Why bottled water sucks

Bottled water sucks.

Beth Terry at Fake Plastic Fish has snapped Jackson Brown ranting about why bottled water sucks.

I couldn't agree with Beth - or Browne - more.

Bottled water really sucks.



I haven't bought bottled water for - it is years now? It's certainly months. And now, as part of my Water Challenge, I don't buy drinks in any form of single use plastic packaging. I'm best friends with my stainless steel water bottle, and happier than ever.
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I'm not alone, but sometimes I wish I was

A recent study in the US has found that among 8 year old children, 1 in every 100 has autism.

For boys, the figure is 1 in 58. If there isn't a child with autism in your son or daughter's class, he or she is in the class next door. Or maybe it is your son or daughter. Like it is my son.

And the numbers are rising.

Read it here: CDC find higher incidence of autism.

As a mother of a boy with autism, that's frightening.

We're lucky - my son is on the mild end of the spectrum. But if you think it doesn't impact every single moment of our lives together, think again.

I know I'm not alone in battling this thing, but sometimes I wish I was. Because the thought that so many people are out there battling, and struggling too, is beyond horrific.

My thoughts and wishes go out to all families - and especially the kids - who are struggling with autism.

May we find a way through this thing, together.

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Excuses, excuses!

I have two small excuses for not doing things in my life.

One will be having a "Pirates And Princesses" Birthday Party in a couple of weeks, when he turns five.



The other is aged two and a half, and was reduced to tears this morning when her balloon blew away.



Having a young family means life is full of excuses.

When friends come visit, they step through the door, and my opening line is: "Excuse the house being in such a mess..."


The washing triffid

When I don't get things done: "Excuse me for not getting around to [whatever I said I'd do], the kids have kept me busy."

When I'm late for choir: "Excuse me, the traffic was bad." (Which really means that one or other of my kids needed a change / had a tantrum / took their shoes off just as we were heading out the door.)


St. Paul's, where I sing

I don't knit or sew. I tried to knit, but there was nowhere in our tiny house I could keep it safe without my daughter finding it and tearing it apart, pulling the wool from one end to the other, and rolling it around, having huge fun.


Nothing to see here...move along, move along...

And when my son pulled the paper patterns off the sewing pieces, I was worried he'd stab himself with the pins he kept stealing.

My kids have taught me more than I could have imagined, from the moment when I first held my son in my arms and heard his baby cries.

I've grown as a person, learning patience, and love, and forgiveness.



I've also learned that I'll do anything on this earth to keep them safe. Which means doing everything I can to keep our world safe for them.



And no excuses.



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My own 350.org action: planting 350 seeds of food plants!

My kids and I are planting 350 seeds of food plants on October 24.

In my garden, on my "nature strip" (which is just overgrown grass and never gets mowed by our landlady!), in pots, and in tubes to be given to members of our community and to families freely on Freecycle.

This is my stand as a Guerilla Gardener in training. *lol*

Here are my seeds, ready for action:



If you love this action, why not do the same in your own town, with your own family, and join me?

You can find our action registered online at 350.org by clicking here.
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Our Cathedral will rock the town!

As part of the 350.org International Day Of Climate Action, our Cathedral will be joining other Dunedin churches and ringing our bells 350 times!

Now this might not win friends and influence people (especially our neighbours in the Octagon), but I think it's pretty cool.

You can find the 350.org node here to read about it. We're not alone - Knox Church will be joining us.

Zooming in at 350.org will find our action

Our Dean announced this to the congregation on Sunday, and a lot of people seemed very pleased that we will have a (very loud and musical!) voice on 24 October.

I'm going to talk to the Dean, find out the exact time of the event, and ask if I can film it.

If I manage to (despite the handicap of two preschoolers to manage), I'll Youtube it and post it to this blog.

If you're a member of a Church or social group, why not suggest a similar action? We need every single community gathering behind this that we can get.

UPDATE: As of the afternoon of Monday 19 October, Dunedin, with our population of just over 120, 000 people, has 18 actions on the map, and rising :-)

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Seedlings grow up!

Do you remember a few weeks ago I posted an article called "Seedlings On the Cheap"?

And the photos were all of egg cartons. Filled with soil, nothing to see?

Take another look!

Lettuces - outside, and cruisin' for a bruisin'!

Lettuce, grown from seed

Pumpkin growing big and burly, and ready to face the elements!


Pumpkin coming up

Ummm...I think these are tomatoes. But I forgot to label them! Any ideas, readers?

Tomatoes...maybe?


Peggy gave these to me. I think they're marigolds.


Mystery flower. Maybe marigolds, but could be triffids

Gourmet lettuce mix, ready to face the elements.


Gourmet lettuce mix

Cucumbers, not quite out of their infancy.


Crystal apple cucumbers

That's the whole kitchen windowsill nursery. I'd have more if I could, but this is the only windowsill the kids can't reach.


More babies

I still find it miraculous that what was earth can become green leaf, fruit, bud and bower.

The living world is truly a miracle, don't you think!
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24 October 2009 - International Day of Climate Action

View Actions at 350.org

You don't have to be a "Green Blogger" to add this to your blog. If you want to send a strong message to our political leaders, prior to Copenhagen, add the Map Of Actions to your blog by visiting here

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How to turn your kids into farmers and gardeners

My kids are only four and two. But you know what - they're already keen gardeners and farmers, thanks to a few tricks in gardening that I've stumbled upon.

I want to share them with you.

If you have kids, I hope you can teach your kids the joys of food gardening. My kids are loving it, and I get so much joy from learning with them.

• Have a garden, and get outside as much as possible in public gardens.
  Choose days when the weather is fine.
  Bring yummy food and drink with you.
  Play games outside, like Hide And Seek.
  Smell the flowers. Hug the trees.
  Go to the Botanic Gardens and feed the ducks.
  
