I have been hanging out a bit on Instagram this past week or so, which is why the blog has been a little quiet. I have not really had the head space or the energy to write my thoughts in a particularly coherent manner blog post style, but things are getting back to normal now so here I am!
my favorite part of my morning ritual before I get stuck into the days work.
Things have been a little rough here. It all started when the cat got bitten by a deadly brown snake, (Most likely, they are very common in this area.) and we took her to the vet. From there we got quoted a $2,500 vet fee, ensue many tears from the boys and I as that kind of cash is simply not in our budget. With treatment you can't rule out kidney damage from the poison or a reaction to the medication. I know people who treated their cat for the cat to die anyway from kidney failure. We also had a cat survive after a snake bite without treatment being nursed at home as a child. We pondered what to do. Should we put her down so she doesn't suffer? or should we give her a chance to recover naturally?
We decided to try the latter, knowing cats are incredibly resilient against snake bites. I did a bit of reading and found an Australian study that showed a cat left untreated from a brown snake bite has a 75% chance of survival, and with treatment a 90% chance of survival. I felt much better armed with this information and knowing also that she is a young, fit, healthy cat and we are well into snake season meaning the snakes are generally carrying less venom then at the very beginning. Though the venom they do carry is just as potent. She still had some decent muscle strength in her legs considering her ordeal, though her coordination was impaired. Her breathing was stable and good and her colour good. We didn't know the time line of her bite, and we were only able to place it at some point within the previous 15hrs. Apparently, if a cat can survive the first 12hrs, things are looking pretty good.
Armed with this information under our belt we decided to take her home and nurse her the best we could. With clear instructions from the vet who reckoned she had a good chance of survival, I began to feel a bit better about our decision. I gave her 10mls of fluid hrly via a syringe aiming for 100-130mls/day and on the second day I added a high calorie smooth paste in with this. She was able to toilet herself and we simply took her out to the garden a few times a day. I'm happy to say that 'Little Puss' survived, and recovered astonishingly quickly. She is completely back to her old self, has fattened up again nicely. Though she now looks at me with deep disdain as I was the one to syringe feed her, which she disliked immensely. I suspect I will never be forgiven for such an undignified act of care. *eye roll*
If looks could kill.....
Then Angus fell off the monkey bars at school and broke his arm, which required a cast. Not two days later he accidentally dropped the whole thing in the bath, and despite it being wrapped in plastic. The bag leaked resulting in a dripping wet cast. Soggy casts are not a great way to heal a broken arm, nor keep the skin intact underneath so off we all went for a late night hour return trip into the hospital. With all the boys in tow of course as Grant is working huge hours 6 days a week over harvest. I wont go over the details but it was a very late and stressful night to say the least. But all is well that end well and I'm very pleased to report that Angus's pain is subsiding now and things are settling down.
I found some Marvel fabric in my stash which made for a pretty good sling.
Then there are the opens as we try to sell our little old cottage. It's fair to say I don't enjoy them, but they are a necessary part of selling. We have had offers but they are not yet quite at a price we deem as fair, though we are only two weeks in. We do not have unrealistic expectations of the price of this place, though we do hope for a fair deal for all involved.
You might remember that a little while ago I chatted about what direction I might be taking this blog in the future. One thing I talked about was starting a YouTube channel to share our journey as we set up the farm off grid. So I have made a channel and will start with messing about with a few videos here and there. They will possibly be poor quality for a little bit, and a bit rough around the edges. But in the aim of keeping things real and recording our families journey for our own record, this is where they will be. Sometimes in life we just have to start something, even when we don't know what we are doing! Much like this blog, which has evolved and changed over time as my skills have improved, and I suspect the YouTube thing will be a similar kind of process.
So without further ado - here are this weekends reads, I do hope you find something to enjoy.
A Simple Living Journey YouTube
This is a narrated video tour of our little old cottage. Its a bit rough, as I have no idea what I'm doing regarding video but in the aim of always keeping it real, bear with me whilst I learn on the job! Do any of you know a good video editing program?
Family Flourishing on an Urban 1/4-acre Permaculture Plot - Creatures of Place
Gosh I love this family. Their philosophy is beautiful as is their videography. (Is that even a word?..)
Being a mindful consumer during holidays
A great post written by Cait Flanders on 20 questions to spark conversations about being a mindful consumer during the holidays.
The homemakers forum
If you would like to join a community of like minded people living simply then check out this forum. A great place to chat about simple living, or ask any questions about baking, gardening, sewing, budgeting, green cleaning and what not.
Mending shredded jeans
This is a post by Kristen who is the creator of a blog by the name of Cozy Things. The knitters among you will love especially love this one! I love this look of this style of mending shredded jeans. It looks fantastic as well as prolongs the life of the jeans, win-win!
Much Love,
Emma
xx
