How Not to Pay Through the Nose for Fuel

This is a picture we took in May. We loaded up the trunk with "vegetable oil" for our trip from Alabama to Massachusetts. We ended up returning with enough fuel for 3 more weeks of driving around home. Wow!

With the price of fuel being high, we probably saved, excuse the rough numbers,

about 58 gallons at $4/gal equaling around $232.

So, actually, in order to have $232 to spend, we would have had to earn $331 gross.

...and if we had driven a regular car that gets 25 miles to the gallon instead of 50 (our old Nissan which we sold at our garage sale) instead of the salvaged Jetta, it would have cost twice that!

Buy a fuel efficient car!
and then,
Run it on sustainable fuels.

Passive Solar Designed Window Shading

Jason wants to set up a Solar Home Tour in our town, BUT the only thing that we have "solar" is our sun tea maker...
We do have plans for a solar hot water sytem, and are strongly considering a solar electric system (grid-linked).

It occurred to Jason not long ago (a month before the Summer Solstice) that the windows on the south side of our house were letting in alot of heat, basically acting like passive solar heaters So by adding a little roof, you could put them in the shade and "turn off" the heat.
"Brilliant! Do it!" I encouraged.
And he did... in a day!
His design provides complete shade for 2 months of Summer, when sun in highest in the sky, and provides complete sun for the 2 coldest months of Winter.
So thanks to my geeky solar husband, we are finally on the solar powered road!

Yay, White Oak!

Jason got his wood in last week to do his board and batting walls of the shed-ma-hall. Why white oak and not pressure treated pine? Cheaper (60 cents a board foot, no chemicals, and it is somewhat naturally rot resistant.

Picked my first potatoes. We ate some for lunch today. Yum! To know they came from my backyard gives me much pleasure. And now, to know how simple they are to produce, I will definitely grow them every year... In fact, I believe I have time to go at it again. I just need to prepare a spot for them. We already put in the sweet potatoes... I put cucumbers where the white potatoes were... and I want to plant more green beans... Yikes, my brain is starting to overload... My energies are not up for what my mind would like to do yet, so I must constantly remind myself that it is okay to take it easy and enjoy some slow time with Zachary.

So Zach and I have started going outside in the mornings. He naps in his jogger, and I piddle around in the garden... And each day is a new day.

Zachary is here!

Zachary was born June 1, at 2:02am Sunday morning... in my bathroom! This was not the romantic homebirth I had envisioned, but is was at home nonetheless. My contractions started at 11:30pm Saturday, I hit minute long contractions around 1:30 am, and at 2am I was squatting and Jason was ready to catch! What a miracle! Zachary came out and cried immediately. Jason put him on my chest, and the ambulance arrived moments later. They cut the cord and we were transported to our local hospital.
Zach came at 36 weeks, so he was premature. 5lbs 3oz., 18.5 inches long.

So, now, he is 2 weeks old, breastfeeding like the boobie monster he is, and is over 5 and half pounds!

Our life has been completely revamped, but for the better. Who knows what will come about. Major "life" issues are in the forefront of our discussions, of course. What's important, what are our goals, etc...? Exciting and scary! After paying off our mortgage last month, anything is possible.

One Month at The Farm, and 3 Weeks Visiting Family

Well, before I decide to dive into a thorough report of my experiences at the EcoVillage Training Center on The Farm, I want to just take a brief look at things.

I learned about:
organic gardening
permaculture
world political issues
natural building techniques
bamboo
vegetarian cooking
community living
interdependence
chickens
solar power
grey water systems
humanure
ticks and deer
straw


It was so easy to make friends, and good ones too! I was surprised with all the open minds and hearts. There must be so many people who care and love Mother Earth and all her inhabitants. I am very excited and reinvigorated to pursue with my husband our dreams.

More to come!

Dark Chocolate Visions of a Simplified Home

Lately I've been going through alot of my stuff in the house, trying to weed out and organized things that I've had for a while and stuff that is newly coming into our home.

I ask myself,"Why is it important to me to have this all organized?"

