Archive for the 'Musings' Category
November 17th, 2008 -- Posted in Musings |
Brisbane has officially been declared a natural disaster zone.
The storm that hit last night has really wiped out a lot of people’s homes, roofs, gardens etc. Many still had power out as of this evening, 24 hours later.
Nick and I lost power for a few hours last night, but we just had a windy thunderstorm - normal for this time of year, and something I quite enjoy! We had no knowledge of the extent of the damage in other parts of the city. I had people ring today to tell me their children wouldn’t be coming to tutoring, because their schools had been closed, and they’d spent all day cleaning up the yard!
The phonelines have been patchy as well. It got us thinking last night - what if this happened long-term? What if the power didn’t come back on, the phones were dead, the supermarkets ran out of food? We, along with everyone else, would certainly be in a massive fix. We’d be heading down to the beach with a fishing line in order to stay alive!
Things like this help to remind me why I want to live a self-sufficient, sustainable lifestyle. And why it’s a good idea to keep an eye on the weather forecasts…
November 6th, 2008 -- Posted in Musings |
Most of you won’t know this, but I actually hold dual Aussie/American citizenship.
So it was with great joy that I watched the latest election turn in favour of Barack Obama. America’s first black president, young, energetic, and hopefully the one who can turn the country around. It’s a good day to be an American 
Why, it was only just over 50 years ago that Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white man… and now, we have a black president. The country has come a very long way…
October 21st, 2008 -- Posted in Musings, garden |
…that make you happy to be alive.
The Jacaranda in the backyard is in full bloom.
Nick and I began the day with a cycle to the beach and a swim, before coming home, buying some awesome smoked bacon from the butcher across the road, and having very tasty bacon and eggs.
Simple things. Life is wonderful.
October 21st, 2008 -- Posted in Musings, jewellery, knitting |
Regular readers will have seen my foray into knitting recently. I’ve really been enjoying it - the creativity and the feeling of growing proficient at a new, constructive skill. It’s funny - I’ve never thought of myself as a ‘crafty’ type of person. Most of my life I have identified with intellectualism, and somehow looked down on traditional ‘feminine’ skills. I’m certainly not a girly girl - I’m not into the latest fashion trends, or shoes; I don’t wear makeup, or buy copious amounts of beauty products (though I still somehow seem to have a stash that rarely get used).
So, when I’ve told people that I’ve taken up knitting (and, also, jewellery making, but more on that in a later post), most of my friends and colleagues have looked at me askance, and said “knitting?!” Then I have to rise to my own defence. It’s fun, creative, constructive, and a skill for when the world reverts to a pre-oil society and chaos (okay, I don’t really say that last bit :P).
And, I have learnt something. One of the things I have been doing is experimenting. With different yarns, stitches, small items, adding beads… and more than once I have made a mistake, dropped a stitch, or just done something I’m not totally happy with… and I’ve unravelled it! I think it takes guts to undo something you have spent hours of your life creating. But it’s also queerly satisfying. Yes, I have created this, and yes, I am going to destroy it because I am not happy with how it has come out - and I’d rather re-use the materials for something else than waste them.
So, I will continue my creative/destructive journey with passion! Look out for some examples of my work. In fact, I have started another site, where I’m going to start selling some of this stuff when I make something I think is worthy of others! I already have a number of my photos and digital art pieces there and for sale on Zazzle, as well as some of my jewellery. If you ever want to check it out, have a look at EpheriellDesigns.com
My interest in jewellery making has also got me intrigued about the art of lampwork - hand-making unique glass beads. Check out a local organisation of mine to see what I mean! This stuff is seriously beautiful. I may have to investigate further…
August 3rd, 2008 -- Posted in Musings, work |
If you happen to be one of my regular readers, you may have noticed a small absence of late. This is mainly due to the fact that my job has been sucking up a majority of my time and energy lately, and I, frankly, have not had the passion to post.
I’m a firm believer in the maxim “if you don’t have something to say, don’t say anything!”. And that applies very much to my blogging. However, I felt the need to share my current frame of mind with you all, and so here I am.
