Haiku Friday

Love is a farm tour.
Sweet boys, new friends, orange hats.
Apple orchard fun.

Haiku Friday

A special is on!
Confront your plastic habit,
one bag at a time.

the ethicurean French gauze produce bag special

If you're not a fan on facebook of the ethicurean, hop on over for a squiz on our early Christmas special! Buy any ethicurean set and get 2 French gauze bags free. Buy two sets and get 4 free...etc. Perfect pressies for the hard to buy for or the eco-conscious. Special ends midnight tonight. Plastic free, practical stocking stuffers anyone?

The Container challenge

Remember this post from last year (or was it the year before?). And this? The challenge still stands.
I've been really fascinated going through my blog posts- a retrospective of my own- and in looking where I have been on our journey to minimise consumption, I am so encouraged by the number of people I see and hear about around the place who seem to be really interested in reducing packaging and consuming unnecessary plastics.  This post last year was one of the most popular and I have really noticed an increase in the number of people using these toothbrushes which is just fantastic.

My latest 'Stretch It' success has been the introduction of paper wrapped local biodynamic bulk butter from the Central Market here in Adelaide into our weekly shop.  Next on the list for Chez Pan is getting organised about bulk fresh rice noodle and tofu from the Asian shop in the market. These plastic packages keep appearing!

WOW!

after all this time, over a year actually, my website and business (well most of it) is ready to rock n roll! I cant believe I have stuck it out, this small business thing. Being an academic all my life I never thought about venturing 'outside', over to the 'other side'. But being an ethical business has good karma attached and besides, this produce bag thing just kinda sucked me in, took me by surprise. I'd never, ever thought about selling anything before in my life. To be honest, I have no idea where the drive for this came from. I really was just 'taken over'.

When people tell you that starting a business is like a good relationship, that you have to be prepared to stick with it, shoulder the ups n downs and hang in there, well, they're right. It's been a life changing process, full of risk and frustration, fear and delight. I have learnt a lot, more than I had ever imagined, been stressed, anxious, stayed up late for many weeks, but i never once wavered in my desire to see these bags being used by many more people. So on the eve of this launch of my online store I am both excited and worried, but mostly rather proud that I bloody well did it. Followed through on an idea. One I really  believe in. Subsequently, I now have a whole new appreciation for small business (but not quite the reverence that the conservatives have about them, no panic required! lol).

Now begins the hard work of getting the bags in 'real' stores. I have a few shops lined up already but I am waiting on the delivery of supplies of my fair wage gauze and net bags to begin this in earnest.

Have a nosy, let me know what needs changing. Buy some bags!

Haiku Friday

Some bags have arrived!
but my website's not ready.
Ah ha! Soloution!

SLOW living

I've been feeling like a bit of a fraud for a while. This week, its really come home to roost but I've been conscious of and feeling like this for a couple of months. Fraudulent in the sense of not deceiving outright, just feeling a little like stretching the truth somewhat.

My tag line for my blog may have to change.

Living with SLOW principles when you are a mum of three and a worker and a student and starting a small business and helping another one get up and running does not for SLOW living make. Having a husband who is now running for parliament in the next State election doesn't help. SLOW living is not really HOW we live hour to hour. Its pretty hard and fast around here.
'Doh!', yeah, i hear you groaning.

Funny, I really identify with SLOW principles. I believe in savoring, getting back to first principles, working for your rewards, not taking the easy options, respecting nature, appreciating the effort that goes in to making, doing, being. SLOW principles are what we always try to employ in what we do, what we use, what we consume, and how we do it. But it all adds up in a modern world to a crazy busy life of promoting SLOW. Our lives are based on generating a public interest in ideas like this. My tag line needs to read something like' a SLOW principled woman working too FAST in a modern world, striving to make SLOW a conscious and attainable way of life.
Within all my responsibilities, paid and otherwise, I try and practice SLOW but at the end of the day it really all adds up to BUSY. Trying to live as consciously and ecologically as possible and getting the word out there and trying to make a difference as a working person with a family is inherently not SLOW.
Cant quite work it out.

