A whacky winter idea to keep your bum warm!!

Just wanted to share this weird and wonderful winter idea from "Momentum Magazine- The magazine for self propelled people"- http://www.momentumplanet.com/blog/ronrich/winter-butt-warmer

The Iron Saddle

Who hasn't suffered from 'cold butt' while riding in winter, at least in the northern parts of the continent? A clever Brit came up with one solution - although perhaps a bit unforgiving for regular riding - as shown in the photo above. A battery, a 12 volt iron (without steam option) and voila! Toasty Buns!

And of course if you are truly nimble you can iron your clothes while you ride.

Cheers everyone- hope you enjoyed this little piece of wintery humour!!

Briony

Winter Solstice - Two Celebrations

Well Sunday is winter solstice in Melbourne meaning we are right in midwinter and approaching the shortest day of the year. The winter solstice is often celebrated as a time of rebirth and marks a time from whence the sun starts to gain strength and arise earlier and go to sleep later as we head into spring. So it really is a celebration of the end of darkness and a return of the light!!!

Last year I went to the CERES Winter Solstice Festival in East Brunswick. It was thoroughly enjoyable, candle lighting, delicious spicy mulled wine, good music, plenty of people and family friendly too……Rug up and enjoy!

Two celebrations that I can highly recommend:







CERES Yule Celebration - Winter Solstice Sunday 21st June 3 - 9pm – www.ceres.org.au

Brighten up your winter’s night and discover the beauty of darkness and light with shadow puppetry, a traditional Yule ritual, fire sculpture, poetry and a stellar musical line up.

$15 full $10 members /concession
$ 5 kids
$20 passionate - $5 of ticket price is donated to CERES
Tickets at the Gate







Collingwood Children’s Farm – Winter Solstice Bonfire at the Farm – Saturday 20th June (sorry for late notice)- www.farm.org.au

Beautiful Darkness celebrating the longest night of the Year with a Family Bonfire.

Collingwood Childrens Farm Stable Paddock Gates Open 4pm Bonfire Lit 6pm.


Prices Family Ticket $16.00
Children $4.00
Concession Family $10.00
Concession Adult $5.0
Adults $8.00

HAVE FUN......

Written by Briony
Images courtesy of CERES and the Collingwood Children's Farm

Miniature Knitting

Tiny Woollen Clothing

It's cold outdoors- obviously a time for woollen jumpers, jackets, gloves, mittens, hats, socks!! Most people own at least some knitted items in their cupboard. Personally I haven't even attempted knitting in over 20 years but to some it is an obsession and a wonderful winters past-time. But have you ever thought of miniature knitting or crochet?

Well, this seems to be the art of knitting incy, wincy, teeny, weeny, tiny little items of clothing using miniscule knitting needles (needles as small or smaller than .75mm in diameter) and extremely fine wool or crochet thread. AMAZING STUFF!!

Miniature knitting for the movie "Coraline" - an animated stop motion 3D fantasy!

Here's a video made by Althea Crome of "Bugknits" who is dedicated to miniature/nano-knitting.

This shows her teeny, weeny contributions to the movie "Coraline" written and directed by Henry Selick (Director of The Nightmare before Christmas).

I might even upload the movie trailer tommorrow.....

Written by Briony

Miniature Knitting Video- courtesy of Althea Crome (Bugknits)

"Coraline"- A film written and directed by Henry Selick (2009)

Dreadful Wind and Rain- A Traditional Murder Ballad

(Note: Please check out the music video at the bottom of this post as it is rather good in a random type way!)

