FreeStyle-Another Look at Entertainment

http://bankrate.com/

posted this link for those looking for frugal living tips.

http://www.bankrate.com/finance/personal-finance/living-a-lifestyle-that-s-free-and-easy-1.aspx

Other links are embedded in the article which takes you to places for free audio books, event tickets, free stuff exchanges and music options.

We have a motto here, the money I don't spend I don't have to earn.

Starting Monday, the news channel promised an expose' showing how many consumer goods are made in America. The format will involved visiting a typical home and eliminating all things made outside the USA. Good luck.

Even things assembled here probably are composed of parts made outside the States.

My life style is more like Recycled in America. After downsizing, I look for quality items at second hand stores. Maintaining a voluntary simplicity enhances my freedom.

It may not be great for the Economy, but it's excellent for mine.

The Canyon, A Movie Review

This 2009 movie runs 1 hour 41 minutes. The scenery is breathtaking footage of the Grand Canyon. Very realistic portrayal of a young couple on their honey moon who wish to take a mule trip to the bottom of the Grand Canyon.

As the drama unfolds, we see the common mistakes of young adventurers. Failure to research this journey results in no availability in main stream mule trips, leading to the hiring of an eccentric guide at a local bar. The new bride is gorgeous and goes along with her handsome husband's desire to fulfill this dream. Four mules and a day later, they fall into perilous circumstances.

All of the story is believable. Over estimating abilities while underestimating nature leads to poor decisions, injury and death. A cell phone, impromptu surgery, fighting wolves and eventual rescue lead the viewer to contemplation of the will to live and the measures we are forced to take.

I recommend this movie, both for the incredible scenery, the excellent acting, and the learning possibilities.
Pay attention to the details as desperation sets in. Building a rock duct to facilitate navigation is just one of many.

I Believe In Testing

I made this hobo stove from free materials and common tools:
a coffee can,

a hammer

a screw driver.

Then, after a test run and posting a video on http://youtube.com/user/brawny03

I took it out in the real world. This overnighter, shown below, was so sucessful, I took it on a hike of the Foothills Trail.





Even though there was drizzle and light rain, it proved sustainable and highly effecient. I didn't have to worry about wet ground or fire rings, digging up new ground.
Simply preparing the surroundings and collecting dry branches off the ground, I was able to cook under the canopy of pines.

I believe in testing gear in all conditions. Some things just don't work as well as you'd think. Others actually work better.

How to Make a and Operate a Sluice Box

This is the youtube video I made for the sluice box hand operated system.


I think it's always important to test innovations. My exploration of the entire stream bed is possible by bringing a bucket and shovel and searching for areas where gold may have settled into sand bars, bottoms of small water slides or bends in the stream bed.

Watching Gold Rush Alaska has inspired me to check out nearby areas which yielded gold in the early 1800's, but were abandoned due to the California and Alaska finds.

Buyer Beware-Pending Cancer Risk

A whole page of disclaimers for a vaginal cream is disturbing.
Surely there must be something with no death risks involved.

Recently I came across this "important information" regarding a cream for women who experience "dryness"

"estrogens increase the chances of getting cancer of the uterus.
Report any unusual bleeding right away...may be a warning sign of cancer.. do not use estrogen with or without progestins to prevent heart disease, heart attacks, stroked or dementia. Using estrogens with or without progestines may increase your chances of getting heart attacks, strokes, breast cancer, and blood clots. ....may increase your risk of dementia, ..."

I'm surprised this stuff could be on the market, given the risks of serious, even fatal side effects. I have several friends who treated menopausal symptoms with estrogen based prescriptions. They got breast cancer, underwent surgery, including reconstruction.

Seems like we could learn to treat symptoms like "dryness" with natural, non threatening products.

I know. These possible side effects are not that common. "The most commonly reported side effects include vaginal discomfort or pain, breast pain, vaginitis and itching."

Does that sound like fun?

Gold Mining with A Sluice Box

After watching some you tube videos on the subject, I created my own sluice box, took it down to my creek and tested it. The area is just below an abandoned gem mine in North East Georgia. The water was cold, so I built a fire on the sandbar. Having the alternative fuel stick as a starter really helped. First I lay down the wet rocks, piled dry branches on top of it, then small try twigs. Setting the fire starter on top of that, and adding a few more dry twigs, I soon had my fire. Using my can, I heated water in the fire to boiling. I enjoyed a hot cup of coffee in the plastic mug I brought along. The sluice box was created using a plastic drain pipe which has the built in riffles. It really did collect the black sand. No gold so far, but a successful testing of this home made equipment. The whole thing is anchored to a long water sodden log to keep it from sliding off the falls. My labor is really decreased when washing the material due to the action of the falls.

