Cruel to be Kind

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Posted on July 28, 2012

I always feel cruel at this time of the year as I have to clip our Border Collie dog in preparation for the tick season which usually begins at the start of August. Sometimes I have left it too late with very serious consequences for both the dog and my wallet.

Today was the day and here is the ‘before’ photo.

It is not a particularly good photo as Psycho dog was determined not to co-operate. He co-operated even less once he saw the clippers, however, once I convince him that it has to be done he just stands still and quivers.

I used to pay to have him clipped but then eventually decided that I could do it myself. It has only taken 3 haircuts to recoup the cost of the clippers. While my efforts are not up to show standard I think he looks quite respectable.

Here is the end result.

Once it was all done I washed him with handmade neem soap and then dried him off with the hairdryer and he does look rather gorgeous. I think he will be wearing his Drizabone coat a fair bit for the next month while the weather is still quite cool – particularly at night.

It was imperative that I got this done before we go on holidays as the housesitter will need to check him regularly for ticks and that is nearly impossible while his coat is long.

That is another job ticked off my ‘to do’ list before we head off.

Edible & Spreadable

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Posted on July 15, 2012

What do you spread on your sandwiches? Butter, margarine, something else or nothing at all?

I used to buy margarine without giving it a great deal of thought, however, about 18 years ago I changed to spreadable butter that I make myself. My reasons are several:

Eliminate non-recyclable waste (margarine containers)
Health benefits (margarine is simply a chemical cocktail)
Easier to spread than pure butter
Know exactly what the ingredients are

This is the recipe.

SPREADABLE BUTTER

500g butter
250ml oil
150ml water
3 tablespoons skim milk powder

Allow the butter to soften but not melt. Beat butter using a mixer or food processor. Combine the other ingredients in a jug and stir well to dissolve the milk powder. Gradually add the mixture to the butter while continuing to beat. Beat for another 1 – 2 minutes until white and creamy. Spoon into containers and refrigerate. This made almost 1500ml so it is really quite economical. Actual costings would depend on the type of oil that you use.

I generally keep one container in the refrigerator and freeze the rest because we do not use a lot of butter and it will go mouldy/rancid if stored for long periods in the refrigerator. I use Pyrex glass containers as they can be put in the freezer and I am constantly trying to minimise the amount of plastic that I use for storing food.

This mixture can be used instead of butter in cooking and baking. The only exception I make is pastry as I prefer to use ‘real’ butter for that.

The type of oil you use is entirely up to you. I choose to use locally grown and produced organic olive oil which I buy in bulk at the Co-op in Maleny. Olive oil does have a distinctive flavour so you may prefer something more bland such as rice-bran oil. I do not consider canola oil as an option as most of the commercial crop is genetically-modified and I prefer not to use foods that contain GM products.

This is not a totally zero-waste exercise but it is certainly better than all of the margarine containers that you would otherwise use. I take my glass bottle to be refilled with oil. The butter wrapper is used to grease baking trays or line cake tins and then goes into the compost. I buy skim milk powder from Aldi in a 1 kg non-recyclable bag, however, I have recently discovered that I can buy this in bulk from Simply Good so will be doing that in the future.

Creative Play

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Posted on July 14, 2012

Today I want to share a tried and true toy with you.

This is a construction set which my parents bought when Belle and Missy were young. They enjoyed creating things with it and the set was used by other children as well.

When my mother was downsizing a couple of years ago, I brought it home. Last year I brought it out for Miss O and Izz. It has been really interesting to see how their use of the pieces has developed and increased in complexity over that time. They love this set and it is almost the first thing they ask for when they come to visit.

It packs away easily into a masonite box and I keep it in the wardrobe in my sewing room.

This set is about 25 years old and was made not far from where we live. I suspect that it is no longer produced, however, it is a very simple principle and one that you could do yourself.

This is the instruction/ideas sheet which is very fragile and unfortunately was ripped by a bit of juvenile enthusiasm.

There are many simple, self-directed play ideas which are valuable for pre-school children.

