Plugging in the Christmas Machine.

In actual fact all my concerns this year about making Christmas something different were unnecessary. Throw in a pile of germs, mix them around four different people and hey presto you have unplugged the Christmas machine. Some of it I could still weep over. Our little girl missed being an angel in the school nativity. She had been so excited about her part and had learned all the song words. On the day of the performances she lay listless on the sofa, hacking her little lungs, not caring one tiny jot. Now however back to her normal self she is giving us impromptu performances and trying to understand that it has all been and gone.
Two days before Christmas the kids and I made a mad dash round the charity shops to pick up a few wee openers for folks. I did not have the energy to hit the big stores even if we wanted to. The kids actually got into the swing of it hunting for "treasure" and ticking off a list, not to be overly organised just because Mum's brain was still too fuddled to cope with any level of remembering. Fortunately the family were very understanding about the treasure. It makes me feel good that all our shopping was donating to important causes. And I do have to say that we gave out six copies of "Change the world for a fiver"! Great book.
I had been determined to wrap our presents in a good ol' eco way this year and germs or no germs I remained determined. Tough to find affordable nice recycled wrapping paper. So I saw this great idea in a book I had been browsing thru. Classic brown paper with some string and other Christmassy stuff. Well, thanks to Sarah and Andrea, who are both "no sooner said than done" people I nearly ended up with enough brown paper to wrap everything for my entire life. Some pine cones from St Andrew's which I painted gold and a fantastic deal on ribbon, green and gold from the Shelter shop. Our gifts looked fab and that is no word of a lie! I am now on the hunt to build up a supply of ribbon and buttons. I may become a professional wrapper.
I guess best of all this Christmas was Christmas itself, starting with the Christmas Eve Carol service. Remembering that God chose to send his son to be born in a stable, God all powerful, chose to have his son live with the ordinary folks, and chose to announce the extraordinary message in an extraordinary way to some shepherds, yet more ordinary folks. God cares. He chose not to be distant then and not to be distant now.
And our children just loved all their presents. There was no disappointment at the lack of Santa bringing a Nintendo there was just real excitement.
And we played and we ate. We enjoyed family and friends, and we have needed many naps since.

A dilema!

OK I know you probably want to read about all things Christmassy but that is just not where we are at just now. Our house is currently under quarantine. We are flying the Jolly Plague flag. Each one of us has been real unwell this week And the littler boy has just started us off, please no, on round two.
So can house which has seen it's fair share of vomit, an unbelievable amount of snot and other such matters, be cleaned with soap, bicarbonate of soda and vinegar? Why does everything in me want to reach for the bleach and the antibacterial spray?

We have some serious work to do but we are trying.

"Mummy, I wrote a letter to Santa today"

"Oh, did you?"

"Yes, Mummy. I have asked him for a Nintendo DS."

"Ohhhhh. Well I'm not sure that Santa will think that a Nintendo DS is a good thing for a little girl to have"

"Well, Mummy it is not up to you. It's between Santa and me and I am not talking to you about it anymore."

OUCH!!

We are working hard to unplug the Christmas machine but I am really happy to say that our house looks like a serious Christmas throw up! We put our tree up today (artificial so I do not have the tension of chopping down something that is living and breathing altho I love a real tree.) and so much junky good stuff. We have the Santa Homer, it is a big favourite. We have the singing reindeer, the whole orchestra of Carol singing animals and so much more. The kids had an enormous time.
We have not yet bought any presents yet. We will be shopping soon. We have trimmed our lists and cut our budgets and we feel good about that. We plan to spend some serious time enjoying the whole Christmas season. And today, please do not tell anyone, we did not go the the school Christmas Fayre. I just figured that it would be spending money on other peoples junk which would become ours in order to give money to a school which is already so well supported. I loved staying at home and spending the time with the kids, just us.

Maladjustment can be painful.

