consuming the future

Do you think we can change the way we live?

As a society, we have a voracious appetite for the newest, biggest,brightest, loudest. Throw away the old one(whatever condition it may be in) and replace it without thought.
Our status in the world indeed seems to be only determined by what we own (or appear to own thanks to large personal debt), who we know and what schools our children attend.

As a young adult, I knew that this wasn't right, but didn't change my life to reflect these thoughts. I'm sure I didn't want to appear to be different than the people around me that I called friends.

Times have changed and my slightly odd, environmentally conscious views are now those of the mainstream. These opinions, if not actually practised, are at least considered by many on a daily basis. There is hope that we will question what we do before it's too late for all of us.

school holidays

It's school holidays in Melbourne and I have had a week off work. A week to spend with Frothy,Oz, my family and friends. I go back to work tomorrow, physically tired but mentally refreshed. I've spent a couple of quiet days with my boys and managed to see a few good friends. Frothy and I also had dinner with my parents after spending a great day with my sister and her girls.

Unfortunately I don't spend much time with my sister, we both have very full and busy lives. This usually leaves little time just to catch up to have a chat, but on Friday we took our children to Scienceworks. It was one of the most enjoyable days I've had in a long time. Our children had a lot of fun together exploring the many interactive displays and just spending time with each other without the grown ups looking over their shoulders.

I look back at the days and hope to be fortunate enough to have many more like them.

making changes

Oz rides his bicycle to work every day and he has been doing this for a year now.
There were many reasons for that original decision - improving his general health and fitness, reduced impact on the environment and less reliance on a car were all positives to making this choice. I supported him from the start and I've been thinking for awhile that I should be putting 'my money where mouth is' and make more of an effort to do the same.

Now it is my turn. The boys have bought me a bicycle! Not any old bicycle but one that I would be proud to be seen riding(shock horror- I have been converted!). It is specifically built as an urban commuter, perfect for riding to work (or the pub) and on weekends along the many bike trails in our area.

I'm taking up the challenge to only drive to work once a week(if at all) and hope that in twelve months time my fitness has improved as much as Oz's.... we'll see!!!!

red is best ?

Oz was planning a cycling weekend with friends and(being a good wife and all that) I offered to drive the support vehicle. Our son, Frothy decided to stay at a friends house that weekend, his only comment was 'I'm not going to hang around with those(you) crazy grown-ups!' This left me childless for a whole 24 hours, how exciting!!

Saturday arrived with clearing skies(early fog)this is winter in Melbourne. Suprisingly everyone turned up at the meeting point on time, a challenge for a group of people coming from all over. We loaded two support vehicles with some luggage and a sizable amount of food. The third vehicle was turned into a moving esky,soley for the transportation of an even larger amount of alcohol. Hopefully our livers were going to survive the weekend.

A short stop for morning tea(beer), a lunch stop at Launching Place (more beer for those not driving) and then on to our destination, Warburton.
Mrs G and I unpacked the worst of our luggage and left the cars at the caravan park so the others could get organised when they arrived (after another pub stop). We decided to walk into town for afternoon tea.

Replenished, we returned to find the group unpacked,showered and ready to party(suprise suprise), the new drink of choice was now red wine. We thought it was time to join in!!!
Dinner was at the local hotel where Oz and Dale(Mr G) serenaded the locals with songs better left at the camp fire. Back to the cabins for after dinner drinks(more red) and sleep?(constant snoring from several very inebriated individuals).

No suprise Sunday was a very subdued affair, much quieter than the day before!

I have almost recovered and a week later, I managed a glass of belgium beer
for second breakfast (definitely another story). Maybe a glass of red with dinner?

seeing the trees

We decided to have a weekend away, to make the most of our winter, and to enjoy a few (cold) days by the sea. Great small town, fantastic accommodation, even better company and lots of red wine made for an excellent time.

Apollo Bay sits on the southwest coast of Victoria and at the edge of the Otway Ranges, it has an abundance of breathtaking scenery and natural beauty. We took the opportunity to do a walk through a surviving remnant of beech myrtle forest. The Otway Fly, a tree canopy walk, many meters above the forest floor also provided a chance (especially for me-very scared of heights) to see things from another perspective.

Without knowing it, we had left the best until last. A small group of Californian Redwoods planted in the middle of nowhere, now 68 years old. Beautiful, alien trees rising out of the bush as we rounded a bend in the road. Even now, two weeks later, I find it hard to describe these magnificent trees and what it was like to walk amongst them.

My place in the world seemed suddenly very small and insignificant.

A new start

A friend has left her partner, after twenty years.

'A hard decision?' No, she replied. 'Any doubts?' None at all she said.

She looks rejuvenated, literally like a weight has dropped from her shoulders, and is happy again regaining control over her own life. A transformation almost.

Abuse can take many different forms, be it subtle or aggressive, but it always has an extremely negative outcome for the victim. The evidence of a lowered self-esteem was there to see if you looked. Comfort eating,mood swings, excessive alcohol consumption, prescribed substance abuse and later, diagnosed depression all pointed to something very wrong. Yet no-one asked the hard question 'Why'?

As friends should we barge in, or should we be quietly supportive and wait until they are ready to take action? Could we really change events or is it up to the person to make those choices when they are strong enough to take charge themselves?

We seem, these days(even with our friends) to keep people at arms length. Have we, as a society, always been like this or is this a recent change? If the situation had worsened for my friend would anyone have intervened?

I like to think that someone would have.

Wardrobe Refashion

Sometimes there is an opportunity to put your 'money' where your mouth is and I have found something fun(maybe) and environmentally conscious to participate in. I say maybe because I have taken the pledge for six months and could be very a long time when you realise what I have signed on for!!!

Wardrobe Refashion is about taking a pledge for 2,4 or 6 months not to buy any new clothing(except underwear and work clothes). It allows for the purchase of preloved, handmade or renovated items. You also have a 'get out of jail card' so you can indulge in something new every two months. I have always been fairly conservative in my clothes shopping, buying classic pieces and supplementing these with cheaper in-season items but I have become more disillusioned with 'store bought' over the last few years and I can never find what I want.

Wish me luck!!!!!