by Kate
Living the Frugal Life
My mother and her four siblings have regular get-togethers that really work for them. Each of the five siblings, who are spread over four states in the northeastern part of the US, hosts all the others and their spouses once per year for what they call a work weekend. This tradition was instituted about twelve years ago, and began as a "sisters' cleaning weekend." That was just my mom and her sisters, pitching in together to tackle some of the biggest and most tedious house cleaning chores. But then one of my uncles caught wind of this and wanted to know why he hadn't been included. Thus the work weekends were launched.
The way it works is that all the siblings and spouses show up at one sibling's home on Friday night. The host sibling puts everyone up, feeds them for the weekend, and creates a list of projects to be accomplished. It's very much to the host's benefit to be organized in terms of having on hand whatever tools or materials will be needed for the work weekend, otherwise a run to the hardware store might interrupt work. Everyone pitches in for a full day on Saturday, and a half day on Sunday, so that everyone can get home at a reasonable hour. (Some of them have very long drives.)
The thing that's so neat about this family tradition is that it has really brought them all together, five times per year, and the visits are now enjoyable for everyone. Previous family get-togethers had tended to be contentious if not acrimonious. Having productive work to do together has really changed the family dynamic in profound ways. My mother's family are all hard workers too. So although it is a lot of work for the hosting sibling in terms of organization and accommodation, an amazing amount can be accomplished in a very short time.
The projects that my parents, aunts and uncles have worked on over the years are remarkably diverse: bathroom renovation, staining a deck, window cleaning, kitchen cabinet cleaning, breaking turf for a new garden, planting fruit trees, stripping and painting furniture, building raised beds in a garden, installing a fence, repointing a brick chimney, building a deck or shed, clearing brush, chopping firewood - you name it, they've done it. After a hard day's work, there's always dinner and dessert, which are usually excellent because most of my mom's family are very good cooks. Nickel-dime-quarter poker always follows dinner, and there's usually six or seven of us around the table. Yes, I turn up for the poker whenever I can, even if I miss the work!
Because you see, although my cousins and I turn up at some weekends and pitch in, the generational divide has been made very clear to us. We're on our own for work weekends. Our parents have their yearly schedule, and they're not going to commit to travel and work for my generation. Which is fair enough.
Though I've tried a few times to interest my cousins in organizing a work weekend exchange, it just doesn't seem to be the right time. Most of my cousins now have small children, and traveling the distances that separate us would be burdensome for them. It's not the same time of life that our parents started their work weekends; they waited until their kids were out of the house. So instead, I've arranged a work weekend exchange this year with three local friends who are interested. We've modified my family's arrangement somewhat, because we're all local. No need to put anyone up for the night, and we've agreed that the host is only responsible for lunch, not breakfast or dinner. We're also only working for one full day out of each weekend. While the plan is to work on Saturdays, we decided that everyone would reserve the entire weekend, just in case of rain. The host can decide to take the rain date, and have everyone work on Sunday, or just organize a list of things that can be done indoors if it rains all weekend.
So far we've had one of the four work weekends, and it mostly involved window cleaning. My turn is this weekend though. On my agenda is adding a lot of compost to the garden beds, some weeding, and some lasagna mulching. The plan for lunch is to set out roast chicken, beans, brown rice, avocados, shredded cheese, sour cream, salsa, and warm tortillas so that everyone can roll their own burritos. A cheap, healthy meal that should keep my workers fueled. And yes, I know how much it pays to treat your work weekend participants right, so chocolate chip cookies will be on offer too. There will be beer for the end of the day as well.
I wanted to mention this tradition that I'm attempting to borrow from my own family, because I know what it's like to have great ambitions for projects and yet feel like it's impossible to find the time to get it all done. Work weekends require a commitment of organization, as well as the obligation to work as hard for others as we do for ourselves. But I've seen first hand how much of a difference working together can make - not only how much gets accomplished in very little time, but also how working together knits relationships more densely together as well. The old saying is that many hands make light work. I've also seen that many hands working together over years and years have made my family much stronger, closer, more trusting, and more available for each other in bad times. We still crack jokes at each other's expense. There's still drama and hurt feelings from time to time. But we know deep down - for certain - that we're there for each other as an extended family. And I'm not sure that would be true if not for the work weekends.
So I'm hopeful, going into my own first time hosting a work weekend. The participants in this case are friends and not family, not even close friends yet if I'm honest. I'd certainly love it if I could someday have a work weekend arrangement with my cousins. But I'd rather get started with friends who may someday become as close as family than wait for my cousins' kids to all grow up. I might end up with chosen family out of the shared work.
Does your family have any similar tradition? Could you commit to working hard several weekends out of the year if it meant a willing crew of workers were available to you once per year? What project would you most like to tackle on a work weekend?
Showing posts with label Family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Family. Show all posts
Friday, May 21, 2010
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Happy Birthday Time!
Posted by Bel
From Spiral Garden
It's birthday time at our place!
Heath's first birthday - a water party on Boxing Day (summer in Australia)
We have some birthday traditions such as the birthday child choosing their own cake, and the evening meal for their birthday. On the morning of their birthday we gather around the dining table or on Mum & Dad's bed whilst they unwrap their gifts and open the cards which have come in the mail. There are often a number of little handmade, wrapped gifts from siblings which are given with pride and accepted with grace. Brithday cards are secretly handmade by a sibling, and given with the gifts from the whole family.
During the day we will often have friends over for morning or afternoon tea under the trees in our garden (weather permitting) with a cake and some yummy fruit and other foods to share. The table is often decorated with a colourful cloth and fresh flowers collected by the other children.
Friends visiting for afternoon tea near the waterfall
We enjoy the traditional candles and "Happy Birthday" song as well as clapping for their age and three cheers. We always have a cake at night, even if we've had one in the daytime, just so we can turn down the lights and enjoy the magic of a cake lit by candlelight. Sometimes for this cake we use different crockery or glasses for the birthday meal, and there is always a beautiful tablecloth and centre candle, and quite often more flowers.
Birthday cards are displayed on a magnetic framed board which hangs above the season table. Photos of the birthday child are also displayed their during the weeks preceding and following their special day. Often some baby photos and recent photos will be side by side. A photograph is taken of the birthday child with their cake each year, marking milestones in their childhood photo albums. Sometimes the birthday child will wear a special item of clothing, or a cape and crown from our dress-up basket.
We don't always have parties. We have had a fairy party, a musical party, a teddy bear's picnic, trip to special places followed by cake in the park... But even when there is no big event we always have a special time with family, and perhaps some nearby friends, to share cake and other food, sing and celebrate the birthday child's life.
Bel enjoying cake!
On their birthday, our children don't have to do their chores if they don't wish to, and they can have the choice of a story read or movie watched, as well as what food we eat. It is a day of lavishing extra love and attention on the birthday child.
We all know this song...
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday, dear Lily
Happy birthday to you!
Well, here's an alternative, or second verse (same melody)...
May the angels bless you,
In all that you do,
May the stars up in heaven
Shine down upon you!
There are a lot of birthday verses and stories online which we have often told our younger children, especially. I find that they also like to hear about the day they were born, and the wonderful, cute and funny things about them as a baby.
This one is our version of a favourite...
As I yawn and go to bed,
Laying down my sleepy head,
Mama switches off the light,
I'll still be seven years old tonight.
But, from the very break of day,
Before the children rise and play,
Before the greenness turns to gold,
Tomorrow, I'll be eight years old!
Eight kisses when I wake.
Eight candles on my cake!
During the day, grandparents phone from far away and ask the birthday child about their day, their gifts, and how big they've grown. Receiving their very own phone calls and mail is a special part of having a birthday at our place.
Most of our birthday celebrations and traditions cost nothing, or very little. The focus of birthdays therefore is not on spending, gifts and elaborate parties, but on the child.
I wonder, in what ways do you celebrate birthdays in your home?
A cake for a relative - adults enjoy special treatment too!
From Spiral Garden
It's birthday time at our place!
Heath's first birthday - a water party on Boxing Day (summer in Australia)We have some birthday traditions such as the birthday child choosing their own cake, and the evening meal for their birthday. On the morning of their birthday we gather around the dining table or on Mum & Dad's bed whilst they unwrap their gifts and open the cards which have come in the mail. There are often a number of little handmade, wrapped gifts from siblings which are given with pride and accepted with grace. Brithday cards are secretly handmade by a sibling, and given with the gifts from the whole family.
During the day we will often have friends over for morning or afternoon tea under the trees in our garden (weather permitting) with a cake and some yummy fruit and other foods to share. The table is often decorated with a colourful cloth and fresh flowers collected by the other children.
Friends visiting for afternoon tea near the waterfallWe enjoy the traditional candles and "Happy Birthday" song as well as clapping for their age and three cheers. We always have a cake at night, even if we've had one in the daytime, just so we can turn down the lights and enjoy the magic of a cake lit by candlelight. Sometimes for this cake we use different crockery or glasses for the birthday meal, and there is always a beautiful tablecloth and centre candle, and quite often more flowers.
Birthday cards are displayed on a magnetic framed board which hangs above the season table. Photos of the birthday child are also displayed their during the weeks preceding and following their special day. Often some baby photos and recent photos will be side by side. A photograph is taken of the birthday child with their cake each year, marking milestones in their childhood photo albums. Sometimes the birthday child will wear a special item of clothing, or a cape and crown from our dress-up basket.
We don't always have parties. We have had a fairy party, a musical party, a teddy bear's picnic, trip to special places followed by cake in the park... But even when there is no big event we always have a special time with family, and perhaps some nearby friends, to share cake and other food, sing and celebrate the birthday child's life.
Bel enjoying cake!On their birthday, our children don't have to do their chores if they don't wish to, and they can have the choice of a story read or movie watched, as well as what food we eat. It is a day of lavishing extra love and attention on the birthday child.
We all know this song...
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday, dear Lily
Happy birthday to you!
Well, here's an alternative, or second verse (same melody)...
May the angels bless you,
In all that you do,
May the stars up in heaven
Shine down upon you!
