Simple Living Sunday 12

Yay, we finally got to pick a watermelon this week, and yes those are hibiscus flowers...it's a surprise :)

The watermelon is beautifully sweet and juicy but probably could have been picked a little earlier.

This is our massive pumpkin vine I showed you a few weeks ago. You can see how large it is by the trailer behind it.

Well, I am pleased to say, after weeks of only male flowers...we now have a baby pumpkin!

And another one. Yay!

The Tangelo is really starting to fill out now. I should maybe contemplate a larger tub.

The peanut plant recovered, and after I took this photo I noticed a flower so I think we may have some peanuts underground.

The camphor laurel tree is still home to this cherry tomato plant. maybe that's what the goanna was going for last week. Think it has to go.

The kale is still going strong in the gumtree garden. I will plant some more so I always have a constant supply.

This is the Aloe Vera I was given at the herb farm. It has grown well but its leaves are not as plump as my others so it won't produce as much gel.

Did I mention I have a dam? I don't think I have posted it before. The water is pretty low now.

But I am pleased that the lilypads I pinched from our cousin's property have settled in. I love a dam covered with lilypads.

These cracks show just how dry it has been, despite a few storms this week. It's amazing to think that we can flood or drought. Gotta love Australia.

And the squash just keep going! I was out pollinating them yesterday morning and was stunned to see a bee doing its job. I wasn't quick enough to catch it on camera though.

This is my Hibiscus surprise. Hibiscus iced tea! Very yummy and extremely good for your cardiovascular system. Will post more about this during the week!

I made Cheery Tomato Relish from last weeks harvest. These are the jars Paul gave me as part of my Christmas present. I sterilised and kept the jars hot, put the hot relish in and turned them upside down for 15 minutes (as per the instructions)....

...and the lid seals popped down in the middle, creating a vacuum and making it easy to tell if they retain freshness. Now I can keep them in the cupboard instead of the fridge. Very clever.

I finally got some cooler weather and had alot of fun making cottage cheese. It tastes nothing like what I usually buy. It is creamier and has tons more flavour...without the preservatives. A further post to follow.

This is the whey that was leftover and there are so many amazing things you can make from it...

...including Ricotta cheese. Two cheeses in one weekend. Now I feel like a real simple earth mother haha.

So, what did you get up to this week? I love trying new things. Did you do anything different?

Huge Holiday Hangover

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What is It?

It suddenly hit me today when the computer screen went blurry at work and I reached for the eye drops for the fifth time. I rolled my shoulders, stretched my neck which cracked and popped, rubbed my temples to ease the oncoming headache, sipped water to fight back the nausea...and realised I wasn't really sick at all...I was hungover, not from alcohol but from my holidays.

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It's not that they were physically taxing, because they weren't. It's not because I drank too much alcohol, which I didn't...well... maybe a little of that. I think I am hungover because I am craving the 'hair of the dog', wanting to go back to the solace of my home (considering it was hardly quiet with six kids, three dogs and a husband at home, that's one pretty mean craving). Like a hangover, I just don't want to be at work right now...but I know I have to pay the bills. I also know by next week it will be gone and I will be back in the swing of things. Thank Goodness!

My Office

What are the Signs?

So, now that my positive attitude is back and I have correctly diagnosed my disorder, what are the classic signs that you are suffering from a huge holiday hangover like me? Well, I guess for everyone it's different but here are mine:

1. Finishing off an email with xxoo...uh oh that's not very professional, but that creepy client who rings you for no reason whatsoever several times a day, he might like it.

Creepy Pillow Guy

I have never seen a client look like this (not in my line of work anyway), but can you believe this came up in a search for creepy guys? Apparently he is creep pillow guy haha.

2. You start getting heart palpitations several times a day, not because a hunky guy walks past (now when does that ever happen at work? Never, but creepy pillow guy would do it!), but because your caffeine intake has tripled...or quadrupled. 

3. You answer the phone, "Hi" (Woops, welcome to blah blah blah)...and accidentally call your client mate...that was today...lucky he said nothing.

4. After lunch your eyes are just about falling out of your head and you wonder if anyone will walk in while you have a ten minute kip. I just keep my glasses on and pretend to look at my bookcase...no-one will ever know, right?

Maybe This would work?

5. That callous on your left foot, third toe in, which had softened up from wearing no shoes...well, it's back with a vengence...damn high heeled shoes.

6. Every half an hour (at least) you are looking for something to eat...now where is that fridge full of Christmas holiday goodies...major withdrawal symptons.


How Can we Cure It?

Well, it's not just as simple as popping a few panadol, downing a Berocca with a red bull chaser, or even spending some quality time in the presence of a porcelain bowl.

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Although...that would avoid a few of those calls from the creepy guy.

Seriously though, when I thought of my holiday hangover today and spent a bit of time with my mate (there I go again) Google, I discovered there have been many serious articles written about this syndrome and here is just a compilation summary of some of the things we can do to get over our hangover:

1. Exercise - to start shedding those extra Christmas kilos. Not just walking to the photocopier and back, real exercise, like walking at lunchtime or going to the gym after work. Check! Started back at the gym this week so ten points for me - yay.

2. Stop bingeing! Okay I will only take two snacks to work next week, not a selection.

3. Mentally prepare - plan to get back into your routine. I am trying but part of me is still protesting - the part that wants to curl up on the couch and watch the rest of The Vampire Diaries.

Sure am missing Stefan right about now :)

4. Post your holiday snaps to remember your happy times, and to make your friends jealous (seriously that's what someone suggested). Except, I didn't go anywhere...maybe next time when I go on my cruise. Yep, that's when I will make you jealous haha.

5. The best suggestion yet...plan another holiday. Yep that's me...two and half weeks until four days of sun and fun.

So, are you suffering from a holiday hangover or are you glad to be back at work? For those that don't work...I wish I was you :)

2013 - My Simple Living Journey

Approximately six months ago, before I started my blog, I made the decision to start living more simply. It was a foreign concept, one that I researched (as I do, and overdo), and adopted in more ways than I ever would have thought possible. I have read a lot of posts this past week with people reflecting on the year just past by recapping their most popular posts and memories. I think it's a great way to summarise your life into something tangible that will always be there to look back on in years to come. I have my family journals and albums separate to my blog, so this post is about me and how far I have come since I wrote that first post on How to Start Living Simply, my most popular post to date.

I needed this journey to save myself from the bad feelings I had towards my home and circumstances. I needed to fall in love with my farm again, to accept it for what it is (a flooder) and get on with living my life the way it was supposed to be lived...simply, with a sense of pride and purpose, and acceptance of what the universe had in store for me. It is working...

This year I made my first ever chutney from beetroot I had grown.

I made all of my own cleaning products.

I made soap.

I made shower gel.

And organic pesticide.

I made compost for my gardens.

Harvested seeds.

Planted new vegetable gardens.

Grew amazing produce...

...enough to feed my family most weeks.

I experimented with different methods and ways of recycling.

I made healthy green smoothies from kale I had grown.

I became the best squash grower you have ever seen...haha.

I started growing exotic and medicinal herbs, like this brahmi.

I have just started preserving...as my last few posts attest.

I have recycled jars for further produce.

I have made my first very own Christmas cake....

And amazing fresh bread.

(Soundtrack going through my head right now)...I am strong...I am invincible...I am woman.

There are many more achievements I could put on this list (and failures like my ginger beer starter) but I think this sums up my journey last year so well. The beauty is that it is still evolving, there are still so many things I have not tried yet...and my love and appreciation for my home has been revived. I would not want to live anywhere else in the world. This is home, for better or for worse.