Nurturing a new violinist

I've been thinking about writing this post for a while now. I'm just so.........well, overwhelmingly excited that Rosie not only wants to play the violin, but that she's willing to practice, take advice (most of the time) and commit to getting better.

And the concentration I've seen, oh my it almost breaks my heart with joy to see her so dedicated and in love.

From practicing with older girls at school to enthusiastically listening to music and writing her own music at home to a first performance with friends at arts night (thank-you my lovelies), I see a girl blooming with her own confidence all of a sudden.

I want to explain why this is so important to me, but I'm having trouble with the words and all I can say is that it makes me a very happy Mama indeed to see my oldest littley expressing herself through music and growing creatively. Sigh. Happy. Mama.

Homemade butter

Yes, I made my own. Something I've been wanting to do for a long while. And it tastes just like butter.

After purchasing cream that came from local cows I used firstly my cake mixer to make a batch (which was quite slow I admit), and then my food processor to make another two batches (much quicker). I used some instructions from Down to Earth about making butter easily at home if you're interested.

The photos are worth a lot more than my words today.... enjoy.

Our $21 Challenge - part 2

We're part-way through the $21 challenge week and so far I've spent the $21 on ham, cheese, icing sugar, apples and mince. It didn't go far but our pantry is mostly full so we should be okay. Job done right? I came in (technically) at $21.09 and thought that I was close enough. But then we 'needed' more stuff for home.

Like some coffee beans (we couldn't go without those could we?).

And I'd promised a friend we could meet for coffee in town (I couldn't pull out of that could I?).

And so the lines around what is acceptably 'feeding the family' and what is a special treat for us are quite blurry it appears. And I suspect this is part of the clarity I'm seeking to improve upon in this budgeting quest.

Despite going over our $21 (and there are 3 days to go in our challenge still) I did plan our dinners for the week and am on track with those. We had creamy chicken pasta for the past two nights and tonight I'm making chicken soup from the stock I made with the leftover bones. Tomorrow is lasagne with the mince, but I need to make my own pasta sheets, something I've never done before, because our budget didn't stretch to that and I thought it could be fun (will let you know about that!). Friday night we're going to a friend's house for dinner so its covered already and Saturday will be lasagne again (a second batch). I've also left my cash at home so I'm not tempted to return to the supermarket or fruit shop.

And I've been thinking more about why this is important to me, this $21 challenge.

Reason number one is to help me be more organised and in control, both of my spending and what comes into our house.
Reason number two is the chance to save some money and get ahead a little financially
Reason number three is to give me more time, for me and for my family and community.
Number four is the impetus to cook more things from scratch. I'm pretty good at this, but want to be better. I want to make my own pasta, butter, bread, cheese and other staples.
And the final reason is the chance to declutter our pantry and fridge and the way I cook meals.

So far I'm learning more about all of these this week....

Our $21 Challenge - part 1

I've switched perspective recently. I stopped thinking about teaching and academic work and started to think of home as my workplace. I wrote a post about coming home to work last month and my journey has continued happily along this path since then.

Whenever I'm feeling on edge, up in the air or unanchored, I think about my home as my work, as my temple and as the place I give and receive love, and I'm immediately more grounded, more down-to-earth. And I can breathe a sigh of relief again (I do so like that feeling). Then I have more to give to our gorgeous girls, and that makes me a happy Mama too.

So this path has taken me to look at budgeting - something I've not ever been good at or really been interested in before. I haven't really liked to think about money or earning or anything like that too much. But lately I've been wondering if there's another way. If we can declutter our money and live more slowly by spending more slowly.

Then I read some posts about budgeting on Slow your Home and that got me thinking about it more. Then I talked to Mum and Dad. And then I did some more thinking. And then I started doing stuff like looking at our last 12 months worth of bills and credit card statements and actually working out what we spent on stuff (a bit scary to begin with). I took my cards out of my purse and started leaving them at home. And then Mum sent me a copy of The $21 Challenge by Fiona Lippey and Jackie Gowerand this week we are spending only $21 on food for the family and using what we already have in the fridge, pantry and garden for the rest.

