I am taking the lead from Soulemama here and doing a Friday photo feature. I hope she doesn't mind. This will allow us all to connect via a simple photo of the week, featured on our blogs, for all to see. Our previously unpublished photos will show something at home that we're thinking about. It can be something already done but still on your mind, something you're about to do and you're working out how to do it, or a place at home where you've spent a lot of time during the past week. It opens the door to us sharing our lives with these photos and, after my post yesterday, gives us all a new way to discover each other, and maybe form new friendships.

To take part in this, all you have to do is post a photo of something on your mind that reflects the guidelines above. Please write a short caption to explain your photo. When your post is published, come back here and add a comment, with a link to your blog photo. We will all be able to follow the breadcrumbs in the woods that lead to each new photo. Who know where these trails will lead us. You should add "This is on my mind. ..." then tell us about the photo, to identify you're part of this.

I had a phone conversation with Little Jenny Wren earlier this week. She contacted me via email about a fabric I'd commented on, she included her phone number in the email, so I took the opportunity to call her. There was no hesitation, no shyness or wondering about whether I should, I just did. I felt I already knew her.

Blogs are like that. When you read someone's blog over a period of time you feel you know them. We both agreed it was weird to be talking, but the conversation was relaxed, friendly and wonderful. We talked about the fabric, and our families. We didn't have to explain who, what and why, we already knew those details because we've been reading about each others lives for years. We've seen each other's kitchens, I know Jenny dries her washing in front of her wood stove in the winter, I know how old her children are. I know all those details because she's shared her interesting life on her blog.

I read the other day that sociologists have yet to agree on the meaning of the word "community". So far there are 94 definitions of the word, and "since the advent of the Internet, the concept of community no longer has geographical limitations, as people can now virtually gather in an online community and share common interests regardless of physical location."

I try to read as many blogs as I can and although I don't have much time and don't read every day, there are some women out there who I feel I know well, even though we've never spoken in person. For instance, I've been following Amanda's move to a new home and silently sharing their joy and excitement. I've just read how Farmama and her husband were lead to their own farm, and like me, how she picks up on the treasures left in her comments box. She's just tied her fabric stash in bundles, but I'll let you find out why. And I've been slowly reading through the archive at A Joyful Chaos - a blog about growing up Amish, and I'm keeping up to date with all sorts of delicious food at Food in Jars. If her food is half as satisfying as her photos, she would be setting the finest table each night. And speaking of good food, Almost Bourdain captures me with thoughts of Anthony Bourdain as well as her thoughtful and innovative approach to food. Who could forget her Tiramisu with laminations and Anzacs and her Balinese spicy fried chicken. Mmmmm.

I learn so much from my blog community. I learn from those I read and from the wonderful comments made here every day. These computers of ours are powerful things. They stretch us across our own countries and into international lands. They take us by the hand and help us wander through kitchens and barnyards, we see tomatoes growing and being put into jars, we watch and learn as cardigans are being knitted and skirts stitched; we see how others live. Blogs, unlike magazines, are written without filters, they're showing real life, not a set stage. Blogs, especially the good blogs, come straight from the heart and they record everyday, ordinary living. And best of all, blogs, while telling their daily stories, teach us what we didn't even know we wanted to learn.

We say a lot about respect when we use the full measure of what we grow or buy. In the old days it was common practice to use every part of a slain animal; and many people who slaughter their own livestock still do it today. From the horns being broken down and used as a fertiliser, or filled with cow dung and buried to produce the magical biodynamic Formula 500, to using bones for stocks and gelatine, and the meat, including the offal, for nutrition and the hide for warmth. Crafters do a similar thing with patchwork. They don't waste any scraps and by taking the time to piece the fabrics together, either randomly or in time honoured patterns, they produce beautiful quilts, bags and clothing that are sometimes featured on the walls of galleries, but always yield their true qualities of warmth and comfort.

Respect is expressed in those actions of honouring the life of the animal or the work involved to grow the cotton and produce the fabric, by using every part for a worthwhile purpose and by making sure there is no waste to pollute or be part of a landfill dump.

We can carry those principles on very easily when we use our fruit and vegetables too. Again, they can be either grown at home or purchased, the respect for the work and resources involved in producing what you have before you is clear and unambiguous if you use every part of what you have. Take our pineapple, for instance. That pineapple was grown from the top of a local pineapple we bought a few years ago and it will continue on because I will plant this top to grow two more pineapples.

