What Ever Happened to Captain Planet?

I remember when my adult kids were knee high to a grasshopper, they used to love watching a TV show called Captain Planet and the Planeteers. I used to get up early in the mornings and watch it with them, and this was way before I ever turned a shade of green. I believed that it had a great plot every single show, and had a message at the end of the show about how to save energy, or stop pollution or some such eco tip. This series was well ahead of its time, and was created by Ted Turner who founded Cable News Network in the US (CNN). The theme song was catchy, and they are probably showing reruns on the Cartoon Network as I write this! I believe that there was a follow on series called the New Adventures of Captain Planet, but I never saw this on mainstream telly in Australia.

Wikipediea states that the basic plot was "Gaia, the spirit of the Earth, is awakened from a long sleep by human activity destroying the planet. Realizing that the damage is extensive, Gaia creates five magic rings, each with the power to control an element of nature and one controlling the extra element, heart. Gaia sends the rings to five chosen youths across the globe: Kwame, Wheeler, Linka, Gi, and Ma-Ti."

Then if it got too hard for our heroes, they would summon Captain Planet by pointing their rings skyward and shout out their elemental words. Then, Captain Planet would kick some evil dudes butt, who was stuffing up the environment and sent them packing. My favourite evil dude was Hoggish Greedly, because he looked like a pighuman and was supposed to represent a greedy pig of course.

That's all well and good, but where is the real Captain Planet now, when we really need him? Gaia is calling out for him and screaming at us, and all we seem to do is keep polluting our one and only home as business as usual.

If you subscribe to James Lovelock's Gaia Theory, we are already doomed, for the the collapse of civilisation is nigh. He believes that runaway global warming has already begun and we are helpless to stop it and sea levels will rise regardless of what we do in the next 10-30 years. I personally do not hold faith in his doom and gloom scenario, but I do accept his Gaia Theory which states that Gaia is;

"a complex entity involving the Earth's biosphere, atmosphere, oceans, and soil; the totality constituting a feedback or cybernetic system which seeks an optimal physical and chemical environment for life on this planet. "

So, if James Lovelock's Theory is correct and there is a Gaia, where is Captain Planet? Was he Al Gore in disguise and is still at work with his WE Campaign. I watched the 27 minute version of his speech to the american people and was moved. How can only approx 300 million of the worlds population burn 25% of the world fossil fuels and keep doing it without true leadership from the top. Even if Al and Tipper have a whopping great mansion that they live in, at least he is trying to spread the message, a bit like Gaia needs, and I can see him dressed as Captain Planet!

Or is Captain Planet the collective of average citizens of the world, who are yet to get off of our collective arses and stop being part of the problem and start being part of the solution? When did the messages that were so clearly directed at the kids who watched that show so many years ago get forgotten?

The answers were all so clear in that simple kids show, and not many of us in the world listened to it. How sad it makes me to think of the good times I had with my kids watching our weekly viewing, and even I missed the message that was loud and clear until my epiphany, two years ago. I feel like I should be slapped in the face with a big smelly fish for not listening, just like in a Monty Python skit. Hindsight is a wonderful but useless power that we humans posses.

If only....... listen to the lyrics)

THE POWER IS YOURS!

Solar Is The New Sexy

Call me crazy, but I think that solar panels are a thing of beauty. That is especially on a brilliant sunny winters day like today.

I often stand and stare at the 16 panels that are mounted on my carport roof (the above photo was taken about a week after the installation by my daughter), and admire the technological brilliance and the manufacturing effort that went into making them. My solar installer, Energy Matters, imported them from Japan, as they were made by Sharp and not made in China like a lot of panels these days (it said made in Japan on the boxes they came in). The panels must have been made in a massive factory, hopefully powered by the very same modules that they manufacture, but do you think I could find a video of how they are made in said factory. The answer, alas, is no. However, I did find this cute little video on youtube that demonstrates how a small factory in the US makes solar panels from imported solar cells.



Six panels a day, can you believe it. I suppose when these things sell between $1200-$2000 each for the high wattage type, they would make enough profit to be viable.

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Which leads me to another twist on the subject. I was contacted by the Alternate Technology Association the other day, of which I am a member, and was asked if I would like to participate in a survey. I jumped at the chance to share my experience.

A nice gent called Bob Johnstone gave me a call on Saturday morning, and we when through the list of questions. Here standard questions direct from the initial email. My responses are in blue.

The case studies will look into:

- motivation for installing solar system

Purely environmental, I wanted to make my house carbon neutral or as close as we could.

- the obstacles to installation (cost, information, location)

The information was all out there on the Internet, you just had to look for it. The $8000 PV rebate from the government helped, but I had planned the installation before the rebate was doubled in the May 2007 budget. I secured a loan at a slightly reduced rate for the installation.

- how household electricity consumption has changed since installation

Well, we have now generated 3.6 Megawatts of power since installation in September 2007. I believe that we export between 80-90% of the energy to the grid each day. We draw back from the grid during the night and are signed up with Origin Energy 100% GreenPower.

- how the feed-in tariff legislation affected plans to install

Firstly it made me angry because my system is rated at 2.8kW and the tariff in Victoria is capped at 2kW, so basically I won't see a cent from the legislation. Once again it was not my motivation whatsoever for the installation.

- how the tariff impacted solar homes who installed systems before the introduction of the legislation

Don't think Bob asked this question?

- what govt. incentive homeowners need to install more solar

I believe that the legislation needs to be changed from a net metering scheme to a gross feed in scheme, and remove the cap. That would drive installations through the roof, very similar to schemes in Germany, Spain and some US states. I also believe that the State Government needs to stop kowtowing to the Coal industry and Power companies.

- future plans for solar installation, in light of tariff (additional panels, disconnection, saving for future)

I have been told by my installer that I have room for 6 more panels on my system and that my grid-connect inverter could handle the extra wattage, so further down the track I may add extra to the system. However, I have found that as my kids begin to leave home, the energy consumption in our home reduces, so by the time the adult kids leave home, we might not need any extra wattage. We had a quick discussion on how to encourage adult children to leave home, and had a laugh about it!

- future plans for solar installation irrespective of tariff

None as yet, but I have hear on the grapevine that people are actually thinking about reducing their systems Kilowatt rating so that they come under the tariff cap. The state government are supposed to be promoting renewable energy, but obviously have their heads so far up the power and coal companies bums that they are scared to be bold and have the courage to make Victoria a world leader in renewable energy. I have been keeping an eye on a simple stand alone wind energy system, and am hoping that they will come down in price. That way I will have some power if I loose connection to the grid. Or I could simply modify my existing system but don't have the funds for either at the moment.

