Some new ideas & hobbies

Well with our last camp done & dusted, my  "to-do list" has definitely dwindled down to just stuff that is on there but I don't really want or is pressing to do!
So with the weather getting colder, the fire more frequent I think its time I selected some more hobbies to keep me from getting bored & annoying the whole world! (O and also spending money online shopping!)

So I think I will take up knitting -- no don't laugh I'm serious!  It seems that everyone I see knitting just does it while life happens around them & then you have this cool thing done before you even know it!  Plus I believe in the power of wool & if I make stuff for Gabby it is small & shouldn't take me so long.  Well that's my logic anyway!
I wonder if I should start with something like this...

The other thing I want to start is playing the ukulele.  Irene gave one to Gabriella the other day at cell group & she was fascinated by it.  So the next day I got our one out & thought that I should really learn to play this thing -- how hard can it be.  So the race is on now, will I master 3 chords & a few songs before Gabby or will she beat me to it?

Any patterns or tips to help me in these endeavours would be much appreciated :-)

Some new ideas & hobbies

In other news

Well push came to shove and we decided to make some tentative plans for the next 2-3 years to give us a little outline to live by.  Of course they are very fluid and completely open to change at any moment.  But the basic outline looks like this...
2011
Continue on in our jobs here, travel to Australia for the July holidays and away for our 10th wedding anniversary (maybe Queenstown), camps in April (already done) and Oct holidays, carry on with youth, after-school club etc, look into adoption.
2012
Maybe carry on with jobs or else start business, travel to Ukraine for 6 weeks in June/July, camps in Jan, April & Sept, complete IVF in March.
2013
Temporary jobs for the first term, camps in Jan & April, then return to Ukraine in May for a term of 3 years to start with, maybe working at a camp in northern Ukraine during the holidays or Romania?

So thats the plan, will see what it looks like in a year or two...

In other news

Self Sufficiency

One of the newer lifestyle changers that we are wanting to implement is "living off the land" or self-sufficiency. There are many parts to this, and without owning our own property over here, some may be hard to start.  But we can start with food and in regards to eating, our aim is to eliminate as much stuff as possible from our grocery list and only buy bare essentials from the supermarket. Sorry Pak 'n' Save:-(

My grandparents would be proud of us!

Here is our draft list of what we want to do, or have all ready started to do...

SELF SUFFICIENCY – EATING

Veges (Total cost $300)
Herbs -- Planted – perpetual
Salad Greens -- Planted – perpetual (cover in winter)
Tomatoes -- Planted (greenhouse for winter)
Capsicums/cucumbers -- Planted (greenhouse for winter)
Potatoes/kumara -- 2 crops a year
Corn -- Summer crop only, pick & freeze
Peas/beans -- Summer crop only, pick & freeze
Pumkins -- Planted – store for winter
Cauli/brocolli -- 2 crops a year
Carrots -- Perpeutual planting
Beets -- Perpetual planting

Cabbage, garlic, onions -- Buy

Fruit (Total cost $150?)
Passionfruit -- Plant vines (freeze)
Avocado -- Plant 2 trees
Plums -- Already planted (freeze)
Apples -- Plant a tree (dry for winter)
Grapes -- Already planted
Pears -- Plant a tree (dry for winter)
Mandarins -- Already planted
Lemons -- Already planted
Berries -- Plant some canes (freeze)

Fejoias -- Plant a small hedge (dry for winter)

Bananas, nectarines, olive oil, juice -- Buy

Meat (Total Cost $1000?)
Chicken -- Construct a coop/buy chickens
Fish -- Go fishing
Beef -- Buy a cow???
Lamb -- Construct a small pen/buy

Eggs -- Same as chicken

Yogurt -- Use yogurt maker
Milk (& products)  -- Buy a cow???
Icecream -- Buy an icecream maker?

Bread -- Buy breadmaker $300
Pasta -- Buy pasta roller $50

Baking -- make

Flour, sugar etc -- Buy

Honey  -- Get bee hive $200
Relishes/jams  -- Make using own produce

Self Sufficiency

Square Foot Gardening

One of the new resolutions we had coming back to NZ was to grow our own vegetables -- hopefully all year round.  As much as I like fresh veges, I really hate digging and weeding.  Anyway, we were going to give it go.  Armed with a stack of books from the library, I started my customary "reading up" of a new hobby.  This is where I came across the book "Square Foot Gardening".  It was exactly what we were looking for -- all year
round crops, no weeding & digging.  What a revolution!  So we thought we would give it a go.  We drew up the plans, worked out the costs and then dived in head first.  We couldnt find any old wood lying around, so bought it rather cheaply at Mitre 10 for about $50 in total.  We did a rather pathetic search for free or cheap compost, but through inpatience decided also to just buy it from Mitre 10.  The special mix of soil that SFG recommends consists of 1/3 each of vermiculture, (we couldnt find this, so bought pumice -- the expensive part!) peat & compost.  I think in total we paid $240 for all the soil mix -- rather expensive, but when you do the math of the cost of vegetables each week at the supermarket and that these boxes should last us a lot of years, then we figure we will all be square in about 2-3 months.  We then chose our seeds and seedlings, spent about a day or so putting it altogether & heres the final result...

We are so looking forward to fresh potatoes, peas & sweet corn at Christmas, plus plenty more.  I'm sure there is lots to learn along the way, but we think this is going to be a managable and sustainable project, not to say yummy & healthy! :-)

Square Foot Gardening

New Lifestyle Choices

We have been thinking a lot lately about lifestyle changes and choices, so our life reflects intention and direction. We have already started with food and attempting to eat a more healthier, whole food diet.  Now that we are going back to NZ we have also started to think about our time and work choices.  Here is what we have drafted up, I'm sure there will be some tweaking as we start to work it out, but basically we want to intentionally make time for the things you never seem to have time for. We are hoping our week might look like this...

