All at sea

We are at that stage in house negotiations where you stand at the end of a cliff and you cross your fingers that all will go ahead in the full knowledge that it might all collapse and you end up where you started, which in our case is a lovely cottage. I dislike uncertainty I have discovered, I can stand some of it but not if it goes on for months.

On days where I am lost a bit, we go out to the seaside, and on a blustery October day when the tourists are absent, Lyme Regis takes on a different atmosphere. We go about once a year, usually in February and are the only ones eating an ice cream when the temperature outside can make it last forever. Today, DH and I, headed off and I took my camera with me, capturing a variety of sights.



This one caught my attention due to its colour combination which brings ice cream sundaes to mind. Further down the beach, a bit of beach art. Lyme Regis has changed a lot over the last 25 years, all that was missing today was the sunshine, apart from that the magic never fails to bring a smile on my face. Home tired and happy.

And still you have to watch the seagulls as they are after your lunch, but magical to watch as they hover in the wind currents. That's exactly how I feel, hovering on an air current. Fly, Fly.......

Autumn glory

Its been a glorious day today, kids went off to the woods with school to learn how to measure the height of a tree with a meterstick ( not yardstick) and a thumb. Apparently the talk about the trees was a bit too long ( well a tree is a tree when you are 8), and DH enjoyed himself too in the woods, picnic under the oak tree.

I love days when friends come to play after a day out in the wild, there is a freshness about them that I wish I could bottle; rosy cheeks, blustered hair with the odd twig in it. On days like that I conjure up domestic bliss of a warming dish of macaroni cheese, salad and brownies with ice cream after which they jolt out of the door for a last minute cricket game.

It all appeals to the fairy godmother in me; I even conjured up a gift or two for a visiting birthday girl and an impromptu birthday cake from 3 brownies and a candle. Her face when she saw the mayonaise jar the boys had chosen as the perfect gift. ( This girl has mayo with everything).

Ah the bliss of being a domestic goddess! Little would you guess how I enjoy these moments.Far away are the days of dashing around the country in company cars. After a day homemaking, gardening, teadrinking and watching the nest grow fuller and livelier, time to retire on the sofa with a book, quilt on lap and some knitting by the side.

Autumn heralds hibernation and I am ready.....

How to say NO

Cubicle Rat

This may sound obvious to some of you, but saying no is not always that easy. Please do not gasp at the possibility.....it is OK to say NO unless you live in fear of your life.
Why is it so hard?
We are surrounded by a world that wants and needs us to say YES. Yes to higher taxation, yes to that new car, yes to the new credit card, yes to poor service, yes to waiting lists, yes to factory farmed food, yes to higher energy prices and yes to wanting this or that.

Anya Kamanetz explains in this article how this affects 20 somethings and offers some practical steps to combat consumption pressure.

The question to ponder is why are you saying yes and what makes it so difficult to say NO.

A few weeks ago the Northern Rock building society was rescued by the Bank of England in a bid not to let the population panic. They told us not to panic, they tried to offer reassurance to savers and investors that their money was safe. There were many people who did not buy into that and said NO. I wonder how they felt, faced with branch managers who said , please do not take your money out? Is this news important. I think so.

It means that more people are saying no, no we are not buying it, no we have a choice. A world where people can make the decision to say yes for the right reason would be good, and a world where people equally can say no for the right reason would be good too. I am fully aware that there are countries in the world where people's needs are not met and where you cannot say no for fear of being eliminated. My post is directed at those of us who live in countries where apparently we do have a choice.

So now you have figured out how you spend your time, and how you spend your money you can work towards a balance between the two that is based on your decision making. I guess its going to shake up confidence in the markets and create a little more uncertainty when people change their buying habits.

Reduce - making decisions about time and money can create a more balanced life that is in line with your values, beliefs and priorities.
Reuse - you cannot reuse time ( living in the moment and being present when you are in the moment will provide maximum benefit in both time and money).
Recycle- again you cannot recycle time, but you can recycle your ideas about time and money.

I want, I need, now .....are buying signals that require a quick yes.
I want - you can say NO to want by checking whether you need it, how long have you known that you needed it, and how much is waiting going to cost you or save you. By the way, who says you want or your need it?
I need - Yes you may need something right away.....check why you need it, are you addicted, can you wait....

I used to need a coffee in the morning to be able to be awake and ready for work. Realising that I did not really need the coffee if I went to bed earlier and had sufficient sleep seemed not to be in my awareness at that time. (If you like coffee then thats another matter.)

