What is an achievement?

Last week I was fortunate to attend the Ethnic Community Council of WA and the Federation of Ethnic Communities' Council of Australia's first national Immigrant and Refugee Women's Conference in Fremantle.

The picture is of the Joys of the Women choir, who opened the conference with Italian folk songs. The lady in the gold hat in the foreground was just one of many people proudly wearing clothing that showcases their ethnic and cultural background.

The speakers and the participants showcased some amazing community organisations. People who had survived the most amazing disasters had not only rebuilt their own lives, but helped others to do so too. It was at times very sad, and there were tears. Many friendships were made or renewed, and there was lots of laughter.

I came away from it feeling very uplifted by the realisation, yet again, of the power of volunteering and the not-for-profit sector in general. One proverb says "women hold up half the sky" and there was lots of proof of that here.

Many of the participants are often overlooked by our mainstream culture. They do not get much in the way of recognition. Somehow it does not stop them!

Last night, my DH and I proudly watched our son graduate with a Bachelor of Music. The young and not-so-young graduates each testified to their dedication and persistence in the face of many obstacles. Each one stands ready to contribute to their world. The WA Academy of Performing Arts has developed some world-renowned actors and musicians. Many more of the graduates will do what they do best -uplift the community with their gifts, teach and mentor others to find their creative side, offer another way of looking at this world. They may not get rich this way, except in all the things that matter.

I am now reflecting yet again on what a real achievement in life is, and how little we pay proper attention to it. I am sure that the simple sustainable life is built in a simple and sustainable society in which we each contribute to overcome the struggles and enliven the celebrations.

Hoping you are the same.

Outwitting the price hike in power

West Australians are looking at considerable increases in energy costs over the next 12 months, particularly in electricity.

Our household energy use is fairly consistent at 19 units per day. This is not too bad for a house with 4 adults, and 8 computers. It could be better of course and the price hike is a good time for us to evaluate our strategies for saving on energy use and to start to make that 19 units go down some more.

We already have low energy compact fluorescent globes in all the light fittings which can take them. One of the issues for us is that the ceiling fans in most of the rooms have a light fitting which will not allow a compact fluoro. These ceiling fans are economical forms of cooling, and we also use them in winter to circulate the warm air from gas heating, but they are costly in terms of lighting.

Recently we installed two cheap wall lights from Ikea in our bedroom. We just got fed up with table lamps which were unstable and this seemed a great way to overcome the problem. One extra advantage is that we can put compact fluoros in these light fittings, which means that we can save too.

We have set ourselves up with power boards which allow us to turn off major electrical items like the TV when we have finished with them, but it is hard to develop the habit of actually doing this in everyone who uses them.

This week DH installed two of these wall lights in our family room. This room often has the light on, even when I think the light is adequate, because my DD or DS are in there with their laptops and they want a bit more light. If we can train them to use the wall lights rather than the light which is part of the ceiling fan, we can save here too.

The main big user of power, according to advice from the electricity company, however is the 'beer fridge". Like most West Australians we have an elderly fridge on the back patio and we use it to store our cool drinks and to hold party platters when we are entertaining. It was made before the idea of low energy refridgeration was thought of. I can't imagine not having the useful storage capacity of this fridge, but I recognise that this particular model has to go.

I think it is time for a more modern drinks fridge which can keep things cool without guzzling the power. We have a street verge clean up soon so I think this one is going out. I am looking for a second hand fridge of a newer type which will hopefully put our energy use under 18 units per day. I wonder how low we can go?

I can encourage everyone to turn things off at the wall, but I find that kind of habit is hard to develop and easy to lose again. That is why structural changes are most successful in our house. How about yours?

Birds!

There is a sheoak in the park which is currently producing its fruits. This has meant that it is a magnet for the local birds. There were at least 26 white cockatoos in the tree when I went out early one morning this week. I have also seen pink and grey galahs, but not quite as many at once.

There are so many birds in this neighbourhood. It is a great delight to see them, and the more we look, the more we learn about what they feed on and where they go from week to week.

The good thing about the birds this week is that we are seeing more birds in our own garden. There has been a willy wagtail who has taken up residence, even venturing frequently under the patio to search for little bugs. He is too fast for me to take a picture, however!

We also have resident wattle birds and butcher birds. I take this as a good sign of some 'balance' emerging in the garden.

I have today fed the eggplant which has lots of leaves but no fruit, with some potash in the hope of encouraging the formation of fruit and flowers.

I have given the citrus a small feed, just to help them along and also fed the roses.

I had some trace elements to scatter around too. Apparently sandy soils like ours are often deficient in these things.

This week I need to get into planting some new things in the veggie patch. Given the hot weather to come, I am going to try more lettuce and some new beans.

Finally, picture of some new soft toys which came home to us this week:

Living Things

This was the view from my back garden this morning as I went out to do some tidying up in the veggie patch. The lemon scented gum was lit up by the early morning sun, and there was enough moisture in the air for the smell of the gum to be diffused throughout the garden.

The gum is in our neighbour's yard, and provides great shade for them and for us on the east.

The other trees are also 'borrowed' from the walkway behind our house. This is a very important space in our suburb, and used frequently by people walking their dogs, children going to school. joggers and so on.

