Patience Pays Off

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Posted on August 14, 2020

We often think of being patient and/or persistent when it comes to locating a specific item. It can be trawling secondhand shops or even looking for a vary particular item brand-new.

However, I have discovered that patience and allowing things to take their course can apply in equal measure when trying to sell or give something away. Somewhere, sometime there will be somebody for whom your treasure will be just perfect. It is simply a matter of finding them.

A case in point is this dressing table. We bought it several years ago with a view to restoring it but plans and needs changed and we needed to find a new home for it.

The mirror attaches to the back of the dressing table and the mirror is absolutely stunning – almost a metre in diameter with a beautiful pie crust edge.

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The interior of the cupboards features a central shelf on one side and 4 drawers on the other.

I listed it over 2 months ago on several local Buy, Swap, Sell groups on Facebook. Despite a few enquiries it failed to be sold. A couple of weeks ago I decided to try Gumtree and was feeling a bit despondent as there did not seem to be any interest.

Yesterday I received an enquiry about the Gumtree advertisement from people who live in an adjacent locality in our semi-rural area. They arranged to collect it at 10am this morning.

I held my breath as I cannot remember the countless times that promising sales or giveaways have failed to eventuate.

As arranged the purchasers arrived with a trailer at the appointed time and were absolutely delighted with the dressing table which they plan to put to good use as they fit out their newly-acquired home.

I was really pleased to see this go to a good home and know that it will be appreciated.

Fight For Planet A

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Posted on August 13, 2020

I apologise in advance to my international readers but tonight’s post is about a new television program which was launched in Australia on Tuesday evening. While it focuses on Australia, the necessity for every one of us to reduce our carbon footprint is real, regardless of where we live.

The 3-part series, ‘Fight for Planet A’ tackles the issue of carbon emissions.

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The same team produced ‘War on Waste’, the first series of which aired a little over 3 years ago and spawned numerous ‘War on Waste’ Facebook groups. Many of these groups continue to be active and attract people who are keen to reduce their waste. This ranges from single-use plastics such as straws and bottled water to food waste and non-recyclable packaging.

However, you can’t see carbon emissions piling up on the beach, littering the side of the road or evident in huge landfills or stockpiles of recyclables collected but not recycled.

So, how will viewers respond to this new program?

This precise question is eloquently put in the following quote from a report in the Australian edition of ‘The Guardian’ on Tuesday.

“Over three episodes, the team that made the ABC’s highly successful War on Waste delve into the more abstract but urgent issue of carbon emissions, and with it a vital question: how do you convince Australians that something they cannot see represents their greatest existential threat?”

The full article is available here.

There is no single answer to reducing carbon emissions. It must be a joint effort of government, business and individual actions. There is no point in everyone trying to pin the blame on another group, person or sector. It is time for each of us to stop and consider how even the smallest actions can collectively make a difference.

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If you want to watch (or rewatch) the first episode it is available on iView here.

An effort to reduce our personal carbon footprint underpins many of the everyday decisions I make.

Please share your own experiences and challenges in the comments.

Shopping Expedition

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Posted on August 9, 2020

When we went to Brisbane on Friday I made the most of the opportunity and bought a few things that had been on my ‘to buy’ list for a while.

My lipstick – yes, I only own 1 lipstick – was almost depleted.

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I bought a lip brush so that I can utilise all of the remaining lipstick.

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A new lipstick which will last for several years. The previous one lasted over 3 years so I expect this will last at least as long, especially as I am no longer going to work every day and sometimes do not wear any make-up.

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It is perhaps a little more pink than I have worn previously but I am sure I will get used to it. Samples to try out are no longer provided so the best I could do was to look at the small colour chart on the display stand.

I also bought a pair of stockings as I had managed to ruin my last remaining pair around the time I finished work – over 12 months ago. As you can see from the last sentence, I rarely require stockings but they are not something that I can easily buy locally so it is in my best interests to have a pair on hand if needed.

Close to Home

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Posted on August 7, 2020

All things are relative. Today we went to Brisbane which is about 80km from where we live but compared to London, New York or even Melbourne, it is close to home.

We had a business appointment to attend this morning and decided that we would make a day of it and go out to lunch for a slightly delayed birthday celebration for GMan.

Although we both worked in the city for quite a number of years, we were not terribly familiar with restaurant options. We had mostly packed our lunches and when we did eat out it was usually with work colleagues in a noisy pub environment or fast and furious cafe. Neither of these were the setting we were looking for.

I turned to the ever-helpful Google and found Greenglass, a French bistro and wine bar. One review I found described it as “a cross between elegant wine bars of old and a spacious NYC loft apartment”. The simple black door at street-level belied the airy, minimalist decor and quality food which we encountered after ascending the narrow staircase. We enjoyed our meal and the outlook of trees despite being in the centre of the CBD. If I had any criticism, it would be the level of noise due to the polished timber floors and lack of any soft furnishings.

There is a reason I mentioned London, New York and Melbourne in the opening paragraph. We have visited all of these cities and the weather we encountered as we departed from Greenglass was far more reminiscent of one of them than sub-tropical Brisbane and its usual ‘perfect’ winter weather. The predicted rain had arrived during our lunch and this was the dismal scene that greeted us despite it only being 2pm.

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Since I have barely been to any shops in the past 5 months (apart from groceries and home renovations) I took the opportunity to pick up a couple of things that I needed.

With about 30 minutes to spare before the next train was due, we headed to Sugar’n’Spice Cafe which is quite close to Central Station. This is the view that greeted us as we entered the small, old-world premises.

