Getting charged up about solar

I have just returned from a trip to England to see family and friends. It was a short visit, and we did a fair bit of travelling around, but it gave me food for thought… Since I was last in England a number of things have changed including the price of gas. However, like here in Manitoba it doesn’t make people drive less or slower to economize. We had a small car with just a 1.2 litre engine, which was fine for our purposes and we got 50mpg which was quite satisfactory. We also took the train one day, enjoying the scenery and no pressure to find parking for a very reasonable fee. Passenger trains are definitely something that Manitobans are missing out on.

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My Hero, James Hanson

We all have our heroes: people we wish we could emulate. I have had several. One of my heroes has been a South African, Nelson Mandela. Mandela moved from prison to president. He is a hero because he did not to use the power of the presidency to get even with those who had imprisoned him. In recent years my eyes has shifted increasingly to another man, James Hanson. Hanson is 72 – I am three years younger. He announced his retirement this week, because he “feels a moral obligation to step up his activism in his remaining years.”

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You are what you eat

You are what you eat. Quite literally your body is made up of the things that you eat. For a healthy body, chose healthy food. Buying whole food ingredients and cooking from scratch gives you the control to choose the very best nutrients for your body. Often cooking from scratch is cheaper, healthier and much more tasty. Cooking can become an enjoyable pastime, a family event. After all, food is one of the most important things a body needs.

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Shovel or blow?

As the snow starts to melt, and I’m thinking about hanging up the shovel, I was musing over whether it would have been worthwhile having a snowblower to clear our drive… We have a 60 foot long drive, and we have shovelled it many times this winter. After the last blizzard 2 weeks ago, it took the two of us an hour to clear the drive.

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What is a Transition Initiative?

Last week David Dawson outlined what a transition initiative is and outlined some of the things that the South Eastman Transition Initiative has begun. Some of you may have attended our re-skilling workshops – we have sourdough cultures growing ready to make tasty and healthy bread following the last one, and I’m looking forward to learning about mushrooms and maple syrup on Wednesday March 27th. But as David alluded to, transition initiatives are about more than just about re-skilling people to be more self-reliant. The transition initiative is worldwide community-led action with the common goal of improving the life and sustainability in its neighbourhood.

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