Sometimes it is worth looking back. I want to share a post from 2012 in which I looked at the rubbish we generate.
I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas in 2016.
Category Archives: Self-reliance
Luxury of a Long Weekend
Leave a commentThank you for your kind words after my last post and patience while I collect my thoughts.
This morning I woke and lay in bed contemplating the unusual situation of 3 days at home (it is a long weekend here in Queensland) and no commitments. That is right – nothing, nobody, nowhere. We had no plans.
Don’t get me wrong. I love catching up with family and friends, entertaining and going places but it is such a novelty not to have anything planned.
The weather is cool and humid with showers of rain threatening.
GMan and I began by taking the outdoor table downstairs to clean it in preparation for painting. Next, we have cleaned all of the concreted area under the house – swept, vacuumed and cleaned with the high-pressure water spray.
After using the outdoor vacuum cleaner GMan discovered that the filter bag was falling to bits.
I decided that I could make a new one which appears to have been a success.
Here it is attached to the lid of the vacuum cleaner.
There are lots of other things we can work on and there will be more about those in upcoming posts.
I hope you are having a safe and relaxing weekend wherever you are.
Destruction Day
2 CommentsSince we are both working full-time it is a challenge to get a great deal done in the garden. Basic maintenance such as lawn mowing and keeping the vegetable garden in some sort of order takes most of the available time on the weekend.
Autumn is finally creeping up on us and the lawn growth has slowed somewhat so GMan has a bit more time. So, a long weekend which offered 3 available days was a great opportunity to make a start on a big project that we have been planning for a number of years.
It was a beautiful autumn morning so I quickly took this photo before we started.
This is the result of GMan with a chainsaw (and me helping).
It was late in the afternoon by the time I took this photo so I apologise for the lack of clarity.
Whilst the area in the first photo looks beautifully lush and green, it was an overgrown mess of multi-trunked trees which were all entwined as well as a couple of dozen self-sown avocado trees. These had come from avocadoes that had fallen from the main tree further up the embankment. The large eucalypt in the centre of the photo was completely hidden by all of the rubbishy vegetation around it but now we can see that is a beautiful tree.
The next step will be to clear and mulch all of the cleared vegetation and then work on replanting the area with more appropriate species.
Sometimes things have to get worse before they can improve and this is definitely one such instance.
The Importance of Ironing
4 CommentsI know many of you will not read this post and others will shake their heads in disbelief at the title but please bear with me.
Ironing is an aspect of homemaking that seems to be almost universally hated but there is a valuable aspect to the task. I have mentioned before about the importance of taking care of what you own to get the maximum use from it and thus reduce the overall carbon footprint of any item. This applies to clothes and keeping your clothes in good repair makes good economic and environmental sense.
Taking the time to check each garment while you are ironing can identify problems before they become too extensive to repair. My previous post about my black linen top highlights this point. I noticed they fraying at the hem and have repaired this by using a wide satin stitch (zig zag) along the edge that had frayed. I have checked the remainder of the hem edge and cannot see any signs of similar problems, however, I will keep a close eye on it in the future.
The mend is not invisible but reasonably well-disguised so I am happy to continue to wear this top.
Today when I was ironing I discovered 2 other issues. The first was one of GMan’s business shirts. There was a small yellow stain on the back near the armhole and I have no idea of the origin. It is about the size of a 20c piece and not terribly noticeable as it is a dark checked shirt. However, I have soaked the shirt in the hope that the stain will come out.
The other discovery was another minor mending job. I have a pair of white trousers with a centre back zip and a few stitches of the seam had broken just below the zip. This is not a huge issue at the moment but could be if I wore them and split the seam further. I repaired the seam and they are as good as new. This is a classic example of the saying “A stitch in time saves nine”. It could also save me from a potentially embarrassing and costly situation if I had to rush out and make an emergency purchase.
Obviously, I do not iron everything but hanging out washing or folding clothes I also take time to make sure they are in good order and ready to be worn.
Disappointed
Leave a commentI was doing the ironing today and one of the items I ironed was a black linen top that I bought in Melbourne when we were on holidays in December.
I noticed that there seemed to be a small segment of frayed fabric on the bottom edge. On closer inspection I discovered that that bottom has a facing rather than a turned hem and the fabric had been trimmed too close to the stitching leaving next to no seam allowance.
Thanks to my spreadsheet tracking what I wear, I know that I have worn it 4 times. This is not a $5 top and I am really disappointed that this has happened.
I could toss it in the bag to go to the op shop but I have decided to take responsibility and mend it.
My first thought was to align the edges and zig zag it together using a fairly short stitch. This would be far from invisible but fairly effective. The section in question is on the bottom edge at the back of the garment. Alternatively, I could unpick the topstitching to access the section from the inside and restitch it. My concern with this approach is that it could create a noticeable dip in the edge.
How would you approach this mending task?
A Bumper Crop
2 CommentsIt is just as well we like sweet potatoes. Here is what we dug up on Sunday. i Have not weighed them but there would have to be at least 20kg.
We dug these up from where they had become established in one of the cut down water tanks that we use for the compost. The sweet potato vines were entwined with the raspberry canes so we decided it was time to pull them out and this was the result.
Sweet potato mash, fries, curry and soup – the options are endless.
I will definitely be trying this one, too. Thanks, Julia.
Taking the Time
Leave a commentToday we met the housesitters who will be taking care of our home while we are overseas later in the year. We invited them to come and have a look around, meet the animals and generally get a feel for the place. We spent a few hours showing them around and explaining various aspects of the property. During that time we had lunch on the verandah as it was a lovely day.
As we discussed various things it struck me how much of our home and garden is simply taken for granted or gets forgotten in the myriad of tasks which make up our day to day routine. Time really appreciate what we have.
