downshiftme.com Podcast Feed

Podcast 65

downshiftme@gmail.com (Matt and AJ) — Sat, 10 May 2008 18:56:41 -0500

Not podcasted since December… quite a winter..

January – snow
February – more snow
March – less snow

Horticultural happenings
- awards
- Skills Canada gold medal
- commissions
- business
- job

Our garden
- greenhouse
- soft fruit
- grapes

Home brewing
- beer
- wine

Immigration update
- medicals
- bureaucracy
- new 5 year graduate work permit

My job
- at the University
- website work

Animal updates
- Spencer
- Dylan
- chickens

Visitors from England next weekend

Bad Things
AJ – ticks
Matt – bugs

Good things
AJ – Twinnings Herbal Teas (wellbeing range)
Matt – living in the country

Podcast 64

downshiftme@gmail.com (Matt and AJ) — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 18:49:52 -0600

2nd anniversary of our first podcast (not going to play it again)

63 podcasts later but bit out of practice.

Nice to hear people have come to us after we stopped weekly podcasting and they have listened all the way through - out of real time.

Winter
- Quite a winter - 5 storms (including last night) - last winter 5 in total
- 10cm last night
- snow most of December

Horticultural happenings
- passed semester with honours
- one more to go
- lots of houseplants propagated

Knitting
quest for the gnome
tree decoration
knitted our hats

Creeping Canadianisms
highway
gas

Immigration to Nova Scotia - we have PNP

People not always doing what they set out to do coming here
True of many downshifters
Adapt plans if things don't turn out exactly how they are planned

Bad Things
AJ – TV
Matt – snow

Good things
Matt – snow
AJ – snow

Podcast 63

downshiftme@gmail.com (Matt and AJ) — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 18:42:33 -0500

Why we stopped podcasting
Busy
Ran out of things to say
Spencer tries to stop the podcast
Was worried slightly we had “lost our way” with my new job

We are poor, we knit our own yoghurt and hats.

Didn't get chickens as we hoped to this year.

Got some great emails from people – people said they understood but would miss us.

Met some great people visiting
Welcome to Nova Scotia – Mark and Tania, Richard and Jane, and Flora and Larry

Harvest – potatoes, tomatoes, zucchini/courgettes, squash, chilli peppers, some berries.

Next year – carrots, parsnips, more potatoes, onions, more zucchini, berries – hoping the grape vines and kiwi survive.

Triumphs of the year - we can look back and give thanks

So settled
Survived the winter
Had some great produce
Great fun - spent time together
Enjoy walking the garden after dinner
New job meant physiotherapy on foot and filling replaced which came out in November
AJ learnt to can - chilli jelly, jam, chutney, pickle, salsa
AJ has mastered beer - Matthew likes the beer

Setbacks

Truck still dead – setback – bought car – on credit
Not grown as much as we would have liked
Money running out faster than we hoped

Downshifting is about finding your own path. Choose a different way of living.

We need BBC Canada.. Doctor Who, Torchwood, Spooks, Robin Hood, It's not Easy Being Green, Buildings that Shaped Britain.

Don't feel homesick but nicely nostalgic.

Found our house in a book.

The school was bigger than we thought. More outbuildings - like we thought.

Bad Things
AJ – the truck
Matt – cost of insurance

Good things
AJ – a general sense of joy and contentment
Matt – Nova Scotia is my home

Podcast 62

downshiftme@gmail.com (Matt and AJ) — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 15:23:32 -0500

Truck is dead

AJ’s infected bite

Job going well

Bought a cultivator

Grass growing quickly

Almost a year on

- Achieved a lot
- Not always as expected
- starting to run out of things to say weekly
- getting quite busy doing things
- weekly is too much pressure
- we will still update the website
- subscribe to the email updates or subscribe in bloglines or a newsreader to the general feed

Bad Things
AJ – infected bite
Matt – dead truck

Good things
Matt – work colleagues we live in a beautiful place
AJ – happier, more content with less stress

Podcast 61

downshiftme@gmail.com (Matt and AJ) — Sun, 27 May 2007 17:40:55 -0500

Feels like spring has come and gone and its summer.