Bob then thanked me for my participation, and I thanked him for allowing me to participate and have my say, and hoped that the information was useful.

I felt pretty good after the interview, which inspired me to write this post. Hope you enjoyed it.

Recycled Crafty Cards

I do not like throwing away old birthday cards etc, as they are very expensive to buy in the first place. I think its such a waste, so I have been hoarding them for many years, especially my sons birthday cards since his first birthday. It wasn't until I told a girlfriend the other week that I had to sort through Ben's boxes, which I keep all of the cute baby mementos in. I realized just how many cards I had collected over the years and I wondered what was I really keeping them for. Did I honestly think that Ben was going to look at them when he was older and think, Oh wow birthday cards !!!!! I think not, so I went through them all, kept really special ones from the family and put the rest of them aside so that I could have think about what to do with them.

I do make my own cards occasionally as I do not like paying between $5 - $12 for a good card knowing that it will probably end up in the bin after a couple of weeks. There are other cards available at about $2 at discount shops but they are not very good. There are lots of accessories you can purchase to make your own cards with, but these can be pricey too and may end up costing more than a bought card in the first place. The popular cards at the moment are the 3D cards, but these too cost a bit of money. I then thought of a good way to re-use those old cards that I was going to throw away.

When I make my cards I do use good quality card which I buy on eBay. This is heaps cheaper than the shops and you can usually get a good choice of colours . I buy my card from ebay from the "papercouple" (their eBay user name). They have an online ebay shop and you can also get matching envelopes if you want to buy these too. You can usually purchase a pack of metallic card for about $13.20 for 20 sheets and matching envelopes for $12.80 for 20. Total costs including postage is $31.30, which may sound slightly high, but when you consider that this will make 20 cards 0r 40, if you make smaller ones. Then you are beginning to save money, 20 expensive cards from a card shop would be approximately $120 and that's an average price of $6 each. Usually they are a lot more expensive than that.

Here is how I go about making my own. Sort through all your cards to find appropriate pictures for whoever you are making the cards for. I chose the following two:



Look at the card and decide what parts of the card you want to use, patterns, writing etc and cut out with a good pair of sharp scissors. It can be a bit fiddly so try to choose easy designs to start with. Place all the bits together and recycle the rest. Arrange the pieces on the card and decide where you would like them to be glued.



My son had a container of 3D foam stickers which he doesn't use anymore. They cost a few dollars from a discount shop and they make great mounting stickers, so just cut into little squares and shapes. Turn all your pieces over and cut out different shapes to place on the back of the pieces you have cut out and make sure that the foam stickers are placed evenly over the surface. Make sure that all of the cut out pictures are supported because if there are fiddly bits, it will make them stronger. Also take care that the stickers are not overhanging the edges so that they cannot be seen from the front side. Here is an example below.

These stickers are only adhesive on one side so you will have to use a glue stick to attach them to the card.Rub the glue over the foam pieces and then stick them to the card, then place some heavy books or magazines on top so that the glue dries evenly. If you choose, you can place a contrasting piece of paper as an insert to write on but this is optional. Here are the final cards completed.


Hope you have fun making your own and that the instructions make sense. If you get stuck please ask for advice via a comment.

It Doesn't Rain, It Pours...

Awards are pretty cool when you get nominated as per my post yesterday, however I have also had the pleasure of being given an award by a someone who enjoys my daily ramblings about our sustainable lifestyle. This was just hours before the news.com.au green award nomination!

A huge thanks goes to Sharon at "Finding Simplicity", who hails from the UK. I think that I found Sharon's blog a few days before I started my own, and by reading about her daily quest to live a simpler life helped motivate me (along with a few others) to begin my own blog.


Here is what Sharon had to say about my blog;


"Gavin at “The Greening of Gavin” - an Australian blogger who shares why he chose to live a more sustainable lifestyle and how he does it. I love his friendly, casual style, even though his posts are often about subjects that are far from casual."

Thanks Shazza (that would be your nickname if you live in Aussie). Love your work!

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Now to be only fair, there are many blogs out there that are worthy of awards, but I believe that all of the bloggers who I have listed in my blog roll deserve a similar award. So, consider yourself nominated to receive the "Brillante Weblog - Premio-2008" award, nominated by yours truly and seconded by Kim, as we read them all the time and enjoy each blog with their own special uniqueness. I tell you what, if we were all the same, we would be a boring old bunch, wouldn't we?

There is one other blog and person that deserves a mention in dispatches, and that is Phil over at "http://campqualitycountrymiletour.blogspot.com/". I like his vision and determination to overcome all the hurdles necessary to make his dream of bicycling around Australia a reality. Not much content yet, but I know that the adventure is just beginning for him. Ride on Phil, ride on!

National Tree Day

Well my heart was in the right place anyway. Amy drove me to the local Bunnings and we bought an Apricot tree for our front yard. We used to have a large mature apricot tree about 5 years ago, but because of the drought we are still having here, it died a slow death over a few years. Just not enough moisture in the ground for the mature tree to draw upon. So we are replacing it with a new carbon sink and because we miss picking our own apricots. They were yummy!

We didn't get around to planting it on Sunday, because I ran out of steam, however because it is in a pot and not of the bare rooted variety as some tree are sold in winter, it will survive another few days before my two muscly girls prepare the soil and plant it for me. They will have to add lots of dynamic lifter and compost to the area we are going to plant it in, as the soil is a bit impoverished.

I thought it was a good price for $38, and it compared with trees that I have found for sale on-line. We managed to fit it in the hybrid car and only managed to break one of the smaller branches that I was going to prune off anyway. I have tapped the branch, so it just may heal. Not a very good photo, I know, because my photographer (Kim) was unavailable at the time, so you will have to put up with my crappy shot!

So I know this post should have been written on Sunday as that was the official day, but there are only so many posts one can write in a day! Here is a picture of the tag on the tree. From what I read in my Diggers fruit and vegetable book, it is a good hardy variety that will do well in cold winters and hot summers. Looks like the washing machine water will be well used.

We also have an ornamental pear tree in the front yard, which I bought and planted before my green epiphany. It has survived two summers, so must have a deep root system by now. I have been doing some reading, and reckon that because it is still fairly healthy, I can graft on fruit bearing pear stock onto this tree. How amazing will it be to convert a tree that was just bread for show, to a tree that we can enjoy juicy pears from! I like nature. It is so versatile!

