Slow living -month 11

Linking up again this month with Christine at Slow living essentials. I've been absent from the monthly slow living reviews for a few months now as, ironically, i just felt the need to slow down and rest for awhile. Not push myself too much and try and gain back my good health. The little break seems to have served me well and i'm starting to feel more myself. So this month i have a little more to share.

{Nourish} - 
Oh there has been a lot of this here this month. Stocks, breads and numerous christmas puddings and cakes are being prepared. Simple has been the order of the day with meals too. Nourishing, healthy and full of flavour.

{Prepare} - There hasn't been much preserving or stockpiling in the last few months. As we head into spring we will get into more of this. I have managed to make some stock from neck chops and bones using the nourishing traditions method and cooking it for 24hrs. 
{Reduce} - Old cotton sheeting was chopped up for straining cloths, pieces of foam became a threading toy for my son and all our old bricks around the place have been incorporated into a new outdoor area.
{Green} - Another batch of my favourite cleaner was mixed up.

All purpose spray cleaner

400ml water

1/2 C vinegar

1 t of essential oils - i use different ones but my favourite combination at the moment is rosemary, lavendar and lemon. It smells heavenly to clean with and makes cleaning less of a chore.

{Grow} - Our garden has had a slow start here with the first 2 sowings being devoured by slugs and snails. But finally we are making some ground. Our raspberries are doing the best at the moment and we are picking 2 handfuls each day. Half of which my son has eaten before we reach the house! Also the lettuces are going strong and zucchinis, strawberries, peas and tomatoes are all coming along nicely. We should be in for a great crop again this year.

{Create} - There is always a lot of creating going on in this house. This month there has been a little more knitting, a kindle case and a dr seuss book bag for my son for christmas. Where would i be without craft!

{Discover} As my little man gets bigger and becomes his own little person i've been thinking more and more about parenting styles. Some people seem to fit easily into one style or another but i don't feel like i've found my niche yet. With a few challenging moments around here lately i've found myself moving between different styles trying to find the right fit. So i've been reading a lot more - from Nigel Latta (politically incorrect parenting) to conscious parenting. It's a lot to think about and something i thought would be more instinctual. Being a parent is wonderful though and i'm sure it's something that will sort itself in time.

{Enhance} Craft group always comes to mind with a wonderful night making fudge handbags covered with fondant recently. It was a good night which went well later than usual, the conversation just seemed to flow. Such great fun. And coming up we are making christmas wreaths and having an end of the year dessert and wine evening to wind things up.

{Enjoy} Catching up with a friend i haven't been able to see in a little while and letting our kids play together. They have know each other since birth and they are great fun to watch play. They mostly play well together but both being rather spirited wee things in different ways they tend to fight like siblings at times too. It's actually wonderful seeing my little man develop those kind of close relationships that you can miss out on being so far away from family.

A busy month but in some ways a simpler one. It really is wonderful and so important to put down extra work some times and be kinder to yourself for a while. Rest is so important for us mummies too!

Take care everyone

xxx