Endeavour

On Monday I was down in Sydney again and had the opportunity to visit the Maritime Museum. We were lucky enough to be able to board a replica of The Endeavour, the ship of Captain James Cook who is credited with mapping much of the southern hemisphere around the 1770s.

As children in Australia we were taught for many years that Captain Cook "discovered" Australia in January of 1770. Our history books completely missed the fact that the land was already inhabited by people who had lived here for thousands of years and has seen many explorers, be they Dutch or Portuguese, traveling in the area. I was interested to read in Cook's journal that he regarded the native people as living a better way of life in the natural surroundings than the Europeans of the time. Unfortunately his respectful view was not to be followed as history progressed.

Even though the ship was a replica, it was a totally moving experience. The cabins of Cook and Joseph Banks ( a botanist travelling with him) were so small yet they had all of life's necessaries. A bed, a small writing desk, a shelf, hooks for clothing, and a chest into which all their belongings fit.

The feeling I had when I was on the ship reminded me of the sense of simple satisfaction that I often get when visiting historic houses and museums. They had so little, yet they had everything that was needed for life. One plate, one bowl, one pair of boots. To read more about it you can visit here and look at the self guided tour.

Then, of course, my mind starts racing..... what if everything that I personally owned was to fit into a beautiful sea chest ? How would it change what I brought into my life ? I would only be able to keep things that were sturdy, long lasting or extremely precious! How many 'things' have I brought into my life and house which do not fit into these categories?

There is such a sense of peace inside me when I think of having less.....maybe John Lennon was right......Imagine no possessions................

Time For A Banana Cake

Sometimes the state of the bananas dictate when it is time to make a banana cake. These ones are perfect! Because I only had two bananas that were at this stage I added in a good handful of

blueberries that I had.

Cream 125grams of BUTTER with 1 cup of BROWN SUGAR. Add a lightly beaten EGG some VANILLA and 3-4 BANANAS ( or 2 bananas and a good handful of blueberries!) stir in 1 teaspoon of BI-CARB soda.
Then stir in one and a half cups of SELF RAISING FLOUR alternating with 3 Tablespoons of MILK.
I baked mine in a loaf pan for about 45 mins at 180 degrees.

Garbage Auto Pilot

Here is the under sink system I worked out yesterday.

Very Simple.

 Bin with no liner for rubbish that I just can't do anything with.

Compost for food scraps and paper and a tub for recycling.

When I was cleaning out drawers in the bathroom today I was thinking about the proper place for plastic. I am not a person that will reject plastic as total evil and weigh every ounce that comes in/ heads out the door.

 I am not that disciplined.

 I thought today that the idea is to KEEP plastic things ( that aren't rubbish as such). After all, it was designed to be a durable, non breakable, long lasting replacement for a lot of things.

Therefore I will KEEP all the plastic no rubbish things I have.

This includes tubs, containers, Tupperware and the like. The theme for me will be to simply not acquire anymore and not dispose of any more. I am not going to go through the house and replace everything with an 'eco' product, after all, it is the disposing of these items that is half the problem! If I do need to downsize I will donate not dispose.

Thanks to all the people who commented on the previous post. It seems to be an issue that lots of us are thinking about. I think for me success will come when I can break habits - things that we do without thinking. One way I thought to break the habit of using particular items is just not to have them in the house! It often amazes me when we go camping or away on holidays just how little we get by on because we become RESOURCEFUL with what we have.

Habits which immediately come to mind are things like reaching for the Glad Wrap to cover leftovers, half an onion, to wrap the cheese etc. I will now simply reach for a Tupperware container. The bin liner was an automatic thing, but really, there should be no wet rubbish in the bin. Food scraps should go in the compost and leftovers to the chooks.

Today we made our own bread which is always a good thing because it does away with the plastic bread bag but I still had to buy some things that had plastic packaging. Milk, which I bought in a three litre bottle, Sao biscuits as a back up for when home baked supplies are low or for times when I am totally disorganised and brown rice - for which there was no alternative. Basmati rice comes in a 5kg cloth bag and I often go halves with a friend in this, but brown rice? I have never seen it packaged in anything but plastic.

 I dream of a large store where I can go in with my own containers and scoop out flour, sugar, rice, then pour out my shampoo, honey etc. I know this happens in some health food stores but we don't have anything like that around here. Maybe I should approach the local store and tell them of my interest. Perhaps there would be other people that would shop in this way as well.

But for now..... small baby steps. Auto pilot habits. The goal is once a month for the rubbish bin. I wonder when/how/if we will get there.

A Load of Garbage on My Mind - Eco Challenge

Garbage has been on my mind for some time.

It really got me thinking when I saw the Gardening Australia presenter Josh Byrne talking about how in permaculture there is a belief that nothing should leave the block. It got me thinking. If I didn't have a garbage man come and take my rubbish "away" what would my property look like ? Where would I store all the rice cracker wrappers, drink bottles and used glad wrap. What would the pile look like after one year ? How about after 13 years ? I am embarrassed to think that every plastic bag I have ever used it sitting a couple of kilometres out of town in a big pile. Add to that the plastics of every person in my street, and every person in my little town. Whoa!

Slowly but surely I have been reducing the plastic input. It is still no-where near enough, but I began with the shopping bags and it really raised my awareness. Now I am conscious of what I throw into the garbage bin and it has started to affect what I purchase. Mind you, If i want something I still get it, particularly if I am not organised with an alternative.

Since coming home from holidays and digesting the trillion thoughts I had swirling around my brain I really feel the need to embrace the idea of 'nothing leaving the block'. Today I set up a little garbage system under the sink. I removed all the cleaning products that had been hiding under there and made some space for a garbage sorting system. I have the garbage bin, which now has no plastic bin liner, a recycle box, a compost box and a chook food box. I try and equally distribute scraps between the chooks and the compost because we badly need to build up good soils.