Award Nomination Out of the Blue

I have just found out via a comment (thanks Lis), that my sneaky son Adam has nominated me for a News.com.au 2008 Green Award. It feels like a blog fest today, with Kim writing her first post and with us finally getting some more of the chook house finished, this award comes along.

If you are new to my blog, welcome along and have a browse. If you would like to read about our sustainable journey so far, have a look at the very first the post "Why I choose to lead a sustainable lifestyle" and work your way forward by using the "Newer Post" link at the bottom of each article.

Just being nominated by my own son has made the sustainable living journey very, very, worthwhile, because it is the kids who are my main motivation. Our family has changed our lifestyle so that future generations may benefit. I don't like to blow my own trumpet, but it is a great feeling. I have no idea what category I was nominated for, but thanks Adam, you are a champ.

You can see the article here at "Ordinary heroes top nominations". As I have said before, if you build it, they will come.

Here is my quote for the day which I think describes my elation;

"Whenever we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe". - John Muir.

Coop de Ville

Yesterday, my muscles, Adam, turned up to mow the medium strip for me (the bit of grass between the footpath and road). After about a 10 minute job, he threw the grass clippings in the compost bin for me, and asked if there was anything else he could help me with. Well, never one to let a chance go by, I grabbed him and Amy and it was off to put the hen house into its final position. Adam added Kim's garden gnome just for the photo shoot. His name is Franklin from Frankfurt! He was a very unwanted birthday present from Adam to Kim one year, as Kim thinks garden gnomes are scary! Franklin has been living under the plum tree ever since.

First of all we layed down some cardboard which I found in the recycling bin and then Amy placed some malimite boards that had crappy old prints on the reverse side that Kim was going to put in my wood pile. It took a while to get the chook house level (don't want the eggs rolling down hill or the chooks falling off their perch!), and the kids used left over paving stones and bricks to prop it up.

You can see the bricks, cardboard and malamite in the above shot. The cardboard is underneath so that the grass doesn't grow through their floor, even though the chooks would probably eat and enjoy it. Under the cardboard is clay, like all the soil around here, so it shouldn't subside. I didn't fix the house to the bricks, because it is so heavy (so the kids tell me) that it shouldn't move unless we have a cyclone and there is not much chance of that this far south! As it rained quite heavily last night, Ben and I checked the inside of the structure this afternoon, and wouldn't you know it, it was dry as a bone. Great waterproofing Gav, and painting Ben! The water even runs off the corregated iron the right way towards the rear.


And here is a demonstration of me collecting the non-existant eggs. I wanted to check if we could access the laying box from the path. As there is a gap either side of the house, I will have to board it up with some spare wood or wire before I introduce the chooks.

And here is the final position in relation to the existing structure in all its glory. I am so proud of what we have all done to contribute so far. Adam even volunteered to do the wire work and make the door to the cage for next weekend. Below is a shot of the dynamic duo, with their supervisor, after a job well done. It is amazing what a bit of teamwork and determination can get done, even with a bloody back injury! Never say die, I reckon! This was my first adventure out of bed all day but well worth it.

Note the Purple podded peas that are going crazy in the wonderful soil that I made from clay and compost! It holds the moisture very well and keeps the peas well watered. Here is another shot of the beautiful flowers that this plant has. The pods are just begining to show. I planted them with the seeds that I collected from the summer crop, and as they were an heirloom variety, they are true to type. Heirloom plants are so much better than the crappy hybrids you are forced to buy at some nurserys! You never know what plant you are going to get if you plant seeds collected from a hybrid variety.

So, thanks to Adam and Amy for the muscles and patience while I bossed them around, and thanks to Kim for taking the photos. Oh, I forgot, I couldn't post an expose without a shot of Butch. Here he is helping place the hen house.

Butch always manages to get in one of the photos, and doesn't like being left out. I think he realises now that it is not his house!

Introducing Kim

Hi Everyone. I thought I had better introduce myself first as this is my first post on our blog. My name is Kim and I am Gavin's better half!! I am previously from the UK and have been living in Australia for just over 11 years now. I met Gavin whilst he was in the forces and serving in the UK for several months, well one thing led to another but thats another story!!! Having to follow in Gavin's foot steps will not be an easy task as he is a great writer and covers many different and interesting items regarding sustainability. As he mentioned when he first started his blog, he had to convince the rest of the family to start looking at things differently and although I was not dragged into it screaming and kicking, I did have many questions and like many I thought what is the point?

Those are the words of a much different person now, reflection about what I was doing with my life, where I wanted to be etc etc are all questions we ask ourselves at one stage or another in our lives, constantly seeking the ultimate happiness, buying the latest gadgets, but not feeling a sense of contentment or satisfaction after buying them. So eventually after this long eye opening journey with Gavin, I now know the meaning of being happy and content. It's not about spending money all the time or going away on the latest holidays, it's about being around the people you love, finding inner peace and contentment with the things we already own and it's a whole new feeling that comes from growing your own fruit and vegetables. Going out into the garden and picking what you need for lunch or dinner and preparing it gives you such a buzz, and all I want to do now is turn the whole garden into a thriving vegetable and fruit block.

I watched Gardening Australia on Saturday night with Peter Cundall doing his last episode and I sat there with tears rolling down my face (Gavin was too!!) as he described exactly what growing your own vegetables was all about and the effects it can have on your life. It was so true and I said to Gavin that Pete just summed up everything I was feeling and I thanked Gavin for showing me another way to look and live our lives.

I can only see this as the beginning to a wonderful new adventure for both of us. So getting back to the blog, I love art and craft and I hate to throw things out, if I can find a way to reuse something then I will and even better if I can save money, so my posts will still be more on the crafty side, I will leave the technical stuff to Gavin!!

Standby For An Exciting Development

Kim has decided to contribute to The Greening of Gavin, which is fantastic news. She is going to add a feminine touch to the content, with posts about craft, recycling, being frugal, and a woman's point of view about our sustainable lifestyle. I think it may get a bit hectic on the site when she catches the blogging bug.

So, expect a post from her within the next few days, as it will take her a little while to get the hang of Blogger. You will be able to tell who posted it by the annotation at the bottom of each post. I will help her with her first post tonight, but would you believe the first thing she wanted me to change was the background colour. She wanted hers posts to come up in pink or purple!

