Slow living month - July

I'm linking up again this month with Christine at Slow Living Essentials to look back on my month of living slowly.  Sometimes it doesn't feel slow!  I got so much done.  But the satisfaction of doing it all ourselves and really connecting with our own life makes all the work worthwhile.

~~Nourish~~

Having my teenage brother stay with us for a week made me really look at what we eat and make me proud of the food I put on the table. Lots of vegetarian meals, a little meat, chicken and fish and all made from scratch. Having him here also made me pleased that we don't always have an extra mouth to feed - so much bread baking!
Highlight meals this month - shredded chicken and bean tostadas made using homemade tortillas and the chicken from the school's rogue rooster and the simple minestrone I made with dried beans and veg - great flavours, very satisfying and very budget friendly.

~~Grow~~

I received my first order from the Diggers club to much satisfaction and have planted several new fruit trees/vines and am preparing new garden beds together with making a cold frame so this summer will be our biggest crop ever!  On the harvesting note, there isn't an awful lot in the garden, so young leeks, coriander and lettuce together with a few other herbs are the extent of it.

The new veggie beds being built.  The savoy cabbages in the foreground
are being watched closely - they'll be ready next month I think.

~~Create~~

I've continued to do lots of sewing, crochet and general crafting in early prep for Xmas. When you plan to give all homemade, it pays to start early.  I can't show you most of what I've made though as it would spoil surprises! :) I will show you the headband and clip set that I made for a little girl's birthday that the boys were invited to. I've also been working on my crocheted jumper again as I have high hopes of having it done before spring arrives.

A pretty crocheted headband and flower clips for a 7 year old girl.

~~Prepare~~
I bought loads of cheap apples at the start of the month and used them to make jars of stewed apples which we're all enjoying and also pectin stock for next summer's jams.  A visit to the cannery and Ballarat market saw us stocking the cupboards with lots of dried beans and cans (to top up my store cupboard in which I stored nowhere near enough of our own tomatoes and fruit last summer!), enough to get us through till our garden starts producing I hope.  I've also made more soap, started my own deodorant and made some facial toner.

The beautiful new calendula infused soap will be ready soon!

~~Green~~
Lots of recycling going on as always. The new veg beds and cold frame were built from Stu's excellent scavenging and we hope to use more in the building of the brew shed next month.  I've had to cut down some trees in the garden, but have saved as much of the wood as possible for using down the track as firewood. 

Cold frame made from all recycled materials
Sitting next to my recycled vegie beds (made from pallets and lined with feed bags)

~~Reduce~~

I've also been putting away lots of recycled items from the kitchen for various crafts and storage purposes.  As much as they can be recycled, using them over and over again before the recycling process is even better.  We've also continued with our Screen Free Saturdays, reducing power usage and also our reliance on technology,

~~Enjoy and Enhance~~

I've put these two together as I wanted to write the same things in both.  The best times this month have been about spending time with people and enhancing our relationships with each other and the community.

With my husband on our weekend away.
With the dance community at Ballarat Belly Dance bazaar
With my kids and also my mum during the school holidays.
With my sister in law on her pre-baby day.

I've also enjoyed getting to know our new hens.

~~Discover~~

I've been a regular at the library this month and have read lots of grassroots magazines - I find a lot of what is written a smidge extreme for us, but gain valuable inspiration (and I've nearly convinced Stu we can build a cob oven after looking at lots of articles!).  I've revisited Jackie French's book "Earth gardener's companion" and have gotten lots of tips for the garden.  And Stu has also started getting in the spirit, borrowing more DIY books for both of us.

Go and have a look at what everyone else has been doing this month :)