I have not blogged for over two weeks. I have been blogging in my head............(I wonder if other bloggers hold conversations with themselves that way too?) but have not managed to pull anything together that seemed to be right to share. It is easy to make the small adjustments, to take on the small practical steps and they are easy to talk about. Somethings about this just now are more personal to me, and not always right to pour out on other folks.

I spoke in church two weeks ago. Yep the sermon bit and yep kind of a scary place to be. I found it hard to pull my thoughts together and hear exactly what was the right thing to say. I had been really challenged by Proverbs chapter 3. Really worth a read even if you are not normally into the bible. I tried to share the challenges in that chapter for how we live our lives. It was only three days later, in a conversation with my brother where I was making it very clear that I would never again be speaking in church......... that it became clear that actually I was talking about maladjustment, about living a life that is radical, that makes a difference and I truly believe that is most possible when God is the very life source.
My problem just now is that I have got so insanely busy that I need to become maladjusted to myself and my learned behaviour patterns and that is a painful process.
I had a physio appointment this week to look at the mass of pains around my shoulders. She was one of these matter of fact people. "Your posture is horrible" being my favourite line. It appears that all my muscles in that area are having to work full time to maintain that level of horribleness and they are now at the point of protesting much. The cure to this maladjustment? I have a number of exercises and I have to lie on my back on the floor for twenty minutes and let my shoulders move towards the floor. Lie still for twenty minutes.............. she clearly does not know me!
I am away to do the ironing!

What about me, and cardboard boxes?

It suddenly dawned on me this week that I am cleaning the house without chemicals (Check out www.vinegartips.com) but what am I cleaning me with? Organic would certainly be better but oh so expensive, and expensive is something we absolutely cannot do just now. I was considering throwing in a couple of drops of essential oils and a good splash of olive oil into my bath last night but I am a little uncertain about the wisdom of such creativity. I am off to see if there is a good website with some good recipes out there.

My Mum often said that we were never happier as children than when we had a giant box in the living room that we could create a pile of things with. You have probably heard the same and lament a generation bereft of the same creativity. Actually I think it was the box and my Mums time and enthusiasm that made us happy campers. I am trying to be that Mum more, less with my eye on the next thing that needs to be done.

And boxes are indeed wonderful fun!! This house is well underway to be a true mansion and it has a letter box which you can post real letters that you have written to yourself on behalf of your little brother!!

Change the World for a Fiver

Check out "wearewhatwedo.org.

Mahatma Ghandi says "We must be the change we want to see in this world."
This is a quote I have read at least three times in different places this week and it is a good one. It is the basis of the book after which I have named this post.

So here goes on a few ideas.
Read a book with a child- easy in this house and I am happy to loan two book loving children to anyone who would like to do this.
Fit at least one energy saving bulb- we fitted three last week and the kids are fascinated by how dull they start and then brighten.
Smile and smile back- actually can I confess that sometimes I am that smiley person and other times I deliberately walk down the street, particularly in town, with my head down. What If I see someone that I was at school with and might smile and then end up having to strike up a conversation?
Plant your very own Christmas tree- how cool is that but at this point I am uncertain whether Sarah loaned me the book or gave it to me. She may notice the missing seed packet!
Have a bath with someone you love- like it. It is kind of small tho and kind of close to the little girls room!!
Get fitter feel better- actually Energize which I have signed up to (OK, organised!!) means three hours a week and I am beginning to really feel the benefit.
Walk more- amen!
Recycle mobile phones- need to, there are a few lying around here.
Give your change to charity- I tend not to notice the collecting cans at checkouts in stores but get this "After all, 1p per person per week adds up to 30 million quid per year". Good eh? It does say to that if the golden retriever outside the store does not have a coin slot in its head then do not try putting your coins in it. Sensible advice, I feel.

Hey, there are so many more things. A good book, simple changes, achievable by us all and put together by people who have a sense of humour. I may be purchasing a few of these as Christmas presents!!

