Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Slow Living Diary April 2012



Once again, I am joining in with Christine from Slow Living Essentials for a monthly reflection of slow living…

NOURISH: What can I say…I‘ve become totally addicted to popcorn and make it as much as I can using olive oil or coconut oil and sea salt..yumm!! Best snack ever ;-) Other favourites have been Vegetarian Fried Rice & Banana Bread from The Low GI Family Cookbook. Donna Hay’s Apple (but pear in our house) slice is divine!! We couldn’t stop eating it (though I added lots of oats and less flour to the crumble to make it healthier).

PREPARE: I know this should be about food but after a nasty wakeup call, I updated our first aid kit and made sure we have everything on hand for mini emergencies. I cut a bit of my finger off making soup (hello sharp new knives). Whilst I have first aid training, I didn’t have the things on hand to do it solo. A trip to the doctor led to a trip to the hospital. It had more bark than bite but they helped me dress it properly. Here’s a tip…always keep pads on hand they are the best thing to hold onto a wound to stop bleeding!!

REDUCE: We’ve been reusing old bubblewrap envelopes from Mr B’s work. They fold out into a decent size (see below). We reused some old fencing, locks and hinges to make some side gates – took a bit of match making but now our yard is fairly secure.


GREEN: I’ve been bubble wrapping alot of our windows and using door snakes as window snakes on our old sash windows. They leak pretty badly at the bottom but this solution works a treat!! Go fabric and sawdust!! I’m surprised how well the bubble wrap works as well. Our solar has finally been inspected so now we hope to get it officially turned on.

GROW: Have been eating copious amounts of baby spinach. I’ve never had it work this well, you just cut what you want and it keeps growing. Little B has also enjoyed eating peas straight out of the pod hand picked. Though I have to watch him as he would pick and eat them all if he could
:-)

CREATE: Have cut down some old t-shirts of mine to make long nightshirts for Little B. He wears these as layers beneath his current pj’s to stop his back getting cold at night (a huge source of nightwaking).

DISCOVER:  I’ve been re-reading The Dirty Life and some secondhand copies of Good Organic Gardening. I’ve also borrowed Escape to River Cottage from the library but have only just started watching it.

ENHANCE: Have been helping out a friend who has just been diagnosed with breast cancer…she’s new to living green so has been picking my brains and checking out our bathroom, pantry and laundry for ideas.

ENJOY: The weather has been such a lovely mix this month of sun, wind and rain. Little B is loving all the autumn leaves and we spend a lot of time playing leaf boats, doing leaf paintings or just burying him in the leaves while I do some gardening!! LOL I’ve also enjoyed catching up with family before they went overseas for a few months and also our mini break in Adelaide. It’s been nice to just slow down and relax.

8 comments:

  1. What a wonderful life! Love what you did with the bubble wrap... hope your finger is better now too!

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  2. Well done reusing the bubble wrap! A brilliant idea.
    You are the second person I have heard of who cut themselves while cooking lately. Glad it wasn't serious. We recently also realise our first aid kit had a few gaps which needed filling ... Lucky you having peas and spinach growing!

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  3. Bubble wrap on the windows! That's such a clever idea.

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  4. I hear you about the first aid kit...I try to keep mine stocked, but it's tough with 2 young kids who are very active! I find I do have to keep checking expiration dates, so I want to find more home remedies I can keep on hand instead of relying on store bought.
    Thanks for sharing

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  5. Really great to read about your month, Mrs B. What a scare with the cut finger and a great tip to keep in mind, thanks for sharing. So glad everything was ok but a good reminder to check our kit.

    Bubble wrap on the windows and hot salty popcorn..you'll be all nice and cosy to sit and watch Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall! Enjoy. x

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  6. I've fixed the problem of self mutilation while cooking...... we only have bluntish knives in our drawers!! Truly, I was forever cutting myself in my hurry to get dinner done ( I need to look into that slow living your son is in to!)
    You have given me a nudge to check on our woeful first aid kit - thanks!

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  7. Oh gosh, I hope your finger is ok. I cut the tip of my finger off while working at a restaurant years ago... they didn't have a first aid kit, so I sterilized it with vodka and kept the pressure on with a kitchen towel while the dishwasher ran to the drug store for bandages and ointment. Funny story now, but not so much that day. ;-)

    I love that your kiddo eats peas straight from the plant!

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  8. clever idea on the bubble wrap...the autumn leaves are so lovely aren't they :)

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