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Strawberries and kids parties |
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Linda's Highland Blog
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By Linda on
29/08/2008 15:22
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At last the strawberry bed is finished, dug, weeded, raked and planted. We have even put a weed barrier all around three sides of the enclosure with some old plastic that was around and rocks that we have plenty of, enough to stock a garden centre in the South! I have just come in having been eaten yet again by midges its very warm and still here today the sort of weather they love the little blighters. Shula has managed to drop her ball in the river and is determined to try and fish it out so she has been scuba diving for the past half hour to no avail. This is the umpteenth time she has dropped her ball in there and we normally manage to rescue it but its too deep today. Oh for a dog with a brain!
Its going to be Jacobs third birthday next month and yours truly is making the cake a pirate ship if you please! So I was interested to find some information about eco friendly childrens parties. After all there is usually so much thrown away after the event paper plates, plastic cutlery, balloo ...
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The Nalan Collection and Green Living |
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Linda's Highland Blog
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By Linda on
28/08/2008 15:51
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I've been busy today adding clothes from the Nalan Collection to the shop. Nalan is the creation of Laura Speake whose passion is to make a real difference to the environment, however modest at the start. She
has created an ethically driven, organic business that will contribute
to a sustainable world; the kind of which we wish our children to
inherit.
This does not mean dressing in sackcloth - far from it! The Nalan
Collection range of clothing stands for high quality, funky, unique
designs. The production of these garments have a small ecological
impact and a positive influence on all the people involved in the
process. All supplies are ethically traded, free
of sweat-shop abuses and are carefully designed to have a low
environmental impact. This means that when you buy clothes from the
Nalan Collection you will know that you’re helping, in a positive way,
to make the world a better place.
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Our Day out |
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Linda's Highland Blog
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By Linda on
27/08/2008 17:24
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Late today, I have been to the Black Isle with Sian and the children to a wildlife park. Both children enjoyed themselves even little Tristan. I took a few pictures and thought you might like to see a couple.
Here are Jacob and Sian feeding a very large pig with Tristan looking on!
Jacob making friends with some ducklings and geese.
We had a lovely day out but very tiring. There was a children's playbarn so Jacob had great fun playing on everything. I think he will sleep well tonight. Anyway as a result of my outing today I haven't managed to get any more stock into the shop ...
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New clothes and Fairtrade toys |
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Linda's Highland Blog
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By Linda on
26/08/2008 13:52
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Very mixed weather today I have been in the garden weeding yet again, they seem to be never ending I am trying to convince myself that they will decrease year on year!
I started adding some new clothes into the shop today and there are more to come over the next couple of days. I have two new suppliers one is the Nalan collection who are very new and have an irresistible range of clothes from babies up to age four. They are all in 100% Organic cotton fabric CUC certified 240gsm interlock with hand silk screen printed funky designs on the tee shirts. All dyes used are o dye low impact azo-free and fully compliant with Soil association certification. From field to fashion house the whole process has been overseen by Nalan so that not only is the cotton organic but it has been manufactured in a way that is both
respectful of workers and sustainable.
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Fairtrade School Uniforms |
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Linda's Highland Blog
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By Linda on
25/08/2008 12:02
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Bank holidays are a bit strange in Scotland not everybody seems to get one so places like banks and post offices are closed but everybody else seems to be business as usual. Anyway it was a day off for us and we decided to go to Sallachy which is on the opposite side of Loch Shinn to us. Somebody is building a house there so we had to go past lots of plant machinery(they were working today) and then on along the shore. The road or track goes for miles into nowhere and is very beautiful with sandy shores on the loch and all the heather in the hills in bloom. We got caught in a heavy shower on the way back so arrived home a bit soggy but the dogs enjoyed it.
I found an interesting blog today in the Mail about the return to school and kitting your kids out in school uniforms. Despite protestations from many retailers and their affirmation of Fairtrade it stands to reason that a garment produced from the other side of the world cannot possibly cost £1.00 if i ...
