A Tribute to Mothers.

Today I was given this lovely excerpt by one of Leo's teachers at preschool, and I though it befitting to share with you all.

At the recent State Autism Conference, this was read at the Parent Forum.

"Most women become mothers by accident, some by choice, a few by social pressures and a couple by habit. This year, nearly 100,00 women will become mothers of handicapped children. Did you ever wonder how mothers of handicapped children are chosen?

Somehow, I visualise God hovering over Earth selecting his instruments for propagation with great care and deliberation. As he observes, he instructs his angels to make notes in a giant ledger. "Armstrong, Beth - son; patron saint - Matthew. Forrest, Marjorie - daughter; patron saint - Cecilia. Rudledge, Carrie - twins; he passes a name to an angel and smiles "Give her an autistic child. The angel is curious. "Why this one, God? She's so happy."

"Exactly," says God, "could I give and autistic child to a mother who does not know laughter? That would be cruel."

"But has she patience?" asks the angel.

"I don't want her to have too much patience or she will drown in a sea of self pity and despair. Once the shock and resentment wear off, she'll handle it. I watched her today; she has that feeling of self independence that is so rare and necessary in a mother. You see, the child I'm going to give her has his own world. She has to make him live in her world, and that's not going to be easy."

"But Lord, I don't think she even believes in you." God smiles, "no matter, I can fix that. This one is perfect. She has just enough selfishness." The angel gasps "Selfishness? Is that a virtue?" God nods, "If she can't separate herself from the child occasionally, she'll never survive. Yes, here is a woman whom I will bless with a child less than perfect. She doesn't realise it yet, but she is to be envied. She will take for granted 'spoken word'. She will consider a 'step' ordinary. When her child says "Mummy" for the first time, she will be present at a miracle and know it! I will permit her to see things I see...ignorance, cruelty, prejudice...and allow her to rise above them. She will never be alone. I will be at her side every minute of every day of her life because she is doing my work as surely she is here by my side."

"And what about her patron saint?" asks the angel, pen poised in mid-air.

God smiles, "A mirror will suffice."

Excerpt from Erma Bombeck

Little garden helpers.....and nasty slugs!

Things are a little slow in the veggie patch at the moment except for the slugs who are feasting away on my wongbok cabbages.....but I have a solution to stop them in their slimy little tracks! Drum roll please.......SLUGGA! I am hoping this copper tape will give those slugs a zap and keep them away from my cabbages, I see this as being the safest solution, snail and slug bait is a definate no no and I have tried "slug patrol" in my pyjamas with a torch late at night and this is not how I want to spend my evening "down time". So fingers crossed it works and the slugs will pack up and move somewhere else!

Today I had lot of little helpers in my garden, and everyone seemed to be getting on quite well. One fluffly and very furry little helper who is normally curled up on my bed asleep ventured out to inspect my veggies! Jack and Mariah were never too far away they seemed to be happy playing and digging around the garden......Happy days!

Veggie Web Planning!

I was surfing the web and came across this great web program called Grow Veg it was offering a 30 day free trial so I gave it a go, it was fun and an interesting way of planning your veggie garden.  It had some great information on when to plant and whether to sow direct or in  pots as seedlings, it also looks at bed rotation as well as companion plants and how far apart to plant each crop.  I have put a design together for this Spring and I have decided to give it a go, and time will tell if it works. So if you feel like planning your veggie garden precisely then this is a great tool, it's free and a bit of fun!

Farmers Markets!

The second Saturday each month is the Hawkesbry Harvest Farmers Markets at Castle Hill. It is a thriving market filled with wonderful fresh fruit, vegetables, eggs, meat, chicken and a variety of wonderful organic and hand made products. If only it were every second Saturday instead of only once a month....

Today I shopped very wisely I took a $100 and came back with a bounty of fruit, vegetables and eggs.

I love walking around and looking at all the wonderful varieties of food available, there is everything from rabbit to rare kinds of mushrooms, it is great to see everyone buying direct from the growers instead of lining the pockets of Coles or Woolworths who do not care about the farmers, they only care about profits and selling old fruit and vegetables that rot within days of purchase!

So everyone find your local farmers market and experience fresh fruit and veg, I guarantee you will make a big detour when it comes to the fruit and veg aisle in your local big chain supermarket!

Inspiration

I have been planning the new veggie beds which hopefully will go in next  this August, but first the big camphor laurel tree on our side of the fence is going to be cut down, this way we will have more sun on the veggies. Next will be the chickens in September, I have decided that four is the magic number, we seem to eat a lot of eggs in this household, me being the person who consumes the most. I must admit I cook a lot of food that requires eggs. I have decided on two Australorps and two Rhode Island Reds, I think they will stand up well when it comes to the boys and Mariah our black lab.

When it comes to types of veggies this year I have decided to give everything a go, I am even going to try growing potatoes, I have been ploughing over my list to make sure that I haven't forgotten anything, and also making sure I have the right companion plants and  herbs to go with each vegetable. My main aim is to buy heirloom seeds where possible, if you want mainstream go to the supermarket, growing your own is a chance to try different varieties that are not available in our fruit and veg shops.

This week I placed an order for two heirloom varieties of rhubarb, three thornless loganberry canes, some watermelon seed (red moons and stars) and Musquee de Provence pumpkin seeds, I think of Cinderella in her pumpkin carriage when it comes to this type of pumpkin.

It is during the cold months that I lose inspiration for the garden, as not a lot is growing at the moment, mainly due to lack of sun, I love to take a look at a picture of a vegetable garden in Victoria, it is my inspiration that one day my little garden may resemble this one.........