Radical Home Economics

A great little video about two very down to earth homesteaders in LA

"You just start with one thing that really calls you. And usually in the course of learning how to do that one thing you will be attracted to something that's related to it. Because these things tend to pile on top of each other; they're all linked in some way"
http://www.upworthy.com/see-how-one-couple-in-los-angeles-squeezes-an-entire-farm-into-a-small-city-home?c=ufb1

Supporting Raspberry Bushes

I tied up my raspberries today. They were starting to fall over a little (and so was that poor borage flower...) but as they grow I'll add more string to tie them up higher.  Raspberries can get crazy if you just let them grow so I'm trying to start out right! I made a high tech solution of a hefty string tied to my banister, with enough slack for it to sag a bit. The next string I'll tie to the same spot with no sag.

Earthship Biotecture

In volunteering at IdeaCity this past week, I heard a alk from Francis Gendron about Earthship Biotecture. In essence, these sustainably built homes rely on recycled tires, the earth surrounding the land, strategic alignment with the yearly sun, ingenious airflow for natural heating and cooling, and supremely efficient water usage to make them some of the most beautiful and efficient homes I've heard about to date! More specifics here:
http://earthship.com/canada
Earthship has internships, a full Academy to learn how to build, and a variety of e-books and online videos to learn how to build in this earth friendly way. I think my favourite talk of the three days.

Homemade Vanilla Extract

Making homemade vanilla is on my preserving to do list this year.  I use a fair bit, in my porridge most days, and I think it would make a lovely gift, too!
Here's a great description on how to do it:
http://www.averiecooks.com/2012/11/homemade-vanilla-extract.html

Rain Barrel!

I finally got my rain barrel together!
It was actually quite simple to drill the hole–there is an attachment in the DIY rainbarrel kit I got from Canadian Tire:

In the past I had covered the lid with a fine plastic mesh to keep our mosquitoes (so very high tech):

I slit the plastic mesh to fit in the downspout and propped up the barrel with rocks so it wouldn't roll away:

Success!

High Tech Railing Planter Hanger

I couldn't find planter hanger anywhere and am sure they're not cheap so I came up with my own solution...
It works!

Seasonally Appropriate DIY

In case you've forgotten how to dress for the summer and get burned like I did last week (I swear, I was wearing a winter coat last week!  How do I dress not in sweaters and furry socks? Toronto forgets spring EVERY YEAR)
http://everydayroots.com/sunburn-remedies

DIY Rain Barrel

So apparently Canadian Tire has these here DIY rain barrel kits:

All the parts are are included in the package and it's really not that expensive. $30 gets you all the pieces to convert any large bin or container into a rain barrel!  Strangely, I've never seen rain barrels cost less than $100 to buy outright.  Considering you can use a free, unused old garbage can–I think you can get yourself a pretty good deal!
Rain barrel building, soon to come!