Fundraising for fire victims...

A huge thankyou to everyone who visited my stall at Craft hatch on saturday. I raised $160 for Wildlife Victoria through sales which is very exciting.

I'm a stall holder at a benefit this weekend with all proceeds going to the CFA (Country Fire Authority). Check it out here or below...

Sunday, February 22, 2009

5:00pm - 9:00pm

Bella Union & New BallroomTrades Hall, corner of Lygon & Victoria Streets, Carlton

Phone:0396505699

info@bellaunion.com.au

In the aftermath of Victoria's worst fire season, folks are gathering at Trades Hall to raise funds to support the vital work of CFA Victoria.

Show your support alongside Scott Edgar & Simon Hall (Tripod), Lawrence Leung, Die Roten Punkte, Justin Hamilton, Geraldine Hickey, Kate McLennan, Casey Bennetto, Celia Pacquola, Courteney Hocking, Andrea Powell, Sam Simmons, Matt Kenneally, Geraldine Quinn, Oliver Clark, Aurora Kurth, the entire cast of Spontaneous Broadway (Julia Zemiro, Russell Fletcher, Genevieve Morris, Geoff Paine, Ross Daniels & John Thorn) and more.

And let's not forget to mention that we've got a Cake and Craft Sale, Silent Auctions, Raffles and Biscuit Readings.

Green hangover cures

Treehugger has provided a list of their fave hangover cures, which include yoga, coconut water, wheat grass and playing in the snow. Seriously, the former would cause my hungover head to explode and the latter has never been attempted in adult life....

Cate's tips to avoid hangover hell...

1.Lots of water.

Lots. Inbetween drinks, before you go to sleep, when you wake up, during the day.

2. Sleep.
Lots. If you live in Australia like us, no doubt you'll wake up to a roasting hot house. Not very conducive to good sleeping. You could try sleeping in the bath (recycle the water on your plants), a dull cinema movie or of course, a local library.

3. Toast with vegemite.

Add some avocado and if you're not vegetarian, maybe some free range bacon. Hot chips never hurt either. Yes, I know Vegemite is owned by evil Kraft, but I don'y like promite, marmite or any of the imitators. Sorry.

4. Pain killers.

`Yes, I know you don't take pain killers, but you could wash them down with some organic juice.

Prevention:

1. Organic wine
Many people swear organic wines mean less headaches and kinder, gentler hangovers. And if you are sensitive to sulphur, you can get organic sulphur free wine to boot. You can also get organic beer of course, and homebrew has it's place, though it may be stronger in alcoholic content than store bought beverages.

2. Food:

Serve food at your parties. Make sure you eat. Not just chips, they'll make you thirsty and you'll drink more. Things on sticks, turkish bread, dips, cheeses all have a part to play.

3. Non-alcoholic beverages:

Mocktails are great and you can find some particularly yummy ones here. Be wary of milky, creamy drinks if you're also having a bit of alcohol.

You can also plan something special for the day after to give you an incentive not to drink, count your drinks etc etc. It's all about choices really, isn't it?

I Want To Live Here film competition this thursday!

Those groovy kids at Earthsharing Australia have been running a short film competition about the housing affordability crisis.Budding film makers have spent the last few months making short films, all aiming for a massive $3000 prize. A prize sure to help pay the rent!

Polka Dot Rabbit is super excited to be running a market at the finals night.Us crafters know all about the cost of rent, it's the main reason we have to put so much markup on our products when they go into shops! When you support local makers at local markets you not only get something lovely and unique to call your own, but you are also supporting your local independent industries. Buying local handmade stuff is one of the easiest ways to help your community survive a global economic crisis.

Wanna know more? Come along.

I Want To Live Here - Short Film Competition
December 3, 2008
For more details:http://www.iwanttolivehere.org.au/

Do you ride a bike?

Even if you're a veritable beginner like me, I'd encourage you to come along to the Melbourne Bicycle Film Festival from November 21st-23rd.

It includes:

• films (obviously)
• A bike beauty pagent
• Bike mating
• loads of prizes and exhibitions
• Markets and stall and heaps more!

Polka Dot Rabbit is busily working on some specially recycled bicycle themed crafts for the markets!

Home going for beginners-free workshop-November 13

Paul, Adam and Nathan from Permablitz are inviting all to this free 2-hour seminar on how and why to successfully grow your own veges and fruit.Arrive at 6:45 for a cuppa before the 7pm start.No RSVP required.

For more information email permablitz@gmail.com
Address:
Kindness House - 288 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy.

Time: 18:45 -21:00

Green Renters news

Apologies that regular aspects of our blog have been amiss. Chris and I have been busy getting married :-)

You can't go to school with your period!

Imagine missing about a week of school (or work) a month because you have your period.

In many areas of the world, access to adequate menstrual supplies is difficult to come by. Many women and girls rely on rags, newspaper, camel skin or nothing at all for their menstrual needs. A lack of sanitary pads can be a big barrier to a girl’s education.

I was recently told about Good 4 Girls a non-profit organisation who seek out donors to sew or purchase new, reusable menstrual pads for donations to areas of Africa where these products are needed most, such as schools and refugee camps in Sudan and Kenya.