Check out what it gives you, how does it fulfill your need, that is what 'I need' means, it fulfills a need in you. People laugh when I say I need to spin and knit. The creative process is a need that gets satisfied that way as well as through writing.

I used to get invited to sit on committees and mostly said yes. I guess I was flattered that I had been asked and it fulfilled a need for me to contribute in society. I sometimes asked what would be expected of me, how many meetings and what I was receiving in return but never really looked at whether what I needed would be fulfilled by this action.. It did fulfill a need of being accepted and valued but it also cost me time, travelling to and from meetings, sitting in cold rooms drinking coffee to keep awake and warm and endless sleepless nights about decisions the committee were making ( as well as too much coffee) that I was uncomfortable with. I could have used the assertive NO technique: Thank you but NO thank you. No explanation necessary.

The next step, if you want to go the next step, is to think about what saying YES means in terms of time and money. This technique checks out whether you are really valued. Most pop stars have riders :Yes I can do this but I need.....I will perform only when I have a bunch of fresh flowers in my changing room and I have to stay overnight in a really nice hotel with jaccuzzi. Whatever you need...... If they really want you at your best, then they must look at how they can fulfill your needs too. We are not all of us so extravagant in our needs, they may be more basic, a warm room, a comfortable chair, 3 meals per day etc etc.

I remember sitting on an interview panel where the chair suggested we skip lunch so we could see an extra candidate. I voiced that in order to listen to another 4 interviewees in the afternoon I would need to eat lunch and have a break and was frowned upon. The rest of the panel seemed to agree with the chair. This gave me an insight into what the man was actually requesting from the candidates too. I cannot say that I was at my best having snacked on almonds in my handbag and I used some extra questions to alert the candidates : What do you need to enable you to fulfill the requirements of the post that is being offered. The responses were astounding, some people who were confident in their abilities asked for salaries that were at the top end of what was on offer and others did not say anything. The chair's choice would waver towards those that did not answer the question as I guess he felt that he needed power. What he missed was by valuing and testing the expertise and innovation of the candidates that did state what they needed in order to perform, he could have had better performance and more value for the salary. I was not asked again to sit on the panel and if asked would have refused anyway.

To summarise, question why you are saying yes and why you are saying no and more importantly why you are not saying what you want to say.

Sally Lever has written an excellent article on Ratrace Stress and how downshifting can improve your health.

Time audit

Goat

Doing a time audit over the last few days, in my own time, enabled me to make some decisions about how I am spending my time and how I want to be spending my time in the future.
A good thing is that my sleep requirements have decreased as 3 years ago, I spent 18 hours horizontal, suspended just breathing so a lot of progress has been made there, not quite normal but acceptable and I spend more time awake than asleep ( although my family might argue with that one!)

Having read Janine Bolon's book Money its not just for rich people and being familiar with her 60/40 principle I wondered how applying it to time would work out. Well 60% devoted to work works out at about 37.8 hours which would be a fair amount. I decided the other categories would be 10% to community, 10 % self investment and education, 10% to family and friends and 10% to fun. If you have a family then that 37.8 hours includes the job of being a parent and should enable us to work out what balance we need between work outside the house and the work inside the house. When you do your audit you will find out where you spend your time and gawk.....how much TV do you watch, how much traveling do you do etc. The secret for me is not that I want to have rigidity in this equasion but that I can say NO when I am giving more than I need to my community, it helps me to pace my time and activities and keep a balance that works for me.

How would you like to spend your time?

Now I can sit down and make decisions about the amount of community contributions I make and whether that is necessary and whether I would rather spend more time with the kids, or less on fun items, where my personal time is etc etc. Wealth is not just about money but finding what makes you happy, fulfilled and gives you a feeling of being the richest person on earth; it is not always money ( although crying in silk sheets makes the drama more pleasurable), it is about being happy and having a feeling of wellbeing too.

If we accept that time is money I could negotiate with my time. Instead of sitting for hours on committees deciding how to fundraise, my time might be better spent by simply doing what I enjoy and donating the equivalent in cash to the charity. That may be more appealing to some people. So if you get paid £ 10 per hour ( this makes it easier to do maths with), and you decide that you want to spend 6 hours on community work but the thought does not appeal.....because you would rather be out fishing, well then give £ 30 to the youthclub for instance so they can pay someone who loves to do exactly that and you can go fish 3 hours with a free conscience. It will have cost you but you will have made the contribution. Go fishing but it will cost you! ( You can only go fish for 3 hours because you will need to work the extra 3 to pay the money)There have been days in the past where I have made cakes, bought them again, sat on the committee deciding how we would raise the money, set the tables for the event, made posters and raised £ 30.0o, and came home with 2 cakes after clearing up. Phew, I could have approached this in a different way!

