No Packed Food, OCTOBER! (is it all about time?)

Hey!

i could not write yesterday, but it does not mean that i have something to hide: i am still into it! However, i should say it was a bit hard. Because, when i came back from my hometown, i realized that, in my home where i live with my roomy, we have jam which is packed, butter-packed, every piece of chocolate- contains soy oil, coffee-instant.. And my one of the biggest pleasure, PASTRY.. sometimes sweet, sometimes salty but always fresh(since we bought from bakery). The last time when i went to bakery to buy a bread and saw my favorite cookie.. It was really as romantic and sad as Titanic!

Ok! Enough. i think i exaggerate a bit. i mean i can bake my cookies (to people who know me, i m telling you: Do not laugh!!) but she can not bake her all-times love unless she was Sabrina- witch! Soo, at the end, it has been 5 days and i m still on the way!

BUT!! There is really one important thing about baking cookies: TIME! i mean other than i m kind of person who gets bored after adding 3rd ingredient -including salt/spices- to meal/pastry, sometime you just do not have time! OR, do we?

According to Slow Food Lady, we have time: we have time to spend cooking, if we have time to watch TV for 4 hours, to check our mails 78 times a day, to spend hours on networking websites.. Besides, as she told, we have machines to do almost everything for us: washing&drying machines for laundry, dishwasher for dirty plates, hoover for cleaning the house, small home appliances to mix, to cut, to stir.. In addition to that, we buy our clothes and do not sew! There should be time, but the question is whether we are willing to spend that time on slowing our lives..with slow food?! Preparing every ingredients, buying them from special organic markets and eating that meal that you put so much effort, enjoying every bit.. time consuming! OR, is it?

Taking my time while eating is pleasure for me! Especially, when you are surrounded by people who you like to be with! Especially, when you smell the meal and when it smells soooo gooodd! Does not need to be your pleasure! i strongly suggest you to try!

Lessons to be learned:

1) Do not judge your friends if they are not able to cook! Cook for them!! (Dear 'my' friends! You got what i mean!)
2) Special thanks to my dear CfB for having dinner with me.. and also telling me the 'Ugly Truth's of food indusrty!!
3) Close your eyes while eating.. unless nobody see you!! Otherwise, you are going to be the fun of the week! (based on a true story.)

PS: Tomorrow's topic: How can we make organic food more visible? Can market chains be the option?

Cheers!!

Shopping-free SEPTEMBER, 8th(Joy&100 things website)

i ,at the end, found web page of 100 things challenge!! here it is :
http://www.guynameddave.com/100-thing-challenge.html
You'd better to visit the web site to see what the rules are, to make a comment or to show your friends! Accept it people: it would be fun!!

After checking web site, i had answers for some of my questions about kitchen tools, some items which should count in groups, bed, books, gifts etc. It doesnot seem impossible to me. He already did and i am sure there are some people who have already been living in that way. So,it seems like it will definitely be one of my challanges!!
and i already found a partner other than R: JOY! Joy has already joined Shopping-free September and ,as she wrote in her blog she is doing more: she is going to wear something which was used before! Time to dig our mum's wardrobe!!(i found a lot from mine:)

About today: We were in Grand Bazar with J and.. i only helped her to choose some souvenirs for her family and friends. You know what that means, i did it!! Btw, i may not be writing for the next 2 days since i ll not be at home, but when i ll be back, i ll inform you about what i didnot buy:)) and since we started to talk about mums, i ll tell you my sustainable mum:))

Cheers!!(i am still soo happy)

Shopping-free SEPTEMBER,7th-8th(freecycle)

Hellöööö!!

i am happy! Ok, it is not surprising:) But, today i am happy and i have just joined freecycling group in istanbul! and have already posted a message that i need a bike.
It was something of which i wanted to be part for looong time. i didnot register myself before but ,believe it or not, i am not a good internet user. i had hardly checked my mails regularly up until 3 years ago and do not ask when i had an e-mail adress:)) hope i could explain who started to write blogpage, joined a freecycling group, searched for environmental solutions on the internet..

Btw, i have just ckecked my mail and i realized that first message i send should be 'i am giving.' type of message. One more thing to learn! But, actually am not worried about giving part 'cos as i wrote already, i am planning to perform that '100 things'! it seems like there will be many things that i am going to give away. For now, i am just waiting and trying to list the things that i am currently using.(i didnot check their web site yet. Even not search for that web site:S i ll inform you asap)i am waiting for R and we can start together. Let's see!!

More about freecycling! Their website is http://freecycle.org and the first thing you need to do is choosing an area which is closest to you. This means a lot to me. Because in this way, you decrease carbon emission caused by transportation, carrying stuff from far far away to your adress. Of course this does not mean that you ll find everything in your neighbourhood but at least.. Whatever, i am in istanbul group!

Addition to that, this group gives you the chance to find what is already produced. In the mail they sent me, there are rules about what you can't post to take or give away. But more important and cuter and also a bit weird than rules, they kindly ask you to be polite in every phase of cycling. Be polite about your messages, your replies, your attitude when you meet the person.. Cute part is they care about being POLITE, weird part is they want you to be POLITE!! i mean, isn't it the way that people should/ would be??? (roomy, don't look at me like that! i know i am polyanna..in modern times:)

About my report! i didnot buy anything yesterday. i feel like it lost its mystery! you know that i ll succeed it for sure.. or do you??

Lastly, tomorrow is our 'sweetest fest'!! enjoy everyone!

cheers

Shopping-free SEPTEMBER,5th(100 things)

Before writing about my experiment, i want to say one thing: i always feel happy and lucky about people who are around me. and now, i even feel happier and luckier!

Today, when i come home from visiting historical places with J and a new friend i have just met today, i saw a mail in my inbox from Ra. it was a mail about web site which had mounted campaign to make people question their life styles. How? By suggesting them to choose 100 'things' to lead their lives. Things have wide range from pencil to cosmetic products. Can a person do that? May or may not be.. Number of products is not important, but knowing or at least thinking about how much we have is. (i ll write more about that later,how people get used to live with just 100 things?)

Then, another mail from my roomy. She sent me my essay about my dream job in corrected form.(she may need to work on my blog posts also:) Moreover than that, she has encouraged me to write more about my environment 'obsession',eventhough she knows that she will need to deal with more obsessive form of me!!

And guess what! My dear friend F sent me a link on msn about an environment company's recruitment process. Can't say that he loves environment more than everything, but he knows what being a friend means:)

Today, i did not buy anything but received many thing from my friends!!Thanks a looott!!