down to earth

I think I'll be back writing new posts on Monday. My foot is on the mend. :- )

The following was written in March 2010.

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I think most of us become more selective as we age. When I was younger I wanted to experience everything I could so I would know rather than surmise. I'm happy enough now to leave things I'm not interested in. The ability and the sense to do that came to me with age, although I think many people are like that all through life. Now, at this point in life I know that it would have been prudent to choose a husband who possessed skills that would compliment, and not duplicate, mine. If I were looking for a husband now, the colour of his eyes wouldn't matter, I would want to know if he could successfully raise an organic vegetable garden. Hindsight is a wonderful thing but the truth is I was rarely prudent in my younger years and when Hanno wandered into my life I never once thought of any of those practical considerations, I just loved him. I was more concerned with what was in his heart rather than in his bank account.

When I hang clothes or towels, the frame sits on its own legs. When I have sheets on the line, we use a little steel support to hold the line up a bit.

Now it's a bonus to me that he is multiskilled. Not only does he possess the skills of his former trade - mechanics, he can turn his hand to most things in the home. He can make furniture, repair the roof, rewire a lamp, unblock the plumbing, fix the car and cook delicious potato pancakes. I think I hit the jackpot.

It just pulls down from the roof where it sits when not in use.

A while ago, I asked Hanno to make me an all weather washing line. I wanted something better than the rope line we had strung up on the back verandah. I wanted a line that I could use when it was raining, that was ready to go all the time but would be out of the way. I needed a line that I could reach without stretching and one that would hold a full load of washing. That was the brief - it's been delivered.

When the washing is dry, the frame is lifted up to the roof again, out of the way.

Even though it was some time ago that I asked for this washing line, Hanno did start working on it almost immediately. We settled on a steel frame that would be able to hold a full wash and last a long time but we had no way of welding the pieces together. Luckily for us, our neighbour John just bought a new welder. Hanno and John put the line together on the weekend and the ideal testing weather promptly arrived soon after. Five inches of rain fell yesterday, much less that what was predicted - 12 inches, but a real soaking nonetheless. I pulled the line down from where it is safely tucked away, pegged on the laundry and stood back to admire the scene. There are a few things that really improve with age, a capable husband is one of them. Thank you Hanno (and John).

The Down to Earth forum is still down for maintenance and repair. I have a technician working on it and I'm hoping it will be back online in the next day or so. I apologise for the inconvenience this may be causing you.

16 AUGUST 2010

I have just finished reading Radical Homemakers by Shannon Hayes, which was kindly lent to me by my friend and fellow radical homemaker, Sonya, from Permaculture Pathways. I enjoyed the book, and although I was radicalised many years ago and am already doing much of what the book is about, I did get a strong message from it - we need to stand up, be proud of our lives and talk to others about how we live and why we live this way. We need to develop small communities of like minded souls so that what we are doing becomes a common way of being. If we all do that, hopefully those small communities become bigger and young people will learn that having one partner stay at home to keep house, raise children, shop wisely and manage the income, is a valid, significant and acceptable way of living. And not to leave anyone out of this revolutionary equation, those single people, the divorced, widowed and never married out there who work a paid job and who live as simply as they can while they do it, they need to spread their message too. We all need to be role models and show that living a simpler life brings much more than a clean home, connected children, nutritious food and no debt; it brings contentment and enrichment with it, and it is a career.

I have had three careers - I was a nurse, a writer and now I'm a homemaker/housewife. Writing that sentence has highlighted to me just one of the hurdles we face - that of language. When I was a nurse and a writer, everyone knew what those terms meant; with homemaker or housewife they don't. Homemaker is more an American term than an Australian one, and housewife is old fashioned and implies that everyone is married. We need to coin a term that accurately describes this work we do and we need to realise that even though work at home is unpaid work, it has value and it contributes to our countries wealth. I really dislike those terms that make light of our work - domestic goddess, home engineer etc, we need something substantial that describes, in general terms, what we actually do. I do like the term homemaker because it could mean just about anything that is done at home, but I also like home worker.

We all need to help change the perception that happiness is gained by buying it, that economies should grow at the expense of their people and that stepping back from the mainstream idea of buying more than we need, with money we don't have, is a hippy fantasy. And on the more positive side, we need to show our younger people that living this way is empowering, engaging and revolutionary. At the moment young people see staying at home as a drudgery. They have to clean and cook, look after children, and sometimes frail parents, and when the only knowledge you have of those tasks is what is seen on TV or advertising, you start to understand what a negative perception there is in the community about working at home.