I have been tearing up paper and putting it into the compost bin. It breaks down really well. I love that it returns to the earth. Then, I pick up a piece of plastic and continually harp on to hubbie about how I cannot do a thing with it. I can't bury it, I can't put it in the compost, feed it to the chooks or any other thing except place it in the bin to be taken "away" ( to the spot out of town where my pile is growing by the day)

The more I embrace the idea of nothing leaving the block, the more my passion will assist me in making wise grocery purchases

One thing that will really help is the idea of only consuming things that were around in my Grandmothers' day. It seems that these items are not packaged, or are packaged in paper. Things like flour, sugar, butter are all in paper and I can avoid packaging on fruit, veg and meat.

So tonight the garbage bin goes out, full of plastic. Little by little as I work through this transitional period I hope that it will go out less and less. My first goal will be to get to the point where I only put the garbage bin out once a month. That seems so difficult from where I sit at the moment, but I think before too long it will be as natural an act as baking bread. Considering that my Grandmother didn't have a rubbish collection, I think the least I can do is make a conscious effort to do my best!

In Defence of Food - Michael Pollan

I really enjoyed reading this book. It was so challenging I read it in a day and a half whilst taking notes. There were many 'oh, of course' moments - I like that in a book.

I enjoyed the history lesson it contained. The steady removal of food from our diets, replaced with 'food like substances'. Margarine being the first example of a non-food or imitation food being introduced. Margarine, said to be 'healthier', actually ended up, according to the author, containing trans fats which were more unhealthy than the fats that were trying to avoid in the butter. Pollan also describes margarine as able to include whatever the latest trend may be - 'now with vitamin A and D' or the latest one ' omega 3'. Whatever the trend, it can be added to your marg! I also enjoyed the idea of society being more overweight than ever in a 'low fat' world. I had to laugh at the idea of instead of eating a breakfast cereal that is 'now full of antioxidant' in the form of processed blueberry extract - just eat the blueberry!


Here are the principles from the book that we will take into consideration.

1. Don't eat anything your great grandma wouldn't recognise.

2. Avoid products containing ingredients that are: unfamiliar, unpronounceable, more than 5 in number, have high fructose corn syrup.

3. Avoid products that make health claims. ( usually an indication that it's a non-food. e.g the blueberry)

4. Shop the peripheries of the supermarket and stay out of the middle because this is where the 'food like' substances are. The real food tends to be around the edges.

5. Get out of the supermarket whenever possible. I love this idea - use the fruit shop, butchers, local deli etc.

6. Eat mostly plants, grown well from healthy soils.

7. Consider what what you eat eats.

8. Eat wild when you can

9. Be more French, Italian, Japanese, Indian or Greek in your eating style.

10. Regard non-traditional foods with scepticism.

11. Pay more, eat less. ( quality vs quantity)

12. Eat meals not snacks. ( remember when between meal snacking was a sin? LOL) How we have changed - or marketers have changed us!

13. Do all your eating at the table (Pollan says 1/5 of meals are eaten in the car! )

14. Don't get your fuel from the same place your car does. ( food sold at petrol stations isn't real food!)

15. Try not to eat alone.

16. Consult your gut.

17. Eat slowly ( as in the Slow Food movement)

18. Cook and plant a garden.


What do you think of the principles ? Are they something that you could consider implementing?
I think, looking at the principles, it would make a huge different to our budget and also the amount of packaging coming into our house. Considering that we are attempting to drastically reduce our 'outputs' this year, I think this list will be a great focus tool.

Getting Ahead Again.

With the last visitors waved goodbye yesterday morning I turned my mind back to 'getting ahead'. It was terribly hot the day before so in order to be able to bake up a storm I had to get up really early and turn the oven on before it got too hot. I woke at 5.20am ready to start the day. By 9am it was game over, just too hot for cooking!

The lamington recipe that keeps incarnating into different things has done it again! From lamingtons to slice, to cake and now to muffins. I just stirred in some blueberries that a friend gave me from her recent 'pick your own' adventure.

I also made a huge lot of crackers to replace water crackers, Saos and Saladas. I adapted the lavash crackers recipe I have used before. I roll the dough out with the pasta maker to make it quite thin which is fine for a cracker to use with dips but for something more like a water cracker or crispbread style I just fold it over. To speed up the process I roll out the dough, lay it across a baking tray and slice it with the pizza cutter.










They come out of the oven crisp and golden brown. Now I need to harvest some sweet basil and make a great dip to go with them.





Yesterday was the first day that I let the girls out to roam. I had been told to leave them in their enclosure for a while so that they learn where home is before I let them out. They were a little hesitant at first but soon began enjoying their surroundings. I noticed how they picked the bugs off the cucumber leaves. We don't use any sprays or pesticides and generally run with the philosophy that there is enough for us and the lady bugs, as well as the fact that they seem to only munch on the leaves. But the chooks, well they had a picnic feast! I will let the girls wander around the garden beds. I know that the benefits will outweigh the fact that they will scratch around. I will protect anything that I don't want destroyed by them.



They must have loved their little romp in free range land, because....... they rewarded me with my very first egg!!! ( ***tears of joy*****) We proudly showed it to hubbie who replied 'it's a bit small - you might have to give them some steroids!'. Hmmmpph. I replied with ' if you want bigger eggs, go and get yourself an Emu'. lol.



It's a mighty fine start girls, don't listen to him. Bigger is not always better. You will get there!

Turning The Page...

Time to hang up my antlers for another year.

BlinkBlink... that was Christmas and New Year. Gone so quickly. Full of fun and family!

Now it's time to turn the page, crease down the margin on a beautiful new notepad and think about today forward. Isn't it funny that we have to wait for some externally imposed date to be able to start afresh. Truth is, every day is a new beginning!

We arrived home yesterday from our holiday up north. Every week throughout the year we save our pennies in order to go and have a lovely relaxing holiday after the hustle and bustle of Christmas is over. It is so nice to just do nothing! ( except swim, play tennis, drink chardonnay on the balcony at night!)

I return, refreshed and ready to continue on this journey of simplicity. I realised how much we actually love what we are doing when within an hour of arriving home we were mowing lawns and digging half a bucket of potatoes out of the ground. In just 9 days of being away we have cucumbers the size of drain pipes!

