Slow Living Report - May 2012

Hello, I am joining in with Christine  over at Slow Living Essentials again this month for the slow living report for May, so here goes....

Nourish - We have been eating homemade takeaway a bit this month, I was gifted a deep fryer not long ago, and we have had yummy beer battered flake and chips and salt and pepper calamari for Friday night treat dinners a couple of times. I also have some huge Otway Red potatoes that I sliced into thinnish rounds and dipped in the beer batter and fried, they made delicious potato cakes, just like the fish and chip shop! The boys loved them.

On a healthier note, I have also been making soups as the weather gets cooler, we have had chicken and sweetcorn (very good) and the old favourite, lamb shank and barley (delicious!)

Prepare - well, not much to report here really!

The local orchards are harvesting some brilliant apples, so I have been buying lots while they are so fresh and delicious, not getting to preserve any though, they are all getting eaten too quickly.

Reduce - Gave my hot house a bit of a clean up and recycled a heap of old pots into containers for seedlings and cuttings. 

Green - The wood heater has been getting a great work out this month, I have decide not to use the gas heater this year (it needs a good service and I don't want to accidentally gas us), so hope to save abit of money on the gas bill too. Our wood heater can heat the whole house anyway, and dry the washing on the clothes horse at the same time.  Using the clothes dryer much less too, bonus! 

Grow - Sowed seeds of snowpeas, sweetpeas, 3 types of lettuce in individual cells so I can grow nice big individual plants, pak choy,  everything has germinated nicely.

My brassica seedlings are looking great and are ready to plant out in the garden, we have broccoli, red and green cabbage, cauliflower and tuscan kale,  the onion seedlings are still quite skinny, but they will go out in the garden too soon.

Also have bought some more garlic to plant on the winter solstice, a local commercial organic garlic grower broke both her ankles, (poor thing)  and is not able to plant her crop this year,  so I think this will be really good garlic, looking forward to seeing how it goes.

We are harvesting quite a lot of things, baby beetroots, baby carrots, lettuce, spinach beet and the last of the beans.  I am leaving a lot of the great beans to save seed for next summer, they are taking ages to dry off though!

 Create - Quite a productive month on the creative front, I finished a second star stitch blanket, made up a flower brooch for mother's day (and made a tutorial for it) and crocheted a cushion cover. Quite surprising, as I have felt like I've lost my creative drive a bit this month, with lots of procrastinating over what to make and lots of time just looking through patterns!

Discover - I have been reading up on Rhonda Hetzel's book Down to Earth , looking at the budgeting and financial chapters learning that I can do it!  Also started a new job, working at a little farmers market/farm sales on Saturdays, it is fun! 

this is part of my garden and chook yard at home 

Enhance / Connect - My dad finished off the Hen Hilton at our Community garden in May and we did a little road trip to get 12 lovely chookies who are now happily at home in our orchard area. 

Gary and I went to the Mt Eliza Farmer's Market in May and supported several growers, and came home with lovely oranges, salad mix and pear cider!  That market has really grown and improved since our last visit.

My B grade Mixed tennis team has reached the finals, I hope we don't choke! (we have a tendency to talk ourselves out of a win!) We've gotta fire up guys!

Beautiful Autumn evening, my very green and damp garden

Enjoy - We enjoyed a lovely family lunch for Mother's Day, a family picnic at Sorrento, lot's of friend visits for the boys, and a couple of social meals with local friends for me.

Also I've really enjoyed the cooler weather and some lovely still Autumn days perfect for working in the garden, cosy nights by the fire, reading some great books, and watching Game of Thrones ( what an excellent series, although the books are even more engrossing!)

So that is May all wrapped up!

Roll on June and happy winter, life is flashing by at the moment, do you feel that way too?

Have a great day!