the shops . the jab . gardens for the win
Every day we do little things. Small movements and tiny choices that have big repercussions. The little lives we live are full of promise and value. If anyone tells you otherwise - send them to me.
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In my own little life this morning I am going to walk down to the little shopping area close by. It is at the bottom of a small hill and I walk past a number of little ordinary houses that are home base for piles of BIG ordinary lives. Down there, at the bottom of the hill, we have an Aldi supermarket, a restaurant, a phone shop, a family owned fruit and vegetable shop, a florist and a pharmacy.
Five minutes into my walk down the hill I pass a fish and chip shop, two Vietnamese bakeries, a pizza place and a wine shop.
So I guess I am covered.
The Iranian owner of the fruit and veg shop called last night - he has the feijoas we were asking about. Small businesses get to have these very real connections to the communities they serve. Also I have an appointment at the pharmacy next door to the vegetable shop to get a whooping-cough vaccination. There is whooping cough in the community and anyone who will be living with our baby gets a vaccination. No question. And that would be me and Daughter.
Whooping cough is contagious. Whooping cough cases have surged across Australia in 2024, surpassing 40,000 cases for the first time on record.
I will be the one going out into the community while mother and baby recover from the birth at home. I don’t want to bring this nasty virus home to baby. Vaccinations or isolation. The choice needs to be taken seriously.
We do anything to protect our babies, right?
Flowers from the garden. At last.
Gardens are great ways to help balance the impact of the pollution we all release into our local atmospheres. Growing a rose bush or a hedge or a lawn or caring for a tree won’t make a huge difference in the scheme of things but if we all do it? If we all join forces? We DO make a difference.
Our Kitchens Garden community is here to support each other in our endeavours - growing green things, cooking with them, and caring for both our local food chain and supporting each other in this online space.
Little gardens do more than look colourful and feed our bellies - they help clean the air. Plants absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen, improving air quality. Their leaves catch dust and pollutants, while their roots stabilize soil, reducing erosion and keeping the earth healthy.
These guys (cockatoos) are watching the fruit trees - in case they missed anything. They love fruit. They are a very noisy part of the city ecosystem.
So this morning off I go to get my jab, a bag of feijoas for a feijoa crumble, a bottle of wine for later and Bánh mì for lunch. Then into the studio to record more narration of our BedTime story for our Sunday Newsletter.
I miss my farm. I miss it a lot. But. We are all where we are. And. Living in town has its advantages. One lovely thing is being within walking distance of everywhere I need to be on a daily basis. It reminds me of Amalfi, Italy where I used walk down to buy fresh food every day.
Here I am extending my walks until I find as many small businesses to support as I can.
Our small local businesses need our support. Skipping the big box stores and delivery tycoons like Amazon as much as possible. What is your favourite little local shop?
What I need to find next is a second hand book shop!
Dog and I love to walk! Walking saves lives.
Here is the link to the page with the latest chapters of The Blue Castle uploaded.
The Blue Castle by LM Montgomery, read by Cecilia Gunther
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Love Celi
How nice to be in a neighborhood with all those small businesses so close by. We used to have a small independent grocery store near us (maybe 6 or 7 blocks away). I sent my son when he was oh maybe 7 or 8 to get me a lemon. I told him to pick out the biggest one since I was going to make a lemon pie and like to have lots of lemon zest for the filling. So he went and came back with a really big one. The only thing was that it was a grapefruit and not a lemon!
Cecilia,
How I envy you having local businesses that are not box-stores. We have a big chain supermarket up the road, and a horrid convenience store across the street that took out our view of the Milky Way at night. The small mom-and-pop shops (appliance store, clothing shop) closed years ago. The closest book store (in Japanese) is in a big mall about 15 minutes away by subway. The library (also in Japanese) is a 20-minute cycle.
There is a JA (Japan Agriculture) outlet where we can buy fresh produce, seedlings, and things for farming, that is near the library. That’s where a lot of farmers take their goods to sell. YAY! But it’s not a place we can go to every day.
There are few restaurants nearby, one pricey bread shop (delicious, but not on a regular basis). But we make do. I wish there were more locally-owned shops to patronize. Have cut out Amazon, but still have to rely on web-based purchasing for books.
Our little farm out back is very important! It doesn’t produce books or shoes, but I have enough, and enough is enough.
Hi, TimTam. Did you enjoy your walk?