Right Back To It
Where did the year go? There's so much to talk about, but for now, a personal snapshot of where we ended up after big year and some radio silence.
Hello friends! It’s been more than a minute, and we’re sorry for that big gap in communication with you. We have so many drafts begun in this little space and none of them sent - tools thrown down as another wave carried us along. It’s been a VERY BIG YEAR for our family, with kids growing so fast we can barely keep up. But here we are, committing to sharing in this space again.
There’s much we want to talk about in months to come. Things we’ve been ruminating on for some time, as they relate to waste reduction, climate solutions, family life and making sense of it all. But for now, a snapshot of where we ended up after that long silence this year.
We’re still waste-free - How could we not be? All the decisions we make come for a place of ‘which is the least harmful/wasteful option’, so we’re all low-waste for life. Options available to us in the community have reduced somewhat in recent years, and we’re certainly all spending less time at home now, but we’re waste-free for life :)
Our record store is doing ok - we’re still unpaid volunteers there, but cheerful ones! We’ve strengthened our community, supported lots of independent musicians, created a space for them to perform and showcase their work, shared knowledge on women in music, repaired and re-homed lots of secondhand records, seen some live music, had lots of fun, worked ourselves to near exhaustion, and made almost no waste. We’re calling it a win!
The garden is a mess - we battled through months of wallabies and chickens dining on our veggies, no cashflow for garden protection or mulch, and limited time. Happy to say we’re now resplendent with mulch and crop protection, but time is limited. Amazingly, we’re enjoying zucchinis, raspberries and cherries and counting our blessings (and our foresight in planting a mostly perennial garden. It’s wild, but abundant!
Peri-menopause has not been kind - Wowee, this is a topic for another day, but I (Lauren) have been battling this monster for many years now. In fact, I had a terrible migraine at our book launch all those years ago! This (along with Oberon’s RSI hand injury) is another factor in our radio silence in past months, and something we want to address when considering the people doing the lion’s share of climate action work in the home are women.
The kids are finding their way - Well, the experiment that has been unschooling our kids seems to be working out fabulously. We’ve ended up with a university graduate artist who focuses on childhood awe in climate action, and a qualified chef working at a top hotel restaurant with a waste reduction and seasonal food focus. What they’ve achieved this year is awe-inspiring. We can’t wait to see what happens next.
Our littlest continues on her unschooling path, which at this age involves many hours with friends, playing minecraft, making and listening to music, crocheting and learning Korean. She was diagnosed with significant scoliosis after a huge growth spurt this year, so she’s wearing a brace full-time, learning to tolerate discomfort, and manage her energy. Her recovery is aided by this AI-customised plastic brace, so there’s lots to unpack about that another day.
We’ll be back in the next few days with more climate solutions to share - we’re nearing the end of our original 52, so we’ll have to think up some more! We have recipes to share, and we’re up for supporting you to take some creative leaps to reduce the waste and ecological footprint you make, if you’re keen. Say hello or sing out if there’s anything you’d like from us as we sail into the new year! Love and good health to you and yours,
Lauren & Oberon. xx
PS. The soundtrack to today’s post is one of our fave songs from 2024, by Waxahatchee. One of the incredible artists we were lucky to see perform live in our town this year!
That artwork is incredible. Congrats to the graduate, wishing you all a wonderful 2025.