A lightbulb moment in my downshifting monetary values was when I equated the cost of an item to the amount of hours I needed to work at a job I did not enjoy. That in itself makes you think before you shop. I have tried to teach that principle to my children and sometimes they get it, and other times I am just not cool!

Now that I have my priorities I can check whether I actually spend that amount of time doing what I want to do and plan accordingly. And if you doubt Janine's method, having put it into practice for the last few days, I have received a special delivery of flowers ( completely unexpected as a thank you for community involvement) so maybe it really does mean that you can flow with the universe. I had tea at school today in aid of a charity and donated half a goat or 1/6th of a carpentry set of tools, ate cake that the children made and found it very enjoyable and satisfying. Can it be that simple?

I could apply that method to the harvest from my garden to : 60% to eat and share with others, 10% to preserve, 10% to share with the wildlife about me, 10% seeds for the future. Makes sense although I am still squishing the caterpillars because they are having more than their fair share.

Go give it a go and see what the rewards are. Let me know what the universe is giving you when you start giving your time.

In your own time

One Step at a Time

You know that nothing is at it seems. A witch who is kind saves time, where do you keep it, in my pocket ofcourse, want a nice piece of time girl...I have no time, I am out of time.

from Grandmother Turtle - by Carolyn Hillyer

As my energy has plummeted over the years, I have noticed that it takes me longer to accomplish certain tasks and by not being able to complete all the things on my list that I feel I have to do, I have noticed that when I feel out of time, my stress levels increase just like a car engine that is being revved up to the max. I have reasons why it is taking me longer to walk, longer to deal with washing and longer to cook a meal.

What would it feel like to run at the speed of life? Is it possible that each and every one of us has an optimum capacity to do things in a certain time, at the speed of our life. If we exceed that speed we will use up more energy. What, if any, is your personal optimum speed and has it changed?

This lead my maths brain to start thinking about my personal time requirements at the speed of life :

24 hours per day
I sleep 10 hours at night and 1 in the afternoon which leaves me with 13 hours.( I know that is a lot but that is my requirement to function for the other 13)
Getting up and getting ready for bed takes about 1 hour.
Eating and preparing 3 meals per day - say 3 hours.
That leaves 9 hours.
So when I schedule anything else in, I have 9 hours of time to work with.
Then there are household chores, washing, cleaning, gardening, childcare, sick boys, chickens to feed and clean, watering, weeding, spinning, writing, travel etc etc.

What is your optimum speed of life and how much time are you actually doing what you want to do?

When you have an idea of how long things take and how much time you spend on each item, you can look at what time is left. I suggest leaving a margin of 10 mins between your activities as a buffer so that you are not rushing or can head back to pick up that letter you left on the sideboard.

That should help with planning your day at the speed of your life.

When you know what you spend your time on...you can learn to let go of some of those activities that do not serve you.

When you are next offered a job move, look at the time you will spend commuting to and from against the value of your time you could have saved when not sitting on public transport or wading your way through the urban jungle. It may make sense to take a paycut and work closer to home as well as being good for the planet.

Want a piece of time? Now you can go and search for it in your own time.

Old beans

Every Seed Grows

The onions have been drying in the polytunnel and have been tidied and brought into the house. I have noticed that when the season changes, plants too show signs of season change. Some start growing in a desperate attempt to put out their seeds. The sunflowers are taking advantage of the sunny rays to open up and let their seeds ripen. Other plants simply start to die off as they know they will not even make it to that stage. No matter how much you water them, they start to dry off and leaves become brittle and break off.

According to James Hillman in The Force of Character, this is a natural process that happens to people too. He says that when the stem of the rice plant has bloomed it bends over and that when we get older, we also return our gaze from the sun to the ground. We shrink, we wither and then we leave. What we may lose in physical appearance, we gain in strength of character. I like that thought.

The thoughts of growing older may seem difficult to grasp and in our society we do not revere older people as much as in others, but when I look at the desperate attempt by the borlotti beans to flower on the one hand and the french beans withering and going dry, I see that both have come to the end of their life cycle. They both have the same process happening and their reaction to it is opposite. The french bean has given up its harvest and by drying out and withering leaves me with seed pods that I can plant next year which will give me hope of a good crop of beans as the plant has given up its life for a new bean life next year. The borlotti beans are trying to give their all and yes, will give me a harvest this year but will not have enough strength to produce seed for next year. In the long run, which option gives a longer lasting harvest?

