list

to myself, for tomorrow
I want to plant some basil inside and some coriander outside. Half the basil can go outside once it is established. My outside basil is in great shape. Aphids have infested the existing inside basil.

The coriander may well bolt quickly, though I will put it in a pot in the shade. But the flowers and seeds are both pretty and tasty.

I also want to turn the 6kg of sauce tomatoes I bought yesterday into sofrito or passata. I will do some ordinary sauce at some point, but want to play around as well. Most of our own tomatoes are cherry tomatoes which aren't much good for sauce. Now I've worked out that they are ripe at apricot colour rather than yellow, we've all been finding them pretty tasty and the way they ripen just a few at a time is excellent for salads and nibbling. Next year I will aim to have some staggered varieties and some where the crop ripens all at once. The all at once type would be good for preserving.

I have yet to finish burying the Bokashi as I couldn't fit it all in my first spot. So there is that and then a walk around admiring all of our wood chip mulch. It rocks.

I did heaps more mulching in the afternoon and now have a thick layer on four of my garden beds. I got a bit impatient with some of my beetroot for not growing fast enough and pulled it out. By contrast, I'm finding my lettuces (a mesclun mix) too beautiful to pick. Of the 24 seedlings I potted up earlier in the week, I've given away three and might end up decorating the rest of the garden with lettuces.

Went for an impromptu picnic with friends by a river this evening. Our friends have access through private land to the warmest and most beautiful river spot I've seen in ages. We had to cross the river to get to the picnic spot with babies, wine and dinner on our backs. Truly fantastic. I feel so lucky to be alive and so blessed tonight.

Favourite Handyman and I have been discussing 'affluenza' of late, particularly following an article by Oliver James in the Guardian Weekly. This link is a review of his book, as I cannot find the paper article online. We are convinced that always trying to do something to lessen global oppression is worthwhile. Flinging of hands and ignoring the issues as 'too hard' to our minds creates the message that oppression for western comfort is in some way acceptable, even the natural order of things. Growing our own veges, wearing hand me downs and charity shop clothes, driving one car only. They are the things which make us feel like we are moving in the right direction. Probably the biggest most helpful thing for us is realising we are in paradise, very wealthy and coveting fewer and fewer material goods. I know there is a soapbox here, but recording this is useful for me, to remember how I think now, to push me to make more change in my life in the future.