Upon Reflection...

October, be gone with you!

It's been a month of extreme highs and lows.

We started the month of with a party and catered for a beloved aunt's 90th birthday. A wonderful celebration shared with seventy family and friends. Craig closely guards his salt & pepper squid recipe but I swear NEVER again for that size crowd. I think I said that last time we did it. It's a real crowd pleaser and often asked for but if anyone asks ever again, I'm handing them the recipe and they can do that one themselves!

A measure of our love for you dear Mae/Miss Mamie/Nin xxx

We did get a couple strides forward in the garden...

And in the house...

I got to work with some amazing ladies to bring together a High Tea for 100 people with Fashion Parade as a fund raiser for Kidney Health Australia. Not only did we raise funds but the guest speaker from "Donate Life" educated our guests about organ donation and we boosted the profiles of four local small businesses. I would like to thank Wysteria Lane of Longford, Miss Nicola, Blue Illusion and Gazman of Launceston for providing a top notch parade and givig so much of their time and prize donations too. I would also like to thank the models from Sue Rees Modelling who also gave up so much of their time for a good cause.

My heart swells thinking of so much generosity and support.

I don't wish to dwell on the down side but their is a lesson here to be learnt though.

Many of us pooled our resources and loaned fine china and silverware to enhance the high tea experience. Unfortunately some of the precious china went "missing". A set of 6 to be exact. I don'y want to talk about karma because that feels so hollow. Let's just say lesson learnt while we try to swallow down the disappointment.

As I left for the Kidney fundraiser that morning, the waters were once again rising after a significant rainfall over night. I phoned the shearer when the event was over bar the shouting to learn things were not good at home. I abandoned the washing up and made haste towards home....

until the engine light came on.

I pulled over and checked the oil of my tired old engine and debated whether to spend precious minutes turning the car out of the wind in order to fill it. Another lesson learned. I gambled and tried to shield the oil stream from gusting winds with my body.

Snort! I'm wide but not that effective as a wind shield. The oil spilled onto the engine and you can guess...

it caught alight.

I carry a pair of pyjama bottoms for a rag so I must have looked a right sight flailing these trying to smother the flames between the radiator and engine. Anyway, long story short, the shearer came to rescue me but it was a sorry sight back at home. 

While it didn't make it all the way into the house, the out buildings were all flooded as the water rose very quickly. Luckily our daughter and SIL were up for the weekend and able to take quick action.

Our losses could have been much greater than our three oldest ladies. Poor girls, the cold water rose so swiftly that by the time they realised the danger and it was up to their belly feathers they weren't able to jump into the trees for shelter. 

Huge thanks also to our neighbours who came swiftly to our aid and got a lot of things to dry land and housed our ride on mower in their garage. Big love.

So October, you've been great, tumultuous and trying, exciting and busy but I'm glad to be moving into November. 

All Free...But We Couldn't Give It Away!

Last week I was very excited to be a part of the Colony 47 Spring Share Market.

Colony 47 works for the community and their mission is

"to create a fairer community, eliminate disadvantage and improve the lives of Tasmanians" 

A share market was organised to coincide with fair food week and timed for encouraging spring planting.

All the seedlings above

Free.

A picnic blanket to sit and read gardening magazines and maybe take one

Free

The seed box with hundreds of seeds

Free

A speaker about compost making

Free.

Just look at that great teaching tool created from half a bin and some Perspex. Learning about nitrogen and carbon layers and the additions like comfrey (bottom right).

The Tasmanian community food garden group were there with activities for kids

Free

A demonstration showing fun with food and how to be creative with it.

Free

I drove from Launceston and did a talk about beans, how to grow, how to harvest and how to use dried beans.

Free

I talked about nutrition and feeding through the "hungry gap" and had made baked beans from scarlet runner beans, a bean salad in seconds and a white bean dip even faster! Note the Good and Cheap book- I was so excited, it turned up just the day before. It's a not for profit book that aims to teach people how to eat well on $4 a day. I love it!

Trestles under blossom trees and little marquis 

And the Colony 47 garden putting on a good show and even mushrooms coming up from the compost!

Being a typical spring day it was a bit breezy and cool and clouds were scudding across the sky. It was beautifully organised. About 60 people had rsvp-ed to this all free event...

But we were lucky to have a dozen people show up I reckon.

I'm starting to wonder,

if you make something free, is it then perceived as valueless?

Is something only worthy if it has a dollar value attached?

Composting Know-how From A Worm Wrangler

Our Living Better With Less group met up last Thursday and our guest speaker had a BIG subject

Composting.