The Dreadful Wind and Rain

There were two sisters came walkin' down the stream
Oh the wind and rain

The one behind pushed the other one in

Cryin' oh the dreadful wind and rain

The Millers son gave the youngest a gay gold ring

Oh the wind and rain

Didn't give the oldest one anything

Cryin' oh the dreadful wind and rain

They pushed her into the river to drown

Oh the wind and rain

And watched her as she floated down

Cryin' oh the dreadful wind and rain

Floated 'till she came to a miller's pond

Oh the wind and rain

Mama oh father there swims a swan

Cryin' oh the dreadful wind and rain

The miller pulled her out with a fishing hook

Oh the wind and rain

Pulled that fair maid from the brook

Cryin' oh the dreadful wind and rain

He left her on the banks to dry

Cryin' oh the wind and rain

And a fiddlin' fool come passing by

Cryin' oh the dreadful wind and rain

Out of the woods came a fidder fair

Oh the wind and rain

Took thirty strands of her long yellow hair

Cryin' oh the dreadful wind and rain

And he made a fiddle bow of her long yellow hair

Oh the wind and rain

He made a fiddle bow of her long yellow hair

Cryin' oh the dreadful wind and rain

He made fiddle pegs of her long finger bones

Oh the wind and rain

He made fiddle pegs of her long finger bones

Cryin' oh the dreadful wind and rain

And he made a little fiddle of her breast bone

Oh the wind and rain

The sound could melt a heart of stone

Cryin' oh the dreadful wind and rain

And the only tune that the fiddle would play

Was oh the wind and rain

The only tune that the fiddle would play

Was oh the dreadful wind and rain

Lyrics: Traditional

Music: Traditional - Played by Garcia/Grisman

Photo: Meg

Some Wintery Flora & Fauna Facts

Yesterday, I went for a late afternoon, winters walk, with my dad and my little boy. We just meandered slowly around the streets near my house in Northcote. Northcote is a quite type of suburb and my house is pretty near the railway line but it is an area where people seem to take a certain pride in their gardens. Not in a manicured way, but more as a creative expression. People have couches on their verandahs where cats curl up to keep warm, attempts at native gardens and vegetable patches and even the occasional wind chime!

As we walked home, the setting sun suddenly came out from behind the clouds in one of those special moments when you actually notice it.... and amazingly at this exact point in time a flock of Gang-gangs (or black cockatoos) flew overhead in a formation of about 8 or so. Not only are these quite rare birds, but I have never seen them in Melbourne before. I felt privileged to have seen them and was inspired to give our native fauna and flora some thought.

Some things I found:

• Gang-gang cockatoos and Australian King Parrots are apparently seen in the suburbs during autumn and winter!
• Many of Melbourne’s grey-headed flying foxes migrate in winter lowering the population from approx 20,000 to 5000. Colder weather increasing amounts that migrate.
• Echidnas search for their mates in June but breed later.
• It’s the only time of the year wombats feed in broad daylight.
• The pygmy possum in the Alpine regions of Victoria survives the winter under a protective layer of snow- it is the only Australian marsupial to hibernate
• There’s a higher winter mortality rate of red wattlebirds in Melbourne during winter due to Thiamine deficiency as a result of diet.
• In Melbourne, tree pollen, predominantly elm and cypress, occurs abundantly in late winter and spring, with grass pollen predominantly in spring and early summer.
• The Tree- Violet (indigenous) is found in many places of Melbourne and along the Yarra and releases it’s beautiful smell in late Winter/early Spring.
• If you plant garlic on the Winter Solstice it will be ready for harvest at the Summer Solstice
• The best herbs to grow through Melbourne’s winter are rosemary, oregano, parsley, bay, coriander, thyme, sage, lemon myrtle (frost-sensitive), Vietnamese Mint, scented geraniums and perennial chillies (frost-sensitive).
• It’s a pretty good time to plant your winter vegetables, things like broccoli, peas, cauliflowers and carrots.
• Winter is apparently also a pretty good time to plant fruit trees (of the dormant and bare rooted variety if possible).
• Woolly bear caterpillars may appear on the grass.
• With the onset of winter mice like the look of inside rather than outside and can enter a crack or hole as small as 6mm.
• Rat populations are at their lowest, as food is harder too find, many die and breeding is comparatively low.

I hope you enjoyed this little snapshot of our winter flora and fauna and a big thanks to the Gang-gang who provided the inspiration.....

