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Tuesday, September 6, 2011

What is on your "No Compromise" list

Last year one of the contributors on the Simple, Green, Frugal blog discussed the concept of 'no compromise' purchases.  Purchases which for some reason or another - ethical or environmental - you feel very strongly about what product you will buy.

After reading Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food over the weekend, this has been back at the forefront of my mind.

This is my no compromise list:
  • Fairtrade chocolate, tea and coffee.
  • Free-range eggs and chicken.
  • Free-range ham and bacon.
However, in light of some commentary in Michael Pollan's book I am wondering whether I should be seeking out organic options for my poultry, eggs and bacon.  In Pollan's book it is pointed out that "free-range" refers only to the ability of poultry to access a small outside area - not necessarily a green area either.  They are also often only grain fed rather than being allowed to forage.

In terms of bacon, I have been buying Castlemaine Australian Bred Free Range which is the only free-range bacon I have been able to find readily available.  However, I do wonder what exactly "bred free range" means - what happens after the birth; how humanely is the animal raised?

I am also beginning to think about beef.  Since pastoral scenes of grazing beef cattle is common in Australia it had never occurred to me that cattle could be raised in feedlots.  If this is the case, I am going to have to be very careful where we source any future meat purchases from.  

Oh, and milk - what about the antibiotics given to cow's to prevent infection?  After nursing Ginger for all this time I have a heightened consciousness about how readily anything given to a lactating mother (be it human or bovine) makes its way to the milk supply.

Aghh, so many things to get my head around.  Not to mention price differentials.  My husband is definitely not going to be a vegetarian any time soon so these are ethical and health issues I really need to consider.  Anyway, when I shop I will continue to abide by my no-compromise list, though it may be strengthened over time.

What is on your no-compromise list?

Monday, September 5, 2011

Weekending: Father's Day





My Dad - reading Winnie the Pooh!
Informal Father's Day celebrations here.
We had a special breakfast of croissants with homemade and local jams.
Then church.
I made a Black Forest Cake for DH; something I usually reserve for birthdays, but Father's Day is an equally special celebration.  
It didn't divide into three quite as well as usual!  The cream started a sideways slide.
And of course, I made a phonecall to my own special Dad.

Friday, September 2, 2011

Friday Links



Hope you all have a lovely weekend.

DH is coming home tonight so Ginger and I are busy fluffing the figurative nest and preparing a welcome home supper.  Actually, we just bumped into the convoy at the front gate as we were returning from the grocery store, so probably should speed the feathering up a little.

Here are a few articles I have enjoyed this week.  Hope you find something of interest.

A recipe for a push-in pie crust.  I have just made this for dessert tonight.

Interstitial time, or why knitting is such a good moment filling activity.

Motherhood as a vocation.

On when perfectionism and to-do lists overwhelm.  I really needed this the day it was posted.

And, grab a cup of tea because the latest issue of Rhythm of the Home has been published.  I am particularly keen to make the Martinmas lantern bunting.

Thursday, September 1, 2011

{Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real}

Joining Like Mother, Like Daughter for this weekly celebration of the ordinary.

A Ginger heavy post today.

{Pretty}


A little out of focus, but my girl moves fast these days.  

When Ginger smiles like this, she really glows.  

These soul deep smiles are always so fleeting that we have never captured one on camera before.

{Happy}





I am just loving watching Ginger's imagination take flight.  

She is starting to use objects to recreate experiences.  Here she is using her basket to take dolly for a ride (complete with brrm brrm sounds), just like we push her around on her Leo the Lion.

{Funny}


A friend passed this lovely little french top on for Ginger.  

But it was missing three buttons.  Just after I commented on Leila's post on hacks saying I hadn't any, I had to get creative to fix this  - those checked buttons are fairly distinctive.
It turned out there was a spare on the inside label, but I was still two short.  I searched through my Nanna's jar of buttons and found two white fabric buttons.  A rearrangement of the existing checked buttons and sewing on the two white buttons produced a top which was good to go.

And then, as I put in on Ginger this morning, button number five (the bottom button) fell off.  

Back to the mending pile!

{Real}



My daughter has discovered poking out her tongue is fun.

Charming, darling!