The Herbs Progress!

This morning I spent a couple of child-free hours in the garden...amazing what can be achieved without little ones wanting to help!

The bokashi compost was put to good use for the first time (quite an aroma, but full of worms, so hope it works).  Some herbs potted up and put in the front yard, and seeds planted for more herbs to emerge shortly.

Last week the kids and I also planted some sunflower seeds for 'International Sunflower Guerilla Gardening Day' on the 1st May, and plan to plant and nurture them in the local park and around the new tree that's been planted on our street corner.  The packaging from the easter eggs earlier this month has made great little incubators, and within a week we've got new growth...I'm as excited as the kids!!

A use for Easter Egg packaging!

Possible to live without a car?

©Mr Green

For ages I've said that when our car dies, we'll try and not get a 'new' one...well the reality of that is now looming!  The verdict of the garage isn't positive, and so I'm trying to do some speedy research on alteratives.


We don't use our car on a daily basis, as I work from home and cycle with the kids in the area (the joy of living in a dense city is that everything literally is on our doorstep...well, except the woods).  Andy gets the train to Bristol for work and cycles there.  So we truly are infrequent car users.  It can sit in our street for a couple of weeks without being started and has definitely enjoyed it's retirement, since it's long IBM communting to Bedfont days.  However, we do need one for visiting relatives and going on holiday, and in fact need one for 2 weeks in the not too distant future.

For the odd short requirement, we have great local friends that will lend us their cars, although I do need to look into the reality of whether this still works if I don't have my own car insurance.  But asking someone to borrow their car for 2 weeks, is a bit more of a challenge.

So I'm looking into local car clubs (existing and possible to set up), car hire, permanent car sharing, and alternative transport such as trains (although not really workable with a tent and camping gear in tow!).  One of the challenging factors of car clubs, is where the car is based.  There is one that has cars based at the Civic Offices.  But with two small children in tow, and their two car seats, plus whatever else we need for the trip, it's an enourmous effort just to get to the car!

Ironically it might end up cheaper to buy another car, although there is then obviously the unknown factor of future repairs, as we certainly wouldn't be getting anything new.  But I really don't want to end up doing that.  This seems a great opportunity to try and do something good for the environment, and also to share resources with others.  So more homework required!

General Update

In addition to the car issue, the past two months have brought up several unexpected expenses, and yet talking with others and asking around have brought some great alternatives to cash being spent!  

The blinds in our living room have been on their last legs for a while, but now each morning that I open them, I pray that they will actually open and not disintegrate in my hands.  When I was talking about it with a friend, she mentioned that she had some curtains in her loft that we could use as a short term measure.  And my mother-in-law found her old curtains from two houses ago, and although they're too short, is happy for me to recycle them and make a long term solution.  (Just need to find some clear time to find some co-ordinating fabric, and get unpicking and then sewing.)


Kester was at the perfect moment to leave his cot and move into a bed, as he's so tired at bedtime, having dropped his daytime sleep, that he isn't worried about getting out of bed, and he also really wants to be like his big sister ;-)  A friend was letting us have her son's bed, once they'd got a new one for him off eBay.  M will have that one, and K would have hers.  And in the meantime we managed to borrow a toddler bed from another friend's loft for K, so he could make the transition.  This weekend the other friend got her son's new bed, so we got their old cabin bed.  Yesterday, was the big move day, and last night, M slept up high in her 'new' bed, and K slept in his big sister's old bed.  Lots of great recycling, and the only expense was a new mattress for M!

'I never want to sleep anywhere else, Mummy!'

We also got a bonus 3 months of membership at the local acquarium this week!  For the past 3 months they've been promising us our membership card, and keep mislaying it.  On about the 7th time of asking they decided to ask me to fill in all the forms again, and then said they'd start the year from that date.  Bonus!