Honey, it is not called The Greening of Gavin for the hell of it, and I like the colour scheme how it is thanks :-)

Planet Earth Forever

My good friend and Chinese Medicine practitioner, Nelson, sent me through this video to share with all of you. I had a lump in my throat when I watched it.

Once you have viewed it, you will realise why living a sustainable life is one of the most important things we can do for our wonderful blue marble that we call home! Thanks Nelson for the wonderful gift.

Humans Make Great Fertilizer

No, this is not a futuristic story about Soylent Green or how to bump off your enemies, bury them in the back yard and plant a tree over the grave. It is a post about a wonderful and natural fertilizer and soil improver that all mammals, birds, reptiles, fish and amphibians excrete on a daily basis. It is better known as wee, or pee, or urine, depending on what you want to call it.


It contains lots of nitrogen in the form of ammonia, and water, which by the way, plants need to grow. I first remember being told by my Nana many years ago, to go and water the lemon tree down the back of their place. I used to think that it was fabulous that she wanted me to go and wee in the open air and not in the toilet. Small things amuse small minds, and I was only about 6 at the time


As I grew older I forgot this habit and didn't give it much thought as to why Nana wanted me to water the lemon tree in the first place. What I do remember was a wonderful big tree with loads of healthy fruit every year.


This brings me to about a year ago when I read a Jackie French gardening book that was about organic gardening (can't remember the title) that I borrowed from our local library. In her humorous and no non-sense approach, she reminded and explained the wonderful uses of wee. It was also brought home to me when I read "The Revenge of Gaia" by James Lovelock, in which he mentioned that it was too much of a coincidence that mammals, who are the dominant large species on the plant, all urinate, and that plants need soluble nitrogen to survive. The book is a good read, and made me think even harder about how the Earth is fighting back. Anyway, Jackie mentioned that only a few plants can manage to cope with full strength wee, with citrus being the main type around our homes.


However that does not stop you from using it in other ways. If you dilute it in a watering can at a ratio of 10 parts water to 1 part urine, it makes a great fertilizer for the garden. I use it at least fortnightly on my vegetable garden, but i also add either a capful of Seasol, or about a litre of worm wee from the worm farm. This gives the vegetables a great boost twice monthly and helps the plants to develop strong roots and conditions the soil structure.


But that's not all folks. If you couldn't be bothered with either method, there is always the "Please Pee Freely" method to keep the compost bins moist, and add valuable nitrogen and other trace elements to the decomposing matter. Composting actually needs a bit of moisture to help it along, however to ensure that that I don't make the compost too acidic, I sprinkle a half a handful of dolomite lime and a handful of dynamic lifter about once a month to keep it all smelling sweet and to stop the kitchen scraps from going all yucky. I also add shredded newspaper, office paper, old bills, or ripped up egg cartons to add a bit more carbon to the mix to help the process along. With all of those simple ingredients (including my wee), I end up with a fantastic organic matter that I dig into our garden beds twice a year


Now for the funny part! I mentioned to Kim and Amy that I left a comment on a fellow green gardeners blog site WILDBLUESbysus, as she had written a post about a home made product called an APottoPeein. I thought it was very practical and funny and it is used by the ladies of the house so that they can contribute to the gardening effort. Kim said that there was not way she would use it, but to my surprise Amy said that if I get her a chamber pot that she would contribute. I think that Kim would come around eventually, but I will admit that it is a very personal issue and I fully understand where she is coming from. Even Jackie French admitted that your own wee usually smells less than anyone elses, because you are used to smelling it!


Well all this talk potty talk has made me want to go myself, but as Amy and I are waiting for my specialist appointment, it looks like I will have to waste my precious fertilizer for today!

New Local Friends

Kim and I finally met up with Wombat064 who is a local guy who has been commenting and following my blog for a few months. Well, Wombat064 is actually nice bloke named Phil, who recently offered to help me out if things got really bad with my back.

Well, things didn't get bad with my back, but Kim thought I needed a little social interaction so she encouraged me to give Phil a call. I left a message with partner Stacey for him to call me and he called back in about 30 minutes. We arranged a time at my place, as I am not very mobile, for a coffee and a tour of the one and only Melton West eco-house (as far as I know that is, happy to be corrected).

Upon arrival, we all popped inside as it was about 6 degrees at 1300, so we all warmed up with a cuppa. Stacey and Kim had met once before and hit it off like a house on fire. It was a bit difficult for Phil and I to talk over the ruckus, but we started talking about his planned solo trip around Australia by bike. He has ordered a reclining trike that can tow a trailer, and as the trailer is only 17kg so he shouldn't have too many problems. He did mention that the bike had about 70 gears, but I can remember the details very well. He has an official charity and is going to raise money for Camp Quality. The money he collects in each state will got to the branch in that state, which is only fair.

If you want to learn more about this amazing bloke and his plans, or if you are even thinking about sponsorship, have a look at http://campqualitycountrymiletour.blogspot.com/ for more information about Phil and his sponsors so far. I think that he is very courageous, and to begin to live and breath a lifelong dream is a fantastic quality in a person. I don't give out plugs to everyone I meet, just the deserved few!

We talked about some of the issues that he may run into, like the Nullabour Plain and the lack of water and some of the distances between stops. He will be carrying about 22 litres of water on him, and mostly dried goods like dehydrated fruit and vegetables that he will pick up along the way. He is hoping to get a cheap dehydrator so that Stacey can send him care packages along the way. Apparently you can send parcels to post offices and pick them up as you get to that town. Sound like they have the logistics all sorted out. Phil will be travelling clockwise around Australia, and he reckons that it will probably take him about 2 years. Oh, I forgot to mention, he will have a small CB radio so the truckies don't blow him off the road or drive over him ;-). Pretty cool stuff and he has the route all planned out already. If I remember rightly he is hoping to head off in March 09, so I will be keeping an eye on his blog for his progress. That's not to say that we won't catch up between now and then, as I can't wait to see his bike when it finally gets delivered.

After chatting for about an hour, I gave them both the grand tour of Castle Argyll, including the vege patches, vermiculture, composting, solar panels, nearly completed chook house and the food stockpile. Then it was back inside, and Stacey begun to tell us about a place up in country Victoria that she partly owns (I think) that is fully off the grid. It has its own solar power via a 32 volt system, own water supply and a big vege patch. Stacey and an Ex set is up about 10-15 years ago (I not too good with dates, sorry Stacey) and it is all still working fine. Her solar panels charge up a battery bank via a regulator and the residence draws off of this at night. From what I can remember there were not much in the way of electrical items as the fridge and stove both run off of LPG gas, but that is starting to get expensive these days as oil based products are on the rise. I think Kim mentioned to me that Stacey runs an business called the Mystical Wombat (correct me if I am wrong Phil, because I can't find a web site or anything).

