I used to think housekeeping and the mindset that supported it was demeaning and dependence-driven. In those days of high-flying Rhonda, power and independence were demonstrated by having enough money to get others to look after my home for me. I knew a home was a necessity but I didn't realise its significance. I didn't take the time to get to know my own home until I gave up work - there was something calling me back home but I didn't know how much I would be changed by being here until I surrendered all thoughts of the outside world, slowed down and focused on living to my true potential.

Now that I've cut myself off from the overtly commercial world and shop only for needs rather than wants, I have come to see the domestic world I live in with kinder eyes, and I appreciate it much more than I ever did before. I know now that I am more independent than I have ever been. I am not tied down by debt, contracts, fashion, trying to prove myself to indifferent people or wanting to be more than I am or have more than I need.

I had forgotten that cooking a meal at night was not just about food but also nutrition, health, integrity, reliability and the most effective way of drawing a growing family close each day. Until I took up my knitting needles I didn't fully understand the satisfaction of using and wearing hand made. Smelling the aroma of home made bread awoke in me the memory of it when I was little - my father was a baker. All these things, and more, helped me come back to myself. The softness of my home made it a place of peace and comfort, it was easy to be here and when I made it the productive and creative place I needed it to be I didn't want to leave.

I am happiest when I am working at home, knowing that my family is happy and healthy and well on the way to building their own lives. When I keep my house as clean as a whistle, take time out for knitting, watching the chooks and the wild birds and gardening, when I cut, pin and sew each afternoon and cook a good meal from our backyard each day, I consider that success of the finest order. But I don't just live for what I can do for myself and my family, I live also so that I can give to others and therefore I spend time on my blog and forum, I volunteer in the community and help where I can. There are never enough hours.

I guess the biggest surprise for me about living a life focused on home is the independence and power that comes from that. Gone are the days when I looked for validation in shopping malls and being just like my contemporaries. Now I'm pleased to stand apart, I don't want to be like anyone else, I don't bother about fashion or trends, I know now that my true value is more complex than that.

There is a feeling of control and self-reliance that comes from getting my house in order, from growing vegetables and fruit; planning out a day; knowing how to store and prepare wholesome food; from working out a frugal budget and sticking to it; being creative and skillful enough to produce the majority of my family's needs; learning how to get the best from what we own and to use those assets to help us live well; and by being prepared, emotionally and financially, for hard times, while working towards and celebrating times of abundance and family growth.

I am not going to say that living as I do is right for everyone but I'm pleased I know now that it's right for me. I know now that my home is a reflection of me and that getting to know my home and becoming comfortable here helped me understand myself and my place in the world. Being here at home has given me direction, it's enriched my life and made me a better person than I was. In the grand scheme of things it doesn't matter much how I live but when groups of us live in a purposeful way, it does make a difference. One of the absolute pleasures of writing here as I do is that I have come to know there are many who live in a thoughtful and purposeful way, and for that I am ever thankful.

I hope you have a beautiful week.

One of my long time blog friends, Little Jenny Wren, has done a tutorial on the most delightful little pinwheel hair clips. I want to add it to the projects we can make for Christmas. If you've never visited Jenny's site, pop over there today and be prepared for a treat.

When I stopped eating meat for all those years, the one thing I missed was meatloaf. Ha! Meatloaf is a frugal favourite for a lot of people. I like it because it's a tasty, cheap meal and I can cook one meatloaf and it will do us for dinners and sandwiches for quite a few days. On the first day I always bake vegetables in the oven alongside the meatloaf, the second day I slice a few pieces off and reheat them, they are served with mashed potato, pumpkin, carrots and silverbeet. The third day it's cold meatloaf with salad.

