Guest Post: The Community Boating Community, by Peggy Melmoth

I'm really pleased to bring you this guest post from dear Peggy of Narrowboat Wife, on a new community boating project. Please show your support for this project by visiting her new website and sharing. Thanks Peggy :)

Peggy steering a small narrowboat

First I’d like to thank Zoë for allowing me to guest post here.

I just want to draw your attention to a new blog, which is about a different kind of boating: community boating.

The canals and waterways are the love of my life; I’m passionate about the idea that they should be accessible for all, regardless of ability or personal finances. So I've started working with the National Community Boating Association to publicise news from their members, based right across the UK.

The NCBA is a group of community boating organisations that want to bring boating to their local communities. So I suppose it is a community of communities!

I've started a new blog over at http://national-cba.com/ and I'd really appreciate it if you'd pop over and read my first post, which explains what we do. If you don't really know anything about community boating this blog will keep you updated with the variety of people that can now get access to the waterways.

All of us are part of our local community, and yet sometimes members of our community can feel isolated. Imagine if you lived right beside a canal all of your life but because of some disadvantage (perhaps financial or physical) you had never dreamed that you could actually go on a boat trip one day yourself.

Community boating organisations allow ordinary people to temporarily join the boating community and have an insight into an alternative way of living. To find out more about how we do this please visit the community boating blog.

Thanks.
Peggy

Peggy Melmoth is a mother, freelance writer and blogger. She writes a personal blog at www.narrowboatwife.com

Stay, Work & Play at Home Family

These last few weeks have been immense for us Earthlies. In the midst of it, it has been total chaos and an emotional, physical and soul-wrenching rollercoaster of a ride across stormy seas and through balmy, lotus-filled waters alike.

My office today :)

Sometimes I have wondered why I am here, sometimes I have thought of giving up everything. Everything.

And then, in a moment of rare clarity, it came to me. I am so blessed.

Here I am, spending each and every day striving to follow my dreams - to follow our dreams - and to ensure our lives are fulfilled, happy, free...

Spending every day in the company of the wonderful Father Earthly - who is no longer tied to a desk job - and my gorgeous kids, in the comfort of my own home, in a beautiful retreat near the sea. Spending every day working towards my life's purpose (or not as is sometimes the case!). Knowing that if I need to, I can often take a break to go and chat with friends and neighbours, play with my tinies, cuddle Father Earthly or even if time and transport permit, nip to the beach for an ice cream and a paddle.

I have to pinch myself when I remember all those things. How incredibly awesome is my life?!

And yet in the moment and in the midst of the chaos of running around making meals, changing nappies or taking to the loo (and letting the decrepit Dog Earthly out too), finding painting materials and keeping up with the demand (more paper, more paint, more patience...), trying to wee in peace and find time to get my own food (without it being stolen), breaking up arguments over toys and pacifying over tiredness at nap time... Sometimes - and no wonder - I do feel utterly lost. On the days the kids are at nursery I often find myself just zoning out completely, as if my brain is in awe of this unaccustomed reprieve on the usual demand for its resources. That precious time when I could be doing so much, just being wasted as my brain attempts to catch up on some non-conscious time!

There are so many things which would help me bridge the gap - my own workspace, my own computer, regular dates with colleagues and mentors...

But all that will come, I know.

Remember this: wherever you are in life, whatever the obstacles, there is a part of your life that glows. Learn to notice, appreciate and nurture it.

Be here, now.

xxx

Coffee Hit, Raw-Style: The Macaccino

Chocolatey-coffee-style goodness!

Some days I just can't get by without a mocha. Or as some like to call it, a mochaccino (or variations thereof). It's been this way since boy Earthly appeared on the scene. Just call it immense fatigue and his obvious desire for sugar and caffeine!

Of course, nowadays I realise (more and more with every lapse back into my old habits) I JUST can't do dairy. Or sugar. And even in those rare instances I could get a soy version, it just doesn't do it for me. It's not the same, and besides, I don't really want to be consuming processed soy either.

I've struggled and struggled with this. I clearly have an addiction, most likely emotional. But you know what? I'm ok with that! Now just give me my damn mocha!

I've come across lots of recipes for "raw coffees" of all sorts, and raw "hot chocolates". But nothing hit the mark, not least because the vast majority of them resort to using nut milks. Bleurgh! Sure, I can eat almonds but I simply cannot be bothered with the faff that it takes to make a milk out of them, just for this rare treat (even if it does end up being daily)!

The solution? Meet the Macaccino. He's a real beaut, if I must say so myself. Once you meet him, you'll fall head over heels in love. Just imagine Sundays on the sofa curled up with this and a great book...

