January 2023 – MakeCookGrow.com

Slow Living and Bruschetta

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slow living

During Covid lockdowns many people found they enjoyed a less hectic, home focused way of living. There were many advantages, such as no time spent traveling to work, no need to dress in work clothes, money saved eating and drinking coffee at home and greater time with family. Post lockdowns, many people want to maintain the more relaxed way of living, of being able to use their time in ways that better suit themselves and their families, to have contact with their neighbours and wider community and to get more time to exercise or just enjoy being outside.

Wandering around the park observing the old trees is relaxing and interesting. For years I’ve watched this self germinated Moreton Bay Fig grow out of the rough bark of an old peppermint tree.

The new focus in the well being arena is the Slow Living Movement. My immediate thought was, ‘Well, that’s not going to happen! I’m so busy caring for other people. There are no quiet moments.’ I’m a pretty active person, anyway. ( my Father called me Pepper Pot) Reading various articles about slowing down makes me think about how hard it is to do so. I will really have to think about it and plan for a calmer life. I need to ignore some of the expectations of other people and limit the interruptions to peaceful time. I’m not sure how I can achieve this but the reasons for trying are compelling!

I think many of us find ourselves stretched in so many directions and find it hard to slow down. Why try? Because it is good for your mental and physical well being! Slowing down means you can focus on the things that really matter and make you feel relaxed. The goal is to be present, to focus on one thing at a time, to enjoy and encourage closeness. Enjoy what is important to you. It sounds easy, but it may be very different from how you are living now. Unclutter your life, not just things, but interruptions to peace and quiet, too.

Although Louis likes to run and run he also likes to investigate every new smell and other dogs. Going to the dog park is very relaxing.

Some ways to slow down include being outdoors and really looking at the sky and the trees and plants, or watching the dog doing the same. Enjoy the environment. Try new ways of cooking. Only eat dinners you really like and think about preparing food in a slow cooker. The delicious smell of cooking makes you really look forward to dinner.(Sales of slow cookers have increased enormously! This might also reflect the rising cost of energy.) Batch cook to give yourself good food and more time. Become uncontactable by turning your devices off before dinner, don’t take your phone when you go for a walk. Use the evening time without interruptions to read, play a board game, sit and chat. Turn off the TV if the program doesn’t engage you to the point you’re totally engaged watching it. If you’re also on a device turn it or the T, off. Do one thing at a time. Avoid the programs on TV that don’t really resonate or add something to your well being. Watching programs with subtitles really helps you focus!

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One of the suggestions professionals in the area of well being frequently mention is arts and crafts and other rewarding hobbies. Dr Daisy Fancourt, quoted on the BBC Great British Creativity Test found hobbies can alleviate stress, free up mind space and build self esteem when you create something or learn a new skill. Another frequently recommended activity is to garden, if possible, or nurture some indoor plants.

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Slow living is about feeling at peace and happy with your life. You have to learn to love yourself a little too. I read these articles as they promote better sleep as an outcome of slowly down and living in the present. Fingers crossed I’ll get there one day!

eating bruschdetta

When we went out for lunch last week my husband chose bruschetta as his entree (first course). Of course, I needed a little taste and was glad I did, because I’d forgotten how wonderful tomatoes, garlic and basil mixed with olive oil and vinegar, taste on toasted bread. So when I was considering some leftover artisan loaf later, I thought of bruschetta. Usually, I make breadcrumbs from leftover bread but I already have a jar full and sometimes I make croutons but it’s the middle of summer and I add them to hot, winter soups.

Gathered the bread, tomatoes, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and garlic, plus some finely chopped red onion then came to a halt. I don’t have any basil! I knew it hadn’t germinated this year and meant to plant more. I forgot. Off to the shop to buy basil. A bunch of bought basil, enough for 1/4 cup when finely chopped, cost nearly $5.00. So I’ll be planting some basil very soon.

