Peace and Plenty

Do you have certain comfort reads that you return to year after year?  For me, one of those is Simple Abundance by Sarah Ban Breathnach.  So, when I saw her new book Peace and Plenty at the local discount bookshop I didn't hesitate to pick it up.  I must admit that as I started to read I did wonder if I should have taken a slightly closer look.

In Peace and Plenty Sarah takes her readers on a journey for dealing with their own fiscal crisis resulting from today's economic woes.  As in all her books she weaves her advice with stories from her life and excerpts from magazines (particularly Depression era) and books.  Don't get me wrong, there is great advice here for someone whose financial security is gone - it just wasn't that relevant to my personal financial situation.  

In her own gentle way Sarah introduces basic money management tools like budgeting and the envelope system - always a good refresher to read about those.  For me though, the book came into its own in the final two chapters.  Here was something I could get my teeth into.  What follows are some of my favourite points.

She uses Jan Struther's Mrs Miniver (one of my favourite books) to show that zest for life makes everyone feel better.  She recounts:

Kay Miniver was the woman I needed in my life.  Many of you already know her from Greer Garson's stunning performance; or maybe you haven't yet made the lady's acquaintance.  Do so as soon as possible.  You are in for such a treat.  But remember that you want to go as far back as you can when retracing steps, whether it it's a money choice or a movie's origins.  The heart of the matter is always the original source.

And on hoarding:

What is hoarding all about?

Fear.  False evidence appearing real.  Fear that there won't be enough.  But enough of what?  Bedsheets?  Gucci bags? Jimmy Choo shoes?  Wedgewood? Dove Beauty Moisture Bath?  Campbell's Chunky Chicken soup?

....if we realise these hoarding urges are speaking to something very important, even crucial to us - financial security - then we will respect our desires to be safe, but channel them differently.  We can explore what it feels like to feel safe, such as holding on to our cash instead of stocking Noah's Ark.

....I know this sounds elementary, but I've taught myself to say "yellow...red" before making a purchase.

On the need to create:

I think the great secret that needleworkers know is that when other people see that our hands are busy, they often give us a few moments' grace from their requests.  We are granted the pause that refreshes and restores.  What the rest of the world doesn't realise (and we shall never tell) that when our hands are busy, our minds can rest.

On organisation:

I have a theory about feeling protected and prepared.  We assign money that job, and obviously it does it well.  When money isn't what we've got to exchange, however, we need the currency of ingenuity and planning.  Every day we need to be prepared in small ways as well as large, and every day we find new wants and needs that can be satisfied through our creativity and organisation.

Finally, on 'spring cleaning' - which Sarah asserts does not have to wait for spring.  She suggests plenty of pre-planning:

When I approach a homemaking project this way, it feels like play; I have so much fun to look forward to, and planning becomes a well-spent interlude - a contentment pursuit of the highest order.

Peace and Plenty is a great New Year read.  Just the sort of book I like to read when my calender is on its first new page and I have the promise of a whole new year ahead with, as Anne Shirley would say "no mistakes in it".

Blessings,

Sarah

Reading Labels on Jam Tins: Lessons from life in Depression Australia

I have just finished Reading Labels on Jam Tins, a social history by Bill Bunbury on life in Western Australia (my home state) in the early part of the 20th century.  

I found the section on the Great Depression particularly interesting in light of the current worldwide economic condition.

A sustenance camp, Harvey early 1930s

It is generally conceded that the Great Depression hit Australia harder than most countries, and perhaps Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia were more affected than most States in the Commonwealth.  Certainly, Australia's unemployment rate during the period was second only to Germany.  Western Australia suffered from a lack of economic diversity - farming was the mainstay of the West Australian economy and many were forced off their farms when wheat and wool prices collapsed.

(source: http://www.rba.gov.au)

 "The Depression etched itself on the faces, habits and minds of those who endured it; the cautious, thrifty behaviour of this generation often a source of amusement to the next one. 'Don't throw that away, son, you never know when it might come in handy.'

