sustainable | organised castle

Today I am writing this from Burra in the mid-North of South Australia. Our holiday is going really well so far. We have just had 3 nights with our dear friends in Strathalbyn and were able to time our trip to join in a 70th birthday celebration of Sunday followed by dinner on Monday evening for a 21st birthday as well.

We left Strathalbyn this morning and visited The Duke’s mother, who is in residential care due to Alzheimer’s Disease. Despite the effects of this cruel affliction she was pleased to see us and it was good to be able to spend some time with her.

Then it was off to Burra , but first we stopped at the suburban shopping centre and stocked up on a few groceries. As we were walking through the shopping mall towards Foodland I noticed the post office and popped in to see if they had a 4 pack of Sally Wise’s cookbooks which I had heard mentioned on the forum of Simple Savings. I was in luck as I picked up the last 2 packs – 1 for me and 1 for my sister. They were an absolute bargain at $15 for a pack of 4 cookbooks.

Our accommodation is very well appointed and even has a slow-cooker so I will be making the most of it and making a casserole tomorrow while we are out and about. My attempts to maintain my sustainable habits are going well so far. It is easy to take my calico bags to the shops as plastic shopping bags are not an option in SA. Why can’t the rest of the country follow suit?

I finished the first dishcloth the other day and have started a second one. I just do a bit occasionally but it is good to have some handiwork to do when I feel inclined.

More holiday news in a day or so.

We left Brisbane late on Thursday afternoon and headed to Goondiwindi, on the Queensland/New South Wales border for our first night. After a busy week in the lead-up to our departure I slept brilliantly last night. In fact, I slept so well that I woke up this morning thinking that I was in my own bed. That is unheard of, for me!

Today was a long day of just over 1,000 kms and almost 12 hours of travelling. We arrived in Hay just after 6.30pm. We shared the driving and while I was a passenger I did manage to do some knitting. I am making some dishcloths and I have almost finished the first one which I had started at home during the Easter break.

I am hoping to continue our sustainable habits during the holiday as we would at home. I brought food in containers, our own carry bags for shopping as well as drink bottles with water. It is sometimes difficult to maintain habits when out of your normal environment but we will try our best and record our success (or otherwise) here. The only spending today (apart from fuel) was one cup of coffee for The Duke ($3.85) and consequently a disposable cup to the rubbish!