I have so much to write about. All that time lazing around, reading greats books filled my head with so many thoughts that I had to start a notepad. I will work through it with some posts over the next few weeks.

But for now.... just logging on to say welcome to new subscribers and welcome back to regular readers. I look forward to chatting with you throughout 2009!

Joyful, Joyful Day......and the Chooks Arrive.

Today was one of those days. Absolutely Splendid!

We arrived home last night so the morning was filled with washing and a radio interview with ABC in Perth. I can now proudly say that A Vision Splendid is reaching coast to coast! LOL

Then I decided to make a ladder for the chook house out of whatever scraps of timber I could find. The boys helped me to cut the steps roughly to size and even straighten out the nails that we were recycling. It is quite rough, but I actually love the fact that it's a little 'wonky'. We then used a old piece of timber for the perch.

We harvested a huge lots of beans. Here they are in a colander that belonged to my Grandmother. We use it all the time. I am certain that it will last another lifetime yet. I love old things so much. You know they are going to last well, because they already have!

I cleaned out the fridge and freezer pulling out all the compartments and washed them ready for Christmas goodies and stockpiles of harvested produce.

Then we went to town and adopted our girls. All four of them. Since then the boys have spent all afternoon in the cage with the chooks helping them to adjust to life with us.

I had one of those splendid moments. Full of joy. The boys were playing with the chickens and feeding them by hand while I watched and I could smell the beautiful aroma of a banana cake almost ready in the oven. Pure Joy !

To top it all off we are now going for a swim and then we will head off to the movies to sit in air conditioned comfort. We are seeing Madagascar 2 so I hope there are a few laughs in it for me too.

What a Splendid day!

Just A Quick Hello

Just logging in to say a quick hello. We are on the road and I have been searching for a wireless connection to be able to log onto the site. The picture below is of my 101 year old Grandmother who we have been visitng in Dubbo, western NSW, and who I thank for starting me off on this journey. I told her all about A Vision Splendid and she said "oh, so I am famous am I ?" and laughed. Nothing surprises her!

The response to my story in the Telegraph's Sunday magazine has been amazing. If you didn't see it, the article was titled 'Dollars and Sense' and told the story of people who choose frugality as a way of life which brings with it lots riches. Thank you to all the people who have emailed me and hello to all the new readers.

While we were in Dubbo we took the boys to the zoo. For those of you that haven't been there, Western Plains Zoo is very different to your concrete and cages type zoo. The animals are in huge open areas with a small but deep river or moat separating you from them. You can drive, walk or ride the 6km circuit. As you look around, you can't see the moat and it looks as though you are just walking through the plains. The wetlands bring hundreds of wild birds to the area which shows that the habitat is in balance.

It was a wonderful learning opportunity for the boys. The talks from the rangers was excellent. There was a very interesting talk about how the number of hippos have dropped 98% over the last twenty years because of the sale of their meat on the black market. The hippo dung kept the fish population alive, so the drop in hippos has also meant the drop in fish which results in the loss of the local fishing industry and the villagers' food supplies. It really struck me that mother nature has a way of keeping everything in balance, in a life cycle that is so well contructed yet held together with spider webs. One thing changes and the web falls apart. As usual it is the humans that have disrupted the web. We are such a distructive breed wouldn't you agree?

 

My favourite animal was this little meerkat and with his lovely little face I will sign off until I am back in the land of a decent internet connection.
Stay Tuned..............

The Chook House

The chook house is coming along nicely. Hubby has been hammering away. I just have to paint it and build a little ladder. The back has a fold down door for easy access to the nesting boxes. There is a good size run for them to get out and stretch their eggs.

There is just one thing missing. Chooks! I can't get them yet because we have a couple of trips planned and I want to be around to settle them in, so I just have to wait patiently. In the meantime I can always pretend with the stuffed toy! LOL

Having chooks lay our own eggs will be another step forward in our quest for a more simple life. Hubbie is delighted by the fact that he will be able to make a breakfast omlette with homegrown eggs and home grown tomatoes.

In days gone by quite a lot of people had a couple of chooks in their back yard. It seemed to be a common sight, alongside the vegie patch and the water tank. As a child I can remember my Nanna making the best sponge cakes with fresh eggs in her wood burning stove. She had it perfected!

Friends of ours have recently got their own chooks and they have been giving us fresh eggs. They are so different to shop bought eggs. They are firm and the yolks are so yellow! When I buy shop bought eggs I forget how soft the shells are almost smash them to pieces against the side of the bowl when I am cooking. The fresh eggs seem to have much stronger shells.

So... I will wait patiently. In my wait I sit and think.... does Santa bring live presents? How many 'food miles' from the North Pole to my place?

......waiting...waiting....waiting.....

A Vision Splendid Book and Site

You may remember me telling you about how this whole journey began. It was the day I asked my Grandmother ‘how come we have all the labour saving devices under the sun and still don’t seem to get much done ?’. It really hit me that she could get up every morning before dawn, milk a cow, collect the eggs, cook a hot breakfast for many workers, bake bread and wash by hand all without any electricity and there was me struggling to get a load of washing on the line or remembering to take a DVD back to the shop! When she began telling me about how she ‘did it all’ I got my lap top out and started typing... and typing and typing.

Over the next few years I struggled to implement her wisdom. It was a case of two steps forward and one step back. Slowly but surely things started to get under control. There was a slow shift out of chaos into peace.

As I continued on down this path I found that there were so many women in a similar position to me. As I started telling the story about my Grandmother and how I wanted to implement some of her advice, I found that other women were really encouraged and empowered by the story. This gave me so much joy!

Starting a website in mid 2007 was an extended opportunity to share the journey, hoping that it would reach much further than I could by simply talking to people that I knew. I then wrote the e-book which is a collection of the blog content as well as further more specific details about my journey.

In recent times there has been much interest in the media about living frugally and following the old ways. As part of this rise in interest I have been able to do three radio interviews and two media reports. I really see a shift on the horizon – I see people slowly but surely moving away from the excesses of the past in exchange for a simple, joyful more sustainable life.