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Recycling and Strawberry patch |
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Linda's Highland Blog
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By Linda on
24/08/2008 16:58
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Another day in the garden working on the strawberry patch. Peter and I were talking about the raised bed last night and he said that he could make it up with some old wood that was around. I had a bit of a strop I'm afraid I wanted it to look perfect but I suddenly had a thought this morning, what do I frequently bang on about in this blog? Yes you've got it recyclying, now my husband was born a recycler nothing to do with being green thats just the way he is. Never wants to buy clothes unless what he has is worn out, never been known to waste food and here was I complaining about him doing exactly what I have been advocating.
So I'm turning over a new leaf and trying a bit harder to practice what I preach. Today I have picked broad beans, peas, carrots and some rather small parsnips and am feeling very pleased with the fruits of my labours even though my back is aching and I'm feeling tired. My strawberry bed is dug and weeded and the raised bed is being put in even as I write this. My rhu ...
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Strawberry beds and backpacks |
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Linda's Highland Blog
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By Linda on
23/08/2008 14:02
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Sunny with a bit of a breeze keeping midges at bay here today so I have been working on the strawberry bed. Peter is making me some raised beds which I think will make life easier with the weeding. I was reading a great blog today by my friend known as 'Indiebird' on the forums. Thought you might like to go and visit so here is a link I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Here in Scotland children are already back at school and England will be going back in a couple of weeks. I saw a very interesting blog today about the amount of stuff most kids carry around when they go to school from heavy books to packed lunch, P.E. kit and so on. I am suffering with my back at the moment and having physiotherapy and I remember a physio saying to me some time ago about the cummulative damage that kids do to their backs with all the things they are obliged to carry around. So this seemed like an opportune time to pass on some tips.
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A useful website and GM crops |
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Linda's Highland Blog
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By Linda on
22/08/2008 14:40
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Horrible wet day here at the moment and lots of midges as well as there is no wind, all in all a day to be indoors. I have been surfing the internet and found a website that I would like to share with you it has lots of ideas and to help save money and reduce waste here is the address:- http://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/
I am awaiting delivery of the new clothes for the autumn for Sones and also some Fairtrade toys. There are so many toys nowadays made of plastic and mass produced that I thought it would be nice to have something a bit different and as an added bonus fairly traded to benefit the artisans who made them. If there is anything that you would like to see available at Sones do send me an email and I will try to source it.
I found a very interesting article by Mark Lynas in the Guardian about GM crops which the government is keen to reassess running to profit seeking multi nationals is ...
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The big slowdown.... |
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Linda's Highland Blog
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By Linda on
21/08/2008 15:40
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I have been doing that dreaded task- my accounts today. My husband is very good and helps as I am hopeless at figures. We couldn't help wondering whether everybody does their accounts with two dogs at their feet and a very masterful cat sitting on alternate laps and trying to nudge bits of paper etc out of his way. It's our own fault for allowing it I suppose.
By chance today I came across an article about slowing down the pace of life which argued that given the economic downturn and oil prices we are all being forced into slowing down our pace of life. We are driving at slower speeds to conserve fuel as are airlines and train companies and the high street is certainly not as active as it was.
It has been suggested that we race through life instead of pausing to enjoy it, cramming everything into each day so that health, diet and relationships suffer. We struggle to relax and enjoy a good nights sleep and of course all this rushing inevitably takes it's toll on the envi ...
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Gardening and Honey |
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Linda's Highland Blog
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By Linda on
20/08/2008 16:18
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I just got in from the garden, I am trying to get my strawberry patch organised. It got vandalised by the feathered houdini's earlier in the year and somehow never got back on track. The birds feasted on the srawberries along with the blackcurrants! I have dug up each plant and put it in a pot for now while I dig out and weed throughly then I'm going to make a raised bed to replant in. All sounds very simple doesn't it? Only problem is I have to attack it in small bites as I don't have the energy to get it all done in one hit.
What with getting 'midged' yesterday and labouring outside today I feel in need of some pampering and I found a recipe for a honey face mask which sounds lovely.Honey is brilliant for hydrating the skin (sounds like just what mine needs!)
This treatment is appropriate for all skin types; and works
especially well for dry, dehydrated, sunburned, windburned, or mature
skin (Yep that's me). You’ll need 2 teaspoons of raw honey–and remember that honey ...
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