Haiku Friday

Shameless promotion.
Produce bags extraordinaire!
Launching 20.10

Farm of the Future

Im a bit of a 'know-it-all' (in my head that is ; Im not claiming out loud to actually know it all) so when i see something that provides me with simple and engaging information about stuff that I feel already well versed in (besides specific technical info of which I will never claim to know it all) then Im one happy camper. This documentary, broken into five You Tube videos, really helped me understand the role of oil in modern farming. Its about one city woman who inherts her family farm and her exploration of more eco-friendly pathways to make it a sustainable venture. The alternative cattle farming methods showcased I found illuminating. Hope you take some time to watch these. They're REALLY good.

Housekeeping

Did a bit today, ho-um, but its Diva Cup Giveaway housekeeping thats driving this post. Tomorrow is the last day to enter, drawn PM sometime, if you're in the market for a totally sustainable, Green, reusable menstrual product that changes your life, I kid you not, read the testimonies then enter NOW or forever be doomed to buying product from the supermarkets! I think next time i might do a toothbrush giveaway, those things have just totally maxed out my blog referrals!

the bus

Im fully fledged now. The complete and total 'take the lunch and to-go coffee mug and bus to work' package person. Its taken a while to get to full capacity but I have finally taken 'The Last Step'. The symbol of priviledge in my little wee world; The Car Park Permit has been Handed Over. Relinquished. Forgone. I shocked myself in a really scary way at just how difficult it was to hand over this final trapping of priviledged car ownership. People kept telling me 'its a four year wait you know' like i was handing over some totaly religious thing, a coveted icon without which I would be condemned forever. It freaked me out. So I wasnt driving, but I had this relic, this pass that was costing me $1000 a year but not being used but held onto 'just in case'. It got handed in yesterday. Catching the bus has been a revelation. A freedom like I never expected. I expected to feel stuck and trapped at losing the so called 'independence' of a car to work. Instead I was rewarded with a sense of total relaxation and joy. So much that it too surprised me. I get home relaxed and refreshed ready to take on the dinner/bath/Mum shift. Im happy. Chilled. Its a meditation. Driving really is a complete pain in the ass. A stressful pain in the ass, an 'I've been duped into thinking its easier' pain in the ass. Cant recommend it highly enough. Especially as a harried parent. Its perfect. I get time out- I read or just stare out the window. I feel reconnected to community. I feel a bit like a teenager again when I step off, free and cruisy out in public. I feel surprisingly in control. I really cant recommend it highly enough. Ive been known to reject a lift home so as not to miss this special feeling. You?

A giveaway

of a rather personal kind.
Its the chance for a bit of end of year recieving for you or your beloved. If you've been meaning to try a menstrual cup and havent quite got around to it yet, are sorta kinda interested but dont really want to 'risk' the investment, think its a great idea and you think you should try it or your partner might want to give it a go, now is your chance for a possible freebee! Its a Diva Cup giveaway just coz Im so enamoured with these incredible things and I want to share, not to mention the reduction in waste. The freedom of them I just cant really begin to describe No thoughts EVER about having tampons in the house, in your bag or in your purse. Imagine that. Never ever. No stress. Its like being a kid all over again. No more being dependent on a shop for your needs, especially if you're like me and really dont like pads and so home made lovelies are out of the question. No more remembering! All you need to do is make a comment on something relevant to your desire for one and I will draw a winner from all entries next week. I do ask that if you're already using one and want to enter, then the prize should be passed to someone who doesnt already own one. Relevant size i will only ask of the winner! Fire away readers, pass comment for the first time or the five hundredth.

officially *%#@! knackered.

so go check this out if you're interested in how bloggers get their food looking so good,
and this for a bit of lovely food with an Spanish illustrators twist (thanks Robert)
and this for the worst possible new food craze to sweep the planet , for soo many reasons.
Have a good weekend.

(PS. So @#&$! knackered I forgot it was Haiku Friday! B2 reminded me...minyana)

Haiku Friday

Want a green reader?
Take The Lorax for a spin.
Encourage crunchy.

environmental dental

In Australia, over 30 million toothbrushes are used and disposed each year, amounting to approximately 1000 tonnes of landfill each year, so says the blurb. If this is correct, thats a lotta toothbrushes and thats just us! A young Aussie ex air force dentist has started producing a 100% biodegradable bamboo toothbrush, both bristle and handle which goes a step toward eliminating such waste. The environmental toothbrush tried to get made in Australia but a Chinese bamboo kitchen utensil company was the only company she could source that was willing and able to produce. 12 will cost you $33 dollars including postage and handling and international orders are welcomed. That price is pretty good i reckon considering top end brushes retail at around $6. I put my order in today. Its the first time the dental mag that I get each month with my dental organisation membership has come in useful!

