Slow Living Month 8

A very long overdue review of August!

 Half way through the month I had an accident and slammed my index finger in a car door, crushing the bone and doing it great damage. It was frustrating to have to put things like my knitting on hold, and feel a little helpless without the use of my very sore finger. The family were amazingly supportive, dressing the wound, chopping veg, helping prepare meals, washing dishes and helping me out where ever needed. 

NOURISH: 

I was not much use in this department due to my broken finger but the family all did their bit to make sure we were fed and watered. 

PREPARE: 

We received loads of lemons from my mom in law's tree and made lemon curd, a lemon fridge-cake, lavender infused lemonade, lemon shortbread and a tasty lemon chutney. I also froze some lemon juice for later use.

REDUCE: 

I have diligently been unsubscribing from all sorts of mails that flood my inbox. Some days the amount of emails to sift through is totally over whelming. It is so good to receive less mail and far easier to spot the important work related mails. 

GREEN: 

The usual composting and recycling of glass and paper have been done.

GROW:

A friend and I spent a wonderful morning browsing the open garden at Soil for Life. We were both inspired to get into our gardens after that. The gardeners there are so helpful and full of useful information regarding veg gardening. I purchased some seedlings from them : lettuce, broccoli, cabbage and spring onions.

The harvest at this time of year is not fantastic but there were some strawberries, gooseberries, chilies, tomatoes, peas, herbs, lettuce, spinach and broccoli

My sweet sister sent me some loofah seeds from her own harvest and I look forward to seeing if they will grow. I also sowed pumpkin and pea seeds. 

CREATE: 

Thankfully I finished the mosaic mirror I was working on before the finger accident....

My sister in law loved her birthday gift.

I also managed to finish off the beanie for my daughter and had just started knitting a pair of socks before the accident....then all craft went on hold.

Our daughter held her monthly craft workshop and the girls did some beautiful bead-work. 

DISCOVER: 

I discovered Postcrossing, a fun new way for the kids to learn more about geography and other countries and cultures.We sent off our first post cards.

ENHANCE: 

I began a new "Hello Mornings Challenge". It is a challenge to be up before the children, spend time in the Word and exercise. I prefer to exercise with others so don't do that in the early morning but rather attend a free class at a local fit club.

We took part in Worldwide Culture Swap's mini summer swap. It was fun putting our parcel together and sending it off  across the world. We are still waiting expectantly for our  parcel to arrive.

A friend did a clear out of used books. It was a blessing to choose some books for us to enjoy. It also inspired me to pass along some books that we have been holding onto for far too long.

ENJOY: 

It was wonderful to have an unexpected visit with an old school friend and her two kiddies visiting from Singapore.

My daughter and I enjoyed a weekend conference at our church. We were so inspired by the dynamic and "real" ladies talking at the Woman's Good Life Conference.

A couple of girlfriends and I enjoyed the Girlfriends Getaway at the movies. The night ended with the finger accident which was not great at all !

We enjoyed a forest walk with our beautiful dog who bounded through rivers and thoroughly enjoyed acquainting himself with other furry friends.

We celebrated our youngest reaching the milestone of 13. It certainly is something to have 3 teens in the house. It's wonderful to see them grow into such interesting and beautiful people .

The younger two teens and I enjoyed an amazing afternoon of fun at the circus. Thankfully this is a circus with no animals, only humans.
At the end of the month we enjoyed our first weekend away in many moons. It was a fantastic weekend in a little seaside town....

 Just perfect.

Wonderful to link up with Christine again.