The Vegetable Patch

Although it was a terribly rainy cold Autumn day today, I still thought it necessary to get the thinking caps on for our vegetable patch. It has been 1 week since all the Agapanthus have been relocated, and they are doing very well in their new homes, however the natives are getting anxious as to what is going on in the empty garden bed. After being inspired by Marta Stewart, I had morning tea with the residents in our Special Care Unit, as it is the raised garden bed in their courtyard. "What herbs and vegetables would you like to plant?" Well the suggestions came thick and fast...chives, different types of lettuce, cucumber, beetroot, tomato, onion, garlic, lemongrass, chillies, carrots, parsnips. This of course then led to the very lengthy conversation around when it is the right time to plant certain vegetables/herbs. Luckily I had just picked up the complete Collection of Gardening from Vinnies last week, so we have a reference for such curly questions. We did decide that we should plant herbs in the 12 pots that we had, so that we can move them around if they need more sun. So the next sunny day we will start sowing seeds. I was however reminded by Bessie that now that they are getting a little old they might need me to remind them to water the plants, as they don't have they aren't so good at gardening anymore!.....Consider it done. We also have some flowering plant seeds and bulbs to think about. This is going to be fun.

What would you say to a 20 year old self?

Our lovely Loreto girls were in this afternoon. We set them the task of chatting with the residents and asking "What would you say to a 20 year old self?" The responses were varied, and opened up the conversation for further chatting about childhood and memories. Here are some of the responses:

Listen a lot

Get involved in your life

Be true and honest

You’re a good person, don’t ever forget that. Have more confidence

Listen to your parents

Work hard

No advice – let her learn along the way, why spoil it

Don’t talk about others, respect their privacy

Travel. See the world. See how other people live, see their traditions and customs.

Find a man, make sure he’s rich. Then marry him

This one is my favourite....
Open a store that makes sensible frock, blouses, knitwear and all at affordable prices. Nothing like today’s fashion – all the necks are too big, which means your boobs fall out

I'm obssessed with TED

I have recently become absolutely hooked on TED. What is TED.....TED is a small nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. Since then its scope has become ever broader. Along with the annual TED Conference in Long Beach, California, and the TEDGlobal conference in Oxford UK, TED includes the award-winning TEDTalks video site, the Open Translation Program, the new TEDx community program, this year's TEDIndia Conference and the annual TED Prize.

I am loving them so much I have even downloaded some interesting talks and shown them to the residents, who have thoroughly enjoyed them.

My current favourites are Dave Buettner, author of the fabulous book "The Blue Zones"

AND...

This amazing 10 year old girl Adora Svitak who is the most incredible speaker.

The simple pleasures.....

The bread maker was put to work this morning, and as the residents supervised the task being done, it brought about lovely conversations about the simple joy of bread, memories of mothers kitchens, favourite recipes, who was the cook in their family and how wonderful food is in bringing people together. We then had the very patient 3 hour wait for the bread to be ready. "Is it ready yet?" Finally we were ready to serve, and it coincided with "Fondue Afternoon tea" which interesting took the back seat to the fresh warm multi grain loaf, lathered with butter and strawberry jam. Jean even requested a loaf for her breakfast in the morning. It was delicious. What have we started???

Anzac Day 25th April 2010

We made the last minute decision today to head up to the Roseville Memorial Club for lunch. My fantastic staff whipped themselves into gear to ensure that exercise class/indoor bowling finished with enough time to get spruced up for a lunch out at the club. Then we made the assisted convoy up the hill to the club. It was not only a gorgeous day for a walk, it's always nice to go out for lunch. We then got chatting about other get togethers we could arrange. There was talk about a book club, travel club, gardening club....as with most clubs i have belonged to they are just a cover for a good old chat with tea and cakes....well that is what we had in mind anyway. So the Book club idea was a winner, closely followed by the travel club. The book clubbers now need to come up with a name, as we thought the Bupa book club didn't really have the vibe we were looking for. Alex suggested we call it the Chocolate Book Club...I rest my case, obviously Alex is hoping to sky lark as a book clubber in the anticipation of chocolate. Who are we to disappoint. So Eden, who is our Physio Aid is keen on the idea, and running with it, so she is off to the library to get some books and/or books on tape. Will keep you posted on the success.

