down to earth

I was asked recently to write about my decision to stop flying. Before I do that, I have to tell you that I do take occasional flights in my mind and when I found out last week that I was to be a grandma again, I was sky high for hours.

I don't remember exactly when my last flight was. I'm guessing it was in the late 1990s, before I started living as I do now. Back then, I owned a business writing training and induction manuals for the mining industry. I had to travel to the mines fairly frequently but with every flight I hated it more and I realised that driving would be much more enjoyable. I wouldn't be part of the herd being shuffled this way and that, I could pack what I wanted, listen to my own music and stop when I felt like it. Driving replaced flying for me then. It must have been around 1998. Now for long distance travel, I either go by train or drive - we have a hybrid car.

I refuse to fly because I'm concerned with the environmental impact every flight has.

I'm lucky to be Australian because I believe there is no better place to be. If I want to go on holiday, I will do that within my own country and there will be no flying involved. Long distance visiting can be done via Skype and if I'm called to participate in a conference, I can do so via teleconferencing. A few years ago I was tested on how committed I am to these beliefs when I was invited to attend an awards ceremony in Singapore, with flights and accommodation supplied. I declined. It wasn't difficult, I didn't hesitate, I knew there was nothing that would get me on a plane. When I did my book tour, I drove from state to state with Hanno, instead of flying. We had the best time on that road trip and I know that had we flown, I would never have associated the word "best" with anything I did on that trip.

Since 2001 the security at airports has been ramped up and it's not unusual now to see long queues of travellers at airports waiting to be processed. When I see that, when I see and hear how little respect is shown to passengers, when I think of the potential dangers lurking, I wonder why so many people still fly. The longer I don't fly, the more reasons I think of to never put myself in that situation again. But I won't go on about it because I think everyone has to discover their own reasons and be firmly convinced by them for it to have a permanent impact.

I think that long-lasting profound lifestyle change comes about when we change ourselves first and then try for group solutions, starting with our own communities. I am the only one who can put my beliefs into action, I can't make anyone believe what I do and I certainly don't want to blindly follow what others do. So for me, this is a personal stand and nothing that I expect you or anyone in my family to be a part of. And my decision to remain earth bound is not translated into judgement of people who don't. We all make our own choices and I am happy for that.

Why David Holmgren doesn't fly much anymore

Shane, Sarndra and Alex.

Whenever I hear the words: we've got something to tell you, I know I'm in for something very special and, maybe, life changing. I heard those words when Shane and Sarndra decided to get married, when their son Alex was on his way and again from Kerry and Sunny when they got engaged and when Sunny was pregnant with Jamie. I heard it again when Shane and Sarndra visited recently (photo below). They announced their wonderful news when we gathered at Sunny's for our family dinner. Yes, they're having another baby! I can't tell you how happy I am to see my family grow and get stronger.

I'm so proud of Shane and Sarndra, they're both hard workers, they're active and interested in so many things, and they're wonderful parents to Alex. And now another baby. My heart is so full I can hardy express my feelings, and to think we have to wait until next April before we can welcome another little life into our family. I'm crossing my fingers for 15 April (my birthday). :- )

Before my own sons were born in 1980 and 1981, I'd never really thought much about my family. I'd met assorted cousins, aunties and uncles, my mother's mother and father and my mother's sister and brother. My father's family lived in Brisbane when we lived in Sydney so I only met my Swedish grandma once, when I was two, just before she died. I knew most of my extended family only through old grainy black and white photos. But when Shane and Kerry where born, it was like a switch had been turned on and I just had to find out more about who I was and where I came from. I think this is a common thing among Australians - all of us, except our aboriginal friends, came from somewhere else. In 1982, I wanted to know where somewhere else was and I started looking.

I knew we'd been in Australia for a long time. When I was born the prime minister was Ben Chifley, the monarch was King George VI and the population of Australia was 7.7 million. I knew my father's family had come out from Ireland during the potato famine in the mid-1800s and I certainly did confirm that when I started my research. I looked into my family history for a few years, but then life took over and I had no time for genealogy. When I returned to it, technology had made things much easier. Instead of searching microfiche at the local library and sending letters of inquiry to the archives office and waiting weeks for an answer, I could join ancestry.com and geni. com and not only get answers immediately, but also link up with other people in my family who I'd never heard of but who happened to be researching a different branch of our family. The early online family trees I found were so interesting!

