Things you’ll never have to buy again, part 3

One of the readers has suggested running around naked to save on clothes – or so I understand – and I would gladly adhere if it weren’t so damn cold! We’ve had the worst month of June ever, with too much water and too little sunshine… Even the flowers in the garden seem to disapprove (with one exception), which brings me to today’s piece of wisdom. Let’s talk plants!

If you like a little peps in your plate you’re probably deep into seasoning – and so am I. Basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary – all are frequent and welcome guests in my kitchen. And all of them can cost quite a bit, once dried and packed into nice little containers…

Homegrown, by Iryna Klionava (that’s me!)

The good news is, you don’t need dried herbs if you can have fresh ones!

My own fashion revolution – 2

As promised, I continue my reflections on today’s fashion and the necessity to review our attitude to it.

I hope I’ve managed to – if not persuade you of the necessity of a fashion revolution – then, at least, make you think of it as a possible way of solving some of the global ethical and ecological challenges.

This must be me ))) Source: https://secondhandchallenge.wordpress.com/

And now I’m going to contradict myself…

Well, Hello 2016!

Last year I made the mistake of not asking for anything in particular and look what 2015 has brought: Ebola, ISIS, refugee crisis… 2015,  really, was this your idea of a decent present?

Now, dear 2016, to avoid any misunderstanding, here’s my list of New Year wishes:

1. Peace on Earth (and other inhabited planets). Cliché as it may sound, is there anything, ever, more important than peace?
2. Health for myself and my loved ones. Please 2016, I don’t want to hear the words “I’ve been diagnosed with cancer” again! Can’t we have a break this year?
3. Personal growth. (One can never have enough of it, right?) I’d love to become stronger, more independent and learn to finish my countless projects. I guess that’s what they call “growing up” (anyway, I’d rather grow up than down or sideways ))).

And that’s it: three wishes, like in fairy-tales. By the way, I have some hope with number three, thanks to a book I recently came across, “Refuse to choose” by Barbara Sher. I’m still in the process of reading it but I can already tell you that it has opened my eyes on something that I, somehow, never realised: the reason why it’s so easy for me to start a new project and so difficult to finish it, the reason why I’m constantly jumping from one interest to another, why I seem to be interested in everything and ready to learn pretty much anything, and with lots of enthusiasm, why I’m having more “brilliant” ideas than I can write down and that never bring me any profit…

If you have recognized yourself in this description, you might be what Barbara Sher calls a “scanner” (or a Renaissance person, or a polymath – if that sounds better to you) – someone who is constantly “scanning” the world for whatever catches his or her attention, a person of a great curiosity and many talents. Now, I’d rather be a scanner than a looser, wouldn’t you? In any case, it’s great to know that you’re neither a failure, nor alone – you simply happen to own a set of brains that’s wired in a different way and that allows you to do funny things that “normally wired” people won’t even think of. Now, I don’t know about you, but when I read about scanners, I felt a great relief: not bad for a start, huh?

By the way, I have a couple of ideas… But I’ll tell you all about it later )))

Time for a change!

Hi!

As you might have noticed, my posting rate has been terribly low lately…

Don’t worry: I’m still alive and doing as well as one possibly can. As for the silence… There’s no valid reason, really, except the feeling that my beloved blog is becoming a bit stale. Which means it’s time for a

Source: Web

I know, you know, we know that my writing addiction isn’t going to be cured any soon, so there’s no question I let go of my blog, but I find that my self-imposed blogging limits are making it… boring. Nothing is more toxic than boredom: it drains your resources and turns fun into a chore, and I definitely don’t want to go this way. That’s why I need something new, a fresh concept, a change of direction.

But what kind of change? What shall I write about to keep the audience and the speaker entertained? Should I concentrate exclusively on knitting  and turn my blog into a tool of semi-professional self-promotion or, on the contrary, make it more personal and write about the things that might appeal to no one but me?

Speaking about interests, I’ve been very curious about style lately, I even began writing a style guide – laugh if you please! – and was working happily until I asked myself the most inspiration-friendly question: “Hey, who do you think you are, a fashion guru or something? Do you think you can say anything new about style? And, by the way, did you even look in the mirror today – because your hair kind of defies gravity right now and there’s some funny reddish stuff just above your left eyebrow…” Thus, the masterpiece was killed in the bud and its author brought safely back to her Facebook newsroll… when, for once, something useful actually came out of staring at the familiar white-and-blue page: a friend who created a Facebook group dedicated to minimalism, invited me to join her as an admin. Now, it happens that minimalism is exactly the approach I prefer when dealing with style questions… And no further than a couple of days ago I was explaining my “rules” of personal style to another friend of mine… A curious coincidence, isn’t it? Or is it something more? Could it be a sign: a big, bold, into-your-face road sign clearly pointing the direction my blogging efforts should take?

What do you think?