And at last the front yard/community herb garden is starting to show signs of development!  Yesterday, Southsea Greenhouse (check out their community garden launch day below) came and dug up the large plant, and is going to rehouse it at the Pyramids (Mariella is very happy that we can go and see it when we have a swim there ;-)  The other main plant was taken last weekend.  A couple were passing on Mother's Day, when I was at the front door, and asked what the plant was called.  They'd admired it previously and tried to discover what it was, but to no avail.  I had no idea, but said they were really welcome to it, as I might need to move it for the herb garden anyway.  They were rather taken aback, but after further convincing, agreed to take it as long as they could bring me some herbs in exchange, and invite us to their open garden later in the year.  (A great deal!)  And so now that the winter appears to letting up, at last, I need to get some pots round the front, collect all the promised-to-me herbs and start growing.  Exciting!!!

http://southseagreenhouse.co.uk/events-and-news/

 

Do not adjust your set

So I've decided to carry on blogging, as I've kind of got into the habit of it (if not rather sporadically recently), and find it a really useful tool in seeing where my journey is taking me.  (Some others appear to enjoy reading it too...mad fools ;-)

So with a slight rejig to the title, and a change of background image (I embrace change!), I carry on typing.

So much has been happening recently, and I think I'll keep blogging about:

• the local community and germinating plans
• the latest attempts at craft that I inflict on everyone for their gifts
• and probably anything else random that escapes my head.

So on the community front, I'm currently starting with four things for the lovely 'Wimbledon Park Patch' (having just typed 'four' I already know there's more than that...biting off too much?):

Oxfam Get Together to celebrate International Women's Day on 8th March - I'm inviting friends and neighbours round for an evening to raise money and give them five tips from my year of 'finding richness in less'...should be fun! 

Easter Egg Hunt & Scavenger Hunt on 30th March in the local park - the local community wardens, police and fire service are coming along.  And I'm hoping to get lots of kids having fun and eating chocolate (fingers crossed for a donation from Waitrose), and get everyone to answer some questions about what they'd like to see in the park in months and years to come, to get some ideas started on our great local community space (with local public funds decreasing, if we don't take ownership of such spaces, who knows what will be left...just this year they've decreased money for planting, maintenance of the grounds and the children's park facilities (if play equipment gets dangerous it's now unlikely to be repaired or replaced, but more likely to be removed :-(

Streetbank promotion - a community online space that lets you see all the things your neighbours are happy for you to borrow, things they're giving away & skills they're willing to share with you. It's like a giant shared attic and garden shed for you and anyone living within a mile of your home.  I've already trialed a bokashi from someone, and have someone designing a logo for the Wimbledon Park Patch...all for free! 
 
Sharing for the new garden waste collection scheme in the city - the council are introducing new garden waste bins that you can pay to have and are collected every fortnight.  We'd need to drive to the tip whenever we do large back yard foliage clearance, as we'd never fill a bin more than three times a year...however, the idea is to have it on our front yard, we're sharing it with neighbours so that we can all use it, but split the cost.

Community herb garden - the front yard is about to be transformed into a community herb garden (anyone's welcome to stop and take cuttings for their recipes).  The main plant in the space currently is about to go to Southsea Greenhouse for rehousing at the Pyramids or a care home in Fratton, and lots of people are collecting herb seedlings for me (even the local community wardens).  Hopefully the whole thing is going to be done for free, and with everyone pitching in, it feels like a great start to something that is meant to be about 'everyone'. 

And finally I'm starting work on the summer community picnic in the park and a facebook group to start connecting those who are online. 

Not bad for the first 9 weeks of the year!

And as to crafting...perhaps some seperate posts on that to come, but I've had another go at marmalade (not my biggest success, but edible), and lots of homemade gifts including a great coriander spice rub for meat, knitted animals and my latest joy, puppet theatres made from old sheets and scraps of fabric, which you hang between door frames.  Every child's home should have one...so I'll definitely do a detailed post on that, as it's amazingly simple!

The year that was 2012

This is the first time I've logged onto the blog since my last post on Christmas Eve, and so much has happened since then.  Christmas had it's ups and downs this year, and ended on a very sad note on New Year's Eve with the death of my Grandma.  Just less than 6 months since my Grandpa died, so a really tough start for 2013.  And somehow we've made it to February already, and I really felt I must get back and post something about the other big changes in my life.

The day my Grandpa died, was the day that I first started thinking about leaving my job to focus more time on my local community, and the day my Grandma died, was the day that I officially left the council...funny how these kind of things sometimes happen.

So far 2013 has been about finding a new rhythm.  

The kids have changed to four mornings at nursery and we are having fun-filled afternoons with plans - to ensure we do stuff.  We're hanging out with their friends more, got a year's membership to the aquarium (just a 15 mins walk away!), playing in the park and on the beach, visiting the library and grandparents, and baking cakes and painting.  A really precious time as the first day at school looms this September for my eldest.

