In other words - 2012 update

Apart from the kitchen, garden, chickens, cattle and farm that I already wrote about, there were a few other interesting things that didn't fit into any category.

Chicken update
Garden update
Kitchen update
Cattle update
Farm update

I reviewed a book about plastic, and even though I’m a chemical engineer, I learnt a fair bit about plastic from this book, so I recommend that you read this or something similar.  It really made me realise that these are new chemicals and they don’t belong in our bodies or our ecosystems.  I can’t say that I live completely plastic-free, but it did make me try so much harder to look for plastic-free options.

Plastic - book review

Over winter I had another go at knitting and, thanks to youtube, I got a little better, mastered purling and ribbing and made a few cowls and things.  Knitting just feels wrong in summer, so I have a half-finished sock ready to start again in winter 2013!  Something that I really want to try is making a rag rug, I got a bag of rags from the op-shop, so I will try to give that a go in 2013.

Learning to knit and "mancrafts"

We’ve been looking after little Chime the kelpie for nearly 2 years now, and looks like she might be staying a bit longer, which is great because Cheryl the kelpie seems to like having a companion.  I made them both new dog coats and mats, which they don’t get to use much, but nice when its cold or they get wet.  I also wrote a bit about kelpies as some of my international readers probably don’t know much about this unique Aussie working dog breed.

Sewing dog coats

The Australian kelpie

Its been nearly a year since I used any shampoo or soap to wash my hair and I think its working out great.  My hair doesn’t look greasy or unhealthy.  I haven’t had to buy any hair products and deal with trying to figure out what all the ingredients are.  I know it won’t work for everyone, but I encourage you to give it a try… I haven't washed my hair since January

Over winter we had the woodfire cranking again.  It is a very convenient way to heat the house when we have so much wood on our property and we can also use it to cook.  We don’t use our electric stove much at all, as the woodfire is always lit in winter and we use the BBQ in summer as its quick to heat up (and doesn’t heat up the house as well).  If anyone is considering wood-fired heating, I would encourage you to look at something you can use for cooking as well.

Winter woodfires - how to light a fire

Winter woodfires - preparing firewood

Winter Woodfires- cooking in a woodstove

Winter Woodfires- installing a woodfire

What do you think?  What "other" things did you get up to this year?