In my ongoing quest (have been procrastinating about this for 10 years) to lose weight and get fitter, one of the stumbling blocks (OK excuses) for me, for my lack of exercise, has been the cost of gym membership, swimming pool membership etc etc ad nauseum.. Finally, and I do mean finally, I seem to have got my well padded arse into gear and for the past 10 days I have taken a leaf out of “Forrest Gump’s” achievement bible and simply “started walking”..

Walking is free, walking is frugal, walking is a safe exercise to do if you are as large as I am. But the walking I really like to do is hiking….being outdoors, feeling the cold wind on my face, walking and laughing with my kids, being silly, while all the time moving forward, burning the fat.

I’ve taken advantage of the various trails around Bridgewater. I use the Centennial trail for a short walk during my coffee break at work (it’s literally just outside the door), the kids and I walked the woodland trail around the duck pond last weekend and on saturday we drove to Miller Point Peace Park….. There is so much to see and appreciate while hiking, it is never boring!

In addition to gauge my fitness level improvement, I have been going to HB Studios Sports Centre in Dayspring once a week. The rubber elevated track is wonderful to walk on and the air is climate controlled so walking conditions are perfect. It’s just $2 a session (you can walk for as long as you like). Walking once around the track is 200 metres, 5 times is 1 km and 7 times is 1 mile. 10 days ago, I walked as far as I could and was horrified that all I could manage was 2 laps…. part of the reason is that when I walk a quite severe crushing pain kicks in around my lower spine. This is simply weight related as it always massively improves the more weight I lose….(another incentive to keep on going!). On Sunday Em Hobbit and I popped over to the sports centre to walk the track again. I ended up walking 6 laps in total (4 on one go followed by a short rest and then another 2). This was a huge improvement in just one week and it has supplied me with a much needed dose of motivation.

Above all, what I have liked about the hiking we have done is it gets us out together as a family and we have FUN…and exercise is good for producing endorphins and yes I really do feel quite wonderful for a few hours afterwards!

FUN is free and I like that…

Coming next: A fabulous school initiative that all schools should participate in to not only teach our kids how food grows but to inspire a healthier diet http://www.classroomvictorygarden.org. At the Hobbit House we will be planting our very own!

I am so excited about getting dressed up as a Pirate for the Mahone Bay Pirate Festival & Regatta ( http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mahone-Bay-Pirate-Festival-Regatta/187020701343374 ) this year… But costuming can be expensive so most of my pirate gear will come from mixed and matched clothing from my favourite recycled clothing store Frenchies. However, I will be having a lace up bodice made because I always have wanted to wear one, although to squeeze into it I will also need to lose a serious amount of weight over the next 4 months!.

Last Saturday I found my first “Frugal Pirate Clothing”…. a cotton petticoat that was just crying out to be worn under long bright colourful raggy skirts. It cost me $4….

And the other day, through the post I received a wonderful box of colourful treasure….. real “Pirate Booty” all the way from a kind friend in the United States. Inside the box were hundreds of Mardi Gras beads and and even some coins too as well as my initiation into the world of “Renaissance Magazine”. All the beads are crying out to be worn with my frugal pirate attire….oh what fun!

Pirate Francoise at the Mahone Bay Pirate Festival & Regatta 2010

I studied last years local pirates…. most of their weapons and clothing had been improvised. Cutlasses were made of silver sprayed and aged plywood and wooden handles, bandanas and some accessories from the dollar store, beads and jewelry scrounged (and possibly pilfered) and Pirate flags and pirate kits (eye patch & big hoop earring etc) from Bluestone Magik. And then there were the city pirates from Halifax who had been a little more successful in their plundering and wore amazing costumes http://www.piratesofhalifax.com . Looking through “Renaissance Magazine” there are literally hundreds of photos and ads for inspiration and for all budgets too..

