I'm late today. We slept in. We're still in Toowoomba after spending the time here yesterday speaking at a couple of events at the Toowoomba Library. Both events were booked out with 60 people. It was really wonderful for Hanno and I to meet so many like-minded people and to, hopefully, give them some encouragement towards this simpler way of life.

Hello, I've been reading back through some old posts and also the details of your book. I wondered if you've found that the success of your book now detracts from your ideal of simple living. I don't mean in monetary ways (although I'm sure this has made an impact too) but by doing book tours, being interviewed, all the trappings that come with some degree of fame. Do you feel that in a way you've returned to some of the things you originally yearned to get away from?

Joyce, one of the few things that I don't like about what has been happening since the book was published is that people know me. I am the most ordinary person you might ever meet and I like to go about my life quietly. But having this higher profile helps me with one of my goals. I made a commitment to myself many years ago that I would carry on the tradition  of older women passing on what they know to younger people. I think that is one of the reasons we haven't held on to many of the old ways of living that still work for us in the 21st century. I could easily have given up the blog after the book came out and let the book speak for me, but I still enjoy writing the blog and it gives me a great platform from which to connect to so many people. The book is another way of doing that, so is the Down to Earth forum.

Every time I go to a community to speak, I am there because someone contacted me and asked me to visit them to speak about simple living. When I go to these places, there are many people eager to be encouraged in their new life and supported by someone who has done a similar thing. Often the questions are really simple things like "do you think it's okay to grow a garden for one person?", or "can I let the chickens in the vegetable garden?". People just want to speak to others about things that aren't spoken about much in general life any more. They want to know they're on the right track. If I can encourage one person to continue in their version of a simple life, or to start it, I'm happy to be there.

And yes, it does take away from the time Hanno and I have in our own home but if I could have had an Australian book to read on simple life or someone to talk to who knew the ins and outs of it when I first changed, I would have been so grateful. I cannot be selfish with what I know, Hanno can't be either. I don't want to sound too above myself but if we can make a difference, and if we are capable of making the trip, we'll be there. This phase won't last, so while the interest is there, we'll respond to it. And, I have to tell you this, we are enjoying meeting all these people and when I was working for a living, the word enjoyment didn't come anywhere near me.

When you read this, Hanno and I will probably be making our way over to Toowoomba, or we'll be there. I don't have time to write this morning, so here are three recent newspaper articles about food that I thought were very interesting and want to share with you. These are all about Australia, but I'm sure the situation is similar in most Western countries.

Have just completed the first talk and I was reminded that I need to put up the details of the Bell workshop. This workshop will run from 9.30am - 3pm on Saturday 23 June at Bell. There'll be lots of talking, a couple of demonstrations, bartering (so bring something along) and lots of good will and the potential to make new friends. The cost is $40 and the ladies will be providing morning tea and lunch - all home cooked. 

For catering purposes, bookings are essential on 4663 1184.

There are certain things that make me think of my mother. I looked at a new blog on the weekend with fresh poppies in the banner and I shot back to being about eight years old watching my mother burn the bottom of poppy stems on the gas fire "because they'll last longer." She knew so much. She knew all those quirky things that other people's mothers didn't know. I didn't know it at the time, but I was storing all that information away to be brought out too many years later.

I think I am the person I am today because of my mother. We look alike and we share a similar personality. When I was younger, she always encouraged me to do my best and she praised both my sister and I whenever we did anything well. She taught us both the love of reading and books, of generosity, kindness and courage, and she taught us how to sew and knit; Tricia made use of those skills long before I ever did. I was a risk taker and tried as much as I could that was new to me, but those things my mother taught, well, I thought they were too soft for me. I had to grow up a lot before I knew their true value. And hers.

I wish I'd been a better daughter.

But I take strength in knowing that I clearly remember my mother and her daily life and I do many things she taught me and modelled for me her entire life. Now that I'm a mother and a grandmother, I am closer to the person I wish I'd been all those years ago. I am more like her. I guess there is no way of being other than what you are, all things come in their own time, and if she were to read this, I am sure she would be the first to remind me of that. I am fortunate to have had such a good role model.

Our families make us in more than one way. We are born from them but they're also our way of seeing the world and others during all those formative years. We do that for our own children too and I think that being a mindful and attentive role model is one of the most important parts of parenting, and grand parenting. We have to not only take the time to be a part of our extended family, we have to show our children how they fit into their family. That will be one of the great gifts you give them, because family has the capacity to be a safe harbour and to guide and protect. And learning how we fit in there, along with the brothers, sisters, cousins, grandmas, grandpappies, mums and dads, shows us what family really is - that it is our rock and our cushion.

