Category Archives: Philosophy

Harvest Time

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When choosing this title I noticed that I had used it before in 2021 – except that it was in early November. It is now late summer here and everything seems to be ripening in abundance so we are fully occupied making sure that none of it goes to waste.

Here are a few of the things we have been doing in the past few days.

When we moved here we inherited two espaliered nashi pear trees which have borne prolifically. We did not net them so the parrots have enjoyed quite a feast but we have still managed to pick several hundred fruit. Once we discovered that we really like the fruit stewed, GMan has made it his mission to peel and slice the seemingly never-ending supply and the freezer is full of containers of stewed nashi which we will enjoy in the coming months.

It is now about 6 weeks since I picked the first of our zucchini and I been managing to use them at pretty much the same rate as we were picking them until the last few days. So, today I made zucchini slice. I have been trialling making them in individual serves in the airfryer for some time now and am happy that I have finally got the amended measurements and cooking times right. I will post an amended recipe in the next blog post.

I also grated several extra zucchini and have them packed in bags of 200g in the freezer for future zucchini slice making.

Meanwhile, the tomato sauce was simmering on the stove.

This was the result.

I made another of my experimental versions of basil pesto and am pretty happy with this one. Almonds instead of pine nuts. Some grated zucchini mixed with the basil makes it milder flavoured. Nutritional yeast rather than cheese makes it dairy-free, vegan and reduces the cholesterol. Yes, minimising the cholesterol intake is going to be more of a feature of my cooking in the future. I also add the juice of half a lemon as it makes it a bit less oily.

The bumper harvest has not been confined to just our garden and our neighbour’s. I picked up a bag of plums from a roadside giveaway earlier in the week. I stewed these and have some each morning on my cereal.

Processing gluts of home-grown, gifted or foraged produce can be time-consuming but it is a worthwhile activity which helps to minimise the amount of food going to waste.

Firmly Focused

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During the past 5 days I have completed numerous mundane tasks including grocery shopping, washing and ironing. However, my attention has been predominantly on one task that I was determined to complete.

I will not go into specific details except to say that I reviewed all of our logins and passwords and the way that they are stored. There are various programs available for securely storing sensitive information. I know that nothing is perfect but since we live in a digital age it is important to do the best we can. 

Old or obsolete accounts have been closed/deleted. I have created unique passwords for everything we access online. I felt that this was of utmost importance when you consider the number of organisations who have suffered data breaches in the past couple of years. There are undoubtedly other breaches which go unreported. By having unique passwords for everything means that if we are impacted by any future security breach then the impact will mostly be limited.

Even after deleting about 25 assorted organisations I still have well in excess of 100 different logins and passwords.

I am not going to be complacent but I do feel a little more reassured regarding the integrity and security of our information in the digital space.

Please do not post anything about your own ‘system’ but do let this be a reminder for us all to be a little more vigilant.

A New Buy

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It is a relatively rare occurrence these days for me to buy much other than consumables such as groceries and fuel, and experiences including travel, tickets to shows and events.

However, I think a recent purchase is worth sharing. Just after Christmas I was ordering some mixing bowls for one of my daughters. While perusing the website I saw some Joseph & Joseph chopping boards. These are rather expensive but were significantly reduced. I had seen my sister using them when we stayed with them early last year and I was impressed with them but had not done anything more about looking for some.

Anyway, I bit the bullet and bought two new red (naturally) boards. They are what I would regard as large and extra large. They are plastic but that is offset by their perceived longevity.

I may be a bit late to the party but here are some of the features I love about them. There is lip around 3 sides and a slight slope overall. These help to retain juices or errant bits when preparing food. Juices can also easily be poured from the deep corner. This in turn, helps to minimise waste. The recessed handles make them easy and safe to carry. One side has a spiked area which can assist in holding meat or other items in place while chopping them. There is also a narrow rubber strip on the edges which means they are stable and do not move when being used.

I have tried and used a variety of chopping boards over the years but these really appear to be the closest I have found to perfectly meeting my needs.

The other collection of boards all have their uses and will remain part of the kitchen until they break or wear out.

