he's gone.....

.......all the way to India! 

Yep, it's Stuy's turn for a little jaunt over the ocean. He's never been overseas before and when the  opportunity arose, we said Yes!!! on the spur of the moment (something that happens a lot here!) So he booked a plane and now he's off! Alone. To India. 

Well, not quite alone. Most of the time he'll be staying with friends of ours in Allahabad, which just happens to be the venue for the biggest Hindu festival in 12 years, the Maha Kumbh Mela! Andrew and Ginny have gone with their four children to build a boat that will enable them to ferry pilgrims across the Ganga during this festival. Andrew is a master builder and already the boat is looking pretty awesome - have a look at their adventures on their blog. They will be donating the boat to a worthy cause before they return home - a little poorer in the pocket but so much richer in experience. 

I created a few little zippered bags for him - one for toiletries, another for his iphone charger and power point converter; one for his money and card and a small random one that he used for his homeopathic crummy tummy remedy! 

I used up bits of scrap fabrics - mostly in green because its his fave colour! 

There was also a need for a man-bag and I just happened to have four diamond checked serviettes that I'd picked up at the op shop a while ago. I didn't have a pattern but just fudged my way through and was quite pleased with how it turned out. Theres a nice fat zip under the flap - I even managed to sew a couple of little pockets inside for small bits! 

So, complete with hippy sack, backpack, sandals and onyx charm bracelet, he's gone...... slightly nervous and just a teeny bit excited. It will all be new, scary and overwhelming but he's sure to get used to the bustle by the time he gets from Delhi to Allahabad. 

Wishing you all the very best of adventures, my love!! 

Mein lieber ist auf Wanderschaft! 

Er geht für fast 3 Monate nach Indien weil ehr war noch nie aus Australien und möchte auch ein mal was erleben!

Ich hab ihn etliche kleine Taschen genäht damit er nicht seine Sachen verliert und dazu auch eine Hippy Tasche aus alte Stoff Servietten. Ehr trifft mit unsere freunde in Allahabad und sicher wert ehr sehr viel spaß haben. 

     

merry christmas

 From our house to yours, we wish you a very relaxed and loving Christmas!! 

May all your wishes and hopes be fulfilled on this day and always! 

With love and gratitude ........ Ev and Family

solstice

It's almost midnight as I type this and if I am to believe the Mayan stonemason, I only have 15 minutes left to enjoy this life. 

I hope you all had a lovely Solstice today, whether it was a Winter one celebrating the return of the Sun, or like here in the south, a Summer festival. 

The days will slowly begin to shorten again as the Wheel of the Year turns in its age old cycle.

Blessed be.   

this week....

This week I have - 

marinated olives for gifting,

baked loads of biscuits, some for gifting and lots for my sweet tribe to nibble on;

 from top, chocolate gingerbread hearts, cinnamon stars, vanilla crescents,

fermented a batch of elderflower champagne, 

celebrated a birthday,

watched children and grandchild decorate the tree,

 watered the new plants in the poly tunnel, stressed a bit, enjoyed a day or two of rain, shopped for some last minute gifts, rearranged this tiny space to fit in the tree as well as another table to accommodate us all for Christmas dinner and worked on my secret person gift. 

And our computer has been to the fixer upper but is all better now! 

I bet you have all been just as busy as me? 

Diese Woche hab ich -

oliven mariniert zum schenken 

viele Kekse gebacken.... Lebkuchenherz, Zimtsterne und Vanillekipferl  

Holunder blüte Champagner fermentiert

mein Geburtstag gefeiert

unser Weihnachtsbaum verziert mit Hilfe von Kinder und Enkelin   

und eine ganze menge andere Sachen noch dazu!

Seit ihr auch so beschäftigt wie ich? 

baker man, baker man....

Oh dear, I meant to post this on Monday!!! and now its Wednesday and I have just remembered that I didn't actually finish it and press publish! 