I spent the morning tidying up the vegetable beds. I pulled out most of the cherry tomatoes which I was not convinced were living up to their promise. The fruit was tart and that is not what I am looking for in a cherry tomato!

I have pulled out the zucchini in the raised bed -lots of flowers but no zucchinis.

I have trimmed back the cucumber but I think it is probably finished.

The beds will be prepared for new plants.

I find I am learning a great deal at the moment, about how to provide us with food from the veggie patch on a regular basis. We have the glut-followed-by-famine thing happening at the moment. I think the key will be to learn to grow from seed, and to plant regularly in batches, not all at once, but that is going to take some organization to learn.

The lower picture is of the passionfruit vine, which has been growing apace. I am very pleased with its efforts.

Some things are not doing so well. The cape gooseberry is a bit sick, and I have two eggplants in different environments, and neither of them has any fruit.

Just gave everything a foliar feed. Have been pleased that the worms are still fat and healthy, and that I still have things out here in my garden which are still alive. This time last year that was not the case. So I am learning as we go!

Cheer yourself up

Little things make me happy.

Green hydrangeas in a vase.

My Bush radio with a dial that says I can tune to Luxembourg! Reminds me of my English childhood. In my mind's eye I can see my brothers listening to 'pirate' radio in their bedroom.

Gingham tablecloth, beautifully embroidered, found at the op shop for a song. I love the fact that one woman somewhere made it for her home, and I rescued it for mine.

Music -always, and especially when it is live music.

Dancing -not in public! But it does feel good.

Gardening. Losing myself in the moment, noticing what has changed, what is responding to my attentions.

Cooking. I do find this relaxing.

Walking outdoors, especially at the beach.

Embroidered pictures in my laundry -more rescues!

Nearly all of these things make me happy and cost very little. Many require a bit of effort, which makes the reward even more satisfying.

Simple things that make me happy.

Promises to myself

Late last year I wrote on the Aussies Living Simply forum, a post about promises I wanted to make for myself this year. I wanted to make my promise public so that there could be no shirking from the commitments I wanted to make.

I have been reviewing these commitments, because we are already into February, and if I am going to keep these promises to myself, I am going to need to keep them in mind.

I have added some more, which I think will be companions.

I promise myself:

1. I will take my long service leave which is so overdue... I will do it for myself, to care for myself. I will take a trip, I will do a retreat, I will organise craft classes and learn new skills. Action so far: I have asked my work for the long service leave, have booked one retreat and have dates in the diary for visiting Melbourne with DH.

2. I will try as hard as I can to finish the mortgage payments completely so that I can take the pressure off myself if I need to get out of my present job into something kinder for me-less hours, less money but more life.. Action: I have been pleased with the extra payments we are making and we are on track. My job can be stressful, and I think I wrote this during one particularly difficult time, but sometimes it is quite rewarding. Nevertheless, I am keeping this n the list.

3. I will learn new ways of tackling conflict so that I don't get so damaged, and that includes learning to put boundaries around hurtful relationships. Action. I have been working on this one with my spiritual director, and I am booked in to some workshops too.

4. I will be braver than I was. Action: I have been taking some risks, doing some things I haven't done before. Mixed results, but I am not stopping yet.

5. I will let the day's troubles be sufficient for the day. No importing tomorrow's worries into today. Action: Unfortunately there have been quite a few worries which were able to fill up several days at a time. Still working on these.

5. I will put my energies into life giving things and walk away from the places where my gifts are wasted. No regrets, just the wrong place for me. Action: not making any decisions yet, pondering. Taking advice.

6. I will love more, laugh lots, and grow more fruit! Action: Planted passionfruit, cape gooseberries. Need a trellis for the grapes.

7. I will finish my Diploma of Business.

8. I will practice gratitude

That is it for now, but I intend to come back and update it.

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Live so that when your children think of love, fairness and integrity, they think of you.

Pantry tales

I have been challenged by the Aussies Living Simply conversations about a plastic-free kitchen. I have heard radio interviews with people who are challenging our assumptions that all plastic is safe-and have felt the wisdom of it.

There are several problems with plastic:
* it is made from petrochemicals which are of course damaging to the earth's sustainability
* it does not break down in the landfill so it adds to the burden of the rubbish on the earth
*heating food in plastic may leach chemicals into the food. Of course there are containers sold as being suitable for this purpose -some people are wondering how safe they really are.
*storing food in plastic over a long period of time may leach plastic into the food due to 'offgassing". This may be especially so for some foods more than others.

I am more interested in using glass and ceramics for the fact that they are safer for the earth, than wondering if all plastic is dangerous to our health, although I am happy to keep an open mind on this.

I have been gradually adding to my collection of containers for foodstuffs which are made from glass or crockery. I have found a number of them in op-shops which is great, because it means that when I use them I am extending their useful life and the energy required to make them is not required again to make new ones for me.

I must admit I also like the look of them, and the feel of them!

The picture is of one of the shelves in my pantry which is where I store the goods for my home-made muesli. I like to keep a variety of ingredients like:
*rolled oats
*rolled wheat
*oat bran
*processed bran (for 'crunch)
*sultanas
*flaked coconut

We make up a batch of the muesli which goes on our breakfast, on top of the good ol' aussie Weetbix we eat every morning. We top it with sliced bananas. prunes and home made Greek Yoghurt.

Keeps us going all morning !