Ashkey Lee

Todd McDonald wrote: Either way I would like to see something a little more organized [...]

Belated FYI!  I’m seeing some related stuff on the Ozarks Forum: https://permies.com/f/128/ozarks

Howdy all!

Currently in CoMo area, but don’t use the book of faces (www.facebook.com/columbiapermacultureguild appears to be dead/old anyhow?) ... any efforts to start up a community (offline or on-) ‘round these parts?

If not — any best practices on managing a new forum/subgroup here on Permies? I’d like to start a local one if there’s enough interest.

I’ll continue to poke around in existing forums/threads (this is first matching keyword search I came across).

Danke mucho!

My 2¢ worth on wording. I’m just going to set this over here — soak up whatever parts of it you need

Since you mentioned trying for one page, this version accomplished that, but in doing so cut out a lot of your ‘explanatory’ text. Stuff in bold is what I thought were the key takeaways from each section, so they would stand out on the page.


Willow Feeder
This is not a toilet (not even a composting toilet!). This material is a valuable resource. One could call it "candy" for willow trees.

Pee outside or do your best to use the provided urine diverter. Urine mixed with poop causes a lot of stink and creates about ten times more work for this system (the cans will become too heavy for two people to lift).

Pee in one spot about a foot away from the plant so it can take in as much as it needs.

Do your best to eat strictly organic. Nearly all non-organic food contains Persistent Herbicides. They aren’t affected by passing through an animal, and when when presented to the willow tree, these herbicides will stunt (or kill)! [/b]

Best to use perhaps one cup of sawdust per visit. The system is set up to mitigate smells; too much sawdust will fill the can too quickly. [/b]

Please do your best to keep sawdust out of the urine diverter.

Close Lids & Flaps. This system is slightly pressure negative (no smell or flies), but only works when the lid is down and access flaps are properly closed.

Most plant species find willow candy too rich. If you put a lot of willow candy near such plants, they will die.  Trees that appreciate willow candy in a cold climate include willow, poplar and cottonwood.  Om nom nom nom.

Compost or Not to Compost? Gardeners are always searching for good sources of plant nutrients — the solid form of Carbon and Nitrogen are exactly what Growies desperately want!  Our systems will attempt to keep in a solid form for the willows (will try to prevent composting by keeping this material dry).

Aging the Willow Candy. Some people’s poop carries pathogens. To develop a poop management system that can scale to a big city, we will treat all poop as if it contains pathogens. Such pathogens are nearly all dead in two months, and absolutely dead in 2 years.  All of our willow candy is aged two years before feeding it to willow trees — just to be sure.

Binder
I second/third/add my vote for this.  Add, remove, or rearrange pages as needed.  I’m visual, so my binder would be ABC order by name, with image “key” in top or bottom corner of each recipe to reference category (e.g. “chicken leg” for meat; “leaf” for veg, etc.).  Or even a color-stripe along the edge of the page so I could flip through looking for “green” veg dishes, “red” meat or “blue” dessert recipes.


Card (or page) sleeves/protectors: worth it.
Bonus: allows you to have an image cutout or multiple cards grouped together for ease of access.
Or, laminate the cards for long-term use.


YES to larger index cards
Or, if going Binder route: printer-size pages.  Enough room to paste a photo or cutout** from box/recipe source or hole-punch an online print out.

** It’s fun seeing what my grandma clipped out of boxes and magazines and basically decaupauged on recipe cards alongside her handwriting.  She also had a few of these neat “double size” cards that fold in half to the size of a 3x5” index card (and therefore fit in that size card sleeve/protector).  This gives you the whole front and back of a larger card, but you don’t have to get a larger organizer (although they’re technically “twice as thick” — so pros/cons to that).  The back of these cards says “1980 Coinmar Inc”. Company may be defunct. They are heavier card stock paper measuring 6x5”.


Currently, I use (and LOVE) Paprika: https://www.paprikaapp.com/
My first favorite software was called “Measuring Cup”. May be worth checking out if still around / can find a download. After MC, free/open source alternatives I tried in the past (all probably defunct by now):

Krecipes (found some info here: http://krecipes.sourceforge.net/)

Gourmet Recipe Manager (info here https://thinkle.github.io/gourmet/)

Combine Written & Electronic
1. Write it out on card
2. Scan it into computer (or take a good steady photo of it)
Then, you could presumably have an organized “thumb drive” of categorized recipes in folders — the images of your hand-written notes — to pass onto the next generation!