What I wanted to say was that The Dj, who is 12 and a whizz in the kitchen, whipped up all these little bits of deliciousness over the weekend. Friday we had this Rhubarb Upside Down Cake which disappeared moments after I took photos (and has been baked again today)

Mix together - 230gm fresh rhubarb, cut into 5mm slices and 

3 tblspn castor sugar and arrange over the bottom of greased and papered 20cm round cake tin.

Beat 80gm soft butter and 240gm castor sugar until fluffy. 

Beat in 2 eggs, one at a time.

Stir in 3 tblspn ground almonds

Sift in 110gm SR flour and gently fold.

Spoon over rhubarb and spread out evenly.

Bake for approx. 40 mins.

Enjoy!! 

Saturday was the day for a tea party outdoors with a good old fashioned Madeira Cake and tea in pretty cups.... with saucers! 

And on Sunday he produced these multi coloured buttery biscuits...... which were actually the second batch he'd made last week. 

The most exciting bit was using this new to us, op shopped gadget, the Sawa 71. Made in Sweden but sadly, with only half the pretty shapes, this is such a fun little kitchen helper! He had so much fun that now he Has Plans for more!! 

And just in case you were wondering if I've broken my self inflicted no Grain diet, the answer is NO! .......although I may have tested a few crumbs..... !! 

Mein junger Dj ist 12 und esst gerne süßes!! Aber seine Mama backt ihn nicht oft genug was zum naschen und so muss er selber backen! Und übers Wochenende hatt er viel gutes aus der Küche  gebracht! Zuerst ein Rhabarber Kuchen, weil wir momentan viel Rhabarber im garten haben. Nächsten tag ein Madeira Kuchen und dann die schönen kleine Kekse. Wir haben so ein tolles Instrument gefunden beim Karitas Geschäft und ehr hatte schon Ideen zum wieder so feine Kleinigkeiten backen.  

Slow Living 2012 - November

Joining in again this month with Christine, who had the brilliant idea of doing a monthly round up of things that we are trying to slow down in! I really enjoy it when I actually sit down and think back to what has been achieved over the previous month but it does strike me that most of what I write about is just that - stuff that we have done, and there's never much slowing down amongst it!! December is gearing up to be busier than ever but I am hoping, really wishing, that January will be my Slow Month!! 

 

Nourish - I am still eating a grain free diet and have been finding and trying out new recipes. I can't say that all of them are delicious but it's not a problem as there are so many grain free web sites out there that I just try another version! We are guzzling kombucha as it doesn't take long to ferment in the warmer weather - we love it so much I'd like to start another two litre jar! I have also been gifted some milk kefir granules and I've made a few batches..... not sure though, if it's working properly as the grains were old but something happens in that little jar and we've been using it in smoothies anyway!!  

Prepare - The sauerkraut....... well, it's still sitting there in it's not quite so bright green glory and I think it's still alright. There were a few days early on that I thought I had let it get too warm and that it was quietly rotting away in its jar but I hope it's just doing it's thing! There has also been some Christmas preparation happening around here, by all of us...... but I cant tell about that yet! 

Grow - Oh my!! There has been such a flurry of growing activity going on around here that its a miracle anything else has been done! The weather has just warmed up enough to really start planting out and we have zucchini (oh zuc's how I love thee!) self seeded perpetual spinach, a lovely batch of spreckled lettuce, bok choy that went to seed so fast that we've already eaten it, radishes and the very beginnings of strawberries. I've also finally planted out asparagus seedlings, some angelica from a friend and another thyme plant. 

Reduce - This one is easy and yet it's not! I reduce our planetary impact just in general, I feel, so it's a bit hard to remember anything in particular. We purchase a lot of our clothes, books, fabrics, crockery etc at the op shop just par for the course and repurpose bits all the time! One thing recently would be the old bricks from a demolition site that we were using for a patio but as it hasn't happened yet, I turned them into shelving for our large book collection in the shed loft. Oh and does using baling twine for stringing up tomatoes in the poly tunnel count? I mean everybody reuses baling twine for something, don't they?  

Green - The only thing I can think of here is the repurposed wrapping paper cardboard we used to make advent stars (which could also go into Reduce). And maybe that we are diligently turning off the washing machine, ipad chargers and lamps at the power-points! 