Will let you all know how we go by the end of the week....

Playgroup

My how they grow. From a baby girl last year to a walking, talking social butterfly this year, our littlest one is happily settling into life at playgroup, just like a big girl.
A great thing about Mount Beauty, this Mama thinks, is the way children of all ages play together, grow up together and ultimately learn together - and this starts around town and at playgroup from before they are walking.
They say it takes a village to raise a child...and in our little village that happens all the time.

Friday Blog Review: The New Good Life

Another new site for you today. A blog called The New Good Life caught my eye recently, and as I love the old English show - The Good Life, with Tom and Barbara Good trying to live sustainably from their urban property, I thought this one sounded exciting.

After having a good look through it I find the author, Mrs Good, to be on a similar path. Again we are more alike than separate to others on this planet. She writes about trying to live more sustainably at home, of slow-cooked meals, growing veggies and making her own pasta, cheese and sauces. I like this.

Just a quick post today, dear readers, as it is late and this Mama needs her sleep before the little one (and bigger one) awaken.

Happy reading and happy living to you.

Sourdough

I've been on a mission lately to produce my own sourdough loaves at home. Apart from the benefits of knowing where our bread is coming from, there's something so authentic and REAL about growing our own culture of yeasts and then turning them into something to nourish us.

My first starter or leaven went along, growing merrily, until we visited Noni and Pa for three days and I accidentally left her behind (her name was Jill) - oops. By the time we returned my young colony of yeasts had been over taken by some bacteria and despite multiple attempts to resurrect a viable starter culture, I eventually gave up and accepted a friend's offer of some of his, more robust, starter.

And so it was with this new batch that I created my first two loaves.

It was a lovely experience that took time while nature worked its magic. From the beginning steps at breakfast time to the final loaf emerging from the oven after dinner, this was not a fast process. But efficiency isn't what this Mama is about anymore. Yes, there was a time when I was very good at being efficient, but somewhere in there I lost authenticity. I loved the time spent growing and shaping these loaves. Like children, they could not be rushed into the next stage of their development and I watched with wonder as they grew in size, texture and shape.

 Now I have more starter in the fridge, slowly bubbling away and waiting for its chance to grow into more loaves. 

What will they be like, I wonder?

Loving our laundry

Well, it was time. The laundry and accompanying back entrance to our house had been needing some love for a while. Sports equipment, screws, fuses, shoes, bags, kites, dirt etc...were all mixed up, shoved where they couldn't be seen and had been weighing on this Mama's mind for a while.
And so, with cloth, spray and bags for the op shop and rubbish bin, I began a sort of the assorted stuff, re-organised and then gave it all a loving clean with my homemade cleaning spray.
Aaahhh, the feeling of satisfaction was well worth the effort. See the before and after pictures...

The Weekly Harvest

This week I introduce a new weekly post about our garden. In order to appreciate what our garden offers us, and the importance of its role in our natural and authentic lifestyle, I will bring you images and recipes of what's growing for us up here in Mount Beauty.

This week in our garden there are but a few pickings on offer. Henny Penny continues to lay a small, clean egg most days and Pippy and Poppy are growing nice and plump to get them through the Winter.
Today I'm preparing a lovely slow-cooked beef stew to enjoy with my loved-ones tonight and tomorrow. And from our garden came several welcome additions. Parsley, rocket and rosemary have added some lovely, deep flavours and I also picked some small beetroot and added them, leaves and all, for colour, sweetness and vitamins. Henny Penny's egg has been put aside for breakfast tomorrow (oh how I look forward to that bright yellow yolk...) and I also picked our first lemon and orange for the season (handy for this Mama's head cold!).

Ahhh, eating from the garden is refreshing and grounds me so. Wishing you a down-to-earth day.

A collection of fresh garden produce - even in June!

Friday Blog review: Loving Simple Living

This week's blog review is Loving Simple Living, which is written by an American blogger named Lorilee Lippencott. She and her family have downsized their life - by which I mean their possessions, what they eat and what they do. She has posts on how to simplify your life, be a minimalist and focus on things that you really need or love.

