Will the Real BusyWoman Please Stand Up......

Spring Garden Update - Messy Peas and Harvest Joy

The soil warms and the plants SPRING to life.

Last week and the week before we had awful weather. Our peas, which were about 5 feet tall were laying flat on the ground because of the terrible winds that we had been having. We also had a huge amount of rain which seemed to last for days and days. We thought we may lose all the peas so we decided to just pick the whole lot up and tie it up as best we could. It appears today that some pieces which were broken or bend have started to die, while others still have good fat pods on them

The plant is a huge bundled mess, but we will just let nature takes it's course


The rest of the garden is coming along well and we are very excited about the temperature of the soil rising. Beans which he had given up on have now awoken and since the rain the corn has doubled in size

Last night we went to a bbq with friends. Our contribution was the salad and it gave us great joy to go and pick a lettuce from the backyard. We joked about our 'harvest ceremony' and of course, had to take photos.




We had to add 'bought' capsicum, cucumber, tomato, carrot and red onion. We live in hope for the day when the whole salad will come from the backyard. If we keep getting great days and steady rains it may not be that far away.

A Vision Splendid Newsletter

Thank you for your emails. I really enjoy reading them and am so glad to be able to help many of you. I also love the feedback and assistance that you are giving me!

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The Perfect Father's Day Meal*

Last Friday my favourite radio programme Life Matters ( ABC Radio National) ran a programme on the topic of the decline of eating at the table. This is a topic I have read about in the past. I can recall reading some research that came out of the USA that suggested that kids from families that ate at least four meals together a week had better school grades, fewer teen pregnancies and limited drug use. My sons are only seven and ten but I can guarantee you that eating at the dining table as a family will prevent either of them falling pregnant in their early teen years. LOL

The photos are of the table that my sons set for the father’s day meal. I cooked a lamb roast with so much rosemary that when I first put it in the whole house smelt like the Catholic Church from my childhood! LOL ( must have been a sort of incense smell).

We eat 99.97% of our meals at our kitchen table. We have a small cottage style house and the table is slap bang in the middle of the kitchen. It seems to be the ‘hub’ of the house and I believe it when people say ‘the kitchen is the heart of the home’.

I believe that eating at the family table has a myriad of benefits for our family, probably some that I am not even aware of and could probably never articulate, but these are some thought that come to mind.

1) It is a TIME OF GATHERING – we are all busy and it seems as the boys get older, that pace continues to increase. Meal times are an opportunity to gather together as a family unit.

2) It is a time to COMMUNICATE – we have a similar conversation each night at the table. It usually starts with ‘ what was the best thing about your day ?’ or ‘How was Miss Taylor (teacher) today ?’ Even when they were tiny they loved to contribute their five cents about something that happened that day. Even if it was a couple of disjointed words at the age of 18 months, it was still their contribution.
 As they have gotten older their contribution has become increasingly articulate and I love how they recount narratives about their day. It makes me laugh that the ten year old’s contribution usually involves some funny anecdote about the day, about who said what that made the whole class laugh. The seven year old’s contribution usually starts with ‘ do you know what?’ and we all have to say ‘what??’ to which he replies ‘well……’ with terrific expression in his voice! Even the grown ups have to contribute what was good about their day. It often makes us think. When I am in an awful mood, it is the conversation that usually turns me around! I am hoping that as the boys get older a platform is built for open communication and sharing of concerns and issues.

3) A time WITHOUT TELEVISION. Even if the television has been on I always turn it off when we sit down to eat. I seems that the meal time is a special time. The switching off is like some great ceremonious gong that announces ‘ let the sharing begin’.

4) A time of STRUCTURED MEALS – combined with a menu plan it is a great way of looking at what the kids are eating. I have one son that eats absolutely anything and another that eats very blandly – rice chicken pasta peas saos apples and rice crackers could get him through the year. Laying meals out on the table lets me keep up with what we eat.

5) It makes me feel a bit WALTONISH – lol. Remember the show THE WALTONS? I have the compete Series One on DVD and I love it. It’s kind of strange and hard to articulate but I love the old fashioned values, the simplicity of life, the hard times, the family values and I love that they sit around the table and debrief over beautiful home cooked meals.

I know that as the boys get older and get cars, mates, girlfriends, part time jobs and hormones that this romantic notion of the family meal will probably go out the window so for now… for this season I will enjoy it while it lasts.

I ask you this………. Are you swapping the opportunity for better family relationships, a stronger family unit and greater communication for the evening news and gossip or the latest soap opera ?? Food for thought I guess………

STOP FOOD WASTE...... If you remember.

Imagine the scene.




