Blog-Tag--I'm it.

Happy October Friends,

I know I've been a real slug about posting in my blog.  My friend tagged me in a Blog-Tag and I thought I'd give it a whirl.  I was tagged by Sandy.  I admire so many things about Sandy.  First, she's very knowledgeable about art.  I've been wanting to get into painting for so many years, but it wasn't until one of our visits with Sandy that I actually made the plunge and started painting.  Whenever I want an honest opinion about my work, whether it be writing or painting, I go to Sandy.  Then I have to pull up my big girl panties and get to work.  She catches things that I wouldn't have thought about and I'd like to think that I'm a better artist and writer because of it.

Sandy also motivates me to be more of a minimalist and less of a hoarder.  Now, this is hard to do with my lifestyle being what it is.  I don't want to get rid of anything I may need in the future.  So, I have to honestly sit down and decide--"Is this essential for my lifestyle or will it just get in the way?"

Anyway, if you get a chance to visit her blog, I think you would enjoy it.
http://hoardercomesclean.wordpress.com/2013/09/17/blog-tag-focus-on-writing/
So, here it goes:

1.  What are you working on right now?
I am editing Robert's how-to book about home protection with weapons and non-weapons and expect to get this up in the next few weeks.  I am also working on an apocalyptic-style survival story about a Mormon girl.  This is mostly done, but needs heavy amounts of tweaking, layers and editing.

2.  How does it differ from other works in its genre?
I believe the subject matter in itself is different.  I feel a lot of adventure, apocalyptic stories published are graphic to the point of being grotesque.  Mostly, I would like to think this story will help readers gain enough courage to face their own challenges.

3. What experiences have influenced you?
I was raised in Alaska back when it wasn't as commercialized and a major tourist destination.  It was there that we experienced the fragility of life surrounded by the majesty of nature.  I have an unquenchable longing for the serenity of the woods and for this reason, I will never feel "at home" in the city.

4.  Why do you write what you do?
I keep a blog for friends, family and those who wish to take the plunge into a homesteading lifestyle, but haven't yet.  This isn't an easy way to live, but it has its rewards.  When I write novels, I try to write the book I want to read, tell the story I want to hear.

5.  How does your writing process work? 
I don't spend as much time writing as I should because I'm still finishing my college degree and spend hours upon hours studying.  When I do write, I usually push through a first draft as fast as I can and then I go back through and layer in details.  This process can take months.

6.  What is the hardest part about writing?
Just finding the time.  There are so many projects that I need to accomplish in a day.

7.  What would you like to try as a writer that you haven't yet?
Probably, a historical time travel.  I love time travel stories if they are done right.

8.  Who are the authors you most admire?
I read a hodge-podge of books from nonfiction, history-based memoirs, fantasy, mysteries, thrillers and romance, young adult to adult and everything in between.  I'll usually give an author at least three chapters and if I find their characters too over the top, whiny, weirdly hostile and brash and the story doesn't move me--I stop.

I admire different authors for various reasons.  Sue Grafton has the ability to make me laugh and engage my interest from beginning to end with her masterful plotting.  Philip Pullman builds interesting worlds that inspire my imagination.  Jude Deveraux portrays likeable, everyday characters in her historical romances that if they were real people, I would probably enjoy being their side-kick.  If it's a good story, I read it.  The last set of books I couldn't seem to put down was the Hunger Games series.  I'd heard it was good and it took quite a bit of coaxing for me to start reading, because I didn't like the idea of a sporting event that killed children, but once I started, I was drawn into that world and that was it.

9.  What scares you?
Living an unfulfilling, low-quality life.

I'm passing this Blog-tag onto one of my favorite writers--and I know you're gonna love her too.  I knew her when she was a tiny sprite and this girl is going places.  She's extremely accomplished--Check her out:

http://mjaderivera.blogspot.com/

HIGHWAY 127--THE WORLD'S LONGEST YARD SALE.

