Home-made vegan Sports gel: success

I want to thank Matt Frazier for the vegan Sports Gel recipe in his great book, "No Meat Athlete" which I made over the weekend and used on a long run for the first time this morning. 

Not only was the gel REALLY easy to make (I used a hand blender but any blender will do), but it was also tastier than ANY other sports gel I've tried. That is not an exaggeration either. Usually sports gels make me gag a bit, so I'm sure it helps that you can make this gel to a consistency that suits you.

I followed the recipe exactly, except as I didn't have any molasses I swapped this out for golden syrup (which has been in my pantry for ages, so really just needs to be used up). When I finish that I'll definitely go looking for some molasses which will increase the health value of the gel even more.

Usually I am NOT a fan of medjool dates either (the key flavour ingredient of the gel), however apparently when you mix the dates with salt and lemon juice then this makes the dates not just palatable, but downright delicious! When I returned from my run I diluted the remaining gel with water to drink the rest - I didn't want to lose any of it.

The recipe made the perfect amount to fit in my 6oz. Fuel Belt gel flask; originally I was a bit stumped by how to get the gel into the flask, but a home-made piping bag (made out of baking paper) fixed that.

Thanks Matt! :-)

#restyle2013 catchup

wow I have fallen behind. But the good news is I have lots of photos to show you just how good op-shopping can be!

The Perth Fashion Festival has released its programme dates and I can't wait to attend the Restyle on the Runway show again this year. The Op-Shop Challenge for August 6th was accessorise and since they already have separate days for belts, shoes and bags I decided to buy a beautiful little brooch from The Salvos in Morley (cost: $7). 

August 7th called for customised items; clothes that may not be 100% perfect but are able to be updated to suit your wardrobe.
I've already shown you my customised pink trousers which were originally flared when I bought them. After a few years of less and less wear I have now taken in the legs to make them straighter.

Another (and far easier) example of customising an item that you like but doesn't fit perfectly is the floral dress shown here. I loved the blue/teal floral pattern on this white dress but the fit was made for someone far bustier than myself. After playing around with the gaping bodice a few times I realised that a quick and easy way to take in the excess fabric would be to hand stitch in an extra pleat. All this required was a couple of stitches which changed the neckline from v-neck to sweetheart; removing the gape at the same time.

Here's a closeup of the stitches.

I'll be back with more op-shopped goodies tomorrow!

Is the UK only days away from a food shortage?

When MPs are warning the public to eat less meat because the UK is “never more than a few days from a significant food shortage”, I must admit, the survivalist in me feels vindicated.

Most of us are completely unaware how fragile our boring lives are, and that with a jolt from an outside source such as oil prices skyrocketing, or in this case, too many people wanting to eat beef and cheese(?!) that the supply of food in our shops WILL dwindle and possibly even stop.

If we all grow our herbs and vegetables at home we can supplement these with store-bought staples like bread, milk, cheese and meat. This would at least give us a fall-back; a supply of food if the shops' supplies run low. There are other benefits to growing your own food, like the health benefits involved in being outside, physical labour and knowing what is in your food. It’s also cheaper to grow a proportion of your own food, especially herbs which are easy to grow just about anywhere (a window sill will do).

Using permaculture methods, only a quarter acre of land is required to feed a family of four (or more depending on their diet). Perhaps if we all ate a bit less meat and cheese then we could manage more of our own survival? When the world goes to hell in a handbasket I want to have a healthy vegie patch instead of queueing with the brawlers for a loaf of bread. 

That reminds me, my vegie patch is pretty dead right now... it needs some winter TLC.

It doesn’t take a lot of money or energy to get started, what would encourage you to grow some food? Or what have you had success with?

Be the change

Starting tomorrow I have a week off work to go down to The Paddock and plant 200 native trees, shrubs and herbs on our block of land. We own 40 acres of ex-pastureland outside Woodanilling WA, which means we own 40 acres of long grass with a small copse of trees.

About ten years ago when Mike and I were a new couple, both disillusioned with the way the world was going, we wondered what we could do to break out of the cycle of wage slavery and improve a little piece of the world.

Slowly a plan came together to find a piece of land and make a (mostly) self-sufficient community where people could come and stay and learn or share skills. Originally this idea was going to be funded by a café, however once we realised (a) how expensive leasing a café would be and (b) how risky a venture funding one business with another would be, we decided to slog it out the slow way and work full-time while funding our plans.

So here we are, two years after finding the right property we are about to embark on the first tangible step toward making The Paddock a dream come true. This initial planting is to form a windbreak that will protect our orchard trees (to be planted next year) from the extreme sun and wind of the area.