Everyone has their own favourite recipe, and I have mine, but since I read Nourishing Traditions, I've modified my recipe slightly. Here is the Nourishing Traditions recipe:

SPICY MEAT LOAF
2 pounds (1 kilo) of ground beef or any other red meat
½ pound of ground heart (optional) - I don't add this
1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped - I grate the carrot
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
4 tablespoons butter
¼ teaspoon dried chilli flakes
1 teaspoon dried thyme - I use fresh thyme
1 teaspoon cracked pepper
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 ½ cups whole grain bread crumbs - I use three slices whole grain bread
1 cup cream - I use ½ cup milk
1 egg - I add two eggs in with the milk
1 tablespoon fish sauce (optional)
4 tablespoons tomato paste - I don't add this

Saute onions, carrot and celery in butter until soft. Add chilli flakes, thyme, pepper and salt and stir around. [Take off heat and allow to cool] Meanwhile, soak bread crumbs in beaten eggs and milk.
Have a 9 inch Pyrex pan ready. Using your hands, mix meat with vegetables, soaked bread, and fish sauce. Form into a loaf and put in the pan. Spread tomato paste on top and bake in the oven on 350 F (180C) for 1½ hours. I don't cook my meatloaf in a loaf pan. I form it into a loaf and put it into a baking dish. I prefer this method because I think putting it in a loaf pan makes it stew in the juices instead of roasting it.

You don't need to buy the extra lean ground beef for this dish. According to Nourishing Traditions (page 357) The University of Missouri conducted tests on regular, lean and extra lean ground beef. They found that the broiling (grilling) process almost levelled out the cholesterol and fat content of the beef. They started as 28.5 percent for the regular beef and nine percent for the extra lean. The higher fat beef lost mainly fat and cholesterol while the leaner meat lost moisture. In the end the regular beef had only four percent more fat than the leaner beef but the test tasters said the regular beef was juicer and more tender.

If you would like to serve a good gravy with the meatloaf, throw out that gravy mix and do this instead. When you take the meat from the roasting pan, drain off any excess fat in the pan keeping about ½ cup - it needs to cover the bottom of the pan. Add salt and pepper, ½ cup plain (all purpose) flour and stir this all together over a medium heat. Stand at the pan and keep stirring because this can easily burn. What you're trying to do is to develop a deep brown colour in the mix without burning it. When it gets towards the colour you like for your gravy, add homemade stock if you have it (beef or chicken will do) or water if you have no stock. Stir quickly, to prevent lumps forming, until the liquid is thick and lump-free. Turn the gravy right down to a very low heat and serve your meat and vegetables and then pour the hot gravy on top of the meat. This gravy will store in the fridge for one night - use it the next day.

I'm going to be busy today. I have some fundraising baking to do this morning. I'm making a couple of dozen mini quiches to be sold at our stall this morning. If you're in Maleny, please drop buy, we have cakes, slices, plants and books, and all money raised goes to the Maleny Neighbourhood Centre. After I drop off the quiches, I'll come home again to tidy up and after lunch I'll drive Hanno to the doctor. He's been having trouble with his knee for some time and his doctor has referred him on to a specialist. I am keeping my fingers crossed that it's nothing serious.

There is a bit of work to be done over the weekend but I hope to get through it all early so I can spend a bit of time knitting and sewing. There are always things to do when you make the majority of what you use - sometimes you look forward to the tasks, sometimes you don't But overall being busy with life tasks fills my days with interesting work and that is the most anyone can hope for. I'd take interesting work over watching "soapies", shopping and "retirement" any day.

Thank you for your comments here and visits to the forum this week. I love reading your comments, they give me the feeling that I'm not alone and inspire me more than you can know. I hope you have a peaceful weekend.

Good morning everyone. I don't have time for my normal post today but I'll be answering a few questions in the comments later. In the meantime, the voting in the Nuffnang blog awards finishes this Sunday and I would really love you to vote for me until the voting finishes. Just click here for the voting page.

You can vote more than once but only every two hours. Thank you! I'll see you tomorrow.

It's that time of year again when I start thinking about Christmas gifts. I live in a tourist region and I was taught this lesson early - if I don't think about my gifts well before the school summer holidays start, forget all about going to the shops because it will be bedlam. Now I don't give nearly as much as I used to at Christmas time. I gave up on cards years ago and send an email full of family news instead. I gave up giving gifts to everyone except my immediate family and a couple of very close friends but this year, our family has expanded with the addition of two beautiful girls so I am thinking about gifts again - girls gifts!