There are a lot of birthday verses and stories online which we have often told our younger children, especially. I find that they also like to hear about the day they were born, and the wonderful, cute and funny things about them as a baby.
This one is our version of a favourite...
As I yawn and go to bed,
Laying down my sleepy head,
Mama switches off the light,
I'll still be seven years old tonight.
But, from the very break of day,
Before the children rise and play,
Before the greenness turns to gold,
Tomorrow, I'll be eight years old!
Eight kisses when I wake.
Eight candles on my cake!
During the day, grandparents phone from far away and ask the birthday child about their day, their gifts, and how big they've grown. Receiving their very own phone calls and mail is a special part of having a birthday at our place.
Most of our birthday celebrations and traditions cost nothing, or very little. The focus of birthdays therefore is not on spending, gifts and elaborate parties, but on the child.
I wonder, in what ways do you celebrate birthdays in your home?
A cake for a relative - adults enjoy special treatment too!Friday, March 19, 2010
Frugal Homeschool
Posted by Bel
From Spiral Garden
Home educating on a budget may seem like a challenge at first, especially if you are attempting to gather as many resources as your average classroom. There is no need to rush out and buy a lot of equipment that you may not need. First, sit down and write a “wish list”, then highlight the items you feel are most necessary to begin.
There are many alternatives to expensive educational resources. Below are some ideas to help you save money in setting up your home learning space.
- Buy furniture which has multiple uses. Consider a large, second-hand dining table over individual desks, for example. Use open shelving rather than cupboards for storing supplies and books. This allows the children to see what is available for their use and is less expensive. I have used two bolt-together galvanised steel five-shelf units to hold the many games, puzzles, construction kits and so on that I have gathered over the years. The children can see everything on the shelves and they remain tidy and uncluttered compared to a cupboard. They cost $15 each from the hardware store. I also have a 2.5m high, 1.2m wide shelving unit in white melamine, that’s tougher than your average chipboard one as it was once display shelving in a shop. This one holds many files, folders, books and boxes and cost me $30 from a second-hand furniture store.
- Consider a $2 inflatable globe from a discount store before investing in an expensive atlas or globe. My children have learned more world geography from their “beach ball globe” than from any other maps or books we own. Atlases often come on sale at the start of the school year or in book club catalogues. Hold out until you get a quality, inexpensive one. Or suggest one as a gift idea from a grandparent or other family member.
- Look at alternatives before investing in sets of encyclopedias. In today’s technological age there is up-to-date information on many topics available on the Internet, which many families have access to at home or at their local library. Sites like wikipedia and those designs specifically for educators like askjeeves will most likely provide answers to most questions that young ones come up with. Encyclopedias on CD rom are also a cheaper version that the book sets. Libraries usually have at least one set of quality encyclopedias. Second-hand sets are readily available and even a ten-year old set won’t be too out of date if you can buy it at a reasonable price. Childcraft sets rarely date in their content and we have found many versions of these second-hand – at garage sales, library sales and op. shops.
- Art and craft supplies are especially important for littlies. I buy a lot of mine from an educational supplier in bulk. I buy 2 litre bottles of poster paint cheaper than I can buy 500ml at the local discount store. I also buy glue in bulk and refill glue applicators and pots with brushes or glue spatulas. I use powder paint and powder glue for big art projects as it works out to be much cheaper. We use recycled paper and quality pencils and crayons for day-to-day art play. I have found that it is more worthwhile buying one set of Stockmar crayons or Lyra pencils every few years (or more) than buying the cheaper pencils on sale at the supermarket. I buy coloured paper and other mediums for them to use for special projects and gifts. Our clay comes in 10kg packages from art suppliers or “recycled” clay from the local potters club, and we make our own playdough with simple kitchen ingredients. I’ve also bought playdough in bulk because it is only slightly more expensive than making it myself, and has a longer shelf life in our hot summers.
- Buy exercise books, writing pencils, computer paper, folders and more at the back-to-school sales and keep a supply handy for when the children need these. Cover books yourself rather than buying those with covers depicting favourite characters, they are too expensive.
- Buy the minimum number of books you can for your child’s learning. Wait until they have used the curriculum for awhile before deciding to invest in a whole series. Borrow reading books from the library rather than buying them all new. And take literature lists to second-hand book stores as often these titles are readily available in used condition having been prescribed school readers. While you are at the second hand book stores, check out the reference section and for any quality books that are not too out-dated.
- Make your own games. Learning games are fun and they work! There are many websites to get you started with making games. Learning games can be in the form of board games, card games or physical games. They can include music, sports equipment, flash cards or dice. You are limited only by your imagination. And the kids have plenty of that, so get them involved!
- Plan some low-cost excursions or consider annual passes to local museums or wildlife parks if you think you will get value for your dollar. Often you need only go twice to recoup your membership costs, and there are a lot of extra benefits. These annual tickets are a great gift idea for someone wanting to give to your whole family.
The golden rule in the beginning is WAIT. As time progresses you will know what your family’s needs are and you may hear from other homeschoolers where the bargains are. You don’t need to build a school in your home to start on your home based learning journey. If you are feeling inadequate, write a list of all the resources available in your community - include the library, council, tourist centre, parks, galleries, museums, natural resources (beach, forest, river etc), people, schools and so on. You will be surprised at the range of activities just waiting to be enjoyed as part of your home education journey.
Here are some online resources which might save you some money…
School Express US site - lots of free printables and more
Classics for Kids Free lesson plans for four classical composers, timelines, biographies and more - get your music from the local library or $2 shop CDs and enjoy!
SparkleBox - 1000s of printables!
Donna Young Want to be organised? Like free printables? You’ll love Donna Young.
An Old Fashioned Education Christian and Classical Education Resources - so many subjects and all free resources!
Skwirk Free, interactive and Australian! Three points!
The Learning Page This has been around for years, and we’ve used the free printables many times. Lovely stuff!
The Magic of a Million Activity Book Download for free!
Worksheet Factory These are fantastic for creating your own worksheets to concentrate on a specific area of maths which may need revision, without having to handwrite the problems for your child! There are several programs available for free trial.
Pocket Basics The Pocket Basics books have been highly recommended. This page offers a variety of valuable downloads for…. Free!
Puzzlemaker Great fun for those who enjoy word puzzles. Create an activity book which suits their skill level perfectly.
Educational Press This is fantastic - so many options and levels and you can create your own board games etc. at home.
Enchanted Learning Over 20000 pages of printables.
The Well-Bred Sentence Studying grammar? Everything you need to know about sentence construction and punctuation.
Craft Creations Free Projects for card making enthusiasts.
International Children’s Digital Library Children’s literature to encourage a global community.
Please leave a comment with some of your frugal education ideas and links!
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Of What Do You Dream?
By Notes From The Frugal Trenches
Lately I've been privy to many conversations about what people want from life. As a pretty young downshifter, it is something that interests me greatly, especially as I've always believed one's ideal/dream life is a window into their soul. It seem like most people want enough to not have to worry about money, due to my curious nature I've asked people to further clarify what they mean by enough. Not surprisingly most people don't really mean "enough", answers given were enough to take 3 or 4 "good" vacations a year - a week or two in the Bahamas, or winters in Florida. Enough to eat out several times a week without having to worry, to meet up with friends to golf or horseback ride a few times a week, enough to have no mortgage, maybe a holiday home or a few weeks timeshare, a couple of rental properties for extra income, a bit of help around the house and enough left over to see a good six figures in the bank account and a good monthly pension. Everyone shared that they wanted to be able to go to the mall or shops and buy furniture, clothing and kitchenware as they wanted, without ever having to worry about their bank balance or a budget. The reality is, most people's "enough" isn't what one would call enough, instead it's a time of more luxury living. A friend of mine shared that seeing her parents retire and lead such an easy life financially, really skewed her understanding and desires for her own life, instead of working towards retiring with no mortgage, a decent pension and being able to afford a week in Europe each year, she's desiring more and feeling like she's failing in comparison.
Our conversation made me really think about what my dream is, what type of life I want to lead, making it as realistic as possible and a true representation of who I am now. Of course financial security, especially in retirement is important and yes having enough in the bank to cope with unexpected housing or medical expenses is something we should all aim for, but I think life is about so much more than being able to buy what you want, when you want, or vacation for 12 weeks a year.
So what is my dream? It's a mix of being self-sufficient and truly living as part of a community. I dream of a small plot of land where I can live off the earth, being able to foster a donkey or two and give a home to animals which are hard to place, the ability to work part time, have a full emergency fund, several children (I am hoping to adopt). Days spent volunteering, writing letters, knitting, sewing and baking. Time to care for others, provide meals for those in need, hold hands with people who are dying, care for family members or friends who need help dressing or preparing meals. I'd like to make my own jams, sauces, preserves, pasta, breads and cakes. I would like to be able to give each month to the charities I feel passionate about and volunteer abroad, both in disaster relief and in preventative education programs. I would like to journal, write, sing and pray. In the evenings, I hope to curl up by the log fire and read until my eyes are weary, and retire to bed with a back sore from gardening and chasing donkeys, sheep and goats around the land. At least once a week, I'd like to walk by the sea taking photographs and giving thanks, for a life with purpose - the ability to serve, the ability to work and the ability to see the beauty all around me.
What is your dream life? Does it represent the changes in you and your desire to live a simple life?
Lately I've been privy to many conversations about what people want from life. As a pretty young downshifter, it is something that interests me greatly, especially as I've always believed one's ideal/dream life is a window into their soul. It seem like most people want enough to not have to worry about money, due to my curious nature I've asked people to further clarify what they mean by enough. Not surprisingly most people don't really mean "enough", answers given were enough to take 3 or 4 "good" vacations a year - a week or two in the Bahamas, or winters in Florida. Enough to eat out several times a week without having to worry, to meet up with friends to golf or horseback ride a few times a week, enough to have no mortgage, maybe a holiday home or a few weeks timeshare, a couple of rental properties for extra income, a bit of help around the house and enough left over to see a good six figures in the bank account and a good monthly pension. Everyone shared that they wanted to be able to go to the mall or shops and buy furniture, clothing and kitchenware as they wanted, without ever having to worry about their bank balance or a budget. The reality is, most people's "enough" isn't what one would call enough, instead it's a time of more luxury living. A friend of mine shared that seeing her parents retire and lead such an easy life financially, really skewed her understanding and desires for her own life, instead of working towards retiring with no mortgage, a decent pension and being able to afford a week in Europe each year, she's desiring more and feeling like she's failing in comparison.
