Waste not, want not

Did you know that on average, Australians throw away one third of the food they buy? Government sources estimate that this adds up to a whopping 4 million tonnes of food per year!

It is easy to understand how it happens. We buy more than we need, and it goes off before we use it. We cook it up and then, because we have no plan for using the rest, it sits in the back of the fridge until it becomes a 'science experiment" and then we throw it out.

Throwing away food is a way of throwing away money, so curbing waste is a good idea if you want to do something more exciting with your funds or just pay the rates or whatever!

Food takes efforts to grow, and fertiliser, water and transport -and that all adds up to a big hit on the environment. If we can curb our waste, we can help the planet at the same time.

This month many of us in WA will commemorate "Sustainable September", an annual festival of all things which go to making our world last longer. My theme for this week is 'reducing waste" in the kitchen.


This is what I do:

1. Plan meals ahead so I know what I need to buy. I have added some measure of planning for our lunches as well as our evening meals. Our lunches are often the leftovers from a recent evening meal. If I put these leftovers in small containers, it is easy for DH and I to grab one as we leave for work. Hey presto! Nutritious for us and cheap too. DH told me this morning that he has not bought his lunch at all for the last 3 weeks. If he spent $13 on each lunch (easy to do in Perth -we are an expensive city!) then that is awhopping  $195 we didn''t spend on those!

2. Try to establish a routine of shopping once a week. In the past we used to shop quite frequently -whenever we noticed something was 'low'. I have found if we shop only once a week, we are encouraged to be creative with our meal choices. No celery-maybe we could substitute the ribs of a silverbeet leaf instead? No fresh fruit? There are stewed apples in the freezer.

3. Freeze leftovers. One of the biggest problems with freezing leftovers is not knowing what the unidentified bits of stuff are, there lurking in the freezer. I have found that masking tape or painter's tape is good at low termperatures, and I can write on it in pencil. I have a roll which I keep near the kitchen, and any time I want to quickly label something I just snip off a small piece. It sticks to freezer bags or pyrex containers.

4. Freeze things likely to spoil before we use them. This goes for the bread I make -one small loaf is enough for a whole week sometimes, but other times it goes faster. No-one really likes week old bread, so I slice it up after it is made and put half in the freezer.

5. Store food carefully. I prefer glass containers where possible -with tight fitting lids. I put extra bread flour in the fridge as I have had it spoiled by weevils. My "simple living" friends say it would be better in the freezer, but I don't have room in my freezer so it lives in the fridge. So far so good! I did have some success for a while storing bulk rice -but the weevils found it in the end, so now I prefer to keep stocks low, until I can be assured that I can keep it without spoiling. I find that a tight fitting lid on a container in the fridge can keep may vegetables crisp for quite a long time.

Dragons, Knights, Quilts!

 We met a dragon at the Balingup Medieval Festival this weekend! We went down  on Saturday. Balingup is a very pretty little country town in south west Western Australia. They have held this festival for a number of years, but we have only just heard of it. The festival goes for two days, with lots of people who come just to dress up and have a great time.

 We listened to great music. This, I think, is "Contraband", an a capella group. We had people playing medieval instruments and people playing celtic music.

 We watched knights in a tournament. This is the "Grey Company" and they practice all year to do these kind of shows.

On Saturday night we enjoyed a fire spectacle which ended in a burning of a dragon! (not the nice one above - another one).

When we got home  I decorated for spring which is almost here. A new picture tile on the mantle which echoes the nasturtiums from the garden, plus a litte bird sitting on the nest with her partner nearby.

 And today I finished the Out of the Box quilt -this is the front. Made up of blocks left over from another quilt and some scraps sewn in the "Mile a Minute" blocks. I nearly didn't finish this one -as usual, half way through I was rather unhappy with it, due to the usual conflict between idea and execution! I am glad I persevered.

And this is the back. Found in an op shop, I think it may have been a curtain once. I like the colours in it.

Now I intend to start another quilt -but this time it won't be just to use up scraps, but will be one I start intentionally!

How to give more

Following on from yesterday's post on abundance, I want to think about how to "give more".

