Awesome things

If you take the time to notice, the world is full of awesome things that can make you happy and they don't need to cost a thing.

Neil Pasricha thought so, too, and documented his top 1000 in The Book of Awesome. It's subtitled Snowy Days, Bakery Air, Finding Money in Your Pocket and other Simple, Brilliant Things, which sums it up really (as does his 1000 Awesome Things blog).

I liked...

#877 Getting in a line just before it gets really long,

#734 When the free bread they bring you at the restaurant is warm

#997 Locking people out of the car and pretending to drive away.

... which made me think of a few of my own:

#1 Washing my face with a hot flannel,

#2 Seeing little kids get animal stamps at the library desk, and

#3 Finding the organic avocados at the supermarket are not only cheaper (because regular shoppers don't buy them), but also perfectly ripe and unblemished. Awesome.

What's on your list? - Pru

PS I first heard about The Book of Awesome through the online newsletter of Valerie Khoo's Sydney Writers' Centre, which offers excellent online and face-to-face courses.

Stop recycling! Start repairing.

I grew up in a time and place when people ‘made do’, did ‘work-arounds’ and fixed things up. I like the idea of repairing stuff because it’s about empowerment, inventiveness, creativity, thinking outside the consumerist box… going beyond limitations and it’s a challenge that spurs you on to make something even more useful or at least extend its usefulness. I’ve held my life together with masking tape many times (it’s a great hemming tape) and safety pins (I have two holding the holes in my exxy black pants together…). Is that repair? My mum would say it's just plain laziness. - Sage

THE REPAIR MANIFESTO with thanks to Platform 21 (the crowd who wrote the Repair Manifesto).

1. Make your products live longer! Repairing means taking the opportunity to give your product a second life. Don’t ditch it, stitch it! Don’t end it, mend it! Repairing is not anti-consumption. It is anti- needlessly throwing things away.

2. Things should be designed so that they can be repaired. Product designers: Make your products repairable. Share clear, understandable information about DIY repairs. Consumers: Buy things you know can be repaired, or else find out why they don’t exist. Be critical and inquisitive.

3. Repair is not replacement. Replacement is throwing away the broken bit. This is NOT the kind of repair that we’re talking about.

4. What doesn’t kill it makes it stronger. Every time we repair something, we add to its potential, its history, its soul and its inherent beauty.

5. Repairing is a creative challenge. Making repairs is good for the imagination. Using new techniques, tools and materials ushers in possibility rather than dead ends.

6. Repair survives fashion. Repair is not about styling or trends. There are no due-dates for repairable items.

7. To repair is to discover. As you fix objects, you’ll learn amazing things about how they actually work. Or don’t work.

8. Repair – even in good times! If you think this manifesto has to do with the recession, forget it. This isn’t about money, it’s about a mentality.

9. Repaired things are unique. Even fakes become originals when you repair them.

10. Repairing is about independence. Don’t be a slave to technology – be its master. If it’s broken, fix it and make it better. And if you’re a master, empower others.

11. You can repair anything, even a plastic bag. But we’d recommend getting a bag that will last longer, and then repairing it if necessary.

Stop Recycling. Start Repairing.

All (pantry) moth and bothered

It's the end of summer here in the Southern Hemisphere and the dreaded pantry moths (Indian meal moths or flour moths) have reared their feelered heads. I have it on good advice from Pop, who knows all about these things, that any eggs that are already in your pantry dry goods will hatch in February.

These sticky EnviroSafe Pantry Moth Traps (above), two to a pack, are cleaning up the moths that have appeared in my kitchen. Apparently it's only the male moths that head into the faux-wood cardboard traps, attracted by the lure that smells like a female moth. Some other natural, cheaper deterrents, such as cedar oil and cloves, in the cupboard may work, but the only real remedy, of course, is to go through the dry goods and throw out what's infested. Wish me luck. – Pru

PS I found these traps at Coles supermarket, but they are also readily online (try www.gardenersdirect.com.au).

For the love of ... apple cider vinegar

My pal Flo (an organic beautician at Roseville Chase in Sydney Australia, 02.9417 7114 – a trusted source of alternative beauty tips) put me onto using a spray of apple cider vinegar as hair rinse to get all the soap out and as a general anti-fungal. It works a treat and leaves my hair looking shiny too.

