Irony

Last week, I packed the kids into the car, kissed Hubby goodbye and headed off to join the Pacific Climate Warriors in their battle against the coal ships.  The boot was full to the brim with our tent, little stove, clothes etc.  This particular protest meant a lot to me.  For a start, our damaging use of fossil fuels desperately needs to change and NOW but more than that, we were heading off to protest with the very people who are already impacted by rising sea level.  I spent my formative years growing up in Vanuatu and I am angry that so many people choose to ignore the plight of those in the Pacific.  The bitter irony is that the islanders' lifestyles didn't cause the issue;  nor did they benefit from the use of fossil fuels, yet they are now bearing the brunt of our actions.

Here in Australia, many would like to pretend that the effects of climate change are something in the far off future, something that can be ignored for a long time yet.  Clearly, this is not the case.  If Aussies aren't capable of looking beyond their own backyards and noticing those in immediate peril, then surely they would be aware of what is happening right under their noses!

We had planned on an easy trip up to Newcastle, using the time away as an opportunity to have a bit of a holiday.  We set up our little tent at Goulburn, planning to continue on the next day.  We were aware that rain was predicted for Newcastle but figured we could tough it out or spend a night in a cabin for shelter.  

What we didn't count on was the ferocity of the weather.  Climate change, with all its power and might, saw us sheltering in a cabin at Goulburn on the second night while thunder shook the walls.  The next day we braved the trip to Newcastle knowing another storm was on the way.  We found more cabin accommodation but woke to see the State Emergency Service helping a couple in a van across the way from our cabin.  Then we heard reports of mayhem in Sydney.  Flooded train stations, snow in the Blue Mountains, over two thousand calls to the State Emergency Service for help with fallen trees etc., one hundred and seventy millimetres of rain in some areas.....  The predictions were that the wild weather was heading to Newcastle.

 Our plan to have a cheap journey to join in with the flotilla was falling apart.  The tent was not an option.  The wind was blowing us away.  So for all my passion and commitment to fighting climate change, with the children's safety to think about, we gave up and drove home. 

 I was so disappointed to have used so much time and energy to get to Newcastle and turn around without even meeting the Climate Warriors, but more so to not even get to add our voice to the protest of the coal leaving the harbour.  It felt scary though, to be so far from home with not much money, knowing no one locally and being aware that I was responsible for keeping my children safe.

There was a sense of relief to be heading back down the highway for home.  I felt worn out from driving and from trying to make decisions on the hop.  I had also struggled with providing for ourselves in a sustainable fashion while we were on the road.  We ate organic tinned baked beans one night, tinned soup with bread another.  We had to buy boxes of milk and breakfast cereal.  The caravan parks didn't have recycling facilities.  I thought about bringing our rubbish home but there wasn't an inch of spare space in the car.  The children were already drowning in a sea of pillows, blankets and tourist maps so I guiltily placed our rubbish in the bin.

As we drove home, I reflected on the irony of not being able to participate in the protest for action against climate change DUE TO CLIMATE CHANGE!!!  The very areas that snow fell had been battling bushfires at the same time last year.  The previous year to that, snow!

I also reflected on the fact that we have worked very hard to minimise our personal impact on climate change and travelling away from home threw me back into a world of convenience.  I looked forward to arriving back home to our bulk foods in our own containers, our veggies from the garden, our eggs from the chooks and milk from the goats.  Year by year, we have reduced our packaging and our waste; we have reduced our personal demand on energy used to package and transport our food to our kitchen.  

So while I couldn't take part in a public and dramatic demonstration to shake the people into awareness (and they sure need to wake up to themselves) I can fight climate change here at home with my family.  I can fight in a way that is very effective yet gentle and positive.  I can fight by fertilising my veggie garden, composting our food scraps, tending our animals and poultry, by teaching my children practical life skills, by sharing our goats milk, by being part of a larger community of environmentally aware people.  Tonight we will dine on spatchcocked chicken grown here on our property, potatoes from the farmers market, spinach from Mum's and pavlova made with some of our eggwhites.  These are left over from the yolks I used to make custard, which will become ice cream for the children later today.  It's certainly not an uncomfortable way to fight climate change!  It just requires commitment to make personal changes and a bit more thought and effort into providing for our needs.