The Macaccino (makes approx 300 ml)
Ingredients
1 ripe banana
1 tbsp sultanas
2tbsp cacao powder
1 tbsp maca powder
1 tbsp date syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
Mug of filtered water
1-2 drops raw coffee extract (optional)

Blend well until smooth, frothy and the consistency of chocolatey-creamy-coffee :) Serve in your favourite espresso cup or go with the French thang and have a bowlful. Sit back, relax, and dream of warmer climes and long, lazy days. Yummmm.

Riding Ze Wild Donkey: Take 2

 "No man is an island entire of itself..." - John Donne

No Woman is an island

Last year, I read a lot about self improvement, health, and getting going in a home-based business. I read a lot, absorbed a lot, but actually, didn't end up DOING a lot. And you know why?

Because of my ego. I thought, as I always have done, "I can do this myself."

Despite all the help that was being urged my way, all the promises of wonder and bounty, all the invitations to be part of a bigger whole... I determined that I would go it alone, because that's just who I am.

And because, deep at heart, I'm a skin-flint and hate to spend money on something I think I can do myself. Want a new hand-crafted handbag? Why yes, here's one I made earlier. Want a glittery new necklace, or funky dress, or want to CHANGE YOUR LIFE, from the inside out. Well, yes, I'm sure I can take that on....

Enter Goddess Leonie. Beautiful mermaidy free-spirited chum, entrepreneur and all-round hippy-chic full of goodness and light. Last year, I read a lot about her. She popped up everywhere in fact - on friends' Facebook pages, blogs, projects, interviews and even in my own inbox. I saw her become the biggest driving force behind many of my own inspirational bloggers, creators and life-coaches. And what did I say to myself?

"I can do it on my own".

Even when the lovely, lovely Lucy of Dreaming Aloud - who has been a huuuuge inspiration to me - also succumbed to the Goddess' charms, I thought to myself, "But that's not for me. I am different. I don't have that kind of money to spend on stuff I already know and can already do, if I just put my mind to it..."

So I ignored all the signs of the universe and sat down to my own lonely task of changing my world. Of changing mySELF. All the while ignoring the biggest problem I had - I could NOT do this alone!

Sure, some things I've achieved, and some things I can feel proud of. But I finally realised this week, that you really do get out of life what you put into it. On SO many levels.

Yesterday I revisited Goddess Guidebook (for the umpteenth time). And this time, I thought, "YES! This is for me! The time is now!!"

But still I hesitated. Could I trust myself to use it well? What if I just dipped my toes in the water first? So I lurked around and gazed at all the goodies she has on offer, and I downloaded the fabulous and FREE Biz and Blog Star Workshop, and gobbled it up straight away. Oh yes, I thought, I need MORE of this...

But still, should I really pay out money for something to help me get where I need to be? Why not just build on what I know, in my own way and in my own time?

So I slept on it. And although I had a bad night's sleep (littlest Earthly is poorly again), I awoke feeling energised and excited. After my morning yoga session (which have recently been erratic to say the least), I knew what I had to do.

I must Ride Ze Wild Donkey... Because that is the only way things are gonna change around here. And because it is the place where dreams come true.

Want to know more? Can you see yourself in this story?

"Once upon a time, there lived a hippy who loved to make art & do soulful hippy things. She also worked in a cubicle job, until one day she could stand it no longer. She went for a walk in a field, and decided that within a year she would learn all she needed to know about business and turn her little hobbies into a big thriving business."


That hippy? What is she doing now?


"And she did it. Every year since then, her business has doubled in size, and has now become the sole income for her family – letting her & her husband both be stay at home parents and move to tropical paradise."


How did she do it? What did she go through? How can you get there too? She's here to help!


"The Business Goddess e-course is everything she learned along the way about how to become a Business Goddess.

It is complete guide–over 190 pages!!–for how to make money online, the blueprint of how she did it, 100+ ways to market magically, mindfully & joyously, and how to sane & joyful when business gets BUSY!

It comes chock-full of bonuses too: profiles of inspiring business gods & goddesses & the Magic Money Maker kit!"


The time is now. Not tomorrow, not next week, not even in ten minutes time... Don't waste time like I did, jump on that donkey and RIDE it baby.

Want to be a business goddess and earn a living doing what you LOVE, right now? Join the Business Goddess E-Course now!

Or, even better, come and join in the Goddess Circle, where ALL of Leonie's goodies - her workshops, workbooks, year planners, project books, meditations, videos, tips, tricks and secrets, stories and inspirations are FREE for you to use.

Just one thing - you have to promise to come back and tell me how you get on :)

And I'll be doing the same- check in often to see where this ride takes me....

Of Breasts and Udders

Disclaimer: This is a strongly worded post, which you don’t see so often from me. I apologise in advance and if anyone is of a particularly sensitive nature they may want to turn away now and resist reading on. In my defence I will say just this: I am NOT vegan  and am not in any way touting MY way as the ideal. In fact I am arguing that the whole human take on milk is wrong, that we have it all screwed up, and that major psycho-social changes need to take place publicly, openly and honestly.

