This was a struggle, but it is done

This was a struggle, but it is done

As a quilt, it is not complicated in its design.  It is built around a panel I had in my stash, and fabrics I already had and it is simple. I thought 'someone will be happy to have this to keep them warm and make their bed look nice, so I will give it to the Community Quilt group at my guild".

Why did it take ssooooooo long?

I got the top done quickly enough, and started to piece together a back from leftovers in my stash- panels and blocks made and rejected from other projects. This was harder, much harder.

But the real problem was that it needed to be precisely centred against the front, and my technology of registering the quilt and pinning it was just not precise enough. I pinned it together twice before I gave up, bought a large piece of neutral fabric and pinned it for the third time!

I quilted it on my vintage Singer 306 in straight-ish lines across the blocks and put the binding on by machine too, as my hands are not happy with hand sewing these days. 
 

Today I am going to tidy up the sewing room and process the leftovers of this quilt before moving on to a new project. The 306 needs a clean and some oil too. 

This will be delivered to the community quilt group this month. They give away over a thousand quilts per year to shelters, rehab centres and hospitals. 

I have a new project -helping at the children's community centre playground!

Recently I responded to a call out on social media for a person to help a community centre for children develop their garden with more vegetables and fruits.  I spend a couple of hours each week at the garden. There are two areas -one for little toddles and babies and one for the 3-4 year olds. 

They already have some good infrastructure. They have two chickens! There are two large rainwater tanks, a worm farm and an irrigation system.

The bones of the garden are already set up -shady trees, paths for little feet and trikes, logs for balancing on, sheds for storing play equipment. To the north -through the fence- is a school with a spare block of land, which may one day become a community garden. 

It has been really interesting to work in another garden than my own! I have been putting the permaculture principles I have studied privately (not done a PDC) into action. One of the best things I did was take a sketchbook and try to draw what I could see of the garden -it helped me identify the watering scheme and its possible problems, the big trees on the boundary and the shade they provide, the opportunities to get more plants in the ground and where. 

There are three raised garden beds. One of them had three very stressed eggplants in it. I built a rough shade structure over it to give it a break from the baking sun, and put some dwarf beans in, just to help with nitrogen fixing and to fill up the bed. I was pleased that some of them have come up after just one week! 

The other two raised beds are even drier and more dead than this one! We need COMPOST and MULCH before we can plant anything in them. 

Apparently the irrigation system failed over the summer - I think between Christmas and New Year, when the centre was closed and we had that distressingly hot 8 day period of extreme weather. Several trees died -a couple of young citrus and an dwarf apple. In an institutional garden, unlike a domestic setting, there was no-one to notice that things were going wrong. The centre needs a back up plan! 

There is a covered play area with a solid roof which could be another opportunity for rainwater harvesting, and a couple of big sheds, which could also have gutters and tanks added. Maybe if there were some more volunteers like me, we could have keys to the garden and go and check when the centre staff are not working, and use the water from the water tanks to make sure the garden stays alive? 

I have been working on reviving the compost system. There was one compost bin, which was about a third full of very dry weedy stuff. As well as the buckets of prunings I can bring from home, I was given several buckets of roughly made compost from a neighbour- and the plastic bin they had been in! One of these buckets of compost  I spread on an empty raised bed, and the others I have added to the compost bin. Today someone has offered me three bags of shredded paper, which will add to the bin I am filling. The new bin will be used when the first is full, so we can have one filling and one turning. 

The staff are working on an application for a grant to help us get some tools and some plants. 

In the middle of the dreadful news from Ukraine, and the IPCC report, and the terrible floods on Australia's east coast, this project has been a blessing. 

Here are some recommendations for you 

I read and enjoyed this book by Fritjof Capra

You might also like this one from the ABC 

How to grow liveable worlds  

"Forget everything you thought a garden was. And everything you thought a gardener was supposed to do. Your job in the Planthroposcene is to stage plant/people conspiracies to keep this planet liveable and breathable. Your primary commitment will be to support plant growth".

