Slow living for the month of March



Linking to 


SLOW LIVING - Month by Month March 2012




NOURISH: Really work on selecting a few favourite recipes from the piles and piles of recipes I have accumulated. Share favourites on my recipe blog recipe blog
 I have perfected an Indian curry recipe base, and this can be used for so many different curries.  We get a seafood mix called marinara and I have never really found any good recipes for it.  Check out seafood parcels at the above site - definitely a keeper. I have also joined -the-urban-farm-handbook-challenge.  Last month was building the soil.  This month has been home dairy.  I already make yoghurt, but this month I made cheese, both ricotta and paneer. 

PREPARE:  make my lunches in advance. 
 Every weekend when I have just done a grocery shop I take out the older vegetables, mix with some lentils and stock and leave it bubbling away in the stock pot for the afternoon.  This is then dished out into containers and popped into the fridge.  I take these to work for lunch every day, and since I normally make more than five containers, they overlap and so I get a bit of variety. 

REDUCE: re-use.
 My roof at work was replaced, and I managed to be able to use some of the old roofing in my veggie garden. I am not so sure if it is an improvement or if it just looks tacky corrugated iron fence


 GREEN: 
This site is really worth checking out   http://www.care2.com  A lot of causes have been brought to my attention through this site.  I also love, love love their e-cards.  it is sooo refreshing to send an e-card knowing that you are not sending off a virus and also in a small way helping whatever organisation you chose to support.  I also made up some more orange cleaner.

GROW: 
 I began planting out my dry season veggie seeds, hoping that we would not suddenly get a deluge, but the rain continued on relentlessly through March.  Lately there has been a bit more sunshine, so I am hoping the little struggling seedlings will be happier.    Harvesting tropical fruits like pawpaw and passionfruit, and even a few limes from my lime tree! The loofas are drying and I peeled and cleaned a few, and I am harvesting lots of lovely winged beans - my new favorite veggie, although that has got some sort of bug or fungus.  I sprayed with milky, chili, garlic water. 

CREATE:   I did a bit of a cleanout and organize in our study/guest room. I moved the sewing closet into our bedroom.   It is now quite inviting for our guests coming to stay in April.  I made a duvet cover from gifted fabric and in fact have a whole roll of it so if anyone has any ideas to use up more of it I would welcome them..  It is a plain grey and quite heavy - I think it may have  a bit of linen in it.  


 Many years ago when the girls were little I acquired a whole roll of lovely cotton fabric - black with little red roses, and I used it for everything.  I looked back on a photo showing both girls in little red and black dresses, sitting on a bunk in the cabin of the boat.  The bunk was covered with a  sheet made made of - you guess it!  the same fabric!   I must make a note not to -over-use this fabric! :)  

DISCOVER:  Share titles/authors of what has been read this month.
 I love to be able to go online and peruse the new items at the library website - I put them onto my reserve list, so I always have something new and exciting coming up. This month I read  "The language of flowers" by Vanessa Diffenbaugh.  I don't remember who recommended it - This is no ordinary book - prepare to forsake everything while reading this book.  It is about foster care, family and the meaning of flowers.....
I have also discovered lists of bloggers that makes it easy to find other like minded bloggers out there
Sustainable suburbia  



ENHANCE: community.
  I am volunteering at the local markets on the 4th Saturday of the month.  Our church has a large op shop and it is wonderful to be a part of the socializing that goes on. I also like having a place to take things when I have de-cluttered.  We also provide space for local growers and crafts persons to sell their ware.  It is also a great social outing for lonely people to meet and enjoy a cuppa and biscuit for 1.00.   I am so glad I started doing this!


ENJOY: life
March 19th was my birthday and we had my daughter in law and the grands around for a birthday brekkie.   It was raining so there was lots of reading and puzzle time afterwards which I always enjoy.   I got an e-reader so am figuring out some new (to me) technology. 


Thank you Christine for starting this idea - I thoroughly enjoyed doing the challenge this month and will be back for more next month.  