Small Steps

Having recently been diagnosed with an overactive needtoachieve gland I have had to stop reading Seven Ways to Change the World, which is the book that sparked the call to maladjustment. The concepts are too big, the ideas for change too many, for my current condition. However I have been given Change the World for a Fiver (Thanks Sarah!) which seems to be so right for just now. I'll get back to you on what my small changes will be.

On Wednesday I went shopping to my local Aldi store, cheap definitely and the staff are so cheery and helpful every time I have been in. I made the decision that I should tell someone. No e-mail contact available so I thought "What the heck" and dialed head office. The following conversation took place.

"Hello. Aldi's"

"Em yes. I'm just phoning to tell you that I shop in your Dunfermline, Halbeath Store and your staff are always very helpful and friendly and I thought maybe it would be good to pass that on."

Silence. "Oh. Oh well em I'll just put you through to our regional manager and you can pass on your condolences to her."

I have to confess I laughed and she flustered a little and I was put on hold.

"hello. Aldi's"

"Hello. I'm just phoning to tell you that I shop in........................"

Silence. " Well that is good to hear. To be honest with you we never really get calls like this so I will be very happy to pass your comments on and will make a point of calling the store today."

We live in a world so quick to complain. I am going to try each week to congratulate someone somewhere who may normally be passed by or only ever hear the complaints.

My little brother won a car in a charity raffle this week. We have all been highly entertained. As a couple they are two of the most generous people I know. There is a principle on the bible that says give and it shall be given to you pressed down flowing over....... . I cant think of two people who more deserve to win a car!

Unplug the Christmas Machine

Will people please stop asking my little people what they are going to get from Santa!
I have had quite a few conversations with people in the last week who are kind of anxious about Christmas. Money is the biggest issue and that is compounded by others expectations. It strikes me that there needs to be some honest conversations going on but that I know is not always easy. I am blessed to be in families where that can happen and there is good listening. It sometimes doesn't tho as we are so busy and hurtle in to things.
I am enjoying "Unplug" and have a queue to read it after me. I need to get a move on. It is not that it has all the answers. I guess the strength in it is encouraging reflection of what is important to each one of us as individuals and that needs to be done before it all starts. For some of you it might already have. For us it'll be Thanksgiving first.

Bread making and cleaning

We had a busy day yesterday and I am in danger of making you think, if you do not know me, that I am some kind of domestic genius or indeed domestic obsessive.

I discovered a recipe book entitled "Baking" on a shelf in my Mums caravan and borrowed it. This may be increased to "stole it". In it I found this great recipe for soda bread. All ordinary ingredients, no yeast or waiting or bread maker. Are you impressed? I was, at the risk of sounding really sad. The littler boy helped too I have to confess before I take all the credit.

He and I spent a chunk of the morning cleaning. A necessity. I love the fact that as I am using no chemicals he can get involved. He took on the job of the vinegar rinse in the bathroom. I did the soap/bicarb and he rinsed.................and rinsed ..........and rinsed. He just loved that spray and the result is a bathroom that smells a little like the local chippie!! (Minus the deep fried smell!) Still the bathroom is clean, the asthma is not triggered and all for a few pence. You cannot beat it.

The little girl and the littler boy also decided to get involved with the clean up after dinner. Quite right too since it is 95% their mess. My favourite discovery on this cleaning journey is my spray bottle with water and two squooshes of dish washing liquid (ASDA's eco is great!). It cleans all my surfaces fab and the kids fight over having a turn. Wish you could have seem them at (and on!) the dining room table spraying and shooting their cloths up and down. One shiny table, two happy kids and one less job for me.

Back to the bread................................. . It looked fab and the first slice tasted fab as did these chunks.

This large chunk of uncooked dough in the middle was less appealing. Ah the joys of different oven temperatures! Next time I hope it may be impressive all the way thru. Actually that was kind of what I had been discussing with some folks last night but that is another story!