So one way or another, please join with the Climate Warriors, please join with me....  Let's fight this fight together whether it be by joining protests, signing petitions, letting your politician know how you feel or simply by growing some veggies!

Fun and games

Brrrr!  Well that caught us by surprise, didn't it?! Just when we thought we had avoided the true winter climate that wild weather came out of nowhere.

Normally I welcome miserable weather no matter what I have planned.  I'm happy to rejoice in the fact that moisture is falling from the sky.  Not this time though!  Hubby and Rosie have big birthdays this week.  Hubby turns fifty and Rosie twenty-one.

We have planned to celebrate here at our place.  We don't do parties.  In fact, I rarely entertain even on a small scale.  Life is busy and there is always too much happenng.  However these two occasions were too important to let them slide by.  I've been planning and preparing for a large party (I originally pictured small and intimate but there are so many special people in our lives) and doing my best to do it without creating heaps of waste. 

The seating arrives

I've been cooking, making cheese, freezing and writing lists madly!  Oh and getting excited!  Every time I completed a task, I would take a moment to picture the big day.  More often than not, I would jump up and down on the spot and say, " Oh it's going to be sooo good!"  I must have said it quite a few times because Pumpkin has told me that I've already said that and "are you going to keep saying it forever?!"  Haha.

Throughout the process I've been continuing with the children's lessons, milking goats, washing clothes that I can't get dry in this weather, etc. 

So far I'm happy with my efforts at sustainability.  We've only bought the crackers (Australian) and two packets of takeaway type containers.  Though it could go pear shaped from here on in.  I've suddenly been hit by the enormity of what I have committed to doing!  I'm exhausted, falling into a dead sleep at night, only to wake and remember several jobs I want to get done the next day.  We were really looking forward to having our family and friends here at our home.  Lots of thought has gone into how it will work.  Now it looks as though the weather won't cooperate on the day and we might need to go to a local hall instead.  It will still be fun but not the same. :-(  It will feel more like 'hosting an event' than having our friends over.

So now it's panic stations.  I planned to continue with everyday life, lessons included, right through the prepartions but that's just gone out the window.  I think the kids have officially started their school holidays today through sheer necessity.  Possibly I'm panicking unnecessarily and I'm well prepared but it's really hard to know until all the jobs are done.  Thank goodness for wonderful friends and family who have offered to help with various preparation!

The kitchen as I woke to it this morning

Wish me luck and a fine weather miracle and I'll tell you all about the party next week.

The Great Tomato Search

Last week, armed with my new preserving knowledge, I set off to get tomatoes.  I knew it was getting late in the season.  I travelled for an hour to a place full of orchards and tomato growers.

Orchard one - closed.  Orchard two - Heaps of fruit, no tomatoes.

Disheartened, I asked in town.  I got many leads, some of which would have taken me miles out of my way.  I decided to try one lead in the direction of home.  When I arrived in the heart of this tiny town, I saw a lady of about eighty walking down the street.  I stopped to ask her and she pointed me in a very vague direction and assured me I could find tomatoes there.

Off I went again, this time becoming confused as to which road I should be on and even unsure which road I actually was on.  Finally I found some men in a paddock so asked them.  Yes, just up the road on your left.  Yahoo! I pulled up and saw...........  yep, tomatoes!  Heaps of them pouring out of a chute into the back of a truck.  I was so excited.  I had begun to feel like I was searching for the Holy Grail.

All the signs said no cars, so I parked up and walked in.  I could see fork lifts and trucks but nothing that resembled a shop.  My heart dropped as I realised it was a factory, not a tomato outlet.  A man approached and I explained how I had arrived there and the mistake I had made.  He said, "Hang on a sec.   I'll get the boss."

