21 September 2012

Weekend reading

Imports of fruits and vegetables into Australia have increased 60 percent in seven years.

Cappers - traditional American grit.

Interesting and helpful - UK Handmade.

The hive habits of bees.

A delightful blog at joy and comfort. 

This is Ale's blog and it's written in Spanish. Just click the Google translate button at the top of the blog and it will translate it instantly for you.

Check out the crafts here on twiggynest. She has only been going for a few months but this is building into a very good nest of ideas.

EcoStore, one of my sponsors,  let me know the Australian Lifestyle Awards were announced this week. Congratulations to EcoStore on winning the Home category. I'm doing a review of their new unscented range at the moment and will blog about it when I've finished testing the products. I was really pleased to see another of my sponsors among the winners - Biome. Congratulations to Tracey and her staff. Also, a shout out to Milkwood Permaculture who not only won the garden category, they have an excellent blog you should visit (link below). 

I've lost the links on the list below and don't have the time to reinstate them. Please cut and paste to visit them.


WINNERS OF THE GREEN LIFESTYLE AWARDS 2012 
FOOD: 
Company 
Winner – Food Connect, www.foodconnect.com.au 
Highly Commended – CERES Community Environment Park, www.ceres.org.au 
Product 
Winner – Bills organic bread, www.billsorganic.com.au 
Highly Commended – Honest to Goodness, www.goodness.com.au 
Restaurant 
Winner – Silo by Joost, www.byjoost.com/silo 
Highly Commended – Bliss Organic CafĂ©, www.blissorganiccafe.com.au 
Winery/Brewery 
Winner – Temple Bruer, www.templebruer.com.au 
Highly Commended – Mountain Goat Brewery, www.goatbeer.com.au and Burragumbilli Beer, www.burragumbilli.com.au 
HOME: 
Company 
Winner – Ecostore, www.ecostoreaustralia.com.au 
Highly Commended – Australian Living, www.australianliving.com.au 
Product 
Winner – Bio Paint, www.bioproducts.com.au 
Highly Commended – Sindhiya Soapnuts, www.soapnutssindhiya.com.au 
Energy Saving 
Winner – Ecoswitch, www.ecoswitch.com.au 
Highly Commended – Panasonic Econavi, www.panasonic.com.au 
Water Saving 
Winner – Every Drop Shower Saver, www.showersaver.com.au 
Highly Commended – Caroma, www.caroma.com.au 
GARDEN: 
Company 
Winner – Milkwood Permaculture, www.milkwoodpermaculture.com.au 
Highly Commended – Landshare Australia, www.landshareaustralia.com.au 
Product 
Winner – Charlie Carp, www.charliecarp.com 
Highly Commended – Bokashi buckets, www.bokashi.com.au 
Community Group 
Winner – Grow It Local, www.growitlocal.com.au 
Highly Commended – Smart Garden Program, www.mysmartgarden.org.au 
BEAUTY/FASHION: 
Beauty Company 
Winner – Miessence, www.mionegroup.com 
Highly Commended – Pure and Green, www.pureandgreenorganics.com.au 
Beauty Product 
Winner – Ere Perez almond oil mascara, www.ereperez.com 
Highly Commended – Trilogy organic rosehip oil, www.trilogyproducts.com 
Fashion Company 
Winner – Kowtow Clothing, www.kowtowclothing.com 
Highly Commended – Bird Textiles, www.birdtextile.com.au 
WELLBEING: 
Company 
Winner – Weleda, www.weleda.com.au 
Highly Commended – Healthy Interiors, www.healthyinteriors.com.au 
Product 
Winner – TOM Organic, www.tomorganic.com.au 
Highly Commended – The Environmental Toothbrush, www.environmentaltoothbrush.com.auFor further details and information please contact Liz ben-Arieh at ecostore Australia 03 9015 6873 
TRAVEL: 
Company 
Winner – Intrepid Travel, www.intrepidtravel.com.au 
Highly Commended – Earthwatch Institute, www.earthwatch.org 
Hotel/Resort 
Winner – Bombah Point Eco Cottages, www.bombah.com.au 
Highly Commended – Emirates Wolgan Valley Resort & Spa, www.wolganvalley.com.au 
KIDS: 
Company 
Winner – Gardening 4 Kids, www.gardening4 kids.com.au 
Highly Commended – Whole Kids, www.wholekids.com.au 
Product 
Winner – Wishbone bike, www.wishbonedesign.com 
Highly Commended – Jinta sports balls, www.jintasport.com.au 
ONLINE: 
Eco Info Site 
Winner – Local Harvest, www.localharvest.org.au 
Highly Commended – Sustainable Seafood Guide, www.sustainableseafood.org.au 
Eco Shopping Site 
Winner – Biome, www.biome.com.au 
Highly Commended – Naturally Gifted, www.naturallygifted.com.au 
CARS: 
Company 
Winner – Go Get, www.goget.com.au 
Highly Commended – Green Tomato Cars, www.greentomatocars.com.au 
New Car 
Winner – Mitsubishi i-Miev, www.mitsubishi-motors.com.au 
Highly Commended – Nissan Leaf, www.nissan.com.au, and Toyota Prius Hybrid, www.toyota.com.au 
BUSINESS: 
Large 
Winner – Macquarie Universite, www.mq.edu.au/sustainability 
Highly Commended – Bosch, www.bosch.com.au 
Small 
Winner – Open Shed, www.openshed.com.au 
Highly Commended – Green Moves, www.greenmoves.com.au 
Not-for-profit 
Winner – Conservation volunteers Australia, www.conservationvolunteers.com.au 
Highly Commended – Beyond Zero Emissions, www.beyondzeroemissions.org 
Recycling 
Winner – The Clothing Exchange, www.clothingexchange.com.au 
Highly Commended – Buy Nothing New Month, www.buynothingnew.com.au 
READER’S CHOICE: 
Winner – Orange Power, www.orangepower.com.au 
PEOPLE: 
Hall of Fame 
Winner – Bob Brown, www.bobbrown.org.au 
Local Green Hero 
Winner – Belinda Bean 
Highly Commended – Krista Bernard (posthumous), www.ridehimalaya.com 
Junior Green Hero 
Winner – Thomas King, www.saynotopalmoil.com 
Highly Commended – Parrys Raines, www.climategirl.com.au 
SHARE:

