Gypsy bag
Well hello!
First of all, apologies for the lack of posting recently. Like many others I have been hit by the January apathy and have been unable to motivate myself to blog and combined with the chaos which my life has recently descended into it has meant a distinct lack of posts.
Thank you to everyone who gave me congratulations on my engagement – I am really happy about it!
And thirdly, welcome to all of you who have trundled over here from Hawthorn Hill – I hope you like it here – please leave me a comment to say hello!
So, onto the subject of my post.
As you know from my previous post about supporting small businesses I like to buy things from individuals wherever possible and so when my trusty handbag of over 10 years finally gave up the ghost I decided to treat myself to a high quality decent bag. I am hard on my things – I don’t mean to be, I am just clumsy and somewhat rough with things, so high quality it is and I will always prefer to save for something and to spend more money on it if it will last.
Some time ago I came across this marvellous shop Fairysteps and immediately fell in love with everything in it. So I decided to get a bag from Ren there. I debated long and hard (seriously, I dread to think of the number of hours I have spent mooning around in her online shop) and measured everything I wanted to go into it. When I got it, the bag wasn’t quite big enough for what I wanted and so I emailed Ren and explained. And do you know what – she was amazing, ever so sweet and helpful. When I suggested that I would love the same bag in a bigger version she said she would make it for me. And so she did – the details and photos are on her blog here.
Image from Fairysteps blog
I love it – it can fit so much stuff in – I even took a photo for her – which she then put on her blog in a post called ‘Inside the tardis’!
So, as you can see, it fits a lot into it, including a Fairysteps purse and a dimple pouch and the bag from cre8tive mama to keep my flannel wipes in (which double as extremely luxurious hankys!). Ren also has her own ethical policy, which is another reason why I chose to buy from her.
Every where I go I get loads of compliments, as it is really unusual and wonderful. I love my new bag – the quality is amazingly high and I can see this bag getting better and better as it ages.
What is your favourite independent buy?
Oh OU!
I love to learn, anything and everything. I have an insatiable curiosity about so many topics, from practical crafts through to academic studies. I honestly would be really happy just learning new things constantly and, due to my nature, be able to do them perfectly and know everything!
I would have loved to have stayed at university when I finished my degree and gone on to do a MA and then a PhD. But you know, money…life…blah blah and I couldn’t do so.
A couple of years ago I found out about the Open University. It is an amazing institution, it means you can study for a degree from home, in your own time. There is even funding available for you to do this, depending on your circumstances.
My other half is studying for two science degrees and I have done two small modules – one on photography and one on music. It covers just about every subject. It is very highly regarded by major institutions. My problem is I pretty much want to do every course on there. Although I have done a BA hon Theatre Studies degree (not performance arts, it is an academic study of theatre), I could have chosen to go down a science or language route when I was younger. As such I want to learn everything!
The OU even does an ‘open’ degree where you can study modules from every faculty and come away with a BA or BSc depending on whatever section you did most of and your degree would be BA (hons.) Open or BSc (hons.) Open.
It is an absolutely amazing institution which we in the UK are extremely lucky to have and it is open to overseas students as well. It is an excellent way for people to continue their learning when maybe they weren’t able to when they were younger, or because they couldn’t afford it, or because they are now retired and want to keep their brain active, or because like me they just want to know about everything!
But in true OU style they make their learning open – some of the very high quality, informative programmes on the BBC are co-produced with the OU, the OU does free podcasts via iTunes U and it is making decent sections of some of its modules available for free here. Go and check out some of the modules and enjoy learning something new.
Creative joy
I don’t blog about my life on a a day to day path like many of the bloggers I follow and so (strangely enough) I don’t share many things with you, including what I am making on an ongoing basis and I think that maybe this is because creativity has become a lot more part of my life.
When I was working as a marketing manager (see my story) I was always so jealous of my best friend for her amazing creativity, artistry and her talent. I just kept moaning that I wasn’t creative and I wanted to be more so. She kept telling me (repeatedly) that I was a creative person, I needed to leave my job as it was bad for me, I should just start creating and I never believed her.
A few months before I lost my job I was crossing Westminster Brigde in London and I had this overwhelming feeling that I was being crushed and suffocated by my corporate suit, that my laptop was weighing me down to the extent that it was going to break me in half and I had an feeling I should spining around, faster and faster and let go of the case so it would arch up and then plummet into the Thames. I had a moment of sanity and didn’t do it, although to be honest it really was touch and go.
When I lost my job I cried and was devestated, but when I was crossed London Bridge (London’s bridges have a massive power for me) to get to the station, ‘Song of Awen’ by Damh the Bard (lyrics here), came onto my iPod and I was filled with happiness and joy, I laughed out loud, played it on loop the whole way home and grinned. I got home, played all of his albums and danced.