I have been living a rather un-simple life of late, in that the stresses of work have been on my mind, and I’ve not had the mental energy to create the calm attitude I need to get passionate about things. I’m sure many of you can relate - when something takes a lot of your time and mental energy, there’s not a whole heck of a lot left for anything else. It’s not a space I am happy to be in, and I’m hoping it will change over the next few weeks. I’d love to get back to researching for my sustainable home project, and sharing what I’ve found with you all.
And yes, I will have those mushroom photos for you soon! They have been mighty tasty, let me tell you Especially in the risotto that Nick made on Thursday night. I have to say he is a damn fine cook!
Here’s hoping I get back to “regular working order” soon, until then, all the best…
Jess
July 27th, 2008 -- Posted in Musings, garden, history |
Today was a sad day for me, and for many other Aussie gardeners, I’m sure.
Peter Cundall, the host of Gardening Australia since it began many, many years ago, has retired from the show. For many years I have watched GA, and been inspired by Pete’s enthusiasm for all things gardening. His passion is infectious, and I’ll miss my weekly dose of it.
One of the things I love best about his style of gardening is his relaxed attitude towards planting, pruning, and all other gardening tasks! He just makes everything so simple, and manages to allay the fear that I might be doing something wrong. There is so much you can learn about how to garden ‘properly’ - knowing your nutrients, soil composition, companion planting… etc. But when it comes down to is, all you really need to do is dig a hole, bung in the plant, and Bob’s yer uncle.
So, farewell Pete - I’ll miss you!
July 15th, 2008 -- Posted in Musings |
The last few weeks I have been keeping myself very busy. So busy, in fact, that I have been neglecting things like caring for the garden and making myself healthy meals from scratch. It’s got me thinking - what does it really mean to try to live a sustainable life?
I guess the sustainability and simple living movements get quite entwined. But there are no doubt many people who try to reduce their impact on the environment who still work high-stress jobs, and don’t live what most would call a ’simple’ life.
I, for example, don’t make my own clothes, or bake my own bread. I try to cook fresh food, but as often as not I’ll just grab something that is pre-prepared in some way - especially while I’ve been on my own. I get home from work at about 9pm, and it can be hard to motivate myself to cook a proper meal for just one person! My fall-back is often some low-GI bread and tinned soup, or an omelette with some frozen vegies and left-over meat thrown in!
Perhaps I’m trying to do too much at once
I really enjoy my online pursuits, and I am aiming to build a business of my own so that I can eventually work from home, support myself, and be able to devote more time to my home and garden. But it’s going to take a lot of work!
I’m thinking I need to conciously program some ‘relaxation’ time into my life - time where I just read a book, meditate, go for a walk, play with my cat. Because, while I’m trying to reduce my impact on the envrionment, I’m doing a pretty good job of heaping more and more upon myself!
So - what does sustainability mean to you? Do you come from a simple living perspective as well? And should we try to combine reducing our impact on the envrionment with a more relaxed and slower-paced life?
July 7th, 2008 -- Posted in Musings |
It was a bit of a grey day here in Brisbane. I went for a walk at midday, and expected to be under the cover of clouds… but I was wrong. As I walked down the street the sun came out, and shone on me as I wandered up and down the hilly streets around where I live.
But did the sun keep the rain away? Oh no. For most of my walk there fell from the sky above a gentle shower - a sun-shower that seemed to emanate from the apparently clear blue sky above me. Where was that water coming from? There must have been an accumulation in the atmosphere above me, but it was beyond my ability to see.
A sun-shower like that is always a peacefully joyful event for me - it just defies common sense, and the rain looks so pretty coming down with the sun bouncing off it! Another beautiful aspect to the day were the amazing blooms I saw in some gardens.
Now, I do love my garden, but I don’t know a lot about ornamental plants - and I have no idea what these shrubs were… but they were absolutely covered in pink or white blossoms! I’m planning to wander out again - and given that the sun is shining, I hope to capture some of those lovely blooms with my camera.
It’s always a pleasure to be confronted with unexpected beauty…
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