Slow living - Month 7 - 2012

Linking up again with Christine at Slow living essentials for month 7. This is a chance for me to review the month past and the small changes i have been making in my life.

{Nourish} - Make and bake as much as possible from scratch. Ditch overpackaged, overprocessed convenience foods and opt for 'real' food instead. Share favourite links/recipes/tips from the month here.
Cooking from scratch, this is an easy one almost everything i make is from scratch but a few highlights this month would have to be homemade cordon bleu chicken, beer bread and our adventure into cheese making. 

This camembert is still ageing and will be ready for tasting next week, yah! very excited. I'll be sure to let you all know what it's like.


{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. Aim to reduce dependancy on store bought items
There hasn't been a lot of excess around here in the middle of winter. I did recieve this week from my mum some bulk stewed apple for freezing but my own efforts have been on the quiet side. We have been eating a lot out the freezer though, including frozen capsicum and corn from summer.

{Reduce} - Cut down on household waste by re-using, re-purposing and repairing. A ladder into a strawberry planter? A sheet into a dress? Share ideas and project links here, allowing others to be inspired.
Old partly made quilts have been pulled out this month and finished off with leftover fabric. It feels good to finally complete some of them. One has been sent off to the quilter this week and i should have it back to share soon.

{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. 
Aromatherapy has featured heavily this month. It's probably that closed in feeling you sometimes feel in the middle of winter after days of rain when you feel the need to freshen up the house. Patchouli, lemon and basil oils to lift the mood. Pine, Rosemary and Teatree to clear the airways and ward off the persistent coughs and colds we have had lately.

{Grow} -  What's growing this month? What's being eaten from the garden? Herbs in a pot, sprouts on a windowsill or and entire fruit/vegetable garden -opt for what fits space and time constraints. Don't have a backyard? Ask a friendly neighbour or relative for a small patch of theirs in return for some home grown produce, they may surprise you! 
Nothing much is growing here still, just a bit of silverbeet and this week our first cauliflower of the season. There is a lot of lemons on the neighbours tree that have been calling out to be made into syrup though.
This week has been all about preparing for spring, weeding, laying hay and generally tidying in preparation for the busy spring growing.

{Create} to fill a need or feed the soul. Create for ourselves or for others. Create something as simple as a handmade gift tag or something as extravagant as a fine knit shawl. Share project details and any new skills learnt here. 
As always there has been a lot of creating going on - crochet flowers, bunting for presents and birthdays, more patchwork and cake decorating to name a few.

{Discover} - Feed the mind by reading texts relevant to current interests. Trawl libraries, second hand shops or local book shops to find titles that fill the need. Share titles/authors of what is being read this month. 
Everything i've been reading this month has been wonderful escapism fiction. Sometimes it's nice to lose yourselves in a good book. I read every night and can't remember a night i haven't. Recently i've been loving the Elm Creek quilter's novels - light easy reads about a family and thier history all told through the work and symbolism in thier quilts. Yes, very craft geek i know, but they really are lovely books free of the extreme violence and nastiness many books routinely contain. If you haven't read them already give them a go.

{Enhance} - community: Possibilities include supporting local growers & producers, help out at a local school/kindergarten, barter or foodswap, joining a playgroup or forming a walking or craft group. Car pooling where possible and biking/walking instead of driving. Even start up a blog if you haven't already - online communities count too! Or maybe just help out someone trying to cross the street! The rewards for your time are often returned tenfold.
Our craft group continues to meet every 2 weeks and has become a fun group of regulars getting together to stitch and chat. I'm really enjoying the feeling of community and craftiness the group brings.

{Enjoy} - Embrace moments with friends and family. Marking the seasons, celebrations and new arrivals are all cause for enjoyment. Share a moment to be remembered from the month here.
Celebrating my son's first birthday was a highlight this month. That boy is the joy of our lives and it was so much fun giving him a fun day of friends, bubbles, balloons and cake.

Now onto the next month..... hmmmm...... sourdough, grandma's recipes, quilts, sock puppets......

xxx

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