The E-Book is an overview of the journey and the areas that I focused on to make things more simple.

The areas covered are:
1. A Simple Life
2. Money
3. Total Organisation
4. Home Management
5. Shopping and Cooking
6. Christmas
7. Old Fashioned Green Living.

Why buy the book ?

1. It’s a helpful collation of all the Vision Splendid content in one easy to read document, rather than scattered throughout the blog site.

2. There’s much more detail in the book.

3. There are worksheets to help you take some of the steps required to bring peace to your home.

4. There is ongoing support via email to answer questions, seek clarification, and give encouragement should you need it. There is also ongoing support via the Vision Splendid newsletter.

5. It is a way of showing me your support and ongoing encouragement.

You can buy the e-book here and visit the new site here

Let me know what you think about the new site. I'd love your feedback.

The new year is a fantastic time to start afresh. To make a commitment to a better life! I look forward to you joining me as we encourage and empower each other down this difficult path of chasing simplicity and joy in a crazy world!

Collecting Experiences

I woke up early this morning with a very exciting thought. The boys have finished school and for the first time in a few years I am not working! That means that I am in holiday mode with them until they go back to school at the end of January. I am so thankful to be able to have the opportunity to do this.

I am now turning my mind to things that we can do throughout the holidays. For the first time in a long time petrol has dropped below $1 a litre. That is a huge saving. I have never changed the amount of cash I allocate to petrol each week, simply adjusting how much driving we did. Last month $30 worth of petrol barely put a drip in the tank, whereas $30 this week almost half filled the tank.

Cheaper fuel prices means we can get out and about more and explore some of the local area again. It is great to live like tourists in your own town. There are some beautiful areas around here that I have never been to because we tend to explore new areas we go to.

So.... thinking about a collection of experiences that we can 'experience' over the holiday period.

Ticking off The To Do List

Slowly ticking off everything that needs to be done at this busy time of year.

Yesterday I had a fabulous day on the lake and the beach near Forster. I went with the kids to their end of year break-up day and it was jam packed with activities. There was canoeing on the lake, sandcastle competitions at the beach, ball games, parachute games, bush walking, treasure hunts. It was well run and let me tell you..... exhausting!

This morning I did the talk back segment on ABC New England/ North West. It was going fine until our funny little cockatiel (named Kevin!) got his wing caught in the cage and started flapping and squeeking really loud.

I got totally distracted and don't think I answered one of the questions! LOL Hello to any new readers who heard the programme today. Check out the content here and send me an email to say hi. I would love to hear from you!

Today we also had the annual prize giving and we were very proud of our sons. The eldest received the science award and the youngest the mathematics award.

In amongst all of that I have managed to squeeze in some card and tag making.

How are you going with your busyness? Do things speed up at this time of the year?

One Foot In Front Of The Other

My sons finish school on Wednesday and tomorrow they are having a picnic day at Camp Elim near Forster. I am going as a parent helper and am expecting a huge day of canoeing and games.

On Wednesday I will be talking on ABC radio in Tamworth as part of a 'Keeping Christmas Simple' forum and will then go to the annual prize giving ceremony for the school.

On Saturday I am doing a Christmas Workshop for all the people who come to our classes throughout the year. This means a whole day of teaching with a catered lunch for 25 people in the middle. Exhausting but hugely rewarding!

Saturday night we are having a Christmas Party with friends where I may just have to test my friend's Singstar to see how Abba sounds - must practice those dance moves! Then Sunday we go out to Dubbo to see my Grandmother for a couple of days. I am really looking forward to that. It is a 5 hour drive through country NSW and the scenery is really beautiful. I guess the trip will be longer because we stop to take so many photos. I will be sure to post some of them here for you to enjoy.

We have to slot a trip to Sydney in as well before all our guests start arriving, about the 23rd of December. Then we will fall into Christmas mode. Lots of swimming, eating prawns, water skiing, drink beer and yummy mangoes!

So as you can see, when I lay it all out there is so much to be done and so much to prepare. When I look at it like that I could easily get swamped. So I will look down at my feet with my blinkers on and put one foot in front of the other. Plod. Plod. Plod. I will enjoy each event and be in the present.
So now, to focus only on tomorrow...... sunscreen, water bottles, hat, joggers, Dencorub, valium, scotch. That should get me through the day! lol

Summer Nights

What is it about summer evenings ?

 They seem to slow us down and turn off our inner clocks.

After dinner each night the same ritual takes place in our house. It starts with a bit of water spraying when the gardens are being watered and then the boys are all excited and ride bikes and scooters around the yard. It is almost as if the slowly lowering blanket of darkness switches on a new level of energy within them.

Some nights it turns into a baseball game in the front yard, even though we as Aussies have no real idea how to play the game. Between the boys' knowledge of baseball from the movie The Sandalot Kids and my school girl days of playing softball we seem to somehow arrive at a version of the rules that pleases all. Added to that the stupidity of me who yells 'batter batter batter s...w....ing....batter' which I think may be from my teen movie days ( was it Ferris Bueller's Day Off ?) and believe me it is a sight to be seen!

Before we know it, it is too dark to see and the risk of injury rises, so it is time to call it a night. When we come in, I am amazed at the time. Sometimes it is so late! But...... in the summer time the clocks seem to stop and our bodies switch over the 'sun' time. We rise with the sun and we got to bed with the sun... and it feels magnificent!

Radio Killed the Video Star......

Poster from All Poster.

There has been much interest in my post on the topic of a simple Christmas.

I have done two radio presentations on the topic. Firstly on Monday on the Morning Show at ABC Mid North Coast and today during the breakfast show on ABC North Coast. That means that listeners from Newcastle to the Queensland border and out to Tenterfield have heard the 'Simple Christmas' message presented here at A Vision Splendid.

Thank you to all the people that have sent in emails. It gives me so much joy to know that so many people are interested in the concept of simplifying the 'silly season' and focusing more on the values of the season.

I love to hear stories from like minded people. I also love your contributions and encourage you to share more of your great ideas. You can either leave a comment or send an email. I thank you for your patience if I can't reply straight away, I will get there !

