We had a quiet weekend after a busy week. Last Friday I went back on the committee of the Neighbourhood Centre as secretary so I spent a part of the weekend quietly organising myself to include that in my work schedule. Things have been busy since the Women's Weekly article was published and I spent some time doing and talking about radio interviews last week. Now I'm trying to decide if I'll do a monthly phone-in as part of a program on Queensland regional ABC radio. There seems to be a real need at the moment for information about how to move from spending and a reliance on convenience to a simpler way. Radio is a good way of reaching people so I might just do it.

Over the weekend, the usual chores were done - bread baked, the floors cleaned, washing, cooking and mending all done, but I also had time for a little bit of sewing and knitting which always relaxes me and clears my mind. I love working slowly when I have plenty of time to get things done. I don't rush anymore. I want time to wander and poke around while I work. Hanno worked in the garden, both front and back, so the hard work will be all finished before the hot weather starts. He went to the market on Sunday morning and although I wanted him to bring home a couple of new chooks, he said they were too expensive and came home with gerberas and seedlings instead. The vegetable garden is looking absolutely wonderful at the moment. We have so much fresh food there, it's a real credit to him.

This week is Anti-Poverty Week.  I'll be giving a talk today at our local Anti-Poverty Week function which will also feature speakers from Centrelink and Lifeline. I prefer to approach the problem from a different viewpoint and hope to encourage people to be proactive and to change the way they shop for food and to make a few things for themselves at home, so they don't get to the point of needing help from those agencies. I have print outs for laundry liquid and a few other things so I hope it helps some families. Later in the week, at the Neighbourhood Centre, we're having a Humble Jumble - which will be a swap event. I'm taking up some fresh vegetables that I'll pick just before I go to work, so I hope someone will enjoy eating fresh organic vegetables that evening.  Is anyone else doing anything for this cause?

 

Alexander's cardigan, made with the softest of organic cottons.

Closer to home my knitting is still bubbling along nicely. I'm totally in love with the organic, plant dyed cotton from Eco Yarns. I'm now knitting a banded cardigan for Alexander. It's a lovely earthy red colour with natural contrast on the bands. It will fit a six - nine month old, so it should suit him for a while. After that, I'll be doing a cotton singlet or two and some summer shorts for Jamie. I love being a grandma. It makes me feel like I'm doing my part in caring for them if I help provide for them.

We've enjoyed some delicious food over the past few days. Sunday was a lamb roast with vegetables and homemade mint sauce, and the peach whey cake above for snacks and dessert. A couple of nights ago I picked a fresh cabbage from the garden and made cabbage rolls stuffed with pork belly, vegetables and quinoa; Saturday we had egg noodles and vegetable stir fry. Yesterday we had some good mixed grain and rye bread. Knowing how to cook well pays off in so many wonderful ways.

Finally, I was going to tell you about our garlic and loofa harvest but that will have to wait for another day because it's getting late and I have a few things to do before this weeks starts to unfold. I hope you have a happy and interesting week and have the time to relax and enjoy it as it goes along.

This is a Friday photo feature that anyone with a blog can join. To take part, post a photo on your own blog, write a short caption explaining it, and link it back to here from your blog by saying you're part of "On my mind". Please write a new post, don't link to an older one. When you've done that, come back here and add a comment below, with a link to your blog.

I'll be tidying up after a very busy week this morning and attending a meeting this afternoon. But tomorrow, I'll be tending to these loofas and that is what's on my mind today.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend doing what you love. Thank you for visiting me this week. I'll see you again soon.

About a month ago, I bought two healthy looking chokos  at the market in the hope they would sprout. Sure enough, they have, and soon they'll be planted out in the vegetable garden at the base of the fence near the chook shed.  Slowly buy surely, they'll creep up the fence, up the side of the shed and cover it by January. In Australia, chook sheds and choko vines go hand in hand. It's a good cheap way to provide shade in summer, you pull it out in winter and let the sun hit the shed, then replant again in spring.

I put both chokos in my fruit basket and let them sit on the bench to sprout at room temperature in their own time. You can see them above almost covered by tomatoes.

Here is an old Australian recipe for choko pie. This recipe was hand written and given to me by Curly - my daughter-in-law Cathy's father. Curly's a real bushy, as * fair dinkum as they come, so although I haven't made this pie myself, I have no doubt it's a winner.

*Fair dinkum - genuine

CHOKO PIE

(written in the pre-metric days)

Boil one large choko with no salt (till tender). Drain and mash.

Add ½ cup sugar, juice of one lemon and two tablespoons of custard powder.

Put into a cooked pastry case.