Law Abiding Citizen-Movie Review

We nearly turned this movie off as the hero began dismembering the murderer of his family with a chain saw.

Still, only half an hour into the film, with Jamie Fox yet to make serious contribution, we knew it had to be worth it.

So true.
Gerard Butler couldn't have been more convincing. The victim of a terrible home invasion, wounded, gagged and watching his family assalted and murdered, he takes vengence when the justice system plea bargains and declares,"Its not what's true. Its what you can prove."

Jamie Fox does an excellent job, proffessional, mentoring his assistant in the pursuit of legal wins.
She wonders aloud if at 35, perhaps she hasn't chosen the wrong path.

Our hero is much more than meets the eye and gives the entire city a run for its money, shutting down the whole place even though he's in solitary confinement.
Thankfully, the producers do allow us into the secret method he's killing all these people, even though incarcerated.

Excellent, thought provoking movie. Very worth the time to find it and watch.

Women Who Run with The Wolves In Cool Places

I'll be working and playing in the Grand Tetons this year.
I got an awesome job working at Jackson Lake Lodge, cooking, baking, and whatever else they need.
I found this gig at CoolWorks.com, met friends, and connected with a potential room mate.I look forward to whatever adventures come my way.

I wrote this blog post there:

Preparing for the season, we find ourselves packing up. Not stuff, I mean kindred spirits.

We know the sound of our pack when we hear it, listening for that certain sound, a recognizable wildness and independence.

I'd rather take some chances living on the edge, running wild in cool places than den up safely in a cage while my paws turn grey.

We've learned to watch for bait, usually there's a trap hidden under it.

Wolves may wander alone, but they have the most fun in their pack, accomplishing more, bringing down big game.
A word to the wise, if the howl doesn't sound right, give it a wide berth. The sun is shinning, the rain is refreshing, we den where we will.

Some call us wild. Others call us free.

Movie Reviews of the Apocalypse Genre

Maybe its just me. Seems like lately there's a lot of films coming out about the pending doom or aftermath of the world as we know it.



Or maybe, having seen The Road, I'm tuned into that sort of thing.

Read the review of that excellent movie on my December 2, 2010 blog.
Although some say it moves too slowly, it continues to have an impact on our lives. My partner has oiled and sighted in all his weapons. He has added slings and bought ammunition.

I have amped up my studies of survival skills, improvization, and learned how to shoot. We have extra supplies stashed around the house.

Watching The Book of Eli, I found it lacked the substance to instill fear in one's soul as we found in Cormac McCarthy's masterpiece.

Here we have a seriously muscled man, gifted in the ways of survival and cunning, carrying a pack heading to the coast. A town in the way contains a "mayor" of sorts who is looking for a book, one special book.


His thugs rape, pillage and otherwise come into possession of books, bringing to their master employer these offerings. Not the right one, stupid, keep looking.

At any rate, there's a young girl, a town of raggeds, and water is the commodity of value.


Things unfold, we see evidence of a prevailing fear: cannibalism. Does the man's hands shake? A telling sign.

Its worth watching, and there are lessons here. Women, stay off the road during daylight.



2012. Most of us have heard that number associated with catastrophy, a pending doom prophesied by the Mayans dating B.C. Although I take a limited view of that idea, the movie was worth watching.

Scientists find evidence of a catastrophic pending Sun Event. Governments are warned, theories

verified, and behind closed doors preparations made by those in power. As the movie unfolds, we realize the general population is not being informed. The most important people,

ie, heads of state, government (old gray headed men, and ovary challenged women) are to be evacuated into Arks of safety which are built by the Chinese


We see things come to a head when the populous finds out, and demands to be boarded also.




Excellent special effects include whole streets folding, cracking, buckling and swallowing cities. Cars dropping off bridges, explosions and volcanoes erupting.



All the scientific basis of these interactions are explained to make it believable. The unbelievable is that all the general population love each other and work together when their own survival is at risk.



