Tuesday 30 September 2014

Slow Living Monthly 9 link-up September 2014........

Once again I am joining in with Linda for the monthly link up.  September has been a very busy month for me..... lots of extended family stuff going on.  It's good to look back of the month and see what's been happening here....

Nourish: Eggs are back.....I'm down to five hens at the moment....but thankfully they are all laying...averaging 4 eggs a day which is great...I usually keep 8 chickens so waiting for 3 local girls to get to point of lay before I pick them up.

Prepare: Not much happening in the kitchen .... but I have prepared a new garden bed for the tomato seedlings which I'll be putting in on Cup weekend. ... had a bin of chicken poop which was slowly fermenting over the last few months....phew, was pretty nasty when I took off the lid and spread it onto the bare vegie garden... turned it over and covered with sugar cane mulch....hope the tomatoes love it.

Reduce:  Took Fiona's advice here and have also been adding the chicken manure and straw to my compost bins....I think there are too many vegie scraps in there (I have fussy chooks they don't eat vegie peels)...manure should improve the quality of my compost.

Green:  I have found my long awaited Singer treadle on ebay which my man is going to polish up and remove the old machine......I am going to recycle the stand to hold my Singer160th anniversary machine.....my daughters are arguing over who gets the old machine...they both want it to display in their craft rooms.  Repurposing this stand is so much better than buying something new.

finally found a vintage Singer treadle at a price I would afford and a location that wasn't too far away.. needs some TLC
I want to put my Singer onto the stand and leave it set up permanently in my studio/craft room....
Grow: Spring sent me dashing out to buy up on all the seedlings only to plant them and have the snails and slugs feast on them....so I have planted seeds in the mini greenhouse and see how it goes...the corn seeds have gone great...others a bit slow..... Still have lots going on in the garden from winter....we had to locate and empty our septic tank and yes...the vegie beds were on top...had to dig two up and loose the plantings...not sure what is wrong with my broccoli but I have loads of leaves and small heads...the cauliflowers are all leaves .... its' been slow going but the recent sun and spring rains have caused lots of quick growth. 

 
I had to locate the septic tank for emptying...we have only been here 2 years so didn't know where it was...!!
 
My first flower on this native
Create:  Haven't had much time or opportunity to get much done but did complete the crochet cushion cover for my daughter...need to get cracking on all my other projects !
 
12ply wool certainly makes quick easy work...pattern was on the wrapper of the balls.
 Discover:  As always the love of books and reading brings great things to discover....Book club for the month is The Tall Man...a novel about aboriginal death in custody on Palm Island...it's factual and extremely difficult to read without feeling a sense of helplessness and a little shame at what has happened to indigenous Australians over the last century.   I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is one of the autobiographies of Maya Angelou, famous American poet who died recently.   And I'm also reading the Happiness Project which I have had for a couple of years and pull out every now and then when I feel I need to re-evaluate where I am with things.....






Enhance:  Our lives are so full.. I look for ways to enhance the lives of others... World Food Day is being celebrated on 16th October....Oxfam ask supporters to join in.

Don’t let 1 in 8 people go hungry.
Celebrate World Food Day by registering to Eat Local Feed Global with Oxfam in October.
It’s easy:
  • share a lunch or dinner with friends or family;
  • hold a Hunger Banquet at your school or university;
  • have fun, take action and raise money in support of Oxfam’s life-changing work.
Once you register, Oxfam will send a pack containing everything you need to help reduce global hunger. 


 Enjoy:  There was much to be enjoyed in September...Circus's , several dinner's, a lovely luncheon, Father's Day and not forgetting Les Mis.....all up a very enjoyable.... if not demanding month...hope yours went well.
 

7 comments:

  1. Wow lots going on at your place. I am battling the snails too. At least you know where the septic is for next time but what a shame it was under your veggie beds. Love the cushion cover.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I had to laugh at the septic 'search', we just went through that and ended up with a 'water witcher' dowsing for the silly thing! We too have recently moved in. Live and learn yes?! Too bad about the veggie beds though. Busy time for you!

    ReplyDelete
  3. That sewing machine is beautiful!!
    I like the layout of your raised beds, I'm going to show them to my f.i.L - I garden with him and he maintains that we will loose to much space if we put in beds - he likes a sort of jungle approach.
    My father has just finished reading 'I know why the caged bird sings', he found it very disturbing.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Had a good troll around your blog
    Loved it xxxxx

    ReplyDelete
  5. Darn those slugs they seem to feast on all the stuff we want to grow! I love your singer sewing table it looks great already hope you love using it with your fantastic new machine.

    ReplyDelete
  6. How frustrating to have to dig up a couple of garden beds! Your month sounds so similar to mine with your composting, preparing beds and seed raising. Just a couple more weeks now and I'll be able to start putting my summer veggies out in the ground. I'm looking forward to hearing about your global/local lunch. I was tempted to take part too but have other time consuming activities this month in our efforts to change our countries attitude to fossil fuels.

    ReplyDelete
  7. My wife's old Singer has lost its handle, so when she sews (very rarely) I have to put a broom handle in one of the big wheel's holes and turn. I think she needs a new (old) one like your new one.

    Your month sounds good; lots going on. Cro x

    ReplyDelete