Topping

Mix 2oz (60 grams) melted butter together with 2 oz sugar, 4oz (115 grams) coconut. Sprinkle over choko mixture and bake in a moderate oven till cooked and brown - about 30 - 45 minutes.

I guess it would have been served in the old days with cream or ice cream.

Chokos sprout from the top of the vegetable and when you see the vine grow about 6 inches, it's ready to plant. Like any squash, it likes a rich well drained soil and plenty of organic fertiliser.

Do you eat chokos or do you use the vine like we do?  I wonder how people in other countries use this vegetable and if it's commonly grown. If you live outside Australia, I'd love to know how you use this vegetable.

I'd like to clarify some things after reading a couple of yesterday's comments. I am sure my long term readers already know this and I feel it so deeply I don't spell it out in every post like this. I'm accepting of all types of relationships. In fact I wrote about this last week here. I don't expect to see only husbands and wives, or men working with women at home. I don't think every couple should have children. I think people should live to their own values (not mine) and do what makes them happy. I believe that is why I get so many emails about the stages of life - I don't judge and I don't expect anyone to live as I do. To me, a partnership is formed when two people commit to each other - those two people could be a man and a women, or the same sex, and they can be married or not. I have gay friends my age I have know most of my life, and they're all in relationships.  I wrote yesterday's post directed at the woman who emailed me. It was her experience and mine I was referring to, it didn't reflect any specific view on what makes a family.

One of the reasons I write about homemakers so much - both men and women, is that many of them suffer because of the stereotypes applied to them, just as I suffer from the stereotypes applied to me - of what a women in her mid-60s believes. It is not acceptable to discriminate against others, but it seems to be still okay for many people to look down on homemakers, and for them to be very vocal about it. We need to change that.

If you're a full-time homemaker by choice or circumstance, never let anyone tell you that working in your home, cooking for your family, sewing and knitting, cleaning your nest and organising the lives of your family is not important work. Sure it can be tiring at times, all jobs are, but from where I stand, in my grandmothering years, I know that I have done my best work here at home. I'm just an ordinary woman and I don't know much, but this I know, with certainty, when you actively take control of your life and your home, when you plan and make decisions and don't leave things to chance, you will be paid back in ways you never expected. Take control, plan your work spaces, organise your family and your work and then sit back to enjoy the fruits of all that with the people you love. But don't expect it to be perfect, learn from your mistakes and celebrate your successes.  It's that simple.

This is a big topic and I've already taken up too much of your time today, so I'll continue tomorrow to talk about the financial side of homemaking. I hope you have a lovely day - enjoy your work whether it be in the home or somewhere else.

There is no doubt about it, when you start living a more simple life and decide to get rid of as many harsh chemicals as you can, you have to turn into a bit of a detective. Some of the information we seek to live simply is not openly available, we have to search for it; luckily we all have our computers to make that easier.  All the decisions you make about what you include in your life now should be examined. Don't make soap or bread because I do it, or your best friend does, if has to make sense to you in your circumstances. So, if you're trying to decide whether you should put some time aside to make your own soap, bread, cleaners, pasta, jam etc., you might want to compare it with what you're already using. You might need to read information such as the following before you can make up your mind.

People often say to me that simple living is far from simple but this is a good case in point. Have a look at the additives in many of the cleaning products and soap listed in the links above, or what you have in your cupboards right now. Then compare that with what you could be using on your skin. I know which is simple. These are the ingredients I use when making soap:

Look at the additives on any label of jam or marmalade you currently have in your pantry or fridge and compare that with my recipe, or anyone's homemade recipe for raspberry jam:

Want to compare breads? Check the label of your plastic sliced bread or even some of the more expensive speciality breads and compare that with my recipes for the bread we eat here:

There are no preservatives in what we use, we make it fresh and eat it the same day. It doesn't need to sit on a shelf for a day or a week; it doesn't need to have preservatives added.

What is in the salad dressing you use? How many gums and numbers does the ingredients list contain? Compare that with:

I could go on and on but I'm sure you understand what I'm talking about. I think it's as plain as the nose on your face - homemade from scratch will be less likely to contain preservatives, colourings and artificial flavourings, in fact whatever you make will contain only what you add. You can't be more sure of your food or personal cleaners than that. So I guess the choice is between paying someone else to make what you need and not having control over what is added, and making it yourself, which takes time and effort. Convenience versus time, effort and cost.

I cannot make everything we use here but I made the choice of what I make and what I buy after doing my research and all my detective work. We all have to make our own decisions according to the time, energy and money we have available, and if you have to buy certain products and food, I encourage you to base your decisions on what you know about the product, not habit, convenience or advertising.

