I haven’t posted lately as there hasn’t really been anything to report. I’ve been spending most of my time working on my creative obsessions - such as jewellery making, cello, and painting!

The garden keeps expanding - but it has all but been taken over by Nick! He’s really taken to it, and has all sorts of things on the go - a ton of seedlings (chilli, tomato, herbs, trees) plus our ever-expanding trove of plants!

I dread to think of moving it all again!

Nick’s had to go back to England again for a while, in order to get his visa processed. His biggest concern was that I would kill ‘his plants’ in his absence by forgetting to water them I promised I wouldn’t - now I have to remember to add the chore to the list, as well as all the other things he normally does. We’re still hoping to buy a house once he returns and gets a job - and that’s when this plan of sustainable living will really take off! We’ll be planting out a garden, getting tanks and solar power… I’m really looking forward to it!

Our potted garden is coming along nicely this Christmas Eve.

We have a gorgeous Desert Rose in bloom -

A set of healthy fruit trees, with fruit growing nicely on the lemonade tree -

Strawberries… mmm -

Nick’s Poinciana seedlings - we have a big tree out the front that he just loves, so he’s been collecting all the babies and growing them up -

And much more! The weather here has been hot, but quite lovely, and we’re keeping our fingers crossed for a sunny Christmas Day!

Merry Christmas to you all - I hope you have a wonderful time with family and friends!

Nick and I are getting married! I just wanted to share the wonderful news with you all. I know I’ve been a bit absent lately - I’ve been putting a lot of effort into my other blog, and not much has been happening in the garden. We do have some fantastically fast growing fruit trees, and other things, and I’ll endeavour to post about that all soon.

We went ring shopping on Wednesday, and I am now the proud owner of this lovely ring!

Now, it’s time for all of you married folk to pass on your wisdom!

I saw this on Gardening Australia today, and loved it!

After a few months you can hang this on a wall, or rest it on an easel, and it looks really lovely. I’m thinking of making one myself in the holidays…

Check out how to make it here.

Well! Welcome to my 100th post!

I’ve been putting this post off for a few days, as I wanted to have something to say. After listening to the radio on the way home from work, I now do.

For those of you who aren’t Aussie, a bit of background… here in Queensland, there has been a debate going on for quite some time now about introducing recycled water (treated sewage water) into our drinking supply.

Many people have a ridiculous fear of this process. My question to such people is this - where do you think water comes from? From dirty, shitty, animal-dwelling, manure and fertiliser-collecting dams! This rather undrinkable water is put through a filtration and cleaning process and turned into the water you have quite happily drunk your whole lives. Now, why is treating our own waste any different? The answer is, of course, that it’s not. This water will be treated, then emptied into our dams. Then, before we drink it, it will have to be filtered and processed again, with all the rest of the water.

So, I would urge those who harbour fears about this process to educate themselves about it, and overcome this irrational fear. Which brings me to our next story…

Atheism - Celebrate Reason!

Is that message offensive? Apparently APN Outdoors thinks so. That is, it’s more offensive than another slogan approved for printing on buses recently by the same company, which was a quote from the bible! The company has rejected an application by the Atheist Foundation of Australia to have this slogan put on advertising space on the back of buses. APN has given no decent response as to why the application has been rejected, but you have to wonder… is religion still that strong a force in our secular country?

Similar messages have been displayed on buses in both the UK and US in recent weeks. Now, if a humanist message can get display in America, you would think it would have no problems getting displayed in our country!

APN, fess up. Why will you not run this advertising? At least have the courtesy to give a good reason…

Those of you out there who have an opinion - whether you are religious or not - what do you think?

I got the shock of my life today when I drove past my regular petrol station to see the price emblazoned in red light… 97.4!!

I truly cannot remember the last time petrol dropped below the $1/L mark. I remember the ‘good old days’ back at uni (late 90s to 2002), when petrol cost between 60-80c/L, and was a bit part of my budget!

This is a good thing for those struggling in the current economic climate… but we mustn’t let it lull us into a false sense of security regarding oil stocks. The price of oil rarely has anything to do with stocks, in my understanding - more like they know they can charge ridiculous amounts for it because we are all so dependent!

What have the prices been like where you live? And how are you all coping with the economic downturn?

Nick and I had our house-warming last night, and it was lovely - warm, breezy, and no hint of the evil storms!

Here’s some pics…

Nick and I…

Family and Friends in the backyard….

The crazy hippy and his lovely wife, otherwise known as Mark and Simone..

Nick and I… again!!

I’ve been spending a lot of my spare time (which hasn’t been much, as I’ve been working six days a week, up until now) at the beach collecting sea glass - it’s my new obsession! I’ve been using it to make some jewellery, and really loving it. One thing that I think is fantastic is that I’m recycling - taking something that people have made, and that nature has shaped, and turning it into something beautiful

P.S. I’ve written a little more about this and my beach wombling on my other blog over at Epheriell Designs, if you’re interested.

Brisbane has officially been declared a natural disaster zone.

The storm that hit last night has really wiped out a lot of people’s homes, roofs, gardens etc. Many still had power out as of this evening, 24 hours later.

Nick and I lost power for a few hours last night, but we just had a windy thunderstorm - normal for this time of year, and something I quite enjoy! We had no knowledge of the extent of the damage in other parts of the city. I had people ring today to tell me their children wouldn’t be coming to tutoring, because their schools had been closed, and they’d spent all day cleaning up the yard!

The phonelines have been patchy as well. It got us thinking last night - what if this happened long-term? What if the power didn’t come back on, the phones were dead, the supermarkets ran out of food? We, along with everyone else, would certainly be in a massive fix. We’d be heading down to the beach with a fishing line in order to stay alive!

Things like this help to remind me why I want to live a self-sufficient, sustainable lifestyle. And why it’s a good idea to keep an eye on the weather forecasts…