The Loreto Girls are back

We were thrilled to have the Loreto girls back today, the residents have missed them whilst they have been on holidays. They bring a lovely atmosphere to the facility when they are here, comparing school days with the residents. Today they thought they might assist in improving hand skills with some plasticine play.

ESD operations guide for owners, managers and tenants

A guide to help building owners, managers and tenants to operate buildings more sustainably. The challenge is now for each of these groups, across the diversity of Australia’s built environment, to implement local solutions.

Sensory/Herb Garden

We have been inspired.

It's time to utilise what we have and turn it into something practical. We may not have a huge area like Banora Point however I think there is alot of potential. I packed up the kids on pupil-free day and we headed off to work for a gardening day. We have 2 large raised garden beds in our Special Care Unit that have needed alot of help, so we pulled out about 20 Agapanthus and a very unwell Crape Myrtle. My kids of course became bored of this within the first 10 minutes, and it was then that I realised I has taken on a little more that I had anticipated. However, whilst my 2 children entertained the residents observing, I continued to pull out theses plants and replant them in the garden bed at the front of the facility. I was starting to cause quite a stir, as the staff and residents alike became intrigued as the Manager was elbow deep in dirt, playing in the garden. The flow of suggestions then started as to what we should plant, what was in season, favourite herbs, favourite flowering plants and bulbs for Autumn, I was loving it Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall would be so proud. So we have herb seeds, and bulbs to plant, and everyone is excited........just need to remind the residents to water them now. My next project is a trying to get the kitchen to use a compost bin....what do you think my chances are? I'll let you know how I go.

Found this fabulous option for bed pans....

Fabulous biodegradable bed pans. Okay so biodegradable bed pans are neither here nor there when it comes to your health, but seeing as hospitals have quite a large waste stream (not much that you can just trash when it comes to contaminated objects), this is one more way to keep what they can out of local landfills. I LOVE IT!

Continence aids clogging Landfill

An issue that I feel very strongly about. Adult incontinence pads amounted to less than one percent of total landfill waste just two decades ago. Today, that number is closer to 7% and climbing. These pads are typically made from plastic and other non-biodegradable products meaning that not only is the volume of space they are filling up rising, but they're also not breaking down any time soon. With a rising aging population and more incontinence pads headed to landfills, are there any alternatives on the horizon?

Since continence aids are meant to be leak-proof and hold the water in, often times they have a plastic outer shell. While this plastic outer shell does its job in terms of avoiding messes, it also means that when it goes to the landfill, it's setting up permanent shop there for up to hundreds of years. The "filling" of the pads is typically made from a wood-pulp and petroleum-based synthetic-polymer filling. While the wood-pulp will eventually break down, the synthetic polymer is not going anywhere any time soon. Yet, these pulp materials are typically coated in chemicals that are not only harmful to your health but also won't break down in a landfill. Plus, once these two fillers are mixed with the human waste, it's hard to separate the biodegradable parts out so nothing biodegrades.

I have broached this subject with our TENA representative, how is it there are biodegradable babies nappies why can't there be the same for Adult continent aids?

AND.......

Is it really possible to set up vermicomposting to compost our pads?

How we are striving to conserve Energy...

Energy efficient lighting systems -
o Remove unnecessary lighting
o Replace fixtures with T5 fluorescent, CFL, LED, etc.
o Utilise task lighting rather than whole room lighting in offices
o Balance lighting system efficiency with the promotion of circadian rhythm to ensure
health and well being of our residents
• Utilise energy efficient appliances and electronics, and set minimum ‘star-rating’ standards for new purchases.
Switching the lights off when not in use
o Reducing standby power: turning off computer monitors when not in use, and all
electronics at the wall
o Activating ‘energy save’ features on all electronics
o Turning off kitchen burners when not in use
o Monitoring excessive use of AC, and utilising fans and natural ventilation instead when reasonable. This will also serve to improve resident and employee health and wellbeing.