Shopping At Home

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Posted on July 11, 2012

In years gone by the phrase ‘shop at home’ usually referred to mail-order catalogues. This meant that you could peruse the pages for your choice of everything from underwear to saucepans. It was a service provided to people who lived in remote areas. Imagine the excitement when the carefully-chosen and long-awaited parcel arrived from the city stores (Myer and David Jones) to families on outback properties.

Shopping in the comfort of your own home was also a driver of many ‘party plan’ and catalogue businesses. These included Tupperware, Avon and Nutrimetics, to name but a few.

More recently, much of this shopping activity has been surpassed by buying online. I have bought things online, but usually only after considerable research. It makes shopping easy, so easy in fact, that I think some people have accumulated much more debt due to the ease with which they can part with their money or more likely, credit.

My shopping at home, today, was none of these. I merely walked downstairs to my store-cupboard and replenished supplies which would otherwise have necessitated going to the shop.

This morning there was no cereal nor much psyllium husk which I have on my cereal. So I headed to my cupboard and picked these two buckets.

Here are my pantry containers refilled.

This afternoon I ‘shopped’ again – this time for raisins and sultanas as I wanted to make a boiled fruit cake.

Having a store of staples means less trips to the shops which in turn saves time, petrol and opportunities to spend money on other items. It makes sense to me to have a supply of goods on hand in case of a range of possible emergencies or disasters. As well as food I keep a supply of other items such as toilet paper, toothpaste and soap.

Do you keep a stock of foodstuffs or other items?

Decluttering Meets Damask

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Posted on July 4, 2012

I have decluttered my linen cupboard several times over recent years but there were a couple of damask tablecloths which defied decision each time.

We now have a small round table which extends to an oval but both of the cloths are rectangular and one is quite large. About a week ago I had a blinding flash of inspiration. I am unlikely to ever have a large rectangular dining table again so I decided to cut the cloths to fit my existing table and enjoy using them rather than storing them for some vague reason.

This is the larger cloth on my oval table. My mother gave this to me and I am fairly sure it belonged to my great-grandmother. What would she think if she knew I was taking to it with a pair of scissors? Probably happy that it was going to be used rather than stashed in the back of my linen cupboard.

I made a pattern of the tabletop, worked out how much drop I wanted and set about cutting out my ‘new’ tablecloth.

Here it is hemmed, pressed and ready for use.

Then I started on the other cloth which I planned to make to fit the table when it is not extended and is just a small, round table.

This cloth was much smaller and when I cut the biggest circle that I was able, it was still a bit short on the overhang. So, I decided to increase the diameter by stitching some extra fabric on. I cut 12cm wide bias strips from the leftover fabric which you can see below.

I then sewed them into a continuous strip and edged the cloth with it. You can clearly see the join but I am not particularly worried as I now have a usable cloth for my round table that I did not have before.

I have now been inspired to re-look at my collection of tablecloths and see which ones I really should be keeping and how I can re-fashion them so that they are able to be used with my current table, either as a round or oval.

What have you given a new lease of life to?

March to a Different Drum

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Posted on July 3, 2012

I was reading the Down to Earth blog last week and Rhonda actually re-visited an earlier post from 2009 about how to start out living simply. You can read it here. In it she speaks about making your own choices rather than following a specific prescription for living simply.

The idea of being an individual and not slavishly following others really resonated with me.

It constantly astounds me how people are influenced by fashion and trends. It is not necessarily just about clothes but encompasses style of houses, interior decorating, colours and so much more.

Magazines are not generally part of my reading material, but occasionally I will flick through one when I am waiting for an appointment at the doctor or dentist. The constant, subtle pressure to conform and consume jumps out from every page. It is not only the advertisements but the articles with titles such as, “Gray is the New Black” which insinuates that you can’t possibly wear the black trousers you bought last year.

Everywhere you turn there is evidence of what is ‘in’ and heaven help you, if you actually consider breaking the mould. Several years ago we were re-building our kitchen and we decided to have a look at some display homes to get some current ideas as it was many years since we had looked at what was available in kitchen design. We headed to a display village of new homes – I think there were about 40 homes and we looked at the kitchens in at least half of these. I was totally disillusioned as they all featured the same basic layout with the kitchen as part of an open-plan living area divided by a long work bench which often contained the sink. The drawers all had over-sized rectangular handles with minimal variation and the decor was universally a bland grey/mocha palette.

