Monday 30 December

Too hot to do much outside today (except check on the garden regularly - I watered it last night but it may need more given the heat) and doing some early cooking to avoid the kitchen when the sun starts hitting it.

Done:

• breakfast, coffee
• checked garden, harvested lettuce for breakfast burger and silverbeet for pie, pulled out spent buk choy for chickens, pulled out spent lettuce for geese, put handfuls of #1 soil in a couple of containers which looked like they might need a boost
• emptied remains of Massaman curry out of slow cooker so Eric can wash it

To Do:

• make cauliflower-crusted silverbeet pie for lunch/my dinner
• put BotVC something in the slow cooker for dinner (Mexibeans?)
• do BotVC stocktake/plan, menu planning, shopping list
• 
  

Friday 27 December

Done

• coffee, breakfast
• stacked washing up, put away food, tidied counters 
• cut up most of Hugh's ripped flannelette bottom sheet for toilet cloth, make-up wipes and garden ties; possibly use the last of it to make a couple of extra long overnight pads?
• watered both courtyards, did some weeding in mine, ate a couple of strawberries and a snowpea
• made my bed, got into farm clothes
• (Eric) let out guineas, put in a load of laundry
• talked to Eric about finances for Launceston trip; transferred last of my spending money to my travel account
• grass control: finished fenceline under horse chestnut, from bottom orchard to goose shed fence
• grass control: middle chicken yard, access to south of brushwood fence, top plum orchard (in progress, about half done)

To Do

• grass control: rest of top plum orchard, leach field, hay field, chicken run, old pig run, clearway around chicken shed, path to/around blackberries

Need to check how much money I've got, then spend it (tomorrow, when it's too hot to garden) on more potting mix, cow manure and compost for the beds. Also try some organic fertiliser?

Netbank says I have $52. Unfortunately, Eric isn't sure how much money he's going to have coming in over the next couple of weeks given that some of the people he needs to liaise with for his remote work will be on holidays, which means I'm going to try to avoid spending on anything inessential down here so that I have spending money in Launceston. I'm taking Dan up on the 12th (round trip, so I'll need to eat at least once), then driving Hugh up on the 19th and staying two nights in a hotel, so that means I will need extra money to be able to eat!

Thursday 26 December

Done:

• emptied night buckets
• coffee, breakfast
• put in a load of laundry (curtain/sheets)
• hung out laundry + load from the other day
• put in load of laundry #2 (curtain/sheets)
• got into farm clothes, cleaned my teeth
• changed towels
• started dirty laundry round-up (Eric/Hugh still asleep)
• started cutting back grass (by hand) around the tyres on the driveway bank
• hung out laundry #2
• put in laundry #3 (delicates)
• changed cat litter tray
• did one tank's worth of slashing in the front garden
• sent E for more fuel for brushcutter 
• hung out laundry #3 in woodshed, brought in dry laundry
• tried to do a second lot of brush-cutting, but flooded the motor (aargh)
• ate lunch
• finished second lot of brush-cutting - front and south yard now done
• did a third tank's worth of brush cutting
• tried to do a fourth lot of brush-cutting, but flooded the motor (aargh)
• setn E&H outside to rake and barrow up the long cut grass and give it to the birbs

Tuesday 24 December

Hoping for a bit more of a relaxed day, since we don't have a lot to do before our new, scaled-down Christmas Day. I'd like to keep moving with the grass control - not just for the snek, but the weather is forecast to heat up again by the end of the week with not a lot of rain forecast, and I need to keep moving around the house yard to get as much under control as I can before everything starts to dry out...

