Welcome

Edited to add:  I decided a while ago to start a new blog, so that it had a more general focus - my old blog had started with mostly sewing and similar things.  Below is the introduction for that new blog.

But you will see that I have written very few posts.

So I decided to merge the two blogs.  I should delete the introduction now because it is completely out of place, but it does sort of explain the change in direction of the blog, so for now, it can stay.

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Welcome to my blog. 

Right now I'm sitting at my dining room table, wondering what to write for my introduction.  I know what I'm going to write for my first "real" post - I've just finished a batch of tomato jam, and I have the photos to prove it.  But before I can write that post, I have to introduce myself.

Two out of four of my children are in the room.  They're talking.  They're wrapping presents for me (behind my back) for mother's day in two days.  They say its fine to wrap in the same room as me because I can't see them.  My husband is across the table trying to give me suggestions of what to write.  I can see his mouth moving, but can't hear a thing he is saying, because another of my children is playing the piano (beautifully) in the next room which is only a couple of metres away.  The final of my four children is off riding his bike with his mates.

On the table are the crumbs and empty plates from afternoon tea, an empty glass bowl that had tomatoes in it that have now become jam, and sixteen jars of preserved pears from earlier in the week, waiting for labelling so they can be put away.  There are also numerous books, catalogues, lists, pens, and little bits of shopping that have yet to be put away - the table was clear last Saturday, and today is Friday.  It stayed mostly clear for most of the week, but Saturday is our big tidying day, so it will be good again by the end of tomorrow.

In this blog I will write about our efforts to "live with awareness".  I told my husband that if I wrote that here I would need to define it - "awareness of what?".  He said "that's the point".  Hmmm.  We try to be aware of many things in our decision making - the environment, our health, God, community, the future, the impact on the kids, etc.  This brings us to doing things like moving backwards down the production line when buying things - that is, buying fruit to make jam instead of buying jam, making some of our clothes, making healing salves for simple things, trying to grow some food, etc.  We also look to minimise harm to others with our purchasing decisions, so we buy fair trade and/or organic when possible.  I will include recipes, methods, patterns and ideas.  I hope that you will find something useful.

Present wrapping is now happening right in front of me - I'm keeping my eyes glued to the screen as I type so that I don't see what is being wrapped.  Its time to clean up the afternoon tea, put into the oven the bread that is still rising and heat up leftover minestrone soup for dinner.