Alina Green

I'm wondering if others have tried using a fire roll to start fires?

I love David West's channel.  He makes it look so easy!

I've made them with cotton balls and ashes, and they are not very hard to get to work.  That gives me confidence that even if I lacked a lighter or fire starter, I might be able to get fire going with possibly a bit of my t-shirt or something similar.

I tried to do a smaller version of a brick rocket stove and found a couple issues.

First, rare is a chimney in Honolulu; therefore, no fire bricks.  I used normal garden pavers.

Next, the stove worked, until the bricks cracked and crumbled, leading to an unstable cooking surface and the danger of the fire spreading.

Third, I had no metal grill or crushed can to use as a divider somehow, to allow air in under the fuel.

So I built a lighter-weight (about 40 pounds as opposed to 70) perlite and concrete "rocket" stove out of a 5-gallon bucket and some plastic square tubing cut from a play basketball hoop my neighbors threw away (instead of the PVC pipe in the following video:)



I put some small plastic containers in near the top and taped them to the bucket, to act as negative space, which produced handholds in the finished product.

I have not tested it yet, so I don't know how it performs.  But I have something that is ready to go, takes about as much space as those garden pavers, didn't cost much, and should work pretty well, judging from similar results online.

Here is Green Shorts testing his similar version, made with perlite.  I did not put in rebar offsets.  I'll use a small, round grill I salvaged from a thrift store, plus some rocks or broken terra cotta pots, or something, to offset it and allow airflow underneath the pan.



Note he also tries a makeshift J-tube feeding inlet as well, from bricks...something you might find applicable if you are using bricks only.

This "modification" works under any sink drain.  Put a large foil pan or other high-sided container underneath, so that any drips from the P trap, drain, faucet, or water shut-off valves will drip into it.

This not only prevents leaking water from rotting your floor or cupboards, but so many times, I hear the dripping, and that is how I know I have a problem to fix.  Otherwise, it can go unnoticed, leading to a larger and more costly repair.

A friend remodeled her kitchen, ignored my advice, and literally paid to regret it, because the install ended up leaking, ruining her cupboard, so the whole thing had to be redone.

Yeah, insurance eventually repaid for it...but do you want the hassle and lost time?

She told me she regretted not following my advice.  I had forgotten I had even told her that!  haha

Do as I say, not as I remember!!

Lemongrass, ginger, and mint

catnip, cinnamon basil, mint

spearmint and a small amount of lavender

hibiscus, orange peel, cinnamon, ginger

holy basil

I have an old chest for the vacuum cleaner, probably from the 1960s, and the cover vinyl's stitching degraded, so it's falling apart.  I was surprised to see the padded lid contains what looks like horse hair as stuffing.

Similar to this, but not so fancy, and in an ugly turquoise and eggshell.  Also, the padding wasn't fluffy-looking, like this, but flat:
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/0moAAeSwripqNakn/s-l400.webp

I have not attempted to recover it, but I've used it as a seat and a table and a weight-lifting bench in the past.

If you want to attempt to recover a seat or something similarly simple, it isn't hard.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yAoPupZKe4


I would suggest also having a hammer, because sometimes the staples from the staple gun do not go down flush, so I need to hammer them all the way in.  Similarly, if you have narrow-nose pliers, they help to remove staples, either while taking the originals off, or if you need to remove some you are putting in, that go astray, and have one end still in the wood, and the other end sticking out, or are askew, so using a screwdriver won't get them out.

I picked up one of those kneeling chairs from the garbage a while back, took it apart, and did not recover it with denim from some old jeans and jacket I was throwing out.  This is a reminder to finish that project and see if it helps me maintain better posture and alignment while at the computer.

Similar to this:
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/qbYAAeSwzANp8rEH/s-l1200.webp

I wonder if it would work to put a dark-colored stone or tile out in the sun for awhile, then sit on that...I guess it would be hard on the butt, so maybe a cushion on top of that?

Or would the cold air negate any solar heating effects?

Or put the stone/tile under a glass bowl, in the sun, to make it hotter, like a solar cooking setup.

Or a pan of sand.

Then you could use the energy stored in it for free (discounting your hauling it in and out.)

Maybe have two--one outside, heating up, one inside, being used?

Would it work to put the hot water bottle outside to heat up?

Just thinking of ways to forego using electricity, in case something happens to that too (or, as it appears may happen, that electricity prices get so high, people cannot afford to use it as much as they'd like to)...

There's a word for that, like how people put big barrels of water inside a greenhouse near a sunny window, so they heat up and discharge the retained heat overnight.  My brain can't remember it now, though.

--Learn about how our attention is manipulated and used to control us.  Fear is the #1 weapon.  Thus I eschew the news, even from "alternative" media, except to stay abreast of what is really going on out there.

Resource:  Jason Christoff, a mind control expert.  His movie, Planet Mind Control will shock you.

--Learn about what is being planned by those who run the world, and what has already happened.  Learn about what we've been told versus what has worked in the past, but is now suppressed.
Resource:  Makia Freeman, Sasha Latypova, The Highwire with Del Bigtree.

--Accept the truth, no matter how heinous (this is the hardest).  This brings up strong emotions of fear, anger, grief.  OR behaviors and patterns of distraction and ignoring (such as excessive shopping, sex, gambling, media consumption, drug use, drinking, sleeping, pretending everything is okay, discounting anything that upsets you, etc.)

Best is to find some practice to help to feel those emotions and work through them, rather than suppressing them.  Walking/exercise, doing something, journaling, crying, punching a pillow, doing martial arts or working out, self-help books/workbooks/tapes/seminars/classes.

Resource:  EFT (emotional freedom technique, aka tapping)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02bN4JFx10Y

--Take specific action to help myself and others for what is likely coming our way.  Build community of like-minded others.
Resource:  these forums!!

