Peppermint!

Yippee I finally tracked down a copy of Peppermint Magazine issue 6! I know it’s been out for a few weeks now, but none of the newsagents in my area seem to have it. It would kind of defeat the purpose if I was to drive out of my way to get it, so I decided to wait until I was going into the city anyway. I love it. It’s almost replaced Frankie as my favourite magazine! I think it’s so important that we live our day to day lives with the environment in mind. The best part is that it inspires us to live ethical and environmentally friendly lives, without compromising on looking lovely. Very important for us narcissists with a conscience!

I really enjoyed the article about Mark Boyle, a man who has been living for the last 18 months without any money! So inspirational. I was thinking about joining his freeconomy, but I don’t really have any skills, or things people would want to borrow. I guess it would be good to join anyway. I’m definitely going to buy his book, The Moneyless Man, though.

vegan?

A few days ago, I was sitting, having lunch, with a girl from my art history class. She is a bit of a fundamentalist vegan. She knew I was a vegan too. She complemented me on my boots, saying how hard it is to find nice fake leather shoes. I was like “ooh thankyou. I know, it’s impossible. These are actually leather, I bought them in an op-shop.” She looked aghast. “Oh I thought you were a vegan,” she said. “Well I eat a vegan diet, but I do wear wool and leather if I buy them second hand.” She clearly didn’t agree.

I’ve always been a bit hesitant to call myself a vegan. I tend to say things such as “I’m on a vegan diet,” or “oh I don’t eat eggs or dairy.” But recently, I’ve just started saying “vegan” because it’s so much easier. I’ve been a vegetarian all my life, but for the last year or so, I very, very rarely ate eggs or dairy. I think I was just too scared to label myself.

 

My thirteen-year-old sister doesn’t eat meat, dairy or honey. She will, however, eat the eggs that some from our chooks. Our chickens are ex-battery hens. My mum got them from a battery farm that will let people take their hens when they are considered too old. If someone doesn’t adopt them, they are killed. So my mum go these yucky, featherless chickens with their beaks chopped and their feathers clipped a few years ago. While they were considered too old to lay eggs then, three years later, they are the happiest, healthiest chickens I ever saw and each lay an egg every day. Siena knows that they have a good life, and if it wasn’t for us they would have been killed, so she doesn’t have a problem with eating their eggs.

I think that it is more important that we tailor our diets and lifestyles around our individual beliefs, rather than adhering to a strict vegan lifestyle. I don’t want to support the leather or wool industry, so I would never buy new wool or leather. But If my money is going to charity, and I am making use of something that someone else is throwing away, I think that it is better to buy second hand leather than new plastic boots.

Sally, xxo

hey there

So I’ve decided to start a blog. I want to share my thoughts, ideas, drawings, yummy vegan recipes and things I make and do. Will anyone read it? Probably not, but I like the idea of making a kind of visual diary and putting it out there - just in case.