edith zahn

Thank you Paul.

I'm confused by the project update #26 email I just received.  It is offering the opportunity to upgrade my original kickstarter level.  I am confused because I wanted 4 physical dvd's and that's what I pledged my amount for.

The email says:  "4 DVD download and/or streaming and/or physical $70 (add $20 for shipping outside the US)", which equals $90. for 4 physical dvds.

I pledged $60. for 4 of the new physical dvd's.  Here is a copy and paste from that email from Kickstarter:

Amount pledged
$60.00 USD
Reward
4DVD: 4-DVD set as physical DVDs + everything in GLORY.

Am I misunderstanding the email?  Can somebody please clarify? - Thank you.

I'm sorry, I don't know how to put a comment in a white quote box so that I can ask a question about it, so I just copy and pasted the comment:

"Thekla McDaniels wrote:
I have prickly lettuce at my place. The goats love it. It is nutritious, though bitter. I put a leaf or two in a green smoothie or salad. The prickles are for real. If when weeding I get a grip on one of the stems, a prickle can break off in my skin, and when that happens it is a several month process for the skin to clear the prickle.

Now a days this rarely happens, because it's a painful thing to live iwth in the pad of my thumb or finger for that long. Currently I have a couple in my knee. Sonce they do not make gloves for knees, and the prickles get through the heavy denim jeans with reinforced knees, I guess the solution is to get in the habit of kneeling only on a pad.

Thanks in advance to any who want to suggest knee pads. I don't find it possible to wear those all day long for the moment when I kneel to pull an out of place plant."[/color]

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

My reply/question is: I have that plant growing at my house and never knew the name of it, only that it was edible, so I was excited to see the name of it ("prickly lettuce"), but I'm confused - mine look EXACTLY like the pictures but the prickles aren't sharp - don't hurt at all. Could the prickles be nothing but show in one climate and stabbing in another, or are we talking about two different plants (??)

"The insulation is something I am still trying to figure out. For the non-earth sheltered portions of the walls above the windows and door I can install wood on the other side of the posts, leaving a cavity that can be filled with some type of soft insulation material like wool or commercial denim insulation. I'd like to avoid purchasing any commercial products for obvious reasons, so I have thought about using wood chips or straw, but I would have to make sure it was completely sealed up to keep the critters out. For the earth sheltered portions, I am considering installing an insulation watershed umbrella as described by John Hait in his PAHS book. However, he uses hard foam insulation which is out of the question here at the Lab, so I have to figure out how to make some sort of natural replacement that wont be compressed under the weight of the earth. Paul uses wood chips in the Wofati umbrellas, but I feel like they will lose much of their insulating value once they are compressed. So I am searching for alternatives, perhaps I will start a thread about it."


Hi Jesse, I have been inspired by watching you build your own house - just watched your latest video and the house looks so nice - great going! I am newly interested in permaculture, and this is the first time I've posted so I hope I don't sound like an idiot. People where I live (northern Minnesota) use flax straw to insulate things when they don't want critter problems because they say it's so scratchy that mice and critters don't like it (you probably knew that, but just in case, wanted to share it with you).

Does anybody know if a blender would take the sting out of the nettles? I'd love to use them in my green smoothies. I've read that steaming them takes away the sting, but that doesn't make for a very quick smoothie and I'd prefer to use them raw. (I just have a regular blender, not a super hi-powered, expensive one). - Thank you.