Afternoon tea with simple liver Renee Mellor.

Renee Mellor

"What can you learn from me? That you can do more than you ever thought possible. I never thought I would be milking a goat, or canning tomatoes, or starting 600 vegetable plants from seed, but I did all of those things this year. Open your mind to the possibilities and see what happens."- Renee Mellor

With us today is Renee, who has the loveliest smile - wouldn't you agree? She smiles with her eyes. She has been part of the Simple Living Challenge community now for quite some time and her contributions and encouragements have obviously not escaped my notice. Thank you Renee. So let the conversation begin...

How would you describe yourself in 5 words? Hmm, this is hard because I try not to label myself too much, but I'll try. I'm passionate, stubborn, messy, complicated, and determined.

5 words that others might use? This one's easy. Loving, stubborn, bossy, opinionated, and fun.

We'd love to meet your family. Please introduce them to us. I've been married to my amazing husband for 15 years now, he's a great husband and an even better father. I have an 11-year-old son, Gabriel, who is moderately autistic. He has challenged me to be more patient and worry less about what people think. I have twins that will be 10 next week. Ian is mildly autistic and he's an amazingly smart and literal kid. He's taught me that it's important to do what you say you're going to do, when you say you're going to do it. Aislyn is a beautiful, smart, happy girl, who has a huge joy for life and finds such joy in the simple things in life. Lily, my baby, just turned 4 and is in that stage where she wants to do exactly what Mommy does. Nothing makes her happier than picking tomatoes in the garden or collecting eggs from the hens. 

What would you say are your priorities in life? To raise, healthy, happy, well-adjusted kids who know that people are more important than things, and that easy isn't always best. Some of the most important things in life take hard work. They have to do chores, they have to help with the animals and the garden, they have to be respectful and polite whenever possible. I'm teaching them right from wrong, in a society that doesn't seem to care anymore about right and wrong. I hope I'm teaching them to question things and not believe everything that society tells them is important. I want them to thrive, no matter what they choose to do.

What does Daily Bread mean to you, if anything?  Even as a Pagan I understand that this means so much more than food to eat. I'd say, for me, it's having the things we need. That's NEED, not want. I'm getting better every day at figuring out the difference. We need good food, clean air, clean water, and the company of the people we love. I'm lucky to have everything I need right now.

 How does your life reflect your simple living philosophy?  I think a big part of simple living is to separate ourselves from the "consumer" mindset. Having more things doesn't make you happier, it just makes you in debt and surrounded by a bunch of stuff that you could easily do without. It doesn't matter if your neighbour has a bigger house, a newer car, nicer clothes. 

 Also, I think that it's important to be as self-reliant as possible. We raise rabbits and ducks for meat, we have a flock of laying hens and a couple of dairy goats. We've got a big garden and we're putting in fruit trees as the budget allows. All of these things allow us (or will in the future) to stop spending so much money, which will allow my husband to work less.

Who inspires you? My grandpa, who plants his garden every year. My grandma, who recycles and composts and makes the most amazing soups out of leftovers. My mom, who lost everything she owned in a fire last year and rebuilt, and got on with the business of living. My husband, who supports me, no matter what crazy idea I come up with. My children, who need me to be a good example.

 What are your favourite books?I'm just assuming you are a reader... Oh, this is really hard, as reading has always been one of my favourite ways to escape stress. For informational purposes, I love Back to Basics, The Foxfire Book, and Mini-Farming: Self Sufficiency on 1/4 Acre. For pure entertainment almost any book will do but my favourites are the Outlander series, by Diana Gabaldon, the Black Dagger Brotherhood series, by J.R. Ward, and the In Death series by J.D. Robb. I like a series because they let get deeper into the characters than a stand-alone book would.

So what is on your bedside table at the moment? An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon, A Lick of Frost by Laurell K. Hamilton, and Building Green by Clarke Snell and Tim Callahan. Yes, I'm one of those crazy people who have multiple books going at once.

That is me too Renee. I have trouble getting in and out of bed because I have to navigate my way around my big pile! 

What are your biggest passions? My husband, my children, my family. I'm also passionate about real food, growing it, cooking it, eating it, and making people understand that it's vitally important to know what you're eating and how it's going to affect you in the future.

Your hopes and dreams? I hope my children grow up to be exceptional people. I see their potential and I'm so excited to see who and what they will become. 

 I dream of, one day, being able to produce all of our own food here on our dream property.

 I hope I see the day that society realizes that it's not important what you have, it's important WHO you are.

