On the quest to zero

It has been a bit of a quest for us as a family for a few years to approach zero – zero carbon footprint. Each year, we target one aspect of our life, and see how we can change it to reduce our negative impact on the world around us.
This year, we have joined the war on plastic waste and our aim is to reduce the number of single-use plastics in our life.

I think it is important to make the distinction. There are good uses for plastics, such as longer-term storage (Tupperware, etc), plastic toys (Lego, figurines) and so on. It would be impossible to live in 2019 and not have plastic in your life at all - unless you are lucky enough to live on an island paradise where you can construct everything yourself from the materials around you and grow all your own foods.
Unfortunately, we live an urban life and need to have jobs to sustain those lives, so some sacrifices have to be made. And while we sort our waste and put things into the recycling bin, the big issue with plastic is the overwhelming amount of single-use plastics that do not get recycled (even if you sort your waste) and then end up in all the wrong places.
We realised the bulk of our single-use plastics come from food packaging, and so this is the first thing we are targeting this year.
We found a lovely service that delivers milk and fresh fruit juice in glass bottles right to your front door. They also happen to deliver to one of our neighbours, so it is a single stop for the delivery vehicle, we get farm-fresh milk in glass bottles, and they also have lovely fresh produce that they deliver in card board boxes. This has already made a huge dent in our weekly plastic disposal.
We’ve also realised that a part of this is reducing the number of chemicals we use around the house, especially ones that enter the water system, so we are phasing out store-bought cleaning products for both the home and the body, and replacing them with more natural product – home made as much as possible, but we will also be supporting brands like Lush for the products we cannot make ourselves.
This will be a big focus this year, so I will try and keep track of our progress here. I kind of wish I took a ‘before’ picture of our week’s trash pile of plastic, or at least some way to know what our start state was, but we will keep track of it nonetheless and find ways to measure our progress as we go long.

On future planning, upcoming events and hidden art

It is hard to believe that a short two years ago, we were rushing around madly trying to sell our home and belongings, arrange our visas and planning for the biggest adventure we could imagine. It feels like we have been in the UK for a lifetime already.

We have been talking about our next steps recently, as our visas only allow us to be in the UK for five years, and we don’t want to leave it for the last minute and get caught with our pants down. And while we have a few options we are mulling over, the one thing we know for certain is that we simply do not want to return to South Africa. We rather enjoy being so close to the things we enjoy, and cannot imagine living in that constant state of fear again.

But really, for us it is about the lifestyle that we’ve always wanted. Going to Wacken now means a quick 1.5 hour flight to Hamburg, rather than the 10-18 hour flights from the Southern Hemisphere, which means we can now attend every year. We can also go to gigs and events all around the UK without having to apply for a visa and saving for a year or two. And while we are here, we are going to do this as much as possible. Which is why we have already lined up tickets for the following:

• Powerwolf and Amaranthe in November
• The Unnoficial Stargate Convention in November
• Nightwish in December
• Peter Murphy in December

And the husband is going to see Dimmu Borgir and Kreator in December as well.

We’re also planning to see Turisas and Korpiklaani in February, and I am going to try and see George Ezra in March. And then there is also the opportunity to see great minds like Professor Brian Cox share the wonders of science with vast audiences.

We took a wander through London again yesterday, and my bestie Mandy introduced us to a wonder that’s been hidden right under our noses, the Graffiti Tunnel located under Waterloo Station. It’s actually called the Leake Street Tunnel and was first turned into a street art gallery by the famous Banksy. It is now a legal space for street artists to show off their skills, and it truly is a magnificent sight. I took some photos, but they really don’t do the space justice.

On Heroes and Villains

We’ve been watching Once Upon a Time recently, and it has had me thinking about Heroes and Villains quite a bit.

In stories, typically the heroes and villains are quite well defined, it is the way the story is constructed typically. In real life, it is not quite as simple. And with the way words can be twisted and opinion manipulated with media, it is easy to lose sight of the heroes and villains in real life.