I'm also self-employed and currently doing a day a week for the CRED Foundation and taking on responsibility for all their finances.  I love what the charity stands and strives for, and it's great to have flexibility and more freedom in when and how I work (although I miss my collegues at the Council and the heating, although am relishing the ICT freedoms ;-)

Then there's obviously the joys of life, running a house and a family and attempting to find some time to run.  Along with making time to focus on encouraging community in the local patch.  No giant leaps there, just little steps (which is how I think these things normally pan out).  So far the little steps have entailed:

• gritting the pavement on our street before the snow hit - thanks Council for the free grit bins you leave dotted round the city for us to use on pavements...however, it appeared to not make a blind bit of difference...grrrr!  Had good conversations with neighbours whilst doing it, so not a totally wasted effort
• chatted with some gardeners in our park about why the kids hide and seek bushes had all been chopped down, and have the name of someone at the council to contact to see how we can influence what goes on in our park, going forward
• am planning an evening for local neighbours linked with International Women's Day (8th March)
• am starting to explore logistics of a community lunch in the park for early summer
• getting along to the council's budget consultation meetings
• drawing up plans for the front yard/community herb garden
• and actually found some time to attend some Governor training sessions to help with one of the local schools/nursery/children's centre, where I'm a Governor.

So when I write it down...not bad going considering ;-)

Now the dilemma is whether to carry on this blog.  I've written less in the second half of the year, and it was a blog for 2012, so part of my feels like signing off.

The other part of me has quite enjoyed writing something down and looking back over the year's journey, so would like to carry something on....but what?  A new blog?  Called what?  Focused on what?

So for anyone that's reading this, feel free to let me know any thoughts/views if you have them.  I'm throwing it out there, and perhaps this will be my last word...

Countdown to 2013 and a new rhythm

So this post has been a long time in development, but at last I've gotten around to putting something down about my plans for 2013.

This year has been fascinating in many ways, and back in July I felt really challenged to make some monumental changes to my work pattern.  Throughout the year I've been trying to put more trust in God and rely less on money and other things, and I'm not that surprised that I've been led to the point of giving up a regular salary, but that didn't mean the decision came that easily.

In 2008 we spent a lot of time questioning where we should live, and very clearly we came to the decision of Southsea (sorry Highlands & Bristol ;-), and that started us on a year and a half journey to the house that we now own and live in.  I really felt that we ended up in this house for a reason, and ever since we moved to the area I've felt challenged to explore building more community, having lots of ideas, but little time to get on and try them.  I've lived in much more deprived areas, and somehow community seems easier to come by, but the more well off areas need it just as much.  We were born to be in community, and careers and mortgages often don't help us find time to connect with those around us.

Anyhow, back in July I decided that I needed to make more time available in my life to do some of the ideas that I'd been thinking of, and the only thing that was movable was the job.  The reality is that I still need to earn money, and to free up time to do some of the things, I still need some child-free time.  But we took the leap of faith that somehow God would help on that front, and I decided to hand in my notice. About 2 weeks after deciding that, I got offered a very flexible job with a charity that I already do some work for, and as ever, God pulled it out of the bag!

So the 3rd December is my final day working for the Council, and I'll then be embarking on a range of things in 2013 in the Wimbledon Park Patch area.  I think we need to become more connected as locational communities and there is already lots of connecting going on, but still plenty more possible!  I'm going to start with little things, but at least start, rather than just dream.

Things I'm going to explore are:

• connecting into the old people's home on our street (a hidden community with so much richness...how do we link them more into our community, what can we offer them, and what can they offer us?)
• connect with new uni students when they arrive in Sept (have seen an idea where you put on a free curry for them, and introduce them to neighbours)
• develop the herb network idea further (am planning on turning our whole front yard into a herb garden (not just the gate posts) so anyone can pop by and take a picking for their cooking, and hoping to get others involved...we have one neighbour who grows amazing coriander each summer!)
• spend some time just walking around our streets more, chatting with people, connecting, seeing where doors open
• invite our elderly neighbours in for a cuppa
• organise a 'Big Lunch' event in the park this summer.

