Come and join us!

Two years ago I made a decision to join the Down to Earth Forums set up by Rhonda Hetzel who, I am sure most of my readers would know, has the extremely popular Down to Earth blog and has written a book of the same name. Since that time I have met so many helpful and interesting people from around the world who live in places that fascinate me.

 

Firstly there is Elablue who lives in Northern Island is this beautiful town. She is a busy mum who posts some lovely photos of the countryside on her blog....

 

 

....especially this one! Ireland does look a little chilly at times but ' chilly' sounds good to me at present seeing as we are having a week of high temperatures.

 

 

In the US,Kathy at Gates To Yesteryear and her flamingos have probably had enough chill and are looking forward to Spring.

 

 

Then we come back to South Australia to Tania's Outback and I am always captivated by the wildlife she has around her property. This Goanna looks quite at home....

 

 

...as does the Shingleback Lizard. Tania lives in a very dry region and, despite that, she has the most productive garden due to a lot of hard work and ingenuity.

 

 

Moving over to Western Australia, Sue from Simply Sue's Simple Diary owns the cute Twitch who seems to like sitting in the Basil. As rabbits are banned in our state of Queensland and those who have them in their possession can incur a fine of up to $44,000 I am always enthralled to see the antics that Twitch gets up to.

 

 

We have lots of different categories on the Down to Earth forums, including Food Storage and Management and Home Cooked Recipes so if your first attempt at making sauerkraut presents a few issues like mine did, then there are lots of members there to help you through it who have already learned the ropes.

 

 

By following the advice of others I have made a few batches of pickles and relishes and my latest 'experiment', Tamarillo and Mustard Relish, was successful thankfully.

 

 

Then there is a sewing forum where you can proudly display any items you have finished off especially those that you have been intending to make for a few years but have put off constantly like the Quiet Book I intended to make when my first granddaughter was born but didn't get around to it until the second little one turned two!

 

 

I taught my little granddaughter to make a yo-yo puff and it was nice to be able to share a photo with other members on the sewing forum.  There is also a crochet and knitting forum as well but I won't share with you any photos of my less than perfect crocheted and knitted items.

 

 

As I only started my blog in June and read a lot about blogs before launching out, I thought it would be an idea to share what I had learned so, if you are interested in starting a blog and have no idea how to start, then you can read all about it on the blogging forum. One member who has done just that is the lovely Tanya from Flood-Proof Mum who started her blog with the goal of finding other bloggers who have experienced the flooding she has in the past few years. She actually hasn't found any as yet as far as I know but her life has been enriched by all those she has met in the blogging community and she is just amazing how she is learning new gardening and cooking skills all the time. It makes me tired just reading about all her projects. There are many more experienced bloggers on the forum who can help you out if you come across any problems in setting up a blog.

 

So have I encouraged you to come and join us on the Down to Earth Simple Living Forums?

 

 

All you have to do is click on this photo and it will take you there. Who knows who you will meet there and what you will learn in 2014!

 

Update on 30/12/13: Now if you are going to blog then it will help if you know what day it is as I scheduled this post for the 24th December instead of the 31st. I was washing up and I suddenly remembered that the 24th December was Christmas Eve so  I quickly rescheduled the post for the 31st but Mr.Google wasn't happy with that and published it straight away in case anyone noticed the date on this post which is tomorrow! J