Skip to main content

Happiness is Simple



The Art of Happiness, 10th Anniversary Edition: A Handbook for Living

We've been reading "The Art of Happiness" again, it's just nice to remind ourselves of what the Dalai Lama has to say & this has led us to sign up to "The No Impact Experiment", which starts on Sunday January 2nd.

No Impact Project » The No Impact Experiment

We already live by most of these principles, but it's good to continue challenging ourselves to live with less & think about ways of improving how we do things. This is what makes us happy! We got very excited before Christmas when we received a letter from Ecotricity (our electricity provider), saying that our usage has halved over the last year, so our monthly direct debits are being reduced & we got a refund for an overpayment! We've also cut our heating oil consumption too & have all got used to wearing extra layers when it's been really cold.

Yesterday, was our local rubbish & recycling collection day & it never ceases to amaze us just how much "stuff" our neighbours put out... Just wished we'd had the camera! Houses with just 1 or 2 people put out between 6 & 8 bags of rubbish - that's just in a week!!! We recycle as much as possible & put out 1 bin liner of rubbish, which is never full. Next week, we aim to just recycle & have no rubbish at all!

Sal & Ryan, our eldest & her boyfriend, made all their Christmas presents this year & they were fantastic; Hand painted treasure chests containing delicious chocolate truffles, jars of cookies, jams, chutneys & face cream - really inspiring. Next year, we will definitely find the time to make more...  We also wish to make more effort to bottle & freeze foods, eat according to the seasons, stop buying canned foods (baked beans & tomatoes) & get back into making our own beer (which we haven't done for months)!

These are the books we're going to buy for inspiration:


Green Seasons Cookbook: Seasonally Inspired Recipes from Demuths Restaurant
No Impact Man: The Adventures of a Guilty Liberal Who Attempts to Save the Planet, and the Discoveries He Makes About Himself and Our Way of Life in the ProcessThe Dalai Lama's Little Book of WisdomEnough: Breaking Free from the World of MoreThe Moneyless Man: A Year of Freeconomic LivingTwelve by Twelve: A One-Room Cabin Off the Grid and Beyond the American DreamThe Self Sufficient-ish Bible: An Eco-living Guide for the 21st CenturyThe Everything Guide to Living Off the Grid: A back-to-basics manual for independent living (Everything Series)

Our only guilty pleasure is owning a car & using it more than we should... Though after this next road trip, maybe we'll rethink our future holidays. We quite fancy walking more of the Cornish coast or doing a long distance footpath, so perhaps that will be the next trip, but we haven't flown since 2000 & we're very proud of that!

We're really looking forward to 2011 & know that there will be lots of exciting times ahead - yipee!!!

Happy New Year!

Kay & Simon xx

Comments

Martha Z said…
Oh, you are ambitious, you put me to shame. We try to be conscientious, minimize our local travel (but continue to take road trips), think about whether we really need an item before purchase. I do the easy things, I buy sustainably raised meat from a local farmer but am not a vegetarian. I use the local farmer’s market but if it is out of season, well, if I want it I will buy it at the supermarket. Our solar panels provide most of the electricity we use but I just don’t seem able to bring our usage down to parity.
You encourage me to try harder.
Karin said…
Thanks for dropping by earlier. It's good to know someone else is trying this week long experiment. Like you, I do a certain amount already and I'm not sure it will be easy, or even practical to do the other things, but it's worth a try and always good to be encouraged to consider doing things differently.

Popular posts from this blog

Diet And Drugs

Some of you know about my fight with Graves Disease, an auto immune system disorder, which causes an overactive thyroid. Since I was diagnosed 7 years ago, I have made it my business to know everything I possibly could about the condition & this has probably saved my life. I have blood tests on a regular basis & in November last year, I was told that my T4 levels are normal & again in January the same.  My thyroid stimulating hormone was finally starting to work too, after 7 years of lying dormant, so I suggested I came off the anti thyroid drug & my GP's response was to continue for a while longer. A month ago, I rang my GP & suggested again that I come off the drug or at least halve it, as I was feeling so well  & was concerned about the drug pushing me into being under active. Again, she said to be patient & they would send for me when it's time for a blood test. I don't normally do as I'm told, but decided to stick with it a b

Our Neighbours

The ladies next door have been giving birth in the field. Their babies are like any other babies - they sleep, they feed, they follow their mums everywhere, they run around, then fall asleep again.  These little beauties are completely unaware of their fate... But we know... And this is one thing which makes living here difficult. How can people eat other beings without feeling terrible?     It just doesn't make sense. Both the posters are from the  Cornwall Vegans  website. If you are in Cornwall or will be on Saturday 22nd April - do support this event! Perhaps you have been considering veganism - this  Vegan Starter Kit  will help you to get started and if you have any questions, need help or ideas for recipes - just ask, we are always happy to talk to folks who want to change their diet for the better. And in case you haven't seen this on iplayer - Here is  Simon Amstell's Carnage . Please, please think seriousl

Nettles

Our garden yesterday. Tall Nettles TALL nettles cover up, as they have done These many springs, the rusty harrow, the plough Long worn out, and the roller made of stone: Only the elm butt tops the nettles now. This corner of the farmyard I like most: As well as any bloom upon a flower I like the dust on the nettles, never lost Except to prove the sweetness of a shower. ~ Edward Thomas ~ Every time we venture out to pick nettles, Sime always goes on about this poem! Anyway, thought I'd share with you the article I've written for next month's Parish Magazine... Our hedgerows are coming alive with food aplenty, but hardly anyone really notices the nettles that surround us, they grow quietly while using their juices to produce a medicine that can bring health. Anaemia, arthritis, rickets, tuberculosis, respiratory diseases, colds, catarrh and lymphatic problems can all benefit from this wonderful wild and free super food. Nettles are rich in ca