Celebration season

We are in the middle of our Celebration season. .

Christmas day started with church -among a Sudanese congregation here in Perth. There was a wonderful collection of children who came up to the priests for a blessing at the end of the service.

At home the three of us worked to get the lunch on the table: setting the table with our new red tablecloth and white metal trays from Ikea. The ice bucket was an op shop find. 

The starter was bruschetta using our tomatoes and basil and homemade bread.

I used Jamie Oliver's marinade (160m worcester sauce, 20 mls english mustard and olive oil per steak, marinaded in separate plastic ziplock bags) -and it was very nice indeed. We don't buy steak at $25 per kilo normally so this was enjoyed as a festive treat.  DH barbecued the steak which we served the steaks with Nigella's Christmas slaw, new potatoes with rosemary, a baby leaf spinach salad with parmesan and pear slices.

Desert was a proper Christmas trifle which I made from Nigella's "How to eat" recipe book. On Christmas eve I made her buttery lemony madeira cake as the base, which I slathered with my DH's cumquat marmalade before soaking the cake sandwiches in a mix of grand marnier, marsala and orange juice. The eggy custard was flavoured with orange and then orange sugar syrup was drizzed over cream. VERY yummy. 

We opened presents  of course. It is our tradition to let each other know what we want for Christmas, so we were all very satisfied. DH and I have great piles of new books! DD has a new leather journal among other things. I have some new quilting fabric in sea green, sea blue colours which I am hoping to turn into a new beach inspired quilt. 

We spoke with DS and DDIL and the grandchildren in the afternoon. They had sent us some great videos of the children with their new toy guitars, sitting on the step of the sanctuary strumming and singing Christmas carols with their dad. 

On Boxing Day we had DH's sisters and BIL over for lunch. This time we set the table with a green and gold Aussie theme.

I had a half price turkey "buffe" which I cooked and served with gravy and roast potatoes (left over from the potatoes on Christmas day but now roasted) and left over slaw and a new green salad. DH makes a great garlic bread which I fished out of the freezer. My good friend had given us a home made Christmas pudding, which BIL declared was the 'best Christmas pudding he had had for years". They also helped us eat the trifle which was just as good the next day. We really had a lovely time and everyone said that the food was great. I am pleased it all turned out so well. 

The 27th is my DD's birthday. We had yet another lovely celebration. It was her choice that we would buy fish and chips for dinner and eat them in the lounge whilst watching the "AB Fab" movie-a copy of which was one of my Christmas presents. It is very funny and we laughed and ate and drank champagne. 

Between Christmas and New Year's Eve is a quiet time. Lots of people are at the beach. As we are having a 'staycation" we make sure we go to the beach for a walk on nearly every day.No rushing to the sales for us! 

DH is making me a new garden stool to go with the little table he made me yesterday. When I am gardening I like to take my drink out to the grape vine and sit under it. I had been sitting on an upturned milk crate, but now I will have recycled and repurposed things to use. 

On New Year's eve  it is my turn for a birthday!

Meanwhile I am continuing to work on my quilt. I have cut the plain black 'stop borders and I am experimenting with half square triangles for another border. Either it will go on as a border or it will be in the back. I don't have a piece of batting big enough for this quilt at the moment -I am hoping the after Christmas sales will see the price drop- so I am happy to work on the back for a while. I am the kind of quilter who likes to finish a quilt before starting on another one! 

Doing things that are proven to make you happier!

There is quite a bit of stress around in the lead up to Christmas. Often we women feel this the most -as 'everybody's happiness' is dependent upon OUR efforts at gift buying, card writing, food preparation and home decorating. I can remember when DH and I had both our parents still with us and there was a LOT of Christmas partying to get through, just at the time when our young adult children were also busy too. In Australia the Christmas season coincides with the end of the school year and the end of most other community activities so there are lots of  parties and graduations and things added to the season.

Times have changed. It would be wonderful now to be able to fuss over our parents, but they went to God many years ago. We left school years behind some time ago now.  One of our young people now has a home and family of his own, but my DD is still here and a willing ally in all things Christmas.

Whilst people marvel at the way we decorate for Christmas - it is not at all 'minimalist" to have 5 Christmas trees- it does make us happier to do it. Christmas decorating seems to awaken our childhood memories. We enjoy the whole ritual of getting down the boxes, opening them up and being reminded of our favourite things.