Since then my creativity has just blossomed and bloomed. I guess I have found the Awen Damh sings about.
I grow food, make jewellery, bake, cook, play music, sing, dance, knit, crochet, sew, make soap, make skincare products, write, draw and many other things. Tomorrow I am starting Tribal Belly Dancing, (inspired by Verdant’s World), partly because I have always thought it sounds great fun and partly to help build and strengthen a new friendship.
I love my life and all of the creativity that flows in it now. Quite a large part of this is because I have changed my life to be more congruent with my values and a large part is down to my wonderful other half, Gavin.
He has supported me in so many ways which I cannot express and has become an integral part of my new life, a joyous, happy one which I never imagined would belong to me. I love him deeply. On Christmas day he asked me to marry him, so I am now engaged and overjoyed.
Hmm, I really hadn’t intended to say all that when I set out writing this post, I was just going to say I will be sharing some photos of all of the presents I made for Christmas very soon, as well as more regular updates about my crafting. I guess I just got carried away by the creative joy of writing!
Need it? WANT it.
I have just seen this post at Sociological images. I highly recommend this blog – it is by sociology professors and their rule is all posts must contain an image.
Their post “‘Need’ and the Standard of Living” is about how we often use the word ‘need’ when actually it is a ‘want’. This post has really effected me, I’m at work and I’m all teary. If I was at home I would be in floods of tears (ok, there is an element of PMS, but it is still heart-wrenching).
Just one image:
Also in Jakarta, Subur lives with her 9-month-old son, Subeki, on a bench:
I don’t know about you, but suddenly I feel extremely lucky, blessed and very very spoilt in my life. There is only 6 images in this post, but my, humbling they are.
More motivation for me to watch the story of stuff and to really start thinking about how I can make changes in my life for the better. The vast majority of things that I want at this moment in my life are just that – a want. Sorry this post isn’t very comprehensive, I keep getting close to crying and I need to get on and do some work, but I thought sharing this with you would make me feel better and pass on the ‘pause for thought’.
Please read this post and see what it makes you think, it is mainly images so it shouldn’t take too long.
No Impact Man
Seasons greetings and all that. It’s not a big deal for me and I tend not to celebrate it, so no big thoughts on the New Year from me!
I followed the No Impact Man blog for a while, before I decided I needed to cut down on my internet time. So when the book came out I got on the waiting list at my library for it.
I read it twice in quick succession and really enjoyed it. I don’t want to give a review of it, as there are professional critics out there, but I want to talk about how it made me think.
There are a lot of facts in this book many of which are quite horrifying. But I found it all made me feel guilty and I should be focused on how I can improve my life.
One of his main points is how much easier it is living in the city to be green. I can relate to that – when I lived in London I could easily get everywhere I wanted to go, I didn’t have a car, it was easier to live in a greener way. In fact for just under a year I lived in a community, with the aim of living lighter on the earth.
Here in the suburbs it is more difficult to be as green, but I think I am using that as an excuse. By moving in with my partner I have had to change many things (he was 36 when I moved in, me 29 and we were both set in our ways somewhat!), but I think I have changed many of my eco ways for the worse, watching TV, particularly eating take ways much more frequently and using my car to get around when I could get my act together and cycle. Part of the problem is I can’t get access to the bike as my back gate has swollen shut. Excuse alert!
I am already doing a lot of the basic green stuff, making my own beauty products, not getting plastic bottles and bags etc, growing my own veg, making a lot of my own food, but I think I am just doing the easy stuff and I can push myself more.
But one things that I found most thought-provoking was his mention of the Story of Stuff. Now, I have seen this linked to on many of the blogs I read and yet I have continued to ignore it. Why is that? Am I afraid of what I might see? Or is it a touch of arrogance on my part? If that is that case why haven’t I watched it, just to prove myself right?
So, I commit to watching this and posting my thoughts on it within the next 2 weeks.
Lastly, something I found very interesting is he came to the conclusion that we should be focusing on what we gain by being green – mainly communities and better relationships with people around us – saying (paraphrase)
We need to draw lines around people, not between them
That is something I like! For me this is what the blogging community is, what the D2E forum does, and I think this is the fundamental key for getting ourselves out of the environmental mess we are in.
Carnival of Feminists
Hello to everyone who has made it over to here from Penny Red’s hosting of the Carnival of Feminists, where I am really, really proud to be featured.
If you have read my blog before you will have seen several links to Penny Red, whose writing I really admire. I found her blog through a friend of a friend of a friend a couple of years ago who knew I would like it, as I do. I highly recommend you read her blog if you are at all interested in contemporary feminism.
The Carnival is angry and shouting with quite a few of us talking about rape and the language which surrounds it, as well as features on surviving Christmas as a feminist when faced by things which makes us want to cry or start a massive argument about.
