Human Communication should bring a Smile to our Faces, as our Postwoman did today

I have a story to tell you, but perhaps you would like to sit down with a nice cuppa whilst you read it. I really recommend this delicious Turmeric and Ginger Latte, which is much cheaper and more nutritious to make at home than it is  to buy. I have used our home grown and home ground turmeric and ginger which has much more depth of flavour than the product you buy, and so easy to do yourself in our own kitchen.

Turmeric and Ginger Latte, delicious with some home made Chocolate

Ingredients:

1 cm root ginger (or 1/2 tsp. ground ginger)
1 tsp ground turmeric or fresh if you are game (a 2cm root grated)
300ml almond or coconut milk (from a carton not a tin)
The seeds of 2 cardamon pods
1 tsp of local honey (There is a belief that using local honey provides better antihistamine benefits)
2 tsp coconut oil
1 pinch of ground cinnamon

Method:

Peel and grate the fresh ginger if using. Heat the nut or coconut milk gently in a small pan, then add the cardamon seeds, honey and coconut oil, whisking constantly so that the milk heats through and is foamy. Pour the mixture into a cup and sprinkle over the cinnamon. Relax and enjoy your drink. This drink can also be made in the microwave if you are in a hurry. I'd like one now.
(This recipe is based on one I found in The Clever Guts Diet by Dr. Mosley.)

Something really nice just happened here at home which made me think about the importance of human communication in our lives. I was "talking" to my tropical orchids this morning and feeding them chopped up banana skins which they love for the nitrogen, potassium and magnesium content they provide, and Neil was working in his shed doing some carpentry, when I heard the postie coming up the street. Some days there is a succession of supposed posties on bikes on our street, however all but one, the real postie, as it  turns out are delivering junk mail to unsuspecting post boxes which can sit there for days. We have a sticker on our post box advising that we don't want any junk mail, thank you very much. So much paper and time and effort is wasted creating all of those brochures encouraging us to buy more than we actually need. Anyway that is another issue to address on another day.

It was  a very pleasant surprise this morning when the postie turned into our driveway and delivered our mail to us by hand, with a beautiful smile on "her" face. She asked who the envelope with a window in it should be given to, Neil or me, and I decided it should be Neil, LOL. As it turned out it wasn't an expensive windowed envelope with a bill inside, so that added to the positive experience. So this lovely lady had a quick chat, and then rode off up our street on her bike. Neil works out in his workshop, at the entrance to our garage most mornings and the postie has obviously noticed this as well. Being a postwoman is probably a solitary job at times, but in any occupation or activity there is potential to value add to the job and she is doing just that, and enjoying human contact at the same time. I'm sending out a big cheerio to the posties today. We don't receive much hard copy mail anymore, as most transactions are performed electronically, however even if she has nothing to deliver tomorrow, I'm sure she will give us a wave if we are outside, which will happily be reciprocated.

Our postwoman may also be very thankful that we have removed the large, spiky Bromeliad that was growing near our Post Box, ha, ha. Whilst it was nice and colourful, it was also quite invasive requiring constant pruning back. Something nice and flowering and butterfly attracting will suit that spot much better. That small encounter with a postie would no doubt mean a lot to people who are living on their own at home and do more for the reputation of the Post Office than many formal types of advertising would.

Neil and I have also discovered that we really like to enjoy a hot cup of Turmeric Latte, later in the afternoon when the weather is cooling down. It is nutritious and very warming from the heat of the ginger and the spice of the turmeric. Here is the recipe if you would like to try it. The almond milk provides a nice, subtle nutty flavour as a base to the drink.

Do you recycle your egg cartons, my friends? We don't have our own chickens unfortunately,  and as we eat a lot of eggs, the cartons add up. I return some to friends of ours who sometimes give us fresh eggs, however we are still left with quite a few so I have started cutting them up and putting them in the compost heap. Diversity of materials that break down in the compost is essential so rather than fill up the recycling bin with something else this seems like a good idea. Our compost heat is breaking down really well helped along by a variety of bugs and worms.




Have a nice week everyone  and I hope you can take time out to have a chat with someone that brings a smile to your face.

Best wishes

Pauline