The most endearing part of my research was discovering that on my mother's side, I am a seventh generation Australian, descended from convicts William (Lumpy) Dean and Elizabeth Hollingsworth, who arrived here in 1797. They married at Parramatta and when they served their time, they were granted leave, and started working in the very young town of Sydney. They were given a land grant out on the road to Parramatta, and they operated the government toll on that road as well as a pub called the Corporation Inn, where they lived with their eight children. That area is now know as Eastern Creek. When Lumpy died, aged 78, he was a wealthy man and an advocate of good education for the poor. It was said he could dance the hornpipe as well as any man half his age. (LOL) Below is a photo of the Corporation Inn which was the house Lumpy and Elizabeth lived in until they died. It was situated on Parramatta Road but was demolished to widen the highway in the 1960s. There is now a suburb and school in Sydney named after him.

Family is such an important part of us. These are the people we share not only our genes with but also our history. I'm very lucky to have been born into my family. Sure there have been ups and downs - we have convicts and politicians, but we're an interesting family and I like that. And soon our family will have a new member. I'm looking forward to meeting my new grand child and then adding their name to our family tree. One more link in our family's strong chain. ♥︎

If you've never done any research into your own family roots, I encourage you to do it. It's fascinating and sometimes surprising. I started on ancestry.com.au but there are other websites too. If you have some time, go exploring. It will give you a good idea of where you fit into your family.

Small changes are happening all around the Western world with more people realising that simple life is not only better for us but better for the planet as well. (Did you know we've lost 50 percent of our wildlife in the past 40 years?) Many people are being guided towards a simpler life by blogs and books, and it's wonderful to see community groups taking on the challenge and applying for funding to provide workshops on how to become more self-reliant while guiding their communities towards a more sustainable future.

I wish more people would give up on recreational shopping and comparing themselves to their neighbours. I know that change is difficult and starting any thing new is often so challenging that some folk stop in their tracks and decide to stay where they are. When change does come about and there are difficulties adjusting to new ways, or the work involved in daily life, often the temptation is to go back to your old life. It looks easier and it's so familiar. I don't often talk about the difficulties, not because there haven't been any for me but because I worked through most of my issues before I started blogging. I'm also at an age when I don't worry when things go wrong. When they do, I think about the problem and then start working on solutions. I can't be bothered with the drama now. I just get on with it.

But the truth is this way of living can be difficult, especially when you start. Bearing in mind that we all structure our lives differently, usually there is more work to be done living this way because you stop buying ready-made. When you make your own it takes more time and so many people are time-poor now. I think simple life is easier for people who have a more relaxed frame of mind and that perfectionists can struggle with it. But if you do struggle with the time aspect, just take one day at a time, take on one new task at a time and don't be hard on yourself if you have to make adjustments. I'd like it to be easier, but it's not. It is what it is. We all have to find our own ways of making it work.

Take cuttings, grow things from seed. I took eight blueberry cuttings last year and three of them took. In a few years, we'll have three more blueberry bushes that cost nothing but some effort, water and potting mix.

If you're just starting, start slowly, learn the skills you need, practise them, then move on to the next. Do your work and live every hour mindfully. Discover your own feelings about what you're doing. Look at your home and see what you can change there to help you become more productive. And I'm not talking about buying containers to help you organise yourself. I mean literally, change your home. Move saucepans to a better location, organise your pantry so it's an asset not a liability, make your work areas work for you. Mend things, take cuttings, collect seeds, look after what you already own, stop buying expensive cleaning chemicals and start making what you need to clean your home. It will be safer and cheaper. Try to do all the things that don't cost money. For me that's noticing I have calendula self-seedling in the garden and using those seedlings instead of buying another packet of seeds. It's taking cuttings of daisies from a neighbour instead of buying plants at the garden centre and growing avocado from seed instead of buying a plant. Yes, I know it might not work, but it might, and I've already wasted money on avocado trees and have them die on me - with self-grown seeds I feel free enough to experiment with planting and locations.

