amazon_syren

Okay.
I spent part of this morning replacing tealight wicks.

I'm burning paraffin candles on my altar right now. That's not my ideal situation - partly because petroleum products, and partly because they're not something I made myself - but they do the job in a pinch and I'm waiting for (A) the ice to melt off my back steps, and (B) the cash to order more beeswax, before I start bashing up the last of my current order.

The tea lights I got are the one-ounce kind, which is great. But the wicks are too thin and they tend to either drown in the melted wax, OR burn a tunnel out of the middle of the candle but leave a thick wall of un-burned wax around the edges.
So I yanked out all the wicks and replaced them with the ones I use when I make beeswax candles. They're thicker and should (hopefully) do the job of actually using up all the wax.

It's nice to have the altars lit again, I don't mind telling you.

It's kind of a spring cleaning day over here. Putting books back on shelves, getting rid of superfluous paper, putting away the clean laundry, sweeping and vacuuming (the vacuuming, I still need to do - but I found the rug-beater attachment, so it can happen!)

Roll On, Spring! :-D

Reading Little House Off the Grid about a family of four who moved to the Napanee area (not that far from where I live, for those of you not in Ontario) to live in a Clearing In The Woods using solar and wind power and stuff like that there.

While this book will most likely be extremely helpful in terms of knowing what the pitfalls are and how to (hopefully) avoid them... gods, the authors (or one of them, anyway) are getting on my nerves! Preachy-vegetarian, preachy-environmentalist, and not very neighbourly... at least when they start out.
Hoy.
Granted, part of the not-very-neighbourly stuff may have come from being the go-to people when one of a number journalists wanted some kind of "extremist" (or possibly actually-extremist, I'm not sure) enviro-view on whatever was happening in Burlington at the time.
But still. It's irritating to have to deal with that Voice while trying to just find stuff out.

It's funny. Because I read this, and I pick up on the eco-snobbery, but I also pick up on the... "Barhavan" attitudes of the writers, if I can use Ami_B's term. I wonder if it would be pissing me off as much if the authors had been more "grass-roots community solidarity" (yep, I'm totally using those buzz-words to make a point ;-) or if it'd blow right by me.
It would probably still piss me off, honestly, but... I could be wrong. :-\


Anyway.
Right now, I'm looking at solar panels, and how much I would need... I'd like (in the hypothetical situation where I own a house and, thus, have a roof to put these on) something like 1000 watts worth of solar panels on each slope (east and west) of the roof. Or, alternatively, 1000 watts on the eastern slope and 2000 watts (meaning 8 250-watt pannels) on the western slope, which gets hotter and brighter sun in my neck of the woods.
I don't actually have a clue how many watts, say, a full-sized fridge or an electric oven will go through...
It's funny. One of the authors talks about giving away all her small apliances - like the bread-maker and the toaster oven and the microwave - and all I could think was: Yes. But don't all of those use way less electricity than an electric stove/oven? (They do. But this family was using a propane-fed stove, so...)
It's something I'd really like to have a clue about. I know that the authors also had a wind-turbine going on, and I'm not sure how much of their electricity came from it vs their 8-12 75-watt solar pannels.

I mean... I'm using a 100-watt lightbulb right now. Plus my laptop. Plus the slow-cooker. Plus my fridge that runs 100% of the time. Plus my electric (urgh...) heat, which also runs 100% of the time. That's a LOT of wattage going on.
Cancel out the heat, because gods know I don't want to be relying on electric heat, and that takes care of a big, BIG chunk of it. But I don't actually know how much I'd be using. What if I add a chest freezer in there? How much is that?

So a friend of mine is leasing a chunk of NCC farmland on-which she will be gardening, raising broiler chickens, and sharing a goat with another person.
There are multiple farms (in the 10 to 20 acres size-range) available for lease, typically around $1400/month not including utilities and upkeep.
This has got me thinking.
And looking at the available NCC farms.
And trying to sort out exactly what it is I want to be doing with my life.

Yeah, I went there.

I'm 33. I keep hearing (usually in the voice of my mother, but sometimes the voices of random Old White Dudes who are friends of the family, so take that as you will) the words "I'm surprised you never ammounted to more than that". Whatever the hell "that" is.

