happy chatter

i would if i could... but i can't

2009-11-12T21:47:00.002+11:00

I have a corker of a post for you. Well, a corker of a story. Oh, OK. I think it's a story worth telling but it might bore you to tears.

I'd spill all right here and now if I could, but I'm just too tired, and I need to discipline myself and go to bed, rather than write and edit and read and work on a post until late.

And hey - 12 days of continuous posting after a year of almost nothing? Gotta be happy with that for now.

Please do be happy with that, because I just can't offer up anything more than this.

just in case you aren't consuming enough already (aka 'we know you're stupid and will want to buy this')

2009-11-11T19:59:00.009+11:00

Christmas must be just around the corner... our letter box is literally stuffed with catalogues every day. I must put that 'no junk mail' sticker out, although the depressing thing about that is, even if I do, the trees have already been chopped down and the catalogues printed. Sigh.

I don't even look at most of them - straight to the recycling bin they go - but a couple recently came personally addressed to me, and I found myself flicking lazily through them.

There's some winning items out there, some designed specifically for me I'm sure. I mean, how did they know I can't reverse park? This parking sensor is exactly what I need - when I get too close to a car or gate post it will alarm loudly enough for everyone in the street to hear, and then they can guide me safely into the space. Perfect.

And this one. A dental care set? I don't ever have to visit a dentist again? I can do it myself with the aid of three simple tools! Genius. How come I never thought of that one?!

Frank was pretty taken with this one, him being a neat freak and all. Our garden will be so tidy now. Gotta love that. (I particularly like that you can hide the hose with the flowering lid. Nifty)

I can't shuffle cards to save my life (makes for very boring games of UNO), so here's another useful invention...

Frank's in line for this gorgeous personalised alarm clock - ooh yeah!

I can now be as lazy as I like with this one:

And for all of you completely lacking in imagination, and unable to stick a bottle of sauce upside down in a glass (or even the fridge door, for goodness sake!), I have a super deal for you. Plastic moulded to meet your need for just $6.90. Who cares that we've filled the whole earth with plastic - you need this one, I'm sure.

Here in Australia we've moved past winter (at last!) and are enjoying sunny, warm, delicious days. At least they're delicious in Tasmania - it sounds like they are a little too hot in other parts of the country. Whichever, we won't be needing any snugly blankets any time soon, but in the northern hemisphere I'm sure you could put this one to good use - and look stylish at the same time as keeping toasty warm.

The final item I have carefully selected for you this evening is this pièce de résistance. An entertainers dream, this buffet warmer will keep your whole Christmas dinner warm. Or that cooked breakfast for the entire family. Or even a whole week's supply of food, if you live on your own. Your cooking will be transformed by this modern marvel of the kitchen world. Buy it today and find freedom.

What a load of crap. I look at all this and cringe for the environment. We're just filling up every remaining space with plastic. The world is our rubbish dump.

Excuse me please while I go and throw all these junky catalogues in the (recycling) bin!

maybe i should set up shop sooner rather than later

2009-11-10T20:39:00.005+11:00

I made a few cards on the weekend and took them to work today to see if anyone was interested in purchasing them. Between saving someone's life (quite literally - nasty postop complication) and precepting a graduate, I managed to sell three on the spot, took orders for three more and sold two pairs of earrings.

Whoot, whoot. Way to go!

I've decided all moneys so raised will go towards my entertainment and hobby fund when I become 'poor' next year. Now I just need to work out postage prices, make a few more cards, and I can start selling on etsy. (That sounds terribly self absorbed... I promise to share my bounty with those in need! And stay tuned for how I plan to spend some of my time next year. It's not quite all about me!)

Here's one of my favourites from the weekend - snapped up like a hot cake!

cecily's natural home remedies

2009-11-09T20:47:00.006+11:00

I'm a bit embarrassed to say, but I have a plantar wart on the ball of my left foot. I, who never get a wart (apart from those two in high school which I killed with the aid of a trusty potato), have a wart of the worst variety. Plantar warts grow deep and hurt.

Being a bit of a natural remedy freak, I thought I'd try and knock this wart off without resorting to liquid nitrogen, freezing, or cutting holes in my foot, starting with the potato remedy. I know this works, because as I said above, I've killed warts in the past by slicing a thin piece of potato and rubbing its juice on the wart morning and evening. Over the course of a few weeks, the wart turns black and starts falling apart before disappearing completely. When we met, Frank had a whopper wart over a knuckle, and no amount of freezing had worked. Potato presto - the wart was gone and has never returned.

The trick with killing a wart with potato is liberal, frequent application. Since the bottom of my foot is not a part of my body I often look at, I kept forgetting to do it, and so the wart remained. Next stop propolis. I had no idea if this would work or not, but I love propolis. It kills tinea in a trice and is just a nice, natural remedy I keep for all sorts of cuts and abrasions. If it kills tinea, I figured it was worth trying it on my wart, since a wart is a benign skin tumour caused by a virus.