You can also use it to spray the floor after a shower to kill any bugs, Flo says, and if you have a fungal problem then give your toes a spray. Same goes for pets. Cowboy’s picked up folliculitis, of all things, meaning his fur’s been breaking off and falling out in black clouds everywhere due to the skin infection. So, this weekend, I’ll pop him in the laundry tub, lather him up and rinse the shampoo off with apple cider vinegar and water. He’s going to be really happy about that but he’s a good cat and grins and bears it … for the first 10 minutes, at least.

A dose (two teaspoons) of apple cider vinegar morning and night when you’re travelling and consuming dodgy food and water will deter any nasty bugs you might pick up, according to my Helios homeopathic travel kit (a gem that’s been worth its weight in gold. I’ve used it many times on short trips and long – it has saved me from a massive hangover more than once when I’ve been overindulging in whiskey.) Use organic and unpasteurised and unfiltered for best effect – especially if you’re going to drink it.

AC vinegar is also great to alkalise your system (unlike whiskey) and works similar to lemon juice so you could have two teaspoons with water twice a day or 20 minutes before food to load up on the good bacteria and give the baddies the elbow. Much cheaper than those expensive probiotics! Even though vinegar’s acidic it becomes alkaline in your system, apparently. And that’s a good thing. You might want to add a wee spoonful of honey, though, as it’s a bit lip puckering to my taste. Pauline’s Mum swore by a dose every morning with a drop of lovely New Zealand honey – and she was arthritis-free well into her 80s.

Google apple cider vinegar as there’s so much else you can do with one bottle, it’s gobsmacking. Cheap, effective, with no nasty chemicals and sort of tasty … glug glug glug. -- Sage

Clever Christmas Shopping

Every year, I think I'll do my Christmas shopping in advance and this year I (nearly) have. Instead of leaving it all until the last minute, I picked up little pressies throughout the year. They didn't necessary cost alot, but not being under pressure meant I had time to find the perfect gift and take advantage of sale prices.

The last pressies I'm buying (just in time) are these cool Chinese calendars from Remo General Store. At $12, they are such good value and a pressie your friends can use throughout the year. They're quite big and chunky (about 26cm high) and it's very satisfying ripping off the super-thin pages! Remo also delivers, so I can avoid those queues! The only trouble is I still have some presents to send, so I'm off to the post office for one last queue and Christmas is done! – Pru

PS You can also custom-make your own T-shirts at Remo. Upload your own design, using their Design'o'matic and choose the style, colour and size you want. If people buy tees with your design, you earn Remo dollars to spend in store (save them up for Christmas presents!). They give a free tee to new customers (click on the box in the side panel, right) or take a look at my designs!

Iron Maiden: back from the dead

Maidenhair ferns are fussy and anyone who's ever had one knows it's hard to keep the darn things alive.

I usually get my plants free by swapping with friends and family, so paying for this one hurt. Still it was a lush (at the time) specimen and I was given advice before I even hopped on the bus to bring it home from the garden centre.

Sitting at the bus stop, two elderly ladies told me 1) they'd never had any luck growing them, and 2) it's best not to water them much, just leave them alone. Then the bus arrived and before I bought my ticket, the driver said, "I'll give you two bits of advice: don't let it get dry and don't water it too much."

Still I was quietly confident. I had the perfect position: a steamy bathroom under a frosted skylight and I planned to water it once a week. Then I realised the hanging pot didn't have a saucer (darn!), so I found an old spray bottle and spritzed it every day.

It was all working perfectly (and I admit I was probably feeling a little too smug), until I went away for a couple of days and returned to find the leaves still green but curling up ever so slightly. I kept spritzing but to no avail. My maidenhair fern turned up its heels.

Fortunately, Sage came up with a solution. Soak it in a bucket of cold water for a few hours or overnight. Let it dry out a bit and hang it up. (I debated whether to cut off the old foliage, but a botanist once told me that the plant can use them as food if you leave them there.) Anyway, as you can see, my iron maiden is back from the dead. Phew. – Pru

PS I have since killed the fern again, but this time I cut off the dead foliage and it still resprouted.

