Preparing For Change

Our family is about to embark on an adventure, one that we are very excited about. I have posted before about our goal to reduce Nath's work hours so that he can spend more time at home, and so that we as a family can live more closely aligned to our values of living simply, frugally, environmentally and in a community-focused way.

After much discussion we have decided that come September, Nath will be taking a year off from work to study from home. He plans to complete the Masters course (Mental Health Science) that he is halfway through, and also complete a Graduate Diploma in Grief and Loss Counselling. These qualifications will bring him closer to achieving his work and community goals in the future.

This decision will mean that he is home, full time. Obviously he will spend a proportion of this time with his head in the books, but he will also be spending much needed time gardening, playing with the kids, becoming involved in their school lives, watching them grow, nurturing our relationship, hunting, foraging, building on local relationships, making, fixing, growing and many other things that he has had limited time to do in the past.

Obviously, we will be living on significantly less money. We are okay with that. We are making plans and preparations to be able to do this without incurring great stress or sacrificing our QUALITY of life. We are looking into getting a milking goat and a hive of bees. We are building up our soils and constructing new garden beds. We are planning what we will be needing to grow, and when, and where. I will be making soap ahead of time so that it cures ready - one less thing we need to budget for. Little things like this, little ways of reskilling ourselves, will make all the difference.

Another change that we are busy preparing for is the change in the air that Winter brings. Winter Official is still a little over a month away, but the nights and mornings are cooling right down already and reminding me to do the seasonal 'change over'. First on the list was our clothing cupboards. I go through each of the kids' wardrobes, as well as our own, rotating summer clothes that will still fit next year to the top shelf, winter clothes to the more accessible shelves, and too small clothes to the charity basket. I 'stocktake' as I do this, making sure that each child will have enough to see them through the coming season, and making a list of things we are short on so that I can keep an eye out at opshops over the next few weeks. Next on the list is shoes. Summer shoes of Miya's that will fit Eden next summer get put away, Eden's summer shoes get handed down to smaller friends, and winter shoes are bought out for wearing.

After clothes comes sheets and blankets. I bring the winter blankets out of storage and give them an air. Some are for putting on beds and some are for a handy blanket pile in the loungeroom - perfect for sitting under and crocheting (or blogging!) I will need more winter sheets for the kids this winter as I have two children no longer in nappies overnight, instead of just Miya, and the odd accident means I need more on hand. Last winter we got by on three sets between the two girls but I wanted to add another couple of sets in case we have a night where both girls have accidents. Also, I anticipate that Brannen may well be out of a cot sometime this winter, so he will be needing single bed sheets as well. I have jumped on Gumtree and found a couple of well priced, secondhand winter sheet sets that I will pick up later this week.

Next on the list is our winter pantry. I stock up on soup staples, like lentils, split peas and beans, and restock my spice cupboard with all of those warming winter spices I use a lot of in the cooler months. Cinnamon, cardamom, chili, paprika, ras el hanout, cumin, coriander seed and curry spices are filled up and I make sure I have condiments like Worcestershire sauce, Tamari, and fish sauce on hand. I have many Fowlers Vacola bottles of passata, whole peeled tomatoes and diced tomatoes lined up in the cupboard ready.

In the garden, we plan what winter vegetables we will be planting. Potatoes, garlic, onions, kale, brassicas and soup vegetables all need to go in soon, so we are prepping beds ready and planning where things will be placed. We need a good stock of wood in the shed ready for when we need the wood heater, so we are making plans to fill our newly completed wood shed with wood from friend's blocks. The chainsaw needs a service so that it will be up to the task of keeping us in wood for the whole season.

I look forward to the cooler season.  I love getting 'layering' clothes out - scarves, and leggings and boots become my uniform! I love sitting in my rocking chair under a blanket with a nice hot cocoa next to me, working on some craft project or another or tackling the mending pile. I love the changes in the garden, everything is lush and green (especially the weeds!) I love the smells that are ever-present in the kitchen.... bone broths and soups simmering on the stove, curries and stews and scones and pies, fresh warm bread on the wood heater..... yum, yum!

Are you excited about the change in season?
What do you do to prepare?

