Time for a little seed saving.Recently I have ventured back into the garden after a summer of mostly neglect. I'm hearing that alot of people have had that kind of season. It's been our season to nurture ourselves as a family, with trips to the beach, bike rides and making efforts to spend time with extended family . Natural disasters around the world however are making me mindful that we should never take things for granted, especially our food supply.
So with that thought in mind I'm back to the soil with renewed enthusiasm. I have some seedlings started and am busy clearing swathes of weeds which are going to seed in order to make way for the winter food crops. We'll have leeks, broccoli, celery, spinach, lettuce and cabbage fresh from the garden this winter if the season is favorable. I'm sure it's not too late to get all these seedlings into the garden. As well I'm planting peas, they survive quite well overwinter if they are a couple of inches high and it gives them a good little head start in spring. There are broad beans too, not my favorite vegetable, but they have planted themselves dropping out of their dried pods where I left the plants standing since the spring. There are millions of parsnips self seeded too, if only I could grow carrots as well as I grow parsnip. Coriander,radishes, nettle and chickweed are popping up everywhere so I guess it's not so bad to neglect the garden for a season. If I keep my eyes open and clear up carefully we'll have a good selection of nourishing food for the cold months.
My Skatey boy is initiating his own learning in the area of survival by finding role models to take him pig hunting and hopefully duck shooting soon. He experienced his first real pig hunt and kill last week so if push comes to shove we'll be right for meat too.
Just quietly though , I hope he goes for deer as well because I'm not very partial to wild pork.
Seaside negotiations with a 4 year old:
The onset of the cooler weather is excuse enough for new accessories I think. Brown and black to suit the winter wardrobe. A "dapper day bag" the pattern from 
Also for me, a new orange wallet because I like orange and wanted to make the "perfect" wallet that doesn't drop change, can accommodate receipts, allows me to quickly find my library card and coupon card with out having to search though dozens of compartments. I'm pleased to have found a use for some smaller bits of leather and fabric in this project. It' s only failing is that it doesn't hold a cheque book, but how often these days does one need a cheque book on hand? 
Other things we have done with them is put them into fruit muffins, make a peach chutney, bottle them in syrup, stew them and freeze.
Vintage curtains
Boy's room, re-created warm curtains
A spiral bound book of Enid Gilchrist patterns
Picking fruit for school lunches, with warm new tops.
while I was sewing and performing my other role of children's taxi driver, teacher, confidence booster, reminder er, bed maker, cook, washerwoman, and nurse. Wet beds, a trip twice to Nelson for a teen's broken finger, Skatey for two dental visits with the burden of paying for braces, bigger shoes and teaching to tie laces, reminding to go to math tutorials and to take instruments to school, covering up a guinea pig at midnight in the rain, figuring out if hay fever warrants a visit to the Dr, treating the dog for fleas, cleaning the chookhouse and organising someone to clean the chimney.
Also influencing me has been 
So the two youngest kids now have some good autumn additions to their wardrobes for school and Montessori.
I think I'm all sewed out for now, my temperamental over locker and I are calling it quits for a bit while we are still on good terms with each other, but what a productive week. Quite proud too that out of all of those fabrics only three pieces were bought new all the others have been sourced at the local op shops or as gifts from sewers downsizing their stash.