I love the Zip tool.  I was actually introduced to the concept by someone who uses chemicals everywhere else except to unclog drains.  Before that, had been using similar catchment sieve thing like is in kitchen sink — but it wasn’t 100% — so drains still got sluggish in the bathroom.  Really didn’t have a great solution until that knowledge bomb was dropped on me!

I can’t bring myself to show the ... thing ... that was rescued — hopefully some humor will suffice for the PEP BB!

P.S. Additional knowledge: Zip It Drain Cleaner
 
P.P.S. There are also a couple tangential posts on that site about inventions/patents

I heard my favorite boots gently weeping from the corner today.  I’ve been using Otter Wax (https://www.otterwax.com/) leather care kit for many moons now (good quality stuff goes a long way) — although now I’m familiar enough with the ingredients and though-process of each step, and have the materials sitting around to make it myself when this runs out.  Halfway through the job, I wondered what permies.com might say on this subject.  I’ll be darned if there’s not a PEP BB for every thing!

My boots are leather outer, leather-lined, rubber sole and stacked leather heel.  I’m in a suburban environment, so these are a mix between dress boots and daily travelers.  Occasionally do a buff/shine if going out somewhere nice.  Once every couple months I go all out (as pictured for this PEP) with:
  1. Soap (beeswax + castile)
  2. Salve (carnuba + shea butter)
  3. Oil (safflower + vitamin E)
  4. Wax (beexwax + lanolin)

Step 1: Get Your Torch! (And Soap Box?)
Saddle Soap.  Apparently there’s controversy (say it isn’t so!) over this stuff.  The kind I have isn’t ye olde version — just castile + beeswax — so I have no qualms using it on my favorite pair of kicks.  Calls for ‘stiff brush’ — I use an old toothbrush and it works just fine. Soap it up, then wipe it down with clean cloth.

A couple articles on the sordid history of saddle soap:
Section of interest is ~2/3 way down the page: http://www.usmilitaryknives.com/leather_care.htm
This one talks about pH, which I found interesting: https://bootmoodfoot.com/saddle-soap-leather-boots/

P.S. I do love the wikiHow link in the original post about using a banana to clean!

Step 2: Condition(al) Love
From the kit’s insert: “leather is happy when it’s hydrated.” Start with soft cloth for large areas; fingertips for difficult-to-reach spots.  Leave for 30 minutes; buff with clean cloth.

Step 3: Shine On!
Polish. Soft cloth to apply, even coating, work it into the leather with hands. Can use this version on rubber/leather soles ... and my hands benefit, too!

Step 4: Sally seals sea shells...
... Or something like that.
Beeswax + lanolin waterproofing step. Soft cloth, evenly coat, use fingers or soft brush to work it in everywhere, especially places more susceptible to water damage. Let it sit overnight before use. Test by splashing water on it — if beads up and rolls off, good to go!

I’ve been chewing on this for a while now.  Finally organized my thoughts:

Quick Drop/Keywords for Research

Bass toothbrush/ brushing method

Oral Wellness HealThy Mouth tooth oil

I add my vote to the previous posts re: Oil Pulling

Water fasting

Sodium Ascorbate rinse

Detailed Brain Dump
There are a ton of great posts here, to which I’m going to add my ‘product’ list — although the non-product remedies seem to be more aligned with Permies nature. (I especially like what Alder B’s recipe has going on.) Trial-and-error (aka ‘mad sciencing’), testing out/adding to one solution/change at a time would result in a good combo for any one person’s situation.

===========
What I can attest to

Bass brush/method. First found the concept here, before doing more research: https://orawellness.com/brush-teeth-reduce-gum-disease/

Oral Wellness Healthy Mouth Blend * (seems to follow other good liquid options in this thread). Been using it 2+ yrs now — on floss, brush, and as rinse

Oil Pulling — I second some version of this.  Have used in the past (not for gum reasons); can attest to it’s usefulness. Probably the easiest-to-access method to experiment with for results.

*Mom (age 66) reports that her gums are ‘fuller’ and less ‘flabby’.  According to the the ‘royal religion of dentistry’ I have ‘sensitive’ gums that bleed at the drop of a hat (not from gingivitis).  Since switching Bass + OW oil, this only occurs if I have burned/cut my mouth, and re-agitate the spot while brushing.

