It doesn't seem that long ago I was lamenting the fact that we seemed to be burning extra fuel due to the fact that then Teenage Daughter was learning how to drive.
Teenage Daughter turned eighteen on Sunday so she's now legally an adult. Not sure whether to call her Teenage Daughter or Adult Daughter. I know which she'd prefer. I'm going to try the latter today to see how it feels. As well as becoming legal, she passed her driving test so she's now a licensed driver. There's a certain humour in the fact that the first solo drive she did was to the bottle shop to buy a bottle of cider. She wanted to be asked for id but wasn't. I'm happy to report that the cider was shared with Husband and me and not consumed before driving.
Today she drove herself to the exam she had. She's still gone but afterwards she's going to pick up her brother and bring him home from school. Had she not had her license I would have driven her to her exam and gone home for three hours before returning to pick up her and her brother.
Tomorrow she's going to study at a friend's house. I'm not going anywhere so she can use the car again. Same deal; I don't have to bring her and pick her up later.
Thursday she wants to go to school for a short time in the middle of the day. Same again.
I'm sure you're starting to get the picture now. Adult Daughter having her license will potentially reduce carbon emissions. Of course, she'll probably go out a lot more which may, in fact, cancel the whole effect. For now, however, I choose to be optimistic.
In addition to that, I gain time at home in which I can work on the blog, the novel and other projects.
Cheers, and, if you're in Adelaide, take care - there's a new P-plater on the road!
Monday, October 29, 2012
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Giving and Receiving the Perfect Gift
One of the things that The Boyfriend’s mother and I have in
common is our passion for op shopping. There’s one difference, however, between
us. She has a Salvos shop on the corner of her street so she’s only a few
houses away from bliss and I, alas, don’t.
A few weeks ago Teenage Daughter was in the car with The
Boyfriend’s mother and they drove past the Salvos Store. Teenage Daughter saw a
dress she liked in the window but the shop was closed at the time. When she
returned to look for it, she couldn’t find it. End of story, right? Wrong!
Yesterday evening Teenage Daughter got her birthday present
early from The Boyfriend’s mother. She unwrapped the carefully put together
package and it was difficult to tell who was more excited as she did so,
Teenage Daughter or The Boyfriend’s mother. When it was fully unwrapped, there
sitting in tissue paper was The Dress. Apparently, The Boyfriend’s mother went
to the shop after Teenage Daughter had been and did a more thorough search
which resulted in finding The Dress on the designer rack. Not only did she find
it but it was in Teenage Daughter’s size!
It was one of those situations in which the giver and the
recipient are both very happy with the end result. In addition to that, it was
a real Footprints moment.
My favourite gifts to receive are those that show that the
giver truly knows me. My father – Dear Old Dad – gives me gift certificates for Kiva, an organisation through which one can loan money to someone, usually in a
Third World country, to set up a business. It’s a case of giving someone a
fishing rod rather than a fish. He knows that it’s a perfect gift for me. Once
a loan is paid off, I never want my money back I just put it into a new loan. I
also like getting Oxfam unwrapped gifts or having a donation given to a worthy
cause. A friend recently gave me a photo frame made from recycled and cleaned
up bike chain. I thought that was really cool.
Likewise they’re my favourite gifts to give. Gifts like that
are not always welcome, however. As Dear Old Dad once said to me, you need to
be very sure when giving gifts like that. Consequently, I find present buying
really stressful. I want to buy ethical and eco-friendly presents but I also
want people to like them. Ultimately, I simply chicken out and give vouchers or
money. For Christmas last year I gave my sister and her family tickets to a
night out at the baseball, something she went out of her way to thank me for
and tell me was a very welcome gift.
At present I’m getting pretty excited about Teenage Daughter’s
18th birthday on Sunday. I guess after that I’ll need to rename her
Adult Daughter! I’m pretty sure she’ll like the present we got her.
Cheers.
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
More Errands
I'm glad Teenage Daughter doesn't follow my blog because yesterday on my way to pick her up from school I bought her birthday present - a good quality leather satchel which I hope will get her through five years of university and ordered her birthday cake because my cake baking and decorating skills suck. I ordered it through a small local bakery. I figure that most pantry items such as flour come from local rather than large companies so I don't think I have to worry about their ingredients being unethically sourced. Interesting how the more processed the item, the more likely it is to come from an unethical company ...
Upon arriving at her school I went into the office to collect a leave of absence form for Teenage Son for our upcoming trip to Hobart.
Teenage Daughter wanted to drive home. I needed to collect my still not working hearing aid so she drove us to Blackwood. Then, since her driving test is on Sunday, I got her to drive us home the scenic - but not further - way along the winding back roads of the Mt Lofty Ranges.
By then I needed and deserved a nice hot cuppa locally grown tea!
Cheers.
Upon arriving at her school I went into the office to collect a leave of absence form for Teenage Son for our upcoming trip to Hobart.