So nothing ground breaking or earth shattering, but a first step.  Encouragingly I've been talking with several local people over the past few months about it, and there is a genuine interest amongst everyone to get involved and do more.

I believe we were made to live in community with God and each other, and that we need to be more creative in how we rely on God and each other, rather than just looking to money or the public sector to keep things going.  This time of austerity is a time of opportunity, and people seem really open to ideas of doing things a bit differently.  I feel that God is somehow involved in the timing of this, and we'll have to see what happens next.  
Life is never dull with God!!

Should I be finding richness in cress?

So how do places like West Dean have kitchen gardens that look so immaculate...with not a slug or snail eaten vegetable in sight?!?!

So far this year M & I have grown 5 edible radishes and a selection of herbs.  The apples are doing OK, but the tomatoes and beans are looking small and the rest of the garden has been eaten by our slimey enemies.  Grampy was visiting this week and put it down to the bad soil, so I'm going to try and feed them more, and see if that helps.  Next year he'll be here to help, and maybe we'll be feeding the street with our produce.

But the good news is that we are having success in the house, and from a suprising source.  McDonalds are currently giving out cress kits in their kids meals.  Within 2 days we have leaves emerging and I'm seriously wondering whether we should try just covering our garden in cress...maybe my seed choice was the issue?  Should I be finding richness in cress?

No time to blog!

So it's almost a month since my last blog post, and it's not that I've decided a don't want to write stuff about the year anymore, it's just the lack of time free to sit down and write! It's becoming a recurrent theme, how making things and trying to do things differently is taking more time, and I definitely feel the biggest learning from this whole experience is the truth in the statement that 'time is money', but there is definitely more richness in relying on it less!  So what's been going on in May?

Beach Hut Fun
After about 6 years on the waiting list, we got to the top and now rent a Beach Hut (or Sun hut to be more correct, as it's just back from the beach and we have the prom, road and a great patch of grass between us and the beach).  We've only had it for about a month now, but have already had so much fun down there with a whole host of people, we're definitely glad with took the plunge (as it's not a cheap experiment!).

In the hot days the kids have loved paddling, and as we don't have much of a garden at home, and certainly no grass, the novelty of a giant expanse of grass to run around and crawl on has been brilliant.  We've also had lots of fun doing art things, and generally hanging out with friends and eating together.  We've also met some lovely new neighbours and even a previous neighbour from our days in North End is now a neighbour again!  So if you're in the area...come and join us!

In the last month, I've also become more and more aware of the passing of time, and that pre-school days will be gone in just over a year's time, so I'm really wanting to have some great time having fun with the kids, as well as having good time with them, whilst dealing with the rest of life....they've good at helping out round the house, and it's not all about fun-fun-fun.  But the beach hut has been great for more focused time with them, as I can't disappear to just put on another wash load.  The challenge of this, is that I then need to fit even more into evenings as the jobs still need doing, so sleep has definitely been lacking this month.  Finding the right balance is the biggest challenge of all motherhood days I think.

Devon
We had 5 days in Devon, thanks to a friend of my Mum's who lets us her holiday home.  Sadly just before the weather became amazing, but had fun with Grandma at a farm, on the beach and at the house.

Gardening

Tomatoes alive inside!

We've continued to try and grow things in the garden, but with the exception of radishes and apples, the slugs seem to be feasting on all the rest, so it's not a great success currently.  I planted out tomatoes and broad beans yesterday, that have done really well inside, but we wait to see if they get eaten before they have a chance to get even bigger :-(  Orange peel, coffee grounds, egg shells and organic slug pellets seem to have little effect on Pompey gastropods.
Also the compost bin and Bokashis seem to have been the perfect breeding ground for fruit flies, which means I'm becoming a very good aim with rolled up newspaper, and my daughter enjoys the blood smears that appear all over the kitchen cupboard doors...dead and alive have become quite focused topics in our house.

Gifts

More cut out people cards

And I still continue to try and make gifts as much as possible, although people are getting more and more belated presents with each passing month.  Men & boys really seem to be the main challenge, although I'm hoping I have a current idea that can run to several boys over the coming months...am just awaiting feedback from the first little chap to get it.  Homemade experiment kits....check this out: http://www.sciencebob.com/experiments/lavalamp.php  

So May hasn't been a quiet month, and when you add normal household chores, helping family house hunt, mad weeks at work, Governor duties and keeping kids occupied, it's little wonder that there is ever any time to sit down and blog!