Another film, The Final Storm opens with horrific weather happening across the globe. We feel a sense of, hey,
that's on the news, for real. This makes the pending doom feel eminent, and we check the cabinets to be sure there's enough food stashed. A family of three, on the farm, doesn't realize whats happening until a man falls into their door, disoriented. When they head to town, its deserted and trashed. A few thugs beat on them, they escape, the neighbor is missing.


Its a good knock down drag out, and ends with some attempted lynchings, murder, mayhem. The lesson, keep your doors locked, and some choice weapons at the ready.



Of course, Zombie Land is a parody and comedy at its best. We love the actors, the action, the girls who trip up the heros.



A virus takes over humans turning them into mad cannibals which come at you if there is any noise or blood. Woody Harrleson is absolutley adorable in his quest for twinkies. Jesse Eisenberg has a intellectual innocence in his youthful attempts to cope with this new reality.


The young women are capable, manipulative, and worthy of persuit.

I recommend this movie; the bloody graphics are so over the top its hilarious.

A Rug in Progress

This is the rug I'm crocheting using old clothing. Each item is cut into long strips with a scissor, and rolled into a ball. Sort of like thick yarn.

After using up the ball of "fabric-yarn", I tie it off until I have another batch of fabric- yarn to add to it. This way I can use it yet continue to add to it whenever I can.

I use the rug in my studio. Right now it measures 3 feet wide by 54 inches long. It really insulates the floor from the cold, and is soft. I can shake it out to clean it.

Stop Shipping Junk to China

Guess I've been a recycler since day one. Today I received a really great comment from a viewer on You Tube. He liked the helpful "how to " videos that I make.



This one is all about utilizing the mesh sacks that oranges and onions come in.

A couple years ago, I read that we Americans ship our "junk" to China where they use it as raw material and refashion items to sell back to us.

It seems we could do that here.

I have a rug in progress, made entirely of old clothing. Rag rugs are made this way. I met an textile artist who bought yardage of new cloth, cut it into strips, and used a loom to reweave it into custom place mats.

This seems redundant to me.
How about just cutting up those old clothes, instead of throwing them into landfills, or donating to thrift stores. I've volunteered time at a thrift store and see how many clothes get rejected, and thrown away because they are too ragged. Yet, these same fabric goods could be turned into quilts and rugs.

A Good Laugh at Tax Time

Sometimes you just need a good laugh. Experts say it actually improves your immune system. It lowers stress. Now, who couldn't use that at tax time?

I love this website:

http://a-jokes.com/index.htm

because you can read the joke of the day right off the bat. I get tired of so many clicks just to get some actual material, the kind of sites that just lead you in circles.

When I find a good joke, I write it in my little notebook. Sorta like keeping a stash of chocolate.

We're all busy here!

Mapping My Lost Adventure

Heading out on a normal walk the other morning, I made a spontaneous decision that led to a crazy bushwhacking experience.
After I got home, I drew the map.

I don't want to establish a beaten path to one of my favorite hide outs, so I cut off the trail just a little bit (labeled A) before my normal turn off, labeled B.
The purple line marks my usual route. The blue is the creek which can be heard from halfway down.

I knew I'd have to head south cross country to compensate, and so I did. Yet, I should have passed some of my familiar landmarks, like the huge bolder with small logs leaning against it, labeled 1 on the map below. That's one of the ways I create memorable land marks: by laying natural woodland materials in certain ways.

I did not see any other marks, or trees of note, that I normally pass. In my head I was following the Yellow line marked on this map, trying to get back on the purple route. So, I continued to compensate, and still did not see any land marks. I've been down this 700 foot descending slope so many times, this made me wonder. The green depressions marked on the map were irregular. Something was wrong. I headed straight to the creek which is easily heard once the MP3 player is turned off.

I continued to walk along the creek, first one direction, then another. I knew I should be looking across to the old cave, but the landscape was growing more level and the creek much calmer than the waterfall by my campsite (marked 3) and crossing point . Even in winter, the foliage is thick with rhododendron leaves, pine needles, and dead falls.

I stopped, and knew I must throw out all preconceived notions. In my head I was above the cave, north of where I should be. Yet, the landscape and landmarks disagreed.

It occurred to me that I must not head up the hill which I'd just descended. In these parts, the terrain is like a crumpled tissue, with hallars and hills taking all sorts of directions. Being my morning walk, I didn't bring anything. Spending the night didn't worry me. I would not leave the creek. It was my certain landmark, and an abundance of water. The plentiful ground cover would provide a shelter.
The one thing I wished I had was a way to make fire.

