Seed Catalogs

It’s the middle of winter, cold, dreary, but something I start receiving in my mailbox makes me long for the warm days of spring, the seed catalogs. Those shiny, colorful pages full of picture of ripe fruit and veggies and herbs. I have already started buying some things, a week ago, while on one of my rare trips to town (it’s a 3+ hour drive to town), I was in a Sam’s Club store, I was about to start heading for the check out lanes when I spotted something green and leafy sticking out from an odd aisle.

It was boxes of blueberry plants, grapevines and other goodies. I will always bypass the flowers and such, I refuse to grow something that isn’t edible or medicinal or in some other way useful, a pretty face just doesn’t do it for me, it has to actually DO SOMETHING, it has to taste good or be useful in some other way.

I purchased a box that had 4 blueberry bushes growing, these are not the blueberry twigs I received in the mail last year, these actually had roots, stems and leaves, and at $16 for all four plants, I couldn’t go wrong. I still haven’t planted them though, right after coming home, I promptly developed a cold, or something, I’ve been down for a week. I did purchase a soil tester, the kind with the probe, you stick it in the dirt and it tells you the PH of the soil, something that is pretty handy when planting more persnickety plants.

I would guess that my soil is on the acidic side because of all the pines and oak trees in my area, but the only way to know for sure is to test it, I’ll be doing that either tomorrow or Monday, then I’ll either amend the soil or I’ll be planting those blueberries.

I also purchased a bag that contained four different kinds of onions, shallots, garlic and one horseradish root. I’m not crazy about horseradish, but since I have it, I’ll plant it and decide what to do with it later. The bag says it has 200 bulbs, so I’ll have lots of onions, garlic and shallots. While in the store, I also grabbed a head of elephant garlic, I’ve always wanted to grow those…

Last year, my garden really flopped, it was a combination of having not enough time to properly work it, I was working way too much and had so little time or energy left over, the other problem was a lack of moisture, we essentially didn’t have a rainy season, I rely heavily on captured rain water to water my garden and we just didn’t get it, not even one good rain, that would have filled my 1000 gallon rain barrel, but it just didn’t happen, and I didn’t have the time or energy to water my garden with 5 gallon buckets.

I have high hopes for my garden this year, with all the mulch I put down last season, I expect my garden soil to be pretty easy to work, I follow the Ruth Stout method of growing, it really does work, it’s basically laying down a mega-thick layer of mulch, straw or hay or whatever you have that will be at least 6 inches thick, 12 inches is better. It keeps down the weeds, it helps keep the soil moist and you don’t get all the splashing of mud onto your plants when it does rain. It really does keep your soil light too, it keeps it from compacting so you don’t have to dig or till each year. The book I have, The Ruth Stout No-Work Garden Book has been out of print for a long time, but it’s still available, if you have a chance to snag one, I highly recommend it. Here are some of her other books:
Gardening Without Work: For the Aging, the Busy & the Indolent
and
How to Have a Green Thumb Without an Aching Back: A New Method of Mulch Gardening
The second one is a bit pricey, again probably worth it if you can catch a used one at a decent price… I’ll be keeping my eye out for both of those.

Oh I almost forgot, when I purchased the soil tester, I purchased a bag of water crystals, you add these to your soil before planting, when you water the crystals soak up the water and slowly release the water over time. The trick is not to add too much, otherwise when they soak up the water, they will push your plants right up out of the ground (ask me how I know this…). You just dig down a bit, add the crystals, mix them with the soil and cover with more soil, you don’t want them at the surface, you want them below the soil line. Between the water crystals and the mulch, I have high hopes for my garden this year, if nothing else, I’ll have the blueberry plants to rely on for years to come.

I’ll be writing another article soon about the need to purchase heirloom seeds, and saving these seeds, not just for us now but for the generations to come, if we don’t take action now, we risk losing our ability to grow plants on our own terms, we will essentially become slaves to companies like Monsanto.

Cameron: committed eco-campaigner

WAIRARAPA New Zealand – Feb 1st –  Canadian-born James Cameron, Director of the two highest grossing movies of all time, has bought a thousand hectares near Wairarapa, north of Wellington, under conditions of strict secrecy with a view to moving there “indefinitely” with his family to be self-sufficient at a time of possible economic collapse. It will not be the first time the Director has lived off-grid. He used to have a solar and wind-powered home in California.

Its a coup for the New Zealand government (reported on Off-Grid.net earlier this month) which recently unveiled plans to attract wealthy Americans worried about their own country to live in eco-homes in remote beauty spots.

Cameron is believed to have paid about 20 million New Zealand dollars  for the large rural property. The purchase was only confirmed yesterday after being given the green light by New Zealand’s Overseas Investment Office (OIO) in December.

One part of the property is a low-lying, 250-hectare dairy farm, sold by Heather and Rob McCreary, which runs along the southern end of Western Lake Rd. The other is a much larger 817ha hillside property overlooking Lake Pounui, where it is thought likely Cameron will build a house.

The property includes large sections of native bush, much of it covered by covenant, and was sold by Bill and Annette Shaw, who started the nearby luxury resort Wharekauhau Country Estate.

The owners of the two properties are not commenting on the sales, citing strict confidentially agreements.

Mr Shaw said he had been “sworn to secrecy”, while Mrs McCreary refused to comment.

Cameron, from Ontario, o is thought to have New Zealand residency. He is expected in the country later this year to start work on two sequels to Avatar, the biggest-grossing movie on record.

Avatar was made with Wellington’s Weta Digital, which provided the visual effects for the film and won an Oscar for its work.

