Far too windy today to do any gardening as can be seen by my grown from a cutting Lavender bush. It is sailing to the left.

The plan had been to spray the Roses again for scale to really kill those suckers before all the new leaves appear on my for now Winter hibernating bushes. I am so looking forwards to my Roses flowering again in the warm months.
Just like this Rose in all it’s summer glory!

What could be better today than soup.

Open fridge and find goodies for the making of Real Food.

A veritable feast of bargains. Reduced priced goodness. The best shopping.

Large packet of soup vegetables …mine was 1kg and included parsnip which sells for $10kg on special at the moment.

Large bag of Beef soup bones ….mine was 1kg

Find largest cooking pot or crock pot…my crockpot was out on loan.

Whilst quickly peeling and rough chopping vegetables, heat pot with a little oil and toss bones in for a quick brown

- add chopped onions and stir for a slight brown
- add rest of vegetables and stir for a quick mix
- add 8 cups water and stock powder for that quantity. Or use packaged stock liquid.
-add a glug or two of Worsestershire Sauce

Even quicker is to pile all the ingredients into the pot without any frying, but the taste will not be as rich.

Bring to boil and skim off scum that rises to top for the first part of cooking.

Simmer till meat is tender enough for you. The longer the better.

Remove soup bones from soup liquid and cut meat off.

I then mashed vegetables with potato masher to squash them somewhat. You could use a stick blender being careful as soup is hot

Return meat to soup.

As I wanted to make a slightly thicker soup I made a brown Roux kind of thick sauce and added some to the soup.

Then we devoured it for lunch with only a little left for a small snack.

Wholesome food.

The best taste.

Love my soup….

Then a reduced price afternoon tea treat at a fraction of going out for coffee.

Even better was that we sat in the afternoon sun in our enclosed verandah soaking up the warmth

Till later

Courtesy mvictor@morgueFile free photo

Sharing can be an outright gift
Sharing can also be to barter
What does barter mean
A little example garden-wise

Get free plants
Share with each other
A glut for one is a need for another
Thinning out of plants or vegetables or herbs
What to do with the excess besides throwing into bin

I need a parsley plant
You have parsley growing in abundance in the hedging
I have a glut of rocket seedlings taking over my veggie patch
You love rocket
You need to thin out the spinach
I need spinach
You say that when you have to thin them out you’ll pass some on

You get a box of fresh herbs and vegetable delivered
You chop the coriander roots off to put herbs in fridge
I suggest you grow some from those roots, so we share the bounty with a smile
I’ve recently learnt how to grow basil from tender snippets of cuttings and discover you are doing the same

And on it goes without money changing hands, being resourceful, caring. Not being wasteful, practicing sustainable living without the big words.

This is but one tiny example of sharing. Life provides us with many avenues in which to share whether it be tangible or in support. Many times we do share, unknowingly.

Do you share?

Courtesy dharder@morgueFile free photos

Alexa

Joining in with Essentially Jess for #IBOT

Healthy lunch smoothie for me today and a dose of randomness.

Time to use up that lonely frozen ripe banana from the freezer. Into blender with about 1 cup cold water from fridge and the appropriate amount of full cream powdered milk. A handful of rolled oats and a tiny dash of Vanilla essence. Normally I use Canadian Maple Syrup which I bought from Costco and decanted into an empty maple syrup bottle….tis much much cheaper bought in bulk.

Depending what’s in season or in freezer I have added blue berries and they are the best !!!!

Lid on blender and blend furiously…in deed I was very lucky that my hand was over the top of the lid as I had forgotten to also replace that tiny circular inner lid. Oops!

Pour into cold tall glass from fridge. Add large dollop of my homemade Greek style yoghurt, also a heaped teaspoon of LSA and if I’m using the maple syrup this is when I add it. I must say I prefer the Maple syrup. Vanilla is too sweet tasting. With a long spoon stir in the topping thoroughly and enjoy…sipping slowly. I thin it down a tiny bit if my handful of oats was too generous. Very filling.

