Molly's Magic in the kitchen

Kitchens are magical places. 

In my kitchen I turn milk into cheese and yoghurt, flour into bread and pasta and water from the tap into tea, coffee or soup. 

My kitchen is where the veggies grown in my garden become yummy meals or are preserved for another time of the year. 

Curds and whey.... from milk, I make cheese

Delicious sweet treats, gifts made with love, soap, cleaning products, herbal remedies, beer and cider are all made from basic ingredients in my kitchen. 

Even before I cooked everything from scratch, my kitchen made a mean vegemite on toast and a cup of tea. 



Tortillas + kids = crazy gnomes in a family kitchen.

But the magic doesn't stop there, kitchens are also places where family magic happens. It's the place we come together around the table and plan, console, laugh, cry and grow as a family. When we first moved here, my kitchen was the home of two high chairs, where our baby boys would eat (throw, mash) their first tastes of a range of foods. I've stood in our kitchen and chatted to countless friends and family members and have wonderful memories of them all. And these days, since our kitchen renovation, my kitchen is filled with so much of us - benches, cupboards, curtains, rugs and shelves that we made with our own hands. 



Delicious food and warm memories are made in our kitchen

Everything about our kitchen is magic, and now, our magic kitchen has a cauldron. A vessel that I throw ingredients into (following instructions in a book or making it up as I go) and, like magic, they turn into terrific meals!  I feel like Mrs Weasley as I walk away to deal with animals/kids/a husband who had a bad day at work while my thermomix chops, sautés and stirs my food.  It's still cooking from scratch, but with so much more power!  



Molly has settled in very nicely....

I've had the thermomix for less than a week, and already I've used it for so much, making at least two recipes (or part recipes) in it each day. Many of them I could make without the thermomix, but some that I couldn't - freshly milled flour from whole wheat or rice, icing sugar and mayonnaise (I know, lots of people make mayo without a thermomix, but I've tried about 6 times and failed). But everything is easier with it. 



The first meal I cooked using the thermomix - Delicious, slightly spiced lentil burgers served in fresh bread rolls made with 50% freshly ground soaked/sprouted wheat with fresh salad from the garden - YUM!

So as a tribute to the magic of kitchens, and that brilliant mother and witch, Mrs Weasley, I'm naming my little magic cauldron, Molly.

Molly Weasley - a bit of magic in the kitchen!

 

The evolution of our bread

I'm very pleased to say that I've been baking nearly all of the bread we eat for about 18 months now. And I've come a long way from those first (barely edible) loaves.

I initially started baking our own bread, not for the health of taste benefits, but for the waste reduction. It was back in the beginning of our 12 months of greening, and I was determined to reduce the amount of rubbish in our bin each week. Plastic bread bags and tags became a pet hate and so I set about replacing them with recyclable, paper flour sacks. 

Over the first few months, I perfected my baking, and eventually had a recipe of my own that consistently churned out delicious bread and rolls for my family. Everyone was happy.... And then I realised how often I was buying yeast and began to read about how much healthier sourdough is..... 

I figured it was worth a try. For me, the idea of growing my own yeast at home just made sense, and the idea of a bread(which we eat a lot of!) that was better for us seemed a worthy goal. So a couple of months ago, I made myself a sourdough starter. 

Ten days after mixing that first batch if flour and water, I baked our first loaf. I wish I could say that it was fabulous, but it was reminiscent of those first loaves of bread (ie. barely edible). So I tried again. The boys offered support - they too remember that I had a bad start with regular bread- but I knew they were longing for a loaf of my old bread. 

After the third loaf, things were improving, but I wanted a change, so I tried these sourdough tortillas.  They were easily the best tortillas we have ever eaten - hooray!  The sourdough culture was now smiled upon by all. 

Our latest triple batch of sourdough tortillas.

I kept trying with the bread, different recipes, techniques and tweaks, and eventually, I found my own recipe, an adaptation of this one. It's not quite as easy as the bread recipe I was using before, but it uses ingredients I'm comfortable with, fits my routine and makes delicious bread for the whole family. Like my old recipe, one batch makes a loaf and a dozen rolls for lunches of a couple of large loaves, so it saves on time, power and effort. 

It's not too sour (even though I don't use the baking soda as the recipe suggests), which is a good thing for a family loaf, and so long as I get a good rise in the first proving, it is lovely and soft.  The kids are happy to have the bread bin full of deliciousness again, and I love that I no longer have to buy yeast and that the bread is just a little better for us again (a far cry from nutritionless stuff I used to buy from the supermarket!). 

A soft and delicious sourdough sandwich loaf.

And to make a good thing better, we've discovered some of the other wonderful things I can make with sourdough starter!  English muffins, crackers, donuts and a choc orange cake have been tried and the tortillas are a weekly event. For Stu's  birthday, I experimented and created a sourdough hummingbird cake which was amazing!  I'll share the recipe soon. I'm looking forward to trying pancakes and croissants one day discovering more sourdoughy goodness. 

I'd love to lay out a timeline of our breads evolution - from supermarket bread to now. And I'm looking forward to the next chapter that I hope to attempt in the next year - home ground flour for my bread....

The greener, homemade laundry

Don't you think the laundry just the best room?  Don't you just love filling the machine, taking wet clothes to a line, pegging, sorting, folding and ironing?  No?  Huh, me either!  But short of buying new clothes each week, wearing dirty ones or having someone in regularly to do the chore for you (of which the second option is the most appealing to me), we have no choice. We have to wash our clothes and linens. But how we go about it is a choice, and over the last twelve months, my choices have become increasingly more green and homemade. I can't see any more options for greening up our laundry (short of hand washing everything), so I thought I'd share what I do and the recipes I use.

Washing day makes me so happy!  errr.... no, not really{image}

Firstly, all washing uses power and water, so reducing how much washing I do makes sense. We use mostly cloth things here (rags, napkins, hankies, wee wipes, girly hygiene things etc) so there is always plenty of those things, but we try to make sure we put our clothes in the wash only when they need it. A wind cheater can be worn several times, so can pyjamas, but socks, undies and workout clothes go in after one wear. I run the washing machine 3-4 times a week and only ever with a full load. 

