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Slowing Down the Slow Living Essentials way! February 2013


I have been following Christine at Slow Living Essentials for over a year now! And in 2012 she started a monthly round up to record on our blog, how we have "slowed down" under nine categories - I have been doing this since she started it and really get a lot out of it. This is my February reflection on Slowing Down - the Slow Living Essentials way! 


NOURISH: Make and bake as much as possible from scratch. Ditch over packaged, over processed convenience foods and opt for 'real' food instead. 



I have been back at the baking again. Getting better at the ANZAC biscuits and able to produce a savoury muffin or two when the mood strikes me. Which is become more often - success breeds success it would seem!

PREPARE: Stockpile and preserve. 
With all the rain we have been having here the only thing we need to preserve is our sanity...


REDUCE: Cut down on household waste by re-using, re-purposing and repairing. 
Attempted (not very successfully) to repair my watch strap with the sewing machine...


GREEN: up our lives. Start (or continue!) using homemade products. 
Its been interesting here at our place.... We use very little in the way of commercial product and when some one staying with us the other week had a shower, I was amazed by the amount of "scent" in her everyday products! Every product she used had a very strong scent (all quite pleasant - don't get me wrong) its simply we weren't used to the smells of scented body wash, shampoo and hairspray...

GROW: plant/harvest. What's growing this month?
With all this rain I have put in lots of vege seedlings so that when the sun comes out it can scorch them and turn them to dust... Ok, that's not my intention - just a prediction... Who grows veges in Brisbane and how remains a mystery to me!


CREATE: to fill a need or feed the soul. Create for ourselves or for others. 
My big quilt has one more patch to go and if my niece had sent me a photo of my lovely wee great nephew lying happily on his new quilt in NZ then I would have posted that instead... making invitations for our next afternoon tea party in the garden too...




DISCOVER: Feed the mind by reading texts relevant to current interests.
Still hanging out at the library every Thursday night - great place to hang out! Librarians are the greatest people (even if you have a rather large number of overdue books that you don't intend to return) What they don't know (and that's not much) they can find for you. I've got Ann Vilesis 's book - Kitchen Literacy; How we lost the knowledge of where food comes from and why we need to get it back, at the moment. Sounds VERY interesting! I'll post a review when I finish it in my book list.




ENHANCE: Community: The rewards for your time are often returned tenfold.
Getting a bit more involved in the International students school these days. Its fun and I have organised a picnic for host families so we can get together, get to know each other and support each other if the need arises. Looking forward to our wee gathering later in March!

Just started getting involved in a Wordless Wednesday. I used to like taking photos and one of my goals is to try and get one up each Wednesday, just for fun. That's another community!

ENJOY: Life! Embrace moments with family and friends!
Had my Mother in Laws birthday at a local club last weekend and saw that bare foot bowls was offered that same afternoon. None of us had ever played before and so for the princely sum of $5 a head we spent a wonderful afternoon flinging bowls down the lawn and hooting and heckling (possibly to the annoyance of those who could play and played sedately...) and had a wonderful time. Very spontaneous and very much fun!


IMPROVE: Change or create a habit, work on an aspect of mind, body and soul that needs a wee tweak.
I love cruising over to other blogs and catching up on whats been happening for others and enjoying reading about every ones exploits, thoughts and ideas. I do always leave comments but have noticed that sometimes they don't come up on the comments page or I can't get past some of the 'security' devices ("type in these letters" thingys). So, even if you can't see my comment - know that I have been visiting! 
Thanks for the opportunity to share again Christine!!! Have a great month everyone! - Kxx xx
Last month was about getting some exercise which I desperately need on a number of levels... I love my basketball (some times they even throw me the ball) and I am really enjoying the aqua... except for the rain. I have done it in the rain and in the pool it makes no difference but the getting there and getting home is very damp and not much fun. I still haven't found another exercise to do either so not as successful as I had hoped it would be...

This month I am resolving not to buy ANYTHING but petrol from a petrol station. For some reason, even though I don't buy chocolate when I get petrol anymore, I am drawn into the isles to buy nuts (at $4.60 for 5 peanuts?) some sort of health food bar (at 687 calories, it may not be) and beef jerky - well its not that bad just expensive. I have decided after reading Micheal Pollan's book, "Food Rules" again, that I shouldn't be eating anything that comes from the place I buy petrol from... Unless of course its a pick your own organic vege farm as well!

As always I enjoy popping over to see what other slow livers are up to. Some times I cant get past the security things (You know, put in the letters or numbers thingos)  but even if you cant see my comment, know I have been and enjoyed!
- Have a great month! - Kara

Comments

Anonymous said…
Sounds like you had a great month, rain aside. I like the look of your quilt too. As for the watch band, I probably would have tried to come up with another band before attempting to repair that one, good for you giving it a go.
Linda said…
I know what you mean about the products. I was somewhere recently and a young man was having a shower. I nearly fell over when I walked near the bathroom! How strong the fragrances were!

The bowls looks like fun.
Practical Frog said…
The last watch I bought cost $9 from the markets. The strap on that one went and so I decided to buy a new strap - cost me $25 for a leather one (and to be fair, its lasted nearly 2 years) So I thought rather than fork over another $25 I would try to repair it... I ended up buying a new watch with a strap for $10 - it wont be leather I'm guessing! I'm looking forward to getting the quilt finished. Its been a long time in the making!
And aren't scents in washing products "powerful"? It was an eye opener!
Thanks for dropping by! - Kxx
Kathryn Ray said…
That's the second time I've read about Michael Pollan's book recently... perhaps I should find myself a copy.
Practical Frog said…
Defiantly - all of them are great and easy to read. And he's a journalist not a guru trying to sell some sort of new fangled diet. Another very interesting one is Gary Taubes "Why we get fat and what you can do about it". It goes through what happens when the body starts eating a "western diet" and some of what Micheal Pollan quotes is from this book as well. let me know what you thought! - k xx
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