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Christmas – Traditions & Expectations

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It is less than 3 weeks until Christmas and there is no doubt that it is one of the most stressful times of the year.  This is partly due to the pressure we put on ourselves as a response to the media and advertising hype that invades our lives.

The images and expectations are thrown at us every day but reach a crescendo at this time of the year.  Perfect gifts, on-trend decorating, mountains of food and joyous relationships are portrayed in all types of media.  We have been exposed to these expectations for our whole lives so we continue to burden ourselves with our quest for the ‘perfect’ Christmas.

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Then there are traditions.  The definition of this innocuous little word is:  “the transmission of customs or beliefs from generation to generation, or the fact of being passed on in this way”  Many families have traditions around Christmas and this can be a lovely touchpoint, especially for children.  It could be putting out reindeer food on Christmas Eve, hanging stockings on the end of your bed, going to Midnight Mass, viewing Christmas lights in your suburb or putting up the Christmas tree on a certain date.  All of these and many other little things are what can make Christmas special for your family.

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The problem with traditions is that they can actually be a cover for a guilt trip.  You know the scenario – “but we always have hot turkey lunch” – when you would really rather be playing cricket at the beach and eating a burger from the deli across the road.  That might be a bit extreme but it is an example of the sort of situations that arise every year in many families.

Expectations need to be modified as children grow and families take on different forms.  What is a fun activity for a 5 and 8 year old might be utterly tiresome for those same children 10 years later.  Trying to force them to conform to ‘traditions’ that you set up will only drive them away.

The addition of partners adds a whole new dimension as they have their own family and that needs to be respected, too.  In time there will be grandchildren and the whole cycle begins again.

The end result of striving for the perfect Christmas is generally less than perfect and can be downright horrible so perhaps it is time to reassess.  Set realistic goals, enjoy the moment and don’t set yourself responsible for the behaviour and happiness of others – that is their responsibility.

What is your experience?  Do you have traditions?  Are you prepared to let things go as circumstances change?

Votes for Women

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Tonight GMan and I had the opportunity to see a pre-release screening of the film, Suffragette.

While current discussions are centred around the gender pay gap and domestic violence against women it was interesting to take a look back at the struggles of women a century ago.

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This was a powerful depiction of the violent struggles of women in Britain during the second decade of the twentieth century.  Some of the messages are as relevant today as they were 100 years ago.

I would highly recommend this film.

Tracking 2015 – November

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November blew the averages completely out of the water!

BudgetingJanuary – $5,144.53
February – $1,783.49
March – $4,350.56
April – $2,385.31
May – $5,961.54
June – $2,939.07
July – $3,537.09
August – $3,601.19
September – $9,406.95
October – $7,490.03
November – $15,707.97

This was a huge month in terms of spending but one that we knew was coming up.  I mentioned in September that we had paid $3,050 for a deposit on a hybrid battery system for our solar panels.  The system was installed a couple of weeks ago and we paid the balance of just over $12,000.  This outlay will reap benefits in increased refunds for the power which we feed back to the grid.  Our monitoring system is showing a significant change already.  Our meter was read a couple of days ago so the next 3 months will tell the story.

Food accounted for just over $600 this month as I stocked up on bulk dry goods which I tend to buy every few months.  We bought travel insurance for our 2016 trip as well as attending a family funeral interstate.

The year is coming to a close and at the end of next month I will collate the figures for all of the categories and then add in the fixed spending such as mortgage, insurances, rates and so on to discover how much we actually spent in a full year.

There have certainly been some revelations during this year of tracking our spending.  I will not be documenting our spending in detail on the blog during 2016 but I am inspired to continue the process for our own interest.  It will be good to compare year on year, too.

Do you track your spending?

 

 

What I Wear

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A couple of weeks ago I wrote this post in which I mentioned that I had a plan for my wardrobe which I was would begin on 1st December which is the first official day of summer.  I have decided to begin tomorrow which is actually 30th November but it suits me since it is Monday and the beginning of a new week.

I was tempted by the idea of turning the hangers around the wrong way and then returning them to their correct position once the garment had been worn.  I decided that this would be annoying and it was easier to list everything on a spreadsheet.

I have put everything I own in my wardrobe or drawers and am going to keep a record on the spreadsheet of what I wear each day.  I want to see whether I do actually wear everything that I own and also see how often they are worn.

As an added incentive I am going to post a photo of my outfit for each day on Instagram so you will be able to follow what I am up to with this project.

I will review what has been worn at the end of each month.  I expect that the majority of my summer clothes will be worn within the first month.

Finally, here is a dress which is not mine.  It is the one I am making for Miss O for her birthday.  The buttons and buttonholes at the back are all that is left to do to finish it.

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Remember KISS

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We all know the KISS principle – Keep It Simple, Stupid.

Sometimes I read things online or hear conversations that really leave me wondering if it is time to remind ourselves of this and, dare I say it, get back to basics.

Today I read a comment on social media from someone who wanted to know if there were any good Apps for menu planning.  I do have an iPhone and have several Apps on it but certainly do not need one to plan a menu for the week.

If you can make a decision on what to eat for dinner, make sure you have the ingredients, prepare the meal and serve it to your family then you are capable of menu planning – and it does not require an App or any other gadgetry.  A pen and back of a used envelope work quite well.

