Bethanny Parker

Thank you! Would it be OK to grab one screenshot from each video to use as a featured photo for the post?

I was thinking I'd do a video-by-video review of the 2107 ATC & PDC videos and put an affiliate link at the end of each post. I signed up for the affiliate program, but I don't see the PDC & ATC videos on the list. Is it possible to earn a commission for this product?

On the Paypal payment page, there was a broken image above the payment section that said Permies. Then, when I selected the location to save it to, I realized I already had the permaculture playing cards PDF but I added a 2 to the end of the filename and downloaded it anyhow. I guess it must have been a bonus with the new rocket mass heater videos or something. Anyhow, the file opened with no problem and no, I don't want my $3 back. LOL

We're in our second year of homeschooling. My two younger kids are five and seven. The seven-year-old is developmentally disabled and at about the same level as the five-year-old. She did two years of preschool and one in Young Fives in public school before I pulled her out. She wasn't making much progress in the public school, even with spending more than half her day in a special ed classroom.

My two older kids have grown up and moved away, but we had problems with the older boy in the public school too. He was also in special ed and ended up dropping out of public high school as soon as he was old enough. His only options, if he had stayed in school, were a worthless piece of paper saying he attended high school (not a real diploma, I can't remember what they called it), or he could have stayed in school until he was about 22 to get a real diploma. He didn't feel that it was worth it, so he quit.

I haven't looked into gray water systems much yet, but from what little I have read about leach beds (not even sure that is the correct term), they can't be used in the winter in temperate climates. So what alternatives are there for places where it gets cold in the winter?

Thanks, Dawn. That helps. I don't eat agave, so I won't have to worry about that one. I'll have to pick up a copy of your book, I think.

Maybe I didn't word the question clearly. I already know that there is a possibility that if I do get pregnant, there could be a faulty chromosome involved. What I am asking is whether there are things I should avoid eating that could negatively impact pregnancy even if I do happen to get pregnant and nothing is wrong with the egg. I don't want to inadvertently increase my chances of losing another pregnancy.

Actually, what you said about limiting toxins is precisely what I'm asking. I know, for instance, that wild carrot seeds have been used as birth control, so obviously it would be a bad choice to eat them while trying to conceive. That's pretty much the only thing I am aware of, but being aware of that one makes me realize that there could be other "edible" plants that should be avoided if you want to have a healthy pregnancy.

I'm wondering which foods and/or herbs could cause problems if you're trying to get pregnant. I'm 42 years old and not really trying, but wouldn't mind another one. I had a miscarriage in June, so I'm not sure that I'm emotionally ready to try again yet, but I'm not getting any younger either. I'd really rather not go through another miscarriage though, especially if there are simple things I can do to prevent it.

Jennifer Wadsworth wrote:Gotta "thumbs down" your comment on non-profits. Yeah - we get it - you don't like non-profits. But what about the for-profits that are producing the herbicides? And, after all, are not all types of business entities elements of our economic ecosystem?

I didn't take his comment about non-profits to be disparaging to non-profits. It seemed like he was just pointing out the irony of so many so-called non-profit organizations appearing to have a very for-profit purpose: pushing the purchase and use of herbicides.

OK, I tried Paul's poly dough recipe yesterday. It worked great. It took about 11-12 cups of flour. I used very warm water, not hot. I was afraid of killing the yeast with hot water.

I made one loaf of bread right away. Julia, my picky eater, ate three pieces of buttered bread, and the whole loaf disappeared within about 30 minutes of cutting it, so I guess they liked it.

Then last night, I used some more of the dough to make pizza. No complaints there either. Next time, I will let the dough sit for a few minutes before I start shaping it for the pizza though. I noticed it got easier to work with as it warmed up.

I still have some dough in the fridge.