Written by Briony

Colorful Felted Cat Balls - A Little Crafty Idea

Last winter I had the novel idea of making little colorful felted balls for cats or even for young children, but with a rattle inside. I have seen lots of beautiful felted balls in markets before, but none that seemed to rattle. So, I made these out of old ping pong balls, filled them with some recycled buttons and then carefully felted them using naturally dyed wool rovings with natural soap.

I personally think they look fabulous and fun and sound great when you roll them around. They are also light and soft and can't damage anything when thrown! Unfortunately my cat wasn't really the type to play with this type of thing- but I have no doubt many would enjoy it- particulary if you added a little catnip inside.

I re-discovered these today, and thought what a perfect opportunity to share this idea with you. They are not only made out of all natural or recyled products, but are easy to make, colorful and a lot of fun to play around with...... May you enjoy!!

Note: These may not be safe for babies, as small amounts of wool can fluff off from the surface and babies have a tendency to chew things...... However, you could string these up as a mobile somewhere in your babies room and rattle them for your baby to hear!

Written by Briony
Felt Balls and Photo by Briony

Wood or Woodn't

I have recently moved into a rental property in Northcote and as the evenings are becoming cooler, I have been sitting looking at my Coonara wood heater and wondering whether I should use it. At the moment I am using a shonky old wall gas heater which seems very efficient, but it has got me thinking – which has a greater negative impact on the environment?

The main argument that comes to mind is that wood can be a renewable resource, when we chop a tree down we can replant it- whereas fossil fuels are irreplaceable. In addition, it has been estimated by the Australian Dept of Climate Change that wood produces between 3 and 10 times fewer green house emissions per unit of heat compared to other energy sources. It is also considered by many as carbon neutral- that is burning it releases no more CO2 than when it biodegrades or rots.

However, the smoke from wood can pollute the air we breathe and reduce our local air quality. According to the EPA, the burning of wood in Melbourne is said to account for as much as 60% of our air pollutants in Winter. These pollutants can cause health problems for not only our families but for those who live around us.

It seems on chilly nights, we are particularly inclined to fill up our wood heater/fire with wood overnight leaving it to smolder. This smoldering just intensifies the problem as even more pollutants are released. In addition, approx 90% of heat from an open fire place is said to go up the chimney. However, that being said, I don’t have an open fire place; I have a slow combustion-wood heater which I believe can operate at 70% efficiency compared to 10% for an open fire.

So, it’s obviously a very personal choice, whether you “wood or woodn’t” in winter. Personally, for me, I think it’s time to see where I can purchase some “good wood” from a sustainable source- such as a local firewood plantation and start up my Coonara. As long as I use it correctly and minimally, I hope to reduce my impact on the environment- particularly by reducing my carbon emissions.

I plan to do this on a trial basis and only when it’s particularly chilly and never overnight. Maybe I will make it a time to sit in a beautifully warm room, with a nice ambient feel and reflect and give thanks to nature for making this warmth possible. If I feel it is creating too much smoke, or is inefficient or too expensive I guess I’ll either just have to wear more jumpers or occasionally light my shonky old gas heater…..

Important Note: When using a wood fire or wood heater, there are some things that are important things the EPA recommends:

· burn only dry, seasoned, untreated wood;
· use smaller logs instead of only one large log;
· do not pack the fire box too full as this will starve the fire of oxygen and cause it to smolder;
· keep the fire burning brightly for the first 20 minutes after lighting and reloading – the faster you can get the fire going the les smoke there will be;
· Always have a visible flame if you plan to keep the fire going overnight.

I would also suggest you never burn household trash or cardboard. Plastics and colored inks on magazines, boxes, and wrappers give off toxic chemicals when burned. Also keep your pile of wood at home dry so as not to get wet or mouldy.

Please take the time to consider your heating options for coming winters. If you own your own house or are building one, take the time to consider building design and heating options. Your decisions do make a difference. Us renters- well, I guess we will just have to work with what we've got!!

Written by Briony
Photo by Rachael Voorhees (flickr.)

Woodend Winter Arts Festival 5th-8th June

I just stumbled across this festival today and if you felt inclined to make the trip it looks like a great way to spend a weekend!! Woodend may be chilly in winter but it seems they are warming it up with a wonderful series of exhibitions, concerts, recitals, dancing, workshops and stories....

