Slow Living August 2013

Linking up with Christine again this month but very late in linking up.  I also missed last month so this will 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, parsley and fennel in the garden ready for harvest plus the start of a few summer crops on the way.  We are not eating that much of the silverbeet ourselves but the chickens are eating a lot and we are eating their eggs so I guess we are eating by proxy.

Bran muffins are always a favourite around here and I have made another lime spice syrup cake that went down a treat when we had visitors.

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.

There has not been a lot of stockpiling going on in our house as we are trying to work through our stockpile not add to it.  I tend to be a bit of a food hoarder and I forget that there is just the 2 of us not a family

Reduce - Cut down on household waste by re-using, re-purposing and repairing.

Our main thing at the moment is to clear out as much clutter as possible.  We know that in the next year or so we will have to pack it all into a shipping container and move it to New Zealand.

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.

We continue to make most of our own cleaners and I have been knitting up a few more dish cloths and composting old ones that have past their prime.

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

The self seeded Jap pumpkin that was set on world domination has lasted through winter and is even starting to grow again so we have picked all the pumpkins and stored them.
I have been planting out lots of seeds but have realised that I have a few gaps in my selections (eggplants, corn and capsicums) so I will be getting some of them asap.

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

I have been making cards but other than that not much has been happening here.

Discover - Feed the mind by reading texts relevant to current interests.
I have had my nose in a book permanently over the last 2 months.  I have read the 7 books in the Game of Thones series as well as a couple of other fictions.  I have also been studying permaculture in both books and online.

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 pretty much a home body over the last 2 months.  But there have been catch ups with family and friends and I have to say I love skype for having face to face conversations with my family in NZ.  It is lovely to be able to see my nieces grow up.

What have you been up to?