After about another hour and a half of chatting about this and that, another cuppa and some home made choc-chip biscuits, we all agreed to catch up again very soon as we all enjoyed each others company. Both Kim and I had a ball, and both agreed that it was a great afternoon.

Thanks Phil and Stacey for coming along and sharing our day! You made a sore man happy.

Sustainable Sailing

Two weeks ago, I met a lovely lady called Maeva, who at the time, worked for the same company a I do. Here is the email she sent me out of the blue;

"Hi Gavin,

I'm writing to you after reading your profile on the intranet. I hope you won't mind.
My husband and I are also onto the sustainable living path. We spent 6 months living on our boat last year and so were able to control our impact on the environment (produced our own electricity from wind turbine and solar panels, lived on rain and river water using 3L per day per person, etc.). Now that we are back on dry land after finding it was possible to live comfortably with so little, I see waste everywhere and want to do something.

We're trying as much as possible at home: we have switched the fridge off for winter, have energy-efficient light bulbs, switch everything at the wall (not that we have many appliances… we're talking a laptop, a radio and a micro-wave), have decided not to switch heater on for winter, we don't have a car (walk, cycle or catch public transport everywhere we go), etc.

I now want to take my neighbours on the ride. Unfortunately we are
tenants in a 1970s block of flats occupied by low-income earners (including 2
flats under Housing Commission Scheme, 1 occupied by refugees). We're talking apartments rented $160 per week. This means no insulation, unsealed
windows, 1-flush toilets, etc. and of course no renovation done by landlords for
many many years, except new paint over old paint. Yet I think that it's not
because all we can afford is an old cheap rental flat block that we shouldn't
have an opportunity to our bit. So I've got this crazy idea to get community,
landlords, city council, housing commission, etc. together and see what could be
done to improve our footprint as a little community in the community. This is
very early on in my thinking and at this stage what I am trying to do is learn
from people who have been through such a process before I try to get
stakeholders together. So I'd be very happy to hear about any tips that you
could share.
Let me know if we could talk sometime."

So talk we did. Maeva met me at my building and we had a brown paper lunch together. It was as if we had known each other for years. It was great to meet another person face to face who shares the same values and cares about consumerism and treading lightly on the planet as I do. First of all, because we had shared blogs before we caught up in person, we talked about her husband and her recent voyage in their yacht called Tyhina. They sailed from Florida where they fitted the boat to Newfoundland in Canada all by them selves, and the plans they have to sail the Northwest passage from Newfoundland to Alaska over the top of Canada in the next few months. You can follow their adventures at this site, http://www.tyhina.com. Check out the voyage log for the story about their last trip and the crew page for their bio. I was so impressed, because to plan for this type of voyage takes a lot of forethought, and just to provision food for such a journey is amazing. Maeva talked about how they had provisions on board for 12 months, all in waterproof containers, and what they ate and how she prepared it. They were basically on a vegetarian diet for the first trip, because meat and dairy products are so hard to keep on a long voyage. She reckoned that they ate like kings every day. As of two weeks ago, her hubby Pete had sailed solo from where the yacht was in overwintering in Newfoundland to Greenland, and her only contact with him was a couple of rings on her mobile phone each morning at 4 am! She was going to fly out at the end of July to begin the trip with him. Good luck and fair winds!

Anyway, after we talked about trip, we got down to sustainable living. She loved all the things we had done and saw it as a simple example of turning a suburban block into a sustainable example for other people. I thought that the best way to tackle her proposal where she lived was not to promote green living, but to show how easy it was to save real money by adopting a few energy efficiency measures to reduce their resource consumption. Where she lived there was adequate public transport and food shops within walking and cycling range. Maeva told me that she didn't need a fridge because she bought fresh fruit and vegetables most days by riding her bike to the local greengrocer and only bought what she need for the next few days. Everything else she needed to cook her meals were dry goods that stored well in containers which she learnt from her first voyage. I suggested that she showed the other residents how she lived, and gave examples of how they could save money doing it her way. In that way, it wasn't shoving a green message down peoples throats, but more like frugal living and was greening by stealth! She thought that was a good idea and would give it a go in the time she had left in Australia.

We then went on to talk about excessive consumerism and how we both enjoyed scouring op shops for bargains. Most of her corporate wardrobe was from Vinnies, and I certainly couldn't tell the difference. I told her about the things I bought at the Salvos, like preserving jars, cooking utensils and jeans which were built to last. All very cool stuff, and we went on a while about how we see the people around us still carrying on as if nothing was happening to the world, and that water restrictions and climate change didn't exist in Melbourne. Simple things like people still running the tap to wash out a cup, and washing loads of dishes in dishwashers two or three times because no one wants to unload the bloody things. How the CBD buildings are lit up like Christmas trees overnight when no-one is actually at work. I also mentioned how people leave their PC's and monitors on when they go home at night, and how dual monitors seam to be the latest craze amongst office workers. We only have one set of eyes for gods sake!

After our little eco whinge fest (which everyone is entitled to on the odd occation), we finished up, and said our goodbyes . I suggested that when Pete and her get back to Australia, that they could pop over for a visit to our house and tell us about their exciting trip. Maeva said that it would be a great idea.

Bon Voyage, Maeva and Pete.

Doing The Best I Can

Over the weekend I have not been very active. I have had to stay in bed until lunch time for the last few days because of the pain, because just as I thought it was improving as per medical update 2, it all went to crap again. I have had to retire just after dinner most nights as well. Kim has been getting a bit depressed with my condition, and is worried about what the future holds. I have been telling her that the future is what we make it and that we should be focusing on the things that I can do and not those things that I cannot.

For instance, I manage to put the ingredients in the bread maker most days and can usually finish off the entire process. I was able to make her breakfast in bed as a big thank you on Saturday morning, and I was able to supervise the vege patch fertilizing and watering on Saturday, with Kim and Adam doing all the work!