My Wellness Journey

I've posted before about food and my personal journey with finding foods that nourish my body, and I feel like our family is in a good place with this. I am now completely refined sugar free - in fact, the only sugars I eat are a piece of fruit a day, and the occasional splash of Rice Malt Syrup in something as a treat. I am also gluten free, and eat very few grains. Our family eats free of additives and processed foods, and we include lots of nuts, seeds, fruit, vegetables, ethical meats, good quality animal fats and dairy, backyard eggs and legumes into our diets. The children are not completely sugar free - they have small amounts of local unprocessed honey in their diets.

What I haven't written about before are the ways I try to live a well life, in all areas, not just in regards to food. My pregnancy with Brannen left me nearly 30 kilos overweight, and suffering with acute lower back pain, due largely to weakened muscles in my core and pelvic areas. For the first few months of Brannen's life, I didn't have a single day completely pain free, and on my worst days I could hardly move. The extra weight, and poor posture from the back pain, led to ongoing flare-ups in my knees, also. Exercising seemed nearly impossible, and my motivation and confidence were rock-bottom.

During this time, two friends of mine had embarked on a fitness journey and for a while I struggled with feelings of being 'left behind' and inadequate. I felt lazy, slobby and my weight was becoming an issue in other areas. I was struggling to sleep properly, as I prefer to lay on my side, and the excess fat was blocking my airflow, so I couldn't breathe. I was also beginning to fall quite a bit, because of my weakened core, but being so overweight meant that when I fell, I fell very heavily, which was both embarrassing and painful. Watching my beautiful friends achieve such wonderful things in their journey finally gave me the 'kick' I needed to get started, when Brannen was about ten months old.

I started, like many people by walking, and after a bit of time I joined a local exercise group. I huffed and puffed and apologised my way through those early sessions, but, gradually, as my fitness increased, so did my confidence. I downloaded an app called "Couch to 5K" which took me from running not at all, to running 5km at a time in a period of a couple of months. From there, I increased my running distance to about 7km. I loved running, but developed painful shin splints that put an end to my running days (for now). In the meantime, I had begun karate and had developed a pretty good weekly exercise routine consisting of karate training, boxing/circuit training, weights/core training and I have recently added in cycling to this mix.

I paid extra attention to my injuries, and learned how to exercise while looking after them. (Physiotherapy helped with this). I strapped, stretched, massaged and iced where necessary. To this day, I still don't do conventional abdominal exercises, as my core still needs strengthening before it will be ready for that. My knees are now much stronger and generally pain free, and my core is getting stronger all the time. I have very few days of back pain. The support given to me by my friends, especially the ones who are on a similar journey, and the knowledge and advice they share with me, has been an enormous motivator for me. I am very grateful.

Since I started, about five months ago, I have lost 14.3 kilograms, two dress sizes and many centimetres. I'm not where I need to be, but I am over halfway there. I am also fitter, faster, stronger, more flexible and more agile. I love training, and I love the health benefits, both mental and physical, that it reaps. I love being a great role model to my children, and teaching them how to love themselves. The difference, I believe, between my previous weightloss journey and where I am at at the moment, is found here. I no longer hate myself. I love my body, I love watching it get stronger and leaner, but I am okay with it now, too. It has produced three beautiful children, and it will never look the same as it did before, but it works! I feel blessed that I am able to move and be active.

2013 has started well for me. We eat wonderful food, I am able to get out and train six days a week, and I am following a bit of a dream in getting The Play Patch up and running. It's not all roses, all of the time, but things are pretty good.

Long Time No See

It's been awhile. And I'm okay with that. When I started this blog I was determined that I would not post just for the sake of posting, I would not feel pressure to post regularly. I would post only when I felt like it. I haven't felt like posting lately, but today I do.

Life has been moving through the days in it's usual, higgledy-piggledy way. Some ups, some downs. Some long days of nothing much really, and some crazy-busy days all in a row.

