House hunting - with a vengeance!

I need your opinions, advice, suggestions and help!

Please, if you can, read the following, and offer your suggestions. I really value any input you can offer.

Over the past few weeks, I've been so busy house-hunting that I've hardly had time to blog. There are so many decisions to be made, and none of them are easy.

One of our principal decisions is choosing between the country "lifestyle" home and the city suburban dream. Trying to make the right choice, in light of what we know and what we suspect about climate change, peak oil, and the economic hardship now and to come.

Our options - country or suburbs

Country life?: If we want, we can choose the country lifestyle property, with all the trimmings. A few acres of land, ten to fifteen minutes drive from the center of Dunedin. We'd have room to grow what we want, room for chooks, room for the kids to run around, room for animals if we chose.

The downside? The cost price would be a lot higher, we'd have a heftier mortgage, and our petrol bill would go up, as would our commuting time. Debt free? Forget it.

The position wouldn't likely affect me so much, as I'm a writer and may end up working permanently from home. But my husband would have to commute, five days a week, fifteen minutes or more each way.

I'd also have to commute for all my music commitments - I sing four times a week with two separate choirs. So that's four round trips for me as well. We'd need an extra car.

City life?: Or we could choose the suburban dream with the quarter acre. Nice home, in great condition, close to everything - walkable, maybe. Smaller debt, smaller commute, smaller petrol costs.

The difference in years of payments? Probably five or more years of extra mortgage payments, and a larger mortgage every month, if we chose the country option. Lifestyle properties are a LOT more expensive.

I should, however, point out that when I say "country lifestyle" we're not exactly talking about being out in the sticks. The properties we're looking at are a maximum of 20 minutes drive into the city. Many are on bus and train lines into the city.

To drive, we're talking probably 10-15 minutes commute for my husband for work, depending on the property. Kids' schools and kindies are about 3 minutes drive away, or 4 km walk/cycle max.

The train lines are currently just for goods and tourists, but there is pressure to return the lines to being for passengers once again. The trains stopped being passenger lines in the 1970s, to my knowledge.

Over a year of looking at houses that have sucked

We've been house hunting for over a year now, and haven't found what we want. We came very close with one home, but various issues with land instability made us decide to turn it down, after making a (conditional) offer and having it accepted.

I've finally come to the conclusion that, in Dunedin at least, no-one ever sells the decent homes. The market is full of rubbish homes, and although you can look on the council website and see beautiful homes in great positions with land close in to town, these homes never get sold. The people in them never put their homes on the market. They live in them until they die, and then pass them on to their families.

As newcomers, our chances of finding something great very close in, and within a non-millionaires price bracket, is next to nil.

As for me, I'm fed up with house-hunting. I want OUT of our tiny rental (80 square metres/800 square feet of living space for four people) and in to something where I have a laundry NOT resembling a broom cupboard.

Country mouse, or city mouse?

So, which do I choose? What should I go for? What would you choose, if you were me? The suburbs or the open spaces? The city or the acreage? The walkability and city life and quarter acre (or less), or the horses and ducks?

I'm asking your opinion, as my readers, because I think you probably know a heck of a lot more about Peak Oil and Climate Change and Economics than the average person I might talk to.

So please, comment if you can! I need your advice and opinions!
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My best potato salad recipe

This recipe was given to me from my mum. It's my all-time favourite potato salad, and is an absolute winner for hot summer evenings.

I took it to a potluck recently for my choir (St. Paul's) and it all disappeared very quickly!

This recipe can be made gluten and dairy-free, by using a vegan, gluten-free mayonnaise. Many are available in the supermarket, if you choose this option.

Ingredients:

• 750g potatoes (use small ones if you can)
  
• 2 tbs olive oil
  
• 1 tbs mustard seeds
  
• 1 tbs fresh lemon juice
  
• 2 tsp french mustard
  
• 1/3 cup good quality mayonnaise
  
• 1 tbs chopped parsley
  

Method:

• Boil the potatoes with their skins on, then simmer for 15-20 mins until cooked, but still firm. Wait until they're cool, then quarter them. Don't peel them.
  
  
• Heat 1 tbs olive oil in a small saucepan, add the mustard seeds, cover. When they start to pop and jump about, remove from the heat immediately. Pour the oil and mustard seeds onto the cooled potatoes, mix gently.
  