You may question why I raise this comparison in a world, where the image of the young person, the perfect figure, HRT and prolonging life is now the norm, a respect of the natural process of growing older has been erased. With it, also the possibility of the seeds of wisdom that wither with it.

What we have in seed catalogues are seeds that are hybrids and that need to be planted and bought each year. In a sense they have been improved to provide a maximum harvest but they lack the wisdom and strength of species inside them to produce the seeds that will give us more of the same another year. Companies like Monsanto count on that so that farmers will grow that seed with fertilisers and then require to buy seeds once again from those companies.

Against that are heirloom varieties, whose names we no longer can remember, who may not have been cultivated for appearance, but for taste, colour of flowers or their benefit to nature. Profit does not figure in that because the way you cultivate them and learn to go with their growth process will either give you seeds for next year or not, that is your choice.

Next year, the old girl plans to grow some heirloom varieties in her new garden as well as garden on a much smaller scale. I want to do this to show you what is possible in a minute space with older varieties.

The Heritage seed library does exactly that.

In the polytunnel the cat stood next to me on the shelf while I was sorting the onions. The cat has shown me this summer how to enjoy the few sunny days basking in the sun and how to curl up on the sofa when rain is forecast, he goes and catches his own dinner. We had a moment of togethernessand mutual understanding in the garden where I somehow felt he was telling me.....well done you are getting it old girl, why struggle when less is more. I know for certain that if I contravene the cats or my DH does, there is always their way of telling us we are wrong. The mouse by the way was found on the bathroom mat, it had died.....and they had left it there.As I have said before, never underestimate cats.

Old bean carries a harvest in the future in its seed pod and old girl here has only just noticed that today.

I need watering now in case I wither......off to the kitchen for a glass of blackcurrant cordial.

Ancestors

Unique

"Last spring and summer I taught poetry
writing at the American Nursing Home
in New York City.
The America Nursing Home is on the Lower East Side,
at Avenue B and Fifth Street.

... The students were all incapacitated
in some way, by illness or old age. Most
were in their seventies, eighties, and nineties.
Most were from the working class
and had a limited education.

... Some had recent memory loss, were forgetful,
tended to ramble a little when they spoke.
Everyone was ill,
some people sometimes in pain.
Depression was frequent.
A few were blind, and some had problems
in hearing.

... To be added to all this
was their confinement within the walls
and within the institutional regime
of the nursing home; they had little chance to find,
as poets usually do, fresh inspiration in new experiences,
sights, and sounds. Poetry, if they did write it,
would have to come from memory
and from what happened
and from what we could help make happen
right there
in the nursing home."

~ Kenneth Koch,
From "I Never Told Anyone:

Teaching Poetry Writing in a Nursing Home"
[p. 3, 5]


Inside each of us, memories are locked to inspire us in the last years of life, to release a magical presence of ancestors into the world. While we yearn for a solution to the global crisis, let us not forget to remain open to the wisdom of those amongst us that remain, although invisible to most, alive and full of wisdom.

Society as a whole tends to lock our older people away, although in many cultures the wisdom of older people is revered. As they become more fragile on the outside, like dried up leaves and seed pods, they hold nevertheless a link to the past and the possibilities to help us in the future. Ancestors.....do you know yours?

a bit idle

Summer Evening

I am feeling decidedly not like doing too much at the moment. Its been a busy week with thinking about moving but the main ingredient for my doing very little is the fact that the sun is shining, every day now for a week and I am basking in it.

Many of us have been taught to believe that we are valued for what we do, not just for who we are. ‘Doing’ is important, but to keep life in balance, we also need time to just ‘be.’

Henry David Thoreau expressed this so well in Walden Pond:

"There were times when I could not afford to sacrifice the bloom of the present moment to any work, whether of the head or hand.

"Sometimes, on a summer morning, I sat in my sunny doorway from sunrise till noon, rapt in a revery, amidst the pines and hickories and sumacs, in undisturbed solitude and stillness, while the birds sang around or flitted noiseless through the house, until by the sun falling in at my west window, or the noise of some traveller's wagon on the distant highway, I was reminded of the lapse of time.

"I grew in those seasons like corn in the night, and they were far better than any work of the hands would have been."