One of our trees is the main tree, decorated in a very strict theme of gold decorations and musical items -drums, trumpets, etc -and NO TINSEL.  I hate tinsel!

We also have a kitschy jokey tree in the family room -where all the decorations the kids made when they were young reside -including a dinasaur hatching out of an egg (?) and the First Dog on the Moon christmas decorations. (A satirical cartoonist in Australia with the whole family enjoying it).

In the next few days we will go about getting a simple meal ready for Christmas day -with the things we enjoy to eat. I don't quite know what that will be but with the weather at the moment looking like a fairly mild 32 degrees C (about 90 F) I imagine we will eat on the patio. We might have grilled salmon and salad, with a special desert afterwards. We don't like turkey so we won't eat any.

Our son and daughter in law and grandchildren in Victoria have presents from us under their tree.

We have bought each other presents -and as two of us have birthdays as well, there is quite a pile of them! We have to make sure December birthdays get their own attention.

Each year we enjoy making donations to our favourite charities at this time.

I read this article http://www.huffingtonpost.com/belle-beth-cooper/10-simple-things-to-be-happy_b_4241824.html and thought it would be interesting to see if I could do all ten things:

1. Exercise More
I have been a little sporadic in my exercise of late, so I am making more of an effort.  We had a lovely bracing walk down at the beach yesterday, and a walk around the park last weekend. DH walks with me on the weekends.

2. Sleep more

This is hard for me: I am often awake for several hours at night. This article suggests I shouldn't be concerned about it- I know I will get a few long sleeps per week and the rest of the time I am OK.

3. Move closer to work

When I was driving for over 80 minutes each way to work, it was a struggle. Now I can get the bus and train, and then have a 20 minute walk to work, I am much happier.Not that I need to worry for the next few weeks as I am on leave!

4. Spend time with family and friends-this is a great time of the year to do that.

5. Go outside-this always makes me happier. As I am on leave until late January I can walk on the beach nearly every morning, and spend time in my garden.

6. Help others- our charity and volunteering continues

7. Smile. I read somewhere that if we smile, our brain is tricked into thinking we are happy and therefore releases endorphins to make us happier!

8. Plan a trip -we have an overnight stay planned in early January.

9. Meditate- we do this every morning for 10 minutes

10. Practice gratitude. This is a great idea -we regularly do this as we walk on the beach. There is so much to be grateful for.

Thanks for stopping by to read this blog. I wish you a happy holiday season and a Merry Christmas.

Balance

After the month of November, when I was participating in Nanowrimo -and so not quilting at all- it has been really good to get back to my sewing machine. I had started a quilt in October, but I wasn't enjoying the process of making it. A month later I liked it even less, so I gave myself permission to change my mind. I had seen Bonnie Hunter's free pattern called "Bricks and Stepping Stones": and I thought those checkerboard 4 patches would add some sparkle. I want to use up a lot of scraps -you know, as a quilter you are always making scraps, and there have to be quilts made with them. As Bonnie says, we spend a lot of money on fabric-and it is the same price even when we have cut it smaller. So with some luck, this will soak up a lot of old pieces and make room for new fabric.

Getting back to sewing is part of getting back to the balance I love in my life. I love to sew and garden and cook. If I can do these things, as well as deal with the life at work, I am in a pretty good place to have a balance in my life.

So I spent this morning in the garden. I have been potting on some tomatoes and other small 'free' plants -the volunteers which come up in the garden. We get a lot of lavender and tansy coming up -parsley self-seeds everywhere. I even have parsley coming up in the cracks in the bricks on the driveway! We are loving the small sweet mulberries on our own tree -for the first time this year! Such a lot of fun. One of the things many people say when they see our garden is "How do you have the time for all this?" Well, of course we don't ever have enough time -there are lots of weeds which need attention, I haven't made a garlic and chilli spray for the tomatoes, yet -you know the routine. Yet we love the garden and the work. When I am there, I am reminded that nothing is ever perfect or finished! 

My DH has been working on the passive shade features of our house. The grapevine pergola at the front of the house now has some temporary shadecloth whilst we wait for the grapes to grow. The shade on the north of the house will help to keep it cool.  He also built a pergola in the narrow space on the eastern aspect of the house between our house and the fence. DD's room faces east -and the early sun is hot and early in summer. The pergola has three different climbers on it. 

