I will never tire of looking at this face. Gracie was under the table on the back verandah with the sun streaming in. She enjoys being there on winter afternoons because it's warm and out of the wind. Good girl, Gracie!
We got another stimulus payment from the government this month, a payment that needs to go back into the economy to help businesses survive. I bought a new camera and this week I've been experimenting with it and trying to get through the 550-page manual. Hopefully, in the coming weeks you see an improvement in my photos. I'll never stage them but I hope you'll be able to see more details in what I do present for you here and on IG.
A special call out to readers in Victoria and NSW. I hope you're all doing well with the extra COVID restrictions during this second wave of infections. Also to those in the US, UK, France, Spain, Italy Scandanavia and Asia. I know limiting your normal activities is frustrating but it's necessary to get the numbers to fall. I'm thinking of you and send love and warm wishes. xx
Have a great weekend, I hope you enjoy my reading list this week.
🌱💛🌱
- This is my talk with Morag Gamble on her Sense-Making in a Changing World Podcast
- Morag's blog - Our Permaculture Life
- ‘Energised by disruption’: 2020 sows a new way forward for food
- Ditch the gloves, buy a litter-picker, but don’t carshare! How to be eco-friendly in a pandemic
- Liquid assets: a treasure trove of ocean pools seen from the air
- Why Divers Are Venturing Deep Inside a Baffling Blue Hole
- How to Make Your Deck Last an Extra 10 Years
- How one couple has lived for 29 years on an island they built themselves
- How to Add Your Google Calendar to Apple’s Calendar App (and Vice Versa)
- Block people from calling, texting or emailing your iPhone ever again
- Turn your old phone into a security camera for free
- Soap dodger: meet the doctor who says we have been showering wrong
Thanks Rhonda. I have gotten pretty used to living with the restrictions. I am able to work from home with my writing assignments. That's a relief. That's good news that you received your second stimulus check. It's kind of you to help the local businesses.
ReplyDeleteLovely to hear you speaking with Morag yesterday. You are always an inspiration to me. Also I really look forward each week to receiving your weekend reading post. We listened to the podcast on the couple who live on the self made island and wasn’t that interesting. Thank you for your wonderful blog, it’s so special and informative. Often when I need some information in regard to being self sufficient, your blog is my go to.
ReplyDeleteBlessings Gail.
Thanks Gail. Stay safe. xx
DeleteI have just found your blog .
ReplyDeleteI have always wanted a scottie dog .... I have had a wonderful Cairn Terrier and now I have a Pekingese.
I do not think I am strong enough for a Scottish Terrier... my Cairn was a long time ago when I was younger and fitter ! LOL
I got the stimulus payment too . I am having some new curtains in the back room so that money will be added to the price.
Its been shocking here in Melbourne and what is wrong with people not wearing masks ?!!
Big "woof" to Gracie .
Welcome, LadyJicky. Gracie is a very strong little dog - both in physical strength and personality. Good luck with the lockdown in Melbourne. I hope the numbers start falling very soon, and stay down.
DeleteHave fun with your new camera. I love "stimulating the economy", don't you? *ha-ha* Take good care & stay safe. Peace~ Andrea xoxo
ReplyDeleteRhonda, my hubby is getting back into gardening at 73 mind you and he has been watching a lot of Morag's YouTube videos on the TV. I said to him 'Morag is a friend of Rhonda's' 😉 After some really cold windy days it is now lovely and sunny here on the Downs now with cool mornings. Just how I like it. Give that crazy cutie Gracie a big hug from me.
ReplyDeleteIt's good exercise in the garden at our ages. Morag's videos are very good guides to backyard gardening and producing food. The weather is lovely here too. xx
DeleteHappy Friday Rhonda and Hanno, I have listened to the interview above and, well, I think the 32000000 hits youve had on your blog were mostly me. lol Thankyou for the work you have put in here. It changes lives. Love to you and yours, Mandi
ReplyDeleteStep away from your computer, Mandi. LOL
DeleteOh fun...a new camera! :) I love that you don't stage your photos. I treated myself to a new camera when I recently returned to blogging and have yet to venture away from the automatic settings, haha. Gracie is so adorable, I would imagine all of her pictures are pretty cute. Your blog is such a breath of fresh air and always an inspiration, and though I am not on Instagram I enjoy viewing what you post there. Have a good week! ~julie
ReplyDeleteThanks Julie. I'm relying on automatic until my step son comes over and points me in the right direction. Have a good weekend.
