Where Are We Headed?

19 Comments

Posted on April 21, 2013

Today I want to share a question that was posed recently on an internet forum that I read. The following is an edited version of the original question/statement that was put up for discussion.

“So many people seem to be in such dire straits with health – physical, mental, emotional and monetary problems. Why? Do you honestly think it is normal? I don’t. I think that the world is in melt down.

So much hatred and heartache in the world, the home, the streets and the schools ,these days.

I think that if we could go back to a simpler life of less things and more love and understanding then we would need less drugs for depression, anxiety and emotional related illness.

The word dis-ease is of course a body not at ease, not happy, not content, not reaching its potential and of course we all know the health system is buckling under the weight of diseases.

So why is humanity doing this do you think? We are clever and we do have choices about how we live and how we work and live in our family units and amongst our friends and in our communities and the wider world.

What are people’s agendas? Is progress the be all and end all of humanity, if in the end it only causes destruction? I think that we have gone too far and that it is time to pull back from the vortex we are hurtling towards.”

I found this quite confronting and to be honest, downright depressing. Several people responded and added their view of what was wrong with the world and I could literally feel myself being dragged down.

So I took a dose of my own advice, wrote the following response and immediately felt better.

“There are problems – there have always been problems.

Most of the issues have been thoughtfully identified in preceding posts. (Original forum discussion not copied here).

So, what to do about it? Whinge? Wring our hands? Worry? These are not productive responses and will only drag you into the downward spiral with everyone and everything else.

Take a step back and heed Ghandi, “Be the change you want to see in the world”.

I do not believe that ‘Dropping out’ is a solution. We are essentially a social species and are not wired to live in isolation.

Make small, incremental changes that are sustainable, otherwise you will be overwhelmed and setting yourself up for failure.

Turn off the TV – or at least skip the advertisements
Do not buy magazines
Limit your exposure to news coverage
Shop during conventional hours (Mon-Fri 9-5 and Sat 9-12)
Support businesses that only open during those hours
Turn off your mobile phone/internet for set periods so that you are not connected constantly
Reach out to your neighbours
Give something back to your community – volunteer?
Participate in local activities
Eat simple meals

It is difficult to change the sense of entitlement, constant anger, greediness etc that we see in the world.

TO DO

Practise the sorts of things I have mentioned
Model positive behaviours to your children, family, friends and neighbours

RESULTS

You will feel calmer, more resilient and positive
This may be the first drip of a new flood

If everyone who is concerned about the direction that society is headed makes positive changes we can make a difference. We are the society.”

What do you think? I am genuinely interested in how you view society today. Are we all agents of our own self-destruction? Can we change things or do we need to? Are you perfectly happy with your life and your place in the world at large?

Deep Clean & Dressed For Winter

5 Comments

Posted on April 18, 2013

Today I had a deep clean in our bedroom. I took the mattress and base off the bed so that I could vacuum properly underneath it. I turned the mattress when I replaced it.

I cleaned the windowsills, cornices and skirting boards.

The valance on the base was washed.

The valance was replaced and the bed remade with fresh linen. I have swapped the light coloured doona cover that we use during the summer months for this one.

It changes the look of the room. Although it is the same fabric, the darker colour feels right for the cooler weather. I have not yet put the feather doona on the bed – we have a cotton blanket and lightweight polyfill doona at the moment.

The weather is still quite warm at the moment but we will make gradual changes as needed.

Make Your Own

6 Comments

Posted on April 8, 2013

I have been busy with some other activities but I have hopefully got things re-balanced since my holiday and blogging will slot back into place.

I have posted the recipe for this cream cleanser before but I thought it was worth revisiting. I will also add a page at the top of the blog with links to recipes for cleaning products so that the information does not get lost in the mists of time.

Firstly, I assembled the ingredients all 3 of them!

And the utensils.

Cream Cleanser

1&1/2 cups bicarb soda
110ml dishwashing liquid
30ml eucalyptus oil

Mix all ingredients together to form a ‘Gumption-style’ paste.