Yep, it’s that time of year again.  This is the time of year when Hwy 127 that stretches from Alabama all the way up to Michigan becomes a nightmare to travel because the of the World’s Longest Yard Sale.  This is why, on this particular weekend, we pretty much stay as close to home as possible so as not to run over unsuspecting pedestrians trying their hardest to burn through the money in their pockets.

People become idiots at this time of year–slamming on their breaks without warning as they pass a yard filled with the junk from someone’s garage or basement–stepping into the road without looking.  “Wow, there’s a rack full of really old clothes, I might find a Members Only jacket from the 1980s on it…and look at those old mayonnaise jars–I must possess them right now.”  It’s also the time of year when that old exercise bike in the corner of the basement that the owner didn’t give a thought to is suddenly worth $80 and the dated, faded picture of a farm tractor that hung in the kitchen for years and is spotted with mildew is now a masterpiece.

Yesterday, I broke my own rule of never getting anywhere near the 127 Yard Sale.  However, in the minimalist spirit, I decided to only purchase exactly what I needed and that the deal had to be a good one.  You would be amazed at how high prices can get at some of these yard sales.  For example, why would you want to buy a tool that you can buy brand new for the same price with a warranty.  Also, why buy cast iron cookware when we have an actual Lodge outlet down the road where we can purchase it for less.

All that being said, I did find something useful yesterday–I bought a brand new pair of steel-toed work boots (tags still on them) I needed for $25 from a lady who said she was closing down her shoe store and had set up a booth at one of the yard-sale hot spots.  So all-in-all it was a good day.  I’m still looking for that Members Only jacket for my cats’ luxury bedding.

Take Care, All

Week 2 Chick News and Life Lessons Learned from Chickens.

Hi everyone,

It's week two and the chicks are growing fast.  It's almost time to find them a bigger home.  I've noticed when chickens get crowded that they fight and peck at each other.  Once blood is drawn, that particular chicken is seen as a weakling and the rest will literally peck it to death.  So tomorrow, I will be looking for a bigger container to hold them until it's safe to put them outside.

But, before we sit back and point our fingers at the terrible behavior of chickens, keep in mind the human race's natural tendency to do the same.  First off, when we're crowded into one area with no hope for escape and have to compete for food, history shows that humans will do whatever it takes to survive.  If you're looking for recent evidence of this, then all you have to do is read reports from the New Orleans Superdome during hurricane Katrina.  I can't imagine what it was like for those people to be cooped up in there, trying to weather the storm outside when another equally deadly storm raged inside. 
 
As I mentioned before, once blood is drawn, the rest of the flock of chickens will literally peck a  chicken to death.  I've experienced this before with my human counterparts.  I remember sitting in a meeting and one person will bring up someone's negative trait or something maybe he or she did, stop and watch how many people jump on the bandwagon.  One person, usually someone with a strong personality will say something, and everyone else like a flock of chickens will quickly agree.  I've seen this done time and time again.  As a rule, I try to sit back and delay any sort of judgement until I know all the facts. 

This brings me around to the pecking order.  Back when I had a full flock of twelve chickens, I noticed that there were about five favored hens that surrounded the rooster almost constantly.  The other six hens hung out on the outskirts of the group.  Whenever one would get too close to the rooster or were too close to the food when they were all eating, they would get chased away by the favored hens.  To put this into human terms, when you walk into any gathering there is always a pecking order that is established.  If you have never noticed--probably you're at the top of the pecking order or you're one of those rare individuals that couldn't care less.  The learned pecking order starts when a child goes to school.  Every kid knows which kids are the popular ones in the classroom and which ones are gross and kept at arm's length.  Hollywood has capitalized on this, in that many teen movies tell stories of the poor kid on the other side of the tracks that just wants to be popular. 

The last lesson learned, is that hens don't really need roosters.  They will produce eggs without roosters and they can happily saunter through their lives without a rooster nearby.  In fact, if you have neighbors closeby that complain about crowing, you can have a few hens and they probably won't realize you have animals in your backyard.  I refuse to go into the man versus woman debate--it's absolutely useless banter and a waste of time.  Let's just say that nothing beats having a good man around and the same could be said of a woman....

