Artificial Sweeteners

As part of my aim to get DD out of the house and socialising more with kids her own age, we've been attending a local playgroup for the last couple of weeks. Today was one of the kids 4th birthday, and of course there was cake and lemonade. Pretty normal for a preschoolers birthday celebration. I was casually watching the preparations, absently reading the label on the lemonade bottle. "No artificial colours or preservatives", oh good I though. Next line, "No sugar". The warning lights went on, and I came over to ask, "Does this have artificial sweeteners in it?" The mum looked at me in confusion. "I don't know?"

I checked the label, and sure enough, it listed artificial sweeteners. DD had water. I bought her a can of real lemonade, with real sugar, on the way home.

I would like to say that it amazes me that people don't even question what is in their food, but I only have to look back five or so years to know that I was like that. Luckily, I've never eaten any of those 'diet' foods simply because I don't like the artificial taste, but otherwise, I was just as ignorant as that mum.

I first researched the dangers of artificial sweeteners when I was pregnant with DD. I have no recollection why at this stage, since as I said, I've never eaten them, but something sent me searching. And let me tell you, most of what I found wasn't pretty. Nearly every artificial sweetener on the market is associated with cancer in some form. Laboratory tests of all of them have shown the formation of cancer in rats at far above normal rates, but yet, recommendations to have them banned have been overruled, and they have been allowed to continue to be used, often in food marketed at children!

Perhaps the dangers of artificial sweeteners can be summed up by the first artificial sweetener, used by the Ancient Romans, Sugar of Lead. I don't think I even need to explain what the side effects of that one were.

Ironically, most of them have not, in fact, been shown to help people lose weight! It is hypothesised that the sweet taste, without the calories, actually causes the body to demand more sweet food, thus leading to more eating. The latest research from the University of Texas has confirmed that artificial sweeteners are not helping people to lose weight, in fact, they are still gaining.

I could go on for hours about this one, and if you do a quick search on artificial sweeteners, you'll find plenty more information, especially about the worst culprit, aspartame, which is believed to cause brain tumours.

Please, read up on this topic before eating artificial sweeteners in any form, especially if you have children or are pregnant.

Sleep Deficit

Regular readers will have noticed the complete lack of posts for the last week or two. Truth is, both DH and I are more than a little behind on our sleep, and circumstances keep conspiring to make sure we don't catch up. The one hour each way commute to the city for DH's work means we have to leave the house at 6:30am to get him to the train station on time, and he isn't home until after 5pm. Give a couple of hours for playing, dinner etc, and it's nearly 8pm by the time DD is in bed, giving DH and I very little time to relax and unwind before we should be in bed ourselves. In order to catch up on some sleep, we really need to be in bed by 9pm, but somehow that seems impossible (as you will note from the 9:30 time on this post). We've tried not even turning the computers on, but then we sit and talk for an hour! All good stuff, but not helping with the sleep, thus making the extra time for blog posts right now just isn't happening. Hopefully we'll catch up a little soon (or give up trying!), and I'll have some more time for posting.

Still around...

Yes, I've been quiet. DH has had a week off, and we've been busy doing some reorganising around here. It's not quite ready to display to the world yet, but expect some reorganising posts in a few days...

Keeping on Mending

Some of my regular readers (and I do have regular readers, including 5 followers, Yay!) might remember this sheet from a previous repair post. I've been washing a lot of things on hot to be sure to keep the chicken's mites out of the house, and unfortunately the hot water (my machine does a 90 degree hot wash) has killed the elastic in the fitted sheet. Last time it was on the bed, it just kept coming off at the corners, very annoying.

I thought at first that the elastic had just snapped somewhere, but when I unpicked the seam at one corner, it was obvious it was just destroyed. So I cut the elastic, and pulled the whole lot out. (I could have left it in, but I'm a bit of a perfectionist.)

