Monthly 9 - April 2015

Well here we are again and we are looking back and focusing on the 9 areas of simple living that Christine started back in 2012.  Here is what we have been up to over the month of April.

Nourish -Make and bake as much as possible from scratch. Ditch over packaged, over processed convenience foods and opt for 'real' food instead.
While I did not post that often about food during April there was a lot of action in the kitchen.  I made the first soup of the season, a lovely roasted pumpkin soup from one of our home grown pumpkins that was just under ripe so the roasting helped bring out the flavour.

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 been a bit of stockpiling going on and the dehydrator has been getting a good work out.  I managed to pick up some capsicums on special so they got dried and stored for winter when I know capsicums will be more than double in price compared to now.  We also dried a heap of apples for hubby to take for snacks at work.

In addition to the dried foods I have also baked Chocolate Crunchies and packed small batches away in the freezer so they are on hand for when needed, and packed away lots of left overs to be reheated for quick and easy meals.

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

We are still sending a bag a week to the op shop.  I now find myself looking around the house for items that can be added to that weeks bag.  Just when you think you have cleaned everything out you find a few more things that are no longer needed.

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.
Not much to report in this area for April but I did make some sage and thyme tea a few times a day for a few days which dealt with a sore throat I had.

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

The garden is producing hedges of basil and the latest round of cucumbers are producing well and I made some lactofermented dill pickles in April. There are spring onions, mini capsicum, as well as lettuce and silverbeet too.  And I am still getting the odd eggplant off the bush that is now more than 2 years old. The egg production has slowed which is normal at this time of year and a number of the girls have just finished their moult.  Normally we would add a couple of point of lays at this time each year to keep up the eggs production but since we are hoping to sell soon it is not practical to do that this year. 

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

There was no creating in April which is a bit sad but that is what happens when you are busy.

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

April was a great month for reading and I read a stack of fiction books a range of magazines and I did quite a bit of reading and internet trawling for information that relates to our move to NZ.

Enhance - Community

The past month has seen us trading cucumbers, eggs and herbs for chillies, pumpkin and feeding the chickens.  We have built some great friendships in this community strangely mostly with people in our parents age group.  But these friends have been great mentors and support networks for us and despite the age difference we have formed strong bonds.

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

We had a reason to celebrate in April with the return of my youngest brother and his partner, returning from Korea where they are currently living, for a holiday.  We could only catch up with them for lunch on one day but it was a long lunch and since we skype most weeks we just enjoyed the face to face catch up more than anything.

I also went to see the musical 'Wicked'.  I went by myself but was blessed to have my best friend come to lunch first then drop me off and pick me up after the show which save me all the expensive parking at the theatre.

What have you been up to?