Depression

A word with so many connotations and everyone has their own view on what depression is and means for them or people that they love. The word is thrown around in the schoolyard and within every aspect of our lives. People say oh I’m so depressed; trust me you cannot be depressed for a day or even a week they are only currently living in a depressed state or a situation is depressing. When you have full blown depression it affects every aspect of your life. For some they get mild doses of depression and may find that they are impeded in small sections of their life for others the beast rears its head and there is no seeing beyond it.

Several years ago I had so much on my plate that I really couldn’t cope – silly me I thought I was coping and doing well thank you very much. Month after month I pushed myself till my body and mind screamed “no more!” Of course like most things in life I was the last to know I was actually sick! My close friends saw it coming months before I did they saw me sinking deeper and deeper and trying to feebly shovel my way out of quicksand. There really wasn’t an ahha moment as there rarely is with the self and the mind – my doctor picked it up as I was just so tired; I was emotionally and physically drained. My body knew best and of course like most people I don’t actually listen to what my body is telling me though it obviously knows us better than we think! I was plagued with constant migraines for weeks; so severe that I had to go on some serious medications to try to break the migraine cycle. It wasn’t till after a few months of getting rid of these migraines that we realised the migraines were of course a symptom not the cause. Oh trust me those migraines were real and very painful I know depression is in the brain but these migraines were no figment of my imagination!

So for months I struggled to get the depression under control this sickness seriously affected every aspect of my life from that day right up until now. I was able to go to work and come home but I couldn’t even go to the supermarket let alone a café or bar. I was very fearful of the outside world and struggled to even do the dishes. Depression is a very serious mental illness and I am glad I had a great doctor and amazing loving husband and understanding friends who were able to get me well enough to continue on. I was willing to try anything to get better, I tried several different medications till we found the combo that worked for me (there is no shame in taking antidepressants these drugs helped me get through the day – they don’t make you happy or sad but they allow you to just breath), I went to weekly counselling sessions, practiced yoga and also had weekly massages. All these things combined allowed me to slowly get better.

I look back and yes it was a dark time for me and until very recently I was still not the person I was before I got sick. Slowly I can now go to bars, talk to total strangers and go out and about without being afraid. Even the pile of dishes on the bench don’t scare me anymore. There were some positives that came out of my sickness Mr Ecochick and I are now closer than ever.  Before I was sick I was a very strong and independent woman which can be difficult for a man to deal with. After my sickness I needed a lot of support and help this allowed my wonderful husband to look after me and meant we become much more of a unit. So yes it was a terrible time and I am thankful that after 3 years it now appears to be behind me. Some days are easier than others but life truly is tremendous.  

The little Composter

John got an amazing surprise in the mail today. I love surprise packages!!! John got this fabulous book from an amazing fellow eco-mum. The Little Composter book by Jan Gerardi is just beautiful. The book is gorgeous with these super cute lift up flaps. I LOVE the message of this book; how to make your own compost! 

Check out the super cool rhymes:

Peanut shells

Melon Rind 

Citrus peels of any kind.

John loves this book so much that he got me to read it to him four times in a row!!

Thank you so much Johanna we love it.

Berry garden

Woohoo my berry garden is now well underway. I prepared my very heavy difficult to dig clay soil by adding gib in the hope that this will break the soil up and allow it to drain more easily (fingers crossed it’ll also be easier to dig!). I then added a bag of organic compost that I bought from the local scout group (I remember the days of fundraising as a scout man we did everything! From lamington making to can collections- I still can’t eat lamingtons!).

I had to dig a 1m hole for my raspberries but the clay was so hard to dig that there is NO way this was going to happen I think I’m lucky if my holes were 30cm deep but I did my best (Mr Ecochick is away so I was on my own on this one – god only knows how he was able to dig a two metre trench in this ground! He must be super strong!).

I’ve planted 7 raspberry canes and 2 blackcurrant bushes. I’ve also planted a black passionfruit here too. Not sure if any of these will fruit this year but my garden (and John) is teaching me patience which can only be a good thing especially in this instant gratification world we now live in. I’d really like to plant some blueberries and some thornless blackberries aswell. Yum!

Mother’s Little Helper

October article for the Parents centre newsletter

 

An old fashioned guide to raising your baby chemical-free by Wendyl Nissen. 

If you wish your baby came with a manual well here it is! Mother’s Little Helper has wonderful good old fashioned advice on everything baby; from the day you find out your pregnant, preparing your home for the imminent arrival of your little one to solids and going back to work (if you’re going back to work).

I really love this super useful, very witty, environmentally friendly, non-judgemental book and will be referring to it often. In here you’ll find fantastic recipes from baking super easy knead-free bread to completely natural remedies for everything in your home and for baby. The book is divided into three main subjects; your chemical free home and invaluable pregnancy advice; once baby arrives including a great chapter called “tried and true solutions to everything from colic to nappy rash” and beyond as well as how to keep your sanity. 