DeleteHi Rhonda. This is Suzan from Colorado. I check in once in a while and it is so good to see you still doing the good stuff! We’ve moved to a tiny town in the mountains for retirement. It is shocking to see how many folk shun masks here. So far there have only been 10 positive cases here but there are bound to be more in time.
ReplyDeleteA new camera sounds fun! We had a stimulus check and Ialso felt obligated to use it to help keep the economy from falling off the edge (which it did anyway). I bought a new sewing machine. There is talk of another one but I don't really need anything.
ReplyDeleteGracie is adorable!
ReplyDeleteAs for these COVID restrictions I am fine with them. If it keeps this virus from spreading I am all in! My daughter and I have been using our time home catching up on much needed property clean up and maintenance. That is itself has been very good for our morale. We've also been raising up her new son who is almost 3 months old. That has been the real pleasure.
I enjoyed listening to the podcast, Rhonda. Thanks for the link! I hope you have a lovely weekend with Hanno and Gracie. MegXx
ReplyDeleteThe Soap Dodger, what a very interesting read Rhonda. I gave up using commercial deodorant a few years back and home made alternatives in the last 12 months, now even on the hottest Melbourne day there is no odour at all.
ReplyDeleteAlthough, I have returned to using my home made soap, surgery from a recent accident left me banned from showering for 3 weeks. I thought I would die with out my soap and water routine, not surprisingly I didn't. What I discovered was a water and wash cloth once over in the evening was more then enough to stay clean and pong free. I chose not to use soap at this time as it was really to hard to wash it all off. We all like to 'smell lovely' but it was interesting to find, you do not need to have soap and deodorant to be clean and fresh. Thank you for sharing the article it is something definitely worth thinking more on.
Yes, he was very interesting. I wonder if we've all been brainwashed into thinking soap is indispensible.
DeleteLittle Gracie's face is so sweet! So glad you were able to get a new camera..hope you have lots of fun with that.
ReplyDeleteThe weather is lovely in Melbourne today which is our plus. Yes the mood is quite somber generally though. I am trying to have gratitude for everything I have, especially when many are doing it so tough. Today my husband is replacing an old lattice wall in our garden. The very thorny old climbing rose is gone...hoping to put a jasmine on the new lattice. Stay safe all.
It's good you're having lovely weather in Melbourne today. I'm thinking of my many friends down there and hoping that everyone stays safe. Those old roses can have nasty thorns, jasmine should be a good replacement. xx
DeleteThanks for your informative reading list which I often make time for, especially now that we're not socialising so much. I am interested in the article on Soap Dodger as I have 2 auto immune diseases and think there may be some connection there and might see if going without soap helps in some way. Unfortunately my specialist does not think that anything will help other than the strong medications that I am on but they also give nasty side effects, so I think it might be worth trying to see if at least an aluminium free deodorant helps. Wendy, above, seems to have had success. Thanks and stay well.
ReplyDeleteRosie, I think it's a good idea to try these natural ways around your auto immune problems. Why not give yourself a time period and see how you go with the deodorant you want to use and if you're happy with that within about a week or two, have a soap-free trial too. If you feel uneasy you can always just stop. It's not as if you're adding something to your medications or creams, you're actually removing things. Good luck.
DeleteHi Rhonda,
ReplyDeleteI loved the interview you did with Morag!
have a lovely Monday, Madeleine.X
Gracie is so cute. I also love the photos of your little fat chickens. We have also been informed, that we will receive a second stimulus check here in the U.S.
ReplyDeleteI will be banking mine.
Shell
Good morning Rhonda and Hanno, well it's cold and blustery today but I feel like I just had a cuppa with two lovely friends (whilst sewing face masks ) listening to you and Morag chat.Not quite as restricted as Melbourne but covid numbers rising in our area,so as you would say 'we have to shut the gates'. I have also been reading a loaned copy of Retrosuburbia, so enjoyed last weeks interview with David Holmgren and Su Dennett.This enourmous book is amix of future theories and everyday practical examples and advice.my tiny winter garden is giving us herbs and greens to go with our store cupboard basics and I have endless sewing,knitting and reading.I also count our blessings that we can still take our dog out walking in our beautiful semi rural area (feeling a bit odd in the legally required mask, when we rarely see other people)but we don't mind if it helps ingrain the habit.Hoping your next eye op goes well,stay safe up there🙃
ReplyDelete