Mina

Friday, 24 April 2015

Sunday Blessing

"Then God said...

“Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the heavens. God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind; and God saw that it was good."
~ Genesis 1:20-21

Enjoy His creation! It is GOOD!

Cinnamon for Natural Bronchitis and Respiratory Relief

Cinnamon not only makes cookies and all kinds of baked goods and warm oatmeal taste yummy, it reduces cholesterol and reduces blood sugar. It has anti-infectious, antibacterial and antioxidant properties and can help guard against cancer, Alzheimer's, and other neurological diseases. It reduces inflammation.

Cinnamon is commonly used to help treat muscle spasma nasal congestion, coughing, infections, and the common cold. Read more about using cinnamon and other natural remedies for respiratory issues in your chickens HERE.

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Thursday, 23 April 2015

CCS nixed for now

I havent yet asked for the rationale, but the finance committee of the Alaska Senate nixed funding this morning that would have gone toward a contract with the Center for Climate Strategies to come up with ways to economically reduce emissions and deal with impacts of climate change. It was a $230,000 appropriation; most of it would go to CCS, but with a big bang for the buck, as CCS would be required to match the money many times over with private contributions.
The money was cut in a substitute version of the supplemental budget, but it could get put back in.
The other climate-related appropriation -- $1.1 million, mostly for planning grants for communities dealing with climate change -- is in the capital budget, which hasnt yet had a hearing.
Stay tuned.

conocophillips jumps on reductions bandwagon

ConocoPhillips, the biggest of the three major North Slope oil producers, made headlines yesterday when it announced that it was joining a group calling for the development of a federal plan for capping emissions. BP, one of the other big Alaska producers, has already signed on. Exxon Mobil, the last, has not.
Heres the AP story on it. (I contributed to the wire story for our paper, but alas, our Web site doesnt have it up.)
Deborah Williams, an Alaska climate change advocate, was totally psyched about the announcement, which also included some voluntary efforts to reduce emissions. She urged me to check out the actual proposal the group, the US Climate Action Partnership, is pushing -- it calls on Congress to aim for reducing emissions by 60 to 80 percent from current levels by 2050.

Ball® Canning International Can It Forward Day Giveaway

Saturday, August 16th will mark the 4th annual International Can-It-Forward Day sponsored by Ball® Canning. I am honored to have been asked to be an Official Ball® Ambassador and help them promote this fun-filled day for both new canners and experienced alike! I am also excited to be partnering with them to offer you the chance to win an awesome prize package which includes the Limited Edition green canning jars!

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Wednesday, 22 April 2015

Give Away Pantry Paratus!

As you know, the Homestead Barn Hop Great Holiday Event is coming up this Monday. We have a huge line up of wonderful items to give-away from some really fantastic vendors.

Like Chaya of Pantry Paratus!

Youre going to love Chayas store and blog! And I love the name which is latin for "ready" or "prepared". Wise indeed! (Its apparent we have the same philosophy of the pantry.)

Chaya sells a nice variety of homesteading items specifically related to your pantry needs. Besides food items such as grains, legumes, and spices, she also carries tools you need to prepare an assortment of good eats. Im already drooling over the American Pressure Canners over there - the Cadillac of pressure canners! (Its on my list of kitchen must haves as soon as possible.) She also carries things like this great Stoneware Butter Keeper...

With all the soups, beans, and chili were making this winter, we usually try to serve bread alongside it, and nothing tastes better than some fresh butter on top! I get so frustrated if I forget to put some out earlier in the day. But with the butter keeper, you can keep it out up to 30 days and still have it soft when youre ready to sit down for a meal. (My own butter keeper is sitting out on the island as I type - and has been for two weeks!) So, how does it work? Youll want to visit Pantry Paratus to find out.

And can I say that I LOVE the price point on this little treasure? At under $10 it would make a lovely gift for any homemaker. would be an item to stock up on and have several ready for the holidays for that gift you need on a moments notice. If you really wanted to make it special, add some of your own homemade butter or make an herb butter ball and press it inside. Give it along with a loaf of homemade bread! Wont you be the new best friend! (Just kidding - but they WILL like the gift!)

Enter To Win!

To be in the drawing for this lovely Stoneware Butter Keeper...

1. Visit Pantry Paratus and do some window shopping. Come back and tell me an item that you would like to find under the tree this Christmas with your name on it. Or share a pantry food item that you like that Chaya carries. (Please include an email address if you do not have a blog.)

2. Follow Pantry Paratus blog, like their facebook page, or follow on Twitter (both can be found on the right hand side tab), and enter your name again on the comments below for an extra entry.

give-away closes Saturday, December 9th at 5:00 p.m. PST.

boat soup

Ive been working, for sure, but somehow yesterday felt like the first big day of building. It didnt rain, my chisel was sharp, and the need to get going somehow seemed more apparent. (The bigger the project, the longer the rush to deadline?) I finished cutting and shaping my floor joists, made more sawhorses, souped up my mailbox post, and cut a joist pocket in a sill.
The sense of urgency comes partly from the same thing that motivates every Alaska builder – the desire to not get caught without a roof when it gets cold – and partly because I’m timberframing with white spruce. The wood shrinks a lot when it dries, and tends to twist. The best would be to cut it all immediately after it’s milled and get the frame up before the timbers dry. The joinery might stop the timbers from twisting. Instead, I have stacks of timbers cut at various times -- from last week to months ago -- at various stages of drying. So I add a strong sixteenth to my joist ends in the hope they’ll shrink to fit. (The sills that will house them have already shrunk.)
It’s nice to think of timberframing as modular, and it can be in some cases. Every brace in the frame should be identical. But sometimes the qualities of each timber, each piece of once-living wood, make customization necessary. A four-by-six joist might be only three and seven-eighths.
Boat soup is a mix of pine tar, linseed oil, and turpentine. It treats boats and outdoor wood without sealing it in varnish or nasty chemicals. The pine tar I have comes from a boatbuilding supply store, but is made for horses: “Wash and dry hoof. Apply below coronet band of hoof and hoof wall. As a hoof pack, apply to bottom of hoof prior to shoeing.” The tar makes the wood dark and sticky. You have to recoat every year or so, and the wood probably won’t last as long as pressure-treated, but thats fine with me.