In our fast-paced, consumer-driven world, we are constantly bombarded with the idea that convenience is key. The allure of shiny, ready-made products - quickly purchased with a swipe or click...
https://down---to---earth.blogspot.com/2024/09/celebrating-simplicity-and-reclaiming.html
I eat my main meal at lunchtime. This is last week's lunch - corned beef with mashed potatoes, salad and homemade relish. Although I seem to be moving further away from meat meals, I've had...
https://down---to---earth.blogspot.com/2024/09/cheaper-meals-for-one-or-more.html
Hello everyone! I've had a good break and although we've been going through a heatwave, that will end today and the weather will be cooler for a few weeks. It's a lovely time of year now, the spr...
https://down---to---earth.blogspot.com/2024/09/growing-citrus-berries-and-herbs.html
It’s Gracie’s birthday today, she’s eight years old. I gave her a bath this afternoon so she’s not really talking to me but she’ll get over it soon because I bought BBQ chicken for her ...
https://down---to---earth.blogspot.com/2024/08/i-always-smile-when-i-see-my-garden.html
Just a quick blog to let you know about these oranges and to show some recent photos. I hope you’re having a good week. I bought a 3 kg bag of “half time” oranges at Woolworths this ...
https://down---to---earth.blogspot.com/2024/08/just-word-about-oranges-and-some-photos.html
It just shows the resilience of insects and birds. The garden that Hanno used to tend, which supplied 80 percent of the vegetables we consumed, was busy with wildlife. Bees buzzed, birds came for...
https://down---to---earth.blogspot.com/2024/07/lets-hear-it-for-house-and-yard-work.html
This was what my garden looked like last week, then last weekend Kerry and Jamie added the rest of the pots. I think you'll be surprised at how much is there now but you'll have to wait until...
https://down---to---earth.blogspot.com/2024/07/ive-been-gardening-but-im-not-finished.html
I've been enjoying winter meals over the past couple of weeks - pea and ham soup, Swedish meatballs with cabbage and potatoes, curried chicken and others winter warmers. One of the meals ...
https://down---to---earth.blogspot.com/2024/07/ive-been-cooking-and-gardening-whats-new.html
The first time Hanno and I walked onto the land I still live on, in 1994, I was underwhelmed to say the least. Everything was dry, there was a small brick house sitting in the middle of a very la...
https://down---to---earth.blogspot.com/2024/06/the-cost-of-living-crisis-wont-last.html
It looks like I live a traditional, old-fashioned life and yet I believe my lifestyle is revolutionary and rebellious. Yes, I bake bread and cakes, preserve food in jars and cook all my meals fro...
https://down---to---earth.blogspot.com/2024/05/an-ordinary-week-and-some-of-what-it.html
I received an email during the week from a reader who has been mourning her husband for seven years. She said she's given up on housework and only does what must be done. She said the rest of the...
https://down---to---earth.blogspot.com/2024/05/there-will-be-wonderful-afternoons-in.html
I didn't understand the significance of caring for a home until I gave up working for a living and started building a slower life which involved housework. In the beginning I thought I was focuse...
https://down---to---earth.blogspot.com/2024/05/creating-beautiful-simple-lifestyle.html
Thanks for all the birthday wishes. It's a lovely way to mark my special day. I haven't taken any new photos for this post, mainly because I didn't have any spare time and I thought it was a good...
https://down---to---earth.blogspot.com/2024/04/food-home-maintenance-ecookbook-and.html
It's my birthday today, I'm 76. 🙂 I love being my age. Every stage of life brings new joys and challenges and now is no different. I know some people fear ageing but I think life gets be...
https://down---to---earth.blogspot.com/2024/04/where-happiness-is-lurking.html
I've been writing about change recently, mostly because I've undergone significant change in the last two years but also because that’s what we all do - we change. Change is healthy, it shows w...
https://down---to---earth.blogspot.com/2024/03/square-toast-bread-and-other-treasures.html
One of the things I love about living alone is that I can do whatever I want to do. I've always been independent and a loner but this puts a new sparkle on the edge of it. This is REAL freedom. ...
https://down---to---earth.blogspot.com/2024/03/this-is-real-freedom.html
I gave up looking through supermarket specials catalogues years ago when I realised that 90 percent of what they reduced in price was junk food: fizzy drinks, sweets, chips, biscuits, sugary cere...
https://down---to---earth.blogspot.com/2024/03/grocery-shopping-and-bill-paying.html
When I simplified my life I thought not much would change in the future. Looking back on it now, things didn't change for many years but when the changes came, they were terrifying, challenging a...
https://down---to---earth.blogspot.com/2024/02/what-i-used-to-do-and-what-i-do-now.html
When I started living a simpler life over 20 years ago, I saw it more as a collection of skills rather than a way of life. It took me a few months before I connected the dots and that showed me t...
https://down---to---earth.blogspot.com/2024/02/starting-simpler-life.html
I used this quote at the beginning of chapter five in The Simple Home, Laundry Love. It's one of my favourites: “Without ambition one starts nothing. Without work one finishes nothing. The p...
https://down---to---earth.blogspot.com/2024/01/housework-changes-us.html
I really enjoyed Christmas day. I had my family here and we feasted on a cold lunch of leg ham, prawns oysters, pork belly, roast potatoes, potato and green salads, and for dessert - pavlova, lem...
https://down---to---earth.blogspot.com/2024/01/a-new-year-with-new-opportunities-and.html
Summer hasn't been too bad here so far this year. We missed the very high temperatures experienced down south so it gave me a chance to weed the garden, declutter, do some Christmas preserving an...
https://down---to---earth.blogspot.com/2023/12/decluttering-is-good-for-soul.html
I'm still living in the outernet, still loving it and still glad to be alive. I wrote about the OUTERNET HERE if you have the time to read about it. Every time I walk out into the backyard and l...
https://down---to---earth.blogspot.com/2023/11/new-mugs-zwilling-storage-and-pinkie-is.html
I've been battling the bush fires here since Saturday and it's been very stressful. I'm close to the area that was evacuated so we were all on a Prepare to Leave warning all Sunday. Thankfully, I...
https://down---to---earth.blogspot.com/2023/11/becoming-capable-and-content.html
Hello friends, welcome back. Everything is fine here and I'm lucky to not have any big bills lately. The cost of living crisis seems to be hitting hard in suburbia and everyone I know is trying...
https://down---to---earth.blogspot.com/2023/10/the-cost-of-living-crisis.html