My favourite post is actually quite boring, but eye-opening at the same time - that sounds unusual I know, but you'll understand when you read it. Titled 'Minimalist Living - What we own', its basically a list of what she has in each room of the house (boring), but there's also photos of the rooms and they are amazingly empty of stuff. Now I like to have a little inspirational clutter around me - the results of play or learning on the carpet, a half-made casserole on the bench, that sort of thing - but I am inspired almost about the peaceful look of such a minimalist house.

And so this Mama is thinking that she could perhaps put things away more often. Does all the tea really need to sit out on the bench permanently? Do we really need a fish tank in the kitchen? Do we need all those backpacks up in the cupboard. I feel some de-cluttering coming on (again) ladies and gentlemen.

I read further and see a post for decluttering usable things - this is where I often get stuck. I'm usually confused when decluttering things that are perfectly fine, or I have spent good money on, or someone has given me as a gift, but I don't use - what do I do with these? It seems counter-productive to keep things that I don't use or love...but that clashes with my ideas about money and waste. This post clears things up a little by providing some guidelines for getting rid of usable items. Definitely something for this Mama to work on further.

And this gets me thinking about another book I read recently - Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative. 'Thing' no.9 is; 'Be Boring: Its the only way to get things done'. Reading this was a bit like a revelation to me because it put some things together and made new sense of them to me. Like the bit where author, Austin Kleon, says:

"The thing is: It takes a lot of energy to be creative. You don't have that energy if you waste it on other stuff."

And this makes more sense when you read another quote in the book, this time by Gustave Flaubert:

"Be regular and orderly in your life, so that you may be violent and original in your work".

I like this. I strive for creativity in my life and in the life of my family, but its been very chaotic of late and my creativity has taken a dive. This book, and Loving Simple Living, help me to make sense from this chaos and give me a direction forward. More to come on this I'm sure...

Good days to you all.

Loving my bathroom

Our bathroom was the recipient of lots of love this week. Bethany and I cleaned with my homemade vinegar and eucalyptus spray, lots of scrubbing and a final wipe with some re-usable cloths. As I worked I focused on the things I love about the bathroom, and I really enjoyed all that scrubbing and wiping and spraying. You see, our bathroom needs some attention. The sink is old and paint is peeling, the bath and shower have sealant around them to keep the water from leaking through, however mould-that-cannot-be-removed is growing underneath, leaving a permanent dark stain around each. I would like to have shiny, natural and colourful materials in there, with a shower and bath that are able to be 100% clean when I put in the effort. That's not in our budget however, and likely won't be for a while.

And so I thought loving thoughts as I scrubbed away with Bethany. I thought about the joy the bath brings each girl every night and I was pleased that we even have a bathroom to call our own. I love the mirror my Mother gave us with its bright, Indian designs. And I love that the shower continues without fail (except when there's no hot water!) to keep us clean and prepared to face the world each.

And now this Mama is a happy one. Its like the bathroom has a new coat and its not the same, old bathroom as before. It feels different. Quite simply, my love for it has grown. And I wonder, as this Mama does, whether this is true for many things in life. Perhaps the more love I put into anything, the more love it will give me back... Hmmm, something for this Mama to ponder on further.

But please excuse me for waffling on, I am having a lovely week and hope you are too.

I heart you :-)

Finding love is such an important part of everyday life. We often talk about it when we look for a life partner or when we're thinking about our passions in life, but its really something that we can do at anytime of any day. It's really about shifting our perspective to see how we can truly love what we're doing at the time - whether that be washing the dishes, changing a nappy or dealing with a recalcitrant partner.

Love can be found wherever you look for it...

Here is a link to a cute you tube clip from 365grateful - enjoy!

Raw Choc Sesame Balls

I make these based on a healthy, homemade choc-nut spread recipe which I've adapted to turn into balls of chocolately (but healthy) goodness (although I've added honey, rather than rice malt syrup, but either will do).
After several attempts and lots of eating by all I think I have a recipe that will work. Enjoy - and let me know how you go...