But back to roosters, a rooster can be useful when you want fertilized eggs and want to hatch out your own chicks.  If you have a good rooster, he will actually protect the hens, as well as ensure that they eat.  Donnie, the best rooster of all time, never ate anything until all his girls ate.  Now, there's a man!!! 

Take care, All

New Chicks on the Homestead

Hello friends,

Today is a great day!  My friend hatched out some chicks and gave me half.  I ended up with eight.  What I really wanted was some guineas because they have very keen eyesight and will eat bugs--and I have an abundance of nasty little bugs.  They are also said to be great "watch-dogs" and are said to make a ruckus when anyone shows up at the house.  But when a friend gives you free chicks, you just don't say no.  I'm hoping that they're mostly female because I'm already salivating for fresh farm eggs and our old roosters used to hang outside the bedroom window at 5:00 a.m. and start crowing.  It pretty much set my bad mood for the day. 

Chickens are fairly easy to care for with providing food and housing.  I have to have a new coop, but I have a few weeks to get that finished.  I'm also planning to keep my flock small so it will be more manageable.  There was a time when I had 24 chickens running around and I couldn't step outside my door without stepping in chicken poop on my porch.  During that time, after tiring of tripping over chickens wherever I went, I decided to block off the front porch and fence it in.  It was at that point I noticed the chickens had more freedom than I did and I gave half of them away.  So now I'm back in the business of caring for chickens and I'm kind of looking forward to it. 

Take care, All.

My View on Extreme Prepping

When I was visiting my parents recently in Alaska, I had the opportunity to watch some television.  Normally, I don’t do this because we don’t get reception where I live and I’m too cheap to spring for cable.  Once I bought rabbit ears so I could tune in to local stations.  Only PBS came up (very fuzzy, I might add) and it was my bad luck that they were having a “Thomas the Train” marathon.  I took the rabbit ears back to the store since they were basically useless—unless I was four years old and then I would’ve been in something akin to heaven. 

So, back to my original story.  I watched some episodes about extreme preppers.  I have to say that out of all the crazy reality television shows, this one was the most entertaining.  I saw episodes where one guy dug a fox hole that he could disappear into if an invading army came his way, the family that was obsessed with some kind of flu epidemic and the guy who was going to ride out hard times on his sailboat.  I especially enjoyed the episode of the man with the vineyard that he planned to protect with extreme prejudice.  There were many other stories, too many to mention, but all brought up a few questions in my mind. 

First, why would someone who was prepping for the end of the world, want to go on television?  Don’t their neighbors already think they’re one brick shy of a load anyway?  Why would they want an entire nation to have the same sentiments?  And—why would they want to broadcast what they have and how “prepared” they are to an entire nation?  If they are prepping because they don’t trust the government, won’t this put them on some kind of list?  If they’re on television, won’t their neighbors and friends recognize them immediately?  “Hey, there’s Dave.  Cool, I know where I’m going if anything happens.”    

Second, I noticed that these same “preppers” only obsess on one aspect of prepping, like the family that believes there will be an epidemic so they practice donning their protective gear (gas mask, protective clothing, rubber boots).  They never take into account that the chances of them actually needing it are one in a million, and if something like that were to happen, I’d probably want to go outside, take a deep breath and get the pain over with quickly. 

Third, if you’ve watched the show, you’ll notice how defensive these people get when they get their scores back.  It’s usually low because they can’t protect themselves and live in an isolated bubble without outside interference.  If you’re locked inside a bomb shelter, sooner or later you’re going to run out of food and supplies and you have to come out.  There will most likely be someone waiting for you when you open that door and re-enter the world again.  Also, if you haven’t taken your community into consideration, all your preparation is pretty much useless.   

