I have started practicising the Art of Frugal Hedonism but I may be losing friends at the same time.
For example, one friend asks me to go to the movies with her. Movies cost money, and she is not offering to pay, so I say no. Watch a dvd borrowed from the library instead? She doesn't answer my text.
Another wants to go out to a cafe at the mall. I say no, and offer to have a cup of tea at home instead. My friend doesn't show up at my house.
If I keep cadging rides off my workmate I may end up walking home, which I did today. It was quite peaceful, having no friends.
At least they have kind of stopped telling me what they bought at the market, as I just say on Sunday, while you were at the market, I had a great day at church. It was free. The scones were delish.
And I still have Margaret, who is of like mind. She emails me tips on using urine as free weedkiller. Must tell my boss. Also she doesn't mind that I take all her libertia, ferns and hydrangeas and plant them in my garden, for free. I think of it as a garden division and multiplication service, because if I didn't take her plants, they would overwhelm her and possibly take over, till there was nothing left of house but garden. Oh my friend Margaret? She doesn't live in a house anymore she lives in a garden. You can tell her place by the giant agave outside that towers above the roofs like an aerial.
Last week was another meeting of the Te Atatu Floral Circle. My favourite part is the flower ID talk, everyone brings different flowers, and Barbara identifies them and talks about them.
This month we have ...dahlia, amaranth, tweedia, naked lady, goldenrod, viola, rain lily, geranium, canna lily, plumbago...
There is a floral workshop being held on the 10th of March. We are planning a day trip to Twin Lakes in Coatesville. A man from Butterfly Creek spoke about spiders, wetas, and slugs. He claims there are no such things as pests. Just nature that is imbalanced. If your plants are being attacked by pests, that means they are either sick or really healthy, so spare a few. Don't eat cabbages, then you won't be bothered by cabbage white butterflies. Don't kill wasps because they kill other pests. As do earwigs. And spiders are good. He showed us a giant spider that could eat rats. So. Keep your spiders. Also their webs catch flies, so, that's another point for practising the Art of Frugal Hedonism, as you won't need to buy flyspray, just have cobwebs all over your house.
I think I like this idea of just not spending any money until the economy collapses. It will be exciting to see everything just crash, like the stockmarket did in 1987. All because everyone just stopped spending money. I have already saved my money trees and planted a few more in posts around both the front and back doors, to cover my bases. Besides, there is always a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
