Weekend Reading

Hi! How are you?

More quiet days here and we're staying at home as much as possible. We both got our final vaccination this week so that was good but we're still obliged to wear a mask when we go out. The southern states are in lockdown due to the Covid Delta variant in the Greater Sydney area and a few regional areas of NSW. Victoria and South Australia, with fewer cases, are in lockdown as well.  I send my love and best wishes to everyone affected. Hang in there, we're thinking of you. 

The two big green pots are the potatoes I planted about a month late. They're doing well but still have a few weeks to grow.

I made a delicious beef, barley and root vegetable soup today and we have enough to feed us for the next four days at least. I love good soups when it's cold and it's one of those meals that improves in flavour every day.

I did a Zoom workshop last Tuesday evening with the Kuringai and North Sydney Councils. I talked about Simple Living and I think it went over well because there were a lot of really interesting questions afterwards. I'll do another workshop for those Councils in August on Paying off Debt.

Gracie didn't have the surgery we were expecting. The vet said her ear was much better but not completely cleared up, so she's on another course of antibiotics and anti-inflammatories. She'll have another checkup next week and I hope I can tell you next week that's she's fine and dandy again.

Thanks for your visit today. I hope you and your family are healthy and safe. Take care and be kind to each other. xx

These are the wild bears at Katmai National Park in Alaska. The bears come to these water falls to gorge on salmon during summer and autumn. They then take their nourished bodies up Dumpling Mountain to hibernate over winter.  You can watch them live, 24/7 on explore. org. They're amazing to watch.

Weekend Reading

• The best of bear cam, last week
• Victoria's chief vet calls for stricter pet food regulations amid investigation into dog deaths
• What foods can I freeze?
• 15 Easy Recipes for Ripe, In-Season Tomatoes
• A day with the Amish in Blacksburg Virginia
• No scientific consensus yet on whether warming Arctic may lead to more extreme weather
• Homeschooling and working from home: What are your rights?
• Korean home life, healthy meals, travelling to the countryside and crochet
• The Pandemic Has Been Tough for Extroverts. Here's How I Managed to Make Friends Anyway
• 8 Everyday Things That Are Dirtier Than a Toilet
• Two-Ingredient All Natural Gel DIY Hand Sanitizer Recipe
• Cockatoos learn how to flip open garbage bins by copying each other 
• Homegrown Herbal Tea Recipes for Better Sleep