Posts tagged with Making Sense of Things
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9 January 2019 - My second birth story
Léon is nearly eight weeks old and finally in bed for the night, as is his big brother. Witching hour (s) is in full effect in this house as Jean and I tag team depending on our children’s needs. So far, Léon has been a little easier than his brother was but still intense as he discovers his body through colic pains and the world through developmental leaps. I’m tired. Exhausted actually. Hormones and fatigue aren’t a great combination. I’m quite high functioning but my emotional regulation leaves a little to be desired. I can find myself oscillating between being content and laughing to tears and frustration remarkably quickly. Despite this, life is good and I’m mostly accepting that this is just how it is right now. It’s hard work adjusting to life with a newborn and toddler.
Actually, when I had Louis it was so much harder. I was … Read the rest
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23 August 2016 - My birth story
Louis is now six weeks old and fast asleep beside me. He makes loud grunting noises as he sleeps, sometimes interspersed by soft squeaking and cooing. He’s lying on his back, tightly swaddled to contain his startle reflex. He frowns and smiles, letting out a little cry occasionally when the wind in his tummy gets too much. Last night he fed nearly every hour. We’ve been told he’s going through his first developmental leap, so he’s needing lots of mummy time and feeds. I found myself gently crying after a feed and toilet trip. I was tired. I had started thinking about my birth after feeling how tender my scars still are when I wipe after going to the toilet. I decided that today I would write our story, to process it fully and record it whilst still relatively fresh in my memory.
For nine months I prepared as much … Read the rest
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6 May 2013 - A lesson in self-reliance: The Choro Trek
Relaxing in each other’s arms and sipping our local organic coffee we are now enjoying the stunning subtropical vista of the mountainous Andes from an eco-lodge in Coroico, Bolivia. We are surrounded by diversity, coffee plants, avocado trees, bananas, hummingbirds, butterflies and myriad of insects. It feels like bliss, however this moment of peace and quiet has been well deserved…
When we were preparing for the 4 day Choro Trek (most people do it in 3), we knew it could be difficult as we had to carry all of our camping gear, first aid kit, food, water and clothing to suit everything from the cold dry Altiplano at 5000m to the subtropics at 1300m. I was already skeptical. With myself only weighing 43kg my pack weighed in at a hefty 16kg and Jean’s at 22kg. However, everywhere online said this was an ‘easy’ trek, downhill all the way. We could … Read the rest
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25 April 2013 - Seed saving: Nature’s abundance
Today became the day for seed saving. It wasn’t what I had planned but it’s what I ended up doing since I had a stomach bug, was lacking energy and, as it turns out, one of our mizuna plants was well and truly dried and ready to drop her seeds.
I’m not very experienced with seed saving and propagating but I try to learn whenever an opportunity arises. I’m keen to learn more and I figure nature teaches me if I’m willing to observe and spend time with her.
While I was pulling tiny black seeds from fragile dried pods I had a lot of time to think and get lost in this repetitive but calming process. It is like a meditation to do this sort of activity – it fills you with peace, grounds and connects you.
These seeds were initially thanks to Jean who had brought them back … Read the rest
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22 April 2013 - Getting high: Lounge room gardening at altitude
Recently we posted this photograph of our lounge room garden on facebook where you can see some of the plants we are growing indoors. In addition to these, we are also growing more tatsoi, mizuna, spinach, rosemary, laurel tree, oregano, thyme, parsley, mint and some cucumber seedlings have started to take off!
As I’ve mentioned before, we don’t produce enough to make any huge contribution to our food supply but we enjoy doing what we can experimenting growing and seed saving indoors, at an altitude of 3,200 m (La Paz, Bolivia)! Our lounge room is perfectly situated to make the most of the sun’s movements throughout the day, meaning we have a wonderful little microclimate where we can grow food that has no chance outdoors. Actually, I miss growing outdoors – growing in containers is quite a challenge – trying to create biodiversity and encourage beneficial insects is nearly impossible… Read the rest
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