Here are some ideas:

1. Be kind. 
My friend Daena has a very inspiring blog  here in which she gives very creative expression to the idea of offering random kindness to others. I find that most people just need a 'good listening to" and that the gift of time and attention is always welcome. I always notice people standing on their own in a crowded room -and make sure I try to include them in conversation. I have met some wonderful people that way.

2. Volunteer
My DH is today off doing some work for a small organisation that needs him. He will donate the fee to a favourite charity of ours, which we both work for in a voluntary capacity. This is the local refugee agency CARAD .
I volunteer as the coordinator of the fundraising and marketing committee. A small but dedicated team of other volunteers and I work hard to find the money which helps the organisation help very vulnerable people.

3. Donate
If you can give money to a worthy cause, go ahead and do so regularly.
If you can't give money, you may be able to give THINGS which you no longer need. Many charities earn good money by selling these things at Op Shops -and you keep such things away from the tip and put them back into the hands of people who can use them. Surprisingly, the more you give away the better you will feel -clutter in our house robs us of peace, but if we release it to bless others we are blessed too.

I love making quilts -and yet I don't have huge numbers of them in the house. If I can think of someone who needs a quilt, I am happy to give it away. Sometimes they are birthday or wedding or Christmas gifts, sometimes they are for other reasons. It makes me happy to make them, and giving them away adds to the fun.

4. Be encouraging
A small word of encouragement and appreciation goes a long way. Many people don't get enough encouragement and appreciation in their lives, but it is so easy to offer.

There is so much we can give, from our abundance. I hope you have an abundant generous day today.

Abundance

I finished the "give now' quilt and it is hung up in the family room. It is part of a series of three to illustrate the slogan "Live Simply, Give More, Expect Less' motto.

I chose the panel for the middle of this quilt because it looks so lush and gorgeous. DH thinks it looks like Provence, DD thinks it looks like Italy, and I think it reminds me of the winery regions of our south west of Western Australia.

The idea of course is that we are living with abundance and therefore can 'give more". It is my belief that the practice of generosity is one which enables us to really feel 'abundance'- there is nothing like a gift freely given to make you feel rich beyond measure!

So here are some examples of the abundance I found around here today:

 A bowl of home grown winter tomatoes, ripening in the kitchen. There are lots more on the bush -an unexpected bounty for this time of the year, thanks to the very warm winter we are having. Fortunately we have had some rain recently, so they are doing well.

 One of three new rhubarb plants on the way. I do love rhubarb, and it is so expensive when you buy it in the shops, and often looks a long way from fresh. I am really feeling the 'abundance' of three plants -fingers crossed they keep growing this way.

 Pumpkin bread -our new favourite home made bread. Alongside a fruit bowl recently given new fullness by someone I know with a fruiting avocado. Our avocado is too new to fruit, and this is a wonderful treat.

 Purple blue iris in flower in the backyard. Jackie French said that  if you have flowers to pick for the house, you will never feel poor!

 Two lovely greek terracotta plates depicting scenes from mythology, found at the op shop for very little, and hung by my lovely DH with great skill so that they hang in line, in our bathroom.

Lemon buds on the tree with promises of more to come.

So much to be thankful for- so I hope you can find some things to be thankful for, from your abundance today. If you do so, why not leave a comment and share it with me?

Yet another dry month

We headed off for a walk around a local lake yesterday. Even though this is our winter, it was a warm and sunny afternoon. 

Now I like warm and sunny as much as the next person, but recent stories about the extraordinarily dry July in Perth this year, have reinforced the situation we are facing here in the South West of Western Australia -a drying 'trend' of some 40 years duration now.

You can read one of the latest stories here:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-07-25/low-rainfall-in-perth-puts-stress-on-supply/4154438?section=wa

So it was good to see water in Carine Lake yesterday.

I read a very good article today about the way Melbournian people approach gardening and water use, and in it the writer reflected that non-Indigenous Australians are still coming to terms with life on an old, dry continent. We still use lots of water, and expect European style gardens. You can read the rest of the article here:
http://www.abc.net.au/environment/articles/2012/07/30/3555168.htm

In our home we have been working hard to reduce water use. In an old property it is often leaky plumbing that causes unnecessary water use. We have invested quite a lot of money fixing the plumbing.
It is also old fittings -modern bathrooms in our city use fittings which slow water use and use it more efficiently. This is why we are renovating bathrooms.