But OIO documents released yesterday show that Cameron’s New Zealand connection will be more than just a working one.

“James F Cameron and his family intend to reside indefinitely in New Zealand and are acquiring the property to reside on and operate as a working farm,” it says.

One of Cameron’s new neighbours, who did not want to be named, said people had known about the sale for “a little while”.

“Those who are involved haven’t said anything because of all the secrecy, but people around here have been talking.”

She said she was yet to met the film-maker, although he is known to have visited the properties at least once.

“I don’t know the man, I’ve never met him, so I don’t know if he’s good, bad or indifferent.

“If these people come here to live and be a part of our community, then I would have absolutely no problem with that.

“But if he’s just here as an overseas absentee landowner, then I have reservations.”

Another neighbour, Dougal MacKenzie, said the hillside property featured uninterrupted views over Lake Pounui and out to the sea beyond, and backed on to forest park land. “It’s about as private as you can get.”

The two properties are on the western shore of Lake Onoke, on a rural road 35 kilometres southwest of Featherston.

While the properties are a 90-minute drive from central Wellington, they are just a 10-minute helicopter ride from Wellington Airport.

They are also just minutes down the road from Wharekauhau Country Estate, a favourite of Wairarapa’s other famous film- makers, Sir Peter Jackson and wife Fran Walsh, who own an estate outside Masterton.

Wharekauhau is a private country lodge with cottages, suites and self-contained houses on 2023 hectares of rolling coastal farmland.

The resort was sold in 2010 and the surrounding land in 2011, with American businessman William P Foley II the major shareholder.

Born James Francis Cameron in Ontario, Canada, on August 16, 1954 (age 57) Moved to the United States in 1971. Quit his job as a truck driver to get into movies. Directed the two highest- grossing movies on record: Avatar in 2009 (US$2.78 billion worldwide) and Titanic in 1997 ($1.84b). Other blockbusters include The Terminator (1984), Aliens (1986) and The Abyss (1989). His net worth has been put at NZ$788m. Married five times. Married to actress Suzy Amis since 2000. A reputation for being a tough boss led to his nickname “Iron Jim”. He has been known to threaten to use a nail gun to impale workers’ cellphones if they ring on set. A keen environmentalist, he has lived “off the grid” at his California home, with solar energy and a windmill he designed.

A web site for local information said:  ”

Wairarapa is a region of big skies, wide valleys and small towns, full of character. With three major forest parks and a wild stretch of coast it offers endless possibilities for outdoor adventures or just getting away from it all.

It’s also one of New Zealand’s top food and wine destinations offering some of the country’s premium wines and everything from country cooking to fine cuisine in the many cafes, vineyards and restaurants. The Wairarapa is a true escape – all within an hour’s drive of Wellington, and at the heart of the Classic New Zealand Wine Trail.”

Anne Cobham: practising what she teaches

Paul and Anne Cobham are the second in our series about Canadians living off the grid. They run Willow Retreat and Survival School from a secluded off-grid property in Cape Breton. They moved there in order to escape from the suburban grind and live a simpler, less stressful life. This is not quite what they ended up with!

“But that’s part of the journey,” said Paul, a survival instructor. Anne is a Reiki Master  - a teacher and meditation instructor. They are on the Cabot Trail in the small village of Middle River, Nova Scotia, nestled against a wooded hillside in the Cape Breton Highlands.

The lot includes five acres of organic gardens, a pond, a barn, a chicken coop, a power shed, and an off-grid log home with a fascinating history all based on a very private 125 acres, of which 100 acres is mixed hardwood forest; used during WW2 as a supplier of wood in the construction of various RAF aircraft, and until they purchased it this 100 acres hadn’t been touched since 1944.
After 20 years of living in suburbia, just outside Toronto Canada, earning money to pay bills “so we could live in a house to make money to pay bills,” they had enough with rising costs for energy, transport and day to day living, let alone the pollution. They started to look for an off-grid property they could afford.  After spending years looking, they found that place, in February 2010, almost two years ago.
Paul and Anne are surrounded by wilderness preserve, which is provincially protected and is off-limits to motorized vehicles, including ATVs and snowmobiles, It is very quiet; in fact all you can do on their surrounding land is walk, provided you don’t disturb, destroy or damage the flora and fauna etc., you can’t even camp.

Their driveway is 3.5 kms long, it’s a winding tree-lined drive, and visitors will pass bobcat, moose, partridge, the odd coyote, and of course Mr & Mrs Beaver. At the same time, the local ravens or bald eagles will do fly-bys to see who’s coming down the lane.  “The ravens can get quite protective of us!” says Paul.
Maintaining the lane and snow clearing can be a fulltime task. They purchased an old Soviet era 4×4 tractor with a dual augur 8 foot wide blower, and a front loading bucket which is great for maintaining the gravel driveway,” it’s not pretty but it is rugged, easy to fix and burns next to no fuel, it still has the CCCP markings. When the snow is only a few inches deep they use a Suburban with a plow.

“The beauty of living this new lifestyle is we don’t have a 9 to 5 grind, so if the weather is bad and we don’t have clients coming to our courses, we just stay home and let mother nature melt the snow,” says Paul

In their micro-climate the couple grow varieties of fruit, including grapes.