We have to show that working at home gives us freedoms that paid work rarely offers. Imagine your first day at a paid job. You're given a range of tasks to do, a time limit in which to do them and standards to meet. All the time someone is watching you, making sure you do everything according to their plan. Now imagine your first day in your new home. You have already talked about your values and needs with your partner, so you set about setting up routines and learning new skills that will support your visions. The sky is the limit. You may do your work to your own rhythm and to whatever standard you set yourself.

You start taking control of your home - this is not a place where you just spend time waiting for your partner to return home. This, my friends, is a work in progress, a place that you want to spend time in, you want to make beautiful, safe and comfortable. You want to create a home that will nurture those who live there and that provides a warm and welcoming feeling to those who visit. You decide on a plan that will see you use your home and the land it sits on to help you live. You decide to grow organic vegetables and fruit in the backyard, get a few chickens, make a worm farm, or keep bees. You want to live an environmentally sound life, to eat organic food, or at the very least, the freshest food you can. You decide to learn as much as possible to cut the cost of living in this healthier and organic way so you set about learning how to make soap, laundry powder, bread, jams, relishes, sauces, and pasta. You start mending torn clothes and household linens, then progress to making gifts and simple clothes for the children, you start knitting and crocheting with natural fibres. In short, you take your new life as the positive empowering career it is and run with it. You make the most of what you have and you reduce your impact on your environment while doing it.

Sure, I agree, no one wants to clean toilets or dirty nappies/diapers, but look at the alternative. Do you want to use a dirty toilet or have your baby unhappy and uncomfortable? Every job has parts that we don't like doing, life is not always about what we want to do. We need to step up to all our tasks - enjoyable and not so enjoyable, just do them and then get back to the rest of it.

I have already seen changes happening. More people are cooking and gardening now than in the past. There has been a revival in home crafts, sewing and knitting. More people are understanding that debt is a life sapping burden and working actively to paid of their debts. Many beneficial things are happening, but we need to drive this along and we need to talk about our lives in a positive way to show others that working in our homes helps build good lives. That might be evident to us but to the general population, it isn't. Let's start talking about the happiness that lies waiting when we live this way and let's show, by example, that housework rewards us with homes we want to spend time in. Stop talking about housework as if it's the last thing you'd want to spend your time on, discover the good in what you do and highlight it. Let's start supporting other women and men in the work they do, no matter what it is, unpaid or paid. We can change things if we start with our own front door and work our way out. Gentle reminders about our way of life, speaking up when we heard someone complaining about housework, writing about this on our blogs, all these things will help make a difference. All it takes is that a lot of us start doing it.

I am doing a soap making class at my neighbourhood centre next month and I'm continuing with my frugal home workshops but I'm also going to think about how I can engage with the young people at our Flexischool and talk with them about this. What will you do? Do you have any great ideas that we could all use to help show that housework is not only radical, empowering and enjoyable, it is also a career? If so, please share.

I went to the doctor again yesterday. It was a different doctor. The swab of my foot grew nothing, it's not infected. This doctor thinks it's a spider bite. I think it's eczema. But whether it's a spider bite or eczema, I have to rest with my foot up and not walk around unless absolutely necessary. She's given me more antibiotics, a different kind. I have a zinc dressing on it and have to go back next Thursday and Monday. My family wonder why I hesitate going to the doctor. This is a prime example of why I don't - there are few answers, it's guessing. I am resting when I can but life goes on and I have workshops to do. There is one today at Cooroy and eight more after that.

Thank you all for your continued good wishes. I appreciate it very much.

This was originally posted back in December 2008, the first year of the GFC.

I didn't think I'd be frightened by our economic crisis. Initially I saw it as a way of slowing everything down, putting the brakes on indiscriminate spending, and forcing many people to rethink the way they live their lives. Now it has gone beyond a simple lesson and is hitting hard. At the Centre I volunteer at, many more people are needing help and some of them are losing hope in the future. The crisis has a long way to go yet, some say life will be very difficult for at least another 18 months. My fear is that our governments have no idea how to handle what is happening and if they continue to throw money at the problem, the chance to grow through this, and eventually prosper, will be lost.

Simple living is the answer but politicians and those in power refuse to acknowledge that reducing what we spend on 'stuff' will help us and our planet. They are choosing to support 'the economy', and here in Australia, sections of our community - pensioners, carers, some people on a low income and families with children are being given one-off payments of over a thousand dollars ($1000 per child) and being encouraged to go out and spend it. It's a great pre-Christmas boost for those people but it's not a long term solution and it totally fails to address the problems associated with always having an economy reliant on non-stop spending, shoddy products and debt.