There is a very good book called The Chemical Maze that contains lists and the dangers of additives in food and cosmetics. It's small enough to go into my bag when I'm shopping so I can check things I don't know before buying them. If there is an ingredient on a label I'm not familiar with, I can check it. I've had this book for many years and was just checking to see if it's still available, and yes, it is, but it also comes as a variety of apps as well. You can find the information about it here. I'm not affiliated with this book or the author at all.

There is no right or wrong way of doing this. Each of us will prefer to buy certain things already made and make others at home. Don't be pressured into making soap, or anything, at home because your friends are doing it, that's as crazy as buying a certain brand of soap because you like the advertising for it. Do your research, read labels, ask questions, know what is in what you use and eat, then make your decisions according to your knowledge, the money and time you have available and your common sense.  And if you have another way to check these things, I'd love to hear about it, please share what you know in the comments.

You often see loofahs being sold in shops; in Australia they're sold at the Chemist. People see them and know they're sponges but often they're mistaken for sea sponges. Of course there are beautiful sea sponges but loofahs are plant sponges and we grow them in our backyard.

I discovered something new about loofahs this year and last. If you don't pull out the vines when you harvest your summer crop, they'll rest over winter, then start producing flowers and loofahs again the following year. At least they do that here in the subtropics. We planted the loofahs late last year - they went in during November, flowered soon after, produced loofahs in March/April, were harvested in August and we left the vines in.  They're flowering again now on very healthy lush vines.

Loofahs are a member of the vine family of cucurbits, such as pumpkins, squash and zucchini. If you want to grow them, you'll need a warm climate, a large study trellis and about 110 days of warm-hot growing days. They grow well from seeds harvested the previous year so when you pick your loofahs, choose your best ones to collect seeds from.

Loofahs are pollinated by bees but you often see ants on the flowers and vines. They're attracted to the plants and don't usually cause any harm. Plant into rich soil, water in with seaweed tea but don't over-fertilise with nitrogen. A sprinkling of sulphate of potash when planting and another sprinkling when the first flowers appear will keep them producing flowers and fruit. They need to be kept fairly well watered but once the loofahs have grown, you don't want a lot of rain because that will start mould growing in them. The young shoots are suitable for stir frying and the young fruit can be cooked like zucchini but they become hard and fibrous quickly and are then unsuitable for eating but great for washing yourself.

When the flowers turn into fruit and grow, wait until they go brown and start drying out. They can dry out completely on the vine but if you have a prolonged period of rain forecast it's best to pick them brown and not completely dry and leave them in a sheltered position to dry out completely.  When the skin is dry and brittle, you can crack them open, shake the seeds out, remove all the outer skin and soak them in a bucket of water to which you've added about quarter a cup of peroxide or a tablespoon of bleach. That will clean them up nicely and kill of any mould spores they might be hiding.

So these are the loofahs we picked in August. They'd been on the vine far too long so some of them were full of mould and had to be thrown on the compost.  The rest are fine and will keep us in loofahs for the year.

This is a Friday photo feature that anyone with a blog can join. To take part, post a photo on your own blog, write a short caption explaining it, and link it back to here from your blog by saying you're part of "On my mind". Please write a new post, don't link to an older one. When you've done that, come back here and add a comment below, with a link to your blog.

Today I'll be thinking about finding some cheap fresh fruit that I can use in my preserving class next week. I used those above earlier this year to make nectarine jam. Later today I'll do a blanket reply to everyone who wrote about my gmail account, and write to Google complaining that my account was hacked. If someone can get into my gmail, they could potentially gain access to my blog as well!  Tomorrow I hope to reply to a few of the hundred emails I owe. I get so many emails, I never have the time to answer all of them. If you're waiting for one and don't get it by tomorrow, I apologise for not replying.

And an update on my last week's On my mind, the little blue Sacred Kingfisher that slammed into my window last week survived. I've seen him again this week swooping through the garden looking for lizards. He's as good as gold.

Thank you for visiting this week and for the wonderful comments many of you left. I hope you have a beautiful weekend.

My gmail account was hacked today. I have about 100 emails and messages so far from people who received a bogus email supposedly from my email address. In fact the email comes from Turkey. Please be assured I have no virus on my computer - I have a Mac, they rarely pick up viruses. I've changed my password but I would imagine that the hacker has my address book. There are over a 1000 email addresses in there.  

I apologise if you're received one of these emails.  Don't reply to the email, just delete it. 

