“Hi. I need a new fridge. What’s the smallest one you’ve got that is Energy Star rated?” This has been my opening line for the last four months in every appliance store in Sydney. Nobody was able to answer it. Not one salesperson on any floor in this town was able to point me at [...]
Filed under: WorldView | Tagged: energy, environment, frugal | 3 Comments »
We have passed on the traditional Christmas tree this year, after a prolonged conversation in the car regarding the focus of the holiday. My daughter was working her way through the symbolism, and my contention was that the mid-winter holidays, in general, were about feasting in defiance of the prolonged period of cold to come, [...]
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We missed the lunar eclipse, hunkered, as we were, against a storm that included/includes 90 km/hr winds. I was up battening hatches at 4 o’clock this morning. This will continue for at least the next two days, apparently. There will be no white Christmas here. Hopefully our missing flock member will manage to make his [...]
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I am facing the challenge of living up to my claims of simplicity. Also, to my desire not to break the budget. It is ssssssooooooo easy to fall into the “Oh! But I don’t have enough!” trap. It is particularly challenging when you spent a significant portion of the budget on bed construction three weeks [...]
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Welcome to the December Carnival of Natural Parenting: Let’s Talk Traditions This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Code Name: Mama and Hobo Mama. Please read to the end to find a list of links to the other carnival participants. *** Our approach to traditions has been [...]
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I said to my husband one night, “Do you know why I started knitting?” He allowed as how he didn’t. I said, “Because everybody else was doing it.” He (understandably) expressed some surprise. Usually I have much better reasons for my activities. At the time (some months ago) I wasn’t even convinced that I actually [...]
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Hélène Colgan, 23; Nathalie Croteau, 23; Barbara Daigneault, 22; Anne-Marie Edward, 21; Maud Haviernick, 29; Barbara Maria Klucznik, 31; Maryse Leclair, 23; Annie St.-Arneault, 23; Michèle Richard, 21; Maryse Laganière, 25; Anne-Marie Lemay, 22; Sonia Pelletier, 28; and Annie Turcotte, aged 21. In 1989, on December 6, a gunman executed 14 female engineering students at [...]
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On Friday, I built my son a new bed. Mostly. This is the semi-room that we refer to as “The Nook”. It is a 7’2″ by 7’3″ alcove off the main hallway. We suspect that it held a TV at some point before we lived here, since there is still a co-axial cable running through [...]
Filed under: Good With My Hands, Home Skills | Tagged: construction, frugal, self-sufficiency, work | 8 Comments »
On Debates and Being Right
Margaret Wente has declared the debate on Anthropogenic Global Warming over. Her side has won. We have decided what we are going to do about climate change, and the answer is… nothing. Congratulations, climate change deniers. You played your hand well. Apparently our culture is unwilling to make any sacrifices to preserve an uncertain future [...]
Filed under: WorldView | Tagged: environment, peak oil, self-sufficiency, snarky, social commentary | 2 Comments »