Feel-good Laundry Powder

I've made this a few times now, first as a liquid and now as a powder, which is much less time consuming but still effective in the wash. Of course it takes more time than buying a packet of pre-made laundry powder from the shops but I'm not interested in saving time anymore (what am I saving it for?), I'm much more interested in living each moment with meaning and deliberate intent. Making my own laundry powder connects me with one of the larger jobs at home in an organic, authentic way. I feel that I am doing good, being creative AND cleaning my families clothing all at the same time. And that feels good.

Here is my 'Feel-good Laundry Powder' recipe:

2 x bars vegetable-based soap
1 tub Borax
1 cup bicarbonate soda
1 pkt washing soda

Grate the soap bars then mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Pour into a large glass jar or two for storage. I usually choose two different soaps and make a double batch in two different jars.
The mixture can separate a little as its poured out - just shake it up before you use it and I find it works out fine.

Happy Washing!

Happy Mama's Day

I know some of you are having special meals made, going to high teas and going on family outings and I wish you a beautiful time with your loved ones.
For me? I think the beauty of Mother's Day is the impetus to pause and reflect on myself as a Mum - to really seek out the positives about my mothering and my relationship with my girls and husband. For as Mothers I think we're all doing our best, whatever that is at the time, but find ourselves wishing we could be better sometimes, perhaps being too critical of ourselves.
So today, for me, is a day to put that critical voice aside and really celebrate what I am doing - loving our children, building our home and life together and learning and growing.
To all those Mamas in the world that we hold dear to our hearts, we wish you a lovely day.

Goldilocks and the housewarming party

One of the things I really love about Mount Beauty is the closeness of the people here. New families are welcomed with open arms, almost like extended family themselves. I guess Mount Beauty is a small town so people here share a bond in their desire to be in this special place.
We have met many, many likeminded families since our move here four years ago and are still delighted to be sharing our time with them in the outdoors, in our homes andd with our children.
And so it was that our family of four found ourselves at a very fun housewarming party one lazy Saturday afternoon recently where costumes matched the '70's carpet and I found myself in a gold wig quoting Shakespeare (badly). Ahem.

Chickens in the sun

Our new chickens; Pippi, Poppy and Henny Penny have been released into their new pen, much to their delight. We have observed with excitement their scratching, dust-bathing and general happiness in the sunshine.
It feels good to have chicken who free-range in green grass under fruit trees.
We look forward to more eggs and planting more fruit trees in our mini chicken orchard in the next few weeks.
Ps. Photos taken by Rosie :-)

Slowing life down

So often I'm rushing about. Sometimes this is an obvious 'OMG we're going to be late for that train, we'd better hurry'. But more often its a subtle state of mind where I find myself thinking almost-subconscious thoughts that rush life past me.
For example, I routinely think ''there's not enough time', 'hurry up Mama' and 'if I just get this done then everything will be okay'. And this last one is the classic one that sneaks up on me. So much so that sometimes just being at home can be overwhelming just because there's always 'just one more thing' to get done.
Often I read about the need to stop buying more 'stuff' to make yourself happy. But I want to add to this; 'I need to stop getting stuff done to make myself happy'. Sure there's work that needs doing, but letting it drive my life is like letting a giant vacuum cleaner be in charge (although I admit the carpet would be cleaner) - always sucking away creativity and open-minded ness.
What I want to focus on is taking a deep breath and being still.
Just still.



...and allowing myself to be happy with where I am now.

I quit sugar week 4

"eat to live, don't live to eat"

Three and a half weeks into quitting sugar and I'm feeling quite good. My physical cravings for sugar have gone but my emotional attachment to it is taking longer to release its hold on me.
In the meantime I've been thinking more about the quote above and how it relates to me. I can see that life would be simpler and slower if I only ate to live - eating would be a simple affair, no treats or emotional attachment. It seems like a far off Eutopia but perhaps life would be sweeter there.

The role of a supportive parent

Lately I've pondered, in my philosophical sometimes-out-of-box way, what my role is as a supportive parent to my girls. Where do I start and where do I stop being supportive? In essence, what is important enough to me that I will do what I can to help my girls with it?
In all this thinking and pondering, I've come up with a few ideas, mostly to do with education. You see, I'm very taken with the idea of homeschooling, of my children learning in close contact with their families, and of my girls learning from and with me. The only snag here, that's lead to this pondering, is that Rosie likes school and wants to be there. So I needed to think about it all differently, to work out what it means for me.
So here are some of the things I'm doing and working toward doing
- supporting Rosie at school by backing up her learning processes there through our own 'homeschooling' in the evenings and weekends and holidays.
-providing an excellent environment for open-ended, self-directed projects, in a way that schools can't.
-extensive travel and learning about the world through real experiences
-providing materials and opportunity for learning things not focussed on (much) at school e.g. Sewing, cooking, blogging, daily diary, love of music.
-guidance with morals, ethics, self-love and decision-making.
-a holistic learning environment that balances schooling with all other aspects of life (for learning never ceases and is a lifelong journey).
More to come on how this is going...

China, Chickens and Challenges

With Ian away at his race in China, our little family of girls has welcomed Bernadette to our house for this week. In between walking with Bethany to help her sleep, walking Rosie to school and joining in the Mount Beauty Primary School Walkathon, Bernadette has found plenty of time to knit Bethany a vest and a matching crocheted beanie.
In addition, we've been to pick up our newest girls - three chickens - a white one called Poppy, a darker brown whom we've called Pippa and a lighter brown named Henny Penny. They have settled nicely into their temporary accommodation while a more robust and attractive coop and pen is being constructed by yours truly.
Ian's race seems to be going well, although we have had little contact from him in far away China. Race reports are being written by his team mate Serge and can be viewed at the Adventure Junkie website.
In Ian's absence our hot water tank has rusted through and we've had no hot water for three days. After many, many phone calls we now have a nice new tank sitting in a box near the back door and a nice man coming tomorrow morning to install it. sigh. This will be a shower I will remember....