One small change - Feb

The One Small Change commitment is often on my mind...

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So I largely missed February! Kept meaning to get blogging on my changes but never quite made it. But here I am...

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January was all about preserving with dedication.

I am pleased to say we have a cupboard full!

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We made Apricot jam, blackberry jam, cherry plum jam and satsuma plum jam. We also made tomato relish, tomato chutney, mango chutney and loads of tomato sauce. As well as drying tomatoes and stewing lots of fruit, and freezing grated zucchini for later use as well. Adding that to last years left overs (which include marmalade, fig and ginger and red currant), I can firmly say we will not be buying jam, chutney or sauce this year - or next year or the year after or even ever again with luck! Just think about all those jars and all those food miles!

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February was my consolidating month.

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I reflected on my list of do's and usually do's and got a few things going more solidly.

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* I started using cloth nappies. We use eenies and it is great to be back using them again - I love a big baby bum.

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* I started making yogurt again. I had been for ages but then had a busy week and stopped. Back into it and have also ordered Kefir crystals and want to start making that. Funny that two weeks and a few used yogurt containers in the sink and my heart sinks at the vision of a life times worth of yogurt containers - all stacked up - can you imagine your stack???

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* The second step to the yogurt making is to make cream cheese regularly and stop buying that as well. My first lot was lovely. It was also good to cook with the whey. The funny thing with all these bits is that when you get back to being regular you can't seem to remember why you ever stopped!

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* Became seriously re-committed to turning things off at the power point. Still want to go around and check each point out for double adapters and all that business. Seems that power leaks quite a bit if you have an extension cord or adapter in and the point is turned on - crazy!

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* Re committed to hand making as many gifts as possible. Was up sanding birch wood blocks at some ungodly hour!

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* I am continuing to reflect on my list and will up the % of action on each one. Consistency is vital in all these actions and changes. I just need to consistently keep working on my consistency!

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* Nearly got our tomato co-op together and a milk and cream co-op is just starting - more news on that next month when I write and think about community - my favourite topic and a great environmental weapon.

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* Solar talks and visits continue but once again that will be for a later month.

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Hope you had a good month of small changes or even just one.

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Just imagine the difference...

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What would you like to change next month?

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Oh and if you want to join up - just click on the 'one small change' button on the side bar!

Oh oh oh and everyone (but especially Mise who I know is very keen to know, I will really draw my give away soon! I promise!)

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The Grimstones...

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Last night our family went to see The Grimstones.

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It was a wonderful show and K and W loved it. As did T and I.

A fantastic piece of intimate theatre signed and spoken by the two puppeteers.

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We have been talking about it since.

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Mind you, I also enjoyed afterwards when the puppeteers asked if there were any questions and a small boy put his hand up and then said;

Did you know that I can run really really fast?

Not my small boy - but I think he really identified with the comment!

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The Fringe, Festival, Womad, Garden of Unearthly Delights are all on around this time in Adelaide. One of the reasons I was glad to move back to Adelaide was because of this richness. You get to soak in it for months. The whole city takes on a new depth and colour that by just walking through and not spending a penny can be enjoyed.

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The Garden is great, as again, without spending a penny you have atmosphere by the wheelbarrow - buskers, sites, fancy things to look at - all there for a visual gobble fest. Also with the many tents set up for shows you can turn up and go and see something for a fairly reasonable price. A big billboard at the front saying what is starting when and you can see tastes of the shows as people walk around touting and spruiking - it is a glorious place for an adult - just imagine it with children's eyes!

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You can stay home and have a cup of tea of course.

With a 6 month old who is waking up a lot and a busy life it is easy to stay home and rest or even just stay home and just be.

But you can go out!

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One of the main obstacles for me is 'bedtime'. As people who know me well are aware, bedtime is one of my big things. I can stand on my head and do a fancy dance all day but bedtime is bedtime. I have no real issues with packing my family off to Japan for a month or moving to Cape Barren Island to work for a bit but bedtime is 7pm and no negotiating!

