The Urban Nanna

06/09/2026

The notebook I use daily for work has been discontinued, and whilst there is a replacement option available, its cover is a different colour and texture. I’ve been using the same model for many years now, so the difference is really messing with my head.

Part of living harmoniously with my autistic brain is recognising when sensory inputs are likely to interfere with my capacity to navigate daily tasks easily.

So, by accepting the internal feedback that I’m going to get the ick every day if I have to use the new covers, I can help out future Anna by coming up with a creative solution. Which, by the way, is what permaculture principle 12 is all about: ‘creatively use & respond to change’.

I had some bits of sturdy natural canvas laying around, so I whipped up a loose cover that I can use for all notebooks going forward, and I’m sticking scraps of fabric from the quilt I’m working on to it in a way that pleases my eye. Then I’ll overstitch the whole thing with sashiko thread & patterns so it becomes a nice sturdy reusable cover.

I’m hoping to get it done for the Zero Waste Festival this weekend, but I may still be working on it in the green room before I head on stage 😅

06/09/2026

There’s a little bit more lightness and space in my life this spring, and I’m making an effort to reintroduce some of the creative, Community-building activities that foster better mental health. Because replenishing my ‘spoons’ makes me more resilient and better able to tackle things like business development and life admin.

Yesterday I attended the first of (hopefully) many Quarterly Craft Club sessions, organised & facilitated by a dear friend. We drank tea, ate dainty nibbly snacks, and worked on various crafty projects. The theme this time was Embroidery, but crafters are welcome to work on whatever project they like, so I turned out a couple of handsewn quilt blocks.

My friend did such a wonderful job setting this club up, and put such a lot of care into preparing for the day. She also has the most delightful creative living space, which she kindly let me share some of. 🧡🤎🩷🤍

I’ve got a huge work week ahead, and it’s so nice going into it armed with extra spoons. ♥️

Ps - on member made the most incredible raspberry lamington cake with homemade raspberry jam and edible glitter on top. It tasted exactly as amazing as it looks!

Permaculture Principle 2. Catch & store energy 3. Obtain a yield 10. Use & value diversity

05/09/2026

Looking for some excellent apple trees to grow your own fruit?
Check out this extra special from Black Barn Farm!!

30 % off the last few bare rooted apple trees. One week only! https://black-barn-farm-au.square.site/

01/09/2026

Here’s to more wonderful humans finding their voice in spaces where they can thrive!
Good on you Patrick ♥️

31/08/2026

Free, low-tech passive solar & wind technology! Aka using edges & valuing the marginal (Permaculture principle 11)

Electronic clothes dryers aren’t great for the environment due to the large carbon footprints they have associated with their energy usage, and they cost heaps to run. So I always prefer using passive drying techniques wherever possible.

Here are some ‘hacks’ I use to help speed up drying times, so you can use this method even during the colder, wetter months of the year:

☀️🌧️💨 Check the weekly weather forecast. If possible, plan washing for days with the highest temp & least chance of rain so you can dry outside

🧱 If you have a brick wall or patch of concrete that gets daytime sun, dry your clothes there. Solar heat is stored as thermal mass in the brick/concrete and continues to dry clothes even as the air temp drops

👕 👗 👖 Space items out so air flows freely around them. This allows moisture to be pulled out of and away from drying clothes more effectively. Try using every second rung/string of drying lines or offset where you hang items

🧦🩲👙Hang smaller items on peg frames (again? Spacing them out as much as possible) so you can quickly grab it to bring inside if weather turns wet

🪜🐴 Use a clothes horse or rack if you know you’ve only got a bit of good weather in the days ahead. This allows you to bring it indoors to continue drying when it turns wet outside

☀️🌛If items are almost dry by evening, bring them inside to finish drying. They’ll reabsorb moisture overnight and set back drying time otherwise.

🔥Stack functions. If you have heating running indoors, get more out of the money you’re already paying for electricity or gas by placing drying racks in that space.

