8 September 2014

In and out


I love the change of seasons. It's still cool at night but the days are warm and sunny and it's making the garden spring into life. The wisteria is starting to flower, the roses are putting on growth and there are early gardenias forming. Such a wonderful time of year.


We had a full weekend with a visit from my Penguin editor, Jo Rosenberg and her husband, Eli and daughter Sophia. We walked around the garden, had morning tea and we talked and talked. Jo was the person who "discovered" my blog and contacted me, on behalf of Penguin, to ask if I was interested in writing a book for them. Well, you know the rest of that story.

Kerry, Sunny and Jamie were here too. I was so pleased to have them meet Jo and Eli. I thought Sunny would be working as she's training for the opening of her new sushi business. But after all those years of hearing about one another, they all met, there were easy conversations, tea and cake and too quickly, the morning moved into the afternoon. All in all it was a beautiful day and made that way by our family and friends.

Yesterday was father's day which brought a visit from Jens and Cathy, my step-son and DIL. We had a small piece of the whole orange cake left from the previous day so I sliced that up and made some crackers with cheese and tomato. It all went well with our coffee and tea. Cathy is hobbling around on crutches waiting for a knee operation. Hopefully that will come soon because she's in a lot of pain.

Setting up for the talk at the Caboolture Library.

There is one more talk coming up in Brisbane - at the Redcliffe Library on Wednesday morning. We've had a really good time at the libraries with so many people coming to meet us and to connect with others who live in a similar way. One of the people to come to the Caboolture talk was Doug from one of the local churches. He told us all that the Baptist church has land available for local people who want to grow fruit and vegetables but don't have a garden. If you live in or near Caboolture, you can be part of this. It's a parcel of land on which to grow food, water is provided, there is a small tractor available to break up the ground and prepare the beds, and experienced gardeners will be on hand to guide you if you're a beginner. The cost is $20 per year. Phone 5495 5654 to put your name down if you would like to be a part of this community garden. I think it's great that libraries and community organisations are involved in helping people regain lost skills.

Over the coming weeks I'll be concentrating on book writing again so please don't think I'm just slacking off. I'll be here as much as I can be. In fact, being at the talks last week has given me quite a few interesting topics to write about and I plan on doing that as soon as I can. I'm looking forward to the coming months. It looks like being a very productive time here. I hope you're feeling that way too.  What are your plans for this time before Christmas?
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17 comments

  1. Rhonda, what a lovely gesture from a local church to provide land for growing food for one's family! In the next few months I am getting stuck into Spring Cleaning along with other DTE forum members and there is also a lot of work going on in the garden. Then I will head off to NW Qld for the arrival of my new grandchild before Christmas.

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  2. Gosh I love my local library. It's so nice to see others appreciating their local libraries too! Actually I have an overdue book I must return today- naughty naughty!

    My baby is due this week so I'm furiously washing baby clothes and linen (thank goodness sun is forecast today- it's been raining for weeks!) and doing my best to get things in order before the new arrival. We had a lovely Fathers' Day yesterday with a morning tea at my FILs. I felt a bit guilty as I hadn't really organised anything for DH but he understood and I'll make it up to him next year.

    That wisteria looks just divine. I've always wanted to grow it but just don't have the room! One day!

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    1. I hope you get all your washing and organising done with plenty of time to satisfy your nesting instincts. And yes, there is always next year. I'll be thinking of you, love. xx

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  3. Oh I think that's a fabulous idea too. I would just like to get our church more interested in simple living and less interested in materialism. Sigh. They do mean well but have been caught up too much in the modern world in my humble opinion.
    Rhonda, it is a dream of mine to write a book about our little farm, you are living my dream, lol. Has it lived up to your expectations?

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    1. To tell you the truth, Jackie, I had almost no expectations of the lifestyle so it's far exceeded any I may have had. On the other hand, the books have been a pleasure to write, Penguin has been a dream to work with but in the end, it's all just another writing job. I'm not sure I fit the role of author very well as I only promote my books to spread the word and for sales, never the high profile that sometimes goes with it.

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  4. I wish we could by your book in the USA.

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    1. They're both available as ebooks, Teresa, both through Amazon.

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  5. Who would have thought that writing this wonderful blog about living simply has created so much change in our country. Sometimes when I am talking to new people either from the farm stay or simply a new person I have met.... I only have to mention yours is one of the blogs I read, and it is like I have found an old friend! It is also a great blog /book to mention when people visiting the farm are frightened of taking that next step into a different way of living.

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    1. Hi Kim. Yes, you can never tell where an untravelled road will lead. The Down to Earth book is still selling well 2½ years after publication. That tells me that people just need a gentle guide and to follow their instincts. xx

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  6. Jo looks like the sweetheart you describe her to be, so glad you all caught up.

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  7. The garden is winding down here in Canada and we are savouring the gifts she gives us in the time remaining. The cooler weather has my mind turning toward picking up some knitting projects again and we are on the road a lot, unavoidably, as we help out in a family crisis. Christmas? I can't even begin to think about it!

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  8. Our seasons are changing here in the UK too - I ran through the fields this morning with a nip of autumn in the air, fallen leaves and dew on the grass and mist rising over the hills. I have a marathon in three weeks, so for much of the summer I have been exploring the local area on foot. I'm looking forward to spending more time at home and in my tiny and quite neglected garden.

    I've also signed up to do the permaculture diploma (after many years of thinking about it!) so there are many months of learning and writing and *doing* ahead of me!

    Good luck with your next book Rhonda.

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  9. "Over the coming weeks I'll be concentrating on book writing again so please don't think I'm just slacking off." You - Rhonda? Slacking off?? I seriously doubt that, lol! Wish I could fly up north and be at one of those libraries to see you talk about what you know and love so well. My other wish is that you would fly down to Melbourne and give talks at some of our libraries (preferably in the north eastern suburbs - ha ha!)

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  10. Kudos to the church, I've moved from a house to an apartment (now I'm in germany) and really miss having a garden. When I have time when check out related schemes here :)

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  11. I like the photo of you & Jo, you look like old friends. I didn't realise her name was Rosenberg.I'm a Rosenberg too !!! Please tell her hello from one Rosenberg to another. It's wonderful to hear that a Church has opened up it's land to people wanting to grow their own food. My husband & I bought an old Church in country NSW on an acre of land so that we could grow our own too. We renovated the Church to become our home & it's beautiful. Now we're getting ready to start our gardens. We hope to sell some of our fresh produce to locals as the supermarket produce is limp & wilted by the time it even gets delivered. There is another place for people wanting to find land to grow their own. It's the Australian version of the River Cottage Landshare project. Landshare Link is http://www.landshareaustralia.com.au/ Kindest Regards to you Rhonda, your blog is fantastic & I talk about you & the blog often. So often in fact that my husband has finally stopped saying 'Rhonda who?"..now he knows exactly who you are! Cheers, Lynell Rosenberg.

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    1. Hello Lynell, thanks for sharing some of your interesting story about life in an old church. I wish you all the best with your garden. It's a vital service you'll be offering the town's folk. Fresh food is a life force few of us can do without. Jo and I are much more than author and editor now, we're close friends and I think you can see that in the photo.

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