Kim pulled out the remainder of the Bok Choy because it wasn't very popular with the masses, and was going to seed due to lack of water. I purposely left the largest plant in the ground so that I could collect the seed, but just as Kim had brought over the last of the plants for composting, Adam yells out "Kim, you missed one" and ran over to the bin with it! All we could do was laugh, replant it and give it a big drink and hope it goes to seed as planned. After I finished with the compost bins, I hobbled over to admire Kim's good work and the began to wonder where half my Chinese cabbage plants had gone. I mentioned this to her and she showed me the great weeding effort she had begun. Once I told her what they were she said "I wondered why all the weeds were growing in a straight line". I didn't mind as they needed thinning anyway! I was amazed how much both of them learnt just by me not being able to physically do anything. It just goes to show that teaching is sometimes more rewarding than actually doing. I was very pleased with their efforts and gave them both a big hug.

During the composting, I noticed that I have mushrooms growing in the compost bin that is ready to use. You see, I had a failed mushroom kit that after three months had not produced any of the normal signs of little white buttons after the first 21 days as the instructions stated. So instead of throwing it in the large Aerobin that would have destroyed the fungi spores, I cleverly spread the contents of the kit lightly over the ready compost in one of the colder bins. The great thing is, that nature took over, and in a few weeks time I will have lots of button mushrooms that I was originally after all. I don't need the compost until spring so everyone is a winner.

I had to take a nap this afternoon, and during that time Kim whipped up a delicious roast chicken dinner. We has prepared most of the veg before my nap, with me peeling the spuds and picking the sage, thyme, parsley, and oregano from the garden to use in the stuffing for the bird.

After dinner was finished, which everyone complemented her on, Kim picked as much of the meat off of the carcass for the dogs dinners for the next four nights (mixed with the left over veg). I then threw the carcass into the water that Kim has steamed the vegetables with (about 3 liters of veg flavoured water), added another litre of water, a celery stick, a quartered onion, four garlic cloves, a chopped carrot all with skins on, and then covered the pot and simmered it all for an hour. Then I strained the soup, picked all the remaining meat off of the bones and put that back in the liquid. I also put back the carrots, some celery and squished the garlic pulp back into it. Lastly, I added a half teaspoon of salt, two teaspoons of curry powder and pepper to taste. We ended up with a very tasty soup that we will have for dinner tomorrow night. What a great way to utilize the carcass that I would have normally thrown away. Never again will chicken bones go into the bin! Now that is frugal living. It only took about 15 minutes to make and the hardest bit was sorting out the bones from the meat after the one hour cooking time which was pretty easy because it just fell off the bone. I gave Kim a small ramekin full and she gave it a big thumbs up.

Even though I didn't spend much time out of bed or off the couch, I feel like the time I was able to be active was well spent indeed. A great weekend under the circumstances. Life is what you make it!

Climate Challenge Game

I stumbled across this thought provoking game whilst surfing the BBC website. It is a little bit like playing the Sims, but better, because you make the policies that help combat climate change.

Give it a go, it was really fun to see if I could do better than politicians! Here is the link to the game.

Enjoy. My score was Environment 95%, Wealth 11%, Popularity 96%. I found you had to spend up big to save the planet, which then caused a recession. Maybe some of my policies were a bit harsh!

Medical Update 2

Thanks to everyone for the kind comments and timely advice on the last post. I really appreciate the friendship in the blogging community, and even though most readers are far away, it beats having no community at all and I know that readers all care about one another. It is a sense of camaraderie that I never expected when I began blogging! Pretty cool.

My recovery from my last relapse has been steady, but slow as I expected. I have spent the majority of the time in bed flat on my back, but I took a big step forward today. I walked Ben to school, with Amy's help. I did OK on the way there, but I think I overdid it a little so on the way home, Amy locked arms with me to keep me steady, so I felt a lot safer. She did mention that I was a bit wobbly, but what do you expect for my first major outing since Saturday.

I can tolerate a little more sitting down, but have to get up every 10-15 minutes to avoid pain. I think that at this rate I should be able to get some work done via telecommuting next week, which would be good because I have been bored out of my mind of the last few days. One can only sleep and lay down so much! I have decided to start writing posts again, but for a little while there maybe only a few a week until I get a bit stronger.

Well, all things being equal, the rest and painkillers are starting to work, so I can see light at the end of the tunnel again, it just got a bit cloudy for a while.

Gavin

Medical update

I am sending this post via my iPod, so it won't be very long. Thanks
to everyone who left coments on my last post, they lifted my spirits.

My back and legs are slowly improving with bed rest and pain killers.
My GP has given me the week off work. He says that the disc bulge may
have gotten larger and is now pressing on the left nerve root as well
as the right.

The only thing that I can think of that may have exacerbated my back
was the 10 minute drive to the shops. Something we usually all take
for granted. As I was driving a manual car, I was using the left leg
more than usual. Maybe that was it, but who knows with this weird
injury. When I got home from the shops, the pain increased so much
that I lost all the strength in my leg and collapsed on the bathroom
floor. Kim managed to help me to bed where I took some medication and
have been there ever since.

I am disappointed that after 11 months, I am still not back to full
health and that the injury still persists. I remain optimistic and am
still taking each day as it comes. With a lot of rest this week, I
should be back on my feet by the end of the week, and hopefully be
able to do a few simple things in the garden. Until then I will just
have to be content that it is growing well and that the kids will look
after it for me. I am so glad that I have a great support structure
around me. It really helps in situations like this!

Out of Action

I have taken a bit of a turn for the worst with my back and legs so I
will be taking a few days off.

See you all when I recover.

Gavin

Out of the Mouths of Babes

Ben asked me a great question the other day;

"Happy Meals don't really make you happy, do they Dad?"

"No mate, they don't", I replied.
"So why do the evil McD..... corporation call them that?", Ben enquired (his own words).
"Well son, they advertise them in this way so that kids nag their parents to buy the meals for them."
"But why would they do that Dad?", Ben questioned.
"Because they want to make lots of money, and because their food tastes like plastic that is they only way they can sell it.", I replied.
"That's not right, is it Dad?"
"No, it's not right to exploit kids in that way", I answered.
"So Dad, why is my friend bringing me a Happy Meal for lunch today?"
"Well mate, that is because some people don't understand the way things work like we do".
"OK, thanks Dad", replied Ben and that was the end of his line of questioning. He is such a clever little mite.