Over the past few weeks, I've moved away from my old habit of writing down what I hope to do during the day. I have been quite busy lately so didn't really notice my change until I could see things not done, or half done. And we've been buying bread at the bakery. I used to have all this down pat - after breakfast I'd put bread on to rise, wash up, clean the kitchen and make the bed and those few tasks would get me in the right mind for doing the rest of my work. Sometimes that was writing most of the day, sometimes it was housework, sewing and mending.  Somehow I moved from breakfast to writing and only remembered to make the bed or wash up when I went to those rooms. I'm not sure if it's because I'm busy or if I'm losing my marbles.

To everyone who will stay busy over the weekend, please take some time to sit with a cup of tea or a cool drink and relax for ten minutes. To those of you who can sit back and relax, enjoy your down time. I hope to see you all back here next week. Take care.

Maya, I didn't answer your question because I just found your post in the spam folder. It sounds like the chooks aren't getting anough high protein food. They should be laying well at 18 months of age, although very cold or very hot weather will put them off the lay as will them getting new feathers. Give them some porridge made with milk or bread soaked in milk, some meat scraps or cooked brown rice with milk. Give that every day for a week to boost their protein levels and that may make them lay again. With new chooks, it's best to keep them separate for a while until you know the new girls aren't bringing in any disease. But leave them now they've been introduced and they should get to know each other over the coming days. Expect the older chooks to peck at the younger ones, this is natural behaviour and you should only step in if there is blood, then separate them until the wound heals. Within a couple of weeks they'll become friends and it will be as if they've lived together all their lives.

~~~~~~~~~~

I've had a lot of emails lately thanking me for various things so I want to remind you all that I am a normal woman and despite what some of you think, I am not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. I think that some of you think I'm better than I am.  I would like to do more than I do, I would like to be better than I am, but I'm just me and I have to settle for that. I think my saving grace is that I'm easy on myself now. I don't expect perfection in myself or anything else, or anything close to it.

The tomatoes are going gangbusters, there are plenty of crisp young peas for afternoon snacking in the garden, the lettuces are crisp and delicious, the potatoes are up and we have all sorts of cabbages, brocolli and kale growing slowly and delevoping their unique flavours. The lemon tree is full of ripe fruit and it makes me think of one of the CWA recipes I saw today for Lemon Delicious pudding. As I breathe in the cold air and watch the chooks and a willywag tail who thinks he's a chook, I know that this is close to as good as it gets. There is a small leg of pork and vegetables in the oven roasting for dinner, and I can smell that the red cabbage is almost ready. I should go inside but I'll linger here a little longer. I want to get colder. I want to see more.


We have some great outings coming up where I'm hoping to meet many of you. Toowoomba Library next Wednesday for two sessions: 10.30am and 5.30pm. We'll stay in Toowoomba overnight, thanks to the hospitality of the lovely staff and friends of the Toowoomba Library. The following week we have the big day out at Bell where the old hall will be chockers with all us girls and a few men; then in the last week of June, I'm speaking at the Landcare conference in Brisbane. But that last week is also the week Hanno goes into hospital to have cataracts removed, so, as usual, it's the good with the bad. The more things change, the more they stay the same. But I know that while I'm at home with interesting and productive work each day and with a few outings thrown in for interest, I'm happy and fulfilled. Life's good. I hope that when you weigh it all up, yours is too.

 This part of the system is installed in our garage and on here we can see how much electricity is being generated.

There are a few things you can do to help save with the panels. It's mainly the usual things like turning off appliances at the wall,  cutting down on the hot water if you have an electrical hot water system and being careful with heating now that winter is here. In our contract with the electricity company, we buy electricity for 19 cents per kilowatt hour and we sell the excess from our panels for 44 cents per kilowatt hour. So we try to use power-hungry appliances, like the washing machine and vacuum cleaner, at night so they run on the energy we buy from the grid for 19 cents per kilowatt hour. That leaves us clear to sell the electricity the panels generate when the sun is shining for 44 cents per kilowatt hour. Our clothes washing is the main thing we modified - instead of doing a wash in the morning as I used to do, we now put on a wash at night, and hang it on the line in the morning. It's not much of a change but it helps us save.

I was talking to a woman the other day and she mentioned that she didn't have solar panels installed when they were heavily subsidised by the government because she could only afford a small unit and she didn't think it would make any difference. It has been our experience that even the smallest unit will make a difference and if you manage it well, you might not have to pay to electricity again. Hot water generally uses about 30 percent of the average household electricity. If you have the option to buy a solar hot water system that has a government subsidy, take it, because that will reduce your electricity bill by about 30 percent. After that, if you have the opportunity to buy the panels, and there is a subsidy, go for it. We paid our panels off on an interest-free loan and that worked really well for us. The details of that are in the post linked above.