I will reiterate: I am NOT VEGAN, though I am rapidly moving in that direction for a multitude of reasons. But weaning takes time...

Breastmilk, naturally. But which kind?

The whole world seems to have erupted over the recent Time article. YOU know the one I mean. But one thing nobody seems to be talking about is a topic so fundamental it is the oversized cow in the room...

Which would you rather drink, human breastmilk or cow’s milk? Cow’s breast milk, or udder-milk if you like. Which would you rather your children drank, and for how long? Should we be weaned off ALL milk as infants? At what age? 1 month, 6 months, a year, 6 years? Or perhaps more realistically, should we all stop drinking milk when our mother’s milk naturally dries up, whenever that is? Or should we be building up our milk-banks to enable all children to benefit from full-term breastmilk. Maggie Thatcher will forever be remembered as the one who “took away our free milk”... will the current leaders be man, or even woman - enough to make our human milk banks a top priority for the future health of our race?

I find it fascinating, this discussion on child-weaning, and the views of scorn and disgust over “extended” breastfeeding, whilst we all continue to guzzle our pints of cow (or goat or sheep) milk quite happily in the form of café lattes and cereal bowls and smoothies, cheeses, sauces, yoghurts, not to mention all the products containing lactose or its by-produts that you probably don’t even realise are there. Tip: if its not labelled as vegan, it almost certainly harbours some form of lactose.

And while we suffer more and more from lactose-intolerance because our biology and needs are fundamentally different to a calf’s, we try to suffer silently or perthaps cut down a bit whilst all the time berating the worthy mothers of our society for continuing to feed our children human breastmilk - the only kind of milk that was truly meant for human consumption and the only kind of milk that benefits our system wholly and properly, with 1001 nutrients and benefits for our growing kids that they simply cannot get in ANY other form. It’s time we faced up to the facts and stopped thinking of cow’s milk - especially in its pasteurised form which rids it of all the good AND bad bacteria - as n-o-r-m-a-l whilst human breastmilk is somehow 'weird and hippy'. Please wake up to the realities. Your body was meant to digest human milk. The topic as to how long for is debatable. But incontrovertibly, YOU ARE NOT A COW (whatever anyone says), nor even a calf.

And yet still we have this stigma, this ‘ickiness’ around breastfeeding and human milk, whilst the supermarkets are stuffed floor to ceiling with artificially extracted udder-milk - the calves for whom this was made having been sent to slaughter or kept on as future dairy queens when their work was done.

How do you feel about breastmilk smoothie now?

Three in a Bed... Or how *not* to co-sleep

Three - four - or more in a bed :)

I have a terrible, burning confession to make.

I hate co-sleeping. 

And I love it too.

In about equal measure. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that I'm pretty much split right down the middle on the subject: one minute I'm all for it and loving every second, the next I'm near to throwing the extra bodies out of the bed - MY bed (I roar in my mummy lion voice) - in order to find a bit of space to squeeze my body into and get-some-frigging-sleep.

The Realities

Today I am grumpy. Why? Because girl Earthly slept badly and ended up - as is so often the case - lying on top of me for most of the night. Not beside me, or snuggled into me, but sprawled across my chest, head banging from side to side as she tried to find a soft spot for a pillow. It has always been like this, with both offspring - they simply refused as babies to be anywhere except lying on top of me. And it's my least favourite sleeping position, particularly when there's a heavy toddler squashing me for most of the night and I wake up unable to move my spine in the morning.

I absolutely adore snuggles with my babes in the bed. But they are not the easiest of bedfellows, to say the least. I suspect, in fact, they are close to being the most uncomfortable of all bedfellows. Frequently I am found clinging to the edge of the bed in a desperate bid to stop myself falling out. Even more frequent are the repeated kicks, punches, headbutts, general smotherings and clamberings... and then the insistence that I cuddle them at the same time, whilst all this is going on.

It's no wonder I give up sometimes and either insist they go back to their own bed (which by the way, is only a few feet away from ours) or give up completely and go and sleep on the sofa or in one of their beds!

But I feel terrible for feeling this way. I really love bringing them into our bed when they need the comfort, for why not? If I want comforted in the middle of the night, I have hubby. How often we forget - those of us who sleep with partners - that we have this luxury whilst our children don't! If I have a bad dream, or can't settle my mind, hubby is often (not always - he has the wonderful ability to sleep like an elephant) there to hold me and whisper words of comfort whilst I fall asleep.

So there we have it. What are your cosleeping secrets? Are you a perfect cosleeper who loves every single second of your time with them, do you have a particularly neat sleeper, do you detest even the idea of cosleeping, or are you ambivalent?

Happy Sleeping, whatever you do :)

Chocolate Friday: Raw Chocolate Cheesecake!

