Well, I tried to come up with something positive to post this new year’s eve but for the life of me I couldn’t. Maybe it’s because I don’t drink. The only posts I could come up with were more suited for my husband’s blog than my family-friendly page. So I’ll leave you with this thought [...]
Archive for December, 2010
A final thought…
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged thoughts on December 31, 2010 | 1 Comment »
Powering the Dome
Posted in alternative energy, battery banks, off grid, tagged alternative energy, batteries, battery banks, off grid, Outback Flexpower One, solar panels, solar power on December 28, 2010 | 8 Comments »
Fer fack’s sake. We’re back on researching power. Have I mentioned how much I hate researching off-grid systems? There’s a ton of information to take in. Generally I’d class myself as an intelligent person. I find after about 8 or so hours of this kind of study I feel like I have the intellectual capacity [...]
The War You Don’t See
Posted in politics, tagged brainwashing, mass indoctrination, media, politics, propoganda, public relations, war on December 27, 2010 | 4 Comments »
Well worth watching. If you still rely on popular media to report the news, ask yourself when that level of trust was built, and on what grounds? (Part 1 of 7, see entire documentary on YouTube)
Lessons Learned
Posted in earthbag building, natural building, tagged cob, earthbag building, earthbag domes, natural building on December 21, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
I was flipping through one of our notebooks yesterday and came across a list that Shane and I compiled while building our first earthbag structure, the sauna, in 2009. Some of it is obvious, and other ‘tips’ were decided only after repeated injury or mistakes along the way. I had to laugh at our total [...]
I’ll Miss the Coconuts, but Most of All the Steak
Posted in Sustainable living, tagged farming, hunting, local foods, self sustaining on December 17, 2010 | 11 Comments »
Of all of the changes that we’re making, I think the switch to ethical eating may be the most challenging- for me anyway. I love to eat. I always have. But I don’t like to eat just anything (though, alright- I will if I’m hungry, or moody, or bored). I prefer foods rich in spices [...]
An Intentional Life
Posted in Sustainable living, tagged intentional living, purpose, Sustainable living on December 15, 2010 | 4 Comments »
Most people wouldn’t guess my history from looking at me, or even speaking with me, and I have to admit to liking it that way. I wouldn’t say it’s been a long road, that sounds entirely too self pitying and trite, but there have been times it’s seemed long. I’ve led a very intentional life [...]
How to Build a Simple Rocket Cook Stove
Posted in alternative energy, tagged alternative energy, DIY, hobo stove, rocket stove on December 13, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Rocket (cook) stoves are as cheap and easy or as expensive and full on as you want them to be. Our first one was made using materials on hand: a coffee can, two progressively smaller cans, and a couple of handfuls of diatomite. It was never intended to be anything more than an experiment, as [...]
The Quest for Heirloom Seeds
Posted in gardening, permaculture, raised bed gardens, seed harvesting, tagged gardening, heirloom seeds, raised bed gardens, seed companies, seed harvesting, seeds on December 7, 2010 | 12 Comments »
Winter is well upon us here on the prairie and while I lament the passing of summer and ability to work outdoors, I know that a thousand tasks lay ahead and spring will be here before I’ve had time to accomplish everything that I’ve meticulously added to my “to do” list. It might be easier [...]
How to Build a Pocket Rocket
Posted in alternative energy, natural building, off grid, rocket mass heaters, tagged alternative heating, pocket rocket, rocket stove, wood fuel, wood stove on December 5, 2010 | 3 Comments »
The pocket rocket is a brilliant little invention that Ianto Evans and Larry Jacobs came up with some time in the late seventies, early eighties. (Yes, I did mention to Ianto that he might have thought of copyrighting that name before another, ahem, ‘invention’ made use of it. Hindsight, eh?) We built one for use [...]
Rocket Mass Heaters
Posted in off grid, rocket mass heaters, Sustainable living, tagged Cob Cottage, heating system, Ianto Evans, off grid, rocket mass heaters, rocket stove, wood stove on December 2, 2010 | 1 Comment »
We intend to go entirely off-grid. I can’t say exactly when we’ll hit that goal, or what the final system will look like quite yet. Redundancy is important to us so that if a component fails or is down for maintenance it’s not an entirely dire situation. So is efficiency. Ideally, we want the greatest [...]
