Just a Brief Update - On Furniture, Lime Paint and Other Horrors

I keep meaning to blog, and then other things happen and 'latest news' isn't 'latest news' anymore, lol.

Well, we survived the heatwave/s (somehow). Without AC! (I'm still proud of this!)

The walls of the room have been painted - with eco-friendly lime paint! (Even though I/we were afraid it wouldn't stick to previous paint, it did!:)

Some Granny's furniture is in my room now. :) I love the shiny wardrobe/closet, though doing this also made me realize flaws and problems of old furniture. (I am also a bit afraid of the Dumbledore/martians/extraterrestrials/wild things motif that I just discovered after firmly deciding to keep the closet, and forgot about it until we set it up lol - don't laugh, this would be excellent material for a Stephen King-like story! lol!)

Oh, and I got injured by (another) piece of furniture when Dad was too much in a hurry to GO GO GO!! :) Yikes!
When arranging to move furniture, set the HOUR not just the day straight!!
So, I'm still recuperating... (Nothing's broken though, luckily!!)

The other room has been emptied, painted, furniture moved around... and now it's full of stuff again! (No fun painting in a heatwave, I tell you though!!)

This is SUCH an exercise in anti-capitalism and anti-consumerism, lol!!

It was so much FUN to be in a zen-minimalist setting, but sis then delivered all my stuff back to me, cause she wants to finish her rooms too!

It's a bit like 'get the numbers in a row' game or rubic's cube, you have to empty a room and put all that stuff elsewhere, and then bring it back, along with other things, slowly the garage is getting emptied of Granny's stuff... Hopefully by New Years the car will fit back into the garage! lol

Okay, I know the official date is sooner, there may be floods in a few months and ideally no more precious things on the groundfloor.

I still don't know where Granny's Rumtopf (rum pot) is, I wanted to make yummy fruit-in-rum goodiness this year already, but next year apparently... (You add in fruit and sugar (and rum) as you go along, strawberries as they're ripe, cherries when they're ripe etc.) Sooz of the Last Biscuit reminded me of this, hehe. :) And now I want some! lol!
Granny used to make it... (OR, the pot would be excellent for keeping cloth pads in, still haven't decided fully, but that rum pot is just too yummy!! so I think that'll win!)

My room is almost livable now, BUT the other room: home office/kitchenette/living room - is - FULL of boxes and I don't know what to do with them! LOL!

Some inspiration at NotEasytoBeGreen: on getting rid of books. Yes, I'm a book lover, and sis is even worse!! We have tons of books in the house, and those that I don't want anymore, dad doesn't want to give away, etc! It's a vicious circle! :)
At least I'm boxing some of the uni stuff, there's not much room in the storage part of the attic though, a big cleanup action would be necessary there too!

Soo... there's still lots to do, researching what is better: acrylic or silicate paint, to finish exterior of the house (the below section)! What is more eco-friendly and health-friendly? Any ideas??

Edit: mum's just shown me where the rum pot is! :) <3 <3 <3 Bless her! There are no strawberries or cherries to put in it though!! So, until next year! :)

Granny's Treasures

This blog (and myself) have been having a sort of 'identity crisis'.

I've spent the most part of the last few months worrying about Grandma's flat and her pretty awesome furniture and other lovely objects - and Dad's desire to just, uhm, throw it all away!

How do you put a 3-room city appartment (with balcony) into an already overcrowded house/attic in countryside suburbia?


No, we couldn't take the furnaces: one was built-in and one got donated!

I spent some time over at her place, going through things, putting lovelies into boxes etc. (and other random stuff - yes, my parents were sometimes shocked with terror at some of the things I wanted to KEEP! There were some scenes, yup..) It wasn't easy. Sometimes, it was downright difficult. It was also a healing experience...


