Wednesday, February 5, 2014

January Slow Living Monthly 9 Link Up

Starting off on a new year I like the new name and am happy to continue this little exercise.  I like being pushed a little to take a monthly inventory like this and it keeps me focused on the positive rather than the stack of unfinished whatever!  The coffee is hot and fresh, the fire is warm and cozy and the snow has been falling all day.  I'm comfortable so here goes....

Nourish - Still doing lots of soups and stews but are now getting our meat from a local meat and seafood shop and are so pleased!  The quality is awesome and the service is as well and we have been happy with the amounts as well.  Prices are about the same as the market and we like the buying local.  The couple is one from our church too so we are helping our local economy and eating well at the same time.  
I have also bought my first jar of coconut oil and am going to follow some advise and try it.  If it is half as good as the hype it will be worth the price!

Prepare - Still in the grip of a long winter here so I am doing less preparing and more eating of the prepared goods.  It is nice to have the homemade sauerkraut, canned tomatoes, frozen squash etc.. I have noticed the price of food has gone up significantly and am so grateful for the things we canned and froze last summer that we no longer have to buy.  This summer we will have an even larger growing area and will preserve even more.  Oh and hubby's salsa experiment turned out very well and he is thrilled!

Reduce - I am making a 'door curtain' for our back double glass door.  It is double pane glass but still is chilly near it.  The quilted curtains for the kitchen turned out well so this was to be my new project.  I chose 3 block patterns and used fabric that I had on hand (some I had since the late 70's and living at home with my folks!  We call it vintage!) The curtains will end up costing about $7 total for supplies - yeah!  I am always thrilled when I can use something I have on hand or have had around for a long time in a really constructive way.

Green - We always try to have water stored for emergencies, we are on a well so if the power goes out we are without water, we have a small generator but it is a hassle to connect etc. so we have started washing out our soda bottles and storing water in them.  They are clean and food grade and hubby had seen some websites that used it so our plastic is being reused before we recycle.

Grow - The only things that are growing at our house right now are the occasional thing in the back of the fridge!  I try to not have these but every once in awhile something hides well and grows...sigh!

Create - I spent a large amount of time in the baby yarn section and bought something called 'baby clouds' yarn and am in the middle of my first baby blanket for our upcoming granddaughter Lily and I just am in awe of how soft this stuff is - I may have to make something for me when this is done!  Something for sitting in front of the fire reading!

Discover - I am now addicted to history documentaries on you-tube!  I started watching the ones that fit in with my genealogy research and now I am hooked, I used to sit in front of the TV and crochet or do needlework but now it is my computer and BBC history! 

Enhance - Our quilt group at the church is ready to start quilting on the hand quilted 'masterpiece' we will be donating to the church-school auction.  We are now having work days on Thursday afternoons and those that are not interested in quilting are bringing their needlework or knitting etc. and just visiting - it is a real time of fun and fellowship.

Enjoy - I truly enjoy winter and have just wallowed in the whole 'too cold to go out' period and spent sinful amounts of time in my studio with my projects - hubby doesn't have as many indoor projects as I do so he busies himself vacuuming and cleaning bathrooms! (seriously when he's bored he cleans - I bake!)  I have to admit though even I who love the gray gloomy days was glad when the sun came out two days out of the last 16!  I went outside and just stood in it and then came inside and stood in front of the fire - it was pretty, it was not warm!


Slow Living Essentials Monthly 9 link up - Grab my button!



4 comments:

  1. Good to meet you via this link up. Sounds a sif you, like me, are making best use of the enforced indoor time! I will add yur blog to my list and hope to catch up with you again soon.

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  2. Hello Kathy, nice to 'meet' you! I had to laugh at your bit of 'vintage'!! I'm the same - I get a real kick out of using something preloved! And I have a lot of it, so it happens often, and yet I still get all excited!
    Thanks for stopping by via Slow Living. It's always nice to find new blogs to read!

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  3. Hi Kathy, lovely to have you join in again. A good reminder to store more water..something I need need to do more of, thanks. The community quilt sound amazing, I can just imagine all that hand quilting! Wishing you an enjoyable month, Christine :-)

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  4. You community quilt project sounds like a wonderful and inspiring project to be involved with on so many levels. I know what you mean about winter being a time of nesting and getting on with indoor type projects, I find if I don't do it then they get neglected once the weather warms up, that's my excuse anyway!

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