Seven Steps to A Simple Christmas

1. The 6P Principle: Prior Preparation and Planning Prevents Poor Performance.


This year I am dreaming of a debt free Christmas. How about you? Good planning is the key to heading off any personal or budget stress. If you haven't planned well, make it your New Year Resolution. You can put an amount of cash aside each week or if you don't trust yourself with cash you could buy gift vouchers throughout the year from your favourite store or start a fee free Christmas Club account. Don't forget to become the lay-by queen and spread your purchases out through the year.


2. Make It About More Than Just Presents:


Do you have other tradition beside gift giving at Christmas ? If not, invent some! Make Christmas a collection of ideas and experiences, not just about the presents. I have had to do some serious tradition inventing over the years. Our traditional activities started this past weekend. We put up the Christmas decorations whilst playing old crooners from a free CD that come with the newspaper. Hubbie sings into a hair brush pretending to be Elvis while I dance around wearing flashing antlers. As the children get older I hope they will recall how embarrassed they were when their parents did this year after year - but hey, something to look forward to each year!


My children are still young, so I guess these will change as the years go by, but we make reindeer with rolled oats and glitter in a brown paper bag - nice idea, but gee those reindeers are messy eaters!


The year before last we had Christmas at our house and had a big brunch and smaller lunch. We started the day with pancakes, strawberries, bacon and eggs and then had a smaller Christmas lunch. For the first time we didn't feel awful! We took the boat down to the river and spent the rest of the day water skiing, tubing and had the best Christmas day ever!


Why not make it a fun Christmas and find your inner child. You can have the backyard cricket game, some beach volleyball, same handball comps on the driveway or get out the water pistols and have a full on war. Dads especially love a few water pistol fights after a little Christmas cheer!


By making Christmas a variety of experience, the actual gift giving becomes only one part of the day, not the whole focus.



3. Secret Santa


As families grow and siblings get married and have children you find that your Christmas gift list just grows and grows. A couple of years ago we opted for the Secret Santa concept where all the adults' names are put into a hat and you draw one out and buy JUST for that person and sign the card ''Santa" and put it under the tree. It works wonderfully!


4. Give "Non- Gifts".


In the past I have used charity groups like Tear Australia to make donations in people's names to poorer overseas communities. You can buy school books for children, sink a well in a village or buy medicines. The year before last I wrote my brother in law a really funny poem that ended with a line about a goat in Bangladesh. Attached to the poem was a voucher that showed that I had donated a goat to this particular village in his name. It was absolutely hilarious and far better than the after shave and car polish that I had been buying him for the ten years previous. LOL


Other ideas for "non gifts" might be CD messages from children to Grandparents, photo albums with photos and hand written stories, cookies in a jar, special letters. Kids are very good with coming up with ideas and the results are precious.


The thing about giving 'non-gifts' is that the perceived value is far greater than the actual cost. After all, the reason we give gifts is to show people that we love them. If we are low on funds then we just need to find creative ways to say I love you. How do you put a price on a home made, illustrated story made by a child for a grandparent - the cost is nothing yet the value is priceless... and will definitely last longer than that foot spa you thought you might get!



5. Tone Down the Gift Giving


If you have children, the best way to reduce gift expectations is to give little throughout the year. If kids expect a toy every time they go shopping, then trying to make Christmas special is very difficult. I like to know very early what my children are hoping for at Christmas time. It gives me time to plan and save or time to VETO. "honey I don't think Santa will be bringing you your own TV ". I learnt that discussing gift giving ideas as children get older can be very important. Last year number one son said on Christmas Day " why would Santa have left me an XBOX game when I don't have an X BOX" - it seems Santa wasn't really up on all the different sorts of game consoles and computer thingys. I have suggested he does better homework this year!



You can set Christmas guidelines throughout the year by continually reinforcing the rule you want to introduce ' we usually get four things for christmas in our house'.... etc. Kids are usually fine... once they know the expectation. LOL ( gosh I hope they are not reading this!!)


Another good way to lower expectations is to limit advertising exposure. We know that advertising works, so reduce yours and your children's exposure and you won't be left wanting so much 'stuff'.


Being frugal doesn't mean being cheap. It is better to get a couple of things of quality rather than a room fall of cheap plastic! Most importantly, refer to point number one. You can give gifts of quality as long as you are cashed up and ready for it. We want to avoid the January credit card hangover!


6. Forget Being The Perfect Hostess


If you are hosting Christmas at your house this year, people will ask you ' what would you like me to bring?' and we answer with the pride of a martyr " nothing - just bring yourselves" and then we work like slaves to get everything organised. This year why not introduce the co-operative Christmas rules and let everyone bring and do something. People feel valued when they are able to contribute something so - let them! It brings a spirit of togetherness and the work is shared around. Everyone has their signature dish , be it salad or dessert. Let them flaunt it. Nothing says ' I value you' more than asking someone for the recipe of their signature dish.


My friend ( who shall remain nameless) has been taking her signature potato salad to bbbqs for years. She admitted to me that it is actually two tins of homebrand in a fancy bowl! - she never did get around to passing out the recipe.




7. Make December A Month Of PEACE.



Peace, love, joy ..... you know those words on the front of Christmas cards ? They don't just happen. You have to try really hard. You can't have PEACE if you leave your gift shopping until 10pm on Christmas Eve, that creates stress. Bring peace into your household by being prepared. Finish your gift shopping and wrapping early. Plan your menus and think about simple meals. Don't over cater - we already through out so much food, I doubt anyone will go hungry.

Get ahead now by making cookie dough and putting it in the freezer. You can pull them out and have fresh baked goodies in about 12 minutes. You can make cakes and freeze them un-iced, or chop them into smaller pieces ready for a trifle you whip up on Christmas morning.


And... if you are having toxic relatives over for Christmas ( and you know what I mean....) it might be worthwhile to cut out those words off the front of Christmas cards and hang them all over your home to remind you to bite your tongue as your auntie tells everyone that she thought you looked four months pregnant at your wedding! LOL You just have to put this down to part of the fun of the day.... the one day of the year when you start the day off with a handful of peanuts and nap in the chair while there are visitors in your house still..... Oh, c'mon, there's gotta be a little joy in that !


