the cost of organic vegies... & who wants to make a cloth bag? sharing my talents.... a step to helping the environment...recycle, reuse

I just took it for granted that everyone had access to the organic produce like I do.. I guess all over the world, the cost of organic produce varies.. after reading comments on my previous post, it seems I am very lucky & blessed to have our Food Co-op here in the Blue Mountains. Blue Mts. Food co-op

for me: to eat organically is a decision that I made awhile ago when I had cancer and I would rather go without than eat chemically treated vegies. .. the most important thing is that we each do the best we can with what we have and follow as much as possible what we believe. And of course any kind of fresh vegie or fruit is so much better than processed food.
every little thing that each of us do adds up and is alot more than if we each did nothing. and I definately don't want to sound like i am preaching..

this week, when I went to the Co-op I kept the receipt and then took it to the locally owned supermarket to do a price comparison..to see how much more organic produce costs.
this week:
bananas had the biggest price difference with supermarket costing $1.99 a kilo in comparison to organic which were $4.25 kilo - that is a huge difference but I only buy about 6 bananas a week.
broccoli, carrots, sweet potato and onions were all more expensive at the Organic co-op
whereas pumpkin, dates, pears & beans were considerably cheaper than at the supermarket.
it all balances out in the end. of course, if I would like blueberries and they are $9 a punnet, then I put them back onto the shelf and go without.

onto the bag that I would like to share...

I collect old shopping carry bags - much like the bags my Nana use to take shopping to West Ryde on the bus. Nan mostly had string bags, with plastic handles that rolled up into a very small ball and were kept in her handbag.


a few years ago, I started making my own cloth bags, or totes as they are called now, out of vintage fabrics, old tablecloths and gorgeous trims and tassels. Mine look different to the ones my Nan had but used for the same purpose.....

and I would love to share how to make one.. I can share the process here on my blog, hopefully. I just have to sit down and start the process, taking photos as I go, I guess.

so start gathering.. you will need about half a metre of two different fabrics: one for the outside and one for the lining. You can use an old tablecloth, some old tea-towels or old curtains. Hunt the op-shops for some quirky fabric, don't spend lots on new fabric.. that will defeat the whole purpose... some braid or pompom trim to put around the edge and a big button for the clasp. also 4 large wooden beads if you can find them, these will be used to put on the handles, they are optional, the bag will still 'work' if you don't use them. oh and some very thin wadding to put in between the layers. Once I get myself sorted with making it, I will post the method. Next, I hope to work out a bag using knitting and fabric together..but that is down the track a bit yet.

It has been raining here at Inglewood for a week, drenching rain and I haven't been in the garden all week.

This morning when the sun was shining, I raced out and constructed a primitive looking net contraption around my cabbages & broccoli.. to keep those damn white cabbage moths out.. they look so innocent flitting around the garden, but if they get a chance to lay an egg on my plants they would be destroyed overnight by the green caterpillars.. the plants are growing quite well although they could do with some sunshine. These plants are the beginning of my plan to grow as much as I can. I picked two large pumpkins which are on my verandah in a warm sheltered spot and I know there are two more apples on my tree. They taste absolutely exquisite. Just like apples should.

oh, and Paul is home for the weekend.. he starts his radiation & chemo tomorrow, which I believe is for about 4 weeks. He will be in a Sydney hospital while he undergoes his treatment.