And it worked. The wart started turning brown, and (with some barbaric, DIY help from needles and tweezers) slowly fell apart. It's a gradual thing though. The hole left in my foot, as wart chips fell away, ended up being about three millimetres. So yes, plantar warts do indeed grow deep. Another truth of plantar warts is they are tenacious. While my foot was gaping with a three mm hole, the wart still clung to the outer edges and would not give up.

This called for the big guns! I overheard someone at work saying dandelion sap also kills warts. Too bad I pulled a whole bunch of dandelions out last weekend. I managed to sniff out a few down the back of the yard, and dutifully plucked a few leaves and rubbed the sap on the wart.

If you want to see something pretty impressive, rub dandelion sap on a wart. Within minutes it will turn black. So now I have a black hole on the sole of my foot. Mmmmm, nice. But it seems to be working - more of the wart is dropping out at every application. Before I know it, that nasty old wart will be gone. I hope. (And I still think it's better than going to a podiatrist!)

not quite on my soap box again

2009-11-08T20:14:00.006+11:00

So I'm concerned, worried, scared about the environment. Apparently the science is in and, apart from ignorant non-experts, everyone agrees global warming has reached crisis point. We've really stuffed it up. What I find most troubling is that we madly keep on with wrecking our home, despite the warning signs telling us something is seriously wrong.

There have been some interesting online articles recently, chewing over the reasons for, and implications of our refusal to address this issue. There is some evidence to suggest climate sceptics have fallen prey to an elaborate defence mechanism designed to prevent them from thinking about death. Never mind that avoiding the issue and denying climate change brings us all closer to the end of life as we know it. Just don't think about it. Say it isn't true.

Other climate change, brain function, behavioural scientists think the risks seem too remote for us. The earth is spiralling towards cataclysmic upheaval, rising sea levels, potential ice age, and mass extinction, but it's not happening tomorrow? Oh well. Turn the air-con up, drive don't walk, and eat as much meat as you like - it might never happen!

Then there's the industry lobby. Think of all the profit we'll lose if we don't keep on pumping carbon into the atmosphere! Seriously, the economy will fall apart. We'll all die if we don't have more money. So don't even think about charging tax on carbon emissions. We just can't afford that cost. Too bad that it might kill us all in the long run - economic growth is key.

I find it singularly depressing. No matter what Frank and I do to reduce our carbon footprint, it will never be enough, because too many other people don't care, or they simply love money more.

Shame on you.

But we'll keep plugging away despite all that. We have solar power on the roof. It's even connected now (after 4 months. long story) so we power our house from the sun all day. We've started charging mobile phones and tooth brushes during the day, to save drawing from the grid at night. We walk or ride the bike when we can. Meat makes much less regular appearances on our plate. Just about everything we do is accompanied by a quick calculation of its environmental impact. For example, tonight we cycled to the river front for fish and chips. The calculation runs something like this:

Cycling = carbon neutral. Fish and chips = unsure of stocks of fish we ate therefore unable to calculate accurately. Communal cooking = less environmental impact than heating oil at home to cook fish and chips ourselves. Overall = not too bad, but might be better if we ordered a salad instead.

We like to think it all counts. And of course it does. But is it enough? Only if everyone else gets on board! Come on people - time to make a difference for our planet.

that feel good feeling

2009-11-07T21:26:00.002+11:00

I was feeling mighty noble today for two mighty good reasons.

First, yesterday I borrowed books from the library. A novel idea I know (though only one of them actually was a novel). I always mean to borrow books, but too often my library card is in a drawer at home, or I pop in for a quick look at the bookshop and can't possibly resist the gem I stumble across... and before I know it, that's another book for the shelf.

So big tick for sustainable book-borrowing-living.

Today it was gorgeous, sunny, warm, delicious, wonderful weather so I decided to ride my bike to the ChildSafe training session. Did I say it was gorgeous, sunny, warm, delicious and wonderful bike riding weather? Because it so was. I loved it (despite every Harley Davidson in Australia hooning past me as I tootled along). Hello??? Brownie points in order. Riding.bike. Sustainable living.

It was somewhat deflating when I left Coles to cycle home and found my back tyre was completely flat. There's glass on the road everywhere, so it could be a puncture or maybe someone played a mean trick and let my tyre down. I'll find out soon enough.

In the meantime I'll bask in the glow of clean living.

(Just thinking. Pride goes before a fall... is that why my tyre went flat?!)

this is still a post isn't it?

2009-11-06T23:01:00.002+11:00

Whoopsie... it's 11pm here and I nearly forgot to blog.

Had a big day, working for a couple of hours this morning, then shopping for a few more (mostly groceries, nothing too exciting) before heading off to a birthday party this evening.

I've just arrived home now, and in the interests of getting to bed before it's ridiculously late, that's all I've got to say.

Goodnight.

i still have bad hair days...

2009-11-05T20:16:00.005+11:00

Time for another trip to the hairdresser today. Actually, it was hardly time for it at all, since it seems like just yesterday I had the last cut, and I love my hair at the moment. But I thought that if I didn't use my not-double-booked appointment today, I would be tearing my hair out by the next one, thoughtfully booked more than a month ago to avoid missing out in the mad Christmas rush. So I went, had my hair marginally trimmed, and came home. I suppose it looks better.