Charity Shops and kids

I have no idea whether the charity shops in St Andrews are any good or not and I did go into them, three of them in actual fact. My kids and shops are a challenge. My kids and charity shops go together like ......... well you can think of a combination. First problem is that they seem to be full of glass and ornaments and on shelves everywhere so I hover anxiously watching little people dart around. I do not want to buy glass and ornaments and I do NOT want to buy broken glass and ornaments. Way too much stress there. And the "I want..." "I need" monster seems to take over quickly. The little girl and I spotted a cute Tigger Fleece (If you know her soooooo approp) and she is desperate to try it on. Well it is huge. "No worries, Mummy, just put it back and get me a smaller size!". Mmm, doesn't quite work like that. We bought the huge fleece and at a couple of pounds and at least three years of growing in it, it is a huge bargain.

I'm still processing Christmas. I am realising it is deciding about what is important and narrowing to that rather than trying to do everything and feeling that it did not quite live up to expectations. In fact i am walking a path just now where I am having to take stock of the other 51 non-Christmas weeks and am realising that while I like to do everything and then fit something into the nonexistent space that is left, that it is time to narrow. There is actually a call to become maladjusted to my normal living. This process may hurt a bit.

On the bicarb front................... please do not use the baking kind. It will work just fine but really expensive. Buy in bulk either online or Tesco does a box in the eco cleaning section but please do not be tempted to throw that in the cake mix................. .

Generosity

I am surrounded by lots of really generous folks.

Today is a typical example. I went to visit a friend and her kids, with my little people, for lunch. We were having a good laugh about cracking e-bay and getting some good bargains thru spelling blips. (Intelligent Auction) Anyway I ask her to look at bread makers...... sooooo want one and before I know it I am leaving with hers which has been filling up a space in her garage and a bag of clothes for the littler boy. (Now, if the husband of the friend who may be slightly more attached to it, wants the bread maker back then of course, please take it, no worries.)
I also have a slow cooker, kind of happened the same way, with my sister in law. Please tho do not thinking I am running around blagging stuff!!

My motivation for doing this, our motivation as Mike and I are in this together, this whole challenge, is not to scrimp and save money so that we can pay the bills better and maybe one of these days start some kind of saving plan. No, it is about making far better use of what we have so that we can be in a place to give and share. Whether that be with friends and family or actually be able to make choices which may allow folks in other places to make choices because they are getting a fair price for goods I have bought, for example.

And as I look at Christmas I want to keep generosity at the heart of it. I see ultimate giving in the true Christmas message. So the challenge will be to lose the unnecessary spending, packaging, pressure, but keep the giving and the sharing and celebrate, celebrate, celebrate.

And tomorrow me and the little people are off to the caravan with Granny. Loads of fun but it will be cold. St Andrew's is going to be on the list of things to do and places to go and I have been thinking today that charity shops in St Andrews just could be really worth the look.

Yeah for bicarb!

Use 127 for bicarb.
Bung a whole pile of it in the washing machine and run it on the hot cycle. It gets rid of the nasty smell that had been creeping into our washing. We thought that maybe our machine was having mechanical issues of some sort or there was water trapped and lying stagnant. However a read through a time to be greener book gave us two heads up (Thanks Waterstones for a fly read.). The first was that liquid detergent is a bit of a con...............use a lot less than is stated as the residue gets into the clothes and lies in the machine and second was the one about flushing out the whole system with the bicarb. And it worked!
Unplug the Christmas Machine has arrived. Will get back to you!

Apples!

For some reason the local council saw fit to plant an apple tree in a grassy area next to the main road travelling into town from our village. We could see the apples growing and ripening each time we went past. Three weekends ago Mike suddenly stopped the care, ran across the grass and came back with a handful of apples. "Great" said I and an apple cobbler quickly found its way to our table. Two weekends ago he stopped and was all for me running across the grass. "Not on your life" was my reply and he ran across the grass and came back with another handful of apples. I couldn't quite decide what my problem was. I have no problems picking brambles so what is my deal? I kind of worked out that I felt like they did not belong to us so it was a bit mortifying nicking apples at the side of the main road. Am I mad or what?
This weekend I was driving and the car stopped at the same place. With no kids in the back seat we both jumped out, ran down the grass and came back with handfuls and pocketfuls of apples. No cobbler for us this time. We now have four jars of very tasty apple butter!!
Maybe I can be a scavenger of the land after all. Maybe not mushrooms tho. Heard some real bad stories about them recently. Mike is really into this in a big way. He keeps talking about rose hip jam and dandelions in the salad. Thinking he needs a good book from somewhere quick.
Maybe avoid any dinner invites here for a while!!