Each year we will extend the revegetation zone by however much we can afford; eventually half of the 40 acres will have native bushland, aimed at encouraging the native wildlife to return. This zone will protect the permaculture food forest and orchards which will produce enough food for a family and surplus for sales.

We plan to build a strawbale house for us to live in and at least three tourist accommodations to rent out and for wwoofers/family/friends to stay in. A key part of the design is to include at least one workshop where people can come and share tools and skills; we will run courses including a permaculture design course to teach people how to simply and cheaply feed themselves.

All this comes from an ideal that if the world isn’t perfect, ask “what can I do to help?” I used to get very depressed watching the news and thought it was all too hard; I felt helpless and afraid. The humour of Bill Hicks helped me realise that watching the news is actually a form of media control of the populace: I was MEANT to feel helpless and afraid, that’s what keeps a population compliant. 

 

Then you look out your window… there’s no war, famine, murder. Yes, these things ARE going on in the world, but where is all the good news? The stories about people going out of their way to help each other, the stories of people who give without thought of reciprocation. 

We live in communities where people generally help other. You may not know your neighbour’s name, but if you saw him or her fall, you would rush over to help them up. Studies have been done repeatedly which prove humans are helpful, social and community minded – but you never see that on the news! 

What change would you like to see be in the world?

Living for the Now vs. Living for the Future

My other-half Mike and I have two different systems for managing life goals and immediate gratification. We both have the same dream: to build a largely self-sufficient permaculture site on our block in the country; we just have different methods for getting us there.

Mike believes the best thing for us to do is to work as hard as we can in full time positions, to pay off our house mortgage in the city. Once this is paid off we intend to keep the house for rental income to subsidise our (lack of) income when we move to The Paddock (our block in the country).

This is a good and sensible plan, which is why this is the action we are currently taking. However, I have an issue with this approach which is what I call ‘living for the future’. By committing to working full time in jobs we don’t love for another decade (which is how long it will take to be able to pay off our mortgage), aren’t we selling-out our ‘now’ for a good slice of ‘maybe’ in the future?

Life doesn’t offer guarantees, so perhaps in a decade Mike or I will be too sick to move to the country or build a house. I have used this “what if?” style of thinking, that I call ‘living for the now’ my entire adult life. If I’m not happy somewhere, I leave. If I’m not happy with myself, I try to be a better person. If I don’t like my job, I look for a better one.

I’ve always thought of myself as proactive person, without too many attachments; I can easily sell all my belongings and move country, I find it liberating. What I really have trouble with is staying put. I’ve discussed my inability to 'finish' in a previous post but I what I didn’t say there is, this has been an ongoing issue repeated throughout my life.

Before Mike, my longest relationship with anyone was two years. I’ve never stayed with any company for more than two years; in fact I’ve had three separate career changes over my lifetime! I’m nearly forty and I still haven’t found a job I’d be happy to do for the next ten years of my life.

My plan for moving to the country would be to do a kind of “MoneylessMan” and move into our tin shed, eke out a living with a few hours work at the local pub while we scrape together enough money to attempt to build a house while still paying off a mortgage. You can see why we’re doing it Mike’s way…. his is the only plan that makes sense.

Maybe that’s why we’ve lasted as a couple for over 11 years; not only do I love him but I think he makes sense. If it had been up to me I would have quite my job, sold my house and moved to the country years ago (of course, I would still be in an unpowered, unwatered and uninsulated tin shed years later). 

Luckily, I have Mike to remind me that sometimes it’s OK to work towards something in the future. That there are no guarantees for your planned future coming to pass, so you make today as good and as happy as possible, WITHOUT throwing away the plans for the future.

 

"Two friends building a house together"

What is your method for balancing future goals and happiness today?

Make it Yourself

Today it’s time to lighten the mood.

Yesterday I came across this hilarious gif while perusing my daily blogs (thanks PoppyTalk!):

This cracked me up so completely (I know, simple things!) that it inspired me to write about Crafty types (like the person who made this gif) and the DIY ethos in anarchism.

Crafty people are cool. Controversial statement, I’m sure, but even if everything crafty people make isn’t cool (crochet doilies perhaps?) then just the fact that person is making something original, by hand, is very cool.

The survivalist in me thinks that we ALL need to learn more hands-on skills ourselves, in order to survive the coming apocalyptic post-peak-oil-global-warmed society that will one day befall us. But even if you aren’t anticipating the downfall of society as we know it, there’s still a lot to be gained from a hands-on lifestyle.