I do mention the Evil McD..... corporation occasionally, but I didn't think he understood why. Maybe, I should have taken my own advice from my "Being Me" post. By the way, McD....'s food are banned in my house due to an altercation I had about a two years ago whereby one of the workers short-changed me by $20 at the drive-through and wouldn't give me a refund despite the evidence I had. After I marched into the restaurant and made a scene in front of the store manager, I finally got my money back which took me about 20 minutes of ranting. I certainly was not going to leave until I got it and received extremely poor customer service.

Basically I was told that I was a liar and that the till did indeed balanced, yet I had 3 witnesses and they had one. To make matters worse, a few hours later I received a phone call from the store owner, who tried to make lame excuses about procedures and policies, and I told her in no uncertain terms that I would never be going back to eat at the Evil corporation. And that was that. It is also banned because the main line of products lack nutritional value and are high in fat content. The movie "Supersize Me" also opened my eyes to the health implications, even though it was taken to the extreme, but demonstrates the obesity epidemic that is sweeping western nations.

So if Kim and I do splurge on a takeaway, which is about once every 3 weeks, we support the local kebab shop. In this way we know that the money goes straight back into the local community as it is locally owned. Another fine example of acting locally to benefit the community.

Being Me

I often get asked by people I meet, why do I do the things I do. I usually reply "Why wouldn't I try and preserve the world we live in for future generations?" or "I don't want my grandchildren to ask me some time in the future, Grandpa, why didn't you do something to help save the planet?" By describing my lifestyle choice in that manner, I find that the answer doesn't sound like a personal attack about their own choices. Usually the person then wants to know more about how our family lives, because I didn't get them defensive by my answer, and the conversation flows in the direction I like to take it. That is not to say that I don't get angry sometimes when I observe wasteful habits and talk to denialistic people.

So far, I have found that if you tell them what you believe are the errors of their way, then you receive the opposite response that you were seeking. If the person doesn't know you, then you mainly receive anger as a response, usually because of ignorance and ego, then are perceived as an arsehole, and not the planet saver you think you are! No-one wants to be seen to be doing the wrong thing in the eyes of their peers, so many don't have the courage to go against the tide, and common norms.

With this simple understanding of human nature, the oft quoted Gandhi comes foremost to mind, "Be the change that you want to see in the world". I know it is used a lot, but I like it and resonate with it. Along my journey, I believe that I have influenced more people with this method than any other. People want to feel like they belong to a greater cause and are curious about new and interesting concepts. By passively showing people the simple changes they could make in their lives, they feel inspired and then question their own values and beliefs. Then they go about making changes, which others then observe, therefore creating a butterfly effect.

Activism has its place of course, but I believe that it is mainly a political tool that should only be directed at politicians, and not at the general populous. Tools like rallies, marches, protests, and petitions make politicians squirm in their electoral seats, mainly because they think that if one person out of a hundred have the courage and will to speak out about an issue, then many others probably think that way as well, and may use their vote at election time to express those concerns. It is in this way of thinking that minority groups get results, when others don't. It works, but oh so slowly as a form of change. Just look how long it has taken our elected officials to take action regarding climate change, when they were made aware by the scientific community in the 1980's.

I do my little bit towards activism, but it is only one small part of who I am. Those of us who practice a sustainable lifestyle in any shape or form, are often viewed by the rest of the community as non-conformists, hippies, eco-activists, weirdos or other such labels. They fail to realise that we are all in this together and that we are also sons/daughters, mothers/fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers and that we all share the same planet. Firstly and foremost, I am a father and a husband, and I have a responsibility to ensure a sound future for my children, whatever form that may take. As the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, my children notice how I behave and form a set of values by observing my actions on a daily basis. For me, this is the core of who I am. A protector, provider, and mentor, not in a monetary sense, but in a value setting sense. I am who I am, and the children are influenced by that.

So how do I stop from being openly angry about the way the majority of civilisation is heading and treating the planet? Well, sometimes I don't. Kim and I discuss the issue, I vent or she vents, and we usually agree, but then get on with our lives. To accept that you only have a small sphere of control helps, and so does the fact that you can't take on the burden or guilt of the entire human race. Being openly angry at people who are not as far into the journey or who are unaware only alienates them, and does more damage in the long run than good. It has taken a bit of practice to hold my tongue sometimes, but now it comes as second nature. I just absorb it and move on. What also helps me move forward is the old adage, "Think Globally, Act Locally".

Sure, you can learn and think about the mounting global crisis, but if you only think in this way, anxiety, worthlessness, and a sense of overwellming sets in and thus leads to inaction and denial. However, if you think about the small, but significant actions that you can take in your own backyard, then all things don't look so bad or scary. I believe that if more people act locally then all of those local actions eventually become the sum of its parts, and therefore become a global action. Yes, it takes time, and time that we don't really have, but hopefully, not as long as it takes global leaders to act.

It is up to the citizens of the world to make the changes for the better, so lets get on with it, and change a little bit of our local world today!

Paint The Town Green

With my two daughters off visiting boyfriends/mother for the week, it has been pretty quite around here for the last few days. Peace and quiet at last.

But that hasn't stopped Ben and I from putting the finishing touches on the chook house though. Before Amy and Megan departed, I asked them to lift the chook house up onto the trellis table, so that Ben and I could get to work the next day. Yesterday we gave it a lick of paint. Here we are in action. I had some left over exterior paint in the shed, and some old brushes, so we didn't need to buy anything.

Nice heritage green, don't you think. We painted the east and south facing walls green so that the house warms up in the morning whilst the chooks will be laying. We painted the north and west facing sides off-white, so that it was cooler in the afternoon during the warmer months. Well, that is my theory anyway.

It took me a while to explain the colour plan to Ben, and how dark colours absorb heat and light colours reflect heat. There were so many questions, and I started to explain the colour spectrum, but lost him in the process. So I did a simple demonstration. As it was fairly sunny, we touched a dark thing (the inside gate) and it was warm, then we touched a light thing (the front gate) and it was cool. That was enough to stop all the questions!

Once we had finished with the green, I showed him how to wash his brush out in water, and how to dry it on newspaper so we could use it again, and then we got stuck into the off-white.

A good artist must reflect on his work, of course and Ben is no exception. Note the detached roof behind him.

We had such a great time together, and joked and larked around. As Ben likes to play Role Playing Games on his PC, so therefore, everything we do gets converted to experience points. I kept dropping the brush (must be my sensitive I.T. hands), and Ben kept taking away experience points from me. By the end of the job, I think he ended up with 100 points and I had about 20. He is a cheeky little boy, that's for sure!

