Donna Lynn

One year I collected fallen branches about thumb diameter, cut them to size, whittled down a flat area near the top, and used permanent sharpie to write labels.  The sticks lasted fine, but the sharpie had faded by the end of the year.  (Plus it tended to soak into the wood and "fuzz out" the letters.)  We're in the middle of a move right now so I don't have any around to take a picture of.

If you used a paint pen instead of the sharpie, and/or carved the letters into a bigger stick, this idea should work better.  Although, being sticks, they are not as permanent as plastic or some metals.  But they are free and abundant!  Maybe not the best idea for folks with dogs though... 😁

Nancy Reading wrote:I love this idea! - it would make a sweet little keepsake box for a little gift perhaps. I've embossed foil puree tubes, but haven't tried drinks cans - I expect they will be a bit tougher to emboss neatly - any tips?

Maybe repurpose a nail set, or even a large enough nail, (round over the end as needed on a grinding wheel, or with a file) or use the ball end of a glass cutter for a larger pattern?  You might have to draw your pattern on first, then use a small hammer with the nail set to tap your design in to the metal, moving along the drawn lines.  

Sophie Hatter wrote:Never mind that critters of all kinds are peeing and pooping on your land, and have been since the dawn of time, but YOU, filthy human, may not do that!"

Actually, they kind of have a point with that last bit -- humans consume waaaay more toxic "food," drugs and such than any animals (other than perhaps pets fed commercial kibble, injected and treated with chemicals and drugs.)  So what gets pooped and peed out from humans can literally be quite "filthy," while wildlife's excrement is usually perfectly healthy for the land, microbes, etc.  

This in no way means I support large-scale wastewater treatment over on-site natural methods.  But I do think that folks wanting to process their own "waste" and/or gray water might be well advised to eliminate as much as possible their use of drugs, chemical food additives, chemical body care and laundry products, and so on.  

Looked at this on my laptop.  Definitely don't like the tiny print toggle switch set to "automatically buy pie every month."  That whole section below the three squares looks redundant and confusing to me.  The three squares contain all the options perfectly and understandably.  If you really want to add the reduntant area below, then ditch the toggle altogether and just have two buttons, one for buy once and the other for subscribe monthly.  But I'd get rid of the redundant section entirely.  It's unnecessary and clutters up the page, distracting from the purpose (purchasing pie) with thoughts of "Is this different from the square?  Do I need to click on both?  What's the dealio?  Maybe I'll just do this later..." 🤷‍♀️

I recently bought a similar tool that was "silly" at first glance.  A tiny battery chain saw.  The blade is about 4" long.  I had some volunteer black walnut saplings growing up through the base of a well-established lilac bush that I just couldn't get my large heavy-duty hand loppers in to cut down.  This little saw fit right in there and cut those several-year-old saplings like nobody's business.  I only had to be careful not to pinch the blade, which was easy enough since the little saw was easily operable with one hand.  The saw with battery and charger plus two extra chains was maybe $100.   Made me want to wander the property looking for other unwanted volunteer saplings to cut down, or pruning tasks.  I'm so happy with this purchase, as I am not as strong or flexible in my late 60s as I used to be.  

Many of my near misses come with injuries much less severe than they could have been, rather than no injury at all.  

An upstairs window screen was being very difficult to re-install from the inside, so one morning I put the extension ladder up against the house to reach it from outside.  On my way down the ladder, I mis-stepped and fell a few feet, not just to the ground but into the metal whole-house generator housing that was right where I had to put the foot of the ladder to reach both sides of that narrow window.  I twisted my ankle, and it was the day before I was to attend a large event that required a lot of walking with an old friend I hadn't seen in years.  So I borrowed my mom's walker, got my guy to drive me to an herb shop where I purchased some comfrey oil, and then to a pharmacy where I bought a pair of crutches.  It was a lot harder going up and down stairs with crutches in my 60s than it was in my 30s the last time I had to use them!  I was exhausted by the end of the event!  

