What Are We Up To?

Just a quick add on post...we have sold our house...yeeha!

We are currently exploring an opportunity to work at a Christian Camp in the Waikato which we are very excited about.

I am trying to pack...but we don't have a lot of unused stuff so I have packed the bookcase and the pictures on the walls...most other stuff is in daily use...and even then I have left out lots of books cos the kids read about a million-trillion every day.

So apologies for not posting much...

And I leave you with lots of pics of my beautiful kiddos...

O5 enjoying his new puzzle books from Gran'ma

O5 LURVES Tintin

A2, mummy and C2 (don'tcha reckon C2 has an Anthony Kiedis thing goin' on?)

A2 cooking with the playdough

E11months just looking super spunky as always

Eco consumers

I have been thinking alot about ecology, peak oil, carbon footprints...cos y'know green is the new black.

Anyway...I was reading this months issue of Next...the eco issue...has Petra Bagust on the cover talking about her eco choices...home birthin', cloth nappying,composting, natural cosmetics and so forth. I got thinking about the eco friendly products that are popping up everywhere...and the buy a carbon credit schemes for those who need a salve on their conscience...and I thought it all seemed a bit eco-consumery...not in the positive sense either.

Let me explain... I use cloth nappies...fantastic things...and so super cute...but it is so tempting to buy them for the looks much as one would buy an extra sweater or pair of jeans even when the stash I have is more than enough for E11months, A2 and C2. Just cos they are much better for the environment than disposables...if I purchase more than I need, I am still consuming resources unnecessarily.

In the same way, I enjoy shopping at the local Salvation Army Thrift store...however I have to discipline myself to only buy what we need or might reasonably need in the near future...not just because it is a bargain and not exploiting slave labour in China

I am pleased that there is alot of media exposure for environmental issuescurrently...however I am a bit wary of one type of consumer driven society being replaced by another. A real change needs to be made at a deeper philosophical level if the world is going to avoid a major climactic, economic and social catastrophe in the near future.

I am trying to make small steps in our family to

Economise
Do we need it? Can we share with somebody else? Can we fix it? Can we do without it?
Localise
Where was it made? grown? Shipped from? We are aiming to buy only local produce (except for bananas...just can't give them up with four small kiddies), source New Zeland made goods wherever possible and minimise overseas purchases, buying wisely when we do (Amazon does call often...but I resist more frequently these days!)
Produce
We have a vege patch, I sew and knit, we try and mend rather than buy. One of our aims when we move from the big smoke in a couple of months is to produce more...I really must read The Permaculture Home Garden.

Very Uncharacteristic Foody Post

Now I am not a foody in any sense of the word. Our usual family fare is very simple, regular and quite frankly boring. We eat healthy food that doesn't cost much...end of story.

However I have just been introduced to the wonderful world of the Chai latte....Oh my...I have been missing out. Divine...now how do I go about making my own? The chai tea I can buy or concoct...but that frothy, aerated, soft and warm milk...how do I capture that at home?...must do some research.

Life here is going to be mad, mad I tell you over the next five weeks as we pack up our worldly belongings, find somewhere to live, find someone to give us the money to pay our bills and unpack at the other end of a two hour drive...I'll pop in and keep ya posted...in between trying to source the perfect chai latte.

Big Changes

We have been soooooo busy over the last week or so...

Firstly cleaning and decluttering the house to take pics to list it privately (no paying $12000 to a Real Estate agent-yeeha!).

Fielding a huge number of calls and viewers...we have had over 750 hits to our ad and a dozen people through since Monday and it is looking like it will be sold by next week...can't say too much!

Looking at houses down the line (we like this one in Te Aroha) and tossing up whether to buy a small business or keep on working for "The Man"...self-employment is winning the battle.

Finding out that J's work is going to be making major changes which confirms his decision to resign.

And of course...lotsa crafting...I'm hoping to put up some stuff in an etsy store later sometime in the next couple of weeks...and I am pondering setting up a wee e-commerce site of my own...
or maybe not...I don't do well with selling stuff...I prefer to gift...however I would love to have my own boutique of sorts...watch this space.