Ben knows how to wipe the excess paint off of his brush, and learnt that if you flick your brush around when laden with paint, Dad gets grumpy. He only did it once, and I then had to show him how to clean pain off of the cement with a wet cloth. So much learnt in so little a time! Here is the green sides finished and drying.

It took us a few hours, and the lads interest didn't waver for the whole time. I was impressed with our work and Ben's skills, and as we plastered the paint on so thick, I don't think that it will need a second coat. Kim says that the off-white is very bland, so she is going to put some finishing touches on it today to make it look more interesting. I can't wait and see what she comes up with.

After dinner last night, we watch the movie "Chicken Run", so that we could get some ideas for names for the yet to be purchased hens. So far we have Ginger, Babs, Bunty, Doll Face, Edwina, and Agnes. That gives us a few to choose from. I like the first three the best, and they make me laugh inside when I think of them. What a great movie and a fun day.

Be The Change You Want To See

This video is so in tune with my values that I just had to post it. I hope you enjoy this simple message!

Energy and Water Stats for June

Well, I have just taken the meter readings for the week and we are doing well so far as the graphs below indicate. The data start date is the 18th of April 08, and the graphs show the daily average for the week.

Natural gas is up a little, because it has been very cold in Melton this week and we use gas for heating the house, but water is down, as I haven't needed to water the vege patch because of the daily drizzle, and Adam moved out so we now save water by not having his showers and laundry. The electricity is up a little because I had my PC on all day Monday downloading documentaries, and also because of the drizzle, we haven't generated very much power from the PV system. We are averaging 5.1 KWh per day with the broken cloud cover which is about right for near the Winter Solstice. The days only get longer for the rest of the year.

I take the measurements on Friday evenings at 1930. I have now been taking these measurements since 14th of April 07, and have not missed a reading. It just goes to show that I don't go out much on Fridays! I believe that if you cannot measure something, then you cant make effective changes without accurate information on your performance. A simple thing like reading your meters weekly (or daily if you are that excited about it) goes a long way to understanding your energy consumption in your home.

This week will be the big test, as Amy and Megan have gone on holidays for a week in my Honda Civic Hybrid, so it will just be Kim, Ben and myself using resources in the house. It will be very interesting to see the results. I will let you all know how we got on next Friday.

I reckon it is pretty good that we can generate 50% of our electricity needs in winter for a family of five, and if we had a wind turbine, we probably would get close to 100% of our needs. Just imagine if every house in Australia or better still the world had PV and a wind turbine, we would be able to decommission most of those dirty coal power stations, and maybe, just maybe have a chance at saving the world from catastrophic climate change.

Exiting the Rat Race

Back a few years ago, I remember thinking many times that something was missing in my life. I could never put my finger on what it was, and strived for answers. I would buy the latest consumer and electronic goods, upgrade my PC yearly to a faster model, buy the latest PC games to spend endless hours of my free time on. I worked hard and long in my quest to earn more money so that I could afford more material possessions in the vain hope that I would find satisfaction and fulfilment.

It didn't work, but like many other people stuck in the rat race, and due to my inaction and consumeristic habits, it was as good as it gets. No-one wants to be unfulfilled in life, but sadly many of us are still looking for that "something" that is missing. Credit card balances were through the roof, and I was living a lifestyle beyond my means.

I also found it hard to unwind each day, and realised that my head was swimming with so much stuff that my mind raced a fair bit of the time. I wasn't in touch with my surroundings and sometimes out of tune with the wonderful people I shared my life with, and I certainly was not in tune with the plight of the planet. I was blissfully unaware of my impact on it and to the ecosystems that exist upon it. I had drifted on the tide of a life half lived for far too long.

What a sorry state of affairs! I had an inkling of what might be wrong, so Kim and I started to attend meditation classes so that we could both learn to relax. I really enjoyed the experience, and things began to change. After a meditation session, I felt connected to my inner self in a way I hadn't experienced in my life. That was about two years ago and I felt great.

And then came the day that I went to the cinema to watch a free movie provided by work, and it changed my life. It was as if I awoke from a horrible dream, and if you have read this blog from the beginning, you will know the rest of the actions I have taken to live a more sustainable lifestyle.

All the actions aside, I think I have only once described the emotions and personal changed that have taken place with in me. Firstly, I have taken a step back, and had a really hard look at myself and the way I lived before my epiphany. I managed to come to grips with who I was, and what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I found that by looking within, rather than searching for answers in the outside world, I found that I was already complete and that my life was complete. I found that a simple life had meaning, and it was not about blatant consumerism that the TV blasts at us, day in, day out. In fact, I found myself watching less and less TV, and began the research and learning that ultimately helped my understanding the climate change problem, and the ways I could reduce my carbon footprint.

At first my family thought I had lost the plot, but found that their husband and father began to talk about more interesting things, and made them think about things that challenged their own understanding of how our civilisation works. I had another purpose other than the daily grind of work. Not only did I feel fully connected to my family, which brought me great joy, I began to feel connected to the Earth, through my gardening endeavours. I may have said this before, but growing your own food is one of the most uplifting and spiritual things I have ever done, and certainly one of the most fulfilling. All of the things that my family and I have done over the last two years have brought us closer together, and we spend more meaningful time together. I now stress less about work, and am more relaxed at home, but more active. I have also lost 10 kg in the process and now know that by looking at my inner self, I changed who I was for the better.

Nowadays, we rarely go out anywhere due to my back injury, but we have a fuller lifestyle. We have comfort in knowing that we produce our own solar electricity and hot water, drive less, and have reduced our consumption across the board. We make things together, we grow food together, we cook together, and most of all we have fun together, which is really the simple home truth that people caught in the rat race just don't realise. Living simply, and honesty, like our parents and grandparents, is what a full life was, and still is, all about.

It makes me sad some days, when I realise that it took me 42 years to get it, but my goodness, I am making up for it now. I still work to pay off the house, and actually enjoy work without the stress, and find it a great way to spread the word. I stopped sweating the small stuff. We are paying off the house and our other debts very quickly, so we should be debt free in about ten years time (maybe a little longer). We don't live in a McMansion (never did anyway), and now live within our means. Credit card debt is down and nearly non-existent, with the nasty consumerism troll now living at the bottom of the compost heap like the rotting matter it is.

It feels great to be alive, and to have a goal as big as the planet for the rest of my time on it. I have found the "something" that I was missing. It was inside of me all along, and I just didn't know it at the time!