Monthly 9 Link Up - April.......

We are well into Autumn but the chill in  the air today makes me think Winter is not far away.  I am joining in with Christine with my monthly 9 link up for April.

Nourish:  I thought I would share something that I chanced upon here  this blog is enchanting and an  absolute "feast" for the eyes....I spent way too much time scrolling through all of her posts...the photos are just mesmerising...I love it...nourishment for the soul !!

Prepare:  I thought I had prepared my harvested pumpkin for storage....I left them outside for 10 days to dry then bought them inside and stored them in the laundry cupboard...that was two weeks ago...I noticed this morning that they are growing fluffy fungus on the stalks...I think it is too warm in the laundry....have read that you can wax the stalks so I am going to remove the fungus and coat the stalks with organic beeswax....hope it works...anyone else ever had this problem?

horrible fluffy fungus growing on the stalks of my pumpkins....all suggestions welcome.

Have added new mushroom compost / soil mixture to a few empty garden beds to prepare them for the autumn / winter planting....hopefully lots of goodies sprouting here very soon.



two beds almost prepped and ready for planting...just need a nice day to get out there and do it.

 Reduce:  I managed to have a wardrobe cleanout...not that I had all that much to get rid of as I am not much of a hoarder....but it was good to sort out things I haven't worn for ages.... and the charity bins were happy to get them.

Green:  As always am avoiding plastic wherever possible...juice and milk are in cartons, all food is stored in glass jars...even only buy take away drinks in glass bottles.....still haven't found a way to totally avoid gladwrap......will keep trying to come up with options...wish they made recycled plastic wrap...now there's an idea !

Grow:  Have my seedlings waiting patiently to be planted .  Baby capsicums were pickled , filled and bottled....last of the tomatoes have been put in the freezer...things are a little quiet in the garden this month......the lone fig however now has many friends....hopefully all will ripen up soon...


Lettuces, beetroot, broccoli, silver beet.. ,all waiting patiently in the greenhouse..

Onions , leeks, kale and chard .... bugs have already attacked the kale .....hopefully it will be okay when planted..

The first ripe fig....the start of things to come....he looks a bit like an ant eater... !!

Create: I managed to knit the cushion I planned in my March post.....that was one of my projects I wanted to finish...there's always May !!

Finished the knitted cushion from March post....a gift for my daughter.

Discover:  This month I discovered Pinterest....I know ....I'm pretty late getting on board but you could lose days looking at that stuff.......some of the photos are truly bizarre...there seems to be a bit of a fascination for people to put their pets in ridiculous outfits and odd places....I'm an animal lover and I'm not sure if it is cute or cruel ????......it's definitely odd.

I don't know.....kind of cute but also disturbing !!

This one seems a little cruel...don't know how they got him into that little jumper...he doesn't look terribly impressed

He looks like he is saying...okay you've had your fun, know get me out of here !!

 Enhance:  Then you finds things like this on Pinterest....this would certainly enhance my backyard

Then you see gems like this.....how beautiful does this look outside...

There seems to be a bit more than moulting going on in the hen house....this girl is the bossy chook and usually spends her time pecking at all the others.. ...looks like the other girls tried to enhance her tail....she has a big bald spot...maybe there is a pecking order challenge going on....has this happened to anyone else's feathered friends?



Quite a bit of feather loss on this poor girl.,...not sure if its moulting or hen pecking

Enjoy:  April was  a lovely month...Autumn is one of my favourite times of the year....the smell of wood smoke in the air as everyone around lights their open fires....we had a lovely trip to a winery...then celebrated my son in law's 30th birthday at a micro brewery in Mornington..a sunny afternoon.....beer tasting paddles and woodfired pizza's ...my man was in heaven.....needless to say I drove home !!

Hope everyone out there enjoyed April as much as I did.....May is our birthday month....my two daughters and step daughter all celebrate this month.....keep warm and stay happy !!

Slow Living Essentials Monthly 9 Linkup .....

March has been a month of re-evaluation for me.  Losing a very close friend has been difficult for everyone concerned.  It's a reminder to make every day matter, enjoy life and prepare the space that you live in with love and creativity. I'm joining in slow living essentials to share a bit of my space.

Nourish: I currently use organic and what I thought were chemical free skin products, it turns out that most of them still use Phenoxyethanol and Ceteareth-20, both of which we would be better off without!  I am going to try making my own nourishing skin care product using this recipe from WellnessMama.  I've bought the organic beeswax chips on line...will give you an update on how I go .

Organic Bees Wax chips...smell amazing...these have not been purified so still smell like honey.



Prepare: I am keeping my eye on the baby capsicums that I am growing.  Am going to have a go at making  Preserved baby bell with feta.  Just need all the little capsicums to ripen. I think these will be a great gift idea.  More next month on this project. Fingers crossed.

Can see  few have gone a gorgeous ripe red.....still waiting on the others....

