recycled joke

Dad used to tell me the joke about the true cost of heating with firewood.  The list looked something like this (prices from long ago):

Heat with Wood

First year costs:

2 stoves and installation $1385.
Removal of hot water baseboard and boiler $238.
Search for reputable wood dealer N/A $76.
Chain saw $210.
Ax, wedges, maul, cant hook, etc. $119.
Old truck (junk after 1st load) $595.
Newer truck $8645.
Tire chains $88.
Replace truck's rear window (twice) $310.
Fine for cutting wrong trees $500.
5-acre woodlot $4995.
Splitting machine $950.
14 cases of beer $126.
6 fifths ginger brandy $38.
Fine for littering $250.
Towing charge (brook to road) $50.
Gas, oil, files, Band-aids $97.
Doctor's fee (sawdust in eye) $45.
Medical cost for broken toe (dropped log) $128.
Safety shoes $35.
Attempt to fix burned hole in carpet $76.
New living room carpet $699.
Paint living room $110.
Taxes on woodlot $44.
Woodlot boundary dispute settlement $465.
Roof repair after chimney fire $840.
Fine for assaulting fireman $50.
Extension ladder $55.
Chimney brush $22.
Medical fee for broken leg (fell off roof) $478.
Chimney cleaning service $90.
Replace coffee table (chopped up and burned while too drunk to bring firewood up from cellar) $79.
Divorce settlement $14,500.
EXPENSES $36,388

Sale of hot water boiler system $125.
Fuel oil savings $376.
CREDITS $501.

NET COST OF FIRST YEAR WOOD BURNING OPERATION; $35,887.

My husband will be a dad in about two months.  During the last months of pregnancy it is normal for women to get the insatiable urge to clean and reorganize the house.  I've discovered the nesting instinct seems to apply to the guys too, but it extends out of the house, into the yard, and even into the forest.

The wood is stacked nicely under cover.  I'm so happy to see the results, especially since I don't want to add up the cost of the chainsaw, axe, fuel, oil, face shield with attached hard-hat and ear protection (chainsaw chaps yet to be purchased).  For added safety, we hired this guy to clean our chimney.

If this all fails I can still switch the furnace on.  It's lovely to be self-sufficient but remain on the grid.

purge before you move

A couple from Facebook came and took our queen sized guest bed for their ten-year-old. We plan to build a Murphey bed in the hut when we finish it.  It will have to be a double, we haven't enough visitors to warrant a queen.  The baby gets our old guest room.

The next day a client dropped off a box of baby stuff at my work.  When I got home there was a mystery box of more baby stuff by the door.  Another client had given us a car load of baby chairs and bouncers and all kinds of expensive plastic items.  Now we have two bassinets.

Look what happens when you give away a large item.  It creates a vacuum for abundance to fly into.  The black hole is immediately replaced with new matter.  It's called stuff because you have to stuff it to make it fit.

So much for my minimalist baby.  At least so far I've got a free baby.

minimalism or laziness?

We got the keys to our place at last!  We have ten days off work to move in and based on the last two, I'd say we need them.  We got started on painting the interior and have plenty more to do.

Painting is the cheapest, easiest renovation with the most impact.  Based on this I expect that no further renovations will be necessary.  I would like to minimize the workload so that we can get started on watching the grass grow.

Our friends stopped by to visit and they welcomed us to renovation hell.  I could tell they were eager to end the loneliness of repair despair and could use some comraderie.  Perhaps their waist-deep workload would seem shallow when they see us up to our necks.

We mentioned that we were refinishing the wood floors in our living and dining rooms.  They showed us where the same wood could be found in the other rooms under a lasagna of new laminate, old vinyl, some glue, possible asbestos, and other layers.  They thought it best if we restored the original wood. Original wood sounds good but we have other jobs to do before I can settle in to sitting and staring blankly at our brand new living room walls.

from abundance to excess

Kitson has access to a lot of left over boxes at work.  This will be handy for when it comes time to move.  He's already loading up our house with boxes.

As he assembles a box, I begin to realize that his stack of boxes are mostly size triple extra large.  If one of these boxes were full of kale chips it would be too heavy to lift.  How are we going to get rid of these boxes?

you're supposed to be packing

In the spirit of recycling, and minimizing our dependence on the money system, Kitson is getting into building with his own two hands.  He went downstairs to pack for our big move and soon I heard the buzzing of a saw from below.  What's he building in there?

At his work boxes arrive on palettes and one particular order came with an oak palette (rather than the usual pine).  He decided the wood was good quality and that he should make a coffee table out of it.  Our wicker hand-me-down coffee table has been looking a little haggard lately.

We only have five days until we get the keys to our new home, but we've got our rental until the end of September.  Packing can wait for another day.  

packing up to move

cuttings to take:
-pear
-grape (it's some sort of concord)

Plants to move:
-lavender
-raspberries
-strawberries

harvest to pick (and process):
-kale
-chard
-tomatoes
-potatoes
-pears (we've picked one box already)
-carrots
-arugula

seeds to save:
-parsley
-poppies

also:
-greenhouse
-wood pile
-gardening tools

please don't ask the city about compost

Has anyone heard of a residential greywater system in Penticton?  I know the city encourages the use of greywater in new commercial buildings, but is greywater a grey area for residences?

When folks asked if chickens were permitted in Penticton the answer was, "Geez, I don't know, lets find out!".  This led to the city asking Penticton residents how they felt, many of whom kept chickens during the war.  A population that was liberated by spam and instant potatoes saw backyard chooks as a backward step.

Chickens were soon banned, but were eventually allowed by permit only (within the confines of an eighteen month pilot project) thanks to vocal protesters.  Now we have an election coming up and the candidates will have plenty of opportunity to dodge the chicken question, since the trial period still has 15 months to go.

At any rate, we're going to start with rain water.  Who wants all that water pooling around the foundation of their house anyway?  Could rainwater feed a pond?  I'm afraid to ask about greywater.  I think I already know what the answer is.