Because I do my washing through the week, I tend to do it as soon as the washing basket is full (conveniently, one load). I don't sort colours from whites (gasp!) or anything else for that matter. I only sort if there is a new pair of jeans/red socks that will ruin the rest of the wash. I just throw everything in together and because I only wash in cold water, we have no problems. This means clothes don't have to wait for colour buddies to get washed and my laundry isn't full to overflowing with dirty washing. 

Some things occasionally need a good soak to get out stains and grub. Stu's shirts and the boys school uniforms get a soak about every two months. I soak in hot water with some laundry powder and lemon juice. The lemon juice gives a bleaching effect (without bleach) and the action of soaking in hot water gets the gear clean again. Sometimes, they need a little hand rub and scrub to help, but only when I'm feeling particularly housewifely. 

For regular, everyday stains (shirt collars, food grubs etc), I use my homemade stain remover. I found the recipe here, and love how it works (better than the shop bought one I had). Simply mix the following together (in a well ventilated room as it smells!), pour into a jar and then some into a spray bottle (recycled if you can) and spray onto the stained clothes as you put them in the washing machine.

Pre-wash stain remover

2/3 cup regular dish detergent

2/3 cup Ammonia

6 tablespoons baking soda

2 cups warm water

Stain remover

Our washing machine is a front loader, so uses less water and power than a top loader and is gentler on the clothes. I know this because I can throw my bras in it without a blink and they last ages, but pop one in a top loader without a lingerie bag and the wires come out after one wash!  

We only ever wash with cold water and mostly use our daily 30minute wash (note that 30minutes greatly depends on water pressure, we used to live in a house with terrible pressure and this cycle took well over an hour!). Into the machine I put a dessert spoon full of my homemade laundry powder (recipe from here), which I mix together about once every four months.

 

Laundry powder

4 cups of grated soap (2 bars laundry soap)

2 cups washing soda

1 cup borax

Making laundry powder

 

If I'm washing clothes that I like to have a soft feel, like towels, I add a dash of white vinegar to the rinse section. This is especially important in summer when the heat makes them crunchy and also helps with absorbency (good for towels or cloth nappies). 

If I'm washing something smelly or that needs disinfecting, I add a capful or two of eucalyptus oil to the rinse section. 

The winter Hill's hoist - bare like a deciduous tree :)

After washing, I hang my clothes on a line. We gave away our clothes drier last year and as we don't have a roaring wood fire to dry in front of, drying on an outside line is pretty much our only option. In summer, we use the hills hoist in the sunny backyard. In winter, I use the line strung along the north facing verandah and a clothes horse/rack beneath it. In summer, clothes are dry in a few hours, in winter it might take two days, but they still all get dry. The only times I miss the drier is when we have a need/want it dry NOW moment, but we deal with it, wear something else and remember that we're green for a reason! Very occasionally, something isn't getting dry outside, so I air it in the lounge room and it is dry eventually. 

Cloth hankies on the verandah line

All of the clothes are hung with pegs, even those on the clothes horse. By hanging with pegs, I avoid folding clothes over the line and doubling up the fabric, so things dry quicker. Our pegs used to be kept on the line when not in use, but the UV and general weathering wears them out faster, so now, I keep my collection of old plastic, wooden and recycled plastic pegs in an old bucket. The bucket has holes drilled in the bottom so it can't fill with water and has a hook to be hung on in the laundry when not in use. 

Our dry washing is sorted and put away by its owner (I rarely put away anyone else's, but I do all of my own and all of the linens and again, when feeling housewifely, the rest). Ironing is done on an as needs basis. I can't bring myself to iron any stretch clothes and choose mostly easy wear stuff for me and the kids. I iron going out clothes when I'm going out. The only thing we iron regularly are Stu's business clothes which he often irons while watching football. 

And that's it!  A few simple ingredients, some patience and not tooooo much work and our washing is done in a green and homemade fashion without any nasty chemicals in our septic or on our clothes, and no money or excess power wasted in the process. 

I know lots of the people who read here are also green laundry folk, have you got any other hints or tips?  And if you don't do your washing like this, maybe I've inspired you to give it a try - let me know!  You know I love your comments. 

Around the Garden right now

We're about to enter the third calendar month of autumn. You wouldn't guess it by looking at my tank levels or popping a spade into the ground - it's still way too dry, but the crisp mornings and the need to wear a jumper and socks tells me it really is.

It's dry, but we've had some rain. Weed seedlings are starting to show their heads in the 'lawn' areas and while my plants still look forward to a drink of carted grey water, they would survive without it.

This autumn I feel like I am living in and for the garden. I've spent countless hours preserving the fruit crops we grew or were gifted and have been enjoying celery, carrots, lettuce, herbs, tomatoes (yes still), silverbeet and herbs in our meals. I can see that there will be a small gap in harvest soon though, and will look into fixing that gap next year.

I'm growing seedlings of artichokes, pak choi, kale and purple sprouting broccoli, some more successfully than others, but I'm learning more each day, and getting better gradually at this growing from seed business.



Seedlings on the verandah.

Planted in the garden over the last month or so, I have broad beans, peas, sugar snap peas, snow peas, brocoletti, carrots, lettuce, wong bok cabbages, beetroot, garlic (two varieties), red onions, spring onions and carrots.



Seedlings doing well in the garden under a canopy of chicken wire to keep off cats and ducks

Around other parts of the garden, I've planted another olive tree, an almond tree, a mandarin and another feijoa. I've also added more herbs to my potted herb garden, helped 'self sow' silverbeet and calendula and sprinkled seeds of chamomile.



Garlic doing very well.