People make fun of the 1970’s lime green benchtops which were ‘in’. In fact, if you want lime green laminate or any other colour of the rainbow, you can get it in 2012. However, you need to be prepared to do your own research and choosing by going to the suppliers rather than going to a ‘one-stop shop’ where you will be presented with a range which is really just a selection of variations of the current trend.

Whatever the product, idea, attitude or philosophy, do not feel obliged to follow the crowd. Be an individual, buck the trend and make your own decisions about you and how you want to live your life. It does not have to be based on the latest colours, mobile phone or gadget.

Do you swim against the consumerist tide and make decisions about how you live your life in an independent manner?

Clearing the Paddock

Organising the Woodshed – Part 2

Book Review – Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

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Posted on June 22, 2012

I have just finished reading the book “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” by Barbara Kingsolver. I had seen it mentioned at times on the Simple Savings forum but there was no real detail of what it is about so I had forgotten about it until recently when I finally remembered to download it to my Kindle.

This book was first published in 2007 and documents the attempts of one family to eat mostly local food for a full year. It is a substantial book and full to the brim with detail and information so is definitely not a light read. I think I will need to read it a few times to extract the maximum benefit from it.

I found some of the detail quite confronting at times, especially the descriptions of CAFO’s (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation) and the harvesting of the chickens and turkeys which they raised for meat. This is not necessarily a bad thing as it forces us to examine our feelings about how our food is produced. Out of sight should not mean out of mind.

Although it is written from a North American perspective there are many universal truths for everyone, no matter where you live. By the time I had finished the book I was inspired with renewed enthusiasm to seek out as much local produce as possible.

During the course of the year, they travelled to Italy and also on a road trip north from Virginia, through Vermont and into Canada. The local food that they ate and people encountered makes fascinating reading.

I also intend to apply the same principles to the food we eat during our upcoming trip to the USA. Since we will be in the north-east states during late summer we will have an excellent choice of fresh food. One of the things we had planned to look for is Farmers’ Markets in the cities and farm gate sales in the more rural areas. My goal is to eat as much locally-sourced, organic and unpackaged food as possible while we are away but more about that another time.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle contains numerous recipes based on seasonal produce which are also available on their website.

The book contains an engaging mix of passion, theory, humour and science related to a topic which is the essence of every one of us – our food.

I would strongly recommend that you read ‘Animal, Vegetable, Miracle’ and take the time to really think about what you are eating and how it came to be on your plate.

Shopping In The Garden

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Posted on June 21, 2012

This afternoon I went down to the garden and picked a bucketful of oranges, some mandarins, limes, perennial onions, grapefruit, chili and avocadoes as well as collecting 16 eggs.

Here is some of the haul.

Mandarins

Eggs

Ornages , limes, grapefruit, onions and chili in this bucket.

I set the oranges out ready to juice them.

These yielded 3.5 litres of juice and enough pulp to make 2 dozen orange and poppyseed muffins.

The juice is frozen in single serve (250ml) portions.

Here is the orange juice packaged and ready to freeze. Once it is frozen I will remove it from the containers and place in double plastic bags for ease of storage.

I took a pack of grated zucchini (from the garden last summer) from the freezer and made a zucchini quiche for dinner. While this was in the oven I made the muffins and a Lemon Delicious for dessert as well as roasting some sliced pumpkin ready to use on home-made pizzas tomorrow night.

The 2 grapefruit are prepared for The Duke for his breakfasts and the mandarins will be used in packed lunches.

The avocadoes are in the fruit bowl as they will take about a week to ripen.

I chopped the chili and onions and added to some cold rice. Lime juice, oil and pepper made a dressing to toss through the rice and we had this and some carrot sticks and sliced mushroom with the quiche for dinner.

I used 9 eggs in my cooking and am left with 34 in the refrigerator. Must be time to give some more away.

We are lucky to have a productive garden so it is important to make sure that we use what is available and store any excess so that it does not get wasted.