The fastest way to unpick the seams is to use this handy little tool. It's called a quick unpick, and is invaluable to the sewing enthusiast. No matter how good you get at sewing, there will always be times when you just have to unpick something. Like when you sew the arm of a t-shirt onto the neck opening. (Not that I would do something like that...) And also handy in this case, where you want to undo the stitching to change the elastic. (Handy hint, you can do this for skirts and pants that have become to tight but otherwise still fit, so long as the elastic isn't sewn in.)

Once I'd unpicked that spot, I cut the elastic, and pulled the whole lot out, a very slow and tedious process.

Then I had to replace it with some good elastic. I didn't happen to have a piece long enough, so I pulled out 3 2m bits, and sewed them together with a zig zag stitch like this.

I forgot to take photos of putting the new elastic in unfortunately, but basically you attach a safety pin to the end of the elastic, and use that to thread it through the casing. I found that all the way around a queen sized sheet was a LONG way, so I ended up unpicking the opposite corner too, and threading through from the opposite end as well.

Because of the long length, it's quite hard to get the elastic through evenly, so I simply pulled it as tight as I could, fastened it with the safety pin, and put the sheet on. Each time I'm making the bed, I check it, and often tighten it a little. When it's time to change the sheets again, I'll sew the ends of the elastic together, and close up the opening.

Some people might thing that this is a pointless waste of time, and it's much easier to just go out and buy a new set of sheets. But the reality is that the sheets are still good (and my favourite set), and they have plenty of wear left in them yet. The top sheet and pillow cases are still find, and the fitted sheet is still in reasonable condition. So for about 20 minutes work, I just saved about $100 (I refuse to buy cheap sheets, hate them), and at least half an hour's time had I needed to go buy a new set! Not to mention the damage to the environment to grow the cotton, process it into material, make the sheets, and ship them back and forth. It just makes sense to repair things where you can.

From the Garden

Tonight's Dinner

Despite the lack of care in the last few months, the garden is still quietly producing away. I ducked out to pick these to add to tonight's dinner. The pumpkin is self sowed up near the fruit trees, the corn has been looking after itself since it was planted (probably not going to get much out of it, but looks like we should get at least a little), and the zucchini plants are taking over the front garden (along with the watermelons and more self-sowed pumpkins).

I'm trying to develop a liking for zucchini, but so far it's not going well. They don't taste exactly bad, but I can't find anything to actually like about them yet, so I'm making do with hiding them under other vegies (mashed potato works well) or in other things, like the delicious pasta sauce below. Because no matter how bland they taste, there is one thing I can say about zucchini's, they sure are easy to grow in large numbers!

This is the pasta sauce I made yesterday completely from our home grown tomatoes. Actually, this is the leftover sauce that I put into the freezer after using the rest of it to cook up enough mince and sauce to do 3 meals, plus leftovers! Tomatoes, like zucchini's, are something we can easily grow plenty of. In fact, I really must go out and pick the next lot to add to the freezer tomorrow morning!

This afternoon I went out and picked a bunch of cow peas. I planted these on the side of the chook run back in the beginning of summer, and have looked at them drying the last few weeks, wondering if they were edible (I bought them mainly for the chooks), and after a bit of research today, it seems like they are. I picked all these in only a few minutes, and there are probably about this many again on the vines.

Shelling them left me with quite a bowl full of dried cow peas (which I'm pretty sure are actually a bean, not a pea!) Not sure exactly what I'll do with them yet, probably add them to a soup, stew or mince dish, but it's kind of cool to have all these when I hadn't really expected it. They are quite prolific (I only planted about 20 or so plants), way more so than other types of beans, and on top of that they are doing a great job shading my chook pen!

I miss it already!

I took my overlocker in to be repaired this morning, and I'm already feeling the lack. The notes on the last repair were "needle guides out of alignment" apparently. Sounds relatively easy to fix, but apparently they are snowed under right now, so I could be waiting a while.

I'm finding myself quite lost without it. I've been sewing so much in the last 6 months that it's become quite a habit. I find that making something, creating something, is very soothing and relaxing, and really helps me get back into the right frame of mind when I'm having one of those days.