Mid summer Christmas

The forecast for Christmas is HOT -that is over 107.6 degrees fahrenheit. As usual here in Perth, really. We do all the usual Christmas things -but of course we don't have snow, and we don't need huge roast meals and pudding! We eat salads and ham and fish. I am making a traditional trifle for desert. 

We had a  Christmas choir performance in a local church. I took the pictures because I had lost my voice for a few days, but it was really lovely.  

With such hot weather, I have put up some more shade around the garden for a few days. A run of hot weather like this usually finishes off the lettuce, but hardy things like passionfruit and citrus usually survive as long as they are mulched and watered well.I am picking blueberries, mulberries, tomatoes, eggplants and rhubarb at the moment.

We helped our son put up a shade sail to protect a western wall of his house. We also spread some mulch under the fruit trees which are still quite young. DH is now making a couple of shade window blinds for the south west front of the house -it gets quite hot there in the late afternoon despite facing the south westerly sea breeze when it comes. 

So here we are a few days away from Christmas. Some parts of Australia already are struggling with the Omicron virus and the disappointment of another disrupted festive season. Our own state government has held on to its very tight border restrictions so our lives have continued pretty much as they did before the virus. All that is about to change. If the virus doesn't escape into the state before, we are supposed to open the borders on February 5th, when we have reached 90% of our population vaccinated. My own COVID booster is due mid January. None of us really know what will happen in February, but it will seem like a backwards step after all this time to be wearing masks and socially isolating. 

Anyway, I guess we will find out in Febrary. In the meantime, I hope you all have a lovely Christmas wherever you are. 

Here are a few things I found which you might enjoy.

Christmas in Australia -the video of a Paul Kelly song which is a favourite at Christmas

Making it better with volunteers 

How Nottingham is cutting carbon 

Syntropic farming for an abundant future

Best permaculture books written by women

Djilba! Waiting for the spring

 NOTE: this post contains messages of support for COVID vaccines. If you don't agree, please don't leave me any messages. I am not interested and will block you. 

We are, we hope, moving into Djilba, a season of the Noongar calendar, where winter rains slowly give way to Spring showers, and the birds and animals and wildflowers get active in their breeding and flowering cycles.  This month has been the wettest July in 26 years, and we actually had 18 days in a row when it rained. We are all feeling it! It is lovely to see the rain recharge the rivers and tanks, but we miss the sunshine. I am missing the hours I usually spend each day in the garden. 

The Bureau of Meteorology has predicted that we will have a drier than average rainfall over the next three months , whilst the centre and east coasts will be wetter. 

We have had plenty to be thankful about this month. DH had important and delicate surgery on his back, and is now at home recuperating. This is yet another example of the wonders of our Australian health care system. The whole thing -his scans, his operation and his hospital stay- was exactly and completely free! This precious Medicare system is one of the jewels of our community welfare system -a part of that 'commonwealth' which every nation should attempt to provide to its citizens. Where there is a need, it should not be money which keeps you away from medical care. This has become especially imporant in the pandemic. My DS and DDinLaw have both had their full COVID Pfeizer vaccines, and we are most grateful. DD -also in their age bracket -however has not been invited in as yet. DH and I will have our second AstraZenica vaccines this month. 

Melbourne's arts community made a wonderful ad to encourage everyone to get their vaccine.  It  highlights the fact that, in order to get back to the good things -music performances, art shows, festivals, theatre -we will all need to be vaccinated. Current modelling suggests we need more than 80% vaccinated to be able to put the vulnerable into a safe situation. Some won't be able to have the vaccine, so the rest of us need to do it for them. 

This month DD and I enjoyed the Stirling Players' production of Into the Woods. My son was playing in the orchestra. We loved it! DH and I also were able to enjoy the Classical Guitar Society of WA's 60th anniversary concert too. At the moment we are without any COVID restrictions in WA, but we all know how vulnerable we are to a break out from quarantine, and it could all go away again. 

I finished my quilt!  I have updated the "Quilting and the creative challenge" page of my blog to reflect this. Just need to wash it and then it is ready for giving away to our Community Quilt group at WAQA. 

