Meet Betty and the girls

That’s them – I am the proud owner of my first 4 hens.  Betty is the black one, and the girls are the rest – I am starting to see differences in the girls but not enough to give them each a name yet.  They shout a lot when I go into their coop (made out of recycled materials) and I don’t think they like me much yet.  I hope this changes.

They like sitting up on their perch like this, and looking out into the bush

and this is their home.  I have stitched shade cloth over the entire cage to keep it cool and to keep out the snakes.

Now I just have to wait and see if they start laying eggs.

Frugal is as frugal does.

I made a choice over two years ago to live frugally. It was my choice, not the choice of my daughter, however, she has been fully supportive of me living like this and has come to appreciate many things that she took for granted.  It is her choice not to be too frugal yet, although she lives within the restrictions of my lifestyle choice very graciously. She is a typical teenager who likes gadgets, clothes, jewelry and instant gratification. I think though that she looks upon these things with new eyes having been exposed to the way I try to run our home.  She does have quite a few of the electronic toys that most teens have, but they are mostly from before we changed our lives or from her father. She looks after them very well because she knows that it won’t be easy to get new ones and does settle by having and using older models of the items.  Last year she worked during her holidays to save up for a new mobile phone.

This Saturday was her prom night.  She has been chatting to me for the whole year about what she wanted to wear, and had saved many, many pictures of dresses, hair-dos, and make-up ideas from the internet.  I did not have to think too hard about making some clothing purchases for her for this evening.  Although I have not bought any clothes for one year now and plan to only buy and use nearly new and used clothing for myself (except for underwear) in the future, I decided that for this one evening I would break my rules and have a dress made for her.  There were restrictions of course. I was not prepared to pay a preposterous amount of money for something that she would hardly ever wear again, so she would have to find a dress we could have made locally at a reasonable price and that she could use again.  I find it really shocking when I hear of the prices some people pay for prom dresses and shoes and I find the excesses practised around these types of functions a little abhorrent. Rumour has it that one of the girls had two full outfits made and designed at a significant cost so that she would be able to choose which dress she wanted to wear on the evening.

Shoes were also an issue – she showed me many pictures of the type of shoes she would like. There is a very limited selection of shoes to purchase here in our little town so it would mean driving over an hour each way to buy some shoes at the nearest shoe stores, again going against my principles of buying local.

I was very surprised when the Bean came to show me her final idea. She stood in front of me holding one of my little black dresses (from my previous jet-set lifestyle) and asked me if I would mind her having it altered to make it into her prom dress. I told her that it was not necessary, and that I would have something special made for her but she insisted that this was what she wanted. We took the dress to a lady here in town to be altered. It was done in a couple of days and when we went to collect it, she had made a matching hair clip and told us that she could not charge us for any of the alterations as it was such a small job – all she had done was attach a ribbon and some lace and taken the dress up and in a little.

Even more surprisingly, one day when I collected the Bean from school, she breathlessly told me to drive very quickly to a local chain store as she had heard rumour that there was one last pair of shoes there that would match her dress. When we got there she literally ran into the store and came out with the perfect pair of shoes for her outfit – bought for a very reasonable price. It was the last pair on the shelf and they were her size.

So, while she has not fully adopted my choice of lifestyle, I do believe that some of the principles have rubbed off on her. She ended up with a beautiful outfit designed by herself that cost the huge sum of R99.00 (EUR 9.11 or US$ 12.65), while practicing recycling, and strict resource management.

Now that she had saved money we could splash out a little and have her hair and make-up done by local ladies, supporting local industries. I am so proud of her.

Here are a few pictures of her special evening.

Fishing

Over the easter weekend my dad managed to get an hour of fishing in, in between all their touring around the area.  He nearly caught a fish too.  Quite a thing fishing while the hippos grunt downstream.

Photo’s taken by my sister K (while I was at work )

Something to ponder…………..

Have you ever heard about “peak oil“?  Do you know what it means to us?  I know we hear the term bandied about quite a bit but have you considered the implications?

I believe that due to scarcity, oil prices will become so high that it will be beyond our means to buy petrol and diesel in the quantities that we need.

Bear with me and take a look at this very short video

It is a 24-hour observation of all of the large aircraft flights in the world (recorded by the airplane flight transponders via Geo-stationary orbital satellites) patched together and condensed down to about a minute, i.e., you watch 24 hours of flights compressed into one minute. From space we look like a beehive of activity.

