Sustainable Living July

This blog has always been about living life in a mindful and intentional way, for me this means that most of the decisions we make have been thought about carefully, even if we decide to continue as we are a decision has still been made.  When we take a product from a shelf in a shop or tap a button on a screen, should we stop and think about how it has got this point before we do so?  It can be hard to make decisions over many aspects of our lives, we are often far removed from the means of production and it can be hard to find out how this operates.  Maybe we shouldn't be thinking is there a more sustainable replacement for something, rather do we really need it at all?

To help me keep on track I have come up with some words that I will be using to keep my decision making mindful and intentional, and my life in general as sustainable as I can make it.  If you you want to join me you would be most welcome, either using the same words for inspiration or your own that are more meaningful to you.  These are the words (you can read my thoughts behind some of them here and here) that I have been using in July:

Nourish

It has been another month of trying out new recipes to eek out the contents of our veg box.  I have been informed that the farmers market I visit every month will be returning in September, I do hope it does as there is a wonderful veg stall that I use every month to top up our box.  I have really missed this extra supply of veg.  This months winner was a lentil and walnut loaf which was lovely and moist and really tasty.  I have tried many different savoury vegetarian loaf recipes over the years but this was hands down the best and definitely one that I will be making again.

We found a supply of field mushrooms growing on a fell behind our house, every couple of days my husband would bring home handfuls of them on his daily bike ride.  We had soup, garlic mushrooms (several times), and a lentil and mushroom bake.  I found a recipe for a lovely sounding mushroom pate, one of the ingredients was creamed coconut which I usually have in the house, sadly this never got made as we couldn't find any in any of the shops in our local town or the one where my husband works.  We will have to save that for next year.

Thankful

I started keeping a simple journal at the end of June, writing things down, under a series of headings, in the morning and the evening, one of the things I write each evening is three things that I have been grateful for during the day.  It has been interesting to look back over what I have written in this last month. It has been a fairly challenging month for me at times, my friends who have been at the other end of the phone, or supporting me with messages have helped me through that and have made me realise how important it is to have friends in your life who you can depend on and who you can support when they need it.

Create

I have not created much this month except many rows of knitting on my shawl and one mask that I made for myself as they are now compulsory in shops where I live.  I have only made the one so far as I only shop once a week and feel that it will be possible to wash and dry it in between.  The shawl meanwhile is reaching those final rows.  This has to be the biggest project I have ever knitted, I am half way through the zig zag pattern at the end, with 41 more rows of that and six to make the edge so still many rows to do.  I am just about managing to do it whilst watching things in the evenings although it is not as easy as the rows of stocking stitch.  It seems that it will be ready just as the cooler weather hits our shores which will be perfect timing.

Grow

The garden continues to be abundant in growth despite the lack of many sunny days this month.  It has felt like it was wall to wall rain but I know this is not quite true!  We have been enjoying a steady supply of salad leaves, occasionally providing us with three salads a day as I sometimes have salad with a boiled egg for breakfast.  The courgettes are growing at that perfect steady speed to provide us with a meal a week, now that I have said that they will of course starting producing a glut.....we have had one cucumber and the tomato plants are finally in flower.  There has also been a steady supply of herbs, it is wonderful to be able to go out and pick your own fresh herbs when you need them for a meal.  Some are getting a little leggy now so I really ought to sow some more seeds to keep the supply going.  I have sown some more lettuce, salad leaf, pok choi and kale seeds this month to keep the supply of those going for a little longer.

Sanctuary

I have rediscovered my love of walking this month.  It has been wonderful to get out on many walks, often with friends to spend a day or afternoon walking.  The amazing views and company that these have given me, remind my how blessed I am with the people that I have in my life and the beauty of the area that I live in.  We walked up the highest hill in England with friends on a lovely dry and sunnyish day.  It is a very popular walk and coincided with the first dry day in a long while.  The number of people at the top of this hill was the most I had seen together in one place for a very long time.  The best walk though was with a dear friend who I had not seen since before lockdown, it was not a particularly dry or warm day but we spent the whole time we were together (7.5 hours) talking and could have carried on for another 7.5 more!  It was a wonderful, restoring and nourishing day out.  I hope I can make the time to do more long walks in the hills that make up the area where I live.

Learning

I have continued to listen to and soak up so many podcasts this month.  I am loving this audio input which I listen to whilst cooking meals or on the rare occasion that I am on my own, which seems to happen often enough in a week that I keep up with those that I subscribe to.

The documentary podcast from the BBC World service has had a huge variety of programmes to listen to including the life of a photo journalist in Syria, a man abandoned as a baby at a few weeks old searching for his birth family, ambulance drivers in Karachi and the milkshake and cyclops genes to name but a few. I also love the Inquiry and the Forum which are also good BBC World service podcasts

I have continued to listen to the wonderful mediations offered by Tara Brach I have included a daily short mediation at the end of my morning yoga stretches again this month.  I am now able to do this without needing a guided meditation every morning.

I have been listening to On Being with Krista Tippett for a while now, she always has the most thought provoking conversations.  This month, one particular episode will stay with me for a while, I have already listened to it twice, I thoroughly recommend it.

Some of them I love to listen to with the children, Alice and I have been listening to the English Heritage podcast, this month we have learnt about how the railways shaped the UK, Eltham Palace, the history of make up and a Cold War bunker in York.  We all love to listen to Countrystride a podcast about the area where we live, we have learnt about Lady Anne Clifford and a brief history of our county this month.

Fun

We have been wild swimming several times this month.  Over the winter I read the rather wonderful book Waterlog by Roger Deakin and it made me want to go out and swim, immediately.  I thought it might be best to wait for the temperatures to warm up a little before I tried it properly for the first time.  I have always been a bit of a coward when it comes to cold water but I have been having a cold shower every morning since then in preparation.  I totally understand what Roger Deakin meant when he talks about how alive it makes you feel.  I am completely hooked and cannot imagine ever swimming in a man made pool again.  

Thank you once again for reading through this very long post.  I realise that it may seem that I do an awful lot, I suspect you do to, if you were to write it all down like I have here.  You are most welcome to join me, either use the same words or your own which mean more to you, let me know in the comments below and I will head over and have a read.  I will post my Sustainable Living August roundup on Tuesday 1 September.