I have added a lovely watercolour picture to the dining room wall. I found it in an op shop.DH says it makes him think of fishing boats leaving Oyster Harbour in Kinjarling Albany. I reckon it makes me think of my Welsh relatives who worked on coastal boats operating out of Beaumaris. 

Well, that is about enough of our activities for this post. Thanks for reading! 

Delightful happenings to balance the rest!

 I hadn't meant to leave it so long to make a new post, but it has been a while. Nothing to hold me back excep the number of truly delightful things which we have been enjoying lately. Let me tell you about some of them.....

The most wonderful holiday

DH and I got away for a few days to our favourite holiday place -Kinjarling/ Albany on Western Australia's south coast.  We were between two bouts of surgery which DH had scheduled -he is getting both hands worked on to relieve carpal tunnel syndrome, and also surgery on his back to relieve pressure on his sciatic nerve. As he was not driving much, we took the opportunity to use a free bus ride there and back. I didn't want to drive all of the way. (DH has had his second surgery now, and is at home and recovering well). 

This free travel to our regions is provided by the WA state government to 'seniors' like us. We enjoyed the relaxed 6 hour journey very much, and hired a car in town. 

The weather is notoriously unpredictable on our south coast, but this year we got uninterrupted magnificent blue skies and warm temperatures (not hot like Perth has been). 

Albany has beautiful scenery, and is renowned for the colour of the waters inshore. We spent the time sight seeing, eating at cafes and restaurants, visiting art exhibitions and reading books. It was wonderful! 

A wonderful kid

DH and I have three wonderful grandchildren. Two of them are at school these days, but Mr 3 years old is in need of a babysitter day on Mondays. He comes to us and we have a whale of a time. At the moment he really likes to make cookies. I think we will work our way through most of the recipes in my Cookie Recipe Book -especially the ones with icing, cherries or lollies on top. 

A new mattress

It was playing with the grandchildren that brought us to the awareness that our mattress was in need of replacing. They were playing a game called "Veranda Santa", (from the show Bluey)  which involves lying on beds while one of the kids sneaks in and puts 'presents' under our pillows. The kids said that the mattress was sloping to one side, and in fact when we looked, we could see that the edges had deteriorated. We had a great deal from a mattress company which makes them locally, and we are really enjoying it. 

An election

I volunteered on two occasions to hand out 'how to vote cards" for the Greens at my local State election. I have done this kind of thing before, and enjoy it as a way of contributing to our democracy.  As it happened, the election resulted in a huge win for the local Labor party and I am pretty OK with it, even though the Greens candidate I was helping is probably going to lose her seat in the upper house. Labor is pretty progressive party. 

And the rest of the stuff

Dh and I went to a rally in Perth to protest at the sexual assault of women and the way in which we all live with a daily fear of being attacked or harassed. When a couple of assaults were alleged to involve our Federal politicians -one allegedly happened in a Ministerial office- the women of Australia said "ENOUGH". Rallies were held all over Australia, and the political revelations of more mysogyny and harassment are daily occurrences at the moment. It seems like a lot of women are no longer going to keep men's secrets but instead will be shouting them from the rooftops. We don't want women's testimonies to be disregarded because there is no 'evidence' , we want laws which will actually provide justice for women even while upholding the right to a fair trial for the perpetrators.

So that is a bit of a summary of life with us. Thanks for reading this far. Please leave a message or comment if you feel like it. 

Back to basics- how to make your own life

From time to time I go back to the inspirational books which ground me in this Simple Life, and in re-reading them am reminded that what we are doing here is counter-cultural. We are resisting the tide of consumerism and busyness, and instead we are Making our Own Lives.That is why the Simple Life is different to each of us -we have our own likes, circumstances, and -let's face it- our own families to negotiate with. One person's artisan sour dough is another person's nightmare! One person's delightful bush camping holiday is another person's cold and drafty tent. 

The books which I have been re-reading this month were written about 50 years apart! 

First published in 1937, ORCHIDS ON YOUR BUDGET gives advice on all manner of subjects, from entertaining and creating the perfect capsule wardrobe to relinquishing the family estate. Lest you worry about how to put the advice into practice, each chapter concludes with a case study providing examples of women who heeded - and those lamentable souls who ignored - Marjorie's wise words.