  
• In a separate container, whisk together 1 tbs olive oil and the lemon juice. Add the mustard and mayonnaise. Blend well. 
  
  
• Carefully stir the dressing mixture through the potatoes, being careful not to break up the potatoes.
  
  
• Just before serving, stir through the chopped parsley.
  
  
• Serve the salad at room temperature.
  

I make this as a staple salad to take to picnics etc., and it's always a hit - I never have anything to bring home! It keeps in the fridge in a sealed container for 2-3 days.

And if you're one of my many friends and family reading this and suffering through the heat wave in Australia, please take care, stay cool, and look after yourself, lovelies.
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For the beauty of the earth

"The earth is my mother, my home, my life, my bliss, my joy, my heart, my rest, my soul. If it dies, I will die too."

As I look out of my window, it is the brightest, most beautiful morning you could possibly imagine.

The sky is a brilliant blue, and only the smallest whisps of white cloud drift lazily across the horizon. The sun is warm on my arms, and the birds sing in the trees. It's a morning gifted from heaven.



We take these gifts of sunshine and clouds and gentle warmth for granted. But imagine we never had mornings like this one, to make us joyful?

All we hear about it seems, in the green movement, is parts per million and carbon and sea level rise and biodiversity and global heating.

This message is overwhelmingly negative - one of denial and reduction and removal and destruction and devastation and death and decay and sterile science.

It seems no one ever talks about beauty. Which is why I want to talk about it now.

No one ever seems to talk about the fact that if we continue to treat our world like a trash heap, we will hurt our souls, and our bodies, and our children, and their children to come, and our sense of purposefulness and meaning in our lives - beyond the daily grind of our jobs and our money and our stuff.

No one seems to talk about the inherent value in the beauty of the world, and the terrible tragedy every time even the smallest, most unknown creature becomes extinct.

I do a lot of singing in my life, and a lot of writing, and even a bit of composing. All of these things give me completeness, and happiness, and fellowship, and friendship, and stimulation.

But some of the deepest joy in my life comes from the peaceful time I have outside, alone, just walking under the sun, and breathing fresh air deeply. I regain my inner peace by reconnecting with the natural world.



I love to get dirt under my fingernails, and mud on my hands, and sand and salt on my naked skin when I'm at the beach.

I love to run fast and foolish down steep hills so my legs scissor out from under me and I lose control and fall over, laughing with silliness and exhaustion.

I love to swim in the breakers, cold and exhiliarating, the taste of salt in my mouth and the slap of my wet hair against my cheeks.

More than a life-support system

Scientists are learning more about how to live long term in bubbles and space stations.

Biosphere 2 was one of the larger of these projects. It wasn't successful, but one day one of these projects will be.

I'm here to say that, sure, we might be able to live in a bubble - but would we ever want to?

If it ever came down to us having to live in bubbles and space stations to survive, I know I'd rather die. I belong here on earth, with the wind and the rain and the sunshine and the wild places.

Imagine never feeling a breath of real wind on your face, and never having the joy of being caught in a thunderstorm.

Imagine never being soaked to the skin, and laughing about it even though your fingers and face are stinging with the cold! What life would that be?

Finding balance

Our world leaders need to learn that human lives are about more than productivity. This world is about more than carbon and eco-this and sustainable-that.

We need to learn balance with the earth, not just because we should, but because balance brings unexpected bliss from simple joy and contentment.

We talk about parts per million and biodiversity, because this is the language we can use, as a tool to help us preserve what is really important - the happiness that comes from living in balance with our world.

By learning to live within the bounds of the earth, we can reconnect with its gifts, and learn to value life, and community, and every single person we know for who they are - not for who they might be if we could only force them to change.

Honouring life, accepting death: the bliss of beauty

Living within the earth also means accepting death, and honouring life, as well as respecting others - their ways, customs, and beliefs. We cannot have biodiversity without cherishing cultural diversity.

This world means more to me than just being a life-support system. It is my mother, my home, my life, my bliss, my joy, my heart, my rest, my soul. If it dies, I will die too.

So today, on a day that is not dedicated to trees, or animals, or any particlar saints that I know of, I've chosen to write about the beauty of the world, and how its beauty is reflected within us.

