Slow Living Diary November 2012

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

NOURISH: I spent a weekend cooking all the snacks that Little B would need for kindy until the end of the year and froze them. Now I just get out what we need the night before and it’s defrosted in time for his lunch. I’ve also bulk cooked a few meals, so that on really busy or hot nights we can grab something and heat it up in the microwave.

PREPARE: I finished off as much of our Christmas presents as possible. I made a batch of strawberry jam to give as gifts to give to teachers, Little B’s physiotherapist and OT, and some neighbours.

Those I didn’t make, I bought from Etsy and MadeIt. I’ve also been adding to our stockpile so I don’t have to go to the shops as much during the Christmas period (I hate crowds!!).

REDUCE: Repurposed a whole bunch of star pickets and old bamboo to support my tomato plants. The one benefit I guess of a buying a house with a crazy wild backyard (it was FULL of star pickets just stuck in the ground in any old place). Used up all Granny B’s old stocking socks on tying up said tomato plants as well.

 
GREEN: Nothing new to report here, just moseying along with all our current green living choices.

GROW: It’s all going on in the garden at the moment – lots and lots of zucchinis, the almond tree is full and our apples look beautiful. Our tomato plants have baby tomatoes, the bean seedlings are shooting up, our potatoes are flowering and our pumpkins are trying to take over the world :-)

CREATE:  This month I made another teepee as a gift (pics to come), bunting for Christmas and a scarf for family overseas. I also made our Christmas wreath out of sticks in the backyard and crocheted a few Christmas decorations for our tree.

DISCOVER:   I’ve jumped back into reading again this month. I enjoyed Whole Larder Love by Rohan Anderson for it’s preserving section. I’m looking forward to making semi dried tomatoes (we are growing one kind of tomato specifically for this), hot zucchini relish and blood plum jam. I’ve also read In the Defense of Food by Michael Pollan. I originally read an abridged copy of this but it was good to read it all in total.

For fun, I read Love Anthony by Lisa Genova (it brought tears to my eyes), and roared through The Twelve by Juston Cronin (fantastic reading – I literally almost couldn’t put it down and probably wouldnt have, if I didnt have to do annoying things like cook, sleep, look after my family ;-).

ENHANCE: Aah its coming to end of the kinder year – I’ve helped at AGM’s, and strategy meetings. Mr B and I put up signs at the kinder to help get rid of some unsavoury people boozing away the evenings in a preschool’s car park – noice!!.

ENJOY: This month we enjoyed a holiday break at Phillip Island. It was great to take some time out and away and just switch off from it all – no phones, no computers – just sun, sand and exploration before Mr B had to go away overseas for work for a week or so.