Create - The biggest and most time consuming creation this month was The Poly Tunnel!! Yay, it's almost done and Stuy and I run out there at least 10 times a day just to stand in there and Admire! I've also done a good amount on the repurposed sheets crochet rug, finally finished that green beanie, and started on my Secret Person Gift for Christmas (this is amazing as I'm usually doing that on the day before The Day!)  

Discover - Hmm, another tricky one - there's not much reading been going on here! I have searched up and perused lots of recipes online and I have been reading up on polytunnel growing so this month has not been completely devoid of discoveries. No outings to discover new places either - perhaps another month! 

Enhance - My friend stopped by on her bicycle last week and I offered her a glass of sparkling fresh kombucha to drink; she loved it so much that I shared a scoby with her and judging from her excitement over the first batch she's made, I'd say I've definitely enhanced her day!! 

Enjoy - This month we celebrated a 15th birthday - our beautiful Elli is a delightful young lady, full of smiles and fun and I love love love her company. She recently achieved her black stripe karate belt and that was certainly an enjoyable event to watch ~ one that only a proud mama can truly enjoy!! 

So, another month gone by and pretty soon it will be time for a round up of the last one for the year, December! This year has flown by so fast, although that could be because I had a lovely long holiday in the middle of it!! 

Have a look on Slow Living Essentials for some other busy folks months! 

starry starry advent

Oh my, I have been busy!! As I'm sure we all are in this last month of the year! Apart from the usual daily activities, we have been busy in the garden, busy making secret gifts and busy putting up the new poly tunnel (more on that another day......but I am so excited!!!) 

In between I helped my sweet Fairy create an advent calendar that she had wanted to try since she first saw it a few months back. Yes, yes, I realise I should have done it then but you know how it is, some things just go on The List until such time as They Are Important.....like when you need them!!! 

I'm quite pleased with how this little project turned out, although I was thinking at the time what a lot of work it was! I used some light cardboard/thick paper that had come from the centre of wrapping paper rolls - there's always a good size piece thats rolled in with the last bit of wrapping paper and I can never bear to throw it away (yes, I've kept them for a whole year) 

Fairy wrote out a joke for each star and we added some healthy not quite as toxic as usual sweets for the gang to enjoy each day. If I had more time been more organised I would have liked to put surprise goodies in them, like few nuts or a dried apricot or even a few pebbles and some charades to act out or a poem to recite..... but Fairy got loads of writing practise and thats gotta be a bonus, right?  

If you are interested in making some in the next day or so, here are the instructions. You should be able to click on the pic and it will get bigger but I think the drawings are pretty self explanatory. Sorry, not only am I late but I have no time to write instructions out either! 

I think the stars would look really great with some of those nice stamps that everyone seems to be cutting out all over blog land, perhaps in a snowflake pattern....... but again, no time, no time! 

They are not very big and we thought at first that we wouldn't fit much inside but because they are actually rounded, they're surprisingly roomy! 

So, here it is - Advent calendar 2012! And as Fairy pointed out we used recycled materials last year too.... toilet rolls painted gold!! 

I'm linking this with Creative Friday over at Natural Suburbia today.
And for the first time I'm also linking with [we love green stuff] at the inspiring Naturkinder blog.

Wir haben endlich unser Advent Kalender fertig, die kleine und ich. Nach vielen schneiden, malen und schreiben haben wir sie heute auf gehängt und freuen uns schon bis morgen! Ein Zuckerl, ein Witz und viel mühe und wir haben es geschafft aber nur mit einem tag extra! Momentan ist so viel Arbeit im garten, das ich so wenig zeit habe zum basteln, aber ein Advent Kalender muss man haben, nicht war?  

hawthorn

Over the weekend I spent a bit of time with the last of the hawthorn blossoms. Tasmania has a lot of hawthorn hedges and in the Spring they are a sight to behold. So beautiful as you drive along country roads and see the fresh green foliage covered with creamy white blossoms. They seem to have a pinkish tinge to them, as you see in the top photo, and every now and again there is a dark pink bush amongst the line up of snow dappled green (the fairies like those ones the best, you know!) Its also known as the May tree in the northern hemisphere due to always flowering in May. 