So head on over there and have a read.
It doesn’t just ‘happen’
*Warning this post is both very angry and potentially triggering.*
On my way into uni this morning I saw two advertising posters which made me angry. One had me wanting to smash it up with whatever I could lay my hands on.
It was talking about rape and the counselling services this organisation provided for victims. All very well and good, but its tagline was
Rape happens, talk about it with us
The ‘talk about it with us’ is a paraphrase, but ‘rape happens’ isn’t.
Rape doesn’t HAPPEN. Gagging for a cup of tea when you get home at the end of a long day happens, forgetting your sister’s birthday happens when you are really busy.
But rape doesn’t HAPPEN. It is inflicted upon women by male perpetrators who have made a conscious choice to do so.
I am very disappointed that a charity supporting rape victims choses its words like this. I would search for what charity it is, but I am at university and I don’t want to type that into google – I am scared as to what will come up.
The other poster? Transport for London (government organisation who are responsible for all of the transport in London – tubes, buses etc. Their poster said (again slight paraphrasing)
No, stop, please, no, stop, stop, please, no…stop taking unlicensed mini cabs
this was over a picture of a woman’s face contorted in horror in a cab. So – you see women it’s your fault you get raped – you got into the wrong cab. Not the cab drivers fault at all, or transport for London’s fault for not cracking down on this. They may well have some sort of policing operation to stop this, but that is not what they are focusing on in this poster.
Shakesville writes very eloquently on this – what she refers to as rape culture. Go and read her post for a more coherent response.
Both of these posters put the focus on women and completely ignore the fact that if it wasn’t for men forcing this on women it wouldn’t be an issue.
That’s all I can say on this right now, I have rushed to the computer room at uni to vent my rage and share it with you, as I suspect most people will look at me as if I am mad if I tell them my feelings about this. I have to go and calm down now as I am part teaching a session with some other people for the rest of my colleagues on my course.
No hair shirts here
Being green is often positioned as being worthy and sacrificial. Which I believe is a huge turn off to most people. So, why don’t we start talking about how green can sometimes be luxurious?
About 6 months ago I decided I didn’t want to keep spending out for cotton wool for taking off my make-up – although its financially cheap there is a big environmental cost attached to it – requiring huge amounts of chemicals are used to make it gleaming white. (Sorry I don’t have any references to hand), not to mention the waste. So I decided to find an alternative.
I found these wipes on etsy from Crea8tive Mama. I am a fussy woman and I wanted seriously bright and funky colours, which she provided for me, along with a wet bag which I can use for when I am cycling places to have a quick freshen up.
So – why is this luxurious? It is made from flannel and minke fleece- neither of which we can easily get hold of in the UK. For you UK people – minke is wonderful, so so soft and gentle – far nicer than cotton wool. We also don’t really go for flannel in the same way as the Americans do (I think we call it brushed cotton here and we have a very poor range in comparison).
At the same time I also got some panty liners to supplement my mooncup – again, completely luxurious to wear. Plus the funky colours really make me smile and I have a bit of a secret when I am wearing them, which quite frankly amuses me because I am a child!
I asked Crea8tive Mama for an image to brighten up this post and she willingly provided!
Could I have made them myself? Sure, with a lot of faffing around, and major amounts of expense – I don’t have easy access to the fabrics, or the thing to put the poppers on and I like have a range of colours and designs, as I said it makes me smile! I also wouldn’t have been able to make them to the same quality, without spending hours on it! So, I took the decision that I wanted these and I was going to buy them ethically – from a small supplier.
I like buying things from individuals, they truly care about your business. This lady bent over backwards to meet my unnecessarily picky requirements, service with a virtual smile, quick turnaround and I feel happy that my choices have (in a tiny way) supported a woman who has created her own business.
So, somewhat worthy in a supporting other’s way, worthy because I am helping the environment by cutting down on waste, but the complete opposite of wearing a hair shirt. By talking about the pleasure I get from my green choices it can sometimes get someone to listen who normally would be very closed to green ideas.
Just as a little disclaimer I haven’t had any sponsorship/freebies in order to write this post, just in case you were wondering if there was a ulteria motive!
So, what about you – what luxurious green things do you do/have?
Thank you
I just realised I haven’t said thank you for all of the lovely comments and emails I get from you.
I have a very tiny audience here at Dark Purple Moon and your encouragement is wonderful, so a very big thank you for all of your support and thoughts.
My blog has very deliberately not been a day to day diary type place, but one where I can put my many thoughts about topics into a (hopefully) coherent piece which makes me think, as much as sharing my thoughts with other people.
At the moment I feel I am very much ‘preaching to the choir’, but I hope that there are some readers who I have made to think about things in a different way.
Now, enough procrastination, I have an essay to write!
