down to earth

This is what today looks like: I'll let the chickens out soon, give them some warm porridge and watch as they push past each other so they can be the first out the gate. It's been raining here on and off for about a week so there'll be worms and bugs for them to catch; extra protein in their diet to turn into delicious golden yolked eggs. Then I'll feed Hettie before I go back inside to have breakfast, after which, I'll wash up. Today's lunch will be roast chicken with fresh herb stuffing, Brussel sprouts, potatoes and pumpkin. A hearty meal on a cool day will keep us fuelled up for work in the afternoon.

But this morning, apart from preparing the roast, I'll make bread rolls and clean out the fridge. The bed needs to be stripped and clean flannel sheets put on the bed. That will make one load of washing which I'll put on and Hanno will hang out. I washed three wool jumpers yesterday so hopefully they'll be dry enough to press and put away. While the press is hot, I'll also do a small pile of tablecloths and pillowslips sitting there. That's not the end of the ironing but the rest will have to wait a little longer. I don't want to spread myself too thin today. After we eat lunch, I'll wash up and surface clean the kitchen then sit down for an hour. There may be some knitting done then. I'm knitting Hanno some mittens in pure Merino with a strand of baby Alpaca for extra warmth. Since he had an accident with a chain saw and nearly cut off his hand, the circulation in that hand is a bit slow and it's always cold. These mittens are to warm up his hands while he's on the computer or watching TV.

After lunch, finally, I'll be able to do some work with the new plants and pots I bought on Tuesday. I'll start potting new plants in the pots and if time allows, I'll repot a few hanging baskets. On the weekend, I'll need Hanno's help to move some roses in the front garden so I can plant new salvia and Chinese lanterns where the roses once grew. There is a lot of pruning to be done out there but I think that's a weekend job too.

So many things to do, but I'll get to all of them, eventually. All of it has waited patiently for me for these past few months, another day or two will make no difference. I have to do a small amount of grocery shopping, dust and rearrange my cook books, bake a cake, scrub the outdoor table on the back verandah, clean and organise the green house, clean the bathrooms, make soap. Oh, the list could go on and on. I'm sure you know the score and have similar, if not identical, work in your home. It's nothing fancy, just ordinary day stuff, but it feels so good to be doing it again. What are you doing today?

Thank you all for the good wishes and prayers sent yesterday. My high temperature didn't rise or turn into anything worse. I started feeling better and things only improved after that. It's lovely to have friends who drop by and share their concerns. Thank you for taking the time to send a message or write a comment. Even though we're sometimes a world away from each other, this community is always a close and caring one.

As most of you know, I'm coming to the end of my book writing and have just started on the last chapter. It's been an intense period of sitting at my desk all day, almost every day for the past five months. I have only baked a couple of loaves of bread during that time and I haven't done much pickling or preserving either, but almost all the other culinary tasks I carry out have been done in between paragraphs or when I needed to get off the computer and think something over.

Soap and laundry liquid have been made, I cook from scratch every day and I enjoy time well spent in the garden with Jamie. Hanno has been a great help with washing up, grocery shopping, peeling vegetables and doing whatever I ask of him. But it is this life itself - simple life, that has help us through these busy months. If we weren't living slow and simple, I doubt I would have attempted another book, and I know I wouldn't have been able to do it in that timeframe. I sometimes hear people say that as soon as they get busy, they don't have time for simple living. I feel the opposite, it is because we live simply that I can cope so well with the busy and frantic times.

Simple life builds reliability and organisation into every day, it makes people who live this way resilient and strong. It does seem like more work and often it is but the work itself is its own safeguard. Our bills are paid on time because we've organised our money and created a budget, we have a stockpile of food on hand so we don't have to shop every week, we're healthy because we're eating from scratch and have rid our home of harsh chemicals, menus are planned, work is driven by easy routines, we're relaxed and accepting of everyday life. We know where we're headed.

I'm not sure if I would have been able to commit intellectually or psychologically to such a rigorous writing timeframe if I was living as I used to. But since I slowed down and came to understand myself a whole lot more, I knew I had the strength to do it, a family who would support me and a way of life that would help me cope with not only this, but anything that came my way. This life has made me much stronger than I used to be, and that has given me the confidence to say yes to so many things that have enriched my soul.