Here is some information about electricity costs in Australia - these are Victorian costs but the other states would be similar.
This is information about solar hot water system government rebates.

USING EGGS

Now our chooks are laying again, we have an over-abundance of eggs, including Fiona's beautiful pale blue eggs. A great way of using eggs is to make custard. This one is a baked egg custard and it uses four eggs, but you could easily double it.

The dark brown egg above is a Barnevelder egg and the blue eggs are from our Araucana, Fiona.

BAKED EGG CUSTARD

Pour into an oven-proof dish, sprinkle with nutmeg. Place the oven-proof dish in a water bath/bain marie so the boiling water comes up to cover the bottom half of the over-proof dish, and bake at 170C/340F for about 30 minutes. Make sure the water is boiling. You need this gentle method of heating, not straight oven baking, for this recipe. The custard will be done when it's still slightly wobbly in the centre. This is delicious served warm or cold with stewed or fresh fruit. It is also a great filling for a sweet pie - either with a fruit base and topped with the custard or all custard and served with fruit on the side.

This is a very easy recipe, even for first time cooks. The only thing you have to be careful of is to not over cook it. If you don't eat all of it when it's freshly made,  it will keep in the fridge for two days.

We had a lovely visit with Kerry, Sunny and Jamie recently, just before Sunny and Jamie left for a trip to Korea to visit family. We talked, marvelled at how fast Jamie is growing, watched him crawl around, stand up and giggle, picked vegetables in the rain and generally spent time enjoying being together. I had an interesting conversation with Sunny about disipline - I am dead against smacking (Sunny is too), and I told Sunny how we raised Kerry and Shane with a strategy of firm boundaries, encouragement and teaching them our values and how to live in our family. Children need to be taught almost everything - and living in their family is one of the most important parts. I tread a fine line being the mother-in-law and I'm well aware that my way might not suit, but I think my role as joint head of the family brings the responsibility of gentle adviser. So I talk about how I parented but don't expect that what I say will be acted on because I know that all children are different and all families have their own ways.

But that started me thinking about spoilt children I've known and that we are at the ideal time right now to start thinking about this because children aren't born with an entitled attitude, it's modelled for them and learned along the way. What is my role as grandmother in helping our two beautiful boys, Jamie and Alex, be happy and content without them developing that sense of entitlement?

Some of the things I can teach them is:

The value of money. The most obvious money difference between us and children is that we know how hard it is to earn money and that there is usually a limit to how much we have.

Teach them how to choose wisely, show them there are boundaries. There are always boundaries in life. It's good to know that early so you can build confidence and learn how to live with them.

The value of work. I want to see my grandsons happy to work along side us when they visit and stay with us. I have no doubt Shane and Sarndra and Kerry and Sunny will expect their boys to do certain jobs around the house, I will continue that while they're here too and from a young age, expect them to set the table, offer hospitality to visitors and their parents while they're here and to be a real part of a real family. And that means they do their little jobs as they become capable of doing them and they contribute to the family in a meaningful way. I can hardly wait for the time when we can teach them how to sow seeds and read stories to them about gardens and the wildlife here. Self-esteem is developed by knowing how to carry out tasks and that they are being relied on to look after certain things. That is not a burden for children; it builds character, confidence and courage; and they are strong foundations on which to build a life.

And I can model that behaviour for them in what I do in here and in the gifts I choose to give them. I am really saddened when I see young children out at events with mobile phones, iPads, iPods and computers. I don't think there is anything wrong with a child using the family computer, iPad and iPod. I expect children to be given the family mobile phone sometimes. But to be given those things as gifts at a young age is unnecessary and using them in a social situation is rude and disrespectful. I still remember going out with Tricia at Blackheath last year and having dinner at the local pub. There I watched a couple of families, obviously making the time to dine out with family and friends, but allowing their children to sit at the table with iPads and phones. The parents were all talking to each other and enjoying the outing. Their children were tied up in computer games and talking to their friends on the phone and didn't have a clue what was going on right in front of them. If children aren't expected to listen and speak at such a gathering, when do they learn how to do that?

This is a new area for all of us. Our rules for acceptable behaviour have developed over the years and  the capacity to take a phone or computer out in public to a family gathering has only been with us for a few short years. Maybe there hasn't been enough social comment on it yet, maybe families haven't yet decided on their own values and how they want their children interacting with technology.