Our conversation made me really think about what my dream is, what type of life I want to lead, making it as realistic as possible and a true representation of who I am now. Of course financial security, especially in retirement is important and yes having enough in the bank to cope with unexpected housing or medical expenses is something we should all aim for, but I think life is about so much more than being able to buy what you want, when you want, or vacation for 12 weeks a year.
So what is my dream? It's a mix of being self-sufficient and truly living as part of a community. I dream of a small plot of land where I can live off the earth, being able to foster a donkey or two and give a home to animals which are hard to place, the ability to work part time, have a full emergency fund, several children (I am hoping to adopt). Days spent volunteering, writing letters, knitting, sewing and baking. Time to care for others, provide meals for those in need, hold hands with people who are dying, care for family members or friends who need help dressing or preparing meals. I'd like to make my own jams, sauces, preserves, pasta, breads and cakes. I would like to be able to give each month to the charities I feel passionate about and volunteer abroad, both in disaster relief and in preventative education programs. I would like to journal, write, sing and pray. In the evenings, I hope to curl up by the log fire and read until my eyes are weary, and retire to bed with a back sore from gardening and chasing donkeys, sheep and goats around the land. At least once a week, I'd like to walk by the sea taking photographs and giving thanks, for a life with purpose - the ability to serve, the ability to work and the ability to see the beauty all around me.
What is your dream life? Does it represent the changes in you and your desire to live a simple life?
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Do You Love What You Do?
by Melinda Briana Epler, One Green Generation
This weekend I spent a lovely evening with my grandfather and his wife celebrating their 99th birthdays. I shared a bit about it at One Green Generation, and many people wanted to know his secret.
When my grandfather was in the hospital 2 years ago - for the first time ever! - he was asked that very question:
A nurse came in to see my grandfather just before his surgery, looked at his chart (born in 1911), and marveled at his age. She asked him how he lived so long. He thought for a moment and said, “Well, I suppose it’s because I always loved what I was doing.”
My grandfather came of age during the Depression, so he learned early on to be able to adapt to new jobs quickly, juggle multiple jobs, and when you can, move on to something new if you were better suited for it. Every time he had learned all he could, and taken that business as far as he could go, he moved on. And he was able to get through the time “in between” jobs because he was smart with his money: investing wisely (and conservatively), minimizing debt, and not buying things he didn’t need.
What did my grandfather do? Well, I’m sure I’ll miss about half of his jobs, but from what I remember, he: worked in a grocery store, owned one of the first self-serve hardware stores, was a fireman and helped create the first aid car in Seattle, was a private detective for small businesses, was a pilot in the Marines in World War II, was a business consultant, and was hired to gracefully take several businesses out of business. After all that, he started up a Savings and Loan with two others who didn’t know anything about banking either, and brought it to such success that he was flying his own Cessna to other areas where they were set up franchises. He retired at the bank when he was 65 (about ten years before the S & L scandals in the 80s). After retiring he consulted with several businesses, and spent about five years bringing profit to three of my cousins’ businesses. And to this day he still volunteers.
He was also a father of 2, a grandfather of 6, a great-grandfather of 2, and a great-great grandfather of 1!
With everything he does, he infuses it with passion.
Do You Love What You Do?
When my grandfather was in the hospital 2 years ago - for the first time ever! - he was asked that very question:
A nurse came in to see my grandfather just before his surgery, looked at his chart (born in 1911), and marveled at his age. She asked him how he lived so long. He thought for a moment and said, “Well, I suppose it’s because I always loved what I was doing.”
My grandfather came of age during the Depression, so he learned early on to be able to adapt to new jobs quickly, juggle multiple jobs, and when you can, move on to something new if you were better suited for it. Every time he had learned all he could, and taken that business as far as he could go, he moved on. And he was able to get through the time “in between” jobs because he was smart with his money: investing wisely (and conservatively), minimizing debt, and not buying things he didn’t need.
What did my grandfather do? Well, I’m sure I’ll miss about half of his jobs, but from what I remember, he: worked in a grocery store, owned one of the first self-serve hardware stores, was a fireman and helped create the first aid car in Seattle, was a private detective for small businesses, was a pilot in the Marines in World War II, was a business consultant, and was hired to gracefully take several businesses out of business. After all that, he started up a Savings and Loan with two others who didn’t know anything about banking either, and brought it to such success that he was flying his own Cessna to other areas where they were set up franchises. He retired at the bank when he was 65 (about ten years before the S & L scandals in the 80s). After retiring he consulted with several businesses, and spent about five years bringing profit to three of my cousins’ businesses. And to this day he still volunteers.
He was also a father of 2, a grandfather of 6, a great-grandfather of 2, and a great-great grandfather of 1!
With everything he does, he infuses it with passion.
Do You Love What You Do?
Friday, February 5, 2010
Growing Community
Posted by Bel
From Spiral Garden
Alternatives to a globalised food system include diverse methods of growing food suitable for those without a garden at home, or in addition to the home garden. Three which stand out as successful models in producing and distributing food are school gardens, community gardens and community-supported agriculture.
School gardens are increasing in popularity. The growing and preparation of food is easily integrated into the curriculum. Learning covered by the process of developing and maintaining a garden can include mathematics, biology, chemistry, nutrition, environmental studies, literacy, art and social sciences. But more importantly, a connection with food, nature and authentic learning offers a dimension to school education that can really make a difference to many children and their futures. Being in the garden is for all students.
There are a great number of resources for anyone wishing to start a school garden in their area including websites, books, funding, sponsorship and lots of how-to information. School gardens are a great opportunity to collaborate with other parents and members of the community, local groups and businesses.
As a home educating family, our gardens have been an important learning opportunity for much of our children’s education. I write this column because I value gardening so much, and believe passionately that all children should be involved in the process of producing some of their own food.
Community gardens are a great way to grow safe, affordable food whilst also promoting vibrant, healthy and active communities. A community garden can be somewhere to learn about gardening and share local and traditional knowledge. It can be a green oasis of sustainability in the city – a place where art, music, local events, education and celebration occur naturally.
Community gardens are recognised as increasing the physical fitness and health (mental and physical) of participants. They are most often open to local residents of all ages, backgrounds and abilities. A local shared garden is an ideal place for the whole family to spend some time at on a regular basis – an alternative to the malls, the littered playground, fast food restaurants and the busy streets. Going to the garden is a family outing that saves money!
To become involved in a local community garden, search for one of the many support associations on the internet, or contact your local council authority or community centre. To be in touch with the earth and others interested in food security, green alternatives and good fresh food will feed your mind, body and spirit.
Community-supported agriculture or community-shared agriculture (CSA) differs from the first two methods outlined because the consumer does not participate actively in the production of food. This relatively new method of re-connecting society with food is increasing in popularity as people become aware of the economic and environmental downfalls of mass-farmed food being transported long distances to be sold in large supermarkets. With a CSA the produce is local, in-season, and usually collected by the participants. It is often paid for in advance, so that the consumer in effect has directly financed the food they’re eating. The most common model is a box scheme, where one subscribes for a certain number of months, and what is available each week arrives to a central pick-up point for collection by members. The box might include fruit, vegetables, herbs, flowers, nuts, meat, milk, eggs and more. Prices can vary, depending on the contents and amount, if it’s certified organic, and whether there are added costs such as refrigeration involved.
CSAs promote small farming enterprises, less waste and fewer overheads whilst providing higher quality, better tasting produce. With such a win-win model, it is no wonder that CSAs are gaining popularity. Many schemes have a lengthy waiting list, but new ones are emerging frequently.
Any of these methods for accessing fresh local food can be utilised in addition to a small home garden, and are ideal if your home is not suitable for gardening. Growing, buying and eating locally is a huge step toward more sustainable living. We can easily reconnect ourselves and our families with the food we eat through school and community gardens or CSAs, as well as initiatives such as co-ops, herd-share and farmer’s markets. I know how I prefer to spend my weekly shopping time and food budget, and I hope I don’t need to go back to the large chain supermarkets again.
Resources:
School Garden Wizard
Kitchen Garden Cooking with Kids by Stephanie Alexander (2006)
Outdoor Classrooms: A Handbook for School Gardens by Carolyn Nuttall and Janet Millington (2008)
Seed to Seed - Food Gardens in Schools by Jude Fanton and Jo Immig (2007)
Community Garden (wiki)
Community Gardens by Penny Woodward and Pam Vardy
Community Supported Agriculture (wiki)
Sharing the Harvest: A Citizen's Guide to Community Supported Agriculture by Henderson with Van En
From Spiral Garden
Alternatives to a globalised food system include diverse methods of growing food suitable for those without a garden at home, or in addition to the home garden. Three which stand out as successful models in producing and distributing food are school gardens, community gardens and community-supported agriculture.
School gardens are increasing in popularity. The growing and preparation of food is easily integrated into the curriculum. Learning covered by the process of developing and maintaining a garden can include mathematics, biology, chemistry, nutrition, environmental studies, literacy, art and social sciences. But more importantly, a connection with food, nature and authentic learning offers a dimension to school education that can really make a difference to many children and their futures. Being in the garden is for all students.
There are a great number of resources for anyone wishing to start a school garden in their area including websites, books, funding, sponsorship and lots of how-to information. School gardens are a great opportunity to collaborate with other parents and members of the community, local groups and businesses.
As a home educating family, our gardens have been an important learning opportunity for much of our children’s education. I write this column because I value gardening so much, and believe passionately that all children should be involved in the process of producing some of their own food.
Community gardens are a great way to grow safe, affordable food whilst also promoting vibrant, healthy and active communities. A community garden can be somewhere to learn about gardening and share local and traditional knowledge. It can be a green oasis of sustainability in the city – a place where art, music, local events, education and celebration occur naturally.