Done:

• breakfast, coffee
• finished Christmas Day planning
• refreshed empty planter in #6 North with compost smoothies, added worms
• finished menu plan and shopping list
• got into farm clothes, slashed long grass by path/around cottage (did not see snek) and started slashing the huge mess in/around fridge beds
• watered in both courtyards; finished transplanting from #1 to Dan's courtyard, watered and mulched heavily and shaded new transplants
• showered and dressed to shoes
• did shopping - my last ditch effort to find a better mug for Dan was successful!
• put away shopping; supervised the squids helping with cleaning up in the kitchen 
• added the second pair of small green window boxes to the fence between #1 and #4; rearranged pots and insect waterer, potted up remaining two petunia seedlings
• supervised squids putting away the drying up
• made jelly for trifle, slightly experimental skinless TVP/bean sausages, and polenta for rolled roast; cooked and ate the last half-serve of sausage  as a patty (it was yummy)
• made vanilla cake for trifle and spinach rice pie for tonight's dinner
• made bean loaf, piked on tofu quiche (I wasn't hugely hungry anyway so just had fruit)
• gave mugs and hot chocolate mix; agreed on 9pm curfew with squids so Eric and I can go to bed early
• put away food
• put out stockings

Saturday 21 December

Done

• emptied night buckets
• put on a load of laundry (towels)
• coffee, breakfast
• did a load of washing up
• made hummus, felafels, roast sweet potato dice and roast red onion (lunch and roast veg salad fixings for tomorrow)
• put on a load of laundry (old curtains from Hugh's room)
• emptied contents of slow-cooker into container and washed insert, put green curry ingredients from the other day into large slow-cooker and set it to cook for dinner
• hung out laundry #1 and #2, put in laundry #3 (clothes)
• wrote list of jobs for everyone to sign up to; supervised the signing up until I felt it was a fair division of labour
• wrote F&V shopping list for E
• fond gears image, scaled and printed; cut out in felt (did Hugh's and Dan's, my hands hurt too much to do Beth's and she already said she didn't mind if it wasn't done at the same time as the others'); pinned onto ornament and laid out design with bits and bobs
• put in a load of laundry (bedlinen) - Hugh hung out #3
• got into farm clothes and slashed BBQ area, cleared a path to the fairy hawthorn and finished remainder of top orchard (1.5+ tanks' worth); cleansed the offering rock
• put in another load of laundry (towels) while on a refuelling break
• showered and dressed
• locked myself in "Gaia's workshop" and finished the ornaments
• went to bed at 8:30pm

Thursday 19 December

Done

• slept in
• coffee, intertubes
• put in a load of laundry, hung out laundry (E)
• picked lettuce, made breakfast
• started watering courtyard 
• put in a load of laundry #2
• finished watering in both courtyards
• put spaghetti sauce in big crockpot and sweet potato soup in small, then broke the lid of the small crockpot :(
• took in some more pleats on Dan's red bustle skirt
• signed 2020 CCYP ambassador permission form and gave it to E to scan
• got Dan into busking outfit and got Eric out the door on time to take them to the bus
• made list of consumables for the hamper and stockings; finished Christmas shopping list 
• showered and dressed
• went Christmas shopping with Eric 
• finished making lace jabot (with cameo brooch)
• sorted out piles of purchases into stocking boxes and steampunk hamper
• hung out load of laundry from the morning; restarted the load of whites which spent the afternoon soaking
• finished the pouch remake (added second eye snap hook)
• spray-painted the ship's wheel pendant; started decorating the hat I bought today
• went through the Summer Camp booklet with Hugh
• put in second load of whites to soak overnight

To Do Tomorrow

• hang out laundry #2 and #3
• finish menu plan and shopping list for Midsummer BBQ and Christmas perishables

Litha/Christmas present list

• start designing and cutting out steampunk ornaments
• start designing and cutting out Hugh's messenger bag
• start designing and cutting out cutlery rolls
• start designing and cutting out toiletries bag (bought Dan one)
• start designing and cutting out reusable make-up pads
• start designing Hugh a cuff/pouch/bandolier with storage for tiny glass jars

Litha Party preparation

• put up Solstice stick! (ASAP)
• finish shopping (Saturday pm) 
• make coleslaw, potato salad, vego BBQ options, and any desserts which can be made in advance
• fix BBQ fitting; slash/mow grass in front BBQ area; rake up poo and move goose pool 
• check our stock of outdoor eating furniture etc; move glass table out of butler's pantry?
• clean kitchen
• clean toilet and tidy/sweep mudroom and toilet room
• put away all the clean laundry in the living room; clear everything else off the couches
• tidy my desk and learning room in general
• pick up floors in living areas, sweep/vacuum

