Slow Living 2012 - July

July seems to have flown by!  As before, I don't have something for every heading, but here's what I've been up to on the slow living front...

Nourish

There has been quite a bit of baking.  Hobnobs made a return to The Hookery's menu after a long absence (I lost the recipe, and despite having emailed it to a friend long ago, it wouldn't show in my Gmail sent items. Weird.).

I also adapted my favourite banana loaf recipe to make choc-banana buns.  Definitely a winner and they last a bit longer than a loaf somehow.  I'll post recipes for both here soon, promise.  All meals have been made from scratch I think, and I can't remember the last time I bought my lunch at work, although not having any shops near the new office definitely focusses the mind when it comes to remembering the packed lunch!

Reduce

A while ago I bought a wormery.  It's a great alternative to a compost heap if, like me, you have a container garden (read: yard).  The worms eat pretty much anything and you can add cooked food (not that I ever have leftovers...).  Alas, I did forget to move the wormery into the shade when the weather brightened, so I actually cooked a batch of worms.  I feel terrible about it.  I've ordered some more, I just hope they don't freak out when they find the carcasses of their predecessors.

Green

Still using the rosemary hair rinse.  Still loving it.  I recently cleaned the inside of my mugs with salt to remove the tea stains.  Just sprinkle a little salt (any type, cheap table salt works fine) on a wet cloth and rub it around the stain.  It doesn't take much elbow grease and your mugs will all look like new.  I also ran out of fabric conditioner this month and have replaced it with white vinegar.  It has the added bonus of combatting limescale in the machine, as well as softening the laundry.

Salt and vinegar: not just for chips!

Grow

As I said in my last slow living post, I'm kind of behind the whole planting/eating curve this year, but what I have has been potted on and my original plan of successive pottings on (rather than successive sowings) does seem to have staggered things.  I'm looking forward to peas, a few carrots, rocket, radishes, tomatoes and beetroot.

There have also been strawberries and there is the promise of more to come.  I need to get my planning hat on though soon and start thinking of what to grow over the Winter. Suggestions welcome!

Discover

I'm still finding my way around the local area and even my own home.  A while ago I noticed a toad in the yard one evening.

I was delighted to see him more than once this month.  I was less delighted to find some of the most enormous slugs though :(  I doubt Mr Toad will be able to eat too many of these in one go.

That's a normal-sized biro, for scale!

I've think I've finally gotten into the habit of cooking on electric - turn it on before you need it, turn it off before you're finished.  I've been lucky enough to always have gas, so it's been a steep learning curve.  Out and about, I'm noticing lots of little farm shops on the country roads around here.  I must investigate these further.

Create

There has been One Big Project this month: getting the commercial side of The Hookery up and running.  It's now really beginning to take shape and all very exciting.  And in a departure from the usual hobby, I've been learning to knit.  I find it quite demanding concentration-wise, but it's definitely satisfying to finally feel like I've cracked the knitting thing.

It's also been a great month for finishing off projects.  A pair of bedroom curtains were finally hung, a couple of baby gifts were given and a long-overdue wedding present was also handed over.  The work basket is positively empty and I'm definitely in the mood for a ripple blanket now.  Watch this space!