Community gardens are recognised as increasing the physical fitness and health (mental and physical) of participants. They are most often open to local residents of all ages, backgrounds and abilities. A local shared garden is an ideal place for the whole family to spend some time at on a regular basis – an alternative to the malls, the littered playground, fast food restaurants and the busy streets. Going to the garden is a family outing that saves money!
To become involved in a local community garden, search for one of the many support associations on the internet, or contact your local council authority or community centre. To be in touch with the earth and others interested in food security, green alternatives and good fresh food will feed your mind, body and spirit.
Community-supported agriculture or community-shared agriculture (CSA) differs from the first two methods outlined because the consumer does not participate actively in the production of food. This relatively new method of re-connecting society with food is increasing in popularity as people become aware of the economic and environmental downfalls of mass-farmed food being transported long distances to be sold in large supermarkets. With a CSA the produce is local, in-season, and usually collected by the participants. It is often paid for in advance, so that the consumer in effect has directly financed the food they’re eating. The most common model is a box scheme, where one subscribes for a certain number of months, and what is available each week arrives to a central pick-up point for collection by members. The box might include fruit, vegetables, herbs, flowers, nuts, meat, milk, eggs and more. Prices can vary, depending on the contents and amount, if it’s certified organic, and whether there are added costs such as refrigeration involved.
CSAs promote small farming enterprises, less waste and fewer overheads whilst providing higher quality, better tasting produce. With such a win-win model, it is no wonder that CSAs are gaining popularity. Many schemes have a lengthy waiting list, but new ones are emerging frequently.
Any of these methods for accessing fresh local food can be utilised in addition to a small home garden, and are ideal if your home is not suitable for gardening. Growing, buying and eating locally is a huge step toward more sustainable living. We can easily reconnect ourselves and our families with the food we eat through school and community gardens or CSAs, as well as initiatives such as co-ops, herd-share and farmer’s markets. I know how I prefer to spend my weekly shopping time and food budget, and I hope I don’t need to go back to the large chain supermarkets again.
Resources:
School Garden Wizard
Kitchen Garden Cooking with Kids by Stephanie Alexander (2006)
Outdoor Classrooms: A Handbook for School Gardens by Carolyn Nuttall and Janet Millington (2008)
Seed to Seed - Food Gardens in Schools by Jude Fanton and Jo Immig (2007)
Community Garden (wiki)
Community Gardens by Penny Woodward and Pam Vardy
Community Supported Agriculture (wiki)
Sharing the Harvest: A Citizen's Guide to Community Supported Agriculture by Henderson with Van En
Friday, December 18, 2009
Simple Gift Ideas
Posted by Bel
From Spiral Garden
Hopefully by now you have everything sorted for next week, and you're reading this for ideas for Christmas 2010...
Without wanting to give too much away (in case my gift recipients read this before the 25th), here are a few idea of some simple gifts I’m giving this festive season…
Angels by Chrissy Butler
Calendars
Cookies
Garden Tools and Seeds
Hand Cream
Vouchers – for stores and for my time
Shopping Totes
Drinking Glasses filled with goodies
The part of me who used to get a thrill from seeking out and buying the perfect gift has lost her enthusiasm! My children are growing past their ‘toy’ years and almost everyone I know doesn’t really need anything… I loathe the idea of buying for the sake of it.
So without being so predictable as buying socks, hankies or boxes of chocolates, I now try to buy or make useful but beautiful items. Things which will either be consumed fairly quickly (without much waste) or used daily (or thereabouts) over a long period of time. In fact socks, hankies and chocolates would do nicely, but I do still prefer to use a little imagination!
Some handmade and homegrown items I’ve given in the past…
Stationery sets
Handmade soap
Jewelery
Sweet treats in re-useable cookie jars
Potted herbs
Potted strawberries
Food hampers – bought and handmade
Framed family photos
Photo calendars
Other hampers – art supplies, cooking kits, etc
Jams and sauces
And for a gift which keeps on giving, my most favourite are Oxfam Unwrapped.
Here are a few of my favourite recipes (most are adapted versions of recipes shared on the Simple Savings forum):
Big Batch of Bikkies
750g butter
1.5kg raw sugar
6 eggs
2kg wholemeal flour + baking powder (half a teaspoon per cup of flour)
3 tsp vanilla extract
Melt butter and let cool. Mix in all ingredients, starting with 1.5kg of flour and adding more if the dough is too oily or wet. Mix it with your hands unless you have a large food processor.
Form dough into balls the size of a 10c or 20c coin. Put on baking tray. Bake at 225 degrees C for 15 minutes. If you like softer biscuits, cook for a shorter time.
Makes over 150 biscuits. Freeze well.
* Add carob or choc chips, nuts, coconut, sultanas or other (diced) dried fruit, oats, rice bubbles, etc. You can also add cocoa powder to this mix to make a chocolate bikkie.
Carob Fudge Balls
Mix together 1/2 cup nut butter (peanut butter, tahini etc), 1/4 cup honey, 1/4 cup carob powder, 1 tsp vanilla, 1 cup dessicated coconut (can substitute some sesame seeds here).
Roll the mixture into balls and coat in more coconut if desired.
Refrigerate.
* you can substitute all sorts of fruit, nuts, puffed rice, seeds etc into this recipe and roll into balls with the carob/honey/nut butter combination and create a variety of different treats.
Cheese Biscuits
250g butter
250g grated cheese
2 cups wholemeal spelt flour
1/2 cup milk
2 tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp herb salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
Few tbspn grated parmesan
Rub butter into flour. Mix cheese through. Add spices. Stir milk in to create a workable dough.
Roll dough into balls. Press into parmesan and bake on oiled tray @ 180 degrees C for 10-15 minutes (until edges are golden). Cool and store in airtight container. Suitable to freeze. Makes a couple of dozen large biscuits, depending on how big you make them.
Coconut Balls
3 eggs, beaten
180g raw sugar
250g dessicated coconut
Mix ingredients together in a bowl. Form into balls about 2cm in diameter and place onto 2 greased trays. Bake at around 180 degrees C until golden brown. Enjoy!
You can use cello bags, recycled jars or buy a nice big cookie or storage jar which will be used again and again to present these items in. Add some ribbon or raffia and a handmade tag and the recipient will be pleased to receive something so obviously made with love.
Tell me, if you celebrate Christmas, what's on your giving list this year? How simple are your celebrations? Am I turning into a Scrooge, or is the holiday season is turning back to what it used to be?
From Spiral Garden
Hopefully by now you have everything sorted for next week, and you're reading this for ideas for Christmas 2010...
Without wanting to give too much away (in case my gift recipients read this before the 25th), here are a few idea of some simple gifts I’m giving this festive season…
Angels by Chrissy ButlerCalendars
Cookies
Garden Tools and Seeds
Hand Cream
Vouchers – for stores and for my time
Shopping Totes
Drinking Glasses filled with goodies
The part of me who used to get a thrill from seeking out and buying the perfect gift has lost her enthusiasm! My children are growing past their ‘toy’ years and almost everyone I know doesn’t really need anything… I loathe the idea of buying for the sake of it.
So without being so predictable as buying socks, hankies or boxes of chocolates, I now try to buy or make useful but beautiful items. Things which will either be consumed fairly quickly (without much waste) or used daily (or thereabouts) over a long period of time. In fact socks, hankies and chocolates would do nicely, but I do still prefer to use a little imagination!
Some handmade and homegrown items I’ve given in the past…
Stationery sets
Handmade soap
Jewelery
Sweet treats in re-useable cookie jars
Potted herbs
Potted strawberries
Food hampers – bought and handmade
Framed family photos
Photo calendars
Other hampers – art supplies, cooking kits, etc
Jams and sauces
And for a gift which keeps on giving, my most favourite are Oxfam Unwrapped.
Here are a few of my favourite recipes (most are adapted versions of recipes shared on the Simple Savings forum):
Big Batch of Bikkies
750g butter
1.5kg raw sugar
6 eggs
2kg wholemeal flour + baking powder (half a teaspoon per cup of flour)
3 tsp vanilla extract
Melt butter and let cool. Mix in all ingredients, starting with 1.5kg of flour and adding more if the dough is too oily or wet. Mix it with your hands unless you have a large food processor.
Form dough into balls the size of a 10c or 20c coin. Put on baking tray. Bake at 225 degrees C for 15 minutes. If you like softer biscuits, cook for a shorter time.
Makes over 150 biscuits. Freeze well.
* Add carob or choc chips, nuts, coconut, sultanas or other (diced) dried fruit, oats, rice bubbles, etc. You can also add cocoa powder to this mix to make a chocolate bikkie.
Carob Fudge Balls
Mix together 1/2 cup nut butter (peanut butter, tahini etc), 1/4 cup honey, 1/4 cup carob powder, 1 tsp vanilla, 1 cup dessicated coconut (can substitute some sesame seeds here).
Roll the mixture into balls and coat in more coconut if desired.
Refrigerate.
* you can substitute all sorts of fruit, nuts, puffed rice, seeds etc into this recipe and roll into balls with the carob/honey/nut butter combination and create a variety of different treats.
Cheese Biscuits
250g butter
250g grated cheese
2 cups wholemeal spelt flour
1/2 cup milk
2 tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp herb salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
Few tbspn grated parmesan
Rub butter into flour. Mix cheese through. Add spices. Stir milk in to create a workable dough.
Roll dough into balls. Press into parmesan and bake on oiled tray @ 180 degrees C for 10-15 minutes (until edges are golden). Cool and store in airtight container. Suitable to freeze. Makes a couple of dozen large biscuits, depending on how big you make them.
Coconut Balls
3 eggs, beaten
180g raw sugar
250g dessicated coconut
Mix ingredients together in a bowl. Form into balls about 2cm in diameter and place onto 2 greased trays. Bake at around 180 degrees C until golden brown. Enjoy!
You can use cello bags, recycled jars or buy a nice big cookie or storage jar which will be used again and again to present these items in. Add some ribbon or raffia and a handmade tag and the recipient will be pleased to receive something so obviously made with love.