Simplifying our lives is not just a decision for tough times, although it makes the most sense then. I am not naive enough to believe that moving to a more simple way of life would be easy. I know it would be tough. But would it be tougher than what we are faced with now? Continuing to spend like drunken sailors is not sustainable, there must be a point at which the economy can't "grow" any more. Is climate change telling us we have reached that point?

I think our political agenda needs to change. If we had a Minister for Simplicity, she would be overseeing the development of factories to produce good quality, repairable, electrical appliances and cars that run on hydrogen; she would be encouraging us to attend the sewing or gardening classes in our neighbourhood; she would support the use of renewable energy, give rebates for solar panels and make water tanks compulsory on all homes. Schools would teach life skills. Community gardens would flourish. The general population would re-discover self-reliance.

Isn't that alternative an enticing idea. It would be wonderful if we had governments that really meant it when they said "it's time for change". Imagine if our factories reopened to produce sustainable, good quality products we all needed. Imagine if children grew up learning about vegetable gardening instead of sitting in front of an Xbox for hour upon hour. Imagine if credit cards were banned and we went back to thinking carefully about what we need, and then saving for it. The reduction in our landfill dumps alone would be astounding!

I don't believe that is going to happen, at least not in my lifetime. I am an optimist but I'm not stupid. I know handing out money is far more popular than being the instrument of change. I know band-aid measures are popular.

But in the meantime, we can all work towards further reductions in our lives. We can teach ourselves lost skills and be energised by producing some of our own food. We can slow down our spending and pay off debt. Big business hates that - it takes away their control of us. We can sew and knit, keep chooks; teach our children; talk to our neighbours; make do with what we have; be aware of our local natural environment and care for it; cook from scratch and become healthier because of it; and live smaller instead of bigger.

And while you're doing that, show your friends and neighbours what you're doing; they might be interested. Talk to your children about your family's changes and show them ways they might change too. Explain what you're doing to your extended family and work mates. If we can help others find a way of living that will help them survive this financial crisis, that helps us all. Be open with what you're doing and show others the benefits of your changes. And if you get the chance to talk to your local politicians, tell them how you've changed, what you've done and what you've planned for your future. Then ask them when we will have our first Minister for Simplicity.

I want to sincerely thank everyone who has sent prayers and good wishes for my foot to heel. I tried all the natural remedies before I went to the doctor. Unfortunately, in this instance, they didn't work; I'd left it too long. I'm going back to the doctor today and I think he'll start me on stronger antibiotics. The first two packs didn't work as expected. I haven't taken antibiotics for about 15 years so I don't really know what the common ones are now. Anyhow, I'll go back and talk to the doctor and hopefully I'll be on the mend soon.

Thank you for your patience. I'll be posting old blogs again this week. This one is from 19 March 2009.

We've all wanted her to return. That icon of the fifties, the housewife in the Audrey Hepburn dress and frilly apron who had perfect lipstick and a hot meal waiting for her man. Well, it looks like she's back, but she's changed a lot. Now our homemaker is dressed in jeans and a T shirt, a long linen skirt, or pretty dress. The apron is still there, it might even be "vintage", purchased on eBay for a price we would have laughed at back then, but apart from the apron and the kids, our modern homemaker is nothing like her 1950s counterpart. In the 1950s, housewives were looking for convenience and Laminex, and were embracing plastic. Now we are getting back to basics, going green and reskilling ourselves. Convenience has been replaced by authenticity.

Today's homemaker lives with increasing prices in an international economic crisis. She lives in a world of sharp contrasts - on the one hand she has the internet to connect with others, learn her craft and reskill herself, but that same technology also brings danger into her home in the form of scammers, paedophiles and conmen. She lives with the convenience of mobile phones, but also their cost and proliferation into the lives of our young children. She lives in a world of man-made antibiotics, chemicals and preservatives that are added to our foods and drinks, but some of those antibiotics and chemicals have reduced common illnesses and virtually eliminated some diseases. She also lives in a world that gives little respect to the role of the homemaker, while courting her to spend her money in this store or that.

Nowadays, women are returning to their homes for a number of reasons. They may have decided to raise their family and not return to work, they may have lost their job and realised they can add to their family's health and well being by working in a more frugal home. There are also all those women who I include in this huge shift in thinking - working women who must go out to work but who know the true value of the home and dive into it head first in the evenings and on the weekends. Altogther, we are the women who will change the face of homemaking in the coming years.

I am proud of the work I do in my community, I am equally proud of the work I do here at home. Working side by side with Hanno, we have created a life that enriches us and allows us to live with independence and freedom. We are independent in that we know how to look after ourselves, to grow food and make a comfortable home, and we are free in that we owe no debt. And there are many people who look at us and say how much they admire what we do and wish to do the same, but if truth be told, we are just enacting the role of the homemaker where we make do, repair, cook, bake and clean, using what some might see as old-fashioned techniques, but within a modern context.

