The everyday life and contentment...

LATE AUTUMN...

It's late autumn here in the far north of Australia, and though the early mornings are refreshingly cool at around 20-21C these days, the noonday sun has been climbing to 32C at my place every day this past week. Though I would love for the days themselves to be cooler, and they should do in the weeks ahead, I am very grateful that the daylight hours are much shorter now, and you know, the evenings are already rather lovely.

In the garden I need to cover many of the fragile seedlings before the sun climbs over the nearby mountain and bears down on them a few hours after sunrise, or I hide some pots under the elder tree, where they benefit from the sun's warmth whilst sheltering under the long thin, leaf-laden limbs above. My carrots especially love that spot. 

When the sun sets I remove the covers, allowing the cooler night air freedom to circulate easily. Next morning I usually discover more seeds have sprouted, whilst those having already made their way through the soil a few days earlier, have grown taller. I never grow tired of the miracles displayed in a simple garden! Seeing the wonders of God at work, still creating, stirs my desire to plant, grow, harvest...even if its only in our small backyard garden and not a field. 

REFLECTIONS IN LIFE FROM BREADMAKING...

Over the past few weeks, the steady ritual of making a sourdough loaf every three days has also brought much joy to my soul. It took a couple of months to 'perfect' a loaf which comes together easily in our climate and without many steps, because climate matters a great deal when dealing with sourdough. I am so glad to have figured out those things because now I need no recipe as its in my head, I can work with whatever the weather does that day (and the next), and though there were a few mistakes along the way because I'd forget the simplest things - like scoring the loaf before it went in the oven, or forgetting to lower the oven temp after the first 20 minutes - it's all working fine now, and we are loving our rye/wheat loaf. In fact, we don't toast it because we enjoy it 'as is' even on day three, and we're even getting to the stage of not needing to butter it. We just really love this bread. Praise God. 

I was thinking about bread one morning last week as I waited for the dutch oven to heat before I placed the risen bread dough inside. There was a time, in the not too distant past, when I spent far too much time, and far too much money, trying all different ways to make a meal. Whether that be stews, soups, cakes, biscuits (cookies), international dishes, doughs, breads...it was as though I needed to find the next best thing, or a more perfect way of cooking something I'd made for years. I had way more cookbooks than I'd ever use, and a multitude of failed meals under my apron and still, I would scroll online recipes, borrow even more cookbooks from the library, watch homecooks and chefs make amazing meals on Youtube, and spend $ on ingredients we could ill afford, did not like, or never used again. 

Apart from when my husband takes us on a Sunday drive through the countryside, I've been predominantly housebound for the past five months, only venturing out on my own three times this year, so I've had to rely on grocery deliveries as I cannot go to a supermarket. What a blessing in disguise! Our income had decreased towards the end of 2025 due to changes at my husband's work, so I was already being extra mindful of expenditure, but as the months rolled on in 2026, and we needed to help family members for a while, I challenged myself to not just lower the grocery (and other) expenditure, but to eat even better at the same time, even though we already had a healthy diet. 

One way I achieved this goal was to stop looking for new recipes, donating most of my cookbooks, shopping from the pantry and freezer first, planting the garden with a wider variety of vegetables and fruits, and cooking simpler meals that we already enjoyed. 

Which brings me back to pondering that loaf of bread last week. The recipe I'm using is the only one I'll use. It makes a lovely healthy loaf, very tasty, and a perfect size for the two of us to enjoy over three days, so none is wasted. There is no need to try another recipe, or play around with this one. Nothing is wasted and we're very content to have this as our daily loaf. 

No longer am I searching for new ideas. I wrote up a list of the simple meals we have enjoyed regularly over the years, and that's what I make. My roasted pumpkin and garlic soup is delicious, so why try a different recipe? The chicken curry I've made every month for the past six years is a Family favourite so why try another? My husband enjoys the same breakfast every morning (Sultana Bran and fresh fruit, with a banana smoothie) and does not want a change. I enjoy coconut yoghurt, nuts and fresh fruit for breakfast, and do not want a change. Can you see where I'm going with this?

I have two different biscuit (cookie) recipes we always return to, one basic scone recipe we've loved for thirty plus years, and then there's rissoles (my husband's favourite!), porcupine meatballs (grandkids favourite), spaghetti bolognese, noodles, roast chicken or lamb with veggies, or corned beef with coleslaw and chips. These are the meals my man will enjoy and say "that was yummy!" as he carries our dishes to the sink. 

I make our jams, relishes and pickles from in season produce, and bake our own bread. Herbal tea is made from whatever is growing in the garden that season, and we use honey and maple syrup as our sweeteners (or sugar for biscuits-cookies). 

There's about eight or ten more meals/bakes in my list of regulars, but what I have found this year is that this is all we needed. I restock groceries or buy meat that will be used in those everyday meals and snacks, and its delivered to my door so I'm not wandering the supermarket being tempted anymore. I am so content with this new ordinary, this simpler way of living...and if I did not have this knee injury, and become housebound and unable to drive, I do not believe this lesson would have been so quickly or easily learned, and this beautiful simplicity of days be lived out as it now is.

So, this is my story, and I know it's not something you might draw inspiration from, but one thing about blogging these past eighteen years, is that I share life as it is being lived here in my home, and this today is me taking you along as I write what will be a journal of Jennifer's life for my children and grandchildren, because I wish I'd had something like this from Nana. Oh the wealth of old-ways commonsense, and how she was able to live a rich and contented life on very little, that she could teach me!

Share your life with your family, dear friends, because there are gems in there which may be lost before the little ones grow up and need them. 

"Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations. Ask your father and he will show you, your elders and they will tell you." Deuteronomy 32:7

"Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths where the good way is, and walk in it." Jeremiah 6:16

I'll be back next week with some tutorials, useful things you can make for your home. Until then, God bless dear ones...

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