I hope you are enjoying week 2 of Advent. 

Decorating for Advent using what we have

This lovely Christmas wreath was made by my DD. She volunteers at an Op Shop two days a week, and this week they had pulled out all the Christmas decorations which hadn't sold last year. There was  a broken wreath on a flimsy frame, which she brought home. Some of the decorative items were broken but she pulled the rest off the frame. I had a wreath frame which was pretty undecorated, so she used that to make this lovely thing for our door. 

 I have an advent wreath base which requires dinner table style tapers. Usually I am organised enough to get the traditional purple and pink ones  from the church supply shop, but not this year. Never mind! I had this metal tray from IKEA, and my DD provided the candles from her stash from Thingz, and we had the cherries and holly from previous Christmas decor. I used sand from the sandpit, and that was it. We like the fresh look this year. 

Each year we buy something new for our Christmas decor. This year my lovely DH went all the way out to the Mr Christmas shop to buy battery operated LED lights. There are two strings of white and a cute little jewelled set. I plan to use them in other ways after Christmas! 

Normally we wouldn't be this decorated on the First Sunday in Advent, but our little Victorian family had to leave last weekend, so we sneaked in some pre-Advent decorating with our little grandson and granddaughter. It was the best idea! They loved helping us decorate our tree! We felt as though we had 'done Christmas" together, so even if we can't be with each other on Christmas Day, we have still had a chance to share our traditions with each other. Every time I look at the tree I think of them being held up to put the star on the top. 

This was the second quilt I ever made. I am glad to bring it out each Christmas, and to see that I have progressed in my skills since then. It is still a lovely quilt. I have it hanging in the entrance.

This is my advent calendar. It is a Jo Mullens design. The 'wonkiness" of the shape is due to the fact that it is being distorted by the weight of some very grown up advent calendar treats -including tiny bottles of liqueurs! My DD is a real 'partner in crime" in all things Christmas, insists that, as this calendar is for US, we should put things we like in it. I searched until I found dark chocolate Lindor balls for the smaller pockets. 

We haven't finished decorating! 

Tradition will reassert itself this afternoon, when we finish decorating for Christmas on Advent One. 

This comes from Australian Anglican Liturgical Resources:

Lord Jesus, come!

As morning light awakens us to work and pray,
shine, Sun of righteousness,
bright on the path of all who seek justice.

As solid ground beneath our feet,
steady us, Rock of our salvation,
strong to sustain all who trust in you.

As green shade beckons in the heat of the day,
shelter us, Tree of life,
gently protecting all who seek wisdom.

As a deep well quenches thirst in the desert,
refresh us, Fountain of life,
cool water of peace for all who drink from you.

As the days grow longer
and the sun’s heat increases,
increase our faith,
and bring us to worship you
by your cradle,
at your cross,
in your resurrection,
and at your glorious coming again
with judgement and with mercy. Amen.

Pirates! Treasure!

In order to have some real relaxation on my TOIL time, we decided to take the train down to Fremantle to see the the Shipwrecks in the museum, and in particular the Dirk Hartog Plate -a marker left by the first known European explorer to the West Australian coast in 1616.

This coast has many wrecks -partly because the maps did not include our continent at the time (!) and therefore ships which were using the Roaring Forties to slingshot themselves across the Indian Ocean had a bad habit of running into the coast. This is a picture of the locally built Duyfken replica boat in Fremantle Harbour.

We stopped at the Fishing Boat harbour for lunch, of course, and enjoyed fish and chips.

Whilst in the museum we bought replica "Pieces of 8' which were found on another wreck, the Batavia. We brought them home with some fake 'jewels" and have been having the BEST time playing pirate treasure with our grandchildren. 

Another day we went by train to Midland to do the Op Shops and Second hand shops. I was delighted to find a purple cornucopia vase to add to my collection for a tiny price of $10! It looks fantastic with pink and red roses on my mantle.

I also found these two scarf rings for $2 each! I have started collecting scarf rings -it makes sense when you have as many scarves as I do. I had been looking for something like this -and isn't it amazing that when you look for something, it often comes into your view? 