Can you imagine how much fuel is burned up just by LARGE airplanes in 24 hours? Can we keep on like this and still have fuel for other things?   Just something to ponder…….

It’s not easy being green

Some friends of mine, Gavin and Vanessa, recently posted me a pile of dvd’s on some subjects we share a common interest in.  They are also interested in becoming self-sufficient and are on their way to setting up their lives on the Natal coast of South Africa. On the dvd’s I found many interesting shows on permaculture, forest gardens and lots of other facets of living a greener life.  I still have so much to learn so they have been great to watch.

One of the series I watched was called “It’s Not Easy Being Green” by the BBC.  I was lucky enough to get all three seasons  so for many days I have been following Dick Strawbridge and his family as they sell up their urban home and move into the English countryside to establish a green life.

Some green shows can be seriously boring but this one is really great and you have a good laugh while learning much about changing your lifestyle. Besides, if you get bored all you need to do is watch Dick’s HUGE, massively scary moustache. I couldn’t help but make the connection between his moustache and his surname

In the picture above you can see the family and the house they renovate in the background.  The Bean enjoyed the shows too because they often include his children and their perspective.

I can highly recommend the series for those of you who are interested in all things green.  You can download them here:

http://www.ovguide.com/tv/it_s_not_easy_being_green.htm

I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

Thanks Gavin and Vanessa!

 

Snippets

There are so many little things going on in our lives here but nothing that warrants a full blog post so I have decided to post a few snippets instead.

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My Bean is turning 18 this month ( I know!) and we have been busy planning her birthday party.  Its going to be an exclusive little do in the middle of the bush with sushi and a bonfire and a small group of friends.  She gave out hand-made invitations last week. (see pic)

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Our art exhibition was held on Saturday at the African Summer Spa in Hoedspruit.  It was great fun and there were many pictures on display.  I was lucky enough to sell one of my paintings.

Thank you so much to Anne Watt who is our wonderful teacher. She set up everything and stayed the whole day to sell our pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

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I have finally started on the construction of my veggie garden.  Yes, construction!  Because of the environment I live in, the garden needs to be fully enclosed to protect the veggies from animals – this includes being closed over the top to stop monkeys and baboons from getting in.  They will bounce on this roof so it must be strong.  The roof also needs to have shade cloth on to lower the growing temperatures and cut down on sunburn.  It will take me a while to get it all built/constructed but at least I have finally started.

 

 

 

 

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I love going shopping in Belgium..

well, my version of shopping in Belgium anyway.

When we moved to Hoedspruit from Belgium we stored our furniture and boxes in an old farm-house on the game farm where I was purchasing my piece of the farm.  For a few months we lived in a caravan and then in a small tented house on the farm.  During this period I was not working yet, so most of my time was spent in the bush and it was very, very hot so I dressed accordingly, mainly in T-shirts and shorts.  The way I dress here is very different to the way I dressed in my corporate Belgian life so my boxes of clothes pretty much remained all boxed up in the farm-house and I started a small collection of more casual clothes.

Because of my choice to live more frugally, I very rarely purchase any clothes and my wardrobe is small.  I used to love clothes shopping when I was richer but I have found now that I get so much more pleasure out of the small gifts of clothing I get occasionally from friends and family.  My sister brought a big bag of skinny clothes for me when she came to visit as I had lost 9kg’s after my relationship broke up.  It was like Christmas for me, firstly to have so many new clothes and secondly because my sister has always had such lovely taste in clothes.  I am pathetic at buying clothes that suit me and my dress sense is not good. This way I have some really nice garments without going through the angst.

The Bean and I have now found a great past time which we call “going shopping in Belgium”.  About once every two months we go to the old farm-house and go through our old clothes from overseas and fish out an item or two that we can still use.  It is great fun and brings back so many memories from our old life. It also saves me a fortune.

The next logical step for me is to get a sewing machine so that I can start altering our other Belgian clothes that are now just too big for me and too small for the Bean. I think I may just cut some up and start making new garments with the material.  I will also use some to trade and barter with friends here.

It still amazes me how my mind-set has changed and how comfortable I am with the choices I have made.  If you had told me a few years ago that I would be using recycled clothes and living a frugal life I would most probably have laughed in your face.

