What can you buy to eat for $2?

Eating the Right Sized Meals

This is a question I probably don't want answered. But it is a topic on one of my favourite show, Supersize vs Superskinny. I also watch Janella hoping her soup recipe will turn up again, the one with seaweed in it. The newer shows on each night at 6.30 of Good Chef Bad Chef are very watchable.

Harvest

Allposters

The writing prompt this week at A thousand words... and then some is Harvest.

At the moment where I live, people are starting to harvest their grass. I am not sure which are hay, and then covered, which are covered silage, and some are uncovered round bales. Last year I heard they made a lot of money. Also last year watering was involved. Yes, perhaps a shock to some, I think it is to me too. Anyway, maybe that comes later in the year.

However thinking about it more, harvest to me, the child in me, is harvesting grapes, tobacco, I have had lots of experiences with harvesting.

Around this place (which I have limited experience) the semi trailers drive into the large paddocks to collect the bales.

At home on the farm of my childhood it was the oldfashioned bales with two strings on them. The ones we loaded on the trailer on my weekends, and set off in the frost in the back of the "ute" actually it wasn't, not sure what it was actually called. Morning tea was always offered at the end of these big feed outs. My hosts driving the "ute" my Dad and my uncle, and my cousin came along too when we were sitting in the back. The trick was to stay out of the wind.

My grape picking was with my Nana. My reward for that her wholemeal sandwiches, nice bread, and nice butter. I think maybe on that occasion I had one of my favourite sandwiches at her house, invented by my uncles, raisins (large sticky ones) with honey and chopped walnuts.

Tobacco was my joy. The children, and there were a few from the share farmers and our family, were used in a chain gang to reach the outer tobacco kiln. Our reward black hands and a feed of watermelon. I particularly liked the ride home from the paddock (same trailer?) with the hessian wrapped tobacco and the watermelons in their own section!

Another joy was seeing my other uncle's maize bin. What did he use the maize for? I think for "free" chook food.

The Good Report

I found this at Pardon my Chaos who found it at the GOOD REPORT. It is late at night here, so I have lost track of which day is best to post my Good Report.

1. My daughter planted some cucumbers, tomatoes & capsicums.

2. I may watch Jamie Oliver's American Roadtrip. I was going to post a video but there are no suitable ones available that I can find. I hope I don't mind watching the show, it is on Monday on Ten.

3. It wasn't too hot and dry to do our gardening today.

4. Our jerusalem artichokes are not dead, they are growing quite well.

5. I think everyone is going to school tomorrow, it will be nice as I had one home for three days last week, and it was hectic with two big shopping days

6. I found a purple grannies bonnet that came up by itself in my wheelbarrow. I was looking at the different shades of pink and lilac ones we have last week. Now I have purple. It could have been a seed years old that came from my Mum's house, or just possibly blew in? I don't remember.

Are Black & Gold and other brands really cheaper?

The last couple of times my husband went to the shop to finalise some details on our fortnightly spending, actually one was our afternoon tea, pre shopping day I think, we have a couple of days overlap. He found the biscuits I think, Arnotts cheaper than the cheap ones, and today the Saxa salt was cheaper than the Black & Gold.

So here is the question? If you buy some or all your things plain label, do you check the price or just throw it in the trolley? Do you think they were just hurrying up the older stock because it was a smaller shop than say Coles? Or do you think you just have to be on your toes, as they are getting quite a few cents more out of you if you don't check the price.

Bocktober

What an apt title in some ways. Today was my son's last day of school before the exams. They decided to stay up all night instead, then go to the breakfast at school. My son got home at 4.30. No it didn't look like he had been drinking really. He was able to stay awake and go shopping with me after this breakfast thing. We took advantage of the fact his sister was home except for when she had to go to the hospital and have a bandage dressed.

So I drove to the regional centre, got there feeling like I needed a coffee, but no where near as bad as last time. I had woken each hour to see if he was home and must have given up at some point. We were able to get a formal outfit for him and his sister, plus shoes for him. The formal wear is for the high school graduation. His sister needs possibly shoes at a later date. The other sister has a dress that she made herself. That is good because the race wear, that is formal and in the shops at the moment has dresses at $250? My daughter tried on a yellow dress in kids size that she liked but was too long. I saw a yellow dress in a boutique window shorter and less than half the price of the other ones. Very pretty, but she thinks the thick fabric is a bit nana, and hopes to find a cover up for the front. It has a fabric flower on the front.

In our country there is an ad for Vinnies (op-shop) that says to shop there and outfit yourself for the races for $50. Sign of the times?

We also have needed a sandwich or toastie maker for a long time, and got a spongebob one. I find it hard with him smiling up at me, had to try one out though.

Menu at Last!

Thursday ~ Spaghetti Bolognaise
Friday ~ Mexican Mince
Saturday ~ Pork Mince (Pork Stroganoff)
Sunday ~ (Prosciutto) Lentil & Cannellini Bean Soup
Monday ~ Red Curry Beef & Bok Choy Stir Fry (Mince)
Tuesday ~ Chinese Cabbage & Lamb Stir Fry (Mince)
Wednesday ~ Tuna with mixed bean salad with lemon dressing
Thursday ~ Pork Sausages (Stir Fry Sausages)
Friday ~ Chickpeas with Chorizo & Silverbeet
Saturday ~ Simple Pork Pies with mashed potato (Pork Sausages)
Sunday ~ Zucchini, Tomato & Chilli Rigatoni
Monday ~ Mee Goreng

Simple Justice

Today I was watching a program on TV called Border Security. There was a man being filmed who came from Canada I think. He was questioning being body searched I think because he said he didn't have any drugs on himself. In the end they were going to get a Justice of the Peace to talk to him, because he was doing it for the principle of the thing. After watching it I was wonder really, how many people would do that. I don't think too many. Before I thought maybe some would. I have that tendency myself, so if no one really does it, yikes.