What do I *want* to be doing?
I *want* to be diligently working away at my weird, not sure where it's going, novel-in-progress. I *want* to be spending four hours a day (so part-time-job territory) growing, harvesting, preserving, and cooking the food my wife and I (and our various guests and phamily/family-members) eat day-to-day. I *want* to have frequent work as a figure model and occasional-but-more-lucretive work as a glamour/fetish model. I *want* to have a lot of time to myself to do these things in, and also to have paid work (like figure modeling, and like much of the stuff I do for RHO) that gets me out of the house and interacting with other human beings of a reasonably regular/frequent basis.

At this point in time, I don't think I'm actually up for the must-have-a-business-plan requirements of running an actual farm. Even a tiny one. Even a hobby one.


What I want to be *having*, then, is rather more like, well, the home I remember from my earliest childhood (except with the option of geothermal heating, photo-voltaic solar pannels, and lots of sky lights for natural lighting): A small house with a lot of good storage space, located on a 1-2 acre (or so) lot that would allow me to grow fruit (and possibly nut) trees, berry bushes, and other perenial foods along with a lot of moderate-intensity vegetable gardening and buckets of herbs and perenials.

Yes, I totally day-dream about an almost little-house-on-the-praries life where my wife and I go so far as to grow our own amaranth and she does coblerry and various other projects out of her workshop and I make our soap and raise our honey and grow most (possibly all) of our non-animal-based food on the land around our rather Scandinavian-looking green-roofed house, and we have a wind-turbine and solar pannels and a high-efficiency wood stove (and possible geothermal heat) and huge south-facing windows and really amazing insulation... and can basically live off the grid, even though that's not what we're doing.

But I'm not up to it at this stage of the game, and I might never be. I don't know. I do know that, when I look at Ghost's parents' 2-acre lot, I know that (a) I want something like that, but also (b) I couldn't handle working more than that size of a place.



It looks like Ghost has (probably) got the Coblery job with the Ceremonial Guard. She has to fix four pairs of boots as a test-run, but things are sounding pretty good and she's got her materials sourced for the current bunch already.
I hope this works.
Even though I know it will mean she is working, basically, 10-hour days - maybe 12-hour days, over the summer, with a far-lighter work-load over the rest of the year - it also means that our combined income is back to where it was in March (or possibly slightly higher) which means that all those things that got taken off the stove, so to speak, indefinitely back at the beginning of April - like (eventual) CSA memberships and home-ownership, plus possible attendance at various Cons over the course of the next few years - are potentially back on their burners.

Which is wonderful and also slightly frightening.


And which is also leading me to wondering "what am I doing with my life" because, honestly, I'm incredibly content being A House Wife who putters and creates and makes a very small financial contribution to the household through a dozen different and ever-shifting channels, but makes a HUGE contribution to our health and well-being (and thrift, if I may be so bold) by knowing how to make things from scratch and grow them from seed.
And there are a lot of reasons having to do with gender and also power-exchange (and also personality - key point) within my marriage, that make this situation something that helps me thrive, rather than a situation that gives me anxiety nightmares.

...And I'm trying to figure out (a) if it's okay to just stick with this, to do this thing that I love and am good at, and fit all this money-making business in around the corners[1], and (b) why the hell I might think it isn't okay to do just that.

Hoy. So that's what's going through my head right now.


TTFN,
Amazon.


[1] Okay. Maybe "in around the corners" isn't exactly the right way to put it. "Multiple income-streams" and "work-life balance" might be the way to put it. But what I mean is having multiple income-streams, few of which are consistent and some of which have "off seasons" (conveniently when the garden will be eating me alive, so hey), but all of-which add up to an extra $6,000-$8,000 per year - which takes a good chunk out of property taxes and annual utilities, even if it won't pay a mortgage.

From Carleton U's Women In Science & Engineering (WISE):
Carleton Offers a Workshop on Preventing Dating Violence -- Aimed at Guys.


From Feministing:
Ask Professor Foxy: How Do I Handle My Boyfriend's Sex Work? On what to do when you're sex-possitive, but know that your partner's job is hurting/scaring them.


From Shakesville:
Comic Fail -- On this morning's XKCD. Which was, I think, absolutely perfect. Right up until the last panel. :-P


From Pandagon:
And that’s why they invented the word 'systemic' -- On racism and the US healthcare "debate".

AND

Searching for Whiteopia (A Book Review) -- On living in a self-segregated bubble. These places sound an awful lot like Barhaven, Orleans and Kanata. "Lego Land", as Lenny calls it.


And now on to the really awful stuff (where we talk about other systemic things that suck):

From Questioning Transphobia:
Cis parolee sought in murder of woman. On the way the media talks about murdered trans women in ways that un-person them as well as un-gender them. This is systemic. Pay attention to this.