Apart from all these things, I have been walking on the beach and writing in my Nanowrimo novel -now up to 25,000 words: half way there. I have to go back to work this week, but it has been a lovely break made better by family being here with us. 

Spring fun days-spiders and beaches and plants

My grand daughter posted scary spider pictures all over my kitchen -to "Scare Pa!". 

We had a lovely time with her having a sleepover at our place on Wednesday night.

By Thursday the weather had improved so much we were able to go to Mullaloo beach and enjoy our first walk along the water's edge for the spring/summer season. It was so beautiful I felt as excited as a little child. As it was going up to a whopping 37 degrees C today, we were there again this morning. WooHoo. There is something quite marvellously relaxing about walking in bare feet right on the water's edge first thing in the morning, then going home to coffee and prayers. 

I have  also inspired to think about making a beach-themed queen size bed quilt for our bed. One which would have all the beach colours -green, aqua, violet, sand, white foam, deep blue and pink. I have most of these colours already in the stash, but would need to get some acqua. Hey - a trip to the LQS is in order! I wonder what pattern I would use? I haven't done a 'trip around the world" quilt, and that might be fun to do. I might play around with the layout if I did this. On the other hand, I am inspired by granny squares too.....Hmmmm. 

I would send it out to be quilted, though. Queen size quilts are too much for my domestic sewing machine set up.

This is Mullaloo last Thursday morning, up by the reef near Ocean Reef car park

My Nanowrimo project is on track so far - I have just over 8,000 words of the total of 40,000 required.  I am enjoying the space to write whilst I am on my TOIL break from work. 

DH and I are enjoying the space this week to work around the house and garden -doing the simple things we love. This is a new vertical garden I am setting up on the back patio. DH made it with some free pallets which he got from up the road where a neighbour is building a HUGE retaining wall. They have one of those houses which is lower than the road, and I think he is planning to retain the soil and build a driveway which is level with the road. He is using limestone blocks and had lots of pallets over. DH now has a line of them down our driveway fenceline! We have discovered that not all pallets are made the same -some are easier to get apart, for one thing. DH is having fun learning how to use them. He has made 2 vertical gardens. 

I am using cut-down plastic milk cartons for most of the pots -they fit exactly in the little trays in the pallet, and hold enough soil to grow seeds. I have some herbs here which I hope will be sheltered enough to survive the summer and be close to the back door to snip something for a quick meal flavour enhancer. There is already some mint, coriander and parsley here, with radishes coming up fast. I have experimented with cress and mustard in the little recycled pots,and DGD planted an avocado seed. 

This (below) is a nifty stool/box which DH created for me because I said I wanted something to perch on out in the front garden when I am gardening, and want to stop for a drink.  It is more comfortable than the milk crate! It was made with pallet wood too. 

Thanks for stopping by! 

Time off

Roses grown at home, in one of my cornucopia vases

I have a couple of weeks break from the routines of the office -we call it TOIL -time off in lieu of being paid overtime. I am enjoying the fun of having the grandchildren, my son and daughter in law able to drop by when they can. I know what it is like when you visit home from interstate -you need to rest and have fun, not 'have' to visit people all the time! So we won't go away during this time, so that we can be flexible. 

We had a drink at a posh inner city pub where the courtyard has a pond. Somewhere up in the branches we could see a Willy Wagtail sitting on her nest. 

As well as taking a break from work, I am now not on the committee of the not-for-profit that I support. I will still be an active volunteer, but the break will be good for me. They held their AGM this week, and it was a real celebration. So many lovely people, such good work and good stories to tell. 

DD brought home this lovely box for my bedroom, from the Save the Children op shop in Subiaco. Goes well with the French theme. 

My plans for November include writing a novel during Nanowrimo!  National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to creative writing. On November 1, participants begin working towards the goal of writing a 50,000-word novel by 11:59 PM on November 30.Valuing enthusiasm, determination, and a deadline, NaNoWriMo is for anyone who has ever thought about writing a novel.

In order to complete the task, you have to write about 1600 words per day -which takes about 90 minutes for me. I have a couple of characters in my mind, a couple of places to write about and no real idea of a plot! That is the way I like it- I just write and see what happens. I have written two other novels this way. Once they are done I never go back and even edit my work -my Nano is just to get the story out of my head. Maybe one day I will feel like editing them? 

