Return to Weirdo, Lefty, Pinko life...

We have had two little ones and their dad staying for 9 days at our hastily renovated cottage (they are co-joined and we have our office in the "spare one"which has been largely un-renovated for over a year now!).

It was even louder and more chaotic than usual but it served to highlight the difference between the way we live and "the usual" way to live.

I noticed the girls ate much more processed food than we do, (well we do eat it and of course the stuff I make is processed, but largely by myself) and also watch a lot more TV than us, (we can't stand to have the TV on during the day, it is a night time thing only and certainly not hours and hours of it for littlies no matter how "educational" the show is) lights were left on all night as the girls are scared of the dark and showers were had by all at least once a day but sometimes more- hair washed every time and the girls used deoderant each time( they are five- is this normal? It would never occur to me to deoderise a child who hasn't yet developed sweat glands like an adult). The funny thing is I didn't realise how "weird" we were until the visit. I suppose I read forums and and blogs on subjects that interest me such as cooking, natural health, frugality, simplicity and surround myself with information which gives me a bit of a skewed perspective on life- it lets me forget that most "normal"folk are very wasteful and not mindful. So I give us a smug little pat on the back for that. We also deserve one for being over 100kw down on our electricity consumption compared to the same quarter last year. Hurrah for us!

Since the visitors left I have been growing sprouts, planting vegies, making bread and fermenting kefir like a hippy possessed, I guess I had withdrawals.

I have rejuvenated some kefir grains and they are growing very very well, they seem to like ground ginger and jaggery best. They are water grains which somehow ended up with my milk ones. I don't like milk kefir so they languished in the back of my fridge for ages and I tried to convert them all the water grains but the milk ones promptly died, hence my interest in reproducing the small amount of water ones I had.

I do sleep better when I have had a cup of kefir but sometimes it is just because I think I am a bit tipsy because I brewed it for too long. I am not sure of the benefits for me really but maybe it is doing me good...

I seem to have an answer for my anxiety/depressive attacks- I take 1000mg of agnes castus vitex (the herb chaste tree) every morning with a 1500mg fish oil and every month or so I take magnesium for a week.

So far so good! I am a pretty happy camper so I am keeping up the herbs with the fish oil, exercise and sun exposure which I blogged about previously.

Another weirdo lefty pinko treatment I am doing is taking coconut oil, if you Google you will be swamped with info about how it cures everything and makes you lose weight and makes you cleverer with clearer skin etc. I don't know about that but I have been taking about two tablespoons a day in food (mixed in with muesli or in a  cup of warm soy milk) and although I am no lighter after a week I am full of energy! Seriously I haven't felt this good in years! So, although I am not fussed on the taste so much, the new lease on life it has given me is too good to pass up... we will see if it helps with weight loss later on! I have just cut myself a fringe as I was feeling decidedly unstylish but I will have to set up a photo as I am far too vain to simply post one of me with greasy hair, blotchy skin and asymmetrical face as I am now (probably stuck with the face though I guess)!