Slow Living September 2014

Linking up with Linda who is now our gracious host having taken over from Christine in hosting the Slow Living Nine.  I love joining in each month and reflecting on what I have achieved, it is also great to hear what everyone is up to and share in their achievements.

Nourish -Make and bake as much as possible from scratch. Ditch over packaged, over processed convenience foods and opt for 'real' food instead.
We make all of our meals from scratch pretty much but I do sometimes buy cereal.  I was shocked most recently to find that the "Just Right" Cereal that I buy is about 28% sugar.  Some comes from the dried fruit but some of it is added.  I used to make our own mixed cereal but I got a bit lazy and went back to buying it.  Well I will not be doing that any more.  Along with the sugar there is a whole lot of other stuff in there I don't want or need.

During the month I made some more sausage rolls.  Hubby really likes these in his lunchbox even though they are cold as they make a nice change from sandwhiches.  There have also been some yummy sweet treats like the orange and almond cake.  I still have oranges so I will be thinking up some other ways to use them.

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.

During the month I made a heap of pesto some of which made it into the freezer for later use.  I also froze some portions of quiche to have on hand for easy lunches when we are busy and want something quickly.

The macadamia and lemon myrtle shortbread were a real hit so much so that I had to hide the second batch in the freezer in small portions.  Most of them were still discovered but I have one last container full hiding down the bottom for an emergency.

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

I am not sure we did anything in the re-purposing area but we continue to try and de-clutter giving things away that we cannot take with us to New Zealand.  I gave a friend a whole lot of huge plastic garden pots.  I am sure if I washed a disinfected them we could take them but it would make it more likely that they would want to pull our shipping container apart.

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.
Just the usual happening on this front.  I have a catch of citrus cleaner on the go but now that I have all the oranges I will be getting another batch started.

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

The garden is producing lots of Silverbeet and herbs, we have harvested a couple of purple cauliflower but it is now getting very warm and I suspect the rest might not come to anything and get fed to the cow. I am growing spring onions, beetroot, fennel and celeriac, lettuce, tomatoes, zucchini, capsicum, cucumber and eggplant.  The zucchini are just putting on their first small fruit so I am looking forward to harvesting those later this week. .

The zucchini are smothering the lettuce plants around them but that is ok because we
will be harvesting the lettuce over the next week

The mulberry is fruiting,  mmmmm can't wait

All of the citrus are flowering like mad so hopefully it will be a bumper crop next year.

The native bees are loving all of the citrus flowers and were there in their thousands
so we must have a nest nearby.

I have to hurry up and use these lettuces as the snails are into them in a big way

These beefsteak tomatoes are coming along and the cucumber will take off in no time at all.

I am doing much better at staggering my plantings this year and have just got my second round of seeds in.  Already I can see that we need to eat more veggies as there is a glut of beetroot, lettuce and silverbeet in the garden.

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

I have finally picked up my crochet hook again after a long hiatus and have  been trying to maser the basic stitches so I can make something other than the dish cloths I have been making.  I am happy with my progress and my stitches are becoming nice and even my tension is better.

Nothing too exciting about this but my stitches are getting better.

On this one I have done 4 rows each of single, then double, then triple crochet hence it
is a bit curved but since it is going to be a dish cloth what does it matter.

Discover - Feed the mind by reading texts relevant to current interests.

Over the last month I have read a few interesting books including the one below which I posted about here.  I am also reading the transition towns book but i will talk more about that later as I have just started.

Enhance - Community

It is all systems go (only 8 weeks to go) in organising the car show that I am involved in and things are just getting busier and busier in this area.

Enjoy - Life! Embrace moments with friends and family. Marking the seasons, celebrations and new arrivals are all cause for enjoyment.

Attending the Real Food Festival was one of my highlights of this month and we also spend some time camping with friends which was great. I know October is full of get togethers with family and friends so I am looking forward to that.

What have you been up to?