Followed the instructions to make the bruschetta. It was very good. The amounts mentioned in the recipe made so much that was all we ate for dinner!

did you know

More than 300 different languages and dialects are spoken in Australia, including 45 Indigenous languages. In fact, 21% of Australians don’t speak English at home.

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What Did You Do On Your School Holidays?

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school holidays

When I was at school we had two weeks holidays in May, two weeks in August and seven weeks summer holidays starting just before Christmas. The long summer holidays seemed endless. Once the excitement of Christmas and Boxing Day has passed, life settled into a routine for a while. My Mother took us into town from the farm, more than a forty-five minute drive, for swimming lessons. I started swimming lessons early because I was the youngest, just sitting there and as Mum said, “You might as well swim rather than sit on the beach watching.” She’d chat with the other mothers surrounded the wet towels, thongs (flip flops) and discarded shorts and shirts. This meant I’d completed all the levels of swimming before I was nine and couldn’t do the Life Saving Medals for three years.

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My two older brothers and I played cricket. We could have done with a few more players because the dog and I were usually fielding. The cricket, broadcast on the radio, would be on where ever Dad was working. I was 12 before we got electricity; prior t that we had a 32v generator and when it ran out of fuel it spluttered and stopped. Suddenly we were plunged into darkness and total silence, but usually the three children were in bed by then.

Prized Christmas gifts were books. With no access to the school library for seven weeks, the books received as gifts were very welcome. When I’d read my books, I’d read my brother’s books. I loved Biggles and Tom Sawyer. When they were tired of their Lego, I played with that, too. We had a platform up an olive tree set up as a cubby house and I’d disappear up there, but I had other hiding places for uninterrupted reading, too. We’d swing for hours from a branch in the almond tree and bounce on a large tractor inner tube.

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I had a Barbie doll from America, brought back in 1965 by my Father, and I made clothes for her, plus furniture and decorated cardboard box rooms for her, too. Always interested in decor and houses, I’d pore over the women’s magazines my aunt passed on to my Mother. I was always making something.

Kids were expected to help when I was younger. We’d climb the apricot tree, picking warm apricots to eat raw, preserved or made into jam. We’d be sent to pick mulberries, almonds, grapes and my favourite, nectarines. We grew rock melons and water melons and masses of vegetables. Do children still spit water melon seeds at one another? Our pocket money was earned by sweeping the verandas, under the grapes and the path, opening gates when we were going up to the front gate plus chopping wood. (My Father gave my son a tomahawk for his six birthday and taught him about chopping wood.)

Late in the afternoon when Dad had finished work outdoors we’d go to the beach. Like every other farmer on the beach, Dad’s dark tan would finish at his ankles where his boots covered his feet. He also had a tanned V neck line and tanned arms. As kids we were permanently sunburnt and competed to see who could peel off the biggest piece of burnt skin. Paying for that now!

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School holidays also meant going to Perth to stay with our Aunt, Uncle and cousin. Bliss. Television was like magic for farm kids! There was another girl to play with, things like icecream were served regularly because the shops were nearby. (By the time icecream got from town to the farm it was melting and messy.) My Aunt was always busy so we’d go out frequently, to shopping centres, her friend’s places and to see films. For some years they were involved in a marina and I often went to stay on Rottnest Island with my Aunt and cousin. Bliss. But more sunburn.

Going back to school meant catching up with friends on the school bus. My husband grew up in the city and I asked him to reminisce about his long school holidays in the 1950’s. He said that due to limited finances and transport not much happened. He learned to swim at the Hotpool in Dalkeith and when he was old enough to ride a pushbike by himself he would go down to the river with his dog to swim or fish. The very hot unairconditioned summers meant long days of lying in the shade on the lawn reading books or playing board games with friends. Building and flying kites was another pastime.

Thinking about primary school aged children I know now our school holidays probably seem very different. No play dates, no devices, no television on demand. I would have loved a trampoline! We were outdoors more as children. Please share your memories of school holidays.