Or am I being a fuddy-duddy? Are my hopes for grandchildren who speak at the dinner table and who leave their technology at home, not only when they're five but also when they're 25, completely opposite to how most people see it? Am I crazy to expect Jamie and Alex to grow up satisfied with what they have? I would love to hear your views on this. How are you raising your children to live simply in a techno-obsessed world? How are you, or did you, raise children who are happy without having everything their friends have?

Helping boys develop into caring, responsible men and girls into thoughtful, intelligent women starts when those children learn to walk. Games, play, books, make believe, dressing up and simple tasks that grow with the child, work side by side in developing well rounded people who know the value of work. It is difficult when you're listening to your five year old refuse to do what you ask and even more difficult when your teenager walks away when you're talking to them. But it is less likely to happen if you teach them, from a young age, that as well as being an individual, they're also an important and loved member of a family and in that family, everyone cares for the others and everyone helps. I have been through the five year old refusals and the difficult teen years and have two sons who are the finest men you could ever meet. Now they're both good family men, they have fine work ethics and they learned the foundations of those values many years ago when I first started asking them to help and showing them how to live in our family.

It was a public holiday for Show Day here last Friday, so all day Friday I thought it was Saturday and on Saturday I thought it was Sunday. It was good to have another day up my sleeve.  Hanno's back is starting to return to normal now so gentle work has resumed in the garden, and seedlings and seeds are in our thoughts again. The weekends are usually the days we work together more. I wander out into the garden to sit on the bench and watch, Hanno returns the favour and wanders into the kitchen while I'm cooking, to talk. It's a good partnership.

On Friday, our friends, Ernie and Jenny, came to visit. I told you a little while ago I'm working towards something exciting, well, I'm going into business with Ernie! Jenny and Hanno will be our helpers. We're doing a number of things, starting off with blogging for beginners workshops on the Sunshine Coast. Our first will be in Maleny in July, then we'll do a few more down along the coast. There will be two types of workshops - one will be the basics of blogging, with time to answer your questions. The other will be limited in numbers with hands-on instructions on how to set up a blog from scratch. When you leave, you'll have a functioning blog. I'll have more details closer to the date.

Here we are having morning tea and talking about our joint ventures last Friday.

There are other workshops in the pipeline too, some on practical things like soap making, baking, jams, preserving, gardening etc, that will be conducted here at our place. Ernie and I will also be starting an online magazine focusing on sustainability and sustainable communities. The four of us see this as a great way forward, a sound way of sharing with others and a way to build our community. There are a few other projects in there but I'll give you more information when we're closer to the launch time.

These two beauties just need a good clean up and they'll be ready for their second lives, brewing hundred of cups of tea.  Oh, and if you're wondering what we've done to that door in the background, Hanno is sanding it back and revarnishing.

Over the weekend I picked up two tea pots at the wonderful Beerwah Recycle Facility. Trish is the manager there and she is a firm supporter of the Neighbourhood Centre. I had asked her to look out for a large teapot for me because I am trying to steer the Centre away from using tea bags. I prefer instead to make a pot of tea using tea leaves. When we have a large gathering, we use almost a box of tea bags. With a tea pot we'll be much more prudent with the tea. Trish found us a lovely old style teapot that I guess would serve about 8 - 10 cups. She also had a smaller glass pot - an old coffee pot, that we can use for our herbal tea drinkers. Thanks for the donations, Trish!

I did the usual cooking and baking on the weekend: date scones and bread were baked and I made a big pot of pea and lentil soup. It will probably feed us for a few days. I also needed to use up some eggs, so I made a baked custand. This is the same as a Creme Brulee - without the caramel. I'll give you the recipe later in the week. Clothes and bedding were washed and hung to dry, the bed made, floor swept and the cat and chooks fed. We thought we'd lost our little bantam, Mary, the one who was always broody. She was no where to be found for three days. We thought a python had swallowed her, but then Hanno lifted up a piece of iron cladding and there she was. She had made a nest for herself and was sitting quietly on 15 eggs! One of our Barnevelders is not growing as she should. Her sister has just started laying but she hasn't even developed her comb yet. My fear is that she will fade away. We can't find anything wrong with her. She is eating fairly well but she doesn't mix with the other chooks and prefers to wander around alone.

Over the rest of the weekend, I was knitting, reading, writing, sending emails and speaking to various members of my family on the phone. It was just the right mix of work and rest. The weather is cool here and it's been raining, so while I went about my work I felt cosy because I was inside most of the time and knew there was soup to warm up for dinner. It was a lovely weekend. I hope yours was too. I'm now looking forward to a full and busy week.