I'm still washing with water most of the time and it's OK. The hairdresser hasn't noticed. Or if she has she hasn't asked what on earth I'm doing to my hair! She certainly hasn't told me it's wonderfully soft.

That's OK though. Most days my hair is alright. Sometimes I have bad hair days when it is greasy and lank and my scalp itches. The last few days have been great, but a couple of weeks ago I had to resort to a quick sodi-bic wash to cut out some of the oil and settle my scalp down. Since then it's been dandy. I can easily go two, maybe three days without washing it (for a chronic daily washer, that's huge!) and the texture is soft and nice.

I'll stick with it for now... still loving how cheap and easy it is.

watershed day

2009-11-04T20:21:00.005+11:00

I'm not sure if it was just hormones playing havoc with my brain today, or if I really am losing control.

Apart from reading my appointment time upside down, thinking I'd double booked for tomorrow when I had not, and spending all day wondering which appointment to cancel (hair or beautician - vital decision there), I made it through the day OK. However, as I headed home, I felt suddenly overwhelmed by all I need to do. I had this sense of scrabbling around, trying to do too much and doing none of it well.

I do not like that feeling.
Yes, I am a perfectionist.

It set my mind to counting down days again, something I'm trying not to do. But if you must know, I have six weeks and two days until I quit the hospital and have a holiday. Friday December 18th is becoming something of a watershed for me. It is a marker of freedom, change, life and joy . (Let's hope I'm not disappointed!)

I keep asking myself if I am seriously deluded here. Have I gone soft? Lost touch with reality? Why is it so important to me to leave the hospital?

Because the decision to resign is symbolic of a significant shift in my thinking. While Frank worries I will sit and surf the net all day, I'm dreaming of a clean, clean house, and the sense of having a handle on things. No more chasing my tail, or feeling like I'm surviving by the skin of my teeth.

Call me old fashioned, but I think we women have sold ourselves short. When we tripped off into the workplace, we didn't ditch anything at home, we just took on more. Here we are juggling family, home, work, life (and often study), telling ourselves we're making a good job of it. And we are, but at what cost? How do we measure our success on this?

If it's by counting the dollars, then maybe we are doing OK. We have bigger houses, nicer cars and better holidays. There's more expendable income, but again I ask, at what cost? Why are our children committing suicide at phenomenal rates? Why are we divorcing so often? Why are we the highest anti-depressant users ever? And what about all those ever increasing chronic diseases? (Sorry, no references here, just a coalescing of multitudinous news reports)

Well, I'm opting out. I'm tired of feeling like I'm never on top of anything, never doing anything well. My vegetable patch is an annual disappointment, the windows are embarrassingly filthy, and while our living area is tidy, there lurks a mess in many a dark corner. I cannot find time to phone friends, I owe too many people letters, and I give Frank the dregs of my day. I don't really want to live this way.

Maybe I am soft, or harking back to a long lost era. Perhaps I am a disappointment to the women's movement. If either of those things are true, I'm sorry. But I cannot find it within myself to keep striving and straining to do everything the way I have been. I'm coming down on the side of having a lot less money but a lot more time, and hopefully a lot more contentment and satisfaction. Call it all a big experiment, but I'm looking forward to a new way of life.

I'll let you know how it goes!

nature's whisper

2009-11-03T21:04:00.012+11:00

It was wet and windy today, although thankfully not cold. Funny how, after the wettest winter for fifty years, I was already thinking we needed more rain - the ground was quickly drying out.

Anyway, here are a few of my observations from nature, some a few months old, but still meaningful I think.

Have you ever noticed the trees in winter? Naked, lacy, elegant. I've been admiring them quite a bit, not just because they look beautiful, but because lately I've been struggling with a constant sense of failure. I don't like myself as a person, I can only see my faults and failings, and my strengths seem few. Strip away the bravado and masks and bluff and there I am, fragile and frail, and so far from who I want to be*. I hide myself so people don't see all the muck. (I also forget to see the good, but that's another story)

I look at the trees in winter, and their restfulness whispers to me of how I could be. They are stripped bare, naked for the world, and do they try and hide their true being? No. They stand there, noble and strong, and at peace with themselves. I want that. An escape from the striving to be someone I am not. To be at peace with myself and my foibles. The strength to love myself the way I am and stand boldly as I am. Because in truth, I am as beautiful as a tree in winter, if only I could see it.

Then there's the flowers. The cherry trees were blossoming like crazy a few weeks ago. Now it's rhododendrons splashing around their colour extravagantly, sprinkling cheer wherever they are. Those flowers are pretty amazing really. They look fragile and delicate, as if they might easily break. And they might - it's not hard to crush a bloom. Yet as strong winds buffet them, they bob around, tighten their grip on their plant, and remain attached. Fragile but tough. You have to admire them! Wish that I could be a cherry blossom, tossed around but not destroyed by circumstance. Shaken but not undone.