  
  On your marks.
  Get set.
  No, Herman! Don't look at the camera!
  
  If it rains, bring the umbrellas and play with the kids in the rain.
  
  
  I'm glad you can't hear the soundtrack
  Sing "Singing in the Rain" together. It doesn't matter if you're a bad singer - I am, but my kids don't mind!
  
  All of this is teaching kids to love the outdoors from an early age. Get them running around, and run with them. It's fun - it really is!
  
  
  Hugs for the winner - and the loser!
  We have races up and down the Cherry Walk in the Botanic Gardens, and give hugs for prizes to the winner, and the loser!
  
  
• Take cuttings wherever you go.
  Take cuttings of herbs, flowers, trees - anything you fancy, wherever it is allowed. Put them in pots when you get home with the kids.
  
  My kids love these experiments, and they especially love watering them.
  
  
• Get a pretty watering can, and take turns watering the garden.
  We bought a beautiful tin watering can, in lime green, for only a few dollars from a discount shop.
  
  The kids love to take turns watering the garden - it's a game they love to share in.
  
  What might have been work has become a joy to them!
  
  
• Choose as many productive plants as possible.
  Kids might like flowers, but they LOVE strawberries!
  
  Grow anything that gives a good, fast, yummy yield! And grow it in pots - the kids find potted gardens so much more manageable, and kid-sized.
  
  My son goes out every day to examine his blueberries, checking to see if any berries have developed yet.
  
  I keep finding lettuce leaves missing from our baby lettuces - yet our kids aren't keen to eat the shop bought ones!
  
  
  Heirloom rocket
  The mint, rocket, and baby spinach all take a beating from nibbling kids, who can't seem to keep away from anything we grow ourselves! Growing these foods is promoting healthy eating!
  
  
  My son's baby strawberries!
  And my son is so proud of his baby strawberries!
  
  
• Ask the kids what they'd like to grow!
  I go to the garden center with the kids. When I'm choosing plants, I ask for input.
  My son wanted the blueberries. He's got them!
  My daughter wanted cucumbers, and now ours are growing from seed really well!
  Kids need to own a project in order to learn from it. There's no point teaching from books, but if they can get their hands dirty and help, they'll remember what to do and how to do it.
  

I think, in the years to come, knowing how to grow food will be one of the most useful skills a person can have. I think humanity is headed for tough times.

But even if we're not, what better way to teach kids about respect for nature, love for everything living and green, and healthy eating and exercise, than by doing food gardening and farming from an early age?

I love my garden time with the kids. It is a precious gift I never expected to receive. And for that I am grateful.

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Turkish-style beetroot dip

This is my version of the lovely beetroot dip ("pancar dip") I used to get at Alasya Turkish Restaurant in Melbourne, Australia, on Sydney Road. They're famous for their dips and desserts.

The finished dip - Yummy!

Now I live in Dunedin, New Zealand, it is just a bit far to commute for their dip! So I've developed my own version that is so quick and easy it's a scandal not to try it.

You can use fresh beets, and it is better - just boil about 3 beets in some water, drain, then use the rest of the recipe as per normal.

You can do an easy dairy-free version of this recipe, by replacing the yoghurt with soy yoghurt.

I serve the dip with flat bread, or fresh home made bread.

Ingredients:

• 1 tin of beetroot
  
• 1/4 cup of plain, unsweetened yoghurt
  
• 1 small clove garlic (I use two cloves, but I'm a garlic fiend!)
  
• Fresh mint, for garnish.
  

Method:

1. Crush the garlic, and place it in a small blender bowl, together with the beetroot and yoghurt.
   
   
   
   
2. Pulse until smooth.
   
   
3. Garnish with the fresh mint.
   

For this dip, I used our home grown mint and home grown garlic from Peggy, as ours is still a bit too small. Thanks Peggy!
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A day at the gardens

The weekend has been absolutely beautiful.

I could talk about how the sun shone, how we were able to get out and enjoy the weather, and how it really, truly, feels like Spring is here.

But I'd rather show you the photos.

We took the kids to the Botanic Gardens again yesterday morning.

Everything was in full bloom.



In the afternoon, after a spot of house-hunting, there was a little shower of rain. Just enough for two preschoolers to get out the umbrellas.



And run around on the daisies.



I love Spring. You can almost hear the earth laughing for joy.

When the green woods laugh with the voice of joy,
And the dimpling stream runs laughing by;
When the air does laugh with our merry wit,
And the green hill laughs with the noise of it;

when the meadows laugh with lively green,
And the grasshopper laughs in the merry scene,
When Mary and Susan and Emily
With their sweet round mouths sing "Ha, ha he!"

When the painted birds laugh in the shade,
Where our table with cherries and nuts is spread:
Come live, and be merry, and join with me,
To sing the sweet chorus of "Ha, ha, he!"

- Laughing Song, (from) Songs Of Innocence, William Blake


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A new Rubik's Cube for our toddler

We just bought our daughter a new Rubik's Cube.

She lost her old one, and we've been really struggling with getting her to stay in bed ever since.

You'd think that a Rubik's Cube is a weird bedfellow for a 2 year old, but she loves it. Better yet, it meant that she would stay in bed, and we didn't have to deal with a toddler escaping, opening her bedroom window (in the middle of winter!), coming out every five minutes to say hello, and making her way into her brother's bedroom (and his bed!).

Now the new one has arrived, we're hoping it will keep her happy.

She lies in bed, twiddling the thing for ages, until she falls asleep.

And if she manages to solve it, yes, we'll be sure to sell the story for mega-bucks to the garbage magazines and Sixty Minutes!

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Composting our lives

As I walked out to the compost bin last night in my gumboots, loaded with vegetable scraps, past a long row of food plants, I couldn't help but think how much I've changed.

And how fast - and slow - the process has been.