Charity Shops

The little people went to spend some time hanging out with one of their wee cousins. Lots of fun was had and we took the time to go and explore our local charity shops. There are four at the bottom of the High Street in Dunfermline. I guess I did not really know what to expect and actually I was quite surprised on two accounts. First is that it will not be difficult to avoid the stores and keep me clothed, and Mike too, I think. Secondly, where in the world are all the children's clothes? Hardly a rack in each store for little people. I am going to have to give this some serious thinking!
A couple of the stores were really well organised and full of clothes, toys and "stuff" to be explored. And explore we did. I kept having to remind myself that jsut because things were less expensive that I did not need to be buying.The other two shops did feel like you wanted to give everything a really good scrub and a bit of serious organising was required. I picked up a pair of work out trousers and a shirt for work and spent just seven pounds. Both were from Next and were in excellent condition. I also picked up a couple of games which I am putting aside for Christmas.
I am giving some serious thought to Christmas presents. How to keep the spending in check? How to be generous? If I pick up stuff in the charity shops do I need to add a note to that effect inside the presents?

Recycling

We recycled big time today, me and the littler boy. He loves going and shoving all those milk cartons into the big bin. He will need to grow a bit to take on the glass and the cans. Last time we went the wasps were out in force and it was a dangerous activity! A friend suggested recently that we should be dumping all our glass at the bottom of the ocean and allowing nature to take its course. I am so into recycling that I do not really get into the debate about the cost of recycling and if there is a better way. Maybe I need to be a little more informed in my path to maladjustment.
We start a two week school holiday today. Really feel like we need it. Our little girl has just finished her first term at school. I would love to say that she had taken to it like a duck to water but sadly no. She has been a little "maladjusted" to the whole process but a few stressful incidents for us all and an hour of me in a meeting with both the headteacher and the depute head has hopefully set her (and us!) back on track.
I ordered "Unplug the Christmas Machine" last night. I am eagerly awaiting it's arrival. Had to order a new copy as all the second hand ones were coming from the US. I just could not wait that long. Here's to some time to read and dare I say relax over the next fortnight!! Maybe even check out some of the charity shops I keep mentioning.

Good honest work.

We spent y'day afternoon at our "allotment" otherwise know as Aunty Vony's back garden. Turned into a bit of a party with Doug and Susan and the nephew showing up to lend a hand, or toshow us how to do it as was often claimed!! And Von coming home from work to a garden full added to the event. The sun shown and we actually got a patch of soil dug over altho the roots from a nearby tree took a bit of dealing with. We just need to work out if we are too late to plant. There is bound to be something hardy I would have thought.
Today was kind of different. I spent yet another day at work doing battle with, cajoling, remonstrating, encouraging, admonishing, a couple of children who have had choices made for them, and have made choices themselves, that have resulted in maladjustment but not the kind I am striving for.
Would have been easier digging!

What am I getting for Christmas?

That was the question I was asked y'day by my little girl. "Well sweetheart, we are learning to be maladjusted and there is so much in Christmas we need to be maladjusted to" did not quite seem to be the right answer but I better start working on one and soon because the adverts on TV and the displays in the stores (and I am only really in grocery stores these days.) are out to destroy any notion that we do not need a pile of new stuff.
I am off to try and find that book "Unplugging the Christmas machine" but only if I can find it already read.

Inspiring!

