As the final hours of 2019 rolled along, I sat with increasing sadness watching our country burn. Each new day revealed red landscape and s...

I've just come in from the garden on this humid morning and want to pass on a few tips for hot and dry summer gardening. I know there a...

A couple of weeks ago I was asked on Instagram what my connection to Clare Bowditch was because she'd thanked me, as one of many, in he...

This is our new cottage garden. I started it in August and it's growing well but it's not quite finished. We've gone from tendi...

Today, I've written about our Bosch induction stove top, Bosch heat pump clothes dryer and Miele dishwasher. Water and energy efficienc...

Hello sewers. I've started a sewing bee involving recycling old fabric. You can recycle unused old fabric from your stash, an old dress...

It's been a crazy week with many visitors, reading, gardening, rest and a lot of busyness snaking through my days. The highlight of the...

It will be cloudy here today with a minimal chance of rain so I'll be out in the garden planting up geranium Rozanne, a Lillipop Soda P...

I've been working in my garden for a few weeks transitioning from a vegetable to a cottage garden and trying to get everything read...

This is a continuation of this story   We set off on our first book tour just before Down to Earth was to be published on 22 February,...

A few new readers have ask about my books, how I got published and how I fit writing into my daily routine, so I thought  there may be othe...

Hello friends, I'm back!  I had a few projects in my sights during my blog break. A few of them were a bit airy-fairy and I can't r...

Life is bubbling along nicely here. Hanno and I have been decluttering, again, we've had numerous visitors, Jamie spent the day with us...

Sunny, Kerry and Jamie flew back from Korea on Tuesday after Sun Ja's funeral. Thanks to everyone who send kind and loving messages to ...

We heard the sad news yesterday that Sunny's dear mother, Sun Ja, died in Seoul, South Korea, after a long illness. She was a wonderfu...

No matter what stage of life you're at, you'll benefit by reducing your expenses and living on less than you earn. Generally your r...

I've just realised that a significant blogging milestone has been reached - there have been 30 million page views here on my blog! I kn...

Over on my Instagram pages recently, I created a photo gallery for an online sewing bee. It never fails to amaze me how talented and creat...

Hanno has picked the last of the oranges and we have a bucket full sitting outside the kitchen door. We'll use them in the coming days ...

It's been a very busy week here with no time for blogging. I'm sending out the notes for my writing and blogging workshops today an...

I had a sore back yesterday so all I did was make bread and butter cucumbers, rye bread and some sweet potato soup for lunch. In the mornin...

I want to get a better idea of what everyone is making for the Do Whatever You Want Bee. The bee started 4 June and will end on Tuesday 2 J...

I still have one spot in the blogging workshop and a few spots in the writers' group. Full details are here:  https://down---to---earth...

In early April we had a sewing bee to make aprons with the information and comments here on my blog. When the aprons were finished, I made ...

When I gave up work in my 50s and decided to live a simpler life, I secretly hoped that one day I might be able to earn some money working ...

I'm still dealing with the over-supply of chillies so a couple of days ago I pulled out the bush, stripped the chillies off and starte...

Over the years we've lived here, I've grown to love the homing pigeons that live a few doors down. You can set your clock by them i...

Before I start today I want to thank Teri for sharing information in my last post about using a Kitchen Aide mixer to knead bread dough.  S...

Before I start today, I want to thank you all for such beautiful comments on my 12 year anniversary post.  I was surprised and touched tha...

Twelve years ago today, I sat here at a table in my sewing room and started my blog, Down to Earth. I had no idea what I was doing. During ...

It was a close to a perfect day in the garden yesterday. Temp 26C, low humidity, the brightest of blue skies and so many migrating birds re...

I'm having a Blogging for Beginners Workshop on Saturday, 25 May and a Writers' Workshop (getting published) on Sunday, 26 ...

After a couple of weeks of rain, we now have sunshine and the gentle heat of late autumn. The strawberries are growing well, raspberries an...

At some point in the morning, without fail, I make our bed. It's an indispensable part of my home making and the comfort it provide...

It's been a busy week. Shane, Alex and Eve slept here last night. Jamie is here now, Shane is at work and soon they'll go over to K...