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Coffee and gluten -free carrot cake consumed while perched snugly at the high counter overlooking an increasingly wet afternoon.

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Today was a complete departure from our home renovation activities of yesterday and we both enjoyed the opportunity to be out and about while still managing to maintain effective social distancing.

Painting Posts

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Posted on August 6, 2020

Yes, this is a post about painting but more importantly, we were actually painting posts.

We have a large area under our highset house which was simply an untamed soil embankment when we first came here almost 15 years ago. This was unusable and generated a lot of dust in the house. A few years later we had most of the area concreted. We had no specific plan and for the last 10 years it has mostly been a storage and work area.

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Nevertheless, in the back of our minds was a half-hatched plan to turn at least part of it into an outdoor entertainment area. Part of the reason is that this is by far the coolest area of our home during the summer.

Our half-hatched plan has developed over a few years but it was not until this year that we have had time to really get started. We intend to screen part of the area using Ekodeck battens. The first step of this process was to paint the steel posts.

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Most of the posts are painted dark gray to match the other exterior paintwork on the lower level of the house. However, we painted the posts which will be in the middle of the designated area in a much lighter hue. This will ensure that they are easily visible. We will combine this with strategic placement of furniture and plants to minimise any risk of accidents.

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We plan to create a green screen using multiple hanging baskets hung at different levels in the section which contains the light-coloured cross-bracing.

Several weeks ago we bought the timber for the support rails. The 21 pieces have been cut to length, painted and are stacked in preparation for the next stage of the construction.

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After much planning and preparation we are finally seeing results. The difference between the first and third photos in this post is the result of about 5 hours work by GMan and I today.

I think we deserve a couple of rest days after that effort. We have a lunch date planned for tomorrow and are going to the movies on Saturday.

Bug-Free Brassicas – Part 2

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Posted on August 4, 2020

Remember this post?

Well, here is the first result of my endeavours.

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One of the things I am passionate about is eating local, seasonal produce wherever possible so this freshly picked broccoli from our own garden was destined to become part of our evening meal.

A simple stir-fry of chicken and broccoli.

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CHICKEN & BROCCOLI STIR-FRY (Serves 2)

1 chicken breast fillet, cut into strips
1 small onion, cut into wedges
1/2 head broccoli, broken into small florets
1 tablespoon toasted sunflower seeds
Oil

SAUCE

2 tablespoons tamari
2 tablespoons lime juice
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon powdered ginger
1/4 teaspoon powdered chilli
2 teaspoons arrowroot

Heat the oil, saute the chicken until cooked then add the onion and broccoli. Combine all of the ingredients for the sauce. When the broccoli is lightly cooked add the sauce and stir until it has thickened and coated the chicken and vegetables. Stir in the sunflower seeds.

Serve with rice.

Delicious and the money spent on netting the raised beds containing the brassicas has definitely been a worthwhile exercise.

I am looking forward to plenty more meals featuring our homegrown broccoli.

Ready for Refill

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Posted on August 2, 2020

It is August already and I barely mentioned Plastic Free July in the past month. While this is a great initiative to encourage people to rethink their reliance on single-use plastics, I try to make every month as free from plastic as possible.

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Today I loaded up my basket with these plastic bottles to return to Felix from Kin Kin Naturals. These bottles will be reused. He has a stall at the Kin Kin markets which is about 80km from our place. We usually go about once a year to stock up on products we use – laundry liquid, laundry pre-soak, dishwashing liquid and dishwasher powder.

It is great to support a local, family-owned business and by buying direct we can save money and plastic.

The Winter Garden

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Posted on July 27, 2020

A couple of months ago I was despairing of any winter crops as the citrus fruit piercing moth and white cabbage moth were wreaking havoc.

I decided that netting was the answer to both problems and you can read about it here.

My efforts appear to be paying off.

The first of the broccoli is almost ready to pick.

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Cabbages are growing nicely.

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There are no tell-tale holes in the leaves.

Kale seedlings are making slow progress.

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More seedlings for the next crop of bok choy. They are ready to be thinned and transplanted.

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The bok choy and kale are much less susceptible to the cabbage moth but I will still cover them this time to see if I can get some perfect specimens.

There are no photos of my cauliflowers yet as although the plants are doing well they have not set heads. I am still hoping though.

Finally, the other winter success which is not a member of the brassica family is celery. We are enjoying full-flavoured celery soup from this crop.

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I am very pleased with the success of netting these beds.

Pantry Organisation

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Posted on July 26, 2020

As I promised in my post from yesterday, here is my pantry. It is reasonably well-organised but has not been tidied especially for these photos.

My grocery shopping can be divided into 2 basic categories. The first is bulk bin purchases of dry goods such as nuts, flours, seeds, legumes which are shown in the first photo. I buy most of these from Simply Good. I am able to take my own containers to fill and thus avoid any packaging. This is important to me and particularly relevant as we approach the end of Plastic Free July.

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I regard supermarket shopping as the last resort – I buy those items which I cannot grow, swap, buy from the producer directly, greengrocer, butcher or otherwise plastic free. These include dairy products and a small number of canned or packaged foods. These are mostly shown in the next photo.

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By having an organised refrigerator and pantry, I am able to easily scan the shelves and create a shopping list when required.

Refrigerator Organisation

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Posted on July 25, 2020

We did the grocery shopping early this morning and when I came home I wiped out and tidied the refrigerator before putting everything away.

I don’t whether it is simply habit but I routinely place items in the same area of the refrigerator. It certainly makes it easier to locate things when I need them.

This is the main part of the refrigerator.

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