All through December when I'm at my voluntary job we deal with people trying to cope with the added pressures Christmas brings. I try to teach that going into debt to buy gifts isn't a good thing and usually results in stress and anxiety. Even though we're coming out of a bad financial period, I hope the lessons of frugality are not forgotten. Christmas is more about showing love and extending the hand of hospitality than it is about buying gifts you can't afford.

Our Christmas morning will be spent, as usual, cooking a free breakfast, cutting up fruit and serving muesli and yoghurt to several hundred people in my town. It's a way of bringing our community together for a special meal, talking with each other and connecting on that special day. This year our breakfast will be in our new building so it will be extra special. Last year over 600 people came, who knows what will happen this year.

I have been looking in my wonderful Zakka sewing book for gift inspiration. Hilde sent me this book all the way from Germany, I use it frequently and often lend it to friends. I think I will make a couple of the Zakka linen tea towels this year. I also find inspiration online and these are fine places to set your mind working: The Long Thread, Soulemama's Advent Calendar, Kris Knits pin cushion, and Get Rich Slowly's list of frugal gifts you can make yourself.

I haven't made up my entire list for this Christmas, I don't know if there will be purchased gifts, but I do know that dishcloths, bags, tea cosies, mittens, gift packs of green cleaning materials and maybe some Christmas fruit cakes full of dried fruits, nuts and brandy will feature in the mix. If you're out shopping, keep your eyes open in craft and knitting stores for free patterns. I picked up some great patterns for little Christmas gifts at Lincraft a few weeks ago. I found free instructions for knitted headbands, slippers, iPod bag, man's hat and fingerless gloves. All of them are easy, suitable for a new knitter and all are fast projects that you would probably already have enough wool to make up. Babs just sent a comment about the Lincraft site. There are lots of these How to sheets online with instructions for knitting, crochet, sewing, beading, scrapbooking and Christmas craft. Thanks Babs!

I'm always adding to my stack of dishcloths and they make a perfect small Christmas gift. I usually give mine with some of my soap but a pack of three, neatly tied with matching ribbon or raffia, make a perfect gift. My favourite pattern is the waffle weave which I originally found on Deb's Homespun Living blog.


Over at the Down to Earth forum, Tammy has a great tutorial for new sewers where she shows how to make reversible napkins. And if you stay awhile browsing at the forum, check out the thread on What are you giving for the holidays? It holds a lot of good ideas, including ecoMILE's recipe for Vegan Gingerbread Cookies. That thread is already five pages long and not only will it give you some wonderful gift ideas, it's full of encouragement and support.

If you haven't already started, it's not too late, now is the perfect time to write up a list and start working on your home made Christmas. Try to use materials you already have and look around now for the odds and ends you know you'll need. One thing is for sure, when it comes closer to Christmas, the prices will rise and you'll end up spending more.

Have you made a list yet, if so, what gifts are you making this year?

Hanno and I had the first drink from the latest batch of ginger beer last night. It was so good! I sent a bottle of it down to Kerry and Sunny too so I'm spreading the love around. Ginger beer is a fermented drink that is easily made at home and as it's fermented, it contains many nutritious enzymes. In days gone by fermented food and drinks were part of our normal diet but we've lost the taste for them because commerce and convenience require that food and drinks are produced fast. My ginger beer takes about two weeks fermenting before it's ready to drink - this is traditional food, it's slow.

Fermenting is a chemical process that, in this drink, uses beneficial bacteria to create lactic acid and converts the sugar in the drink into carbon dioxide. We've all been taught that bacteria and food don't mix but this beneficial bacteria is the same as that in yoghurt, kimchee, sauerkraut, kefir and sour dough. It's good stuff!

To make ginger beer you need only a few ingredients - ginger, sugar and water. All your utensils must be thoroughly clean as any bad bacteria or yeasts will ruin it and you'll have to throw the whole lot out. You'll need a wide mouthed jar or canning jar; a loose weave cover - such as this milk jug cover in my photo (we'll be making another one of these next week) a piece of muslin or cheesecloth to use as a strainer; a large mixing bowl capable of holding 4½ litres/quarts; several large plastic bottles; a large jug and a funnel.