Growing a proportion of your own food is a simple hands-on activity that can save you money and make you healthier, as you get exercise, nutrient rich food and fresh air. Making your own clothes allows you to source your own ethical materials and create off-the-rack or unique items for a low cost.

Similarly, building (or even designing) your own furniture means you can create what you need for your own specific site. If you learn upholstery you can re-cover that great couch instead of taking it to the tip and buying a new one. Want to go one step further? Learn how to build and maintain your own tools, and you can create anything.

The potential for creating whatever you need is exponential when you consider 3D printing. Do you need a part? Just create it. Do you need a tool? Again, just create it. There are open-source designs available for building, by hand, the equipment required for ‘starting a civilization’, including how to build a basic tractor, welder, engine and power supply. See Global VillageConstruction Set for more info.

With the ability to fulfill our own needs, we no longer have to rely on the state or corporate institutions. You may ask “Why would I bother? Why shouldn’t I rely on my government and corporations fulfilling my needs?” and the answer has been given repeatedly all over the world, when things go wrong the institutions look after themselves.

Look at all the austerity measures in Europe with social services being cut back relentlessly, while the bankers who caused the crash are still claiming their million dollar bonuses. Of course, pensions and superannuation can be lost at any time when some ‘rogue’ trader blows your entire pension fund on a cocaine-fuelled gambling trading spree (there's always a 'rogue' trader when they describe it on the news, to pretend the whole stock market isn't one big casino).

So after 40 years of service to society as a good employee your pension disappears at the last minute and you’re asked to work another 10 years to make ends meet.

Of course the corporate institutions have even less to gain from making sure you have your needs fulfilled. It is their job to make you want things you haven’t got, and to make you buy those things. As long as the shareholders are profiting then human rights, ecological awareness and ethical trading aren’t even considered.

There is an alternative to working your entire life for someone else, just to have your pension disappear, you can learn to look after yourself. You don’t need to do everything, that’s where communities of like-minded people come in; they learn from and help each other.

Start small. Plant some herbs in pots for your kitchen window, or learn how to sew. And who knows, you might even develop a passion for doing something creative, and find an alternative source of income from wage slavery. And it’s not like all our creations need to be sensible or serious. Take for instance the amazing talents of this lady who created the quilt shown below.

http://stlouisfolkvictorian.blogspot.com.au/2013/04/pixelingthe-finaleotherwise-known-as.html

What funny/crazy/creative thing have you come across lately? Add a link below and share. 

Modern Anarchy

It came to me in a flash last night what links all my my favourite topics. 
I listed them yesterday as:

Self-sustainable living
Fashion: with a heavy leaning toward Rockabilly and Vintage

Sewing and other D.I.Y.

Anarchism and Self-Management

Practicing Buddhism

Being Vegetarian (I’m a vegan wannabe)

Dogs and Animal Welfare

Permaculture

Running and other awesome sports like roller derby

Alternative lifestyles

and I'm kind of giving the answer away in the title here but .... what links all my my favourite topics?

Anarchy

You see, I don't think of anarchy as something that scary people in black hoodies do, that usually involves breaking windows, blowing things up or worse. 

Anarchy to me is all about self-management. Empowerment of the people.

And we're all people, right? Like-minded people are perfectly good at getting together, forming communities and managing themselves.

Amazingly enough neighbouring communities are often willing to negotiate, be compassionate and look out for each other, even when their governments are unwilling to do so.

Look at all the grass-roots campaigns in Israel and Palestine where people are trying to bridge the gap themselves.

I know that's an idealistic example, but being an anarchist isn't all about 'fuck-ing the po-lice' or 'the fascist regime'. To me, it's about being responsible for yourself and your actions, in a way that doesn't rely on the government, the police, or anyone to tell you how to behave.

That's why trying to produce as much of your own food as possible is modern anarchy. 

YOU look after YOU.

Similarly, buying second-hand or vintage clothing (or making your own clothes) is a form of separating yourself from the birth-consumer-death cycle that most of us are in. If you aren't a 'consumer' of cheap crap from the likes of Walmart, Target, Big W etc. then their lobbying power over your government is lessened as is the likelihood of the tragic incident in Bangladesh this week.

OK, I'm definitely sliding off topic now...

But I do believe that the more self-sufficient we are, and the more conscious our consumer choices are, the better the world will be. And that, to me, is modern anarchy.

Leave a comment below. What do you think anarchy is and does it have a place in modern society?