Planting update – Spencer ate the corn, planting beds outside – lots of free discarded – “not good enough to sell” plants.

Truck MVI

Wood for the chicken coop

Matt’s new job – back working for a University, back in housing – looking forward to it. Sad to be leaving the supermarket and the nice people – but not the anti-social hours. Leaving pay not too bad (for this area) but new pay better.

Is this going backwards on the downshifting thing?

AJ working through torrential rain, baking heat, bug plagues

Bug update – we were premature last time – they come and go – lots today though. Need a screen house tent thingy

Bad Things
AJ – bugs
Matt – bugs

Good things
AJ – plants
Matt – weather and having weekends back

Podcast 60

downshiftme@gmail.com (Matt and AJ) — Sun, 13 May 2007 16:31:54 -0500

Spring

Cut grass
Bulbs appeared

Update on our vegetables and herbs

AJ work update

Matt Work update

Truck having MVI tomorrow – wish us luck

Chicken house construction starts soon with local timber

Bad Things
AJ – apprehension about the truck MVI
Matt – bugs

Good things
AJ – being alive
Matt – smell of freshly cut grass

Podcast 59

downshiftme@gmail.com (Matt and AJ) — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 19:29:33 -0500

Not retiring at 60. 3rd attempt - very tired. Matt has had his siesta. AJ has bottled beer.

AJ work placement week. Saltscapes expo. What is the difference between an exposition and exhibition?

Tracey Smith in the Toronto Star.

Electric poultry netting - mentioned on Geek.Farm.Life.

Bagels and Baggels. Gooda and Gouda.

Andrew and Misty built their own greenhouse – looking at ways to retain heat.

Humidity question - good for some plants but not others. Humidity can cause problems with pests, mold or spores.

We are looking for a heated winter greenhouse with dual skin.

Sprouting update – what's hot and what's not

Water sampling has started again

Earthquake – damage in Folkestone – 475 houses damaged. 4.3 magnitude on the Richter scale.

We had one in the valley of 3.2 magnitude – was 11th August 2006 so we were living here then (and didn’t notice).

Google Map

Records 1985 to 1997 – nothing over a 4

First tick - yuk. Don't listen while you eat!

Bad Things
AJ – first mosquito bite
Matt – still a little chilly

Good things
AJ – bulbs
Matt – youtube - numa numa

Podcast 58

downshiftme@gmail.com (Matt and AJ) — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 20:28:20 -0500

Happy National Downshifting Week and Earth Day (happy St. George’s Day for tomorrow)

Truck update

Downshifting week - goals

Work starting

End of year at college

Warm weather – noises – peepers, birds

Sad news – made us feel a long way away from home

Bad Things
AJ – sad news, truck, college ending
Matt – truck or nothing

Good things
AJ – work starting, weather, truck
Matt – weather, summer

This podcast is dedicated to the memory of AJ's Gran.

Podcast 57

downshiftme@gmail.com (Matt and AJ) — Sat, 14 Apr 2007 16:42:49 -0500

Brought to you by AJ's Banana Bread and Celestial Seasons herbal tea

Winter storm – LOTS of snow – didn’t last long – single biggest snowfall of the winter.

Tracey Smith – Odeo Message – National Downshifting Week and Sustainable Sausage Saturday

House prices in the UK - density doubled over past 10 years

"Housing people like tinned sardines does not come without costs however. Complaints about noisy neighbours have risen fivefold in the last decade with loud music cited as the chief culprit." Reuters

Google maps and Google Earth - 4,416 miles from our old house to our new

Kate Adie sounds posher now on From our own Correspondent- said power as "pa"

Huggles - What's that all about?

Torch Song Trilogy - very well written and acted

Taxes - lots of work!

Bad Things
AJ – hunt for a truck is frustrating
Matt – too much oil - ordered $200 of oil - ended up with $450 worth

Good things
AJ – banana bread
Matt – fresh air

Podcast 56

downshiftme@gmail.com (Matt and AJ) — Sun, 08 Apr 2007 06:59:23 -0500

Happy Easter

Weather has changed for the weekend

More plants – house is becoming a nursery. Willow propagating - growing "fedges".