What can we learn from you? What can you learn from me? That you can do more than you ever thought possible. I never thought I would be milking a goat, or canning tomatoes, or starting 600 vegetable plants from seed, but I did all of those things this year. Open your mind to the possibilities and see what happens.

That is a big encouragement to me Renee - I am a simple liver without a productive garden and I would love to do more in that area. Sometimes it just seems beyond me. 

What would you say your biggest challenge is?  My biggest challenge right now is letting go of my negativity. I so often feel like I'm the only one who sees how out of whack the world is. I need to remember that there are others who understand and are doing something to change things.

You are not alone!  I suspect this might be why you like The Simply Living Challenge, Renee - and the simple living community in general. Am I right? Yes! It connects me with like-minded people. We may not agree on everything, but we agree that change needs to happen and we're all working on it in our own way. It's so refreshing to talk to people who care about more than the latest TV show, or the hottest new trend, or the latest celebrity scandal. I get so many great ideas from so many people in so many places. 

How can we support you? Listen, share ideas, plant a garden, be the change you want to see in the world and it will be a better place for everyone.

What a beautiful way to end the interview. Thank you Renee. You have been such a source of ideas and encouragement. So true of you! 


Renee has a blog - http://mamachickensays.blogspot.com.au/

...............................................................................................................................................................

As always I encourage you to leave comments and to keep the conversation going. And if you haven't subscribed to the blog you might like to. One of my hopes and desires is to see a vibrant simple living community grow here in blogger land.  

Peace and all good my friends,

Asta x

https://www.facebook.com/thesimplylivingchallenge

"You are so far around the bend...

...nobody knows where you are living."

- the words from the song by The Nationals.

I just heard this song on the radio. It  made me laugh.

Yes I live around the bend.

 One minute I am on my hands and knees scrubbing the floor like a nineteenth century servant - using my elbow grease to clean the kitchen floor (and please don't think my house is spotless and that I clean like this everyday).

Then I'm drying teabags and storing them to use later to make teabag books and curtains -like some eccentric artist with hair that is unkempt and ripe for birds to nest in. No my hair isn't like that - but it is how I imagine myself - complete with a long dress and apron, because that perfectly matches the floor scrubbing.

 I am matching book swappers up for the big book swap (which has taken off more than I could have imagined - and is an utterly joyful thing, though it can do my head in trying to puzzle out who goes with whom). If you don't know what I am talking about please look at the previous post. You might like to join in.

I'm walking dear Jasper and writing poetry about the bees in the golden wattle, rusty barbed wire, green pastures with lambs staring at us and gravel paths. I'm eating left overs for lunch with my son. I'm writing letters the old fashioned way. I'm reading books - because they are like my life blood. I'm sitting in prayer and journal writing. I'm cooking a meal on our slow combustion fire. I'm cutting my hair because my daughter doesn't have enough time at the moment, and it is driving me around the bend (hahaha).

I'm doing dishes, and pulling weeds and cleaning out the kitty litter, and editing a manuscript. I'm folding up washing. I'm writing out a list of questions for the next interview here. I'm Facebooking. I'm making afternoon tea for my daughter....

I live around the bend. Where do you live?

Asta x

The BIG, BIG Simply Living Book Swap.

FREE BOOKS

I have just stumbled over a book swapping site in Australia where people buy and sell their books. Postage is included in the price, and any profit is marginal. 

What if we here do a swap where the only cost is postage (no money is exchanged) and we don't choose our book - but get a lovely surprise in the mail?  

 We have in common the desire to live simply - sharing our goods, conscious consuming and frugal living are some of the areas that we are exploring together - but we are also a varied bunch with a wide range of interests. I think this is exciting. You can not pigeon hole us, and we can learn so much from one another. Won't this be a great opportunity to connect on a real level? 

Reading is one of life's simple pleasures, isn't it? We all seem to enjoy it. Some of you have even shared your recommendations in the comment section of the last post. What does that list say about us? 

 This is how I see it working:

1. Leave your contact details in the comment section. I check all comments before they are posted and I promise those details will not be published. Or if it is easier find me on FB and leave me a private message. (While you are there you might like to check out my FB page https://www.facebook.com/thesimplylivingchallenge )

2. Then I will do what  magic I can - matching you with someone else from your country. 

3.No money will be exchanged, but of course you will need to spend money in posting your book. 

4. If I can't match you with someone from your country I will request that you send the book by sea (it is cheaper) to someone elsewhere. It may take some time to get to its destination, but I am sure it will be worth the wait, and who doesn't love a 'surprise' package in the mail? I have sent several books to friends this year - two overseas. And it seems to me they arrive just when they are needed the most!  