For all the young mums - Carlos Gonzalez, the doctor who wants parents to break the rules.

Twenty predictions for the next 25 years.

How to fold a T shirt. You Tube

Wool soaker long pants pattern

Starting a sourdough starter.

More bread!

FROM OUR MOB - links to people who comment here.

Over at Enchanted Moments, I found what I think is a typical old-fashioned backyard, full of character. I can see an outdoor sink, chooks, a rabbit, the vegie patch, a rake and lots of corrugated iron. I love it! I could easily sit on that bench with a cuppa and spend an hour or so chatting with Mrs Enchanted Moments.

There is a lot to look at and discover at Vintage Rose - there is a lovely party, lots of pure breed chooks and a journey back in time. This is a lovely blog and well worth a visit.

I hope you enjoy the weekend. I'm looking forward to a rest and the work over the next couple of days. I'll see you again next week!

I want to show you what Hanno and I were doing last night. We were invited to be guests at the Rotary and University of the Sunshine Coast Community Fund dinner. The function was to present three PhD students: Jennifer Castell, Cathryn Morriss and Corinna Burgin-Maunder, with a Rotary Scholarship. I had the honour and privilege of being the guest speaker.

So at 64, when I expected to be slowing down and becoming invisible, people I don’t know write to me from all over the world and locals say hello on the street. People want to know my opinion. Amazing things can happen when you focus on your goals and work towards them. Even here, in our corner of the world, writing in my little room in Landsborough, with only Hanno at my side, I have reached out and touched the world. And if I can do that, anything is possible. 

And to Jennifer, Cathryn and Corrina… 

Almost all my successes came because I stood on a firm foundation of sound education. I was not afraid of hard work and even when I was sitting alone in my work room, tapping away on my computer, I believed in myself. Success is not out there. It’s in here. (Point to head) 

The seeds for success are sown in childhood and are cultivated by reading books, by observation, by ambition, by hard work, by identifying the pathways to excellence and by having opportunities to succeed. We are the lucky ones. We have been mentored by our lecturers and nurtured by our Universities. It is up to all of us who have had that good fortune, to expand on it and make the investment in us pay off, not only for ourselves, but for our country as well. Despite what we hear constantly, it is intelligence and learning that will take us forward, but there needs to be a good dose of flexibility in there as well. 

Not much is stable in our world, even what appears stable has its own instabilities. By incorporating flexibility into your plan, you’ll give yourself the best chance of success. You can never know what you’ll discover or learn along the way but flexibility will help you adjust your plans and ideas to incorporate the unexpected. 

Never disregard surprises. They are often full of potential. 

For it is when the best ideas meet observation and team up with something unexpected and astonishing, that the extraordinary is realised...

After my speech, heading back to sit with Hanno again.

As I was sitting there last night, looking around the room full of local and not-so-local people, I was reminded, yet again, that the work of communities is carried out when each of us make the decision to step outside our homes and connect with others. Here it was our local Rotary Clubs banding together to raise much needed funds for the University, but it could have been any number of wonderful community organisations or individuals doing their best in their community. Important things happen in our communities, they support us and we must give back.

And I must say a word about the University itself because I was very impressed. I was seated next to the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Greg Hill, a delightful man, who gave a presentation about the recent progress on campus. Among the highlights: tenders are now being sorted through for the $2 billion University Hospital, and USC was the only public university in Queensland to be awarded five stars for teaching quality in the 2012 Good Universities Guide. These are certainly fine achievements for any university but for such a young university, it is a testament to the leadership and commitment of the staff and to the students.

I need your help. A lovely couple I know, good friends of mine who live in Melbourne, are about to have their first baby. They wholeheartedly share our values and are preparing for the baby's arrival and life thereafter with a frugal and eco mindset. Can you help us with the following questions?

1. Where are the best places in Melbourne for new parents to shop for environmentally-friendly baby needs that suit a low budget?
2. What are the best online eco-friendly baby shops for things like cot sheets, towels and washers? They would love organic but price is a factor.
3. And these two from Jo herself: There’s so much people say you ‘must have’ for your baby, it’s overwhelming how much stuff I’ve already acquired (almost all of it second hand, thankfully). Surely it’s not all completely necessary? So I guess I’d like to know what people were told they needed but found they didn’t actually need.
4.  I’d also like advice on the best nappies, slings, and any other hot tips that your readers want to share.

I was very pleased to be told a couple of days ago that I'm on this bestsellers' list. It's quite a surprise but I suppose all the good work put into publicity by Dianne at Penguin is paying off, and there also seems to be a strong element of 'word of mouth' advertising happening.