I have been reading a book called "Seven Ways to Change the World" by Jim Wallis. My brother gave it to me when the one I asked for, by Joel Edwards, for my birthday had not arrived. He is still reading that one and I still have his! It really got me thinking but it was a blog that got me moving.
This summer I heard about a lady who was caring for 39 children. Crazy, insane, is that even legal was my first reaction. I was quickly told from a number of people that actually this was someone with great courage who was following the call of God on her life and kid after kid was benefiting from an amazing heart. So I started to check out the blog. I have laughed and cried reading it.
She is truly maladjusted in so many ways ( and it is true that she strives to stay sane at times!). She has made some real decisions about how she will live. I love her blogging about her gardens and all she harvests and they eat. And yard sales.......... seems to me that they work so well. They have got to be better than the charity shop trolling that I need to do. Our weather. (AGAIN!!!!)
Is it crazy to believe in angels that stock yard sales for deserving causes? If anyone deserves such an angel then I believe she and her kids do.
If you want to be challenged then check out www.thebodiebunch.blogspot.com and read Saturday 27th September, 2008.

A friend has also started a blog. It is worth a look. She's both smart and real which makes for interesting reading. www.iblamedorisday.blogspot.com

Time.

I have blogged all week in my head. It has been like a running conversation but apologies to anyone out there who may have checked in and found nothing. Actually there is so much to say that I have struggled to know what.
I have an idea now for my kid's Christmas gifts to nearest and dearest...100% recycled but I cannot say a lot more. It came to me at the caravan last weekend when we had taken a couple of days out to recharge the batteries. (Backfired a bit when the littler boy decided to have one of his worst nights on record! But the weather was GREAT!)
At the caravan too I realised again how easy it is to not recycle but i find more and more I just cannot do it. I cannot consign a bottle to the landfill, or a milk carton or a few empty cans of Scrumpy Jack so I washed, bagged and hauled them on home in the car as I know here where the facilities are. I love when the kids ask which bin things are to go in.
I am four weeks into a chemical free house in terms of cleaning. Such simple ideas with the bicarb, soap and vinegar. I love it. The only slight suspect at the moment is the toilet but I am not sure that is great blog material. I bought another micofibre cloth today. You have got to love them!!
Have not yet hit the second hand clothes stores and planned to check them out week one of my challenge but there is only so much time in a day and so much energy for that matter.
I am realising that a lot of this takes time but if we cannot prioritise things that we feel are important something has to be out of kilter somewhere, right?
And.... a final thought. A 40th Birthday invite in Nov. Beach party. (Inside obviously. This is Scotland, my friends.) Dress code? Cocktail dress! Me? Charity shops? Maybe it would be easier to decline the invite!!

I draw the line at underwear!

Our little girl needed tights for school as she was "just freezing" with her socks and the littler boy's big boy pants were not quite big enough. So it was off to ASDA. I just can't do second hand for those. (Could you?) And I just don't know yet about fair trade shops for these things. Do they exist and can we afford them?
I did shut my eyes and run passed all the clothes on the women's shelves tho.

Christmas, Cars and Butterflies

I had my first challenge about Christmas on Monday morning at school. The annual Christmas staff night out........and a child waiting on an immediate reply as I was the last person to respond. I scanned the note. The Witches of Eastwick at the Playhouse in Edinburgh followed by a meal at a very nice Italian across the road. I quickly calculated at least 45 quid by the time I added train and drinks. Yes I need to spend time with colleagues and celebrate work well done, at times with many battles. No I cannot justify that amount of money. What to do when the child with the note is obviously not leaving without an answer. I ticked "No" and added "Sorry". And now with the decision made I am having to think it thru.

Our old car had it's MOT test today. (ie is it road worthy?). This has caused us some angst. At what point do you replace a car which would mean a loan which would not be ideal? I would love a new car but have to admit that some of that is total pride at driving round in a beat up one. However I discovered last week that beat up cars given a good wash look so much better. And Terry from the garage has just called to say that the car has a year left in it yet. Passed the Mot!! I might even give it a polish!

