Organic-Ally

When I was first invited into a British home many years ago, it was not the food or wine that left an impression. It was that my hostess expected me to wipe my mouth with the lovely cloth napkin she had laid out. This is posh, I thought. Having just arrived from Singapore I was more used to whipping out a tiny plastic packet of cheap paper tissue instead. (I was not using cloth hankies at that point either.) When I later stayed with a British family, I realised -- to my horror -- these cloth napkins are not washed after every meal as I expected. They are simply rolled up and returned to napkin rings and they are used again at the next meal. How odd, I thought. How unhygienic, I further thought. Until recently, our cloth napkins (wedding gifts) only came out of the drawers on special occasions. Until I recognized how unnecessary the kitchen towels, which we've been using as a substitute for table napkins, were did it occur to me that cloth napkins are NOT only for posh people or po...

This last midweek I had the most awful feeling that I might have got diabetes. Mum suffered from diabetes for many years before the side-effects of her drugs led to multiple organ failure. Her sister suffered from diabetes and had a leg amputated eventually. I am paranoid about getting diabetes and avoid sweets and sugars where possible. But this last week my constant thirst (and therefore subsequent visits to the loo) caused me to fear the worst. I've not been able to get to the GP to rule it out or rule it in. Thankfully those awful symptoms of constant thirst have subsided. I put it down to the side-effects of some antibiotics I had to take, although I don't remember such an reaction in previous times. Then it struck me that we, as a family, had been consuming more and more organic food, fruit and drink. When I leave husband to do the shopping, even the most ordinary food (say, jam, flour) is organic. Could my unfamiliar side-effect be due to a body that has been 'de-tox...

Just catching up as I was too ill to post earlier this week. Husband came back from work 14th February and came into the kitchen where I was getting him a 'welcome home coffee' and a simple meal ready (some tasks still need to be done even when one is ill). He stuck two £10 notes under my nose. 'For you.' Me: 'Whatever for?' Husband: 'Your Valentine's Day present.' Me: 'You're joking.' Husband: 'It's money I did not spend on overpriced roses.' Me: 'Take it away.' I continued cooking. Valentine's Day is one day in the calendar that we do NOT celebrate. Wedding anniversary we make a big deal of. VD (Would you celebrate a day that's short for 'Venereal Disease'? I ask you.) We are as anti-Valentine's Day as we could be. No, we are not unromantic. But romance should not be dictated by the card-makers, florists and restarateurs. It should be inspired by feelings of love and care for each other, unique t...

Husband took time off in lieu yesterday and today. Rather uncharacteristically, if I may say. We had been totally unsuccessful in trying to get son to visit the London Zoo. We think it would be educational for him. After all, that's what all parents do during school holidays, isn't it? (No?) Son refuses to go saying that he does not like seeing animals in cages. He must have seen images of London Zoo on TV to come to such a conclusion. Next best thing we thought was travel a short distance up the M1 to a safari park. There, we assured son, animals are allowed to roam free and not kept in cages. He agreed to go. We got there, queued up to pay to get in. Soon frustration set in. After spotting the North American Bison, the Chapman's Zebra, Common Eland, Kafue Lechwe (antelope), Asian Elephant, etc, we were stuck in queue behind a long line of cars, stuck behind an MPV that refused to move. 'Look at her! husband exploded, 'And I bet it's a her. Totally oblivious to...

It wasn't cold I felt. I had the chills and other symptoms of a recurring health problem. Dragged myself to the GP, son in tow. Tiredness persisted, but still life has to go on. Including making sure customers get the orders they made. Very thankful that son is usually cooperative. Back to Organic-Ally .

It's half-term. Kid at home. Husband at work. Me? Full of cold. This sneezing business is really tiring. I feel cold all the time too. Thankfully son is well able to entertain himself (but not exclusively in front of the TV). Back to Organic-Ally .

It's been a rather busy week. Two visits to the optometrist and two mornings at work. 'Work'? What's that? I can't remember the last time I was actually paid to work. It must have been nearly ten years ago. Since then I've been a full-time mum, occasional academic, regular parent volunteer at school, community groups, etc, mainly in services for women and children, and only recently added 'eco-entrepreneur' to the list. The nursery my son attended needed a 'helper' two mornings this week and I was asked to do that. Did I enjoy it? Yes, it was great helping the children do things like put on their coats, encouraging them to complete play activities, and I don't even mind the mundane tasks like cutting out shapes from old cereal boxes for their glueing activites, washing up milk bottles, even cleaning the toilets (which is not my job at home). But would I do this on a regular basis? Honestly? No. It has however given me opportunities to compare...

I was 'in conversation' with another happy customer. He tells me that "when things need replacing we try and replace them with an organic/fairtrade option". I think that is just such a sensible way to go. Like him, we are slowly switching over to organic bedding. Although the definition for 'need replacing' is slightly modified in my case. My son and I both have sensitive skin and some things have been making us itch. I wonder if it is the cheap cotton sheets we've been using. Up till now we've been buying bedding on the basis of whether they look good. For example, son was into anything to do with space/exploration, so we went and got him bedding with a 'space' theme on it. At that time I had no idea what harm conventional cotton was doing and the effect of conventional cotton on the skin. Some places offer such 'cheap' options that we -- I, really -- had succumbed to the temptation and had bought what I thought would suit us and our s...

It took me an hour (ONE HOUR) to travel that one mile or so to get from my house to the local hospital. A dear friend of ours had a stroke (minor one, thank God) and I had to go visit him. It is no distance at all to drive to the hospital. But taking into consideration the parking charges, carbon emission and the supposed convenience of a particular bus service, I thought, surely the bus is preferred. Standing for more than half an hour in the freezing weather wasn't any fun. The bus time-table declares the bus frequency as 'every 8 to 11 minutes'. The young man in front of me -- he was waiting when I got there -- had had enough and walked off to the main bus station. I was rehearsing in my head what I would say to the bus driver. I was not going to pay as I should, legally, have my money back if the service was late. There was no need for that. When the bus came, it was full. The guy who (jumped queue and) went ahead of me couldn't get to pay and was told to hop in the...