Granny had a pretty, err, unique sense of style... ;)
This was sitting atop a fridge and I still have no idea what it is!! (It's pretty though, isn't it? I hope they haven't thrown it away??) Next to it are some seeds and an Uncle's custom wine ;)


None of the photos really do the AWESOME credenza filled with princessy stuff justice!!! It was one of the most AMAZING things for us kids in Granny's flat, and it's an awesome mixture of tacky and classy - though on most of the photos it just all looks, err, tacky lol! But ^^that's just the best way to describe Granny's style, I guess!!

There was decades of unwanted birthday gifts and such in there!! ;)
Some of the choices were hilarious: Coz oohed and ahhed over the violet glasses (you can't really see them here, Coz found them very arty and stylish lol), but in the end I had to tell her that Grandpa really hated them and never wanted to drink from them cause he saw them as too 'funeral-like'! lol!



One shelf missing... Yeah the dolls scare me too - Aunt and Mom had a great fondness for them though: memories!! Coz2 actually took the scary shell-chicken!! (They love chicken and hens and geese at that house!!) I was soo relieved... (Nobody wanted some of the even tackier mementoes though, no idea what to do with those?? Boxed'em up so far!)

Cousin took some of the beautiful plates and cups and glasses that were on exhibit in living room - we almost killed each other over a vase, but other than that it went pretty well - we had a 'Grandma-remembering party over a weekend and divided the credenza princess china fairly'.. Okay, except for the vase, maybe.. but I'm now stuck with some lovely tiny coffee cups I have no idea what to do with rather than play princesses lol!! (PS That's not Granny in the photo above!!)

My motto was (of course): no waste! (Or as close to it as possible!)


But where to put the couch and armchairs and other... things?

This did bring some stress at times inbetween, and some really nasty looks from the family - there was some trash (especially when I wasn't looking!!) I tried to jump around and prevent just trashing stuff wherever I could... I've learnt some lessons too, couldn't really push it as it was... we were all kinda upset and cranky most of the time anyway.. (when in the same room together lol) Sometimes I had to remind myself this was Mom's Mom, and so no wonder she was cranky and upset too.. And Dad - well, he never lived with Granny for years and it wasn't his Granny - sometimes I had to remind him of that too!

(My Dad is of the 'toss and buy new' variant! Though he prevented me to donate some things that I would've lol!)

The Albanian ex-neighbours (and their relatives/friends) took some furniture and other things (which I then fretted over, but hey! I hope the couch will be treated nicely, it was SUCH a lovely couch to sit on!) It was an adventure taking it down from the 3rd floor with VERY many stairs!! (And no elevator.)

What can I say to people asking to get stuff for free: measure your elevator first!! Aargh!! The electrical furnace was pretty heavy too..

The flat wasn't Granny's and we couldn't keep it so it all 'had to go'...
Maybe if we were more savvy we could put some stuff up for sale, but in moments like those you don't really think about such things.. It would be very difficult to make money from the sadness.. you don't think right in moments like these...



In the end, Dad only got to take a rather ancient cooker/oven in bad shape and an old washing machine (no idea whose? it was in the cellar) and an old-er radio to the landfill to be recycled. We hope they get recycled proper.

The really old radio may get to be taken by Uncle or a museum/private collector. (Not sure if Uncle can be trusted, he has had moments of 'let's take it to the landfill' too!!)





How can you not love this couch?? <3 <3 <3

The arm chairs, the lovely bed frames and the oh-so-lovely ancient couch (in rather bad shape, but with original upholstery!!) got donated to an organisation where people with cerebral palsy renovate gifted things and sell then... I didn't know they would threaten with sawing off the armchairs and dressing them in jeans then though!! (Bad modern design - the huge benefit of those arm chairs was the ease of sitting in them even for tall people!!) And they said they'd take out the upholstery from the couch and put in foam!! Grr!! It was a time when I REALLY wished I had moved away and had my own flat or house!! I hated Dad for a few days!!


They just needed some renovation 'underneath'!

I really wish we were given more options or time or knowledgeable help in doing all this.. to properly find good homes for the stuff...