Power comes from a micro-hydro system. Here is a brief outline: a pipe takes water from the year-round stream up the mountain, runs it down to a power house where the water goes through a turbine, the energy from that is converted into electricity, which goes into the wires that feed the house. The electricity is stored in a battery bank in the basement, ready for use (the batteries were from the decommissioned Diefenbaker bunker).  Paul gtakes up the story: “We have a inverter and a number of control systems which clean up the electricity before it goes to our sensitive electronics such as the TV, computer, etc. We also have a back-up generator. This year we will be adding a couple of guest cabins, and will be using Solar Pv cells to supply power, and a solar Hydronic heating and pre-heat systems for our hot water system.”

Their drinking water is a priority; this comes from the same spring-fed stream that provides the power. The water goes through a separate line, down the mountain and travels appx 1500 feet through a 1 inch pipe and into the house through a filter and Uv system.  Back-up for our water consists of storage barrels and a pump system in case the water line freezes – this normally happens when the animals chew on the insulation for nesting material.

A well now gives capacity of 12 gallons per minute, (imperial Gallons). With weather patterns changing you need a back-up system for water that comes from deep underground, and will not be affected as much by seasonal variances in rainfall such as drought etc. The well pump is going to be a solar power slow flow system that refills storage tanks in the basement, and from there the water is pumped into our regular household system.

Although we are off-grid, we have all the conveniences of a regular suburban home. We have high-speed internet, satellite TV, a security system, all of which run on our free, water-powered electricity. We can have a hot shower courtesy of our on-demand water heater, and a lot of the time we even generate more electricity than we can consume.

“As for what we miss, or wish we had,” said Paul “ I can’t think of anything. We moved here full-time in June 2011, having finally escaped the trap of suburban life, and now we grow our own vegetables, harvest our own firewood, and drink pristine spring water from our own stream. We have no electricity bill and no water bill, and when the Nova Scotia Power lines are knocked out by high winds or ice storms, we are unaffected.

“Of course it is not all perfect: we’ve had to make major upgrades to the systems since we bought the place, and it’s been a steep learning curve and at times incredibly frustrating. One of the things we’ve learned is that it’s essential to have back-up systems, and preferably not just one, but two back-ups. There is no utility company to call when things go wrong (which they inevitably do), and no repairman is going to call.  When you’re off-grid, it’s down to you, and you’d better have a plan for when things go pear-shaped, especially in the winter!

“Being able to do plumbing, electrical wiring, welding, carpentry, mechanics, to name but a few skills are essential, anyone who has no practical skills should take some night classes before they even consider going off-grid, unless of course you have a huge bank account.

It sounds like the couple have overcome the need for money as well!  Paul and Anne are coming up to their 30^th wedding anniversary and most everyone will wish they look that good after 30 years of marriage.

Base camp for gadgets

Some survival gadgets are on display at CES, and a handful of them are surveyed in this report from outdoor website Gear Junkie.
I love a gadet as much as the next guy, but I notice my own list of must-carry gear includes things that need no battery or charging cable, so don’t qualify for CES. Here’s the top ten – what would you add?

Fire starter

Steel + flint + friction = a fire-starting spark. Best to use a match or lighter – but in a tight squeeze here is the Emergency Fire Starter.(fire starters in the UK)

If you are dealing with a howling blizzard, then try a magnesium-firestarting-tool -this box of magnesium shavings is called Lightning Nuggets Firestarters — a Super Economy Box of 100 Fire-Starting Nuggets
Maybe bring along a few pieces of lint as well, possibly smudged with a little petroleum jelly. In damp conditions, that can help set flames a-flyin’.

Matches: are a must. Lighters can sometimes be fickle, and there are many on the market, but I prefer UCO Stormproof Matches, twin pack (50 matches) for good value. (storm matches in the UK)
&;

Map holder One of the most essential of the Essentials. I prefer the battery-free paper variety of map. But how to protect it against tears, water and wind? The Seattle Sports Dry Doc Waterproof Large Map Case is easy to fold and cheaper than most. (map holder in the UK)

The next thing you need is a Whistle: Say you’ve fallen and you can’t get up. This 1-oz. piece of plastic will outlast your larynx by many hours. Thelouder the better which is why I favor the Jet Scream Whistle – Orange(emergency whistle in the UK)

Compass Some speculate its roots reach back all the way to 200 B.C. A nonelectric version is one that never fails you. Useful if it works at night too like this

SE Glow-in-the-Dark Brass Compass(compass in UK)

Knife The contemporary term is “multitool,” knife included. Beyond straight knife blades, Ia pair of scissors is equally indispensable. Prices and specs vary, but here is a good middle of the range example: Gerber 31-000749 Bear Grylls Survival Series Ultimate Multi-Tool, With Nylon Sheath. (in the UK)

Cup A Measuring instrument, water transporter, impromptu wine goblet, rainwater collector. Also a tiny-item organizer/repository. Raise a toast to the humble, utilitarian 
Cup. This one is the GSI Outdoors Glacier Stainless 14 fl Oz version. (in the uk).

Spork To some, the mutated spook/form combo might qualify as an technologically advanced utensil. I still think of it as a very basic, almost primitive tool, just one cleverly modified, and in this case made of a rare metal:
Snow Peak Titanium Spork

Trowel

These days the trusty trowel comes in <
nylon:<Sea To Summit Reinforced Nylon Pocket Trowel (Orange, 3 Ounce) or dirt-busting stainless steel:
Sea to Summit iPood Trowel

Rucksack: Before daypacks and backpacks got tricked out with frame innovations and space age materials, there was the basic rucksack: a bag with 2 shoulder straps. I’ve been won over by Rothcos retro European style bag – light and crunchable, and so handy for day trips from a backcountry base camp.