Out whizzed a man on a forklift.  He asked how many boxes I wanted.  "Four ten kilo boxes.", I told him.  He delivered a huge bin near the car, gave me four boxes and left me to it.  I couldn't believe it! My luck was in.  And I only paid five dollars a box.

I went home elated.  Somehow the adventures of the Great Tomato Search made my tomatoes so much more special.  I travelled about two hundred kilometres and spent six hours but I found my tomatoes.  What a shopping day!!!

Next year I will go earlier.  My big preserving day began the following morning.

 Now my shelves are groaning with tomatoes.  Something I have dreamt about for years!

How do you shop?  LOL

Eventful

Wow!  What a huge couple of days.  We've fenced, taken charge of our goats (two in milk and two kids), milked a goat for the first time, taken our children to my parents for their security (the mental pressure is the worst part) and thought about nothing other than fires.  It feels very busy keeping track of reports and making sure friends are safe etc.  We are not in danger ourselves but feel very surrounded by fire when one flares up nearby.

I've fought with Hubby over fire plans (that I thought were set in concrete), cried to think of what friends are dealing with and worried lots.  I hate fire season!

I hope you are all keeping safe.  I'm praying for everyone affected by the fires that are burning everywhere.

HOT....

I've been looking forward to sitting here and writing about a special harvest from last week. (More to come on this soon) However, here I sit finally and all I can think about is heat.  It has been all-consuming.  Yesterday was 42c (107.6 f), today will be 43c (109.4f) and I'm dreading it!!  This heat wave is expected to continue for another three days.

The sun is rising again right now.

On a hot day, I'm up early.  I need to let out all the poultry, make sure they have water and access to lots of shade.  I like to give them as much space as possible in hot weather so that they can find the coolest possible spot.  If they are confined, they are unable to help themselves.

We thought we were organised with ice blocks yesterday but still we managed to run out.  The chooks were suffering.  They would pant and stand with their wings out to try and cool themselves down.  Twice during the day I put ice in the water in both pens but it didn't seem enough.  Last night we froze two or three times the amount of ice.  Hopefully that will see us through today.  I also water down a spot for them occasionally.  It brings the temperature down a little.

Then I check that the orchard, veggie garden and pot plants will make it through the day.  This means plenty of watering.

I hang out a load of washing before it becomes unbearable to stand at the clothes line.  It takes a couple of hours to achieve all of this.  Luckily the children are in holiday mode and have been getting up later and later, because I can get my work done by eight before I help them with breakfast.

As for keeping ourselves cool, our air-conditioner is broken and we don't want to get it fixed.  I don't like the idea of buying another one when we would like to use less, not more energy.  Our house was very hot and stifling yesterday so I hung some wet sheets and towels at the doors and windows.  It gave us some relief but not much.  We have plenty of cold water in the fridge but the fridge is taking a beating.  Not only does it have work harder to maintain it's temperature, we are using it more than we normally would.  The side of the fridge was very hot to the touch last night!  We're also using a squirty bottle of water to spray ourselves with constantly.

We've been sleeping in the tent so that we can take advantage of every breeze.  The tent has large windows and allows the air in (not that it feels like it at the moment).  We draped ourselves in wet towels to get enough relief to fall asleep last night.

And as if we weren't uncomfortable enough....  we have flies!  Hundreds of annoying little land-on-you flies.

Yesterday morning the kids found this little guy in a cup outside.

They released him into the garden.  Later in the day he reappeared in the house.  This time he didn't look well and died before we could pop him back outside.  The little pads on his feet were all shrivelled.  He must have had such a bad day, poor thing!

I have a very real dilemma with all this heat.  We have done a lot of research into the dangers of fire.  We live in a known fire-risk area.  Our plan used to be that we would leave on a bad day.  We could go to my parents.  Their house doesn't get as hot as ours, it's large and they have evaporative cooling.  It would be much more comfortable than here.  It's also in a town and surrounded by farmland, not bush so it would be much safer than here.