Wednesday 18 December

Done:

• researched vegan eateries and hotels in Launceston
• wrote out stocking lists, for making and shopping
• found tutorials for things I want to make the kids, got them to pick fabrics
• put on a load of laundry
• started clearing out Hugh's old room so I can move my sewing machine in there under the window
• stripped bed and removed curtains in spare room; threw out oldest, mankiest single mattress
• worked on steampunk hamper wishlist
• put on a load of laundry
• lunch
• found a small jar, melted down some coconut oil for Dan, spray-painted the lid
• found various baskets and boxes to sort steampunk hamper into, began organising the existing stash
• finished clearing out a workable amount of the spare room (with Hugh and Eric's help), moved sewing machine table under window, stored better mattress against the wall under the top bunk and put a wooden top on the bunk bed slates as a work surface; moved all the steampunk stuff into the spare room so I could have my bed back!
• made things

Tuesday 17 December

• made bed
• got into farm clothes
• emptied night buckets
• watered indoor plants
• coffee, intertubes, started updating dashboard, PMed Musical Theatre Crew yet again and actually got a reply this time!
• more coffee, wrote letter to the currently or recently active feast team re the situation with bids for the Invest in March
• fed cat 
• put on a load of laundry (woollens/delicates), hung on line
• put on a load of laundry (woollens), hung on line
• dirty laundry update (excluding E's room as he's still asleep)
• started making Dan's and Hugh's steampunk wristwarmers
• put in a load of laundry (bedlinen), hung out laundry (Bat)
• brought in dry clothes from yesterday
• cooked breakfast
• put in a load of laundry (bedlinen/blacks), completed dirty laundry round-up thanks to Bat and Dan,
• was pleased to get two potential Invest bids promised! 
• ate breakfast; intertubes
• did a load of washing up
• worked on wristwarmers
• watered some sad-looking things in both courtyards, did a bit of weeding in mine
• did pantry stocktake, found all the stuff I'd already planned for Solstice/Christmas, and wrote shopping list

I stopped updating this post after about 2pm, but I achieved a fair bit in the afternoon as well.

Thursday 12 December - Friday 13 December

I have a bunch of stuff to do today ahead of the event this weekend, and it's raining heavily so no point in planning to do any gardening. So here's a list.

• chased guineas out of the courtyard, cut some big/old greens and fed/watered chickens, harvested more silverbeet and buk choy flower stems for the kitchen
• made coffee, checked intertubes
• liaised with Nicole, worked out which awards we are giving this weekend (and which to hold over to the Invest)
• made breakfast (scrambled tofu for all of us to use up greens) - Hugh and Dan did most of the work while I sewed!
• finished Dan's bustle skirt; delivered them to the bus stop on time
•  showered and dressed to shoes
• met Dan at roller derby (4pm)
• research some ItalRen jewellery; op shopped for bits and pieces
• home with Dan
• spray painted peacock pendant for Italian Ren choker

Friday

• made a Baronial cypher token for Alessandra (cap, choker and blinged ribbon) plus a three-tiered Ital Ren necklace (FAT prize next year?)
• sorted through the Baronial bits boxes and made sure I have all the tokens and cords we need; found bits and pieces of largesse for a gift to the Crown plus made a Norse treasure bead strand to add to it
• packed baskets and laid out garb for Saturday

Monday 9 December

Timed To Do List

• 08:00  Get up, make bed, get into farm clothes; breakfast, coffee, intertubes
• 09:00  Phone call/contacts block
•            Gardening: 
• let birbs out, feed chickens
• continue with grass control
• 10:45  Shower and dress
• 11:15  Leave for Dan's singing lesson
• Mitre 10: potting mix, cow manure, lupins
• Salamanca Fresh: green apples, strawberries, bread
• tip shop
• 12:30  Pick up Dan
• 01:00  Home, make food, faffing on intertubes
• 02:00  Menu planning: 
• pantry stocktake/BotVC plan
• clean out fridge of old food
• menu plan
• shopping list
• 03:00  time with Hugh