This is why those parts per million are so important. And this is why we need to learn restraint, and balance, and a place that can nurture our world as caretakers and lovers, instead of destroying it in foolishness.
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Come on, Obama!

I don't think for a moment that the US will lead at Copenhagen. But the following is a presentation from the next generation, asking Obama to get his act together and go to the Climate Change Conference as a leader that the US can be proud of.

Time will tell.



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Save thousands on heating and cooling - with brainpower

This is the second post in a series on permaculture principles.

In my last post, I discussed how to extend your growing season, and the importance of having good access to sunwise light (northern direction axis in the southern hemisphere; southern direction axis in the northern hemisphere).

These tricks are also invaluable for selecting a house to live in, and can make a massive difference to how much you spend in heating and cooling costs.

Our house, which is long and thin with a long, north-facing axis, has heating bills one third of those of our neighbours, whose house points in the opposite direction.

We pay an average of $150 per bill on heating over winter; they pay about $450, and as much as $600.

Both houses are absolutely identical. They were purpose built rentals by our landlady, and are exactly the same plan, with the same insulation, windows, and size.

The difference is our house faces the sun, with the long axis of the house facing sunwise.

Home design is important too!

Two of the three bedrooms, plus the main living area, all face towards the north, and get great sun from dawn to dusk. This means we need to use the heater minimally. The sun does the job of warming our home for us.

In cool climates, where heating is the largest part of your electricity bill, this is exactly what you want - a home where the long axis faces north.

And the fewer south-facing windows you have, the better. Any south facing window you have should ideally be well-dressed, with thick blinds, pelmets and/or curtains.

If you get a chance to design a home yourself, aim for having your living areas and bedrooms on the sunwise side of the home (north in the southern hemisphere; south in the northern hemisphere), with bathroom, laundry, garage (if under main roof) and utility rooms on the south side making up the balance of the house.

Then there are simple common-sense issues in design, such as kitchen and dining room windows never pointing west, as these rooms are used right at the time the sun sets, and sun blindness can be a real problem.

Hot climates

In a hot climate, north/south facing homes are also better for heating and cooling. It is especially important to find homes with as few west windows as possible, as the afternoon sun in the west really heats the home dramatically and can add a lot to cooling costs.

In my first home in Melbourne, we added an interior blind to our west facing bathroom, and an exterior awning to our west-facing exterior, both of which dropped the interior temperature by upwards of five degrees. The awning only cost about $40 - I'd say it was money well spent!

In hot climates, pergolas with deciduous vines that lose their leaves in winter to let sunshine through but keep the home cool in summer are also ideal. In my home town of Adelaide, grape vines are popular, with the added advantage of yummy grapes just outside the window in summer.

Colours make a difference too. Dark roofs and exterior walls will make a home warmer, and light colours will cool. High ceilings in hot climates will enable warm air to rise, but in cold climates high ceilinged rooms can cost a fortune to heat, and be cold and forbidding places to live in. In my home town of Dunedin, most of the large mansions built in our gold-rush era have now been split into apartments and student units, largely because the heating bills became unaffordable.

All this isn't rocket science

None of these tricks are really hard. They just require a bit of brainpower, and planning ahead. Even the most poorly situated home can be improved with a bit of thinking, and the use of permaculture principles like those discussed above. But the ideal time for saving dollars is before you move to your next home.

When you house hunt, check which direction is sunwise (north in the southern hemisphere; south in the northern hemisphere). This is the direction you want the longest axis of the home to face, with rooms such as living, master bedroom etc. facing the sun. Take the time to check how many windows face away from the sun (south in the southern hemisphere; north in the northern hemisphere). These rooms and windows will be cold, and will cost you a lot to heat. And make sure that the kitchen window doesn't face due west!

By taking a compass with you when you house hunt, and learning a bit about permaculture with a great little guide such as any of Bill Mollison's books on the subject, you can make a huge difference to your power budget - and comfort - for decades to come. This is one subject it is worth learning about.
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Extending your growing season - without glasshouses

It is easy to extend the growing season, and have sun-ripened berries, well-ahead of your neighbours, if you know how. I live in a "cool temperate" climate in Dunedin, New Zealand (southern hemisphere). We're nearly 46 degrees south of the equator, so extending the growing season is really important.

