5 in 5 - August 2020 - Upcycling Magazines and Mindset

Welcome to '5 in 5' where on the 5th

of each month I post 5 photos that I have

taken in 5 minutes.

I run a women's Facebook group that focuses on self development and making personal changes, so that we can live the life that we choose. During July I set myself a goal of practicing Pilates at least once a week, and it wasn't too long before that also included not using my mobile in bed and creating a better bedtime routine. That's because I had a habit of lying in bed scrolling through social media, often until the early hours, and then reaching for it again when I woke. I soon realised that in the time I had done this, I could have completed my mornings Pilate practice, and instead I had little to show for the time. 

It felt rewarding to make these changes and I felt a sense of achievement. Something else I have been tackling head on is my magazine collection, and the success in one area gave me added motivation. It is part of the clearing of my creative space which I have have mentioned before. This time though I am more tenacious. It has been a progressive project but it is building steam and speed and this time I completely cleared the floor. I bought all the bags and boxes into the house and even I was shocked at the number I had collected over time! I use magazines for vision boards, collage and art journaling so they have a purpose. The trouble is, do I really need that many?! It wasn't until they were gathered together that I saw the space they were taking! So, I have been going through them in earnest. Most of them are good quality magazines, and often unread because I simply don't have time and read books instead. If you are wondering why I buy the magazines in the first place, I don't. Some are membership subscriptions, and several collections are ones I rescued, because someone else was going to recycle them. I am not evangelical, but I do prefer to upcycle, reuse and reinvent before recycling. And these magazines are worth passing on to someone who will appreciate them. As I said, they are good quality magazines and some cost more than the price of a book.

So I am on a mission. Some magazines have gone into the recycling bag because I have cut and torn pages from them and they can not be passed on.Others are in boxes, ready to pass on. One lady seemed really grateful for craft magazines and another collected a box of County Living with another to follow. 

A local garden centre responded to my 'Would anyone like these magazines' post on Facebook. They will invite customers to take copies. 

Some I am keeping aside because I will continue to need a supply. Rather than keep the entire magazine, I have gone through some and torn or cut out relevant pages and pictures. That will reduce some storage space. At the moment I have one small box. I won't tell you how many I started with!

And here's an example of a vision board that I made, using magazine pages. I mentioned the women's group that I run. As part of this I invited members of the group to join me in a live Zoom meeting where we made a personal vision board. It was great fun, and this was my one. It sums up my month. I've been climbing a mountain for so long, but finally seeing the horizon. And it feels good.  

I hope your own month has gone well. We are always pleased to welcome new members to the women's Facebook group so if you are interested in knowing more let me know in a comment. It's a supportive space where we cheer each other on and work towards our own goals. And right now, my goal is to clear my mountain of magazines. It is creating psychological space as well as physical, and that's a good thing too, isn't it!

Thank you for visiting and I hope that what ever you are doing, you are safe and well. As always I invite you to join in this monthly 5in5 photo challenge. It's very simple, and it offers a new way of looking through the camera lens and adding a spark of new ideas.

So here's how it works: 

1.  Choose a location.

2.  Have your camera ready.

3.  Set a mobile timer for 5 minutes.

4.  Take as many photos you can until the time is up.

5.  Choose 5 photos to download and share by using the link tool 

   

You have until the 25th of the month to add your photos and if you want to know more about 5in5 there are details here.

And one more thing - when you use the link tool, please click on your post title.  This will show the web address. Please right click, copy and paste this as your link.  This will take readers directly to your '5 in 5' blog page and be easier for them to find.

5 in 5 - July 2020 - Different ways of using rosemary

Welcome to '5 in 5' where on the 5th

of each month I post 5 photos that I have

taken in 5 minutes.

In May I posted about the communal herb garden that I am creating for the village hall.  Because of COVID, plans have been delayed and the herbs have not yet been planted. They have grown tall and I decided that the rosemary would benefit from a trim.

With a handful of sprigs it seemed a shame to waste them. So I did a Google search to find different uses. One idea was to tie small springs into a circle of muslin and put them into a tumble dryer to add a natural fragrance to your laundry. I've not done this yet, but it sounds worth trying. 

I did make some rosemary oil.  A simple-to-do recipe that just involved adding sprigs into olive oil. I will leave it for a few weeks for the flavour to infuse and then pour the oil into a bottle.

I regularly use rosemary to flavour water. This shows sparking spring water, and tap water works just as well.  This sprig kept its flavour all afternoon with regular refills of water. This evening, I added cider to the rosemary. It was a gamble, but one that paid off and I'll be doing that again!

Culinary use.  
I will hang one bunch for drying. Leaves from other sprigs will be stripped then chopped and frozen. You can also preserve the leaves in oil.

A recipe for rosemary butter sounds appealing and I am tempted to freeze small portion sizes. They will be perfect for jacket potatoes, steak etc. and it's another simple recipe. You just mix finely chopped leaves into butter!

I love cheese scones and the addition of chopped rosemary sounds delicious. And then there are recipes for savoury rosemary biscuits. I sometimes buy these to go with cheese, so the idea of making my own is appealing. It's a good thing I have my own large rosemary bush in the garden!

Rosemary salt - finely chop the herb leaves and add to salt, leaving it for a week or two for the flavour to develop. Use as a seasoning.

Have you ever tried rosemary tea?  This is a lovely infusion, just add few fresh sprigs into boiling water and allow a few minutes to infuse. It makes a refreshing drink and one that I make regularly.

There are recipes for rosemary jam and rosemary wine, and it is also good as a hair conditioner.  For me, this versatile herb has grown even more in it's popularity! We have been clearing space this week and demijohns were one thing to go. Luckily I kept back 6 as I would like to make wine again sometime in the future. Rosemary wine might just be one! 

Thank you for visiting and I hope that what ever you are doing, you are safe and well. As always I invite you to join in this monthly 5in5 photo challenge. It's very simple, and it offers a new way of looking through the camera lens and adding a spark of new ideas.

So here's how it works: 

1.  Choose a location.

2.  Have your camera ready.

3.  Set a mobile timer for 5 minutes.

4.  Take as many photos you can until the time is up.

5.  Choose 5 photos to download and share by using the link tool 

   

You have until the 25th of the month to add your photos and if you want to know more about 5in5 there are details here.

And one more thing - when you use the link tool, please click on your post title.  This will show the web address. Please right click, copy and paste this as your link.  This will take readers directly to your '5 in 5' blog page and be easier for them to find.