It has been a surprisingly productive day here at Apple Isle Cottages.
We have a big pile of bricks recently acquired from the next door cottage we have taken over and we were lamenting what to do with it when I looked at my very temporary path made of old fence palings (which has been there since January!) and decided that it was time to upgrade to something more permanent and decided to muck together a brick path using the great bricks we have in our pile which have "jorny & campbell Launceston" stamped in the top. In typical Dull roar philosophy style I used some of our existing large gravel pile as a base and an hours work later she was done..and I even found a few treasures..( ok one treasure- a teacup with no handle and not very old)..the path is a wee bit higgledy piggledy but Apple Isle Cottages is pretty higgledy piggledy itself, being built in reclaimed swamp 113 years ago.
So a new free path which my three year old hopefully won't fall over in such a spectacular slapstick fashion (although it was amusing the first couple of times, I won't lie to you!).
I have managed to fit in one 15 minute session of tidying, got the dishes done, tidied the boys room and put away the washing in that time!
What a beautiful day it is here today, I wouldn't live anywhere else in the world for quids! 
First of all I would like to formally welcome you all to my first blog which is likely to be of no real interest to anyone but myself so if you happen to take the time to read it I am most gratified and hope it warrants any attention you may bestow upon it.
I have a busy life, not busy like most people's, no social calender, no office to trudge to every day, but busy with a new small business, two small children, a tumbledown house in a new state and the beginnings of a vegie garden messing up the long neglected back yard.
My long suffering and much adored husband and I moved from Sunny Queensland Gold Coast to Launceston Tasmania in January of this year and so I guess we are about to celebrate our one year anniversary in Tasmania.
We don't like waste here in our house and that is reflected in how we live our lives. Food and garden scraps are composted (food only after it is offered to the peculiar little Devon Rex cat who chooses to reside with us). Things are bought second hand where we can which is not only cheaper but means I don't feel guilty when I stain or break something and has the knock on effect of being better for the environment. To some it may seem I am an environmentalist at first glance if I am truthful it is our dislike of waste that has lead to our life style being of benefit to the planet and not a feeling of obligation to reduce my carbon footprint.
There, that feels better- what a confession- I am not a ramapant greenie, I just happen to act like one!
I of course bear no ill-will towards mother nature and am very fond of the beauty and bounty she supplies but it hasn't been my only motivation in changes I have made in my lifestyle.
We repair things when we can and repurpose things in a new way if we can.
I was always amazed at the amount of perfectly good things thrown out in the Gold Coast council cleanup- such a wasteful community up there- we have found Launceston is less like that and people are more understanding of a our mend and make do attitude.
I sound very pious and wholesome BUT I will confess that I struggle with things like keeping the house and garden in a reasonable state so I have invented my own philosophy-
The Dull Roar
it is basically an attempt to keep our heads over water domestically.
I will never have a display home clean home- even if it was just me I'm a grubby little devil who likes doing grubby things like cooking and gardening and the house would never stay clean and i also have two grubby little children and a much cleaner husband who also has grubby hobbies like renovating and repairing cars and don't forget the cat- did you know that dark Devon rex cats sneeze dark tears everywhere?
I do however recognise that a certain level of social responsibility and cleanliness is required so I am trying to work out a plan to keep the mess and rudeness down to a dull roar...
So far..
* Set the fabulous vintage kitchen timer to 15 mins and do something to help the tidiness and cleanliness. Washing pots and sweeping the floor, wiping benches generally takes less time than this.
*Time savers- food in the freezer for the boys day care lunches
-teaspoon of generic brand nappysoaker in the loo overnight to be flushed away in the morning.
-spraying the floor and cleaning with a damp towel (pushed around by my feet!) instead of mopping which never really worked.
hopefully I will build up a repertoire which will allow me to get on with running our business and doing the fun frugal stuff I enjoy, cooking, making my own salves, vegie gardening, newly interested and converted to jam making, make my own bread (use a cheaty machine- how I love it!)making my own yoghurt, cutting my boys hair (actually only one of the boys is fun to do haircuts on the other is tooo hoppity) making yoghurt....
I am looking at ways the Dull Roar Philosophy can be applied to other parts of life too...
