planetprudence

PLANET PRUDENCE IS MOVING!!!!

2009-08-01T14:49:00.000-07:00

I am not closing this blog BUT I am thinking that maybe so much of my life / work / ethos overlaps that maybe I should keep it all on one blog.....
And it will mean more frequent updates instead of me feeling guilty that this blog is being neglected.
So please forgive me.....
I have exported all of the planet Pru posts to my other blog...

Fairysteps

Hope no one minds too much. It just simplifies life for me!

Jamming time!

2009-07-22T16:25:00.000-07:00

Ive been up to my elbows in jam lately. I daresay you all have too! Ive been taking jammy pictures as I go telling the story.....

My next post will be all about teatime...

Homemade crumpets..... or crumplelets!

2009-07-19T15:04:00.000-07:00

If like me you have been up to your elbows in fruit harvesting and jam making.... then you need some homemade crumpets to accompany it all. Crumpets are Soooooo easy to make that I think everyone should have a go. Imagine making as many as you want, when you want, and them costing pennies. You could even afford to put an extra large dollop of butter on top.....

The ingredients are as follows

1Lb Strong white flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons of salt
2 level teaspoons of easy blend yeast
11 fl oz milk in a jug, then top up with another 11 fl oz hot water from the kettle to make a total of 22 fl oz
butter for greasing pan

Place all the dry ingredients in a big bowl and mix them up. Add the warm milk and water to this, gradually to form a nice batter.

Cover with a tea towel and leave in a warm place to rise for about 1 hour.

Heat the pan on a moderate heat. Place a nut of butter in your skillet then spoon in 3 dollops of the mix, leaving room between the little crumpety hills as shown. You are supposed to use crumpet rings but I dont have any so I call these crumplets......

As they cook through, open bubbles form on the surface. Once broken out all over the tops like a crumpet rash, flip them over, just a for a minute to cook the underside.

They should feel springy to the touch.

Pile them up on a plate..... either toast in the toaster or pop them in a tin till teatime.

Serve toasted, smothered in English butter,with a dollop of jam on top.

Heaven!!!!

Unearthing buried treasure....

2009-07-06T13:55:00.000-07:00

Digging for treasure in the veg garden is my second most favourite thing..... eating what we dig up is my first!!!
These purple eyed beauties were grown from seed teddies kept from last years crop. And for anyone who is wondering why this strange woman is talking about growing teddies from seeds...... In Devon locals (and I am) traditionally call potatoes teddies.... Its a sort of habit I grew up with hearing words around me, like dimpsy and smitch and licks and copeeos...... It was only as I grew older that I realised that no one else seemed to use them!!!

We had a bumper crop last year! The best bit was that though they were second earlies they kept fantastically, staying firm all winter for us. Everyone who has a teeny tiny patch of ground, or failing that a bucket outside your door should grow potatoes! Even just once to experience the joy of a plateful covered in English butter and freshly snipped chives.

To shampoo OR not to shampoo? That is the question...

2009-06-08T20:40:00.000-07:00

I read an interesting article on this blog all about not using shampoo....

Mmmm I thought to myself, that sounds interesting in a green way. I investigated further and it seems that lots of people dont use shampoo at all! Then I did a few mental workings out and thought about all of the plastic shampoo bottles that I would use in my lifetime, and how much landfill I could save on.

I decided to give this no shampoo business a go. I opted for the watery bicarb rinse option. Its a desertspoon of ordinary Bicarbonate of Soda mixed with a pint of water which you then decant into a bottle. When its hair washing time you simply use about an egg cup full of this mixture instead of shampoo. Every few washes a vinegar rinse is needed. Use 1 tablespoon in half a pint of warm water as a final rinse.

I did this for 7 weeks, washing my hair twice a week. My hair is naturally very thick and being dark is liable to look greasy after 3 days, but I must say this regime didnt look too bad. I did not brush it much to avoid it sticking to my scalp though! It did mostly look clean but I had to stop after the 7 weeks due to the bicarb mix drying my facial skin out so much. Washing in the shower made it hard to avoid getting the mixture on your skin. I also developed a very itchy scalp.