These bushes are along our fence line and are quite old. They flower profusely every year and every year we are tempted by their Spring beauty to bring them inside but oh dear, they stink!! Its a really strong stench quite at odds with their frilly good looks and after a few hours someone has always had enough and removes the bunch to the compost heap! 

The hawthorn hedges were one of the things that lured me to Tasmania - they are beautiful when loaded with flowers; look lovely and cool in Summer as you drive between them along the roads; and then in Autumn and Winter they are bare with bunches of dark red berries looking good enough to eat.  Hawthorn is actually edible - in jams and jellies, liqueur and fruit leather, to name a few - and medicinal, being used mainly for circulatory system tonics and heart problems. It is also considered magical and it was considered bad luck to damage or cut the tree for fear of offending the fairies that lived in them. It was often planted near a house to protect from damage and wytches gardens all had at least one Hawthorn tree...... my children will tell you thats why I am nurturing two lovely young hawthorns in pots!!!  

Bei uns sind viele Weißdornhecken und ihm Frühjahr sind sie alle mit bluten bedeckt. Leider müssen die bluten alle am baum bleiben weil sie haben so ein stinkender Geruch das man kein Blumen Strauss damit machen will! Aber so schön sind die Büschen an die Strassen entlang mit ihre crem weise Blüten das ich sie doch alle heim nehmen möchte!!  

woolly bits

I've been knitting!! It's a bit big.... but isn't the little Elf cute? Complete with two new teeth! 

Well, OK it wasn't really meant for the little one...... but for this one, the biggest one. I bought this wicked green wool at Steamfest after my girl mentioned that she really liked the colour. I brought it home and wound it into a ball and looked at it for a while wondering if I was brave enough to knit something with it! Then I saw the Journey Hat that Linda had whipped up.... and I knew I could have a go at that one! 

I had to unravel it twice! Twice!! But I've learnt a few things along the way ~ just because it looks too big when you cast on doesn't mean that it will be too big in the end; and, follow patterns exactly! All in all, I did learn a few new stitches (which I will forget by the time I knit something else, sigh) and I really enjoyed working with the divine colour.

I think it's a bit floppy but she loves it and I do believe the colour suits her perfectly! 

And although I'm a day late with posting this, we did do the drawing on Monday (late Monday!) and our Fairy pulled Ronnie out of Stuy's new Austrian hat! Looking at the two above pics together makes me realise how much I love bright colours. I really enjoy looking at those calming neutral homes in glossy magazines and I do like them.......but, I always seem to go for the multi coloured bits when I purchase for myself, whether it's clothes, fabrics or wool!! 

Do you like wild colour schemes? 

Are you a cream and white person?

Ich hab jetzt für meine Nina eine kappe gestrickt. Ich bin nicht eine gute Strickerin, oder eine schnelle, und hab müssen zwei mal auftrennen, aber endlich bin ich fertig! 

Meine kleine Enkelin hatt die kappe auch anprobiert aber wieder gleich ausgezogen denn sie mag nicht was auf den kopf! Sie schaut ihr Mama gleich, nicht war?

a thought on sunday

And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight inside the bud was greater than the risk it took to blossom.

Anais Nin

momentary woes

My Golden Girl sent me an email* earlier this week -

Hey ma, 

Just wanted to write quickly to say that the plants are all up and doing fabulously!! The zucs will need to be planted out soon as their roots are escaping the pots, so I hope you have somewhere for them to live. It's all very exciting in the edible veg department here. Our tomatoes have so many flowers! We have blackberries ripening rather quickly also, should have an amazing crop this year with all these bees around. How's the polytunnel coming along? 

Today I want to take drugs and drink alcohol. Lots and lots! And be unmarried and unmothered and have no morals. I don't want to go to bed early, or cook tea or think about housework. I don't want to do anything for anyone else. 

I think I'm dismally failing to be grateful today! I am grateful for the sunshine after the rain though...

ox

My lovely first-born child, I understand. I totally understand.