2304 EUROPEAN STYLE RUCKSACK – OLIVE DRAB

Duct tape: Its backcountry do-it-all variant isTenacious Tape.

Intertape 5038-3 PK Fix-It DUCTape 1.87-Inches x 60-Yards, 7-Mil, 3-Pack

That’s a dozen low-tech items and I haven’t even gotten to Moleskin yet. Which of these low-tech items do you find most useful on your backcountry jaunts, and what other items would you add to this list?

New Zealand web site Oily Rag is a swap shop of money saving tips for everyday household items. Here are a few examples.

*One very handy easily remembered recipe for a lovely shortbread — say 3, 6, 9. I can only do ounces — 3 sugar, 6 butter and 9 flour! Make as usual. – Ann of Whakatane.

*My house is always looking for mouthwash, and a cheap, easy way to make some is to simply put half a teaspoon of baking soda in with a small glass of water, gargle as normal. Also, for a set of sparkling pearly whites, brush teeth with toothpaste as normal, then brush again, this time baking soda sprinkled on your toothbrush. Over two weeks your teeth will whiten, and save you an expensive trip to the dentist!

*LTB from Auckland has this idea for a low-cost treat for kids: “Make chocolate ice blocks exactly like the expensive store-bought ones, at a significant saving.

“First, make chocolate custard. Place 500ml milk in a saucepan (I use fresh whole milk, but you can use powder milk for extra savings) and bring it to the boil. Add a tablespoon of sugar, a tablespoon of cocoa and a tablespoon of cornflour. Stir constantly until thickened, then cool. Pour into pre-moistened ice block moulds. Freeze. The cost to make one ice block (using powdered milk) is about 6 cents. Cost to make one dozen is about 80 cents. That’s a saving of $27.60 per dozen based on the price … at the corner shop!”

Another regular reader makes a good liquid soap using Dove soap and tea tree oil. “Buy Dove soap when it is on sale at $1. Grate it finely, add three cups of boiling water, and stir till dissolved. When cool put in a few drops of tea tree oil. It’s a great anti-rash liquid soap for the shower.”

A second  Dove soap user: “My husband uses it to shave with. He has sensitive skin and finds that it softens his beard and gives a smooth clean shave with no rash.”

Grandma C from Christchurch lives the good life: “On my 1/8th acre section I have a feijoa hedge, raspberries at the borders, and apple, nectarine and lemon trees. Herbs are in a small above-ground garden by the back door, and beans and peas climb up fences on wire mesh. Asparagus is in a plot, and yams are in an old barrel.

Plus we have a small plot for cabbage, broccoli, red onions, carrots, parsnips, cauliflower, and many more seasonal veges. I plant the veges that are more expensive to buy and I live well.”

Angelina and Brad at Fallingwater in 2006

Five years ago Angelina Jolie gave Brad Pitt a visit to architectural marvel Fallingwater as his birthday present. The stunning Frank Lloyd Wright designed house is built right on top of a waterfall in Western PA.

This December 18th,  she went one better – with the present of a waterfall of his own, plus the land surrounding it – so Brad can build his own version of the Wright home – but unlike the 1934 original, this one could be powered entirely from the waterfall beneath it.

“He’s so hard to buy for,” Jolie had told Fallingwater’s staff members during their previous visit to Wright’s masterwork.

“Brad said he had wanted to experience Fallingwater ever since he took an architectural history course in college,” Fallingwater’s Curator of Education Cara Armstrong had said.

The star now plans to take time out from his movie career to build the ambitious house after Angie told him that the falls and surrounding land near LA were his birthday and Christmas presents.  Built on the relatively small budget of $30,000 in 1934, the design did not include a waterwheel to take power from the water.  But Pitt is certain to go one better than that in line with his previous eco-building projects.

‘Brad has always loved Fallingwater and his first trip there was unforgettable,’ says a friend.

‘Angelina wanted to get him something incredibly special and, because she knows how much he loves architecture, she thought this would be perfect.

She hopes this will be a hideaway for the family. Brad has dreamed of a home with the sound of a waterfall cascading under the house.’

The couple recently sold their Malibu home to star Ellen DeGeneres.

‘Brad has always wanted to design his own house. He wants to pull all aspects of nature, light, glass and varying levels into the concept,’ says the friend. ’This is the present to top all presents.”

Brad has said he’d like to give up his Hollywood life, declaring: ‘While acting is my career, architecture is my passion.’

Back in 2006, the couple took a two-hour private focused tour of Fallingwater, led  by Armstrong, who described the couple as “very gracious and very engaged in the house. As we say in the midwest, you could tell their mothers raised them right.”

“Brad said he had a visual sense of Fallingwater but experiencing it in person, hearing the sound of the waterfall cascading under the house and smelling the wood from the fireplace, was better than anything he could have imagined,” Armstrong said. During their visit, both Pitt and Jolie commented on the beauty of the winter landscape of the Laurel Highlands, where Fallingwater is located.

Completed with a guest and service wing in 1939, Fallingwater was constructed of sandstone quarried on the property and was built by local craftsmen. The stone serves to separate reinforced concrete “trays”, forming living and bedroom levels, dramatically cantilevered over the stream. Fallingwater was the weekend home of the Kaufmann family from 1937 until 1963, when the house, its contents, and grounds were presented to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy by Edgar Kaufmann, jr. Fallingwater is the only remaining great Wright house with its setting, original furnishings, and art work intact.

