New York Renovator

I saw this video at Sustainable Backyard and just HAD to post it here. What a terrific idea! It’s called Eat The View, and it’s a “grassroots” (literally) campaign to get small vegetable gardens growing everywhere, and especially at the White House.

You can get two free magazines from Family Circle– check out the offer here. The offer is through a samples company, and they require that you sign up with them to get free samples. I did register– they ask for your name, address, and email, and you create a username with password. You can opt in or out to get emails with offers and coupons from stores that offer everything from UGG boots to cell phone service. I opted in, just for kicks, so we’ll see how it goes. If you don’t like giving away your address and/or receiving mailings, then this probably isn’t for you. I’m always looking for ways to save a buck, so I think I will like it.

I found this free offer through the blog The Samples Girl. She tries to post news about free samples every day. It’s a great blog for cheapskates (like me)!

Don’t do it this way.

That’s a humorous 1973 rendition. Made me giggle.

We’re actually thinking of building a small shed. We have one already, for our snow shovels and other junk like english saddles (kidding- no saddles here!)… but what I really want is a shed for a chicken coop. I think I am going to build one and keep chickens. My husband has been against chickens (he thinks we are not rural enough here), but the neighbors have horses. Food prices are getting outrageous, and I think we may move away from meat altogether and stick to fresh eggs.

This is just another step in the trail of more independent living. I’ve been wanting to start this for years, but it becoming a necessity now. Wages just are not keeping up with prices. Actually, here in New York, unless you work in some government job, most jobs are minimum wage or slightly over. It’s disgusting.

What are you doing to live a more self-sufficient lifestyle?

Hat tip for the video to Design & Style.

I cannot believe that it is already August!! Where did the summer go? I still have to take the kids out to the beach, as I promised, before we get back into the school routine. We homeschool (more like an umbrella school, where the kids learn lessons at home and attend school once a week to take tests), but we stick to a “typical” school schedule, with summer vacation and breaks for holidays. I have four kids with stuff everywhere! It takes me a good four to five days to collect all the books, supplies, backpacks, and other stuff… and then I have to label it all! I label everything mostly for my sake, because I can never remember who has what backpack or pencil box or calculator. My grandmother labeled things for me when I attended elementary school. She used the old DYMO labeling device– it was a mechanical, manual labeler with a dial for letters. When you pressed the handle, letters were embossed onto a colored plastic strip. Remember them? Such technology was amazing to a young gradeschool kid! And those labels were very handy because I tended to lose track of things… :S

I find myself continuing the tradition. But I don’t use those old plastic strips anymore (they always fell off after a while, anyway). Nowadays DYMO uses modern technology, ink and has some beautiful color labels to choose from. Kids love special things with their names on them– I know I did!I love the new little handheld thing– it’s like a mini-printer and you can put labels anywhere. I think it’s perfect for back to school. These labels are also great for clothes hangers, toolboxes, bins, spice jars– anything! And it’s not like using permanent marker, either– if you are like me then you constantly reuse containers (or change your mind about what’s going in them). I have always had lots of black scribbles over the lids. With DYMO labels, you can just print out a new label and place it over the old one. Nice!

I’ve been hearing, in various circles, of landowners in southern New York State and Pennsylvania suddenly finding themselves wealthy. There’s gas in them thar hills! Natural gas! It’s called the Marcellus Shale region, and estimates of 516 trillion cubic feet of gas lies beneath the black shale. Several weeks ago, I was offered the opportunity to purchase 100 acres of forest land in Pennsylvania for $200,000. The property owner had just been offered $150,000 by a natural gas mining company, but the owner was elderly and didn’t want the hassle. He thought a younger couple could do well. It was a juicy offer, but I just don’t have $200,000 laying around, not even for a $150,000 return investment. Yet my interest was piqued. This could mean ground-breaking changes for the economies of the Northeast, which has been on deep decline for 30 years. And what this discovery means for NYRI, that group that wants to plow their 100-foot high, 200-mile long power line through our towns, remains yet to be seen. I did a blog post about how this power line would affect our towns and villages, see it here.

Gas mining executives are, obviously, looking for cheap deals and uninformed landowners. If you own land in the Marcellus Shale region, from New York to Virginia, it would do you well to study the geology of the area, and connect with your neighbors. Gas corporation lawyers are going door to door, striking individual deals with landowners. Some folks have sold rights to their land already, for a measly $25,000. Others are leasing their land for $50 per acre per year, and others $500 per acre.

The gas corporations are counting on uninformed residents and their lack of communication and organization to take advantage. Check out the following links for more information:

USA Today: Appalachia tantalizes natural gas drillers

Buffalo Business First: Researchers: Shale holds vast supply of natural gas

Geology.com: Marcellus Shale Gas: New Research Results Surprise Geologists

New York Times: There’s Gas in Those Hills

Catskill Mountainkeeper: The Impact of Natural Gas Drilling

I haven’t had much time to post here. We went on a short trip to the Erie Canal Village on July 4th, and I’ve been preparing my photos for my blog post about that. And today, we have some sub-contractors doing some weatherization for me. I applied and was accepted for the Mohawk Valley Community Action Empower Grant, sponsored by my electric company, National Grid, and my county. I’d been on the waiting list since Februrary. An appraiser walked through the house several weeks ago, inspecting all the areas where the house wastes energy. Something like 100%, lol.

Today, a small crew came over to do things like add insulation to the rim joists in the basement (the connection where the top of the foundation and the wooden foundational sill of the house is a major air leak area), add foam board to my attic hatch and my basement doors, spray expanding foam around electrical wiring and plumbing holes, etc. It’s saving me quite a bit of money and the real great thing is that I don’t have to do it myself!

So, I have had a little time to work on jobs on my laptop, but I am trying to make the best of a very sunny day today by doing outside jobs. I’m repairing my garden fencing this afternoon. I’ve got two strapping young sons who are assisting me.

Your county may have some kind of similar program as mine. Check with your power company– maybe their website will have a link to a weatherization program. Or, call your county clerk or check the phonebook for social services. Most of these services are income-eligibility based. I got my grant because we have received assistance from HEAP in New York. At the very least, someone from the power company can meet with you in an informal consultation and tell you where your house is wasting energy. Anything helps!