New Year's Eve

I'm sat by a still burning woodburner on New Years Eve morning. Its been a bitterly cold night; down to -3.8c at its coldest and its only just above freezing now. There has been a heavy air frost and everything is very white and frozen.

I've been musing on Resolutions and Priorities for the new year for a few days in part as Downsizer.net has started various threads on the subject and it gets you thinking.

I'll briefly define terms as we go along I think. Or at least how I see them. Priorities is more of a practical take on the new year. It is looking at our aims towards a further downsized life ( downsizer being a sustainable and ethical viewpoint which is therefore by its very nature a 'green' and eco friendly one) And here we're slightly stuck in that as a family we have probably reached as far as we can in terms of livestock ( chickens and bees) and green alterations to the house ( increased insulation and wood burner) .

We already have a good recycling system and grow and make much of our own food with the allotment etc. We can build on that in terms of effectively doing more of the same, but due to time, resources, money and space we're probably about as far as we can get for grand projects. Not that is in any way a complacent place. We can always improve harvests or recycling rates as its easy to let things slip, and of course prices of things like solar panels are coming down all the time. But this year will be less about big and dramatic changes to our green lifestyle more about consolidation of where we are.

Having said that we are going to try and over pay the mortgage if possible whilst interest rates are low. So watching our money and being frugal seems sensible; in the current 'credit crunch' big spending seems wrong doesn't it?

I'd like to finish off the garden remodelling that I started last summer before rains and a broken toe stopped progress. With the help of the boys I'd dug out most of the old and overgrown shrubs so now its more a case of digging over old flower beds and re-shaping them before re-planting it all.

I'm going to aim to dip in to my recipe books more - its too easy to get in to a rut of cooking the same old things each week.

There is a major personal challenge for me to aim for this year, but I'll put the details of that in a separate post when I'm ready.

As to Resolutions - that's harder to define personally this year. I regard resolutions as about changing behaviour or habits to the good, so here is where folk normally aim to lose weight or stop smoking or something. My weight is fine due to doing lots of pilates and I've never smoked so those aren't issues for me. I'm stuck this year actually. Not saying I'm perfect (god no!) but there is less obvious things to change since I'm deeply happy just as I am.

But then I read something that made me think. In the weekend papers there were some commentators predictions for 2009 and one comment struck me. There was the prediction that our idea of status would change in the coming year. That someone who could grow a carrot or two would be as revered as a Hedge Fund Manager. I really hope that comes true and that we begin to understand that there is more to life than money. It would make my lifestyle choice much easier to explain to others. It makes me feel more that how I've chosen to live is as much a valid and worthwhile choice as going out to work would be. I've known it personally for a long time but it is sometimes hard to swim against a tide that says earnings are the only marker of status our society recognises. I have renewed enthusiasm for how I live and can't wait to get on with things in 2009. There is still so much I want to do at here at home. Less talk this year, more action!I need to stop apologising for being a homemaker and mum. I resolve to celebrate and be proud of how we live in the coming year.

Happy New Year!

Love
Julie
x

7 Random facts about me

I've been tagged by Traveltweets and the rules are

• Link your original tagger(s), and list these rules on your blog.
• Share seven facts about yourself in the post - some random, some weird.
• Tag seven people at the end of your post by leaving their names and the links to their blogs.
• Let them know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment on their blogs and/or Twitter.

So 7 facts

1) I can't swim. Not something I'm proud of but there it is. The arms and legs work fine but mentally I'm convinced I'll sink

2) I was a hospital radio presenter in my 20s - absolutely loved it! Please can I go back in to a radio studio?

3) I have a feather phobia and struggle to deal with anything birdie the cats bring in

4) I love jigsaw puzzles in the winter. Perfect hibernation activity.

5) I can't sleep if I drink caffeine in the evening so am a life long fan of Barley Cup coffee substitute

6) I'm only 5ft 4"

7) I have 3 earrings in my right ear lobe and 4 in my left. Its such a part of me I forget they're there.


And I tag in return

Lynne Sharpe

Tim Kirby

Steve Benton

Bee-leaf

I struggling to think of more to tag in return - want to help me out? I need 3 more bloggers to tag; add a comment to tag yourself!

