Slow Living – March

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Posted on April 2, 2013

This year I have joined with Slow Living Essentials so here we are again with a review of March. This will be interesting as we spent 16 days on holidays. We took a road trip to NSW, Victoria and Canberra and enjoyed a relaxing time. If you want to know where we went and what we did you can see more here. Meanwhile, I will try to fill in the categories below.

Here are the Slow Living categories:

{Nourish} While it was not spectacularly interesting, we did manage to feed ourselves each and every day.

{Prepare} The first half of the month was spent preparing to go on holidays.

{Reduce} The contents of the refrigerator and freezer were reduced to almost zero before we headed off on our holiday.

{Green} We took our picnic set and our own food for lunches when we were travelling so no takeaways and no disposable containers.

{Grow} The seedlings which we planted towards the end of February continued to grow while we were away and we are now picking and eating the bok choy. We are also reaping the fruits of self-sown cucumbers. These came up from cucumbers that fell and rotted from the summer crop. This is the second year that we have had a follow-on crop of cucumbers. The great thing about growing them in autumn is that the cucumbers are not as prolific nor do they ripen as quickly so we are generally able to keep up with them.

We also harvested a pineapple and mangoes.

{Create} The holiday theme is evident again in this suit bag that I made to transport the suit that The Duke wore to a wedding while we were away.

{Discover} New places and new adventures.

Woodside Beach

River

{Enhance} Sadly, death was the catalyst to renew some friendships that had languished. We were reminded of the fragility of life and the importance of nurturing relationships. However, there was happiness as well.

The happy couple

{Enjoy} We did enjoy our travels and recharged our batteries so now it is time to get back to the things we do every day and I hope my slow-living round up for the end of April is a bit more interesting.

Til next month………..

No Frills Friday

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Posted on March 8, 2013

This is not a new series of posts but simply the best title I could come up with.

The power was interrupted briefly yesterday evening so I reset the clock radio alarm for 5am before I went to bed.

The Duke usually takes care of this but he was out of town. I re-checked that I had set it correctly then hopped into bed. It was actually much earlier than 12.38. That is the only picture I could find.

I am not sure whether it was the cool night, the bed to myself or just sheer exhaustion but I slept soundly and the first thing I knew was it was 5.23am. The music was playing but the volume was quite low.

We generally leave between 5.36am and 5.40am to catch a train at 5.53am and drive almost 8km to get to the station. I had 30 minutes to achieve the impossible!

Out of bed and showered
Teeth cleaned, medication taken
Dressed, hair brushed, face moisturised
Grab prepared breakfast and lunch
Grab my bag
Let dog out
Lock door
In the car at 5.38am and standing on the station platform at 5.48am – exactly 25 minutes from when I opened my eyes.

I am a no-frills kind of girl at the best of times so I really managed to do everything I would normally achieve in my morning routine – just at super speed. Being organised certainly helped as I had already decided on my outfit and did not have to trawl through a cluttered wardrobe wondering what I might wear.

I have one handbag which contains the essentials and it is ready to go. My essentials for going to work are – rail pass, access pass for office, purse and car keys. There are other things in the bag but that is what I need to easily navigate the day.

What is your routine? Can you pare it down further if the need arises?

Marvellous Mango

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Posted on March 6, 2013

We have a small mango tree which we planted about 4 years ago. This is the first year that it has fruited and I am not sure whether it is due to maturity or simply the unusually warm, dry summer that we experienced up until the middle of January.

The tree is an R2E2 variety which is grown commercially here in Australia and has large fruit but the fruit we have picked are as large as any I have seen.

Regardless of the reason, we have enjoyed the half a dozen large fruit.

The flesh is smooth and firm with a fairly thin skin which is able to be peeled with a knife.This is one cheek or side of the mango.

Here is the cheek diced and ready to pack in my lunch. The remaining portion is covered in the fridge and will be used over the next couple of days.

Mango harvests are subject to seasonal variations so I will have to wait and see whether this season has been a “one-off” or whether we will enjoy home-grown mangoes each year.

I love eating seasonal produce, particularly those things with a relatively short season. Half of the joy is in the anticipation.

Slow Living – February

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Posted on March 3, 2013

This is my second month of joining in the monthly round-up at Slow Living Essentials and already I seem to be struggling with what to write. A couple of things seems to have conspired against me – it is a short month – is it really the end of the month already? and the weather! Since the dry spell broke on the Australia Day weekend (26th January) it has rained almost constantly which limits our activities somewhat

Here are the Slow Living categories:

{Nourish} With the onset of some cooler weather with the rain it was an ideal time to pull out the slow cooker.

I made a batch of pumpkin soup and and beef casserole.

{Prepare} We had an excellent crop of figs.

As well as eating lots of them fresh from the tree, I was able to dry some. This was very successful so I am hoping to have enough to do again next year.

{Reduce} This is always a hard one as we do this each and every day. I turned a singlet of mine that was too short into one for Miss O.

{Green} The weather has brought out the mould but I am keeping things clean and smelling fresh with the use of clove oil. You can read a previous post here.