Greenhouse - bad news - shipping $600 US from Maine. Still cheaper than other alternatives.

Wine and Trees garden – seen in flesh. Looks even better in the flesh than in the photos.

Woodpecker

AJ has a commission to design a garden

Robins are back - 14 robins in the front garden

Provincial Nominee Program – NS graduate route immigration forms now available.

Wide salary differences in Nova Scotia.

www.acountrylife.com – Canadian Immigration discussion board

Google ads – experiment. Hopefully not too intrusive. Its free money for us if it works. If you are interested in anything – click it – if not don’t :)

Header image has changed. AJ wants to change the bumble bee and the sunflower.

May get the bee hives back.

Bad Things
AJ – snow in spring
Matt – muddy water

Good things
AJ – good things on the horizon
Matt – recognition at work that doing a good job

Podcast 55

downshiftme@gmail.com (Matt and AJ) — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 17:34:59 -0500

Chainsaw
- cut up lots of the oak but still quite a lot to go
- sat outside on a bit of the oak tree

Spring
– seedlings sprouting
- greenhouse research

Wine and Trees
- AJ’s Japanese Garden

Immigration rant - there will soon be changes to the Provincial Nominee Program (see last Sunday's post on downshiftme.com)

Different woodpecker - will play next week

National Downshifting Week

New York Times – A Year Without Toilet Paper - need to register now to read or check out No Impact Man blog

Bad Things
AJ – people drinking when you can’t
Matt – work yesterday

Good things
AJ – chainsaws, praise, sunshine
Matt – crocus

Plastic bags – to be continued…

We play out with the wonderful Sandie Shaw

Podcast 54

downshiftme@gmail.com (Matt and AJ) — Sat, 17 Mar 2007 18:51:13 -0500

> Oak tree down – rotten down one side – need to buy a chainsaw now.

> Spring - thawing. Winter storm last night.

> March break

> Job news - AJ

> Woody woodpecker – a pileated woodpecker

> GOTW – new podcast from www.acountrylife.com coming soon

> Census – population drop in rural Nova Scotia - turns into a rant about immigration and how NS should fast track immigration to the rural parts of Nova Scotia. New Brunswick has a better provincial nominee program for entrepreneurs.

> Trying to reduce clear cutting – satellite images showing forestry in NS – on the news showed our house from the air – well the general area.

> Need sustainable woodland management

> Jerry and Gemma – good luck with their house building plans – starting very soon. Blogging it.

> Google Sketch Up

> Still some windows and doors to add

> AJ has bought some books

> Smaller file size – mono for dialup – thanks Daniel

Bad Things
AJ - bored with snow
Matt – work – had its moments this week

Good things
AJ - Dylan
Matt – broadband again

Chad Hatcher and Classified

Podcast 53

downshiftme@gmail.com (Matt and AJ) — Sun, 11 Mar 2007 16:11:08 -0500

> Take 2

> First podcast in satellite digital broadband
- Frees the phone line - its faster - but not as fast as we had in the UK.
- Digging post hole in a snow storm and minus 15 degree windchill - pick axe
- Trying to keep concrete warm

> AJ has enjoyed using Youtube and Google Earth

> Podcasts
- The Now Show – very very funny – very middle class and our generation. 22 minutes. Political satire – we love it.
Catching up on –
- Geek.Farm.Life
- Daily Source Code
- Canadian Podcast Buffet

We will try different quality settings on our dialup version - this week 40k - feedback is appreciated.

> BBC 30 things which have changed in the UK

> AJ looks at trucks – and gets told that an older truck costing less really costs more than a 2007 brand new model. Some people's trucks must be worth more than their houses.

> Been here for 2 clock changes

> An email with a yarn about yarn - kind offer from a knitter

> Frappr update and shoutout - read fast not like Clement Freud being ponderous on Just a Minute.