Milford On Sea

We had promised ourselves a walk along the beach at Christmas so yesterday seemed the perfect day to set off. Frosty and cold at home but a clear blue sky and sunshine.

Our favourite beach is Milford on Sea in Hampshire. The Isle of Wight is visible across the water from there which reminds us of the summer holidays. Its relatively easy for us to get to and not over commercialised. There is a small cafe which does a fine scampi and chips for lunch, but other than that its silent beach huts and shingle

It was a glorious day; a cold wind, but in the shelter of the cliff there was a little warmth from the sun, to make sitting on a rock and listening to the sea a pleasant moments diversion. With few people about we could enjoy the meditative flow of water on to pebbles and back. The sea breathed deeply and there was a delightfully pretty 'shingle' sound as it slid through the stones and back down the beach. Lovely! Very peaceful

Restored we drove home. Hope you like the photos - taken by Tim. He's made a little video using his new video camera - I'll get him to post that on here too.

Christmas

Had a wonderful snuggly and restful Christmas here. Ate well of local fresh turkey, own veggies and homemade chestnut stuffing.

We had arranged to meet up with our beekeeping pals Steve and Lynne and visit the bees and plot on Christmas afternoon. It was a cold grey sort of afternoon and the fresh air was bracing but it was a nice walk and chance to check on things at the allotment site. Then we all convened back here for Christmas pudding and brandy butter. We sat chatting well in to the evening

Boxing day for me is a true Hibernate Day - a chance to explore the presents, read and with the house full of good things I tend to get the day off cooking wise. We lit the woodburner early and sat with coffees and teas and our feet up.

Lovely Christmas! Hope yours was lovely too

Julie
x

Christmas Hampers 2008

We've had a habit of making hampers for family over the years and here is the contents of this years. I always pack it in some reusable container or bag and this year was no exception using bright and festive Waitrose jute bags.

Inside I put 6 eggs from our hens, some hand knitted dishcloths, homemade strawberry jam from the summer, a calender of our photos and a jar of vanilla caster sugar. My mum's differed slightly with a Christmas cake instead of the dishcloths and eggs.

Winter Frosty Walk

Even though it was -3c out there it was so pretty in the sunshine that we wrapped up warm and set out for a walk this morning








This buzzard was sat in a distant tree. Its not a great photo but it was lovely to capture him as he sat surveying his territory

I am Now Publishing on AddsYou.com

http://www.addsyou.com
username=MjAwOC0xMi0wMiAwNjowMDo0OQ==

Woodland Planting - Wordless Post

A New Woodland is planted!

At last Planting day arrives. Wet, cold. muddy but still the exciting culmination of months of work. 800 Native English Woodland trees - the mighty Oak, pretty Field Maples and Crab Apples, stout Scots Pine and Beeches, and other equally important and fine shrubs and trees. The idea being that this will increase bio-diversity within our landscape and off set some of the carbon we individually produce, and add a notable page to our village's history.

Around 20 people braved the elements (and its not the most sheltered of spots) to tackle the planting. We were lucky to have Murray Maclean who grew the whips for us, to explain exactly how he wanted them planted. They're bare rooted and there was a specific depth to which they needed to be put in, to ensure they were happy.

We settled in to teams and pairs to plant to the plan that Bob Plumptre had devised. The stakes were colour coded by species and if you remember we'd pre-arranged these and pre dug holes to ensure a quicker job. I don't suppose anyone kept an especial tally of how many they individually planted but the work moved at a good and steady pace. As there are an abundance of rabbits and deer in the area time was spent on guards to each tree to avoid 'nibbleage'

No one can depend on the weather at this time of year so we had a contingency plan of an extra days planting next weekend should it be needed. It was not. The last tree was planted at 3.15pm and the woodland is complete!

Its only when you peel off the muddy layers by the warmth of the woodburner and sit back and think of what has been achieved, do you come to realise the enormity of our achievement. 800 trees! Trees that will hopefully still be there, quietly observing, long after we leave this planet. I gently and quietly said a little word or two as I planted my allotted trees - - just to welcome them to their new world - May they grow well!