Big deal, we are doing what our grandmas used to do. There is nothing new in this. But maybe the pride in doing it is new. I want to encourage all of you, whether you are just starting on this path or have been on it longer than I have, to take pride in your work and to support other women who are homemakers. The work we do in our homes is significant and vital, not only for our selves and our families but for the nation.

I hope you all know how important you are in your own homes. Take back your power to look after yourself and your home. Use the power of your hard earned dollars to support your family and the local businesses you believe give you the best value for money. Complain when you don't get good service and prices and tell that store manager you will take your business elsewhere. They might pretend to ignore you, but a business who doesn't take their customers seriously doesn't last too long. If things don't change, shop somewhere else, then tell your friends. The power of the dollar is an incredible force and we homemakers do most of the buying for our homes, let's use the power we have. Now, more than ever, it is vital that we get value for our money. We need to help our families through this crisis by cutting back as much as we can. We have to learn new skills to do that and we have to learn how to shop for food in innovative ways that stretch our dollars. You are your family's role model right now, it is up to you to show your family that personal growth is possible at such a time and the days of buying whatever you want are behind you. Thrift is back.

Let us welcome the happy homemaker. The move is on to make our homes a haven from the stresses of the world, take control of your life, change how you look at housework and look to the future with knowledge that whatever effort and energy you put into your home will be returned to you, plus some. Sure, nothing is good all the time, you will have bad days, I know I do, but the good days should far out number the bad.

As modern homemakers we have the power of our shopping dollars, we have the power of our technology, and we can choose to see the work of our homes are challenging, satisfying and enriching. You can make your home a place of contentment and comfort. You can change the way you think of housework and see it as an investment in your family's well being. You will be very influential in seeing your entire family through this economic crisis. What you learn now and what you already know could very well mean make or break for your family.

There is a significant job of work to be done here in our homes. We need to plan what we're doing, learn the skills we need to get us through this and work for the good of our families. Let's put our aprons on and begin.

My sincere thanks to everyone who sent a comment or email. I'm doing fairly well with my foot but it's so slow to heal. I'm going back to the doctor tomorrow and I'm pretty sure I need another course of antibiotics.

This post was written on 9 August 2007.

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I live a life of contentment in a beautiful part of Australia. I grow some of my own vegetables, keep a few hens in the backyard, I bake bread and preserve food. I live well with no debt on a low income. My goal is to continue living this way and if I can convince a few others to walk this path less travelled, I’ll be a happy woman.

There was a time when I worked as a technical writer, paid a mortgage and shopped at mainstream supermarkets and department stores. There was no method to my madness and I didn’t know where I was headed. Yet from the time I was around 25 years old I had a buried yearning to live the type of simple life my contemporaries viewed with contempt. In those quiet hours of 4.00 am contemplation, I knew that my future held a new direction where less was more and contentment would fill the sweet air I breathed; but I didn’t know almost 30 years would pass before I started to live that dream. I wish I’d been serious about simplicity long before I turned 50, because this way of life holds appeal for all age groups, and will change the way you view the world.

The most common question I hear regarding simple living is: “How do I start?” Well the answer to that seemingly simple question is not so straight forward. It depends on why you want to change. The end result will be the similar but your focus will be slightly different. Hopefully this blog will show you the steps needed to start living simply, whatever your reason.

I also want this blog to encourage people, young and older, to take charge of their lives by not buying into the materialism trap. I think there has been a major shift in thinking in Australia in the last ten years or so. As a society we are moving closer to a kind of moral and material bankruptcy because we trust self-indulgent, unsustainable promises that tell us living a good life requires the latest product in this year’s “must have” colour. We have to have the biggest and the best and it is fine to go into debt to get it. Those promises are problematic. They require that you mortgage your life, enclose yourself with debt obligations and work non-stop to pay for stress-filled fake living that doesn’t allow you enough time to enjoy what you have. Those promises don’t allow for enjoyment of the natural world, they encourage a consumerist approach to life when what is needed for long-term gratification is a prudent and simple one.

Your life should be about you, your family and the people you choose to include in your daily activities. What you see portrayed in today’s advertising is a false representation of modern Australian life. It is a glamorised lie to encourage you to spend money on products you don’t need.

Reinvent your life. Think about what is really important to you and develop a set of values that reflect your true beliefs. Respect and nurture your values. Discover what it is you really want your life to be and then make plans to live that life. Define for yourself what are needs and what are wants. Be courageous and change your attitude about what success means to you. Free yourself of the conventional idea of what you should own and want, strip yourself of pretension and in the process you’ll discover your true self.