Having said all that it really was worth trying and it made me think about the whole shampoo thing and how I use it.

I always buy 'Faith in Nature' shampoo, usually either the beautifully fragrant lavender and geranium or the Rosemary. I wet my hair, squeeze a small puddle into my palm and slap it right on the top of my head, I rub a little, there doesnt seem to be enough to bubble up everywhere so I take a smaller puddle and put that on the sides of my head...... I have done this for years.

Then after a bit of thought I examine my scalp and think about my scalp condition over the years, always at its healthiest underneath at the back, actually right where I have never put shampoo directly onto my scalp. It dawns on me how much of this rather luxurious resource I have wasted over the years and how it probably hasnt done my hair that much of a favour.

I invested in a 2 pint plastic jug (I intend keeping this for a very longtime and I cant risk the children dropping glass in the bath) and put a very small puddle, say a dessert spoonfull of shampoo in the bottom of the jug, I then pop the jug under the showerhead and add about 1 inch of warm water to dilute. Pour this very slowly over your wet hair. Its fantastic! You will get soft and gentle bubbles all over and it wont be so harsh. Best of all I bet my bottle of shampoo will last at least 5 times longer in future and my hair feels better for it. I am following a strict only wash once a week if i can help it routine, only rinsing with hot water inbetween.

This simple action of how thoughtlessly I use a product / resource has once again made me realise how so many little things from my everyday life get overlooked. I need to change!

Sanitary update!

2009-06-08T20:27:00.000-07:00

Being in the midst of it, so to speak it seems a good time to update on some of the comments about my last post. Lots of comments about the Mooncup! Its very popular indeed!
I should have said that I do own one but due to incredibly heavy periods I dont find it a practical solution. But I agree with all of you who mentioned them, for light to medium menstruation they are a wonderful alternative to horrid and unhealthy tampons!

BUT I have to say that I am a little old fashioned.... I still feel that nature knows best, and its not called menstrual flow for nothing.... let it run its natural course and let no hinderance get in its way!

Another blogger mentioned using old nappies cut into quarters as an alternative to muslins so that may be worth a try too. I use all of my old terry nappies as hand towels.... She also agreed that there has been no leakage using folded clothes in this way and also that they dry so much faster than heavily layered made up ones.

I guess it all boils down to personal taste and comfort, but do give folded cloths a go!

Sanitary towel solutions, the old way.

2009-05-16T13:41:00.000-07:00

Years ago.... women didnt have sanitary pads, or tampons, or mooncups, or even eco shaped sanitary pads. All they had were squares of muslin.

Im not knocking eco sanitary products, they are fantastic and well done to any company that makes them, I am just saying that there is a really easy cheap alternative!

Practically every mother in the country has used muslin squares for their babies, and did you know you can use them for you too! Perfect recycling! You just fold them in half, then keep refolding them to make a pad shape. Pop them in your knickers and Bobs your uncle! They will mould to your shape, and are soft, breathable, absorbant and comfortable. Best of all, just pop the soiled ones into the washing machine with your standard whites to clean. They dry really quickly too, unlike some thick pads.

If you have really heavy periods you can fold them to make a thicker pad at the front, they are so adaptable. If you have a few hanging around the house, reduntant now your babies have grown, give them a second life!

Any other sanitary suggestions? Please post below to share!!!

Hoovering (lack of) update!

2009-05-16T13:28:00.000-07:00

Here is the sitting room one month into the NO HOOVER experiment. Not bad is it!!!
It really has been an eye opener using elbow grease instead of electricity to pick up the dirt.

I can see that my huge rug in the sitting room is totally impractical and that only rugs small and manageable enough to pick up and take outside for a beating would be any good in a no hoover house. It was really hard work brushing it.