She gave a superlative talk to our group, keeping jargon to a minimum and dispelling the mysterious, she proposed simple no frills ways with waste for every home.

She talked about hot composting, cold composting, worm farming and bokashi.

Dianne has taken on an exciting project that I'd like to share with locals and maybe others could start in their communities too. About four months ago Dianne found two cafes wanting to commit to saving their food waste for collection. A team of people are rostered to pick up the buckets of scrap and they either use them to feed chickens or make compost or feed worm farms. Both of the cafes are vegetarian and have a lot of organic waste matter. This is a win/win for the cafes and for the people using the waste and it's FREE!

"Fresh"

There are more cafes wanting to come on board but they need more people to do collection. What do you think? Are there any locals who can help?

Are you inspired to do this in your town?

Has your community garden or school garden thought about this resource in your area?

"Garden of Vegan"

The goal is to eventually find a central location for mass scale composting and then making the rich humus available for all gardeners. Ideally council co-operation would be key and it could also be a site where they dump their collected leaf litter, grass clippings and tree mulch. The group is dreaming of owning a gobbler that turns waste into compost in 24hr turn around!!!

If you are interested in knowing more about the project or about worm farming or bokashi methods check out the face book page here Worm Wranglers

Thanks Dianne for an awesome talk.

Next month we meet up 26th June

at 3 Charles St south, Launceston

7-9pm 

We will be looking at simple herbals around the home and step by step making a healing salve.

Civic Duty- Is It Dead?

Is Civic Duty dead or perhaps it absconded with Common Manners

The following is my opinion and certainly not meant as a blanket judgement on all circumstance but I use the following as an example.

First let's define what I mean by civic duty and I would like to use this definition as proffered;

"civic duty is to be a good citizen, obey the laws, serve in the military in time of need, be active in community activities that are supportive of something positive. These are the types of things that enable masses of people to live in proximity and prosper."

A patient at the clinic once commented to me that when he was in paying his rates that he also asked them for a sum of money to cover the petrol he used to mow his nature strip. He didn't expect to be given the compensation but he was serious about his resentment. But surely that is just a part of civic duty I said whereupon he shifted uncomfortably. I remember asking my Dad when I was very little why he mowed the footpath and he said it was just being a good and helpful citizen and made pedestrian ways more pleasant and enhanced the surrounding environment (or words to that effect as I was very little but I understood the meaning). It was always once generally accepted that this was appropriate practice but there is a strident note creeping into people's voices on all matters and it centres around "my rights", "I pay" and "not my responsibility"

It is yet another way we have decided to turn our backs on our neighbours and bunker down in our own little environments. 

I believe council resources are stretched and I think we all have to take part and pitch in. Shop keepers once used to sweep their paths but I never see this any longer. Some people have impossible verges but most people still have some sort of access along their road or to their letterbox.

There is no-one living next door and the grass is mostly long all year round except for a strip that Craig mows so the postman can access next door's letterbox. It's just a common care and courtesy he extends that says I care about your comfort and safety as you go about your job performing a service for us.

When we visit a park or walk along somewhere and we find rubbish, we clean it up. We didn't make it but does arguing the point make things right? If we just pass over rubbish in public areas we are sending a message that leaving rubbish lying around is OK. Gradually things become the norm and habits form. I would much rather the habits be for good.

Our local environment is just one small insidious effect of the erosion of our decline in civic duty.

More alarming is the decline in volunteer groups like the Parents and Friends at schools, The Lions Club and Rotary. Even our Neighbourhood Watch that Craig and I letterbox drop for looks like folding because there is no interest. Our communities are in real crisis and we need to step up if we are to continue to live together and prosper. 

Please tell me some feel good stories in your community. Convince me that civic duty is not dead in your area.

Legerwood (Tas)

Most months I accompany my lovely mother-in-law on the local Probus group bus trip and we found ourselves at Legerwood for lunch. This tiny little place has had knock after knock but still it's residents put on an optimistic face. Legerwood is better known now for it's Memorial Trees and the link will show you far better pictures than I could have captured plus the stories behind each man they have been carved for.

Lunch was provided by "the ladies" of Legerwood. They are a small group and always keen to raise funds for the upkeep of the carved trees. Once upon a time it was common for ladies groups to put on soup and sandwich days but councils and regulations have pretty much put paid to all that now. Our ladies served roast beef, chicken, lamb, ham, corned meat, potato and 10 different salads with home made relish and pickles. Dessert was a choice of 7 different old fashioned sweets all for $20 a head (and amazingly dear council regs no one got sick or died!)