I preferred not to be around for the final days, and well, my backache sorta flared up too... (I tried to lift a table that was pretending to not be heavy all by myself!!)


This photo doesn't really give the door credit, I really LOVE the ancient doors... (Okay 1960-ish..) Many other photos didn't turn out' right' either, I hated my camera for a while too, the light wasn't right, or the close-ups weren't right.. And I thought I'd photoed it all already and didn't bother to look at the photos when I still had a chance to photo... It's all gone now... Our garage is pretty full though!!

Coming back home was stressful: everything Granny's was packed and packaged with such great care - and on the front lawns of neighbours there was just soo much STUFF - to be thrown away and taken by the trash-collector next day!! (No wonder my back flared up!) I was scared for our pretty furniture for a bit, hence the lifting of the evil table and moving it closer to the house! (and bad back intermezzo, so I couldn't go and rescue some more stuff!! yikes! I think at that point the parents would have probably disowned me-??) Stress DOES cause backache though, there's a great book about it if you're interested. I also promised myself to start exercising again once it gets better!!

As for now, just RELAXING - on my new bed!! :) Which you'll see in a few days, haha!! :) Also fishing for a new and better ergonomic desk online. And ogling tiny flats at Apartment Therapy with great desire!! Some great tiny flats there!!

There is a certain liberating feeling of emptiness of a more and more empty flat...

Our house feels pretty cluttered up now though!!

And I am contemplating where to put it all!! Aargh!!

I want to live in a world...

A lot has happened lately, I wanted to blog about things, just didn't know how.

Granny died, she was my eco inspiration. Eco lady, before the word was invented! (at least locally) She taught me so much (even if she was shocked about it sometimes).

The shocking thing is I tweeted about how awesome old Grannies are* (instead of visiting her), a day or so before things went bad...

It really makes me re-evaluate all I have been doing...

Community zero waste didn't go so easy, there's a reason why green movement is scattered all over the world... The good thing is, many people are becoming more and more aware of things... (The difficult thing is to get everyone 'on board' and find ways how to do things in harmony and aligned and sustainable not just scattered and 'random'.) Small efforts still matter.

So even if we're not united (yet), or if things seem horrible sometimes, there's still hope.


This is the artist behind the song: Eeyore The Troubadour you can listen to the whole song or download it!

Love & kisses, Layla (still pretty shaken, though getting better, slowly, even decluttering the attick somewhat)

*(full version of that great short film on activist grannies here I'd probably need to make a proper blog post about it but I can't just now, you should see it though! And visit your Granny before it's too late!! Get her to teach you her eco tricks - she probably knows some mean ones! Even if she may not be aware of it at all!! There is still so much I wish to have learnt from her.. about living a simple life, in simple ways.. and how to have magic green fingers.. and stuff that only grannies can tell..)

Eco Club is on its way!! :)

Just a quickie note to say YAY I'm still alive & we've started the local ECO CLUB, YAY!! :)

I've got some tips from experienced non-profit people too, not too sure about things yet, we'll see how it goes!!

Yes, it was stressful and miserable at times, and we're still only at the start basically, but it's all very exciting too!!

Still need to educate many people here first, even the ones excited about the eco club... :)

We still don't have a name and officially don't exist yet :) and we have random places to meet.. It seems like a lotta work sometimes, it's very cool when you see glimpses of inspiration in what other people or non profits did though!! :)

And there's some SNOW again today too!! YAY!! :)

Soy Beans!

Well, this year we experimented with some new crops (at Layla's suggestion): very exotic in Slovenia!!

Soy beans came out well!!


Source: Wikipedia
(I have my own pics too, but can't seem to find the gizmo to connect camera to the net:)
And you can see how fuzzy and funny the soy beans shells really are!!
Some people recommend rolling them into an old sheet and rolling them over with dough roller for de-shelling - we just used fingers, sis complained about it!! So next year, probably gonna go 'high-tech'.