 

Weekend round-up

The braai (bbq) on Friday night was great after a few hiccups.  My phone battery went dead and I missed my meet-up time, but after a frantic drive into town and with the help of Kyle at the Wimpy, I managed to get my phone plugged in and arranged to meet up with Mr A (our Handsome Estate Agent has asked for a new identity) who got me to the braai in the middle of the bush.  Met some great new people and ate really good food.

On Saturday I spent the day at the Sustainable Living Festival. 

It didn’t start off too well because the first thing I wanted to attend was the “stop smoking” hypnotherapy workshop which was cancelled at the last minute.  Unfortunately the man who was running it  had an emergency in Johannesburg.  I spent quite some time looking around the stalls – there was so much to take in.  Solar power seemed to be very popular.  I found a really nice stall run by Sylvia and Nipper Thompson.  They have an organic farm near Haenertsburg (about  an hour and a half from Hoedspruit) and make all their own cheese in an old copper cauldron.  They have tons of other products too.  I picked Sylvia’s brain for ages because she has so much knowledge that I still need to gain.  The photos of the farm look gorgeous (just like in the movie ‘Babe’) and I can’t wait to visit the farm.  They offer cheesemaking tours, cheese platters in a rustic atmosphere, forest walks and group tours of the farm.  The farm is called Wegraakbosch Organic Farm (click for more details)

Another stall I loved was from a shop called Live Naturally situated in White River (also about an hour and a half away from Hoedspruit).  They stock a wide range of products that we are not able to get easily here – organic, whole and vegan foods, natural remedies and supplements, cold pressed oils and honey, organic and environmentally safe cleaning products as well as organic and vegan make-up (gosh I didn’t know they even make stuff like this).  I am interested in their seeds and grains mainly because I want to do sprouting and also make humus etc.  Their prices don’t look too bad and they are even considering a once-a-week delivery to Hoedspruit.

Then, as I walked around my eyes fell on these  (please excuse the really bad photograph)

What, you may ask, are they?  These are worm farms for vermiculture.  I have been interested in getting one for ages but the prices have been so prohibitive – well not excessively so, but they just sounded more expensive than they should be. Hesitantly, I walked up to the stand to enquire and I was pleasantly surprised.  Ashley Anderson of Wormsgalore explained that her worm boxes are locally manufactured (another plus) and are therefore really well priced.  She was very helpful and took her time to explain and answer all my questions and by the time I left her stand, I was an owner of my very own worm farm. I must say that as I was making the purchase the heavens opened and it poured down so I sat with Ashley and her husband for a few hours and really got to know a bit more about the workings of her business.  This is a truly local product and is available in Johannesburg and Cape Town and Ashley will also post her products to you wherever you are.  If you have a moment you can visit them at Wormsgalore. I am going to have some very happy veggies in my garden.

I also attended a ‘Internally Healthy’ workshop that focused on issues that we can change and issues that affect us including dealing with our own health on a physical and emotional level.  It was presented  by Lisl Bennet and Maureen Lahoud from our local yoga/wellness/ Tai Chi Center.  They are both excellent presenters and we even learned a few new exercises that can help focus the mind and oxygenate the body.  I’m giving them a try and will let you know how it goes.

I left the festival before the evening entertainment but the Bean attended and thoroughly enjoyed the band and party.

There was plenty to see and do.

 

 

 

 

 

As the Bean was sleeping over at a friends house, on Sunday I slept in really late – one of my favorite things to do, and then made myself a good breakfast.  I don’t often cook if I am alone so this was an exception.

My breakfast for one – it was really yummy.

Then I set up my new worm farm – buts that’s for another more detailed post.  I hope you all had a fantastic weekend.

Weekend moves

This weekend I am going to be very busy at the Sustainable Living Festival.  I will try to take some interesting pictures to show you next week.  I am also going to a braai (bbq) – wish me luck – this is my first social venture out to become more sociable and get to know folk in the area since I have been single.  It’s a little scary.  I will only know one person there.

Here are some pictures taken on the property as well as the surrounding area of Hoedspruit.  They are courtesy of W so I feature in a few.  Photos of me are very rare on this blog. If you want to know more information about anything featured in the pictures be sure to leave a message in the comments.  Have a great weekend!