It was a great time for families at last years festival…

I found this cute little vacation blog taken last year in Mahone Bay…. a visiting pirate called Francoise tells a bawdy joke at 5 minutes in. Only a pirate can get away with telling such a joke…

I’ll keep you updated on my frugal pirate outfit as I begin to put it together…. I can’t wait to release my inner pirate at the Mahone Bay Pirate Festival & Regatta this year. Hope you’ll be joining in too!

ARRRRRRR!

It was a beautiful afternoon on Sunday. You know one of those first days of spring with winter still in the air. The sun was big and bright, nearly all the snow had melted except for a few tell tale piles here and there. There was also a little green grass poking its way through last years brown swathe but it was still cold enough to make your nose tingle? I LOVE those days..

Having just spent $60 at Frenchies on jeans, t-shirts and skirts, and treated the kids to Yogen Fruze at Robin’s, I needed to find FREE entertainment that involved enjoying what was left of the beautiful day. We decided to investigate Bridgewater “duck pond”… I had heard from several people that it was a lovely woodland trail.

We parked at DesBrisay Museum and began to walk the trail. It was great to get out as a family and do something free, frugal and healthy.

Just a few minutes into our walk there was high jinks (whatever ages your kids are- even if they are 40- you can always guarantee high jinks if there is more than one of them tagging along). Turning around I found my youngest Hobbit Em face down on the path. Much giggling going on so I knew she hadn’t fallen. My thoughts were “strange kids but hey what’s new” . My eldest Hobbit Jess had her cell phone so was able to take snaps…… Momentarily later I found my son face down on a path too. I guess at 18 you are never too old to be strange … I knew they wanted me to ask so I did….

“Ermmm Josh why are you lying face down on this public path so other hiker’s, and their dogs will trip over you and join you?”

“Oh Mum- just Google it.. haven’t you heard of the lying down game“…. was the retort from one of the Hobbits (I can’t remember which one as I was freaking out that my kids looked like corpses)

I did indeed Google it later and you can see the official web site here http://www.lyingdowngame.net/

And then, of course, my inner child emerged (it doesn’t take much to become the biggest kid in the family). It was surreal, it was funny, it made us laugh and it was a happy memory so each and every time I turned and saw one of my “corpse kids” lying still in leaves, on paths, under trees on our walk I shouted for Jess to come take a photo…

Yes we are a strange family… with a strange sense of humour.

The walk was such fun, the large pond was still frozen over mostly and the ducks were having fun. The trail took us through woodlands and right around the pond and past a small artificial water fall and over a few small bridges. It took us 40 minutes to walk the trail with our several stops to be silly, take photos, giggle, hug and just have fun..

It truly was a great day to be a Hobbit…

There is another type of green, not an environmental one but a cultural one, the green associated with the Irish, St. Patrick’s Day.

Essentially St. Patrick’s Day is a religious holiday celebrated internationally on March 17, it’s roots of course being St. Patrick. March the 17th is the day St. Patrick died on. Here are some interesting facts..

* St. Patrick was a Roman-Britain
* St. Patrick was captured by Irish raiders at just 16 years old and lived in Ireland after his capture as a slave having been sold to an Irish Cheiftain named Milchu.
* St. Patrick escaped after 6 years to return to his family.
* On his return to Britain he joined the church eventually returning to Ireland and becoming an ordained bishop in the north and west of the island. By the seventh century, he had come to be revered as the patron saint of Ireland.

A friend sent me the link to this beautiful clip- it truly takes your breath away, the scenery and the vocals

QUOTE from Wiki: During the six years of Patrick’s captivity he acquired a knowledge of the Celtic tongue which he would later use. Also during this time, as Milchu his master was a high druid, the young saint became familiar with the details of the aboriginal Irish religions.

It is a truly fascinating story and there are still two letters from Patrick that have survived from the 5th century. It would make an incredible movie! Read more here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Patrick

St. Patricks Day became an official feast day in the 17th century and it has become a day where the Irish remember their culture and heritage wherever in the world they may be.