I want this blog to take you on a journey inside yourself to discover your passions, uncover your true potential and to help you be the authentic you. Mindless consumerism masks us all. It surrounds us with junk that turns us into curators of merchandise. Free yourself of all that ties you down, be that debt, clutter, stress, envy, or wanting too much. In a world filled with overindulgence, simplicity will liberate you.

If you’re wondering why you work from dawn till dark just to pay the mortgage and put food on the table, this blog is for you. If you just bought more clothes and yet more things to put in your home and still feel a sense of emptiness, this blog is for you. If you don’t have enough money to live on, or if you have too much, this blog is for you. If you feel trapped by modern living, welcome home.

Many of us may voluntarily choose to live simply but even if it chooses you, the result is similar. You live a life that is marked by less rather than more, you organise your home to nurture and support you and your family members, you help develop a caring and supportive community, you make from scratch much of what you consume, you aim to live debt-free, you respect your environment, minimise waste and you are content with your life choices and the kind of person you are.

Living a simple life is about beating the system and not following the same road everyone else is on. Stop following what your friends and neighbours are doing. They’re probably up to their ears in debt too. Reinvent your life. Be bold, live a life you care about, simplicity can make you soar.

I hope this blog will help you discover the essence of simple living and how to apply it to your own circumstances. Please remember that we are diverse nation and have different aspirations. What is right for some is wrong for others. So cherry pick the information here and apply as much as you can to your own life while keeping an open mind about developing new strategies and ways of living that suit you. There is no one size fits all formula when simplifying your life.

To help you simplify I have included information about the practical aspects of day-to-day living. Some readers will already be familiar with some of the activities contained within these pages, others will be novices. There was a time when much of this was common knowledge but our consumer culture has conned us into relying on products to sustain and support us. We’ve forgotten old ways and instead work our entire lives to pay for merchandise that others create for us. The more we have, the more we want, and so the never-ending cycle continues. It wasn’t like that in the past and it doesn’t have to be like that now. We can relearn our collective heritage of basic skills and apply them to our modern lives.

So, what do you really want out of life? If you want more of everything, if you know that you’ll never have enough or be enough, then stop reading this blog now and go back to work. But if you want to live an authentic life, if you want to enjoy time with your family, if you want to help save dwindling resources, if you want to become more self-reliant and build your skills, if you want to discover the real you and live the kind of life you dream for yourself, then read on, the simple life is for you. When you know that buying more of everything will not make you happier and that saving resources is better than spending them, then you will really know that less is more. Welcome to your new life.

This post is from 2008

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 cow 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 or furniture. 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 in a warm climate 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 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.

Respectful. Economical. Productive.

This is from 31.3.2010. Little did I know that 12 months after that day our first grandson, Jamie, would be born. :- )

The beginnings of our new season garden.

From the outside, our simple house belies the fact that such rich lives are being lived here. You can see and feel it in the backyard with the abundance of life evident there, but at the front, well, our small home looks like many others dotted endlessly throughout the urban and rural areas of Australia. But Hanno and I have found the secret of living well and we are developing the art of it every day. It took that break away from blogging for me to step back and look at what we've got here. Our lives are not just skin deep, there is real depth here.

Tomatoes, capsicums and green onions.

Taking a break from this blog, even though it is a familiar friend to me now, helped me step back and take in how our lives here have evolved and shaped us. During my break I made sure I slowed down. It's one aspect of this simple life that I always need to readjust. Swiftness and efficiency often take over from slow and mindful, especially on work days and when I'm away from home. I need to slow myself back down again, put the brakes on and remind myself that work done slowly and mindfully easily gets through the chores and there is no stress at the end of the day.

Here is my main gardener, Mr Hetzel.

So while I've been away, Hanno has been working on the garden and I have to tell you that the soil this year is the best it's ever been. From almost empty beds just a few short weeks ago, we now have cucumbers nearly ready to eat, capsicums (peppers), lettuces, tomatoes, bok choy, beetroot, radishes, sugarloaf cabbages and green beans. In the bushhouse, we planted seeds for leeks, tomatoes, more sugarloaf cabbages, silverbeet and those wildly mad zinnias that bring bright colour to the garden. The zinnias are ready for planting now, the vegetables need another week or two.

Bok choy growing fast in front of grass clippings waiting to be made into compost.