Topsy Turvy Easter

So the weather got it all wrong this year...we had glorious sunshine on Friday and enjoyed sitting at the Hot Walls, and then had a slightly damp breakfast at the Beach Hut on Easter Sunday.  But it's been another good Easter weekend, and as ever started with a great veggie meal with the justice gang on Thursday evening.  Leaving that evening, via the quiet room with candles, thorns, nails, wood, a hammer etc, jogs the mind to think on what Jesus must have gone through that night before it all kicked off.  (And birth experiences have definitely helped bring something more to the empathy; facing something that you know has to happen, and can't avoid, the rest of the world being asleep etc.)

Sadly a little one year old's lack of sleep (think probably relating to first year jabs...all three in one sitting!), led to being very tired at 8am on the beach on Sunday, but it was great, as ever, to celebrate the world changing, and Jesus coming back to life.  It's been a great weekend of spending time with our Portsmouth family.

Start of Spring

It's been a while since my last post, and I'm not sure why that is; partly I haven't managed many free moments, and partly I'm not sure there's anything new to write about.  

Life ticks along, but some progress has gone on in the garden, thanks to some beautiful March weather.  The shed is in situ.  Lots of little seeds have been planted...am not filled with confidence that they'll be a giant harvest, but my little helper more than makes up for my fears...hope she's not too disappointed.

Work juggling, with poorly little people, household tasks, play groups and weekends with visitors has made life feel very full.  Lots of lovely moments hidden amidst lots of routine.

Recycling continues, but I need to work on the compost bin in the back yard.  It's a very enclosed space (even more so with the new shed now), and on warmer days, the aroma is a bit strong...reminds me a micro brewery!  I've found out that Lush recycle all plastic bottle tops, and we're now a disposable nappy free house (good, other than there's no room for error on the supply of clean terries!).

Gift making continues, with recently some Piccalli (a first) and more home-made cards.  I'm now trying to get a month ahead, as otherwise I'm feeling rather too much last minute pressure to create, but it's easier said than done.

Tiredness is definitely having an impact on the spring in my step (and it is a rainy morning as I type), but as with all journeys, the honeymoon period is over, and effort is now required to find deeper richness.

Parenting Advice and Garden Update

So my evening out for International Women's Day was a lovely evening of talking with girl friends, and not being interupted by little people...a rare treat!

 

http://www.oxfam.org.uk/womensday

One of the topics, sums up my prefered method of parenting advice.  I'm just not one of those people that is inclined to trawl through loads of parenting books, written by people who I don't know, some of whom don't have kids, and that always seem to be very long.  Give me some hands-on parent experience any day!  We had a great discussion about what words to use when kids start asking about their different body parts.  This is coming up lots in our house at the moment, as my eldest (girl) realises the differences between her and her little brother.  From the discussion I'm still not 100% sure on the way I want to go, although I've definitely eliminated some options and am not far off a decision.

Rob Bell in his book 'Love Wins' has a great quote about his and his wife's parenting ambition, along the lines of 'we want to bring our kids up with as little to unlearn in their futures as possible'.  I definitely want the best for my two, and prayer and muddling along with other parents thoughts/opinions/ideas and mistakes has done me well so far.  (Maybe I should write a book on group parenting ;-)

Garden Update

As to the garden, there has been great progress this week , thanks to a lovely warm weekend...hooray...spring!  After weeks of deliberation we've decided to get a shed to store the bikes at the expense of some of our garden sun spot, but being able to use and maintain our bikes really is very important.  (Amazingly the NI repayment has totally covered that...God's timing ;-)

Yesterday we spent a great morning relocating a big trough to our new growing area, and moving the compost bin, so the shed has space to be put in next week.  We've had to take out some bushes (currently up for grabs on Freegle), but if we get lots of fruit & veg from the same space, it will be well worth it.  Now I just need to find some time to get a plan going of what to plant when and where, and find somewhere for our apple trees.  And since this (other than the shed) this is all recycled things, how many of the seeds etc can we source creatively?!

The new blank canvas of our back yard

Bounce-back Cash

So it was only last week that I as feeling rather low about all the money that we'd had to spend last month (had to ??), well, what a strange week since my last posting.

