Slow Living Month 11 and 12

Time to wrap up 2013...

November and December have been wonderful months with loads of activity.

 We wrapped up the school year at the end of November and my eldest finished his final exams early in November and begun working as a junior software support technician. He is loving his job and we miss having him around the house.  

My daughter and I had a fantastic holiday visiting my sister and my mum in Kwa Zulu Natal. My daughter is still away, now visiting with her cousins on the farm in the Free State. 

NOURISH:

 Summer is here and braais and simple salads are best in the heat. 

I bought some wonderful curry mixes while on holiday and we have enjoyed a delicious chicken curry with apricots. I look forward to trying out the others too! 

While on holiday, it was a real treat not to take care of daily meals and I was blessed to enjoy my mum and sisters cooking. We were also treated to a fair amount of eating out. 

PREPARE: 

In holiday mode, there was not much achieved here, except a batch of tasty tomato and chili jam laced with loads of ginger and garlic....

made with my own abundant tomato harvest!

REDUCE: 

My daughter raided my cupboards and decided what needed to go. We gave away most of the clothes she thought I should no longer wear. She also went through her cupboards and passed things on. We have been blessed with so many clothes by a dear friend and it was a pleasure to pass some of ours on.

GREEN: 

Nothing new here.

GROW: 

I planted green and yellow peppers, leeks, beans and gem squash. 

Kale, cabbages, tomatoes, chilies and granadillas are all doing well. I have harvested strawberries, gooseberries, onions and leeks.

Its been fun to pull up carrots when they are needed in a meal. 

My lemon tree has a few lemons on it and so far I have picked the first two.

CREATE:

 I have had great fun creating all sorts. 

Most of the items made were used as gifts for Christmas.

 The above was sent to Germany as part of an International Handmade Gift Exchange.

 I made my first ever Christmas wreath using a fynbos wreath, ribbons and cones. I loved the way it turned out. 

I finally finished off a pair of thick warm bed-socks for a friend. I felt rather guilty that they took so long as she will have to wait a number  of months to wear them. I knitted up a number of snoods and beanies as gifts too. 

My daughter made these magnetic decoupaged fridge notepads as gifts.

DISCOVER: 

I caught up on magazine reading while on holiday, just little snippets enjoyed at a time. 

ENHANCE: 

We took part in an International Children's book exchange and received two parcels, one from China and one from USA. We sent sent out gently used books with a South African flavor to our exchange partners.

My youngest son and I took part in an alien vegetation hack in a local fynbos area.

ENJOY:

We certainly embraced enjoying this season with precious family and friends!

We enjoyed our Church family fun day, numerous Christmas parties, Christmas Carols and more. 

My daughter and I enjoyed the beauty of country life in the Underberg area with my sister and her husband. 

We all traveled south to enjoy time with my Mum down on the coast. We dipped our toes in the warm Indian Ocean, caught up with one another , rested well and ate far too well! 

We were treated to a fantastic day at the Wild Coast Sun where we spent the day at the Wild Waves water park. Adrenaline  pumped as we had enormous fun riding the thrilling rides! 

I celebrated my birthday in style with my Mum at the balmy south coast and the following day I flew home to my guys. 

It was a fantastic holiday! 

Christmas eve was celebrated with extended family at my Dad and on Christmas day we enjoyed celebrating with hubby's parents. 

A wonderful time of year ...

Thank You Christine for hosting Slow Living in 2013.

Slow Living Month 12

December is a month we always look forward to. 
School holidays, hubby on annual leave, summer and Christmas.
 Time to unwind after a busy year. 
Much to be enjoyed!

NOURISH:

With warmer weather this month, we have been enjoying various salads, often adding fresh pickings from the garden. 

Fresh juices have been on the menu and I have had fun trying different combinations. One of my favourites has been pineapple and carrot with a touch of ginger and loads of ice. 
Due to the abundance of not so baby marrows/courgettes from the garden, we have found tasty ways to use them...

 ...a crust less quiche using marrow and baby tomatoes from the garden, topped with feta and fresh rosemary and my daughter made a chocolate marrow cake.....
delicious served with whipped cream!

PREPARE:

With more time on my hands I was able to enjoy preparing a little more this month....

 curried green beans,
 pickled beetroot,
 grilled courgette  preserved in olive oil, 

 lemon curd, basil pesto and the usual onion marmalade .

REDUCE: 

Once again, cardboard boxes have been re- used for packaging orders.

GREEN: 

I started using my citrus cleaner but am not too fond of the smell so will not make more.
 Aphids attacked my cabbages  and I managed to combat them with a simple vinegar spray.

GROW: 

The garden has been a continual source of delight to me.

 The granadilla vine is heavy with fruit and I look forward to seeing the fruits ripen.
 Red and green cabbages are forming firm heads, broccoli and beans, peppers and various types of chili are flourishing. Green peppadews are forming on the little bush and I look forward to pickling them once they have turned red. Strawberries are sending out runners, bright red beetroot are hiding just under the soil.  Marrows/ courgettes have done particularly well. My tomatoes have taken a beating from the wind but they are still producing fruit daily. Corn stands tall with first cobs forming. I cannot wait for the first watermelons. Gooseberries popping up everywhere. Butternut and pumpkins sending out runners. The gem squash has produced one little squash so far.

We have enjoyed eating red and green cabbages, green peppers, celery, lettuce, herbs, green beans, marrows, tomatoes and just a few strawberries.

CREATE: 

With more time on my hands....

 I enjoyed using empty tuna cans and turning them into beautiful candle holders...

...lovely inexpensive gifts!

After a weekend visit to my Dad and his wife, I came home with bags of bits and bobs to keep my daughter and I going for a while....

...these colourful bits and pieces have been strung together to make toys for their parrots. 

It's such fun as there is no right or wrong way to create them,

 just lots of imagination!

My daughter mosaicked a mirror for her room...

and had plenty of work before Christmas....

creating beautiful edible art at Sweetarts. 

Some of the miniatures on this cake, such as the tiered cake and the burgers are her handiwork,

as well as these cute teddy bear faces!

At his last technology class, my youngest made a wooden Christmas tree decoration with its own little flashing lights. He finished it off  at home with a coat of paint and it really looked great as the little lights flashed on and off.

DISCOVER: 

My gardening books were consulted over and over again.

ENHANCE: 

The teens spent a morning at Cavendish selling Red Socks, Peace Pops and Christmas wrapping paper to raise funds for the Chaeli Campaign. 

ENJOY: 

Holidays have been good.
 Time spent with family and friends. 
A friend's teen son spent time staying with us while on holiday here. 
My daughter and I enjoyed the alpacas at my Dad.

Picnics , braais , movie nights, games evenings and more.
 My mom in law and I both celebrated our birthdays in December.
  Christmas was wonderful and New Year's Eve lots of fun too!

Thanks again Christine for the opportunity to link up with Slow Living in 2012.