A Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY (Tuesday 20 January 2009 )...

Outside My Window... when I started writing this, the black silhouettes of the trees were outlined starkly against the first grey light of pre-dawn. Then Munchkin called me in to feed him, and Wombat woke and insisted I stay, so I lay watching the myriad shades of green gradually emerge. Now golden sunlight is hopping from leaf to leaf and the sky is a freshly polished blue.

I am thankful for... blessings beyond number.

I am thinking... that I really look forward all week to writing this daybook! It is a joyous idea - thank you Peggy!

From the learning room... Wombat has suddenly started stacking his nesting blocks into a proper tower, then unstacking them, nesting them and putting them away (this is a huge improvement over kicking them across the room!)



From the kitchen... another batch of Anzac bikkies are needed. I have been revising my recipe (which originally comes from Flo Bjelke-Peterson - Australians will recognise her as the inventor of the famous pumpkin scone!) Each time I make this recipe I have been adding less sugar and more interesting titbits, and I think we have finally got it perfect. It is SO easy for Wombat and I to make together, and they are healthy enough for me to leave accessible as a snack he can help himself to whenever he wants. They are not as dry as traditional Anzac biscuits, which, being invented for soldiers, were able to be used in hand to hand combat lol. The recipe is very forgiving - add any extras you like, change it around, see what you can create! For example, last time we made them Wombat insisted on cracking the egg himself - half the shell went in the dough and half the egg went on the floor. No problem! Pick out the shell, clean the floor, add another small egg and they turned out as nice as ever!

Wombat's Anzac bikkies

• 125g butter or margarine
• 1 dessertspoon golden syrup (Wombat's favourite ingredient and real reason for agreeing so readily to help make these - he gets to lick the spoon - and ask for a second helping lol; if you don't have golden syrup where you are, try honey or treacle!)
• 1 heaped teaspoon baking soda (don't make a mistake and use bicarb like I did once - the bikkies were still edible, but they really tingled on the tongue!!!)
• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup self-raising flour
• 1/4 cup sugar (the original recipe used a whole cup - you don't need it - they are still sweet with 1/4 of that)
• 1 cup dessicated coconut
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts (here is where I get creative; we hardly ever have enough chopped nuts on hand, so I add extras - sultanas, dried fruit, puffed rice, chocolate chips, whatever takes your fancy and you have in the pantry)
• pinch salt
• 1 egg

Put all dry ingredients in a big bowl. (Wombat likes to sift the flour.) Melt together butter, syrup and baking soda (very low heat and watch so it doesn't bubble). Add melted ingredients to dry ingredients and mix well. Finally, mix in unbeaten egg. Knead mixture for about 5 minutes. (Wombat and I both knead together in the bowl - that's why it needs to be a big one lol). Roll into small balls (I use about a teaspoon of mixture so we get lots of small snacks lol) and place on a greased biscuit tray (we use baking paper on the trays instead) or alternatively, press all of the mixture into a large biscuit tray. Bake in a moderate oven (180-200C) for 10-15 minutes (when you can smell them, they are done)!

I am wearing... a thin pink cotton nightie that was a hand-me-down from my mother, who wore it when she was breastfeeding me, and my pink cotton dressing gown. Nightclothes are the only times I ever wear pink lol

I am creating... a mess as projects pile up waiting for me to get a chance to use my sewing machine.

I am going... to make another cup of tea ;D (same as last week, lol)

I am reading... more about unschooling, and deciding that this eclectic approach suits me better than concentrating on either Montessori or Charlotte Mason, as it inspires me to "strew the path" with the best of all worlds.

I am hoping... that I get the chance to vacuum sometime today.

I am hearing... Munchkin gurgling on my lap as he shoves a fistful of my hair into his mouth.

Around the house... trying to restart the habit of 15 minutes decluttering every day.

One of my favorite things... online book shopping.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week:

• look back at the plans I have made over the past two weeks and ACTUALLY DO THEM!!!

Still working on that, lol...

Here is a picture thought I am sharing...

When Wombat, Munchkin and I went to check the mail yesterday, we spotted this BEAUTIFUL huge moth on the trunk of a young Cootamundra wattle. I am in love with the irridescent blue on its shoulders!

One of the concerns about unschooling is that parents may not be able to provide an environment rich enough to ensure that a child fully engages with their world. I don't think I have to worry about that while we live here! There is always another miracle to explore :D

This snippet of my life brought to you courtesy of the Simple Woman's Daybook. If you would like to join in too, you will find all the details here.