Of course, I still have my sewing machine, and from reading all the sewing blogs I read, very few people use their overlockers as extensively as I use mine. In fact, I don't think I've seen one mentioned on a tutorial/sewing blog at all! (For any US readers, I believe an overlocker is the same as a serger?) However, ever since my grandmother gave me her old industrial overlocker nearly 15 years ago, I've loved them. To be able to cut, sew and finish edges all in one go is just perfect, and really helps keep things neat and tidy.

Of course, you can technically sew without an overlocker. There is nothing an overlocker does that you cannot replicate in some way on a sewing machine. It's just the the overlocker does it so much more efficiently and more neatly than a sewing machine. The reverse however is not true. There are some things that can only be done on a sewing machine, like taking up hems, sewing on binding or lace, or quilting. So if I had to pick one or the other, I'd go for the sewing machine, but since I have both, I'm strangely loath to start a new project until my baby is home again.

Almost, but not quite. I've found that I can sew nappies quite easily on just the sewing machine (although the thought that I could do them more neatly if only my overlocker were here pops up now and then), and since my sister has asked me to make some for her new baby (she's going to try cloth, Yay!), and so I guess that will have to do for my sewing fix until the overlocker is back. The first trial nappy was totally the wrong shape for her baby though, so I'm going to have to keep experimenting till I find something that works.

They're back...

The mites that is. Thought we had licked them, but apparently we gave up too early. We're again scratching every time we go near the chicken pen, and tomorrow we'll be waging war on the tiny itchies yet again. This is a photo from last time, when we bathed the chickens in tea tree oil. Don't they look miserable? We probably won't bother with that again this time, as it was a lot of effort for not much reward. Dusting with sulphur, both the chickens themselves, and their nesting boxes and sleeping areas, is far more effective. Even more effective when you dust, then hose down the whole pen, letting wet sulphur get into all the nooks and crannies. And apparently you need to keep it up for a few weeks after you think they're all gone, to get the next lot of eggs that hatch out.

Look out mites, you're days are numbered!

New Shirts

I've been sewing away at the t-shirts I'm making for DD, and am down to the last two. In fact, when I finish this post, I'll probably go and try to get them finished, leaving way for the next sewing project. She's been wearing them as fast as I'm sewing them, meaning it's hard to get a photo, but I'll try to add some to this post before I post it.

Out of 3 metres of fabric, I've made about 7 t-shirts, the entire lot costing me less than $20. There is plenty of material left over, just no pieces big enough for the front of the shirts. I will probably make some skirts as well or perhaps some pants.

I deliberately bought 3 co-ordinating colours so that I could mix and match, and ended up with some interesting colour combinations at the end, some deliberate, some just the material I had left. Each shirt I made is different in some way, perhaps a different colour binding, or different coloured sleeves/back. Only problem I've found is that because most of them are patterns, it's harder to match them with DD's patterned skirts.

There was a time not so long ago when you could by clothes for cheaper than you could make them, but it seems that is passing. I wonder if it's the material getting cheaper, or the clothes getting more expensive? Or perhaps it's just that I'm sewing for a smaller person now! It can't only be that though, because I'm finding it cheaper to make clothes for myself too, so long as I stick to the simpler patterns, which is really what I prefer anyway.

I've taken to cutting up the junk mail catalogues as they come in, picking out the clothing pictures I once would have gone out to buy, and sticking them into a scrapbook for inspiration when sewing. Nearly every picture I see is a relatively simple alteration on a basic pattern, so are easily reproducible without much added expense. Now that we've solved the immediate lack of t-shirt issue, hopefully I'll have time for some pretty and frilly additions!

Edited to add: Not any time soon though, overlocked is broken again! I had the same problem a few weeks after I bought it, so I'm not happy that it's happened again. Back to the repair shop yet again!

New Routines

Well, after feeling inspired by my own post last night, we got out this morning and tackled about half the mowing (with FIL's help), planted out those three trees that desperately needed it (another Valencia orange, navel orange, and pink lady apple to add to my collection), and cleaned out the chook run. Unfortunately the mites are back again, just when we thought we had them beat. Have to be more vigilant this time. I also bought a few kg's of apricots at the markets this morning for $3.50 a kilo, and they're drying in the dehydrator as we speak.