Teenage Daughter wanted to drive home. I needed to collect my still not working hearing aid so she drove us to Blackwood. Then, since her driving test is on Sunday, I got her to drive us home the scenic - but not further - way along the winding back roads of the Mt Lofty Ranges.
By then I needed and deserved a nice hot cuppa locally grown tea!
Cheers.
Monday, October 22, 2012
Veggies
Husband and I set up house together 26 years ago. Since then we've rarely bought our veggies from the supermarket. We've always preferred to use a greengrocer. We used to go to The Central Market but that's hard to fit in these days.
A couple of years ago - before we were doing The Footprints Project - I found out about First Froots, an on-line greengrocer. They were mentioned in a money saving website. The person had written that they were more expensive but that their produce was fresher, thus lasting longer, so there was little to no wastage.
I was throwing away a lot of stuff that I'd found cheap so I decided to try them and see. At first it was strange to not stand and caress all the various pieces of fruit. With First Froots, however, that's not necessary. Your produce comes straight from the wholesale produce market to you on the same day and really is ultra-fresh. We do pay more, including a delivery fee, but we waste less. I've thought about going back to buying it at the local greengrocer. I have to be over there at the supermarket anyway so it would cut back on carbon emissions. I just can't bring myself to do it, though. I've been spoilt for the past several years. It isn't just that; they're a small, local, family business which is something Footprints is all about. Besides, my dog has a dog crush on the delivery guy.
Over the weekend, Husband and I went out and bought over $50 worth of veggie plants for the garden. We bought more tomatoes, cucumbers, chillies, capsicums (bell-pepper), eggplants, zucchinis and spring onions. If they take the money to buy them is well spent and we'll be saving a heap on our produce, as well. While we wait, though, the company I'm currently using is providing us with about the freshest produce available, short of actually going to the wholesale market myself at some crazy hour of the "morning". Pfft.
Cheers.
A couple of years ago - before we were doing The Footprints Project - I found out about First Froots, an on-line greengrocer. They were mentioned in a money saving website. The person had written that they were more expensive but that their produce was fresher, thus lasting longer, so there was little to no wastage.
I was throwing away a lot of stuff that I'd found cheap so I decided to try them and see. At first it was strange to not stand and caress all the various pieces of fruit. With First Froots, however, that's not necessary. Your produce comes straight from the wholesale produce market to you on the same day and really is ultra-fresh. We do pay more, including a delivery fee, but we waste less. I've thought about going back to buying it at the local greengrocer. I have to be over there at the supermarket anyway so it would cut back on carbon emissions. I just can't bring myself to do it, though. I've been spoilt for the past several years. It isn't just that; they're a small, local, family business which is something Footprints is all about. Besides, my dog has a dog crush on the delivery guy.
Over the weekend, Husband and I went out and bought over $50 worth of veggie plants for the garden. We bought more tomatoes, cucumbers, chillies, capsicums (bell-pepper), eggplants, zucchinis and spring onions. If they take the money to buy them is well spent and we'll be saving a heap on our produce, as well. While we wait, though, the company I'm currently using is providing us with about the freshest produce available, short of actually going to the wholesale market myself at some crazy hour of the "morning". Pfft.
Cheers.
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Sweatshops, slave labour and Chardonnay Socialists
One of the things that bothers me about what we're doing is that by not buying certain products we may be having a negative impact on the livelihood of someone who really needs it. It's very easy to sit in my middle-class house in the suburbs of Australia and be a "Chardonnay Socialist", deciding that I know best for people in pretty dire economic straits half a world away. That is not my - or our - intention by any means.
Every business needs to make a profit in order to survive. There are some businesses, however, that have lost their morality in the process. Profit has become more important than the way they treat their workers. Some have even been implicated in beatings - and worse - of people who try to fight for better working conditions. Of course, there is always the chance that once a workforce wins the battle for better pay and conditions that the companies will move on to other countries where the governments either are complicit in or turn a blind eye to work practises. It is probably no coincidence that our fair labour laws have led to many companies moving off-shore.
We don't boycott any one country in general. We try to find out more about the companies from which we want to buy and what their factories are like. I would have no qualms about buying something made in China if I knew that the workers were fairly treated and paid. I have an idealistic idea that if people boycott companies that treat their labour force badly, profits will fall and the companies may change their work practises. It pains me to think that, in the mean time, my actions could be causing harm.
I do believe that the Fair Trade movement is gaining momentum and that if people knew what some companies were doing they might boycott their products. Back in the late 1980's David Suzuki began to predict environmental disaster and, for awhile anyway, people were spurred into action. Companies began to stop using dioxins as a bleaching agent and started manufacturing recycled products. I'm not convinced the companies cared for the environment; they saw it as a way to increase profits. Wouldn't it be cool if companies could increase their profits by fair pay and conditions?
Cheers.