Firstly, our lovely neighbour came round this week to ask if he could pay for half of the fence work...and wouldn't take 'no' for an answer.  Who's boundary is who's has always been a bit of a mystery to me, everywhere we've lived, but always going dutch seems a great solution!

Secondly, whilst at work this week I had a phone call from the bank.  They are returning my NI payment into our account, as HMRC has contacted them to say that the bank account no longer exists!  First reaction: wow...all that money back.  Second reaction: I now need to call HMRC and try to get to the bottom of it.  Third reaction: how ludicrous that you're sent a letter with an April 2012 deadline (admittedly several years ago) and then close the bank account that you want payment into...I'm sure I'm not the only one that's left it to the last minute to send money.

So it's not like all the money's come back, but it has been a strange week!

I was also feeling uneasy about the expense of sorting the digi-box, but this week I've felt the need to do something for Lent.  (I don't normally give anything up.)  There are a couple of things that I really want to invest some prayer into, and fasting is a great way to focus the mind, so I'm thinking of giving up TV for 40 days and using some of the time when I'm not watching, to pray and some of the rest to do some of the creative projects I'm not finding time for.  I don't think I'm going to inflict it on the kids this time, as it's quite a major aid in getting us out of the house on time for work & nursery, and bedtime when we've just walked in the door (think removing that would tip me over the edge, let alone them ;-).

Note re: Waste - my eldest had her first sleep in a terry's nappy last night...wanted to know why she was wearing a 'baby nappy' rather than a 'big girl nappy' aka: disposable, but was up for giving it a go...slight leakage, but definitely worth trying for a while (might even help motivate her to stop wearing them at night all together).  So we might have a disposable free house soon, and weekly bin bag weighing less than 1kg!

January Review

image from http://www.edupics.com.html

Firstly, I can't believe that January is almost over already, and for me that means heading back to work, but I thought it would be good to try and take stock of positives this month, and what I need to think more about for the coming months.

Overall the month feels like a bit of a fail, as there have been some mammoth expenses going out (although it's not really the amount, it's whether there's an alternative solution), however, perhaps I'm being a bit tough of myself when I actually look at what they are :

• a fairly large tax bill (part tax return and part NI missed payments from several years ago when I as setting up a business and not earning...was it worth filling the gap?  Will we ever have any government pension to mention? I really struggle with pensions as they really clash with the feeling of living with God in today, in faith...more pondering required!)  p.s. I don't have any issue with the tax paying...only on what my taxes are spent on!
• the car's MOT (it actually did very well, but still costs so much, for something that we don't actually use that much.  We've considered going car-less when it dies, but when we looked into the cost of hiring a car, or getting the train to visit relatives for a week or so in the summer, unbelievably it costs more than us having the car serviced, taxed & MOT'd for the whole year!!  And we can't quite manage Preston on the bicycles!)
• repairs on the house (the garden fence panels almost blew down in the recent gales, so needed sorting - the one positive, is that with some persuasion the guy fixing them managed to revamp them, rather than scrap them and just give us new ones, pretty much the same cost, and there was really nothing wrong with 95% of them!  A leaky roof and gutter that meant our front yard flooded in giant rain.  Both things that pre-kids I've have had a go at doing myself, but currently I only seem to manage to keep on top of the things in the house, I knew that realistically it would be months before I'd get round to sorting, and who knows what the winter water would have done in that time!)

And going into next month we have two outstanding possible expenses that are playing on my mind:

• we have a digibox thing which means we can record TV programmes, and the reality of life is that we never watch anything live anymore (other than kids TV).  The harddrive is going, and I know we'll end up getting a new one, but I do feel annoyed that we're all so desiring of TV (especially when you consider the quality of most of it).  Especially in the winter months, we use it to switch off, to iron in front of, and we love things likes Sherlock.  But really, is it the best use of hundred quid?
• and finally the nightmare of our small backyard!  It's the biggest challenge on the multi-use front ever: kids play/bike storage/clothes drying/food growing.  And the bike cover is on it's last legs, and with M about to get a little bike too, we just need more storage space.  So do we get a wooden shed?  If so, the only logical place to put it, is in the only good bit of sun space in the garden, where I was about to get lots of growing going!  Ahhhhhhhhhhh...............or do we just stick to plastic covers for the meantime, but end up replacing them frequently?  Just can't decide.  (Was hoping either a shed or bike cover would come our way and the decision could be made...but no sign so far.  And the four uses are good things...not making the decision any easier.)  Am I just overtired and thinking too much ;-)

