Thursday 3 May 2012

Slow Living April 2012

Linking up with Christine again this month although I am running a little behind but hey that happens sometimes.

Nourish -Make and bake as much as possible from scratch. Ditch over packaged, over processed convenience foods and opt for 'real' food instead.
 There has been a lot of bread making this month as well as pesto and big batches of muffins divided into small portions and frozen.  We have been eating the last of the cucumbers from the garden as well as lots and lots of eggs.

Prepare - Stockpile and preserve. Freeze extra meals or excess garden/market produce. Bottle/can, dehydrate or pickle foods to enjoy when they are not in season.
I have been blanching the last of the beans and freezing them for over winter. Plus there are the extra muffins mentioned above

Reduce - Cut down on household waste by re-using, re-purposing and repairing.
We have been finding old pavers all over our property since we moved in and in the last month we have been collecting them all up and storing them for future use.  We have a plan for them but I will share that once it is under way.

Green Start (or continue!) using homemade cleaners, body products and basic herbal remedies. The options are endless, the savings huge and the health benefits enormous.
April saw me invest in a new bicycle and I have been getting out and about on it taking our dog for a run which is great for my health and hers.  I also made up another batch of liquid soap and had my first go at making soap from scratch.
Chewed Cabbages

Untouched kohlrabi
Grow plant/harvest. What's growing this month? What's being eaten from the garden? 
It has all been about winter veg this month.  We have such a short winter that you have to get things going while it is still warm.  This unfortunately meant the caterpillars make a feast of some of the first round.  It is interesting though that they are very interested in my cabbages but not so much the kohlrabi and they are planted right next to each other.
There have been a few summer veg fruiting here and there, the odd cucumber, capsicum and eggplant.  And I have been eating the odd raspberry and fig too.
And we have just harvest our first bunch of bananas ever.
 Create - To fill a need or feed the soul. Create for ourselves or for others.
 I participated in the Apron Swap this month and I have also been learning how to knit again.  I am making a dish cloth first of all since it will not matter too much if I drop a stitch here and there, so far only 2.
Discover Feed the mind by reading texts relevant to current interests.
I have been reading "The hand made loaf" by Dan Lepard and it has been such a joy.  I think I will need to get a copy of my own.

Enhance Community
I had another go at entering the local show this year and I also helped out as a steward which was very informative and will help me with my future entries to know what it is the judges are looking for.

Enjoy - Life! Embrace moments with friends and family. Marking the seasons, celebrations and new arrivals are all cause for enjoyment.
This was all about people this month.  We caught up with people we had not seen in ages, far far too long in fact, so it was nice to be able to establish that great connection again.  We also had family stay at Easter which was loads of fun, a bunch of 30 some thing's having a few drinks listening to music, playing board games and doing some gardening.  Quality time without a doubt.

5 comments:

  1. Damn caterpillars! Isn't it weird how they attack some plants and not others? I lost all my Kale to them but the silverbeet next to it was untouched (thankfully). How fantastic to be able to grow bananas. One of the things I'm really enjoying about this blogging community is seeing what other people are growing in different places.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sounds nice, thanks for sharing> I'm currently trying to master sourdough myself, what an adventure it is! Not the most successful adventure so far either! Your liquid soap looks great i'll be trying that out soon.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks for sharing the liquid soap link! I've just bought the ingredients and planned to make powder but might try this instead. The bananas look amazing - don't think there is any hope of me growing them in Scotland!

    ReplyDelete
  4. the bananas will be yummy soon...I have had the caterpillars even eating my mint and lemonbalm here :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. You harvested bananas?? No way!! This is amazing, I'm deeply envious!

    The Handmade Loaf is one of my favourite baking books of all time..perfect if you want to get more creative with sourdough.

    And I do love that new bicycle of yours! (it's vintage style, yes?) :)

    ReplyDelete

I'd love to hear your thoughts...
Thanks for taking the time to comment