2.67 Planets

According to WWF's carbon foorprint calculator http://footprint.wwf.org.uk/ if everyone on the planet did the same as me, we'd need 2.43 Planets to support us. As a family, ours is 2.67 Planets...which works out as 12.82 tonnes per annum. Shameful, considering that the average person in the uk uses 10 per annum(Apparently!). It's upsetting really, especially when you know you are doing your best and that most of the people you know don't give two hoots. The calculator is only an estimation, no doubt rounded up the highest possible amount in each question. For example, the questions were multi choice, giving choices such as 0 - 100, 101 - 400 or 401 - 700 etc, so the answer will be based on the upper amount. So, even if I've spent £10 on grooming and bath products in the last 12 months(Which I'm using ONLY as an example lol), they log it as £100. It doesn't have choices for green electric either, or whether or not you re-use your washing up water on your plants or buy green cleaning products. Considering Dick Strawbridge from the BBC's 'It's not easy being green', only scored a 2.4 on this calculator (and his entire house is now nearly non carbon producing)...I'm not going to let this get me down too much. I think I'll search for a better calculator.
The garden is looking a lot greener now. The daffs are nearly out and frost nearly over. It's nearly time to start planting and seeing how much veg we can produce this year...can't wait!

It's Tipi Time

Dingles and I have been chatting today about getting a Tipi. It's something we started thinking about last year but as Tipi's can be quite expensive, we've not been able to get one yet. The conversation came about again due to festival talk which always occurs about this time of the year. I am a lover of all things festy. I love the colours, the vibes, the mixture of people and culture. I love the smells of woodsmoke and incense and the sound of african drums mixed in with euphoric dance music drifting across the campsite. I love the sculptures and the dancing, the fire and the mud. I love tripping over tent lines at 5 in the morning as the sun reveals a welcoming mist that seems to protect those sleeping within. I love Festivals!! This year however we won't be doing much in the way of festival hopping. We will however be joining a small...but highly enjoyable Fire Festival nr Wareham in Dorset, England. Last year, when the festival was on another site, we met a man called Duncan, who's Tipi was so beautiful...we decided that one day, we would buy one. Tents are great if you like being cold at night and roasting in the day time. Tents do not give shelter from the sun, they only bake you like an oven would. Add to that the fire hazard of cooking inside them and the fact that they're not exactly easy on the eye. Not only is a Tipi a very beautiful structure, but the shape and the nature of it means that you are well insulated from the cold, cool in the sun and can warm yourself with a fire inside, not your average tent.

Anyway, Dingles and I are currently looking to buy one. We do not have the money right now but hpe to in the next year. I think the reson they appeal so much is because of the use we can get out of it in the winter, as well as the summer. A trip to the Scottish highlands would be lovely in a Tipi in winter. You wouldn't catch me doing that in a normal tent. Here are some photo's of Tipis.

I've lost a week

I realised last night that the last week has flown and I've done no knitting!! The cold I had got much worse and by the end of last week I was feeling really awful. I still have it now but it's much better, I just have the bad sniffles. About five days ago I started researching my family tree. I've wanted to do this for ages and I figured that now would be a good time. Dingles most upsettingly lost his Nan last year. He was very close to her and it was a big shock. As well as this, she knew lots about the family history and over the years they talked about it but she never wrote anything down, so sadly, when She passed on...She took that information with Her. I think Dingles is now kicking himself that He didn't write it all down sooner. One thing he does know is that he is a descendent of the Earls of Northumberland, the Percy family. Linked to them are the Dudleys who were in and out of the Tower of London. Dingles is apparently related to both as they were interwined...one of which, Sir Henry Percy, who Anne Boleyn was betrothed to and in love with before Henry VIII set eyes on her...much to her disadvantage in the end. Dingles would like to find that link and know for sure how he is related.
I on the other hand come from a poor background of Shepherds and Paupers lol. Most of my family all come from the west country so they are very rural people, which may explain my love of the countryside. My Maltese roots on the other hand, had a little more money from what I can gather...although not lots. But they had many lovely photos taken in the 1800's that only someone with a bit of cash would be able to afford. I've only just started to research but it's amazing how far back I have gone already. One of my lines I have possibly traced back to 1581...Plague era. But they were living in Wiltshire so would have been quite well protected from the plague that was rife in the city. This is why I've not done any knitting...I've been too busy doing playing the detective. I urge anyone to staRt doing this. If you have granparents who are still alive, then do it now. The more info you have, the easier it is!!! And once that info is gone...it's very hard to get it back. Stories of family goings on are priceless :)

Knitted Newbies

Here is the finished neckwarmer :) I have just a couple of ends to tie up but other than that, I'm done! It would be too big for me to wear next to the skin unless I remove the front panel. Then it fits snuggly. This is a very warm knit as I've used two different yarns. Next time I'm going to make it smaller and maybe do a different design. I've yet to learn how to knit a button hole but I thought one with Handmade buttons would be quite cool...