Growing pineapples is simple, it takes a long time, but you will be rewarded for you patience when you taste that sweet juicy organic fruit. I sliced ours down the middle and cut it into chunks. We've feasted on it twice now after our tea and we will finish it off tonight. It is so sweet! When I tasted it I forgot about those years of growing and thought only that we grew it, it was organic and we used every part of it - no waste, everything was used. So how do we get to that point?

Take the top from your pineapple - if you have a choice, use the best pineapple - the juiciest and the sweetest. You will be passing on those genes to your next fruit. Remove all flesh from the base of the top, then peel off several layers of leaves. You want a cutting that is clean and undamaged at the base. Allow it to dry out for a few days, then plant it in the garden in a sunny spot where it can grow for at least two years. Don't put it where you plan on planting tomatoes next season. If you live in a colder climate, I believe you can plant pineapple tops in large pots, at least the size of a bucket, filled with good quality potting mix. Keep the top in the sun for as long as possible, then move inside to a sunny window during the cold weather. Pineapples don't need a lot of water but you'll need to water it in well and water every couple of days for about two or three weeks until the roots start reaching out into the soil.

We didn't fertilise our pineapple much. It got some liquid fertiliser occasionally and natural rainfall, otherwise it was sat quietly doing its own thing. They do take up a fair bit of space when the top has fully developed so if you're planting a number of tops, make sure you give them a metre / three feet space in which to develop. When it's been in a year or so, you'll notice a tiny pineapple emerge from the centre. That slowly develops for about six to nine months and ripens to a perfect fruit. It is ready to pick when, instead of standing upright, it falls over while still attached to the centre. Cut the pineapple stalk off the main plant and leave the plant in the ground. Fertilise with liquid fertiliser and continue as before - this same plant will produce a second pineapple and will take the same amount of time doing it.

When you harvest your pineapple, cut the top off and replant. Eat the fruit and make the skin and the off cuts into pineapple vinegar. I've written about that here. Wonderful! No waste at all. You've used the entire fruit and that one top will continue producing pineapples for as long as you continue to plant the tops.

I'm often intrigued by the questions asked in emails, particularly when they're about the most simple things. It always reinforces for me the need to learn new skills correctly and for that reason I never tire of explaining the most simple of tasks. The other day, Matthew asked how to hang washing on the line and if there are any tricks or ways of doing it well.

With many simple household tasks, knowing the right way to do something, and consistently doing it that way, results in jobs being carried out efficiently and before you know it, it becomes second nature to you. I remember when I first decided that making the bed every day was important to me. It seemed like a big thing to give that time every day to just making the bed. Now, after years of making sure the bed was just right every day, it seems like a tiny commitment to a very small task. Now it's just part of what I do.

One of the other small things we do here is to hang washing on the line to dry and as I often think about what I'm doing while I'm doing it, I have formed a few opinions about this simple task. It is common practice in Australia to line dry. It's been done that way since we Europeans arrived here and it's still the most frugal and effective way. Generally we have good weather, ideal for drying and a line of clothes set out early in the morning will be ready to bring in after lunch. Luckily, Hanno built me an all weather line too, so in addition to our Hill's hoist, that umbrella shaped Australian icon, I can quickly line dry clothes on our back verandah, even when it's raining.

When the washing machine finishes the cycle, take the clothes out immediately and head out to the line. If you leave the washing in the machine, or in your washing basket, for a period of time, you'll have more creases than is necessary. The thing that makes the most difference when hanging washing is to shake and snap. I mean by that to shake the item and give it a sharp hard whip snap before you peg it up. You'll remove some of the wrinkles in cotton and linen, and with terry towels, it will help fluff up the pile. When you remove towels from the line, shake them again to fluff up the pile. When you peg the item to the line, smooth it out with your hand and make sure the edges are straight. You don't want the hem of a skirt or a shirt sleeve to be crumpled up. Straighten and smooth collars, sleeves, facings, pockets and hems before going on to the next item.

Peg towels, tea towels, pillowcases and napkins by two opposite corners, shirts and blouses upside-down on the side seam, jeans (with the zipper undone) and skirts by the waist, and dresses on the shoulder seam. Hang sheets, tablecloths and doona|duvet covers by the two top corners in one layer, then make a U shape and peg the bottom corners to the line behind it. This will create better drying conditions for these large items and sometimes, the wind takes up the sheet like a sail and if you're using a circular line, it will spin the line around. If you have enough room and sturdy coat hangers, you could hang dresses, shirts and anything permanent press on a coathanger and peg it to stop it slipping along the line. Traditionally, socks and underwear are hung near the centre of the line and hidden by the larger items. I have to confess I still do this. If you're using a straight line, hang the heavy items first at the ends of the line, where there is more support, and fill in the middle with the smaller items.

