Step by step - May

Following on from Christine's slow living essentials monthly reviews, i decided to add a bit on each month. In the past i have always tried to conquer everything at once and given up in exasperation.  Step by step, month by month i'm hoping to make small lifestyle changes to improve mine and my families lives and health.

I wish i could front up this month saying i had ticked off all my goals from April but the month turned out to be more about life than lists. Family and old friends visiting was the focus of the month and a wonderful time it was too. Cafes, shopping, garden walks, picnics, crafting and sharing the many moments of the day meant life was full, busy and simply wonderful.

So to recap my goals from April were to

- Make my everyday bread - I have finally, thanks to my mum, produced some good loaves in the breadmaker and now feel ready to tackle making it regularly enough to eat everyday. Success was hard won, i think i ruined at least 8 loaves before i finally got it right!

Ah glorious golden, risen bread! You make awesome toast.

- Keeping my sourdough alive - Yes it is alive! and well, bubbling and fluffy. I'm starting to feel that i'm understanding this little 'pet' a bit better and can balance out its feeding and dividing a bit better. I'm still working on getting a good risen loaf out of it but i think it's only a matter of time and patience.

- Make at least 1 natural cleaner and use it regularly - well i have made it but it is only just ready to be used now. I think i'll work on this a bit more next month as there is so many wonderful recipes out there. I also want to try Fiona's liquid soap recipe.

- Breathing/ relaxation exercises at least twice a week - whoops forgot all about this. I have done some breathing exercises but not as much as i should. Another thing to focus on for next month too.

Along with these few steps from April i want to work on a bit more i think i'll add in 

- Make my own yoghurt - i have done this in the past with mixed success, but when it was good it was really good.

- Make my own hot cocoa mix. I used to always drink whatever premixed hot chocolate drink that was on special but i thought this would be a good area to reduce preservatives and additives while still having a delicious hot cocoa drink which may even be a bit better for me too. I always feel better having more control over what goes into my food, don't you?

Well it wasn't too bad this month after all. I might even go and put some sourdough on now to celebrate!

xxx 

Autumn balance

~Creating an autumn space with a celebration of autumn colours and bounty. I love to bring the seasons into my home it makes me feel more balanced and connected with the world around me. 

~Embracing the weather and the changes in our environment and in our bodies which occur with the moving seasons. I can feel the subtle change towards woolen clothes and warm nourishing soups slowly coming on.

~Loving the round perfectly orange pumpkins we bought in a few weeks ago so much they are living on my table as decoration while they wait to be eaten.

~Finding pleasure in autumn flowers, calendulas, pineapple sage and nasturtiums, both for admiring and adding to salads.

~ Rejoicing that my mum visited and helped me finally make some successful loaves of bread in the bread maker! The only difference we could find in our techniques was i was adding warm instead of cold water. But that little change made all the difference and i am finally eating freshly baked loaves!

xxx

Slow living month 4 - April

Welcome to Month 4 of the 2012 Slow Living diary - a record to help me keep track of my personal achievements over the past month. With Christine at Slow living essentials


{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.


Slowly having some success with my bread maker and getting into the swing of making it regularly. Making homemade muffins, oatcakes, fritters and mashed vege dinners for my boy. I also finished up my last weeks of wholefood kitchen and now i'm learning how to balance out all i have learned with my life.

{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.


I have kilos of frozen cranberries, walnuts and almonds stored for winter thanks to my parents and i made a batch of yummy cranberry sauce.

{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.


Repairing old quilts and pictures and hanging a few new ones to perk the place up a bit.


{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.


I've been making citrus cleaner this month and have it soaking to use in the next few weeks. I've also been using a wonderful olive oil, vinegar and lavender oil body moisturiser which i recieved from a friend. It really is very good and i might try making my own when it's finished. 

{Grow} plant/harvest. 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.


Oh we have been busy on this front, weeding through all the beds, building another raised corner bed and pruning all the trees for winter. We are eating capsicums, silverbeet, basil, pumpkins, figs and onions at the moment. Peas, kale, kohlrabi and carrots are in but our little cauliflower and broccoli seedlings were dug out by the cats and only time will tell if they will recover. We are also putting tomatoes and fresh herbs in the conservatory for winter.


{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.