Besides making my house a chaotic mess, I have many answers in my head to support my conviction. One is the peace of mind I get from having a place to put my things. Ahhh, it's as if I ate a piece of dark chocolate. I can see it now, sitting back on my sofa, with nothing to clean up because it's all in its place. Nothing left to do but dream up projects... and...um... do them!

Hmm... I may be closer to the truth... I have a bit of a guilt complex when it comes to focusing on projects when there are dishes, laundry, cooking, shopping, cleaning to be done. I know, this is normal life in a home, but I keep trying to rebel against it. With a baby brewing, I realize my chores will only increase...
But....
I will continue my search for solace in organization and simplification.

So far, I have built all the bookshelves in the living room area that are needed, and am now ready to enter the bedrooms. First, our bedroom, then, the guest room.

The Problem/Mess #1
My guest room is mimicking a storage/closet/baby/sewing room.

The Plan
Build wardrobe in master bedroom to move my closet (and some of Jason's) into, thereby creating a place for sewing/craft supplies (all the stuff on the bed).

Thoughts
This will not entirely solve my problem, but move some stuff to a permanent place, and other stuff to a purgatory of sorts.

On the Bright Side
As these structures come to life, I find that the chaos is slowly disappearing. Maybe it's all the chocolate I've been eating... but I'm starting to see some blue skies.

Hints
When I decided to fight The Mess, I found that putting things in piles helped to make organizing more manageable. After widdling down to 6 piles, we invested in plastic storage boxes, which are easy to stack and carry.

Some Difficult Things to Weed
Clothing: I have gotten rid of many items, but still have alot (in my opinion, but I've seen worse). As I buy new clothes, I purchase more "sportive" pieces that are interchangeable, breathable, and well made. During pregnancy I have benefited from my old "big" clothes, and the thrift store. I do have a few pieces that I wear maybe once a year, but that is my choice, and I'd rather keep them than wish I had them...

Photos: Many of our photos are in digital these days, but I do have 2 huge boxes that are filled with photographs. I haven't started this project, yet, but I plan to stuff all the photos in albums unprejudiced, stick them on a shelf, then later, organize them. We'll see what actually comes about...

Knick knacks: We don't have too many, but we do have them. I often imagine leading the life of a traveler... I could only have a few bare essentials... However, we do live in house, so it is not such a big deal to have a few miscellaneous things lying around. I do want to get rid of what is not important to us, as I feel we don't have room for such things, and they actually take up precious time and space.

Paper or Plastic?

When I go grocery shopping I try to remember my fabric bags. If I do not bring them, I will choose plastic.
I recycle the plastic bags by using them as garbage bags. In fact, if I am out of garbage bags, I will purposely not use my fabric bags, so I don't have the need to purchase garbage bags. I like free ones that I can recycle.

This all comes down to the individual. We all have choices. What choice is the best? For the individual or for the environment? We must weigh the consequences...
For instance...
Which is better? driving to the store? or riding my bike? Well, what if I am making and using my own BioDeisel?
These choices can be complex, therefore it is essential to know what creates the biggest impact.
And for US citizens, that is Transportation Energy, Food Energy, and Energy associated with Housing.

Thoughts...

Today we went on a Solar Home tour in Blountsville, Alabama. Reminded me of the Ecovillage we WOOFed at in New Zealand. It was a beautiful day, the weather was a little on the warm side... The homes were amazing. And so were the people!

Jason and I talked a bunch, especially about our goals in creating our self-sufficient, low-energy-using home and life. We concluded that the best changes that we can make we are already making.

1. Transportation--Jason bikes to work, and I am beginning to bike more to the grocery store (we even bought a used bike trailer). We drive as little as possible in a Jetta diesel on our home-brewed BioDiesel. J says that in transportation we use 1/20 what the avg. American uses! This was the first big change we made in our lifestyle.

2. Food--Buy Local, less meat, less processed foods, and We have a Garden (getting better every year). I buy bulk grains and beans, and love to bake. This is the second biggest imporvement that we made.

3. Housing--We use 1/4 the avg. American in electricity (and half of that is from our hot tub--we're currently considering alternatives), almost 1/8 in gas, and about 1/4 in water (plus we put up 2 homemade rain barrels this summer, which helps a bit, esp. in a draught). We are continuing to try to reduce or energy usage.