I saw someone share this on social media recently, and it made a bit of a dent in my head:

It is easy to forget that everyone is the hero of their own story. It is even easier to forget that we may be the villains in someone else’s story.

Everyone deserves a happy ending, even villains, but no-one’s happy ending should come at the expense of another’s.

I think that is where the clearest distinction between heroes and villains is seen. If you are willing to knowingly sacrifice someone else’s happiness for your own, you may not be the hero of the story.

At the end of the day, it comes down to this:

Thirty Seven

I was out assisting a customer with a crisis one night this week, and snapped this pic from the smoking balcony. I loved the green glow of the light on the tree and the chaos of the branches.

Easy Almost-Korma Curry

It has been a very long time since I’ve last posted a recipe, but I was asked for this one recently, and figured that, since I am typing it out, I may as well share it here.

I call this Almost-Korma, as it cannot be considered to be a true Korma, due to the lack of tomato and my methods. As my daughter is allergic to tomato, I do not cook with any and often find other ways to match the taste.

Ingredients

Method

2-4 T coconut oil Two large onions, chopped 1 medium ginger root, finely chopped 1 cup cashew nuts, raw 1 can coconut milk 1 can coconut cream 1t cumin seeds 1t ground cumin (or to taste) 1t ground coriander (or to taste) 1T curry leaves (or to taste) 1T sugar (or to taste) Salt to taste 2t garam marsala 1t ground chilli (to taste) Paneer cheese, cut into blocks Soy chunks, soaked – may be replaced with chicken pieces for a non-vegetarian meal

1. Add some coconut oil to a large pot/sauce pan and melt over low heat. Add the chopped onions and cook until soft. 2. Turn up the heat and caramelise the onions slightly. Add the ginger, cashew nuts and spices and fry lightly. You may need to add a little bit of water to make this a little more saucy. Now add the soy chunks and fry lightly until the soy has absorbed some of the flavours 3. Add the coconut milk and cream and simmer slowly for about 10 minutes 4. Add the paneer and simmer for another 10-15 minutes. Serve warm with basmati rice, sambals and naan.

Twenty Two

Another terrible trip to Cape Town

I love Houtbaai. I love the beach here, and the feel of the area. One day, when I grow up, I would like to live here. Well, either here or in Germany. But here would be good. I would love to be able to see that beach, that view, every day.

After this visit, I started writing on my current WIP again, which is never a bad thing.

Eleven

This week, my most beloved author, Sir Terry Pratchett, passed away.

I was a voracious reader as a teenager, and read just about every book in our public library by the time I was 16. When I asked the librarian for suggestions, she handed me Pyramids, which I devoured in a few hours and returned for more.

When my daughter was a baby, I took her to a local mall one day (just to get out of the house). While walking around, I noticed a sign on one of the bookshops advertising a book signing by none other than Mr Pratchett (he wasn’t a sir quite yet then) for 2pm that afternoon. I bought some of his books not yet in my collection, patiently waited until 2pm and for 1 brief minute got to spend time in his presence while he signed books for me. They are my most treasured possessions.

No other writer has influenced how I see the world as much as Sir Pterry. He will live on in his writing.

(This picture was taken at the Discworld Emporium during our visit in July 2013.)

Ten

I took this picture in the hotel room I stayed in this past week, because I liked the colours. It matches the colours we chose for our new bathroom.

I honestly cannot believe that ten weeks of this year have passed already. Ten weeks. Seventy days. With all the building stuff happening, we have been living in limbo for such a long time. Seventy days is nothing really, in comparison to the two years that our belongings have been in storage and our lives have been in disarray. But there is light at the end of the tunnel, because we have another 6 or so weeks left and then we can unpack our lives again. I can’t wait.

Seven

The daughter’s art prep work.

I love her style. One of her teachers recently suggested thinking about book illustrations as one career option, which I think would be lovely.

Breathtaking

I finally discovered the breathtaking talent of Emily Wells this morning. How simply spectacular is this song?