All of the other rooms are a doddle, just sweep with the big broom and then use the shovel pan and brush. Even around the Rayburn which we run on wood, (so lots of mess here!) is tidy. I think that actually the house is tidier because of not using the hoover. I use the handbrush to flick over the skirting and ledges now whereas before it was such a fidget changing hoover heads it didnt get done. Shame on me.

I am tempted to use it on the sitting room carpet though........

Recycled food wrapping.

2009-05-11T10:44:00.000-07:00

I havent bought tin foil or cling wrap for nearly 20 years.... Its evil stuff for the environment, plus where is the sense in buying something to throw away? Because thats what food wrapping ultimately is, something we use once and then throw away.

Yet nearly every household in the country has a ready supply of wrapping suitable for sandwiches, cold meats, cheese, salad.... anything except for liquid!

The tough, crinkly crisp lining bags inside cereal boxes is perfect. Once the cereal dust has been shaken out it can be used as it is, as a bag OR just carefully pull apart the back seam (it comes apart really easily) and then the base to make a huge sheet of food wrapping! It is superb for picnics! The best bit is that you can wash it along with your dishes, rinse and hang it up over the sink, and use it over and over again.

I may not be able to replace mine in future though..... I have decided that all these little cereal boxes are a packaging nightmare SO am putting the entire family on cereal rations of muesli only which I will be buying in bulk. No more cornflakes, malties, apricot wheats, weetabix, branflakes...... they arent happy!! But there is also porridge which is a family favourite, and homemade bread toasted, plus the hens are laying over 20 eggs a day, so lots of choice. My tiddlywinks particularly enjoy making themselves cinnamon toast, egg in a hole and eggy bread for breakfast. I dont think they will starve!

Happy wrapping!

Are you poisoning your family in the toilet?

2009-05-09T11:40:00.000-07:00

If you have one of these (yes, my floor needs repainting....) then you will on occasion need one of these!

BUT instead of taking such drastic action as issueing gas masks, most people buy these (or ones like it)....

And not just these, spray fresheners, clip on the toilet rim freshening blocks, rings to go on light fittings that exude sweet smelling vapours when the bulb heats up...... A million and one different chemical concoctions, all unleashed in the tiniest space in the whole house, ready to be absorbed into your lungs.... Scary isnt it! Just because of smells!

But, a bad smell left in the toilet can be unpleasant, that I will admit! But what many people dont realize is that you dont need a host of plastic bottled, air polluting (not to mention expensive) chemicals to rid bad smells, all you need is a box of these!

It is the methane gas in an animals excrement that causes the smell to start with, and methane is flammable. Lighting a match and holding it over the toilet bowl untill it has burnt will quickly and effectively eradicate all nasty whiffs in a jiffy! If its REALLY bad, you might need 2!! Spent matches can be thrown into the toilet and flushed away!

How easy is that!

Why is using a match as a toilet freshener a green option?

Air bourne chemicals cant be healthy, can they? We dont even really know what efect they have on our bodies, yet we as a nation squit them all over our houses without giving it a second thought.
Respiratory problems such as asthma are increasing, especially in little ones, shouldnt we think carefully about vapourizing chemicals which we expose our childrens growing lungs to?
Think of the landfill caused by the plastic packaging used for presenting these products and the actual material that the products are made of.... not to mention the energy used during manufacture and the subsequent distribution to shops and supermarkets.... and finally back to our toilets.
If we are flushing these chemicals down our toilets into the waste water system where are they going? Out into our already polluted seas, or leaching through the ground into water courses.
There is only a set amount of water on this planet, there has only ever been, there only will ever be the same amount. Mother nature constantly recycles it, the sun evaporates it from the earth, where it condensates causing clouds in the skies.... subsequently falling back to earth as rain. That bleach is going to come back to you at some point....!
Matches are made of wood, a sustainable carbon nuetral resource. They are packaged in paper boxes... made from wood. They are fully compostable once spent. Find a toilet freshener that fills those green boots!