14 comments

  1. Thank you for the link for the twiggy nest blog! Do you plan to make the fairy garden for your grandchildren? I think I may next summer as we are heading into fall here in the USA.

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  2. Good morning Rhonda. I love your weekend reading links. Today's list should keep me well and truly occupied over the weekend! Thank you.

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  3. Thank you for the weekend reading Rhonda. It's always interesting and keeps me busy over the weekend.

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  4. I've just joined up with Aussie Farmers Direct who deliver all manner of fresh foods from the farmers to my door. There are vegie boxes and bread/milk/eggs etc...not cheap and I was waiting a couple of weeks before mentioning them at the forum but the FRESH vegies were outstanding in taste, just beautiful and I feel that I am helping our farmers just a little bit. The service has been very good too.
    Hope you have a great weekend, Rhonda and Hanno, I did enjoy the photos of your boat trip...lovely day for you both,
    Lots of love,
    coffeee Sue
    xx

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  5. Thanks for my weekend reading Rhonda. The 'bees' link is taking us to the "make a blog" page on blogspot again. I don't think any of the others are doing it.

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  6. Thankyou so much for the reading recommendation Rhonda! Wow! Such a lovely surprise today! Off to check out all the other links now. Thanks again :)

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  7. As Blogger is switching me over to the new & improved Blogger, I noticed I had about 900 more hits than I usually get in a 24 hour period. Since there were no extra/new comments I assumed it was some mix up to do with the Blogger folks, but no, it's you. Thanks for recommending my blog. If I had know company was coming I would have cleaned up or tried to be a bit more clever. Or maybe added the "AdSense" Blogger keeps telling me about. Glad you enjoy my blog - that's the best news. Have a great weekend.

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  8. Thanks Rhonda for mentioning my blog!!!
    I´ll be happy to receive all the comments!!!
    Today is Spring Day here in Argentina! And kids have school holiday for the day, so they go to the parks for picnics, it´s a beautiful day, sunny after several rainy days!
    Have a nice weekend.
    Alejandra

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  9. Rhonda there are some good links here. However I find it ironic that your first link is about imported fruit and vegetables.

    In one of your recent recipes you featured imported fruit. Whether it be from China or NZ, it is still imported. The market is flooded with strawberries here in SEQ at the moment - why you would feature imported fruit? regards Patrice

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    1. I do not like having to justify my choices on my own blog. Patrice, we live near a strawberry farm, we are growing strawberries, we don't grow raspberries, although I will have Youngberries soon, they're close. I needed raspberries for their health qualities. All raspberries sold here are from somewhere else, I've never seen local raspberries, so I got frozen ones.

      I would much rather make a health tonic for Hanno than go to the doctor or chemist for a chemical potion.

      Never look to me to be perfect. I'm as far from it as anyone you will meet. If you want someone who never veers away from organic or local, you won't find it here. While most of the fruits and vegetables we all consume here in Australia are grown here, there has been an increase in imported fruits, mostly processed, in recent years. I think that is sad for a country such as ours but I won't stop buying that small amount of produce that I need and I won't stop blogging honestly about what I do because it might not suit the image you have of me.

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  10. Pleased to see Charlie Carp receiving an award. The carp that was removed from the domestic supply dams and the rivers in the Riverina area all used to be buried in huge pits. So glad to see a company using it for organic agricultural purposes. More cod, less carp :). Thanks so much for posting these items Rhonda. Off to visit twiggynest now!
    Cheers,
    Robyn

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  11. Hi Rhonda

    Thanks for the weekend reading link to Homemade UK. An Australian blog has given me the link that enabled me to find a felt making workshop here in my home city of Norwich in the UK. I found out two weeks ago that my husband's nephew has a smallholding in Scotland and has a small flock of Highland sheep. However, he can't find anybody to take his fleeces so he burns the wool. So I now have a supply of pure wool to spin and felt for the cost of sending them to me.

    Thanks once again.

    Pat in the UK where its raining again!!!

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  12. For years I subscribed to Cappers when it came in the mail as a small newspaper. I lost touch with it and am happy to see it suggested on the blog. One of the best parts about it was stories by readers of how life used to be when they were growing up, in the 1930s and 40s. Very informative and just like sitting around the kitchen tabl and having a chat with the relatives.

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