I bought my very first pair of 99% recycled shoes last week.  They are Worn Again trainers, made of prison blankets, ex-military parachutes, car seat scrap leather, ex-military long johns, ex-military towels and recycled rubber.  Very comfortable, for me and the environment.

I’m not finding much inspiration to go outdoors at the moment.  The wind and the rain are a combination guaranteed to have me on the warm and dry side of the glass, unless I absolutely have to go out.  And so, the allotment has been neglected in favour of indoor activities.

One of the indoor activities that I’ve taken up is writing for a new blog at Lifescape magazine.  It’s called EcoStreet at Lifescape, and it’s a weekly round-up of what’s been happening at EcoStreet.  It’s a great opportunity for me to write for a whole new audience.  I’m very excited about it.

We are getting ourselves ready for our trip to Cape Town for my sister Natalie’s wedding in February.  We are going for three weeks.  It’s another flight, and something of a wrestle between my conscience and needs must.  So we are going to offset our flights with Treeflights, must add that to the list of things to do before we go.  I just can’t wait to make the move permanently…

It was a big moment when my two-and-three-quarter year old daugter, Piper, tripped happily into her first ballet class today with her friend, Imogen.  They thoroughly enjoyed it and filed out after her class with great big smiles on their faces.

I’m so proud of Piper’s independence and desire to dance.  Tomorrow we will be investing in a pair of ballet shoes and a leotard.

All the best for the New Year to our friends and visitors.  2007 has promise written all over it.  We have a few green resolutions for New Year, namely finally fitting the Water Two valve and putting down the long awaited leaky-pipe irrigation hoses in our back garden, attached to our water butts.   We also have plans to further insulate our loft, up to 30cms.

But, on to more jovial matters, and our New Year’s Eve gathering.  We had such a terrific night.  Good friends, good food and lots of fun.

The children painted and played before dinner.

And for dinner we had bobotie, begrafnis-rys, roast butternut, green bean curry and chutney, followed by fruit salad.  Thanks to Neill for making the bobotie and to Lindy for the fruit salad.

So here’s to 2007, may it be a good one!