Weekend Reading

My son had to go back to hospital last Sunday with a nasty infection under his arm. He had a melanoma and lymph gland removed in late September. He stayed in for four days on IV antibiotics and tests and, thankfully, was released on Wednesday afternoon.  He's feeling much better now but it's another stark reminder of how important our families and our health are.  I hope your family is healthy and things are going well for you.

Weekend Reading

My apologies for not posting this on Friday. I had a few things to do yesterday, and it's almost the end of the year and I'm tired. I had a good sleep last night, I'm raring to go today and apart from a few odds and ends, I have little to do this weekend. This afternoon, I'll start knitting a new set of dishcloths for myself and a friend. This is a yearly task for me and it's one I look forward to because it makes me sit, think and relax with the repetitive clicking of needles.  

Weekend Reading

Here is our really tasty lime cordial alongside a jar of radish sprouts I just started.

I bought a small bag of limes when I was shopping last week and decided to work out later what I'd do with them. They cost $2.50.  Last summer, my friend Nicole gave me some finger limes from her own garden. I hadn't used them before, found the flavour to be a delicious mild lime flavour and they made best cordial I've ever had.  I was hooked.  That memory came back to me later in the day so I finely zested and juiced the limes, added juice from two lemons from the backyard and made lime cordial. It doesn't have the complex flavour of the finger limes, but it's pretty good. Those seven limes and two lemons made up a litre of cordial which I'll serve with iced tap water or cold sparkling spring water.

Usually, we make large quantities when we preserve fruit or vegetables and that's a great thing to do. You make the fruiting season last longer and add interest to your pantry and meals by putting up a few dozen jars of peaches, jam, tomato sauce, relish or chutney. That's a great thing to do, but it's also good to preserve small amounts too and it's a good way to get started on preserving if you haven't done any yet. A small batch will take less time, the lime cordial took about 10 minutes to make, and even though you'll only make a bottle or a couple of jars, you'll have something special in your fridge or pantry.

Where I live, we have an abundance of citrus fruits in spring and summer so it's common to find offers of free lemons or oranges. If the same is true where you live, grab a bucket and do up a small batch of cordial or juice. It will set you on the preserving road and that is a really wonderful life skill to have.

Here is this week's reading list. I hope you're able to make a cup of tea and sit for a while to read them.

• Sunflower message spreads joy as thousands flock to Far North Queensland town
• Shakespeare and Company bookshop in Paris appeals for help
• I was sick of blokey books by dads – could mothers’ memoirs make me a better father?
• Does everything you own need to be beautiful?
• When Objects Become Extensions of You
• Don't throw away your old sweater
• Filling the larder
• The fate of antiques and heirlooms in a disposable age
• Simplifying your life, the interview
• A Guaranteed Monthly Check Changed His Life. Now He Sends Out 650.

My sincere thanks to everyone who ordered and bought the paperback Down to Earth. I hope you get a lot of good ideas and motivation from the book and that it guides you towards significant changes in your life.

Stay well everyone, especially those in areas where Covid-19 has taken hold. Have a great weekend.

Where to buy Down to Earth paperback

I thought about writing a new book to show how simple life could help you thrive when Covid is active in your community. But when I thought about it, I’d already written it - Down to Earth is all about living in a safe and comfortable home, providing as much as you want to produce in your home, cooking wholesome food, growing, fermenting and preserving food, mending and recycling, slowing down, keeping your family close and being comfortable in your own skin. So instead of writing another book, Down to Earth has been published as a paperback with a ten dollar drop in price.

The Down to Earth paperback was published on 20 October and I’ve had a number of people from all over the world ask where they can buy it. So I’ve done some research and come up with this list. Thank you all for your support.

Australia

Many independent book shops. Ask them to order it in if it’s not there.

Readings 

Dymocks

QBD 

Woolworths - for the first time, Down to Earth will be sold at Big W soon, certainly in time for Christmas shopping.

Booktopia

Amazon Australia

UK, Europe and Asia

Book Depository with free postage

North America

Amazon Canada - please note: it states on the page that the book will be released March 2021. That’s not correct. It was published 20 October, 2020 and is available now.

Amazon USA - please note: it states on the page that the book will be released March 2021. That’s not correct. It was published 20 October, 2020 and is available now.

Weekend Reading

I had some new paperback Down to Earth books sent to me during the week and decided to sign and sell them. I sent the first batch off yesterday and I have five left.  This offer is for Australian readers only as the postage costs to send anything from Australia is too expensive to justify. So if you want a book, I'll sign one of these and send it to you when I receive your payment and address details. If you already have a copy, you might like to give one to a loved one for Christmas. These will be gone by tonight so if you want one contact me with your name and address and I'll send you my bank details.