shifting timetables

I liked this post from Simple Green & Frugal, and I particularly liked the quote at the end, from someone called James W Frick, whom I have never heard of:
“Don't tell me where your priorities are. Show me where you spend your
money and I'll tell you what they are.”
So at this point I could mention, rather honourably and even smugly, my enthusiasm for local Gaalburn goat cheese, or ... I could mention the visit to the KFC drive thru yesterday. Granted, I have avoided KFC for months until yesterday. But my hangover from drinking red wine at a locally owned cafe the night before tipped me over and global-corporate-chemical-excuse-for-food it was.

Buoyed up by the grease and some very happy children who normally despair of their failure to get me to buy KFC or McDonalds, I went home and baked some sourdough bread, some chocolate and cranberry muffins, put some chickpeas on to soak, drained and topped up my kefir and made delicious salad with montasio cheese, organic avocadoes from Eco Avo, pumpkin seeds from the local health food shop and greens from the garden. At night we had more similar salad and fish from the local fish shop, caught from the boats which dock here in Wetville.

Which makes me not quite a good girl, but a skitey one nevertheless?

It is a curious thing to me, the way that shopping can define us whether we like to shop or not. Food is not completely easy but it is easier than clothing. The Sallies provide much of my wardrobe. A small local lingerie shop provides my underclothing (I've tried the cheaper stuff at the big stores and it wears out so fast that it isn't cheap after all). But that clothing is still made in China under conditions which are not transparent. I buy shoes locally (not quite every year) but again, they are made somewhere else. The togs I bought after the last pair threatened to fall apart (they were older than my son) probably fail every imaginable ethical criteria in terms of sweat shop production, unnatural fibres and fossil fuel emissions in transport to our Small Wet Town, but they were marked down from $60 to $12.50 and my ethical impurity is such that I may never ever sew my own togs. The rate I am going, I won't finish sewing any of the two things I have cut out, let alone sew up the fabric which surrounds me as I type.

It is the end of the school holidays. One way I can tell is that I fell asleep with the children and then woke up at 3am and could not sleep. The plans for a tidy house have not eventuated - why would it be different this time? But, there are some improved spots and I have made a little progress in the garden. With less than two weeks to go until the opening of the Blackball Working Class History Museum, I have still done very little which is of use whereas Paul and Matt have achieved amazing things for it. I have printed posters off to post around town and then lost or damaged them twice now. I have arranged childcare so that Favourite Handyman and I can attend the forum, the march, the opening and the evening dinner. When it is light, I've done my paid work and Brighid is at kindy, I hope to sort out the afternoon tea catering for the opening. I've not been at my paid work in the holidays for nearly as long as I wanted but I did get almost two hours there yesterday which has at least got me back in some sort of appropriate headspace and organisation.

A very cool thing which I want to see is Gaylene Preston's move called Home By Christmas which opens here in Wetville (where it is SET!!) in less than two weeks. I went to see Boy last week which was good. The promotion material which I had seen focused on the funniness but I found it really sad. Sad because I could feel how true it is. Cool to see small town New Zealand on screen though, that bit is totally wonderful, a story worth telling.

I've had some local requests for the recipe for my juicer pulp muffins. They use the pulp from our new and very wonderful juicer. I use however much pulp I have, which is likely to be from 2 apples, 2 carrots and a 2cm piece of ginger. I use kefir but I imagine yoghurt or half yoghurt, half milk would achieve the same effect.
2 cups white flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup sugar
juicer pulp (or other flavourings which are dryish and hence won't make the mixture overly soggy)
cinnamon
mixed spice
1 egg, beaten
75g melted butter
1 cup kefir

Put flour and baking powder in a bowl and whisk round quickly to simulate sifting without having to find the sifter. I use my Kenwood mixer because I am extraordinarily lucky and have a mother who gave me one. Add the sugar and stir. Add everything else and combine until just mixed. Put in muffin tins (I always use paper muffin cups inside the tins because I don't like my food to contact the teflon) and cook at 200 degrees celsius for 16 minutes in my oven but I would start checking from 10 minutes in a new oven.

So. That's the end of the holidays. It is 5.30am now, and maybe I can get 30 minutes kip before it is time to start the circus.

Comments

Heather said…
On ethical underwear choices, are you aware of Icebreaker merino? It's produced in factories where the workers are treated well, and is made using a natural fibre. I have 200gsm icebreaker undies, and, while they are expensive, they last reasonably well (I do have to stabilise the edges of any holes they get, though, otherwise they run). Also, I experimented once and I wore them every day for 3 days before they even *started* to get smelly ;-) So I standardly wear them for two days straight - it doesn't really reduce the laundry load, but it does lessen the stress the fabric gets from washing, so I figure that'll make it last longer, too. They don't do bras, but they do knickers and socks as well as (I think) singlets and long underwear. I have the 200gsm knickers and also some lighter-weight ones, but the thicker ones are lots more comfortable.

--Heather :-)
Sandra said…
Thanks for the info Heather. I had heard of Icebreaker merino but haven't actually seen their range. I'll hunt it down soon.
Anonymous said…
hmmm, not sure if I would classify Icebreaker as an ethical company (they shifted their production off-shore to up profits and still wanted to call their clothing NZ made). But good clothing that lasts really well. I swim in the mid weight camisole (or T-shirt if it's really cold), it's so much warmer than cotton or lycra especially if there is wind chill.

At this time of year I live in the long underwear, but haven't tried the undies or socks yet. It's expensive but cost effective over time, and you can buy online from Bivouac who seem to have a perpetual Icebreaker sale (Icebreaker change their range significantly every year, so there is always old stock on sale somewhere).

Popular posts from this blog

McCalls 7288 & altered Style Arc Barb pants

Livingstone daisies

Heartburn & Paris Etc