I have finally found a way to save more water AND make Miss 12 take a shorter shower! We already save our washing machine grey water to use on the garden, but now that our government has cut us down to one watering day a week, it wasn't quite enough.
So in to our shower came one 50 litre bin, and one 50 litre tub big enough to stand comfortably in. We have two shower heads, so the 50 litre bin goes under the one not in use and catches the drips (it's turned off but still drips). The person showering stands in the other tub and tries to finish their shower before it overflows. This was Miss 12's shower water this morning...
Four minute showers are gone - now we have four bucket showers instead! Now to the saving our skin bit. You already know that I make all our soap. The incidence of eczema and dermatitis has dropped dramatically because of this over the last year. So to take it one step further, this is now my shampoo...
I was sceptical, I did the research, and I'm now on day four and loving it. I wash the hair with 2 tbsp baking soda mixed with 2 cups warm water. Then I rinse it, then rinse it again with 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar mixed with 2 cups warm water. You don't have to rinse again, but I do - then I condition just the ends of my hair.
My scalp no longer comes out of the shower bright red, my hair still feels clean and healthy, and the itchiness is decreasing. I've promised myself a two week trial so I'll let you know how it goes.
And now I'm making our laundry powder as well...
2 parts Lux Flakes (or grated laundry soap) : 1 part oxybleach (or borax) : 1 part washing soda. I use the oxybleach (Napisan or similar) instead of the borax because borax is not recommended for greywater recycling - builds up the boron content of the soil, bad for the plants. This batch was 16 cups worth - which used most of a box of Lux Flakes, half a 2kg container of a generic brand of oxybleach, and most of a 1kg bag of washing soda. I'll let you know how long it lasts.
PS My regular laundry powder is great for gardens and skin anyway - I'm trying this as a cost exercise.
And the best bit? The kids get to lick out the piping tube and spoons. What better thing to have for breakfast than chocolate icing?!
Then for dessert, following the birthday person's choice of dinner (in this case, meat pies) we have the birthday cake. Blondie chose a really easy one - a rectangular chocolate cake (I used our old family recipe - so beautifully moist) with her favourite photo, framed by all her favourite lollies. Talk about a sugar overload!
Happy birthday Blondie!!
And one and a half puffs for the candles - all green of course - her favourite colour!!
When I first decided to be a trombone player, nobody said how much muscle power would go into playing and carrying the thing, I mean look the case! Believe it or not the case actually weighs about two thirds of the weight.
This is the instrument itself, the King, the Creator! Or just the trombone! Anyway, guess which is the heaviest bit. No it is not the bell, it is the mouthepiece! Yes really. I feel like I have been doing pushups after every practice. 
See this? Good! This is the mouthpiece. It may look different to any other mothpieces you have seen before. That is because you don't just blow into it, you blow raspberries into it! This is how you make every single note. To go higher you tighten your lips (I don't go very high with a trombone because I play in the bass clef. Low notes!), to go low you release your lips, simple!
Plus there's this advantage. Look at my lips! I don't need to get botox injections because all those raspberries do it for me!
CONCEPT SKETCH:
THE CAKE:
As you can see we used lots of Lego to achieve the desired result. The mountain is made of three 20cm butter cakes stacked on top of one another, the towers are jam rolls and rollettes with cupcakes on top.
RESULT: A very happy birthday boy. And a bonus? Mum discovered that butter cakes work just as well made in the food processor without all that time- consuming creaming of butter and sugar.
And he blew out all seven candles in one go.
Now, back to Blondie. Before the hockey incident she was cooking up a storm. She adores cooking, and is getting really good at following recipes. Below you can see what is left of her hedgehog slice. And it rivals what you can buy from the bakery...
And then she made cupcakes - they were delicious, vanilla and so light and fluffy. Made in the food processor, would you believe?!
Doesn't she look happy?
And this is the book she has been cooking from. We borrowed it from the library, but I am seriously thinking about buying a copy for us. It has some great basic recipes for kids - everything from meals to baking to dips such as hummus, and even pesto.
Next on the list is apple teacake - YUM!