Oh MY oh my oh my, what a long time it's been between posts... So sorry for my continued absence from the virtual realm. As Kundera said, Life is elsewhere...

Today was the kind of day that inspired a bit of cooking, or should I say, chocolate alchemy. For this is no ordinary cheesecake, this is a completely vegan, wheat-free, raw cheesecake. And what's more, it's not one of your fancy all-you-can-eat cashews affair as (a) I don't believe in making everything with nuts and (b) I'm not that keen on them in the first place. Oh, and (c) there were none in the cupboard and this was the kind of day that I just HAD to make something out of what was in my cupboard!

And it had to be good, oh so good. And chocolatey. Very much so.

So here we are - tada! I literally threw this together and everything is approximate measures, so please feel free to be equally lax and experimental :)

Base
3/4 cup whole almonds, finely ground (or, if you want to be totally nut-free, try using coconut)
3/4 cup buckwheaties, roughly ground
2 tbsp cacao powder
1 tbsp maca powder (optional)
1/4 cup rapadura sugar, ground finely or about 2 tbsp xylitol - or whatever you prefer
Tiny pinch crystal salt
1/2 cup cacao butter, melted

Mix all the dry ingredients together then add in the cacao butter to make a dough, and press firmly into the base of a springform flan case. Chill in the fridge while you make the filling.

Filling
1/2 cup chia seeds, just covered in water
Juice of 1 orange
1/2 cup dried coconut, finely ground
1/2 banana
1/2 cup cacao powder
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 tbsp agave syrup

Add the orange juice to the wet chia seeds and mix well. Leave to soak for about an hour. Then liquidise the banana, chia mixture and coconut till smooth. Finally add the cacao, vanilla and agave and process till completely incorporated. Spoon over chilled base and return to the fridge to set.

Topping
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
1/2 cup cacao powder
2 tbsp agave syrup

Mix all together well and spoon over the chilled cheesecake base.

Enjoy!

Want to know more about the ingredients? Check them out at the Raw Living store, where you will learn just what maca powder can do for your hormones and why chia seeds really are a superfood!

The Luxury of Child-Free Time and How the Demons will be your Downfall

Finding headspace

I'm sitting in our cabin in a sweet little stream of sunshine as it pours through the French doors, and simply contemplating the absence of busy-ness that has pervaded our lives over the last few weeks. 


It's wonderful of course, and yet somehow disturbing at the same time. Instead of putting my feet up, heaving a great sigh and curling up with a fabulously enthralling book and a big mug of hot chocolate, I feel racked with guilt and twitchy. I should be DOING something. I have several 'To Do' lists around the place, on whiteboards and bits of paper and stored on my computer.... all screaming out to have their surfaces scratched, the process of DOING begun. 


And yet... there's the sunshine, and the peaceful house and the awareness that this window of time is finite and before long, perhaps only ten minutes or so, it will have vanished forever and I will be back on that treadmill (or ferris wheel?) of doing.


So I choose to make a compromise and attend to my more and more neglected blog, and share with you a little of what is going on here right now.


And I feel contemplative, so this feels right, rambling on to you about this stuff!


Amongst other things, I've recently started along my path to yoga teacher training. This in itself has forced me to hesitate a little more each day and reflect upon our choices, our lives and what we fill them with. In the West, yoga is taught very much as an exercise, like running or aerobics. Traditionally, however, it is a much more holistic discipline. In fact, through the ancient yogic texts we find that yoga, and the practice of all the "eight limbs", will lead to true enlightenment and prolonged health, of mind, body and soul. Much like Buddhist thinking, the yogi approach believes that we can never be truly happy, healthy and at peace until we surrender our attachment to external pleasures. That isn't to say we can't enjoy them, but rather our lives should not depend upon them for happiness.


And so it is with the business - the busy-ness - of DOING. We fill our lives with what we feel is important, what we feel we must achieve, complete and keep on top of, when all we want is to be free of them, and to be able to relax and have fun, enjoy life. 


At the moment Father Earthly and I are very much sharing child-care responsibilities so that we can both get enough time to do all the things we need to do. So it is that basically, we are ending up with no real family time together, because there's to much to get DONE. And that sucks!

The wall of busy-ness

And yet, on the days I have the kids, I still feel the guilt creeping up on me. Instead of playing with them and teaching them things about the world and generally enjoying them, those little demons inside are telling me I should be "just trying to get this done"; it'll only take ten minutes and then you won't have to worry about it...


Have you been there? Then you know how it feels, and how it generally goes:
"What's that darling? Hmm? Oh lovely"
"Yes, sweetheart, I'll be with you in just a minute"
"Oh don't do that darling, look - take this over there and play with it"
"Come on, guys, just give me 5 minutes!"
"Oh for F*%$ sake, leave me alone, can't you?!"


Demons, I tell you, in your head. In society. Telling you that your time is paramount and not even your children are worthy of benefiting from it over and above your other responsibilities.