Look after what you own. These jumpers have been washed and dried flat in the shade. Now they'll be folded carefully and put away until next winter.

Our small solar system helps keep our bills down but we are also mindful of how we use electricity in our home.

Your main focus in your younger years is to not accumulate unnecessary debt, and as you grow older, to pay off the debt you have. To do that you'll need an armoury of frugal ideas to save money so you can pay off your debt. Solar power will help with the elecricity bills but if you can't afford to install it, work out ways to cut back your electricty usage. Do the same for water. It sounds difficult but when you get into it, it's quite easy. Hanno and I live on the same average water and electricity usage as one person. If you can save money on these utilities it's generally a great saving because they're bills that will keep coming as regular as clockwork.

Our solar hot water system.

We give up a lot of what is taken for granted in our modern world. For instance, I haven't flown anywhere for over ten years. It's something I felt strongly about - still do, but again, that decision is not for everyone and I don't expect anyone in my family to follow my lead. We spend most of our time here. We enjoy being here but we have to be here to look after our garden and chickens, to cook from scratch and to keep house the way I want to. I would not be able to do what I do if we had frequent trips out. There are other things we've given up but I prefer to look at what we've gained. Personally, I love growing some of our food and being able to cook an entire meal from scratch, using the thrifty ideas more aligned with the 1950s than the 21st century. Knowing I can do that gives me the confidence to continue to peel back the layers of modern life until I am left with what is plain and simple - never done to any particular plan or ideal, it's just ordinary life lived every day according to our values.

And I think that's the key to all this - a change of mindset and to think of this way of living as flexible and changeable. I certainly would not be working as I do today if I were a younger woman with children to care for. I have time now for entire days of cooking, gardening and knitting. You can still do it when you're young, but you'll be doing it differently. Even ten years ago I worked differently. So give yourself a break. Don't look at anyone, especially me, and think this is what you have to do. You should do what is needed in your home - whatever that is. And if you can't do all you want to do yet, accept that, get over it and get on with it. Because I will tell you one thing I know is true for all of us. If you live your life according to your values and beliefs, if you plan your time and do what you can, if you take one small step and then another, you will be enriched by it and have the strength and confidence to do it again tomorrow.

I knit all year through. In winter I often, but not always, knit with wool. In summer I often, but not always, knit with cotton. Although I love knitting, I don't knit for pleasure. For me, knitting is part of my system of home production, providing clothing, gifts and everyday items to use in my home. I am fortunate to have Vivian at EcoYarns as a sponsor and I use various cottons, wools and alpaca from EcoYarns for my projects. My favourite yarn to knit with, not just now but in my knitting life, is Vivian's 8 ply organic cotton. Not only is it a real pleasure to knit with, the cotton comes in a range of beautiful natural colours and it has a great story attached to it. I love the names of the colours too - patience, temperance, courtesy, pride, honesty etc.

These are my jars of bits and pieces for knitting and sewing. They're filled with small scissors, pins, stitch holders, place makers and darning needles.

I love being surrounded by good quality yarn.

Soon I'll be doing my summer knitting. The point in the year that marks the start of summer for me is when the first cricket test match starts. Usually that is late November or early December. This year the first ball is bowled on 4 December and on that day I will be ready with my knitting basket on one side and a cold drink on the other. I know another lady, Sue in Perth, who does the same thing. : - ) I sit there, take it all in and know that for me, the hot months ahead will be made better by clicking those needles together and looping yarn around them. These test matches start at 11am so it gives me ample time to organise my chores or water the garden before the time comes to take my seat and pick up my needles. It's a nice easy start to summer for me.

November and December is a good time to get last minute Christmas gifts organised and finished, then I go on to new or larger projects. At the moment I'm knitting something for myself - a blue organic cotton sleeveless vest. I think it will be good to wear on those very hot days when we have the air conditioner going and I need something light on my back. I've just gone through a period of knitting cotton dish cloths. I did some as samples for my library talks and some as gifts. Over summer I'll knit another batch of about ten to have on hand here.

