Living Local on a bad day

I enjoy shopping locally but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't hard at times and today was one of those times. I am beyond tired, I feel sick, i'm craving high fat carbs like pizza or chips, pies that sort of thing...and it is raining! What would have been ideal would be to load the boy into the car, drive to Sainsbury's, park in the very convenient parent and child spaces, have all the items I need in one place and be out in less than an hour or better yet sit at home on my sofa, in my PJ's, eating a bacon and egg sandwich and do all my ordering online and have it delivered to my door this afternoon. Instead Bear and I trundled out in our raincoats, wellies and pushchair and walked into town. Friday is the best day to go to the market as all the good stalls are there without the hustle and bustle of a Saturday. We firstly stopped at the cash machine because we can't pay with card, we then went to the greengrocers stall and bought our fruit and veg for the week and had a nice chat with the man about strawberries. Next we went to the dried food stall where we bought our porridge oats (bear and I love porridge in the morning and as he wasn't there last week we had to buy ready break from the garage...it isn't the same). Then we went to the biscuit stall and bought some cheesy crackers for snack, bear started to kick up a fuss because he wanted chocolate, I tried to tell him that we can only eat chocolate in moderation and he eats a lot of chocolate already then I thought, who am I kidding this is MY son! So I bought us a small packet of chocolate biscuits too. At this point I was drenched from top to toe and bear was getting tired of not being able to see out of the rain cover, so I thought it best that we just get the mince for dinner tonight and head home to dry off.

After all this I had to remind myself of why I am bothering to trapes around town in the rain when I could have made life so much easier for myself today. So I pulled up the shop online page of my local supermarket to compare the prices of the items I had bought and I did in fact save money. Today I learnt that strawberries last longer from Belgium than England and Scotland and I by shopping independently I am supporting my local businesses and putting money straight back into the local economy.

Living Local - Day 5 Market Day

You can get just about anything you could ever want from our little market town of Otley. D, Bear and I had a little potter around the market for some fresh fruit, veg and some sausages for tea.

 

We also found some pavement chalk which we played with this afternoon in our sunny garden.

We made up a really fun game to help Bear learn colours. I would shout out a colour and he would have to jump on the right one, He loved it!

Living Local - Day 4

Today was Bears 2nd Birthday! I can't believe how quickly time has gone. We didn't plan a party but I did take him and his cousins to a local soft play centre with his cousins, he had such a good time!

I had decided a few weeks ago I would make him a birthday cake as last year I was working full time and didn't have the time to make him one myself. So I had a plan, it was going to be a number 2, all green with a train track and Thomas sitting on top. Everything started off well, cake baked and i had the shape of the 2...perfect. Until it came time for the green icing...no matter how much green food dye I put in, the butter cream icing would not turn green!!!! Arg, what was I going to do?? In a mad hurry I ran into town to  Dodgshons Kitchen Ware shop to buy some green fondant icing. I must add that I have never used fondant icing before, absolutely no idea what to do! So upon entering the shop the lovely lady asked what I was planning to do, I told her my problem and suggested I stick to the butter cream rather than starting again with fondant and use a food dye designed especially for butter cream, Excellent. She then asked what I planned to use for the track *Panic*. I hadn't even thought about it!!! "urm...writing icing?" I replied. Yes, writing icing would have been great except she didn't sell it and the only place in town I could buy it was...Sainsbury's (insert sad face here). "Not to worry" she said after I gave her my long explanation as to why I couldn't pop into the super market. "Why don't you use Licorice Laces" So off I ran to the Traditional Sweet Sweet Shop. Again I was greeted by a lovely, smiley shop assistant who was more than happy to help me find the perfect thing to decorate my cake.  

Here are the results:

So yes I did have to run around town like a crazy lady trying to find what I needed but I felt really comforted knowing that local retailers are happy to help and share their expertise. 

Grace x

Living Local - Day 3

On a mission to find decent cheese, I popped into The Local Pantry in Pool-In-Wharfedale. The Local Pantry is a farm shop selling locally sourced fresh produce. I have passed this place a thousand times on my drive to Harrogate and always thought of stopping by to take a look. The shop is very well laid out with sections for dried pasta, rice, dried fruit and dairy products as well as frozen foods, preserves, cakes, fresh meat, cakes, fruit and veg. In addition to all this they also have a little cafe with beautiful views of the Chevin and surrounding wildlife in the perfect location for meeting friends and family for a coffee and a catchup. Best of all though (with my mission in mind) They sell cheese!! Different kinds of cheese all made locally! Perfect! I purchased a small block of Ribblesdale Parmesan, Risotto Rice, Butter, Eggs and  a yogurt for The Bear.

Very happy with my purchases today!

Kirsty  x

Images curtsey of  http://www.thelocalpantry.co.uk

Living Local

I get a little feeling of sadness when I see a once bustling high street now dotted with empty shops that were once a big part of the community. This is usually followed by nostalgia of how things used to be, not in my lifetime of course but I imagine my lovely Grandma pottering around the shops, picking out her fresh produce and chatting to the locals as she went on her way. I also can't help but think of the local business owners who are struggling to make a living in this current economic climate. With all of the convenience of supermarkets, have we lost our sense of community?

So I have decided that we as a family will only shop in local independent retailers for one week starting tomorrow. After the week is over I shall make a decision whether or not to go a whole year avoiding Chain Stores and Supermarkets. This means EVERYTHING we buy including nappies, toiletries, food and drink and entertainment must be bought from Independent Retailers and in support of local businesses. I am really excited by this challenge but this does mean that I need to be more prepared and...ORGANISED!!

I should also add that we have not done a "Big shop" for a while and just to prove my point here is a picture of my very empty fridge.

As you can see, we have only a little milk, a couple of half eaten jars of something, left over pie, a random bottle of beer and half a tin of Hot Dogs. So we need to buy most things that will get a family of three (+ cat, dog and fish) through the week.

Stay tuned for daily updates!

Kirsty

Happy Sunday