Green homework proves tricky

One of the core topics at B1s progressive science based public high school for this year has been Sustainable Futures. pretty self explanatory really; they cover all things Green from a multitude of perspectives. She's enjoyed it, especially their mock Earth Summit, run by the kids for a whole day, complete with world leaders, environmental advisers, water jugs on tables, UN chief and delegates and messenger runners between delegate tables. It was the highlight of her school year. On the downside was her major project on sustainable homes. The assumption behind this project was that your home was not set up or managed sustainably. B1 struggled constatntly... 'umm, excuse me sir, we have solar hot water heating, we already harvest our rain water into large water tanks, we do grow our own fruit and vegetables, we have composting and recycling systems, we have PV solar to generate power, we do use wind generated electricity when we need to, our house is passive solar designed, we dont have aircon and heating systems'...you get the picture. B1 was a complete headache for her teacher! Funniest part was he gave up and said well take your Grandmas house and use it to model your projections...

Hopefully one day its her whole class proving a headache...

fantastic edible foods database

this site Plants for a Future - edible, medicinal and useful plants for a healthier world is an absoloute treasure trove of information. An incredibly user friendly and yet incredibly comprehenisve site. Add it to your lists. Its a great reference for foraging foods in your own garden and your neighbourhood. Seriously, really, go have a look, type in a plant and viola; its edibility rating, how its consumed, its other uses, its preferred environmental conditions. Its a gem. really. truly.

Haiku Friday

November the eighth
Sustainable Living Day
Come and poke around

Ten things that piss me off about being Green

1. Crusts of bread hanging around for quite a while waiting to be smashed into breadcrumbs

2. Catching the bus to work in the dark, cold mornings in the dead of winter

3. Planning. Endless planning and organising to ensure efficient living on all levels. Sometimes I just want my brain to stop, it all to stop and hop off for a while!

4. The research and time that goes into any purchase. Sometime I just wanna 'grab' something!

5. Having to walk past the stinky and sloppy imported French cheese mountains at the markets

6. Everyone in the family having a good excuse when I get cranky at all the dishes thy have left piling up until enough are there to make a wash-up justifiable (i think this is my no.1 !)and knowing Im not going to have a comeback to this water saving argument

7. Always being the bad guy and endlessly reminding children to 'turn it off!' Besides which it just reminds me of my mother...

8. Wanting sometimes to just splurge to 'show my love' but pulling back in the name of less stuff and not necessary. Again, it reminds me of my mother...

9. That if I dont eat or organise the leftovers, they may get left in the fridge for a while

10. Coming home from work and making pita bread, tortilla or pizza dough coz all that plastic packaging really pisses me off

Small 'personal is political' potatoes I know, but I didnt even get started on the volunteer and activism work that gets done around here...

What pisses you off about Green living?

an easy way to participate in todays 350 event

Didnt get your shit together for todays 350 event? No worries. All you need to take part in this 350 event is a camera and yourself!

The Alternative Technology Association (ATA), established in 1980, is Australia’s leading, independent member-based organisation providing practical advice and information to households on sustainable living technology and practice. ATA publishes both ReNew and Sanctuary magazines.

Our members are people who are walking the talk on sustainable living in their own homes.

To bring together members and supporters, from across Australia and New Zealand, ATA will be hosting an online event where people can share their images of sustainable living.

Over the coming weeks ATA will be gathering 350 photos of real people living sustainable lives to be uploaded to an online image gallery on October 24th, the Global Day of Action.

To join this living gallery, take a photo of yourself and your favourite sustainable living activity or technology. This could be anything from you on the roof with your solar panel system to growing your own veggies or riding/walking to work. Invite your friends and family to join you in documenting your favourite aspect of sustainable living at your place.

Email your high resolution jpgs to 350photos@ata.org.au
See www.ata.org.au for more details

...or just go sign the petition on the 350 link above.