Wendyl gives you permission to wear your pjs all day, ask visitors to leave and ask others for help. There is no shame in asking someone for help– even better ask them to make a recipe out of this book; either for some food or a chemical free cleaner for your home. In Mother’s Little Helper you’ll find over 80 easy natural recipes for keeping toxins away from your baby and out of your home.

Mother’s Little Helper isn’t just all about cleaning and making products it’s also an all questions answered guide to coping with a newborn. You’ll find easy to read and very funny information to help with the life changing experience of having a child. This book is like having your own wonderful, cookie baking all knowing fairy godmother at your side 24 hours a day. Mother’s Little Helper is an absolute must for all mums and grandmothers.

Recycling GIB

We’ve been renovating the bathroom and have a lot of gib leftover. I read that you can use leftover gib to help clay soils drain better and also de-clump which will be better for my new berry plants. I left the gib out in the rain to soften it a bit then I got a hammer and smashed up the gib and stripped off the paper then smashed some more and now I had powderish clumps. I then poured this over the garden and will dig it through with some compost. This will improve the soil quality and will make the soil better for my new raspberry and blackcurrant plants. Yummy my berry garden has begun.

Fresh home made no knead bread

I got to meet the green goddess herself last week. Was really wonderful to meet Wendyl Nissen in the flesh; she was super friendly and a very powerful woman who definitely demands your attention (I can see why she has been so successful in all her chosen paths in life). Wendyl gave me a personally signed copy (actually I cheekily asked her for a copy) of her wonderful new book Mother’s Little Helper to review. There is a super easy recipe in there for no knead bread so I thought I would give it a go.

Recipe:

3 cups white flour (for wholemeal use 1 cup wholemeal flour and 2 cups white flour)

¼ tsp granulated yeast

1¼ tsp salt

1½ to 2½ cups of water depending on flour used

Mix the flour, yeast and salt in a bowl. Pour the water in slowly and stir until you have a sticky; not stiff; dough. Cover with a tea towel and put it in a warm place for 12 to 24 hours. I put mine on top of the fridge. The dough is ready to use when you lift the tea towel and see the surface is bubbly.
Thickly cover a work area (I used a wooden chopping board) with flour then tip the dough onto the board. Cover with more flour then fold flour through dough. Cover with a tea towel and leave for 15 minutes.

Shape the dough and place inside a floured tea towel. Put dough in a warm place for two hours so it can double in size.

Half an hour before the dough is ready put a 2L casserole pot or Dutch oven (I used a heavy cast-iron pot with a lid which belonged to my Oma so it truly is a Dutch oven) into a hot oven at 230^oC. When the dough is ready, take the pot out of the oven and put the bread in. Put the lid on the pot and put in the oven for 15 minutes then cook for a further 15 minutes without the lid on until the bread is brown.

Our bread was yummy eventhough I seriously messed this recipe up. I use 3 cups of wholemeal flour and no white flour. I also actually forgot to do rise the bread for 2 hours despite all this the bread was still yummy. I guess this is a very forgiving recipe. Will definitely make this again soon. Might follow the recipe correctly this time too! Enjoy. 

Update: I made this bread “correctly” yesterday. My friends who were round were impressed with how super easy and really yummy this bread is! I am a total convert to homemade bread. Will be making this again regularly!

Part of the Patchwork Living Blogging Bee

New bath and shower!!!

We finally have a shower!! Woohoo!! It’s the best shower in the world! Well maybe not but it’s pretty amazing. We are super happy how the tiles and bath look. I’m really glad we decided to use tiles; I feel they are a great long term solution. The white tiles are made of ceramic. The bronze tiles are made of glass and look beautiful; they really break up the white nicely.

The new wonderful shower is a Methven Kiri which has a water rating of 8.5 litres per minute. The shower uses satinjet technology which basically feels like a strong mist and feels pretty good knowing you’re only using 8.5lpm. I do really love my long showers too. Naughty I know but hey we all have one vice or more.

John loves the new telephone tap we got. He keeps wanting to play with the handheld shower; so much easier to wash his hair. The bath fills really quickly with the bathfill feature on the gas water heater that we have installed. We disconnected the hot water cylinder and put in a Bosch highflow system; it has a 5.5 star energy rating and is super efficient. I love Bosch it’s a great environmentally friendly company. We’ve also got a new Bosch washing machine and dryer. Even though the rest of the bathroom isn’t finished (we're going to paint this weekend) it’s so great to be able to shower at home again.

Abraham/ Sarah banketspop

There is a tradition in Holland that when a man turns 50 an Abraham banketspop (cake) is made and for a woman a Sarah. This is a cake that is made of mixed spice and filled with almond spice. In March I made an Abraham for Mr Ecochick’s boss and on the weekend mum and I made a Sarah for a friend (the same friend I made the crochet sandals for).