I have prepared for fire to a small degree.  Our car is packed with appropriate clothing and some woollen blankets.  We have water in the car.  I should have taken all our important photos and paperwork to Mum and Dad's but I haven't got around to it yet.  I allowed Christmas and holidays to take precedence.

When it comes to a choice between the chooks and my kids, it's obvious.  I need to keep the children safe.  But what do I do?!  Chances are there won't be a fire today.  If I leave now, will my chooks die a horrible death with no one to cool them down?  I can't very well pack up the geese, ducks and hens and take them with me.  This type of weather will become more prevalent as the effects of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere make themselves felt.  I can't spend entire summers away from home!  I used to have such a clear plan but not anymore.  So I sit here.  Hot.  And I dither as the wind picks up......

Do you have a sensible plan?  Maybe you can see the answers more clearly than I can.

Ahead of myself

I'm always getting ahead of myself with this slow living caper.  What a great phrase!  'Ahead of myself.'  It's not possible to be in front of where you are standing yet this is exactly what I keep doing to myself.

I am so determined to be living a life where I use hardly any energy and produce little waste, that I keep introducing new ways of doing things before I am organised.  All the things I have introduced are fantastic but I don't always go about things in a rational manner.

For example, I don't want to buy commercial seedlings in a wasteful, singleuse plastic punnet so I raise all my seedlings from seed.  But I don't have a clue what I'm doing!!!

I get them to germinate okay but then from germination through to transplanting them in the garden, not much happens.  I keep watering and I feed them seaweed solution or weed tea but..... that bit I'm always waiting for never happens.  You know.  The bit where they flourish?!

 This year in desperation I even tried a new method.  I thought I was clever because by putting them straight into the soil with bricks around them for warmth and a glass window over the top, they could get the nutrition they needed from the soil.  It was a disaster!  Hardly anything germinated and the seeds that did show their heads were gobbled up by grubs of some sort!

So each year, when the weather is warming up and the wind is drying the soil, I place sickly little seedlings into my yummy composted soil and hope.....

I don't have this problem in autumn and winter.  It's the spring veggies I can't master.  But why, oh why can't I forgo my principles and buy plants from the garden centre; healthy, big plants that will stand half a chance of becoming established.  I think I need to back up a bit.  There's no point trying to live from our garden when I'm just a learner.

 It's the same in the house.  I refuse to buy certain things from the shops.  Often that's not because I've found a replacement.  We just do without.  It doesn't bother me much.  I'm happy to eat simply and it doesn't bother me if we don't have a balanced meal every night.  I figure we're healthy enough due to the good meals we cook most of the time.  I also think the food we don't eat keeps us healthy.  We don't eat a lot in the way of highly processed, pre-prepared food with lots of preservatives.

So in the name of not buying packaged, well travelled, unethical food, I will eat some cheese, a couple of olives, a boiled egg and be satisfied.  I know that on a good day I'll be eating a free range chook from a farm that is reputable and I will have home grown veggies on my plate.  I know the kids will graze from the garden in pea season and eat strawberries and raspberries from the bush.  Possibly my 'making do' attitude makes us appreciate the good things in life even more.  We wait with great anticipation for many of the seasonal foods.  Right now the kids are going nuts over organic stonefruit from the farmer's market and apricots from my parent's tree.  Soon we will be enjoying tomatoes that we haven't tasted since last March or April.  The full flavours that have just been a delightful distant memory hit our tastebuds and even the aromas seem to be stronger and more delicious than we remembered.  We're enjoying homemade ginger beer (recipe to come soon) now that the weather is heating up.  I don't really bother with it through winter but when then days get to 30c and higher we love drinking ginger beer, lemonade, fizzy rhubarb and lemon cordial.