Another time I was putting some screws into the ceiling of a shed to hang a brooder lamp from for some new chicks due a few days later.  I was using a small two-step stool since the shed was smallish, and of course since I'm short, I was on the top step.  I had one more screw to finish, but I was just a liiiiitle bit too far away to reach easily with the screw gun.  I stretched over instead of getting down and moving the stool.  I overbalanced and fell, and my shin hit hard on the edge of the metal trough I was using as a brooder.  It hurt like crazy, but somehow miraculously was not broken.  I was able to put my full weight on it without extra pain.  Within a couple days my entire lower leg was bruised from just above my knee down into my toes, and over half way around!  Arnica cream helped the bruising heal.  Now I overcome my tendency to laziness and move the darn ladder or step stool if I need to.    

I'm not sure whether I get these minor injuries more easily now due to age, or due to the extra weight I now carry.  Perhaps it's both, so I'm making an effort to drop the excess weight in case "the bigger they are, the harder they fall" is a literal statement as well as a figurative one.

Yen Yus wrote:Hi all

The system has been running for around 5 years now! It's had 0 maintenance so far and has filled up around 20 cm since I first commissioned it. The worms have multiplied beyond my imagination. We've had a lot of rain this year and it's been quite cold but the worms are still doing fine, actually thriving. Also the grey water system has given us many kg of bananas.

If anyone is interested I can post current pics and details. Thanks.

Yes, Please!

Pearl Sutton wrote:

Nina Surya wrote:
Did you get to be a vet assistant with or without diploma's? Asking for ... me!

I did vet assistant many many years ago, and it was basically "Are you a warm body that can clean cages, not freak out with upset animals, hand me things, be useful? You are hired!" No idea if that's still valid, but it used to be that way.

Same for me, basically.  I was in 10th grade and thought I'd hit the jackpot working with animals... then I found out the vet paid less than legal minimum wage because "so many people want to work with animals that I don't have to pay that much and always have a waiting list."  I did everything from clean cages to assist in surgeries.  By the time I quit to pursue extracurricular school activities I felt that I could do a spay surgery by myself, I had assisted in so many.  There were downsides though, such as too many healthy pets being "put to sleep" just because their owners paid for it and might get upset if they saw their former pet enjoying life in someone else's yard after they paid to have them killed.  I begged to take home one dog who was friendly, gorgeous, healthy and playful.  Of course my parents would have nixed it even if the vet had said yes, but the vet eventually gave him the lethal injection after we played with him and gave him love for several days after he was dropped off for euthanasia.  

I've always been a jack-of-all-trades, master of none.  I can learn just about anything and run with it.  Except glass blowing.  I totally sucked at that no matter how hard I tried.  My best piece was a mistake that I refused to toss into the glass recycling bin, then several of my classmates tried to imitate my mistake so they could make a similar bud vase. 🤣

I've worked as a nanny, a cleaning woman, a veterinary assistant, a secretary, a machinist, a carpenter, a computer programmer, a painter, a Photoshop illustrator, a dumpsite manager, a mortgage loan processer/closer, an expediter, a beachfront condo resident manager, a caregiver, and a commercial food preparer (not in that order.)  And probably a few other things tucked in between.  After a few years, other things just looked more interesting than the thing I was doing that I had mastered and then grown tired of.  The factory maintenance carpenter job was the best and longest lasting, because I always had new jobs coming in that were a bit different from the others I'd done, and many repairs I had to figure out on the fly.

Hmmmm, do people like us have a version of committment issues?  I think I prefer being called a polymath, but the thought occurred to me so I figured I'd throw it out there.  🤔

paul wheaton wrote:After a lot of visiting with andres today, we are gonna make a slight shift ....

these cards are now "Gardening Playing Cards" for gardeners and homsteaders  ...  

      also, for gardening, homesteading and permaculture

Gotta be honest, I don't think that will go over well.  There are so many things in them that are not garden-related, plus the name just doesn't have the same ring to it as Permaculture Playing Cards.  But I'm sure you have your reasons.   And if you advertise them to non-permies you might get a bit more interest. 🤷‍♀️