My thoughts on the subject:  There is absolutely no way to protect yourself completely for every inevitability.  Although you can do things that will help you get through tough times, like store a little extra food, sooner or later the masses will come—either in an armored vehicle or on foot they will come.  Also, I’m not sure I could exist with any form of happiness in a “Water World” or “Mad Max” situation. 

It’s probably more important to prep for everyday life—find ways to save money for a rainy day, get out of debt, and learn to garden so you don’t have to eat genetically modified foods that are sprayed in pesticides and you aren’t dependent on others for your food sources.  I’d also want a little extra food as insurance so I know if something did happen, that would not have to be a concern.  The last thing I would want if truck deliveries stopped for a period of time is to stand in a long line for rations.  Along those lines, you’ll want to find ways to improve your health in every way possible.  If something were to happen, I’d want to face whatever problems with a healthy body instead of a broken one.  So if this sounds good to you—get prepping.  

Take care, All

Remembering Victory Gardens during World War II while fighting my own war in my backyard.

     Did you know that "Victory Gardens" during World War II produced about 40% of the nation's vegetables?  Gardens were planted in spare lots, local parks, yards-large or small and even rooftops in the cities.  The US War Department felt that if the people planted their own gardens it would lower the price of vegetables needed to feed the troops.  Another factoid from this period of time is that America experienced a food shortage because the forced interment of Japanese-Americans.  About 40% of the vegetables in California were grown by Japanese farmers.  When they were forced to leave their farms, they left about 200,000 acres and the land was transferred to European immigrants or "Oakies" coming into California from the "Dust Bowl."  Since these newcomers weren't familiar with the California climate, they couldn't match the production of the Japanese farmers, thus resulting in a food shortage.          
     I've kept all this in the back of my mind as I've tried to ready my ground for my own Victory Garden. I call it my Victory Garden because I need one--I need a victory from being in a slump, from the drain of high food prices, or just for something nice to happen.  But before I can plant, I have to go to war against the waist high weeds in my garden area.  I realize I'm a month late in getting started because of the trip to Alaska.  But instead of letting it go and fighting two years of weed growth next year, I decided to go ahead and put it together anyway. 
     Every year I come to the garden with high hopes of a great harvest.  Memories of various years come to mind.  One year, I had a bumper crop of tomatoes.  It was beautiful.  Tomatoes everywhere--what more could a gardener want.  Then our friend came by for a visit.  I'm going to call him "Tom" just for the sake of giving him a name.  Anyway, Tom came by and "dumb me" invited him to the back yard to see my bumper crop of tomatoes.  He was impressed and I was very proud.  Then Tom wanted a favor.  He asked me if he could pick a few of my tomatoes.  Since I had plenty and some to spare, I agreed--after all, sharing is a good thing.  I went in the house and about twenty minutes later, here comes Tom with bags and bags of tomatoes.  "Thanks," he said.  "I'm planning to make some salsa.  I'll be sure and bring you some."  I was taken back.  He'd picked EVERY SINGLE TOMATO.  Then he said, "Oh, by the way, I took some of your peppers too.  I left a couple since they were too small to pick."  A few days later, he came back and handed me a "pint" sized jar of salsa.  It was unbelievable.  Instead of getting to enjoy my harvest, I had a measly little jar of salsa for my efforts.  That was the last time I had a good harvest of tomatoes.  I'm hoping one day I will have another bumper crop--then maybe I can look fondly back on the summer that I had bags and bags of tomatoes instead of thinking of Tom.  I need new memories.
     My goals this year include devising a plan to take care of general weed control in the pathways and surrounding the garden without using herbicides.  It seems like if I turn my back for one minute, like errant children, it will take over and waist-high weeds are followed by copperheads.  I would like to spend time weeding my actual vegetable garden instead of the pathways into and around the garden.  So, here's to a new year, and hopefully new memories and successes.

