Preserving.

I finished work today and went to the local green grocer and there I saw boxes of 'rain marked' cherries for five dollars. I had lent my bottling pan and bottles to a friend just yesterday as she wanted to bottle cherries again as her mother used to do . I was on the phone to her as quick as can be to say that the cherries were there at that price. We decided that we really couldn't go wrong with them being that cheap and I quickly bought two boxes. I went and got new rings for the bottles at Dahlsens. It gives me hope that they are so available as that means there is a demand for them.
Well I went around to my friend's place and we sorted through all the cherries. She washed and sterilised the pan and the bottles and prepared syrup, while I checked each cherry and took out those that had a mark on them but were still good enough for jam and pulled off the stems. We washed and put into the bottles the best of the fruit.



Rain marked cherries -yum!

It was such fun to be doing something so useful and it was great fun to be doing it with a friend. I was so grateful to have someone to ring and say 'look how cheap the fruit is' and she got where I was coming from and was excited too!
I was also really pleased that I had kept the old bottling outfit that I was given, along with lots and lots of bottles, probably about 18 years ago! I kept thinking that I should get rid of it over the last few years but I just couldn't bear to part with it. Now I am glad that I have it, as I don't think you can buy stove top ones anymore, only electric. That means I can use it on a gas stove or for that matter a wood stove. I bought a new thermometer and that was pretty cheap at Dahlsens. I am now busy looking in my books about preserving and conserving for recipes for various yummy things to make.
I am at my happiest when I am doing homemaking things and I often wish that I could find the best path to having enough income to live but still have plenty of time to care for things. I am an earth mother at heart but I only have one child and she doesn't live with me anymore.
So I will enjoy my cherries and share them with friends. 

It is such a warm feeling to be making things to enjoy over the coming months. I also love the fact that I am using a bottling outfit that has been really well used and is really very old. That makes me feel the connection with my elders and their wisdom. I have asked my 94 year old mother to let me know her secrets about living through the depression and I can't wait to read the letter and learn some things that will be of use to me.

Well I am off to walk the dog in between the storms I hope! I am bound to see something of interest in the park as I nearly always do. Here is a honeyeater I saw last time I took the camera with me.

I write this blog with the intent of preserving my experiences in the hope of encouraging others to also remember and preserve their own memories and/or food.



Time will tell!

It is a very windy day today and it can't make up it's mind if it is warm or cold. Maybe it is just me that can't make up my mind. I got my front lawn done today but didn't get all the back done. It is a constant chore at the moment. All the trees are shooting beautiful new leaves and even the largest older trees are putting forth new growth.

I think the bright green new leaves look very pretty. They let you know that those leaves are new and tender.

I think growth in everything is quite lovely. Do you notice when your children 'grow?' If you could put a colour to their new found ideas, knowledge or understanding it would be bright new green and it is often tender. They know it, but it is only with practice that they gain faith in what they have learnt. When you think about it, that is the way that it is, or at least should be, for all of our lives! As the saying goes 'we do not stop learning/playing because we grow old but we grow old when we stop learning/playing!'

I feel sorry for adults who stop listening to the music, ideas, etc. of the younger generations. We may not like all of the new stuff but there is always some magic in amongst it if we choose to take notice of it. I am a big believer in having respect for our elders, but those same elders must be worthy of the respect. In the  same vein I think we should have respect for the new generations if they deserve the respect. It is about respect for each other and being aware of what is happening outside of your own little world. We cannot fix the world on our own but then also 'no man is an island.'

That is where the growth comes in and if we are intent with always growing and learning, then we will automatically see and understand wisdom no matter from where it comes.

There is a very interesting book that came out many years ago called 'The Indigo Children' and I found it quite fascinating as it put forward that there are many children being born that seem to have an innate wisdom in them. I see that often with very small children who will have a distinct aura of having been on this earth before. Some parents find this quite intimidating but I think it is a challenge that we all need to rise up to.

The post war generations are leaving behind a very uncertain future and the inhabitants of this future will need all the wisdom and skills they possess in order to navigate the challenges that they are bound to face.

It will be a very different world in the latter part of the 21st century that we cannot even imagine. Just as those people of the 19th century could not imagine the technology, etc. of today.

Yet it is all growth -it is just that some growth is not necessarily of service to others - that we can see! Time will tell!

Simple Things

Well we have had a very wet weekend but it was also quite warm when the wind was not blowing. I had my daughter at home this weekend and we went to Tarra Bulga Park where we volunteer and had a fun day there. We found ourselves very amused by these somewhat friendly rosellas. When we first had them come near us we were impressed by the close vicinity of them but by the time I was taking the video they were sitting all over my car and had been sitting on my camera. I couldn't work out how to take a photo of them on it!

I have been taking a few videos lately as I have had a few birds around the place. I have a magpie family come along for some food for the baby and I took this video of mumma feeding big squawky bubba. Don't you love the way the baby squawks but then has to muffle squeak while the food is being stuffed down it's throat.



I am finding that I am very fascinated by birds and think that I may well have a bird as my next pet. I currently have two canaries that I really love but I would prefer to have a bird that you could let out and allow some free flying too. I would love to have a raptor as a friend. Wow it must be awesome to have an eagle land on you. It is pretty amazing to have a rosella land on you. Very humbling and makes you feel very grateful that it should trust you enough to use you as a landing spot.
I have some lovely affirmation cards by Twigseeds and one of those says that 'Words have wings so speak good things.' I think that is probably true and it is amazing the words that do wing their way back to you. They are not always good words though.
My daughter has been away working and she was telling me that the crew of people that she was working with were trying to work out what sort of bird each of them would be and I was fascinated to hear that they were doing this. That was a game I used to play with friends when I was very young. I loved trying to imagine what sort of animal someone would be. You have to know the person and the animals or birds pretty well. It is lots of fun though. Try it yourself sometime. It can be the cause of great hilarity amongst a group.
It warms my heart though to hear that such simple things that were enjoyed so many years ago can still be enjoyed today. It is the simple things of life that last and continue to be valuable to our every day living. May you have a day of fun giving simplicity today. Don't underestimate that simplicity though as it is very very valuable on many different levels.