Simple life… | 1000 Fields of Roses

Milk

So today, I was whisked away by a friend for the afternoon. We mostly sat in the dog park for the afternoon and chatted…. I don’t know when I’ve ever seen so many dogs in one place – little fluffy ones, big galumphing ones, beautifully coloured and coated ones… friendly, wagging tails galore! I’m not generally a dog person, but there’s something about spending your afternoon surrounded by beings absolutely delighted to make your acquaintance that brightens things somewhat…

We were early to the initial appointment, so there was time to make a stop at an old-fashioned milk bar – the Milk Cafe in Ashgrove… I didn’t know they still existed! I was treated to a gorgeous thickshake… it took ages to choose the flavour! My friends had a vanilla thickshake, and a chocolate malt thickshake (the malt makes all the difference…) I chose a rose petal and lime thickshake. YUM!! Sophisticated 😀 yet satisfying. It’s nice to have a really good amount of flavour in a thickshake…

I would like to go back, dressed up in my 50s finest. Not that I have any 50s clothes.. I’ll have to get some…

These are pretty..

Source: google.com via Emily on Pinterest

Source: s6.thisnext.com via Jill on Pinterest

Source: footway.se via Towe on Pinterest

Source: clotheswebsites.org via Denise on Pinterest

………………………

or perhaps I’ll just turn up like this…

Source: fuckyeahvintage-retro.tumblr.com via kolmioka on Pinterest

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on May 26, 2012 at 8:38 pm Leave a Comment
Tags: 50s, Milk Bar, Milkshake

Cosy

The best place to be when it’s raining is somewhere warm and cosy…

Source: flickr.com via Angela on Pinterest

Source: designspongeonline.com via Anike on Pinterest

Source: mrsbobobun.blogspot.com via Vicky on Pinterest

Source: Uploaded by user via Laura on Pinterest

Source: tumblr.com via Claïs on Pinterest

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on May 25, 2012 at 5:28 pm Comments (2)
Tags: cosy, warm

Gratuitous Sunflowers

Just because I can… 😀

Lift up that heavy head…

Even if you’re surrounded by weeds…

Stand tall!

Look to the sun…

Bee happy! 😀

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Simple life...

on May 23, 2012 at 5:21 pm Comments (2)
Tags: sunflowers

Building A City

Today’s learning was about designing and building a city that included all the essentials, while still keeping environmental impact to a minimum. We talked about the fact that we impact on the environment just by existing… that we can’t make others live more simply or in a less impacting way, but we can design a city in a way that could minimise the ease-of-use or availability of the more destructive practices. We talked about pre-plastic days, and reusing and recycling as a matter of course, about living without supermarkets within easy reach… about seed saving and heirloom varieties, crop rotation and leaving the land fallow… one thing led to another, and each thought brought up a new question. It’s been a (mostly!) fun day.

Along the way, we watched some clips –
This one talks about conflict minerals, leading us to talk about the source of the things we buy and use..

This one was fascinating to the boys – connecting to the internet through lightbulbs!

We looked at some of my previous posts… the woodland house, and changing education paradigms – another go at getting that divergent thinking working! We talked quite a lot today, and will have a lot more to think about…

… and – just because I can (and because it made us laugh!) – here are some cuddly carrots…

Source: 27.media.tumblr.com via Chalice on Pinterest

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on May 21, 2012 at 4:52 pm Leave a Comment
Tags: Building a city, Conflict minerals, Connect to internet through light bulbs, divergent thinking, minimise environmental impact, Reuse and recycle

The Post That Was…

😀
A couple of posts ago, I was too tired to write about the topic I’d planned to cover…

This is that post..

I’ve always thought that I was born to be a hippy… all that back to the land/living simply/recycling before it was cool type stuff… free your mind etc…

I even like lentils…

… probably not too keen on the unwashed/stoned/spacey stereotype…. nevertheless –

TIE-DYE!!!
(Tie-dye is cool!)

It’s amazing, what you find at the local library.. this is a partly funny, but also partly useful look at hippydom… it’s written by Chelsea Cain , who was brought up by hippy parents in the 70’s, and knows what she’s talking about..
At some point, we want to create a sort-of commune – a Christian community, for the broken, encompassing health/nutrition, “green” practices, living on and with the land… this book is a humorous snapshot of that kind of life, with useful instructions mixed in (How to build a compost pile… How to change the oil in your VW bus… How to grow tempeh in your bathtub… How to tie-dye a T-shirt)

Those last two may not be essential.