The only down side with our method of providing food comes when we entertain or need to take food places.  If I've had to cook food for a meal and something for dessert I don't always have time left for making nibbly treats.  Again, it doesn't bother us waiting until it's meal time but we're used to this way of living.  For others who may be used to grazing in little portions often, it becomes a habit and they actually feel uncomfortable if they don't have pre-lunch nibbles.  I know this from an occasion recently where my guests knew me well enough to start complaining and raiding my cupboards looking for food.  Lol!

So again, I think I need to take a step back and not be such a purist when it comes to entertaining or packing food for a day out.  It would be okay if I cut a corner or two and bought *gasp* olives from the supermarket or a packet of biscuits until I learn how to grow veggies better, preserve food for easy grabbing and figure out some standby recipes for those emergency moments.  As long as I make sure these concessions I'm allowing myself don't stop me moving forward.  I must keep finding new and better ways until I can be satisfied that I am treading lightly on this planet.   Until I believe I am using a tiny amount of energy and producing no waste in my efforts to raise a healthy and happy family.

A cook up

Rosie's pregnant. Very pregnant. She's thirty seven weeks and four days.  I only saw her a couple of weeks ago but I'm amazed at how much her tummy has grown in that short time!

I've come to visit her for a big cook up.  She wants to feel organised before she takes on the challenges of being a parent.  I remember that feeling well.  So I offered to come and cook some meals with her.  My eldest, Lou Lou, kindly offered to have the young ones so that I could be available.

Rosie and her partner are renting an old, simple but comfortable home.  Their oven doesn't work so we decided on stove top meals, wrote our list and went shopping for the ingredients.

It's amazing what you can achieve with no little ones to supervise.   We've cooked up spaghetti bolognaise, chilli con carne, chicken paprika and some chow mein.  Somehow it was easy because we were working side by side and enjoying each others company.

We've cooked two and a half to three weeks worth of meals!  The photo below shows the meals ready for freezing and the last pot with chow mein cooking in the background.

I've never done a big cook up like this myself but I feel inspired now.  I would love to have a freezer full of pre-prepared meals of the yummy, cooked-from-scratch, homemade kind!!  

Now the meals are done, the kitchen's clean with the dishes put away.  We're ready.  And now we wait.  

It won't be long until we meet this new little person.  Rosie's at the exciting last stage of pregnancy. The time when there are twinges.. tightenings of the tummy that make you wonder......

Improvisation

Let me tell you about Wednesday.......

My day is running well.  A bit of housework, a special lunch at the school after which I will pop in to town to buy organic pasta and sauce for an easy meal.

Uh Oh! I didn't read the note properly!  I'm expected to stay till the end of the day!

Uh Oh!  I forgot Belle had an activity after school!  No time to go to the shops now!!!

Finally arrive home to realise there is no bread.  Nooooo!  Belle is due at the school at 8.00 in the morning for an excursion! I could whip up some sourdough but Belle hates it. By now I'm a mess and almost tearing my hair out.  The kids are hungry, it's dinnertime!  I don't keep convenience foods in the freezer and every time I try and cook a double meal to freeze one, the family eat double!  What am I going to do?!!

Aha!  I have arborio rice and kale in the garden.  Thank goodness I made up a risotto recipe when I was feeling creative one day because now, in my flustered state, I am able to find the recipe on my own blog and cook it up in no time!

 And the bread......?  Aha!  I'll make it into sultana bread.  She'll eat that!

Sultana Bread

 

I made up my bread as I always do but added sultanas, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg.  I kneaded the dough as usual and then spread it into a rectangular shape.  I sprinkled the rectangle with brown sugar, rolled it up and allowed it to rise.  Then I baked it as usual. It went down a treat!  I'm making it again right now but trying it without the brown sugar this time.

Are you like me and have no precooked food in the house?  What do you do in food emergencies?  Do you have some standby method for crazy days or do you improvise at the time?

