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Hellena Post - Creatrix

I've tried on so many uniforms and badges that now I'm just me - mother of 8 children and all that entails, flowmad, and human animal parent. Writer of this living book of a blog, philosopher, and creatrix of hand dyed and spun crocheted wearable art. I gave up polite conversation years ago, and now I dive into the big one's.....birth, sex, great wellness, life, passion, death and rebirth.


Thursday, April 25, 2013

Occupying Bamboo

Now how's this for occupying my blog.

I was sitting outside, thinking I should put some photos of our day up on Facebook, and then thought 'no.......I'm gonna put it on my blog instead!'  At least I can put in depth bits in amongst it, and it's going down on a lovely blog book record.  

Today was a very productive day.  We were going to finish the bamboo fence on the verandah, and we got distracted by bringing the washing machine inside, and creating a bamboo shelf for wool storage and recycling.  There's no rubbish collection services around here, and we've been doing all sorts of lateral thinking to get rid of our rubbish.  So we've been pondering permanent solutions for all of it.  For a start, we've got a huge plastic drum that we can compost our compostable nappies in.  *blush of shame* We've been binning our compostable nappies guiltily, but justifying to ourselves that it would at least compost in land fill, and excusing ourselves with our travelling lifestyles and the difficulty of composting them.  And between Paul and us have finally come up with a solution.  To slowly compost them in a closed container with added food and straw, and then bury them around the bottom of plants, thereby recycling and reconnecting the cycle of life and eating and waste.  Our composting toilet is coping beautifully with all of us too.  

And we also decided that we needed a big shelving system to do our general recycling, and that it had to be custom designed to go over our big toolbox, so we turned to our new friend.....Bamboo.  I'm just loving what's going on here.  Cause there's a shite load of Bamboo (it deserves the capital) growing here, and it grows so quick that it needs to be harvested regularly, and in order to open up spaces to garden and play, we need to clear it, and when we clear it we can use it to build the stuff we want to fill the newly cleared spaces with!!

We're in an awed kind of honeymoon phase with Bamboo at the moment, and I suspect it may not wear off.  So we decided to finally take charge of our recycling and wastes, and better manage the two rooms that we hadn't quite gotten to in our time here yet.

Here's Currawong starting off the concept, and working with the Bamboo at hand and the particular twist it has, to make it the most structurally sound.  And where he's working, with the blue splash on the wall, is where our new laundry is, with a shelf for all the tools and stuff that suits living in a laundry.


The really big advantage of working like this around the house, is that I get to look at a gorgeous Currawong in various states of dress, and here he's very handsomely displaying his builders crack.  Don't they all have them??


With one shelf up, and another one on the way, Balthazar helps Currawong, who's managed to make a costume change in between cutting down bamboo, cooking lunch, and answering a million childlike demands.


Finishing off the last details......there's always the last little bits that need a bit of final touching.  We're working with cable ties at the moment, but I'm seriously looking into making rope out of wool.  To tie all our creations together, combined with cutting notches out so they dovetail together.  


And here's a very proud Currawong standing next to an awesomely well done job (that I forced him to pose for).  We're starting to get a bit excited.  About all the furniture and shelving we can make to fit spaces, and details of how to do it, and I'm still stewing on an idea for the kitchen......


You'll have to wait for a photo of how good it looks stacked.  There's something so fulfilling about making something from our own hands, with our own labour and skills, and that it's also caring for the land at the same time.  

I think we've been bitten by the Bamboo Bug!  I can just see it now, Bamboo chairs, Bamboo beds, Bamboo everything!!!



8 comments:

  1. Dear Helena,

    So beautiful where you live and your bamboo bug.
    It is wonderful that you can live in your own house surrounded by subtropic nature.
    In comparison Germany is a doll house :)
    At the moment I wished I would be at your place :))

    Many greetings

    Susanne

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    1. I pretty in awe of the subtropic nature myself Susanne, and Germany is very very different from here! But no less beautiful. I was amazed at how very beautiful Germany really is when I went there in person.....

      And you're welcome here anytime!

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  2. Thanks for sharing this. I love that you try to make your space harmonious yet practical. I've been going through quite a bit of mental yuck postpartum and this and your previous post have helped me realize I need to ditch the stuff in my home's spaces that bring dischord with them. I can't heal if my home isn't in line with a healing mode. So thank you for sharing your life and times. I much appreciate it.

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    1. I'm just so glad that you got something out of it! And big hugs and mother blessings for your postpartum yuck. Any kind of change and cleanse and shift could be a very groovy thing for you right now!

      Hope it all starts to move sweeter for you....

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  3. Don't forget about bamboo domes! Need a splitter for that though - there was a workshop on these in Nimbin a while ago - lots of fun and possibilities ... Helen xx

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    1. We're getting very interested in a splitter......and will there be another workshop!! What a grand thing. Would love to go to something like that if it happened again.

      Thanks for letting me know!

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  4. I was thinking it might be fun and interesting to do a sort of life-exchange some years down thr road.Ive always wanted to go to Australia(my daughter is named after your capital city:-) )-and I love the idea of living off the grid.Im not sure how much you all would like the weather or city living here in Potland,Or,though.Its a great place as far as cities go..
    Your life just seems so peaceful and happy.I would love to try it on for a bit.As much as I adore my life, I cant help but wonder what it would be like to have so much freedom, sociability, and creative community collaboration.Thx for sharing Hellena.You are like my personal Alice, and I love to vicariously tumble through the rabbit hole whenever I read your posts.

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    1. Well how about instead of a life exchange, you just come and hang out with us here :) Done enough times in cities. Thank you so much for digging our gig! And I think I really like being your personal Alice :))

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I love your comments, and your feedback......it makes this whole blogging thing worthwhile. Peace and blessings to you!