Nature's life lessons in my own backyard! Now I just need to work them into my heart and let myself be transformed into a woman at peace with herself, who stands strong through life's ups and downs.

* Nichole Nordeman, Even Then

making a few decisions here

2009-11-02T20:00:00.003+11:00

November already! Am I the only one wondering where on earth the rest of the year has gone? A few months were lost to the greyest, wettest winter I thought might never end. Then I guess there were six trips to the mainland, dozens of readings and a few assignments. Plus work, work and more work. Is it any wonder most of the year has already passed?

I didn't write any resolutions at the beginning of this year. I'm not sure I even made any general goals... I was in a bit of a slump at the time. As the year wore on, my unofficial task for 2009 became taking care of myself and finding my way again. I'm still more hypertensive than I'd like to be, and I've been having a crisis of confidence for a while now. So I sorted a few things out at the naturopath and tried to be generally nice to myself, but, since I'm really quite terrible at being nice to me, I've made minimal progress!

Enter the psychologist. I decided I needed to take the bull by the horns and deal with my insecurities and uncertainty about the future, so I booked in to see a psych. Together we nutted out my passions, the career options open to me and a path forward into new things. Over the course of three months I gained a little insight, and drew a few conclusions.

I am not passionate about nursing any more and would prefer to give it up. I don't really want to do one-on-one counselling, but I might be skilled enough to give it a go if the opportunity came up. I love working with children and want to explore how I could expand this role. I am creative and daring enough to quit my job, pilot a program and seek government funding for it.

So that's what I'm doing... kind of. I'm definitely resigning from my nursing position at Christmas. January will be time out, and then in 2010 I will seek out volunteering opportunities that give me a chance to work with kids and families and generally make a difference in the world. When things become clearer I may well apply for funding to run a program or two. We'll see what happens.

It's not quite as high risk as it all sounds - I'll still be working two days a week as a school chaplain. And nursing is a handy back up - there will always be work available in that one! I can pick up casual shifts, and if worse comes to worst, I can go back to it again.

All in all, I'm excited. Life suddenly has a whole load of potential again. I'm counting down the days until Christmas (not too closely mind you - I don't want to wish my life away!) and looking forward to 2010 big time!

bedazzled!

2009-11-01T19:55:00.005+11:00

I caught a little bit of sun today - sunburnt, but not too badly.

A friend and I went to the Deloraine Craft Fair and it was wonderful. Of course I spent a bit more than I'd budgeted for... but hey, I also spent considerably less than I wanted to! There were so many amazing things on display. Glass, felt, jam, hats, bags, brooches, toys, soap, chocolate, ceramics, paper, bowls, clothes, rings, marinated figs, origami, buttons, boutique wines... you name it, they had it.

I couldn't help but notice the incredible range of creativity and ingenuity, the depth of talent. So much pleasure in observing stall upon stall filled with works of beauty and skill. It was like a cathedral, a gigantic church spread out over the whole of Deloraine, every piece calling out to me 'acknowledge the wondrous beauty of creation, spilling down from the sun, over the clouds, rolling down the green, green hills and through the hands of these craftspeople. Look at all this and see God, for God is here, exhibited in every plant, scarf, painting and necklace. Drink it in and be refreshed.'

And I was.

let's get this ball rolling

2009-11-01T19:29:00.003+11:00

So my blogging has been a bit thin on the ground lately. Sorry.

Well, I think I'm sorry, but possibly I'm not. I've been busy giving my time to other priorities.

I've also been thinking about why I blog; how blogging has altered me such that my thought patterns have expanded to constantly encompass the silent, omnipresent audience of cyberspace; the friendships forged through fibre optic words on a screen; the habit time has of virtually disappearing... in short I've been considering my options. To blog, or not to blog?

And what better way to test the blogging waters, so to speak, than throw myself back into it with abandon - daily blogging to test my mettle and identify exactly what it is blogging contributes to my life?!

So this is it. Kicking things off. Starting again.

Or maybe just committing to NaBloPoMo because I like a challenge and I can't let a tradition go. I don't know. Either way, you'll be hearing from me quite a bit the next few weeks!

oops i did it again...

2009-10-30T23:14:00.003+11:00

Signed up for NaBloPoMo that is.

Fasten your seatbelts and prepare for one month of frenetic daily blogging...

diabetes eat your heart out...

2009-10-27T20:01:00.004+11:00

I've just submitted one of the final assignments in my Grad Dip Counselling. It was a personal reflection in which I was asked to identify strong attitudes and values which might impact on my work with clients. I mentioned all sorts of things, but one thing I failed to mention are my increasingly strong views on healthy eating.

The more I read, the more I am convinced that we in the west are slowly killing ourselves with our diet. Take this news headline today: by 2050 one in seven Australians will have type two diabetes. One in seven! That would be fourteen percent of the population.

Does anyone else have alarm bells ringing in their head? Are you looking at our diet and thinking we just might be bringing this on ourselves? Do you walk down the aisle and silently rage against the rubbish supermarkets peddle as food? Can you see the health system, already crumbling, imploding under the weight of bad food?

