These Days in French Life's photostream  

A Food and Travel Journalist living in the south of France with her French husband and our French -American baby. We are living "a slow year" of non-consumerism with no shopping except food and that is severely limited as well.

I used to blog, but no more, the blogs have been closed down for almost a year, there is no access.. but dont worry it's all on flickr! But if you favorite all my photos within a short time span, i consider this stalking and will block you. I also do not take kindly to negative comments or questions that you could get the answer by googling. do your own homework please and do not under any circumstances use my photos or words for your blogs, magazines without my permission.

A little bit about what we are doing and have changed in our lives over the past three slow years...

Gardening and raising animals on borrowed land in the city

Freegans- Dumpster diving
Foraging in season and in harmony of nature
No consumer shopping for the last 3 years
Rebuilding a stone house from the 1700’s
All Eco and/or recycled materials
Growing 25 % of our produce
Freegan and Foraging the other 75 %
Bartering and trading

Food Preservation/Storage:
-canning
-drying
-freezing
-fermenting
-pickling
-root cellar

In the Kitchen:
- cooking from scratch on an antique wood burning stove
- yogurt making
- bread making
- cheese making
- sprouting

-kombucha and Kefir drinks
- cast iron cookware
- no dishwasher, refrigerator or microwave

Our Limited Food Choices:
- buying in bulk organic: farm direct meat, local honey, and flour, olive oil from a friend's farm


Raising Animals:
- chickens (eggs/meat)
- 1 old goat (cheese/soap/milk/meat/manure)
soon-- a pig and a lamb

Composting Methods:
- vermicomposting
- composting food, garden and green waste

Energy Conservation:
- "powering down"
- cut energy usage to 1/3 of before

200kWh per month for three people
- rechargeable batteries
-no AC or central heat
-no ironing or hairdryer
-wood burning heat with recuperated wood
-water heater off for three days a week
-line drying clothes
-washing machine: 30 minute Eco wash
-deep freezer A rating
-LED lighting through out house

Homemade Non-toxic Beauty Care Products
- toothpaste
-goatsmilk soap
-beeswax lotions
-shampoo
-vegan deodorant through trades

Biodegrable/Non-toxic Cleaning Products:
- vinegar
- baking soda
- lemon juice
-olive oil
-beeswax
-homemade washing detergent

Natural Health Practices:
- homeopathy
- herbal remedies
- prevention
-Universal health care helps

Water Conservation Efforts:
- low flush toilets (with a brick as well)
- reusing bath water to flush toilets wash floors
- baths together
- limit toilet flushings
- limit baths/showers – twice a week
-greywater to water plants

Living Simply:
- making use or do without
- bartering and trading goods and services
- 3 annual shopping trips or delivered for organic meat
- recycling, recreating, or redistribution
- repairing, fixing, sewing and remaking
-making food for others and giving to charities

Heating:
- no central heat
- woodstove that uses scrap wood
-and pipes heat into the bedrooms

Home Projects:
- mud cob wall
-hemp insulation
-recuperated wood ceiling
-recuperated 200 year old tiles for floors





If you have No profile, and No photos, and you Fave my photos or send bizarre messages or leave antagonizing comments, or if you fave too many of my photos in a row (i call that "slow year stalking" and plagiarizing) I'll block you. Sorry, that's how it goes, not everyone gets the gift of peeking into my rustic slow life.