Bad Things
Matt - more weather moans - the snow and the Jeep sliding one way and then the next
AJ - icicles on eyelashes

Good things
AJ - March break
Matt – higher speed internet

Podcast 52

downshiftme@gmail.com (Matt and AJ) — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 17:30:59 -0600

Storm

Post

Visitors

Eclipse

The Now Show

Lovely email from Paula – listened to all our podcasts – torture!

Full week of course

Gimpyness update

Bad Things
AJ - snow storm
Matt - snow storm

Good things
AJ - tea
Matt – sunshine and moonlight

Podcast 51

downshiftme@gmail.com (Matt and AJ) — Sun, 25 Feb 2007 14:54:52 -0600

Lots of snow

Yoghurt – don’t need electricity as you said – heat and cool – insulated container, welly, that sort of thing – thanks to Richard for the advice.

Home made soup

East Coast Music Awards

- Jill Barber – tipped in earlier podcast
- Classified
- Joel Plaskett

Funny comment after Peter McKay thought he was in Toronto

Mary Walsh comedian referred to the federal “Conservative a*** lickers of Satan who don’t even know which town they are in”

Also watched the last of the series of Doctor Who.

Satellite broadband – need a post.

Get back into listening to podcasts – hopefully Skype.. but who knows. Better for the uploading of podcast. Also may use youtube more and things that don’t work like google earth and frappr.

Work update – still training in the cash office – but not looking forward to having to “balance” on my first shift.

Art day at college

Learning lots of latin names

Donation – thank you – will use it to plant a tree.

Bad Things
Matt - snow
AJ - foot still gimpy

Good things
Matt – home made soup
AJ - Celestial Seasons tea

Podcast 50

downshiftme@gmail.com (Matt and AJ) — Sun, 11 Feb 2007 18:37:36 -0600

The big 50.

Surprise visitor – very nice to have and good luck for tomorrow. Matt gives a geography lesson.

Our driveway is like a skating rink.

Foot update – its all gone gimpy.

AJ is drinking Raspberry Green Tea (Celestial Gardens) and Matt is drinking a Twinnings of London Green Tea.

Two loads of wood delivered in the week.

We could see backwards in time:

AJ likes the Antiques Roadshow.

Work update – whole supervisor shift. 1m different lottery tickets and scratchcard. No news from jobs. Also being trained to work in the cash office.

Spencer mips.

Sewing machine went backwards and now doesn't go. AJ has started knitting.

AJ – planting update on “Zone 1” – permaculture term.

Herb garden:

Tofu - looks cost effective - it almost sounds like we have a plan to be more self reliant.

Fence the vegetable plot using our own wood for posts. AJ going to start coppicing

Home made alcohol – not worked

Bread – great – pasta was good but not cheaper and lots of faff.

Yoghurt – be nice to find a yoghurt maker. Our old one is being used to still make yoghurt in Wales.

Bad things
AJ – snowy roads
Matt – sliding sideways in the Jeep and worrying about AJ driving in the snow

Good things
AJ – scratching his creativity
Matt – learning new stuff at work

Got cut off in mid flow by the music.

Podcast 49

downshiftme@gmail.com (Matt and AJ) — Sat, 03 Feb 2007 16:04:08 -0600

Congratulations to Andrew and Misty of Geek Farm Life for reaching 50 podcasts.

Apologies for not podcasting last week.

Snow storm outside. AJ made two snow sculptures after feeling creatively challenged.

Foot update - still sore - getting better - taking pain killers.

Wood – sweat equity in the cost - lots of labour when you carry each piece yourself. Need to cut back - not sure if the oil gauge is stuck.

AJ has been doing some impressive garden designs for his course.

It is not easy being green – or rural! Or poor. We aimed to be greener but not sure we are more green - but think we will build up to it.

Driving test - AJ passed - never had a driving licence in the UK

Need second car - global footprint has increased (in ways)
Drive further for shopping
Easier to be green in the city
Need to go further for work
BUT we will start putting things back into the earth very soon and reduce our footprint
Wood – good local wood – not used much oil for heating – well insulated

Consumerism – feel like we are consuming a lot!

Spend less – still not been easy so far

Its easier to be green if you are middle class and urban.

