1 May 2009

Time to relax and recover



Hanno and I had a day out yesterday. We had a couple of errands to run so we decided to make a day of it, have lunch out and enjoy the day. Oh dear, it was not good. We had to go into Brisbane, which is our state's capital city, and even though we bypassed the main city, we had to deal with a lot of traffic and many trucks driving very close to us. As we went over the Gateway Bridge, with a massive truck only inches from our side, I was really frightened. I've found that as I get older, I don't like travelling as much and I tend toward anxiety when I'm in a car that I'm not driving.

We didn't do everything we wanted to do because we got lost a couple of times so I was really pleased when we headed for home around 2pm. There were still many trucks and a lot of other traffic, but as we got over the river and started driving north, I started feeling better. Soon we were driving through pine forests, we passed the chicken farm with the long grey barn, tall shadows crossed the road and we were back in the Glasshouse Mountains.

Home, there is no place like it.

I'm am looking forward to spending the next four days here with the gate closed. It's been a very busy week so far with work Monday and Tuesday, then again on Wednesday. One of our volunteers was away, our school trainee rang in sick and our other volunteer went home sick. I ended up going in to prepare lunch for 12 ladies who were there doing a parenting course. Hanno came with me so we got through the lunch and the washing up and were home again by 2.30pm but it was a big day nevertheless.



Today will be in sharp contrast to those days. I'll have breakfast when I finish writing, do some laundry, bake bread, plant up tomato and lettuce seeds, plant some cuttings and then relax on the front verandah with my tea and knitting. I think that will be my lot for the day until I cook dinner tonight. It will be a quiet and calm day, spent here among the trees with the chooks and animals out the back. I hope the only noise I hear is the clucking of the chooks or a sacred kingfisher's mad screech as he flies through like a dive bomber.


Luffas drying in the sun.

Over the weekend, I'll do some sewing, skin the remaining luffas and tidy up a few areas in the house. It will be a weekend to potter around with no real chores to do, just bits and pieces to put us right for the week to come. I am looking forward to a few days of relaxation and gentle work. Just the thing to regain my strength and set me up for next week when I start concentrating on my book and working to the timetable I've set for myself.


A winter blanket for our cat Hettie, made last weekend.

Thank you for visiting with me once again. I've enjoyed your comments very much this week. Welcome to all the new readers, I'm not sure where you'll all coming from but thousands more found us this month. There has been an increase of almost 40,000 new readers in the past two months alone. I hope you all find what you're searching for. And to all my old friends, I wish you a restful weekend, at home, with the gate closed.
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52 comments

  1. Just wanted to say I love your blog. A friend of mine linked it and I have been sharing it with anyone interested since then. A lot of what you write is a great inspiration to me! Thank you for sharing your life with us and I hope you enjoy your weekend.

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  2. Enjoy you weekend!

    x,
    Lilian

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  3. Your previous post inspired me to try and grow Luffas here in the states (Maine). The first pkt I planted had no sprouts. I planted another packet and I have about 5 seedlings coming through. So excited!

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  4. Being kind of a "control freak", I know where you are coming from concerning being a passenger in the car! I would much rather be home than out on the open road. And, if I have to be out, I would rather be the one driving.
    Enjoy your solitude over the next few days...I am with you in spirit!

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  5. I always enjoy your posts, wish I could pull up with some sewing and ice tea and chat with you. You seem to be so kind and wise.

    Many Blessings :)
    Ace

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  6. Oh, I wish I had a gate. Really. Sometimes I like to shut everything out from the outside and just stay in my own house and yard, too. But shutting the gate just makes it all more set in your mind.

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  7. You have every right to feel nervous on the Gateway. In January on Lytton Road I had a piece of steel pipe fly off a truck going in the opposite direction. It went through my windscreen (single lane part of the road - truck was going 80km, I was going 80kms). It went through the windscreen wiper, through the windscreen (glass went EVERYWHERE), into the dash board, hit something that made it fling out and into the roof of the car, cutting a gash into the roof. AMAZINGLY no one was hurt. I am still in shock about it, I was driving, had my husband and 2 kids in the car. The kids had glass in their hair. I had glass in my bra. So I read your post, nodding my head. We are all fine. Car is now fixed. $5000 later.....

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  8. Rhonda,

    You are an excellent writer with content that is always timely.

    Also you are consistant. So many have good blogs but when there are days or months between each post, after a while the audience stops bothering to check by to see if there is anything new written.

    I have posted on SS several times to say that you are my favorite blogger - and I know that I am not alone in that.