Take care, All

By the way, our book is up and ready. 
http://www.amazon.com/UNPLUG-From-Grid-Collection-ebook/dp/B00CBWMANK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1369425470&sr=8-1&keywords=Unplug+from+Grid

Back from Alaska

I'm back in Tennessee.  It was an eventful trip.  While I was in Alaska, my father passed away.  While it was expected, it was still hard.  I was grateful to be there and be able to say goodbye though.  I did get to see many friends who stopped by to pay condolences.  One friend, a chef-and quite a good one at that, stopped by for dinner.  I had marinated steaks all day from a recipe on the internet that promised the "very best steaks on the planet" and then found out when I was about to cook them, we didn't have any propane for the grill.  I ended up cooking them on a George Forman Grill.  They turned out all right, but it is very intimidating cooking for a chef.  The weather there was said to be one of the coldest springs for Alaska and I believed it.  It actually snowed the second week in May-not just a light sprinkling, but a full-blown snow storm.  It was very disheartening as I was looking forward to spring. 

The trip home was a disaster, which was also expected.  Of course, I packed too many clothes in the first place.  I didn't need quite so many since I spent the majority of my time in my pajamas--as one should.  When it came time to pack to go home, of course I came home with more than I'd left with.  I did the sitting on the suitcase as I was zipping technique, but still had to resort to a second suitcase.  Then, because the zipper broke, I ended up duck-taping around it several times.  I believe that will be the luggage's last trip.  In the end, of course I looked like a "hillbilly"--just one more humiliating experience to add to my repertoire. 

The trip home was eventful.  Halfway through the long flight from Anchorage to Minneapolis, the guy in the seat behind me kept shoving my seat forward so that it felt like we were experiencing constant turbulence.  I would've been annoyed, but since it's a given that we're all going to be shoved into the plane like over-sized sardines in a small tin, I let it go.  Now I'm glad I did.  It turned out he was having medical problems-some kind of seizure.  The flight attendants came over the intercom and called for a doctor (preferably one with a license to come to the back of the plane).  When we landed, everyone had to remain seated until the paramedics boarded and helped him off the plane.  The next flight was delayed for 2 hours because one of the flight attendants had a family emergency.  The new flight attendant suggested, over the intercom, that since we were so happy she came, we could leave her $5, or preferably diamonds if we chose as we exited the plane.  But she was so curt and bossy during the flight, I doubt anyone would've wanted to-despite being saved after a 2-hour wait.  I've come to the determination that flying is never fun.  So, in a way, I'm glad to be back--but on the other hand, I left quite a few loved ones behind and I was sad to go.

Take care, All

Back in Alaska and saying goodbye to my father.

I left a beautiful spring to head to Alaska to experience breakup.  Anyone who's been in Alaska in the spring time knows and loathes"breakup."  It's the time of year when weather vacillates between warm and freezing temperatures.  Snow melts, then freezes, then melts again, turning the yard into a giant mud puddle.  It's usually this time of year when Alaskans bet on exactly when the Nenana River ice will break.  The contest started in 1906 and is still a big deal around these parts.

However, I'm not here to enjoy the crisp, unpredictable weather.  My father passed away the week before last, so I came to help out and say goodbye.  When I think about the life of my father, I remember him as a lucky man.  He really did live a full life.  He spent a lot of time exploring the Alaskan wilderness, leading a team of pack-horses into the back country, either hunting or taking in a group of Sierra Club members to experience Alaska at its best.  He spent time teaching art at remote native Alaskan villages, as well as in Old-Believer Russian villages.  He would tell us the stories of how he'd have to get permission to enter the Russian villages from the elders who were trying to preserve their culture in an evolving world.  After growing up hearing his stories and seeing the fruits of his life through his painting and carving, I would be hard-pressed to find another individual who'd lived a more exciting life than my father.  It's my hope that I can enjoy my life as much as he did in his. 