A tasty way to be water-wise

In these dry days, it's a shame to throw away used water. Every morning, I empty my now cool hot water bottles (I use three: one under my neck, another on my tummy and one on my toes) onto the pots of dwarf tomatoes we have hanging on the deck.

My friend Flo has an even better way to use the unsalted water left over from steaming or boiling vegetables. She suggests you can cool it and use it to water potplants – how nutritious is that? I think the tomatoes would drink it up. Flo also suggests you can freeze the vegie flavoured water for use to make further dishes.

Her favourite way to use leftover potato water is in Vichyssoise or potato and leek soup. She also reserves the potato water for use in making a lighter version of mashed spuds by adding it with a dash of milk. For a flavour boost you can also use vegie water for boiling pasta, rice or frozen vegies and most dishes you’d use stock for like boiling pasta. Thanks for the flavoursome ideas, Flo. – Sage

PS Flo is based in Sydney NSW and comes from an aromatherapy and skincare angle and is into organic everything! She's dedicated to helping people create turnaround for unwanted skin conditions. Call for more details, 02 9417 7114.

Zucchini-flower spring omelette

It's spring, time to soak up the sunshine and cook up delicious spring produce when it's at its freshest. This week I snapped up some zucchini (courgette) flowers at my greengrocer (they were cheap, but I really must sow some zucchini seed between my nasturtiums, which keep the aphids at bay). To cook the flowers, I just splashed them with water, tossed them in flour, lightly fried them, then poured over a simple omelette mixture (beaten eggs, water, salt, pepper, and a dash of pimento sauce). Perfection. – Pru

PS The gorgeous ruby glass was a find at a second-hand charity stall: six for $3!

How to save money on vet fees

Of all his exploits, Cowboy the cat's most daring stunt was getting stuck at the top of a power pole. The local fire brigade kindly turned up and gave Cowboy a fireman's lift back to ground zero. Thanks to them he was none the worse for wear and a donation to the social fund was my only expense. Not so the times he was hit by a car and mauled by a dog. Both were costly but they were emergencies and I happily forked out the vet's fees (with excellent results in both cases).

When your pet is ill you do have a choice, however. Always get a second opinion if the vet proposes expensive tests and treatments. OK, you have to cough up for another consult but it may save you $$$ and the animal from unnecessary trauma.

Cowboy's friend Keats had a lump on her tummy. The first vet said "It's cancer" without even checking the cat and was pushing for surgery that day. Her human companion Toyoko consulted another vet who correctly diagnosed a simple cyst and drained it. Keats is doing just fine two years later. London friends took their cat Zaggi to a vet who barely looked at the animal but wanted them to commit to a barrage of expensive tests. They took Zaggi elsewhere, for alternative treatment this time.

When I can, I treat my three cats with homeopathy. It's great for minor ailments and we are now less frequent visitors to the vet. The cost of doing a first-aid course will probably be about the same as a consultation but you have the knowledge for life and the remedies are inexpensive. Visit www.homeopathyoz.com.au for your nearest registered practitioner.

Or check out www.homeopet.com.au for ready made scientifically approved (yes!) mixtures for a variety of conditions: first aid (fantastic to have on hand -- saved Cowboy's eye after a fight); digestive (works so well I use it myself); anxiety; joint pain; respiratory; and more. Homeopet is well known in Europe, Asia, NZ and was the first natural medicine to receive FDA approval in the US. No mean feat.

PS Dizzy Gillespie said: "There have been two great revelations in my life. The first was bebop, the second was homeopathy."

How to make a fruit fly trap

Some of my more worldly friends raised their eyebrows when they saw this contraption sitting on my kitchen table. Of course, I had to assure them that my homemade fruit-fly trap is all above board and doing a marvellous job of protecting my $2.50 pomegranate (this week's decadent fruit treat!) – plus Pop, who's 88, gave me the instructions, so enough already!

Here's how to make a fruit-fly trap: take a soft-drink bottle, remove the lid and cut the neck off; take another bottle and use a sharp knife to cut a round hole in it. Insert the bottle neck into the hole in the other bottle, and chuck in a piece of fruit. That's it! The flies can get in, but not out. – Pru

PS To despatch the blighters more quickly to that big fruit bowl in the sky, forget the fruit and carefully pour in a cup of water, a splash of bleach and a teaspoon of vanilla essence.