Camping

Being a single parent on a very tight budget I do worry that we will not be able to take family holidays. I have been lucky as there are a few families at my church that have holiday houses that I can rent, however, we need to work around when they are available. With that in mind I have decided to embrace camping. I have not been a huge fan of camping in the past, however, my experience is limited and a long time ago. I did not camp as a child. In my late teens/early twenties I camped occasionally with friends and only have memories of being cold, wet and sleeping on the uncomfortable ground. I last camped about 15 years ago when I took a trip through the South-West United States. I took this trip as it was a good way to get to the Grand Canyon and see other more remote parts of the country easily and cheaply.

So I don't have a lot of experience with camping, however, now is the time to start. I have a lot of friends that camp and they tell me that if you are set up correctly then camping is easier than you think and a lot of fun to boot. I have been planning this for a while so have been acquiring some of the things we need along the way. One of my favourite stores, Aldi, often have camping equipment on sale. I have got a camping stretcher (which is also good when I have extra kids for sleepovers), camping plates, bowls and cutlery. Yesterday, they had down sleeping bags for $100 so I snapped one up - they were very popular and not many left by the time I got there. I have a sleeping bag for B that a friend gave us.

But of course the major piece of equipment that we have been missing was a tent. A friend posted on Facebook about "Catch of the Day" during the week. They had Coleman 6 person tents for $60!! I had been planning to look for a tent in the next few months but when I saw this I thought I couldn't pass it up as it was a bargain and made by a reputable company. Well, it has arrived!!!

Front View

It is quite big, however, we will be having stretchers in there (my back would not enable me to sleep on the ground) and I also wanted a tent where there was plenty of room to just be in the tent comfortably during wet weather, etc. I think it will do just fine. It will also be big enough for us to have friends with us too in the future.

Back View

Of course the big test was if I could assemble it myself with some "help" from a 4 year old! I am pleased to say that YES, I CAN!!!!!! I put it up in the carport yesterday successfully. The instructions say that it is able to be assembled in 15 minutes (not the first time though). Now for someone that has limited experience with putting up tents I was expecting it to take quite a while but am pleased to say that it took me 33 minutes. For the first time I think that was quite impressive.

Inside View

As I mentioned we have quite a few friends that camp so initially we will go camping with them as it will be a while until I am fully equipped and also it will make it a lot more enjoyable than just the 2 of us. All my camping friends - let me know if we can join you on your adventures!!!

I would love to hear your tips for camping. What equipment do you think is essential? Do you have any tips to camping with kids? As a novice I am open to any and all advice.

Now if only I can get it back into it's carry bag!!!!

Handmade gifts

I love to give a handmade gift! To me, it says that I really have thought about what to give. I have always had intentions of doing handmade gifts but then let time get away from me and end up just giving a brought one. Now that B is around the number of gifts I need to give has increased. I am really making a conscious effort to be a bit more intentional and thoughtful with gift giving. Also, with handmade gifts I already have a lot of the necessary supplies already on hand so it is also a way to save money.

For the people who work with him regularly (child care staff, swimming teacher, etc) I have over the last few years made either gingerbread or shortbread and packaged them on a plate or in a cup as a small token at Christmas.

This was the gingerbread we made last Christmas

Valentine's Day heart shortbread for his friends.

 We have had a few birthday parties for B's friends lately. As they were for girls whose mother's are a bit crafty I thought that they could get their own sewing kit so that they could learn to sew like B (see this post). I made some bags to keep all their things together. Inside the bags I put some hessian, needles and a selection of wool. They have been very well received with one of the girls getting so into it that her parents had a hard time getting her to stop and go to bed!!

He loves using my stamps to make cards for his friends at Christmas and on their birthdays. However, with my creating of gifts this year B also got into the spirit of it too and made a car for one of his friends!

In addition to home made gifts I have also started to give "experiences" for presents. I got the inspiration from friends who have done that for my Christmas gift in previous years. This included a day at Werribee Zoo this year. So for one of my friend's son who turned 10 B and I took him to the National Sports Museum for the day. Being one of 3 boys they have plenty of toys (including a huge amount of Lego!) and really don't need any more "stuff". So instead I thought we could do something he would enjoy. It was a great day and was really appreciated. For his brother's birthday next month I am taking him to Geelong for a football game. He (and B) both barrack for Geelong so it should be a good day.

I'd love to hear of any suggestions that you have for handmade gifts that you have given to give me extra ideas!

Winter Veggie Progress Report

I haven't posted lately about my vegetable patch. Unfortunately I don't get a huge harvest over winter as my beds do not quite get enough sun during the winter months. Being in a rental property I can't alter the backyard too much (or chop down trees) and already the garden beds take up a bit of space and I don't want to take too much of the backyard away from B's use.

With all of that in mind I have planted some veggies in containers this year to try and get a little more sun and a bit more success over winter.

Here are my potatoes which have self-sown from last years crop. The gift that keeps on giving!!

I have used the tyres from the birthday party to help build the potatoes up to get a bigger and better crop.

Close up of potatoes

Home grown garlic - can't wait!

Broad beans

Broccoli

Silverbeet - one of my favourite crops. It just keeps giving!

My lemon tree is now starting to provide some fruit after my hard pruning last year. I'm so glad as I use quite a lot of lemons in my cooking.

I have also got some leads on community gardens to try and maybe get a plot so I can grow some more produce off-site.

I also really love that when it rains B doesn't complain he just says "our veggies will grow now". It is one of those moments as a parent that you realise you are doing your job! We had a lovely day today out in the garden weeding, rearranging and planting some more seeds.