Ahhhhh the summer evenings, to be enjoyed because when autumn heralds winter and colder weather, we need the memories of summer to carry us through.

My head seldom stands still though...I am working on a few more articles to do with 80% reduction.

Storms

Hurricane from outer space


Even beautiful storms can create immense damage, showing the power that nature can harness and that brings us into a realm of uncertainty and a place where as individuals we have little power.

The last few months seem to have brought fires, floods and storms ...all over the world. Yes they bring destruction and they create disorientation, and yet after the storm, the air clears and you can look at what really matters. After a fire, a phoenix can rise from the ashes. In the middle of a hurricane in the eye of the storm, there is silence. Eery maybe, but silence....listen out for it, you are not to do anything but listen in the silence and in its centre,you will find.....your heart pounding, you will feel alive just for a second... That is the most precious thing, to truly feel alive in the moment and be able to respond, to be responsable. To connect through a musical note, through a split second when everyone gasps at a football game, to feel truly one with nature and the universe, to be in awe at the beauty in the middle of the ugly storm. In the essence, on the edge, there is only one thing that matters, this moment of feeling alive and being engaged in it.

Against that is the headline that a boy of 11 was shot in the back of the neck on his way back from playing football, a senseless loss of life ......a different storm is brewing.



"Wise men say nothing in dangerous times." ― Aesop

digging for diamonds

A Man Looks Down the Valley with His Feet Hanging Over the Cliff Edge, Zion National Park, Utah

Your diamonds are not in far distant mountains or in yonder seas, they are in your backyard, if you but dig for them. Russell H Conwell

Since starting this blog I have been working on decluttering and creating an authentic life, a simple plain life. A few months ago we reached a cross roads where we made some decisions as to a different future with some of the following criteria:

• a smaller house
• no commuting
• a smaller garden
• using less resources
• investing in the community
• working together to reduce our footprint
  
• no more holidays abroad
• ethical living
  

They may seem like sacrifices to others, but we have got used to a more localised life; a reduced life does not mean a less rich one in many ways. At every step we check why we do what we do, and we are faced with questions at every turn that not always provide a comfortable answer. This is a journey of discovery and having achieved our garden plans we have realised that it is possible to produce a large amount of one's own food in a small space. We are about to do it again in an even smaller space.

Today we negotiated on the sale of our house and thus, the broccoli that I am planting will be harvested by the next person enjoying the beauty and special place we have lived in. Houses and places can be special, this one has been in my life as it has been a playground for a larger vision. So I invite you to step with me in the unknown for a second time, to walk with me and see what can be achieved with less. Step one has been to agree the sale. That feels like standing at the edge of a cliff and taking flight. Fly with me and see what is over the horizon. If you are starting out on the downshifting path, we are about to start all over again in about 3 months time.

Be the change

Be the Change


We are all on a life-long journey. It is a search for who we are and why we are here. It is a journey that expands our consciousness.

There is an urge within each of us to move forward in life. It is an urge to become more whole, to find more meaning, and eventually to help others. It is human nature to strive for a sense of well-being.

We all go through the same growth cycles, though our experiences may appear entirely different. By understanding the process of personal and spiritual growth, we can work more effectively with the process, instead of fighting and resisting it.

“We can learn to be the catalysts for our own change.”
Sarah Ban Breathnach

10 ways to find time

Ribbons of Time

The link between time and reality is insoluble. We can divorce ourselves from time only by undoing reality, or from reality only by undoing the sense of time. Categorical time is measured by clocks and calendars; existential time is that which is experienced, lived in, rather than observed.

Mann, J Time-Limited Psychotherapy ( 1973:4)

I recommend you to take care of the minutes, for hours will take care of themselves" Philip Dormer Stanhope - 4th Earl of Chesterfield Letters to His Son

How can you simplify time? What we have in common is that we all have 24 hours per day, our perception of time may be different but we have the same slice. How can you find more time?