5.Tuck into the pages a photo of yourself, a little note or a book mark. Maybe share why this book means something to you. Personalise the experience however you like. 

6. Be sure to send something that you would like to receive yourself. In other words don't send 'rubbish'. But I would be very surprised if any of you did that. 

So what are you waiting for?

Smile,

Asta x

Recommended reading

A random selection from Asta's library

So I thought I would add a recommended reading widget to my blog. I have a friend who has done this on her site. As I am a passionate book lover, who loves to recommend books, I thought I would too.


Surely it can't be too hard, I thought. I chose my books carefully, trying to keep them to a limit. I created a lovely slideshow of titles that made me smile as the preview displayed their pretty faces... covers... one after the other. 

 I saved it. I copied it. But when I tried to paste it, I had no idea where to paste it to. Blogs! I have so much to learn.

Anyway while I sort out this problem why don't you share with us the books that you would recommend. I covered topics like: art, writing, simplicity, eco living, spirituality. What topics would you chose? Or maybe you are mostly a fiction reader. Any favourite authors? I can't wait to hear from you.


Asta x

Share a cuppa with Steve.

Steve is simply fun to be with. - Asta

"I want my life to be part of this movement that prevents starvation, greens the planet, beats machine guns into gardening tools, to feed people and restores all things." - Steve McKinnon

 Steve, being modest, would not like to hear this - but he is one of my heroes. His style of simple living, his faith, his integrity, his sense of humour and humble nature make him a delight to know. 

*Steve walks the talk.*

Make a cuppa, pull up a chair and meet Steve - 

What 5 words best describe you?

 Visionary, unorthodox, prophetic, pastoral, shy (at times).

Introduce us to your family. 

I have 3 sons and 1 wife. Neo is 10 and is a live life to the max, outdoor type but he is also a sensitive and abstract thinker.  Ben is 7 and is an indoor, arty/ crafty smarty, and Samuel is 3 and is generally very happy, helpful and honest. They are all great and unique. 

Erica is a social worker and teacher trained. She is a very strong and caring woman, and I chose her because I knew I would put my wife through a lot - so she’d have to have those qualities. 

How would you describe living simply? 

I actually find Living Simply is very complex.  If I am to “live simply so that others may simply live”, how much time do I spend trying to live simply myself and how much time should I spend helping others grasp this concept? In order to do the later there are things I need eg. car, computer, time, etc.  My answer is in community.  If I live in community with others committed to similar ideals then some of my time can be spent helping others grasp this and other times I can garden or raise chooks and rabbits, and helping marginalised people.

Why is simple living important to you? 

I hold a faith that God’s society will one day take over this crazy society and this revolution is a slow process but a powerful one, like the Colorado River cutting the Grand Canyon. I want my life to be part of this movement that prevents starvation, greens the planet, beats machine guns into gardening tools to feed people and restores all things. 

As I am part of the richest 5% of the world’s population that have ever lived that consumes resources at an incredible rate, and I also have access to education and information, I think I’m in a position, and have a responsibility to live more simply and encourage others to do the same.

Who inspires you? 

My community inspires me. Tom challenges me when I say I am thinking of buying a caravan and peppercorn renting it out to a homeless guy. He'll say, “Why don’t you live in the caravan and let the homeless guy live in your house?” Bonnie inspires me as she checks the compost temperature and turns it at 5am. Our community group started perma (culture) blitzs and we get together each month and blitz someone’s yard to grow vegetables. My wife inspires me as she breeds rabbits and kills them to eat. She says, “If we are going to eat meat we need to be more connected to the process.” Tom and Lyn are looking at going with TEAR Australia to Afghanistan to help make a difference. Phil and Julie from TEAR tell me I should charter a boat and take asylum seekers from Indonesia to Australia because under UN law anyone can apply for asylum. I said, “My name would become mud. I would get crucified.” “Don’t you call yourself a Christian? Anyway your name needs some muddying up," is their reply. 

Talks and books and Jesus inspire me, but seeing a need and having a go at meeting that need in a community development manner gives me a kick. In 2002 I helped set up a community garden in Lockridge and now its going quite well. I am no longer running it and lots of others are- fantastic! I’ve helped set up a half way house but we are still in the process of making it self sufficient. 

It sounds as though your community is the tribe that supports you in your simple living. Who are they?

Yes, my tribe is Lockridge Open Table and Peace Tree Community and Lockridge Anglican Church. They all live in Lockridge and we support each other in trying to live simply and keep each other accountable in that effort. TEAR Australia is also my wider tribe.

Who do you read?