I love this book because the tone is so sassy. Marjorie has no time for prolonging your misery about a lack of money by sulking. Instead she gives us plenty of ideas for being creative and having fun on whatever funds we have.

The other book was written The Art of Frugal Hedonism: A Guide to Spending Less While Enjoying Everything More was published in 2016 and written by Annie Raser-Rowland with Adam Grubb. I love this review: 
“The Art of Frugal Hedonism is like having a small firecracker in your pocket for performing guerrilla actions on everyday life that just might upend everything and put it back together in a different, cheaper, and much more interesting way. The writing is buoyant and often verges on hilarious.”
~ Kirsten Bradley, Milkwood

Making our Own Lives is a creative and absorbing past-time around here. For example, this week we took the opportunity of an errand to a place on the east of our city, to travel a short way up the scarp to a national park, again looking for the waterfalls and rivers that are quite ephemeral in our climate. It was a bit cloudy and drizzly when we were at the top of the scarp, but the sun came out as we walked, and we had a lovely time. We found some gorgeous wildflowers in bloom. We try to really be present in this moment during such times: what does it smell like, what colours are we seeing, what can we feel? We loved this little extra luxury of a walk in the hills, where we are away from our normal routine. Of course, we know that just going for a walk in the bush would not seem like a lot of fun to some people, or even very counter-cultural to others, but for us, we are trying to take every opportunity to make ordinary life special, and fun, and this was one of the ways we did it this week. 

One of the things that Annie and Adam's book (above) encourages us to do, is to follow our interests and seek inspiration -often from finding time to read and dream.  I got this book from the library "Foraged Home" by Oliver Maclennan as a new source of inspiration. I love changing things around in my home -creating little table top or shelf displays or groups of objects arranged in ways that please me. They might be composed of something I found in an op shop, or something I picked up in my walks, or just some things here at home that I have never put together before in quite that way. 

DH makes things in his shed, and is always on the look out for a new project. This writing desk was gifted to him by someone, and he is working on ideas to turn it into a dressing table by adding drawers underneath it.

I am still working on my garden themed quilt -I have just about got the straight quilting done, and it will be time this week to do some free motion quilting in the panels before the binding goes on. I love working in my garden and constantly try to improve what I grow and what we eat from it. At the moment we have gorgeous snow peas to harvest. 

We both are involved in community activities -both serving as committee members - and we find it part of our giving something back to the community. This week we also took part in a protest at a local hospital, to complain about the heartless treatment of asylum seekers and refugees. I also spoke at a public meeting about it and later will deliver some much needed food supplies to a local organisation which is feeding people who have lost their jobs due to the pandemic, and because they are asylum seekers.

How do you find the business of making your own life going? Do you have particular books which you find inspirational? 

In support of the Earth

On 22 April 2020 it will be the 50th anniversary of Earth Day

Earth Day is marked by more than a billion people every year as a day of action to change human behavior and create global, national and local policy changes.  Now, the fight for a clean environment continues with increasing urgency, as the ravages of climate change become more and more apparent every day.

Our current pandemic is linked to this crisis -as humanity puts pressure on wild spaces, so we live ever closer to animals we used to be distant from, and some people are suggesting the transfer from animals to humans of diseases is now more common.

The Swan River at Walyunga in the autumn -the water level is low and we all wait for the winter rains -will they come this year? 

Now, I know that the pandemic seems like it is drowning out every other concern we have at the moment, but in fact we have been at huge risk of destroying everything that makes for a viable living environment for humans, animals and the biosphere for decades now. Climate change represents the biggest challenge to the future of humanity and the life-support systems that make our world habitable.  Link here 

We have an opportunity, in this time of self quarantine, to reflect on how we live and how we want to live. In all the things we are missing -and I guess you like me are missing a whole lot of people and a whole lot of social experiences (orchestral concerts, restaurant meals, parties, the library) - I wonder if we will find our true values. Just like we have discovered who is a truly essential worker -and often they are the lowest paid of our society-the cleaners, shop workers, rubbish collectors, transport workers- so we may find what else is essential and what we could let go of.