I’ll be talking about lots of other ways you can put the earth first while doing laundry this Friday night on my regular ‘first Friday of the month’ segment on ABC Radio around the country. Tune in to your local ABC station at 9pm wherever you are to listen in!

25/08/2026

Dinner. Saffron Milkcaps (Lactarius deliciosus) and Three-Cornered Leek (Allium triquetrum): one of my favourite combos.

We’ve had some warm days and plenty of cool wet nights lately, which means we’re seeing another flush of what are normally considered ‘autumn mushrooms’. I’m pretty happy about it!

People often ask “Which months are the ‘right season’ to find edible wild mushrooms”, and like all foraging, the answer is “It depends”.

It depends on which species you’re chasing; what types of areas you’re visiting; which country you’re in; what the recent weather has been like; what kind of use/traffic that area gets… and more besides.

My go-to thinking when looking for edible mushrooms that grow in symbiosis with Pinus trees (Saffron Milkcaps, Weeping Boletes and Slippery Jacks) is “if it’s warm enough to break a sweat walking fast during the day, but cold enough to need a jumper at night, and damp enough to need weatherproof shoes when walking through grass, there’s a good chance there’ll be mushrooms about”.

Some of these mushrooms were shredded by hand along with some storebought mushrooms, and the ‘onion grass’ was chopped and added with some water to a low-heat frypan. Once water was evaporated, I added butter and fried until golden, then added cream and allowed it to reduce slightly. This made the most delicious mushroom sauce, and will always be one of my favourite ways to enjoy these wild food treats.

As always, only ever eat wild foods (particularly fungi!) that YOU can 100% confidently ID, and that you know grew in a place that’s free from harmful contamination. ‘A picture wot you saw on da internet’ is not enough to base a positive, safe ID on. 😌

Permaculture Principle 1: Observe & interact 3: Obtain a yield 11: Use edges & value the marginal

25/08/2026

Keen to learn about using compost and worm farms to transform kitchen & garden scraps into luscious resources for growing your own food? This presentation-workshop is for you!

Hosted by Frankston City Council and Down's Community Farm, I’ll be sharing the ins and outs of building healthy compost and happy worm farms as a way of reducing waste and growing rich, biodiverse soil. Attendees will go home with a couple of upcycled garden goodies too!

Officially, tickets are sold out, but there are often a few drop-offs before events, so join the waitlist if you’re keen. Hope to see you there!

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/fight-food-waste-compost-and-worm-farms-tickets-1996187017104?aff=oddtdtcreator

Permaculture Principle 2: Catch & store energy 3: Obtain a yield 5: Use & value renewable resources & services 6: Produce no waste

24/08/2026

Just your fun Monday reminder that you can craft with avocados 🥑
I love carving teeny tiny seed, spice and salt bowls with the big pips of Reed avocados, and also have a go at something more figurative every now and then too (I’ve got some mushroom earrings to finish off that I carved last year).

And the skin and the pips can be used to make a wonderful dye from! I had a go at making it passively in a sunny window some years ago which was fun.

I’m saving up lots of dried skins and all the offcuts from carving pips to make a proper boiled, condensed dye for colouring fabric for clothes out of one day. Depending what other ingredients you add and how you pre-treat the fabric, it can come out anywhere between a light smoked salmon peach through to a delicious dark pomegranate pink. 🩷

Permaculture Principle 3: Obtain a yield 6: Produce no waste 11: Use edges & value the marginal

23/08/2026

Queensland friends! This will be such a fun time!! Get along if you can - the launch of Brenna Quinlan & Costa Georgiadis’s first picture story book was an absolute blast, and I know this launch will be just as much fun 🤩

23/08/2026

Sitting in a timber sauna in the middle of bushland, whittling spoons feels like some kind of folkloric fantasy, and I’m pretty happy about it.

Out of office is on for a few days, as I spend some time reconnecting with people and places that fill my proverbial buckets and replenish my spoons. ♥️