There are some tips for growing them online, but we just did what cousin said, very simple, growing them like beans.
They are yummy too!! Just cooked, like beans!! (Another family we know recommended that recipe - never ate them like that before, lol!)

Reasons for growing soy: to avoid that iffy plastic or cellophane or plastic-lined packaging!! (And maybe even make own plastic-less tofu?? Do we dare?? Well, maybe we don't have THAT much soy?? Maybe next year..?)
And because one gets tired of beans, a bit.. And if Peak Oil or trouble with transport ever hits, wouldn't it be great to be able to grow exotic things too? ;)

Lentils and mungo beans - not so successful! (Not sure if even as much as planted came out)

Chickpeas - no luck this year!! Apparently we didn't have the best method of planting them (mom sprouted them and didn't pour water on them after planting) and what few plants came out - the deer ate that!! (Apparently they love chickpeas too? :(( grr!!)

Well, better luck next year, I hope!
Cousin has planted soy beans and chickpeas for a few years and has had great success with them both!

(He has a neighbour who burns plastics too though, but that is another story!!)

And European Waste Reduction Week is starting!! :) Are we getting excited?? :) What are you going to do this year?

TYPOS & lack of co-operation?? grr!!

First of all, I'm very happy that this year Slovenia will participate officially in the European Waste Reduction Week!

But, and I mean but I was really furious that the invitation to that week was full of TYPOS! Grr!!
And next week was 'strike weeek' for all 'official government employees' - are the TYPOS sign of PR people's being on strike?? Yikes!

(I'd be embarassed to send such an invitation on, and in fact am.)
I'm not sure whether to call them or are they on strike??

We had some land catastrophes such as big floods, biggest in history, luckily not in our region. So I understand the Ministry for Environment was busy... However, they could have the decency and effort to read a simple short memo 2x and correct things??

That aside, I'm hoping they would still coordinate things well..

Meanwhile, I tried to get some info and 'lists' of what is really recycled from people in charge of that, and apparently that may be guarded more than the state secrets!
I was told to turn to local waste management companies (who themselves told me they don't know much, only what the others are required to take).

So at the time I'm really effing furioous!! Okay, I could probably be more diplomatic... And maybe I didn't call at the right time (the person was busy with meetings) but still.. You'd think they'd be happy if people want to help them do their jobs proper?? Grr!!

I'm not sure what to say, what to do, I guess I'll just try to get info elsewhere or just tell people to be very cautious and assume the worst and just go for as little recycling waste too.. (Maybe that's closest to the truth too??) ugh!!

Explanation for Not Posting

I've read a post in a blog that says never to apologize for not posting (hm?) I still think I need to explain though.

The need to stay away.

Because I was deeply, terribly, horribly embarassed.

I only figured it out recently. I just couldn't get myself to post before.

My Dad. He was like the ultimate polluter, always coming up with schemes how to employ iffy practices at the renovation works - and I was just soo deeply embarassed.
Cause I wasn't able to convince him of more eco ways.

Or didn't know what were more eco ways. (I'm not an eco building expert or engineer, am I? Frenzied googling was sometimes just not timely enough, or I didn't get good enough answers.. I think my Dad has some ADD/ADHD, and sometimes things just needed to be done 'now'!)
As the renovated part will not be my chambers, I also didn't feel entitled to push my opinions too much..

It still made me miserable.

So now you know. The doors and windows will mostly be conventionally bought. Insulation and such probably too.. At a point, I just gave up. And let'em do what they want - cause I really didn't want to be the 'eco monster' anymore (Dad was really cross at me sometimes, for 'complicating things' sigh..)

Sometimes he did appreciate my ideas & cooperation later on though!!
(Like the secret doors on the balcony etc!:)

I wanted this blog to be cheerful and upbeat, so I just stopped posting! :)
Luckily an Eco Building Institute has been established recently in Slovenia, and hopefully they will provide useful independent info for all interested. (Otherwise, info can be obtained for $$$$ or it's very scattered or possibly biased.)

