7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol 90)

1
Long term readers would realise I use blog Pseudonyms for our children. As Koala turns 18 at the end of this month, I thought it time to change her name to a more mature sounding one.  Henceforth she will be named Anna Maria, her own blog name for herself and incidentally her Confirmation name.

2
When recycling first became the ‘rage’ I didn’t get it.  A daughter of generations of farmers, I was raised to nurture the land, to take care of the environment.  For years I have used cloth nappies and purchased minimal processed foods. Truthfully though it is only recently that I have given serious thought to the sheer amount of landfill we are creating with our obsession with consumerism.  As our birthday months mounted up I become overwhelmed with the thought of all that packaging that comes with purchases.  I’m beginning to think there is more justification to my love of garage sales and recycling.

3
One result of raising children around building their entire lives is, they are totally comfortable using tools and are not daunted in undertaking a new project.  This week I discussed my concerns about a wobbly chair, instantly Michelangelo went to the shed and returned with the drill and screws to do an excellent repair job.  I’ve just turned over a couple of old 3 wheel jogging prams to him with the instruction to design and create a washing trolley.  I’m looking forward to seeing the results.

4
Lest you think all Michelangelo’s talents are reserved for trades, he is also showing promise in the kitchen.  The other night he cooked tuna mornay for the first time and mostly unassisted.  Rather impressive I feel, for a 12 year old boy to cook dinner for 10 people without help.

5
The Block and The Renovators have caught our interest.  One house on The Renovators could have been our  last house! A filthy cockroach ridden, 100 old cottage with exposed electrical wiring, holes in the floor, kitchen and bathroom that needed immediate gutting etc.  We lived in that! Were we crazy!!  lol:)

6
Last week we visited a bathroom/kitchen display room and I enjoyed it!  In all our years of building this was the first time I didn’t start hyperventilating in a showroom, I wasn’t overwhelmed. As I had invested time on pinterest prior, sorting out my ideas, I felt confident and decisive:)  Fortunately PC and I have similar tastes and when we disagree, well, he is right of course;)

7
We embark on our road trip to Outback Queensland shortly.   I’m gathering ideas on entertainment for the journey; 3days, nine children with a baby, travelling the old fashioned way (no DVD player).  My plan this weekend is to adapt this car organiser to fit bench seats in the van. I’d love ideas, suggestions, links to audio books, sanity savers etc.  Any advice?

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