Thursday, May 26, 2022

Around here - Rhonda from Down to Earth Blog

Hearing the sad news today that Rhonda's husband Hanno passed away yesterday.  Thinking of her and her family at this very difficult time.  Hanno had been in hospital for a while and then palliative care passing away yesterday.  I think even if you know someone is at the end of their life it still comes as a complete shock to the family.

I came across Rhonda back in 2008 when I was staying with in-laws in Melbourne reading through their gardening magazines.  Rhonda was a contributor on simple living in one of the magazines which is no longer published.  This lead me to her blog "Down to Earth" which lead me to starting a veggie garden, getting chickens and generally looking at life through a different lens.

Whilst her website isn't updated any more due to Rhonda looking after Hanno over the last year or so, all her recipes, budgeting tips, and posts about simple living are still available.  She has a wealth of information on how she went about giving up her career and staying home to have a better quality and simple life.  Rhonda and Hanno have two grown up sons and grandchildren who live close by.

Hanno

Rhonda, myself and my friend Karin at a local Library talk on Simple Living

A few of Rhonda's recipes are her home made biscuits which are super economical.

Rhonda's book call The Simple Home.



Rhonda's post about the NYT Five Minute Bread recipe.

Flat breads from Rhonda's book.

10 comments:

  1. I was a bit later than you in discovering Rhonda. It was 2012 for me. I had no idea what a blog was at that time. I was having a conversation with a colleague about wanting to take a different path, to live a more sustainable life, but I didnt know how or where to start. I was directed to Rhonda's blog and I was off. I started with the laundry liquid, which I still make to this day. I then added soap making and it went from there. Rhonda and Hanno have been heroes of mine for these many years. My heart goes out to Rhonda and her family on the loss of their beloved Hanno.

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    1. Lovely to hear another long time blog reader of Rhonda's. Thanks for taking the time to comment.

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  2. This is a lovely tribute to someone who is clearly a talented homemaker and devoted partner ... May they both continue to be blessed in death and life.

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  3. Oh gosh, I'm so sorry to read the news about Hanno. I have so enjoyed Rhonda's writing in both her blog and books and it's sad to hear the news of her loss. Thank you for sharing.

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    1. It's lovely that even on the other side of the world you have been reading Rhonda's blog and her her books.

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  4. Kathy, I have been trying to comment for days but it seems that I can't when using my iPad so am now on the PC and am able to. Hanno was a lovely gentle man and will be sorely missed by Rhonda and the family....and also by Gracie!

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    1. Yes iPads can be annoying sometimes. I'm always on my pc. Thanks for taking the time to comment after all of that. I'm glad they got their little dog a while back because having company in an empty house will be very precious. Have a good week.

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  5. Oh no! So sad to hear this news! Hugs to Rhonda and family.

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    1. Yes very sad. Rhonda posted a blog post yesterday [09-06-2022] saying she is going to continue with her blog posts and her family had been mowing, gardening and making minor repairs to their property.

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