Slow Living April 2013

Linking up with Christine again this month.  Although running a bit late.

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 some creative meals this month as I tried to use what we had on hand as part of my stockpile challenge.  Most meals contain what we have lots of in the garden.  Beans, Parsley and a late flush of cucumbers.  Every second day these meals can be followed with a desert of home grown raspberries and yoghurt.

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.
This month we have had a limited budget due to our stocktake challenge.  However I was able to dry some rosellas and freeze others to enjoy over the coming months.

Reduce - Cut down on household waste by re-using, re-purposing and repairing.
We re purposed some bits and pieces to make fencing standards for our cows this month and they are still being used to great effect.

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.
I have been trying a new recipe for a home made body scrub made from coconut oil and sugar.  I have not perfected it just yet but it is getting better.  I will post more about it when I am happy with the recipe.

Grow - plant/harvest. What's growing this month? What's being eaten from the garden?

The self seeded Jap pumpkin that is set on world domination is starting to bear fruit  I just hope they are ready before it gets too cold..

Jap pumpking taking over

Create - To fill a need or feed the soul. Create for ourselves or for others.

I am still practising my knitting when I can find time and have been doing lots of scrap booking and card making.

Discover - Feed the mind by reading texts relevant to current interests.
I am still reading lots of books.  I am currently reading  the Game of Thrones series and really enjoying it.

Enhance - Community
Planning for this years Classic Car Show is well under way again and will be keeping me busy for many months to come.  I am also in charge of organising all of the stall holders for the festival so it is a huge job.  This will be our third year and hopefully even more successful that the last two.  Over the weekend I spent time at another festival scouting for new and interesting stall holders.
I also participated in this years show and had a few wins as well.
Enjoy - Life! Embrace moments with friends and family. Marking the seasons, celebrations and new arrivals are all cause for enjoyment.
I had a great day out op shopping with my best friend this month and picked up some real bargains   We also celebrated a friends birthday where he indulged in the biggest burger I have ever seen.  Of course Hubby had to have one too.  I opted out and was very glad.

Giant Burgers with our friend trying to work out how to tackle the monster.

After lunch we all went for a bush walk although I am not sure it was enough to work off even a fraction of those burgers.

Bush walking with my friend and his kids being scary monsters in the forest.

What have you been up to?