Muddy pizza anyone?

Look what we have been building.  Well, when I say we, actually I had little to do with the building.  More preventing claggy feet running back into the house.  The bottom opening is a fire place and the top opening is the pizza oven.

The clay was dug from our allotment where we needed a drainage pond.  Several bags of the stuff.  Back breaking work for the boys.

They have been planning this fire pizza oven since we moved in here 5 years ago.    There have been plans & counter plans.  Drawing after drawing.  Talking around and around the subject. Checking out blogs and permaculture articles. My brother especially was so excited that we finally have moved onto this project, as he hasn't had the interim house projectsthat have delayed this project of dreams to distract him.

So the dry September and October has worked in our favour, to get this thing dried out.  I was far too pansy to do the poddling of the clay as its called, because, well, quite frankly it hurt my feet!  Apparently I was unlucky and got the stoniest mix.  So I did the back-of-house stuff of making tea & bringing kettles to keep the feet warm.  We discovered that using warm water sped up the process by about half an hour.

Trial and error led to expertise by the time we got half way up the fireplace.  My beloved knew just how much sand and straw was needed to make the best mixture.  We still have the final test of lighting the fires, but it looks great!  I think it will be a while before its fully dried out, especially now the rains have decided to come.  There is still the small matter of a chimney pipe to be added.  Once it is fully dried out, the shaping bags of sand will be cut & removed.  Hopefully leaving a beautiful space to fire up.

The remaining straw bales have made a fantastic playground...

Look who's moved in!

This little (or actually not so little) fella popped his head out the other day as we were trying to clear the garden a bit.

It was all very exciting.  And boy could he cover some ground when he jumped away.  Anyone know what type he is?

Dreaming into the Darkening Nights

Full Moon found us Happy Ever Arters doing our dreamin' thang.  Our HEArter session this time was to meditate on what we wanted to have in our lives as we move into the long evenings of winter.  The time of short days.

Cutting and ripping.  Feeling and gluing.  And some Chai of course...

And a whole lot of mess to gleefully clear up.

Isn't it odd, I really don't mind clearing up after a HEArter session.  The chance to get together a bunch of creative sisters and make a mess, means that clearing up together is just a continuation of that joy.  Now if I could just extend that thinking to my everyday tidy up...

Yesterday my daughter said to me, (after I had done a quick blitz on the main & ensuite bathrooms)

"Mummy, thankyou for our sink.  Its lovely and clean"

I know, right?  I was astounded.  And oh so totally gratified.  But then I started to wonder if perhaps I had left it rather too long between cleans.    I mean, was it so awful before that a 9 year old should notice? 

The Worlds Biggest Summit.

Wow People!  If you haven't already done so, get along to Goddess Leonie's latest offering to the world.  The Worlds Biggest Summit started at the beginning of October, but its not too late to join.  (I hope!)

So far the contributers have all been fascinating and inspirational, with so much to learn & explore.  I just dont know where to begin!  Each day, there are 3 wonderous teachers to choose from.

And even better.... ITS FREE!

http://www.worldsbiggestsummit.com/

Allotment tending

Allotment lovin this weekend, enjoying the sunshine.  This poor plot has been badly neglected this summer holiday and was long overdue some TLC.

From this... Oh dear, there is a raised bed and a path somewhere under here.

To this.  Not finished but a good start at least.  Two buckets of convulvulous, aka bloody bindweed.  I am blessed with an awful lot of the stuff.  That was just part of one bed.