The Touchwood Project

Today’s fun and games involved Malcolm dishing up tasty slices of 6 different brands of butter atop oatcakes to answer that timeless question: Is it worth paying more for a better butter? Since we’re such butter junkies — I’d guess we go through something like a pack a week — we thought finding this out would be be both fun and illuminating. In our case, is it worth dishing out the extra money for Lurpak and… Read the rest of this article >>

Storage basket made from recycled magazines: Hello there, Rachel asked me to do a guest post about this project, since it’s one she and I had worked on together before and that I recently took on all by myself. It probably would have been a good use of your Power-Off Weekend. Well, maybe next time. So! Let’s talk weaving. Time required: Uh… several hours. It took me an American football game (roughly… Read the rest of this article >>

It was wonderful, magical, like Christmas! The weather helped, with sunshine and no wind. At night, stars mesmerised me as the scent of wood smoke drifted down to my eager nostrils. Joy! The time has just flown by, and to be honest life was so enjoyable without the electricity that we are only re-introducing it selectively – I call that a success! We rode our bikes to the local Stenness store, only a 5… Read the rest of this article >>

It’s a weekend of crafting frenzy in our house this weekend. I’m knitting like mad, Malcolm’s making felt using a washing machine, and I’ve just finished making a big batch of chocolate peanut butter balls. The reason for the rush is I looked up the date you have to post all your gifts to the USA, and it’s December 10th — Thursday. To be honest, I’m not sure I can make it in time, but we’re giving it our… Read the rest of this article >>

Before I get into how to make this next Christmas gift project, I’ve been thinking about the mysterious joy that can come out of humble things. The tin can is something humble, and making this project is less about the object made, than about the experience of appreciating these small, everyday things…. Read the rest of this article >>

Be lazy, recycle Why work hard to make something from scratch when you can be lazy and reuse someone else’s stuff? Today we’re going to be recycling an old sweater into a fabulous felted bag, all ready to wrap and present with a flourish to your Aunt Rebecca or best friend Steph…. Read the rest of this article >>

My problem: How to stay warm this winter without spending money. The house is cold and heating it is expensive. My frugal-living philosophy tells me you don’t need to spend money to be green, despite what all the retailers say. But can I?… Read the rest of this article >>

Lately I’m getting some concerned emails from my family in the US who worry I’m sacrificing myself for the planet, huddling miserably around a single light bulb, icicles forming on my nose. Ha. I assure you, I’m far too lazy to make all these changes for some distant noble cause. Nope, I’m doing it first and foremost because I’m enjoying myself, a point which a little adventure reminded me of recently. I’ll… Read the rest of this article >>

Malcolm and I have devised a shorthand phrase to keep us on track with what we’re trying to do with Touchwood and our lives: “Less is more.” Less stuff is more fun, more happiness, more time and more money. It’s getting rid of the crap that’s cluttering up our brains and house and racking up debt and environmental damage so we have the time and money to do what we like doing. Today I came across a wonderful… Read the rest of this article >>

Since we live on the beach, we’ve long eyed up the swaying fronds of bladderwrack, kelp and dulse seaweed — both as free wild food, and as a cheap home spa treatment. Today we and our cats braved the miserable weather to harvest some seaweed because it’s the spring low tide, meaning that the tide is out further than at almost any other time of the year — perfect for gathering fresh seaweed…. Read the rest of this article >>