1 August 2019

Such sad news

We heard the sad news yesterday that Sunny's dear mother, Sun Ja, died in Seoul, South Korea, after a long illness. She was a wonderful lady who raised three amazing girls and the entire family feels great sadness at her passing. Luckily, Sunny and Jamie flew to Seoul earlier in the week to be with her. Kerry is on his way there now. We'll miss you Sun Ja.  Rest In Peace.

♥️ ~~ ♥️ ~~ ♥️


Back in the world of daily chores, Scottie dogs and chooks, I thought I'd do a pictorial run through of some of the past week.  Hanno spent time cleaning out the chicken coop and after washing the concrete floor, water and food containers, a layer of organic sugar cane mulch was placed over the clean floor and the girls allowed to return for an inspection. They're very inquisitive and always love the opportunity to explore something new.



Outside in the chook run, we have two lemon trees now about a quarter full with juicy Eureka lemons.  We picked a bucket full a couple of days ago and I'll use them to make cordial to celebrate the fast approaching beginning of spring.


The other plant of note in the coop is this Cecile Brunner rose. The buds are the size of my little finger nail and they open to a small but beautiful rose. These were one of my mother's favourite flowers and I've grown them here for the last 20 years as a daily reminder of her.


I'm sitting here right now.  I started cleaning and organising my writing and sewing desks yesterday and this is part of the finished writing desk area.  Yes, it's the finished article - a vast improvement on what was there. 


Here is most of our food from the past seven days.  Above, a spinach omelette with salad and below, another lasagne which feeds us for fours days. If you don't mind eating the same thing for a few days, and we don't, lasagne is one of those meals that improves every day.





This was the most delicious beef and vegetable curry with herb dumplings. We shared it with Kerry and his family and we all agreed that it really hit the spot on a cold winter's day.


I continue to make a white loaf and a rye loaf about every four or five days.  It's a simple and easy task. The bread maker does the mixing and kneading, then, after a second rise, I bake them in the oven. There's nothing quite like the aroma of homemade bread baking on a cold day.


I always make Gracie's food too.  This time it's chicken, vegetable, pasta and lentil stew which she adores.  Each of these containers holds four meals, so we have 20 healthy meals for her here. She has a small handful of omega 3-enriched, Black Hawk dog biscuits for breakfast and occasionally, some cheese or chicken necks to help her grow into a very healthy little Scottie.

I invite you to check the new blog links in my side bar under the title, Blogs from my Workshop.  We finished this blogging workshop group last Saturday with a group chat on Skype. ❤️  It was great fun and some good blogs came out of it. Please support these bloggers. Blogging is a tough game and I'd like to see these ladies get a handful of visits and comments from my dear readers. Thank you. 🙂

Actually, we finished two workshops on the weekend with my writers' group coming to a close with another chat on Skype.  The ladies did an incredible job and the progress from first draft to the last day made me very proud. I'm always pleased and eager to pass on what I've learned  during the years I've been writing and I hope the group make the most of the enthusiasm and motivation they're feeling right now. I'll probably offer the workshops again later in the year.

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42 comments

  1. So very sorry to hear of Sunny's Mum's passing. Thankfully Sunny will have you all to love and support her when she returns home. xx Kate (Tassie)

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  2. I'm so sorry to hear about Sunnys mum. I'm glad the family was able to be with her. Xxoo

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  3. Hi Rhonda,
    I have had great success making dog food for our pet after reading a recent post of yours about how you make yours for Gracie. Today you have mentioned the chicken one you do, if you have time could you give me approx. measurements please. Also do you use chicken on the bone or boneless pieces? I really enjoy your posts, here and on Instagram and have your books. All have given me the confidence to conduct our lives in a more sustainable way. Thankyou. Cheers, Keriann.

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    1. Hi Kerriann. For those 20 meals, I used two medium free range chickens, one sweet potato, ¼ cabbage, two turnips, three carrots, one cup red lentils, two small cups dry pasta. I always use whole chickens because I want the liquid to be chicken stock and the goodness in chicken stock comes from the bones. I bring the chickens to the boil in water then simmer for 90 minutes. Take the chickens out to cool on a plate and into the chicken stock place the rest of your ingredients, plus one tablespoon of Vegemite. Cook for about 45 minutes. When the chicken is cool, strip the meat from the bones, cut it roughly and add it to the stew. That's it. Easy as. I hope your pet likes it as much as Gracie does. Keep up the good work, Keriann.

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  4. Sorry for your loss.
    I love.how you prepare food for your pet.
    The pink rose is gorgeous.

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  5. Deepest sympathies to Sunny and you all.
    Spud.

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  6. I am sorry for passing of Sunny Mum passing.
    Sound like you been busy.
    Coffee is on

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  7. That is so sad to hear about Sunny's mum. Please give her our condolences. Life is never the same again after we lose our mums.

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  8. Sorry to hear the sad news of Sunny's Mum passing...something we are all going to be faced with at some stage ourselves...thoughts and prayers for your family.

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  9. Sincere sympathy and condolences to all the family.

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  10. How very sad. My condolences to Sunny and everyone who knew Sun Ja.