A quick meal which could be prepared earlier and stored in fridge and thinned down with fridge cold water if it gets too thick…I know at one time when we had an English girl living with us she took along for breakfast a prepared brekky drink like now you can purchase in popper form. It consisted of some weetbix mixed with milk and shaken up with possibly a bit of honey or sugar all in a screw top drink bottle. Stored in the fridge she took it with her when she left before dawn for her long trek to work doing Nursing on the other side of town via bus and train…..so it was a healthy and cheap option way before all these commercial convenience breakfast drinks were round and much healthier. So no need to buy. Cross it off your list.

That was a bit of a stroll down memory lane:)

Walking into the lounge I find a battered and loved little Matchbox car left behind in our car from little grandsons having gone to swimming lessons with grandma. Busy fun times with lots of energy used up and then time for food. Little squares or rolled up slices of bread with Vegemite/Promite and avocado. Their little packed morning tea and lunches look so cute and get wolfed down pretty quickly! Clever mothers. Healthy , straight on hand and saving a heap.

Trying to cull some photos on my iPad I came across this photo…old world charm from an old Queenslander style house…of course in Queensland. Would have loved to have had time to absorb all the intricate beauty of these homes. As it was we only had time for a drive past in a few streets and one actual mini stop for a couple of photographs. Lots of upkeep in these houses with painting and making sure the wood doesn’t deteriorate. Endless work but what charm and character as seen in the below picture along with the old tree trunk with its patterned lichen….what amazing stories and memories this house and around it hold.

From the days when white man first settled here near the river and the aborigines still lived in the surrounding bush….

Comparing old houses quite weary and in need of tender loving care to the lovingly restored and renovated or modernized homes or even as I saw a church now turned into a Child care centre. Was an awesome sight right on the corner of an intersection and going up a hill….

Memories what would we do without them….and the random happenings which make life interesting instead of constant sameness.

Hope your day created some memories, saved some money or learnt something new among the many challenges and joys of life.

Till later, and thanks for coming by.

From Alexa

Photographs & post belong to Alexa from
www.Alexa-simpleliife.com

Vintage drawing courtesy “Graphics Fairy”

Driving to the hairdresser early this morning I had to remind myself that we now have a new school opened in a local street. Note to self was “watch out for the low speed zone” whereas for the last 20 something years we just drove without thinking…

…and so my mind wandered….

It happens again, the long summer break school holidays, or vacation as they say in other parts, have ended in Australia. Our older grandchildren went back Tuesday before last so as to be able to complete the required number of weeks of education for the various exams. The younger ones the week after.

So sad to see the end of fun and relaxation. A time for the minds to wind down, for families to regroup and refocus again. For extended families to catch up and reconnect. Little cousins with older cousins, siblings, aunts and uncles, mums and dads, grandparents and friends. Mentoring time.

A slowing down and de-stressing. No bus to be on time for, no school bell to hurry for, no constant homework and assessments to schedule for, no sporting activities to be fitted in and uniforms always washed and gotten ready for.

Now holidays don’t have to cost a fortune! There’s so many family friendly activities. Just do research, ask around organise yourself to take food and drinks from home and you’ll all be right. Besides saving a bundle of money your children will feel more nourished and sustained by the home cooking. Eat at a fast food outlet and you’ll all feel hungry again very quickly due to the sugar spike.

Carry this over to back to school. Having appointments or activities like swimming after school? Plan your day and have sustaining after school snacks with you to be devoured on the way to wherever you are off to!… And for mum too….

At times, with the children cook with them and discuss a plan for a theme like a Mexican or Chinese meal.

For home schoolers this can incorporate learning about the culture or geography and history of that country. The learning to make and prepare a new recipe is adventurous but make sure it’s children taste friendly….In this way you are passing on skills….life skills, as mentioned in a previous post. The best part being that they won’t even notice that it’s a lesson….

