made it very manageable, an ice cream at Simmo's and lots of walks and trips to the playground.

This house would be amazing in summer - we got plenty of use out of the beach and barbeque even though some of the days were decidedly cool, but it would be ever lovelier if it was warm. Anyone want to plan another trip, maybe for early next year?

Meatless Monday: How to use up garden excesses, or two ways with rocket

We have green vegies galore in the garden - kale, rocket, silverbeet and the leaves/tops of beetroot. I have enjoyed them but am now impatient to use them up so we can clear the beds for new summer plants. So I have been attempting a few different recipes with a common theme - they must involve plenty of greens! Here are two different uses for excess rocket.

Rocket and walnut pesto
5 cups of rocket leaves, stalks and garden bugs removed
1.5 cups of walnuts
0.5 cup of grated cheese (Parmesan or similar would be preferable but I used cheddar as that was all we had)
Enough olive oil or a mix of oil and water to make it smooth

Whizz the walnuts in a food processor until they are finely ground.
Add everything else and process until you have a green, oily paste.
That's it.

Eat with pasta and more cheese, or maybe as a dip with crackers and vegetable sticks.

Potato, lentil and garden greens soup

This soup looks like liquid grass but tastes fantastic. And anything with this many veggies has got to be healthy.

(Serves 2)
1 brown onion, chopped
A big salad bowl full of garden greens - mine was about half rocket, a quarter kale and a quarter silver beet
3 medium sized potatoes, peeled and diced
3 cups of vegetable stock
1/4 cup of dried red lentils

Fry the onion in olive oil in a big saucepan until soft and golden.
Add the potatoes, stock and lentils. Cook for about 15-20 minutes, or until the potatoes and lentils are soft.
Add the green stuff - if using kale add it first, then the rest a minute or so later. Cook for maybe another 60-90 seconds.
Mulch everything with a hand blender.

Serve with a spoonful of plain yoghurt and sourdough toast and feel very, very virtuous.

The signs of spring

I am a bit enamoured with this weather.

The heater's off, I hope permanently (or at least until next winter, anyway!)

I'm wearing thongs rather than ugg boots around the house. I no longer need socks in bed.

We're eating masses of strawberries and I want salads for lunch instead of pasta.

In the garden I can tell it's spring because

 

 the water table and wading pool have made a comeback

 

the apricot tree is promising good things (and this year we have bagged the first baby fruits that have appeared so we might even get to eat some!)

we're nearing the end of the bok choy and kale, and the broad beans are looking very
exciting.

We are spending hours outside any chance we get.

Hurrah for a change of seasons, there's nothing like it to lift the spirits.

Conversations with my chatterbox

A random monologue on Granny's garden:
Granny has a duck in her garden. Aunty Suse bought it for her birthday. Sometimes it rains in Granny's garden. Granny has new swings.

This dialogue with E playing all parts I overheard whilst lurking hopefully by her bedroom door to see if she had gone to sleep yet:

Hello, Olephant.

Would you like a biscuit?

Yes, I would like it.

Let’s eat it, Olephant.

Careful, Olephant, you’ll fall down.

Whilst pretending to be Curious George on the trapeze swing at Granny and Grandad's (and fortunately, I might add, not in the park or somewhere else public):
Granny, I want to go in a cage. Put me in a cage, Granny! Put me in a cage and lock it with a key! I want to go in a cage with a balloon on my hand!

(2 years and 5 months).

(With apologies to Kylie from Octavia and Vicky for stealing her post idea.)

This is the winter of our discontent

... and of COLDS. E is onto her third or fourth since the beginning of July and we are sick of being sick around here.

Robyn Barker, that guru of all things baby and toddler, assures me that children's immune systems are worst in the year they are two; apparently the immunity they have from birth/breastfeeding is lost by about 12 months and it then takes time to build it up again on their own. Supposedly it is sorted (well, at least improved) by their third birthday.

Bring on three!