On the positive front, January has been great in some little ways:

• waste is down to a minimum....once we eliminate disposible nappies at night next month, we'll be producing less than a kilo of non-recyclable waste each week (the small black bag looks ridiculous when I put it out...hooray!!!)
• all birthday cards this month have been recycled, and 90% of the gifts too
• we haven't thrown any food away
• the chores list has worked really well (for me at least)
• and I've made marmalade for the first time.

So let's see what February brings!

Herb Success

I am always astounded at the price of small bags of herbs in supermarkets, and when I needed a relatively small amount of sage this week, I felt I needed to be more creative.

When we moved into our house there was space for plants in the gate pillars at the front door, but when I spoke to the friend we'd bought the house from, she said that anything she'd planted in there, simply got nicked.  I thought I'd give it one try, and sure enough the flowers lasted all of 2 weeks before they did a midnight escape.

So I changed tack and planted some herbs in them, on the basis that they didn't have dazzling flowers, and it's amazing how many large rosemary bushes there are dotted around the city on the entrance to subways, and they thrive.

Two years on, the herbs are still there, and people are welcome to take cuttings if they need any thyme to cook with.

So, back to the sage issue, I emailed round all my neighbours who live in the neighbouring streets to see if anyone had any sage growing, offering thyme, rosemary and bay in return, when needed.  I had a great response, and not only recived some sage, but am having a sage cutting cultivated for me (thanks!), and now also know where to get mint and a few other herbs in future.

So I think I'll be cultivating the local herb network further in the coming months!

A Year of Unravelling Jumpers?

So as the official start of our year begins tomorrow, I've been thinking about how I'm going to have to be far more creative than I've been during our warm-up of the past couple of months.

This week I've started knitting a hoodie for the kids again (there was a long pause after K was born), and it's reminded me how much I love knitting and how that is another avenue for making gifts and getting clothing etc.  However, for anyone who's bought wool in the last few years, it is a very expensive option, in comparison to buying anything in the shops.  (I honestly don't know how they can justify the cost of clothing as it is, even if you halved the cost of wool!)   So buying more wool to make things; toys, stockings, jumpers, pen holders etc, seems like a dead-end.

Then revelation hit!!  (Amazing what things you think about in a darkened room whilst breastfeeding in the middle of the night...am never sure if I'm awake or dreaming up these things).  In my regular charity shop trawls, I can hunt out wool jumpers and unravel them for a giant supply of cheap wool!  It surely can't be that hard, once I've managed to undo the sticking that holds it all together.  So watch this space on whether it works or not (photos to follow later in 2012).

I've also decided I need to be more creative on food production.  This week I managed to get our new compost bin in place, in the corner of the backyard.  I've never been too optimistic about the amount of food we could generate in such a small space, with little sunshine, and lots of paving slabs.  Although the pots have done us proud, with tomatoes, apples and bay leaves.

But I noticed that we have a little strip of soil between the slabs and the wall (probably not quite 2 foot deep), which is hidden under bits of slate.  The soil underneath seems really good.  And all I need to do is relocate the apple tree pots (I'll probably need to get rid of a few shrubs, which aren't that exciting anyway), and we'll have a little strip farm of our own.  So I've emailed our friends who have a real strip farm (the source of our apple harvest earlier this year, and the beautiful bunch of mistletoe on our front door this Christmas...thanks!!!!) to get some tips on where to start, and hopefully we'll get some veg going later this year.  Something else to try and regularly fit into the week, but I've always aspired to an allotment later on, but am put off by the distance we'd have to travel to get to it....so no excuse on this challenge!

So as the New Year dawns there are lots of ideas and activities bubbling away.  It really is exciting, and I'm hoping that January and February (traditionally my least favourite months of the year (even though my birthday is in the midst of them)) are more positive than normal.  The biggest challenge will be time, especially as I juggle returning to work too, but I like nothing better than change and a challenge...so here goes.

So Happy New Year, to anyone reading this, and I hope you find something to challenge you this coming year, and find some richness in less too!