Our Muscovy ducks, Daisy (who may be Donald) and Peach, follow me everywhere in the front yard, chatting away and hoping I'll throw a snail or two their way. I've learnt that they love lettuce and beetroot leaves, and therefore, if I want to grow them for us to eat, they'll need to be planted beyond their reach.



I was sitting on the verandah writing this, so they joined me!

Also in the front, I'm working on a spot of pruning and taming the grass runners that are doing extremely well and reeking havoc around trees.

Out the back, Buddy is my constant companion as I peruse the works in progress. It looks messy now, but soon, our backyard area will be split by a fence. Inside that fence will be a water tank on a stand, the stand will become a shelter for our miniature goat, Jorgie, and her kid (which she should be getting pregnant with about now) when they come to live with us in September.


Behind Buddy, you can make out the holes for the tank stand and the pile of dirt we've dug out so far.

Next to the goat yard will be a new shed. The shed will be for feed storage with a section set up as my dairy. And all the way around the fence, I'll be planting goat friendly plants such as roses, lavender, silverbeet, wormwood, nasturtiums, chamomile and rosemary. These fragrant and pretty plants will look and smell lovely in the garden that will be below our washing line, and as they grow tendrils through the mesh wire of the goats fence, they'll be able to nibble away.

Introducing Jorgie, our miniature goat who will continue to live on the stud farm in Portland until she's had her kid.

The chooks are doing well too, they're laying a bit less now, but I still bring in eggs each day. They are enjoying scratching through weeds, devouring the sprouted wheat feed and picking at their garden which I planted back in march in an old guinea pig hutch so they can pick, but not destroy, the silverbeet, nasturtiums and calendula growing in there.



Standing on their very own garden.

So that's what's happening around here. On Friday, we'll take delivery of the tank and fencing materials so the next part of construction can happen. I'll keep you updated!

We've run out of bread....

It's another stinking hot day today. It was predicted to get to 38C in our little part of the world. We have had a record number of days above 30C for March, and even those of us who love summer are just over it! Everything in the garden is dry, brown and crackly. In the last week we've noticed that even plants that were looking fine (like the giant flax) are beginning to wilt and brown off. We've had about 30 drops of rain I. The last 2 weeks and there isn't any coming for a while yet.


Fried plants - this is a "drought resistant" native....

"Please turn off the heaters!"

There is still water in the tanks, but only due to us being extremely water frugal, not because we've had enough precipitation. My animals are all still alive, but they are all panting, we're not getting many eggs and they all look at me as if pleading for me to turn down the heat.



Strawberry plants are just hanging on.

I've just come home from school where i was running our kitchen garden program. We had a great morning cooking with delicious tomatoes and apples from the school gardens. It was hot work though and I'm pleased to be home. Our house feels nice right now - I shut it all up in the mornings and it stays cool for hours, but it will be heating up again soon and the air conditioner (now back in use since we are making the power to run it!) and ceiling fans will be working to make it tolerably hot instead of sweltering! We'll then open it all up again once the heat is out of the day and allow a bit of air in to try to help us sleep through the sticky nights.

So, the weather is causing us all sorts of discomforts and problems. Most problems are obvious and expected, but today's issue isn't one I've really had before. My problem is that we're out of bread. We're big bread eaters (toast, rolls and sandwiches feature regularly on the breakfast and lunch menus) and for 12 months now I've made all the bread we eat. But I just can't justify turning on the oven and heating up the house even more (not to mention standing and kneading dough with sweat dripping). I could get Stu to buy bread before he comes home from work, but we no longer enjoy shop bought bread and it just feels wrong somehow. So now I'm wracking my brains for suitably easy to pack and eat lunches and yummy breakfasts that don't require an oven to make. I'm thinking pancakes, tortillas, fritters or maybe having another go at crumpets. All still need a pan and effort, but no oven. One of these days, it'll be cold again and I'll relish turning on the oven to cook bread and warm the kitchen, but right now, that feels a long way away.

Have you discovered strange problems caused by of made worse by the heat? Any oven-free food suggestions? :)





Simplifying the linen cupboard

There was a time, not so long ago, when I was sure I needed new towels and sheets. I shopped for them, but didn't find anything in my budget that I was happy with, so didn't buy anything. Now I'm really pleased I didn't.

As part of our decluttering this month, I've given the linen cupboard an overhaul, and a whole new look. It seems that I didn't need new linens at all, but actually needed less! We had a linen cupboard full to bursting with things - ridiculous quantities of towels, numerous sets of linen for each bed and piles of beach towels. There are also a small amount of tablecloths and napkins. There were so many things in there that I couldn't find what I needed and had that sense that people often feel about their wardrobes "so many clothes but nothing to wear". So I've given it all a good clean out and am much happier now!

In the bed linen shelves, I have one change of linen (doona cover, fitted sheet and pillowcases) for each of our three beds, and for winter, flannelette sheets and hot water bottles. I threw a few sheets from our sets to the rag pile a while back as they had started to pill and fray. Now I have just the right number of sheets and doona covers for us, and will only replace when more become damaged (and then I will be buying quality organic cotton/bamboo sheets). From the boys linen, we cleared out linen printed with preschool pictures and sent them to the opshop, and they were short a couple of fitted sheets but had a pile of unused flat sheets, so they've gone to my sewing pile for conversion (I learnt to convert flat to fitted a few years ago - so easy and makes sheet sets better value for those of us who don't use flat sheets).

More preschool printed bath towels joined the sheets in the opshop pile, as did a couple of tablecloths.

Our bath towel shelf was the worst. For our wedding (11 years ago), we were given about six full sets of towels! Many if these sat unwrapped until the boys came along 8 years ago, then we used them as baby towels. Since then we've been given more towels (why? Are we that hard to buy for?). So there were simply an insane number of towels in the cupboard - all used, but only one was fraying, and only a little bit. A few odds and ends of towels in weird colours and with stains were donated to a friend of ours who is a wildlife officer. Then the boys and I selected 2 sets of towels, a few changes of hand towels and bath mats and a set of guest towels. The guest towels were put aside in a box (so they don't get muddled) and the others fit neatly on the shelf. All the rest of the towels have been folded and will be put into storage. The plan is that the towels in the cupboard will last us for sometime yet, and when they eventually get retired to the rag pile, we will 'shop' for 'new' towels from our stores.