Work update – stopped applying for low paid jobs as I am not getting interviews or hearing from any of them. Think I may have to go it alone and be self employed if I don't get a job.

Supermarket job - have a "Customer Services Supervisor" shift, being trained in new stuff and doing the signs.

Am doing some freelance web authoring and been commissioned to design a website today. Also look after empty property. Otherwise I will need to retrain.

Ironically there are jobs being advertised in AJ's old "sphere". Must have applied for 20 jobs and heard nothing from them.

Planned on an outside podcast - but the weather is too bad.

Bad things
AJ – painful foot
Matt – how much moving you have to do with wood

Good things
AJ – being mobile - motor mobile
Matt – Nova Scotia - despite work and money - its a wonderful place

We still can't get Frappr to work on dialup

Podcast 48 - the brrrrr edition

downshiftme@gmail.com (Matt and AJ) — Sun, 21 Jan 2007 13:12:44 -0600

Winter has arrived:

Monday – finished early – a nasty drive home

Tuesday – got out of working

Wednesday like The Day After Tomorrow
-30 windchill
-16 real temperature
High winds

Thursday – back to college and work – river frozen.

AJ’s accident
- hospital visit
- charging for ambulances
- hobbling
- getting better

Winter – managing to survive – yes it is cold. House is lovely and warm. Burning lots of wood – not using too much oil (as long as the gauge is working). Snow is a pain on the roads sometimes. Need to shovel the entrance to our drive.

Storms in Europe – plane taking off – couldn’t find on BBC or Youtube.

Brewing beer - Mouse in bottle incident

Our Favourite advert nicotine replacement –“The seatbelt light is on! SIGH”
Click here and then on "Deb on quitting smoking" on the bottom right.

BBC Canada – wall to wall homes programmes!

Bad things
Matt – snow
AJ – hurt foot

Good things
AJ – woolly hats
Matt – snow

Podcast 47

downshiftme@gmail.com (Matt and AJ) — Sun, 14 Jan 2007 18:38:58 -0600

Things to bring thread on ACL, a Dead Dyson, Flora’s question about money. Nice people we have met, listener in Israel, email about rain in Swansea. Work update – doing signage. College update – Chelsea garden. Mother Earth News article – poly tunnel with compost pathway, keeping chickens, nuts, compost.

Podcast 46 - one year on

downshiftme@gmail.com (Matt and AJ) — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 17:31:46 -0600

This is the first podcast of the year and our "review of the year". Our first ever podcast was on 30th December 2005 so this is our one year anniversary of podcasting.

It lasts for 50 minutes so have uploaded an even lower quality than usual version for our dialup listeners plus the normal 56k version which is included in the podcast feed.

Happy New Year

downshiftme@gmail.com (Matt and AJ) — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 11:00:21 -0600

Happy New Year. Click the icon below to play a message from downshiftme.com or right click and "save link as" or "save target as".

Next podcast should be out next weekend hopefully.

Happy New Year,

Matt and AJ

Podcast 45 (belated)

downshiftme@gmail.com (Matt and AJ) — Sat, 23 Dec 2006 04:42:21 -0600

Apologies for the delay in this appearing in iTunes and for podcast clients due to a technical hitch (thanks Daniel for alerting us).

Not sure if the next podcast will be Christmas Eve or Christmas Day or Boxing day but next two will be our “reviews of the year”. First podcast was on 30th December 2005. What we have done, what we achieved, what we have not achieved, what was not expected, the highs and the lows.

Please send us your comments for the next two podcasts. Email us or record audio and send it to us.

We do not have broadband :( Aliant website shows next door has high speed but we don’t. Aliant say its due to available ports not distance.

We may even play some moments from previous podcasts.

We will also look forward to the 12 months ahead and see what we hope to achieve.

> College update – its finished for the year with exams Thursday and Friday. Next semester – different modules, different hours. Integrated Pest Management. Integrated Plant Health. Computing module.
- Driving.

> Work update – Christmas rush, very busy in both. Tiger balm helping my back – done in by bad ergonomics. Day off today! 50 hours next week. Being talked about.