Does justice have anything to do with simple living? The blog Voluntary Simplicity and Social Justice has made that connection.

Here's Where I Am Up To

Making : blog bundles to share (haven't quite finished them)
Cooking : pies, peas & potatoes, hopefully
Drinking : hopefully a cup of tea
Reading: re-reading Tender Grace by Jackina Stark and her discussion questions and blog
Wanting: another book to read
Looking: ahead to buying some things at the real shops
Playing: just sitting on the lawn with my daughter
Wasting: time sitting under the tree at school waiting for the bus instead of reading the notice
Sewing: nothing at the moment
Wishing: for a part time job for our second son
Enjoying: A Golden Gaytime
Waiting: For hubby to come home from the shop
Liking: sitting on the grass in the garden
Wondering: if my husband will have the chance to get his hair cut
Loving: the sound of birds outside all the time, so special
Hoping: for good results on my son's VCE results
Marvelling: at being able to dry things on the line after a puppy and a foggy winter
Needing: to go grocery shopping, plan my menu and pay some bills
Smelling: unfortunately fumes in my car after taking the mower and petrol in it
Wearing: a black t-shirt & jeans
Following: it is very hard to read my reader at such a slow speed, but I tried
Noticing: how the bluebells are finished and there is a first rose on the arch (Renae)
Knowing: Christmas is coming, vaguely
Thinking: about planning some more things, like a trip to the dentist
Feeling: nicer after being in the garden and down the street
Bookmarking: I don't bookmark
Opening: my icecream
Giggling: maybe about the animals that my daughter saw today at the sanctuary
Feeling: Tired

From here

Locktober, Remember Me As, Embracing the Seasons

Kuala Lumpur by my daughter in early October

Locktober, Remember Me As, and Embracing the Seasons. These are all the writing prompts I found for today, that aren't memes as such.

Embracing the seasons was the topic of a novel I think I finished last night. It is called Tender Grace by Jackina Stark. It is her first novel. It is about a 50ish woman who lost her husband to a heart attack. She has her house paid for, her two children, a boy and a girl are grown up. She has two grandchildren. She watches 10 hours of TV a day. She feels dead but alive, I think but don't quote me.

I like the way it was written, as a journal on her computer. She was easy to relate to, except maybe to Australians the scenes that involve yukky stuff may not appeal. It makes her not so middle class in some ways.

Basically the woman learned to see the tender graces as she called them of each day.

Break, break, break

At the foot of thy crags, O Sea!

But the tender grace of a day that is dead

Will never come back to me. ~ Tennyson

She went on a roadtrip and basically got some perspective on her memories I think. And gave herself an opportunity to see people that she wouldn't have had in front of the TV.

Today as I wait for the big event of my second son perhaps leaving home. Loose ends tying up so we can get stuck into renovating again, and the weather going to warmer like it is supposed to, I find that I was doing nothing. The internet was too slow to upload some photos of my daughter's trip to show everyone. I ended up having a little sleep while the children were quite happy, settled they were. I think they liked the clean lounge, the lovely weather and one daughter knew her foot would not allow her to run around too much. My elder daughter seemed quite content and settled after her trip. After I phoned her Dad about why she wasn't in her afterschool cooking class that is.

Then I looked so uninterested, really I was too tired to wait for pages to load, so the sleep must have helped, my husband suggested I watch TV. Not sure why the couch was vacant then, asked where everyone was. The fact that the lawn was nicely mowed probably made it look inviting. I watched The Good Chef and the Bad Chef. They cooked southern fried chicken and a sweet potato and pecan pie to show us how things are done in the US. I noticed that Gary used mixed spice, probably because he knows we can't buy pie spice?

Then a nice salad for tea/dinner. I wonder when we had a salad last? My husband changed around nearly everything in the tuna salad. But it was good and he wrote out the recipe.

So here I am still shocked that I had a nightmare last night, and one of my daughters had a possibly fatal accident with a hair straightener. It gave her a zap, she moved her hand and it shorted out. Is that a tender grace or what? I can't even bear to think about it. I have always had circuit breakers, the electrician on this job didn't come back. We were meant to be moved into our newer house that has circuit breakers. May buy some plug in ones soon.

I enjoyed putting the fan on in my room today. Anyway that was probably a good reason to be not so "up" today. But I find it hard, Facebook is challenging to me. I put a picture of my daughter on it, with nice hair. Others didn't think so, and she does miss her hair straightener, the one I didn't want her to have. When walking around the zoo I thought she looked nice, that she goes to the trouble to look nice.

How do I want to be remembered? I think I do things for myself, to my own standards as much as is possible, because everyone seems to live their life to their own style and they may not like anything I do, even if it is at a good standard. They may not care for them. Hopefully it will be a benefit to someone and they will be pleased. At the moment working out what a person my age is supposed to do when it is no longer necessary to copy what our parents did is challenging. Simple living with a twist? I thought so, but maybe simple living is still fashionable and it is OK for me to do not so much in this season of my life, and I am glad my husband told me to just chill and watch TV, I enjoyed it. And the book is good, I can recommend it, it follows along with the part of the bible called John. I tend to be a little lost after such a big weekend as we had last week and the catching up this weekend. Now back to normality if it is possible with the end of the school year going on. I was pleased with the little debriefing email from the teacher that took the kids to Kuala Lumpur, that helped. Sort of restating the positives of their trip, and I guess our effort.

John 1:16 "From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another."

Melbourne Zoological Gardens ~ for Stalktober

We took these photos last Saturday. It is simple living, but perhaps not cheap.