Tell me, if you celebrate Christmas, what's on your giving list this year? How simple are your celebrations? Am I turning into a Scrooge, or is the holiday season is turning back to what it used to be?
Friday, December 4, 2009
Preparing for the Wet
Posted by Bel
From Spiral Garden
We always seem to have a lull in the garden in Spring, which is our dry season (and often hotter than our Summer). But now it has begun to rain, so we're finishing off preparations for planting our warm season crops.
Firstly I prune, weed and cull the last of the winter plants. Some go directly into the beds to be mulched over, a lot go to the chickens and ducks, and a bit goes into my attempt at compost-making.
Next I add manure I've collected, and animal bedding material, as well as some fresh sugar cane mulch on top.
Now everything is ready to sit for awhile and be soaked by the rain. Whenever I have time I poke in plants I've propagated or bought, cuttings, seeds, tubers, sprouting things from the kitchen. I have a basket in the shed where I gather all of these things, so they're handy when I'm pottering in the garden. In Spring and Autumn I order seeds I don't have through saving my own, or the local Seed Savers Network.
And then the real rain comes. And when it's raining every day and night for weeks on end, we reap the rewards of our work - the perennial plants flourish. Asian greens, tropical tubers, and pumpkins abound. Regular European vegetables often can't withstand our wet season, so varieties need to be carefully chosen.
Whilst it's raining we also plant our trees for the year. They get a few weeks of good solid rain and thrive without much care or attention. We try to plant a variety of trees - native food and timber trees, native trees and shrubs for birds and other animals, unusual fruit trees selected for our climate and tradition fruit trees such as oranges, lemons and the like. We also try to plant vines each year - various passionfruit and choko seem to like it here. I've also planted grapes, berries, dragonfruit and other non-tree plants in the wet season.
And next we mow. And mow! But now with more gardens (less lawn) and two cows, we're hoping to mow less and dance in the rain some more...
Friday, November 6, 2009
Our House Cow Journey Part 2
Posted by Bel
From Spiral Garden
Continued from Our House Cow Journey Part One
We've learned so much in the almost two months we've had a house cow! Some of the main lessons are:
* it's not easy
* it's not cheap
* nothing ever stays the same
If I knew what a challenge a house cow would be, would I do it again? YES! The milk is fantastic, the manure is abundant, and the cows are really a joy to work with, especially Honey the calf.
We're still milking out once a day, but we take our share first in the afternoon as we were barely getting 1.5L for awhile. Honey is eating a variety of other foods (mainly grass and lucerne hay tops) and growing amazingly fast and well, so we thought it was time to take the first step to weaning. Hopefully each further step toward weaning will go as smoothly.
We are using diluted Neem oil for buffalo fly at the moment, which appeared once the rain came back. I'm playing with dilutions so I don't have to re-apply all the time, but it certainly seems to make a difference. I check both cows daily for ticks, and remove them manually. Luckily, both animals are quite used to me touching them now.
We're spending less on feed now that there's more pasture for the cows - for awhile there their food budget rivaled ours! Lucy is happy to eat more homegrown foods, especially pigeon pea, and she is hand-fed snacks of these most days. Sometimes I'll lead her to a lush part of another paddock and stand whilst she munches away, or tie her to a post whilst I do something else.
From the milk I've made yoghurt, panir, quark, sour cream (didn't work out), cottage cheese and cream cheese so far. Mostly, though we only milk out what we can use fresh and in cooking. The Home Creamery has been an invaluable resource (and inspiration) in creating products from excess milk.
There are more blog posts and photos of our house cow journey on Home Grown.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Making the pantry user friendly
As the sun sets earlier each day on our gardens here in the Northern Hemisphere, the harvest and winter prep is getting to a fever pitch.
The spiders are stocking up too!
This time of year, our roles can change a little. My husband is busy buttoning up the portion of the new roof that needed finishing before our fall rains arrive for good, while I am cleaning the gutters. Most of the time we stick to generalized male/female duties. I do the cooking, he does the manly tasks, such as water system maintenance, chainsaw duties, etc., and our daughter helps either one of us with any task. We are all like ships passing in the night now. But we all have to eat, or snack.
I have devised a few ways to make our bulk foodstuffs a little easier to use when someone is pinch hitting in the kitchen:
Over the years while scouring garage and estate sales, I have accumulated extra measuring cup sets and I now have enough to keep these in with my staples like flours, rice and sugar. Our farmhouse is old, and shy on storage. My whole wheat flour is in the basement milk refrigerator, my white flour and sugar are in the dry pantry off the kitchen. Having a measuring cup in the jar helps a novice cook concentrate on cooking instead of wasting time by forgetting to take the measuring cup from one location to another.
I buy in bulk, and keep most of our staples in buckets and replenish one gallon jars for the dry pantry. Inside the jar lids, I have written the instructions for cooking or taped the recipe from the original packaging. This makes it convenient for someone who doesn't always cook and has the ratio of water to rice in their head.
The fruit room in our basement is where our home canned goods are stored, and while it seems easy to navigate to me, it isn't always so with other members of my family. My hubby makes a beeline straight in the door and grabs what is in front of him, which is canned nectarines. He won't look to either side and hunt for a different fruit. So to keep peace in our marriage I have just devoted one portion of a shelf in the "beeline" to every kind of fruit that I have canned. I can keep it replenished and he gets to choose what he wants to snack on. And further on that tack, I have a pie safe type of cabinet that I call my Christmas cabinet for home canned goods that are for gifts. Still micro-managing, but from a distance. My gift jars stay intact and out of sight, and they are conveniently located for me when I need a gift.
These are just a few ideas off the top of my head - what quick tips do you have that are favorites?
This time of year, our roles can change a little. My husband is busy buttoning up the portion of the new roof that needed finishing before our fall rains arrive for good, while I am cleaning the gutters. Most of the time we stick to generalized male/female duties. I do the cooking, he does the manly tasks, such as water system maintenance, chainsaw duties, etc., and our daughter helps either one of us with any task. We are all like ships passing in the night now. But we all have to eat, or snack.
I have devised a few ways to make our bulk foodstuffs a little easier to use when someone is pinch hitting in the kitchen:
Over the years while scouring garage and estate sales, I have accumulated extra measuring cup sets and I now have enough to keep these in with my staples like flours, rice and sugar. Our farmhouse is old, and shy on storage. My whole wheat flour is in the basement milk refrigerator, my white flour and sugar are in the dry pantry off the kitchen. Having a measuring cup in the jar helps a novice cook concentrate on cooking instead of wasting time by forgetting to take the measuring cup from one location to another.
I buy in bulk, and keep most of our staples in buckets and replenish one gallon jars for the dry pantry. Inside the jar lids, I have written the instructions for cooking or taped the recipe from the original packaging. This makes it convenient for someone who doesn't always cook and has the ratio of water to rice in their head.
The fruit room in our basement is where our home canned goods are stored, and while it seems easy to navigate to me, it isn't always so with other members of my family. My hubby makes a beeline straight in the door and grabs what is in front of him, which is canned nectarines. He won't look to either side and hunt for a different fruit. So to keep peace in our marriage I have just devoted one portion of a shelf in the "beeline" to every kind of fruit that I have canned. I can keep it replenished and he gets to choose what he wants to snack on. And further on that tack, I have a pie safe type of cabinet that I call my Christmas cabinet for home canned goods that are for gifts. Still micro-managing, but from a distance. My gift jars stay intact and out of sight, and they are conveniently located for me when I need a gift.
These are just a few ideas off the top of my head - what quick tips do you have that are favorites?
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Work Options
Posted by Bel
From Spiral Garden
People are often surprised when I tell them that I’ve never had a permanent full-time job. I have worked full-time hours as a waitress and in office administration, but they weren’t permanent positions – I was doing temp work or extra shifts as a student mostly.
I was a student doing a double-degree before I became a mother. I intended to go to work, to study further, to do something with my life. I’m glad I realised that being an at-home mother is a wonderful way to live. A blessing. A privilege.
I’ve been at home whilst my husband studied, did an adult apprenticeship, worked very long hours, worked away and worked part-time. We’ve always found a way to pay for our expenses and move ahead. We have struggled, but we made it through!
I have usually dabbled in some sort of paid hobby:
For awhile I did some design work on the computer – stationery, address labels etc.
I have usually sold our excess household items etc through auction sites and on internet forums.
For awhile the children and I were packaging our saved seeds and bulk-bought seeds and selling these online. This appealed to us because growing food is something we are passionate about.
We’ve also sold excess eggs, produce, jams and plants from a roadside stall.
I have done some freelance writing and editing. Sometimes a lot of hours for reasonable pay, and sometimes only small amounts of work and financial reward. I stick to my interests with the freelancing, and don’t pursue work outside my field of parenting and education and my passion of gardening.
A couple of years ago I decided to buy an online business from a busy friend who had returned to full-time study and couldn’t keep up with the business. It is called Spiral Garden and is a real blessing in our lives. It is growing slowly into another stream of income for me, while I’m at home with my children – homeschooling, growing food and planting trees.
Ideally our home-based business would also support us all, but then I would be stuck in my home office several days a week keeping the business going. At the moment my husband can earn much more than me per hour, so he’s still out there working. He'd love to be at home with us on the farm, though.
While my hobbies have paid me, they’ve been very much about keeping my mind active and showing my children how there are many ways to make money. The pocket money is lovely, and has helped to support my hobbies at least – more plants for the garden, some fabric for sewing, magazine subscriptions etc.
Now that they're older, the children have developed their own streams of income - husking and weighing out macadamia nuts from our trees and breeding chickens, ducks and guinea pigs. The older three also busk at local markets.
If I needed to make more money to be able to stay at home I would initially look at where I could further save money. A dollar saved is a dollar earned – more because it’s not taxed! If we were still struggling I’d further pursue one of my 'jobs' above or even take in ironing or childcare, because these fit with my lifestyle of being at home with children. If this didn’t work, I would look for casual work outside of normal working hours so that I would go to work when my husband was at home with the children. Now that they’re older (our youngest is five), I can see that this would be much more manageable. I would try to avoid commuting a great distance and a job where I needed to outlay a large amount for clothing etc. I’d want to keep as much of my earnings as possible. For example, I'd rather drive 3 minutes to clean rooms at a local Bed & Breakfast than travel across the region to a more complicated position of employment.