When you first realised that we all needed to learn sustainability, if you were like me you went into a state of shock. Did you? I sure did.

The movie "A Crude Awakening" scared the hell out of me.

"An Inconvenient Truth" finished the job off.

I remember being frightened at what I might have to do, and learn.

I remember being afraid of failure.

I remember being angry at people who seemed intent on not changing, and on maintaining their current, unsustainable ways.

Most of all, I remember feeling helpless at my inability to change government policy, inspire others, and create transformation - even in my own parents!

Time to absorb: think, learn, grow, transform

But time has passed, and I have got older. I'm staring at the first grey hairs in my temples. I'm looking at the first few lines around my eyes. I'm finding unexpected beauty in these things.

In my life, I've been faced with challenges I never expected to face. A son with autism. A challenging daughter.

Moving to a different country, and having to learn different cultural norms, and different modes of behaviour.

Leaving my friends and family behind. I miss them so much.

But here I am, half a decade after first learning about finite resources and sustainability. And I barely recognise the person I was when I return to my old diaries from that earlier time.

You can't buy green

I used to think you could buy green. I thought that if you only bought the right products - sustainably harvested this, ethically produced that, everything would be fine.

I used to figure that all we had to do was live in funky eco-homes and wear the latest bamboo fibre fashion and drive electric cars around, and - hey presto! - problem solved.

But the hole we've dug for ourselves with our consumerism can't be solved by simply spending more, despite what any bailout supporters might think.

Composting our lives

I'm starting to learn that sustainability comes from an open mind, and the willingness to power down, challenge authority, and challenge ourselves.

Power down: Powering down by reshaping our resource use.

Growing our own food, and supporting locally produced food.

Living lower on the food chain with fewer animal foods in our diets.

Living in smaller, more efficient, better designed homes that are cheaper to heat, cool and maintain.

Living within cycling and walking distances of our workplaces, schools and parks.

Challenge authority: Speaking out against companies, corporations and governments that destroy our world.

Being strong enough to take a stand against what we believe is wrong.

Fighting for what we believe in, even when we don't think we can win, or when we know we will lose.

Speaking out loud for those who cannot speak, and being strong for those who are weak.

Challenge ourselves: Learn that politics is a tool that divides people on the areas where we all need to see our similarities. The way that "green" issues have become partisan in the USA is a striking example of this.

Learn that inside our most hated enemy is a person in whom we may, if we are patient and willing enough, find a friend.

Learn that many, many disagreements are based in foolishness and an unwillingness to back down, rather than anything actually worth fighting over.

Learn that there are two sides to every story, and sometimes we are actually wrong!

Learn that labels for people, ideologies, religions and groups are divisive rather than helpful. A person may be gay, Muslim, right-wing or extremist - but they're a person first - and if we see them as a person rather than the label, maybe we'll understand who they are, rather than hate what they are not.

Challenge ourselves to clean up messes that we didn't make, extend a hand of friendship to people who never extended it to us, build community in places where no community exists, and love those who have no one to love them.

Being green isn't just about compost, but the compost is a big part of green!

Over the coming years, I think we'll see a hard sell on green. We'll see it modelled and styled, and packaged to us in "designer green" forms.

We'll see more and more "greenwash", with every product from "clean coal" to "clean nuclear" being hailed as the latest planet-saving miracle must-have.

In the end, to see the truth, all we need to do is look at the compost! If a product creates mess - especially mess that is talked of in half-lives and millions of years - we're not talking ethical or green.

There's nothing fair about fouling the world for future generations, millions of years into the future. And there's nothing clean about coal.

I'd be happy to have a wind farm or solar cell in my backyard, but I think I'd say no to mountaintop removal or a nuclear storage facility. Wouldn't you?

Taking out the compost in our lives

So I'm starting with the compost.

Getting our waste down, just as others have before me. It has taken me years to reach a point at which I "grok" sustainability.

And I understand now that if I want my world to be beautiful, I need to take care of my own backyard. And my own compost pile.

And when I start to see worms writhing in happiness, and smell fresh, rich earth instead of decaying food scraps, then I know I'll be doing okay!

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Pyrrha's fabulous homemade hummus recipe

Here it is, in case you missed the recipe in the "comments" section of the blog.

Ingredients:

• One can of chickpeas
  
• 1 tsp minced garlic
  
• juice of 1 lemon
  
• 1 tbsp tahini
  
• a little salt
  

Method:

1. Put in the blender together, along with enough oil to get to a smooth creamy consistency (add through the funnel while blending for best results).
   
   
2. Then transfer into your own re-usable container.
   
   
3. You can experiment with the amounts of the ingredients to try to come up with the same taste as this purchased dip.
   

Pyrrha adds:

"Cans are recyclable, but better still, you can cook your own chickpeas.

I cook up a batch of a kilo of dried chickpeas all at once, then freeze them in usable portions in re-usable containers. I also do this with red kidney beans."

Pyrrha's Eggplant Dip

Pyrhha adds this yummy dip recipe:

Roast eggplant dip is just as easy - roast an eggplant in the oven at 180C for 30 mins, turn it over and 20 mins on the second side.

Transfer it to a plate to carefully peel off the skin (knife and tongs), catching the juice on the plate.

Throw out the eggplant skin.

Transfer everything to the blender, and add the same lemon, garlic, tahini and salt.

You probably won't need the oil as the eggplant juice will do the trick.

You can visit Pyrrha's blog at Princessi Stitch N Bitch.

Better yet, if you live in Melbourne, Australia, go hear her sing at Gloriana, which are an excellent choir!
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Ditch the disposables: The Hummus Strikes Back!

Over the last couple of weeks, I've been tackling the issue of sustainable hummus.

After a fair bit of thought, I wrote the following letter back to Lisa's Hummus, explaining my decision about their product to them.