*reproduced here with permission ;o)

sauerkraut

Yesterday there was a nice fat cabbage.....

......today there's sauerkraut!! 

Of course, there's not just one cabbage in that very large jar, there's actually three! Hard to believe really but after much mashing and thumping and salting, three became a nicely compacted jar of potential healthy gut goodies! And it's not actually sauerkraut yet either, so far it's just cabbage and salt but perhaps tomorrow morning I'll add some brine if there's not enough juice to cover the cabbage well. 

But it WILL be sauerkraut in a few weeks and it is VERY exciting to have made my first batch of it from our very own home grown cabbages!! 

You'll find some information about fermented foods, on The Leftover Queen, as well as lots of other interesting recipes if you have a poke around - it looks like a great site!! I'm not following any sort of Paleo style eating but the Paleo Diet Lifestyle has some great fermented recipes to check out. 

Gestern waren etliche grosse kraut köpf in garten.....

....und heute ist Sauerkraut!

Selber gemacht zum ersten mal von unser eigenes kraut. 

Ich bin ganz stolz darüber.

Natürlich ist es noch nicht sauer aber ich freue mich schon zum mein eigenes Sauerkraut essen in ein Monat!

Von unser selber gewachsenes kraut!! 

Hoffentlich gelingt es!

rainbows, thankyou & a gift for you

Do you remember the Colour Code Challenge that I initiated quite a few months back? Did you join in? If so, I hope you enjoyed searching your photo archives for the chosen colours and had fun re-discovering pics you'd forgotten about. I did! Of course, in my enthusiasm about the idea, I had forgotten that I was heading overseas and so my dear Best Man (who did not remain nameless but posted Stuy on every one, sigh) very kindly posted the remaining photos for me. It worked rather well - I made up the drafts with the chosen photos before I left and he did the commentary! And he quite enjoyed it too....... especially all the lovely comments many of you left for him! 

Thank you my love, you did an awesome job!! 

And I wanted to thank everyone that took part and made the whole thing so much fun...it wouldn't have been the same without you all! I know, I know, I got a bit slack towards the end and didn't visit here or anywhere as much as I should have.... but hey, I was having Holiday Fun and Living In The Moment!! And I realise this is a very belated Thank You....... what can I say? Life is busy!!! 

The first photo is what magically appeared in the next paddock after some rain..... I was hoping to find the pot of gold but my children are old enough now, to not believe in such 'childish things' and wouldn't accompany me - how times have changed!

Next is my dear brother wearing Fairy Girls rainbow hat and last is some rainy day painting.  

This one is not quite a rainbow but I did try to add in some red, blue, violet and a touch more green........ can you see them?

Once again I have been seized by sudden inspiration and have decided to give someone, somewhere a gift to say thanks for joining in, thanks for stopping by, thanks for making it all worthwhile keeping a blog! I bought these two skeins of hand dyed wool last year and I think it's time some one made use of them. There are 200grams of Corriedale wool and the colours are almost the same as in the photo......... maybe a little bit lighter in real life! 

So, if you would like to knit or crochet something funky with this wool, you can leave me a comment and I will draw a winner one day soon...... alright, I'll be more specific and I'll make it..... umm..... Monday the 19th November because that is a whole week and I don't like waiting a long time when I'm  wanting to win something, so I don't suppose others do either!! And maybe if you are a follower* you can leave two comments just because I feel like maybe you are friends and I want to do something extra nice for you! 

Here's hoping you all have a really awesome week, with many brightly coloured rainbows and some life giving spring rains for those of you that need it!

  

*Can someone please give me a nicer word to use instead of 'follower'? I feel a bit like the Bhagwan or some other guru!!   

Foto von oben..... Regenbogen über das Feld bei uns zuhause.

Mein lieber Bruder mit ein recht tollen Hut!!

Kinder Mal zeit.

Und die Wolle im letzten Foto ist zum verschenken. Wer ein Kommentar last hat eine Schanze zum sie gewinnen! Da sind nur 200g zum was kleines stricken oder häkeln aber es ist Hand gefärbt und gesponnen von meiner Freundin.