It's just a linen cupboard, but I feel so much more in control of the contents now, and pleased from an economic and environmental perspective that it will be some years before we need to buy anymore linens.

Our life less ordinary

If someone had asked me ten years ago, what I would do with a weekend in 2013, I don't know what I would have told them. I probably would have predicted spending it with Stu - right. I might have hoped I would have a couple of kids in tow - right again (though I would not have predicted the identical twin boys I ended up with!). But as for the rest....? What I do know is that there is NO WAY I would have predicted the list of things I've been up to with my little family this weekend!

Friday saw me planting out some more seeds in my vegie garden, hanging out with the kids at home and studying the new fitness program I'll be teaching next term. That night, we met Stu in Warrnambool to work on our tiny school's fabulous, parent run, pancake stall at the night markets. We worked really hard, but it was so much fun!

Saturday morning found us in the garden fixing a gate to stop our over friendly chooks camping on the back door step (and possibly being hurt by the dogs). Mum stopped in to say hi, then later, in the spirit of tiny towns, one of our friends and neighbours dropped in for a cuppa. We emptied our waterless toilet and made some adjustments, and spent some family time discussing the possibility of getting a milking goat, and debating the best solar power option.

That night, after a homemade curry packed with homegrown veg, I dressed up in a belly baring costume, did my hair, put on too much makeup and went to a local restaurant. It was completely booked out, and I was there to belly dance.... people really enjoyed watching me (and my dance buddy) performing the dances I had choreographed.... AND I got paid for doing it!  Can you believe that?!

A job as a belly dancer? !  I never would have guessed that one!

After dancing, I came home to a peaceful home (it was screen free Saturday of course) and cooled down with a homemade apple cider, hanging out with Stu and our books for a quiet night.

Early this morning, I was out and about with Stu for a run - yep, a run! Stu is helping build up my running stamina. Once I was spent, I was home for some yoga before breakfast.

The rest of the morning was spent processing three of our home raised chickens for the freezer - a job that, while not exactly pleasant, was surprisingly satisfying and not as horrible as either of us expected it to be.

This afternoon, I have watched brand new chickens hatch, completed paperwork for this terms belly dance classes, crocheted a small gift and baked bread for the next couple of days. And while I was doing that, Stu was working on the belly dance website and the kids were enjoying their favourite thing - time together at home to just play.



Hatchlings!  Six hatched and at least two more on the way!

I'm exhausted! But would I change a thing? No way! And I would love to know what I'll be up to 10 years from now.



Back to work

As I sat drinking my cider and eating another of my Christmas chocolates last night, it occurred to me that it was about time for me to go back to work. No, I'm not off to hunt for a new job, I'm sticking with the jobs I have, but as I work from home and for myself, I have the pleasure of taking my time out/holidays when I choose, but the tough task of also deciding when they're over.

Now don't get me wrong, I've still been working over the last couple of weeks- baking our bread and cooking from scratch, watering the garden, caring for the animals and maintaining a level of cleanliness in the house. But I've also been cutting corners and allowing slack time. The house isn't as clean as I like it to be, I haven't planted new food crops in weeks, we've been eating lots of Christmas leftovers, simple meals and the contents of various Christmas hampers and I've spent a lot of time reading, browsing the Internet (Pinterest is seriously addictive!) and chilling out, and not very much time exercising or planning the year for Koroit belly dance.

My zucchini plants haven't been on holidays!
Pickling zucchinis is therefore on the to-do list today.

Stu went back to work last week, and while the kids are still on holidays, I've decided today is my first work day of 2013. I've written the jobs list and have already started tackling it, but there is a lot to do, and like anyone returning to work after summer holidays, I'm struggling to maintain momentum, and am easily distracted (ooh look! A shiny thing!).

I'll get there though as the rewards of a tidy, productive home are worth the effort. And when I feel like slacking off and returning to summer holiday mode, I will remind myself why I prefer these jobs to the alternative and get back to work!

I already have a job, thankyou.

The boys went back to school this morning to begin their final term of their second school year.  They are getting so grown up. 

Stu didn't go to work though.  His company made him redundant on Friday and while they've given 10 weeks notice, they were told to take today off anyway.  His redundancy wasn't a surprise, we've been waiting most of this year for the company to set a date.  You see they made some new grand plans that involve cebtralised call centres and jobs in the city and no more rural and regional branches.  Stu has been with them for over 7 years and the only other remaining lady in his office has been with them for 36 years.  The office will close just before Christmas.


So how will this affect our family? We are fairly confident that Stu will get another job in the next couple of months.  If he does, things will go on as normal.  If he doesn't, then I will look for some sort of "stop gap" job to help out until he does.  But despite what some people seem to think I should do, I won't be looking for permanent employment.

Since the boys started school (and occasionally before that) I have frequently been asked if I've 'found a job yet' or when I'll be going back to work.  Thanks for your concern folks, but I already have a job, in fact I have several!

In terms of the employment that I put on my annual tax return, I teach belly dance and perform regularly.  This earns enough each week to cover basic weekly expenses such as fuel and food.  But more importantly, I love it, it keeps me fit, and it doesn't put out my family.  I am here each day when my boys go to, and return from school.  I am able to spend time with them and my husband, and cook dinner for and eat with them every night.  My paid work fits our family life.  If I returned to secondary school teaching (or office or lab work, all of which I've done in the past), I would need someone to care for my kids before and after school, I would need to do preparation and marking in the evenings and I wouldn't have the time or energy to be the homemaker, mother and wife that I want to be.