Have a look at this delightful English knitting group. Knitting brings all sorts of people together through their love of knitting. If you belong to a knitting group, I'd love to hear about it. And this is about how knitting became popular again, and why. I'm really please newspapers and magazines are featuring knitting and knitters again because it brings more people to the craft and for those who rarely make anything, that's very enriching.

My knitting books.

What inspires you to knit? I have several knitting books and usually go through them when I'm looking for a project, but I also browse Pinterest, Ravelry and Knitty for ideas as well. It doesn't matter how you're inspired to knit but it matters that you are. I can't imagine a world with no hand knits and no knitters. Happy knitting everyone!

Great knitting blogs
My sister's knitter
Knitting to stay sane
Queerjoe's knitting blog
Wendy knits
Queen of the tea cosies

Elder flowers - open at the top and still closed at the bottom.

Often, when new gardeners get through the first years of vegetable gardening, they think about adding fruit to their backyard crops. It's an excellent idea and fruit is quite easy to grow, as long as you're in an area with no animals or insects to spoil your efforts. If you are adding fruit, start off with some of the easy things, depending on your climate of course, like lemons, mandarins, oranges, passionfruit, strawberries, blueberries or elderberries. My selections for the two easiest fruits are strawberries and elderberries. Strawberries can be grown in pots or in the ground and a few weeks after planting your first strawberry runners, you'll have delicious berries. Elderberry is a tree but it grows fast and doesn't have too many problems. Using either the berries or the flowers you can make a fermented, champagne-style white wine, a red wine, non-alcholic elderberry cordial, elderberry jelly, puddings, cakes, immune booster against flu and elder tea. Woolworths sell elderflower cordial for eight dollars a bottle but you could make your own for about 50 cents.

Elderberries and flowers are highly nutritious and many people take elder drinks for their healing properties. However, elderberries should not be eaten raw and you should use only the flowers and the berries, no stems, leaves or bark. They can make some people sick.

Elderberries are native to eastern North America and many parts of Europe. They are two separate species but they're so similar that the North American variety is thought to be a sub-species of the European one. Both species can be used in all the links in this post. There is a warning though. Given the right conditions, elder will send out suckers and you may have more plants than you know what to do with. Our own experience with it has been that it needs quite a bit of water and if it gets it, suckers will apprear. You have to be brutal. We just pull them out. It's an easy enough exercise and so far we've never had a problem with our main tree or any of the suckers.

I first came across elder when I found a small plant at our local organic food co-op. I'd heard about elder and knew the late John Seymour was a great fan of them, but I'd never seen it in Australia before. I bought that little elder seedling, planted it and within two years it provided enough shade for our garden bench. Hanno and I still sit in the shade of the elder tree and for that reason alone it has been worth the price and the effort to grow and water it. Elders respond well to a high nitrogen feed a few times a year; comfrey tea is ideal. And as it grows, clip it back to keep it to a size that you can manage. It responds very well to pruning in early spring and will send out a lot of new growth, particularly if you give it a good nitrogen feed at the same time.

Elderberries forming.

Our elder tree is one of my favourite things in our back yard. I try to get others to grow it, and always have a couple of suckers here potted up and ready to give away. I think only my sister and one other person have taken up my offering, but I still try to spread the good news about that tree. It's spring here so our elder is starting to flower. If history is any guide, the flowers will develop small berries and then they'll drop off. That's the down side of a warmer climate with elderberries - they like the cold and I'm guessing anywhere north of Brisbane they'll develop the flowers but not the berries. We have had a few winter berries but not enough to do anything with. If you're in a colder climate though, you'll be able to use the flowers and the berries.

So far I've made elder flower cordial - and that was truly a delight in that it didn't taste of fruit and sugar, as most cordials do, it tasted more of flowery honey instead. Using that cordial, I made elder ice cream. That too was delicious.

Overall, an elder tree will stand you in good stead as a shade tree or as a productive part of your garden. Christmas champagne made using elder flowers is a seasonal delight. I've included the River Cottage video link below. But champagne is just the start. It's worth experimenting with jams and relishes too and if you produce a basket of berries, try making wine. It's an easy to grow tree and even if you only use it for shade, it's worth the effort.