I'm only growing my berries in pots, and I'm no expert gardener by any means, but if I can do it, anyone can.

Strawberries have only just appeared in the supermarket this week - flown down from the north island, where it is a lot warmer. Yet we've been eating sun-ripened strawberries, grown out of doors, for days now. I don't know of anyone else in Dunedin who has ripe strawberries growing for their dessert - but we do!

Here's the proof - beautiful ripe berries, in photos taken two days ago:



Here are some tricks on how to get your strawberries up and running before anyone else!

• Find your sunwise axis. If you live in the northern hemisphere (e.g. the USA, Europe, Canada), this will be due south. If, like me, you live in the southern hemisphere (e.g. Australia, New Zealand, South Africa), this is due north.
  
  
• Ensure that your crop has as much access to this north facing light as possible. A lot of people think that western light (in the afternoon), or eastern light (in the morning) is best. But in cold climates, you want the sunwise aspect.
  
  This is because the further away from the equator you are (the further north or south), the closer to the sunwise horizon the sun travels. So by placing your crop facing sunwise (south if you live in the north; north if you live in the south), you'll get as much heat and light on your crop as possible.
  
  
• Plant your plant up against a dark, sunwise-facing wall. In my case, I am growing my strawberries in a strawberry planter, which is dark and has the same effect as a dark, sun-facing wall. The dark colour traps heat, and helps keep the plant against it warmer.
  
  
• Drip water the plant; don't drown it. Plants develop stronger root systems with drip irrigation. Lettuces do particularly well when planted under trees, with the droplets from the leaf tips falling onto them.
  
  The lettuces below are all planted underneath a sapling feijoa (pineapple guava).
  
  
  
  Feijoas are marginal crops in our climate, but once again, because I am keeping mine warm up against a wall, and facing north (south for the northern hemisphere when trying this trick!), mine is doing very well.
  
  I am also growing lemons and olives, using this same trick, and expect fruit next season from my trees. And I've just planted some avocado seeds, which I am expecting to grow well, using the same, "warm them up" principles.
  

People spend a lot of money on glasshouses. While they are a great investment, the best investment is buying a home that is sunny, in a sunny position, then using your brain and learning to plant wisely in smart positions.

I believe I can also grow lemons, feijoas and even avocadoes in Dunedin, although no-one else else. What do you think? Only time will tell, but if the permaculture principles I've talked about in this blog post are spot on, like I think they are, I'll be sitting down to home-grown avocadoes while my neighbours struggle to get their spinach growing, just a few short years from now!

This post is in a one-of-two series. The next post will discuss how to cut your heating bills by a third, by selecting your home wisely when you buy, rent or move house.

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Green cleaning your dishwasher - here's how!

You don't need any of those fancy dishwasher cleaning products. What you do need is a quarter cup of bicarbonate of soda.

If you use a product called "baking soda" check the ingredients to make sure it is pure bicarbonate of soda, and doesn't contain any fillers, such as cornstarch.

To clean your dishwasher, simply sprinkle the bicarb soda into the base of the dishwasher, underneath the roll-out trays. Then run it through a full cycle, without any dishes in it.

You're done!

Check out the inside of your dishwasher, and you'll find it is nice and shiny clean. Too easy!
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A pirate birthday cake for a bunch of young pirates! Yarrrr!

I've been hiding from the internet over the past few days. My son (five years old tomorrow) had a Pirate Birthday Party on Sunday. And the grandparents have been here to help celebrate.

So life has been chaos.

Pirates ahoy! Yarrr! (Click on the photo for a full-sized version)

Half a dozen pirate friends came dressed for pirate party games, food, and silliness. As a parent doing a birthday party for the first time, I found the whole thing a bit hair raising. But it all went well.

I especially enjoyed making a Pirate Birthday Cake for my son. Gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian pirate cake! Tricky, but not impossible. And it tasted and looked great!

Cannons to the deck! It's a crocodile! Where's Capt'n Hook? (Click on the photo for a full-sized version)

Now the party is over, and I'll be taking the rest of the week off from music and blogging - to recover! I apologise for the break in transmissions.

Blame it on the pirates.

Yarrr!
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