The summer charity workshops for kiddies went well and were MUCH more eco than the previous years! And I met some cool eco people... It's still too-easy to just focus on the negative, lol. Then I realized my Dad and I are two different people and I can't let myself be made miserable over who he is and what he does. He's 'old school' and builds in a way that was 'modern' 25+ years ago!

I did learn a lot about what (not) to do later on if I ever build or renovate anything again!
So overall, it was a good learning experience (although sometimes horribly stressful lol).

I am not perfect and neither is my Dad. But I still love him. (And try to take a walk when 'loud' works are scheduled!)

Bees LOVE Oregano!

You wouldn't think it, would you?



Some other plants and herbs too. Pretty much anything with a bloom.


I haven't paid much attention to it before, but from mid-July on, the bees get pretty DESPERATE!

My sis ran in from the garden one lovely summer day, saying: 'I won't de-weed the garden right now.' - 'Why?' - 'The weeds are full of bees.'

I thought she was a sissy, but went and checked: indeed, the piece of land covered with weeds was also covered with BEES! A few bumble-bees and such too.
The bees were even on the balcony, including on the tiny-blooming flowers...

The photos are from a while back, July/August. Thought they might liven up this grey rainy day.
Next year, we'll try to plant some flowers xtra for the bees... (Or at least avoid de-weeding, he he..)

So if you are in any doubt, whether to cut off all oregano or other herbs or weeds, even if it's not really necessary - just let'em BEE!

The bees will be thankful for it!

Lead On the Roof??!

Yuck!!

The balcony is mostly finished with only a few things to do.. I left Dad and the roof drainage master alone, thinking Oh they'll just add a bit of metal on the ends (most has been done last week) - and Whoa! Now I've got lead on the roof-??!

(Must I remind you lead is TOXIC??)
It's a neurotoxin and causes brain disorders?? And our neighbours have a kid with Asperger's already?
And the water from the roof will go down the roofpipes into barrels to water our garden and veggies??

No wonder I'm single, are all men this stupid??

'Oh it's nicely soft and malleable,' Dad said. 'Finally the neighbour remembered he can use this.' (Dad was happy with the solution!!) Apparently the metal used elsewhere was too stiff - it's mostly aluminum, which is not ideal either, but I think still less problematic then lead??)

'Don't think you don't have any on the roof,' Dad said. Apparently there's some by the roof window too?? Yuck!!

What to do??

YAY Got Stung By A Bee!!

Today, Sis tells me, "I heard the bees are gathering over at neighbour's place, they will swarm, you might wanna go take a look." (I thought another neighbour told her that, turned out Dad did.)

And they did!

It was soo much FUN watching them (better than TV!), watching what the neighbour will do, getting bits of his wisdom and experience...
(His son and the family were just planning a barbecue, both son and grandson are allergic to bees and can't come near.. so they weren't too thrilled you can imagine.)

I just went there in short sleeves and wooden clogs lol - no headcovering or gloves - wasn't sure what was happening or if the neighbour would let me watch or help.. Mostly I kept safe distance anyway..

Neighbour let me watch and it was highly fascinating! They gathered on the vine and for a while we just watched if they would settle and where the queen bee could be. (They only settle if the queen bee is there.) He used some smoke to get them in a wooden small hive or back to their original hive and to 'calm' them, and then took the rest like a 'grape' over a plastic bucket - and that's when I got stung by a bee who probably thought she's had enough of it all! (probably didn't keep enough safety distance either!:)

I think I probably need to write it down or record it, for future references! :)
Even Dad was fascinated with it all, over lunch - it's good to have some fascinating topics to discuss at lunch lol!

I did get stung by a bee, but this is actually a GOOD thing (not for the poor bee). At least now I know I'm truly not allergic (was a bit scared after all the scary tales of people being allergic.. I only got stung 2x before, and was always more sorry for the poor bee than for myself.) Also, bee venom is supposed to be healthy, so YAY!