People wonder what I do all day.  Well it isn't lunching at cafes and shopping with friends.  If I'm lucky, I might have a cuppa (at home) or a long phone call with a friend once a week. I will either have lunch with Stu or browse the opshops with a friend about once a month.  The rest if the time I spend working.  Today I have made more household cleaning products and my herbal hair rinse.  I have washed and hung on the line all of the bed linen (and will soon be bringing it in to remake the beds), I worked in the garden, planting, weeding etc to make sure we are growing enough vegies for summer and I also checked on the laying chooks and our newly hatched chickens which will, in a few months either join the laying flock, or become meat for us to eat.

I've also been working on the pizza oven project with Stu (because he is home), and found time to begin making another homemade gift for the Christmas pile - of which, along with the birthday presents, will be nearly all made by me.  This week, I need to do lesson plans for my term of classes, sew some (recycled fabric) shorts for the boys and do some of the less regular chores, like window washing.  I will do the grocery shopping tomorrow, but also bake bread, make our butter spread and cook pasta from scratch.  I also hope to buy a cheesemaking kit this week so I can add to our list of homemades (which already includes most of what we eat).  I don't have time to socialize, watch tv or read all day, but I do find time to think while I work about new hairbrained schemes brilliant ideas to save us money and make us more sustainable as a family.  I have a job.  This job(s?) may not earn a paycheque, but what it saves us financially, and give us in terms of quality of life is priceless.

But how do we go financially? My husband's job earns a decent income (we think) though it is still below the Australian average.  We don't recieve any benefits from the government, though we do get some family tax benefit, and my bellydance pay too.  We own both of our cars, have no credit cards, are paying off more on our mortgage than we have to, and we are doing fine.  No-one in our family misses out on anything they need or really want.  We holiday each year and sometimes go out for tea or do other things like the pool or a movie.  We're doing just fine.

So to the people that ask about my job status, I just want to say, thanks for your concern, but I already have several jobs and a comfortable, happy and full life.  We don't need to change.

Slow living month - September

I know I'm 5 days late with this journal - its been hard to find the time and motivation to get here to blog this week.  We're on school holidays and the boys and I have been having a ball, and the weather has been great, so I've been in the garden a lot.  But I do love these journal type of entries, so here it is, Slow Living Month September.  Do pop over to Slow Living Essentials and see what others have been up to.... that's what I plan to do as soon as I'm done typing this :)

~Nourish~

We celebrated early spring one night by taking our dinner outside.  We cooked our tortillas on the BBQ plate and ate by candlelight.  We realised that early spring is really the only time you can eat outside by candlelight with kids - in summer it is too late by the time it is dark and in winter it is too cold.  It was a lovely, impromptu, weeknight dinner.  I love making our own tortillas, it is one of the few things that Stu and I cook cooperatively and I love it.  We are also now getting plenty of eggs, so there has been a resurgence of egg based meals and pancakes on weekends.

~Grow~

September in the garden has been all about preparing for summer crops.  I continued to plant and nurture seedlings in the cold frame and started planting out.  Unfortunately, snails and slugs are a huge problem here, so I've been fighting them at every step along the way.  I've continued to harvest greens from the garden and the snow peas are finally producing a few crisp pods that never seem to make it to the dinner table.  My son has decided that they are a snacking vegetable, not a dinner vegetable - I tend to agree.  I've loved joining in on the garden journal with Squiggly Rainbow too (and will be back on that when the holidays are over!).

~Prepare~

The coriander that has filled our curries with its colour and flavour through winter has sensed the spring and is bolting to seed, so I have picked huge amounts of it to make frozen coriander ice blocks using this recipe.  They're lovely and will hopefully keep the deliciousness going for us a bit longer.
We also continued to bottle beer and our first batch of alcoholic ginger beer.  The alcohol level is relatively low, but the taste is gooooooood!

 

~Reduce~

Lots of lovely op shop finds this month - clothes and books for the kids, crafty things, clothes and a couple of homewares for me and something special for Stu.  An espresso machine! It's not a super fancy one, but it works really well and Stu is enjoying his morning coffee from it.  He is not enjoying so much the regular requests for 'cinos (strawberry, vanilla, caramel and chai) from the rest of us ;) 
I've also continued to reuse and repurpose a lot of 'junk' through the garden for various jobs.

~Green~

Our challenge for last month was to do 'random acts of greening'.  We built (from recycled materials) a new compost bin; switched to bamboo compostable toothbrushes and discovered new ways to be just a little bit greener.  The kids also took it upon themselves to pick up litter when they go for their walks to check the mail or exercise the dogs - proud of my little greenies.  Our bamboo toothbrushes needed a bit of decoration.  They are all exactly the same, so we decorated the handles of them with nailpolish so we know whose is whose.

~Create~

I'm still working on my jumper that I had hoped to have finished by spring, but keep getting interrupted in its creation to make costumes for dancing, birthday presents etc.  And I have had to write a plan for the next few months of Christmas present making as the sheer quantity on the to do list was overwhelming me.  

Here are a couple of little birthday presents I made this month and was able to gift to the little girls they were for yesterday. They loved them!

A Tangled Happy Wand for a 5 year old friend

A little "spare pocket" handbag with crocheted decals.

We also started on the pizza oven, and are discovering creative masonry :) We built the arch to the base - so proud!  (photos soon)


~Discover~

The library loads have been huge this month and I was also given some vintage pattern books which are gorgeous.  On the reading pile are: Living the Good Life, A Katie Fforde novel, numerous books on building woodfired ovens, a couple of copies of G magazine and a book called A slice of Organic. 

~Enhance~

We had our Spring Hafla at Belly Dance.  I love gathering with the community that we've built with our little belly dance group.  We always have a great atmosphere and fabulous fun.  I was so proud of my own kids and all of the other Belly Kids and adult students who graced the stage with the crazy collection of dances I've been teaching them this year.  It is always such a pleasure to watch a student take to the stage for the first time and to watch the buzz they get from such an achievement.  I had numerous people congratulate me on the diversity and family friendliness of the group, I work hard to make sure that all women and kids, regardless of their abilities or body shape, size age etc are not only welcome, but truly included.  I'm really glad this shows.  I also love that I get to share this with my hubby and kids - special!