I am at my supermarket. I unpack my groceries from the trolley. The young girl scans them and places them lovingly into my 'green bags'. I pay. I smile. I push my trolley out to the car park and load four of the five bags into the boot of my car. I take the fifth bag out of the trolley and walk over to the nearest bin and pour the contents in. Unopened cereal, a carton of milk, half a pumpkin, three oranges and a beautiful bunch of shallots!


....... what a crime ! I hear you say. What a complete and total waste! ..........



The fact is that Australians waste $6 billion each year by throwing away food. A 2007 study found that on average we throw away 4.2 kilograms a week! According to Planet Ark founder and environmentalist John Dee, the reason we throw away so much is because we are forgetful.



In our house in the past we have been extremely guilty of this. Treasures of archaeological significance have been found lurking in that space at the back of the rarely used for anything important middle shelf.



There seems to be some sort of weird mentality when it comes to the fridge. Last week the shallots took up residence in the front row, top shelf, - proudly sitting there ready for that Jamie Oliver cooking adventure. The cooking adventure gets postponed, or worse still we only need three snippets for a garnish and the shallots are put back into the fridge with the best of intentions I am sure ready for ....... not really sure of that ...... but will think of something good.......





Next week we bring home the avocado, half a rockmelon and the freshly seasoned, organic, free range chicken for the dinner party.After the party we clean up and put all the leftovers into plastic containers, because we can't let good food go to waste. In three weeks time when we are making way for the giant fruit platter that Aunt Marion has made for the family get together, we HAVE to throw out the left over chicken AND the plastic container because it has taken on a life of it's own and after all it's too unhygienic to use that container ever again.



Although we have the best of intentions, the truth is, if we can't SEE IT, we don't remember it.



Saving money on food has been a very important part of this new frugal lifestyle we are adopting. Here are some tips relating to leftovers.



1. MENU PLAN - work out what you are eating and shop accordingly. Plan your menus around your schedule. Easy meals on busy nights and adventurous meals when there is more time. Write your plan on a whiteboard on the fridge as a visual reminder for every one in the house. There is great peace knowing at 7am what you are eating that night and being able to defrost the meat in the fridge through the day.



2. PROGRAMME LEFTOVERS INTO THE MENU PLAN: - Make a meal one night and deliberately make extra for the next night. We often do this when I make lasagne. If there are leftovers after the second night I cut it into single portions and freeze it for lunches.



3. MAKE VISUAL REMINDERS: - I write a list on the whiteboard of things that have to be eaten or used up. If I use some chicken stock, for example, and pour the remainder into ice cube trays to freeze, I put it on my 'must use' list.




4. MAKE SMALLER MEALS: - My Grandmother always said "your eyes are bigger than your belly" meaning, you think you want to eat a certain amount but when it comes to it, you can only eat half of it. We often discuss the old fashioned idea of having much smaller meals and if you're still hungry then have a slice of bread and butter.



5. PRACTICE MINDFULNESS AND USE LESS: I really noticed when I made my cereal yesterday that after eating all the 'bits' I had a lot of milk left over in the bowl. After measuring it I found it to be 1/3 of a cup. Multiply that by seven days and I am pouring out half a litre of milk a week! This morning I overcame my phobia of having cereal pieces that weren't 'wet enough' by stirring thoroughly in less milk before eating. Simple!!



6. COMPOST: When you do have food scraps put them in your compost bin. This will turn back into soil which can then be used to grow vegies or herbs. This is the best form of recycling as studies have shown that about 40% of household rubbish is compostable food scraps. There are now bench top composters available if you live in an apartment.



You wouldn't throw away one in five bags of your groceries each week. You wouldn't cut up a twenty dollar note with a pair of scissors and throw it in the bin, so think about how much food you are wasting and how much rubbish you are producing as a result.


Making these small changes has not only helped our budget, it has also made a huge difference to how much rubbish we put in our bin each week.


If you would like more information on the Stop Food Waste Campaign you can visit the article from NOTEBOOK magazine http://www.homehints.com.au/great+recipes/1267/reading/food+waste+in+australia

10 Weeks Into This Frugal Lifestyle

10 weeks since I made the Mental and Emotional Seachange Style Eccentric Decision or (M.E.S.S.E.D) to throw in my job and head metaphorically to the beach. I’m doing surprisingly better than I thought I would. I was frightened that my “chase the joy in life” phase may be just a passing mood. I was fully ready to accept the fact that I may get bored and head back to work. But, no….. the great social experiment continues and {shock, horror} the joy factor remains. Can it be that the joy from simple living is ongoing? Will I continue to experience the joy ? I’ll keep you posted!

What has changed so far in my simple, joy-filled lifestyle? Many of these changes have been implemented over the past few years, but NEVER have they had so much importance.

