Jay Angler

Pearl Sutton wrote: I looked them up. This is what they are used for ...

Yes - that's the intended purpose, but getting downspouts to mesh is what got Hubby interested when I told him what I'd seen.

One of my frustrations with upcycling tin cans is finding a way to crimp them so that same sized cans can be fit together like old fashioned tent poles. The other day, I was directed to an interesting video about small biochar production. The fellow was using a simple, but effective hand operated crimping tool. I might not want to do a hundred cans this way, but it would definitely increase my tendency to upcycle the cans in more ways.

I've started the vid just before he shows the tool:



Even Hubby had never seen such a tool, and he's a bit of a tool hoarder...

John Weiland wrote:...we're at the 'creative ramp' phase of animal shuttling and hope we can get her to walk up the ramp into the back of the SUV.  Seriously considering a used, low-cost mini-van as a replacement for such purposes.  As they say, aging ain't for the faint of heart...  :-/

A friend bought a second hand wheelchair lift designed to fit on a hitch socket. It might be cheaper than running a second vehicle.

Dorothy Pohorelow wrote: What happens if I fall again?  What are you solutions for the possible need to reach outside help when alone and unable to reach a phone or other communication device....

A bit over a year ago a friend my age, but in much worse shape, fell and broke her lower leg in 3 places. Her recovery has been long and painful, and  a strong reminder that step 1 is prevention! So tripping hazards need to be quarantined. In this instance, dog training to keep a certain distance from standing humans.

The contact options are highly dependent on A) one's location, B) one's budget, and C) one's diligence.

Like Thekla, I try to keep my phone on me, but it's a larger one, and I'm more reliable when going outside, than in the house, and I don't take it to the bedroom at night.  We still have a land line with multiple handsets which include an intercom button. Again, that may not help if you're injured badly enough that you can't reach it. That is a good reason to put them on low tables.

My friend had one of the 'emergency call necklaces", but the one time she needed it, it was still on the dresser as she was doing her morning routine. She fell backwards and jammed herself in the bath tub. She was in a semi-independent retirement home, so she was at least found before too much time went by. She wasn't actually hurt - just stuck!

Ultimately, an element of luck is involved. My farm pants have a lanyard with my keys and pocket knife, but recently, I added a whistle as a cougar had been seen in the area. I have no idea if the neighbors will hear it if I'm outside, and even less likely if I was in the house. There is a downside to living far from the maddening crowd - we're not even all that far!

We intentionally bought used, boring looking bikes for our kids when they were young. Their bike locks weren't great, but they did use them when they parked at the school in particularly. They were expected to ride to school except in the worst weather, and the alternative was walking which took much longer, so that helped their motivation.

Neat trick for kids: Bike helmets are mandatory here and since I'd seen what head injuries do to kids, it would have been a house rule regardless. I sewed their bike key to the strap of their helmet in elementary school and it worked a charm. By high school, they preferred to lock their helmet to the bike, but stitches are easy to remove.

John F Dean wrote:  For example, he mentions that country X had 10x the colon cancer rate of region  Y.  Something I often hear. But then he goes on to address why region Y has a much higher liver cancer rate than country X.   And yes, he connects this to the diet of both.

One of my issues with this concept, is when it is focused on a single cancer (colon), but doesn't go further to admit that, as you've said above, it is often a tradeoff. Not only could the protection from cancer one be a risk factor for cancer two, it is sometimes a risk factor for other diseases.

"Eat more seafood" protects from one disease, but tends to be high salt, which is a risk factor for an alternative disease.

I think a bunch of these diseases are also aided and abetted by our sedentary lifestyles, which is my cue to go and get something done outside while the weather is nice.

Are you still using this mobile coop?

Have you made any changes?

Are there things you'd do differently?

r ransom's video - cute feature you can see if you look closely. Those scissors have measurements etched into the side of the scissor blade, so if you line the open scissor up with the correct mark, your cut will be the correct length.

Now I'm wondering what I can mark my scissors with....

Interesting question. Info that might help an educated responder:

1. If you get a failure and have to toss a moldy mess into the compost, will it break your heart?

2. What are you inoculating the wheat with? If it's one of our more unique mushrooms that don't tend to have toxic copycats, then it should hopefully be quite obvious whether or not you got what you expected. A friend gave me a Lion's Mane kit and it is very different from what I usually see locally, as an example.

There are places that have thrift shops with pressure cookers. However, often with second hand, there may be gaskets that need replacing (that's a regular thing with my large cooker, but less an issue with my new small one). Most of the gaskets are available online if local shops don't carry them.

Timothy Norton wrote:We have a delightful hamburg steak with onion gravy on top of some mashed russets with a delightful amount of peas to round it all out.

Wow! It's amazing how beautiful simple food can be! That is art in a bowl, Timothy, with the colours all contributing to each other in a supportive yet unique way.  

(OK, I admit I just left the art forum and there's a leftover affect clinging to me. But seriously, there is no reason that simple food can't be beautiful to the eyes, as well as to the taste buds!)

Tonight I am going out to celebrate the Spring Equinox with friends. I'm bringing homemade BBQ sauce to go with the pork ribs my friend is cooking and lemon eggy cake to add to the desert plate. (I even used my home-made candied peel for the lemon flavor. Making the candied peel before Christmas was a finicky job, but it stored well in the freezer.) Another friend is bringing a potato dish and some snow peas.