I have written quite a bit in the past about how homemaking and housework are looked down on by some and sometimes seen as a less than acceptable way to spend time. We have gone from valuing the homemaker and children being raised by a mother working at home while the father was bringing in a wage, to several decades of working couples and children in day care. Let me add that I'm not judging here, I value all people who work to give their family and themselves a good life. I believe the work we do helps makes us who we are but it isn't only paid work that forms character and builds self confidence, working in your home does that too. There is no right or wrong way to work - the vast majority of us are just doing what we have to do to reach our goals, whatever they may be.

I think this has been coming quietly for a while, but now there seems to be a distinct change in the air with people going back to basics, eating local and organic when they can and trying to cut out the chemicals, additives, preservatives and colourings in their lives. Thrift has made a come back and it looks like homemaking and housework are the next in line. Finally it's okay again to be a stay at home parent, or to enjoy spending weekends as a homemaker when the rest of the week has been spent in the corporate world. And both men and women are enjoying this freedom to be homebodies. Home is cool again.

For the past five years I have worked in my community at the Maleny Neighbourhood Centre. I was co-ordinator there until I left to write my book, and have returned there now to teach the skills of bread and soap making, fermenting, preserving, cooking from scratch, making laundry liquid and green cleaners and frugal living. Yesterday we had a wonderful bread making workshop where we made bread from scratch, then ate it with a cup of tea. We've also established a sewing circle and Crafternoon as well as a kitchen garden where we will soon teach how to grow organic vegetables, keep chickens and worms and to make compost. There is a lot of enthusiasm for the classes and it's made the Centre come alive with people connecting with us, their neighbours, and their own ambitions of working in their homes. There is a real interest in basic homemaking skills again. This is fundamental community development work and it's giving our people a feeling of empowerment, a sense of well being and confidence knowing that come what may, they are capable of looking themselves. It's such a priviledge for me to be part of it.

I hear stories all the time now about biscuits, cakes and bread being baked at home, mending being done, dress making and knitting. When we have our Crafternoons, some of the ladies bring along a cake to share for afternoon tea; this week's was made with black flour and wild raspberries. Many of these people are shopping at second hand shops, they're recycling and thinking about the consequences of their shopping and the packaging that comes with it. Cooking from scratch is popular again; the benefits of knowing what's in the food we eat is now more important than the convenience we used to buy. And all these actions are taking place at home; it seems to be okay again to be a homemaker and proud of it.

The good part about all this is that you don't need any special equipment, there is no must-have colour that is made exactly to your requirements. This is a change of mindset more than anything. To put it into action you just start buying ingredients instead of pre-cooked and processed foods, shop for, or grow, fresh vegetables and cook the way your grandma did. Stop buying cleaners and laundry products that look like they've been put together in a science lab. Buy ingredients - washing soda, bicarb, borax, soap and vinegar and make your own. They're effective and inexpensive. What you save can be paid off your mortgage or car loan or credit cards. Living like this will save you money, and it's not just for low income groups, it's for everyone.

Once you get yourself back into your home, whether that be on a full time basis, on the weekends or fitted around your paid work, there will be opportunities for you to express yourself, find satisfaction in the ordinary things and to build a simpler way of living. When you find your rhythm at home, you can slow down and relax more. This is a wonderful environment in which to raise children and develop yourself. Learning the skills you need to make your home the one place in the world where you feel comfortable and relaxed will also make you a different person; it did that for me. There is a lot to be said for looking after your own needs and doing it consistently with your own hands. Independence and confidence comes from that and if you have children, they will benefit from your sense of certainty and self assurance as well.

Our homes can be many things for each of us. They are where we retreat when we need to rest and recover and they're where we teach ourselves and our children the skills of living. But they're also our launching pads. Home is where we prepare ourselves to be in the outside world. So when you go to work or the kids go to school, if you're launched off on that journey having spent time in a nurturing home, you'll be the best you can be. And it all starts at home. Home, and the work done there, can be the making of us.


For those blog readers who live in other countries, the Australian Women's Weekly featured me in this month's edition. If you'd like to read the article, it's online now here.

It's strange, isn't it, how we drift through stages in our lives; how we enjoy doing something, then we go off it, and occasionally back to it again. I am drifting slowly back to ironing. Yes, it's a surprise to me too. It used to be one of the household tasks that I really didn't like and rarely did. I reorganised how we washed, hung and dried our clothes to avoid ironing. I  told myself I wasn't ironing because it saved electricity, but the truth of it was that I didn't like standing over a hot iron pressing clothes. 

I'm not a methodical ironer. I make sure the creases are out and that's about it. When I see advice to ironers about rolling up a towel to insert inside sleeves to iron them correctly, I wonder if anyone would fall for that.  Or use paper clips when ironing pleats! Life's too short. I do tend to take the washing from the line when it's still damp, or spray the clothes and roll them before I iron. That's what my mother and grandma did, so that's what I do.