Simple Christmas......... that's what I am aiming for this year....... Joy........ love........ and hopefully ( depending on the relatives!)..............PEACE.

What are you doing to focus on the true values of Christmas in your home ? I would love to hear from you.

A Night in the Library with Colonel Mustard

I don't remember how it first started but we tend to turn everything off when there is a storm approaching. There have been quite a lot of thunderstorms lately and we have been watching the radar imagery on the bureau of meteorology website. For Australians it is http://www.bom.gov.au/

Last night as the storm got closer the boys asked whether everything should be turned off. I told them it is probably best if they do turn it all off. 'Best' however, is not because of the risk of appliances shorting out or power surges, although that is always a possibility, 'best' is because it a great opportunity to have a power free night. The electricity stays on, so we have lights, but the boys prepare torches, candles etc 'just in case'
.
It's all very exciting.

 Then comes the 'powerless' activities. - drawing, playing cards, building Lego. Last night we played Cluedo and had good fun doing it.

I love having silence in the house - that is when things slow down and everyone uses their imagination.

so you CAN teach an old cake new tricks.....

Flo's Lamington recipe has evolved again. As discussed previously, it went from lamingtons, to lamington slice, to lamington cake. Just when I thought you couldn't teach an old cake new tricks I wacked it into a kugelhopf, dribbled the chocolate icing over it, splashed around a little coconut and da- da!! I think I could even pop a piece of holly onto it and call it christmas.

A Healing Home

This is a phrase that has been stuck in my head over the last few days. I must have seen the phrase somewhere and not read on, but somehow, those words have stuck in my mind.

Although I have not fully thought it through, the idea of a healing home is very appealing to me.

The thing that comes to mind straight away is the immediate home environment. We joke about the state of our houses and put housework on the back burner because there are more important things to do, but for me, the household environment has a significant impact on your emotions. It is difficult to wake up and feel good about yourself and have a good start to the day when you have to climb over a pile of junk to get out of bed and then are faced with last nights dirty dishes all over the kitchen! Contrast this with stepping out of bed in the morning and walking out into a totally clean kitchen. I know which one would make me feel uplifted.

So, the first step to a healing home for me will be a clear and uncluttered environment. This is easier said than done!

The second idea that pops into my mind when I think of a healing home is a place of comfort and joy. It has only been in the last five years or so that I have become more 'homey'. It struck me once that if you walked into my home and I wasn't here, you would know nothing about me or my family. There were no photos, nothing of significance to tell the story of who lived in the house. Once I realised this, I started to slowly bring a little of myself and my family to our home. I chose photos that brought us joy and we had them framed to put around the lounge room. I hung up other things like the cross- stiches that my mother made to celebrate the birth of each of our sons and some other significant gifts that we had. I didn't put out a lot of stuff, because I like a more minimalist look, but I brought out some things that celebrated who we are as a family.

The third thing I think of when I imagine a healing home is a fresh smelling. chemical free home. One thing I would really like to get established is a great flower garden. I am not sure what I would grow in it, but I would love to have long stemmed flowers to bring inside every couple of days. I love to have fresh flowers, but usually only have them once a year on a special occasion. Buying cut flowers is just not in my budget, so I really must try and grow more or take better care of the few roses that I have. I love the look they bring to the place and the smell. I really don't like fake air fresheners, they seem to stick in the back of my mouth! I would much rather boil some lemons in water on the stove or burn some pure essential oils with cleansing smells if I want to bring a scent into the house. The best smell however, is no smell at all, just freshness. ( actually, the best smell is baking cookies!)

The final thing that comes to mind for a healing home is a positive, safe environment without shouting and abuse, where spirits are uplifted and everyone has a sense of relief to be able to come inside and relax. A healing home is a peaceful refuge from the world.

What comes to mind when you think of a healing home ? Have you recently been trying something new? What do you do to create a healing home ?

Welcome New Readers

Wow , there has been lots of new readers lately! If you’re new to this site I would like to say a huge welcome. You can subscribe using the RSS button on the left so you can get notification every time the site is updated. If you are a returning reader I am very humbled that you return. Thank you! Sincerely!

Let me introduce myself..... My name is Michelle (BusyWoman). I am a solicitor who left her job in June 2008 to come home to see if I could live a more simple, frugal life, applying the old fashioned principles that my 101 year old grandmother has taught me. I have no idea whether I can do it or not. I just take steps forward each day. I know that life goes in seasons and who knows what direction I will take next!

I write about themes such as trying to simplify my family life, growing my own food, finding joy in the every day, frugal living, and applying old fashioned wisdom to our modern lives. Let me add that I am a ‘back slider’ – meaning I am constantly on then off the wagon! That is why I like to write a blog – it’s a visual reminder of where I have come from and where I am going. Almost like two steps forward one step back.

Although I am a stay at home mum, I am not an advocate for stay at home mothers, I am an advocate for having choices. I live in a household where I went back to work and my husband was the stay at home Dad for quite a few years.

I am happily married, but I do not prescribe to an existence that requires mum, dad and 2.2 kids in order to be ‘just right’. There are many blogs that portray a perfect life. Let me tell you, I am not one of them! Perhaps I should post a photo of the way my son’s bedrooms look at present to confirm this! LOL

I write about steps that I have taken to simplify MY life in line with old fashioned principles. I would love to hear about YOUR efforts at finding simplicity and joy in your life circumstances. My children are not teenagers so I can’t write about the difficulties of living simply with kids that age – maybe you can. I am not a single mother or father for that matter so I cannot write from that perspective, but I am sure there are readers who are. What about running a household where the breadwinner has recently been retrenched ? Or trying to ‘live green’ when you still live at home with parents who don’t support your passion?

If you are interested in simple, joyful living, why not share how you move towards that in YOUR circumstances. I value diversity. We can all learn so much from each other. I encourage you to ‘come out’ and post a comment or if you don’t have a blogger/google account, send me an email and I will publish it for you. I would love to hear from you.

