What  is this beautiful old cast iron bath doing on legs?

virtual prize for the correct guess

Overcoming Addiction part 3

Dealing with the Devil

I have been doing some subjective arithmetic on the question.    What are the odds that any particular person with a severe addiction will ever recover?   personally there are two people who I know of whom I can put my hand on my heart and say they have made a recovery, one from alcohol, one from heroin . On the other hand I know of the same amount who have died of related causes and twice as many again who are in their addiction and kind of stuck.so roughly speaking 2 in 10 recovered.

In other words if you are in an addiction. looking at the bare statics the odds are stacked against you and there is a very good chance that you will die from it.

On the other hand and over and above these negative speculations the two guys I mentioned are two of the finest men I know , and have become so through their journey to recovery. Therefore ,if you do take the challenge,its going to be so worth it, not just if or when you succeed but every step of the way.

I find it interesting that what ever else they had to go through both guys did what I call a deal with the devil.

"John" decided he wasnt going rto be a hercin addict , he was going to be a weaver. He bought himself a loom ,some colored threads of linnin ,cotton and wool. where ever he moved the loom came with him and i can only immagine that he went through many a difficult time inthecompany and solace of this craft.Eventually he told everyone that he could weave buitfulfrabrics and that he was infact a weaver.

"Deric"told himself thatin giving up his alcohol addiction and all thet went with it , he would always have music to listen to, no matter what it cost.and indeed every time i visited him we eventually listened to some choice recordings.

 Both these solution, were not in  themselves with out cost..I mean how many weavers do you know?How easy can it be to have amazing music available to you when you live in a caravenon a remote hill side on scotlands west coast?

However they achived it, and it is clear that whatever it cost it was worth it. Interestinglythe weaving and the music became centeralthemes in the lives of each men "Deric for instance went on to become a music teacher. Sure enough they had their quirks they mcarried some scars, but both became exceptional people

 So in the light of these considerations lets return to the  a grim prediction speculations I started with , 10 to 2 death by addiction. Quite a grim prediction .Heres another reality. Every time you take a step to over come your addictoion , every time you take responsibility, The odds become better. Please feel free to contact me on this blogg. I would love to celebrate with you your 25/75 mark, your 50/50/, your 75/25mark your hand on your heart Ive made it moment. 

x

 

     Grow your own Fruit 

Strawberries love leaf mould

                                                                                                                                                                    Growing your own fruit and veg is easy and fun. By growing your own you get to taste sun ripened fruit, quite a different experience from their supermarket counterpart. Furthermore, you can avoid the use of toxic chemicals which are necessitated by large-scale monoculture, but not by small scale local enterprise. The strawberries in the picture are being mulched with leaf mould (rotted down autumn leaves) this is their only fertility requirement so that the mulch will not only suppress weeds but as it slowly breaks down will provide a continuous supply of nourishment.

In the back ground is a netted frame to protect our blackcurrants grapes gooseberry and goji berries from birds.

Dandelion

As a gardener I have been guilty of throwing thousands of dandelions on to the compost heap. Not any more. Since I discovered the delight of dandelion coffee, I save every one, even going so far as to replant any that are too small.

This picture shows some dandelion roots freshly washed. They can be make into a dandelion coffee at this stage. Also shown are some roots that have been cut into short lengths and dehydrated (not roasted) and stored in jars. If properly dried they will last for a very long time. I also dry and store couch grass roots in the same way and add to the blender at this stage for their health giving properties. 

To make a warm frothy healthy vegan drink, I put a small amount of roots into a blender. Dried roots can be powdered before hot water is added, while fresh roots can just be blended hot water. Allow plenty of time to pass for the roots to brew. You might want to strain out the coffee at this stage, but fresh roots work well unstrained.Then various things can be added and re-blended, I have used from the following list; coconut oil, carrob, cacco, nettle seeds, macca powder, tiny pinch of quality salt and quality honey.The trick is to be creative. I tend to add there ingredients after the brew has cooled a little as some of the ingredients are heat sensitive. Finally fast blend froths it all up. Delicious.