Inspiring to see someone use their talents to the max.

Music in 2013

There have been a couple of changes in my listening habits this year, so while I have scrobbled some music to Last.fm, it doesn’t quite reflect all the music I have been listening to. I discovered the joys of Nokia Music earlier this year, which has brought me endless hours of listening pleasure, but it unfortunately does not integrate with Last.fm in anyway, so my Last.fm scrobbles only reflect a portion of what I listened to.

Since I switched over to the Nokia Lumia 925 a couple months ago, I have stopped storing music on my phone, and have pretty much used Nokia Music exclusively for listening to music while at work and out and about. The service allows you to create a personalised playlist by selecting between one and three artists, and it will then dynamically build the playlist based on your musical taste. You can upvote songs/bands, which will update the playlist to bring in more of that band, or more songs like that song. And, as always, with all the Windows Mobile apps, it is really, really pretty.

Last FM stats

This is probably the last year I post stats from Last.fm, unless I can find a way to scrobble my listening from Nokia Music.

Ensiferum still on top

I am surprised to see the Dark Moor track at the top, as I can’t really remember listening to it all that much. But then again, Nokia Music.

Current favourites

There are always earworms. Some stick around for longer than others. Here are some of those that stuck around

Opeth – Harvest. I think this is one of the most beautiful pieces of music written in the past 100 years.

Corvus Corax performing Amon Amarth’s Twilight of the Thundergod at Wacken 2013. This one is special for so many reasons, one of them that I was there.

Ensiferum – Lai Lai Hei. My love for Ensiferum is no secret, and this is my current favourite track.

New musical discoveries

Katzenjammer

One of my absolute favourite new discoveries is Katzenjammer from Norway. I asked Nokia Music for music like Kaizers Orchestra and The Beatles, and it gave me Katzenjammer. 30 seconds into Demon Kitty Rag, I bought the song. I have never done that before, so that says something. I think it is rare to find a band where every single member of the band is immensely talented, but Katzenjammer is one of those bands. Each song is unique, and each member plays a range of instruments, and they are all excellent vocalists too. And listening to them makes me indescribably happy. Go, give them a listen.

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I attended a company-organised team building event at Gold Reef City today. I haven’t been there in years and years, and had a great load of fun. I also took a couple of nice photos, and could not decide on which one to choose for today’s post, so I thought I’d share a couple.

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The husband isn’t feeling so great at the moment. He seems to have been invaded by some stomach-lovin’ aliens again. So we haven’t really ventured far from home today – other than me going to work, of course. This is another picture I took yesterday while walking around the park. I love the different shades of green, and the peace. I think I may be collecting scenes for a story that’s brewing.

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We took a walk in the park again this afternoon. We’ve had so much rain lately, and everything is popping green. While walking round the lake, I noticed how calm and reflective the water was and had to try and get the shot. I think this must be one of the best photos I’ve ever taken.

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We took our daughter for a walk in the park this afternoon. She hasn’t visited the park since we moved in to the new house a couple of months ago, and we’ve been threatening to drag her off. We had a good excuse this afternoon – we wanted to go show her where the husband’s RC car went swimming. I was struck by how many different shades of green there are in this one photo.

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We went for a walk in the park again this afternoon. It is so nice to live so close to such a big park, where, for moments, you can forget that you are in the middle of a busy city.

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We bought some solar jars recently, and they now provide us with light in the back garden courtyard. It is lovely. I am really pleased with how this picture turned out.

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A butterfly came to visit our garden today. This makes me happy.

We don’t have much of a garden at the moment, but have started planning out the garden, especially in the back of the property, where we envision some kind of magical blend between Legoland, Wonderland and Neverland, complete with pond and Lego figures in hidden corners.

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Moar Jacarandas. Because you can’t have enough. And I love how blue the sky is at the moment.

Welcome back Summer

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My daughter’s art project from the previous term. It now hangs at the entrance of our study, so we can look at it all the time.