After our visitors had gone GMan and I spent a while out in the garden. Apart from the mass of sweet potato plants in one of the raised vegetable gardens we also had some which had taken root in an old cut-down water tank which is one of our compost piles. It was becoming entwined with the raspberry canes so we began to pull them out and realised that there were potatoes growing. I started digging and this was the harvest.
The next job was down by the bottom fence. We planted a new tree which we had bought a couple of weeks ago. It is a tropical birch and according to the label will be perfect for our climate, deciduous with colourful autumn foliage. It is difficult to see but look closely.
A little further along the fence is a callistemon which has come up self-sown. It was almost choked with wed and entangled in the fence so with a bit of care it will hopefully become established.
Speaking of autumn foliage, the liquidamber is showing the first signs of colour. A few golden leaves are peeping through the green.
This is a broader view of the same general area with the liquidamber tree to the left of the photo. Being in a high rainfall area, everything grows easily and well but unfortunately, that includes weeds and unwanted trees and shrubs. Most of the foliage to the right of the liquidamber is not particularly pleasant or useful so we have finally made a decision to have a substantial swathe of it lopped and mulched so that we can replant the area with more suitable plants. Watch this space for before and after photos. Hopefully it will happen before we leave on our trip.
This is a view of some of the trunks and undergrowth of the area we plan to have cleared.
Behind the 2 water tanks is a clear area where GMan planted some pawpaw seedlings a few weeks ago. These had been given to us and they seem to be doing quite well. They are difficult to see but there are about eight plants through the centre of the photo.
Finally, here is the front verge which is a selection of native shrubs which we started planting about 9 years ago and have extended a bit more since then. A couple of weeks ago I noticed some unusual foliage higher than the rest of the shrubs and it turned out to be a tree which we had not planted and already reached a height of about 5 metres. I am not sure what it was but am certain it was non-native and almost certainly an invasive weed so GMan cut it down last week with minimal damage to the surrounding shrubs. It is a reminder that we need to keep a closer eye on what is growing here.
As always, the garden is a work in progress and we have lots of plans. I hope you have enjoyed checking out a little of our place.
Dismantling the Dishwasher
4 CommentsNo, I am not getting rid of my dishwasher but simply giving it a thorough clean. The dishwasher is a 2 drawer Fisher & Paykel which was installed about 7 years ago when we renovated the kitchen.
We regularly wipe over the inside and outside of the machine but had never taken the filter out of the base. Today I removed the racks, spray arm and the filters. I used a damp cloth to wipe off any scum and then dried the inside of the drawer with a dry cloth.
I cleaned the filters which had a small amount of scum build-up on the mesh using a kitchen brush and rinsed them in cold water.
Here are all of the pieces drying on the bench.
It was easy to reassemble the drawer and it is ready to use for another 7 years – or perhaps I will clean it sooner.
Whenever you dismantle something for any reason it is important to take careful notice of how it is put together to save any angst when you come to reassemble it.
It is interesting to note that despite the extended time of use the machine generally was quite clean. I think this is testament to the Kin Kin Naturals dishwasher powder that we use and that GMan is quite particular rinsing dishes before loading them in the dishwasher.
This is a timely reminder to maintain appliances to keep them in good working order.
Dinner – Braised Steak and Onions
12 CommentsWhen I mentioned in a Facebook group that I was preparing some meals for later in the week this one caught some attention and I have been asked for the recipe. Well, like many of my meals, recipe is a bit of a joke but I will do my best to explain my method.
2 large pieces of gravy beef in the slow cooker
1 onion, sliced spread on top of the meat
2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons tomato sauce (ketchup)
200ml water
1 tablespoon tomato paste
Add all of the ingredients, cook on high for about 6 hours or until beef is tender and can be broken with a spoon.
I then divided the meat and gravy into 2 containers as this will make 4 serves – 2 meals for GMan and I. It is now in the freezer and will be added to the menu plan at a later date.
I usually add a little more water when I am reheating to make the gravy a bit thinner.
Now I will share what I really did.
The onion was frozen onion rings that I had done from a large bag of onions I bought some time ago. I used a handful which was roughly equivalent to one onion. Worcestershire sauce was not measured – just a splash of homemade worcestershire sauce and the tomato sauce and 200ml of water was achieved by rinsing out various almost empty bottles of homemade tomato sauce.
Finally, I tossed in a tablespoon of powdered dried tomato which I made from some of our glut of cherry tomatoes but tomato paste would be equally as good.
I am sure this ‘recipe’ would horrify the purists but it tastes great and when served with mashed potatoes and some other vegetables of your choice makes a hearty meal.
A Weekend Off
Leave a commentWell, it has been a little more than just the weekend, but I took a few days off from my blog.
Life has continued much the same as usual. During the week I go to work. On the weekend I go shopping to make sure that we have the food that we need. I plan and prepare meals for the week ahead. The washing and ironing and done and so the cycle begins again.
I made another quiche using the rice base that I wrote about last week. This also used up some more of the cream.
The meat supplies were low so I stocked up. One of the things I bought was gravy beef. I use this to make casseroles in the slow-cooker and one of my favourites is Braised Steak and Onions. I will do a separate post about this easy meal.
While I was catching up on general housework, GMan was busy outdoors. He set himself the task of digging up all of the lawn in the area were we are trying to establish a number of blueberry bushes. They seem to be struggling and I think it is because they are competing with the lawn for nutrients. So all of the lawn around them will go and we will mulch the entire area. As usual, nothing went to waste and the lawn has been re-homed in other areas of the garden.
The chickens really enjoyed the opportunity to scratch around in the freshly exposed earth and found lots of tasty morsels. Digging is their favourite activity and they never miss an opportunity.
organised castle 