Thankyou for your quick email response to my concerns about the plastic packaging of Lisa's Hummus.

I have read what you had to say on the matter, and talked the issue over with a large number of friends, and after a fair bit of thought and discussion have reached a conclusion.

I thought you might be interested to know what I have decided.

In your email, you said,


"In my opinion consumers need to make a sea change in their purchasing patterns so that manufacturers of plastic and products like ours are forced to change."


I think you are right.

Therefore, I will no longer be buying your product.

From now on, I will be making my own hummus from scratch, buying the ingredients in bulk, and freezing portions. I'm no great chef, but I think it is worth a bit of effort to avoid trashing our world, don't you?

So I guess you could say that I'm one of the first "waves" of the "sea change" you talked about!

I think that manufacturers have claimed that everything is the responsibility of the consumer for far too long. As a result, we consumers feel guilty and are blamed, yet such small changes from large companies could make massive differences in the health of our world.

In many cases, consumers do not have a choice about whether to buy a sustainable option or not - there are simply no sustainable options around, and you give us no choice at all but to refuse to buy, and effectively "boycott" your product. As in this instance.

I think Lisa's Hummus is missing a great opportunity to be the vanguard of sustainability.

By offering glass packaging that is 100% recyclable - and perhaps even returnable packaging with a deposit option! - you could gain a whole group of new customers, keen to do the right thing and buy sustainable products from ethical producers. If you were wary about taking this step, you could trial it on a percentage of your products, and see how it goes. Do a "green line" of products on a trial basis.

Instead, by leaving us no option but to not buy, you lose customers and, I feel, credibility.

I have no complaint with your product - it is a great one - but I think you need to reconsider your packaging. I am sorry to reach this decision.

When you finally switch to 100% sustainable packaging, I'll be very happy to return once again to purchasing and recommending your product.

Sincerely,

Leanne Veitch

Boycotting a product

In effect, I'm boycotting Lisa's Hummus. This wasn't what I wanted to do, but I feel it is appropriate action.

However, when we decide to stop using a product, I do feel that the company in question has the right to know why. Especially when we stop buying a product for environmental reasons.

Otherwise our action is just a tiny, tiny part of the huge up-and-down of regular sales fluctuations.

Where next?

From now on, I'll be making my own hummus. Just as I should have from the start. Yummy!

I'll post Pyrrha's faaaaaabulous homemade hummus recipe in a separate post, for ease of searching.

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Previous hummusy content:

• Ditch the disposables: The problem with hummus
  
• Ditch the disposables: The return of the hummus
  

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Excess and moderation: Renewing the Water Challenge

I've decided to continue The Water Challenge. But I've also re-assessed the restrictions of the Challenge.

For want of a better name, I'll call it the Sustainable Drinking Challenge.

With The Water Challenge, I think I tried to do something that I wasn't tough enough to do. I thought I could do it, and in my failure I made myself miserable and guilty.

What's more, I let others down when I had a drink before choir. Because I'd become an alcohol lightweight, even one glass affected me a whole lot more than I expected it would. So my performance was substandard, and I was ashamed and disappointed in myself.

Decision reached

I've decided that I will continue The Water Challenge, but in a revised, easier form. Maybe this is failure, or perhaps it is simply me learning about moderation.

Here goes:

The basic rule of the Challenge is to drink Tap Water as a default. However, if I (and anyone else doing the Challenge) feel the need, the following drinks are okay:

OK to drink when I need to (although water is still the default):

• Home-squeezed juice from in-season, home grown and/or local fruit
  
• Herbal teas, including green tea
  
• Organic, Fair Trade tea, coffee and hot chocolate
  
• Home brews of any description
  
• Non plastic-wrapped or packaged drinks
  
• Locally produced wines, beers and spirits in moderation (wines from your own region or local area)
  
• Home made soft drinks
  
• Tap water (d'oh!)
  
• All drinks served on planes, or where there are absolutely no other options (like, REALLY no other options!)
  
• All drinks served at friends' places, when you are invited
  

Finally, there's the Sanity Clause, which says, if there's a choice between feeling guilty and having something you feel you need (Nevyn, you can call this the "Pepsi Max" clause!), you have it. In moderation.

The Sanity Clause is because I'm starting to realise that there's something in life called The Middle Way. Buddhists talk about it a lot.

Finding moderation, finding balance

Although I'm not Buddhist, I think other religions can learn from Buddhist wisdom.

Being on such a restrictive Challenge made me realise that restricting ourselves to excess isn't a good thing, although restricting ourselves a little sure is.

Everywhere you look in our society, you see examples of excess. People so overweight they can hardly walk. People so rich they don't even know how much money they have.

People so greedy that they're planning their next holiday while they're still on their current one. People with so many consumer goods that they don't even know how many clothes they have in their wardrobe.

Over the past few years, I've learned to restrict what I own, what I buy, what I use, what I eat, and what I need.

In general, this has made me happier, much happier than I was before. I moved from being one of those excessive people, to one who, I thought, had found balance.

However, The Water Challenge taught me that sometimes we can swing too much the other way, when we're searching for balance.

My life goal is to not only be happy, but to live a sustainably happy life, and hopefully share my joys and learning and experiences with others who are also on the path to sustainability.

Our Dean at the Cathedral calls what I am trying to do the attempt to live deliberately. He's a pretty smart man. And I think, no matter what your religious path - or if you have no religious path at all - that this is a great way to think of it.

So is The Water Challenge still a Challenge?

I'd say YES. Here is a list of the drinks I will be avoiding over the rest of the year:

Off-limits:

• All multinational-produced non-Fair Trade hot drinks e.g. supermarket brand tea, coffee and hot chocolate (such as Moccona, Nestle, Maxwell House, Starbucks, Gloria Jean etc.)
  