Inside our home I've been knitting Hanno a jumper (sweater) and am just finishing the back. I hope to have him in it by June. I've also been reading new books and re-reading older ones, especially the wonderful Simple Living by Frank Levering and Wanda Urbanska. I read it several years ago but I'm enjoying it more now because I understand, from experience, what it is they hoped to do and how they fashioned their lives to suit themselves. I also have The New Compete Book of Self Sufficiency by the late John Seymour, sent to me as a blog giveaway by Steel Kitten, that I'm enjoying a lot. She actually sent two copies because the first one took months to arrive and she immediately ordered another copy when I told her it hadn't arrived. Naturally, when one turned up, so did the other. Thank you, Sarah. And thanks to everyone who sent a comment about my return. It gives me a wonderful feeling knowing that I'm welcomed back and have been missed.

Yes, it came back again. It was hiding behind the nesting boxes.

The chooks are healthy and happy, even though they had another visit from that snake. Alice is doing well, despite her old age and ill health. Things are starting to settle down at my voluntary job and I imagine that in a month or so the slow rhythm of my days will return there as well. I've rearranged and stopped a few things I was doing so that now I feel quietly confident that I can keep up my home duties, work in my community and at a couple of little jobs and get everything done that needs doing. It's a good feeling knowing those tasks I've set myself will be carried out as planned. I do not need every day to be a good one, but I do need to know that I have done my best everyday.

Cucumber tendrils have grown higher than they ought. In the background is a lemon tree with about one hundred lemons growing fat and juicy.

I remember when I first stopped working for a living, one of the things I hoped the days ahead would hold was richness. I was not seeking richness in a monetary sense but more a life that was multi-layered, that built on its foundations and add layer upon layer the kind of work that would result in an unusual life by today's standards, as well as a rich and rewarding one. Tick.

Some of the seeds we planted. The zinnias will be planted out today.

There is nothing better than waking to a new day that you know will be full of productive and interesting work around the home. Pottering with this and that, putting things right, cooking, gardening, baking, sewing, sitting and thinking - all the things that went into old fashioned lives and not so much into those that are modern. Those things, to me, make a perfect day. And the truth is these days are so easy to home make. All they require is a commitment to one's self - a promise to stay true to our values and to live as we wish, not part of an homogeneous crowd, but as individuals who think about how we live. I do not need many of those perfect days to keep me going, just the promise of one tomorrow or next week is enough. And enough is all I'm after.

I want to thank you for the loving comments and emails you sent yesterday. Sometimes it takes my breath away when I feel the level of goodness you send to me.

- - - - - - ♥- - - - - -

Dec 16, 2009

We are back to a practical subject again today because I've been thinking about the word "germaphobe" and it scares me a little. I've come across this word a few times recently and I want to comment on it. We all know it makes good sense to keep a clean house, to raise children to wash their hands before they eat and, in general, to maintain good levels of cleanliness in the home. But you can be too clean.

Hang your dirty dishcloths and rags over the side of the laundry bin to dry while they're waiting to be washed.

Since television advertising started blabbing on about the benefits of whiter than white and how we can rid our homes of germs, we've been brainwashed to believe that every germ is harmful, every germ must be killed and if we don't do that, we're not as good as our next door neighbours. What hogwash!

There are many medical studies around now that assure us that exposing children to pets and normal household dirt is good for them. It builds up the immune system and allows their little bodies to naturally develop antibodies to fight those germs. Back a few years, when I was growing up, and even when my boys were young in the 1980s it was common for children to play out side. Out there, among the dirt, bugs and grass, not only were they having fun swinging on ropes and riding bikes, they were building bone strength, muscle tissue and healthy immune systems. Nowadays there is a tendency for children to play inside on computers and playstations, and inside is becoming increasingly clean. We have gone from the common family home with a dirt floor in the 1800s to stainless steel and the war against germs now.

We are surrounded by millions of bacteria and viruses but only a small number actually cause us any harm, the rest we live with, have evolved with, and being exposed to them has helped build tolerance and resistance to many of them. When we do our daily chores it's not necessary to rid the home of germs - it's impossible, and it's not a healthy option. I'm not advocating that we leave ours sink dirty and not sweep the floor. Of course we continue to do those things. We also need to wipe handles, cupboard doors, remote controls, light switches etc, but we shouldn't be using antibacterial wipes. Soap and water, vinegar or bicarb will do the trick. Using bleach, peroxide or disinfectant every day is overkill.

Wash your dishcloths once or twice a week, depending on how dirty they are. In between times, thoroughly rinse the cloth, wring it out and hang it over the tap or sink to dry. Few bacteria can survive dry conditions, they need moisture to propagate and thrive. Hang your dirty dishcloths and cleaning rags over the side of the laundry bin/basket so if they're wet they can dry out and not sit in the pile of dirty laundry, wet, waiting for a few days to be washed.