My first market for The Play Patch was last weekend. It was, to be honest, a bit ho-hum. I near killed myself with worry in the days leading up to it, and needn't have bothered, really. The 'market' was small, uninviting, poorly advertised and poorly attended. I sold a few bits and pieces, but mainly to friends. Still, it was a good experience, to be able to set up my stall and see what works, what I should change, what I will be needing more of before the next market, and so forth. I was very happy with how my little stall looked, and with the fruits of my frantic labour.

That same weekend, there was a big yard sale at the house next door to us. This house was owned by an elderly lady, who passed away about a year ago. The house has just been sold, and the lady's family put on a yard sale to sell all of her household and garden things. We have chatted over the fence with the lady's daughter and son-in-law a few times, and we were able to pop round and have a wander through the night before the yard sale to see if there was anything we liked. It was a strange feeling, really, and I knew that it must have been very bittersweet for the lady's family - relief at finally seeing an end in sight to all of the dealings involved in handling someone's estate, and grief at seeing a lifetime's worth of possessions of someone dear to them being laid out on tarps in the yard for strangers to pick through and carry away. It was hard to not feel like a bit of a seagull, but we found a few bargains. For less than $50, we ended up with this (plus a few other bits and pieces):

Considering we had been hunting for a secondhand angle grinder, and had been willing to pay up to $50, we feel we did quite well!

The girls have settled in to the swing of school days extraordinarily well, and I am so pleased. Gone are the days of the teacher's assistant wrenching a screaming and sobbing Miya out of my arms every morning, and me feeling like the worst kind of mother for leaving her there. She has a lovely group of friends, and, luckily for me, all of those friends have lovely mothers! She is currently attending in-school swimming lessons and her confidence is growing in leaps and bounds. She has also started after-school gymnastics lessons and it may be the biased mother in me, but I think she's a natural! Eden is into full days now of Kindy and there hasn't been a moment where she hasn't wanted to be there. She has taken to it like a duck to water. She declares she is friends with 'everyone' in the class and she is also quite popular with the Pre-primary kids, thanks no doubt to her sister!

In other news, we have begun (finally) redecorating another room in our house. The 'middle room' was once the old kitchen/meals area, before the extensions were added on, and now has no window or external facing wall. As the ceilings are asbestos, we cannot put a skylight in, so the room is very, very dark. This is fantastic in summer, as it stays quite cool, but in winter, it will render the room almost unusable. I am not a fan of having lights on all day. Unfortunately, most of the furniture we had in there was dark, heavy wood - our long table and benches, and two tall bookshelves. It was also wallpapered halfway up the wall with, ahem, hideous mushroom and gold coloured wallpaper. The previous owners were, I believe, going for elegant and classy, but only managed to hit tacky and garish.

The old wallpaper.

So, we have condensed my book collection down to one bookshelf (this was one of the last vestiges of my former, over the top materialism - it was very hard to say goodbye to all those books - that I never read) and have sold one of the heavy, dark wood bookshelves. We have put the table out on the deck with some mismatched cane and retro chairs where it is looking fabulous.

And we stripped the wallpaper off the walls ready for painting. A friend said to me, "Have you got the paint?" Er, no. We don't even have the money for the paint. But at least the wallpaper is gone!! In the meantime, Pinterest is helping me with my colour choices, made all the more difficult by the fact that the central piece of furniture is my beautiful, seventies', brown leather couch with mustard and brown cushions. I like a challenge!

The end result will be, I hope, a much lighter and more functional room.

My last bit of new is.... Brannen is walking!! It is still not his preferred mode of transport, but he is getting more confident daily.

I hope your weekend has been a fun one!

The Play Patch

A little doll I made for my lovely niece.

 As both of my growing-up-too-fast girls are off to school this year, Brannen and I will be finding ourselves with some time on our hands! I have decided to finally give a long-term goal of mine a good go.... establishing a little made-at-home business, selling some of my sewing projects at markets and swap meets.

Taggie Ball

Introducing The Play Patch. This casual little venture will see me sewing up lots of 'play resources'.... toys, games, dress ups, playroom decorations, toy storage bags and the like. I have enjoyed making some of these things for my own kids and their friends over the last couple of years, and would love to spread some imagination and fun onto other families too! Most of what I make will be from upcycled or thrifted fabrics, and all a bit one of a kind.