From Tiger Beatdown:
"I found two [headlines pertaining to MacKenzie Phillips] that were not [fucked up]! one was on MTV news and it read: “Mackenzie Phillips Claims Her Father Raped, Drugged Her.” one was on E! and it read, “Mackenzie Phillips: I Was Raped By My Father.” Now! you could find some problems with these headlines! BUT, every other source was like “Mackenzie Phillips Confesses Sex Affair With Dad.” leaving out the part where it became “consensual” after several rapes." -- About how the media writes about rape as though it was "just another type" of sex. This is also systemic. Pay attention to this, too.


And now for the less awful, and possibly even awesome, stuff:

From Feministe:
A seven year old feminist speaks articulately about what that term means to/for her.

AND

Why Feminist Bloggers Kick Ass.


From The Angry Black Woman:
Short Fiction Featuring Writers of Colour -- Featuring our very own Tithenai!! :-D

AND

I Want an Earth Ship. Includes links for building in a cold climate! (Tchang, I'm looking at you!)


- TTFN, :-)
- Amazon. :-)

So.
I've been doing laundry.

Which is wonderful, except that since I'm washing *all* the bedding (and all the denim and all the towels, and, well, lots of big, space-taking stuff, basically) I don't actually have enough loonies to wash all four loads of laundry. :-P Let alone put any of it through the dryer.

This would be less of a problem if the laundry machines actually took toonies and quarters. But they don't. :-P

And the banks around here aren't open on Saturdays (heaven freaking forfend that a bank be open durning hours I can actually get to it...) so I can't just go and take out ten dollars worth of loonies to handle all of my laundry-doing needs. :-P

<*is annoyed*>


So it's two loads of laundry involving *most* of the sweaters and shirts, all of the socks, one jean skirt, most of the shirts and most of the bedding (alas, not the quilt) and most of the towels.

Good thing I have extra blankets, is all I'm saying.


that said, since my clothes will now be (by and large) clean, I can easily go through them, sort out the DITCH from the KEEP piles and start culling.


TO DO LIST

Put laundry in dryer
Hang non-dryer laundry on rack to dry
Take out paper recycling (three+ bags worth)
Take out non-paper recycling (four bags worth)
Clean out fridge and throw out trash
Wash trash bin
Wash cutlery
Wash dishes
Wash tupperware
Shower
Partake in Ursula Le Guin Goodness. :-D


- TTFN,
- Amazon.

OhMyGods!

TEH springcleaning!!!

I cleaned out my fridge!

I cleaned out under my sink!

I will be vacuuming said areas (yes, even the fridge) shortly.

THREE bags[1] worth of garbage! (Plus two bags of paper recycling, one bag of returnable-bags and one bag of plastic/metal/glass/styrofoam/tetrapak recycling).

But it's CLEAN!!!


I feel significantly better.

Still have dishes to wash (including lots of tupperware, now that it's not sitting in the back of my fridge full of stuff I'm not eating. :-P Eeeeeeeeeeeeeew), but my fridge is less cluttered and my under-sink area isn't GROSS anymore.
So YAY. :-D

Soon I go for pizza at my sister's house. I love living where I do. :-D


- TTFN,
- Amazon. :-)

[1] Please note: "Bag" denotes small kitchen garbage bag -- about 3x the volume of your average plastic grocery bag. Even still. YEEG.

Accomplished Today:

Lounged Around with the Young Lady

Hung out with the Slashers

Baked bread

Brewed chicken stock (finally finished it -- it's been sitting a while)

Took out the compost (again, it's been sitting a while -- I was starting to get fruit flies... blast it)

Hung the wooden-framed mirror over the deacon's bench

Hung the bathroom cupboard over the toilet

Unpacked the last box of Bathroom Stuff (I'll have to go through the under-sink cupboard to make sure everything is where it should be, but it's all *out* of the boxes. Hurrah!)

Hung the oblong, pear-shaped mirror in the entrance way

Put in one of the two holes required for hanging the little knick-knack shelf my grandfather made -- discovered that my batch of #10 screws are a tad on the large side. Will hit up Preston Hardware (likely on Tuesday) for a set of #8 or #9.

Reframed some photos for putting is the Seriously Abridged Rogue's Gallery in my entrance-way

Took a nice, long bath

Painted my nails (undercoat of (somewhat streaky, woops) black, top-coat of irridescent blue that shifts to purple, depending on the light.