Take the pressure off yourself to kill germs, your aim should be to have a clean home. You'll never eliminate germs completely. So relax, put the bleach bottle away, stop buying the antibacterial wipes and allow the short sharp exposure to pathogens in the normal home to build your immune system. If you do that, your immune system will not only protect you from colds and flu but also from more sinister ailments.

I'm taking a bit of time away from the blog. I've been having a problem with an infection in my foot and the doctor advised me that if I want to keep it attached to my leg, I need to rest it. He wanted me to cancel the workshops, go to hospital and be treated there, but we arrived at a compromise and now I'm at home sitting down with my leg up as much as I can. Hanno has taken over the home chores and is treating me like a queen on her throne. I'll still be doing the workshops but then I have to come straight home and rest again. So I thought that I'd offer you a few old posts that you may have missed. I'll be back with new posts as soon as I can manage it. :- )

The post below was written on 21 December 2008.

When I gave up work and returned to my home I promised myself that all the days of multitasking, doing too much in a half-hearted way, and second best were in my past. I decided that I wanted to live deliberately, that the decisions I made would be carried out with care, and from then on, I would do my best, no matter what the task was.

It took a while to get used to that change. I had to slow down and concentrate on what I was doing. I had to focus on one thing at a time and do it to the best of my ability. The pace of my work slowed down and, after a while, so did I. My mind stopped racing and I adopted a slow and mindful approach to everything I did. The strange thing to me was that even though I slowed everything down, I still got my house work done, and I came out the other end of it much more relaxed and pleased with what I achieved. I realised then that putting housework off, or not doing it at all, added to the stress of it. Doing it slowing, one task at a time, gave a rhythm to the day that helped the work flow.

But it wasn't only the housework that I applied this new philosophy to. It was also my relationships with people. I found that when I slowed down and concentrated on the person I was with, it made a difference. When I stopped thinking about what I would do later in the day, or tomorrow, and gave my thoughts as well as my time to the person I was with, I gave more and got a lot more in return. When I gave my best, they gave their best too.

When I started writing this blog I wanted it to be the best. Not the best blog, but the best that I could do. Some days I struggle with what I should write, mainly because I think it's too mundane to be a subject. Some days I use my blog to work out things in my own head - like thinking aloud. Some days the words flow like honey from a honey pot and I have to stop myself for fear of overwhelming you. It's been up and down, but I think I can say that every day I've written here has been the best I could give on that particular day; I have not written half-heartedly.

That has paid off handsomely. I gave my best and got your best in return. Sure, there have been a couple of hiccoughs, but over the year the comments have become a genuine and substantial part of this blog. You give a lot when you comment, it's like a payment for the writing, it not essential but when it happens it rewards me because I know my words are finding you and not just floating out there. That is true of everyone's blog, not just mine.

I am looking forward to Christmas because all my boys will be here, one with his special girl. We are having a family dinner on Christmas Eve with seven of us sitting down to eat, the first time we've all been together for a long, long time. On Christmas morning, we'll all help cook and serve at the free Christmas breakfast I have been organising at work this past month. Last year we served 450 breakfasts, I wonder how many there will be this year. I hope this year will be our best.

This is the last post I'll write for a while because I need to have a break. I'll be enjoying my family, working on my book, watching the cricket, knitting, relaxing and generally getting ready for another good year. A special thank you to Sharon who has been such a help to me throughout the year, both here and at the co-op blog. Thank you for your visits and comments during the year, you have made this blog writing thing a real joy for me. Have a merry Christmas, stay safe and enjoy your holidays. I send you and your family my best.

I will start writing my next book in July. It will continue the simple life theme but look at it from a different angle. So one of the things I'm doing again is to forensically examine the importance of organisation and routines in the home and what impact convenience has on our lives when we have to pay for it. I'm not against convenience or progress but I know first hand how much you have to pay if you buy it and when you're trying to live a more modest and frugal life, for me the price of convenience when I can make it, wash it or mend it myself, is just too high. It also makes sense in other ways too. I want to maintain my homemaking, cooking and traditional skills, and what I make here is healthier and fresher than anything I can buy. It's really a no brainer - as long as I can organise the time.

Almost all of us have bought a pizza for dinner instead of making a meal from scratch when we're tired and short of time. I've bought seedlings instead of seeds for the sake of convenience too. Just recently when I was short of time and I had visitors coming, I bought a date loaf from the local baker. But I would never buy sliced apples in a bag, washed salad, or shredded cheese. That's going too far for me. I'm sure you have your own particular items you just won't compromise on and those that don't seem such a big deal. Just to illustrate the price of convenience when it's applied to food: ready to use, washed Asian greens are $5 for 350 grams. However, a bunch of baby pak choi (3) is $1.96, baby wombok is $2.98 = $4.94 and you'd have enough for at least two meals. So in that instance, it's double the price. Or 1 kg of coleslaw already made is $10 - but a ½ cabbage is $2.49, two carrots about 40 cents, an onion 30 cents and some homemade dressing about 50 cents = $3.69, a saving of $6.31 on one item. These are Woolworth's prices.