This week I was pleased to offer some of my garden produce to my neighbours. A basket of pomegranates was so well received by one person that they came back and put three chocolate frogs in my letterbox! A bucket of limes were also well received. Someone nearby had bought a box of compost worms only to find that they were nearly all dead -so I gave them some of mine and in return they gave me a banana pup, which will go to my son and daughter in law's garden.

We are continuing to support our daughter in law and the family as they set up their own garden of produce from scratch. It is such fun to see them getting excited by sowing seeds.

Meanwhile we are eating home grown pumpkins, mandarins and pink grapefruit as well as the mizuna, herbs and capsicums.

I have started a new quilt -celebrating all things gardening! I continue to work for a few hours each day in the garden -I am striving to get better at saving seeds, growing from seed and making compost.

I saved the seed from the pumpkin, which was just as well as DGS1 thinks a garden without a pumpkin patch hardly counts.

Inspiration 
Blog
https://www.shoestringcottage.com/20-things-i-dont-buy-to-save-money-and-waste/

Permaculture podcast!
https://pdcastsusworldradio.libsyn.com/

This episode is a good one https://pdcastsusworldradio.libsyn.com/a-diversity-of-solutions

And this one! http://www.futuresteading.com.au/

Women, art, struggle and community

On International Women's Day I attended an exhibition of traditional Palestinian embroidery, made by members of the diaspora who are now living in Perth. They had been brought together to learn to do their cultural designs and in the process learn each other's stories and connect with their community.  It was wonderful to see so many people supporting this, and to meet the women involved.  The exhibition was located in a community art centre, with funds and mentoring from a local art group.

It followed a Unionist rally on the Friday evening before, to speak powerfully about the struggle for women which is still going on. A young female 'sparkie" (electrician) spoke about her insurance for wage support during periods of sick leave, being set up in such a way that a woman with long term problems during pregnancy would not be eligible. Women unionists intervened for her and secured a win for her and for all other women. The wage gap between average weekly earnings for women and men in this part of Australia is a whopping 22% -mainly due to the difference that traditional women's work (child care for example) is paid compared to that of traditional male roles. We all agreed "a woman's place is in the struggle!"

This is important, because the COVID19 pandemic will hurt many people hard -and women are often in very vulnerable positions -they work in the 'gig' economy, they are employed as casuals, they have part time work due to family responsibilities. Many young people too are going to find this hard -people at the start of their mortgages, people who are still trying to get into the housing market, people who are unemployed and other groups like disabled workers.

This weekend we were to go to a lovely concert of orchestral music, which was cancelled. What will happen to the wages of the musicians, the hall cleaners, the ushers, the cafe and bar staff?  Our community choir decided very reluctantly to cancel our rehearsals until further notice -and thus our choir director, whose income comes from groups like ours -suffers a hit. Our quilting guild has suspended meetings -and so the Local Quilt Shops which have displays at our big meetings, will suffer a hit.

DH and I took a 'day off' this week from all the worries and travelled about 90 minutes south to a charming country town to visit the Harvey Art Centre Quilt and Craft show. The picture above is a quilt by Jenny Deering, who said that it was only when she joined the group that she had the impetus to finish a project which began 15 years ago! There were many lovely quilts on show, along with other craft work. We had lunch in a local cafe and then, on the recommendation of a local, found a wonderful garden to explore.

All of this has me thinking about the power of art and community and how they go together.  Art and beauty are part of our soul food - I know they are very important to my well being and my mental health.  Not more than food or shelter or water, of course, but quite close to the top of human needs. You might have seen some heartwarming clips from Italy, where people have been singing from their balconies during their lockdown -an expression of community and art, if ever I saw one! Artists of all kinds do wonderful things for us and deserve our support, especially now when their work is drying up rapidly.

Just as we must try to support our neighbours and check up on them, just as we are supporting local businesses, so we need to offer support to the arts community. If you have any opportunity to do so, maybe buy a piece of art (doesn't have to be expensive) or a music recording, become a patron of a creative person (patreon is often used for this purpose). 