Some crazy Shaabi style fun with my intermediate students.  This style is representative of modern 'nightclub' style dancing, hence the casual jeans costume.  All just for fun really :)

~Enjoy~

I've enjoyed the first rays of Spring sunshine.  The first week of holidays with my kids.  Hanging out on screen free Saturday nights with Stu.  Having my stepmum visiting and taking her to meet Clover (and in doing so getting to spend time with my awesome bro and sis-in-law again).  A photoshoot with my little spunky guys before their school disco.  A family day at my mum's place where I felt closer to her and my little brother and sister than I have in a long time.  Dinner and dancing fun with my dancing sisters, including some time where we banned belly dance talk and just connected as friends.  And much more. A good month.

Green changes - Better late than never

While shopping with the kids yesterday, I was playing the game where I tell the kids what I want and they scurry off down the aisle of the supermarket, racing to be the one to put it in the trolley. 

The first item was a canned fruit.  They found it quickly and brought it back.  Then I sent them back to replace it with the store brand, cheaper item because that's what I've always bought.  But the moment of having the prettier, more expensive can in my hand gave me a moment of pause, and with my two mini greening detectives by my side, we flipped all the cans to discover where the fruit came from.  Thailand, Indonesia and Australia were our choices, and so, we bought the one that was a little dearer and briefly discussed food miles and supporting Australian farmers.

The next item was a baking ingredient.  Again, I grabbed my trusty budget brand.  This time though, a store special made me pause.  I flipped the two packets to check where they were made, and while hunting on the packet, the ingredients of the cheaper brand caught my eye.  Ingredient number 1 was palm oil! I literally threw the pack on the ground like it had bitten me.  I've read about palm oil and really don't want anything to do with it.  Needless to say I bought the other, more expensive product, that didn't contain nasty ingredients.  (for the record, both products were made in Australia from local and imported ingredients).

I felt sick and guilty, the same way I'd been feeling each time I thought about all the times I've bought intensively farmed chicken and pork, and all the chemicals we've unknowingly pumped into our bodies over the years.  This is green guilt - feeling bad for hurting the planet.

But I'm OK now.  I'm OK because while I know we've made some bad choices in the past, we made them unknowingly.  I hadn't, in the past, thought to turn over the packet and read.  Our shopping needed to nourish and fit the budget, and it did.  But now I have spent a lot of time learning, and it is no longer acceptable to me to buy many if the products I used to.  Should I feel guilty for all of my past purchases? I don't think so.  Not only does guilt not help, but I didn't realise or know at the time, and I was just doing what I thought was OK.

Now I know, and if I go back, then I should feel guilty, very guilty.

I've always thought of myself as environmentally friendly, but the sheer number of changes we've made so far this year, and the amount that I've learnt is astonishing.  So it turns out we were a fairly washed out shade of green before, and I know that while we are now among the most green people I know, that it is possible to get much a much bright shade.  I also know that each change we make is better late than never.  Yes, it turns out I've been buying palm oil products, and that's really bad, but by stopping now, I am making a positive change for the future.

The whole point of this year for us is to get greener, step by step.  And each positive step we take is better late than never.  We are still relatively young, and our children have their whole lives ahead of them.  The years of doing good deeds for the environment are going to far outweigh the years of unintentional bad choices.

This week

In typical Spring fashion, the weather has been all over the place this week, and I'm flat out busy with a hundred projects on the go!

Saturday was a horrible day!  We were stuck inside baking and trying to keep the kids entertained.

Sunday was a beautiful day!  We were outside all day, working hard in the garden.  We built a new compost heap.  Cleared a massive pile of prunings (OK, moved them to a more hidden spot till we work out what to do with them!).  Made some progress on the paving/courtyard garden.  Tended the vegies that are growing well.  Mowed the lawns.  Started work on the frame that will (hopefully) support our Luffa vines.  And ate every meal in the garden.  Bliss!

Monday was an OK day weather wise - perfect as it was shopping day.  I did the groceries and all the in town running around and finally caught up with one of my best friends for a cuppa and a long chat.

Yesterday was blissfully sunny and warm.  Unfortunately, I had to run back to town to get some more things (swimming togs to replace the ones that just wore out on the first day of 2 weeks of swimming lessons for the kids!).  But the trip was made worthwhile by finding time to grab a few bargains at the opshop and then having lunch with my sister-in-law and her mum (this involved coo-ing at my beautiful niece too..... awwwww). 

Then yesterday arvo was all in the garden!  More seeds went in, some seedlings were transplanted and the new beds got a couple of bags of sheep manure and were covered with black plastic to kill the weeds that had grown from the horse manure.

And today is another ordinary weather day.  But that's OK, I don't need sunshine tempting me to be outside, I have a Hafla to prepare for on Friday!  What's a hafla I hear you asking?  Its a belly dance party.  My students will be dressing up and performing some of what they've learnt this year and we'll be sharing a meal with family and friends of the group.  We get about 60 people attend our hafla, which will this year be held in a gorgeous country hall and catered partly by us and partly by a local restaurant who will provide delicious pizzas and cupcakes - no, that is not traditional Middle Eastern food, but it will be very much appreciated! :)

In addition to hafla planning, I have a workshop to teach tomorrow and regular classes to run, and then a family event on Saturday.  Its busy busy busy!  So if the sunshine wants to stay away for a few days so I can work, that's OK with me..... so long as it comes back on Sunday, because with a bit of luck, we'll be starting on the pizza oven project then.

So if I don't get back here for a while, you know why.  Though I am going to try and get back with some hafla photos and if that pizza oven project gets going, you'll hear about that too.

8 elements of a simply perfect day

I'm a homemaker.  This is my job. 

Each day I fill with the stuff that keeps our family working.