In 1986, New York Times architecture critic Paul Goldberger wrote: “This is a house that summed up the 20th century and then thrust it forward still further. Within this remarkable building Frank Lloyd Wright recapitulated themes that had preoccupied him since his career began a half-century earlier, but he did not reproduce them literally. Instead, he cast his net wider, integrating European modernism and his own love of nature and of structural daring, and pulled it all together into a brilliantly resolved totality. Fallingwater is Wright’s greatest essay in horizontal space; it is his most powerful piece of structural drama; it is his most sublime integration of man and nature.”

LaMar's off grid cabin

I just love learning how other people live off grid, especially when they are doing it in a very similar way to how I live. LaMar Alexander has done all of this and more, we may be in different places, but we both started out with small and simple systems, cobbling together this and that, building an independent life one piece at a time.

LaMar has graciously shared his life with the rest of us, in book and video format, here are some interesting and educational videos about how he is upgrading his solar systems. There are 4 videos in this series, you can view them here or click on the links to view at YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ajp0VkWZ9Jk

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrkyMKb73co

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EylS_Kt0gQ

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8n7e9ttcmlM

 

 
LaMar has written a great book about how he built his off grid cabin and the systems that are part of his off grid cabin, this IS a “how to” book about building an off grid cabin, a great companion book to Nick’s book Off The Grid-Inside The Movement For More Space, Less Government, And True Independence In Modern America I own both books and found lots of great information in them.

Hidden away in UK woodland, a new subculture

Until now the idea of preparing for the coming collapse in the UK was seen as faintly crazy, a bit like  believing the Mayan prophecy of doom in December 2012.

But sites like post-apocalypse.co.uk, and companies like Emergency Food Storage in Leeds  and B Prep in London are reporting sales increasing 10-fold in a year,  as Brits get ready for the collapse of the Euro and an almighty recession.

Ordinary families are storing cash, fuel, food and household products  in anticipation of a calamitous disruption to everyday life.

Emergency Food Storage is selling products from Mountain House, a U.S. brand that started manufacturing in Britain five years ago.

In the past year alone, sales of its tins of food with a 25-year shelf-life have increased by 350 per cent. The contents of these tins are similar to the sachets of foods that mountaineers and other outward-bounds types might be familiar with. But because they are in cans, rather than packets, they last for 25 years, rather than five.

They are created by cooking a normal meal, such as spaghetti bolognaise, and then freezing it rapidly. Finally, the water content is extracted under pressure, a process known as sublimation.

Freeze-drying preserves the taste of the food as well as up to 97 per cent of its nutritional value. It also massively reduces its weight and bulk. For example, 1,000kg of strawberries reduces to 100kg of freeze-dried fruit. The meals are returned to near-enough their original state by adding water (preferably hot, but cold will do).

But because the process is energy-intensive, the food is not cheap.  A six pack of self-heating breakfasts is £32.95

EFS is selling 72 tins of Mountain House food for £2,199.95. This is billed as a deluxe 12-month survival pack of 450 meals. But the same product can be cheaper on Amazon or E-Bay.

Other equipment is similarly expensive.  A Grab Bag Emergency Pack filled with survival equipment is over £200.  Bushcraft Survival courses start at several hundred pounds for a weekend.

Chinese Home Remedies

Part of being more self sufficient is being able to take care of minor medical issues yourself. It can become rather expensive to run to the doctor or hospital (or clinic) for every little sniffle or scratch. Like so many people, health insurance just isn’t an option, so I try to live in a healthy manner and I read up on how to take care of my own minor health issues.

One book I received last summer is called Chinese Home Remedies, Harnessing Ancient Wisdom for Self-Healing, by Lihua Wang, L.Ac., I am drawn to alternative medicine, but might have passed this book on the shelf, I would have thought from the cover that this book was full of strange sounding herbs and such that I would have little or no access to. There is so much more to this book, I am so glad I gave it a second chance, this book is laid out in a most helpful manner.

In the upper right hand corner of this book, it says “A to Z”, it is laid out in an alphabetical order of health issues, from acne to yeast infections (there doesn’t seem to be any health issues starting with the letter Z listed in this book). Under each health issue, it gives you some information about that health issue, what causes it, when you should go to a doctor (you shouldn’t ALWAYS try to treat yourself), what you should AND shouldn’t do if you have this particular health issue, then it comes to my favorite part, how you can treat said health issues. You should  be able to do most anything in this book along with any treatment you may receive from a doctor, I don’t recall reading anything that would conflict with any western medical treatment, of course if you aren’t sure, you can always talk to your doctor about it.

They give you several different ways to treat yourself for each health issue, first there are the “folk remedies”, these are tried and true traditional folk remedies that have been used down through the generations, I saw some that my family used when I was growing up, I’ll bet you will recognize some of them too. Next are the food therapies, what you should and shouldn’t eat to treat yourself, I expected to find some of those strange ingredients here, but most of what I read were normal everyday foods, like spinach and walnuts, there are more exotic foods listed there too, but you should be able to find these foods in most larger towns, especially if you go to the Asian markets that are more abundant now days.

It also explains about Chinese massage, and tells you exactly how to do it, you don’t have to find a Chinese masseuse, you can do this yourself or find a friend or partner to help if necessary. There are diagrams of where to rub, press or massage, this is like acupuncture without the needles, otherwise known as acupressure.

You will also learn about what Chinese herbs can help, now this is where things start sounding very foreign to me, but again, with the internet, and with most larger towns having an Asian population living somewhere within, meaning there will be Asian markets nearby, you should be able to find what you need.