Meanwhile, I will be here while DH travels interstate, in the process of helping our son, daughter in law and grandchildren to move back to Perth. This is hardly a great time for it, but it is what it is. I have my quilting and my garden, both offering creative outlets for when my anxiety levels begin to climb. I have been exploring water colours and I think it is high time I got back to having another go. I have a wonderful collection of music, and always find that music lifts the spirits.

I hope we can all find a sense of community and a lifting of the spirits.

Thank you for reading, and for the comments on last week's post.

Such a good day! Sustainable House Open Day 2019

We are recovering with a quiet day today, after welcoming 72 people through our place yesterday for Sustainable House Open Day.

There were 45 homes open here in WA, some purpose built and new with fabulous sustainable features. Many of them are 'south of the river'- a smaller number open here in the northern suburbs, which is one of the reasons we wanted to open our home, along with showing people what can be done with the kind of homes most of us live  in. 

We enjoyed sharing our home, and getting such positive feedback from people. Many came to look at the garden: just what can grow in a suburban backyard, how do you do it in our sandy Perth soils, what can I do to make my home more sustainable? There was talk of whether is it worth while to replace single pane windows with double glazing, and how big a solar array to buy. We discussed solar hot water, and if the 'tank runs out". 

A volunteer from the Electric Vehicle Association brought his car and parked it in our driveway -charging up from our domestic supply. It was a great feature, and he was a lovely guy- we ended up swapping marmalade and he gave us a dragon fruit plant! 

We prepared a pamphlet for people to take with them, called "Retrofitting a 1973 Suburban House"

1 Heating & Cooling

What we have done: 

A. Basic level of insulation in roof.

B. Shade-cloth Blinds on external side of  West-facing windows.

C. Pergolas and deciduous vines for shade on North and East (pictured above with winter sun coming in -in summer the vines cover the pergola and we get great shade ...and fruit!)

D. Water Tank also provides shade on west (as well as water storage)

E. Heat-block blinds and heavy fabric curtains for interior windows.

F. Ceiling fans in every room.

G. Outside kitchen to keep cooking heat from house.

H. Shaded screens on outdoor kitchen make a cooler alternative living space

I. Shade from trees.

Other possibilities being considered:

1. Pelmets over the curtain rails

2. Extra layer of insulation on top of ceiling

3. Insulated timber-frame cladding on front western wall (or should we paint in a light colour?)

4. Lift paving from front nature strip and replace with garden/vegetation

5. Seal the gaps – windows, doors, vents, exhaust-fan venting

6. DIY Double Glazing using Aluminium fly wire frame to seal door and toilet window.

2 Reduced Water Consumption

What we have done: 

A. No lawn.

B. Sub-surface drip-irrigation for garden

C. Water Tank – carries some winter rain into Summer.

D. Water-saving front-loader washing machine

E. Water-saving devices in bathroom renovations

a. Low capacity cisterns for toilets

b. Low flow shower heads

c. No bath

Other possibilities being considered:
1. Would eventually like to harvest grey water for loos and some gardening-council permissions required and are a barrier

2. Additional water storage tanks for the front garden

3 Renewable Energy & Reduced Consumption

What we have done: 

A. One car and we actively try to reduce kilometres in that car – using public transport as well.

B. 2.5kw Solar PVC system – which exports more energy than we use over many months. We bought this 7 years ago, so it has paid for itself now. Many people are putting in much bigger systems now, but our energy use is pretty low and we don't need more at the moment.

C. Solar hot water system  (Electric Boost on timer to use PVC power if available during winter)

D. Bigger windows in Kitchen and Bathrooms.

E. Solar Tubes – skylights – in lounge room. One visitor commented "you don't have any lights on here...our lights are always on!" 

