My brain is pretty bad at making a final decision. I’m very good at visualizing alternatives. Brilliant at building pros & cons lists. But choosing something I’m going to have to live with for years – utterly paralyzing to me.
So choosing a paint color when redecorating a room is a special kind of hell for me. Luckily I’ve found a solution. I call it the slow decay decision making process.
Continue reading “Picking paint pigments”Last year, I noticed that one of the finger joints on the door was failing. I also may have figured out a way to reduce the amount of rain that runs down the door. So this spring I’m replacing the door frame.
So, I CAN fit our entire camp setup in & on the excursion, but doing so means loading some heavy bits on the roof. I’m starting to see that this is not worth the risk.
It also means squeezing the kids onto the left & center seat and they’re starting to require a bit of space between them. (Teenagers apparently require more personal space than toddlers.)
So I bought the trailer. And now it’s time for the second phase of the modular trailer to be built.
Continue reading “Ladder (Ger) rack for the trailer.”(part 3 of the ongoing coffee series)
In terms of pack space & weight, this pour over filter definitely beats the Moka pot & French press.
I’m not as fond of the coffee, but I put most of that on me. Pour over coffee is an art that requires dedication and patience, neither one of which I have in great supply early in the morning.
Continue reading “Camp Coffee (Hipster Style)”I started my first batch of booze in far too long yesterday.
As I’ve been working on my Norse kit over the years and trying to flesh out the details, I’ve learned about Nålbinding.
Nålbinding is a way to make stretchable fabric that predates knitting or crochet. The Norse used Nålbinding to make hats, mittens, and socks.
Continue reading “Another hobby (as if I didn’t have enough already)”My wife has had a veggie garden for the past ten years in two houses. It always struck me as too much work for too little harvest. Add in the fact that the garden plants are annuals and I think our garden costs more per pound than a trip to Whole Foods.
I want perennial plants to feed me so I only have to buy them once. And I would like them to be native, or at least well-enough acclimated to the mid-Atlantic region where I live so the plants can tend to themselves.
Reaching back to my childhood, my immigrant grandfather had a fig tree in his yard. I always thought it was purely decorative as I never saw any fruit on it. I found out long after the death of both my mom’s parents that my grandfather was eating the figs as soon as they became ripe. His tree was barely cold tolerant enough for where he lived. I know that figs have been bred to be cold tolerant enough to survive winters in Chicago.
For Father’s Day in 2020, my family gave me a baby fig tree. It yielded its first fruits in 2021. In late summer 2022, I noticed a plant sprouting at the edge of our yard with distinct human hand shaped leaves. Some bird or squirrel planted a second fig tree for me. In spring 2024, there is a fruit growing on it. Hopefully the fruit is good.
I love the idea of foraging for food. Ever since my friends and I used to gorge ourselves on blackberries & raspberries in the woods as kids.
And there’s a little bit of woods behind my house.
This weekend my wife went to an event to collect seeds from native plants and she came home with some Paw Paw seeds.
If you’ve never heard of it, the paw paw is the largest fruit native to North America. I’ve heard of them, held them, but never tasted them.
So I planted 13 paw paw seeds in the woods behind my house.
Hopefully some of the seeds germinate and survive long enough to grow fruit.
I learned after I planted them that I’m going to have to wait five to ten years before they yield fruit.
When I bought this trailer almost three years ago, I was amazed by how few good tie down points there were (just four). After an unfortunate accident on I-295 over a decade ago, I have an obsession with securing my cargo.
Continue reading “Adding tie downs to the utility trailer.”
Modern Anachronist 