The table was laid in white lace cloths adorned with glorious dahlias down the centre. Bright paper napkins and the most wonderful assortment of salt and pepper shakers. I felt too self conscious to take photos of it all but it was delightful and the mix and mash of old crockery made it all the more homey and inviting. They put on a little raffle with preserves as prizes and sold recipe books and post cards of their area. Their community spirit is a shining beacon. 

This area lost a lot of their young men in the wars but still it thrived as a timber town and a dairy based agriculture but they could not survive big business. Forestry and mills went to bigger concerns and even the local dairy processing plant that used to make the famous Ringarooma butter was bought out by UHT and used to make powdered milk and then later again bought out by an even bigger concern who promptly took the business out of the town. The dairy plant is now a water bottling factory for the "Love From Tassie" brand. 

Remote Aboriginal Community Visit

My eldest daughter recently won a fully paid sponsorship from her work place to go to a remote aboriginal community in the Northern Territory with the Red Dust programme. They spent the week with kids at Yeundumu teaching within the school and participating in culture day.

Here is a video 

made by the children (also featuring my daughter) with the help of The Travel Bug guys

End Of Summer - Arboretum

The Tasmanian arboretum

(botanical tree park) was started in 1984.

Lots of wildlife but you have to be quick for the native hens.

It's a slow business growing trees (Gondwanan section)

This is how weary shearers visit the arboretum!

Unlucky, no platypus.

However,

had THE best ice-creams locally made.

If you are down that way also stop in and visit Spreyton Cider. A new cider business providing lots more opportunities for the local apple orchards. They brew in the bottle.

Curtain Close For 2012

As we close the door on 2012, I'd like to thank you all for sharing it with me and contributing your wisdom, comments and support. You were all particularly adorable and loving when my husband went away to work for the first six months of the year. It was your thoughtfulness and steadfastness that made it so much easier to bear.

I would have to say that was the most significant thing for me this year. It was so good to be able to SKYPE and see his face every day. He is home now and getting plenty of work here now thank goodness.

The most viewed post for 2012 remains the waffle blanket tutorial which still averages 300 page views per day! Makes you feel all warm and fuzzy knowing there are millions of people in the world getting their crochet on. Declining craft? I think NOT!

The most read post of 2012 was the review I did about "Why I Bought A Thermomix" and the second most popular is my Nan's Green Tomato Pickles

Living Better With Less continues to be a popular topic and I am so very happy that after the class groups finished in April this year we went on to form an interest group that meets on the last Thursday night of each month (and on special occasions in my kitchen!) to share and learn from each other. I'm even happier that readers in other states also decided to form their own groups and continue supporting each other too.

2012 seemed to be the year of the cordial round here;

In summer we made rhubarb cordial

In autumn rosehip cordial

in winter lemon cordial

and in spring elderflower cordial

Our most topical life post this year was "What Would You Do" and we talked very candidly and frankly about depression and suicide in the post "The Secret Of Happiness" and it was also the post that attracted a lot of comments second only to "Breaking All the Rules-Pavlova" which proves my point that you guys are with me through thick and thin!

We learned how to knit socks, make Christmas cakes, rescue echidnas and how to use pintrest.

We learned all about cutlery, clove oil and Tasmania.

We debated the environment, ditched plastic wrap, seed raising, animal husbandry and the value we place on food.

We talked our heads off about Christmas gift ideas again this year.

If you want to revisit any of these stories I suggest typing into the search box that I have over on the right in the side bar there somewhere.

Creating my cookbook was another big achievement this year and it has been a huge success this Christmas with the family and friends. If you contemplate doing one for your family I suggest you start now. It takes many, many months to get it to print stage so don't leave it to November!

There is still so much I want to do but one of my resolutions for next year is to say "no" more I'm afraid. I

have let some volunteer work go that wasn't quite fitting with my life style anymore and I am now setting my eyes towards more local community groups like National Trust and the CWA.

It's been a huge year and a fun year.

Thanks for being along for the ride.

What will we get up to next year?

What is your next focus for the new year ahead?

Practical Garden Ideas From An Old Garden

We get a bit blasé about these town distance markers in Tasmania because so many of them have endured but I thought I should at least capture and share this piece of Tasmanian history with you. They are massive lengths of stone and are the same length below ground if not more and were commonly used about the State during the 1800s to tell travellers how many miles to the next town. This one is located now within the grounds of Franklin House in Youngtown just around the corner from our house. It is a very familiar home to us because of it's proximity but recently there has been a lot of fresh ideas and energy put into the garden and we were keen to see how it was all progressing.