If you have brightly coloured or black clothing, turn them inside out to help prevent fading but all your whites will benefit from drying in the sun because it will have a slightly bleaching effect.

Never hang woollens or any natural fibres like alpaca in the sun. They should be laid out flat on a large towel and dried in the shade.

I use plastic pegs but I like wooden pegs better. Here in our climate, the wooden pegs go mouldy and often end up marking the clothes. Plastic pegs will serve you better in humid or moist climates. And don't do what we do here and keep the pegs on the line. It's best to store plastic pegs out of sunlight, they'll last much longer if you take care of them.

If you intend to iron anything you have hanging on the line as soon as it's dry, remove it when it's still slightly damp. That will make ironing easier. For the rest of it, fold each item before it goes in the basket, or if you don't want to stand in the sun too long, as soon as you go inside the house.

The end of November. This year has gone so fast, and soon we'll be faced with the new year and all it will bring. It doesn't feel like November because this year, although the temperature has risen, we haven't had much humidity. In the tropics and sub tropics, where we live, it's not the heat that affects you, it's the humidity. But we're still sleeping with a quilt and a blanket on our bed and usually, during November, we have just a sheet and the fan on. I wonder when it will change.

Some days it seems like all I do is write but I'm not complaining, I am very grateful for the opportunity I have to work with Penguin. Besides, who would complain when every time I look up, I see what is in the photo above. That is the view from the window where I sit most of the day typing my words. The greenery here envelopes and protects us from the hot sun and the little single vehicle lane way that leads to our door carries only our neighbours coming home or an occasional car that is lost. Our back boundary is an ever flowing creek so most days here are quiet and slow with bird song rather than traffic noise surrounding us. No, I have nothing to complain about.

I did do some baking on the weekend. Bread and biscuits|cookies were made and now we have two jars of biscuits to have with our tea that should last a couple of weeks. The biscuits were made using the cheap and easy biscuit recipe on the forum. One lot I turned into jam drops, the others have almonds.

This is a tough one. How do you decide who will do what in the home. If you're a retired couple like we are, the division tends to take care of itself. Here we do what we enjoy doing - I work in the house and generally Hanno works outside. We are having a slight variation on this right now though because I'm writing most of the day and we don't have much of a garden to tend, so Hanno does various things like washing clothes and vacuuming. I am still baking bread and cooking the meals, making the bed and those sorts of things, but Hanno is helping out a lot by doing what he can during the day while I'm tapping away on the keyboard.

But what happens when you're a working couple, or one person works outside the home and the other works at home with the children? How do you then divide up the housework, house maintenance and yard work? I have no magic solution to this, but I know it's a problem for many people, so I'm hoping you will contribute to the discussion so we might all be a bit wiser about it.

It's complicated when time is an issue. If your time is consumed by paid work, children, the garden, pets or family, AND house and yard work, when do you get a break? If you tell your partner to take a break while you're still working, do you feel outright resentment, or feel it building up? It's great if this issue takes care of itself by you liking to do certain tasks and your partner liking the opposite tasks, but that is rarely the case; usually no one wants to change the cat litter or clean the toilet.

So what can you do when that happens? I think you need to sit down calmly and talk about it when you're both fresh and not tired after a day of work, or on the verge of an argument. And first thing on the list should be to agree not to argue about work. It's not worth it. You both want a clean and ordered home, you both want to relax in a place you feel comfortable in, so you both need to come up with the solution that will work for both of you.

One way that would work for some would be to list the various chores that need to be done during the coming week. Then, with each of you having your own coloured pen, take it in turns to tick one task at a time. Change who starts each week. When you get to the end, that's your work list for the week. Make sure you do the important tasks like laundry, cooking, shopping and cleaning first, the lesser tasks don't matter so much. And please, make sure you have time to be together as well and make sure you've got a mutual goal you're both working for and talk about. That can make the hard times easier to cope with. You don't want your life to be a drudgery but if you want to pay off your debt or are working towards building a life with your partner, there will be no way around it, you'll be working hard. But remember, this stage will not last forever. There will come a time when you sit back and enjoy the rewards this hard work will bring.

I have found the periods of difficulty and working hard the most challenging and the most rewarding. I look back now and realise those times of working through challenges have strengthened my relationship with Hanno. Tough times can make or break marriages. If you're one of the lucky ones, some day you'll look back on a long marriage and recognise that you grew together as a couple, not just because you loved each other, but because of the tough times you shared.

So tell me, how do you divide the work load? I, and I'm sure a lot of others, are hoping for some innovative and workable ideas.

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends. I hope you have a wonderful day full of family, friends and feasting.