I spent a couple of days thumbing through this book, stopping to read the ailments that most interested me, I found this book to be pretty complete, covering nearly everything you can take care of yourself, it’s an easy read, no complicated language here, and well laid out, you should be able to go to this book and quickly find what is bothering you (or someone else), you can pick the remedies you want to try, it’s not necessary to do all parts, you can choose to try the folk remedy and massage, but not the herbs.

I will be keeping this book handy and referring to it as needed. I recommend this, even if you don’t think you are interested in Chinese medicine, this book is so much more, and the remedies aren’t going to cost you an arm and a leg, you should be able to do part of the therapies in this book without having to spend any extra money, much of the other therapies are inexpensive.

Here is what is written on Amazon.com about this book:
Chinese Home Remedies is a book that offers an intriguing blend of traditional Chinese medicine-as practiced today-and a wide variety of ancient Chinese folk remedies. It contains more than 1,000 effective remedies, a treasure trove of information you can use every day. You’ll often be surprised how easily a problem that has lingered for weeks or months can be cured. Making moderate lifestyle changes and following the easy-to-use instructions on how to prepare home remedies, you will see how easy it is to end long-term suffering and experience healthier living.

This book is a distillation of Ms. Wang’s thirty years of clinical experiences, as both a physician in China and an acupuncturist and herbalist in the United States. It explains in simple-to-understand language how to treat yourself or a family member using a variety of techniques, including Chinese massage, Eastern food therapy, Chinese herbal formulas, as well as some heretofore unrevealed folk remedies, many of which have been passed down from generation to generation for thousands of years.

Did you know, for example, that: * Apple slices can ease itching skin? * Hooking your middle fingers together can stop a nosebleed? * Sunflower seeds can ease trigeminal pain? * Eating peanuts can lower your blood pressure? These are only a few of the more than 1,000 effective remedies that you will find in Chinese Home Remedies. By following just some of this book’s advice, you will find yourself on a healthier life path.

Lihua Wang began her career as a cardiologist in the China Academy of Traditional Medicine, in Bejing, China, where she practiced integrative medicine, combining both Western and Traditional Chinese medical techniques. In 1982 she was invited by Kaiser Permenante Research Center as a visiting scholar. She was later selected by the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine to teach acupuncture and Chinese herbology to American students for four years. She has been in private practice, specializing in traditional Chinese medicine, since 1992 in Portland, OR.

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Legal stuff here, I am not a doctor, nor do I have any medical training, I am not giving medical advice, you must use your own common sense to decide if you need to go see a doctor, I am not responsible for anything you do or don’t do as a result of anything written here or anything you do or don’t do as a result of reading this book. This also applies to the owner of this site and anyone else who is part of this site.

I received a copy of this book for doing a review, my review is honest and as accurate as possible.

Naomi Wolf - should try roughing it, but too timid

Writer Naomi Wolf’s latest article describes the off-grid lifestyle and says it has taken off in America because of a loss of trust in the system.  Our sentiments exactly.

But she is clearly unhappy about this new development, calling it a “narrative fantasy,” rather than simply accepting it as a choice that many are making – those who are lucky enough to  set themselves up with some land, or have the skills to make it work for them.  You get the impression she knows its inevitable, but probably can’t stand the idea of living that way herself.

Her syndicated column (for example here) talks of how “gardening, scrapbooking, knitting, and cooking have all become newly, shabbily chic. In the urban neighborhoods to which the young and hip are moving, city garden plots and heirloom tomatoes grown in window boxes have replaced Lexuses and Priuses.
Other young hipsters have moved farther out into the country in search of an idyllic new narrative fantasy. The young couple ― he with a beard and she in a sundress and rubber boots ― are homesteading in the Hudson River Valley with a flock of chickens, or in New Mexico in an ecofriendly straw-bale house.”

Wolf says: “This drive toward an off-the-grid, eat-what-you-raise, bike-there-on-your-own, solar-powered collective fantasy is inevitable….” because of the loss of trust in the system.  ”Americans have lost their faith in those who, in the boom times, purred, “Trust us.” The new American dream ― a flock of chickens and a jar of pickles ― represents the insight that the only people whom Americans can trust in a crisis are themselves.”

Would it be worth the effort?

People prepare to go off the grid for many different reason – the environment, economic collapse, solar flares to name but three.

The latest fear to be added to the long list: A massive electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack. The best defence: to be both off the grid and underground.

An electromagnetic pulse is a burst of electromagnetic radiation from a nuclear weapon. If the weapon is detonated high in the atmosphere, above a target area, it can produce a radioactive pulse across a huge area. The effect could knock out electricity and fry sensitive computer processors, even a total blackout that could last months.

Some fear Iran could get a lone nuclear missile onto a boat in the Gulf of Mexico, and detonate it over the central U.S.

The US Government has prepared a detailed report, outlining the risk: “2011 Essential Guide to Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack – Reports of the EMP Commission on the Threat and Critical National Infrastructure – The Danger from High-Altitude Nuclear Explosions.

“All of the people from the cities, they have no choice when there’s no power, the only thing they can do is to walk out of the city and forage, go to every single house, break in, and look for food and water.” said one prepper. “I don’t care how many rifles and bullets you have, you can not defend a house.”

This scenario is captured in the best-selling novel One Second After, written by military historian William R. Forstchen with a forward by Republican leadership candidate Newt Gingrich. In it, American technology is knocked back to the early 1800s -vehicles stop moving, medications spoil in useless refrigerators and phone lines drop dead. Most of the population starves to death.  Survivalist scaremonger John Wesley Rawles also refers to it in his book Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse

In real-world Washington, a specialist panel reports to Congress about the potential threat.