Neighbour suggested rubbing it with onion. He doesn't get any reaction, after so many years with the bees - they mostly don't sting him either! (His family members are not so safe though!)

It almost didn't hurt, and after Mum's instructions I put it under VERY hot water (such that you almost can't stand it and put the arm in and out from the tap intermittently - Dad did this with his finger and had no effects at all!)
My arm was a bit red, this almost went away after the wonderful walk I took!
(I hadn't been on a walk for 2+ weeks, being ill and in the house= one cranky Layla! No wonder my blog post yesterday was soo miserable! Must go for a walk EVERY day now!! Even if it rains cats or dogs or caterpillars!!)
I had much worse reactions the previous times when I didn't use hot water and only put vinegar on the stings.. I may experiment with onion next time too.. (I'd LOVE to learn beekeeping without bee stings but I'm being realistic here!)

I googled and found bee sting cures include heat (water or heat from cigarette butt) OR cold (?), OR onion, or some other vegetables - I think tomato was mentioned? (probably would need to check still..)
Grandma says their Mum just told them to put cold knife blade over it, or just dig up some cold earth, if they were outside.. I think some plant leaves were mentioned too.. Hm, this could be a whole separate blog post (or article?) lol!

Apparently, some people are still allergic, it's good to know many can minimize effects with natural means!
I only have the area slightly red - So YAY!! :)

Relaxation, Mosquito Nets and Re-evaluation of It All..

It's been a while since I last posted, again. /sigh/ What can I say, it's the summer? :)
Meanwhile, Slovenia beat Algeria, almost beat the USA and well - the UK won the other day! (It was too depressing to watch the bad game so I talked to the beekeeper neighbour instead! He told me some cool things!:)
Mind you, I am NOT a football fan, but if Sis and Granny both watched-?? It was a great game, 1st half od SLO:USA game, then I just lost interest lol!
Lots of bees came to drink from a barrel at our house, it was quite interesting.. The neighbour said he thinks bees know if something is toxic and avoid it, I'm not so sure myself..?

We didn't have the eco stand then after all - the event was 'double booked', some kids that would like to partake had a concert on the same day and couldn't, some were not so very much into eco things (or would need to be inspired more!) It was the end of the year...?

Apparently the shop took off the posters we had on the 1st eco stand when cleaning and they disappeared :( we also didn't have any good promo materials anymore (hopefully we'd manage to get or make more during the autumn/winter!) - and I got ill..

No surprise, since everything was quite hectic!
The potatoes needed de-weeding, and as I'm not such a fast expert (yet?) it took a while, basically the whole week, just at the time when we could practise with the kids! - It's not easy to be a wanna-be farmer and eco activist at the same time, sometimes!! I was hugely disappointed with myself! (for not setting it all up better, or earlier on, or getting other people on board to help before!) All the teachers and kindergarten teachers I know were busy with things this time of year too!!(I had no idea I wouldn't have time either!!)

It's all volunteering and goodwill at this time, so basically, who cares?
I do not wonder anymore why the government hasn't done something like that yet - grassroots campaigns etc, raising awareness at local levels - it seems to take talking to a lot of people and well, it's much easier to just build something than do these things!

Still, partly it was a success - creating together with two not-so-eco moms opened up opportunity for discussing eco things (without preaching!) and we had fun too! (One has written an eco song, she sings beautifully! I hope I'll get her to finish it and record it!) And some kids WERE interested! (I just didn't have enough reliable ones to carry the show!) It rained on the day, anyway! (The event still went ahead, but I hear there were not many people/visitors...) So, hopefully we'll create something later on! It would be GREAT to have a team of people who could jump in instead of me if I'm too busy or ill or something...

Partly, I feel burnt out... Part of me just wanted to jump on a plane and go to a totally different part of the world, maybe that is just escapism?
It's very annoying that some people I talked to (and a book by an eco biz expert!) all said that it's better to do things for free/without outside money at first, and later on (maybe next year) apply for EU funding or such.