I find that if I do something of each of the following in a day, that day becomes perfect in its simplicity and I feel fulfilled in my role.

I also find that the variety in the day is enough to keep my mind busy and to keep the household chugging along.

These are my 8 elements of a perfect day (in no particular order).

~Housework~

It might be as simple of loading the dishwasher or putting on a load of washing, or it could be a whole house clean and tidy.

 

~Gardening~

Dig a whole new garden bed, plant a hundred seeds, weed under the trees, mow the lawns; or simply wander around the yard looking for new growth.

 

~Crafting~

Usually work on gifts for others, sometimes on something for the house or for us. 

 

~Cooking~

A simple dinner, or enough bread and cakes to make a bakery look sparse.

 

~Reading~

One blog post, or a whole book.  Fictional escapism or recipes and plans.

 

~Animal care~

Some time spent chatting with or cuddling the dogs, cats or chooks.  Feeding them, looking after them.

 

~Connecting with the family~

Taking time to properly talk to my husband and children.  Learning something new about them or reminiscing about the past.  Making sure I hug each one of them at least twice a day.

 

~Dancing~

For exercise and for my other job.  A whole class, a performance, some choreography or a boogie to a song on the radio.

They don't always happen.  Its OK if they don't.  Sometimes life is so busy with other things, or one element gets so big it squeezes out the others.

But the days when they do all happen are so good.

Yesterday was a perfect day.

Today is shaping up pretty well too.

How's your day?

How to do nothing....make icecream.

Its been a week of coughing, sniffling, washing our version of hankies (s'not paper tissues), aching muscles, chicken soup and too much TV.  The boys and I were struck down with the dreaded lurgy.  Its been a doozy and we're just starting to feel human again now.

Yesterday was the big school excursion to see Annie in Melbourne.  We'd paid, and the boys had been looking forward to it for months, so they went.  I was too sick to see them off.  They got there, they saw the show, I got a phone call in the afternoon to tell me that one was asleep and to ask permission to give the other panadol.  By the time they got home at 9pm, they were exhausted and crashed to sleep very quickly.

I thought they'd be home recovering today, but they've gone to school (their choice) and will no doubt be having a quiet day there as more than half of their class is away sick.

I've been trying to be gentle on myself.  I've given myself permission to watch TV and drink tea and do not much.  But I'm hopeless at doing nothing, and I sit there thinking about all the things that need doing.  So I've compromised.  The house is a mess, but the washing is done and the dishes have been put away.  I ate leftovers last night and have agreed to buying hot chips for dinner tonight, but I baked a batch of bread and biscuits today.  I did the groceries yesterday, but only went to one supermarket rather than my usual round the town trip to get the best and cheapest options.  I will be teaching my classes tonight, but they will be gentler than usual, and I'll ask my students to help out.  For me, these compromises are taking it easy.

I'm just not good at nothingness.  Yesterday, with a whole day to myself (the kids gone from 8am-9pm and Stu from 8.30am and then overnight), I wanted to do something special just for me.  People suggested going for a massage, to see a movie, a long bath, or a quiet lunch out.  I know that these are things that many women love, and I certainly don't begrudge them those luxuries, but I find that sort of thing very tedious.  I sit there, knowing I should be relaxing and enjoying the moment, but wanting to be anywhere else doing something.....anything!

Thankfully, I found my luxurious moments where my body relaxed and my thoughts slowed.  I went to the nursery in a moment of clear skies and wondered the aisles daydreaming about the garden.  I imagined all of the fruit that I hope to one day grow, and I bought myself a beautiful big orange tree and a feijoa bush (cheaper than a massage and will last much longer too!).  Then, when I came home from town, I made icecream.  I took my time, seperating eggs, pouring cream and watching the beaters change runny, slightly yellow goo into fluffy, snowy white peaks.  And then I folded it all slowly together and swirled the top.

My luxuries are homemade and simple.  They bring a smile to my face, which relaxes every muscle in my body. 

Do you find luxury in making and doing?  Or in the nothingness of a massage or bath?  Either way, I thought I'd share my very simple icecream recipe with you - if you're like me, you can meditate watching the beaters, otherwise, make it and then eat it while in the bath :)

Basic Icecream

1. Beat 6 egg whites until stiff.  Beat in 3/4 cup of icing sugar.
2. Beat 600ml of cream with 3/4 cup icing sugar until thick.
3. For whole egg vanilla icecream, beat the egg yolks with 2 teaspoons of good vanilla and then fold into the cream.
4. For other flavours (use your imagination here - strawberry swirl?  peppermint choc chip? honeycomb? cookies and cream? banana? chocolate? etc etc etc), fold your flavouring of choice into the cream instead.
5. Carefully fold the egg whites into the cream mixture until well mixed and then pour the lot into a 3-4 litre container and freeze.  No extra whipping required.

NB: A chef once told me that this isn't icecream.  He called it something else.  I say, whatever!  It tastes like icecream, works like icecream, is cheap and made of real food.  If supermarkets can call some of the crap they sell 'Icecream', I can call this icecream too.

The things we're doing.....

I felt that I had nothing to blog yesterday or today.  It felt a lot like this:

"What have you been up to lately?" asks friend/family member/random acquaintance bumped into

"ummmm..... not a lot really" answered, while thinking "But I have been busy just living!  I've been doing so much, but feel like I have nothing to report - how is that possible?!"

So, I thought I would share a little list of the 'not a lot really' things that we've been up to.

