Seeds for Thought: an Ecopsychology Blog

housekeeping - things to make and do

ecological auditing for myself / my household

I've started writing down gas, electric and car miles per month 

I got fed up with urecyclable plastic containers from otherwise exemplary suppliers Yeo Valley yoghurt. So I've started making my own, it's easy. All the google hits make it complcated and require equipment, I just use a thormos

boil milk
cool to just above blood heat

put in thermos with 4 tablespoons of live yoghurt wholemilk is best

leave 8 - 10 hours and decant

I use a litre of wholemilk for this. Very easy apart from the timings, don't forget to decant after the 8-10 hours or it will curdle

I made hummus too and have lost the link, and the envelope I ascribbled the recipe on, something like:

125 grams tinned chick peas drained and washed (that was half a tin. rest in freezer)

2 tbsps tahini

juice and zest of 1 lemon

2 cloves garlic

4 tbsp olive oil (maybe I have this wrong -  I put a lot less than this)

pinch of salt, and pinch of baking soda

grind together I used a blender, very quick

I thought this was delicious but I have a cold this week, it's VERY garlic :-)

They both probably save money depending on the ingredient mix, the hummus is much better than bought.

I mend things, wish I could sew them from scratch.

Negatives

I have a cold and have had the heating on during the day 

I have acquired an abandoned cat. Here I am  cutting down on meat and feeding tinfuls of it to this little carnivore. This is a real issue. You know I've filled in a few carbon footprints and not seen a mention of pets....

next week is recharge the media week in the UK ring that chat show, write to your local paper. for instance what do you think of the budget's downplay of the environment? And of course how to save money the green way :-)

David Suzuki at the Canadian National Roundtable

Dr. David Suzuki was the impassioned keynote speaker at a round table forum entitled "Securing Canada’s Future in a Climate Changing World", held at the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy. Here's a video of Suzuki's address from the Canadian Cable station cpac.

breathing again

ah pre election stress disorder. I have been fighting the urge to hide under my duvet, avoiding newspapers tv and radio. remembering all the tory election victories I stayed up to watch - I'm the only person I know who didn't watch the 1997 labour landslide because I was so sick of being disappointed.

I remember the day after it though, bright sunshine and smiling faces on the train. Not feeling an outsider for a change.

(and yes, slow disappointment and disillusion is better than the kick in the teeth that was thatcher 3 times and bush twice)

We need our turn to be catching the wave instead of choking under it. But it isn't a time to relax and just enjoy going with the tide for a change (well not for too long anyway).

We are labouring to give birth to the future, it's time to push when the wave comes.

a huge thank you to all those Americans who saw past the trivia of skin colour and fancying sara palin.

And in case you missed Samantha Bee on McCain and his air quotes:

I thought it was hilarious and never even saw the original