Store in container. I use glass because the original instructions cast some doubt over the compatibility with some plastics.

Use to clean sinks, baths and basins by rubbing a paste over the surface and rinse clean with fresh water. You can spray with vinegar for added effect. As always, test surface to ensure it is OK to use.

Combine all the ingredients to form a smooth but stiff paste.

The finished product – ready to use.

The quantities in the recipe are perfect for the jar I choose to use. You can adjust to suit your own needs.

Bi-carbonate of soda is an amazingly versatile cleaning product and whole books have been written about its uses. Here is one that I also used on the weekend.

We had some grubby marks on the light-coloured carpet near the doorway of our bedroom. I placed about a teaspoon of bicarb on the carpet and gently rubbed it into the stain. I vacuumed it immediately and the stain was gone! It was like magic. It would naturally depend on the type of marks but this is definitely worth trying before resorting to carpet cleaning. As always, check for colour fastness on an inconspicuous spot before use.

What bicarb tips do you have to share?

Zero Food Miles

6 Comments

Posted on March 10, 2013

Today we picked a pineapple. It does not sound like much but this is one that we grew from a top that we planted over 2 years ago.

We may never be self-sufficient but is it great to know that there is yet another fruit that we can grow successfully. There are at least another 8 or more that we have planted since that first one. None have set fruit yet but I am optimistic.

The Duke also noticed that the last mango on the tree was ready.

Fresh fruit that was picked this morning from within 20 metres of our house.

No pesticides, no fertilisers, no food miles. It doesn’t come much better than that.

The Great Giveaway

4 Comments

Posted on March 6, 2013

I do not usually do 2 blog posts back-to-back but while I was writing my previous one Sarah posted a comment with this link about the giveaway that she received.

I had not previously had a giveaway on this blog as I did not feel that giving away more ‘stuff’ was necessarily in the spirit of what I write. However, I thought that the milestone of 500 posts was worth celebrating and the my readers (or at least one lucky one) would be the winner.

The bag is modelled on this one and can be used for a variety of purposes – pegs, cleaning rags, dirty laundry or even children’s toys. I would love to hear of other creative ways you could put a bag like this to use.

The giveaway, as Sarah correctly surmised is made from the remains of a doona cover and pillowcase which I bought a couple of years ago from the op shop. While they did not have tags on, everything pointed to them being unused and they were made from a strong cotton fabric. I have made a tablecloth, ironing board cover and now the giveaway from this fabric.

I am glad that Sarah is pleased with her surprise and as an added bonus, it matches her decor!

What do you think of giveaways on blogs? Surprise or not? Conditions applied? Items supplied by sponsors /product endorsements?

I am in the process of creating a pattern and instructions to make this bag yourself so if you would like a copy please let me know in the comments and I will work out how best to share this information. Granny, I have not forgotten you – just a bit busy these past couple of weeks.

Marvellous Mango

1 Comment

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.

Suit Yourself

1 Comment

Posted on March 4, 2013

When we were in Melbourne last month, The Duke bought a new suit. Before we left the store it was packed onto hangers and placed in a suit bag.

These bags are fairly lightweight plastic and we now have at least 3 of them at home. They are convenient if you are taking a suit when flying interstate but I would never store clothes in them as the plastic does not allow any air to circulate and the clothes would be mouldy in no time.

We are going on holidays next week and will be travelling by car for a couple of weeks. The suit will be packed as we have a wedding to attend in the latter part of the trip so I decided I wanted something better than a plastic bag.

First, I removed the zipper to re-use in the new bag. Then I used the existing bag as a pattern. I made the new bag somewhat longer so that is able to hold a dress as well. Thanks to the generosity of a friend I have several metres of poly cotton fabric, some of which was perfect for my project.

Here is the suit in the finished bag.

All zipped up and ready to go.

We now have a breathable carry bag/dust cover for special occasion clothes and another piece of plastic has been eliminated from our home.

Slow Living – February

4 Comments

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………..

Weekend Work

8 Comments

Posted on February 24, 2013

We have had a busy and productive weekend but it was not without some recreation as well.