My favourite version of the gaelic Song sung by Kate Bush- she isn’t Irish but does a great job! PS Ooops- just found out that Kate’s mother is Irish!

A LARGE IRISH FAMILY

And today I have been remembering my family… my parents are Irish, infact all my relations are Irish. Mum is the eldest of 13 and Dad has several brothers and sisters. And I was the first born in Britain from both families…

But the fond memories I have are travelling back to Co Wicklow, Eire (BTW the very place where St. Patrick landed when he came back to Ireland) every year to my Grannies house. The very same hexagonal gatekeepers cottage where she had raised her children, where she still heated the home using a peat fire, where she still baked fresh Irish Soda Bread every day.

I remember how scary it was to walk into the forest to use the toilet which was just a little hut and a seat over a hole in the ground, my Uncle Tommy carrying me into the field to play with the cattle and I remember how thrilling it was to be shown through the warren of secret underground tunnels and hidden rooms under the big mansion house next door which were used to hide priests and rebels.

Above all I remember sitting around the table in the heart of the house, the smell of the fire, Granddad playing his accordian, Irish radio playing in the background and a never ending supply of bread and potatoes on the table and my father telling my brother and I ghost stories…..especially the one about the cries of the banshee

Happy St. Patrick’s day

C xxxxxxxx

I love cooking things from scratch… I don’t like cooking things from a box (except ‘No Name’ lemon cake mix).

However I had to make an exception on Pancake Day (Shrove Tuesday- the day before Lent in the christian calendar and referred to as fat tuesday) as I realized that I probably didn’t have the ingredients in at home to make extra fluffy pancakes. With 3 starving Hobbits (kids) waiting at home for the perfect pancakes, and not arriving home from work until 7:30 pm (after grocery shopping) the only fail safe option was a box of President’s Choice Extra Fluffy Pancake mix..

The Hobbits and I moved to Nova Scotia from the UK in 2004. Let me tell you that the British pancake is a rather thin and flaccid creation typically served with lemon and sugar… sometimes even served with jam. Uninspiring…

I prefer the Lunenburg County Style pancake… it’s thick, it’s cake like, one pancake is a meal and it is served with vast quantities of fresh fruit, maple syrup and cream (or it is in my house anyway!)

So this was our main meal last night… a plate sized pancake each, drizzled with maple syrup, piled high with sliced strawberries, wild blueberries, sliced banana and a giant splodge of cream.

Yum Yum!

C xxx

We all enjoy thrills in their many shapes and forms…. even those of us who don’t like spending money achieving them do!

Today, I am rather proud to say, I took my thrill of the day in Canadian Tire as I lined up to pay for car parts. A very cheap thrill as it happens…

It was hard to resist.

The woman in front paid for her purchase with about a billion dollars in Canadian Tire money and as the cashier counted the dosh, my eyes and mind wandered. And that’s when I saw it….. a curious item like an opened balloon whisk with little balls on the end of it. I read the packaging…. “Therapeutic Head Massager”

“You too can look like a Teletubbie with the Therapeutic professional head massager…”

“The professional therapeutic head massager has many therapeutic properties. It’s 12 ball point heads simultaneously stimulates endorphins of the brain and nerve endings located below the scalp, leaving you with a feeling of deep relaxation”

And then I remembered, several months ago, a work colleague excitedly talking in whispered tones about something at the hair salon that women were buying in their droves because when you placed it on your head it well errrrr made you feel rather tingly, shivery and well emmmm gave you a big smile.

Could this be the every same thing that had rapidly become an urban legend among the women folk of Bridgewater, Nova Scotia?

Furtively, I grabbed the display model and much to the amusement of the other people waiting in the line placed the curious balloon whisk thingy on my head, slowly rubbing it up and down. I do believe I laughed and squealed and asked the cashier immediately how much they sold for. “They are just $5 and I have a couple at home” she grinned.

Needless to say, this Frugal thrill seeking woman grabbed the opportunity of stimulating her endorphins and an extra $5 was gratefully handed over to Canadian Tire for potentially making a 45 year old middle aged woman very, very happy.