Celebratory glass as I start my little break from work.

So there will be some writing, some playing with grandchildren and some quilting. I have just oiled my favourite sewing machine and she is all ready to go. The garden is a lot of fun just now - I have tomatoes and strawberries growing along with a lot of lettuce and things. The weather is going to be more spring like I think, so I am looking forward to more walks down at the beach. 

This is the kind of thing I really like -just being able to appreciate simple things and make our own fun. How about you? 

A springier Spring week!

We have had one hot day -at last!- and some milder weather which is bringing the roses to bloom at last. This is the iceberg, which is first always. It is a generous bush, grows so big we have to cut it back at least twice before winter.

This is "Munstead Wood" -a David Austin rose with a lovely fruity perfume and a desire to take over the world!

This is "Glamis castle"  a slower growing white perfumed David Austin rose -not quite out yet -has lots of petals when fully open. 

Spring is a time when  I like to add some colour to my outfits. This is a cotton scarf I made from a sarong I found in an op shop. It has elephants on it!

My design wall is inspired by my spring garden - I am working on a design based on butterflies. Early days yet though. 

There are buds on the grapevines, the tomatoes are in flower, the mandarin is going crazy with new growth, everything is lush and active. 

Dora is loving the open windows. 

We are hoping the mild weather continues to develop -our grandchildren are coming over in a week or two from Victoria, and we have lots of ideas of how to entertain them -outside! 

That was amazing! Permaculture Fest WA-and that quilt

I was very excited to be able to listen to David Holmgren at the inaugural Permaculture Fest in the Swan Valley yesterday. It was really amazing to have a whole festival full of people who care about this stuff too! David's upcoming book "RetroSuburbia" was the topic of conversation. 

Here is David's explanation:

Due for publication in March 2017, my latest book builds on writings and presentations about “Retrofitting the Suburbs for the Energy Descent Future” that since 2005 have highlighted the ongoing and incremental changes to our residential landscapes to make them “fit for purpose” before Australia and the world slide into energy descent futures. My Aussie St story tracing four adjacent suburban houses and their inhabitants from the “1950s Golden Age of Suburbia” to the “Second Great Depression of 2020” has been particularly powerful at engaging with Australians who live in or grew up in suburbia.

RetroSuburbia explains and illustrates patterns, designs and behavioural strategies applied by those already on the downshifting path to a resilient future, using permaculture ethics and principles. It is organised as a pattern language of interlocking and complementary design solutions to perennial problems faced by those applying a more systematic, whole-of-household approach to retrofitting their houses, gardens and living arrangements. It includes some proven design specifications and pointers, references technical sources and case studies, but is more of a strategic guide than a technical manual".

I also attended a presentation by Tim from Ecoburbia who explained the story of the housing cooperative, community garden and alternative urban infill development project in Fremantle. 

Then we went to the Living Smart course presentation. Living Smart is a multi award winning behaviour change program. The course provides participants with the skills and knowledge to take action in their own homes to improve their quality of life and reduce their environmental impact. The Living Smart program consists of ten key modules:Water, Power, Waste, Simple Living, Gardening for Food, Transport, Healthy You, Gardening for Biodiversity, Healthy Homes & Community. I would love to get a course going in Perth's Northern Suburbs.

Meanwhile I have made progress on the quilt I showed you in August. 

I haven't forgotten my quilt -the quilting is now done -and this stripe below is being sewn on as the binding! 

Hopefully I can get this finished this week. 

Vale Bill Mollison, father of Permaculture

Some people have an amazing vision, and start a movement that travels the globe. Bill Mollison, Australian researcher, author, scientist, teacher, and biologist. Considered to be the "father of permaculture", died this weekend. Anyone who cares about local food and sustainability will have come across Bill's ideas.

Thanks to Bill and his Permie groupies, I have had a lot of fun growing vegetables and fruit in my own garden. We have learned to be more self reliant and careful to support local producers. I haven't done any workshops in Permaculture, but have read some of his works. I love the idea of making a wider range of foods available than what is offered in the shops -hence my excitement at growing heritage varieties of tomatoes for example. I love the idea of making one's efforts in the garden do more than one thing -why can't a pumpkin vine grow over a nearby lime tree, thus getting more food per square metre and keeping the pumpkins off the soil (extra support may be necessary when they get heavy). 