Providing reusable supplies not only provides a more environmentally friendly alternative for these young women (in areas of adequate water supply for washing), it reduces their dependence on outside aid organizations to continue providing for their monthly needs.

I’m currently organising a sewing-bee to make a stack of reusable pads to be donated. Can’t sew? Maybe you can cut out patterns or iron seams or something. Or perhaps you’d like to donate some fabric (cotton flannelette) and thread?

In case you have no real idea what I am talking about in regard to a cloth pad, this is one example of a cloth pad from Health Home and Happiness.

If you would like to get involved and join the sewing bee (the first one will be at Chez Cate in early September in Melbourne), feel free to send an email to me: ms.cate@gmail.com . At some stage I will design a flyer with all the relevant details.

I realise this is not about renting per se, but making your own re-usable pads would be an excellent environmental initiative.

The Climate Action Calendar

Anyone interested in finding things to do, places to go and people to meet in the fields of sustainability and the environment in Victoria should subscribe to the Climate Action Calendar.

The Climate Action Calendar covers events in Victoria and major events elsewhere. Regular updates are sent out, roughly every week to ten days.

To add an event to the calendar please e-mail the details to Monique Decortis decortis@bigpond.net.au

If you wish to subscribe or unsubscribe to the calendar please email Monique decortis@bigpond.net.au with your details and “subscribe CAC” or “unsubscribe CAC” in the subject bar. The calendar is not sponsored.

The True Cost of Food-Tonight

Just a reminder:

A kilogram of beef contains between 15,000 and 100,000 litres of embodied water. For every kilogram of wheat grown in Australia, seven kilograms of topsoil are lost. We give lip service to concerns about peak oil and greenhouse gases, yet our agricultural industry is utterly dependent on unsustainable quantities of polluting petrochemicals.

There’s no reason why this insanity can’t be quickly and effortlessly changed to a geoist system of economics which inherently recognises the true value of natural resources. The major obstacle to change actually lies with the peddlers of our current neoclassical economics. You can side with these peddlers and relax, ignore the food riots, have a beer and flick on the TV, or you can come and be prepared in the knowledge that will help in the transition away from the consequences of our dietary choices.

Speaker: Karl Williams (a.k.a. Mr. Ed)
Time: 7 pm, Friday August 1st
Venue: EarthSharing Australia, 1st Floor, 27 Hardware Lane, Melbourne

All welcome, light supper provided, gold coin donation,RSVP appreciated to Karl Fitzgerald or via 9670-2754

Forum on housing affordability and other isues: TONIGHT

Future Of The City OB With The Architects

Tuesday 22nd July @ Beer Deluxe at Fed Square, Melbourne

Triple R's The Architects present The Future Of The City, a live broadcast discussion forum looking at the opportunities and challenges facing Melbourne.

Stuart Harrison and Simon Knott will explore how we can act on the pressing issues of urban density, sustainability, housing affordability and public transport in order to shape the future of Melbourne.

Featuring an expert panel including Associate State Government Architect, Shelley Penn, and Director of RMIT's Globalism Institute, Paul James.

The Future Of The City – a Triple R live broadcast with The Architects for the State of Design Festival. Tuesday the 22nd of July @ 7.00pm outside Beer Deluxe in the atrium at Federation Square.

This broadcast is proudly sponsored by Electrolight – www.electrolight.com.au - lighting designers who are passionate about light and lighting

For more information on the State Of Design Festival, visit www.stateofdesign.com.au

The True Cost of Food

A kilogram of beef contains between 15,000 and 100,000 litres of embodied water. For every kilogram of wheat grown in Australia, seven kilograms of topsoil are lost. We give lip service to concerns about peak oil and greenhouse gases, yet our agricultural industry is utterly dependent on unsustainable quantities of polluting petrochemicals.

"There’s no reason why this insanity can’t be quickly and effortlessly changed to a geoist system of economics which inherently recognises the true value of natural resources. The major obstacle to change actually lies with the peddlers of our current neoclassical economics. You can side with these peddlers and relax, ignore the food riots, have a beer and flick on the TV, or you can come and be prepared in the knowledge that will help in the transition away from the consequences of our dietary choices".

Speaker: Karl Williams (a.k.a. Mr. Ed)
Time: 7 pm, Friday August 1st
Venue: EarthSharing Australia, 1st Floor, 27 Hardware Lane, Melbourne

All welcome, light supper provided, gold coin donation,RSVP appreciated to Karl Fitzgerald or via 9670-2754

Do you like chocolate?

The Chocolate Ride - Saturday 9th of August
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11am (for 11:15 start)
All Nations Park, Dennis St Northcote, (Mel 30 G7)

Indulge your love of cycling and your love of Chocolate with a ride that
takes all the Chocolate Cafés between Northcote and the City.
This will be a ride at social pace via quiet back streets and off road
paths that takes in Coco Loco (High St Northcote), San Churro (Brunswick
St Fitzroy), Coco Black (Lygon St Carlton), Frau´s (Victoria St North
Melbourne) and Max Brenner (Melbourne Central CBD).

It will be a decadent day that would make Augustus Gloop proud.
And for the truly gluttonous there´s always the option finish up at the
Chocolate Rush Festival at Abbotsford Convent
http://www.chocolaterush.com.au/ (but that costs money to get in.)

organiser: bikenerd