In it's 5th year, the Woodend Winter Arts Festival is quickly becoming one of Australia's premier literary, chamber music and visual arts festivals. It is held over 4 days in the wonderful town of Woodend- tucked amongst the Mount Macedon foothills and nearby to Hanging Rock- making it only about a 45-60 minute drive from Melbourne.

Artists and musicians from around the world are attending this event, and with plenty of wine, and food what a wonderful way to spend the Queens Birthday weekend....

Visit http://www.woodendwinterartsfestival.org.au/ for venue details and program times. I would suggest you look carefully at the program and where to buy tickets, as some shows have sold out and tickets are no longer available online.

For those of you who attend this event, I hope you have a glorious time and manage to keep your toes warm.....:)

Written by Briony

PostSecret- Worldwide Arts Project

In winter do you think of secrets? Do lie warm and snuggly and think of those delicious secrets from your past? Do you sometimes think of painful memories that no one else has shared? Well I highly recommend you check out the blog www.postsecret.blogspot.com/ .

Post Secret is a longstanding and continuing community mail project. It invites people from all over the world to mail in their hidden secrets on one side of a postcard in an artistic manner. Each Sunday, a chosen 20 of these are posted on this site. Interestingly this site is really only meant to give a weekly glimpse, as old posts are discarded fairly quickly and are virtually impossible to access.

This started as an experiment and entries have continued to roll in revealing secrets about everything from sexual misconduct to embarassing habits to secret desires!! This site is extremely popular and over the years has displayed over 2500 pieces of artwork from across the globe.

So if you wanted to create your own postcard and send it in with one of YOUR secrets, send it to the following address:

Post Secret 13345

Copper Ridge Rd

Germantown, Maryland 20874

Welcome to the world of global secrets !!

Written by Briony

Postcard by "anonymous"

From postsecret.blogspot.com

Some Simple Earthwise Remedies for Winter

It is interesting that cultures across the world continue to use a myriad of herbal remedies for many, many different types of ailments. Some of these are simple and some extremely complex, and many use age-old folk recipes.

Here are some simple earth-wise remedies that may help you fight some common winter ailments this chilly season! :) Considering the ingredients involved, I would assume these remedies are derived from an English/European heritage.

Note: As someone who is remains largely in the dark about herbal medicine, I have kept these to the basics and you should be able to find most ingredients around the house.

• To help a sore throat gargle a teaspoon of salt dissolved in warm water, four times daily. Alternatively add 5 drops of tea-tree oil to 1 glass of water and gargle. Warning: Do not swallow this gargle- as tea tree oil is toxic.

• To reduce the tickle in your throat, try a gargle with honey, popular in folk medicine. Steep 1 tablespoon of lemon juice in two cups of hot water and mix with one tablespoon of honey. Cool before gargling.

• To clear a stuffy nose and help yourself to a good night sleep add 1 tablespoon whisky, the juice of ½ a lemon and a little honey to hot chamomile tea.

• To warm your chilly feet mix 1 tablespoon olive oil and 3 drops each of rosemary and black pepper essential oils. Firmly sweep your hand up towards your ankle and then lightly sweep down towards your toes.

• To unclog sinuses mix 3 drops peppermint oil to a bowl of hot water and place your tent your head over the bowl and gently inhale in. Be careful not to go too close- steam can be very hot!

• Use oatmeal as a soap substitute to soothe flaky, dry skin. Oatmeal is recommended by dermatologists and is safe and inexpensive. Tie some oatmeal in a handkerchief, dunk it in water, then squeeze out the excess and use it as you would a normal face washer.

• Ginger has a great botanical ability to warm up a chilled body. Cut 1.5cms of fresh, peeled ginger and grate finely into boiling water, to make a yummy ginger tea. Allow ginger/water infusion stand and steep for 5 minutes before straining and drinking. It is very good with honey and lemon, but may be taken straight.

May you all stay warm and well this beautiful winter season!! :)

Written by Briony
Photo by "Lavonne Rice-Gordon"