Happy New Year!

Hippy New Year everyone!

May 2017 bring love, peace and happiness to you all!

Out in the Veggie Patch

Hello dear friends,

I think it is time for a garden update. All the plants in the veggie patch are growing great.

This plant came up by itself in the compost.  I thought it was a rock melon (cantaloupe), but it appears to be one of the "Greek" cucumbers I grew last season.

I have tomatoes popping up everywhere.  They have grown out of the fresh compost I put in the beds.

I might actually get a good crop this year, and hopefully get enough for making sauce and the like.

Baby Zucchinis...

Baby cucumbers...

The rhubarb is doing well...

I have a baby eggplant...

 Some of the tomato plants are reaching the top and touching the shade cloth now, not sure what I am going to do about that...

 I am happy with how the veggies are progressing, they seem to like this way of growing, and so do I.  Our water bill dropped quite a bit last year...

Zucchini plant I raised from seed.

 Red capsicum plant.

I was a bit late planting apple cucumber seeds this year so I haven't picked any yet. They wont be long though as they have flowers.

We have moved a couple of baths ready to make into wicking beds. They just need to be made level,and they ready to go. We have another three to move over from the other side. 

 This is one of the older wicking beds.  I have decided to keep this one and plant a variety of "all sorts" in there.  I have planted a neglected rose bush and some lavender. Some lemon grass, ginger and chives. It seems to be keeping quite moist with the pea straw mulch on top.

The rose bush appears to be happy as it is getting buds.

The lavender.

This bed is producing the yummiest of strawberries

 Figs...

 One lonely fruit on this tree.  First time fruiting and it is a type of mango, but I cant remember the name.

 Nectarines...

 Mandarins for next winter...

 Grannies...

 The grapes suffered in the heat on Christmas day, not sure I can save them...

And I am picking heaps of apricots.

Apart from madly stewing for the freezer, I am solar drying the fruit. I may have to dig out the preserving kit I think, the tree is loaded.

 Some peaches and apricots almost dried.

  And another fresh batch. I lay them on non stick baking paper as it makes it easier to remove them. They tend to stick to the wire otherwise.

What a difference a day can make. I started this post yesterday and as I am writing this tonight there is a huge storm happening outside.  The wind is horrific and I do not know what state the garden will be in by morning.  I know all the apricots will be on the ground and possibly being eaten by the ants!

This is the thing with mother nature. She is unpredictable and one never knows what she has in store. There have been floods in Northern Australia and now a warning of possible flooding here.

We have had rain, but at what cost I wonder? I will find out when the sun rises tomorrow. Stay safe anyone that is caught up in this storm.

How is your garden growing? Are you reaping the rewards of growing your own?

See you soon.

Merry Christmas!

Wishing all my friends a very Merry Christmas! 

I hope you have a lovely day spent with your dear loved ones.

It is going to be a hot one here.  We are expecting 43C (109.4F), so 

cold meat and salad for us. 

All the preparations are done and the day is about to arrive.

See you in the New Year.

God Bless.

Simplifying

Hello friends,

I have a confession to make!

I have too much stuff and it is really annoying me!  

A dear friend once told us that we spend the first half of our lives collecting stuff and the last half getting rid of it! 

How true this is...

Why do we hang on to things? Does it remind us of happier times in the past?  Does it hold us back from moving forward? I am referring to vintage items that I have been collecting over the years. They do feel special. Is this a good thing?  Can I part with some of my collection? I am not sure, we will see.

It could be because of Spring, but lately I have been feeling the urge to purge (as in de-clutter).

After browsing minimalism and de-cluttering blogs, I have put into action what I have learned. 

YouTube also has a ton of helpful videos to keep me inspired.

The first thing I tackled was my clothing. 

I don't wear fancy name brand articles, so it wasn't really that hard to cull. 

Gone is the clothing that I haven't worn for a while or no longer love. 

Have you heard of Marie Kondo from Konmari fame? 

She is a young Japanese woman, who has a fantastic method for clearing and organising the clutter in our homes.

So after taking some inspiration from Marie, I now have very neatly presented drawers. Marie has a special way of folding clothes to make them fit nicely into drawers. 

The good thing about this method is you can see which shirt or item you want without rummaging through and messing up the whole drawer. 

First mine...

Then hubby's.

Too many emails was another problem. I found I couldn't keep up with them all. So I have taken action and unsubscribed to most of the emails I was receiving. I now have only a few of my favourites coming in, and it feels so much better. I have also cut back on social media.

The cupboards have been getting a good sort out too.  I have thrown out a lot of items that were no longer used. My cleaning gear now consists of just a few things that I use all the time. 

You may have noticed that I have simplified my blog. It was becoming too cluttered and not a place I enjoyed anymore. It is still a work in progress and there may be more changes as I attempt simplify further.

Books have been culled too. No need to have so many collecting dust, never to be read. Someone else can have the use of them, so off to the op shop they go. I have kept just the ones that are important to me.

I am longing for a really simple rest of my life. I don't want to do all this busyness anymore.

I come from a family of hoarders. Both my parents and grandparents hung onto things for years and years. Just in case.

So I have a battle on my hands.

In my kitchen I use a few vintage items. I wont be parting with these. When I use them it is a gentle reminder of simpler times. 

I think hubby may be getting a bit worried. He will be hovering over his possessions, just in case I decide to start on his.

What I have done so far;

~ Our bedroom

~ Most of the laundry room, cupboards and drawers

~ Our sons drawers

~ Most of the bookshelves

~ Cupboard in the entryway

~ Sorted email

~ Started cleanup of my blog

Still on my list to do;

~ Spare room drawers and wardrobe.  These have been used for storing "stuff"

~ Sort through DVD's, we don't watch them

~ The rest of the bookshelves

~Sideboard cupboard, another storage for "stuff"

~ Kitchen dresser, meat-safe and icebox

~ Finish last cupboard in the laundry

~ Linen cupboards (I have been putting this off)

~ Pantry

~ Kitchen

~ Sons bedroom

~ Main bathroom

~ Finish off clearing out the rumpus room

~ Go through boxes of stuff in storage

~ Sort out plants outside

~ Outside front garden.  I struggle to grow things mainly because they need a lot of water, so I am going to put down rocks and grow hardy plants instead.

I am sure to add more to this list.

I have a way to go yet, but I will continue on...I am also wanting to give the house a fresh coat of paint, as the colours of our walls are very outdated. They have not been painted since we moved here. I am going to go neutral all over, away from the variety of different colours the previous owners chose.

Do any of you have the same problem with letting go of things? Maybe you are a minimalist already or on your journey to become one. Or perhaps collecting things makes you happy. Let me know, I would love to hear your stories.

I will leave you this video to watch. Please do yourself a favour and watch it if you haven't done so already.

I have enjoyed seeing the beautiful flower displays this year.  I have shared some with you in this post.

The large amount of rain has changed the landscape into a sea of colour.

Have a wonderful day!