    I hope you can keep up the great work you do for a long time. Thanks

    Julie

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  9. I have been reading your blog for the past few days and I must say that I am very impressed by your spirit of hard work, self reliance and sense of home and family. I can tell from your words that your choice of lifestyle is extremely empowering for you and helps so many of your readers find their strengths in their own ways. Please continue the good work that you do. It is highly appreciated!

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  10. I totally understand your feelings about driving in the "city" and such places.

    I have been enjoying your blog and appreciate your time and effort. Thank you so much for all you do:)

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  11. Good morning Rhonda,

    Have a lovely weekend. Just rest up and enjoy the beauty of your little nest with the ones you love.

    Blessings Gail

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  12. Hello everyone! Thanks for your comments. It is always a pleasure for me to read your stories and know that you're all out there, living in a similar way to Hanno and I. I is very encouraging.

    Anan, how frightening! I'm pleased to know you and your family escaped that ordeal unharmed. It will be a long time before I got into Brisbane again.

    Country Girl, good luck with your luffas. I'll be very interested to know how they go there because I have always thought they were a hot climate plant. Please keep in touch and let me know how many you harvest.

    Julie, thank you. I love Simple Savings, it's a great site. When I have some free time, I'll get myself over there for a read.

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  13. but as we got over the river and started driving north, I started feeling betterI feel exactly the same way when I drive up Lapstone Hill in the Blue Mts..away from the dreadful city and all that goes with it... it is like my soul breaths a sigh of relief to be home.. we are both so very fortunate to live in the places that we do.

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  14. Rhonda, We live out of town here in the states, in Oregon. I have had days in town like that where I could not wait to get back home. In our area you especially stay away from town Fridays and on into the weekend. Seems alot of people from out of town come then as we live near a ski resort, in the summer it is to fish.....AND I love what you shared awhile back about closing your gate. We have a gate, but most of the time we have it open. You have reminded me what a WONDERFUL feeling that is to close the gate. I plan on doing that more often now. I agree with Julie and Ace...thank you for being consistent and could I just pull up chair up and have a chat? I will bring my handwork and cup of tea!! :D Janice

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  15. Hello Rhonda, I can totally relate to how you felt in that dreadful traffic especially on the Gateway Bridge. The nightmare of it has been reinforced by one of your commenters. What a terrible experience.
    I agree with you, the older you get the more anxiety, especially if you are not driving!
    Enjoy your days at home.

    Patricia

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  16. No wonder you like being home the Glasshouse Mountain area is gorgeous.
    I would love to live there.
    The traffic in cities is crazy, people rushing mindlessly about, often unaware of their actions and fellow earth companions.
    I love your garden.

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  17. Thank you for your good wishes Rhonda. I'm looking forward to a peaceful weekend - we have a bank holiday on monday, so it's a long weekend for us (here in the uk).

    Rest and relaxation all round!
    Best wishes,
    Diana x

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  18. I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoy your blog. I have signed up to receive e-mail updates so I don't miss a post. I am a homeschooling stay-at-home mother of three from the States (Ohio). I love reading about your days and the way in which you live your life with such purpose. Thank you for taking the time to share your life with others!
    Samantha

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  19. Your weekend sounds blissful. I think my heart rate slowed just reading about it! I love reading your blog. You inspire me to seek a simpler, more self-sustaining life.

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  20. Oh I so understand the Heavy traffic thing. 4 yrs ago I was hit by a kid (at 120 mph who fell asleep at the wheel. I recovered in 9 months or so with a few lingering things. Every time, even still, I just shudder if a vehicle gets so close me me at high rates of speed. I think that might just always linger on. sometimes a little cry escapes my lips before I can get my hand over my mouth.

    I so want to "close the gate"

    Had another good gardening lesson.

    cabbage Needs lots of nitrogen. Mine all bolted, I'll have lots of heirloom seed for next season :)

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  21. Hi Rhonda

    Loved this blog. You are what my Dad would call a 'doer'. I hope the people who you made lunch for appreciated Hanno's and your efforts.

    I would love to spend the next few days at home after just returning from 2 weeks vacation away in WA with our girls. (Un)fortunately we have a social weekend with friends to attend in the Coonawarra wine region in SA, staying over 2 nights. It will be nice to see our friends but I would love to have a pottering weekend, cosying up by the fire and watch some movies etc. Hopefully next weekend.