• Stu and I re-taught ourselves how to play Gin Rummy and played late Saturday night while drinking Baileys.
• I danced at an 80th birthday party, where the guest of honour was thrilled to have us there and danced with us for 10 minutes.  It was the best gig ever!
• I started to hack into the pittosporum hedge that runs the side of our block.   We're going to gradually replace it with citrus and avocado trees which will also give privacy but with the added bonus of food.
• I hosted the AGM for our belly dance group at our house.  It was a pretty straightforward meeting, but the afternoon tea and company was exceptionally good.
• I found some kids yoga sessions on You tube and can't wait to share them with the boys.
• I've had each of the boys home sick from school for a day.  Neither of them were terribly sick, but a day on their own/with me seems to have been good for them.
• I received my Digger's club order.  I was so excited!  I have now planted my tammarillo tree and my kiwiberry and am looking forward to starting to plant my huge pile of seeds.
• I've discovered (a bit late) River Cottage and am enjoying watching the first season on DVD with the whole family.
• I enjoyed having my teenage brother stay with us for last week while he did work experience.
• I have been talking to my sister-in-law regularly for baby updates.  I am getting very excited about its upcoming arrival.
• My chooks are slowly starting to lay again as the days are getting slowly longer - an egg a day this past week.
• I started washing my face with honey as I had run out of cleanser and needed an alternative.  I love it!
• Stu has been planning and thinking a lot about his brew shed and we've been plotting to use homemade alternatives for expensive items he'll need.

See.... not much, but a lot at the same time.  Thanks for listening :)

Compromise and priorities - work, home and family

I feel as if I've been lost in the haze of school holidays!  It is lovely having the boys at home - playing, chatting and learning with them - but I feel as if I've lost my routine and can't fit in all the work and home tasks around the family.

I had a little panic attack the other day because I wasn't ready for my next term of teaching/dancing (lesson plans, choreographies and performances) and I was't able to get closer to ready because I needed to be with the boys and I couldn't just sit and play with the boys because I needed to do a multitude of jobs around the home and somewhere in there I needed to find time for me! Aaaagh!

So I took a spot of me time first (cup of tea) and thought about it.  As most stay at home mums would agree, there is very little time for thumb twiddling in our daily routines.  While my children are at school: I do the grocery shopping; clean and tidy the house; work in the garden (both for visual appeal and for growing food); plan meals and gardening calenders; pay bills and budget; cook food for that day and for the week ahead (all from scratch); wash/sort/mend clothes for the famil;, shop for any items that we need; make the homemade presents that we give; and do all the preparation that my part time job requires.  I also take some time for me - to see friends, read/write blogs and sometimes craft for my own pleasure.  I believe that the role as housewife/homemaker is a full time job, and my family and I are all very happy with the way the roles in our family work.

But every time my husband has holidays or there are school holidays, a spanner gets thrown in the works.  How am I supposed to get through all of the things on my list when I also need to spend time with them?  I want to spend time with them.... I love spending time with my family and my kids are growing up way too quickly to miss.  So something has to give.  Holidays are a time for compromise.

I chose to do less preparation for next term and to spend less time on my personal things - I'll find time when the boys go back to school.  In return, the kids have helped me with some of my jobs, and they are great at entertaining themselves while I'm busy.  And this weekend, Stu has helped me get through the list of homemaking tasks so that the burden feels somewhat lighter.

Slinky apples and a 'Where's Wally' puzzle - perfect family time!

My little mountain climbers!

And because of that, we've been able to enjoy the holidays, while still meeting our family's needs.

We've been to the library and the shops.  We bought new school shoes and pottered in the toy section of the shops.  Lachlan came with me while I donated blood (he wanted to see what happened and was a great support person).  We have all chipped in on a puzzle and played board games.  We spent the day at the Fun4Kids festival (courtesy of me teaching two workshops there), where the boys rockclimbed, fenced, cooked, hammered, danced and played until we were all exhausted.  We've written and read lots of stories and had cuddles galore.  We've been for walks and played in the garden.  And we've had time to just 'be' in each others company.

I've remembered that being a homemaker/housewife is a full time job, but it stems from being a wife and a mummy and they have to come first.  I wrote the title of this post before and find it interesting the way I wrote it - work, home, family.  We need to remember our priorities are the other way around - family, home and then work.  My boys aren't babies anymore, but think I should print myself a copy of this old poem - especially for school holidays.

Song for a Fifth Child

Mother, oh Mother, come shake out your cloth

empty the dustpan, poison the moth,

hang out the washing and butter the bread,

sew on a button and make up a bed.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?

She's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I've grown shiftless as Little Boy Blue

Dishes are waiting and bills are past due

The shopping's not done and there's nothing for stew

and out in the yard there's a hullabaloo

but I'm playing Kanga and this is my Roo.

Look! Aren't her eyes the most wonderful hue?

The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,

for children grow up, as I've learned to my sorrow.

So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.

I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.

by Ruth Hulburt Hamilton

Linking up with the Accidental Housewife today for a housewifely post - perfect timing Mrs A - just when I felt like writing about being a housewife... :o)

A productive morning

Not every day goes according to plan, but today seems to be flowing along very nicely. It is just about lunchtime and I've achieved a lot. I've:

• Made lunches and breakfasts, listened to readers and gotten the kids out the door on time.
• Washed two loads of washing and hung them out to dry together with a woolen blanket that needed cleaning

The sun has made a rare appearance today to dry my washing!

• Cleaned the toilet and laundry
• Had a shower and gotten dressed (this doesn't always happen, sometimes I get so busy I forget!)
• Made all the beds and tidied the bedrooms
• Tidied and cleaned the kitchen
• Made some more chai tea blend as I'd run out in the pantry
• Cleaned out the recipe pile and found a sultana loaf recipe I had scribbled down but didn't remember what the result was
• Baked the sultana loaf, then threw out the recipe as the result was not great!
• Baked a loaf of bread and a batch of rolls
• Written the week's menu plan and tomorrow's shopping list
• Given the dogs and cats their worm treatments
• Made arrangements for dinner on Saturday with family
• Booked an appointment to give blood next week
• Booked accomodation for a belly dance weekend next month
• Made some chai tea from the new blend - its delicious!

And I have the whole afternoon stretching out in front of me to work on lesson plans and choreographies for next term.

Days like today make me feel warm and successful.
Days like today make me feel not only justified, but proud to be a stay at home mum and homemaker.

I hope you're having a productive day too.