• All colas and other packaged soft drinks (e.g. Coke, Pepsi, 7-Up, Sprite, Fanta, home brand fizzy drinks, Tang, cordial etc.)
  
• All "diet" drinks
  
• All packaged juices of any description, including organic in-glass juices and colas (e.g. Phoenix)
  
• Water from a plug-in water coolers (why? Because I've never met a water cooler yet that wasn't close to a tap!)
  
• Anything with single-use, single-serve or throw-away packaging.
  

So yes, I'm making a lot of concessions. You could call it a Reality Check. Reality is full of them. But I'd rather be real, and adapt the Challenge, succeeding where I can, that keep at something I know I'll only fail.

Thanks to everyone who supported me through this, and who emailed me and wrote such supportive blog posts - Nevyn and Chile in particular. You're awesome.
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Home made spray cleaner

I've stopped buying those expensive and dangerous "Spray and Wipe" products, since getting this recipe from a friend at choir.

You can make it at home, it's safe, cheap, and environmentally-friendly. All good news!

All you need is your own spray bottle. Discount shops like "The Warehouse" sell them for a couple of dollars each.

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup white vinegar
  
• 1/3 cup water
  
• 20 drops of eucalyptus oil.
  

Don't forget to label the spray container with an indelible ink pen, and give it a shake before use!

This is great for bathrooms (all surfaces) as well as kitchens. So you don't need a swag of bottles cluttering up your cupboards. It even smells nice and fresh.

Tie an old soft cloth around the neck of the bottle, so you're ready to go when you need to clean.

Too easy!

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On yer bike!

Our car died on Friday. And I bought myself a bike on Sunday.

My bike is on lay-by. I'm not so rich that I can just trot out and spend a few hundred dollars on a bike, no questions asked.

Lay-by is a good solution - I paid a deposit I could afford, and will pay for the bike over the coming few months.

Once that is done, I'll save a bit, get a bit of riding in, then eventually be taking the bus, together with my bike, up to Christchurch.

There's a company there called The Electric Bicycle Company. They can put an electric assist on my bike, so I can ZOOM up the hills of Dunedin. I figure the easier the riding is, the more my bike will get used. And the less our car will get used.

All good.

My bike is a Malvern Star XCS 1.0, an entry model mountain bike. Looks just like this, but in black.

Why an electric assist?

Anyone who lives in Dunedin would NEVER ask this question!

No I'm not lazy. Okay, well, maybe I am, but some of the hills around Dunedin are just plain scary. There's no way I could do them without an electric assist. Even the die-hard superfit teenager guys don't tackle Stuart Street or High Street. So there's no way I'm doing them!

My goal, once my bike arrives, is to get to the stage where I don't do any travel by myself in the car, unless it is really foul weather (e.g. snowing, hailing or similar). I also want to get used to riding without the electric assist before I get it fitted, so I build up a bit of muscle.

By peddling around, I should be able to really knock down our petrol bill, as well as making a dent in my own personal emissions.

We currently drive an average of 145 kilometers (90 miles) per week for our family of four. I would guess that about one quarter of that, or a little more, is my own, solo, journeys.

1010 Challenge: Number 4

4. Drive less.
Leave the car at home one day a week. Walk, cycle or take public transport. Car-pool to work. Tick the box right now if you have no car.

I'm tackling Number 4 of the 1010 Challenge head on, by getting myself a bike.

I love to walk, but Dunedin is hilly. I'd take forever, and it just isn't practical for where we live.

I think public transport is great too and, for some instances, it is a great option. But I need to get to choir in the evenings and on Sundays, precisely when public transport isn't so great.

I'll still drive, but my aim is to save it for when I have the kids, when I am shopping (large loads), or when the weather is truly foul. There's no way I'm riding my bike in the snow and ice - it's too dangerous, and I'm not experienced enough.

A bike is a great option for me, for good weather, when I have trips to make by myself.

I'm pretty fit, pretty healthy, and have no injuries. I know how to ride a bike, and (touch wood!) should be okay.

I'll have paid of the lay-by in a few weeks.

Then: Ready to zoom!

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The Water Challenge: Failure, drunkenness, and shame

I've failed.

The Water Challenge is just so hard.

At the moment, I'm not sure whether to climb back on that barrel, or whether to give in and stand defeated by my own attempts to be green.

Let me explain.

I'd been cruising along, doing just fine on the Water Challenge, until a couple of weeks ago.

My throat was really sore after singing at choir, and I went to the pub with a couple of choir buddies, and I had a cranberry juice to sooth my sore throat.

I'd like to say that they talked me into it, because that would make me feel better. But I really wanted it, and then they helped me justify it a bit. It was me. I can't blame my friends, as much as I'd like to.

The following week, at pub again, I ordered a cranberry again, this time justifying that "it would be my weekly bender".

Then this weekend, all hell broke loose.

Just a rotten, rotten week

It's been a horror week. I've had:

• a 2 year old with a blood nose,
  
• me soaking the aforementioned 2 year old's entire quilt set, pillows, sheets, and linen,
  
• a mother-in-law visiting,
  
• a grumpy and exhausted husband because of the mother-in-law visiting,
  
• and our car blowing up on Friday, in perfect time for the weekend.
  

All this on top of the usual 24 hour-a-day, 7-days-a-week madness.

Oh, and it is school holidays, so no respite from the kids.

A weekend of sin, with no redemption in sight

Just when my life was looking like Hell at a BBQ, a choir friend, Peggy, came to rescue my sanity. She picked me up from my home and took me to her house for a lovely afternoon of gardening, singing, homemade pumpkin pie (she's American, and yes, it was awesome), and chitchat. She's so cool she even drives a Prius.

When she offered me first a cup of tea (sin!) then a glass of lovely white wine (deadly sin!) I didn't refuse.

I didn't even feel guilty.