Working away on my chestnut and vine quilt and dreaming of upcoming projects for my son's first birthday, i'm thinking about sock puppets and a nice single bed quilt.

{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.


Rediscovering the local library and indulging in cooking, quilting and craft books. Full of inspiration and new ideas. 


{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.


Recently i decided to rejoin the local embroiderers guild and enjoy the friendship and inspiration craft groups bring. I'm also thinking about joining the local patchwork and quilters guild.


{Enjoy}  Life! 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.


Embracing the emotional journey which has taken place during my couch to 5k training and feeling very grateful for the strength of my body and mind to carry me through. Halfway through week 7!


In some ways a slower month but also one with big changes, i look forward to seeing you all next month i feel some changes ahead.

Loving... Grateful

 Loving....

The last of the summer flowers

The sunshine

The majestic buildings

Grateful for 

~ The last of the sunny days

~ A warm home

~ Freshly baked bread that does not resemble a brick

~ Family

~ Family who overhaul the garden and house while they are visiting, catching me up on eveything

~ A newly crawling baby who brings me such delight

~ A healthy body that allows me to run further each week

~ Devonshire scones

~ The blogging community.

xxx

Italian renaissance garden

The Italian renaissance gardens at the Hamilton gardens. Beautiful, breathtaking, inspirational.

I look out my window, 

a new day I see,

and only I can determine 

what kind of a day it will be

 It can be busy and sunny, 

laughing and gay,

or boring and cold, 

unhappy and grey.

My own state of mind 
is the determining key,
for I am only the person 
I let myself be.

I can be thoughtful, 
and do what I can to help,
or I can be selfish 
and think just of myself.

I can enjoy what I do 

and make it seem fun,

or gripe and complain 

and make it hard on someone.

I can be patient with those 

who may not understand,

or belittle and hurt them 

as much as I can.

But I have faith in myself,

and believe what I say,

and I personally intend 

to make the best of Today. 

Today
By © B. J. Morbitzer

Maori garden

Anzac day this year was a beautiful sunny day, and while taking a moment to pause and remember those who gave their lives, we also took time to be with and appreciate family. A trip to the gardens and a picnic in the sun was a wonderful way to pass the time with the boy and my parents who were visiting. The Hamilton gardens in New Zealand are stunning and it continues to grow every year. They have different styled gardens including renaissance, tudor, Japanese, Chinese and modernist gardens to name a few and in the last few years they have developed and opened the Maori garden. 

A need a new fence, this would be awesome, but maybe would with a few less pointy bits for climbing boys.

Kumara mounds growing, don't they look lovely? (Kumara is a type of sweet potato.)

What a stunning example of carving, workmanship and gardening. Truly, truly beautiful and a wonderful place to meander if you ever travel this way.

xx

Snap, crackle, cranberries

My Mum and Dad arrived yesterday for a visit. There really is nothing like a visit from the parents, they always come laden with goods ready to clean, garden and cuddle the baby. It feels like a mini holiday for me and they have a good time to boot. For this visit they arrived with 2kg of fresh cranberries. 

For readers from America this may not seem too exciting but for us here in New Zealand  fresh cranberries are a rare find. Until mum and dad arrived i had never even seen a cranberry let alone tasted a fresh one. First bit of knowledge i gleaned was you don't eat raw cranberries. The better half said it was like eating brake fluid. Hmmm appealing.

Upon cooking however that all changes and the fruity tartness comes through. First it was a batch of muffins which were delicious and then as our roast pork cooked in the oven i thought of cranberry sauce. I have had this in a jar before but never made any, so game on and let the recipe search began.

There was thousands of recipes to be found online so i settled on a mix of a few simple ones. I used 1 cup of orange juice and dissolved 1 cup of sugar in it.

Then i threw in 340grams of fresh cranberries

Then they started to pop, pop, pop! I almost giggled with glee, oh so maybe i did a little. I have never heard anything like this before. It was like the fruit equivalent of rice bubbles, fantastic!

Then bubble, bubble for 10mins

Then beautiful, glossy cranberry sauce to go with my pork. Isn't it stunning? Who wouldn't want to eat this. It was pretty tasty too but i couldn't help but think it was sweet enough for my morning toast. Yum.

I have over 1kg of cranberries left to use, hmmm what to make next. Fruit crumble or jelly is on my mind.

Take care people xx