We have rain forecast for this week, and I hope it falls in buckets! And in water tanks and dams too! It does seem a shame that so much rainfall goes to waste, although of course it is needed to replenish ground water supplies too.

I notice that many people in Australia are very concerned about the idea of drinking recycled water, although  cities like London have been using it for a long time. Do you have an opinion about this? Do leave me a comment!

Spring in the air

 It has been a warm weekend, and the garden is sure it must be spring! I found the bottlebrush coming out in flower, when we were out weeding and feeding this morning. We have been trying to keep the weeds at bay -a difficult job at this time of the year, but good fun because it gets us out where we can find beauty like this. 

 My Irises are putting on a lovely show. DH has been breaking up clumps of these and replanting them in a row edging the patio -they are looking lovely. 

 My scrappy quilt got finished at last! This was made of the left overs from other quilts. I got it half made, then decided I didn't like it and put it away for a few months, but recently I challenged myself to 'just do it" and I am very pleased that it turned out so well. My DH reckons the orange block border looks like 'pindan' -the colour of the soil in parts of Western Australia. I think all the scraps together make me think of wild flowers. Maybe that is the name of the quilt- 'wildflowers'? 

Here it is on our outdoor table. DH worked very hard yesterday cleaning the patio and putting it all in order -we sat out there yesterday for afternoon tea. Very spring-like!

 Geraldton wax flowers also ready to bloom in our garden.

The quilting marathon has not stopped -the "Give More" quilt is now under the machine.

 It is coming along nicely. 

Hope you have had a chance to enjoy the outdoors, where ever you are this weekend, and that you too can do what makes your heart sing. 

Thanks for dropping by to read my blog. Lurkers welcome, but I like to receive comments too.

Catching up

Our lovely grand daughter's picture is now resplendent in a frame I found at the op shop this morning, and in pride of place on the mantle. We are glad to be having extra time to see her as my son and daughter in law are having a well needed break back home in Perth from studying in Melbourne. Tomorrow we are going to have her dedication at their church.

It has been a busy last few months for me but I have finally finished my stint of working two jobs so this weekend has been great to start catching up with all the things I have been wanting to do for a while now.

I am having some time at last to sit with a cup of coffee and read a new recipe book -again from the op shop. It is a Delicious magazine publication called "Let's Do Lunch" -and I got it for the princely sum of $2.99. Some really nice ideas for easy lunches in here - I always like salad ideas, and there are some good cakes too!

 I have been experimenting with a new configuration for my sewing. Marguerite McManus's book on ergonomics for quilters got me thinking about having a table which would enable me to sew at the right height for me. This is a little cheap folding table from Office Works. It is a bit flimsy to look at, but I love being able to sit with my feet flat on the floor and my arms at a comfortable height when I sew.

My "50c Army" friends (you know who you are) will recognise this -a slow cooker full of apples. I am experimenting with the idea which I picked up on their forum. I did try preserving apples last year, but they were not as successful as the pears, and I decided that I would be better stewing and freezing them rather than preserving. So if this turns out to be succesful I will be taking advantage of the granny smith apple season to put some of these away. Stewed apples on my breakfast muesli sounds pretty good.

 After last night's rain , the garden was a picture in the winter sun this morning when we were out gardening.

My DH told me that our rambling garden has been a hit with a young neighbour, who told his mum that "If they ever don't want to live there next door, I would like to live there." Why? "Because of the garden!"

I am sure a little chap like him would love to go exploring here.

This is the kind of garden I love -fruit trees, aromatic vegetation, herbs and flowers all mixed up, growing together so there is hardly a space between the plants. Abundance! I hope to be able to make more time for the garden over the next few months too. We bought a couple of rhubarb crowns today, so have great hopes for lots of lovely rhubarb this time next year. Maybe that will go well in the slow cooker, along with the apples?