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Goblin Gossip
Today is the first day of the Goblin New Year in Oz. Within a week or so the horrific numbers of the last quarter will be landing on the desk of the federal treasurer and they will be tasked with finding ever more inventive ways to get as many feathers as possible from the golden goose with the least amount of hissing
It is also a fresh start for the little green book which I also have as an app version called TrackMySpend. It is not connected to the internet. It used to be possible to store backups in the cloud but probably best not to since it is not the sort of thing you want Russian hackers or Nigerian princes knowing.
The simple act of keeping records of every single cent spent does mean that when you ask the question, why is there so much month at the end of the money, then you know exactly where all those silver sickles went.
Last month for me was unusually low because for once there was no water, no gas, no rates or insurance or any of those pesky huge household bills that are usually the bane of any budget. I do have them covered with a set amount sent every month to a special bills account but as far as possible I only dip into it for the council rates.
It is also the start of the annual ritual of Plastic Free July which is like Dry July only much more masochistic
The original rules of the game were not to buy any single use plastic products for the month of July. It is only when you start paying attention to plastic that you realise just how much of it there is around
The moment you step in a supermarket which usually has the bakery, fruit and vegetables at the entrance, there are all the loaves of sliced bread, assorted cakes and muffins all wrapped in plastic
Then there are the bananas and potatoes in bags. The assorted nuts, lettuce, spinach and salad etc.
In the dairy aisle, almost all the milk comes in plastic bottles or plastic lined cardboard cartons. Yoghurt in plastic tubs and cheese either in cling wrap or plastic packaging along with trays of meat
The confectionery and chips. Full of it along with just about everything in the freezers
So there is pretty much only some loose fresh fruit and vegetables, canned soup, beans and corn and the odd jar or two of olives, pickled onions, jam and peanut butter
Pretty much the whole cleaning products and toilet roll aisle are a non kosher zone. But generally I don’t include those in the challenge and stick just to food
Since this all started ten years ago with the actions of one single shopper who shared the idea with her friends, they have figured that pragmatism trumps purity so offered assorted versions of the challenge
One week, a fortnight, take away coffee cups and straws only and an assortment of other options
I usually use this as an opportunity to make July pantry month and basically just use up stuff in the cupboards or in the fridge.
It also happens to be squiggling time over at Camp Nanoland so the two projects tie together pretty well. Time not spent shopping is time that can be spent writing
I did sort of cheat in that I stocked up last week on packets of chips, nuts and pasta that are off the menu now due to their packaging
I am going to make it a sub challenge to see how long I can get a streak of no grocery shopping at all this month.
The charity shop where I volunteer a couple of days a week finally opened its doors to the public yesterday. I was so happy to be back there today amongst all the books. Tidying them up and putting them back in alphabetical order and adding new ones to the stock. We are a bit short on stock at the moment so I did not do any culling at all
One very nice customer turned up with 2 coffees for the staff. Since most folks who work there on Wednesdays drink their coffee strong and black, I scored one of the freebies
The inner lawyer reasoned that this is perfectly kosher since the coffee was a gift and I did not buy It myself, the fact it came in a take away cup with a plastic lid does not count as a black mark on the very first day of Plastic Free July
I thought it was nice to be on the receiving end of such a delicious random act of kindness.
I bought myself a book about the Voynich manuscript which could be a useful source of inspiration over in Nanoland.
It is also a fresh start for the little green book which I also have as an app version called TrackMySpend. It is not connected to the internet. It used to be possible to store backups in the cloud but probably best not to since it is not the sort of thing you want Russian hackers or Nigerian princes knowing.
The simple act of keeping records of every single cent spent does mean that when you ask the question, why is there so much month at the end of the money, then you know exactly where all those silver sickles went.
Last month for me was unusually low because for once there was no water, no gas, no rates or insurance or any of those pesky huge household bills that are usually the bane of any budget. I do have them covered with a set amount sent every month to a special bills account but as far as possible I only dip into it for the council rates.
It is also the start of the annual ritual of Plastic Free July which is like Dry July only much more masochistic
The original rules of the game were not to buy any single use plastic products for the month of July. It is only when you start paying attention to plastic that you realise just how much of it there is around
The moment you step in a supermarket which usually has the bakery, fruit and vegetables at the entrance, there are all the loaves of sliced bread, assorted cakes and muffins all wrapped in plastic
Then there are the bananas and potatoes in bags. The assorted nuts, lettuce, spinach and salad etc.
In the dairy aisle, almost all the milk comes in plastic bottles or plastic lined cardboard cartons. Yoghurt in plastic tubs and cheese either in cling wrap or plastic packaging along with trays of meat
The confectionery and chips. Full of it along with just about everything in the freezers
So there is pretty much only some loose fresh fruit and vegetables, canned soup, beans and corn and the odd jar or two of olives, pickled onions, jam and peanut butter
Pretty much the whole cleaning products and toilet roll aisle are a non kosher zone. But generally I don’t include those in the challenge and stick just to food
Since this all started ten years ago with the actions of one single shopper who shared the idea with her friends, they have figured that pragmatism trumps purity so offered assorted versions of the challenge
One week, a fortnight, take away coffee cups and straws only and an assortment of other options
I usually use this as an opportunity to make July pantry month and basically just use up stuff in the cupboards or in the fridge.
It also happens to be squiggling time over at Camp Nanoland so the two projects tie together pretty well. Time not spent shopping is time that can be spent writing
I did sort of cheat in that I stocked up last week on packets of chips, nuts and pasta that are off the menu now due to their packaging
I am going to make it a sub challenge to see how long I can get a streak of no grocery shopping at all this month.
The charity shop where I volunteer a couple of days a week finally opened its doors to the public yesterday. I was so happy to be back there today amongst all the books. Tidying them up and putting them back in alphabetical order and adding new ones to the stock. We are a bit short on stock at the moment so I did not do any culling at all
One very nice customer turned up with 2 coffees for the staff. Since most folks who work there on Wednesdays drink their coffee strong and black, I scored one of the freebies
The inner lawyer reasoned that this is perfectly kosher since the coffee was a gift and I did not buy It myself, the fact it came in a take away cup with a plastic lid does not count as a black mark on the very first day of Plastic Free July
I thought it was nice to be on the receiving end of such a delicious random act of kindness.
I bought myself a book about the Voynich manuscript which could be a useful source of inspiration over in Nanoland.