Sometimes thrills are worth buying…

C xx

You know those Valentine’s Roses you were sent, that you proudly displayed for 7 days before they started to turn crispy, that you NEVER want to throw away because they mean so much to you and make you so happy looking at them?

If you are one of those people who STILL have your flowers on your desk and your work colleagues are making comments about your “crispy bouquet” then never fear. You can still preserve your rose petals in a very simple way and still enjoy their fragrance.

It’s really simple…

What you’ll need

Crispy roses from your Valentine’s bouquet
A ceramic or pretty glass dish
Some essential or fragrance oil of your choice

a) Remove the crispy roses stems from your bouquet
b) Gentle pull the crisp petals one by one from each rose working from the outside inwards. You may not be able to use the inner petals as they may still be a little soft. You want the dry ones! As you begin to remove the petals take this time to appreciate the beauty of a rose. The sensual darkened colours and her layers and folds. Each rose has lots of petals and you will be surprised just how much one single rose fills your dish.
c) Once all the dry petals have been removed and placed in a bowl (you may want to use an old bowl first before transferring them to your display dish) you then need to add several drops of fragrance or essential oils… not too much. Gently toss the petals
d) Transfer to your display dish..
e) Revitalize as necessary

Now you can enjoy your roses indefinitely…. and they’ll still make you smile.

C xxx

“Mum- guess what. You can make your own clothes with just wool and knitting needles….and it’s really cheap and looks so much better than the stuff in the stores!”

Hearing this absolute enthusiasm from my youngest Hobbit Em (13 years old) I took her immediately to the nearest store that sold knitting things and bought some dyed wool of her choice (as long as it came in at under $5) and a pair of knitting needles…

We arrived home and Em excitedly took her needles and wool out of the bag and sat there poised to knit something beautiful that she could wear to school on Monday morning….

“Mum, so what do I do?”…… Yikes! Did this child not realize that despite my mother being the goddess of knitting (she who never drops a stitch despite watching TV, flicking through magazines talking and falling asleep mid sentence) that I had never, ever, completed one line of knitting in my entire life? I actually tried several times but within minutes, the overwhelming desire to slit my wrists was just too great to consider this a fulfilling pastime…. I just couldn’t get excited about fiddly bits of wool that were extremely annoying.

If there is one quality I adore about my youngest daughter is her determination, her inability to quit when she really wants to do something.

I watched in admiration as she opened up her lap top and despite the broken screen that now displayed a very artistic LCD ink blot effect over much of the display, she was still able to navigate her way to various knitting sites until she found a set of instructions that she understood….again and again she tried. She got angry, she got frustrated, she even threw the knitting down and unraveled it all and started all over again but eventually she got the hang of it and she started to knit, and knit and knit….

“What are you knitting Em” I questioned her curiously..

“I don’t know…. just a long thing”… and it did indeed begin to get longer and longer and impressively appeared even in it’s width and taught.

Soooo much did Em Hobbit inspire me that a few days later I bought my own ball of wool and knitting needles. Unlike my determined daughter, I found the online instructions too complicated for my attention span and found myself muttering words of defeatism such as..

“this sucks… it’s too fiddly…I’d rather be sucking lemons”

My determined Hobbit, so keen to have her Mom share in her new found interest, stood over me and gave me a demonstration….I applauded her patience and it wasn’t long before I had managed 3 lines of knitting!

We knitted together…

While Em’s first attempt at knitting continued to be beautifully straight and very impressive mine began to look like an old dish rag attacked by hungry moths… I never knew you could actually knit holes but after several appeared it seems that you can…

Although my first (successful) attempt at knitting may probably very well be the worst piece of knitting in the history of the earth I kind of felt an overwhelming self satisfaction that I persevered.

I guess there is always lessons to be learned and Em Hobbit sure made me realize that we can do anything if we put our mind to it and don’t quit…

C xxxx