Sent an email to Commodorified, re: Thanks Giving

Put new sheets on the bed



And, having done all that, I am now off to moisturize Like Woah, and then to bed. :-D


It's been a productive day. :-)


Tomorrow includes voting, Pho dinner with Tsivia, and - hopefully (if not Monday, then by the end of the week) - news that I have an indeterminant possition at INAC. That'd be hella awesome news for TG weekend! :-D


G'night, all. :-)


- TTFN,
- Amazon. :-)

I am currently sitting on my couch, writing a live-journal post directly into the posting window. :-D

That's right, I have my access back! (Thank you, tech support! :-D)

So this is wonderful news and, even if it's dirrectly-plugged-into-the-modem access (as opposed to using-the-wireless-router access).

I had a wonderful time chez Ami_B and Shiny_Brain last night. :-D It was nice to see people again (even though I was *exhausted* and turned into a pumpkin at around 11pm -- didn't actually get into bed until almost 3am, but that's partly because I zonked out on top of said bed without even getting undressed for a good... hour and a half, I would guess? Before actually being able to complete getting ready for bed. Wah!)

Anyway.

My brain feels rather muzzy. I suspect this is mostly sleep-dep. Cursed sleep dep. :-P But I've got lots to do today -- visiting a hardware store and a craft store, if nothing else. Trying (again) to contact the Good Food Box people in order to sign myself up. Stuff like that.


Advice Column (Fulcrum) Concerning Sex-Work
This is interesting, sort of. It's fairly predictably anti-sexwork fear-mongering. But the writer does (at least) make sure to give her advice-seaker some useful advice in amongst the "Oh, god, NO" and the likening of all sex-work risk-levels to those faced by street-workers even though the lady in question was not considering street-work.
So... Not great, but I think there's at least a little useful stuff in it, so I figured I'd post a link.


Anyway. C'est tout pour moi.

I get half a day off tomorrow afternoon and I can bug the U of O therapy people then and call my investment dude, too. This'll be okay. :-)


- TTFN,
- Amazon.

The Madame of Victoria (courtesy of McClung's Magazine)


What am I doing?

I am plotting.

Plotting BDSM scenarios
Plotting my housewarming menu
Plotting a Romantic Vegan Dinner for Two

I'm making lists of the kind of groceries I'm going to get. (Will I manage to go back to my Make It From Scratch roots? Well... In part, I suspect so. But probably not all the way. ;-)

I'm taking note of where the wild foods grow in my neighbourhood, and the front-yard gardens from-which I can nick mallow and hollyhock and morning glory seed pods.

Plotting the garden plot I want to have for next spring. (Trellised Winter squash, corn, hollyhocks, scarlet runners, cranberry beans,
Trying to figure out how to compost chez moi without attracting creepy-crawlies (hint: Big Bucket on the Balcony).
Plotting the balcony garden, too -- I want cascades of morning glories, a pot of peppermint, and a pot of tomatoes. Maybe some other stuff, if I can swing it. ;-)


I'm also trying to figure out where to hang my art (and which art to hang). I think there will be a lot of blue going around. :-)


To my embarassment, I don't know how to assemble my own bed-frame. :-P

Woops.

Unpacking continues to go more-or-less as planned.

Hopefully my phone will be up and running by then end of the evening. :-)


- TTFN,
- Amazon. :-)

So, my first day of work went pretty well.

I confess, I'm a bit stressed with this "proposal to the treasury board" thing. I've never done one of those before and the template I've been given isn't like an template I've ever seen.
It's more like... "Here's some information on what kinds of things should be included" -- which would be fantastic if I knew a damn thing about PHAC.
Their website, while helpful, isn't helpful enough. Not for the information I need, anyway.

So I've sent my supervisor (well, the one who's having me do this bit, anyway) a note just giving her a heads-up as to what she'll be dealing with in my "first draft".


Now I hurry down town to pick up a Very Big Cheque and then hurry home to plug my lamps in before I lose the last of the light.

CSI_Tokyo is, I think, dropping by this evening, so I need to invest in some juice and (perhaps) some nibblies, and eat something (oh, gods, the eating...) as well as unpack a significant number of books (thank goodness the shelves in the living room are all up!) before he turns up. :-)

As such, it's time for me to go. :-)


Got an email from Miz Sara today. <*sigh*> I am so ridiculously smitten. It's kinda daft. ;-)


- TTFN,
- Amazon. :-)

P.S.: Please note: I will most likely not have a working phone until Wednesday. Unless some sort of miracle has happened between Sunday morning and now.

- TTFN,
- Me.