Sure, I'd survive without a fire, but I'd miss the signal, the companionship, the added warmth.

After I threw out my previous notions of where I was, I looked around and realized I must head upstream. By watching for the over hang, marked 2 on the map, I finally found my bearings. The red line indicates my actual route of travel on my "lost" adventure.



From now on,even on innocent morning walks, I always carry a Bic lighter in my pocket. A fire starter has been added, all in this tiny plastic bag.

Home Ownership and Weird Houses

I read Not Everyone Should Own a House

Its an article on USA Today, with links to weird wonderful houses .

These houses caught my attention. Houses built of soil, a $55,000 house with 200 square feet built of recyclables, castles, a house inside a sand dune near the beach, a connection of various Domes in Colorado. Some , the buried domes, are apocalypse-ready with solar and wind energy.

An architect in Minnesota, Winslow Wedin, constructed a house in 1969 from polyurethane spray foam, chicken wire and 2 x 2s. It was cheap, solid, and incredibly energy efficient.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/41371897?slide=1 has the entire grouping on one webpage.

Brings to mind the adage, if you can dream it, you can do it.

Or my new mantra, Freedom is just another word for nothing left to prove.

Just going through the photos and reading the history is inspiring.

Woodswoman-a Book Review

This nonfiction gem was written and published in 1976. No doubt things have changed up in those New York Mountains. Some for the good, some for the bad.

Anne LaBastille's honest and heart warming account of her initial struggles in locating her 22 acres on the Big Bear Lake, then building her cabin will inspire women. Doing most of the work and planning herself, when she needed muscle, she hired local men to give a hand. Full dimensions, details and sketches tell how and why she designed and built the cabin this way. The self sufficiency and low carbon footprint are amazing.

Setbacks included finding out she'd built too close to the shore, loosing a pet fox, a stormy short term relationship , and minor injuries.

She parked her old truck at the end of the lake, then boated or snowmobiled the last 1.5 miles to her home site.

Many black and white full page photos help us get acquainted with this ecologist who traveled to South America, finished her masters degree, and spent eight months in Washington D.C. on a special assignment.

Without electricity and using only propane, she still entertained over night guests in a sophisticated charm.

This is a good read for men and women alike. Women will find a special link when Anne overcomes the loneliness and challenges that are specific to our gender.

The last chapter I found particularly revealing. After her eight months in Washington D.C. she writes" Yet to be completely honest, my sojourn in the city had been profitable. I came home flushed with success, having done a good job, earned a handsome salary, and made excellent contacts. Although I knew that I could never stand to live in a city again, I also realized that a small connection with it had become necessary to bring a balance into my life...."

Her city experience was full of drama, including breaking up a dog fight and house sitting while friends went on vacation. She got a ticket for parking her truck on the street, although it was her personal vehicle. She was amazed at the danger that lurked in the neighborhood.

Sometimes we have to go through rough times to love what we have always. After here city adventure, she says" The cabin never had seemed so beautiful. I found my energy returning.....I slept well."

Not everyone is cut out for such rugged living. If you are one of them, you know. If you aren't, and only favor a visit occasionally, that's good too.

Anne LaBastille's descriptive writing of her wilderness surroundings are complete and detailed. We find a wide range of abilities in this remarkable story.

I took a couple days off from blogging to get my taxes done, get a check up at the dentist, complete my job application for this summer, and just finish up some domestic tasks.

I've been writing a lot about thru hiking at my other blog, Brawnyview.

We watched a movie called South bounders. This was a very accurate portrayal of trail life, heading south on the Appalachian Trail. A person starts out fairly awkwardly, then by trails end, it is home. Hard to readjust to "real life". At least that's been my experience.

After five months on the trail, Rainmaker and I crossed into Canada on the Pacific Crest Trail. Hardened and joyful, the trip home is a sobering event adjusting to all the noise and confusion of civilization.


One of the many photos of me on the trail, sitting in my sleeping bag while cooking supper.


I met Lightingbolt after not seeing him for awhile. It was a sad hike in this section of burnt over trail on the PCT. A person didn't want to set anything down on the ground because it would get full of soot. The only solution was to keep hiking until you passed through it.

A lesson to all hikers to watch their stoves, especially in a desert or high mountain environment.

I miss the long distance hiking experience. This summer, I'll be working in the Grand Teton National Park. I'm a cook who loves the outdoors. On my days off, I'll explore, take photos and share on my blogs.