Before, sure, I would cook when the spirit was with me, but now I HAVE to cook so the children have something to eat when they get home from school. I HAVE to bake bread because otherwise we won’t have any ( …logical!......) I HAVE to grow veggies because we live 16 hours drive from the nearest store and the plane with supplies only comes once a month. Okay, that last statement may be stretching it a little, but my point is that I really enjoy doing these things and I love the fact that there is a degree of importance and reliance on these tasks being done.

I have noticed that the weather has become a MAJOR discussion point in our lives. We had always joked that in the older generation weather was the topic of choice in any given situation. Days were heralded as good or bad depending on the temperature, time the sun rose, whether there was a slight breeze and what time the sun started to go down. Sometimes there was much discussion about the link between the weather and the drying of the clothes. You know, “I had to get the washing out early because you have to get it in by two because it starts to get cold again’. Then there was “ I put the washing out by 7 and it was dry by 8”
Now Hubbie and I are becoming 1940s pensioners who are obsessed with the weather. We look outside and say “ good dryin’ day honey” or “this rain will be good for the radishes”. It makes me laugh because suddenly, there is such a connection with mother nature and the all important weather.

Since the M.E.S.S.E.D I have realized how important it is to have SKILLS. I have great skills in some areas but am completely lacking in others. This is a problem throughout my generation. Our mums burnt their bras and went to work, which was good in so many ways, but there was no-one with apron springs strings left that we could hang onto and learn by osmosis all the things that are required to be frugal and self sufficient. I am really regretting that I didn’t pay more attention to Sister Mary Martin during my sewing classes in year seven. If only I knew that I would really need those skills one day. At least she was able to teach me one thing – how to sew a good apron, and to date, that is the only REAL success I have had with sewing. Last week however, I did hand sew a felt pocket for my son’s IPOD and {God love the gorgeous child} at the age of ten…. he REALLY loved it. I will have to sew him some more felt features before he grows out of this phase and is too embarrassed to be seen with me in public!

There has been a major break through on the coffee front. As you may recall, one of my greatest concerns about commencing this social experiment was whether or not I would be able to continue to enjoy my signature coffee, a vanilla latte on skim. Last month when visiting friends in Sydney I noted that they were producing a mighty fine home brewed coffee. I had virtually decided that I would have to get a machine at home ( there I was trying to keep up with them and their surname isn’t even Jones). When I got home I remembered that about five years ago I got a free coffee machine when I subscribed to Family Circle magazine. ( Imagine how good it must have been) At the time I had a bit of a go, but couldn’t really work it and I put it in a cupboard in the shed and slowly spread all the attachments around the house. ( you know how you have that drawer in the office that has three dead batteries, two rubber bands, a deflated old balloon and the internal cup off the old coffee machine). So I made the decision that before I looked for one I would try this one out. After some searching through the drawers I found all the pieces and, with the help of some vanilla syrup I am now pumping out a pretty smooth, fair trade, organic, vanilla latte on skim. It’s as good as my favourite independently owned coffee shop in town, but…… added to the joy factor involved…… it’s a close second!

And so continues the journey to a more simple, frugal life. One step in front of the other, three steps forward, two steps back.

A Weekend of Memories

I am very excited to be heading off to my annual scrapbooking camp today. Three lovely days at Camp Elim on the lake near Forster NSW. It is the one time of the year when I can catch up on my albums. I don't scrapbook like you see in the shops with all the piles of ribbon and flowers and sticks and anything else that can be found, to me it is more like a photographic journal. The important thing for me is capturing the story that goes with the photos, like a diary of our daily pursuits with photographs.

I do this in 'hard copy' because although everything is in digital format, the format changes every couple of years. As an example of this I look at my childhood which is on 8mm silent film. The projector doesn't work properly anymore and yes I could probably get it fixed and convert the films to DVD etc etc, but the format will change again before too long. Just think - we started with the 5 1/4 inch floppy disk and then moved to the 3.5 inch disk and then the CD and then the DVD - what will be next ? Realistically I will have to convert my photos into a new format about every 5 years or so.

So for me, it's the old fashioned way. I take photos and I get them printed then I put them into museum quality albums and write with archival inks and preserve them. In the future there will be no outdated technology required to view my history, just the naked eye.

I have all my photos sorted and printed into groups ready to go for my intensive album making session. I have made notes to trigger my memory about what I want to record on the pages and it will be head down tail up working hard all weekend.

Making albums brings me so much joy. For each of my boys I have written an album 'to' them. It is a series of letters and photographs starting with when they were growing in my tummy. It captures how I felt about the day they were born, bringing them home for the first time, when they took their first steps. They love to look at them and read them. It is my view that it reinforces in them how they fit into the family and how precious and loved they are. In our busy lives do we ever take the time to write a note to someone and tell them how precious they are in our lives ?

This is my chance to record history for my family.