It's annoying to know a lot of people (and non-profits) do get huge amounts of money for way worse projects than these!! And since I was warned project theft occurs, it's difficult to know who to trust... and to what degree.. (And since we renovated, where are some e-mail addresses I apparently misplaced??)
I think I lost some of the drive and motivation, or maybe it's just the summer? I do hope to get them back!!

My family want me to start earning money with the eco things asap!! Or at least to not lose money with these things! Dad is quite against the eco projects as he sees it as 'nagging' and 'obstruction' and 'slowing things down' - probably does not fancy women butting into men's domains like building and renovation??

I see it as perfect opportunity to educate, inform and inspire suppliers, merchants and manufacturers too.. I have shocked a few sales people when I asked what the window shutters and anti-mosquito nets are made of and if they can be fully recycled lol!!

Dad and Sis just want it done 'as soon as possible'! And I admit for a week it was too hot to research and then I got ill, oh dear.. Better already, hope it all clears soon.. Was wondering whether to try to get a (home) office away from home though, to minimize distraction... I'm officially ill so this minimizes distraction, still the renovations or farm/garden work are somewhat unpredictable.. And I still hate housekeeping, both cooking and dishwashing.. I tried my best last year, but then Dad just asked 'Why are you trying to be a good housekeeper?' (when I was trying to go zero waste) and he didn't appreciate it at all!! (He wants me to get a hotshot job/career and get married and give him grandkids!)
Granny thinks Dad may have onset of Alzheimers too (?) I thought maybe ADD/ADHD.. He didn't know the other day what a gardening concept meant that he taught us!! It hasn't been easy... :( He's behaving now that I was ill but I don't want to have peace only when I'm ill-??

So, I'm still figuring out my options, and hopefully I'll hear about some short-term funding opportunities soon too?
I wrote up some good eco programs/plans, and they could probably get funding too.. And now people just want me to do it all for free? hmm?
It seems I got pulled up too much into the pro bono/volunteer stuff and forgot to work on the profit centers/moneymaking.. I understand my parents too, it seems difficult to clone myself and do two or three different things at a time..

While resting, I read some good books ordered from Bookdepository, on time management and organizing etc.. Some things were quite helpful. I may do some reviews later on.

I did take some pics of the balcony, not sure how wise it is to put it online, color is very specific and I'd prefer to stay a bit incognito? We'll see.. :) Still have 2 balcony windows to paint, it was raining meanwhile and the wood needs to be dry for painting with tung oil too..

Tung Oil, Milkpaint and Farm Work Pending

Sorry I've neglected this blog a bit. Again, lol.

Meanwhile, I've painted the newly glazed balcony with tung oil, after previously painting it with milkpaint (that the neighbour mixed from wallpaint pigment and - you guessed it, milk!) Apparently the Chinese used tung oil to protect their boats 2000 years ago (?) so I hope it would protect the balcony well too - and that it's the 'good' kind! (slightly nutty smell... brings out the beauty of the wood indeed, ideally we'd take this into account when making the balcony, some wood does not have so much beauty, lol! It's mixed with linseed oil, so not sure how 'waterproof' it is, we'll see.. Probably more eco than some other variants though..)

I've also been on a trip with beekeepers and talked to people about starting an eco non-profit locally.. We'll see how it goes..
The balcony and the terrace now have roofs, there's still lots of stuff to do though..
Dad wanted windows and stuff ordered 'now now now' it annoyed me to no end though - when else is there a better opportunity to ask businesses how green their products are than when well, shopping??
Still to call for some window protection - PVC or aluminum? Aluminum is costlier (so Dad says noo!) I really dislike PVC though, so still to find if it's PVC or some less toxic plastics? And apparently aluminom comes with foam added inbetween?? Can this still be recycled then?
I was too cross at Dad to call the company today and find out, sigh.
Dad hates my eco projects and thinks they're a 'hassle' (slowing things down and bloody interfering, sigh). What else can you expect from someone who worked in chemical industry almost all his life??

