My Theme for 2025: Resilience & Creativity
Plus a sneak peek at our summer garden.
Welcome to Apple & Radish Chronicles: Where Handmade Meets Homegrown. 🌷🌈 With me, Katrina MacAllan! I’m over here creating more comfort, joy, meaning and everyday preparedness with simple, sustainable handmade and homegrown projects - and sending them to your inbox weekly - with fun tutorials, recipes and classes! Think of this as your ultimate cottage core homesteading guide - but with a little more spice. 💐
Hello Dear!
It’s taken me a bit to get into the new year. Hello 2025!🤚Sorry for the late start! (Paid subscribers you’ve been given a month extra for free!) Christmas, Covid and birthday season in my household took all my energy and focus. As have the recent headlines.
This time last year our own region was recovering from massive double whammy storm events that wreaked devastation and a two week power outage. Many people suffered extreme damage to their homes or lost them entirely.
We’ve all been holding our breath but we’ve been spared natural disasters this year (touch wood) unlike poor Las Angeles. How do you even put into words the pain and loss and unimaginable stress of living in those fire affected areas?
As my heart goes out to the dear ones grappling with their new reality and trying to put their lives back on an even keel, I am even more committed than ever to grounding myself in gratitude for my home and community. This year I am focussed on building resilience in every area of our home and life - from our food garden to our health to our finances.
Everyday preparedness built by creativity and resilience is my theme for 2025.
I’m aware that no amount of preparedness can prevent a disaster and all can be lost in a second. Fire, flood, cyclone can have their way quickly. Terrible things happen. Does that mean we don’t try to create a refuge while we have the means? If loved ones need a place to stay in an emergency we can be prepared to take them in. Perhaps we have have some meals in the freezer, an easily made bed, the energy and mental capacity to help (that can be the hardest one).
These things can go a long way to ease the stress when life seems out of control and indeed everyday life.
Building in more resilience in our everyday lives also means that we ourselves have a better chance of finding our own feet should we be the ones experiencing a disaster.
Having an emergency fund tucked away, building wellness and strength in our bodies and minds, nurturing relationships and learning skills are all important aspects of preparedness. Not just for the big disasters but for everyday mishaps that are part of life. Illness, income loss, accidents, death in the family and more, that while not wished for, are events most of us will experience at some point or another.
Does that mean we live our lives huddled and waiting for the sky to fall in?
No, quite the opposite. This is the time to live with every cell of your being. Something about shoring up my home and preparing for ‘rainy days’ makes me feel more alive than anything. My pinterest boards don’t contain pictures of the latest Lulu Lemon outfits or overseas holidays but cellars, potting sheds and delicious ways to use leftover roast chicken.
My heart is full and my soul content when there is a batch of lavender soap curing and a newly minted pair of pyjama pants fresh off the sewing machine.
I love the notion of creating islands of sanity as discussed by Sarah Wilson. I am working to create an island of sanity on our own little homestead. A calm, well tended and well resourced home, mind and heart for the wellbeing of me and my family and to welcome friends and family should they need a refuge.
Imagine a world made up like a patchwork of such places linked by friendship, strength, creativity, beauty and diversity!
To me means this means embracing every day, loving my people, making things, being creative, tending my home, building a strong mind and body, growing an edible garden, laughing a lot, playing, learning new things, practicing new skills, appreciating the beauty.
I can’t think of a better way to live in good times or in bad.
With all this in mind, our focus this year is remodeling and improving our edible garden area. We’ve lived on this property for 18 years and in that time the food garden has seen several iterations. We have many fruit and nut trees spread around the homestead. And up until recently a huge vegie garden that required enormous labour intensive hours.
Every summer I would admit defeat against the cobbler’s pegs and kakuya grass and harvests would dwindle. We’re very prone to fruit fly and other pests that decimate crops so we’re working on ways to mitigate this. I think we’ve finally settled on a concise plan that incorporates most of our fruit trees, herbs, vegies and chicken house in one area. This will hopefully make growing our food easier and more successful especially in the summer months. More about this in future posts.
I’ll also be continuing to prepare our home by building up our pantry with everyday supplies as well as homemade shelf stable meals. I’ll be sharing that journey too.
In amongst that will be seasonal soaps, candles and natural bodycare recipes and tutorials. All the things I’m making and doing I’ll be sharing here.
Thank you for being here! I look forward to a creative and resilient 2025 with you.
Much love
Katrina’s been growing dahlias, rhubarb & jumbo turnips for 20+ years. 🏠🌿🌷 When not collecting eggs or picking mulberries you'll find her whipping up a batch of soap or making reusable makeup wipes on her mother's 1974 Elna sewing machine.
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So soul heartening and beautiful! Thank you Katrina💙Gorgeous pics🌺💕
Thank your for a lovely and inspiring welcome to January 2025! The garden is looking lush and loved xo