Take care, All
P.S.  Our new book on how to build a solar home is on Amazon.  If you haven't had the chance to check it out, you may want to.  We also included a step-by-step guide on how to build a compost toilet and rainwater collection system. 
http://www.amazon.com/UNPLUG-From-Grid-Collection-ebook/dp/B00CBWMANK/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1367522034&sr=1-3&keywords=hillary+bergeron

Bombing versus the Balm of Gilead

The recent events of the bombing of the Boston Marathon has left me heart-sick.  Every time something of this magnitude happens, I feel a piece of my soul being chipped away and being replaced by an angry, unfeeling heart, intent on revenge.  I was contemplating the events of yesterday and how it brought about an effect that chased away any happiness.  I realized my soul needed healing from the thoughts of helplessness encompassing me.  The Balm of Gilead came to mind, an ancient herb used in healing a variety of ailments as well as is symbolic for the power to soothe and heal.  I needed some kind of strong medicine to combat the pure evil it takes to blow up a child.

Since the opposite of evil is decent,good,honest,moral, sinless,upright and virtuous, to combat the evils of society we can do something that would represent these terms.  So, today, if you feel overwhelmed by evils of society, do something decent and good for humanity.  Do one thing that will help relieve human suffering in some way.  This may take the form of donating to a good cause, gathering supplies for a women’s shelter or going to the rest home to visit someone who doesn’t get any visitors, reading them a book perhaps.  Just do something that will help wipe away the evil of the day.  Don’t let them win.  We will never be able to eliminate the evils of society, but we can do something to wipe away the tidal wave of negative feelings and fear they leave in their wake.

Take care, All

NEW BOOK IS UP!!!!

Hi everyone,

My new book, "UNPLUG from the Grid" is finally finished.  This book should help you set up your PV (solar) system.  We've included quite a lot of pictures and diagrams to help with the process.  We've also included sections on how to build a compost toilet and a rainwater collection system.   You know that saying, "there's more than one way to skin a cat," well if you ask 10 different people how to do something, you'll get 10 different answers.  This is just the way we did it--our answer.  Even researching for this book, I came across new ideas and learned new techniques in the off-grid lifestyle.  It's my hope that our experiences might be helpful to someone trying to get off the grid.  If you come across something that isn't in the book, let us know.  I'm sure that we will try and update this book over time, adding new technological information as it becomes available. 

I can be reached at hsbergeron@yahoo.com
  
On a personal note, I'm back in Alaska again.  I actually left 80-degree weather for freezing temperatures. 

Take care, All.

Pajama-Mama and Her New Water Filter

I’ve uploaded a video from our latest venture–trying to make a cheap water filter.  Somehow, we didn’t do something right.

Please excuse the pajamas, they’re super comfortable.  In fact, I think we should be able to wear pajamas “all” the time.  Why should we save the most comfortable clothing for bedtime?
 

Take care, All.

50:1 Maple Syrup Fun

Hi friends,

It's been a few weeks since I've been on to update this blog.  In that time, I have put in any spare minute possible working on my Off-Grid Book.  While "Unplugged" is a memoir about my experiences, I've been getting a lot of feedback about how there wasn't any "how-to" information in it.  I took the hint.  Bob and I have been working on "Solar Blessed--Building the Off-Grid Home," for the past few months.  Since that time, we have put in anywhere from eight hours to sixteen hours a day, with the majority of our time near the sixteen-hour range.  Of course, this isn't without some pain.  My upper back and arms, after spending hours bent over a computer, are strained to the point that for the past two weeks I have been in pain and had a constant headache.  It's so bad, I actually had to visit my massage therapist friend.  Might I say, massage therapy is "AWESOME."  I'm not over all my pain, but for one day, I felt like a normal person again.

Despite all the work on the new book, I was still able to take a few minutes of time and put in some lettuce seed and collect the maple sap from the trees we tapped last month.  We strained out the bugs, leaves and twigs and set it on the wood stove to boil down.  After burning the first batch, we resolved to make sure the second batch came out.  When it got down to a certain point, we set the kitchen timer in fifteen-minute intervals.  After three days, we had the sap boiled down enough to call it syrup.  Wow!!!  It was great!!!  Nothing at the store compares.  Next year, we will start earlier collecting the sap.  Since it boils down from a 50-to-1 ratio, I would like a little more than just a baby food jar.