Some people plan for a month, others have a 4 week rotating menu or a set dish each week such as Monday night is pasta and so on.  Some make a fixed decision about what meal on what day or the opposite view is a list of potential meals and choose what suits each day.

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There seem to be as many ways to plan a menu as there are people but here is my take on it.

I plan meals for the coming week – 6 or 7 nights – and do it each weekend before I go shopping.  I know what staple pantry items I keep and the first step is to check for anything in the refrigerator which needs to be used up.  I also make a note of the types of meat I have in the freezer and take into account what is growing in the garden.  Basing our meals on what is seasonally available is important to me and nowhere is this more evident than what is in your own garden.  Take into account any family commitments eg: sports training, late meetings, social events.  I then make a list of meals using the ‘rules’ I have set up.  These are unique to me but I am sure you will have some of your own.  They may relate to pricing, type of food, preparation time and so on.

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My ‘rules’ are that in a 7 day period there will generally be one fish, one chicken and two red meat dishes with the remainder vegetarian which will include at least 1 egg-based meal.  Also, I try to make sure I rotate the carbs in a meal and do not have rice on consecutive nights.  Our meals are gluten-free but that is really no problem for me – it is simply how we eat.  The weekday meals must be able to be made ahead and reheated or prepared quickly due to long days at work and commuting.  I generally prepare enough of at least some meals to freeze for another week.

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Then it is simply a matter of roughing out a plan on a piece of paper.  From this you can then make a shopping list and buy only what you need for the week.  This will assist in eliminating wasted food and save you money.

I think the aspect of menu planning that people find the most daunting is actually thinking of meals to add to the list.  If you are struggling with this just start by keeping a notebook and writing down meals as you think of them and the meals you eat each night until you have at least 12 meals and use that as the basis of your plan.
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There is nothing particularly clever or high tech about menu planning.  It is simply a method of taking the angst out of deciding what to eat for dinner each night.  It removes the fallback position of “let’s grab a pizza/fish and chips/hamburger” and puts you in control.

Throwback Thursday

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Pardon the quality of the photo but I just had to share this – now that I have finally stopped laughing.

IMGI have no recollection of this being taken and don’t think I had ever seen it until a couple of weeks ago when it was unearthed amongst my late mother-in-law’s belongings.  I believe my late father-in-law probably took the photo – apparently his trademark was heads or legs cut off or as in this photo – subjects in the corner of the frame.

The photo really has no redeeming features apart from being a pictorial record of being in a particular location.  I cannot recall the dress and do not know what is under my right arm although I do recognise the calico shoulder bag on my right shoulder.

Can you guess the location and year (approximate)?

Something Has Changed

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Have you noticed something different in the last couple of blog posts?

Every so often WordPress seems to upgrade parts of the site.  It is usually in the actual platform of how bloggers can view stats or in the way editing is done.  I have never seen it affect the actual layout of a blog before.  However, there have been changes to how images are uploaded but most importantly, it seems that the images appear much larger on the blog than before.

What do you think?  Good idea or not?  Regardless of what you or I might think, it would appear that the changes are here to stay.

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Trailing Tomatoes

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I have written before about the cherry tomatoes which grow in various parts of our garden.

We seem to have literally hundreds which keep coming up in the garden in front of the verandah.  I pull the majority of them out so that they do not smother the hibiscus which we are trying to get established.  However, a few plants have got themselves very well established, including this one which has grown about 2 metres up the wire fencing to the verandah and then continued to spill over the floor directly outside our front door.

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I finally got around to tying it up the other day so at least we can walk along the verandah unimpeded.

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I am looking forward to being able to pick tomatoes from right outside the door!

Refilling the Wardrobe

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Our wardrobes were looking a bit depleted on the weekend.  We had been away for a few days the previous weekend so the regular cycle of washing and ironing had not been done plus we took some different clothes away with us so that added even more to the laundry.

I spent a considerable amount of time ironing on Sunday and this is the result.

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Here is my end of the wardrobe before I put my freshly ironed clothes away.

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And this is the other end where GMan’s clothes live.

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My selection of clothes is not spectacularly small but after a few years of carefully considering what clothes I purchase, I am pretty happy with the selection of clothes that I own.

Apart from showing you how much ironing I did I wanted to use this post to begin a conversation about how best to plan and organise the contents of your wardrobe.

I think there are nearly as many options as there are people on the planet so you have to find what works for you.  Over the past 4 years I have flirted with Project 333, wardrobe capsules, seasonal collections and so on.  All of these attempts have been part of learning what methods suits me and my lifestyle.

If you look closely at the top left-hand corner of the photo of my wardrobe you will see what is a large bag with some clothes in it.  This was my latest attempt in which I would put away the clothes that were not relevant to the current season.  While I have not found myself scrambling for the contents of that bag I have decided that I am not that keen on shoving clothes away in a bag.

It means that I have to hang and probably iron them again before the next time they are worn.  Also, I am not exactly sure what is in the bag which makes it difficult to plan ahead for the next season – what I may consider buying or making.

So, I think I have figured out a plan that is going to work for me.  I am going to do a bit of preparation over the next week or so and be ready to start in earnest on 1st December which is the first official day of summer here in Australia.

Watch this space………..