1. Check out what is taking your time, what obligations, debts, relationships, clutter is taking up your time and stopping you from using available time to do the things you enjoy?
2. Scale down your possessions : everything you own costs money, space and time to
maintain, clean and store. If the items do not give you joy, declutter and give them away to charity, freecycle and relieve yourself of the time consumed in engaging with the
possessions.
3. Change your shopping habits. When you are next in the shop wanting to buy something,
look at what it is, where will you store it, what will you do with the bags etc. Does it add to your time for joy or rob you of time and space that you could be using for something else. ( If you want a lovely new car, think about the debt, the garage space, the petrol bills, your ecological footprint...give it a test drive, get the feeling and leave it alone!).
4. Turn off the TV. On average people watch 20 hours per week. Why are you watching it? be selective and use your time for what you want to. Change the TV habit, it will save energy and reduce your temptations to purchase other items.
5. Start to say no. Much of the subscriptions to magazines, social clubs, gym membership, music lessons, committee work......do you still want to give it your energy and time
commitment. I learnt about the assertive no......Thank you for thinking of me, but no thank you.
6. Get yourself off the junkmail list and reduce clutter on your email computer. Add anti
spam measures, create inbox files and ensure that you spend time reading what you want. Use email subscriptions to blogs to save you having to find the websites. Join
downshiftingpath by email if you enjoy the posts. Incoming junkmails, means you spend
time reading it, then disposing of the envelopes, put it in the paper recycling and then have
to carry it to the roadside, Stop it coming in and you not only save time but the planet.
7. Check the storage space you have in the house. Thinking you want a bigger house usually means you are not making full use of what is available.
8. Do not put off now what you can do.....if you commit it to the future you are robbing time in the future. Do it now or plan how much time you are prepared to give the task.
Prioritise.
9. Ask for help. life can be chaotic but when you feel time is running out, ask friends and neighbours for help. You might get a no thank you, but most people have individual skills to offer. If you hate painting but you are a great cook, invite your friends to paint your room and give them a slap up meal in return. Do what gives you joy and ask for help. We all like to be valued.
10. Change the way you talk. The beliefs you hold and language you use create your reality. If you say that you cannot do things or that you are always in chaos, nothing will change. You can do it, you can get help with it, you can plan to change your language, your beliefs and your reality. Spend time wisely and let it bring you joy.

Life...for a limited period only

Teamwork
The importance of relationships with your neighbours and the community you live in is ever important when everything is going allright in your life, but when it is not, they can be a vital lifeline.
In my community people keep a distance generally, we say hello and we talk, but when an emergency happens within the community, some invisible task force unites and starts to work.Its something I admire in the British stiff upper lip society, in an emergency, they work very very hard to get every possible resource mobilised and do not generally give up easily.

My friend's partner was in a car accident, was given first aid by a kind lady in the community, then airlifted to hospital with major injuries. Support arrived very quickly at her side to accompany her on the long wait in the waiting room. At her home, plans were made for laundry to be taken care of, animals to be cared for so that she could concentrate on the priority at that moment, being with her partner and spending time together.
Life is precious and I ,like many others ,do not enjoy being reminded of it. In the midst of pain and tragedy, quietly in the background, unassumingly, the community help with small tasks to take on some of the seamingly trivial tasks to hand. Its worth investing in.

Life....for a limited period only.....engage while you can and engage with the community around you. If not now, for when the going gets tough. Sometimes it does not get tougher than this.

The day after the rain

The UK has been battered by rainfall. in some places about 4 inches of rain has fallen in one day.
There are wide reports of people stranded in their cars, others not able to use public transport as the country in places has come to a standstill.

It should be summer and yet, this feels like September/October weather. I do not need any further proof that the climate is changing and out of whack. It works to a certain extent but not as you would want it, its not smooth and any change has an effect on other biosystems.

If you have been affected by flood, the environment agency's website offers a lot of information and advice on how to prepare, a list of how to deal with the aftereffects etc.

On the 27th June Sheffield was struck by floods and the following film gives you and indication of the scale of damage caused.......yesterday was similar and again in the same areas of the UK as well as Wales.


Here we have just had an aftermath of rain. We are situated higher up but the garden and land are simply not coping well with the amount of water cascading down. The reservoirs are full.
The french beans in the garden are awash with little snails and large snails as all animals are aiming for higher ground. The tomatoes in the polytunnel are not really progressing as the temperature is at 17 degrees and would usually be in the region of 23.

There is still plenty to harvest, but the aftereffects of this rain will be felt in all areas of production in the Uk and result in price increases. Insurance for flooding will become more expensive. Last year we had a heatwave at this time, this year, we are awash with water.

Not all news is negative, my beetroots are giant as where last year they were tiny and hard inside due to lack of water. It is at this time that I believe that canning and preserving makes sense, not every harvest can be guaranteed and maybe we are getting back to having to live with uncertainty about our food production. It therefore makes sense to look at what is available locally and create relationships with local producers, harvest what you can and preserve it in ways that are not dependent on electriciy alone. When flood strikes, there is no electricity and no mains services....they too are affected.