 

Raw Choc Sesame Balls

 

4 Tbl coconut butter, just melted (not too hot)

4 tbl peanut butter (or other nut butter)

1 tbl honey

1 tbl raw Cacao powder

I 1/2 cups sesame seeds

 

1. Melt the coconut butter until its just turned to a liquid. This won't take long however if you let it get hotter it will start to cook the peanut butter when you add it.

 

2. Take the saucepan off the stove and mix in the peanut butter, honey, cacao powder and 1 cup of sesame seeds until well combined.

 

3. Place the saucepan in the fridge until the coconut butter has set again (about 20 mins).

 

4. Take the saucepan from the fridge with the now-solid mixture. Scoop teaspoons of the hardened mixture into your palm and roll into balls then roll these into the remaining sesame seeds to coat.

 

5. Return the balls to the fridge to set completely (about 1 hour). Makes approximately 25 balls of chocolaty antioxidant goodness.





Quick break (a.k.a Weekend at Noni's)

We've just returned from Bairnsdale and a lovely time with Noni and Pa.

For the girls there was much gardening, playing with Oscar dog, running through the grass and setting up a pretend home corner inside.

Meanwhile Ian and I helped with the gardening too, fixed the ride-on, wrote school reports (Ian) and blog posts (me) and attempted to find child-free moments to talk with my parents.

I can safely say that a great time was had by all and we look forward to doing it again.

Thanks Mum and Dad for listening to my budget drivel!

Friday blog review: Down to Earth

The Down to Earth blog by Rhonda Hertzel focuses on 'sustainability via house and yard work' - its simple, no fuss, no claims to fame - just humble honesty. This feels like a different sort of blog to me.

I take a further look and see a nice quote on the front page:

"We who live in quiet places have the opportunity to become acquainted with ourselves, to think our own thoughts and live our own lives" - Laura Ingalls Wilder

I scroll further and see there are sponsored ads on this site, but they're relevant to sustainable home-making and obviously placed there with care (rather than consumer-abandon). I click on a link to eco-friendly organic yarns in Australia and feel my excitement growing (mmmm, new yarns to knit with, weaving and spinning tools...).

I scroll further and find links to all of Rhonda's tags. I click on 'aquaponics' because I've been thinking I'd like to know more about this for a while. Her post is informative and links nicely to further information.

I notice that she has been writing on home-based sustainability for a while and has many, many posts and tags. I definitely want to find the time to read further and can see how I will get a lot out of this blog.

As I write this review I'm at my parent's property in Bairnsdale, and reading Down to Earth reminds me of the myriad books on frugal, simple living which belong to Mum and Dad.

After I've perused Mum's bookshelves yet again I pick out two books that I've looked through before and come back to each time I'm here. Somehow they seem relevant to Down to Earth and Rhonda's message:

Domestic Goddess on a Budget by Wendyl Nissen is one and her writing always has me inspired to handmake anything and everything, grow what I can and really love my home. She's based in New Zealand.

The Hard time Handbook is the other book I pick out. It was written 30 years ago by Keith and Irene Smith (editors of Earth Garden magazine) and so sounds a little old in its language, but I like its no-nonsense way of explaining how to do stuff and the wealth of topics it covers. In particular I like the stories about a family who bought their food once a year and saved lots of money, of how to save seeds and the value of re-making worn-out sheets (plus plenty of others).

These books both remind me of the humble, down to earth approach in Rhonda's blog and I like this lack of pretense.

Of course, Mum's shelves are full of plenty of other books about sustainablity, frugal living, cheap and healthy cooking, green cleaning techniques... and I hope to write about all of those in time.

I wish you a day that is down to earth and very satisfying.

Elsa's cardy

My niece Elsa was the recipent of another knitting project ( I love knitting for children), this time another In Threes cardigan in a size 5.

And though it took a while (and wasn't finished when she came to visit...), it was worth the smile on her face now that she has it in her possession.