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Summer Sales, Pashminas and Small Paintings

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summer sales

Pick up a newspaper, turn on the television, log onto your emails or walk past a shop window and you will be bombarded by advertisements for SALES. Not just post Christmas, but every day of the year. If a brand you’re looking for is not on sale, a quick search online will usually reward you with the item your looking for on sale somewhere.

I don’t know if all countries have constant sales, but I remember being in France in January when the winter soldes were in full swing. French shops can only have sales twice year, in January and July. The sales last for four weeks although until 2020 the sales used to run for six weeks.The sales are intended to make room for new seasonal products and collections. The prices on remaining stock drops as they weeks go by until the sales end.

pashminas

Pashmina and cashmere both come from the domesticated changthangi goat which lives in the Himalayas. The goats shed their wool in Spring. It is combed off their bellies for pashmina and the rest of the wool from their bodies is combed off for cashmere. The difference is the number of microns. Pashmina is very light and gauzy and is usually mixed with 30% silk to create a warm but strong and long lasting fibre used to make shawls and scarves.

In 2001 we were spending a lot of time in Hong Kong before moving back to Western Australia. The weather outside was hot and often humid but in offices, restaurants and shopping centres air conditioning was on ‘high’ and it could be very cold! We went to Lane Crawford and bought me a pashmina. It has traveled everywhere with me since and is worn frequently during winter. It is soft and rolls up to easily fit in a handbag or suitcase.

Time to wash my pashmina! To do this, I dissolve soap flakes in about 300ml of hot water, then half fill the bucket with cold water and stir it to ensure the soap flakes are dissolved and the water is cool. I hand agitate it, then rinse up to five times in cool water until the water is clear.

Fold the pashmina in half across the middle, then in half again and place it on a towel, Fold the sides over the pashmina and twist the towel to remove most of the moisture. (The pashmina is old but the towel, from Club Med circa 1984, is older!)

To dry it I place it on a hanging rack after shaking and smoothing . I move the pashmina around a few times while it’s drying to avoid imprints from the rack frame. It dries very quickly. Before I roll it up and put it back in its bag I check all the hand knotted fringes on either end to ensure there are no knots.

small paintings

My life has been pretty frantic since last October. We have had constant demands on my time, my painting things got put away, off the table, out of sight. Every now and then I’d think longingly about sitting quietly and painting. Mixing colours, really looking at things so I could capture the essence of it, applying paint to paper. There was no point in even getting my brushes, paints and papers out, even after Christmas as I had no time to paint.

This is a very small diary and was never going to work for us!

Post Christmas tidying up unearthed a 2022 unused Moleskin diary. I really like Moleskin diaries, journals, painting books and other products, but this is a very small diary with seven days to two very small pages. My husband and I keep a combined calendar so we know what each of us has planned and those plans would have never fitted in this petite diary.

Eureka moment! I’d do a very small painting every day either on one or both pages. Considering the size of the pages I was never going to confine my work to one page, but that was my initial thought, quickly discarded when I picked up a pencil So I set everything out and started drawing, then painting and as soon as that painting dried I started another one on the next two pages and this kept going until I’d done four paintings. It felt wonderful.

My first small painting intended for one page but soon over both.

Bottle brushes, endemic to Western Australia come in red, pink, yellow and white.

So many of these bold, cheeky, darting dear little birds around here.

Chinese ceramic headrest/pillows date from the Tang Dynasty (618 -907) and were used by the upper and middle classes. I’ve always liked the illustration on this one which also features chrysanthemums, common in Chinese illustrations.

Hearing about someone’s plans for Chinese New Year, motivated me to do a little painting based on the Chinese pillow.

I planned to stack the paints and brushes on top of one another and leave most of the table available for other things but that hasn’t happened. My paintings things are going to stay there and whenever I can find 10 minutes, I’ll work there. I even found I could paint leaves with one hand while the other hand held my phone. I needed to finish the painting before we went out.

Second day of small paintings. I have a scarlet hippeastra about to bloom in the garden.

in the garden

This Gloriosa lily is a Rothschildiana variety.