I hope this post helps you to think about your own employment options, especially if you have young families. I encourage you to think about what you’re good at, where your interests lie, what sort of work you prefer, what’s lacking in your community and how you can perhaps make a little extra money to help the family budget or save for the future. I’m not saying that staying at home is better than working, but it has been a wonderful lifestyle for us. Watching my sister juggle her children and work, and seeing my own mother (against her wishes) do the same from when I was three years old – I choose this way because it’s what I can handle. I prefer to be home, cooking from scratch, growing food, bartering with friends and neighbours, mending clothes and making do, and feel blessed to have been able to do so for over 15 years.
Further Reading:
Bringing it Home by Wendy Priesnitz
Hundreds of Ways to Make Money From Home by Rosalind Fox and Tessa Stowe
Making Money from Home by Better Living Collections
Making Money from your Garden by Jackie French
Write to Publish by Vin Maskell & Gina Perry
wahm.com
oz-e-wahm
From Spiral Garden
People are often surprised when I tell them that I’ve never had a permanent full-time job. I have worked full-time hours as a waitress and in office administration, but they weren’t permanent positions – I was doing temp work or extra shifts as a student mostly.
I was a student doing a double-degree before I became a mother. I intended to go to work, to study further, to do something with my life. I’m glad I realised that being an at-home mother is a wonderful way to live. A blessing. A privilege.
I’ve been at home whilst my husband studied, did an adult apprenticeship, worked very long hours, worked away and worked part-time. We’ve always found a way to pay for our expenses and move ahead. We have struggled, but we made it through!
I have usually dabbled in some sort of paid hobby:
For awhile I did some design work on the computer – stationery, address labels etc.
I have usually sold our excess household items etc through auction sites and on internet forums.
For awhile the children and I were packaging our saved seeds and bulk-bought seeds and selling these online. This appealed to us because growing food is something we are passionate about.
We’ve also sold excess eggs, produce, jams and plants from a roadside stall.
I have done some freelance writing and editing. Sometimes a lot of hours for reasonable pay, and sometimes only small amounts of work and financial reward. I stick to my interests with the freelancing, and don’t pursue work outside my field of parenting and education and my passion of gardening.
A couple of years ago I decided to buy an online business from a busy friend who had returned to full-time study and couldn’t keep up with the business. It is called Spiral Garden and is a real blessing in our lives. It is growing slowly into another stream of income for me, while I’m at home with my children – homeschooling, growing food and planting trees.
Ideally our home-based business would also support us all, but then I would be stuck in my home office several days a week keeping the business going. At the moment my husband can earn much more than me per hour, so he’s still out there working. He'd love to be at home with us on the farm, though.
While my hobbies have paid me, they’ve been very much about keeping my mind active and showing my children how there are many ways to make money. The pocket money is lovely, and has helped to support my hobbies at least – more plants for the garden, some fabric for sewing, magazine subscriptions etc.
Now that they're older, the children have developed their own streams of income - husking and weighing out macadamia nuts from our trees and breeding chickens, ducks and guinea pigs. The older three also busk at local markets.
If I needed to make more money to be able to stay at home I would initially look at where I could further save money. A dollar saved is a dollar earned – more because it’s not taxed! If we were still struggling I’d further pursue one of my 'jobs' above or even take in ironing or childcare, because these fit with my lifestyle of being at home with children. If this didn’t work, I would look for casual work outside of normal working hours so that I would go to work when my husband was at home with the children. Now that they’re older (our youngest is five), I can see that this would be much more manageable. I would try to avoid commuting a great distance and a job where I needed to outlay a large amount for clothing etc. I’d want to keep as much of my earnings as possible. For example, I'd rather drive 3 minutes to clean rooms at a local Bed & Breakfast than travel across the region to a more complicated position of employment.
I hope this post helps you to think about your own employment options, especially if you have young families. I encourage you to think about what you’re good at, where your interests lie, what sort of work you prefer, what’s lacking in your community and how you can perhaps make a little extra money to help the family budget or save for the future. I’m not saying that staying at home is better than working, but it has been a wonderful lifestyle for us. Watching my sister juggle her children and work, and seeing my own mother (against her wishes) do the same from when I was three years old – I choose this way because it’s what I can handle. I prefer to be home, cooking from scratch, growing food, bartering with friends and neighbours, mending clothes and making do, and feel blessed to have been able to do so for over 15 years.
Further Reading:
Bringing it Home by Wendy Priesnitz
Hundreds of Ways to Make Money From Home by Rosalind Fox and Tessa Stowe
Making Money from Home by Better Living Collections
Making Money from your Garden by Jackie French
Write to Publish by Vin Maskell & Gina Perry
wahm.com
oz-e-wahm
Monday, September 21, 2009
Joining the harvest
by Francesca, at FuoriBorgo
Hello, I’m Francesca, one of the new writers here at the co-op. I write from a tiny rural village in northern Italy, perched on a green hilltop a few winding, steep, narrow kilometers inland from the Mediterranean. My husband and I moved our young bi-cultural and bi-lingual family here ten years ago (I’m Italian, and my husband is US American). I blog about our life as a family of five over at FuoriBorgo.
We moved here from the city with a vague plan to spend a couple of our children’s early years in nature, and an even vaguer plan to start a biodynamic vegetable garden. Ten years later we’re still here: our three children are growing up as country kids, and our garden fills on one of the narrow terraces built centuries ago by the local farmers, striving to raise a living on these steep-sided valleys. The descendants of these farmers are one of the main reasons we’ve stayed: our neighbors and the other villagers, most of whom are elderly farmers, who welcomed us open-heartedly, and who taught us something we'd never considered when we came here on our quest for nature: the unique value of community life.
We started getting to know our neighbors on the day we moved in, when a thin, elderly, weather-beaten man with thick snow-white hair and big strong hands drove up on a small tractor, and offered to haul our belongings up to the house. He drove up to our house and back for the rest of the day, while the young movers we’d hired sat in the shade of a large fig tree eating its fruits and praising the “paradise” we’d found, which they'd cursed as a “place from hell” when they’d first seen how steep the pathway was that led to the front door.
To thank our neighbor, we bought him some nice wine from Piemonte: we hadn’t realized that the basement of the ancient stone house we were renting was his winecellar, where he had several thousand liters of wine he’d made the previous year. From day one we tried to bring him and his family gifts to thank them for their boundless generosity: they gave us fruit and vegetables from their fields, helped us fix our car or our phone line, advised us on gardening, lent us their tools, and were always there to lend a hand. But somehow our gifts never felt quite appropriate.
Gradually we learned that, in an ancient rural community, you don’t really thank your neighbors with presents. People here lead a thrifty and frugal life, with few needs and little waste; what little they need they grow, build, hand make, or repurpose. They spend their days working in the fields and in the woods, with few days off, at the same pace as the unrelentless and unpredictable rhythm of nature. The best way to thank your neighbors, we learned, is to offer to help when they need it, just as our neighbor did on the day we moved in.
We began to sense this during our first vendemmia, the grape harvest, which falls at this time of year. The economy of our village is mainly based on growing wine grapes, and long rows of vines lace the terraced side of our valley. Tending them is a year-round job: we see our neighbors out among the vines in all weather, pruning, weeding, manuring, tying up tendrils, and so on. The vendemmia closes this agricultural cycle, and brings together many people - relatives, friends, people from neighboring villages - who work side by side for several days of reciprocal help – not for wages – and then move on to the next person’s vineyard. The vendemmia embodies the values of rural, communal life.
The day before the vendemmia starts, stacks of colorful plastic crates appear at the edge of the vineyards. We know by now that we need to be out at 8 o’clock the following morning, with our own pruning shears, and will soon be snipping grapes amid the crowd of people of all ages, but mostly elderly, who gather to help with the harvest. Vendemmia is a festive job, and feels more like a social gathering with work in nature rather than just plain work. The chatter of the harvesters can be heard all along the valley.
At the end of the day, when everyone’s hands and clothes are sticky and stained with grape juice and the shears are nearly glued shut with it, we linger wearily around the now full crates, sharing one last story together. For the next few days, the pungent, sourish smell of fermenting grape juice drifts up from the cellar, and scents our house.
It took Tom and me several vendemmie to recognize the widespread network of reciprocity that sustains our village. This constant exchange of mutual, manual assistance creates a strong sense of community, and in the end, makes life possible here in a small, isolated village populated mainly by the elderly. When we city folk finally understood this, we also saw that the most important lesson our children could learn by living the country life wasn’t so much how to climb a tree or grow a tomato or track a boar through the forest, but how to repay people with the gift of your own time, effort and attention – not with a simple, store-bought gift, however valuable.
Hello, I’m Francesca, one of the new writers here at the co-op. I write from a tiny rural village in northern Italy, perched on a green hilltop a few winding, steep, narrow kilometers inland from the Mediterranean. My husband and I moved our young bi-cultural and bi-lingual family here ten years ago (I’m Italian, and my husband is US American). I blog about our life as a family of five over at FuoriBorgo.
We moved here from the city with a vague plan to spend a couple of our children’s early years in nature, and an even vaguer plan to start a biodynamic vegetable garden. Ten years later we’re still here: our three children are growing up as country kids, and our garden fills on one of the narrow terraces built centuries ago by the local farmers, striving to raise a living on these steep-sided valleys. The descendants of these farmers are one of the main reasons we’ve stayed: our neighbors and the other villagers, most of whom are elderly farmers, who welcomed us open-heartedly, and who taught us something we'd never considered when we came here on our quest for nature: the unique value of community life.
We started getting to know our neighbors on the day we moved in, when a thin, elderly, weather-beaten man with thick snow-white hair and big strong hands drove up on a small tractor, and offered to haul our belongings up to the house. He drove up to our house and back for the rest of the day, while the young movers we’d hired sat in the shade of a large fig tree eating its fruits and praising the “paradise” we’d found, which they'd cursed as a “place from hell” when they’d first seen how steep the pathway was that led to the front door.