Mike Frost, Ched Myers, Dave Andrews, Richard Rohr, Martin Luther King, Jon Owen (UNOH Sydney), Stephen Said, Steve Bradbury, John Smith, Tony Campolo, Brian McClaren, St Francis and a list of others help me. I’m not reading anything at the moment, instead I’m listening to talks  from those people I’ve mentioned.

How do you make a living? 

My goal is to work part time so I can spend more time with my family and in the community and for years I did this. I do have 2 part time jobs that are hopefully part of the answer. I’m Chaplain and Counsellor at a K-12 school in Ellenbrook (3 days a week) and a TEAR Representative for 2 days a week. I think though at some point I need to break this and take more risks. If we are in Australia we won’t starve to death even without a job, but I do need to be responsible for my family. 

What is your concept of 'daily bread"?

I think daily bread is bigger than just money and food. I think if we have a caring, loving and supportive foundation - that is - faith and family, then we can take more risks whether emotional or otherwise with others. Recently I've been talking with Erica about creating an encouraging environment within our family; where we speak kindly and more positively with each other. It’s working.

In terms of daily bread I think the motivation behind why we do anything is important. At my best I do things for others out of gratitude for what God has done for me. At worst I do things out of obligation, or anger, or insecurity and this is counterproductive.

How can we get the message of simple living across to others? 

 Do we need to publish what we are doing online - like a blog on this stuff? Oh wait...

Hahahaha. Steve, I really think that you get the message across so well - because you live what you preach. In fact you don't preach! That's my point. 

What else can you and Erica, and your tribe teach us?

I don’t know what we can teach but I can tell you what we do. We op shop, we give 5% of our income to the poorest of the poor- through mainly supporting TEAR Australia. We keep each other accountable to give the other 5% to local churches and mission. We open our homes up. Meet our neighbours. We grow our own veges to save our carbon footprint. We dumpster dive. 

Dumpster dive? I have wanted to do that for ages but as yet I haven't been brave enough. 

 We holiday close to home as much as we can and walk the Bibbulmun Track. We live close to each other and walk to each other’s places. We try to work with each other for paid employment or on a project.  We raise chooks and rabbits, and include others from the community in this. We run community garden workshops.  We keep each other accountable through our use of time. We get milk straight from the cow and it’s stored in a pail in our neighbour's back fridge. We have to rush off to the neighbour's when we run out of milk, so we can fill up our 2 litre flagon.  We use our oven to heat and bake. We have solar panels etc... all the usual stuff, but we couldn’t do all this if we didn’t have community.

How can we support what's important to you?  

You can support us by continuing to do what you are doing in your locality, giving to TEAR regularly www.tear.org.au or giving Useful Gift presents to friends, advocating for the Micah Challenge www.micahchallenge.org.au etc.

Steve thank you for sharing your life with us, your wisdom and your time with us - oh and our imaginary, or maybe not so imaginary - cups of tea. It has been a refreshing conversation. You have given us much food for thought. Thank you!!! 

 Has anything stood out for you from this interview? We invite you to share your thoughts with us here - to keep the dialogue going. Feel free to share this interview far and wide - if you think it can make a difference. 

Peace and all good my simple living friends,

Asta x

( Asta is a TEAR Representative in her local church. You might like to be one too.)

The five minute rule might just change your life.

Five minutes. 300 seconds. 

Trying to find hours to accomplish something can overwhelm us to the point where we just won't even start.

But maybe I have found a key. Think of your project as that elephant. You know the one? The one you can only eat one bite at a time (weird expression I know, certainly not one for an animal activist - but helpful for now).

If you need to write a letter, a story - just do it for 5 minutes. You might just be tempted to add on another 5 and then another 5.

The house is a mess? Spend 5 minutes doing one simple job - take a broom to the cobwebs, sort the washing, clean the bench, make the bed...

I often hear people say that they have no time to read. To that I say - if you really want to you will. It only takes 5 minutes!

I'm off to work on my new art project - for 5 minutes.

Asta x

............................................................................................................................................................

Stay tuned for the next interview. This man really walks the simple living talk. 

Catherine Earp (A 'daily bread' interview)

Catherine and children at a shared birthday party. 

It was with great pleasure that I interviewed Catherine Earp today. She is a humble young Australian mum, with much wisdom, who truly lives the simple life. 





Catherine, how would you describe yourself in 5 words? 

warrior. over-comer. beauty seeker. visionary.

They are powerful words. Tell us about your family?  

Thanks be to God I married a good man in June 2004 and have returned his investment with four children: Annemieke Abiah Magdalene, Theodore Elijah Aslan, Manoah Jansen Tobias and Rosalie Adalia Evangeline. I hope he knows I love him. I tell him that I wouldn't have had four children in five years (and two months) to any other but a good man. I love that we do life together. 