While all these things are good to get done, we're also busy working on making sure our lives are more organised to achieve things on a regular basis, not just in fits and starts like so often happens. I've been a fan of Flylady's methods since I first discovered her website several years ago, and have gone through stages of 'Flying' with her on and off. I don't have time right now for the e-mail lists, but I do think that her methods can, and have, worked well for our family. So yesterday I wrote up a new morning and evening routine. I've had routines for quite a while, but unfortunately they grew so much that I was too daunted to start them! And routines can't really help you if you don't do them! So DH and I wrote up some new ones together, limiting ourselves to three things in the morning, and three things in the evening. We could, of course, have put down many more things, but really wanted to stick to the essentials, and not overwhelm ourselves.

Morning Routine:

• Unload Dishwasher
• Make Beds
• 5 minute hotspot* rescue

*hotspots are those places where clutter builds up, in our case the computer table, the kitchen bench, around the TV etc.

Evening Routine:

• Load Dishwasher
• Take out Compost
• 5 minute room rescue on Lounge room

I'm pleased to report that even after only doing these routines for 2 days, we can see the difference. You might think that doing three such small things would be a drop in the ocean, but it's surprising how much of a difference it makes. No doubt in time we'll add to these routines, but for now we're just going to practice these until they're automatic.

New Year, New Enthusiasm.

Regular readers may have noticed that this blog has been rather quiet through November/December. In part, this was due to the fact that these have been very busy months for our family. November was taken up with writing, December with frantic Christmas preparations. On top of that, the weather has been hot, hot and more hot, with lots of rain thrown into the mix. Very little chance for gardening, for even if we braved the heat to plant, what is going to grow in this weather? (Other than the watermelons, which are doing great!)

And now, here we are in 2009, wondering what we are going to do this year. Well, we are hoping for some lifestyle changes, mainly in the form of a new job for DH. Closer to home would be great, but is unlikely due to the lack of jobs in his field nearby. Mainly though, we are hoping for some more regular hours, less stress, and hopefully a bit more flexibility.

DH and I have been talking too, and are looking at ways to further reduce our expenses on the basis that saving $100 is worth more than making an extra $100. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, think on it. For starters, of the $100 extra you make, a large percentage is immediately gone in tax. Not to mention the GST you're not paying simply by not buying something.

With this in mind, it will be back to making, mending and growing this year. I'm itching for the weather to cool down enough to plant something, but think I'll realistically have to wait until mid February at least. In the meantime though, there are some fruit trees that still need to be planted out (from before November!), mowing to do, fruit trees to mulch etc etc, so plenty to keep me busy. On the sewing front, I'm finally getting around to finishing those t-shirts for DD, making more shopping bags (and I've just had the brainwave to recycle my old green bags, which are more than a little the worse for wear, into stiffening in various projects), some swimming togs for DD (from second hand swimming tops), and no doubt many other things. I need to get back into preserving, before all this wonderful summer fruit is done for the year, including cooking up all the tomatoes that are languishing in my freezer (cooked up one lot last night though, and they were delish!). I need to cook more from scratch, and start figuring out how to use all this garden produce. I also have lots and lots of wool that needs to be spun ready for the winter knitting frenzy.

On the financial front, hopefully we'll have more no-spend months, do some budgeting maybe, and hopefully, 2009 will be the year that we pay off the credit card for good. We've paid it off before, but it is only this time, through dint of paying it off bit by bit the slow hard way, that we have actually changed our spending habits enough to know we are not going to run it straight back up again. Then we can work on saving, and beginning paying extra on the home loan. Exciting stuff.

I also need to get working on organising the house, decluttering, making curtains for the windows, rugs for the floors, that sort of thing.

And last, but not least, I have to get a plan in place for DD's first official year of homeschooling. She is due to start prep this year, which is not compulsory in Queensland, so we will be running our own program (at this stage), including lots of getting out and joining groups, excursions, and other fun stuff.

So stay tuned for a hopefully action packed 2009!