Reduce:  I run a small business from home and am constantly getting stacks of mail which leads to a very untidy amount of waste paper.  I use only recycled paper products in the office, but what to do with all this excess paper.  Am keeping anything reusable that is not printed on the back to make up scratch pads for scribbling notes in the office. 


Not all of this will find it's way to the worm farm...most would have to go in recycle bin

Made whole sheets and envelopes not printed on both sides into scratch pads....

Green:   How Dirty is Dirty:  "Over the entire lifecycle of clothes, the biggest environmental impact is from the 'use' phase: washing, drying and ironing". (Green Lifestyle Magazine) This article raised my awareness to the fact that when my man and I wore something we put it in the wash....not any more...nothing into the wash until it actually needs to be washed...jeans are fabulous for multiple wears before washing !!...Reducing your weekly washing loads is great for the environment....I don't own a clothes dryer but if you do, try to avoid using it.

Grow:  It's autumn and time for the pumpkins !!  I love pumpkin and a pot of pumpkin soup on a cold day warms the body and soul. Have started to harvest and their are still about 10 more on the vines....leaving these outside under shelter to dry out for about a week.

The pumpkin Harvest....Qld Blue and butternuts.

Create:  As always working on too many projects at the same time...I am doing a block of the month quilt....have had it for a while but March is the target to finish this first block, will then try to stay on track as there are 9 blocks in total...hand stitching takes a long time...




Still a few hours worth of hand stitching before this panel is completed....each panel measures 50cm x 50cm



Discover:  There is always so much to  see and do and find out about.  We had a weekend down at our holiday spot and I love the beautiful native plants that are growing wildly there...  I also discovered that Life is short  and we should all take the time to enjoy beautiful surroundings.

 

Cute native plants in amongst all of the  beachside scrub.....along with the wombats and native birds.

 

Enhance:  I love to look for beautiful ways to make life more joyful.....my sister-in-law who passed away 12 years ago always made the most amazing sponge cakes for family birthdays and I sadly thought the recipe was lost, but my brother tells me he found it....can't wait to get that recipe....would love to try this:

  

Found this amazing cake decoration on pinterest.....sliced almonds with raspberry & blueberry centres..

Would also love to have a go at knitting this gorgeous cushion.....free download from Yarnspirations.

This cable knitted cushion in boucle....I have some boucle wool I pulled down from a half knitted
jumper.....long story...wool bought from US on line...$45 postage for one more ball...didn't happen.

Enjoy:  I do try and enjoy simple things everyday.  A walk along the beach with my two fluffy girls....they love to run and chase birds and paddle at the water's edge....trying to take their photo is always difficult...after several failed attempts, the magic word was smacko...they looked at the camera with big smiles on their faces....shame about my man's hairy legs in the photo !!

After a long walk on the beach......happy snap....enjoy !!

A Few Thoughts For Friday.......

The pumpkins have started to spread out....can't wait until they really get going.

Strawberries coming along nicely....now if I can only stop the wildlife from eating them..



Everything appears to be flourishing in the vegie patch....even the tomatoes look good..



The Christmas tree is up and the presents are out.....not long to wait now...

Finally finished the scarf.....modelled here by my man....so I could get a photo....!!

It's Friday and the sun has been shining on and off for the last few days....a slow start to Summer but hopefully more beautiful weather to come....the vegie's are going great.,...also lots of greenery to feed the chickens....they are very happy about that...Christmas is not too far away.....Looking forward to that especially sharing it with my G baby who is very excited and has his christmas list prepared...which includes a ham sandwich???....hope Santa remembers to bring that one.   Finally finished off the scarf I was making for my mother in laws 80th birthday...hope she likes it...it has been quite a project...Celebration is on Sunday so fingers crossed. As always life is good even when it throws obstacles in your way....just step over them and keep on going....illness is snapping at the heels of my elderly parents...but I guess that is all part of the aging process....another reminder to keep yourself as healthy as possible by doing whatever it takes.....my thoughts are with them as we go through this hurdle together.....just putting the love out there !!

Simple little things.......

 The sun was still shining today after a chilly start to the week......the last rays of autumn sunshine are something to really savour....heading into winter in the hills.....it gets chilly up here......along with the cooler weather comes changes around the house......out comes the knitting.....need to get into the cooler weather planting  in the garden.....put on the warm bed linen in preparation for the cold nights to come......stock up on firewood for those lovely long evenings when we can sit in front of the coonara........it's definitely the small things that make up the fabric of our lives.........

Along with the cooler weather the knitting comes out....

This is going to be a scarf....I enjoy knitting patterns that offers a bit of a challenge

My Phalaenopsis Orchid has flowered again......so beautiful....

Cooler Autumn weather means changing the bed linen to the warmer cover....
....someone thought it looked perfect to settle into.......

Hope everyone enjoys the change of seasons and all that it brings as much as I do..........!