Of course, you need time off. And when the kids are sleeping or they are out at nursery or with a friend or partner, what do you do? Do you clean the house, answer emails, pay bills, all the things you never get the chance to do otherwise? Or do you simply relax - switch off completely and answer the needs of your inner self?


I'll tell you now, those demons are wicked little blighters. Ten to one, if you find time for yourself and feel good about it, someone else will make you feel like shit - for daring to take a tiny window of time to attend to your heart and soul needs. They will make you feel guilty and selfish. Which of course just perpetuates the cycle.


I'd like to step off this ferris wheel once in a while, and jump back on again when I feel the need. On and off, just like that. Hop on, hop off. Sit still for a while and contemplate, and then throw myself back into the fray, hair flying and hanging on tight for dear life.


Wouldn't you like to do the same? Bring back a little balance to your lives. Recognise the need and the possibility - the NECESSITY - to switch off. Completely and utterly. Encourage others to do the same. 


Stop DOING and start BEING.


Go on, I give you permission ;)

This was linked to the Seasonal Celebration Sunday on Natural Mothers Network. Go check it out!

Give an Earthly Boot Camp: Week 2

End of week 2 of my self-imposed boot camp and I'm realising why "resolutions" never work - because your psyche rebels!! Although I have been wanting to do these things for months now, part of me just still wants to snuggle up, hibernate and eat chocolate. All day long.


I'm being a little hard on myself. Actually I started off really really well. I got up early for my runs, before everyone else was awake and went out into the beautiful clear Cornish sea air as the sun came over the horizon. I cam home, feeling knackered but triumphant and had a nutritious smoothie and some fruit for breakfast. The rest of the day may have included some cooked food, but I managed to stick mainly to raw. 


And I've in fact been doing even more yoga than I promised, as I've been involved in some farm "fat club" nights! Last week I even led a class for the first time in my life, which was kind of fun :)


BUT...  I have definitely lost my resolve on the food front. Comfort eating at every opportunity - the other day a whole bar of chocolate in one sitting, and more dairy than I would even normally eat. Puddings and snacks and suppers have suddenly become necessary the last week, and biscuits abound. What on earth? The crazy thing is I want to eat raw and healthily, but something in me is rebelling - the bit of me that wants to curl up in bed with a good book and shut the rest of the world out.


Hmm. And I haven't made it onto week 2 of my running plan. Yet I was doing so well - by my 3rd day I already felt I could run for longer without wanting to give up. Incredible! But a string of sleepless nights and frosty mornings have put paid to my resolve.


I'm not sure how to continue. I don't want to yoyo, but I also don't want to give up. The way things are going I may well be the only one to have put on weight come weigh-in time this week!


Humph. I'm off to raid the cupboards...

I'm a Mummy: Get Me Out of Here!

Primal Scream Therapy?

I can see it now - a 'social experiment' filled with all the worst bits of mummyhood bared raw and live on TV. No doubt it's already been done, but this week I could rival any of the contestants, whatever their background and however much they wish they'd never had children.


Indeed this week has mainly been about opposites: beautiful tender moments of love-filled joy brimming over and gladdening my heart, making everything rosy...


And then,


Frustration, screaming, leadership battles, tantrums on all sides. And of all horrors to come true, boy Earthly has started swearing. Not that he knows it of course, and at first it was kind of funny. But now it's happening a bit more frequently and we have initiated a swear box for the first time ever (for us, not him!).


Oh the shame, of being a parent who has inadvertently taught their toddler to swear! Is that perhaps the greatest taboo of all?


Father Earthly is making a point of gently remonstrating the boy every time he uses something he shouldn't. And if we curb own own sometimes-too-free usage significantly, I very much hope this will be a short phase. 


I'm surprised girl Earthly hasn't already started too, she's so precocious and repeating pretty much any word we say. Now that would (almost) be funny - a 14 month old using strong language... hmmmm.


Let's just hope next week is better!

2012 Boot Camp

One day...

Woohoo, a new year has sprung and boy am I glad to have got through the last one! There were some pretty hairy moments in the last year, not to mention a few too many 'things' to be coping with. This year, I hope, will be much more positive, relaxed and focussed...


To start it all off with a bang I am entering myself into my very own boot camp: Camp GiveanEarthly, if you like. I need kicked into shape in so many ways and over the last year I've found too many (however viable) excuses to keep me from being on top form. 


I don't do New Year's resolutions. But the Christmas period excesses did help to cement my feelings on aspects of my diet, exercise needs and day-to-day habits.


So, to kick it off? I am going raw.


Oh YES sireee. Despite being really fascinated by all the raw literature and recipes out there, I have never really done more than dabbled. But my body is literally screaming for fresh, living foodstuffs - particularly since I've been cramming it with rubbish over the festive season!