“What is different now is that some potential sources of EMP threats are difficult to deter. They can be terrorist groups that have no state identity, have only one or a few weapons, and are motivated to attack the U.S. without

regard for their own safety,” according to a report in 2004 by a group called the Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack.

It’s chaired by Dr. William Graham, who advised former U.S. president Ronald Reagan.

“Rogue states, such as North Korea and Iran, may also be developing the capability to pose an EMP threat to the United States, and may also be unpredictable and difficult to deter,” the report reads.

“It all changed in July of 2008 when Iran sent a missile up off of a boat, testing for an electromagnetic pulse attack on the U.S.,” said Walton McCarthy, owner of Radius Engineering International, the world’s largest builder of underground shelters. “It makes me think of Krakatoa, the volcano that killed so many people. There’s only a handful that survived it, because they did something that nobody else did: They recognized the threat and they walked out of town.”

As for McCarthy, he doesn’t so much fear the end as he is preparing for it — and helping others do the same. His company’s complexes look like domed houses, deep underground with hidden hatches. They come complete with plumbing, electricity, air purification and shielding against EMP hits. They are installed in every U.S. capital from Hawaii to Maine, and in some Canadian cities. McCarthy said orders have doubled every year for five years. About 15% of his customers are corporations now fearful of an economic collapse, and they are planning to protect their executives and their data, he said.

- – -

$100,000-$2+ MILLION

Price of an underground dwelling can vary, largely depending on customization and amount of people.

Not everyone is suffering from the economic downturn. Survivalist suppliers are reporting a

BILLION-DOLLAR INDUSTRY these days, as a worldwide recession has only increased fears.

Here are some top items:

WaterBOB: Liner for bathtubs, fill it up during a disaster -instant 100 gallons.

Gamma seals for buckets: Used to protect buried electronics and guns in a nuclear blast.

Roll-up portable solar panels.

Houdini tool: Fits on a keychain and offers such necessary items as a seatbelt cutter, a window-breaker, a light and a whistle for car emergencies.

Satellite messaging devices, C.B. and ham radios.

Crank-powered and solar-powered radio/light combos.

Food rations: Freeze dried breakfast, lunch and dinner for a year.

Old-fashioned manual items such as hand grinders, wood stoves and oil lamps.

Antonia: Solar stars in her eyes

I grew up a city girl, and I believe I shall always be one. I enjoy the comfort and convenience. I’ve gone on camping trips, otherwise known as “roughing it,” and that’s just not me. So the idea of living off the land in a secluded, unpopulated part of the Earth carries no appeal for me.

I like fresh, potable running water that comes out of a beautifully designed faucet, and air conditioning and heat at the flip of a switch. I like it that my street gets swept every other Friday and the trash gets picked up weekly.

The downside of modern-day conveniences is that I am dependent. In a big way. My husband and I live “on the grid,” dependent for our power, lights, water and just about every other thing I can think of. And, in an odd kind of way, that really annoys me.

Recently, I got to witness life “off the grid.” We visited relatives who live on the “Lost Coast” of Northern California. It’s not easy to get there, which explains the very sparse population. It has taken our relatives quite a few years to achieve, but finally they are dependent on no one for their day-to-day existence. Their home is beautiful, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. I can understand why they call it paradise.

Huge solar panels with a bevy of storage batteries keep their home and out buildings fully powered for appliances, lights, electronics and full Internet connectivity, with plenty of power to spare. They have their own water well that produces enough to irrigate their acreage and gardens. As a bonus, it is the best-tasting water this side of heaven.

They have a huge propane gas tank that takes care of their needs for gas-powered equipment and a storage tank for gasoline, as well.

Upon returning home to Southern California, we were greeted by a note on our door from Southern California Edison, our electricity provider. “Congratulations!” it read. “We have installed your new Smart Meter.”

A smart meter records consumption of electric energy in intervals of an hour or less and communicates that consumption at least daily back to the utility for monitoring and billing purposes. Unlike home energy monitors, smart meters can gather data for remote reporting. Even more troubling for me, they enable two-way communication. I feel like Big Brother is watching our every move, just waiting for us to trip up so he can turn down or even shut off our power.

At this point, like millions in the U.S., we have become totally dependent on “the grid.” But you can be sure that thoughts of “roughing it” off the grid are filling my mind and fueling my dreams.

I’ll keep you informed.

There are backpacks for the weekend, then there are backpacks for life.  If you are one of the many living off the grid above the snowline, or if you prefer carving lines beyond the boundaries of safety, you’re all too aware of the risks involved with avalanches. Float Backpacks ($685-$785) from Backcountry Access are designed to minimize excavation time — which is the biggest factor in avalanche fatalities — through an affordable and reusable avalanche airbag system. Here’s how it works:In an avalanche situation (yeah, sounds pretty far from where we’re sitting too), simply pull the trigger to engage a simple-chamber, 150-liter airbag to keep you afloat while protecting your head, neck and upper body from trauma.

The bag also boasts a hydration system that interacts with your body temperature to keep up-to 3 liters of water unfrozen in its reservoir. There are plenty of other pockets and stash points to keep your beacon and ski gear organized, and the entire bag is constructed of durable ripstop fabric and stormproof zippers. The only thing they haven’t considered is just how far off the grid you’re planning, or not planning, to go.

Buy Now: $685-785

Our pre-off-grid life was pretty much like most anyone else, we lived in a regular house, a mobile home actually, in a regular neighborhood in north central Texas. PB owned his own business, taking care of restaurant equipment for several big name companies and a smattering of smaller ones, he was a one-man-band, no employees. I worked 2 jobs, the first as a merchandiser and pricing coordinator for a big box electronics company and the other job was as a trainer in a semi-well known gym for women. We weren’t what you would call well off financially, but we were happy.

