Krista Marie Schaus

I do love spinning with my drop spindle. I have a friend who is a spinning goddess. she even spins standing in line at the grocery store! She definitely sets the "fiber bar" in my circle of fiber enthusiasts. Now that I have conquered my fear of spinning, I am starting to weave. But alas, I discovered it takes 9 spinners to  keep one weaver occupied. So I had been researching a few options for bike powered carders and spinners to help increase productivity and get me a little more exercise. I cam across this video that shows a recumbent bike modified into a spinning wheel. I think this will fit the bill.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duxZy42sGIY

If watch catchment is a big factor, I worry you will have trouble catching clean water. It gets very windy and dusty in Arizona. I know most systems have a runoff to get the first few gallons of dirty water but that may pose issues.  What if you built a super cheap water filtration system. That would allow you  more freedom in design and materials for your roof and not have to waste so much run off. I was thinking of something super cheap like this for the filter.

I ran across this great article about Paul and his Wofati's. It includes Jessie's video.

https://insteading.com/blog/wofati/?utm_medium=push_notification&utm_source=rss&utm_campaign=rss_pushcrew

Yes it does! Thank you very much.

Is there a particular time of year to do this? Or not to do this? I can't wait to try this.

Krista

I was looking into something like this a while back when a friend and his son were new to food stamps and horrible at adulting. It turns out there is a great cookbook geared at $4 per person per meal. You can buy the book, which in turn donates toward  others getting this, or download the free PDF. The food is simple, nutritious and cheap. I started experimenting with the recipes in this book to get my food budget under control. Having a garden makes it even more cost effective.  You might want to give it a look through. If nothing else I think it will get you thinking in the right direction.

good and cheap

I would suggest, since they already have cattails in them, using them in succession as a grey water marsh filtration system for your washing machine. This would allow you to also breed frogs and minnows and duckweed at the end tank where the water is purified. This lets you save/ recycle water that would otherwise go to waste for your garden. But do a little research as you may want/need to change your laundry soap.

My Italian grandmother informs me the best way to heat up any type of leftover pasta is in a frying pan with a little olive oil.

I had been thinking about this as well. So far my research is not bearing positive fruit. I bought a bought at my local big box store. While it is light, the water seems to move through it too fast. I don't know if that is design or cheap manufacturing. all my research into the manufacturing process kind of leans toward "this is too toxic" to put near my food. Perhaps making it myself would give me control over the materials used, but in the end it has proven to be Too Porous to use as an olla. At least so far.

I have been considering this topic seriously for about 5 months. As I started all my long term preparations for relocating to the Lab I have took a serious look at food storage. I too have wanted to get away from plastic containers, close-able bags and plastic cling wrap, mostly from a sustainability viewpoint. I have been conducting a few experiments with my deep freeze to make sure my idea will pan out. I have found in most situations canning jars are the way to go, my grandmother has been doing it longer that I have been alive. However long term in the freezer the lids become problematic. But I believe I have found a solution. I read this article on how to create waxed cotton sheets, the predecessor of wax paper. They work great in the freezer! So far I have several jars of chicken broth, with waxed fabric on top, tied with hemp twine, that have been in the freezer for months. Every month I remove one jar, let it thaw and cook with it. Here I am at month 4, no funny taste, no frost build up, and I am pleased with the outcome. Granted my full experiment will last a year (I froze 12 jars) but so far it looks promising. I have included the link below that lead me to my original trial concept.

http://myhealthygreenfamily.com/blog/wordpress/plastic-wrap-alternative-diy-beeswax-cotton-wraps/

I hope this helps!