Simple Princess Tutu

My first stall will be on February the 16th, so I will be very busy getting my stock together before then. I am only doing markets this year, not orders, just in case I find it hard to fit it all in. I don't want to disappoint people by not meeting order deadlines.

Wishing Hearts

Some more pics of the types of things I will be making:

Playroom/Garden Bunting

Peek-a-Boo Bags

Fabric Travel Chalkboards

Capes

Fairy Wings

Soft Toys

Doll's Nappies

Fairy Crowns

Lego Bag/Mat

Lego Bag/Mat

I'm pretty excited, and a little bit nervous, and starting to feel that little panic that comes with having a lot to do in a very short amount of time! I have so many ideas of other things I could make, but need to start small, I think, and hopefully the first market will be a success!

If you live in WA, you will find The Play Patch at the Bakers Hill Swap Meet on February the 16th. Come and say hi!

Happy Australia Day

Happy Australia Day, fellow Aussies. This is a day on our calendar that I particularly love. When I was younger, I would go to the Perth Skyshow (fireworks) with friends and an esky full of beer and celebrate with the thousands of others doing the same thing, down on the South Perth foreshore. There was always a game of cricket going, some people took paddle pools and it was always a very rowdy, happy day that I look back on with fondness.

I haven't done that for a very long time, and Australia Day is celebrated in a much more civilised and, ahem, mature kind of way these days. Often it will be a barbecue with friends, or, as our wedding anniversary is the day following, it may be a weekend away.

Big batch of baked beans for the week's breakfasts.

Today, though, I plan to put up a few bottles of passata using some tomatoes that I peeled ahead of time. I will put a new batch of yoghurt on, maybe two, and generally potter around the kitchen with the radio on. I am generally a local AM radio station kind of girl, but today I will turn on JJJ and find out what all the younger ones have been listening to all year! Nath will be putting a brew on (beer) for enjoying in a few weeks' time, and I'll do a bit of sewing, getting some stock together for a market stall in February.

Peeled tomatoes, ready for passata making.

At 4:30 this afternoon, the TV will go on for the Twenty20 match, and we'll barbecue some lamb and snaggers, make some salads and maybe even a pav for dinner.

Basil given to us by a friend, for drying and pesto making!

It's a beautiful warm day (36 degrees), the windows are open, the cicadas are singing and I couldn't feel more blessed to be right where I am.

Pesto and nut butters for sandwich spreads.

I hope you are enjoying your Australia Day, however you decide to celebrate it!

On The Path To Frugality

I really don't like the word 'frugal'. It sounds so ungenerous and purse-lipped. It is a word that is used a lot these days though, and I hope that the negative associations are starting to diminish, both of the word and what it represents.

So many blogs I read lately, so many conversations I have, are around the themes of reducing spending, tightening the belt, lowering the grocery bill, and being able to afford electricity and other essentials, let alone luxuries like holidays. People are thinking more about the little changes they can make to slow the flow of money out of their hands.

A couple of years ago, Nath and I decided to go a year without buying anything new (except, of course, groceries and other consumables). We made this decision for environmental reasons, rather than financial ones, to try to reduce our personal use of the Earth's resources. So often, though, I find that the things we do that are good for the Earth are also good for our wallets. It could be coincidence, but I suspect that living simply and spending less play a key part in an environmentally friendly lifestyle!

We have decided to return to buying only secondhand, or finding things on Freecycle, or doing without. Since the last time we 'officially' did this, it has pretty much become our lifestyle, but I have noticed a few careless purchases slipping into our spending ( I have a bit of a thing for new CDs!). So we are making it 'official' again. We will buy nothing new, except food, toiletries, underwear, anything required for medical reasons, or car parts if we are unable to source them secondhand and our car needs repairs.

I plan to start making some simple clothes, particularly for the kids, but I'd also like to attempt a dress or two for me. I also plan to start making soap. We currently buy Miessence body wash, which costs me $18 for a small bottle. Homemade soap will be far more cost effective.

I am no expert in living frugally. I still get tempted by shiny new things occasionally. However, I know that since the last time we did this, my skills have developed considerably. I am a far better sewer than I was, and getting pretty handy with basic tools, too. Nath has built a few things around here and is very good at repurposing things to meet a need.