I'm making it easy for myself too. I am not going for a high raw diet, not straight away anyway. Basically I am upping my intake of fresh (preferably organic) fruit, veg, salad, sprouts, seeds and so on, so that they are the main bulk of any meal. The rest will be some of my 'usual' foodstuffs - wholegrain bread, pasta, rice, eggs etc. But these will be the minority on my plate, not the majority!

The Raw Food Pyramid

It's easier than it sounds too. Today I had a smoothie and some fruit for breakfast which were more than substantial for me, though I can see that on some other days I might want some raw granola type affair or similar. For lunch I made a yummy salad with a carrot and apple slaw, some pumpkin seed mayo, baby spinach and tomato, grapes and a boiled egg with a couple of regular crackers (I don't have a dehydrator and can't see me bothering with such recipes unless I get really bored in all honesty). For dinner I'm thinking of having soup - either part warmed or steaming hot depending on how I feel :)


I've already got a pile of seeds, nuts and legumes soaking in the fridge ready to make things tomorrow (like hummus and an almond pâté) and I reckon as long as I can start to try and think of things in advance (at least until I get used to eating this way) then I'll be ok!


Next up? Couch to 5k!

Get off the sofa girl!

This one could not have been less likely. I do not run and never have. But weirdly, over the last 4 months or so, I have had SUCH an urge to do so. Every so often It'll just burst out of me and I'll be sprinting down the road, limbs flailing, like a crazy little 5 year old again. Goodness knows where this has come from, but I've been impatient to start this program since well before Christmas. And now I finally have the time and space. First run, tomorrow morning :)


Did you say 'Morning'?

Yep you heard me, morning. The only realistic time for me to go running is first thing before the kids are up - or at least while they're having breakfast with Father Earthly. Having never been one to willingly roll out from under the duvet when it's still dark (and cold), this is going to be a major challenge for me. Not least because my body is still catching up on a few years' lost sleep! But I am convinced that it needs to be done, for a whole host of reasons. I hope that in the longterm it will give me the boost I need to start the day properly and positively. And I've told myself that at least I can go for a nap with the kids later on if I really need to!! WIsh me luck...

On top of all that? Yoga goes hardcore!


Not satisfied with a weekly astanga practice, I am planning to go to twice-weekly practices, one of which will be the traditional Mysore style. I hope that this will help me to develop my own personal practice as this has always been a sticking point. I also hope it will really improve my strength much more quickly. And later this year I plan to start teacher training! Eeek!


Welcome to Boot Camp GiveanEarthly. Anybody fool enough to join me? 


There's safety in numbers... :)


Happy 2012!

MerRAW Christmas: Russell James' Mince Pies

I couldn't resist reposting this recipe here because it is simply decadence in a red and white outfit (only greener).

If you don't understand what I mean then grab yourself a glass of something nice, make a batch of these and sit back and meditate the meaning of a raw Christmas.

Russell James' Raw Mince Pies

You can give these pies to your loved ones and they’ll never suspect they’re raw unless you decide to tell them! These pies are causing quite a stir in households and offices across the land :) 


Yields 10 – 12 pies 
For the crust 
2 cups cashews 
1 cup oat flour* 
1/4 cup agave nectar/maple syrup/honey 
2 tablespoon water 
3 tablespoons lemon juice 
Pinch salt 


Grind all ingredients in a food processor until thoroughly mixed. Press the mixture into a tart/muffin tray that has been lined in Clingfilm and dehydrate at 105 degrees F for 2-3 hours. Remove the crusts from the cases and dehydrate out of the case for a further 8+ hours, on the mesh dehydrator sheet. 


*Raw out flour is made by milling raw oats in a coffee grinder or high-speed blender. If you don’t have raw oats available and you don’t mind using oats that have been steamed to preserve shelf life, then non-raw oats will also work. 


For the filling 
1 1/2 cups soft dates, stones and flowers removed 
1/2 cup orange juice 
2 apples, chopped small 
1 1/2 teaspoons mixed spice 
1 cup raisins, roughly chopped 
Pinch salt 


Grind all ingredients except the apple and raisins until they form a paste. Add in the apple and raisins and process for a further 5 – 10 seconds until fully combined. Fill each of the cases with a little of the mixture then top with the cashew icing and a pinch of the nutmeg. 


For the cashew Icing 
1 1/2 cups cashews 
1 tablespoon lemon juice 
Pinch salt 
3 tablespoons coconut oil 
1/4 cup agave 
1/2 cup water 


Blend all ingredients in a high-speed blender until completely smooth. To garnish use a pinch of nutmeg


Have you discovered the 12 Raw Days of Christmas? Get over to The Raw Food Coach now and check it out for a packageful of wonderful raw Christmas goodies!

