240 Volt LED Lamps

 

If you still have incandescent lamps at home, consider when they blow, replacing them with these. This unit is a 13 watt one which is suitable for most average sized rooms. There is a smaller 5 watt 108 LED unit but I would only recommend those for a passageway or a small area like a toilet. They can be bought in B22 bayonet cap or E27 Edison screw types.

These units use even less power than Compact Fluro's (CFL), a  reasonably cheep on ebay and are long lasting.

Gavin's First E Book

 

Gavin's philosophy is a simple one and he describes it as this;

"An Ordinary Australian Man Who Has A Green Epiphany Whilst Watching A Documentary, Gets a Hybrid Car, Plants A Large Organic Vegetable Garden, Goes Totally Solar, Lowers Consumption, Feeds Composts Bins and Worms, Harvests Rainwater, Raises Chickens, Makes Cheese and Soap, and Eats Locally. All In The Effort To Reduce Our Family's Carbon Footprint So We Can Start Making A Difference For Our Children & Future Generations To Come."


I have known Gavin for many years and his first book is true testament to his love of making the world a better place to live.

Gavin and his family have done a remarkable job transforming their lives and their home. They have helped so many of us to go even a little shade of green.

This book will inspire you to take the first steps, however small or large they be, into your own journey of sustainable living.

A good mate and true Eco superhero, Gavin also writes 2 blogs, runs a sustainable living group and holds workshops in cheese making.

I am looking fwd to his next instalment in his planned series of e books.

Well done Mate. Keep it green.

If you would like to read Gavin's Book , go to his blog, "The Greening Of Gavin" and follow his link .

Bee's and CFL's

Many of you know that just recently I was woofing at Sophia college in Brunswick Jn WA

During my stay there and amidst cleaning up after the nasty storms, I noticed a rather large hive of bee's in residence in one of the building roofs.

At night I noticed the bee's were attacking the night / security lights on the covered walkway.

After further investigation I discovered the light closest to the hive and the one that had the most dead bee's under it in the morning was a Compact Fluro lamp.
 
I removed the light, it was then too dark to safely navigate the walkway at night.

I found a low wattage Halogen type lamp and put it in, the bee's didn't attack it.

I can only guess that the electronic noise made by the CFL was annoying the bee's so they attacked it in defence of the hive.

Who Killed Dave ?

I have just finished this wonderful book. I actually had trouble putting it down, especially  as I am someone is can be termed as a non reader.

Linda Cockburn is a fantastic writer and I fully recommend her books to anyone.

Go to Together Press or Living The Good Life for more info or to purchase her books.

They would make someone a great Christmas present.

Dave died in mysterious and grotesque circumstances and the murder has caught the imagination of a nation. There’s a television poll running and 46% of voters believe Robyn is guilty.

Maybe she did, maybe she didn’t, she wasn’t in any state to remember.

But hey, if you’re pointing fingers then Kaos Court is full of people crazy enough to commit the crime.
This part time masseuse, part time tarot card reader is going to need all her skills to find out who killed Dave, because it’s the only thing standing between her and Detective Mark Hood, a man she could never marry, not when your first name is Robyn. Right?

A whacky whodunit comedy that cartwheels from one chaotic moment to the next.

And who killed Dave? ... You’ll never guess!

ISBN: 9780646501321
RRP $24.95 (AUD)

Linda Cockburn is also the author of Living the Good Life - Simple Strategies for sustainable Living, also titled Living the Good Life - How One Family Changed their world from their own backyard, published in 2006 by Hardie Grant and 2007 by Snowbooks.
The book details Linda's family's attempt to live six months from a suburban block producing their own food, power, water, transport and creating zero waste.
They've been featured on Channel 7's Today, Tonight, Time Magazine, Notebook, That's Life and many others.
Linda is a regular contributor to ABC Organic Gardening Magazine.

Linda has almost clocked up enough hours in Australia to be considered true blue, but her pronounciation of 'fish n' chips' still gives away her kiwi origins.

Linda, partner Trevor and son Caleb have moved to Tasmania where they are building a strawbale home without use of concrete, PVC and chemical paints. They've surrounded themselves in goats, sheep, chooks (chickens) and bees and spend most of their time saving on gym fees working out in the garden.

WS131 - Sophia college (second attempt)

My first attempt at WWOOFing at Sophia college was cut short by Mother nature having a tantrum and knocking down some trees and destroying the power grid with some 140 +km/hr winds.

I will go out again and  have another attempt this Friday for a week.

Here are some photo's of the college.

 

Oh, and  its for sale... for a cool $Au 850,000.

WS131- Sophia College, Brunswick Jn WA

Hi Guys and Gals,
Yes you guessed it ...I’m off on another adventure.

This time it's at Sophia College In Brunswick Jn WA. for 2 weeks.

Sophia College is a provider of courses in


Holistic Counselling, Artistic Therapies, Buddhist Psychotherapy & Counselling.

My first day started with friendly staff ( Yarno and Tara) greeting me and getting me settled in.

My room is a spacious single in a cluster of three, all with separately locking doors and a shared bathroom. The room and bathroom are clean and functional.

The kitchen is huge, clean and has everything that you need. The staff buy your food for you and you cook your own.

Currently I am the only WWOOFer here so its a case of fend for myself, which I am quite capable of, however it is always nicer to share.

The routine is you are given a list of jobs, and you work away at that list for 4 hrs a day, the rest of the time is your own.

I will post some photo's tomorrow.

     

WP109 - Wind Up

A great place to do WWOOFing. A great pace to find yourself. I had a ball, free yoga lessons, free lessons in mindfulness, great food, great people.

The garden in the downstairs bathroom.

  And the fire place in the library.

Well, that's it for now .. I will visit this place again.

WP109 - Day 14 The last day

Today I awoke, had a early shower , attended meditation and class and ate breakfast like I have been most mornings.

I walked into Fremantle and just walked around , had lunch and walked back again.
Having fulfilled my duties I was a little lost as what to do with myself. I decided just to be in the moment and do nothing, no stress, no anxiety and  only a little pain.

In the morning I shall start as usual and after class pack up and say thanks and see you again soon . I've had a wonderful time

Wombat

WP109 - Days 12 & 13

Yesterday was Yoga day .. Once a month 60 + people converge on this place for a day of Yoga. Physical in the morning and Mind in the afternoon, throw in lunch and for $30.00 its a great day.

All the students and the wwooffers pitched in to cook, serve and clean up afterwards.

There were salads a many, fresh breads , fruit platters , and the very popular pupmkin soup.

 
Above are Michael, Keiko and Natalie stirring 3 big pots of pumpkin soup.

This is Michael showing us how to dissect a perfectly hard boiled bum nut.

Thanks also to Angela and Louise for your help too.

This morning I finished installing the lock on the bat cave. The rest of the day will be spent relaxing.

Tomorrow will be spent in Fremantle.

WP109 - Day 11

A great day..

Over the last few days I have been on the lookout for some carpet for a room that is being refurbished. This room was a store room affectionately known as the bat cave and will become another bedroom.

We scored big time, literally a ute load of carpet that had been laid in a office suite,  the owner didn’t like the colour and had it replaced ... It is brand new. I later went to the carpet shop and looked at the samples, finding the exact same marked at Au$180.00 per L/m  not including laying. Thanks to Richard who kindly gave it to us for a total cost of Au$0.00.

I also went to the hardware store and got a lock and handle for the door, to be installed  by myself in the next few days.
Now ... where can I get Batman and Robin costumes for the new tenants to wear ?