Slow Living June 2013

Linking up with Christine again this month.  Although I missed last month so this may cover the last 2 months.

Nourish -Make and bake as much as possible from scratch. Ditch over packaged, over processed convenience foods and opt for 'real' food instead.
At the moment there is silverbeet and parsley in the garden ready for harvest plus the odd cherry tomato.
I have been making a few nice Asian meals lately including the caramel pork belly in the picture below.
I have also made up another big batch or home made baked beans as Hubby likes these to take to work for lunches.  Just this week I have been doing a bit of baking including my chocolate and beetroot cake except that I used carrots instead of beetroot and I made some bran muffins as well.

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.
We have been working through our food stockpile rather than adding to it.  But what we have been stockpiling is fire wood.  Back at the start of the year Hubby built a wood shed out of recycled materials.

The wood shed

Then we got a wood splitter in to split all the wood we have been drying in the paddock.  We ended up with about 6 trailers loads like the one in the below photo.

And now the wood is stacked floor to ceiling and all the way to the door.  We should not have to get wood again before we move to NZ.  In fact we will probably be selling the house with at least a years supply included.

Reduce - Cut down on household waste by re-using, re-purposing and repairing.
This has all been about using things up for us.  We seem to have all these half bottles of things in the bathroom and I am absolutely refusing to throw them out until the contents have been used up.  Last night I had a bubble bath and I have been using up the almost empty bottle of moisturiser  before moving on to the slightly less empty bottle.  I am not even sure where they all came from, I think some have been left behind by visitors, either that or they are breeding...

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..

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. I am up to book 5 of 7 and if you tune in later this week I have the first 2 books in the series to give away.

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.  I would say that I currently dedicate about 10 - 15 hours a week to these community events.

Enjoy - Life! Embrace moments with friends and family. Marking the seasons, celebrations and new arrivals are all cause for enjoyment.
I have been so blessed over the last 2 months catching up with family in New Zealand as well as spending time with Hubby's family and friends here in Australia.

My Niece and Nephew in NZ

My mother in law and I went to the Brisbane Art Gallery 2 weeks ago to see Quilts 1700 - 1945 which was fascinating.  Quilts 1700–1945’ comes from one of the world’s most important and loved collections of textiles and decorative arts — the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. This exhibition offers visitors an unprecedented opportunity to see over 30 quilted and/or patchworked bed covers and bed hangings, as well as sewing accessories, created over two-and-a-half centuries.   If you get a chance to see it it is worth it.

What have you been up to?