F. LED globes into all old light fittings

G. Kitchen renovation included LED lighting, induction cooktop (replaced gas), energy efficient appliances

H. Growing food – preserving, freezing and drying to extend harvest. Eat locally!

Other possibilities being considered:

1. We probably need to eventually replace gas heating with R/C Air Conditioning -not in a hurry to do this.

2. Electricity storage batteries for Solar Power

3. Fully Electric car – or maybe a hybrid as a transition to fully electric.

4 Reducing Waste

What we have done: 

A. Composting Bins – four around the garden

B. Worm Farm and Worm Towers

C. Separating Waste Streams (batteries, bottle tops, crunchable plastics)

D. Refusing plastics where possible.

E. Re-purposed furniture – coffee table in lounge from Tip Shop for $25 plus a lot of work

F. Buying in bulk – refillable dispensers  for washing up liquid, conditioner, oil for cooking

G. Homemade Washing Powder – 2pts Lux Flakes + 1pt each Borax and Lectric Soda – 2 tbs/load for washing (front or top loader)

Urban Orchard

Our house is on a 600m2 block. The gardens around it are not large.

Here’s a bit of a check list of what we currently have in place:

Front garden:

quince, grapes, fennel,  onions

olive, mulberry, parsley nasturtiums

pomegranate, blueberries, rosemary avocado

lemon, goji berries, tomatoes basil

Side garden:

nectarine, kumquat, fennel, silverbeet,

mint, rhubarb, rocket, elderflower,

celery, tomatoes, onions, parsley,

curry leaf, spring onions, grapes, nasturtiums

Back garden:

grapefruit, tangelo, fig, lemon,

mandarin, lime, bay, kaffir lime,

peas, beans, dill, mint,

mizuna, rosemary, tomatoes, sage,

silverbeet, garlic, Vietnamese mint, thyme,

lemon grass, sorrel, warrigal greens, parsley,

borage, sweet potato, nasturtiums, broccoli,



We have not weighed our crops, but we use a lot in our daily diet – greens and herbs. We preserve the harvest in jams, chutneys, dried produce, and the freezer. We buy in produce at their seasonal peak when it is cheapest to make bottles of preserved fruit as well as jams. We share our harvest with friends, neighbours and the Buy Nothing Greenwood Facebook page.

It was a good day...and the place is looking pretty amazing just now! We are having a 'recovery day" today.

Community and many other wonderful things

A group of local people have started a Street Pantry in our suburb. The local Anglican church has allowed us to set it up on the verandah of their church, and the local MP gave us the cupboard. I am helping the group.

We have a closed FaceBook group with lovely generous members, who have provided enough food to fill this cupboard -more than 140 people are members of the group. We have non-perishables including toiletries. 

This week we are going to tell some of the agencies and professionals who may come in contact with people who are struggling, as we hope that they will come and help themselves when in need.

In way this should not be necessary, but with welfare payments so low, and people having payments cut off for no reason, we do need it. 

In fact, it has been quite a week for community serendipity. We were given two of these books at Christmas, so I offered on on the local Buy Nothing group.

A neighbour found out I collected cornucopia vases, and gave me this lovely glass one in a pretty pink. Just great for a few roses, which is all I have in the garden at the moment. 

 We finally sold the park home in Northam that DH has had responsibility for, for four years as Executor of his brother's estate. It is a great relief to see this gone. DH and I went up to clear it out this week -last time! Good thing we always have "emergency champagne" for such occasions.

The park home had some pieces of furniture in it, which we don't need, so we have been offering them on the Buy Nothing group. It is so nice to meet the neighbours this way. 

I did save one piece of furniture -  a chair which I have placed in the sewing room. Dora thinks it is hers! I got quite active about tidying up in there, and have made more room for useful things. I want to keep this room actively useful, not just for storing things 'in case'. I want it to be nice to work in, a pleasant place. This chair is for the times when DH comes over from his study and we chat together! 

 All of these things have meant that we have had a wonderful week. We did the usual things - I got a couple of walks in -one around a lake near us. I did some gardening-there is more to do, as always.

I made some beetroot relish, and also some lemon and passionfruit cordial. I harvested a few grapes from one of the vines, but the grapes haven't been great this year. We think we will need to do some work on the reticulation in autumn -there doesn't seem to have been enough water for the fruit as they are splitting before they are ripe. 

I have been working in a patchy fashion (hah!) on my quilt. I spread the blocks on the bed and realised that I was going to need to have a border on this one. That will keep me busy for a while!