Your children have beautiful names. Can we have a glimpse into your day to day life?

So far today I have held my squirming son until he stopped resisting, 

sung over him and discussed the nature of love with him (that if he were a 

tree he would need lots of water to grow, but since he is a boy, he needs lots of love. He says he needs water, too. So we agreed that trees need a little bit of love and lots of water, whereas he needs a little bit of water and lots of love). I have traced around his hands, making one look like a tree, and the other like his own hand - I believe in engaging all of his senses as much as possible. 

I have breastfed my baby, picked cradle cap from her scalp and mentally 

scolded myself for not leaving it alone.

I've walked past a mirror and realised that I must be as tired as I look but 

somehow I think I'm managing despite it. 

I have played soccer with my 2-year-old, taken the compost out, prepared a meal and snuck peeks at Facebook.

Can you explain to us what 'daily bread' means to you? 

It's about physical needs. I really think God is saying - I'm not disgusted by 

your frailty. I'm not disappointed by your human nature. I'm not surprised 

by your neediness. I'm okay with all of that. Just trust me, come to me, 

let me connect to your physical parts as well as your emotional, spiritual, 

intellectual, social... parts.

Can you elaborate a bit more. What is an example of him meeting your 

daily bread needs?

That's simple! I have bread on the table.

I have air in my lungs.

I have sunshine, shelter... and then I have comforts added to 'enough'.

How do you make ends meet financially with a relatively large family?

That question makes me smile because just the other evening I cornered 

my husband (who has no intention of letting me employ myself outside our 

home) and said, "You can't afford to let me work and earn income for our 

family." I went on to explain, "We'd have to pay for A's schooling (we're 

home based education people at this stage), place Th, M and R in 

childcare, we'd have to buy bread (we make ours), buy nappies, buy pre-

made meals (instead of home-made), buy me a new wardrobe, pay for 

housework help... and who would go op-shopping? or bargain hunting?" 

And I went on and on and on... until I concluded, "I more than earn my way around here! I think it's worth keeping me on."

Oh that is funny. You sound like a perfect fit for the living simply 

philosophy.

I didn't realise I was a simple philosophy person until I recognised myself on your blog, Asta!

I cook meals from scratch, op-shop and go to the local recycling depot 

(Tiny's Green Shed) for items that have been reclaimed from the tip. For 

example I've bought the children bicycles for $10 each.

 I sew, mend, make and compost and so on. That hasn't been a change of 

lifestyle for me, I think I inherited it from my parents. However, I can still 

learn more about living simply and just being. So, I'm embracing it. 

There was a time that I felt a little bit 'rich' - very modestly, actually - and 

spent a bit extravagantly, compared to my habits today. I didn't enjoy that 

life nearly as much as the more simple one I've returned to.

So who inspires you? 

The mother who bottled and stewed plums every summer. 

The father who grew broad beans every winter. 

The woman who writes a blog. 

The builder who saved materials until he could build his own house. 

The friend who asked 'why?' or 'what for?' 

The Vietnam veteran whose home runs off solar and uses the generator when absolutely necessary... and his lovely wife who works with him cleaning homes, and mowing lawns to bring in an income  - so that he can feel useful and hard working, and so they can live their simple rural life. 

The friend who chooses to live on less than their means so that they can bless others. 

I find inspiration everywhere.

What have you been reading lately? 

 I've just started to read Rhonda Hetzel’s 'Down to Earth: a guide to simple living'. 

That's a great book. It's popular with a few in The Simply Living Challenge community. What's a practical tip we can learn from you?

I put old woolen jumpers in a hot wash (can work with ordinary loads of washing) if put in pillow case with about 6 golf balls. After 6 washes the old jumper is shrunken and relatively stiff (doesn't always work with hand knits) and can be used anywhere you'd use felt: under table legs, creating a toy...

Well I have to confess that I have felted by accident Catherine. It was a happy accident as it turned out. 

So how can The Simply Living Challenge community support you?

Sometimes I wonder if I've missed something... if my life is TOO simple. Maybe I'm not taking it seriously enough? I doubt myself.

 I love seeing ways of living simply connected to their philosophical roots - the whys behind living that way. 

I need courage to give my niece a handmade recycled jumper dress for her birthday rather than the plastic toy I know she'd love.

Thank you Catherine. It has been lovely talking with you.

If you enjoyed this interview and would like to leave comments for Catherine, please do so here and I will make sure that she gets them.

Asta x