    Enjoy your closed gate,

    - Joolz

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  22. Hello Rhonda,

    I was going to email you but I don't seem to be able to find the address on your blog anymore - I'm sure it was there at one stage! Must be another senior moment, though they do worry me a bit at age 41 :o)

    I would have sent you a photo of what is (for me) a very proud creation of a dish cloth. I never thought I could knit a pattern like that, so it is a great feeling to have achieved it. Peanuts to experienced knitters no doubt, but hey, you've got to start somewhere! And I wanted to thank you for providing the inspiration.

    I would like to request however that you take my name off the knit-along list. I was rather ambitious to include that along with the other knitting projects I want to do: socks (much needed and a very useful skill I hope I can manage to learn), hats for winter, and a dishcloth for my Mam for Mother's Day. That along with learning at home with my two kiddos, a house cow, garden and 6 formerly neglected acres and 20 odd other assorted animals fills my plate up quite nicely. (Of course I spend very little time reading on the net - ahem!)

    Thank you again for being such a lovely source of inspiration :o)

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  23. Thank you for your wishes of a pleasant weekend. You too. We will spend some of the weekend digging up our front suburban lawn to plant a vegetable garden. I can't think of anything better! You would be proud :)

    cathy c

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  24. It took me a while to get home today after work. I did get home only to turn around to take my daughter to her appointment, and wait, so I could take her to her class. She has her own transportation but can't drive until the truck is preperly registered and has insurance on it. I will tell you, I was never so happy to get home to a warm meal (thanks to another daughter) and sit and relax. No gates to close, but the curtains are drawn!

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  25. Sometimes, I find that nothing is more grounding and soothing than the simple daily tasks around home!

    I am not at all surprised that your readership has grown. You offer so much to the world.

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  26. Oh I can so feel with you Rhonda..I do not like going into busy cities with a lot of traffic. I felt myself sigh as you talked about sitting with your knitting and a cup of tea..much more relaxing!
    Enjoy your weekend! Get some R&R and I'll be here when the gate opens!

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  27. Hello Rhonda,

    what a busy week you've had. Enjoy your restful weekend behind closed gates, you've certainly earned it.

    I love the pretty fabric you've sewn for Hettie's blanket. And the vegetable garden is looking magnificient.

    Sit back with a nice cuppa and relax, you live in a lovely part of Australia

    Michelle xxx

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  28. Rhonda, I love your blog. You are such an inspiration and encouragement. I am a 50 yr. old SAH homemaker, having raised my children, from So. California. I share your passion of homemaking, yet feel as though I stand alone in my community. The art of homemaking contributes much enrichment to our lives that this generation is missing. Thank you for your commitment to imparting this vision, and sharing your wisdom with us all.

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  29. Hi Rhonda - I was wondering if you knew the name of the poultry farm you mentioned? Am desperately trying to find free range chicken that hasn't got thousands of food miles on it.

    Thank you!
    flindley@optusnet.com.au

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  30. Hi Rhonda
    I'm with you about traffic. Been to Brisbane so completely can visualize what you are saying. I live in Chicago and traffic is horrendous, even on the surface streets. I love driving in general, find it very soothing, but on delivery days, with all the trucks out, I stay home. I can't stand the chaos or the noise. A friend pointed delivery days out to me, Mondays and Wednesdays around here and she was right! I also love to just finally make it home safely where it is quiet!Have a wonderful weekend.

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  31. Love love love your blog. Although i work part time out of the home...being a homemaker for the past 25 years is my favorite job..your blog helps me validate that!

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  32. Rhonda,
    I just had to comment to this one because I know exactly the feeling about the traffic - I am in a panic in city traffic too. I can't stand to be in crowded place. If I never had to go to the city or a crowded place again it would be fine with me! There IS no place like home - quiet peace :)
    I love your blog!!
    Happy May :)

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  33. Oh Rhonda,

    Your description of driving the Gateway brought back memories. ON Wednesday I drove it to Redcliffe as I live on the other side. I love the view of your Glasshouses and that is the best part of the drive. I, too, have had a near call with a ladder flying off a work vehicle and conveniently going under our car. Fortunately the damage was minimal and no one hurt.

    I love to read your entries. I am so thankful to read an Aussie lady and efforts and you inspire me.

    Thanks.

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  34. Rhonda, I discovered your blog a few months ago and OH I LOVE it...it's a breath of fresh air in my day. You have helped me tremendously in my search for a more simple life, knowing I can simplify a great deal now in preparation for eventual retirement (two years ago), but more importantly, WHY I am doing these things. I enjoy reading about the chooks, the gardens (oh how I envy you the gardens), the breadmaking, the kraut, the stockpiling - well, almost everything. You inspire me so much. Thank you, thank you.