MAKING THE CULTURE
Add one dessert spoon of ginger powder OR a tablespoon full of diced fresh ginger to the jar
Add one dessert spoon of sugar
To that add 1½ cups of rain water, filtered water or tap water that has been allowed to stand for 24 hours, and mix together.


During the day let this mixture sit on the kitchen bench with the cover off. Cover it at night. Every day for seven days add one dessert spoon of ginger powder OR a tablespoon full of diced fresh ginger to the jar, and one dessert spoon of sugar, and mix it in.


After a couple of days, depending on the temperature in your home (it's faster when it's warm) you'll notice little bubbles start to form. That is good, the fermentation has begun. Smell the mix, it should smell of ginger and towards the end of the process, it might smell slightly of alcohol. That's fine too, the amount of alcohol that might form is tiny and it will be diluted. It will develop a little alcohol if their are those wild yeasts in the air in your home. It's nothing to worry about, even if children will drink this.

On the seventh day, feed the culture, mix it, then strain through some muslin or cheesecloth into your large container. Then add 20 cups of water, 3 cups of white or raw sugar and the juice of two lemons. Mix well and then bottle using the funnel and jug. Don't fill the bottles completely because they need space for the gasses that will develop, so leave about two or three inches at the top.



After the ginger beer has been bottled it needs to ferment some more in the bottle. Let the bottles sit on your kitchen bench or in the pantry for a few days. If you notice some of the bottles puffing up, put them in the fridge straight away. When they're cool, they're ready to drink. In this last batch I made, one bottle matured faster than the others and I noticed it because the carbon dioxide in the bottle puffed out the bottom of the bottle and it fell over. The bottles should be fine the first two days but after that check them twice a day, you'll be able to see little bubbles forming when they're ready to go in the fridge. Don't use glass bottles because they can't expand and might explode.


It sound s bit scary but if you're careful and watch the bottles, you'll be fine. This is live food! It's dynamic, it changes all the time. But using plastic bottles and keeping an eye on the process will give you some fine healthy fizzy drinks that even the kids will like.

ADDITIONAL READING - An interesting article about fermented drinks from the Weston Price Foundation, and right at the end, the recipe for ginger beer.

The latest waffle weave dishcloth.

I was home alone yesterday. Hanno drove down to the Gold Coast to help Kerry and Sunny buy a car. It's actually Sunny's car, she's saved enough to pay cash for a good second hand car and as she's coming home from work in the middle of the night in a very busy tourist town, I think it's an excellent idea that she's not waiting for the bus to get herself home safely. Like Kerry, Sunny is a chef. Hanno and Kerry had done some online research during the week so armed with his notes and a bag of goodies - homemade ginger beer, soap and some zucchinis, Hanno set off early Sunday morning for the two hour drive.

A gift - time alone at home.

I had no plans, I wanted to see the day slowly unfold of its own accord, so I loaded up the washing machine, fed the animals, let the chickens out to free range and settled down to read an old copy of British Country Living while I had breakfast. I love that magazine, I haven't bought a new copy for a few years now but I have several years worth of them to browse through and when I do, I always find something interesting.

There was no need to make bread but the floor needed sweeping so I ignored that need and went outside with Alice to watch the chooks and walk around the garden. I was hanging the washing on the line when the phone rang. It was my friend Bernadette asking if she could drop in. "I'll be there in ten minutes." I looked at the floor and decided against sweeping, instead, I filled the kettle and checked the forum. Bernadette arrived right on time and instead of coffee she wanted only water so we sat with our drinks on the front veranda. Bernadette is ill and although she's a keen crafter - particularly knitting and crocheting, she's been unable to concentrate enough to do anything. It did my heart good to see her with her craft sack, from which she removed her crochet. I asked her about milk jug covers, I had an email recently about them and after doing an online search realised there aren't many patterns available. Bernadette told me she has a book full of patterns so when I'm at work this week, I'll call in to her place and pick up the book.

I'm not a crocheter at all, but I like to try my hand at everything that will produce what I use. I need more milk jug covers, I only have two but I often have two potions fermenting, and I would like a few more covers so I can wash them frequently and still have some in use. When I have the book of patterns, I'll choose a simple one and share it here. Maybe you'd like to crochet along with me. I know there is at least one lady who will.