Everyone Needs Good Neighbours: How 1 Month of Co-Housing Changed Us

Preparing for a communal Christmas

And so it begins, our new adventure. We arrived, 1 month ago, crashing down crazily into a different world, amidst new people, places and procedures. We are not alone any more, we are one.


I never could have imagined us here, not really. I may have dreamt of such a thing but then thought about it in real terms and dismissed it almost instantly. Let's face it, I'm a bit of a loner, a maverick, an inconstant. I love my friends and (some of!) my family, but I am not naturally extroverted. I prefer to shy away inside my shell and look after my own accounts for the most part.


So why on earth would we consider living in an intentional community? Well, if you look at it this way, our lives were crying out for it for all the reasons I've given above. And above all, we have always loved the idea of community - one that is mostly and sadly missing from life as we know it these days. It's just that, like most, we had these preconceptions about what it might be like. I thought I would feel stifled, put-upon, awkward, expected to follow rules and rotas and join in all the time. I thought I'd have to compromise too much and struggle to just be myself when I needed to be, to breathe, to be independent.

A not-so captive audience!

 Perhaps some communities are like that, but here, we are not. The core belief is "freedom with respect", so basically you are free to do as you like, but remember that your actions have the potential to upset others if you don't think them through or discuss with others as appropriate. Hey, that's just like 'real' life should be to me, but it isn't, is it?!


Trelay is a co-housing community, so we all have our own private spaces as well as shared areas such as the farmhouse lounge and kitchen and the laundry. In real terms none of us 'own' our properties and as such we are responsible for them mutually, so if work needs done we are all expected to muck in if we are able, in whatever way we can. 


And so we have changed. Some days we still like to do our own thing and look after ourselves first and foremost, but mostly we are out there, doing our bit, helping the community at large along. Whether it's baking bread for everyone in the farmhouse kitchen or buying in bananas, repairing pig fencing or digging and planting up new beds in the polytunnel, we are there and loving it. As are the kids! 


I have never seen Father Earthly so purposefully happy. In this day and age we can feel disempowered so easily, and as a result lapse into bad habits (spending too much time on the computer or in front of the TV), and generally sink into feeling that the world is a pretty pointless, worthless and unhappy place. Coming here has changed that for us. I'm not saying we don't have our bad days but having like-minded, positive and vibrant people around has made an enormous difference. Life is easier and yet more fulfilling, more joyous, more meaningful.


Above all I have seen our mindset change on who we choose to interact with and why. Before, I saw little point in making the effort with someone who was clearly very different to me in their values/outlook/interests, but being a member within an intentional community has changed this, mainly because everyone here has a shared goal, or goals. So whilst there are a diverse selection of people from all walks of life and with a wide gamut of interests and beliefs, we have a common interest which is for us all to get on and achieve wonderful things together! That doesn't mean we all have to be bosom pals and equally it does not prevent friction or arguments from breaking out - we are human after all. But having a shared vision helps us to sort things out more easily and amicably, to the benefit of all. 


Isn't this how the wider world should be?

Playing the piano together

What's more, I used to think of communities as potentially quite insular, and this isn't the case here. Perhaps because of our values, we interact and co-exist peacefully and meaningfully with our neighbours - they come to events and special dinners, we use local veg and grocery suppliers, do meat swaps (pork for beef etc) and help run the parish council. Our nearest farmer looks after our sheep for us and maintains some of our land. We get involved with local plays and societies and events, both as individuals and as a group. It's all really rather lovely :)


Intentional communities, and in particular co-housing groups, are on the increase as more and more cotton on to a way of life that is sustainable, affordable, accessible, fulfilling, meaningful and heartwarming. If you'd like to give it a try, why not come and help as a volunteer, or attend an interest weekend or other event?


We have all just spent a lovely weekend making and baking for Christmas. It's been like being part of a big, happy family - all enjoying getting stuck in and helping each other and remembering what Christmas is actually about. I'm so pleased my kids have this environment to grow up in and thrive - I can't think of any better education for them.

Advent Goodies - for adults!

Oh yes, why should we be excluded from the ritual of advent? And why should we settle for anything less tasty than these Amaretto-soaked cranberry marzipan chocolates? Mmm-mmmmmmmmm.... I think I may stay in tonight ;)

Soak the cranberries in your favourite alcohol for at least a couple of hours, then drain and dry on a little kitchen paper.

Cut up your marzipan and roll into balls, then make an indent to squeeze your cranberry into.

Roll 'em up boys!

Dunk in chocolate, sprinkle with fairy dust (or freeze dried raspberry powder in this instance) and we're rockin' and rollin'...

These were the leftover cranberries, dunked in chocolate. Mmmmmmmmm mamma!

Happy Advent everyone!

Advent Goodies - for kids

So last night I was getting all stressed about being a bad mum. I mean, I hadn't even realised it was the 1st of December today! My god, how bad can you get?! And so obviously I hadn't even got out the advent calendar, never mind thought of something to put in it. And there wasn't even chocolate buttons in the house!