--Take responsibility for myself.  Do the research before making decisions.  Listen and learn from multiple sources, then make my own decision and act on that.
Resource:  Yandex search engine; subscribe to various podcasts, Substacks, channels, etc.

--Maintain a spiritual practice, connecting to some higher powers, spirits, gods, energies, forces...whatever works.

--Let go and use positive mental programming to remind myself that our ancestors have all survived through hard times and challenges and tyranny and made it, and we inherited those survivor genes, as well as the collective resilience that got us here so far.

--Know that there are energies and powers and capabilities that are hidden to us, that we have the ability to tap into.  Find and use them.
Examples:  psychic abilities, remote viewing, visualization, energy healing, tai chi/chi gung and other energy-body practices, universal laws.

Humans are AMAZINGLY resilient, creative, capable, and miraculously made beings, and self-healing organisms!  We do ourselves more harm by believing that human-created chemicals, systems, stuff is the answer, rather than working with Nature and removing the hindrances to our own wellbeing, and coming into balance.

Besides, we are not immortal, so we WILL die at some point.  Decide where is that line you will not cross, because it is likely coming your way soon.

Maintain periods of quiet to connect to your internal wisdom, your body, and to the higher powers.  Be willing to listen and follow directions from those sources.  Be ready to stand firm.

--Try to be in this world what you want to see (kindness, patience, compassion, generosity, ability, respect, responsibility, etc.)  Follow the Golden Rule.

--Find a healthy way to express yourself, your opinions, your creativity.  Many people use hobbies, crafts, music, art, dance, journaling, writing, producing something.  (This has become increasingly censored, however, making it sometimes dangerous to do so.)

--Forgive myself and others for falling for the lies and mistakes and errors and ignorance, past, present, and future.

--Do the best you can, yet strive to improve always.

--Let go, let God, and then find ways to be grateful for the blessings and the lessons in the "curses."

Simple, right?  hahahahahaha

It's my experience they only work well in level areas.  Otherwise, the water flows to just the downhill plants.

I think it's actually a soul-level need:  to face a challenge, learn and fail and succeed, and gain confidence and a feeling of accomplishment.

I think a "virtual" world removes this completely, leaving shells of people who long for something real, tangible, challenging.  Because although the desire to give in and have an easy life of leisure is what many of us think we want, in fact, we thrive on challenge and the accomplishment from success, plus the learning that comes from failure and through the process itself.

Besides, if you're old or have old stuff or an old house, 1) they were built to be repaired, are of higher quality than the new stuff, are simpler and last longer, so you stand a good chance (if you can get or make the parts you need) of fixing something, and 2) sometimes you can't find anyone willing or knowledgeable to do the repair...or find the parts...so you have to make do and get creative.

I could either have a pro re-plumb my entire house when the pipe broke, costing a fortune and digging up the front yard, busting up the foundation, etc...or cap it myself, using what I had and the galvanized parts that I could get and "almost nobody buys anymore"--according to the 20-something-year-old cashier.  And set up a sink under the tree outside, where that branch of water still works (for now.)

The house is almost 70 years old, yes, it's overdo to be re-plumbed, but that responsibility will fall to the new owner, and no longer be my liability.

A virtual world creates virtual satisfaction.

I stay away from synthetic fabrics as much as possible because I see the synthetic rope inside my clothesline degrades to teeny tiny fibers that go airborne every time it moves.

That makes me think I'm contributing to putting more microplastics into the environment, AND I'm likely breathing them in, increasing my toxic burden of microplastics, further reducing my health, and the health of the animals that share my space.

The neighbor's house on fire the other night reminded me of the horribly acrid, toxic fumes released when plastics burn.

So I'd much rather use a cotton sheet and throw it into the compost bin, or "away" (where it will get burned to produce electricity, or buried to degrade back to reusable natural products), and get another, more often, than using a synthetic, which doesn't "go away" to some mythical place at the end of its life.

I'm trying to mimic the systems of Nature, which are cyclical (inputs get used; breaks down, creating more inputs for the cycle to repeat)...versus "man-"--and at this point, that definition is at question, eh? wink, wink--  -made linear systems (resource is extracted; input is created by combining extracted products, creating toxic byproducts, causing further ecological destruction and downstream unintended negative consequences for Nature and life; resource is used, again creating toxic byproducts and effects; resource must be created once again by toxic extraction from, etc.)

Surely we haven't reached this horrid state of affairs by just one person buying a synthetic shower curtain?!  No.  But when synthetics eventually become the norm, the result is what you see around us now--collapse of non-sustainable systems, with accompanying ecological wastelands, physical health deterioration, economic crash, instability.

Because it's all connected.  And driven toward ends that continue to profit the top of the pyramid, while the bottom of the pyramid suffers.

I'd be willing to bet that using one thrift store or old bed sheet uses less water and detergent and fragrance, too, since it's "washed" every time someone bathes.  That's another permaculture principle in action:  use a resource multiple times before it leaves your property.  Like every drop of water being funneled through multiple earthworks and growing systems.

I'm basically lazy (so I don't bother to wash it) and do not like to encourage continuation of the current system, which values form over function, overconsumption, and a careless attitude toward resources, their production, and disposal.  Who profits from the current system, and who loses?  I'd like that to reverse...even if my one person's actions(deemed ridiculous or crazy by some) have just an infinitesimally small effect.

Again, multiply that one effect times hundreds, thousands, millions--and at some point, a tipping point is reached, and things pivot and go in the other direction.

I'm assuming most people on this forum believe that is not only possible, but a worthy and lofty goal to aim for, and since we cannot control the top of the pyramid, we can only change our individual actions.  So it is there that I begin.