To thank our neighbor, we bought him some nice wine from Piemonte: we hadn’t realized that the basement of the ancient stone house we were renting was his winecellar, where he had several thousand liters of wine he’d made the previous year. From day one we tried to bring him and his family gifts to thank them for their boundless generosity: they gave us fruit and vegetables from their fields, helped us fix our car or our phone line, advised us on gardening, lent us their tools, and were always there to lend a hand. But somehow our gifts never felt quite appropriate.
Gradually we learned that, in an ancient rural community, you don’t really thank your neighbors with presents. People here lead a thrifty and frugal life, with few needs and little waste; what little they need they grow, build, hand make, or repurpose. They spend their days working in the fields and in the woods, with few days off, at the same pace as the unrelentless and unpredictable rhythm of nature. The best way to thank your neighbors, we learned, is to offer to help when they need it, just as our neighbor did on the day we moved in.
We began to sense this during our first vendemmia, the grape harvest, which falls at this time of year. The economy of our village is mainly based on growing wine grapes, and long rows of vines lace the terraced side of our valley. Tending them is a year-round job: we see our neighbors out among the vines in all weather, pruning, weeding, manuring, tying up tendrils, and so on. The vendemmia closes this agricultural cycle, and brings together many people - relatives, friends, people from neighboring villages - who work side by side for several days of reciprocal help – not for wages – and then move on to the next person’s vineyard. The vendemmia embodies the values of rural, communal life.
The day before the vendemmia starts, stacks of colorful plastic crates appear at the edge of the vineyards. We know by now that we need to be out at 8 o’clock the following morning, with our own pruning shears, and will soon be snipping grapes amid the crowd of people of all ages, but mostly elderly, who gather to help with the harvest. Vendemmia is a festive job, and feels more like a social gathering with work in nature rather than just plain work. The chatter of the harvesters can be heard all along the valley.
At the end of the day, when everyone’s hands and clothes are sticky and stained with grape juice and the shears are nearly glued shut with it, we linger wearily around the now full crates, sharing one last story together. For the next few days, the pungent, sourish smell of fermenting grape juice drifts up from the cellar, and scents our house.
It took Tom and me several vendemmie to recognize the widespread network of reciprocity that sustains our village. This constant exchange of mutual, manual assistance creates a strong sense of community, and in the end, makes life possible here in a small, isolated village populated mainly by the elderly. When we city folk finally understood this, we also saw that the most important lesson our children could learn by living the country life wasn’t so much how to climb a tree or grow a tomato or track a boar through the forest, but how to repay people with the gift of your own time, effort and attention – not with a simple, store-bought gift, however valuable.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Weird or Interesting? You Decide
by Chiot's Run
Most of my friends either tell me I'm the weirdest or the most interesting person they know. Why? Because I grow some of my own food, collect rain water, keep bees in my backyard, shop at farmer's markets, buy raw milk and make everything from scratch (I mean everything, even crackers, oh yeah and maple syrup).
Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Susy and I'm one of the new writers here at the Co-op. I blog about organic gardening, growing food, preserving food, beekeeping, eating locally and other related topics over at ChiotsRun and check out my Flickr photostream for images of my newest escapades.
I live here at Chiot's Run with; my husband - Mr Chiots, my dog Lucy the garden namesake and our 3 cats that also help make our house a home - Samson, Soafie & Dexter. We live on a small lot (1/4 acre) in a development that's kind of rural but we still have a HOA. We've been working hard over the past 7 years to improve the soil on our little bit of land in order to grow some fruits & vegetables of our own, but we're limited by the shadiness of our property since we're surrounded on 3 sides by very large trees.
We own a business and both work from home and enjoy our simple, yet busy life. We love to try to do as much ourselves as we can, which is what has brought us down the road of simplicity and self-reliance. We don't really have dreams of being fully self-sufficient, so we have spent the last couple years creating a network of local people to provide us with the things we cannot and don't really want to do for ourselves, like raw milk, beef, chicken, eggs, etc. We believe in doing our part in building a strong local economy for healthy sustainable foods, and for us that means working hard to earn money to support local farmers.
We also strive to be good stewards of this lovely planet we live on. While we don't drive an electric car, ride our bicycles everywhere, or shun modern conveniences (at least not too many of them), we try not to be wasteful of the resources we do use. We collect rain water for our plants, we try to buy things with as little packaging as possible to reduce our waste and we strive to buy things as locally as possible and not to buy things we don't need. We also garden organically, and I mean completely organically, we don't even use "safe" organic pesticides.
So what do you think, weird or interesting?
Most of my friends either tell me I'm the weirdest or the most interesting person they know. Why? Because I grow some of my own food, collect rain water, keep bees in my backyard, shop at farmer's markets, buy raw milk and make everything from scratch (I mean everything, even crackers, oh yeah and maple syrup).Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Susy and I'm one of the new writers here at the Co-op. I blog about organic gardening, growing food, preserving food, beekeeping, eating locally and other related topics over at ChiotsRun and check out my Flickr photostream for images of my newest escapades.
I live here at Chiot's Run with; my husband - Mr Chiots, my dog Lucy the garden namesake and our 3 cats that also help make our house a home - Samson, Soafie & Dexter. We live on a small lot (1/4 acre) in a development that's kind of rural but we still have a HOA. We've been working hard over the past 7 years to improve the soil on our little bit of land in order to grow some fruits & vegetables of our own, but we're limited by the shadiness of our property since we're surrounded on 3 sides by very large trees.
We own a business and both work from home and enjoy our simple, yet busy life. We love to try to do as much ourselves as we can, which is what has brought us down the road of simplicity and self-reliance. We don't really have dreams of being fully self-sufficient, so we have spent the last couple years creating a network of local people to provide us with the things we cannot and don't really want to do for ourselves, like raw milk, beef, chicken, eggs, etc. We believe in doing our part in building a strong local economy for healthy sustainable foods, and for us that means working hard to earn money to support local farmers.
We also strive to be good stewards of this lovely planet we live on. While we don't drive an electric car, ride our bicycles everywhere, or shun modern conveniences (at least not too many of them), we try not to be wasteful of the resources we do use. We collect rain water for our plants, we try to buy things with as little packaging as possible to reduce our waste and we strive to buy things as locally as possible and not to buy things we don't need. We also garden organically, and I mean completely organically, we don't even use "safe" organic pesticides.
So what do you think, weird or interesting?
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Electronic Sunsets
by Kate
Living the Frugal Life
Lately I've been realizing how much of my time and my husband's time is dominated by electronics. We don't even have a television in our home, and haven't for many years. But we have laptops, and he has a cell phone. Far too much of the time we should be spending together, doing either productive or non-productive things is being eaten up by these tools that supposedly make our lives better. In my husband's case this is partly down to the fact that he telecommutes, so having a phone meeting at 8 pm with a company in Japan is the price we pay for his ability to work from home. Still, I'm bothered more and more by the amount of time we squander on the computer, or through other electronic gadgets.
I don't know where I first came across the electronic sunset idea, but I loved it right away. The idea is that you pick a time each evening when all the electronic attention-stealers and time-sucks get turned off. This would include blackberries, televisions, gaming devices, computers, cell phones, etc. So from 7 pm, or whatever hour you decide, the rest of the evening is spent interacting in some way with your actual physical environment. For most of us, that could simply mean everything is turned off at dinner time, and not turned back on until the next morning.
So many of us complain that we have no time, that we're exhausted all the time, that we'd love to do X if only our lives permitted it. Yet we fritter away enormous quantities of time on electronic distractions. What could we do with several extra hours per week? Certainly some of that time would be spent "catching up" on tasks that we feel guilty about neglecting. We could use that time to do many of the frugal things that we say we have no time for, such as preparing extra meals for busy nights, or packing lunches to save eating out the next day.
But what's of more interest to me is the bonding that can occur when we make the choice to limit the electronic intrusions into our family lives, even for a brief period. I can speak from some little experience in this because we've had electronic hiatuses over holiday breaks. We've taken turns reading books out loud while the other one does some manual task, such as knitting in my case, or tool sharpening in my husband's. We've put jigsaw puzzles together. When we have company, playing cards is a great entertainment. More gets done around the house. We talk to each other more, and more substantively. The kitchen is neater. Most importantly, we feel calmer, less rushed, better rested, and more involved with one another. All because we cut a few distractions out of our lives for a brief time.
Here's a list of things I would love to do during an electronic sunset:
Read out loud to each other
Crack and shell the gleaned nuts we've collected
Clean out closets, junk room, and garage
Identify and set aside useful things to be donated/sold/recycled/repurposed
Discuss future plans
Maintain the garden and the garden tools better
Learn to operate the sewing machine and make a few gifts
Complete more knitting projects
Several small house projects
Get to bed at a decent hour
What do you think? Have you ever done something like this? Would your family benefit from a daily electronic sunset? Does the idea seem daunting to you? What would you most like to accomplish with a little "extra" time? Is the irony that you're reading about electronic sunsets online just a little too much for you?
Living the Frugal Life
Lately I've been realizing how much of my time and my husband's time is dominated by electronics. We don't even have a television in our home, and haven't for many years. But we have laptops, and he has a cell phone. Far too much of the time we should be spending together, doing either productive or non-productive things is being eaten up by these tools that supposedly make our lives better. In my husband's case this is partly down to the fact that he telecommutes, so having a phone meeting at 8 pm with a company in Japan is the price we pay for his ability to work from home. Still, I'm bothered more and more by the amount of time we squander on the computer, or through other electronic gadgets.
I don't know where I first came across the electronic sunset idea, but I loved it right away. The idea is that you pick a time each evening when all the electronic attention-stealers and time-sucks get turned off. This would include blackberries, televisions, gaming devices, computers, cell phones, etc. So from 7 pm, or whatever hour you decide, the rest of the evening is spent interacting in some way with your actual physical environment. For most of us, that could simply mean everything is turned off at dinner time, and not turned back on until the next morning.