” care enough to train a child, not merely treat them to a good life” Dr. Tim Elmore.

But as with all things, special things are only special because they happen sometimes and by looking forwards to them. If we always ate chocolate it wouldn’t be such a delight. Yum yum.

If we always lived by the beach I am sure it would become commonplace, and also, we would not notice the great beauty of our surroundings…

EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.

Let’s not become complacent about things in general. Can you see the extraordinary in the ordinary.

Bye for now
Alexa

Beach photos belong to Alexa-asimplelife , written by Alexa.
Vintage drawing courtesy http://thegraphicsfairy.com

Courtesy curlsdiva at MorgueFile free photos

What happens when you have time…

Unusual title?

Just like that, and without conscious thought it surfaced. I had been thinking back on some of the last few days and what I had accomplished.

There had been no need to rush out doing myriad errands watching the clock. Not worrying about being caught in peak hour traffic or be on time to pick up somebody. Instead, a refreshing pace which is good for the soul.

So what was one thing that was good for the soul….taking my time and discovering.

I had purchased a sweet cheap dress at Kmart because the material was strong and appealing and the basic lines were right. Except that I am tall and the dress too short for me.

So on and off over the space of a few weeks I was able to muse on how I could adapt this dress for me.. I thought of this or that and then acted. I enjoyed working out the strategies and in which order I would proceed…some hand sewing and some machine sewing..and all at no cost, which was a bonus!

Tried dress on again. …ok, I’ll add a double thickness band to bottom in the plain black poplin from my linen press/cupboard as a block colour. Pinned, tried on, sewed, pressed , tried on again.

OH!!.. Still not quite long enough when I move. OK…what now. Another band the same and it looks as if it’s meant to be so.
GOOD. Wait…now it’s a bit too bouffant round the waist. OK!…a belt. Like this? Or like that.

Another day…Show daughter and granddaughter. AHAH…a wider belt and pull up the shoulders so the underarm does not gape as much. Teen Granddaughter likes it….cool

Again…another day I find a link for an Obi belt tutorial by Mimi G on YouTube.

I had never heard of Obi belt till I read it on Deby’s blog

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxlYutzNBa4&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DZxlYutzNBa4q  (there must be a shorter link for this… hmm)

http://so-sew-easy.com/poppy-skirt-easy-elastic-waist-skirt/

Anyway back to story . I made the belt from same black poplin and by watching the YouTube link, downloaded and printed the easy pattern. I made belt longer as I’m bigger than the petite presenter. I also saw how the lady fashioned a small tight rose with the ends of the ties to sit at the waist. It was so easy and classy.

Obi Belt

Ok, to the last bit. Taking up the shoulders on this sleeveless dress. Tacked it together how it should go and tried on again.

Unpicked and unraveled the salmon coloured overlock thread and removed clear plastic/nylon tape for reuse. I did this as I had no matching cotton in that shade. Now I had plenty of thread to handsew in tiny backstitch the shoulder seams….hand-sew you say…well there wasn’t enough thread to wind on a bobbin/spool. Instead of overlocking the seam I blended one thread of near match cotton with the ration size recycled thread and blanket stitched the raw inside shoulder seam. Just enough thread. Perfect!

So what are some popular words being used at the moment…. Reuse, recycle, repurpose, redesign, thrifty, make do, be inventive.

All I did though was to take time, enjoy and use the skills that I have, learn some new ways of doing things, be inspired by others when all I wanted to do was to chop the top off this dress and turn it into a skirt!

Instead I finished up with a really nice and oh so comfortable summer dress. Please excuse my amateur photography styling skills won’t you. Also thanks to Deby from Sew So Easy for asking me for a photograph of the finished dress….

Brave me feeling inspired.

What are your inspiration moments?

They don’t have to be earth shattering.

Courtesy smartpc at morgueFree photos

…but do give a gift of time

…to yourself

…to another

Till later ~ Alexa