{Grow} The warm, dry beginning to the summer meant that we had about 8 mangoes on our small tree. We planted it about 4 years ago and this is the first time it has fruited. I suspect that it is generally too cool for them here but this year’s crop has made it worthwhile. They are some of the best mangoes I have tasted and the flesh is as smooth as anything with no sign of stringiness.

Last weekend we had a rare fine day so we bought and planted some vegetable seedlings. They have more than doubled in size in a week.

{Create} Since my sewing machine has returned from being serviced I have got quite a bit of sewing done. I am working through my stash of fabric as well as some pieces I have been given. Here are some of the results.

Winter and summer pyjama bottoms.

A new lining in my skirt.

{Discover} I don’t think I have read anything this month but in a different vein I did discover some fabric to be used when I was sorting out my stash.

{Enhance} We gave away the used fencing wire via Freecycle. I also shared some of the many self-sown cucumber seedlings with neighbours, work colleagues, blogging friends and also on Freecycle.

It is a shame that I did not take some photos of them. Not so much for the seedlings but the innovative packaging. I used some excess egg cartons that I had been given and each seedling and its soil was packed in a space in the carton.

An internet friend sent me some fabric and I used some of it to make a dress suitable for an 18 month old. I will send it to her for her granddaughter who was born last week.

{Enjoy} We travelled to Melbourne and spent a weekend with our daughter who moved there recently. We saw her new home, sampled food at some local establishments and shopped.

I bought this dress to wear to a wedding in a few weeks. I just need to finalise accessories.

The slow living this month has been heavily weighted towards sewing and I guess that is not entirely unexpected with being stuck indoors due to the weather.

Now I am off to check out some of the slow living blogs.

Til next month………..

Building Resilience

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Posted on February 28, 2013

I have said it before and will say it again. Life is fragile. It can be snuffed out in a moment. Cherish what you have and live for today.

As you can probably guess, I have found out that an ex-work colleague was killed in tragic circumstances last week. He was younger than me with a loving wife and 4 children. This is the point where people often say (or write), “he didn’t deserve to die”. I find that statement offensive because it implies that some other people do deserve to die.

Death is inevitable and we all face it. There are close family and friends, acquaintances, connections through friends as well as those we ‘know’ only through the media. It is important to acknowledge the passing of anyone but it must be appropriate to the level of connection or we will find ourselves overwhelmed and consumed by grief.

This also applies to people who are gravely ill or facing a diagnosis which provides an uncertain future at best.

A friend’s elderly mother is hovering between life and death after a nasty fall. A well-known media personality is said to be gravely ill with possibly only days to live. Another friend’s mother has received a diagnosis of cancer. Each of these impacts on me and I am saddened but I need to process the information appropriately. I have not met any of these people directly but I can support my friends with messages and perhaps phone calls.

Life and death goes on every day and it is possible to receive almost instantaneous updates on everything via Facebook, email, Twitter and so on. In order to maintain your strength and resilience you need to take some time-out and recharge your emotional batteries. In the current time of being constantly connected it can be difficult to step away from the never-ending bombardment of information.

Your emotional well is not infinite. Top it up. Take care of yourself and you will be able to provide an appropriate level of support to those you care for when they need it most.

Memories

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Posted on February 22, 2013

Today is my father’s 84^th birthday, however, we are unable to celebrate it with him as he died nearly 12 years ago. While his death was sudden and unexpected, we are thankful that he did not suffer.

I miss my Dad but have many wonderful memories of him and cherish those today and every day.

Where do memories come from? How do you create them? What memories will your children and grandchildren have of you?

The shared experiences and activities of today are the memories of tomorrow.

Minimalism and Multipurpose

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Posted on February 20, 2013

While the nature of some tasks require a specific tool or space to complete the job, many things do not.

The first thing that comes to mind are the plethora of single-task appliances which seem to take up residence in many kitchens. You know the ones – waffle makers, ice-cream makers, popcorn makers, juicers, breadmakers and so on. I admit to having a breadmaker – The Duke makes all of our bread and has done for many years, although he is playing with the idea of artisan-style bread baked in the oven and successfully made a loaf the other day. We also have a juicer which could be used more.

However, today I want to take the concept of multipurpose away from appliances. When we had our kitchen re-modelled a few years ago we created a large amount of bench space, including this breakfast bar.

We use this space for eating meals, serving food and general food preparation so it does not always look like this. Once I have finished using the bench, it is cleared and we try not to use it as a ‘dumping ground’.

By having a clean, clear bench I am able to use it for other purposes.

I can pull the chairs back out of the way and I have a cutting table and workbench for when I am sewing. It is the perfect height and totally stable. I am also able to access it from almost any direction. My sewing machine is in the closest bedroom (a few steps along the hallway) but this is the perfect solution for me.

So, which comes first minimalism or multipurposing? If I had more stuff the bench would probably not be clear to use. If I could not use the bench would I acquire a suitable table and contribute to more stuff?

This is a winning solution whichever way I look at it.

Stop the Sabotage

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Posted on February 13, 2013

It occurred to me recently that many people are constantly sabotaging their own decluttering efforts.