I made baked beans and pork last week. It was delicious and very filling. Recipes for baked beans are similar but you can change the recipe to suit your own tastes. If you like hot beans, add fresh chilli, or chilli flakes; if you like a mustard taste, increase the mustard. This is a great frugal family recipe that can be frozen or served again the following day and it will taste even better than the first day's serving. Do it from scratch, don't substitute canned beans because you'll be robbing yourself of the real experience. Everyone should taste real baked beans at some time during their life.

The beginning of summer always means the start of that most mundane of garden chores - mowing the lawn, or as we think of it, harvesting the grass. We have quite a bit of open grass to harvest here and it does take time but despite what many others think of lawn or grass or turf or whatever you call it, we would not get rid of it. Here it's a vital resource that gives more than it takes.

Now let me say first that we never water our grass. We have more than enough natural rainfall to keep it growing. However, in times of drought here, our grass, even in the middle of summer, has stopped growing, and turned brown and crunchy. Grass is such a hardy plant, even when it looks dead and it hasn't been watered for months, it will come back to life when it receives water. We never fertilise it either, even with organic fertilisers. It gets enough nourishment from the pecked or cut remnants of grass that fall and decompose within the blades.

So what do we use our lawn for?

It always surprises me just how much you can generate with something simple and a bit of work and know how. Hanno called me outside the other day and proudly handed me a large baker's basket full of potatoes he'd just dug from the garden. We think there are over 10 kg/22 lbs. All those potatoes from just a few sprouting supermarket potatoes planted in two square metres, or about one third of one of our garden beds, incredible.

Of all the vegetables we grow here, fresh potatoes and tomatoes are my favourites and just so different to what you buy in the shops. Nothing I have ever bought at a market or a supermarket comes close to the absolute gorgeousness of freshly dug potatoes, boiled and served with the addition of butter, parsley, salt and pepper. I used to wonder why there was such a difference because they are all grown in a similar manner, but now I'm sure it's the freshness that makes the difference. You never know how long anything you buy has been sitting in a cold room or warehouse and even in those shops that advertise fresh produce, often it's far from it.

Yet another reason to grow your own. You know.

We're at the beginning of our slow period in the garden. As gardeners down south are tending their main crops for the year, here it's slim pickings as summer brings bugs, torrential rain and temperatures too high for things like tomatoes to set fruit properly. We'll be growing a small salad garden and some wild and rambling pumpkins to shade the soil, and, of course, more potatoes, but that will be it until early March when we'll start gearing up for our main annual plantings. To tell you the truth, I'm pleased we cut back a bit in summer because it gives Hanno a rest from the garden and it keeps him out of that blazing sun. During this period of less home grown, we'll buy what we need from our fairly local market that's open over Sunday.

We had a quiet weekend here. Many of you will remember that Hanno came home from his holiday with a bad cold, which, of course, I got too. Well, my cold is well and truly over and done with, but Hanno now has a bacterial infection and is coughing like there is no tomorrow. He needs to go to the doctor for some antibiotics because it's been hanging on for too long.

I'm back at the Centre today where our new co-ordinator will start her job. She doesn't know yet that we'll have a morning tea to welcome her. She doesn't know yet how all embracing this job will be for her. And she doesn't know yet that it will be the best job she'll ever have. I am excited for her because she is such a wonderful person and I know that she will be enriched by this work, the people she meets and works with and the amazing capacity she will have to make the work she does significant and life changing. I made my sour cream carrot cake yesterday - a big one for the welcome party, and a small one for Hanno. He just loves cake. So now I'm off to add some cream cheese frosting to the cakes and to get ready for this day of transition.

I hope you have a great week. Thank you for taking the time to visit here.

What is it they say about hindsight? I thought we'd be perfectly happy with our sink when we had it redone a couple of years ago. We had a flood in the kitchen, when the dishwasher sprung a leak, and the insurance company paid for the replacement of the floor and the cupboard bottoms. Taking the cupboards out meant they had to remove the bench tops and therefore we had new bench tops fitted as well. We took advantage of this and replaced the old sink. Unfortunately we replaced the sink and drain with just two sinks, and no drainage area. When we got rid of the dishwasher, we had nowhere on which to drain the dishes. I've tried the dish rack sitting on a draining board but it leaks everywhere. Now I have the rack sitting in a tray on top of a tea towel that I keep replacing. The situation need to change. We need a sink with a drainage area.