Thick neck or what lol :)



© Jingles 2009

Spring

Over the next few months I'm going to keep a record of what the plants and wildlife are up to. I love spring and I love the transformation that takes place between winter and spring. At the moment there are no Leaves on the trees unless they are evergreen and the leaves still cover the ground in the woods. It's still quite cold and today especially it's bleak and grey outside. In the last few weeks however, these little fellas have popped up to say hello...
This is the pot that we have out in the front garden by our window. I planted lots of different bulbs, Daffodils and crocus I think (Rubbish at remembering). One thing I do remember though is the fact that I planted them to flower at different times so We had colour over a period of months. It seems however, that my plan has failed...as they all seem to be shooting up at the same time?? We'll see what happens with them later on

This is our very small, very unloved looking veg patch...


....But, here's a close up of one of our little gems: Chives...
They never really went away. They didn't die down until last thing last year when the frost took them...but they sprang up again a couple of weeks back, looking healthy and ready to eat again. I love chives. Great in soups and salads and great for keeping those unwanted bugs away from prized veg. They look like they need earthing up though, infact...the whole patch could do with a little added to it.
We do however have some very unwanted visitors to the patch. Cats!! I won't take photos as I'm sure you don't want to see it...but when I went outside, I noticed the cats have made good use of the soil. How very nice of them!! I love animals and I do love cats (although dogs are my best), but since becoming a gardener, I now know why my Grandad never liked cats!!!!! We did have a small fence around the patch last year which kept them off but it was a botch job that I did in minutes just before heading to a festival, to protect my babies. This year however, Dingles and I are gonna build a much better one! Either that or we'll invest in some super powered water pistols!!! ;)

Shrooms in the garden...

Not real, unfortunately. We did have some real ones last year...earthballs mainly. We also had some little ones growing beneath our pumpkin plant but I don't know what they were. These were made for me by a friend, they need some linseed oil on them otherwise they will rust away. I love them. The dragonfly was made by Dingles last summer. I made a flower and he made this.

I love My Dingles

We don't have much money at the moment and I was going through a drawer the other day and I found £30 that someone had given us in a card on our wedding day. I'd forgotten we had it so it was a nice suprise and well timed. We used that to go out for a meal on the 13th at a lovely restaurant just up the road. Dingles had asked what I would like for valentines that night and I told him that I didn't want anything because we didn't have the money. On Valentines day Dingles was working all day but when He arrived home, he gave me this...


A picture of my Valentines Pressie...Literally!
Bless him. I absolutely love Green! Dingles calls it target fixation because every time I'm out and I see something green, I fall in love with it. I can see the same thing in any other colour and totally miss it. Green however, just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy and I love it. I had green roses in my wedding bouquet and as Dingles couldn't afford to buy me any, he printed this photo off the net for me. The best thing is...I can frame it and it'll never die. Thank you baby, I love you xxxx

Knitted Newbies

I'm not well at present. Have some really annoying sore throat viral nasty. But, I have found that the healing properties of knitted yarn can do wonders for One's health. I still feel ill of course, but I find Knitting meditative...and it takes my mind off feeling rubbish. Now all I need is a home cooked curry :)
So, here are a couple of things that I have been working on. I do have a third but Dingles has nabbed that due to it being his Valentines pressie. I will post photos of that one when He comes home :)

This is my first knitting project..a headband. I started this a couple of weeks ago but I've only just sewn the ends together. It's all done in Stockinette(See below) so it curls. When I did this I didn't realise I'd get this effect. Next time I think I will use a different stitch as I like my Headbands to sit nicely.








This is a neck warmer that I started a couple of days ago. It's not quite finished yet but it's coming on nicely. I've used alternating stockinette stitch (Knit one row, purl one row...then when you want a swap, do two rows of the same and carry on with stockinette), which has given it the shape you see.





It's actually much longer then I thought it would be but the front panel can always be removed and the cord used to tie the main panel together if needed. So it can be extra large size or small :)
I'm planning on selling these at some point but I need to make a few to get the best results. I'd like to launch an Ebay Business account, I already have a normal account but I'd have to do this properly, otherwise I run the risk of getting into trouble. And we wouldn't want that, would we!!! I don't think I'll make any money, what with Tax, National insurance, selling fees, and the fact I have £60 pw to earn before I break even with our Tax credits, but at least I can fund my hobby and learn lots, making an investment for later on! Dingles is due a payrise so hopefully we'll be out of the Tax credits and I can actually keep that which I earn. Materials and research all go down as business cost (Of course!!! :)
Anyway, I'm also knitting a flower at the moment so I will upload that when I'm done.