Walk away from the King? Or Occupy the palace?

by Kathy January 9, 2012 "Unstuffing" & Money

I recently ran across an interesting little video of Yes! magazine publisher David Korten (video posted at end of post),  discussing the idea of “walking away from the King”. He rightly states that any King derives his power from the acquiescence of his subjects. If, however, the subjects decide at some point to no longer play by the King’s rules – if they walk away – the King no longer has any power over them. In today’s world of course, the “King” is the power of corporate money over our government. It’s the criminal malfeasance (for which there have been [...]

Tagged as: Advertising, business, consumerism, debt, economy, environment, politicians

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Breaking the Rules

by Kathy January 5, 2012 Miscellaneous

Well. Long time no post, huh? What’s up with that? I think it was the rules. There are lots of “rules” for blogging you know. At least, that’s what “they” say if you want to be a successful blogger. (And there’s no shortage of those “they” people to teach you the rules – for a price.) You know what I mean. You have to post on a rigid schedule. You have to write lots of list posts ’cause that’s what people like to read. You have to pinpoint a very defined topic. You have to agonize over each post title. [...]

Tagged as: Musings

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Building the mother of all tomato cages!

by Kathy June 15, 2011 Creativity
My tomatoes are getting big. How best to contain them this year?

For many gardeners, tomatoes are the holy grail. The difference between a homegrown tomato and those odd, red, vinyl things sold in the produce section of grocery stores cannot be described to those who have never tasted the real thing. No matter what else I grow in the garden, the tomatoes top the list of crops to be nurtured and eagerly anticipated. Imagine, then, the disappointment at losing any – even one! – homegrown tomatoes to rot, disease, or squirrels. In order to better protect and care for my precious tomato plants, I – like so many gardeners – have [...]

Tagged as: DIY, Food, Gardening

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How does your garden grow?

by Kathy June 10, 2011 Food
lettuce_peas

Mine’s doing pretty well. Despite a late start due to near-record rainfall in April into early May, so far everything’s coming along. I’m doing some experimenting this year – actually a garden is always an ongoing experiment as you try various options and learn what works for your area. In this video, you can also see a giant failure – the use of weed blocking fabric. A complete and total waste of money, time, and fossil fuels. Don’t bother with it. My lettuce and radishes are coming on like gangbusters, I’ve had a small harvest of rhubarb, and the first [...]

Tagged as: Food, Gardening, locally-grown, Permaculture

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The Permie Song by Michelle Morgan

by Kathy May 30, 2011 Creativity

A little song about the cure for what ails us… (If you’re reading this in email, go to the website to see the music video of The Permie Song.) Bookmark on Delicious Digg this post Recommend on Facebook share via Reddit Share with Stumblers Tweet about it Subscribe to the comments on this post

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Rhubarb – the movie!

by Kathy May 30, 2011 Food
Rhubarb

Growing your own food – as much as possible depending on your circumstances – is such an essential part of taking back what’s ours, of mitigating inflation and cutting costs, of eating well (and I mean really well!) that it’s central to this blog (and many others) right now. It’s one of the few ways we have of fighting back – but let’s not underestimate the power of home-grown agriculture, homesteading, and self-reliance. I’m convinced: this is not a fad. It’s a movement. Permaculturists pay a lot of attention to planting perennials because they eliminate some of the work involved [...]

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A permaculture forest garden in the Rockies

by Kathy May 18, 2011 Food

Here’s a terrific video tour of the food forest gardens at the Central Rocky Mountain Permaculture Institute. I find these things to be very inspiring as I work to create my own garden of eatin’. If you receive updates by email you may have to visit White Pines Whisper to view the video. Enjoy! Bookmark on Delicious Digg this post Recommend on Facebook share via Reddit Share with Stumblers Tweet about it Subscribe to the comments on this post Possibly related posts:Wednesday’s Whisper: Turkey vultureLiving Post Growth, Part IHow to organize your seed collection

Tagged as: environment, Food, food forests, Gardening, Permaculture

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How to make your own vanilla extract

by Kathy May 16, 2011 Creativity

Making your own vanilla extract has to be, hands down, one of the easiest DIY money-savers there is. INGREDIENTS (with prices): 1 smallish bottle of vodka (375 ml, $4.56) 2 vanilla beans (.98 each) Vanilla beans are actually the seed pods of a member of the orchid family that’s native to tropical America. I buy mine locally at a health-food store, but you can also buy them online. Vodka is of course, a flavorless, colorless booze available everywhere. INSTRUCTIONS: Unwrap the vanilla beans. With a sharp knife, split the beans lengthwise down the center so their innards are exposed. Drop [...]

Tagged as: business, carbon footprint, consumerism, DIY, environment, Food, grocery shopping

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How to make a self-watering container for your garden

by Kathy May 9, 2011 Creativity

Well, things have certainly ramped up quickly here now that spring appears to have finally arrived. After an April that can only be described as monsoonal (is that a word?) – with five more inches of rain than normal – May seems to have settled down with some genuine spring-like weather. At least for now. The period from “as early as the soil can be worked” until early June is the most frantic part of the gardening year. It’s a constant succession of digging, planting and building that all seems to have the same deadline, more or less. The wet [...]

Tagged as: DIY, Frugality, Gardening, recycling

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