That was on Saturday, two days ago. I might try to blame Peggy for it, unfair as that might be. But yesterday (Sunday) was entirely my own fault.

After a busy morning singing, and a lovely afternoon listening to an organ recital by our own music director in the town hall, I ran into Peggy again in the shopping mall in town. We had a snack together then, as we were too early for our 6:15 call to choir for the evening service, went to Alibi bar at the Octagon for a drink.

And this time, I encouraged her. I had a glass of a nice local white, and she had a half glass.

And I was plastered! All through the service, I felt like I couldn't see straight or concentrate. This Water Challenge has turned me into an alcoholic lightweight!

The result of that one glass was I gave a terrible performance. Although I tried to make light of it, I felt ashamed and embarrassed that I had failed. It was a horrible experience.

Not only that, my failure was on display in front of all my friends, people I respect and who I want to respect me.

Where do I go from here?

One part of me (and several of my friends) say that The Water Challenge was too hard to begin with. That I was trying something that was just too much of an ask of myself.

But another part of me needs to try again. I guess I demand high standards of myself. I'm disappointed that I let my church and my choir down with my substandard behaviour.

Most of all, I let myself down.

It's silly really. In this Challenge, I'm answerable to no-one but myself. No-one else cares if I do the Challenge.

But I care. There's this ascetic streak in me that I'm grappling with and trying to understand, although I don't think I ever will. Our Dean talked last night in his sermon about living deliberately, and that's what I want to do. Yet every time I try, I come up against the reality that is my own weak self.

I think I'm going to try The Water Challenge again, but it is a hard decision to make. What would you do?

But what sort of person am I if I don't? I think I'd despise myself if I didn't pick myself up and start over, no matter how hard that might be. Even if I can't do it, I don't want to fail because I didn't bother trying. If I fail, I want to have failed because I genuinely couldn't do it.

I wish I hadn't undertaken this Challenge. But now I have, I think the right thing to do is pick myself up off the floor, dust myself off, and start over.

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Wrap-up: Dixiebelle's chocolate challenge

Dixiebelle's Guilt Free Chocolate Challenge is over.

I had a few slip-ups, mainly revolving around eating chocolate cake and home-made biscuit slice, then remembering that they were *chocolate*! D'oh!

Apart from that, I was pretty good. I was actually pleasantly surprised to learn that most of the chocolate I eat by habit is Fair Trade and organic.

The reason for this isn't because I'm a good girl. It's just that I prefer dark chocolate, and Dunedin is well on its way to becoming a Fair Trade city. Everywhere you go here, there is Fair Trade chocolate, and it is in every supermarket. So when you are buying chocolate, it is there right in front of you, and the choice is easy.

I also have a friend who bulk sells Fair Trade chocolate at choir (evil!), and it is very easy (too easy!) to buy from him. And the Trade Aid shop where another friend works is right on the main street - so easy to nip in there and grab a block of chockie if I feel like a nibble.

Thanks to Dixiebelle for offering this challenge! :-)

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Sometimes life can be wonderful...

My husband received an email out of the blue the other day.

The email was from a lady who now lives in the house we sold in Melbourne.

She had tracked us (Googled us) down over some letters that she was still receiving addressed to us.

I'd often wondered how my beautiful little garden, and my old home was faring.

I wondered whether it had found its way into loving hands.

And now I know. The garden lives.

In her letter to me, she said,

I love the garden...yes it took a bit of a beating last summer and I thought we lost the ferns...I treated them with sugared water in the middle and lo and behold they are once again beautiful and all new leaves. The violets are flourishing underneath and the rest of the garden has survive wonderfully...

Last summer a beautiful little wren, the really tiny ones, nested in the ferns and had her family...You can rest assured that the house and the garden will be looked after with tender loving care and that I will be there as long as I possibly can.

Not only did this lady take the time to find us and now she is forwarding any mail of importance to family in Melbourne, but it looks like fate has found a caring person for a home and garden that was much loved.

Yes, sometimes life can be wonderful.

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You can read about our old home and garden here:

• A new, drought-resistant garden!
  
• An update on our garden
  
• Our little patch of earth
  

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Rain, rain, come again another day...

The following is an old post, that I wrote when I first came to Dunedin.

Now Dunedin is my home, and I almost consider myself a Kiwi. And I want to share the blessing of our rain with you. So here it is...again.

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It is raining right now.

As I look out of my bedroom window, I have a beautiful view of the peninsula, silver-dark in a halo of misty rain. It's beautiful.

You will never hear me curse the rain. Never.

In our old house in Melbourne, I spent the last three summers hauling buckets of water from our shower to the garden, trying desperately to keep living things alive and the garden growing green.

When we first moved in to our old house, the garden had a watering system that was used regularly, and a family of geckos lived under the rocks in the fernery. They were mercurial little creatures, dashing about under fern and leaf litter, creeping under shady spots and damp places and basking in sudden dappled bursts of sunshine.

When we had to stop watering our garden, and the water restrictions came into force, the gecko family disappeared. I miss them. I still think on them. Did they survive - finding their way down to the local creek, perhaps? Or did they die, along with so many of my plants? I hope they lived, with all my heart.

Many of my tree ferns died too. I watched their new, unfurled fronds shrivel and die from lack of moisture. There was nothing I could do - even buckets and buckets of water and a hacked-together greywater system seemed no good. They need real, heaven-gifted rain, and that was the one thing I couldn't give them.

Finally, my lavender died. I'd never heard of lavender dying from drought before, but it became hard, dead wood, the flowers faded and dried, and it was gone. With a heavy heart and sweaty back in 40 degree temperature - well past the old 'century' in fahrenheit - I dug its dried roots out of the earth, which was now dust, and drier than straw.

After the work was done, and the dead lavender chopped into small pieces for compost, I remember going inside and pouring myself a drink of water from the tap, and getting scalded by how hot the 'cold' tap water was when I checked it with my fingertips. I cried hard then, and not just because of the burn on my hand.