Yesterday was the one bright spot, according to the weather forecast, in an otherwise wet couple of weeks. We set off early and headed to the markets at Yandina, which is about 40 minutes north of us. Our main goal was to buy some seedlings for our vegie garden. There is a great stall there and this was our first stop. We bought cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, beetroot, bok choy and lettuce seedlings.

The main focus of this particular market seems to be plants and The Duke always checks out the fruit trees and yesterday we bought another mandarin tree. I cannot remember the variety but it was not one had heard of, although the stallholder said she finds it is one of the sweetest varieties. We are happy to give it a try.

Once we were back home our next project was to hang the gates to complete the new fencing. I also did 2 loads of washing. After lunch the Duke mowed the lawn. I was very thankful that the weather stayed fine and windy so the washing was all dry and I got the ironing up to date.

It was easy to stay focused on what I needed to achieve as we had decided to go to the movies last night to see Quartet. It was the first screening by the Maleny Film Society back in the revamped Community Centre. We also had dinner there before the movie and had a fun night out. The meals are catered by Pomodoras on Obi, a local restaurant and function venue which also has on-site accommodation.

Today the weather has not been quite as pleasant, and we had some rain this morning, but it has not deteriorated as predicted yet. I have made some progress with several sewing projects. Three pairs of trousers for The Duke have been shortened as well as a new skirt I bought in Melbourne.

I have put a new lining in a skirt and am working on the waistband.

Here is the lining attached to the skirt.

And the right side with the waistband partly attached.

The reason I relined this skirt is because the original lining was straight and very narrow and I had split the side seam on it. I find this disappointing and annoying when I pay for a good skirt and find that they have skimped by making a lining that does not match the shape of the skirt. I am confident that my alterations will work well and I am looking forward to getting plenty of use out of the skirt. I also did some sorting of my fabric and have some ideas for several pieces so there is plenty to keep me going for a while.

Finally, this afternoon we topped up the soil in the raised garden bed and planted the seedlings. There are no photos as it was getting late and the light was not good. I hope to post some later in the week. It is now raining lightly so the seedlings will be enjoying that.

I am still waiting to hear from SarahN to claim the giveaway. Once I send it I will share what it was with you all.

Prepared

13 Comments

Posted on February 19, 2013

The wild weather we experienced 3 weeks ago is back, although not quite so dramatic. Parts of the Sunshine Coast and hinterland, where I live, have received well in excess of 200mm since the rain began on Thursday. The majority of it fell overnight on Sunday and all day yesterday.

The rain has eased for the moment and the forecast is that we have seen the worst of it so any flooding should only be minor to moderate. The lake in our backyard is nowhere near as extensive as it was last month or on many other occasions.

Gale force winds are being forecast for the next 2 to 3 days and of all the extreme weather conditions, it is wind that actually poses the greatest risk to us and therefore the need to be prepared. While there is a small chance of structural damage, either directly or from falling trees, loss of power is our major potential problem.

Electricity is integral to almost everything we do in the 21^st century so we have done all that we can to make sure that we can function for up to 3 days without it. Before I left for work today I made put containers of water in the portable fridge/freezer (set to ‘freeze’) so that we will have plenty of ice available to keep foodstuffs cool if we lose power for more than 24 hours. We also have 20 litres of drinking water immediately available. The cooktop is gas and we have solar hot water (if the sun happens to be shining!)

A less obvious piece of planning was my choice of clothes to wear to work. I had previously decided to wear a skirt, blouse, stockings and heels but instead opted for lightweight jeans, fitted ¾ sleeve top and lace-up shoes and socks. If we arrive home this evening (after dark) and there is no power I do not need to be stumbling around in my fancy work clothes.

I hope my preparation is not required, however, since it is only 3 weeks since we lost power for more than 3 days the inconvenience is very fresh in my memory. I wonder if others have taken heed as a result of the previous storm or if they have quickly slipped back to the complacent attitude of expecting that there will always be power whenever they flick a switch?