Peliagonias.

Cannas

Hydrangeas everywhere. So pretty, so hardy in this harsh sun.

What’s happening in you garden?

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Why My Dog Has A Bank Account and Other Matters

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the dog’s bank account

When our previous, wonderful dog became older, his health began to deteriorate. That meant frequent visits to the vet. And we all know that means lots of bills. When we got Louis, our lovely Groodle, we investigated many pet insurance companies. We compared the cost of our vet bills with the insurance costs, especially as a pet gets older and did our sums.

It made more sense to open a term deposit account specifically to cover any health care costs for the dog than to buy an insurance policy. At the time the interest rate was pretty good, then it was pretty bad and now it is improving again. The point is, at nine years of age, Louis has savings in a term deposit to cover probable costs for healthcare.

why i drink coffee at home

I love coffee, but I drink it black so I really taste it. Many coffee shops, cafes and restaurants make acceptable coffee if you add milk and maybe sugar, but black coffee leaves nowhere to hide. I rarely buy coffee when I’m out because it can vary from just drinkable to stewed, brewed, weak and when did they last clean that machine? I know how I dispose of stuff, but have no idea how commercial providers recycle their packaging and grounds. So, I drink coffee at home and drink herbal tea when I’m out, so long as it is made in a pot and not from a bag (many brands have plastic in them)

sorting christmas wrap and ribbons

It seems the thing now to reuse wrap and ribbons from Christmas time. Good. Just make sure you get wrapping paper with no plastic in it. Try scrunching the edge of the paper; if it says scrunched, it’s paper, if it springs back it has plastic in it. Don’t buy plastic or foil wrapping ! Similarly with ribbon; avoid all ribbons except fabric, woven ribbon which can be sprayed with water, ironed and reused, and reused probably for ever. Years ago I bought a roll of grosgrain ribbon on line and I’m still using the same roll, probably because I collect the ribbons when the gifts are all opened and iron them, ready for next year.

eating

Christmas week

So many families have traditions about the food they eat on special occasions. So, birthday cakes, matzoh ball soup, ham and turkey, pumpkin pie, hot cross buns and plum pudding and many other recipes feature for some families at different times . Christmas time as a child and now, means bowls of sweets around the house. It’s a Christmas thing and we enjoy it! Then a week after Christmas we’re back to most of our coloured food being fruit and vegetables, not confectionery.

crafts

A magazine I was reading had a list of pre-Christmas markets being held locally and those tantalizing words ‘ handcrafted textiles, original artwoks, fine art prints and ceramics’ really caught my attention. The very words suggest beautifully designed and produced pieces, each individual and special. I love looking around craft and art markets, but it’s the usual dilemma which stops me buying, those harsh words in my head, ‘but do you need it?’ Mostly, no, I don’t, but sometimes I buy because I really want it and usually those things remain while other things are sorted and deemed unnecessary.

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I like handmade arts and crafts, the individuality, the uniqueness and the fact each piece is hand designed and hand made. These pieces employ materials available in the local area which adds to their individuality and appeal. I enjoy looking at old artifacts in museums and books showing everyday utensils made by hand and used by several generations. At the moment I’m thinking about printing and am about to do a lino printing course. I actually have the lino and the necessary tools, but a class adds the input and ideas of others but most importantly, access to a printing press!

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Post pandemic articles often refer to the explosion of interest in hobbies. Confined at home but with access to tutorials and kits online, it was easy to explore or rekindle a craft. Kits to try every craft imaginable are easy to access. The internet is awash with painting and drawing tutorials. Lots of inspiration, too, encouraging people to make items that can be used in their own homes. The interest in making items for your own decor was so great after the television series ‘Escape to the Chateau’ hit our screens, that Angel, one of the couple restoring the chateau, created a line of her designs for sale and she and her husband Dick have a spinoff program about recycling furniture and making your own decorations. Her workroom looks very enticing!

Wishing you a HAPPY NEW YEAR, full of good health, good people and good fun!

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