Friday, 6 April 2012

Easter Violets



A tiny bundle of violet chrysanthemums & a vintage postcard. 





A hand stitched rabbit, violets printed on calico, a chocolate ribbon around his neck.






A shy little rabbit. Hand stitched with embroidered violets and a lavender ribbon bow for her neck.







A collection of violet embellished china.




A lichen encrusted branch. Everything tied with kitchen twine.





Happy Easter.


Y Cate


Where do Easter Eggs come from?



Easter eggs grow on trees of course!


Retiree Volker Kraft decorates a tree with 10,000 Easter eggs his garden in Saalfeld, Germany March 21, 2012. (AP)http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-501370_162-57409401/an-easter-egg-tree-grows-in-germany/


76 year old Volker Kraft has decorated his tree with 10, 000 eggs this year! He and his family use blown eggs and decorate them by hand. They live in Saalfeld, Germany and their amazing tree attracts thousands of visitors.

I've also heard that Easter Eggs grow from seeds. Little teeny tiny round 100's and 1000's seeds.


Kids just sprinkle them on the grass the night before...then Easter morning the eggs have magically grown and are nestled in the grass ready to be found!
Wow! That should simplify things for the Easter Bunny.

Y Cate






Thursday, 5 April 2012

despair is inevitable

The five tenets of social injustice identified by researcher Professor Daniel Dorling are:

elitism is efficient
exclusion is necessary
prejudice is natural
greed is good
despair is inevitable


I'm reading Professor Dorling's book at the moment. I feel at turns angry, stunned and called to action (or at least deeper thinking and self reflection) by what I'm reading. He posits that:

Elitism, exclusion, prejudice, greed and despair will not end just by being recognised more clearly as unjust. Slavery did not end by abolishment. Women were not emancipated by being allowed to vote. Child abuse by dangerous labour did not end with the Factory Acts.
It is in our minds that injustice continues most strongly, in what we think is permissible, in whether we think we can use others in ways we would not wish to be used ourselves.

My most favourite part I've read so far is the rejection of the fiction of inherent intelligence and the description of the very few adults in European history who helped rescue and shelter Jewish people in occupied Europe.

It is worth repeating that when the rescuers' backgrounds were looked into it was commonly found that their parents had set high standards for them as children, high standards as to how they should view others, and their parents did not treat them as if their were limits to their abilities, nor did they tell them that others were limited.

I would like to think that despair is not inevitable...I would like to be part of that revolution.


Y Cate


image from http://www.borders.com.au/book/injustice-why-social-inequality-persists/23606330/

Monday, 2 April 2012

the two doctors in my life

I have lost 12 kilograms {26 pounds} since the 1st of February.
I have followed the advice of two doctors to get to this point.


     


The first doctor, Dr Pierre Dukan advises: 
     
"Using spices and herbs is highly recommended.

They bring out the flavour of foods and heighten their sensory value. 
Spices are not just taste enhancers: they are foods which encourage weight loss.

What certain spices such as vanilla or cinnamon do is offer their warm and reassuring taste in exchange for sugary flavours."

Bless his dear little quirky French heart: he has acknowledged that my food needs to be reassuring!






"Buy fresh flowers for your home and eat more broccoli."
    
The second doctor, Dr Andrew Weil includes an 8 week program for healing in his book, Spontaneous Healing.
       
The week one to-do-list (is rather longish) and includes the prescription to buy fresh flowers so that you can enjoy them and eat more broccoli.


I have been following week one for roughly 3 months now. 
      
Am rather afraid to move to the more imposing week two...


Hot-by-forty plan formula:
{herbs and spices} + {fresh flowers and brocolli} = 12 kilogram weight loss


Well there has been a little bit more to it than that... but following these two doctors is truly changing my life.


Y Cate

Sunday, 1 April 2012

The Healthy Mind Platter





With so much focus on obesity in the media, many parents I talk to want their children to be healthy. We have all heard of the healthy eating pyramid, that tells us how much of each type of food to eat. Being healthy is more than this focus, and Dr Dan Seigal and Dr David Rock recently came up with healthy diet for our mind. The Healthy Mind Platter.


Do you feast each day from one section of the platter? Imagine if we focused on the healthy mind diet. I think the next time I went out for coffee I would say “I’m sorry, I have been pigging out on ‘focus time’ all week at work, I think I will just have a little slice of down time”. And promptly lie on the grass, recharging my brain.


“Down time: when we are non-focused, without any specific goal, and let our mind wander or simply relax, we help the brain recharge.”        
     Dr Siegal



You may have started to notice I’m all about parenting, and all about food. A healthy recipe is called for today: make it with your children so that you are also having a healthy mind platter.


Take these scrumptious healthy carrot muffins to the park or back yard, lie down on the grass and tell their children it’s time to feast from the healthy mind platter.  

Holly Treechange

<a href='http://www.123rf.com/#catesunshine'>123RF Stock Photo</a>