The banketspop is made in two different parts. The first part (the almond spice) is to be made four to six weeks or longer in advance (this is really important as the almond has to have time to set); the speculaas is made a day before the birthday.

This recipe actually makes enough for two banketspopen (so we usually make extra cakes for ourselves to eat).

First you’ll need to print and cut out the banketspop template (in whatever size you want to make the banketspop – my template was blown up to A3). You’ll need to cut out one body and one hand and foot. 

Part one: the almond spice filling

125 g ground almonds

125 g sugar

1 egg

Rind of half a lemon (you can leave this out if you like)

Mix all the ingredients together until they are thoroughly mixed. Place the mixture in a sealed container in the fridge for four to six weeks (this step is really important). 

Part two: speculaas

600g flour

2 tsp baking powder

300g brown sugar

3 Tbls speculaas spice (gingerbread spice)

300g butter or marg

50-100ml milk

1 egg

10 or so peeled whole almonds

50g icing sugar

2 green glazed cherries (plus 2 red only for the Sarah)

Cotton wadding (only for the Abraham) 

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Sift the flour and baking powder, mix together with the brown sugar and speculaas spice. Soften the butter, add to the mixture. Add the milk and combine well. Place the dough in the fridge for a few hours or overnight to set. 

 

Roll out the dough and cut out two bodies, two hands and two feet. Add an even thick layer of the almond spice all over the body then place the other body on top pushing the edges of the bodys together.

The blob is a little extra cake 

I made for us. Yummy.

Mix the egg with a fork then brush the egg all over the body; stick the feet and hands down with egg and brush egg onto the hands and feet. Add the green cherries for eyes and one almond for a nose; if you’re making a Sarah add the red cherries to make lips and place the whole almonds as a necklace and for buttons. If you’re making an Abraham place the whole almonds around the neck and as buttons as per the template/ photo. 

Place the speculaas in the oven in the middle tray for about 40-50 minutes or until the banketspop is cooked and browning (the speculaas will feel hardish and crack a little when it is ready). Place the banketspop on a cooling rack. 

Once the banketspop is cold (can be done the next day to be sure it’s cold) mix the icing sugar with water to form a paste; if you’re making an Abraham draw on legs and sleeves and add cotton wadding as a beard. If you’re making a Sarah use the paste to make a skirt and sleeves. Tie a ribbon around the body and you now have a wonderful special birthday gift. Enjoy. 

Part of the Patchwork Living Blogging Bee

The Pram Diet

I read this fantastic book called The Pram Diet written by Rebecca Mugridge (ohh and I got a signed copy – how cool is that?!). Rebecca has written a marvellous dedication to her daughter in the front that sent shivers down my spine when I read it. The first chapter of the book is so amazing and moving; it’s about Rebecca’s life journey. This chapter is the most honest, raw, heartbreaking, moving and joyful chapter I’ve read in a long time. I love Rebecca’s truthfulness and unabashed honesty. This chapter could be written about any woman and is written for all women. It really spoke to my core I laughed and cried with Rebecca through her journey (which could easily have been my own).

I love the fantastic chapter she wrote on nurturing yourself and found that her advice was so simple to follow and has made me feel heaps better about myself. Something as simple as making your bed as soon as you get up or taking a little time to look after yourself as a woman rather than just a mum made such sense and has definitely helped with my self esteem. Often you get lost as a mother and taking some self identity back is not only good for you but for the whole family.

I LOVE that Rebecca is a vegetarian and has dedicated most of a chapter to growing your own food. She has great tips and good advice for the new (or experienced) gardener, she has added some simple projects that don’t take much time or money. The last chapter is full of easy and super yummy healthy recipes with a very easy to follow weight loss diet plan; I love the names she has given the recipes. Thanks to Rebecca I can now make a simple but very tasty quiche. Being a vegetarian myself it can be really hard to follow a diet as not many diets cater for non meat eaters. So I love that most of Rebecca’s recipes are vegetarian but she adds tips on how to add meat if you would like and there are also some great meat dishes in there too.

All in all this book is totally worth a read weather you want to lose weight, be fitter and healthier, boost your self esteem, grow your own vegetables or just want a great read. I highly recommended this book and I think I will be referring to it often.  

Washing machine planters

I’m all about our garden and sewing at the moment; how very domesticated of me! Am really enjoying growing our own veggies, I find it very satisfying. I wanted to grow potatoes and yams but really couldn’t decide what to grow them in. I was told that they grow better in some kind of container and I guess this keeps them contained as well.

I first bought some plastic potato bags from Bunnings but decided I really didn’t like the plastic bags (I gave these to my sister in law so that they can plant some potatoes too). I found a great store called Earthlink that sells second hand and recycled items (it’s great they also take electronic goods to be fixed, resold or recycled); I found some washing machine inners that make great planters. I love that these are recycled items that will never degrade or rust and can be used over and over again. At the moment they have potatoes in two of them and I will plant yams when they are ready. I think the planters look rather pretty too.