The 2nd eco stand was planned to be in 2 weeks, we don't have local talent or content available yet, and not sure if we'll get it ready by then??
Why was it planned on the same day the kiddies have a concert already?? Bloody lack of coordination and stuff!!

I've been distracted with this balcony work and now with farm work (ugh! I wish Dad informed us sooner than the night before!) It's very difficult to plan any meetings or phone calls or anything this way!!
Off to de-weed some potatoes, sigh!!!

Of Power Tools, Balcony, Milk Paint And Amanda Quick :)

Sorry for neglecting this journal for so long!

I've been ranting off-the record elsewhere, so if you absolutely must know what I rant about, drop me a line and maybe I'll send you the link (depending on whether I know you or not!:)

Mostly my days have been quite uneventful, minus the power tools and my family's lack of time management or any sort of organization. And it's not just my family, it's also the neighbours and the weather! Sooo...?
It's not easy to get organized or get things done (or make hay) if you depend on these 'outside' factors. I did read some Amanda Quick books, out of desperation. (Sis's fault for bringing them home!)

Oddly enough, they inspired me for eco things again! The heroines there are so brave and courageous and always getting into the oddest of messes, and out of them unscathed (mostly), and usually happily married!:)
They also have to deal with odd dilemmas and things like...
- who to trust? ('Those fossil diggers can be an untrustworthy lot!' lol! So it's not just the eco world that is full of iffy types and odd sorts?!:)
- how to date? (if you are really interested in other things - those heroines happily go about doing other things, until those brooding handsome-or-oddly-attractive heroes snatch them!:)
- how to be happy with own imperfections (all the heroines -and heroes - definitely have 'em, and are still happily in love anyway!!:)

So.. did I intrigue you yet? They are not for kids, so 18+ only. (My Grandma snickers over some scenes and only brushes past them.) They may return your faith in love (or life) or make you laugh, they are all invariably silly (and mostly look alike!) but that is kinda the point!:)

I did call some people inbetween re: eco things (and have some meetings next week!:), didn't manage to go to eco fair but did make some sort-of-hay (what is the non-hay for silos called?) helped create 1/2 of balcony (it'll be mostly glass and just polycarbonate roof. Plus, after my ranting about which color/polish would be less toxic - the neighbour painted the frames with - milk & wallpaint pigment-??!! ('You'll never guess, he said. We didn't. It looks pretty and yellow. Never thought I'd actually like yellow windows, and not sure if the black knobs really go with them??) He said wax paint (with turpentine - is turpentine toxic??) could be used on top of that for water-proofing/protection against water. (The milk paint is just pretty, offers no protection against water. And this is where the rain can be quite heavy.) I recently stumbled across the awesome milkpaint.com never thought you can just create your own lol!! :)
Not sure what to waterproof the windows with (can I get enough eco wax? How much would be needed? What about any oils or such?)

Some planks have been painted dark brown already, I called the company hotline and a friendly woman said the paint for wood outside contains an iffy preservative, so it's best to be not touched, and recommended painting over with a paint for indoors?
I asked Dad how much he thinks would be needed and he said, 'Oh don't bug me with that' or something like this, so Mum and I calculated a bit, still to do more Math..
Aunt A. suggested Dad's rash might be stress-related so we don't want to bug him with too much stuff anyway-??

Sorry if this is a bit scatter-brained, am awfully sleepy and going to bed at first possible opportunity! :) Been to a concert, a practical beekeeping class (unfortunately rainy so we didn't get to do a lot), to a funeral and a few other things... Wrote programs and ideas for a charity... Researched EU funding and project management... De-weeded some onions.. Got a pretty new pre-loved sweater (of cheerful colors!:) and tutored on global warming?? And what have you been doing? :)