Happy New Year!

I would like to wish all my readers a very HAPPY NEW YEAR and I hope all your dreams for 2019 come true!

credit

I haven't made any New Year resolutions but I have a couple of things I would like to achieve in 2019 and beyond.

I start this year with a new look.  

Since June 2018 I have not dyed my hair, and a few days ago I visited the hairdressers to make the transition to grey a little easier, as it was getting awkward. When I say grey I really mean silvery white lol! This has been a hard and interesting journey, but I have stuck with it and at this stage do not intend to go back (I was adding colour to my hair every few weeks).  It feels like I have been set free, after dying my hair for 40 plus years! I started greying at 15 and it has caused me so much anxiety through the years but now I am at peace with this season of my life, and look forward to what lies ahead. 

My lifestyle is a healthy and natural one and I felt uneasy to continually put chemicals on my head. My scalp would go bright red and itch for about a week afterwards whenever a colour was added,  so it was really time to stop! 

I feel uncomfortable posting photos of myself, but it is all part of the journey...first photo taken in 15th June 2018 and the second on December 27th 2018.

 

before and after

The vegan journey will continue. I have upped the ante with the food plan and cut out most of the junk I was eating. Now I am more whole food plant based and feeling fantastic! 

Hubby is also continuing on with the healthy food plan.  You may remember a while ago I told you about his cholesterol being high. His level started at 9, then went down to 8.5 and he could not seem to lower it further.  He was desperate not to take pills so I suggested to try eating what I ate, and I was pleasantly surprised when he said yes (I think he wanted to really prove me wrong...wink, wink). So after three months his cholesterol dropped to 6.3 and after another three months his levels are down to 4.8! Proof that you are what you eat! Food is thy medicine, is true after all...Even the doctor was shocked at the results having told hubby that he had familial cholesterol (hereditary) and there was nothing he could do about it! Every part of hubby's bloods were perfect and in the normal range. No low iron, B12, calcium, protein etc...I will add that hubby does eat fish very occasionally, so not fully transitioned to plant based, but he is doing enough to drop those numbers.  I hope this information may be helpful to someone that has cholesterol issues J

The other thing I will do is get fitter (I know I say this every year!) and I am making this a priority. I want to lose at least five kilos in the process, and feel very determined at this early stage. 

Most of all I would like to post regularly on this blog, I have been very neglectful of this little place in recent years. To do this I will be less active on Facebook and Instagram. That is going to take all my willpower haha!

I am looking forward to 2019 and all that it will bring.

Stay happy and healthy, and I will see you soon.

xTania

new view of the veggie patch

From this...

To this...

As you can see, we have been busy.  After a lot of hard work, the veggie patch is now looking so much better.

This took a lot longer than we thought simply because it was difficult to manoeuver around and among the existing barrels which still had plants in them. The reason the plants were still in the barrels is because I did not know this build was happening until it was happening lol!

I will try to show the progress through each stage in pictures...Sorry but there are LOTS of photos...

Each night the veggies had to be shut away from the kangaroos. They have been coming onto our block lately because of the drought. I put water out for them, so they can have a drink in the dry weather.

On with the shade-cloth overhead...

More dirt had to be brought in, leveled and packed down...

On with the lattice work...

Now for the barrels...These have been emptied, with the wicking system and the soil renewed. We swapped the shade cloth for geo-fabric to help with the wicking process. They have been placed level on timber for air flow. The corrugated iron in this picture  faces north and gets the most sun, so were are going to get bales of hay and  place on the outside for insulation to keep the tin and garden area cooler. I will post later about the wicking barrel updated version...

Cutting the geo-fabric...

I removed some plants (in the heat) and transferred them to new established barrels...a bit chaotic looking in this pic...most of the plants have survived thanks to some much needed rain that fell just after we finished doing the barrels and planting seedlings...

Weld-mesh added for the plants to grow up on and over...

So now the area is mostly finished except for the east side. This is going to be finished shortly (hopefully). For now I have shade-cloth pinned up in this area and it is working well. The following photos were taken this morning so you can see how it is going.  I planted out new seedlings just before a couple of very hot days so they needed to be covered for protection from the fierce sun. A lot easier than it used to be lol! I have been waiting ten years for this build to happen, and now I am so HAPPY :D

I have placed these plants in pots out in the area to toughen them up a bit before planting out into the soil. Lemon verbena, pomegranate, and bayleaf.  In the black pot I have potatoes growing.

We are enjoying sitting out here in the evenings...

Temporary shade...

The veggie patch really stands out now, it can be seen from the main road that passes by our property lol!

If you are on facebook, there is a tour video on my page if anyone wants to take a look. Go here. The video was too big to include with this post.

And to finish off with last nights beautiful sunset...

The last two months are a bit of a blur with all the activity going on around here. Christmas is coming and I am not ready at all, but that does not matter as we decided years ago that we would not contribute to consumerism and buy gifts for everyone. Now we give the gift of money and only buy for the youngest grand children. To me Christmas has lost its true meaning and I would much rather prefer to spend time with my love ones without the pressure that comes every Christmas. We will gather together at our sons place this year.  We all take food along to share and it is always a lovely day.  Hoping for cooler weather this Christmas as the last few have been very hot!

If I dont get to fit in another post before Christmas and the New Year, I want to wish you, all my readers a lovely festive season.  May you all enjoy this special time of the year.

Much love and abundant blessings and I will see you soon,

Tania xxx