Cue, Operation Christmas Goodies Are Go!


This morning, while Father Earthly took the kids to Periwinkles, I made these gorgeous little chocolate-cranberry sweetmeats. Simple, pretty, tasty and not filled with E-numbers. I've also got some cranberries steeping in Amaretto for the adult version...

Later on tonight.... how to make a yummy adult version!

Real Food Diets: Going Dairy Free (Healthily & Ethically)

This last year I have been trying different ways of eating to try and regain some of my balance, energy and overall health since bearing and rearing our 2 tinies. Over the next few months I'm bringing you a whole host of wonderful guest posts on a variety of Real Food Diets, from Raw to Paleo. Join me in this series and find the best real food for your mind, body and soul.



This week's post is about seeking healthy, ethical alternatives to dairy, and trying out a delicioso Italian Citrus Polenta Cake which uses extra virgin olive oil for its fat content. Miss last week's post? We heard from Saskia at Raw Freedom about Raw Food for Busy Lives. Go check it out!

A word of caution: while I know it may be a bone of contention, when I refer to dairy here I mean specifically cow (or other animal) milk, and not eggs.

Mount Vesuvius: in sticky gorgeous citrusy-
polenta yumminess!

So it looks as if my body has undergone some kind of sea change since girl Earthly came into our lives. I'm now pretty sure that the health problems I've been experiencing the last year are down to a severe dairy intolerance, and I am putting that hypothesis to the strictest of testing now, which means NO DAIRY for me, no way josé... 


This is not the hugest of issues for me really, as I have long disliked being somewhat of a hypocrite over my ethics - I'm vegetarian for lots of reasons, but I think the dairy industry is horrific and yet I continue to consume dairy... It doesn't wash really, does it? So now I must stop being lazy as my body is also telling me to give up animal milk. 


What I DO have a problem with, is that my main alternative to dairy is soya. Quite apart from any issues surrounding the mass-production and importation of soya, I dislike having soy products as a major part of my diet because they are so processed. I think margarine, in any form, is the devil's work, and soy milk - as convenient and tasty as it is - isn't much better.


So what to do?! I believe, at heart, that our diets should be as pure, unprocessed and close to source as possible - that way we obtain the maximum nutrition in the right forms for our bodies with fewer adverse effects. And so I really dislike vegan recipes which simply substitute "alternatives" to dairy in the form of soy or whatever, just as much as I dislike vegetarian recipes which feel they need to use meat alternatives. I'm not saying these products don't have their place - I love tofu and the occasional Quorn product - but they should not be the norm. 


And so... after searching in vain for a "dairy free" cake recipe yesterday, it was (as usual) Father Earthly that came to the rescue. I knew I married him for good reason(s)... It's all about where to look when it comes to Googling, and I was looking in the wrong place. It wasn't vegans that held the answer for me, but the wonderful Italians! 


This cake uses good quality extra virgin olive oil for its fat content. Now, I have used vegetable oil before - the Americans use it quite a lot in cakes - but I have never heard of using olive oil in cakes before. Not just that, but it calls for the full-flavoured, really good stuff! What a wonderful idea, on so many levels - a fat that is really superbly good for you, is pure and unprocessed and full of flavour. Also, as you may have noticed, at the moment, olive oil is ridiculously cheap so there is just no good reason not to be trying out this yummy recipe!



Italian Citrus Polenta Cake (adapted from this recipe at Babbo Ristorante)
4 large eggs 

1 cup granulated sugar 

Freshly grated zest and juice of 1 orange 

Freshly grated zest and juice of 1 lemon 

1 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour 

¾ cup instant polenta 

2 teaspoons baking powder 

1 teaspoon salt 

¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil 

1 cup icing sugar


Preheat the oven to 180ºC and position a rack in the center of the oven. Lightly grease a 9-inch springform pan with a little oil.


Whisk together the eggs and sugar until they are tripled in volume, fluffy and pale yellow in colour. Combine the flour, polenta, baking powder salt and zest in a separate bowl. 


Alternate adding the dry ingredients to the egg mixture with the olive oil; begin with 1/3 of the dry ingredients, then add half the oil, followed by another 1/3 of dry ingredients, beating only until each addition is incorporated. Beat in the remaining olive oil, followed by the last 1/3 of the dry ingredients.


Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake the cake for 25 to 30 minutes. Rotate the cake 180º halfway through the baking time to ensure even browning. The cake is done when it springs back lightly when touched and pulls away from the sides of the pan, and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.


Take the cake out of the oven and place in the tin on a wire rack. Make the syrup by boiling the lemon and orange juice and icing sugar together in a pan until the icing sugar has dissolved. Prick the cake all over with a cake tester and pour over the syrup. Leave the cake to cool in the tin before turning out.