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For some reason, people who plan theatre for children seem to think 7pm or 8pm is a good time for it. Don't know why??? There is very little on at 4, 5 or 6 and it is mainly pitched at toddlers or babies. So I have to let go of my 7pm bedtime and live a little wildly in that area of my life for a bit! Still - I am sure I will survive. Just have to teach W the concepts around 'sleeping in'.

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The Grimstones was a one hour show that started at 6.30. Of course it went late and we pottered back to the car after chatting to friends.

To the amusement of onlookers, W changed into his jarmies in the parkland next to the Garden and K into his jarmies in the front seat of the car while a lovely lady waited nearly 15 minutes for our park! (It was a good one!)

We meandered on home and W pretended to go to sleep in the car. It was a good pretend and T fell for it twice!

Still, bed at 8.30 and I am here to tell the tale. Perhaps I will update you this afternoon!

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I know it is worth it though, as when we walked into the Garden, W said - where is 'Juice'?

(video on that link)

Now that was a show we saw last year and haven't talked about or mentioned in at least 11 months and he has such a vivid memory of it, it seems! It was a great show by the Crash Collective and I remember it well also.

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It is so important to soak our children well in glorious creativity.

Like good compost on a veggie patch - needed for beautiful growth and amazing fruits.

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We are going to really make an effort to get amongst it with our brood this year!

Hope you can too.

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What colour does your town have? Are you a bed time fanatic?

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show weekend

Well, the show is over for another year...

It feels like it was our first year as 'locals' as last year we were so new to the area.

But not local enough to make prize winning jam!

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There was some discussion from various people as to the likelihood of winning in an old local show, but I have faith. Mind you, the convener of the jams and preserves said that as 'professional jam makers' enter the show regularly, next year they will have a section for amateurs and one for professionals. Well, that explains it all!

So next year perhaps I will try again...

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We of course took the camera and had a beautiful and full day but there are only three photos on the camera - taken in the first 10 minutes!

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I went to a talk at the sustainability fair about fruit trees. It was run by the Rare Fruit Mob. It was great and I plan to spend some time on their website!

It was a beautiful day - we are so lucky to live where we live.

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This morning making was spelt and yogurt pancakes from this fantastic book.

Then out in the garden lugging wood, pruning and other lovely bits and pieces.

Hope you had a wonderful weekend as well.

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our country show...

The Uraidla Summertown Show is on tomorrow.

I dropped my blackberry and my apricot jam off today. Entries for Section G - Jams, Jellies, Preserves and Produce.

I confess, I feel a little nervous. Am I so totally out of my league that it will be shameful or do I make quite nice jam but no need to wave it around or what? Takes me back to entering my dahlias as a kid in the Devonport Show in Tasmania. I bet I wasn't as nervous then!

Still, in my jam went.

I like the instructions for Section G. Among other things it says:

Any jams jellies or preserves not collected will be deemed the property of the show committee and eaten with scones and cream or sausages as applicable.

So there you have it. I should maybe have entered my sauce but there is always next year and maybe my ego can only take two dents a year!

So, tomorrow we are off to make a day of it - wood chopping, sheep dog trials, tractors, old weird working machines being looked after by incredibly old fellas, good food, ice cream, hay, filth, hot sun, chooks and ducks and other things to be judged and inspected, eating almost constantly and all that good and proper behaviour at a good and proper show.

The Sustainability Fair is on at the same time at the same location so I am also off to find out how to maximise my orchard and learn all about solar hot water for when our electric one finally gives up.

If you are at all even kind of local Adelaide person - I recommend it! Don't worry about the Royal - this one takes the cake - home made cake of course!

See you there!

my creative space...

is pretty bland but practical!
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Edging wipes for bottoms, making calico bags for our Steiner Playgroup...
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W took one wipe and used dressmakers chalk to make a pattern and wants me to sew over the lines to make him a 'special hankie'. That sounds a bit more creative!
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Still, bland usefulness aside, some other real creative moments are happening on our NEW blackboard wall!
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And some last minute crafting but long term thinking has just been put up in this exhibition. Crazy thing I signed up for when I was totally deluded about the amount of free time I would have in the future. The future is now. There is no free time. Well, there is, at the expense of sleep. Mind you, sleep comes in teeny tiny bite size chunks right now.
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However, as Sri Chinmoy says
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The fullness of living
Is found in
Sleepless self-giving
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I must be really living!
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Other lovely creating over here...
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a question...

