Slow Living Monthly 9: July 2014

Another month gone by and great to look back and link up with Linda, the new host at Greenhaven!

“Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home.” 

― Edith Sitwell

NOURISH: 

Comfort food time. Stews and fragrant curry. Hubby and I were often home alone as the kids were out having fun with friends. He makes a mean omelet, a tasty, simple yet nutritious meal! We also enjoyed his home made pizzas with friends. Always a winner!

I did a little baking, bran muffins and some zesty lemon brownies with a lemon glaze.  Light and a nice change from chocolate brownies. I made a butternut pie too, yummy but a little sweet despite the fact I halved the amount of sugar called for in the recipe. My daughter made a delicious baked berry cheesecake for her brother's birthday.

PREPARE: 

My chili harvest was made into a home made harissa paste, very hot but delicious on a sandwich, in fact my guys eat it with anything and everything!  Beet and apple chutney was made too.

REDUCE: 

Over the holidays I spent some time sorting out the office and reducing the amount of clutter.

Hubby and the boys took apart the old washing machine and I got a large glass bowl out of the front door of the machine! 

He is also making an outdoor fire pit from the drum and the rest of his has been taken to the scrap yard.

GREEN: 

Nothing new.

GROW:

My winter garden is rather sad. Just a few chilies, tomatoes , herbs, lemons, granadillas and the first of the strawberries are being enjoyed. I have not done any planting.

CREATE:

I completed hubby's scarf and made one for Josh too.

 The guys love them and Zak requested one too. I was glad to be done once I had knitted 3 scarves exactly the same for each of the guys! Lets hope they don't get them mixed up!

A dear friend had posted boot cuffs on her blog recently.

 My niece and daughter went crazy for them and each just had to have a pair! 

The above are the pair I made for my daughter.

 They look good and make a lovely quick knit for an evening and would be a perfect gift too!

I was thrilled with myself as I have never attempted to knit cables as I assumed they were just too difficult. My sister assured me it's not difficult and offered to tell me over the phone how to knit them, but my neighbor showed me how and now I can knit cables!

  You can find the pattern for these boot cuffs at homespun living if you want to give it a try.

My niece loves her boot cuffs!

I found the Fish and Chip Project on Facebook and joined up.

 I knitted up baby beanies and booties to donate to the project. 

These little babes are sent home wrapped in newspapers as they have no clothes. It has been a great way to use up all the scraps of wool that are too small for any larger projects. There are some sweet and easy baby patterns on the page too. A friend just gave me a large packet of wool so I am going to try the cardigans and blankets.

I discovered that my old High School also collects baby beanies and the likes for their Wool for Wonders project. Knitted items are donated to children's homes. I will send some of the items there too.

DISCOVER: 

I have been browsing the net for knitting patterns and also discovered a great site called The Whoot. They share loads of crafty ideas, recipes, patterns, handy hints and DIY ideas.

ENHANCE: 

On Mandela Day, my neighbor and I spent our 67 minutes with Operation Smile. We colored and decorated rag dolls for the children who have corrective surgery with them.

The kids spent much of their holiday volunteering at holiday club at church.

I have been babysitting my little nephew and he has slept over too. Just love having the cute little guy around.

ENJOY: 

We have relaxed and slept in over the holidays and I have enjoyed the break from routine and the rest. 

Its been great to catch up with friends over coffee.

 We enjoyed  an outing to Kirstenbosch botanical gardens and the science center. 

Also lovely to get away for a night to my Dad's place.

We celebrated my neighbor's birthday and our oldest's 19th birthday too. 

How was your month?