Ernie, during one of work sessions last week.

I know that if I was better organised than I am now, I would have been able to make my own date loaf and sown seeds to grow into seedlings here. It really does come down to organising the time you have to fit in what you have to do and what you want to do. I'm having a really busy time here at the moment. I'm getting ready for the writing and blogging workshops, writing material for simple living workshops coming up in July, trying to finish off the cheese and dairy book (it's nearly there), make up an ebook version of Down to Earth for the north American market, write my blog and visit the forum as much as I can. I do that as well as my house work, which is an important part of my life, I hope to get into the garden more as the season progresses and, last but never least, my family - I want to spend time with them or at least talk on the phone whether they're close or far away.

I'm getting back into my heavy work routine again now and I hope it helps me do all the things I want and need to do. I also have Hanno's help. He volunteers to do a lot of things when he knows they need to be done. He's happy to do the washing, vacuum the floor, shop for groceries and (occasionally) wash up. He's my main support and back up because I know if I ask him to do anything, he'll do it. I'm still getting up early and it's then I do my blog and read emails. By 9am I have to have breakfast finished, the kitchen tidy, bread on and the bed made. Then I write. When I need a break I generally have a tea break around 10am, then I check the bread and get dinner organised. If it's something that requires long slow cooking I start it, if not, I'll get the supplies out if they're frozen, if it's all fresh I'll leave it till the afternoon. Lunch around 12 ish, when I have a real break - lunch and knitting. After lunch I write again and when I have my afternoon break it will be to do something like gardening, baking or cleaning. I'll do whatever I can fit into 30 minutes, no more. It's important to not go over my self-imposed time limits.

If I stick to that routine, I'll be able to do my housework, writing and make all the things I currently make. I never want to get to the stage of paying someone to wash my lettuce or make my soap and biscuits and I know that if I am organised, have clear goals and stick to my routine, I'll be fine. But it's not easy. I also know that nothing is perfect and if there are days when I don't do what I'd planned, that the world won't end and I'll probably do it the following day, or the next. My routine rules are: have set time frames, don't go over them, write down what I have to do each morning, take breaks and look after me as well.

Routines and organisation are such an important part of any homemaker's day, including those who work in the home full-time, those who do paid work part-time at home and those who go out to work and house keep before and after work and on weekends. How do you organise your days?

We've finally made it to autumn, my favourite of all the seasons. I start looking forward to autumn on the summer solstice, which was December 21 last year, the longest day of the year and the start of shortening days. After that, even though we still have a lot of heat and humidity to endure, little by little I know it's trickling slowly down towards autumn, cool days, warm cardigans, flannel sheets, hearty homemade soups and lambswool Ugg slippers.

It's now the fourth day of autumn in Australia and the coolness has come early to our area this year. I think it's still warm north and south of us. On Saturday night Hanno woke up cold and had to put another quilt on the bed. So yesterday, I carried out one of my favourite annual rituals - making the first winter bed, with flannel sheets and an extra layer on top. It's such a defining moment when I think about the coming season, when we'll be working in the vegetable garden, cooking and baking warm food in the kitchen and closing the doors and windows early to keep the cooler air out.

The strange weather is continuing. We've had so much rain here - since the beginning of the year 42 wet days and 20 dry days. This is our wet season but usually we'd get a handful of storms in the afternoon and evening, not all day rain for weeks. I am grateful for it though. It's drenched the gardens and given the trees and land the boost they need after a six month drought. Our local dam is full again.

Ernie and I start our workshops this week and I'm looking forward to it very much. We'll get the update on the bookings tomorrow but last week the blogging ones were almost all booked out. There will be more writing workshops than blogging workshops and I have to admit, it's the writing sessions I'm looking forward to the most. I don't claim to be a master writer but I'm keen to share what I do know with my community and, hopefully, get others on the road to self expression.

I'm writing this on a cloudy Sunday afternoon and it's just started raining again. Soon we'll have dinner, and after I tidy up and do a spot of knitting, I'll have a shower and get into that fluffy winter bed and listen to the rain on the roof. In the meantime though, corn beef and cabbage are slowly cooking in the kitchen so I'd better get a wriggle on.

What is your favourite time of year?