How prepared are you?
england


global warming
flood

Blogdecluttering

In order to keep things simple and to make the reading easy on your eye, I have made a few changes. It feels lighter to me, more open . Let me know what you think.

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Gardening in ususual places

When the cats slumber during the day, the weather is going to be wet. Its a sure weatherforecast in this house. They are brothers, half wild and yet very affectionate. Difficult to tell them apart though.
DS 3 decided in between showers to go and tackle a bit of undergrowth. This is an area next to the house that is not developed. It would make a lovely seating area and the plan is to make it a rock garden and herb garden. There is little soil underneath, its generally bedrock. It will need raised beds to ensure that the cultivated and wild get separated a bit.Our garden is about 1/2 acre and lies within an old stone quarry. About 12 metres higher lies a large field in which generally sheep graze. We own a small piece of land at the top of the quarry but that is definitely the wildest place, untouched for decades and is the ideal place for beekeeping I think.
The beauty of gardening in unusual places is that it has a life of its own.It was a secret uncultivated garden for many years. Jackdaws come and nest in springtime, bees swarm around the sallowtree in spring and housemartins and swallows make a home here too. It is sheltered from the northwinds and a haven for birds and insects. our buddleias show plenty of butterflies and moths over the summer. The cats have culled some of the bird population but that was before I knew they were so horrible to wildlife. I am happy for them to deal with vermin ( rats and mice) if they are around, but I am sad when they catch a robin. We feed them well, they are halfwild and they just do what they think is right.

The weekend was very soggy here but we took part in the village breakfast which is held every month. The whole village has the opportunity to go and have cereal, cooked breakfast and toast, served by men in bowties for the princely sum of £ 4.00 per person. Its a good place to meet up, chat and network. It felt very autumnal and we were tempted to put the woodfire on. Not in July surely? Instead we put on a sweater and socks and drank hot chocolate together and took the opportunity to go and visit friends.

10 ways to pamper yourself

Woman Being Pampered at Spa


Frugal pampering, not just for women, we all deserve a bit of pampering from time to time.
Here are 10 ways on a budget to pamper yourself:

1. Take lunch to the great outdoors and sit quietly watching the scenery unfold.
2. Keep a basket with thank you notes and compliments about yourself and take them out when you need a self esteem booster. ( I had this at work when I was feeling jaded). This makes me feel wonderful from time to time.
3. Go out just before sunset with a few glasses and a bottle of wine and watch the sunset followed by a bit of stargazing. ( Needs 2 to make it magical)
4. On a rainy day, watch a film at home, with popcorn and drinks just like the cinema( just no advert breaks).
5. Take a bath or shower before bedtime, snuggle into your favourite bathrobe, turn back the bedcovers, switch on your bedside light and give yourself 30 mins reading time. It’s a gift of peaceful alone time.
6. Go pick fresh flowers from the garden and enjoy their scent and colour.
7. Beauty night : a manicure, pedicure, hot oil hair treatment, foot massage…….whatever you need, book a night out with yourself in the home-spa.
8. Go visit the library, browse and take in a cup of your favourite brew. They have all the latest magazines, papers to have a look at. No rushing.
9. Visit an open garden near you and refresh your inspiration. Take a sketch pad and some watercolours, your camera, your notebook to put the colour to memory.
10. Give yourself some dreamtime: create a space for yourself with a candle, soft music etc and create a list of all the things you need in your life to make you feel good or memories of good times : here are some pointers, Places. people, pets, animals, activities,peak experiences, spiritual figures, textures, scents, tastes and sounds. When you have your list you will have created an endless amount of possibilities to pamper yourself in the future.

I am off for some quiet reflection, candles on, music peacefully in the background as yet again……it is raining.

Positive Global Change Award

Thank you thank you...for alllowing me to share our life here at downshifting path with you. I believe in gratitude and spreading it about......Thank you Mark for nominating me for this award.


The award is the brain child of Climate Of Our Future to commemorate blogger's efforts around the world to share their knowledge, thoughts and inspirations in making this a better, healthier, more sustainable world.

So, in keeping with the participation rules -- I, in turn, pass this Bloggers for Positive Global Change Award to the following 5 bloggers:


Frugal for life - Frugality is one of the most beautiful and joyful words in the English language, and yet one that we are culturally cut off from understanding and enjoying. The consumption society has made us feel that happiness lies in having things, and has failed to teach us the happiness of not having things. ~Elise Boulding. Dawn shares every day, a tip to reduce consumption and live a content life in a simple, frugal way.