So many of us complain that we have no time, that we're exhausted all the time, that we'd love to do X if only our lives permitted it. Yet we fritter away enormous quantities of time on electronic distractions. What could we do with several extra hours per week? Certainly some of that time would be spent "catching up" on tasks that we feel guilty about neglecting. We could use that time to do many of the frugal things that we say we have no time for, such as preparing extra meals for busy nights, or packing lunches to save eating out the next day.
But what's of more interest to me is the bonding that can occur when we make the choice to limit the electronic intrusions into our family lives, even for a brief period. I can speak from some little experience in this because we've had electronic hiatuses over holiday breaks. We've taken turns reading books out loud while the other one does some manual task, such as knitting in my case, or tool sharpening in my husband's. We've put jigsaw puzzles together. When we have company, playing cards is a great entertainment. More gets done around the house. We talk to each other more, and more substantively. The kitchen is neater. Most importantly, we feel calmer, less rushed, better rested, and more involved with one another. All because we cut a few distractions out of our lives for a brief time.
Here's a list of things I would love to do during an electronic sunset:
Read out loud to each other
Crack and shell the gleaned nuts we've collected
Clean out closets, junk room, and garage
Identify and set aside useful things to be donated/sold/recycled/repurposed
Discuss future plans
Maintain the garden and the garden tools better
Learn to operate the sewing machine and make a few gifts
Complete more knitting projects
Several small house projects
Get to bed at a decent hour
What do you think? Have you ever done something like this? Would your family benefit from a daily electronic sunset? Does the idea seem daunting to you? What would you most like to accomplish with a little "extra" time? Is the irony that you're reading about electronic sunsets online just a little too much for you?
Monday, August 31, 2009
Finding The Rural Life
By Notes From The Frugal Trenches
I have a dream that I have often shared on my blog, it is a simple dream which includes having a little house, at least an acre of land, a couple of dogs, a few hens for eggs, perhaps a goat or two, and a rescue cat or three ;0) From my kitchen window I can see our garden and the hills & countryside which surround us, my children playing and fruits and vegetables growing in abundance. Right now this little dream is completely out of reach and may be for some time. I've always lived in cities or suburbs (both in North America and England) and when I began to love the countryside I wanted to live the life straight away. I used to find it depressing that I simply didn't have the resources to fund such a dream, but through some little changes I've found ways to bring the countryside into my every day life and have never looked back. I may still have the dream, but I also now as much as possible, living a country life in a city.
So I thought I'd share some tips for how to having the rural life (or perhaps some of the best bits of it) while having to live in the city or suburbs! Please do share any tips you have in the comments!
The first thing I did was start walking, every single day. At the time I was caring for several children full time as their own immediate family couldn't take care of them. How I wanted us to be able to spend more time with them exploring rivers and streams, yet with full time work, children in school and homework needing doing, all we could manage was a simple walk. The goal became to get out for 30 minutes every single evening and an hour each weekend. It gave us a chance to relax, regroup, chat about the day and enjoy some nature. Sometimes walks had to simply be around our neighbourhood and didn't involve any real exposure to nature, other times when we had a bit more time or the evenings were getting lighter we could drive to a local park or nature centre and then start from there. The goal was simply a chance to relax, get some natural form of exercise and escape the indoors!
I then began looking at what activities we were doing, yes there were swimming lessons and gymnastics for the children and I was pretty active at my gym (pre-kids) but I began to think about how we could get more exercise in the great outdoors while still being limited to a very strict budget. Some things we/I've enjoyed is hiking at the weekends, beginning with 30 minutes and working ourselves up to a good 2 hour hike on Saturdays and Sundays! We also tried canoeing, kayaking, swimming in the local lake/pond, skating on outdoor rinks and bike riding! By looking around and diversifying, I was able to stick within our $50 a month entertainment budget and yet make sure we enjoyed some of what the real outdoors has to offer!
Another change that made me feel more a part of the rural life was to begin to eat more local food. This was something I felt was impossible initially and to be honest resisted - I felt I simply didn't have the budget to support farmers or the time to "shop around". How wrong I was! By looking around, speaking to others, phoning my local council, I found out about little farmer's shops & stalls and local food co-ops. I now purchase about 50-75% of my fruits, veg, dairy and breads from farmers or markets and my grocery budget went down. In fact I slashed it by 75% which is something I've talked a lot about on my blog. Yes, it does mean I vary where I shop and yes I do often visit 2 shops in a week but the health benefits and feeling from supporting my local farmers and bringing the rural life into my kitchen is priceless!
Another food choice I've made is to try to grown my own. I don't have a garden and am on a very long (3 year!) waiting list for an allotment, what I have been able to do is take a small part of my mum's garden to attempt to grow my own and recently a friend has said I'm more than welcome to help her on her allotment. So don't hesitate to ask around, perhaps if you offer to cut someones lawn they'll happily let you use their garden for growing fruits and veg! Of course even without space you can grow window box herbs or have small plant pots by your door/window.
Finally one of the best ways I was able to enjoy some of the rural life while living in the city was to lessen our commitments to city pursuits and increase our time for rural pursuits specifically spending time with animals. I found two city farms which had various talks, volunteer opportunities, craft making events and great facilities to spend a lazy Saturday enjoying. I found out about several local reservoirs and forests that had trails, we started exploring more and more, making time to feed ducks rather than run errands. Instead of meeting friends for time at an indoor play place, we began meeting friends for hikes, farm trips, bike rides and nature walks. Spending time enjoying a picnic and drawing pictures of the animals we came across became a favourite activity!
I have turned from someone who rarely escaped the office, car & home to someone who every single day finds ways of bringing the rural life in. I now would much rather hike and chat then sit & chat. I've gone from feeling I'll never have the life I want to feeling I'm living in transition - transition that will eventually mean living in the country, a life I'll be really ready to embrace!
So I'd love to hear from you. How do you get nature or outdoors time when you are busy living and working in the city or suburbs? Have you got any tips for our readers?
I have a dream that I have often shared on my blog, it is a simple dream which includes having a little house, at least an acre of land, a couple of dogs, a few hens for eggs, perhaps a goat or two, and a rescue cat or three ;0) From my kitchen window I can see our garden and the hills & countryside which surround us, my children playing and fruits and vegetables growing in abundance. Right now this little dream is completely out of reach and may be for some time. I've always lived in cities or suburbs (both in North America and England) and when I began to love the countryside I wanted to live the life straight away. I used to find it depressing that I simply didn't have the resources to fund such a dream, but through some little changes I've found ways to bring the countryside into my every day life and have never looked back. I may still have the dream, but I also now as much as possible, living a country life in a city.
So I thought I'd share some tips for how to having the rural life (or perhaps some of the best bits of it) while having to live in the city or suburbs! Please do share any tips you have in the comments!
The first thing I did was start walking, every single day. At the time I was caring for several children full time as their own immediate family couldn't take care of them. How I wanted us to be able to spend more time with them exploring rivers and streams, yet with full time work, children in school and homework needing doing, all we could manage was a simple walk. The goal became to get out for 30 minutes every single evening and an hour each weekend. It gave us a chance to relax, regroup, chat about the day and enjoy some nature. Sometimes walks had to simply be around our neighbourhood and didn't involve any real exposure to nature, other times when we had a bit more time or the evenings were getting lighter we could drive to a local park or nature centre and then start from there. The goal was simply a chance to relax, get some natural form of exercise and escape the indoors!
I then began looking at what activities we were doing, yes there were swimming lessons and gymnastics for the children and I was pretty active at my gym (pre-kids) but I began to think about how we could get more exercise in the great outdoors while still being limited to a very strict budget. Some things we/I've enjoyed is hiking at the weekends, beginning with 30 minutes and working ourselves up to a good 2 hour hike on Saturdays and Sundays! We also tried canoeing, kayaking, swimming in the local lake/pond, skating on outdoor rinks and bike riding! By looking around and diversifying, I was able to stick within our $50 a month entertainment budget and yet make sure we enjoyed some of what the real outdoors has to offer!
Another change that made me feel more a part of the rural life was to begin to eat more local food. This was something I felt was impossible initially and to be honest resisted - I felt I simply didn't have the budget to support farmers or the time to "shop around". How wrong I was! By looking around, speaking to others, phoning my local council, I found out about little farmer's shops & stalls and local food co-ops. I now purchase about 50-75% of my fruits, veg, dairy and breads from farmers or markets and my grocery budget went down. In fact I slashed it by 75% which is something I've talked a lot about on my blog. Yes, it does mean I vary where I shop and yes I do often visit 2 shops in a week but the health benefits and feeling from supporting my local farmers and bringing the rural life into my kitchen is priceless!
Another food choice I've made is to try to grown my own. I don't have a garden and am on a very long (3 year!) waiting list for an allotment, what I have been able to do is take a small part of my mum's garden to attempt to grow my own and recently a friend has said I'm more than welcome to help her on her allotment. So don't hesitate to ask around, perhaps if you offer to cut someones lawn they'll happily let you use their garden for growing fruits and veg! Of course even without space you can grow window box herbs or have small plant pots by your door/window.
Finally one of the best ways I was able to enjoy some of the rural life while living in the city was to lessen our commitments to city pursuits and increase our time for rural pursuits specifically spending time with animals. I found two city farms which had various talks, volunteer opportunities, craft making events and great facilities to spend a lazy Saturday enjoying. I found out about several local reservoirs and forests that had trails, we started exploring more and more, making time to feed ducks rather than run errands. Instead of meeting friends for time at an indoor play place, we began meeting friends for hikes, farm trips, bike rides and nature walks. Spending time enjoying a picnic and drawing pictures of the animals we came across became a favourite activity!
I have turned from someone who rarely escaped the office, car & home to someone who every single day finds ways of bringing the rural life in. I now would much rather hike and chat then sit & chat. I've gone from feeling I'll never have the life I want to feeling I'm living in transition - transition that will eventually mean living in the country, a life I'll be really ready to embrace!
So I'd love to hear from you. How do you get nature or outdoors time when you are busy living and working in the city or suburbs? Have you got any tips for our readers?
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