Their homes and garden sheds overflow with 'come in handies'.  These squirrel habits and a reluctance to be in any kind of debt are the abiding signs of the survivors, the marks of those who absorbed the painful lessons of the 1930s".

~Bill Bunbury, p. 152

Day Trip to Esk

Well, I had good intentions for posting every day this week.  But, clearly that hasn't happened.  Monday did not exactly go according to plan as Ginger woke very early from her nap when our neighbour called round to ask if we wanted to some fans they had to get rid of (incidentally, the street feels so empty now they have gone), and then we had double trips into Toowoomba. 

I went in to take our spare car key to the smash repairers (remember that little  - or maybe not so little - ding from the carport I told you about) so DH could drop off our car Tuesday morning on his way to work.  Only I drove right the way to the smash repairers and realised I had left the labelled envelope with the key in it sitting on the sideboard at home.  Having put it in a really obvious place where I wouldn't forget it - humph.  So back out we came picked up the key and a milk arrowroot biscuit for Ginger to keep her quiet in the car for the other hour of shuttling we had to do and went right back in again.

Anyway, so back to what I had intended to post about Monday....our saturday trip to Esk.  Having happily set off on our adventure with packed lunch etc, we discovered that the road between Toowoomba and Esk was closed for maintenance.  After much nashing of teeth we decided to go anyway but take an alternate route which was not labelled as unsealed but turned out to be mostly dirt track.  It was quite scenic and I managed quite a few pastoral scenes before DH's patience totally gave out at my asking him to stop so I could take a picture. 

'Tis cattle country after all.

A "bridge" which sat barely above water.

A sealed section of road .

Undulating countryside.

And when we got to Esk, well there wasn't that much to do.  We went to the markets and checked out all eight stalls!.  We wandered the main street, called into the antique shop (Ginger was in the ergo carrier for this part) and did a thorough check of the town op-shop.  I picked up some nice fabric and, you guessed it, books.  DH found a copy of The Ascent of Money for a couple of dollars and there were a whole pile of culled school library books for 10c a copy.  They were mostly books DH and I recalled from childhood - such classics as Olga da Polga , Ramona the Pest and my personal, and little known favourite, Catweazle.  I must mention as an aside here that I came to Catweazle rather late in life.  There was a tattered, dog-eared copy of it in the free reading box in my first year of high school.  I fell in love with it, when the next year the humanities building burnt down I was devasted at the thought that the school's only copy had been destroyed (I should add that despite the fact the fire occurred during the school day - a stray spark from a workman's welder got into the insulation - all were evacuated safely and only property was lost).

Then there was time for a wander and explore of the park before lunch.  Ginger was chief explorer and DH and I merely alternate shadowers - the other was having a cup of tea seeing as we only had the lid of the thermos flask for a cup (I sort of overlooked the packing of mugs).



Not only does a broad brimmed hat offer sun protection but relative anonymity.



Yarn Along

Again, joining Ginny for the weekly Yarn Along.

I have been a bit distracted from my blanket squares this week (the tan wool) - I still have six left to go; so am on track with my goal of having the squares completed by next week. 

Instead of being focussed (a chronic problem for me with craft projects) I have been working on a cardigan for Ginger from Easy Baby Knits by Claire Montgomery; I picked up my copy from the library and just photo copied the pattern I wanted.  I already had the wool on hand as I had previously attempted the simple baby jumper from the book but my gauge was way out, so I unravelled it to start a new project.  From my first project, I know the sizes run big so I am knitting the 12 - 18 month size for Ginger with the expectation she will be at the upper end of that band by the time I finish.  It is a very simple knit, moss stitch edging and stocking stitch body.

I am reading John Banville's The Sea which won the Man Booker prize in 2005.  The language is beautiful and I am being carried along by the plot.