Back To Basics Challenge

Sowing seed or Planting

My husband found a tree or piece of a tree while he was weeding and replanted it (below). I don't know what it is called. He and our middle son checked our son's raspberries and they are showing colour and have thickened up. We have never grown them.



Planning for The Future - meal planning, the next seasons garden plan, working out storage plans or more long term goals and projects like plans for digging root cellars

I didn't go food shopping this fortnight (two weeks). I had some left-over vegetables so we made two meals with those, though the second one we needed something from the shop to make it in the end. It wasn't worth me shopping with Chrisco and the other two companies delivering this week. Two on Sunday. I spent some time making up a shopping list with the things that wouldn't be coming in the hampers. Hubby plans to get the rest of those things on Monday night. In the meantime he got something for Saturday night's tea, pies and chips.

It was great because I came across the Edgell website that has recipes for beans in cans. We have tried two now. The cauliflower soup is made from butter beans, and is like an old-fashioned recipe so my little girl loved it. It also reminded hubby of his Grandma's cream soups she used to make from left-over potatoes etc. I have the recipe somewhere. I know it is a good idea for the cooked potatoes you can get in the US.

I found a new favourite recipe for borlotti beans and spaghetti, that is smoother.

The fruit delivery people have cut their delivery days down by half, but I am glad I am not waiting on anything important. I ordered a small fruit order so the bread doesn't take up room in the freezer (they deliver my bread as well). So the fruit is coming on Tuesday instead of Friday. And will be coming on Tuesday's from now on. I wonder why people stopped ordering, as the delivery charge has gone up as well.

Hubby found a chainsaw that someone had placed carefully at the tip. We don't have a transfer station. He was trying it out and knows basically what is wrong with it. We will work towards getting it fixed slowly.

I went through the Christmas lists and sent to to my son. He is in shops a lot and has been ringing me telling me what he sees and helping me with a plan to get things bought. I live a long way from those kinds of shops.

He also gave me an idea for my daughter's birthday, and I went ahead with that and it will be coming in the mail via ebay.

Working for the Future - storing food, managing stores, preserving, building that home made cob or solar oven, adding house insulation, saving for manual grain mills etc

I made a start on ironing the little leaves on that Christmas dress for the concert. Everyone seemed to need the space I was standing in after that.

Building Community - volunteering, donations, joining an existing community group, forming your own community group, taking a cake to a friend having a hard time, calling someone you just let drift out of your life, etc

I have been reading up on candidates for our council election and discussing things with hubby so I don't waste my votes. I just want to make sure I have thought of everything etc. so he is a sounding board.

On the weekend hubby and I put aside time for him to weed the remainder of our fence and the flower beds and finish mowing. This is because the community has a big day where they are going to try to attract new people to the town. It is because the planning overlay is going to be lifted next year, and there is already one house built and they hope to build others. So we didn't want to be the ones to let the side down. It is a garden weekend. It is a unique place, or I thought so when I first visited there in 2001, though that was before the previous owners had done things to the fence etc. and I can't remember exactly what our property looked like then. I know I was looking at part of it.

Learn a new Skill

Not a new skill, but lots of very good skills I had when I was young are getting too rusty and risk being lost. It was good that I am getting to know our iron. When I stopped ironing all the time the iron was new, and I never did get used to it. I am also getting used to using my glasses to help me with things other than reading and using the computer.



If you haven't heard of this meme, and find it interesting please visit Belinda's blog or click on the graphic above once I have it linked in to this week's challenge.