We could avoid this disaster if we made a few better lifestyle choices. It might mean ditching processed foods for real fruit and vegetables, taking more time with food preparation, and even (heaven forbid) choosing to work less so we don't need to reach for those convenient packet foods. Radical I know, but wouldn't it be worth it? (And we might even be a little less stressed)

So there you have it - my exceedingly strong attitudes on the state of the nation's health. Before I get back in my box, here is my offering in the fight against diabetes:

asian-style chicken salad
photo: happy chatter
recipe: 'light & lean', The Australian Women's Weekly

my husband the criminal hero

2009-10-04T19:14:00.012+11:00

It's funny what can happen when you lose your voice. Body language and gestures, nodding, pointing, shaking and clapping take over. Whatever it takes to get the message across when words fail.

This is the situation we find ourselves in in Tasmania. Two and a half years ago Gunns dodged the usual process and forum for gaining approval of a major project in the state. Their proposed pulp mill (planned for the Tamar Valley) was looking shaky, with serious doubts emerging about the health and safety of surrounding communities should the mill be built. Gunns took the unprecedented step of withdrawing from the state's assessment process. Conveniently, within two days the government had introduced legislation paving the way for the mill to be approved with only the shallowest of assessments. In that moment, Tasmanians were muted. Despite protest after protest (and still more protests), multiple surveys indicating the majority of Tasmanians don't want this mill, and are appalled by the flawed process, voters blocks and repeated court action the government has supported the mill to the tune of several million of our dollars, granted the required approvals and bent over backwards to make it easy for Gunns to proceed. The people have been silenced. In effect we have lost our voice.

And when you lose your voice, you resort to whatever form of expression it takes to make yourself heard, perhaps even civil disobedience... or pots and pans.

It's funny really. Two years ago I would never have imagined myself participating in civil disobedience. Back then I thought it was daring delivering pamphlets for the Wilderness Society, or marching in a protest rally. The thought of disobeying the law and flirting with arrest did not even enter my mind. But after years of being muzzled, one does what one must.

Last year we undertook peaceful protest training and today was the day to put it into action. The state government staged a community forum as a modicum of listening. TAP into a better Tasmania planned to upstage the event with a noisy protest featuring: pots and pans. Enter Pulp the Mill. Our goal was to peacefully participate in an act of civil disobedience, with a number of members being arrested in order to draw attention to the need for an independent inquiry into the shambles that was the pulp mill assessment process.

About thirty of us arrived on site to the chorus of whistles, bells, pots, pans, drums, and horns.

It quickly became obvious that the police would not allow us to just swan up the driveway to the school entrance, so, after rather ironically gathering outside the local police station, we slipped around the back and came around the side of the building exactly where we wanted to be. The police, having to keep protesters on the footpath under control, were not prepared for this. At the same time, the crowd were instantaneously emboldened by our actions and started pouring down the driveway. Police were running everywhere to hold back the noisy, pressing crowd while we stood peacefully behind our banners and waited to be confronted.

Moments later a policeman came our way and asked us to leave the property.

I had previously decided I did not want to be arrested, and emboldened by adrenalin and exhilaration I almost threw caution to the wind. The voice of reason called me back and I slipped way quietly into the mob and watched from a distance. Frank and sixteen others declined to follow orders. They were also joined by four others who peacefully fell into line. After being advised they were trespassing and had only a short window of opportunity to leave, all 21 were arrested, though allowed to remain standing where they were. (While the police figured out what to do perhaps?)

Meanwhile the crowd went crazy, banging, whistling, cheering, waving support across the school yard as the police worked to contain us to the footpaths.

Eventually a paddy wagon came to start taking the peaceful protesters away. Suddenly the footpath crowd were in a frenzy, clapping, cheering, drumming, expressing their support in whatever way they could. The first wagon load were barely able to make it through the crowd for the twenty metre drive to the station, after which the police held off collecting the remainder until people had begun to leave.

Finally all the protesters were dispatched to the station for processing and charging. They went quietly and peacefully. (That's my Frank being searched before climbing into the van there)

Wow... what a day! I felt proud, scared, detached, exhilarated, confused all in one. I also felt incredibly sad. I'm not sad because Frank is in jail... he's home now, released within thirty minutes or so of being transported to the police station. I collected him from a park outside the bail exclusion zone (let's hope he doesn't get any quotes in Beaconsfield for a little while!) and we set off home.

No, I'm sad that it has come to this. That the people of Tasmania feel so disenfranchised. So silenced. So marginalised by their government that they feel compelled to resort to civil disobedience and arrest to make themselves heard. It shouldn't be this way. Government should be for the people, not for big business. People should be heard. Our views should be respected - we voted for them, damn it!

Maybe I'll get brave and stand firm until I'm arrested next time. I don't know. A criminal record is pretty serious business, even if it is only a minor charge. And you know I've always been a goody two shoes! If not, I'll be there, peacefully protesting until I'm asked to move on. Supporting to the degree I can.