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Other interesting items to note

Sodium Ascorbate: I’ve heard of using this as a mouthwash — swish around and hold — supposed to help with gum health (not sure if related to recession)

Article: https://yummy.doctor/blog/how-to-heal-your-mouth-naturally/

Water Fast: accounts suggest that, at a point your body goes into a healing space where it does some cool tooth stuff. I first heard about water fasting in a documentary where they mentioned a German spa/health clinic (fairly far back in history) using it for healing. The tooth aspect more recently on a podcast with Sayer Ji (can’t recall which/whose cast, but here’s a resource site for him: https://www.greenmedinfo.com)

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We are what we eat, think, read, listen to, and watch. Following my own personal body logic, I’d start thinking/researching ...

Topical? Something too harsh — causing wear, or it to literally shrink back in terror?

What am I eating/drinking? Something new? Something every day or multiple times a day?  I’d try cutting out that thing for a couple months to see what results

What are gums designed for? What am I (or not) giving my body (nutrients) that it could use to stand up to regular use?

How have I been sleeping? What am I thinking (if you have nightmares about gum recession... a LOT of power in thoughts and mind stuff!)

What does “recession” mean? Lack of blood flow comes to mind — could that indicate gentle massage or warm compress (plain, or with healing/soothing herbs)?

The body’s natural state is homeostasis — what could be throwing my mouth/mucous membranes out of whack?

Who told me it’s recession? Are there alternative opinions/thoughts that make sense for my situation?

What does “plaque” indicate?  I’d look up the dental definition of plaque + a few natural medicine/practitioner’s point of view. Which makes more sense for my situation?

Aaand ... for the most off-the-cuff thought I’d explore: what type of ‘body material’ are gums considered? (I have no idea; rabbit hole I’d follow: if gums like skin, would a skin remedy apply? If more like ‘muscle’, what leads to muscular degeneration? Could that apply to what’s going on in my mouth?)

Badge Bit
I have tons of hand-me-down thread, but none are darning type.  A couple Staff notes say it doesn’t qualify unless using thicker thread, but I noticed on another submission the suggestion from a Staffer to use multiple strands of thread.  So, I doubled up the thread I have on hand — let’s see what the Permigods have to say!



What I learned
First attempt with Bob
I figured that thousand-mile stare would motivate me to darn faster and better to cover up his evil grin; found the fuzziness of the tennis ball was distracting (for me as a noob darner).


I dropped the ball and forgot to turn the sock inside out on this first darn attempt! Oh well...



Second try: Rawley


Right off the bat I liked the bright white much better than Bob’s face for contrast to see my stitch pattern.

On the home stretch stitch: halfway through the Green Monster, I outlined the area I was working on with a chalk pen.  It seemed to make the project less daunting for some reason.

I can see that a flat or mushroom-type darning thingie would be ideal — it threw me a curve trying to run a straight stitch across the length of this mend.

Catch them earlier — smaller hole faster and easier to fix!

Thicker mending thread would probably decrease the time to finish — even doubled over, what I have vs. size of the Monster hole was a task.



————
Lastly, I’m going to leave this here: SPEEDWEVE DARNING LOOM
Look it up.  You know you want to.

Opalyn Rose wrote:

Slowly, I am seeing her choices shift toward permie options.  
[...]
Please share milestones in your family's transition or conversion.

Lead by example ... and power of choice! That’s awesome to hear.

On their own, my family are perfectly content with convenience foods/goods from outside sources, but are 100% supportive of whatever projects I want to undertake. If it’s in shared turf (mainly the kitchen), just so long as it’s squirreled away/out of sight, I have free reign to do mad science!

They were already accustomed to me boycotting certain companies/products years ago, and the solutions I came up with to fill in the gaps for my own personal use. Basically at this point we run in parallel — the version I use, and the one from the store they use.  “My” solution is always around, eeking into their consciousness...

Cleaning supplies

Home made versions of convenience foods (e.g. bread, chips, crackers)

Re-usable food containers and wraps

Countertop compost canister

Two positive changes/things that sprang up recently:

Family member purchased a fancy pressure cooker, but specifically mentioned that it could also be used for canning

Planning to sneak in a small food forest in the front yard (we live in a suburban community with loose but existing HOA rules) - eyes glazed over when I started describing the concept, but a week later, family member brought up research they had done on fruit/nut trees they would like to use in the plot (!)

Additional Ammo I Use

I translate some of the concepts/products to gifts! What better way than something delicious or useful (that they didn’t have to make themselves) in super cute packaging to introduce or hook someone on a new concept? (Or to save $$ buying it somewhere else)

The PEP lists for ideas have been awesome to share. “Oh, you’re texting me because you’re bored? Try this!”