Is yours
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the kind of house
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where you occasionally
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find toenails?
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chalking

Fug is still thick. However.


When you have considered the fug and it is still there, you may as well think about the daisies.
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Because they are out there, even if you can't see them for fug.
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Here is the chalk wall we painted.
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We love it.
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How could you not?
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Do you need a chalk wall?
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at sea

Sometimes life is like being at sea.
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you can't see for the fug.
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yes, I meant to write fug.
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too much fug.
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my creative space

is here and there and bits and pieces...

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I posted the other day about the lovely time we have been having with M.A.D. clay.

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In other creative family news, I finally got around to getting W set up to sew.

An opped embroidery ring. An opped bag of embroidery wool. A jolly big needle and a piece of hessian.

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He loved it. He sat next to me on the couch and sewed and sewed and discussed design and just had a great time.

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He is getting slowly closer to threading his needle.

I opted for a 'real' needle that would be a struggle to thread rather than some plastic thing that really had no real connection to sewing. Not sure which was the best option but it seems to be working for us.

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I also have previously posted about the obsessive preserving I have been doing, that when combined with a 'learning how to sleep' nearly 6 month old, results in terrible, awful, no good sleep deprivation.

However, I am still been on the preserving band wagon.

I made an amazing batch of tomato sauce if I don't say so myself!

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Click here for a taste test.

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Oh if only!

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In other food news, some wonderful friends (well, the Japanese half of them to be exact) cooked Tako yaki for us which was amazing. We did some creative eating - I only add this bit into this post to make you all feel rumbly hungry like.
Still, I did think creatively (and like a breast feeding mother) and considered all the lovely, desert style foods you could cook in a Tako yaki cooker like this...
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I have also been thinking about our footprint and signed up for the one small change project. It has been fun to do some extra thinking about all this - what we do, what we don't. A good reminder. A good reminder that planning for a small footprint takes a lifetime. Plus a lifetime of action.
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I have also been tidying up my felt craft bits in preparation for drawing (finally one day soon) this giveaway. Yes, yes, I know, I said January but the computer broke - one can't control the electronic universe.
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Hey some days I don't even manage to control my desire to eat mainly from the top of the food pyramid!
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Thanks for coming by and thinking - what is it with this crazy woman and he 10,000 links???
More wonderful creating over here.
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while blogs were sleeping...

... we got so much done in our 'computer free time'!

It makes me wonder a little about 'lost time', but glad to be back with blog land at the top of the tree for now.

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In part of life, W accidentally broke one of my many many little dishes.

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It was a bit of a sad moment as I am oddly attached to my many little dishes! However, I remembered that I was the adult and remembered to be mindful of being in the moment and I let it go.

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The next day we got the M.A.D. clay out. It is air dry and so easy and wonderful to use. Put a wet cloth over it until you are done and then expose it when you are finished. Beautiful.

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I try to never give any instruction or guidance when I give W a new creative opportunity. I think children are open and to give even small bits of instruction can be interpreted in really limiting ways by them. So I really enjoy seeing what W chooses to do.

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When I am able to, I sit next to W and create along with him. I guess this influences him but as I have always done that and said - we can both do what we like - he never seems too fussed by what I do. Occasionally he wants to 'help' and sometimes I say yes and sometimes no. I explain by saying that he sometimes wants my help and sometimes he doesn't. Mostly this works for us.

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I hope he continues to grow as a pretty unencumbered creative spirit.

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After a few creations, W said to me - "I made this for you Mummy, because I broke your other one."

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Aw. I got all woozy feeling and had to shmoog him real proper for a bit.

Wot a boy!

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I fiddled around next to W and this lady appeared.

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I like to call her 'descent'.

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Hope you are having some lovely creating moments on your own and with your loved ones.

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