A Final Word

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As I prepared to write this somewhat reflective post, I re-read the posts I had written in the last 12 months – all 99 of them. That is more than double the number I wrote in 2022 which was a measly 44.

I know that statistics only tell part of the story and are certainly not the reason I began writing this blog back in 2011. Nor are they the reason that I continue. The blog is primarily a diary. It is a record of activities undertaken as well as thoughts and feelings on a wide range of subjects at any given time. I hope that some of it is of use and/or interest to those of you who read it.

As you will see in an upcoming post, it is sometimes the only record I have of something which has happened in the past.

There is no doubt that 2023 was overwhelmingly about our relocation from Queensland to Victoria. The sale of one house and purchase of another and the subsequent move and organisation of a new space.

Like every other year, 2023 has been a combination of highlights interspersed with some less than wonderful moments but on balance I feel as though it was a better year than the previous couple of years. Unfortunately, I know that has not been the case for everyone.

Onwards to 2024 and Happy New Year to you all!!

A Combined Effort

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I have recently finished making this lap quilt.

Let me explain the ‘combined effort’ in the title.

The embroidered calico blocks came to me in a bag of salvaged textiles that had been donated to an op shop but were destined for landfill as they were deemed not to be saleable. The blocks were sandwiched between other larger pieces and may not have even been seen. They had been hand embroidered and I felt it was important to respect the love and care which had gone into the handiwork.

So, I trimmed the blocks to a standard size and set about sourcing some plain coloured fabric which would complement the embroidery colours. Some were from my own stash and others from a friend.

The patchwork top was finished earlier in the year before we left Queensland. Once we moved I needed to find someone with a long arm quilting machine as I wanted to make sure that I did justice to the work so far. I bought a king-size sheet from an op shop for the backing and the binding and handed it over to be quilted. My quilting contact did a marvellous job of highlighting the various elements of the embroidery and patchwork.

Then it was my turn to add the finishing touches with the binding which was also cut from the sheet.

You can see the backing and quilting detail in the photo.

I feel like this was a really worthwhile project and the only new materials were the batting and thread.

Black Friday Blackout

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In a retail shopping context, Black Friday refers to the Friday after Thanksgiving (4th Thursday in November) in the United States.

Although Thanksgiving is not a traditional celebration in Australia the last 10 years has seen a steady rise in Black Friday sales. This has been strongly driven by online retailers but everyone seems to be keen to get in on the act. What was originally one day of concentrated sales hype has now been extended to include Cyber Monday.

The avalanche of Black Friday emails is astounding. The first one arrived on 3rd November – a full 3 weeks before the traditional Black Friday sales. At first it was a trickle of emails but in the past week has become an absolute flood. They all just go straight to the trash folder as soon as I see them but if I was interested I could have bought anything and everything from travel insurance, stationery, books, ink cartridges, cruises, phones, electronics, holidays, wine, fabrics, magazines, flights, overseas currency, menswear, outdoor equipment, magazines, event tickets, personal care and food.

Anyway, they can send as many emails as they like, Black Friday or otherwise, but we spend our money when and where we choose and not as a result of mega-amounts of advertising about what we supposedly need to make our lives complete.

The ‘cost of living crisis’ is headline news almost every day but I wonder how many will succumb to the Black Friday sales pitch for stuff that they almost certainly do not need to be buying.

Here is a timely reminder from an old blog post – almost 9 years ago. As relevant as ever.

Shopping For Summer (Mostly)

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We are currently on holidays so I have a whole new selection of op shops to browse in as well as plenty of free time.

Here are the results of some very successful forays.

On Thursday I picked up these three pieces in one shop which I popped into as I had 30 minutes to spare before meeting a friend for lunch. The trousers are cropped summer-weight ones in colours that will work with my existing tops. The pretty mint green top is linen and can be worn as is or I may alter it. I have yet to decide but anything that is 100% linen is perfect for summer.

Yesterday I checked out a few more shops in different areas when we were out and about. Some yielded nothing and that is OK. However, I did find two more pairs of trousers that both appear to be unworn. The dark green ones are David Lawrence jeans. I will need to take them up a bit and they are too heavy for summer but will be good when winter inevitably rolls around. The navy ones are Lyocell which is a lightweight, drapey fabric and will be perfect summer trousers.