Our butterflies have been a lovely addition to our house but it is just not where they are meant to be and this morning was dryish so it was time................. . With a very tearful little girl we took them into the garden and opened the top. They did not move at all. I had a sneaky suspicion that maybe they were all dead. Later on this morning I was in the garden with our littler boy and two of our butterflies were fluttering around. We were both very excited!! Here's hoping they may remain for our little girl coming home for her lunch.

What first?

Some days I know I will think little about the steps I want to take and other days like today I will have so many options that I may be in danger of doing nothing. I need to make a list and work it thru sensibly but I hate lists. I work on the principle that if I cannot remember it then it isn't worth it. Maybe, and it is only a maybe, I need to rethink this.

So at church this morning we heard some great stuff on stewardship. I liked that a lot and was in danger of amening out loud! We do not own, we are entrusted to care for our resources, our planet and such. Stewardship so fits with my faith. I need to be adding something to the title bar of this blog.............? Needs more thought.
Then I read some info sent thru with my recycle bins schedule. I can cut down on unwanted mail in two or three ways. Yep, need to. Then there was a section on love food hate waste. The average family in Scotland waste 610 pounds (yep money not weight) a year. How can we justify that when 35,000 kids die each day from preventable diseases. It makes me physically hurt. This house needs to move to be waste free. www.wasteawarelovefood.org.uk was recommended. Need to check it out.
And there is the site that Beth recommended in her comment. I have checked this out and her Mum's site. In fact that is really what gave me the kick into this but that is the story for another day.
But the highlight of our day was that we had four butterfly births today. Our kids were very excited. Auntie Susan had bought us the Butterfly garden kit and we have watched and cared for our wee catterpillars for four weeks now. What a journey and what a thrilling outcome! And yes there is something about them not flying free but we will let then go. Please can we have a warm sunny day?

Timber...............!

Today the forecast said light rain. In Scotland at the moment you translate that as go out and do as much as you can, keeping your rain coat nearby. We headed to our allotment project, stopping first at the Farmer's Market to buy our monthly treat of freshly smoked fish and some local veggies.
Our job today was to start moving what seems like a ton of stones off an area we plan to plant as soon as. It struck me that five years ago we had helped Von lay these down, in the hope of creating a maintenance free garden. Nothing is maintenance free in a garden, my friends. If we had only had a bit of vision we could have had five years of fruit and veg and actually been certified organic, me thinks. There was little joy in this task but we were all outside in the fresh air. It strikes me that we will need to put in some diary adjustment to give the time to this if we really believe it is important to us and what we want to be about. Maybe a few hours of some hard physical work is exactly what we need to pause and evaluate what is important.
We also decided to tackle the trees that were now so tall that they were among the electric cabling at the bottom of the yard. Von had had a good go but had taken fright at the thicker trunks. Mike was less cautious. A flimsy short ladder and a cheap saw and a wife slightly anxious about what might happen! When he had sawn what he thought was enough we attached Von's washing line and then the whole family (Yep.. Mike, Mo, the little girl and the littler boy) all grabbed the rope and pulled, shouting heave ho and then "TIMBER!" And I am pleased to report both came down and the electricity is still running in the neighbourhood!!

Finally a blog!

I made a commitment to start seriously looking at how we could become maladjusted, at least somewhat, small steps on the path, at the end of our trip to the US this summer. Mike was 100% in. He took no convincing altho we both saw the irony of our trips to Old Navy that very morning and even our discussion taking place in Tubby's in Savannah.
Then we get home and the pace hits fifth gear on day one. Five weeks later it takes a Georgia game (Go Dawgs!! We're wearing the hats and the shirts! Seriously!) to cut me some slack to start blogging.
Why? For two reasons. It keeps me accountable even if no-one reads it. And......hopefully out there, there are other people who are already commited to living differently and making those changes which small on their own can add to a bigger world changing picture! I need to learn from you.