Leanne Opaskar

Please forgive me if I come off less than tactfully in this post. I am trying to figure out how to phrase things in such a way that they make sense, without whining.

As someone who lives in the suburbs, in a community with an HOA, and in an existing, fairly-large home, “put in a rocket-mass heater!” seems impractical. I do not have the knowledge or the skills to do it myself. I do not know anyone in the area who is able to do such a thing, and I have no idea what the building codes would permit. I do not know that a rocket-mass heater would heat a home of the size I have (approximately 2500 square feet, not including the basement, with elevated ceilings).

“Tiny home living!” … well, that would mean I’d need to move, which is a large impact on the environment. I really like my home and my neighbors, and I have already been putting in the best improvements on my home and garden that I can on a small scale. Our home is already built, so the environmental impact from that is already done. Our lot is just under a quarter of an acre; I intend to food-forest what I can, but again, it must pass HOA approval. Besides that, the larger home means that I have storage for extra food supply, my canning equipment, my sewing equipment, my tools, my husband’s hobbies, and can host guests for the day and overnight in comfort and privacy.

“Graywater!” — is on my wishlist, and that will definitely be a thing when we can afford to do it. We added solar this past year.

“Clotheslines!’ — investing in some more drying racks is something on my to-do as well. I cannot line-dry outside, not because of the HOA (they do allow temporary clotheslines), but because I’m so allergic to some of the molds here that I’ve had to start allergy shots. (Do not get me started on dietary changes for allergies. I’ve done them. I am wildly allergic to outdoor molds with or without dietary adjustment.)

I think what I’m trying to say in a nutshell is that while the answers look simple, putting them into effect is not turn-key. As someone who thinks permaculture is the bomb and I want to do as much of it as is feasible, as someone without a number of the skills and with suburban limitations, it would help greatly if I could call someone and say “please come to my house and see if it’s suitable for a rocket-mass heater, and quote me and show me the plans for installing one.”

This time of year is great for gazpacho. I got this recipe out of Vegetarian Times years ago, and am pleased to see it’s still on the web.

Green and Gold Gazpacho

It uses both the roots and greens of radishes, along with green or gold tomatoes, and it is quite delicious!

Ann Zotter wrote:I think my biggest concern with hand washing is the wringing. I have terribly sensitive skin on my hands and they're already ruined from handwashing dishes. The old fashioned wringers are so nice, but quite expensive. I was thinking of maybe buying a marble rolling pin...

Slightly off-topic, but I too struggle with that, and a pair of nice rubber or silicone gloves works wonders! I like the fancy lined Clorox ones. Yes, they’re disposable, but they last me at least four months, and my hands need the protection.

I’m late to the party here, but have been mulling over capsule wardrobes for at least the last couple years. I came to the realization recently that, y’know, I usually dress like I might have to work in the yard, cook up a giant meal, or run off to go stomp around a mountain. Because that’s my life, more or less, and I’m okay with that.

So most of my wardrobe is convertible pants or trail pants, wicking shirts, and sun or flannel shirts depending on the weather, so I can layer. I tend to ride the border between a “winter” and an “autumn” palette, and I like to describe my color choices as “summer forest” — heathered / slightly desaturated versions of deep greens, blues, stone-gray, khaki, charcoal, and dark brown, with occasional bright (but still a touch desaturated) splashes of pink and orange.

I’ve tried to evacuate black from my wardrobe as much as possible. I look good in it, but it’s boring. It seems like it’s the default color for everything except jeans (and even then … ). I like fun socks that match my shirts. I like overshirts with patterns, usually plaid. I try to wear everything until it wears out, mend it if I can, and wear it some more. I’ve got some fun old jeans with applique bears and trees on the knees, and covertly-mended thigh patches, because hey. I like those jeans!

Someone I met once brought up the idea that your dress should reflect your art, and that someone upon seeing one or the other would immediately recognize that it is yours. I thought that was an elegant way of looking at that particular problem.

I’ve wanted to try the compost tumbler technique. I’m not sure how or if it would work in our cold winters. Any thoughts?

I too am grateful you asked for this thread! I live on a suburban lot — just under ¼ of an acre, and the back is fairly thickly wooded with ponderosa pine. The front is grass, grass, a plopped-down circular planter, more grass, a hawthorn, and a small blue spruce tree. (And aspens. We have aspens.)

Seeing other folks’ urban and suburban lots is really inspiring and I hope that I will be able to make ours both beautiful and bountiful.

I only get one? … So many choices, but the winner for me is garlic, hands-down. Raw, sauteed, roasted — doesn’t matter, if there’s garlic, you know it’s going to be good!

For a no-pectin or homemade-pectin preserves cookbook, may I recommend Linda Zeidrich’s The Joy of Jams, Jellies, and Other Sweet Preserves?

I’ve been using it for years and the recipes work excellently. They are not low-sugar but are reasonably low compared to other recipes that seem to use equal amounts of fruit and sugar.

I can also recommend the eggplant jam included in the book! It tastes like baklava.

I like the pinpoint temperature control that comes with gas. To be fair, I haven’t used an induction burner in twenty years and the technology has likely improved since then.

That said, you cannot quickly warm your tortillas and give them nice little charred flecks, or roast your peppers directly on an induction burner.

Hi, Lynn, and welcome from Colorado! I’m a recent transplant to the state, and it sounds like I definitely should be checking your book out.

No greenhouse here, alas, though I too am ready to get growing! I live in the ‘burbs and the HOA is unlikely to let me have one — though I may try anyway when I have more stuff straightened out around here. This year is new raised beds and more deer protection.