Christmas is Coming

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Posted on November 7, 2014

I know that the year is rolling by and before we know it Christmas will be upon us. In fact I read this comment on a discussion forum a couple of days ago,

“Everyone is so busy and it will get even busier as it gets closer to Xmas… which I haven’t planned anything….”

This got me thinking as to why everything has to be busy in the lead-up to Christmas. I love Christmas for the joy of being able to share the day with my family, especially the grandchildren. I do not enjoy the commercialism of it nor the endless round of parties, celebrations and gift-giving. The associated stress and pressure is simply not worth it.

I try to switch off to most advertising at any time but I find it particularly insidious at this time of the year. Every conceivable type of business is exhorting us to buy their goods so that they can be delivered by Christmas. Worse still, are the offers of no repayments until the New Year etc, etc. Just remember that everything has to be paid for at sometime and do you really want to be paying for Christmas at this time next year?

Like many other aspects of our life, we have managed to eliminate a lot of unnecessary Christmas festivities and focus on what is important to us.

This year we will be keeping it simple.

Neither The Duke nor I attend any work functions.
The Duke and I will go to a local festive gathering. It is an opportunity to socialise with our neighbours and is hosted by a different family each year. Everybody brings their own drinks and a plate of food to share.
We will take our grand-daughters to see the Christmas lights in our area. I want to take them to a carol service at the local church.
We will spend 5 days at the beach with family.
Christmas lunch will be at my sister’s place with extended family.
Gift giving for the family will focus on experiences and/or consumable gifts.

Over the next 6 weeks I will share some of the things you can do and make in the lead-up to Christmas which are memorable but relatively easy on the budget. Please share any special ideas from your family.

In the meantime, here is a photo I took yesterday when I went to Caloundra to meet some friends for lunch. I am hoping for some similarly spectacular weather when we spend some time there at Christmas.

Project 333 – 3 In, 6 Out

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Posted on October 26, 2014

It is now 5 weeks since we arrived home from our trip to the UK and Ireland. Those of you who followed my travel blog will know that I travelled fairly lightly and had 6 tops earmarked to go to the charity bin at the end of the trip. In this post you can see the 3 tops (red, blue and black) and the 3 striped 3/4 sleeve tops that I had decided would need to go. They were all pretty much past their use-by-date as they had faded, had small stains and the necklines were stretched and out of shape. I wore them to death for the 6 weeks that we were away and was glad to see the back of them at the end of the trip.

I think I have enough short-sleeved and sleeveless tops in my wardrobe but the 3/4 sleeve ones will need replacing. That will be a project before next autumn. In the meantime I did buy 3 pieces on the weekend we arrived home. I did not specifically set out to buy any of them.

The Duke and I went to Maleny to pick up a few groceries and I decided to take a look in a small boutique. I found this dress which is 100% cotton, lined and cool and comfortable. The fact that it is black and white is an added bonus.

Next, we wandered across the road to a recycle boutique where I struck it lucky. This blouse is also cotton (with a touch of spandex) and I don’t think it had ever been worn. I discovered why that was probably the case when I tried it on. The top button was at the level of the bottom edge of my bra! It was an easy matter to make another buttonhole and add a button. Also, black and white!

Finally, I found a lovely stretch lace waterfall cardigan by Mela Purdie. This was also in the recycle boutique and a steal at $35 when it would have been around $250 when brand new.

I am really pleased to have found these pieces and feel that they are all worthwhile additions to my wardrobe.

The More You Spend…………

Going Shopping & Gluten-Free Muesli

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Posted on July 20, 2014

As many of you would be aware, I buy most of my dry goods from the bulk bins at Simply Good. This means I can buy as much or as little of an item as want with no packaging and no waste. This is a topic dear to my heart and one which is being encouraged during ‘Plastic-Free July’. I use re-usable mesh bags for things like dried fruit, seeds and nuts and reuse paper bags for flours and almond meal. Once I get home they are decanted into storage jars.

These are the ingredients I use to make my gluten-free muesli. You can adjust the quantities to suit yourself.

2 cups coconut
3 cups pumpkin seeds
3 cups sunflower seeds
4 cups almonds (roughly chopped) – I use the food processor
2 cups sultanas
2 cups flaxseed meal
1/4 cup cinnamon
1/4 cup ground ginger (optional)

Combine all ingredients thoroughly.

I store my mix in a large airtight container.

To serve – I use 1/4 cup of muesli and add 1 dessertspoon each of chia seeds and psyllium husk. I usually add 1 apple (grated) and 1 kiwifruit (chopped) plus a spoonful of plain yoghurt. It makes a delicious and satisfying breakfast.

Something from the Garden

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Posted on June 29, 2014

Back to one of my favourite topics – eating what is in season.

Last night we had salmon for dinner. While the salmon is not strictly local, it does come from Australian waters. It is farmed in the clear water of the Huon River estuary in southern Tasmania. The salmon could hardly be considered a budget meal as it costs about $10 for enough for 2 serves. We always barbeque the salmon and season it with a little salt and some lime juice to enhance the flavour.