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  11. So sorry to hear your family's sad news, Rhonda. Love to you all at this difficult time. x

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  12. So sorry to hear the sad news about Sunnys Mum. My thoughts are with you all especially young Jamie who has lost his Korean Grandma.

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  13. Condolences to your family Rhonda,how lovely that Jamie got to know and will remember both his lovely grandmothers.Your meals have inspired me with my menu for next week ,thankyou I needed a bit of a boost 😋

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  14. So sorry to hear about Sunny's Mum. Sending love to you all.
    Your roses are so pretty.

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  15. Sorry to hear about Sunny’s Mom. Condolences to you all.

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  16. I’m so sorry to hear the sad news, Rhonda.
    I was wondering if you’d ever consider giving a rough overview of your dog food recipes? I’d like to start making my own but I know there are certain things like onions and garlic which can upset their tummies. Also, would you add salt or not?
    X

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    1. Tarryn, I wrote up Gracie's beef recipe earlier in the year: https://down---to---earth.blogspot.com/2019/04/homemade-dog-food.html There's a link in there about what NOT to feed dogs. I don't add salt but I do add a tablespoon of vegemite.

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  17. Apologies, Rhonda. I just read the other comments and saw you explained the recipe. Thanks so much.

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    1. Thank you so much! I just checked and you’ve shared a ton of info in the past! This is very helpful, so thank you!

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  18. My condolences regarding the passing of Sun Ja, I hope memories of her will, in time, be comforting to you all. The dog food looks scrumptious. I can imagine this being one of Gracie's favourite dishes. My boy cannot eat dairy products; tried it once with a bit of cheese and he had tummy troubles. He is a sensitive soul.

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  19. Rhonda, that is a big loss - my condolences to all who loved Sun Ja, especially Sunny and her sisters. You and Hanno have had a very productive week. Your food (and Gracie's) always looks SO good. She is a lucky pup. Beth in MN

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  20. Condolences on the passing of Sunny's mom.

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  21. Hi Rhonda, I'm sorry to hear about the death in your family. My father just passed away, too. Your food looks delicious, as always. I am so impressed with how much cooking and baking that you do. Congratulations on your new bloggers. Taking your course really helped me. You have so much insight on what works.

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  22. My condolences on the passing of Sunny's mother. What a loss for all of you who loved her!

    Your roses are adorable, and what a sweet reminder of your mom, too. The chooks look as ready for spring to come as you are!

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  23. Dear Rhonda,
    I was so sorry to see you have had such sad news. Take good care of yourselves.

    Madeleine xx

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  24. Sad news indeed and so far away too. Hugs to all. My Cecile Brunner has been successfully eradicated I fear (hubby 😈). My MIL loved them and used them in her wedding bouquet. The chook palace looks wonderful.

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  25. Hi Rhonda, so sorry to hear your sad news. It's very hard when a loved one passes away, may Sunny's mother Rest in Peace.
    Your meals look so delicious and Gracie's meals look yummy I can see why she loves them! Take care of yourselves. xx

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  26. Blessings to Sunny and all the family, Rhonda. Was delighted to hear you have a Cecile Brunner rose, it grew in my garden as a child as it was my Grandma's favourite. You can buy it as a standard or a climber so looking forward to choosing one for my garden when the time comes.

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  27. Sorry for your loss, she would be proud to have such a large supportive family. Also, Gracie eats better than me haha

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  28. Sorry to hear about Sunny`s mum, good that she and Jamie were there. The food looks delicious. Will check out the blogs over the weekend.

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  29. So very sad for Sunny and your family with Sun Ja's passing..and so lovely you were, and are, a big extended family to support each other.

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  30. So sorry for Sunny and her family...partings from our dear moms are so very hard!! Glad she was able to go be with them at this time.

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  31. Sorry for your family's loss. Glad Sunny and Jamie were able to be there.

    Your roses are stunning.

    Gracie eats like a Queen and I love it!

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  32. Oh Rhonda, Im so sorry to hear about Sun Ja, I have been wondering how she was going and hoping she was comfortable. Sending love to you all.

    Off to check out some of these new blogs.

    xx

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  33. Hi there, can you give me the ingredients and recipe for the four ingredient soap please.
    Thank you so much.

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    1. Just search for soap making in the search bar in the side column.

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  34. Condolences to your family.

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  35. Hi Rhonda
    Just wanted to thank you for the writing course- it was very helpful and I really respect just how much work goes into writing and in your case that also includes blogging. I love visiting your blog and as I read and do more at home I am starting to understand the wisdom in what you say about our homesand the work we do in them nurturing us

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    1. Hi Mel, thank you. Yes, the work we do in our homes helps make us who we are. I hope you're still writing. 🙂

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  36. Hi! Is your sandwich loaf bread recipe on your blog? I'm trying to start making more of our food and would love to try your recipe. Thank you! Dawn in New York! Email vermont66@yahoo.com. Are your recipes in your books?

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    1. I have recipes in the Down to Earth and The Simple Home books. In Simple Home there's a step by step guide to bread making, with recipes, and a similar step by step to cheese making, with recipes. I have many bread recipes here, just search for "bread" or "sandwich loaf" in the sidebar.

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