And so to those who think you can only do all those simple life things when you have the time to do them, I encourage you to dive right in and just do it. Don't underestimate simple life, or yourself. You'll be surprised what a great support it becomes around you - from the practical things like a food stockpile to feed you when you can't buy what you need, and routines that help you get through your work, to the strength you need to move forward with confidence when things look shaky. Instead of thinking you can't have the life you want, just start doing things that will sustain you. Stop mindless shopping, create a budget, work in your home, develop a generous and kind attitude, let this new life create itself around you and then rely on it. It may not look like anyone else's life but that's fine. Genuine simplicity is a unique, flexible and moveable feast.

I should not complain. I know that. But here I go again. I want my old routines back. Once upon a time I had this very comfortable routine where I rose early, did a few outside tasks, had breakfast, made the bed, cleaned the kitchen and had bread on the rise before 9am. Starting each day with that unremarkable jumble of activities set me up for the day and seemed to launch me into hours of productivity and, occasionally, creativity.

Work was done, ordinary days were lived, life was simple.

Let me say before it's too late to include it that I know I'm fortunate to have the extraordinary opportunity to write a book. Knowing it's going to be read by a lot of people all over the world still makes me think: who? me!! My publisher, Penguin Random House, is incredibly supportive. And yet I can hardly wait until the writing phase is over and I'm back to what I think of as my real life.

I long to get back to ordinary days just doing what needs doing around my home. I want to use my sewing machine to make what we need, I want to clean up my green house and repot baskets and pots and increase the number of plants on my front verandah until we can hardly move out there. I want to sit, read and talk to Jamie. This beautiful age will be over soon and maybe I'll forget that he makes me laugh by saying: "that's marvellous" or "it's bad news, grandma." He's so wise as his just turned four year old self, I want to pick his brain for more unforgettable things. I have much to tell him too.

I'm glad there is only a short time to go. In four weeks I'll be finished. Four weeks and my written message to you will be at Penguin with Jo and Andrea and they'll send it to the designer, send me samples and I'll become excited and proud once again. So maybe it's okay to be an old curmudgeon this one time - get it all out and then settle in for the final four weeks. I am really happy I chose a short writing period and met every deadline. And soon I'll have that book in my hands and know that putting my routines aside for six months was a small price because it will give us the chance to travel around again, talking to people and hopefully encouraging everyone to work to routines and be happy doing it. ♥︎

I look out the window and see Hanno digging in the front garden. He'll be tidying something up, or digging out roots or thinking about improvements that can be made. Inside, I'm looking out the window from my desk while I write, our lunch is bubbling away slowly in the oven, there are a few chores I'll do later in the day and all through the day we'll work together, satisfied to be here and thankful for the work we do on our own little piece of land. Our closed gate doesn't keep out all it should but it does symbolise to us that we are independent folk and we're capable of looking after ourselves and this land. We've created an extraordinary life here and we're free to do what we choose. That is a powerful feeling.

Still plenty of oranges on this tree.

I found Harry! This was Kerry's when he was a baby. I washed him and gave him to Jamie.

Some people would probably think no one lives like this anymore. But here on our large block of land we have more than enough to keep us busy without going out. Hanno goes out much more than I do because he does the shopping most weeks. I give him a list of what we need and he buys it. When I do go out, which might be once a month or so, it's usually so I deliberately spend time out in the world where most people think the real living happens.

But I think real life happens here. Every day we're touching soil, reading the weather signs, cooking and baking from scratch. We don't use clocks much and most of the time I don't know what day it is. We don't need to know that now and it's easy enough to find out when we do. We produce as much as we can for ourselves so we don't have to buy too much and we're happy to stay productive and active. We have everything here we need and stepping into our backyard on any afternoon gives us the best entertainment you could hope for. The chickens are a constant source of amusement, birds visit us from local forests and for a quick visit on their migratory paths. Last night there was a beautiful possum in the chicken coop. We can sit on our bench in the sun and eat raspberries, or walk inside with an apron full of oranges to make the best drink in the world.

Helping to harvest the elderberries.

Jamie came over yesterday as his parents were both working hard in the sushi shop. He's like one of us while he's here. He's just turned four but he wanders around in Hanno's slippers, he rounds up the chooks and sits with us in the sun, drinking tea. He loves helping and learning new things and we love showing him what we do. I think life will be tough in the future and it gives me a lot of pleasure knowing I'm leaving behind some books that my grand children and yours, and their children, can use as little maps to show the powerful possibilities of a simple life.