So now, when I see rain clouds darkening and covering the sun, I smile.

When the rain comes first in soft mist, then drizzle, then downpour, I want to run outside like a five year old kid and dance in the storm, drenching myself in the glory of the wet and the cold and the sting on my face and the slap of my wet hair against my cheeks.

I want to jump in puddles again, and laugh at the rain, because I know it is our friend, our helper, and the source of all that lives upon the earth. Without the rain, and the mist, and the drizzle and the storms there can be no trees, no breath, and no life.

So I'll treasure the rain. I'll laugh at the water when it gets in my boots, and I'll think on those who do not have this blessing, and be comforted and joyful that the blessing has come to me.

Right now I look down on the peninsula as it rains. I would take a photo if I could, but night-time photos always turn out dark and dull, and are nothing worth looking at.

And you would hold it up to me and say "Why did you bother? That was nothing so wonderful or beautiful."

And I would wish you had been here and seen it with me, because then you would know how beautiful the rain can be.

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TV free: Thinking outside The Box

It probably sounds really weird, but we don't watch TV. At all.

Our kids watch DVDs, and that's it. I don't think the TV channels are even tuned in.

It wasn't a conscious decision, although a couple of years ago, when I lived in Australia, I did consciously make the choice to remove the TV.

Back then, I pulled out the plug, and shoved the TV in the wardrobe, where it remained for most of a year.

This time around, the decision to not watch TV was fate-inspired.

When we moved into our current rental the reception was awful. We're too cheap to pay to have a guy come and fix it, or to get Pay TV come and stick a dish on our roof. So we do without.

It was unintentional - hardly a decision - but perhaps the single biggest thing we have done to cut our consumption and consumerism.

TV encourages consumerism

You see, because we're not watching ads on TV, and seeing shows where everyone has everything (big houses, great cars, fabulous hair and makeup yada yada) we don't feel the need to have all that ourselves.

Our contentment levels have risen since the TV got de-tuned. Or, rather, wasn't tuned in the first place.

I don't know what's on TV, and really don't care. I'm too busy in real life for "reality TV". And I don't know of anyone who, on their death bed, pronounced that they wish they'd watched more Big Brother or American Idol.

What do we do instead?

For entertainment we sing in choir (I sing four times a week, my husband sings once a week), compose music, write (hi!), play piano and sing together, garden, and play with the kids.

Oh, and read. I adore my library. Do you know, there was a time (not so long ago, either!) when I used to buy every book that I wanted! Now I just go to the library.

If my library hasn't got the book I want, I request it. And the library is awesome at getting books in.

For instance, only a few weeks ago, I requested the book No Impact Man, which they didn't have.

Yesterday, I trotted along to pick up a CD I'd put on hold that had come in, and - guess what? There was No Impact Man waiting for me next to my CD in the HOLDS area. A brand new copy, never read before!

And now my husband is grumpy, because I was still reading, late into the night, when he needed to sleep! Oh well...

TV and society

I've only been living in Dunedin a short while. But already I feel like I belong here. And last night, at pub after choir, I had the joy of introducing some friends to each other who didn't know each other! Me - the newbie in town! I felt honoured and happy to be able to do that!

I think that TV has been a terrible destroyer of society. We all leave work, and go home, and turn on the box, ready to watch other peoples' lives, while forgetting about our own.

As a result, we don't know our neighbours. We don't attend Church. We don't sing in choir. We watch gardening shows but we don't garden. We don't play sport down the road at the local footy club (we'd rather watch the "professionals").

We watch lifestyle shows while neglecting our own lives. We've become fat and lazy and disinterested in our own communities. We've become a world of passive observers and spectators. And I think that's sad.

TV - what's it for, anyway?

How would we know that we had to have a bigger house, and a more expensive car, and lacy underwear, and a racier sex-life - unless all this were not presented to us through the mass media?

If TV is meant to educate and inform and make us happy, it is doing a pretty poor job.

But if TV is meant to make us feel like our own lives are inferior, and help us waste time, and encourage us to create debt by buying STUFF we don't really need - well, it's got a hole in one.

Reality TV?

I don't miss TV. My life is too busy for TV anyway. I don't know how TV watchers ever find the time to turn the thing on, because I sure don't!

Very occasionally, I'll have a night at home alone, and I'll dig out one of my favourite musicals, and put it on, and enjoy it. So I don't think I'm ready to eliminate TV altogether from my life, and sell it. Not just yet.

But I can't say I'd be keen to tune in the TV channels when we move house. I think I'll leave them untuned.

And if that leaves me hopelessly out of touch, well, so be it. If I don't wear the latest fashion, and I don't have my hair the right way, and I don't have the latest shoes, and my house isn't as big as it is supposed to be for my income (or achievable debt level), so be it.

I'm happy. And who needs reality TV anyway, when reality is out there, all around us.

All we have to do is step outside, and dig our hands into the earth, and feel the wind and the rain in our hair and on our skin, and know that this earth is good.


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And my letter to Subway...

I haven't wasted time. Here is my letter to Subway about their plastic bags:

Hi,

I would like Subway to change its policy on the plastic bags you offer to customers.

I think, in light of our global "disposable" plastic problem, it would be appropriate for Subway staff to first ask customers if they require a plastic bag, before putting their lunch into one.

Plastic bags are almost always unnecessary. They are even more unnecessary for your customers who eat their meals inside your restaurant.

In most cases, the usefulness of your plastic bags is less than five minutes.

As an environmentally responsible company, this change could make a difference of millions of plastic bags finding their ways into our waterways, choking our wildlife and creating a hazard that may last hundreds of years.

Better yet, it would be great to see Subway placing a surcharge (say, 50 cents) on each plastic bag they provide. This would encourage customers to think twice before using such an environmentally irresponsible product.