Preparedness

I was on a high as I dropped the kids at school this morning.  I think I practically skipped out of the gate on my way home.

I have a couple of reasons to feel so happily excited, not the least being that it is a wonderfully, grey drizzly day.  The first we've had for ages.  It's been so dry around here that we are back to the situation we were in at the end of the last drought!  But today it rains!!!!

Another cause of my bubbling excitement is knowing that in the next day or two we will have a new little person in the world!   You may recall I became involved in a mentoring program for young mum's.  Well my friend is going to have her baby very, very soon.  I can't wait to meet him!

I've been madly organising a gift that I hope she and her baby will like but that fits in with my principles for sustainable gift giving.  Today I received two little beanies that I ordered from Christine at Slow Living Essentials.  She made these for me as a custom order.  They are amazing and I can't recommend her store enough!  Just go to her blog and click the Sweet Peeps button in the side bar. 

So I am now prepared.  I have two handspun and knitted beanies and a stuffed rabbit that I made last week.

I stuffed the bunny with sheep wool and some dried lavender



Hubby and I had a wonderful weekend.  We went to an engagement party.  A lovely friend that I met at my permaculture design course (three and a half years ago) is engaged to a very nice man.  It was so refreshing to have open conversation with real people (as opposed to bloggy friends) about our lives and what we are trying to achieve here at our place.  I guess we come at climate change from two angles in our family.  We try to reduce our carbon footprint and we also try to prepare for an uncertain future.  It's a damn hard, slow process due to lack of planning before we built our home, still living in a consumerist world and because it takes time to change day to day living. 

 

At the party I chatted with another friend about some preparations I would like to make regarding health concerns.  I have an idea floating in my head about making a medicinal herb garden.  (Must get on to it)  He was telling me about a book he has which give many herbal and aromatherapy remedies that can be used if medical care is not accessible.  The book was written by the people who run the Doom and Bloom website.  I haven't really checked it out yet but I'm certainly interested in their book!  I need to listen to a couple of their podcasts.

 

I've been using some herbal and aromatherapy remedies with my children for years and I'm often amazed to find they can be more efficient than medication from the chemist.  I'm glad we spoke about health care on the weekend because it's brought my buried thoughts to the front of my mind.  I will be bringing out my herbal books soon and starting to do some research.

 

Now please don't think reducing our energy usage or preparing for times of trouble is a depressing subject.  Far from it!  Today's efforts at reducing our family's carbon footprint has meant making up a sour dough sponge and placing it in front of the fire.

Then I fed the chooks and geese, collected eggs and ground some wheat so that I could make the kids some muesli bars for school snacks.  I've saved any petrol being used to cart eggs from elsewhere, my wheat is also fairly local (it's certainly healthier than the dead flour in the supermarkets!) and I have produced no packaging.

 

I've washed up the bottles for the ginger beer that we will make later in the day.  I had a brekky of tomato and scrambled eggs on toast and went through my seeds to find some to plant this afternoon.  After a quick wipe down of the bathroom and a sweep of the kitchen floor, I sat to eat one of the freshly cooked bars and to write this post in front of the fire.

 This afternoon I will plant seeds and make the ginger beer and tomorrow a friend is coming over to see how I make bread and soap.  I'm really looking forward to working together with a friend.  Shhhh!  Don't tell her, but...... I may even see if she'll help me attack my mountain of folding while the bread rises.

So it's not really so scary, is it?  In the process of addressing climate change and peak oil today, I have created a warm and cosy atmosphere, my home smells delicious and I've enjoyed all my tasks.  The terms 'climate change' and 'peak oil' strike fear into so many people's hearts but the reality is that working towards any energy descent is a lovely way to spend your days.  Life feels more real and revolves around food and comfort, community and family.

Do you enjoy your journey towards energy descent and all that it entails? Or are you still just pondering where to start?  Or maybe like Richard at Abdallah House you are much further along the path.......  Richard and his family have a wonderfully sustainable lifestyle!