20 hours -- paid work

10 hours -- community work
Volunteer, does not benefit us
Youth, social justice, camps, practical stuff etc

10 hours -- study/up-skilling/reading
Jon--  Music, Bible, Maori
Ruth-- Food/cooking, woodwork, Maori, drums

10 hours -- garden & maintenance
Vege garden, self-sufficiency, caring for our space

10 hours -- exercise
Volleyball, squash, touch, running, softball?

Basically works out to be 1.5 hours a day of each thing  (except work = 4 hours a day, but not Sat)

Sunday = day of rest & family time

New Lifestyle Choices

New Blog

I have been blogging lately about food, weight, faith, environmental issues & social justice.  Because of the plethora of documentaries, links and other information, I have started another blog called Everyday Faith dedicated to the issues, resolutions, and links toward a more authentic lifestyle.  The question I am asking myself is...Is my faith a core part of my life or an appendage?
Check it out for more info or RSS to keep up with my journey...www.everdayfaith.blogspot.com

New Blog

Food Glorious Food

I love to cook and I love to have people over for dinner.  Food is a huge part of culture & community.  It seems that in the past few months I have been reading, watching and thinking a lot about food & our bodies.  Here are some of the things that have really got me thinking. Click on the links-- its food for thought!
Reading...

You are Fat
Health
3 posts by Tall Skinny Kiwi (1 for each part of his name)
Watching...
Jamie Olivers Food Revolution & his TED speech
Food Inc (great documentary)
Thoughts...
Series of Choices (my personal health)
The vulnerable are unfortunately always exploited and abused.  You will have heard of emotional, sexual & physical abuse, but what about food abuse??
From Oliver Twist' tasteless and insufficient tale of food, and now today's fatty, processed rubbish, children and adults are not getting a fair chance.
Today's problem is mainly through a lack of education. Knowledge is power, and ignorance keeps people in the dark & under control.
I want to be a part of the food revolution.
I want to get myself & family eating healthily, and exercising regularly.
I want to grow or buy seasonal fresh fruit & vegetables, and produce our own meat.
I want to help educate my community so they have the choice to do the same.

Food Glorious Food

A series of choices

I have started reading a book called "Everyday Justice"  which has sparked off for me a fire that was already getting ready to burn.  I have been thinking a lot lately about my faith.  And that I want my faith to be the core of my being & life not an appendage that is added on and useful sometimes. This book really addresses this issue in regards to our shopping and other lifestyle decsions.  It talks about the impact our decisions have around the globe.  It is easy to read and I thoroughly recommend it if you are serious about your faith affecting all the decisions in your life.
In addition to this I have really been challenged about how I care for and look after my body.  One of my pet hates all my life is people who pick holes in the obvious mistakes or sins, but either ignore or cover up the not so obvious (but just as sinister, if not more) faults or sins.  Take for instance smoking and obesity.  Very often you will hear people espousing their views on how bad smoking is, and that it is a vice, yet on the other hand overlook the just as drastic health problem of over-eating, gluttony and obesity.  I used to be of the belief that 'oh well I have one life, one body, may as well make the most of it, use and abuse and enjoy, it will return to dust.'  Just lately I have come to realize that if my faith is at the core of my being, then lifestyle choices such as healthy food and exercise decisions should also be governed by my beliefs.  I need to demonstrate self-control and care for my body.  It is the temple of the Holy Spirit and should be maintained. Check out these posts (1) (2) by "tall skinny kiwi" that have challenged me.

I am overweight (never used to be a problem until I got married!) and so I am taking steps to be more active in my lifestyle choices and also control the intake & choice of food.  And with the help of MyFitnessPal (online & on my Iphone) I am keeping my intake lower than my output.  My goal is to lose 7-10kgs, and I already can't find 2.5kgs. :-)
Life is a series of choices, and I want mine to add up to "Well done good & faithful servant."

A series of choices

Stirred to do something...

As a child growing up I was fed on books & autobiographies of people in history who stood for what they believed and made a difference in their communities and the world.  For some this even included death, and I'm sure for all, it included sacrifice, because they realized that all it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.

Today I was stirred by this video a friend passed on to me, and it raised a few questions.  I have always wanted to make a difference in my life...maybe this it? I have been given so much, how can I sit and do nothing?  Is this God's plan in us coming to Ukraine?

Stirred to do something...

New Year's Resolutions for 2008

To be positive
I want to hold things lightly, to remember to enjoy what I have, not what I need or want. I want to see the good in situations, and enjoy the moment. I want to learn the art of making the most of life...having fun. I want to become a person who always has something to smile about! :-)
To be faithful
I want to honor the commitments and relationships I already have. I want to stand by my word and what I believe in. I want to learn to remember these things even when I don't feel like it, or the going is tough. I want to become a person who is loyal, reliable & steadfast, not tossed around by the waves & emotions of life.
To be creative
I want to use the ideas and dreams in my head & heart to create things. I want to learn to use my hands to make things look beautiful. I want to feel the fulfillment of seeing the work of my hands. I want to become a person who helps to make this world a beautiful place.

New Year's Resolutions for 2008

New Year's Resolution

Jon bought me a 'Crowded House' CD for Xmas...and my theme song from it for the year is "Everywhere you go always take the weather." I have realized that u can determine to enjoy life. The grass isn’t greener on the other side, its greenest where u water it! You determine your own circumstances, so u may as well take the weather with u! You can either be the thermostat or just a thermometer.

Anyway my new years resolution is...Everywhere I go to always take the weather with me! (ask me at the end of 07 to see if I kept it!!)

New Year's Resolution