Do you have elders growing in your garden?

River Cottage elder champagne video
Elderberry facts
Mother Earth News - elderberry
Mother Earth News - how to gather elderberries and recipes
Elderberry syrup for flu prevention

Our lives have been revolving tightly around our extended family recently. During a visit from Shane, Sarndra and Alex, we looked after Alex overnight while his mum and dad had a rare night out together at an engagement party in the big smoke. It was the ideal time to be looking after Jamie as well, so he was dropped off during the day while Sunny prepared her new sushi bar for opening today. Looking after two three year olds certainly has its challenges but oh, the laughs and smiles were non-stop. To hear my own grandsons talking to each other for the first time was priceless and unforgettable. They played so well together and even after hours of playtime, shared meals and trips in the car, they were still firm friends with no fighting, even over the small number of toys here. They really like each other!

All secure in their safety seats on the way to the shops.

Precious cargo.

This week we're dropping off and picking up Jamie from day care. It takes me back to my youth when life was wound tightly around my sons' wants and needs. It gives me a reason to regret the passage of time and to celebrate it too. When I was younger, with my own small boys to care for, I could never be sure what the future would bring. I certainly never thought too much about the gift of grandparenthood, but I'm pleased to be here now, just as happy as I was when I was a younger woman, and maybe more so. And who can tell what the future will bring. The only certainty is that there will be change and, in time, babies will replace grandparents.

Last Friday night at Sunny and Kerry's home.

Here at home, we have these little pockets close to silence in between periods when we're needed as care givers, then it's activity and noise while we do that caring, and back to silence and gentle slowness again. I can't describe the feeling I get knowing we're a necessary part of this family. The richness of our days is far beyond what I expected later in life. But here we are, still looking after boys, peeling fruit for little hands, reading story books aloud and picking up toys, again. I'm not sure how I'd go being a full time carer now. These brief periods are enough. They're precious to me but they're exhausting. Still, they're part of our changing lives and I'm grateful we have the opportunity to be active grandparents and part of this beautiful and ever-evolving family of ours.

Family life is about as complex as it gets and it doesn't suit everyone. It has its challenges as well as its rewards. How do you fit into your extended family?

Over the past year or so I've been heartened by the emergence of a new kind of magazine. I'm no longer the "expert" on magazines I once was because I rarely buy them now, but these new kids on the block tend to be non-mainstream, presenting either specialist subjects or with a focus on delivering good quality information in a creative and easy to read format. The icing on the cake is there is no blitzkrieg of advertising. The advertising it contains is relevant and often from shops or companies you might never have heard of before. It's a good way to find out about products that aren't easily found, but you want to know about.

About a year ago, much later than many of you, I discovered Frankie - loved it and wrote about it. Another good example of this style of magazine is Slow. It's full of information that should appeal to those of us living a slower and more simple life. Now, enter PIP magazine. It's an Australian magazine about permaculture and living a softer, quieter life. It features regular permaculture articles about design, meaningful change and planning, while the bulk of the magazine features the sections Grow, Build, Eat, Thrive, Nurture and Connect. Those sections in this edition contain a wealth of information about lifestyle, sustainable farming, community development, green manures, growing your own meat and no debt housing. I was delighted to see articles from two women I know from afar: Robyn Clayfield and Morag Gamble are both significant figures in Australia's permaculture community. Robyn writes about the ethics and heart of social enterprise and Morag profiles her own home at Crystal Waters and the process of creating that home and garden. She and her partner Evan created their home, with no mortgage, over a period of about ten years. It's an inspiring read. There is also an article about parenting the permaculture way that takes the principles of permaculture and applies them to parenting. It's similar to the post I wrote a few months ago when I applied those same principles to house work.

We've been told for a long time now that print publishing is on its death bed and soon paper magazines and newspapers will be a thing of the past. PIP is not your run-of-the-mill magazine. It's thoughtful, creative and interesting and the ideals it hold close are delivered intelligently and with passion. If print magazines do survive, I think it will be publications like PIP that will breathe new life into the tired old format. Ask for it at your local newsagent or check out their website here. I think you'll like it.

I have not been paid for this post.