“Only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about”

> Christmas – probably just the 4 of us, although we may have a friend over some of the time, who may otherwise be on her own (and she has a dog). We usually have a quiet Christmas.

- Candle from my grandmother.
- Will probably have some very happy moments but also some sad ones.

- Miss our friends and family. Although we may not have seen them at Christmas, I think it will make us feel a long way away.

AJ doesn’t feel the distance. Matt does miss our past life although job helps a lot.

Matt witters about change, loss, confidence, and making choices. We have long term goals and some of the short term necessities are just that – short term.

AJ misses Radio 4. Matt really misses broadband (and A4 paper)

Bad things
Matt – rude eco Nazis – please be nice to supermarket staff!
AJ – TV series suddenly stopping mid series

Good things
AJ – on holiday for two and a half weeks
Matt – people are nice

New Frappr person - Jonathan from Annapolis Royal.

Podcast 44

downshiftme@gmail.com (Matt and AJ) — Sun, 10 Dec 2006 19:00:58 -0600

Matt and AJ have moved from busy Leeds in the UK to the beautiful Annapolis Valley in Nova Scotia, Canada for a better life.

Weather report
Lots of snow
Road conditions
Drive nice and slowly, avoid breaking and sudden manoeuvres and use the 4wd if needed. Snow tyres are great.
Lowest temperatures
Windchill
Thaw and freeze
Incredibly beautiful
Dylan enjoying it but regressing in naughtiness

Work update
Long hours
Interesting possibilities in both

College update
Winter retail sale

Bad things
Matt – American date format
AJ – Dylan's naughtiness

Good things
AJ – weather
Matt – beauty of snow

Podcast 43

downshiftme@gmail.com (Matt and AJ) — Sun, 03 Dec 2006 18:12:47 -0600

From Heart House, Nova Scotia with snowflakes gently floating past the window.

What have we been up to?

Hort East
- AJ went with his course to Hort East show in Moncton
- 2.5 days
- Horticulture conference and exhibition
- interesting and enjoyable

Work
- 50 hours last week and 48 this week
- very busy and not much time off
- not exactly the plan for downshifting but need to follow up on opportunities

Weather
- gone cold but has been very changeable
- getting through the wood

Liberal leadership
Stéphane Dion winning – rather glad not Ignatieff – bit spooky. Although there are a fair few Sesame Street characters amongst the candidates. Liked Bob Rae after him being on Rick Mercer

Bad things
Matt – not enough hours in the day
AJ – the bus is heated too well

Good things
AJ – Hort East
Matt – colleagues at my new job

Podcast 42

downshiftme@gmail.com (Matt and AJ) — Sun, 19 Nov 2006 17:14:18 -0600

Podcast 42 – the answer to the meaning of life the universe and everything?

This is downshiftme.com a podcast about a couple who have moved from the UK to Nova Scotia, Canada. This has involved some big changes in life and lifestyle and we are getting used to living on very little money and trying to simplify the pace of life.

The podcast has been following our journey in what we call “downshifting” but it is probably more like the story of trying to survive the cultural, financial and other changes moving from an urban wealthy lifestyle in the UK to a financially poorer, hopefully “life richer” existence in Nova Scotia.

> 42 – very hitchhikers - the answer to the meaning of life, the universe and everything.

> Difficult to concentrate, talk and walk last week – especially getting thwacked in the face by branches! Hit deer not car.

> Snow – forgot to mention. Current heat wave – 21 degrees Friday.

> Thermostat is ace – nice and warm – surprised all Canadian homes don’t have them

> AJ hurt his finger

> Work on the new rockery - 50% done

> Soil analysis - put soil and water in a jar and then leave it - layers of sand, silt and organic matter

> Dog whistle – eagle attraction?

> Matt has been bitten

> AJ had two days off college

> Matt starts at the electronics store next week

> AJ has started making Christmas cards

> Lovely meal with friends up the road - Dylan came too

Bad things
AJ – hurt finger
Matt – having hours cut - annoying

Good things
AJ – finding things - we found a car!
Matt – colleagues at the supermarket