In the next few months I will be looking for some guest bloggers. I will be looking for contributions on themes that are in alignment with the values of my site, but I want to bring in a ‘truth in blogging’ element. I want to know how we deal with these themes in real life. If you are interested in that please email me with your thoughts. The address is over on the left hand side.

Once again, welcome to all the new readers.

Green MeMe # 1

Julie from Towards Sustainability has tagged me for the Meme.

1) Name two motivations for being green?

a. Green Living embraces much of the old fashioned wisdom that I feel we lost during the excesses of the 80s and 90s.

b) I want to raise my children with a respect for nature and the environment.

2) Name 2 eco-UNfriendly items you refuse to give up?

a. My Lap-top

b. My Vanilla latte on skim - although they tell me it is now sourced from Rainforest Alliance Certified farms - not really sure exactly what that is, but I guess it makes some people feel a little better.

3) Are you at peace with or do you feel guilty about number 2?

a. Often feel a certain amount of guilt about the lap top - well maybe guilt is too strong a word, but I know how much I can achieve around the place when it is not switched on! Guilt re the latte? Sorry, the addiction is far too strong to feel any guilt!

4) What are you willing to change but feel unable to/stuck with/unsure how to go about it?

I hate plastic packaging. I would love to be able to reduce the output in the garbage bin. We do try sometimes more than other times but there is always a tug of war between what is good for the hip pocket and what is good for the environment. Why is it always the way!!! I am guessing that this is a struggle for lots of families.

5) Do you know your carbon footprint for your home? If so, is it larger/smaller than your national average?

Our carbon foot print is less than the national average according to the calculator but I think there are a lot more steps that we can take to reduce it. The next thing on my list will be to install water tanks. If I had unlimited funds I would also add grid connected solar panels.

6) What's eco-frustrating and/or eco-fantastic about where you live?

The frustrating thing is that there is not a bike path between my small community and the next larger town. It is seven kilometres away and on the way there are many sporting and recreational facilities. It would be good to have a cycle way that would enable people to ride out to these spots.

The eco-fantastic thing about where I live is that we have a yard big enough to grow food, we are within walking distance from our small local butcher, post office, school and newsagent and we have a huge wide river nearby where we spend most of our recreational time.

7) Do you eat local/organic/vegetarian/forage/grow your own?

We grow our own and try and eat local. It is somewhat difficult though. There is a local farmers market here but it only operates once a month. We have just started getting eggs from friends and yesterday were able to give our first tomatoes. I am hoping there will be more bartering amongst us.

8) What do you personally find the most challenging in being green?

The same old question: budget vs environment.


9) Do you have a green confession?

OOOOHHHH I have millions of them! LOL The one that comes to mind is showering longer at the gym than I would at home!! (naughty I know! but the shower pressure is just so.....damn....good.....)

10) Do you have the support of family and/or friends?

For sure! My family had a meeting and decided together what we would include in our eco-challenge. I think many friends think I am a little eccentric but I see over time that they are starting to take a few positive steps themselves.

I tag Karen Libby and Sorcha


The Guidelines are:

1) Link to Green Meme Bloggers.

2) Link back to whoever tagged you.

3) Include meme number

4) Include these guidelines in your post

5) Answer questions

6) Tag 3 other green bloggers.

I'm Dreaming Of A White Christmas.....

.... and when all of the white is gone, I'll start on the red!!

I have been making some handmade tags and cards.....

are you doing anything special at the moment to prepare for Christmas ?

Howling Winds and Garden Damage.

The Wind has howled these past 36 hours. I mean really howled. So much so that some corn was knocked off the stalk and a group of tomatoes were also knocked off. The beans that last week were climbing like mad have now shrivelled and all the plants are leaning on a 60 degree angle. I now have sympathy for the farmers. I can’t imagine what it would be like having acres of corn which I depended on for an income only to have the whole thing thrashed about and destroyed in one weekend! Tomorrow morning I will inspect the damage.

There was some joy, however, the corn that was knocked down looked perfect!

Number one son has been sleeping in number two’s room because he has large windows in his room which is at the rear of the house. It can be quite noisy when it’s windy. Number two son’s room is across the hallway from our bedroom and is at the front of the house. It is somewhat sheltered because of the front veranda.

The joy of having both the boys together was realised tonight when they were in bed reading. I heard the following conversation. Remember, number two is seven and number one is ten.

No2: "what does wise mean?’

No1: “ it means, like, when you know stuff, like you know about things and you do what is the right thing”.

No2: “ I’m wise”

No1: “ yeah, so am I”.

Oh joy of joys!

Do You Hear What I Hear ?

They say corn has ears, but I don't know that mine have been listening to my message. I need you for Christmas! Don't be ready yet..... hang in there..... a few more weeks.... please......

Jack and Beanstalk - apparently there's some truth in that story!

The makings of something very exciting!!!!

My Grandmother's Money Tin

This is the tin that my Grandmother used to organise her bills. Inside, she had an old tray that she labeled with the names of the bills she had to pay. She would then put a little money aside into each category. Simple isn't it ?

She also gave me a collection of the old paper money that Australia used to have. It looks very different to the plastic money we have these days. We also no longer have a one or two dollar note. They became coins in the mid 80s.

Hubbie and I were discussing how we used to have pay envelopes that had 'actual' money in them with a hand written pay slip. Hubbie remembers keeping so much of it for 'spending' and then banking a portion of it, using his bank book. He said you would put the money in your bank book and put it through a little slot like a slippery dip and the teller would process it and call your name to come and collect your bank book.

Very different to our world today of 'virtual' money. Today you can go to work, get paid straight into your bank account, pay for things straight put of your bank account and never actually 'see' your money. In fact you can work for years and have no idea of how you are actually going. Sure, we get pieces of paper that tell us how we are going, but how many people sit down and add up this account and that account to see whether they are getting ahead, treading water or sinking fast!