Today I discovered four op shops in a cluster so I had a browse through them all. The $3 bargain rack outside one shop was where I picked up the white piece which is either a long top or short dress. It is 100% cotton and will be perfect for hot summer days. I think I will alter it to become a regular length top. Finally, the red top is definitely for next winter as it is a high quality 100% wool.

All in all, I am pretty pleased with this selection. I managed to add 7 items to my wardrobe for $60 but most importantly, they have been saved from landfill and I expect to get plenty of wear from them.

Living in Town

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Our move from Queensland to here has been a complete turnaround in several ways. We have gone from 1.5 acres of sub-tropical rainforest to 1/4 acre in a relatively dry area of regional Victoria.

As if those changes weren’t enough, we used to be 8km from town so it was a 16km round trip for even the simplest chore. We are now 1.4km from the centre of town and it is a safe and easy walk to most areas.

Today has been a classic example. GMan and I have each gone out twice yet the car has not left the garage. I walked to the hairdresser this morning then went to a volunteer training session for the Folk Festival where we are volunteering this weekend. Meanwhile, GMan has been assisting with the set-up for the festival and went into town this morning and again this afternoon.

I expect that we will both spend quite a bit of time walking to and fro over the next 4 days.

Another Week

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I was contemplating writing this post yesterday and the first step was to consider what I had actually done in the past week that was blogworthy. I have been neither particularly busy nor lazy but just meandering along.

On Thursday we went to Melbourne to see Tim Minchin. It was a terrific show and we made the most of the trip by going shopping during the day. It was mostly stocking up on some food as well as buying descaler for the coffee machine and getting a key cut. Saturday evening was more socialising as we went to see a local band at a small bar in our town.

In other shopping news, I stocked up on some bulk items. I have managed to arrange to collect bulk olive oil from the farm gate about 30km from where we live. We picked up 2 x 20 litre drums of new season organic olive oil which we share with several friends. It is an economical and efficient way of purchasing a premium local product.

My other purchases were online. I have previously bought all of my dishwashing and laundry cleaning products from Kin Kin Naturals, a family business located in the Sunshine Coast hinterland. As it was relatively close to where we lived previously, I was able to buy directly from the manufacturer. I decided it was time to research my options for these products and found that I could buy bulk quantities online from Australian Organics so I stocked up. This was an easy decision as they offered $9.50 flat rate shipping. I found that the shipping costs often make online shopping an uneconomic proposition so this was a great find.

I have also ordered a 15 litre drum of hair and body wash from Envirocare which should arrive in the next day or two. This is another product I am familiar with using and it makes sense to buy a substantial quantity in one go.

Why do I buy in bulk? There are several reasons that make sense to me. It saves time, money and packaging as well as protecting against supply chain issues. I know it is not for everyone as you need to have space to store the larger quantities as well as money available for the upfront costs associated with buying bulk amounts. These are a couple of the reasons that I am happy to share the olive oil with some like-minded local friends. Perhaps I will extend to co-operative buying approach to some of the other products as well.

For a Cause

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There are many very worthwhile causes and charities and I expect many of us have our particular favourites which are close to our heart. There are equally as many ways to support them.

Frocktober is a month-long fundraising campaign for the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation. Ovarian cancer is a particularly lethal gynaecological cancer for which there is no screening test. It is often only diagnosed in the late stages and has an extremely poor survival rate.

So, when a friend invited me to a Frocktober High Tea, I did not hesitate.

As well as raising fund for much needed research we enjoyed a fabulous spread of beautiful home-made delights and a fun afternoon of conversation with a group of about 40 local women.

Thanks to everyone who made the afternoon a success.

For the past few days I have been debating about my choice of frock as the weather has been extremely variable – it is spring in Victoria, after all. I finally opted for this bias cut sleeveless cotton frock with a lightweight cardigan. It is difficult to go wrong with classic black and white spots. This was its first outing as I had bought it about 3 weeks ago in a local op shop for $8. The frock is super comfortable and easy to wear and I am sure I will have plenty more opportunities to wear it as the weather warms up.

If you would like to support the work of the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation, you can donate here.