    Kathleen in IL (USA)

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  35. A restful weekend at home, with the gate closed... that sounds just about right.
    Enjoy your weekend!

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  36. I've never seen Luffas in their natural state before. So interesting. I'd like to try growing them here (in Canada) to use cut up bits as a dish scrubber. I think they might work well for that.

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  37. Good morning Rhonda. A family funeral meant my elderly Mum and I were on the road to Sydney yesterday morning in the peak "hour" traffic. I know what you mean re city traffic and, even though I was driving, I was so exhausted afterwards that I feel asleep on the lounge straight after tea.

    What is the fabric you are sewing for your cat's blanket? I have been thinking of sewing a blanket for Bill our young dog but he is a chewer so I need to choose the right fabric.

    Have a lovely weekend. Rose

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  38. Good evening Rhonda, I really enjoy reading your almost daily post. You are really down to earth on the real things of life and that I truly enjoy. I try to apply your wisdom to our farm life daily. As my Dad would say "keep up the good work".

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  39. I'm the same way about travelling! The older I get, the more tense I get in traffic. Does this mean that eventually we'll not go anywhere? I guess I'll be one of those little ole' ladies doing the tour bus thing!

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  40. Hello rhonda, a nice blog with good words i try to justed them, my englisch is very bad but the most thinks i understand. I follow you.

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  41. I am so thrilled to have found your site. Just today was wanting to get back into bread baking and I stumbled upon you. I also started a raised bed garden just this year and have nearly talked my husband into chickens. I will be devouring your archives!

    xo

    Emily

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  42. I just wanted to say that I really love your blog! You've given me a lot of ideas. Just great!

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  43. Rhonda, I love to come to your blog and just look at the pictures! They remind me to slow down and calm down -- it can all get done in time. Thank you for sharing!

    Donna in CO

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  44. I totally agree there is no place like home! Love the garden, so clean and pretty and such healthy plantings!

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  45. Hi Rhonda,

    I'm glad you made it home safely. Big cities and I don't mix, either.

    Just this morning, we went to town for a few errans. We left our home early, just to avoid the 'rush' of people. It is tiring, to say the least (even though we did not have all the traffic you experienced.)

    I am thankful, we do not have a life style that requires 'every weekend' in town anymore.

    Have a restful weekend!
    Blessings!
    Kris

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  46. Absolutely, I support your decision to allow advertising. First, because your time is worth a lot and second, because it is helpful when trying to locate products and sources.

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  47. Good morning Rhonda Jean
    I was going to send this comment via the "email to Rhonda Jean"link but it didn´t work for me.......

    I read your blog every morning. No other blog has inspired me so much. I can´t count the times I´ve used recipes and browsed around for "how-to" information.
    Personally I have no problem with adverts on your homepage. If it helps financially, go for it. Guess I´m lucky. I never seem to notice adverts anyway......

    I really felt for you when you described your driving experience. I now try to restrict my driving to local areas. Can´t stand the hectic pace and the fact that even when you drive a little over the speed limit to keep up with the flow - it´s never enough. Still the road hogs thunder past. We are lucky that here in Uppsala, Sweden we have excellent public transport. I can opt to leave the car at home most of the time.
    Best wishes
    Ramona K
    Uppsala, Sweden

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  48. I just love your blog, you are such an inspiration. Somehow I lost the bookmark and have been trying to find it and yay found it today after about 3 weeks. Keep up the blogging and thanks for sharing with us all.

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  49. Hi Rhonda,
    I have a question...how do you make money with google ads?

    Coleen

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  50. Welcome back, Edith.

    Coleen, the ads work by my readers clicking on them. I am paid by the number of clicks on the adverts.

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  51. That sounds like a lovely day you had planned. I love these sorts of days, just puttering around the house. Even though it involves a bit of work it still relaxes me after a busy week. I enjoy your blog so much...I have a lot to learn and everything is here right at my fingertips! Thank you for taking so much time to post!
    Courtney

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  52. Rhonda you are such an inspiration! I just love reading your no nonsense down to earth blog. It provides so much information that is very easy to understand and a joy to catch up on. You have managed to make me jump off the fence and restart my vegie patch. I am trying to be as green as I possibly can and devouring all the information on sustainable living that I can get my hands on. Here is my link: http://discs-livinandlearning.blogspot.com/
    Have a fantastic week.
    Sandra

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