We were both empty nesters from previous marriages, in the beginning neither one of us knew the other had a secret desire to live off grid, when we began to explore the idea of actually doing this, it didn’t take us long to find our perfect plot of land in far west Texas, it was just under 6 acres of unimproved, rough, almost inaccessible land on the side of a mountain in the high desert.

I cashed in my stock from my job and had enough to buy the land and had a little left over to buy some building material for the start of the cabin (soon to be renamed the sky castle). In less than 2 weeks, PB had a minimal structure built, it was enough for us to move in. We were able to get some solar panels, a charge controller, a few deep cycle batteries and a few other things we needed to get started. We began to disassemble our current city lives, PB shut down his business, I quit both of my jobs, and on December 22, 2007 we moved all of our remaining belongings to our new life in west Texas.

The first few months were pretty rough, we lived in a most primitive manner, some might even say our first few years were pretty primitive, I suspect some might even say we still live very primitively, that’s OK, it’s quite wonderful to me. We met a great neighbor who gave us some help, it made life a bit easier, things like access to his water well instead of having to go to the community well, access to his washer and dryer instead of washing by hand and hanging to dry, access to his shower instead of taking spit baths… all things we were prepared to do on our own, but having such a great neighbor we were able to do many things a little easier, in return we do most of the maintenance on his house, we do other things for him too, so it’s a fair trade.

We quickly learned about the barter system and before long we had enough connections with the community that when anyone had some used, scrap or excess building materials, they would contact us first to see if we could use it. Most of the rest of the sky castle was built using this scrap material that would have otherwise gone to the landfill. PB would go and tear down a building at a friend’s property and we would get to take the material home. Please understand, we aren’t tree huggers, we aren’t doing any of this because it’s “green”, for us it was cheap and expedient, the fact that we were in fact being green was merely a bonus.

Little by little we built up our little place into a home, with running water, eventually installing on demand propane powered water heaters, water tanks for more water storage, we built another room, the first one was 16×16, the addition was 12×12, we built on decks and eventually, my favorite addition, the shower. We also began to work on other things, like the garden, putting up out buildings, sheds and such.

All of this has taken time and lots of sweat, we have spent very little money, mainly because we do everything ourselves, and a lot of experimentation, some of which worked great, some which failed miserably. We have been blessed by good health and only minor accidents, mostly scrapes and splinters. We have grown to really love our little community, I’d say that has been as important as anything we have done. No matter how perfect your place might be, if you aren’t happy with or welcome into your community, that will not end up in a good way.

Now we are living like kings, at least that is my opinion, of course by most people’s standards including the government, we live well under the poverty level, but I wouldn’t have it any other way, I love my life, I love living with the freedom I have, I love working hard for what we have, it really does make me appreciate each and every little thing we have. When we first started out, I was hauling 3 one gallon containers of water up the hill from my neighbor’s house every day, sometimes twice a day, I guarantee you that makes me appreciate my 1550 gallon poly plastic water container with all the plumbing involved, doing dishes and laundry by hand inside my sky castle, getting to shower with hot running water…

I look forward to many more years with PB, improving our lives and the sky castle. The last couple of days has been quite fun for PB, one of our friends and neighbors came by, he had been eyeballing the gravel in our creek bed, he offered a trade for a few trailer loads of gravel, he let us use his Bobcat tractor to do some dirt work, PB achieved in a few hours of work what would have taken him weeks if not months of hard manual work, it cost zero dollars, but was priceless for us. I have to say that life is good.

A big part of my happiness is because of my faith, I found a little church in the neighborhood (we are blessed with 2 of them close by), I joined and quickly became active in the church, now I’m on the board of trustees, working to make things better and better. I have been a Christian for many years, most of my life, but living out here and being part of this church and community has helped me grow in my faith and get closer to God. I’m not saying that is necessary for you, (though for me it is), it’s a choice you have to make, I am saying that going to church is a good way to get closer to your community, and hopefully to God too, I am blessed everyday and in every way, even in the bad times, there is always a lesson to learn, a period of growth, a strengthening. Getting to live in and near nature allows me to personally witness Divinity on a daily basis.

I have many people contact me to ask for my advice on how they should go about moving off grid, how to do it cheaply, how they should do it… it’s difficult to answer because everyone is different, everyone has different standards of how they want to live, everyone has different ideas and circumstances. My biggest advice is to have a dream and set goals, let nothing come between you and your goals, I have found that people will do what they really want to do, and unfortunately there are many who wish but don’t take the action necessary to make their wish a reality. I’m not judging, just stating the facts about what I see.

If you truly want to live off grid, then do it, you don’t have to do it all at once, but start taking the steps necessary to get you to the place where you want to be. Each step you take is a step closer to your dream, don’t let life get in the way, don’t let family, friends, a job, or anything else get in the way, do what is necessary to make yourself happy and the rest of everything will fall into place. I’m not advocating doing anything illegal, I’m assuming that most of my readers are reasonable, law abiding people. I am advocating living your life to the fullest extent, and if that includes living off grid, then do it.

If you want to learn more about our lives living off grid, you can read more of my stories here

http://www.off-grid.net/section/wretha/

you can also read about us in the book Off the Grid: Inside the Movement for More Space, Less Government, and True Independence in Modern America by Nick Rosen, we are chapter 9 in the book.