The volunteers have put in an example of a Victorian kitchen garden with heritage vegetables and commonly used herbs. Though good to see, there was no inspiration found for us there but there was plenty else where in the garden....

I love what they have done with recycled bricks as pavers. We have not entirely converted all areas to vegetables at home and this was a winning idea for our back lawn area. We have a couple of bench seats and love to sit in the garden but they are a nuisance when Craig mows. He is having to shift them and re-shift them.

This would be a great solution for them. They could still be re-located for different events like outdoor luncheons and parties but the rest of the year they would have a "home" and Craig could easily mow around them. We have plenty of old bricks still and as we are organic growers I think all we would need to do to control weeds from between with boiling water.

Recycled bricks have also been used for bedding borders and small access paths to taps and irrigation.

I am always looking for archway ideas and climbing plants. There is no better way to judge a climber than to see it in situ matured. 

And interesting and useful objects for the garden. A simple structure made from timber off cuts and topped with an old curtain rod end, adds interest, structure and height, giving added dimension to what could have been a pretty but "flat" garden bed.

Viewing the plants and especially roses can give an unbiased and true account of their habit before you buy also. The labels on specimens in the garden shops are so alluring but rarely are they a true portrayer. Foliage can be as important as the flower within the garden. Sometimes I have been disappointed to buy something with a very attractive label only to find that the plant cannot support the giant flowers so carefully bred or suffers monstrously in winds and rain.

The volunteers are doing a wonderful job with the new garden re-constructions and though change is hard, sometimes a breath of fresh air is a marvellous thing. 

Of Sloe Wine and Sour Dough

Another fascinating meeting of the Living Better Group last Thursday night.

It was a small group but there were a couple of new faces with lots of interesting experience too.

We talked of making sloe wine. One in the group had picked 23kg last autumn and was in the process of making wine from sloes for the first time.

I found a couple of links about sloe wine making here and here.

Here in Tasmania it is common to find sloes growing along back roads in thorny hedgerows of hawthorn where you will also find wild rosehips. They are best harvested after a couple of good hard frosts when the plant draws back the harsh tannins in the fruit. They look delicious but are not particularly edible and are best used for preserves. They are more commonly known for infusing gin to make sloe gin.

We talked of olive adventures and yet another experience of a local farm who were ditching their olives this year as the pressing price was too high. One of our group was in the fortunate position to pick quite a few kilos for pickling. She then made a large batch of tapenade and was using this like butter on home made ciabatta. 

I have had experiences where transporting my olives has moved some to the top of the oil and not been quite covered allowing oxygen to interact with the olives. After transporting them, make sure that they are still well covered by at least a cm of oil to exclude air so they will happily keep on your shelf.

One of our group spoke about her experiences with trying out different "tooth paste" formulas or tooth powders is a better term I guess. A lot of people commonly use bi-carbonate of soda which  creates a salt when mixed with water and is not all that pleasant. Our member uses a base made from a calcium carbonate which is ordered from the pharmacy.

As July was plastic free month, searching the web will reveal many recipes for different tooth powders as people looked for alternatives to plastic tubes last month. It is also something for people to consider if they are concerned about fluoride. (I have an old post here about the fluoride debate). I wish I had thought to ask my grandmothers about what they used to use when they were children....

Another from our group spoke about her easy, no knead, work-every-time, sour dough bread method. She makes her dough from "starter and flour to a consistency that you can barely stir". Her secret to success she says is the cast iron pot she cooks it in. She advises to warm the pot in the oven at 220C for about 30 mins then place the dough in the pot and cook with the lid on for 30mins and then the lid off for another 20mins.

I haven't tried this method yet but I hope to in the next week. Has anyone else used this method?

We also spoke about a project that one of the group is working on. It is a fundraiser for the Westbury school and will be held over a weekend in October. It is a pioneer and re-skilling fair and sounds really fun.

Here is the link

Maybe you have some skills that could be displayed here or perhaps you would like to have a stall. they are looking for stalls for preserves, meat, wine and beer making, plants and herbs, doll making, spinning, knitting, wrought iron work, pottery, hat makers, basket weavers....

The Westbury school is one of the ones on the list for closure by the State Government and they are trying to show the government how vital the school is to the community and how connected we all are. I admire very much the heroic efforts these guys are making to stay alive and I hope any locals could also help.

Our next Living Better meet-up will be 30th of August from 7-9pm at the Cock and Bull upstairs. All welcome.