Path to Freedom.- the Dervaes family seek to live more enviromentally conscious, simple, agrarian and self-sufficient life by bringing about change in our daily lives - one step at a time in an urbgan setting. They hope that their journey will insprire fellow travellers who are on the path less traveled.

Our family's mission and struggle will be to continue to acquire the total package of brains, guts and knowledge necessary to become self-sufficient pioneers and better earth stewards.
"To use our hands as weapons of mass creation and to walk the path to restoration and renewal."
~ Jules Dervaes

Beansprouts - Melanie with 4 otherslive in a very small ex-council house with a very small garden on the edge of farmland. They grow some of their food on an allotment a couple of miles away. They try to be "green", whatever that means.

Down to earth Rhonda Jean lives with her husband on an acre of land which they share with two Airedale Terriers, some chooks, a cat and a worm farm. They live a simple, partially sustainable life in the foothills of a rainforest mountain range in Australia.

The Kitchen Garden The Kitchen Garden Network provides information on the world of food matters. Through our blogs, photos, podcasts, videos, interviews and demonstrations we empower consumers and diners with what they need to know about food, cooking and the intersection of agriculture with politics. Check out Podchefs mission and links to the podcast

Go and say hello, explore and enjoy.


Fellow Positive Global Change Award recipients, it’s easy to participate in this meme. At minimum, you can proudly display the BPGC badge( Click here for the image url )on your blog and bask in the glow of our collective good will. If you are sharing the kudos, however, please make sure you pass this list of rules to the blogs you are tagging.The participation rules are simple:


1. When you get tagged, write a post with links to up to 5 blogs that you think are trying to change the world in a positive way


.2. In your post, make sure you link back to so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme.


3. Leave a comment or message for the bloggers you’re tagging, so they know they’re now part of the meme.


4. Optional: Proudly display the “Bloggers For Positive Global Change” award badge with a link to the post that you write up.

This and that

One of the pleasures since downshifting has been to grow not only vegetables from seed for consumption, but also to revel in what flowerseedlings can turn into in the garden. Even when it rains, I can be seen out in the garden with my enamel coffeepot, a pair of scissors and looking around at all the beauty, I buzz from flower to flower, snipping some of the joy and beauty to take indoors.

The weather was particularly dark when I went out, windy with monsoon type rains and I just had to rescue the iceberg rose feeling it would be better in my coffeepot near the fireplace than out there being lashed by rain.

Currently we spend a lot of time looking out of the window, wellies at the ready, hats on.....rushing out there when the weather breaks to do a bit of weeding, cutting the grass or simply hunting for snails. Did anyone say it was summer?

Even in this attire, I feel rejuvenated by the rain. I ask myself why I find such pleasure in being in the rain, dripping wet, stomping about in my wellies......where I could have been sitting in an office in front of a VDU typing mindlessly away....thinking of a summer holidays near the beach.

Even on days when the weather disappoints, even when I am having my cup of tea, searching my conscience and getting a bit low in mood at the weather forecast and the cashflow forecast....I can honestly say.........its worth it! ( at this point, imagine a contrasting picture...my hair is not shiny through shampoos but I am sitting at the kitchen table, mug of hot cocoa in hand, and actually enjoying it!) No commuting ( well no further than 10 yards to the garden), no traffic jams ( the wheelbarrow is the only thing in the way on the gardenpath).

I am lucky......

Endings can be beginnings

Day's End

The silence last week has mainly been due to the fact that I have graduated from college after spending time with a fantastic group of people on a counselling/ psychotherapy course.
Downshifting is not only about leaving the ratrace, but to find an authentic way to express who I am and to make a contribution to society in a different way. We all celebrated our journey so far and some members of the course will be leaving their jobs to face an uncertain future and take a downshifthing step.

Our tutor left us with the following advice which I share with you. Taking the plunge to downshift means that in essence the world you live in and in which you have found your place, needs to change, needs to disintegrate to allow you to rebuild it into the life you want to live as an authentic expression of yourself.

Things falling apart is a kind of testing and also a kind of healing. We think that the point is to pass the test or to overcome the problem, but the truth is things don't really get solved. They come together and they fall apart again. Then they come together and fall apart again. It's just like that. The healing comes from letting there be room for all of this to happen: room for grief, for relief, fo misery, for joy.
From : When things fall apart; Heart advice for difficult times by Penna Chodron