I served it with pumpkin mash, stir-fried pak choy, balsamic roasted cherry tomatoes and avocado slices. I poured some of the balsamic/tomato juice over the salmon as a glaze to finish it off. All of these ingredients came from our garden so you can’t get much more seasonal or local than that. It also means that a meal of salmon is quite a reasonable price. What would you pay in a restaurant for a meal like this? $30 – $35 perhaps?

Not every meal contains as much of our own garden produce but I do try to include it as much as possible. Tonight we are having pizza which will be spread with mango chutney (made from the neighbour’s mangoes) instead of tomato paste and have balsamic roasted pumpkin as the main topping.

We have had a bumper harvest of pumpkins this year so I am constantly looking for creative ideas to use them. As well as the ubiquitous pumpkin soup, pumpkin mash and being used on pizza topping I have also made some pumpkin scones recently.

What do you have a glut of? Do you have any pumpkin suggestions?

Shopping & Sewing

8 Comments

Posted on June 22, 2014

Firstly, thanks for your kind comments on my ‘Hollywood’ outfit. I am really pleased with it and quite looking forward to the occasion. I am considering keeping the skirt as well as the top because I am thinking that there could possibly be other occasions for which it will be suitable. Also, I dislike being cold and it can be quite difficult to be warm and glamorous so this would definitely fit the bill. I could even add leggings under the skirt.

I am not keen on shopping but sometimes it has to be done, so yesterday we made a bit of a pilgrimage to a couple of the larger shopping centres which are about 30 minutes drive from where we live. I won’t bore you with all of the details but I did manage to buy this piece of fabric at Spotlight. I will make a camisole to go under the black top of my Hollywood outfit.

While I was at Spotlight I also bought a round plastic tablecloth. It was reduced in price and I had a discount voucher so ended up being priced at $5.70. It is to go on a plastic outdoor table that previously belonged to my mother. I wanted a permanent cover on the table so I decided to cut it a bit bigger than the table and attach elastic to the outer edge.

Here is the piece I cut off the cloth.
Coincidentally, there is a discount clothing store in the same complex as Spotlight and The Duke bought some new underwear and discarded several pairs that were looking the worse for wear. I salvaged the elastic and used that to attach to the plastic cloth.

Here is the finished article on the table – and no sign of the Bonds underwear elastic!

Project 333 – Cinderella

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Posted on June 20, 2014

The whole essence of Project 333 is about owning clothes that you wear and love. As well as considering things like the style, colour and size of your clothes, you need to make sure that that your clothes are appropriate to your lifestyle.

So, what happens when life throws you a curved ball? I discovered this week that the work conference I am attending in a couple of weeks includes a gala dinner with a “Hollywood Glamour” theme. I don’t own a full-length frock, I’m 5’2″ tall, do not plan on wearing high heels and I have 10 days to create a red-carpet look!!

I canvassed a few options – buying in the city where I work, buying online, hiring or buying secondhand – either in person or online. If I had a bit more time I may have bought this frock online. I would have chosen the jade green.

I decided that my first choice was to see if I could find something secondhand so I went to the Lifeline charity shop located not far from where I work. It is in the middle of the city and generally stocks good quality items. I did not have any particular idea of what I wanted so was open to all ideas.

A skirt caught my eye.

I did not try it on straightaway but turned my attention to finding a suitable black top.

The skirt is clearly meant to be mid-calf length and it is slightly big in the waist for me, however, by allowing it to sit on my hips it becomes a floor-length skirt. The top is a crossover black knit by Alannah Hill embellished with feathers and sequins. It has 3/4 sleeves with drawstrings at the elbow. The length is perfect as it covers the top of the skirt but is short enough for me. I will either buy or make a camisole to wear under the top.

Teamed with my existing patent leather heels and a small black evening bag, I think I will be ready for the red carpet!

My shopping spree cost me $52 – $25 for the skirt and $27 for the top. I am not sure about the skirt but I can definitely see a place for the top in my wardrobe. It could even go with a pair of jeans.

Project 333 – Changing Colours

Clean & Green

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Posted on May 21, 2014

In an online discussion group of which I am a member, the challenge this week was to make some changes in your routine to make your life a little greener. It was noted that actions that are good for the environment can also be beneficial to your purse.

When I stopped and thought about this, I realised that most of how I choose to live is a result of making the best choice I can in the prevailing circumstances. Some of these things are what I have always done and others are changes I have made but it is so long ago that I do not even consider them as particularly green.

Here are some of our household patterns.

Use locally-made, environmentally-friendly washing liquid, laundry soaker, dishwashing liquid and dishwasher powder from Kin Kin Naturals.

Make my own wool wash and cream cleanser.

Use bicarb and vinegar to clean most surfaces.

Hang clothes outdoors to dry or in front of the fire. Use clothes dryer rarely.

Run our home on tank water, grid-connected solar power and solar hot water service.

Grow some of our own fruit and vegetables. This week I have picked lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, radishes, pak choy, lemons, oranges, mandarins. grapefruit and avocadoes.

Compost all our scraps or feed them to the chickens.

Keep chickens for our own supply of eggs.

Catch public transport to work.

Complete multiple errands when making a trip in the car.

Re-use as many resources as possible.