Comments

  1. E-readers are awesome. Hope you enjoy it:) These devices will save a lot of paper.....another way to reduce a demand on our resources:)

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    1. Rohrerbot,
      I still love the library! so am torn....

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    2. I know what you mean. It is difficult to imagine in the removal of such an icon. My parents have a library room in their house and it's very comforting. And the public library is a wonderful place to quietly sit and escape for awhile. At one point, I wanted to become a librarian until I researched more....what will our libraries look like in 20 years?

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    3. Oops...one more thing:) But I love my kindle. On a trip out of the country, I had a book sent straight to my device. I had been so excited about it arriving while in South America.....and it did!!! Cool stuff technology:)

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  2. Well Happy Birthday for the 19th. The e-reader is such a fabulous gift. Love your idea of using the corrugated iron. Any chance to re-use should never be ignored. I'll have to check out the care2 site. That sounds interesting. It looks to me like you've got the Slow Living challenge down pat!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Bernie,
      I found it quite fun to concentrate on the challenge this month - it spurred me on to do a few things I had kept putting aside.

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  3. Happy belated birthday. It sounds like you had a great day - and a great month. This post is such a nice reflection on a lot of wonderful things. Thanks for sharing it.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Laura,
      thank you, I sure did. It seems as though it was a month for making cheese, even for those not taking the challenge.

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  4. Oh, Happy Birthday belatedly. My birthday was on the tenth. An e-reader...oh, that sounds fun!

    I have done the same thing with fabric, I have yards of some I love, but haven't figured out what to do with it all. I love your idea of making soups for the week. That is wonderful!

    I hope you have a great weekend!

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    Replies
    1. Karen,
      thank you and a happy birthday to you too! I need to have a couple of sewing days scheduled. Always a fun thing to do with a friend.

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  5. Thanks about the weight loss. Ugh, that awful doctor I used to have! She's history, telling me to walk 10-15 miles a day. What a quack. No, that MD wasn't the reason I started walking. Yeah, she was right, I am too heavy, but ironically, the reason was falling down a flight of stairs just before Christmas. After I fell, I couldn't sit down for long and walking was the only thing that felt better. Then my friend Ann told me about Leslie Sansone and I was hooked.

    I have an appointment for a physical coming up in a week and I'm seeing another new doctor. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that my numbers will be better AND that this new doc isn't a quacker!

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    Replies
    1. Isn't it funny how something bad will lead to something life changingly good. I am sure your new doctor will be soo impressed. Hope she is lovely. soon you will be moving rocks again - I can see it! :)

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  6. Thanks for visiting me, lovely to pop over and visit you too!

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  7. Great to have you along, Africanaussie! How lucky are you to have loofahs drying?! Happy belated birthday for the 19th! ;)

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    Replies
    1. Hi Christine - thanks for hosting this it is fun to join in! I know how lucky I am to live here "where strange things grow....." - some of them I am still learning to like! thanks for the birthday wishes.

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  8. Looks like I am a bit of a latecomer to your blog, but you seem to have a garden which I would give my eye teeth for. I am now in the process of teaching myself a lot more about sustainable living so I need as much information as you can throw at me.

    Looking forward to your next post and Happy Belated Birthday......

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  9. Hello, my one year older friend♡♡♡
    Oh, E-readers! you are the first person who mentioned about it and sure makes me feel the advancement of technology thinking back my childhood days, lol.
    And you have interesting way of telling us your life here, maybe I'll try in my blog someday♪
    Thank you very much for your sweet comment. It made me feel really encouraging.
    Love you always, xoxo Miyako*

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    Replies
    1. Mikayo,
      I know, in our lifetimes technology sure has changed hasn't it? I am glad I made you feel good - you a a very sweet person. don't change your blog - it is perfect!

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  10. I love these goals. I'd like to be thoughtful and make set some resolutions too!

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  11. a great idea - and I found it was good to have as a draft post so that I could keep going back through the month and reviewing what I had done!

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