Gee times have changed. Have they changed for the better for us as consumers? After all, this 'virtual' money was sold to us on the basis of how convenient it would all be. I am guessing, however, that you and I are not the winners in this new system.

I wonder how we would protect and guard our money if we were given it in a little brown envelope and told 'that has to last you the week, so be careful with it'.

The Future's So Bright.........

Yesterday I was chatting to a lady who I haven't seen for a while. She asked me what I had been doing since I left my paid job.

I started to tell her that the time had actually flown by really quickly and I had this real sense of not achieving as much as I had hoped to with all my suddenly found extra time.

I had hoped that I was going to make some 'real headway' in my life! I told her that I guess I had done 'a few things', like built garden beds and started growing all sorts of different vegetables and herbs which has now paid off in that we have lots of things to eat in the garden.

 I had also began making lots of things from scratch including bread, water crackers, dips, cakes, biscuits and then other things like soap, cordial and cleaning products.

I said we were getting closer to finishing off the chook house and I had been able to do extra activities with the boys which I really enjoy.

I have been writing on my website, talking on local radio about the stop food waste campaign and doing interviews with journalists. I had got all the washing/ironing under control and was enjoying going to aqua aerobics , I had also started teaching album making classes from my home and had been doing some photo restorations. I told her that I had also just about finished a book about my Grandmothers wisdom applied to my modern life.

WoW! then I said, ' well, when I put it in a list like that it certainly does sound as though I am getting somewhere'.

Then I stopped. and I thought. and thought. Yes, it has been a while now since I left 'work' and when I look back at the wake behind me, there has been a lot happening.

It's just that most of the tasks I do on a day to day basis are quite repetitive and are sometimes taken for granted. When I look, however, at the beautiful tomatoes that are growing on the bush and know that we started them from a tiny seed, I can see how far we have come..... and how bright our future really is.

The Fourth R - ReWear

We recycle, we renew, we re-use, it's now time to re-wear ( outer clothes, I mean!!!)

Re-wearing cuts down on washing and helps make your clothes last longer.

Strategies for introducing re-wearing into your household.

1. Have 'town clothes' and 'house clothes'. You get dressed in your house clothes, do your jobs and then put your tidy clothes on to go to town, meet friends for coffee, have an appointment etc. When you return home, hang your 'town clothes' up, after all you have only worn them for an hour or so and continue working in your 'house clothes'. This will help your 'good clothes' last longer as they are no being worn as much.

2. Wear an apron when you are cooking and cleaning to protect your clothes.

3. Your children can have a set of 'after school clothes' that could last quite a few days. They can change out of their uniforms and be in their play clothes for those few hours between school and bath time. They can then fold those clothes up before bedtime and get another afternoon out of them.

Some days these strategies are completely impractical! Especially when after school activities include digging in the garden and playing in the mud.

I am certainly not advocating that we get around the place looking and smelling like an old tramp, but in a world where we wear things for one hour and then advertisers tell us that they must be washed with expensive brand named powder, with an added 'brightener' to the wash, followed by a fabric softener and ironed whilst being sprayed with a fresh smelling ironing aide, there are lots of opportunities to re-wear some outer clothing. It's great for the environment, it saved us money and most of all cuts down the amount of washing.

It's worth thinking about.

Practice Gratitude.....

Gratitude: A sense or feeling of thankfulness.

I have been thinking of things to put on my gratitude list so I can remind myself every day how truly wonderful my life is. (especially when I think it is not!)

What are you thankful for ?

 I love this photo I took. Isn't nature just a miracle in itself ?

7 Deadly Sins That Kill A Simple Life

1. Failing to Plan Ahead. - always running around doing things at the last minute, creating stress that could have been avoided.


2. Overscheduling. too many commitments, too many appointments and engagements. Not enough time to relax and enjoy yourself and spend some quality time with your family.


3. Impulse Buying With A credit Card The 'buzz' of something new soon wears off. By the time the credit card bill comes in you may regret the purchase but have to pay for it with interest!

4. Staying on the Debt Treadmill The longer you stay in debt, the more time you have to work to pay back the debt plus the interest. If you didn't have any debt, would you have a different job, work less, pursue your dreams? How would you live differently if you could step off the treadmill ?


5. Putting Wants ahead of Needs Look in your cupboards/garage/storage shed. There lies all the 'stuff' you have spent your hard earned money on. If you could add it all up what would the total be ? What about all the 'stuff' you have already thrown out, donated, or given away ? What are your true needs versus your wants ?


6. Exposing Yourself to too much advertising Would you read a book called " 101 ways to make yourself feel totally inadequate" ? Advertising is designed to firstly to point out how poor/ugly/fat/undesirable/unintelligent you are and then show you how you can fix it by buying a product. If you don't want to be convinced how inadequate you are, limit your diet and advertising, get in touch with your 'joy factor' and live a fabulous life!


7. Competing with the Jones'. Continually comparing yourself to others is a downwards spiral! The Jones' may have a fabulous house but I am guessing there is also a fabulous mortgage. What you see on the outside is very rarely the real deal. Make a commitment to yourself and your family to build a life of integrity from the inside, as opposed to a life showing things off externally. Build strong marriages, strong family bonds and genuine happiness.

Chicken Whatever.... a simple recipe

'Chicken Whatever' is a family favourite. Simply slice up some chicken breast and marinate it in 'whatever'. My 'whatever' usually consists of a combination of things off this list:

Hoisin sauce

soy sauce

Worcestershire sauce

garlic cloves

honey

sesame seeds

I throw the 'sauce' into a container and cut up the chicken and plonk it in and give it a shake. I say 'marinate' because I usually leave it while I go and do some other jobs. If I am really organised I do it earlier in the day and pop it into the fridge. It is so lovely to know at 11am what you are having for dinner that night, it brings PEACE.

If I want a little extra sauce I add a chicken stock cube mixed in a cup of water. I then add in anything I have on hand -might be carrots, celery, peas, shallots, onion, capsicum.

Serve on a bed of rice and ...... da...da...... A VERY simple, satisfying meal. I just have to come up with a more exciting name for the dish.