Because we must stop this dirty, stinking, rotten pulp mill (to quote a favourite personality down here - Peter Cundall that is)

No Pulp Mill!
We can, we will, stop the mill!
And we might even find our voice while we're at it!

Before you drown in despair over this hideous state of affairs, have a giggle over this one. Probably meaningless if you aren't Tasmanian, but quite funny if you are!

setting a good example (for the little old ladies)

2009-09-28T20:41:00.003+10:00

OK. I jay walk sometimes. I also cross against the lights. But only when it's safe.

See, there's this crazy thing happening at the traffic lights lately, with the lights staying green in one direction for seemingly ever, despite there being almost no traffic following the first three cars, while lines of vehicles wait in the other direction. Rather than stand waiting interminably for the lights to change, I cross on the red and head off on my merry way. Daring I know. I do, however, submit myself to one pedestrian crossing restriction: if children are anywhere in the vicinity I wait until the green man lights up for his little dance. Wouldn't want to teach them bad practices or unsafe habits.

So there I was today, the lights were doing there thing and no cars were coming. No children in sight so I stepped off the footpath and quickly crossed the road. Only on the other side of the intersection was a lovely old lady in a delicious red coat, and to my horror, upon seeing me sally forth, she too decided to risk it and cross against the lights.

As you know, little old ladies don't walk as fast as sprightly young ones, and in the end I became concerned she might be knocked down by an approaching car as she blithely called out 'Yes, I'm going to go too'. Thankfully the car slowed, she made it to the other side and we both continued safely on our way.

I've noticed this a number of times now - old people forgetting they are old and gingerly hobbling across the road in front of zippy cars and sturdy trucks. My issue is not that they forget they are old (goodness, wasn't it just yesterday I turned 23?) but that they forget they are slower now, that walking in front of cars is not advisable when you can't skip out of the way at a moment's notice.

It seems I have a no choice here but to change my ways. I could stop crossing on the red altogether - a sort of preparation for the time when I will forget I cross at a snail's pace. If I don't do it now, I won't do it then. Or I could add oldies to my restriction list: no crossing the road on the red when children and/or old people are in the vicinity.

Someone's got to look after them, because I suspect they are too busy thinking they need to look after me. So I commit to doing the right thing under certain circumstances... that's as good as I can do for now!

taking things to another level

2009-09-23T18:04:00.002+10:00

I have a sneaking suspicion one should not talk too loudly or often about these things in public. Certainly in times past it would have been disgraceful, but somehow I seem hardwired to blurt out scintillating developments to all and sundry. (Apparently many women struggle with this self same issue - we typically spill the beans within 47 hours and 15 minutes, if recent secret research is anything to go by) So here it is, another exciting update on my journey into life shampoo free.

I'm trying to remember how long it is since I ditched the shampoo bottles. I think it was just before we went to Melbourne on August 22nd, because when we stayed the night at my mother-in-law's we borrowed her shampoo rather than sport horrible lank hair in her presence*. One must look good for the mother-in-law. That's nearly five weeks almost completely shampoo free. Impressive huh?

So, as you know, I was using bicarb soda and apple cider vinegar to begin with, but we went away for a couple of weeks and I was tired of mixing up bicarb before every shower. So I just stopped using it.

Lest you think I have gone mad, it wasn't my idea and it wasn't a decision made in haste. I had previously stumbled across an article detailing a water-only-shampoo-free challenge staged by ABC radio presenter Richard Glover in 2007. Glover was soon joined by some 700 other willing experimenters and they set about testing the idea shampoo is completely unnecessary. Using only water, they vigorously washed their hair and tracked the results for six weeks. At the end of the challenge, 86 percent found their hair to be better or the same as when they had used shampoo. Impressive results, so in view of my bad attitude towards mixing up a bicarb solution, I decided to give it a go.

Admittedly the first few days were not so fantastic. My hair smelled and its texture was strange. As we walked along the foreshore at Warners Bay, a tail wind blew the odour right past my little nose. Not nice! Poor Frank was a little beside himself. Then on about the fourth day everything changed - the smell disappeared, my hair became lovely and soft and it seemed to hold its style better than ever before. I was hooked, and for two weeks now I've been using the 'water only' method of hair washing. I'm not sure I'll go back to shampoo and conditioner ever again!

Being a chronic list writer, here are nine good reasons to try shampoo free:

It's a lot, lot cheaper!
No exposure to nasty chemicals
Hair feels softer and more natural
A lot less dandruff (almost none in fact!)
Reduces carbon footprint - no more plastic bottles
Convenient travel - less to pack
No need to worry about leaving the bottles behind in the motel shower recess
The most interesting discussion starter ever (try it: 'I haven't shampooed my hair for x days/weeks/months/years')
Makes for shorter showers (unless, like me, you opt to enjoy the water in the extra time!)
Emancipation from consumer status

One final test to pass. I'm off to the hairdresser tomorrow, and, since she already thinks I'm loopy, I don't intend to whisper a breath of it. Unless of course she comments on how luscious my lovely locks have become... then I'll laugh out loud and crow with delight.