Just a side note, the deer actually pulled one of my buckets off the tree and chewed on it. 

Take care,
Hillary

Tapping the maple trees

Tomorrow should be a magical day.  We've had 30-degree nights and 50-degree days.  I'm planning to go out and tap the maple trees.  A couple years ago I ordered some spouts from Lehman's.  I put them away in a drawer where they stayed.  Then last week, my friend called to tell me she'd been tapping her maple trees and had boiled down her maple sap into a syrup and had been enjoying eating it.  I realized, gee, I've got spouts sitting in my drawer, doing absolutely nothing.  So, tomorrow will be the day.  She said to use a 7/16 drill.  She also said she was planning to tap some other kinds of trees.  This friend is also the same one who built her own house and builds rock walls without abandon.  If I only had her energy, I might have been sitting on a gold mine of maple syrup by now.  Instead, I may end up with a whole cup, but I'm willing to take chances.   Wish me luck.
Take care, All. 

http://www.amazon.com/Unplugged-ebook/dp/B006X7FEDM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1360975579&sr=8-1&keywords=hillary+bergeron

Back From Atlanta

 Hello friends,

We're back from Atlanta and had a fabulous time.  We dined at the Sun Dial Restaurant, a swanky downtown restaurant that revolves on the 18th floor.  It takes about an hour for the restaurant to make one complete turn.  Afterwards, we visited a gallery.  This is one of my favorite activities--it's fun to see what's out there and it spurs on my creativity.  I'll be the first to admit that I can get into a rut and sometimes a change in scenery is the only thing that helps.  This gallery had a lot of folk art, which I find whimsical and fun.  It reminds me that art can take many forms.  I included a picture of the rabbit that captured my heart.

Now I'm back and settled into my regular life again.  It's time to get back on task and finish the off-grid book that's been consuming my time for the past month.  I'm two-thirds the way through it and am finding it hard to stay on task.  Sometimes I wish I had some kind of motivation switch that I could just flip on.  Despite lack of motivation to do anything but read books on kindle, we were able to get our ETSY shop back on line again.  If you want to take a look, I've included a link below.

http://www.etsy.com/search?q=hsbergeron&ref=auto_recent

Take care, All.

POISON IVY IN THE DEAD OF WINTER?

Living in the woods, I've experienced poison ivy more than I care to.  Every summer I'm careful to make sure I don't brush up against that dreaded plant with its evil oils.  But it doesn't matter how careful I am, I ALWAYS end up with the danged little blisters every year.

The first year I moved here, I didn't know I had it on my hands and then rubbed my eyes.  You guess it, both eyes swelled shut.  Talk about pure misery.  If it gets into the blood stream, then you're really in trouble.  You'll break out in areas where you know for certain never touched poison ivy.  Besides the eyes, the worst place is the webbing between the toes.  If the military ever looked for a torture technique, that would be perfect.  But I suppose torture by poison ivy is less sexy than water-boarding.

Years ago, a young woman moved in down the road who wanted to live off the land.  She kept infecting herself with poison ivy while trying to find ginseng.  I decided to help her find the herb.  As we walked through the woods, she kept pulling up poison ivy plants along the way and asked, "Is this ginseng?"  We didn't find ginseng that day.  By the time all was said and done, she ended up in the emergency room getting a steroid shot.  

So back to my original title, how in the heck did I get poison ivy in the middle of the winter?  Can you believe from my firewood?  I must have brushed my arm against a dead shriveled vine as I shoved a log into the wood stove.  Talk about the gift that keeps on giving.  I would write more but I need to scratch right now.

Take care, All

This is not American Idol, and you are not Simon Cowell

Yesterday, when I went into town to do some shopping, we stopped by McDonalds to grab some lunch, using the McDonald’s card someone gave us for Christmas—it’s a very useful gift and we love it.  We supposedly have a storm coming in and we wanted to make sure we were completely covered in the supply department.  I don’t mind being snowed or iced in, but I’d like to do it with milk, eggs and gasoline for the generator-thank you very much. 