Recent 'picnic dinner"- pesto made from home grown leaves, tomato salad with home grown chives and basil. 

Extra water for the bees and birds in a rehomed old birdbath -near a wicking bed with beans growing in it, made from a pot with a hole in it -just right for the overflow pipe. 

Birdlife in a productive garden is a joy !

I am so happy that my idea of planting more flowers in the back garden has been successful in bringing the bees out there, and the white flowers glow at night around the patio. 

Vale Bill Mollison, and thanks for the inspiration.

A wonderful Sustainable House Open Day

This picture shows the wall quilt I hung outside for the day,on the wall near our entrance, with a variety of ornamental and edible foods in pots. 

We had an amazing day yesterday at our first Sustainable House Open Day, with a whopping 72 people coming through. My DD and DH did all the work on the day -because I was required to be at work yesterday (bad timing, eh?) and they were exhausted when I got home, but very very happy.

This picture shows us in the process of adding pea straw to the garden beds, near the new handrail DH made for our steps for public safety reasons, and with the shade sail up to show people how to get cooling when you don't have room for  a big tree. 

When you meet people who care about the things you care about it is most encouraging. We have a lovely collection of online friends, who are keen about slow and simple living, but sometimes it feels a bit lonely in the northern Perth suburbs if you don't know anyone else who is passionate about these things too. 

The appreciative comments make us realise what we have achieved! 

Some who came were interested in our retrofitted house, some in the garden, some in the passive heating and cooling features. I have now posted the leaflet about our house and garden  here.

Some people came from our own suburb, and had figured that looking at our house and garden would inform them about what was possible in their own. That alone encourages me-there are people nearby who care about this too! 

Our house and garden are looking pretty wonderful just now, so this week will be in full recovery mode! We are all tired and happy. 

Why we are opening our house on Sustainable House Day 2016

We are OPEN as a sustainable house on Sunday September 11 from 10 am to 4pm.

Why?

• We want to inspire others that live around here, in houses like ours which were built in the 1970s, that it is possible to improve your quality of life without knocking the house down and starting again. 

• ENERGY We have made simple affordable improvements over the years which have reduced energy. At one time we were up to 24 units of electricity per day. By changing what we did with electrical appliances -such as making sure we turned them off as we finished using them, and getting rid of an old drinks fridge and replacing it with a modern one, for example, we were able to get to about 12 units per day. Of course we installed low energy light globes and fittings. Then we installed the solar array and now we are down to 4 units per day in summer, and up to 12 for some of the winter due to using some electricity for heating. We changed our gas hot water system when it died, for a solar hot water system too. Free hot water for much of the year!

• WATER We have a 3000l water tank which we use on the garden. This supplements the other water saving measures we have taken, such as removing the thirsty lawn and replacing it with fruiting and flowering trees and shrubs, and installing drip irrigation instead of above ground sprays. We have remodelled both bathrooms and now have water saving toilets and showers installed. There are two wicking beds for vegetables which allow the water to be drawn from below the plant roots, thus saving on evaporation. We have average water use for this suburb even though we grow vegetables and fruit and are active gardeners. 

• FOOD MILES As we grow more of our own fruit and vegetables, we are reducing the amount of carbon which is required to transport our food to our home. We enjoy picking salad leaves and herbs for our cooking, and have increased our skills at preserving, jam making and dehydrating. We have learned how to pack as much food growing as possible in a 700sm block -using a trellises to grow a passionfruit or some grapevines vertically 
• We have developed passive cooling of our home wherever possible, including:

1. Shade sails to the west 
2. Pergola for a grapevine or two to shade the north side of the house
3. Shade on the north west 
4. Planted LOTS of trees to cool the air and provide microclimates for our other plants to reduce water use and enable survival in Perth's hot summers
5. We took down a low flat roof pergola and replaced it with a gable with some perspex panels to let in light, reduce heat 
6. We put up shade blinds on the east and west windows to allow in light but reduce the heat and glare.

If you are in Perth and free on Sunday September 11 2016 I hope you will come and let us show you around! If you register at this site www.sustainablehouseday.com you will be able to find our house listed with its address.