Who would think the simple act of washing dishes would be so complicated. First there was the hand versus machine washing that was resolved quickly. Once I started to think about it I realised I couldn't continue to pour all that caustic detergent out into the drains and waterways. Then the problem of what washing aid to replace it with. Instead of using a detergent I wanted to use soap, and I wanted it to be castile soap. I chose to go against detergents because they're made using a variety of chemicals like Sodium Laurel Sulphate and Sodium Laureth Sulphate. Even the Australian Earth detergent contains this chemical which is why I don't use it now. I find when I use anything that contains SLS, my skin is red and itchy.

This is what is working for me. I have worked my way through a few "biodegradable", "eco", "safe" detergents. I've discarded Earth because of the SLS and I'm now working my way through Eco Store's Dishwash Liquid and Ecologic's Lemon and Lime Dishwashing Liquid. I am happy with both of them but especially like and admire Ecologic's openess in revealing their ingredient list - it's mostly organic botanicals and organic olive oil and it's made in Australia. Eco Store's Dishwash Liquid lists what it does NOT have in it but apart from listing "plant based non-ionic and anionic surfactants, mineral hydroxide and natural citrus oil" I don't know what IS in it. And it's a New Zealand product which I think is fine for New Zealanders but is not for me. BTW, for anyone looking for an biodegradable and relatively safe dishwashing liquid for a machine, Ecologic's Lemon and Lime can be safely used in a dishwasher - one teaspoon per wash.

I no longer use this dish rank on a daily basis. A couple of readers have pointed out that it should be turned towards the sink for the water to drain off. I did try that but the water always dripped under the drainer and pooled. I turned it this way after all the water had drained away, then put the towel there. Now I use a larger rack that sits on a tray but it's not much better.

So I've decided to continue on with my homemade liquid soap and will have to make another batch soon before these two bottles run out. I will make a thicker version of the liquid soap and use it with a foam dispenser that I found in my cupboard. Originally it held organic hair mousse and what looks like clear liquid in the bottle, comes out as a foam. It's working really well, so thanks to those readers who suggested I try the foam dispenser. Here is my post, and a recipe, on liquid soap.


My other requirements for safe and hygienic washing up are hot water - as hot as I can stand it, a little dish mop so I can use the hottest water (I make sure I sanitise this every week and fluff it up after every use so it dries out), rinse water, cotton dishcloths, scrubbing brushes, and a stainless steel scrubber. Pre-soaking, even for a few minutes, makes washing the dishes much easier and rinsing milk glasses as soon as they're used is a great help. I've found that egg and milk are the hardest to remove if they're allow to sit and dry on a plate or cup. Rinsing or soaking helps with those problems.

I don't have neighbours who live as we do so I can't sit down with a cuppa and discuss this mundane but relevant subject with anyone but you. So what are you doing, what have you tried and what is working for you?

Yesterday ended a very important chapter in my life. It was my last day as co-ordinator of our neighbourhood centre. True to form, it was a busy day with a frugal home workshop in the morning, a combined BBQ lunch with us at the neighbouhood centre and the staff and students of our Flexischool to mark their end of year, talking to a homeless man new to us and telling him we will help him hang on even though he wants to give up, and a final flurry of paper work and emails. I will go in for a short time to help the new co-ordinator familiarise herself and then I'll concentrate more on the book.

Four and a half years ago I wandered in there and asked if I could help in some way. I did not know then that being there, spending my time with people I otherwise would never have met, giving of myself with an open heart, when it made me feel enriched and optimistic and when it made me sad and defeated, through all those high points, and the lows, and the many days of sheer hard work, that just being there would make me a different person. Whatever I gave to that place, I got back much more. I will miss it.


When I came home and removed my centre coordinator badge for the last time there was no time to be sad or reflective because Kerry and Sunny arrived. It was the first time we'd seen Sunny since she had her holiday back home in Korea visiting her family. She is now 22 weeks pregnant, she is looking absolutely splendid and it was wonderful to see them both very happy and excited about becoming parents for the first time. Sunny gave me some Korean cook books that she bought while she was home, happily they're all in English. I'm absolutely thrilled to have them and I'm looking forward to learning more about her culture. My first dish, naturally, will be kimchee which is spicy fermented cabbage eaten daily by most Koreans. Thanks Sunny, I love the books! Next time you come here, we'll have kimchee together.


I'll be revisiting the topic of washing dishes by hand tomorrow. I was surprised at how many of you are washing by hand so I thought you might be interested if we delved more deeply into the soap versus detergent debate.

And finally, I'd like to welcome my good friend Sharon back to the blog and to the Down to Earth forum. She had us worried there on a few occasions but she is one tough cookie and she managed to pull through no matter what was thrown her way. Welcome back, Sharon, and my thanks to your lovely husband Claude who stood in your stead and helped me behind the scenes while you were so ill.