* Ah, is this the time to confess I occasionally used your toothpaste (but never brush), shampoo and cotton buds when I stayed? But it wasn't very often and I only used a little and most of the time I brought my own...

holidays

2009-09-04T23:25:00.002+10:00

I worked my last shift for two weeks. Yay!

I so need this holiday, which is really a holiday without being a holiday because I have a uni residential in the middle of it.

Ah well. The change will be nice and I can sleep in a bit and knit a lot and maybe do some study, tidy the house and just catch some down time.

I like holidays.

beauty outside the bottle (aka "going 'poo free")

2009-09-03T22:02:00.006+10:00

What would you say if I told you I hadn't washed my hair for three days? That no shampoo has touched my hair for two weeks? Would you imagine lank locks dripping with grease? Beauty forsaken? Mind lost?

A while back I probably would have been with you. Not washing your hair for three days??? Ewwww! Occasionally I washed my hair twice in a day, just so it sat right when I went out in the evening. Not anymore. I ditched the shampoo a couple of weeks ago for sodium bicarbonate, the conditioner for apple cider vinegar.

I can't claim any originality in this. A year or so ago I read a post on Consumption Rebellion, in which Eilleen discussed her plans to go shampoo free. It piqued my interest and I couldn't get the idea out of my head.

It wasn't really the chemicals that convinced me to give it a go in the end - we've been using natural shampoos for a couple of years, some of which were woeful and others absolutely delicious. I was more concerned about the plastic bottles I discard all the time. So much waste, so much clogging up the world with nasty petrochemical plastic.

So I did a bit more hunting and found a very helpful 'poo free guide and determined to give it a go. Frank agreed to join me, and when we finished the last shampoo bottle a couple of weeks ago we jumped into bicarb soda and acv.

'Jumped into' is perhaps too positive a way of stating things. In truth we were sceptical, dubious, cautious and at first we didn't like it... crunchy hair due to too much bicarb. Now we are total converts. I am liking my hair more and more. It's soft without being limp, has body without being crunchy and the dandruff is all but gone. And like I said, I haven't had to wash it for three days now. I might even try to stretch it to another day if it still looks OK in the morning.

How pleasantly surprising. And cheap. I've even sourced bulk apple cider vinegar, because what's the point of cutting out on plastic bottles only to throw out multiple glass bottles?

Pantene and every other money-grabbing brand eat your heart out! I don't need your hair prescriptions any more... I've found beauty outside the bottle.

a perfectly beautiful sense of timing

2009-09-02T22:36:00.004+10:00

I'm not sure that parking meters and beautiful really go together, but I had what I considered a beautiful moment when I didn't get a parking ticket this evening.

Usually I'm a rule follower. I'll look askance at those who break the rules and tut tut under my breath over the most ridiculous things. I have been known to take a big breath before walking past someone smoking before bending double just the other side of them, letting the breath out and quickly sucking in fresh air. If someone is speeding, I'll play chicken when I cross the road, just to slow them down. And they always do. I've yet to meet the driver who wants to knock a pedestrian down.

It's all about toeing the line, doing the right thing, obeying the orders, no matter how meaningless, minuscule and puerile they might be.

Which is why I always used to pay for parking. Actually, that's not true. When I went to church there were a couple of parking spaces available for congregation members and I usually found space for my needs behind the old brick building. Then I left church and thought it might not be so good to keep using their free parking spot, so I started using the Coles car park. It just meant I had to go buy something in the supermarket after my other jobs in order to justify being there... and who doesn't need a bit of milk every few days? It works most of the time.

There are however, times when I would prefer to be closer and don't have time to traipse all over town. Then I duck into a parking spot, discover I have no change, and hope for the best. So far, so good. No tickets to date. I feel so rebellious.

Last week I went to Spotlight (I know. I hate that store too, but it's convenient for bulk supplies for school). I had a feeling, decided to err on the side of caution and bought a ticket... you get a refund anyway. It was quite a relief, shopping without worrying about getting caught out. All I had to worry about was remembering to get that refund token!

And bingo. As I came out of the store, there they were, checking we were all paid up! I paid when it mattered.

I'm sure I have faulty thinking on this one, but after managing to dodge the 'law' last week I figured I'd be safe this week. No parking meter men in sight, I parked and ran into a quick meeting. It turned into a bit of a longer meeting and I was fairly jigging in my chair, trying to politely get away before a ticket landed on my windscreen. At last I ran down the stairs and across the street... and there was my virgin windscreen. No ticket. No fine. No worries.

So there you have it. My brush with the law. I'm so not naughty, and I love it.

Beautiful no?

the newest members of our (neighbour's) household

2009-09-01T23:24:00.004+10:00

I know September is not really NaBloPoMo month, but every so often Eden Kennedy of Fussy fame sends out a monthly theme for all those mad enough to blog daily for more than just November. This month's theme is 'beautiful' and I like it. I also haven't been blogging much and need a bit of a kick start. No promises of daily blogging mind you, just an effort to be a little more regular in my posting.