We have a few holidays booked this year, including family trips to Melbourne and Bali, so living as frugally as we can is a pretty high priority at the moment. I'm thankful that we have the opportunity to make some changes to our spending habits so that we can more easily afford to do these trips while the kids are still young. So many people are having to tighten the purse strings simply so they can put food on the table, or pay the mortgage. Everyday life is definitely becoming more expensive, and I would love to hear your ideas on how to reduce spending. Who knows, it may just make the world of difference to someone when they need it most!

Keep Your Cool

We are already a week into 2013, and I hadn't intended on being away from the blog for so long. Sometimes, though, it's nice to take a break from all the things we think we should be doing, and instead spend time on things we actually should do more of.

We have been camping, and swimming (lots of swimming!), and playing cricket, and frisbee, and having water pistol and water balloon fights. We've been bike riding, and scooter riding, and kite flying, and going to the beach, and sand castle making, and kayaking, and searching for fresh water mussels in the river. We have been to wineries, and breweries, and distilleries, and ice-creameries. We've been through a giant maze, and four wheel driving through a giant forest. We have been spending time with lovely friends, and lovely family, from near and far. Nath and I went to see Katie Noonan, Mia Dyson and Wendy Matthews, playing an intimate acoustic gig at my favourite hotel in the Hills. Miya learned to swim in the river near where we were camping, and now she is like a little fish, so full of confidence. A very happy sight, from my girl who screamed whenever we took her close to water when she was younger. She was the oldest of the eleven children we were camping with, and took to the role of pack leader with reckless abandon. Our little tribe of barefoot, grubby little campers became independent explorers and friend-makers, and were right at home among the tents and caravans.

What a lovely holiday.

Too soon, though, it is over, and we are back amidst washing and work and weekly routines. It was very hard to drop Nath at work this morning. I told him it felt like he was a book I had borrowed from the library, and now had to return. Like he doesn't fully belong to us anymore.

Nevertheless, this is where we are at and our days are largely about coping with the heat right now. While the news stories focus on heatwaves happening right across the Eastern Seaboard, our little town in the West quietly goes about it's business of enduring strings of days of 40-degrees-plus. Tomorrow, it is expected to be 45 degrees with a possible thunderstorm (which usually means no rain but bloody muggy!) and as I type at 7pm it is still 37 degrees.

Despite the heat, we have managed to avoid using the air conditioner (apart from a very short spell one afternoon, when Nath's brother and his wife were staying with us from the UK. Nath's brother was unwell for a day or so and definitely needed some cool air! They coped extraordinarily well for the rest of the time!), and we even handled the weather okay whilst camping when nearly every day was above 40. We are acclimatising to the heat again, this being the first year we have chosen not to use air-conditioning, and are finding other ways of 'keeping our cool'.

We get up early to do the things that it is just too hot to do later in the day, such as hanging washing, feeding and watering the chooks, or going for a run. We use the ceiling and pedestal fans and have the windows and doors open in the evening, overnight, and in the early morning, shutting the house up and drawing blinds and curtains at about 9am. We then try to do very little in the heat of the day, to keep as cool as possible. We drink loads of water and have a thirty second cold shower if we need it. That's usually enough to manage the heat. In the evenings, we put the kids to bed, then utilise the rest of the light to do some more of the labour-intensive or 'hot' work, like cooking or gardening.

It has been surprisingly easy to get used to. In some ways, it is almost easier than having the air-con running all day, because it can be hard to acclimatise to the outdoor heat when your house is a constant 18 degrees. I often wonder at people who have their house so cool, that they need to wear warmer clothing! Some days are harder than others (I don't cope as well with the humid weather) but none have been unendurable.

We have chosen to do this for frugality and environmental responsibility, but I definitely do not think this is the right thing for everyone. We are young and fit and healthy, and used to the warmer climate, and are able to keep hydrated. People who are elderly, or unwell, or not in good physical health or families with very young babies should definitely use the air conditioner in extreme heat. Hot weather can be dangerous for some.

So, how do you keep your cool?