When Bernadette left, I checked the forum again then made a sandwich for lunch and sat down to watch a recorded episode of Time Team. When the TV came on it was on the ABC which was featuring the Iowa State Fair. What a great fair that looks like. Much like our Royal Easter Show in Sydney that I used to visit almost every year with my sister when we were little girls. I love agricultural shows. We don't have a butter cow like they have in Iowa but we have a hall filled with home cooking like cakes, jams, bread and scones. It's quite something to win a prize at the Royal, I'm sure the same applies at the Iowa fair.

I watched TV for a short while, then went to sleep in my chair and woke again when the phone rang. It's a delicious pleasure relaxing on a Sunday afternoon and with the TV droning on in the background, drifting off to sleep. I took my knitting outside then and sat with Alice, knitting, for 30 minutes. Then off to collect the eggs - which I didn't do because we have two broody hens at the moment and they're vicious. They were both sitting on the nest, staring out with their beady eyes, I knew I'd be in trouble if I picked them up. So I left them for Hanno with his gardening gloves. We have some girls who, when broody, don't mind us picking them up, but not these two. (I just let the chooks out this morning and there are three brooding now.)

Late in the afternoon, I made a stir fry, looked at the unswept floor again and decided to give myself the day off from the floor and any guilt associated with not sweeping it and I spent some time on the forum. Hanno came home just before 7pm.

What did you do yesterday?

I am not always the sensible and relaxed person I appear to be on my blog. Sometimes I am stressed by the pressures I face during the course of my normal week. I see families at times who break my heart; I meet people I want to help, but can’t. When Hanno is sick I do his work and mine and hope that tomorrow will return to our normal. When I am sick I wonder if I'll ever return to how I used to be and that maybe this is our turning point; the time when we go from being capable and hard working to letting go a bit and relaxing more. I always think I can do more than I can. My mother used to call that biting off more than I can chew. I've always done it, I doubt there is a cure for that kind of self belief and optimism but doing it all through my life has rewarded me with interesting and exciting times, full of challenges along a road less travelled.

Overall, the life we have built for ourselves here runs along smoothly. I surround myself with like-minded souls and I reap the benefits of that. I shield myself as much as I can from advertising – even now it can create an unhealthy yearning for material possessions. I remember the kindness and generosity of my mother and try to walk the path she did. As often as I can I read blogs and books that enliven me and urge me on, I collect photos to use as virtual wallpaper to remind myself of my goals. I try not to meet too many new people and I stick to what and who I know. I do everything I can to stay on my chosen path. Sometimes that's easy, sometimes it's not.


There is a simple kind of wisdom in being with your own kind. You are given the support you need and in turn, give it back, you have people to bounce ideas off and sometimes you see someone do something you want to do but believe you can't. That kind of example is as close to inspiration as I get and when I see difficult or complex tasks being done, it gives me reason to believe that I can do it too.

I have been really heartened to see the Down to Earth forum build as it has. I hoped for a place where we could all find the support and affirmation we need, it's there. I wanted members to contribute their ideas and stories - that is happening. For my own sanity, I needed it to be a peaceful place where respect and generosity featured in abundance, and where members could be anchored, feeling secure, in a safe haven. Tick.

It was a risky business leaping forward into the unknown believing that people who are living simply, even though they are unknown to me, would combine into this wonderful and interesting community of friends. It's paid off though. With the help of Sharon, devonia, TammyJ, LashyLashla, Hibiscus34, BarbInGA, guenhwyvar, katheek77, KimberMama, Darroch, Whacky, LeanneNZ, happy2bme and all the members there now, we have built a meeting place that affirms the values of simple, green and frugal living and supports those living true to those values.

One of the aspects of the forum that I love is that those new to this way of life are fostered and encouraged by those who have been living it for some time. We may not be able to raise a barn but we can endorse the ideas that support such a great enterprise and we can gain the strength and confidence to live as we wish and to go into our own real communities and help them towards a sustainable future.

Thank you for another week full of interest and sharing. I hope you spend the weekend doing what you love.