Every business needs to make a profit in order to survive. There are some businesses, however, that have lost their morality in the process. Profit has become more important than the way they treat their workers. Some have even been implicated in beatings - and worse - of people who try to fight for better working conditions. Of course, there is always the chance that once a workforce wins the battle for better pay and conditions that the companies will move on to other countries where the governments either are complicit in or turn a blind eye to work practises. It is probably no coincidence that our fair labour laws have led to many companies moving off-shore.
We don't boycott any one country in general. We try to find out more about the companies from which we want to buy and what their factories are like. I would have no qualms about buying something made in China if I knew that the workers were fairly treated and paid. I have an idealistic idea that if people boycott companies that treat their labour force badly, profits will fall and the companies may change their work practises. It pains me to think that, in the mean time, my actions could be causing harm.
I do believe that the Fair Trade movement is gaining momentum and that if people knew what some companies were doing they might boycott their products. Back in the late 1980's David Suzuki began to predict environmental disaster and, for awhile anyway, people were spurred into action. Companies began to stop using dioxins as a bleaching agent and started manufacturing recycled products. I'm not convinced the companies cared for the environment; they saw it as a way to increase profits. Wouldn't it be cool if companies could increase their profits by fair pay and conditions?
Cheers.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Road Trip!
There isn’t really a road trip; it got your attention, though, didn’t it? What I did do today was a dose of what The Non-Consumer Advocate refers to as “errand batching”.
It began with a quick trip to the doctor – nothing to worry about – followed by a dash to my audiologist to drop off my perpetually broken down hearing aid. (Not sure that was money well spent!)
Next I went to our nearest big shopping centre. It would have been a quick trip but I have ethics to consider these days. I went to Myer because they have an ethical sourcing policy and bought Innoxa mascara because that brand has been listed as one of the good guys in cosmetics. There aren’t many.
Teenage Daughter’s eighteenth birthday is less than a fortnight away and we want to get her a good quality satchel that will see her through five – or more – years of university. So, while I was at Myer I looked at satchels. I went to Strandbags after that but I don’t know what their sourcing policy is. I didn’t buy anything because I’m heading back there with Teenage Daughter tomorrow after driving her to an exam. (I’m also driving two of her friends so I’m happy with the fact that only one car will be used instead of three. I’m sure I can find something fun to do while I wait for them.)
Then I got totally distracted and could no longer focus on presents and ethics or anything because right there in the middle of our shopping centre was a Vintage Clothes fair! I had great fun looking at wonderful old clothes and bought a bright, geometric patterned circa 1970’s scarf. Bliss.
On the way home, I left a bag of clothes at the Salvos store.
Cheers from a groovy chick.
Sunday, October 14, 2012
A Spring Day in the Garden
Yesterday, Husband spent the day in the garden. It was a gorgeous day and we had no commitments.
He picked the last stalk of broccoli which we had a few hours later in a quiche and then pulled up all the broccoli plants and one lettuce which had gone to seed. Now we can add to the tomatoes and lettuces we planted a couple of weeks ago.
Our neighbours have an abundant mint crop so we got some runners from them and potted the mint into a large pot. Hopefully, it will thrive because homemade mint tea is delicious.
It looked like our potted sage was dying and that our rosemary was doing nothing so we put them both into bigger pots. The sage is already thanking us, standing tall and abundant and looking like it's doubled in size over night.
A sage like plant I got for Mothers Day from Teenage Daughter was also looking a little the worse for wear so we repotted that, too. I hope it makes it because it's very pretty and it was a gift.
Finally, you may remember the great vinegar experiment. The garden smelled like salad but only a few weeds died. In light of the massive amounts of weeds we still have and the fact that we want any tall ones out NOW to lower the risk of future Brown Snakes we've gone back to using weed killer. :( Consequently, we sprayed with that yesterday.
A good, productive day in the garden.
Cheers.
He picked the last stalk of broccoli which we had a few hours later in a quiche and then pulled up all the broccoli plants and one lettuce which had gone to seed. Now we can add to the tomatoes and lettuces we planted a couple of weeks ago.
Our neighbours have an abundant mint crop so we got some runners from them and potted the mint into a large pot. Hopefully, it will thrive because homemade mint tea is delicious.
It looked like our potted sage was dying and that our rosemary was doing nothing so we put them both into bigger pots. The sage is already thanking us, standing tall and abundant and looking like it's doubled in size over night.
A sage like plant I got for Mothers Day from Teenage Daughter was also looking a little the worse for wear so we repotted that, too. I hope it makes it because it's very pretty and it was a gift.
Finally, you may remember the great vinegar experiment. The garden smelled like salad but only a few weeds died. In light of the massive amounts of weeds we still have and the fact that we want any tall ones out NOW to lower the risk of future Brown Snakes we've gone back to using weed killer. :( Consequently, we sprayed with that yesterday.
A good, productive day in the garden.
Cheers.
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