Anyway, there I was at McDonalds eating my chicken sandwich wrapped in lettuce with the television blaring in the background.  Since I don’t have regular TV at home, and only watch internet programs, I found my attention gravitating toward it.  A news program was on and we were watching a “live” police chase in Houston of a suspected bank robber.  As we watched the chase, Robert looks at me and says, “you realize we can’t leave now until we see the ending of this.”  I agreed.  So, there we sat our attention glued to the screen as the guy drove on the interstate, through back streets, his back right tire blown out.  I had to admire his tenacity.  He knew he was being chased by dozens of police cars, yet he just kept going.  I had to wonder, did he really plan this out?  Seriously, who chooses a mini-van as their getaway car?  What drove him to do this?  All these things were knocking around in my skull.  Then he finally pulled over, opened the car door and ran, still being chased by police cars and even one police officer on foot.  After he’d given up, even though he was one man laying face down on the ground surrounded by officers, some police men were still bolting toward the scene as if he may still be a threat.  One of our men in blue tripped on the curb and twisted his ankle.  I heard a collective groan from the people at McDonalds who were all watching this unfold.  “That’s gotta hurt,” I heard someone say. 

Then I thought, “this has got to be the best reality television show yet.”  It wasn’t baked up by some producer for optimum shock value, the reality stars weren’t vetted out with auditions, this was real-time television.  Another thought came across my mind.  This was actually entertainment for us?  Some guy, probably down on his luck robs a bank and we as Americans are sitting around critiquing his car chase and the police who chased him?  We as a society are now in a position to sit around and judge the actions of each other?  I thought about how I play the piano or organ at church and how many times people have commented on my abilities or inabilities, whether I played something well or not, as though I was a contestant on American Idol and they were Simon Cowell.  I have to admit that my first reaction isn’t to quietly take their criticism or critique in a good way and thank them for their opinion; my first thought is to tell them they are welcome to play the piano their damned selves.  This is the society of American Idol.  This is the society where we sit around and judge each others ability to perform and feel completely justified in doing so.  I’m not sure this American Idol society, coupled by reality television we’ve created is positive for humanity or advances our creativity.

Take care, All and remember to keep it real.

My Closet and Other Catastrophes

It’s a new year and with it come resolutions. One of my major resolutions this year is to turn my chaotic life into streamlined version of “simple living.” It’s hard to feel creative when I’m surrounded by clutter and of course it’s hard to clean around all those piles of junk. Step 1-start with the closet. I donned my Haz-Mat suit and went to work. I pawed through the piles and piles of shoes. In fact, if how many shoes a person owned equaled their wealth, I would probably be one of the richest women in North America. I have old shoes I just can’t bring myself to throw away, shoes I wear on special occasions, new shoes with the tags still on them and favorite shoes-that when I found out I liked them enough, I bought 2 pairs just to make sure I would have them if the old pair wore out. Now I found that this resolution is harder to keep than I originally thought, because now I’ve discovered I’m a shoe hoarder. Some people collect baseball cards–I collect shoes. New resolution–streamline my shoe collection. This simple living concept may be harder than I thought. Maybe I should hire a heartless consultant to come in and help me out or go to a hypnotist to tell me I only need 7 pairs of shoes and to make my choice wisely. Either way something has to be done.

On another note–I started writing my next book on the “off-grid lifestyle.” It’s taken up most of my week. I’m hoping that those who are interested in the off-grid lifestyle will find my book helpful and I’m hoping to be able to hit upon some insights that others haven’t suggested. If anyone has any questions that they’d like to have answered, feel free to leave me a note and I’ll try to include it in my book. I’m planning to include a man, as well as a woman’s perspective to off-grid living. My hopes are to have this book done by March or sooner–so wish me luck.

Well, take care All, and good luck with your New Year’s resolutions.

P.S. “Unplugged” is doing well on amazon. Many thanks to those who’ve left me reviews and encouragement. You’re the best!!!