So here's a few pics of the little lambies born to Blackie two weeks ago. There's a city-farm-yard story begging to be told but I've just written two major essays, spent the evening at the theatre seeing 'Taming of the Shrew' with an all female cast (quirky), and it's nearly midnight. The story will have to wait.

For now, enjoy the pictures of these little beauties!

If they aren't beautiful, I don't know what is!

so much water

2009-08-16T15:19:00.006+10:00

It's been a pretty wet winter here. Mild, but definitely damp. Not that I'm complaining - every drop is joy after a couple of years of drought. However so much water from the sky is more than the rivers can contain and now we have a fantastical, worst-in-fifty-years type flood. Thankfully it doesn't seem to be causing too much damage, but it sure is good for entertainment!

This is what the local tourist attraction, Cataract Gorge, looks like on a normal day.

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

Beautiful, peaceful and serene. I love going for walks there, although I don't do it very often!

This is the same place yesterday afternoon just after the flood waters peaked. Apologies for the poor picture quality... it was getting dark (and possibly I'm not a great photographer, but we'll go with the dark option because it's my blog and I'm in charge).

And this for some idea of the force of the raging torrent:

ask and ye shall receive

2009-08-04T21:41:00.003+10:00

Frank thinks I am a bit presumptuous and a little crazy, but I like to think it was pure genius!

Last week we were laid waste by swine flu. At least we think it was swine flu, but since they don't test now unless you are in a 'high risk' category, we don't really know. We had all the advertised symptoms. And we felt like crap. So just let us think it was swine flu, if only to make us feel better. Because like I said, we felt like crap.

So there we were, languishing on the lounge, struggling to make it through the day when I realised we were running out of food. Taking my civic duty very seriously, I was not inclined to leave the house and spread my swine bugs with all and sundry so I was trying to figure out a way to get brussel sprouts into the house. Yes, brussel sprouts. Beats me why, but I just needed them last week.

I thought of getting a face mask, but apart from looking like a goon (we may be part of Australasia here but believe me, Australians don't do face masks!), I'd potentially spread my germs to the hapless face mask dispensers. That wouldn't do.

And then I hit upon the genius plan... I'd phone the fruit and veg shop and ask if they do delivery! (genius, genius, genius)

They said they didn't.

I said no problem, I'd be down with my money and germs in a few minutes.

They said fax my order through and they'd see how they went... and hey presto. At 2:30pm a box of fruit and vegetables were delivered to our door!

It just goes to show, ask and ye shall receive... even when it seems impossible! All I can say is thankyou! You made my day, restored my belief in the goodness of humanity, satisfied my brussel sprout cravings, stopped the spread of swine flu and saved the day... thankyou, thankyou, thankyou.

dear sir

2009-07-26T16:57:00.003+10:00

Sometimes days drift by, one foot in front of the other, routine and monotonous, without anything giving me pause or leading me to examine myself - why I do what I do, who I am, where I'm going. Admittedly I'm given to frequent self exploration but still, days blur into one and meaning is lost.

Which is why I'm writing to you, to say thank you for fuelling reflection. Not that it was a good moment for you. I recognise that. Sliding off an isolated, winding ride, narrowly missing the rock face before coming to a halt over a drain which trapped you doesn't make for the best day by anyone's standard. But you were alive (I checked that), walking around, assessing the likelihood of a quick recovery. My passing observation was that your chances of this were slim. Think lengthy waits and tow trucks... I've been in a similar crash on an isolated road myself and the car was inextricably compromised. I was therefore very sympathetic to your situation, although you'll never know that because I drove straight past without so much as a wave.

This is the moment that gives me pause. Why? Why did I drive on by? I don't think it's because I am callous and cold hearted. Like I said, I have a great deal of sympathy for you in that situation. It came down more to pragmatics. I was acutely aware of travelling alone on a back road. Being male perhaps you have never had to think about this, but I don't go anywhere on my own without at least subconsciously considering risks and safety and vulnerability. It seemed unwise to stop and get out of the car to assist a man in the middle of nowhere. Believe me, I thought about it. I slowed down. Like I said, I assessed the situation. When I saw that car pulling over from the opposite direction I realised you would receive help. And let's be honest... what could a woman in a small hire car do anyway? I'd hardly be able to lift you off the drain! Towing wasn't an option and my mobile company offered no reception at that location - I couldn't even call for help!

I know it seemed self absorbed of me to drive straight past, as if my schedule was more important than your well being, and I have to confess I was thinking about the time. It's a long drive alone. I don't like driving in the dark, and the closer I get to Newcastle before dusk the happier I become.

Maybe my motives were less than admirable, but in the end I think I made a good call. If you'd been hurt of course I would have stopped (goodness knows what I would have used to help... hire cars don't come with first aid supplies!) but since others could offer better assistance than me, I left them to it.

I hope your wait wasn't too long. That everything worked out OK for you in the end. I imagine it was a shaking experience. I hope you are recovering OK. And me? I'll be more prepared for next time. Better equipped to make the call on helping or driving by.

Again, I wish you well.
Cecily