Even in the humour, there’s spots of truth…

How to start a commune –
1. Move into house.
2. Get along.
3. Garden.

What else can be learned?
– How to anthropomorphise inanimate objects…. I’ve been doing this, to some extent, for most of my life. Not all the time… but I have been known to talk to trees, coffee mugs and computers… and of course, I named both my cars..
They’re not inanimate, but I can hold a long conversation with cats or dogs… because – well – who doesn’t do that from time to time?
– How to amble… some tips are – Walk barefoot. Jaywalk (because crosswalks are oppressive). Play a pennywhistle.
– How to hitchhike… Try to look more like a college kid and less like Charles Manson. Do not carry an axe, rifle, or any other kind of large weapon.
– How to dance like a hippy… Take off your shoes. Put your head back. Close your eyes. Extend your arms straight out from your sides. Spin. Repeat as necessary.
– How to play “Kumbaya” on a guitar… I don’t think this needs explanation…
– How to paint a mural on the side of your house or minibus… (suitable subjects… peace doves, rainbows, unicorns, purple haze, an octopus’s garden…)
– How to panhandle… Flash a peace sign. Make eye contact. Be polite. Don’t lie. Look downtrodden but not demented…
– How to make “oregano” brownies.. 😀
and last, but not least… How to run away to Morocco –
Purchase your ticket to Morocco. Fly to Morocco. Purchase rugs, caftans and jewellery and have them shipped back. Groove on it all. Fly home.

Now, I’m obviously not going to do most of these things…. But I think I could adapt the philosophy and..
groove on it all.. 😀

Who wants to join me in my commune?

Published in:

on May 17, 2012 at 11:23 am Leave a Comment
Tags: Groovy, Hippie, Hippy, Live simply

The Woodland Cottage

My Mum told me about this today, so I looked it up… it’s from a show called Grand Designs (or Grand Designs Revisited)
It’s a house made from materials from the surrounding woodland (a place called Prickly Nut Woods 😀 ) …

Here’s some more information…

Published in:

on May 6, 2012 at 11:28 pm Comments (2)
Tags: Ben Law, ecobuilding, woodland cottage

Sun Through The Rain

It’s been raining lately. Not all the time…. but buckets of it when it does…

Yesterday we finally made a craft that I’ve been wanting to try for a while. We collected the sticks last week, and cut up strips from the old clothes we collected from the charity shop from up the road… it’s been a bit more difficult to find the time to actually make the hanging suns/stars (not sure what to call them…) We just tied three sticks together, then weaved the fabric strips round the resulting form… easy and quick, but satisfying 😀 They’re now decorating their individual trees in the backyard, being soaked by the rain and steamed by the sun…

Biggest boy’s, and close up..

Littlest boy’s..

Some days are better than others… some days, I’m pulling my hair out, wondering if they’re learning anything! Some days, everything is wonderful, and the day goes smoothly. The last couple of days have been like that – a few squabbles here and there, but mostly harmony and love 😀 This is the life!

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on March 20, 2012 at 3:03 pm Leave a Comment

This is how you create a Teddy Bear from a sock

This is how you create a Teddy Bear from a sock | The Meta Picture.

Could be useful for some cuddlies for the Operation Christmas Child boxes later on in the year… 😀

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on March 18, 2012 at 11:36 pm Leave a Comment

Nerf Gun Wars!

… and New Teenager parties 😀

Tomorrow, we will officially have a teenager in the house! Biggest boy had his party today… he chose to have a Nerf gun war. It was looking pretty iffy when the clouds rolled in and it started to rain, but after consultation, we went down to the park anyway…

Talking strategies…

I didn’t take many photos… we were too busy racing around, getting soaked. I gather there were some rules involved, but I’m not sure what they were. Everyone had fun, though.

Muddied, but unbowed…

Then it was back for ice cream cake and birthday wishes….
Happy Birthday, Sweet Teenager! ♥

Published in:

Simple life...

on March 17, 2012 at 8:51 pm Comments (1)

One Of Those Days…

Today started out well… we were on track to a varied and interesting learning day.
We’ve been getting a bit bogged down in bookwork, so today I thought we’d do some different things, and go back to the workbooks tomorrow.
That plan soon descended into meltdown, and we spent half the morning in a difficult, but ultimately profitable, discussion on heart attitudes and what is really important.
I think we’ve all got a bit of cabin fever at the moment, which doesn’t help… and it’s still raining…
All in all, my lovely plans took a left turn 😀 We got some of the work done, and did some other work… then decided to just get out of the house for a bit …