Random Freshness

well.. it seems i took the year off from blogging.. lots to do, so little time. now that hibernation season is upon us, i'm finally getting around to sorting through my picture files. so far i've gone through the media stored in the SD card booklets, some of the CDs and still haven't touched anything saved to a phone.. that will be fun.

going through all of thse disks, i'm coming across photos i'd forgotten i had even taken, some random hikes and adventures, big city scenes and farmland chillaxin'. and garden... oh, soo so much garden. even other people's gardens! so my goal is this winter to play catch up, get back on the ball for blogging [though i was barely on it to begin with] and make some use of all these lightbeams i've been capturing.

i also found the rest of my travel photos, now i just have to find the journals to go with them. i started that adventure blog many moons ago and stopped in the middle of the east coast adventure.. and there's so many more journeys i'd love to go back and write about.

anyhoo.. time to jet for another random adventure.. i hope everyone is enjoying this holiday season... time to get excited for what 2013 brings!

Primus ETApower Camp Stove

the Primus ETApower camp stove is a highly efficient piece of equipment. i'd have to say, of all the gear purchases i've made over the years, this has got to be one of my favourites.


this stove comes with a 2.1L pot, which is large to carry around for just one person, but makes a perfect pot and stove for two to four. the lid doubles as a fry pan! i used a dollar store plastic spatula from which i cut the handle, and it fit nicely inside the pot to store. in fact, the entire stove, pot, lid, windscreen and pot gripper all fit nicely inside the insulated zip-up case that it comes with.. very handy for taking the hot pot right off the stove to carry into the tent on a cool rainy day.


my partner shawn and i took this baby on a two month backpacking trip across western canada. we purchased two of the large fuel cans.. which was completely unneccessary! the fuel cans last forever. we used the stove on average 2 times a day, we both needed moring coffee and at least one heated meal each day. from 2-3 minutes of boiling, to sometimes 15 minutes of simmering, one large fuel can made us through the entire trip! we're still working on the second can that we take with us on group hikes to heat up beverage on colder days.


one of the best features is the coil attached to the bottom of the pot. this captures the heat and allows the lightweight pot to heat up very quickly, boiling a full pot of water in 2.5 minutes. it has a spark igniter, and the fuel dial allows you to go from full blast to simmer very easily.



anything from tea, to soup, to full blown pasta dishes can easily be prepared with this stove, having the lid to also use as a pan helps with making multi-part meals. the non-stick surface is really easy to clean, which makes for efficient use of water while travelling.


dinner is served! i really love this stove!

The Permaculture Test Patch

this spring, The White House [on the corner] experienced the birth of the Permaculture Test patch. Shawn and i have been dreaming of building an off-grid community, and when we discovered Permaculture the fruition of such a dream seemed much more likely. before venturing off into the sticks with a herd of hippies and a sack of seed, we agreed that it would be best to start small.

Permaculture is about more than a vegetable garden.. the idea behind Permaculture is a combination of permanent agriculture, and permanent culture. building a sustainable, self sufficient food forest, and a community to live within it. not only do we have a space in the yard to attempt a sustainable garden, but we have a small community of people that are either tenants or friends of The House. we couldn't have asked for a better opportunity for Permaculture practice.


we started with a space of approximately 12 by 18 feet, which had once long ago been a vegetable garden, but has since grown over with grass and clover. the space was properly edged, scraped of grass [which was used to fill holes in the neighboring field], and dug to be mixed with 2 yards of triple mix. a visit to the local re-store scored us a cheap composter, and a nearby feed store had clover seed for 3 dollars a pound, which we decided would be our living mulch.


at first, introducing the idea of a vegetable garden to the house was welcomed with little enthusiasm. but as soon as the project began, we were surprised by how many showed to get involved. everyone in the house and many friends came together to prepare the ground and move the dirt. the garden has since become a gathering place. weeding brings groups together for a good conversation, or provides a relaxing solo meditation to clear the mind and lighten the heart.

it's now mid-june, and the garden is starting to take shape. early strawberries have already ripened, a large bowl of salad is ready every couple of days, and the herbs are full and plentiful. as the season progresses each week will bring forth a new bounty. the cucumbers peppers and tomatoes have all started to flower, and surprisingly even the blueberries are showing signs that they may fruit this year.


i plan to use this blog to keep track of our progress and errors, and to share and welcome ideas. and also, of course, to encourage others to give gardening a try. you can produce your own food with any amount of space, you don't necessarily need a backyard to grow. buckets on a balcony or even window planters can provide space for fresh herbs and veggies, there are even many species of vegetables that are bred to be grown in small spaces. grab some dirt and get your grow on!

