Well, erm, here we are then. The Family Twiglet. Richard, Jacs and Ellis (and a couple of hundred house-spiders the size of large cats, and a pot-plant called Alan).
2008 is a new start for us and, hopefully, a step towards the life we really, really want to live. We can't afford to run away to the Highlands and buy a wee croft just yet (although I am seriously considering communal life, shame I lack any kind of transferable life skill) but we CAN be more frugal and think more seriously about what we buy, and why we buy it.
This whole thing started way back in Summer 2007 when we went camping in Dumfries and Galloway with only £4.00 per day to spend. Rather than throwing my toys out of the pram, I decided to look at it as a challenge, and see how far our money could stretch. Further than we thought, it transpired. I have very fond memories of Stilton and Broccoli packet-soup from a flask on a windy beach, of discovering a lot of wonderful (and free) Neolithic sites, and just relaxing outside the tent of an evening playing cards and watching the stars come out.
So...yes...2008 is all about...
- Reducing food waste by getting a composter, and planning menus each week to ensure we are only buying what we need.
- Looking for local suppliers wherever possible (although easier said than done, despite living in the apparent 'Garden of Scotland') to reduce plastics and food miles.
- Growing our own - we're planning more herbs, tomatoes, spring onions and possibly some dwarf beans.
- Going free-range. Completely.
- Mending and Making-Do, scrabbling around charity shops and being best friends with Freecycle.
- Asking 'Do I need it, or do I just want it?' whenever the evil,sweaty paws of rampant consumerism threatens to drag my wallet kicking and screaming into daylight.
So, all that remains is to wish you all a very happy, healthy and peaceful 2008 and ask you to keep watching this blog and sending us good vibes for success in our frugal endeavours!
Brightest Blessings from all at Casa Twiglet, somewhere on a badly designed council estate uncomfortably close to Glasgow.
Friday, 11 January 2008
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Welcome To Holland....
When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.
After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."
"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean, Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."
But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.
The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.
So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.
It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills... and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.
But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy...and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there.
And for the rest of your life, you will say, "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."
But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things... about Holland. "
By Emily Perl Kingsley
After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."
"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean, Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."
But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.
The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.
So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.
It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills... and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.
But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy...and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there.
And for the rest of your life, you will say, "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."
But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things... about Holland. "
By Emily Perl Kingsley
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