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Sustainable Living

Today I am going to be doing some advertising.  It is for something very close to my heart – sustainable living. 

 

Every year Hoedspruit hosts a sustainable living festival.  It is held at the Bean’s school and runs for three days.  I think I’m going to be there as much as possible because I still have so much to learn.  People from all over South Africa come to this festival so if any of you are interested in coming along – I do have a guest cottage you can use. It will be held from 30th of April till the 2nd of May

Basic Concept

The basic concept behind the Sustainable Living Festival will be to establish a central platform to create and spread awareness of the different methods and options available, as well as to develop interest in, the various methods of sustainable living from making use of renewable energy within the home, recycling, waterwise and toxin free gardening to biodynamic and organic agriculture and many other new and innovative concepts and ideas

As the concept of Sustainable Living is very closely linked to the Biosphere Concept as set out by UNESCO in their MaB Prgramme (Man and the Biosphere Programme), the festival will also be used as a tool to further promote the concept of the Biosphere (and more specifically the Kruger to Canyons Biosphere in which we sit) as well as to promote the various organizations within the region that are involved in biosphere related projects or developments.

Daily Breakdown

The festival will be held over a 3 day period from Friday 30^th April until Sunday 2^nd May 2010.

All 3 days will see exhibitions and showcasing of the various products, services and projects related to Sustainable and Biosphere Living.

In addition, to this a number of workshops will be held each day to further enhance the transfer of knowledge and ideas in this regard as well as enable and encourage active and productive dialogue amongst different community sectors as regards developing thought processes and practical applications related to this globally developing concept.

Corresponding Activities

A number of corresponding Activities will be held over the 3 days and they include:

• Workshops

There will be a number of workshops held throughout the festival – this year’s workshops will focus on aspects relating to the home production of bio-diesel, the low-carbon footprint form of construction such as Sandbag construction, the benefits and applications of Nature Farming®, organic gardening, a national biosphere seminar, the establishment of the Schools in Biosphere’s programme, a tourism speed marketing event and much, much more.

 

• School Competitions

The inclusion of many schools in the greater region will focus high on the list this year, with the inclusion of a number of inter-school events, such as a debating competition, a recycled fashion show, an entrepreneurial competition (all items produced by schools must be done so from recycled materials), a music festival and many more exciting and relevant activities.

 

• Cycle Race

Saturday morning will start early in the morning with a cycle race that is fast becoming a favourite on the annual cyclists calendar – with the unique concept that the majority (95%) of the race is conducted on private roads through the adjoining wildlife estates of Raptor’s View and Zandspruit.

 

• Evening Entertainment

Friday night will showcase a cultural event that will encourage participation from all participants – for example, last year a drumming circle was held and this year we are in the process of lining up an event that will be just as spectacular and well received.  The evening is also initiated by an organic cheese and wine tasting event.

Saturday night has become established within the region as we host a live performance by one of South Africa’s leading artists – preferably with international reputation and success. 

 

Exhibitors

Exhibitors that have been invited to exhibit at the festival will include the many aspects involved in sustainable development as well as the various activities related to the Biosphere concept.

Potential Exhibitors will include:

• Sustainable Design Architects
• Methods of Sustainable Construction
• Forms of renewable energy
• Solar Water Heating Systems
• Solar Cookers
• Waterflow Systems
• Biodynamic Agriculture Association of South Africa
• Organic Farming Organisations
• Suppliers of Eco-friendly Garden/ Agricultural Supplements
• Suppliers of organic health products
• Developers of Herbal products
• Locally produced arts and crafts
• Biofuel technologies and biofuel products
• Hybrid Vehicles
• Research Projects
• Community Development Projects
• Social Investment Projects
• Government Departments
• Municipalities
• And many other festival related stalls and activities.

Our Yoga Center is also very involved and will  be doing ‘quick’ therapies in the Healing Tent. They are also presenting a workshop on the connection between your health and that of your environment.

For the full programme click here

I am interested in attending the following:

• Stop smoking hypnotherapy workshop ( yes folks I have fallen again)
• Waste and recycling
• Dealing with Malaria naturally
• Organic wine tasting (of course)
• The masculine and feminine aspects of farming
• Creative cooking
• and finally the evening entertainment looks really good although I may give the rugby a skip.