They are hauling garbags of ‘stuff’ to the op shop, filling the rubbish bin each week and trying to find time list items on eBay in a vain attempt to claw back some of the money they have spent on unwanted items. Yet, these same people are often using every strategy possible to score a good deal on clothes, shoes, bedding, magazines, cosmetics and anything else that comes their way. It is only a bargain if you truly need it.

I feel that cheap or bargain-priced items are the nemesis of decluttering and minimalism. If you need to outlay a significant amount of money on an item you are more likely to stop and think twice about whether it is really worthy of a place in your home.

So, how do you resist the plethora of bargains?

Unsubscribe from all of the emails from shops and shopping sites – this is a continuous process and you need to be vigilant
Make sure you have a ‘No Junk Mail’ sticker on your letterbox
Do not buy magazines
Do not buy newspapers
Limit viewing of commercial television
Deactivate your eBay account
Set financial goals that require you to limit your discretionary spending in order to achieve them
Remember that shopping malls are not entertainment venues
Take things to the op shop – do not bring more stuff home
Shop with a list (and stick to it)
Send someone else to do your essential shopping
Buy 1 or 2 good quality items instead of 10 cheap versions – t-shirts are a perfect example

Do you have any other ideas for keeping the clutter at bay and the money in the wallet?

The Important Stuff

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Posted on February 12, 2013

A decluttered house? Meals planned? Clothes washed?

Sometimes it is easy to lose sight of what is really important in our lives. While it is great to be able to meet physical achievements the things that matter most to me are relationships – my friends and family. This has been brought to the forefront of my consciousness recently.

We were able to spend the weekend with Missy in Melbourne which was wonderful. Yesterday I listened while Micky shared some of the challenges she is facing at work. ‘A problem shared is a problem halved’ or so the saying goes.

Finally, tonight the telephone rang as I was about to begin preparing dinner. The sound of the voice of an old friend ensured that dinner was the last thing on my mind for the next 30 minutes while we chatted and the time spent apart just fell away. When I hung up and walked back to the kitchen I realised how refreshed I felt.

I am thankful for the close and meaningful relationships I have with friends and family and cherish them everyday.

Slow Living – January

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Posted on February 1, 2013

Today I have decided to dip my toe in and join the monthly diary started by Christine over at Slow Living Essentials. The idea is to post a round up of the slow living activities for the month based on nine categories. I have watched with interest and think that this idea will link in nicely with many of my own ideals and goals. Although Christine lives in Victoria, Australia I actually discovered her blog through Heidi’s slow living posts over at Lightly Crunchy. Heidi is in Ontario, Canada – what a small world our online community is!

Here are the Slow Living categories:

{Nourish} We eat largely unprocessed foods. I eat a gluten and grain-free diet for my health. I have been doing this for 6 months and am reaping the benefits. Here is my ‘cereal’ recipe.

{Prepare} A bumper tomato crop from several varieties gave me ample opportunity to save for later.

I made tomato sauce and tomato paste.

In the dying days of the month, I decided that I couldn’t bear to lose the 4kg of tomatoes that had been frozen and were rapidly thawing due to loss of power for 2 days. Using the gas cooktop, I boiled them up and reduced the liquid then bottled and preserved them using a hot water bath.

I needed to be a little inventive as I normally sterilise my bottling jars and lids in the oven at 140C. This time I boiled the jars and utensils. Finally, I used the same water for the hot water bath. Remember, I had to haul the water in a bucket from the tank at the back of our block.

We also prepared for, and survived, the wild weather from ex Tropical Cyclone Oswald (hurricane).

{Reduce} We repainted the old star pickets to re-use in the fencing project. You can’t see them here – the timber corner and bracing posts are new.

{Green} The timber chairs and table are sparkling after being polished. I use some vegetable oil with a little lemon essential oil on a soft rag to dust and polish all of the timber furniture.

{Grow} The tomatoes grew in abundance as did cucumbers. Due to a warm, dry summer (until the last week) we managed to successfully grow cantaloupe and capsicums (red peppers). The next month will be clearing and resting the beds ready for sowing again in March, weather permitting.

{Create} My sewing machine has been out of action (and, boy have I missed it)! I have been doing some hand sewing – mending a couple of items for Missy.

{Discover} I have indulged in some fiction this month. I bought the entire ‘Anne of Green Gables’ series for my Kindle. It was only a couple of dollars and will provide hours of reading. I did not read the books when I was young, although I did watch the videos when my daughters had them.

{Enhance} We swapped a cantaloupe for 2 small pumpkins with a neighbour. Also, checked to see how neighbours were going during the storms and flooding.

I also gave away 75 novels on Freecycle. The recipient was a co-ordinator for the Lifeline Bookfest so that is where they will be going. I feel like that is giving several times over. 🙂 They were ones that we now also have on our Kindles. We are enjoying the space, too.

{Enjoy} I introduced my granddaughters to live theatre.

Miss O and I went to see Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in Sydney and I took Izz to see Hairy McLary, based on the books by Lynley Dodd.

I hope you have enjoyed reading my first month of slow living as much as I have writing it. Looking back back over a whole month and what you have done is really worthwhile. I plan to continue this segment for the entire year. There are lots more blogs participating so it would be great if you check them out as well.