Winter @ Home

Daily Gratitude

what are you thankful for?

i love thanksgiving. it's one of my favourite times of the year, to celebrate the gracious bounty nature has given us to feast upon. the one holiday we can gather and not worry about giving gifts, only about giving thanks, and sharing time [and dinner!] with friends and family.

but is one day enough? i think not.

i like to take a little time each day, to think about what i'm thankful for. and wouldn't you know it.. it seems the more you find time to be thankful, the more things you will find to be thankful for! it's a beautiful thing, it's a good feeling.

it's a new year, a good time to look back with gratitude for all of the great experiences, challenges and lessons learned. to look forward to the coming days, creations and dreams coming to life, and to look upon this day and this moment, for all that i have [and have not!].

while i was waiting for my tea to brew, i closed my eyes to say thanks for the tea, the pot it's in which was gifted to me, and for all the hearts i've been blessed enough to share a pot of tea with.

love and Gratitude ♥

Art Day!

finally after three weeks, i got to hit up an art day last night. sometime back in autumn, my friend Dan, myself and a wee posse of artists from the Niagara region decided to start gathering every wednesday afternoon for Art Day. the idea behind art day is to have a specific time to gather for no other reason than to get creative and enjoy the arts.

our first art day was a little slow, we gathered and discussed various projects that we would like to work on. anything goes, some draw, some write, read, paint, sculpt, sew, create music, design gardens.. whatever each person does to get their creative juices flowing.

the best part about having an Art Day is the inspiration from others. not only having others input and constructive critique, but also the ideas that flow around the room inspire others to go outside of their comfort zones as far as creativity is concerned, and try something new.

the last day may have been my favourite one so far. a ball of hemp twine, a bag of wooden beads and a few nice ceramic ones from the dollar store had three people crafting various pieces of hemp jewelery. it's amazing the things one can learn on youtube!

there's not any pressure to have a project on the go to attend an art day. sometimes it's just nice to sit and converse with others while there's some creation happening. sometimes only music people show up, and it turns into an all out jam session, or even recording session.

don't have an art day to go to? why not start one! pick a day or an evening when you and a few friends are free to gather, and a place with enough seating and surfaces for everyone. it could be as few as 3 or four people, or as many as you can fit! get together and discuss your ideas and goals, bring a sketchpad to jot things down, and get started. it's a nice way to relax with friends and melt away the worries of the world over a nice warm cup of tea and some herbs.

MSR Water Filter

i bought this MSR filter back in 2008, i've taken it on 4 multiple month long journeys and many day hikes and treks in between, and it still does it's job well. it's simple, as long as you follow the instructions correctly.

the filter itself is ceramic, it comes with a scouring pad to clean it, and a measuring device so that you can tell when the filter needs to be changed. be sure to let the filter dry out between uses by leaving the lid off and hanging it in it's mesh bag for a while before you pack up. i like to strap it to the outside of one of our packs, careful to make sure it isn't swinging.


the pump is hard plastic, with a rubber hose that hangs down into the water. the end is capped with a large particle filter piece to keep sand and grit out. a 1liter water bottle screws on to the bottom of the filter, but it's not a necessity to make the thing work.


it's hard work pumpin' that water, but considering how fast you can sip some pure clean H2O, i'll take it. if you have a lot of water to pump, switch off with a partner, makes the job go a lot quicker. if you have a steady pace you can pump a liter in 4-5 minutes, quicker than drip filters. it's built pretty tough, and easy to maintain.. the entire thing comes apart to be cleaned or replace parts.

to buy the pump with a filter cartridge is $70-90, and replacement filters are $30-50. supposedly one can pump 1000 liters through a filter before you need a new one, it if is properly maintained. i have yet to need a replacement filter!


i love having a pump that allows me to drink the water fresh and cool.. one of the best experiences with this filter was pumping some near freezing glacial stream water on a hot sunny rocky mountain hike. or bringing the filter into a cave in Tobermory just to say that we drank fresh cave water!