I hope you will take this request seriously, and I look forward to your response.

Regards,

Leanne Veitch.

If you'd like to write to Subway about this, please feel free to copy my letter. You can write to Subway at this address.

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Subway stupidity

The following is just a little anecdote for a local Subway sandwich bar.

I went for my weekly wrap treat. I like to buy myself a wrap once a week for lunch as my treat to myself.

We got to the end of the sandwich-making process, and I also asked for a cookie for my daughter. Then I said, "And no bag, please. I don't like plastic."

The girl can't have heard me right, because she then proceeded to put the cookie in a plastic bag (one of their plastic sandwich bags), without a paper cookie bag, along with the wrap.

I'm like - huh?

So I repeated, "Uh, sorry. I meant, no plastic bag at all."

And I waved my specially-brought-for-the-purpose re-usable "StuffIt" bag I had with me, and put it on the counter.

So the girl takes the cookie and the wrap out of the plastic bag, and puts the cookie, the wrap, and the plastic bag in my StuffIt bag.

*sigh*

So by now I'm really feeling like the biggest pain-in-the-arse. But I take the plastic bag out of my StuffIt, and put it on the counter, saying, "I really don't want the plastic bag. Sorry to be difficult."

The girl then gives me a really, really dirty look. I'm glad she'd already made my wrap, or she might have spat in it.

Avoiding unnecessary plastic

Do you, like me, sometimes feel really awkward and embarrassed when you refuse even a little bit of the garbage that gets dumped at us in our daily lives?

In the situation at that Subway, I was really embarrassed. A year ago, I'd have just let it pass.

But these days, I'm getting tougher. I've realised that unless people like me start holding our ground, and making it clear that we really don't like the whole 5-minute-usefulness-plastic thing, then it won't change.

A few people were behind me in the line for their sandwiches, and none of them said anything about their plastic bags. They all accepted them without complaint.

But I bet that every single one of them thought about their plastic bags. Because they heard and watched me taking a stand. And while they may not be ready to take a stand too, at least now they know that some people are.

Not so stupid

Actually, this was an exception to the rule. It was the first time one of the Subway staff was so dumb about my not wanting plastic. Usually they're great, and they understand completely. No fuss.

But I do have a complaint about the automatic let's dump the sandwich in a plastic bag for the customer thing.

It's wasteful and, in the case of every single customer that eats in the restaurant itself (a sizeable number of us), completely unnecessary.

How hard would it be for Subway to get its staff to ask customers if they want a plastic bag before the inevitable DUMP?

Better yet, why not charge customers for a plastic bag? 50 cents would scare a few cheapskates off fouling up our world for a few seconds of "convenience"!

You know what? I think I'm going to write another letter!
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Ditch The Disposables: The Return Of The Hummus

A few days ago, I wrote to Lisa's Hummus company, to complain about their plastic packaging, which cannot be recycled in my city.

I received the following response:

Hi Leanne,
I received your complaint regarding the plastic we use in Lisa’s Hummus.

I certainly take your point and I am continually searching for alternatives as I agree with you wholeheartedly.

However there just isn’t anything feasible yet – unless we pack product in Glass which would effectively kill sales and increase sales in competitors who are packed in Plastic.

In my opinion consumers need to make a sea change in their purchasing patterns so that manufacturers of plastic and products like ours are forced to change.

Likewise all councils need to take a national approach in recycling – as our plastic is the most common and can be recycled by most councils.
 
I hope this clarifies our position and you continue to support our business.
 
 
Kind Regards,

They were very quick to respond to my email - I received this response within 24 hours. Great stuff.

I also think they have a valid point. Maybe it is more expensive to package in glass. And glass is heavier, which would certainly add to shipping costs.

However, once again we see a company passing the buck. Instead of taking the opportunity to lead the way, they're waiting for consumers to demand change.

Lisa's Hummus is a fantastic product. Their hummus is delicious - it's really top of the line stuff, with no fillers or rubbish in it. That's why we've been buying it.

I think it is a shame that a company that has led the way in producing such a healthy and tasty food doesn't seem keen to also lead the way in sustainable packaging.

Whose responsibility - consumers, companies, governments?

Everyone is passing the buck.

• Consumers are blaming companies for not selling sustainable products. We grumble that you can't buy stuff that isn't packaged in plastic.
  
  
• Companies blame consumers and say that consumers need to "make a sea change in their purchasing patterns".
  
  
• Governments are silent on the matter. If they do anything, they remove products from sale long after the damage has been done.
  

I've talked about cradle-to-grave sustainability before, and I think this is the key to the problem.

We need to rethink the way products are packaged. Recycling isn't a solution, if the end result, even after hundreds of uses, is landfill.

Recycling just uses energy (often unsustainably sourced) to reform the product packaging, and lets people believe they're living/buying a sustainable product, yet still creates a product that is wasteful and often does not degrade safely in the environment.

I think an ideal solution would be re-usable, standard-sized packaging that has a deposit on it and is collected, cleaned and re-filled. Just like milk bottles were used, before the "advancement" to milk cartons and plastic bottles.

What should the consumer do?

I don't have the right to tell anyone else what to do, so I won't.

But we're going to reduce our use of plastic packaged products, with the goal of eliminating our use altogether. We'll have slip-ups I'm sure, but that is our goal.

Over the coming weeks/months/years, I'll be writing to the companies whose products I use, and asking them to switch to more sustainable packaging. I'm just one voice, but if others also take a stand, our voices will become a shout that will be noticed.

Together we can become the "sea change" that Lisa's Hummus is talking about.

And part of my solution will be grabbing the yummy recipes that people have posted in the "comments" section of this blog (thanks!), posting them as independent posts so everyone can enjoy them, and making my own hummus from now on.


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