bigugli

Actually, you could still self sustain. It's your lifestyle and priorities that change. It's amazing how much clutter and stuff we insist on accumulating. You would be amazed at the number of families north of Waterloo who still live without the hydro grid. Not all are members of the "black hat" society either. I admit that I have had the good fortune to have actually experienced, hands on, much of what I wrote. I am also experiencing some of it again in my later years . I also admit, sadly, that I have not passed on half as much to my children.

Refrigeration and freezers have certainly made things easier. But we did have similar options even 200 years back. They just required more work and planning. Your yard was for growing garden veggies. No cabanas, ornamental plantings or swimming pools. If you owned a house, you had a cold cellar. No problem keeping root crops and apples til April in there. Your wife also dried foods, or canned intensely. I still put away 100+ jars of pickles, preserves and fruit for winter every year. Sugaring off in early spring was a necessary ritual. it was your source for sugar during the year, and any surplus was bartered at the general mercantile for those things you could not produce yourself. Meat was dealt with in three ways. Smoke and cure, or salt and dry, was by far the easiest, but still a 1-2 day process. Pickling, but the Mrs had to really know what she was doing. Folks I knew, growing up, were still pickling herring and smelt from Simcoe in the early 70's . man were they good. There was a refrigeration, of sorts. There was the ice house. A cabin, 1/2 buried in the ground built of thick timber. Seams grouted with thick wads of moss or peat. In winter, the men went out with ice saws and cut huge slabs of ice that were placed in the huts to the ceiling. A space tween the wood and ice was packed with sawdust. The rafters were also packed with insulating of a fashion. You could then keep meat hung in there for months without spoiling. In cities, companies sold blocks of ice to be placed in an ice box to keep food from spoiling. In cities many went to the baker for bread. The norm was to bake fresh bread once or twice a week. Every culture has it's own version of hard tack or biscuit for when grain for fresh bread was in short supply. For Finn's it was rye ring or Reikäleipä. Others have rusks, hard tack, etc... I still practice some of the old world recipes it was all much more labour intensive, yes. The focus on living was to survive. Fishing was not a hobby, it was a chore. Fish were food, not playthings. People certainly did not have the leisure time they enjoy currently in Western society.

A) Your maul is too light. I had 12 and 14lb mauls. If you can wait til the sap freezes, better. C) Large logs you work from the outside in, else you will bury the maul in the center. You can also work a split line by making hits in line from one side to the other across a large log. D) Twisted grains, like on Boxelder, Elms, etc.., are just a pain.

I'm glad for the good news, as is Judy. It's just hard watching all the complications, endless clinic visits, extra tests, wear Judy down. Its also hard to look after things when you keep having to go back again the next day, and the next, and the next... But with any luck, we'll be done with most of it before Christmas.

Usually, when govt caves to the demands/threats of big business, there is a larger price tag/consequences down the road.

What kind of GreyCup forecast is that?! THe best Cups were always played in mud bowls or raging blizzards. I do like all the "subtle" fan hints.

Well, another rocky week while we continue the cancer dance with 5 days of clinics. Judy still runs into difficulties with her IV's. Nothing goes easily. Usually an hour or more to start an IV. She had a picc line, but that occluded and plugged after one treatment. It also caused a few DVT's in the arm. After 2 days of attemting to do a CT, they have found a couple more small DVT's in the lungs. All of that is treatable with a daily diet of Heparin for a few months. There is light at the end of the tunnel. One more chemo treatment for Judy to undergo. The better news is that radiation treatments will not be necessary

Glad to hear Jen is getting some positive news and results.

I'm afraid it does not quite work out that way. Usually, for every synthetic industrial product we produce, there are two or more byproducts, and it is the byproduct that is usually the most dangerous. However, with GMO in particular, streamlining the gene pool may just be far more harmful in the long term if the diversity of the gene pool is diminished.

Genetically modified crops have been around for some time now. Most mainstream supplies of grains are GMO. Look to traditional and organic farmers for sources outside growing your own. You would be looking for "heritage" and "heirloom" strains like Stowells, Truckers Favorite White, White Silver King, Whipples White. GMO livestock has been around for over 20 years. They are big in the dairy industry. One Corp headquartered outside of Guelph specializes in dairy herds, and has since expanded into the cheese industry.

Went through the same thing with Rob some 20 years back. I'd watch his line while he wandered, explored, played around. But he was quick to get back if there was a fish on "his" line

We were supposed to do the Hamilton perch derby. Get up at 6am, check computer, see the cancellation. What to do with the salties and live minners?. Hmmmm.... Hunt down some perch elseways. Stayed out til the bands of squalls moved in with some quality results.

And how are you and the Mrs. holding up Wayne? It takes a strong family to help our loved ones through the fight.

To put this in perspective, there have been a few colourful politicians that folks loved to hate. Some with real issues too. Sir John A, founding father and conservative, was well known for his "diet" of scotch. 100 years later we had Pierre eh?. Gave Canadians the finger. The media wanted him strung up. We re-elected him. Admitted he smoked some pot in Jamaica, where it was legal, he was declared an unfit leader by the media. Canada still re-elected him. This is all nothing new.

It won't get the media attention it deserves. Government and industry cannot afford to have us publicly questioning the safety of current nuclear power plants, nuclear waste facilities, or the wisdom of current policy surrounding nuclear energy.

Looks like a great father and son outing.

Been a few weeks. Judy has had a very busy, and rough time of things. Started a new Chemo 2 weeks back, Taxol. Creates a lot of muscle and joint pain and neuropathy. She also threw a couple of blood clots as a complication to her chemo regimen. They missed them on the first ultrasound, and only found them when they realized they could not start an IV due to moderate edema. Now she gets to give herself 90 days worth of heparin injections to break down the clots. Thankfully, today's chemo session was relatively uneventful.

Time change does not affect me and the dog. We get up with the sunrise. Whether that be 7am or 5am, My dogs have always worked me over at sunrise

You know, we were so busy having a good time, I forgot to get the camera out of the bag. Before I knew it, the day was over and we were getting off the water. That's one thing about getting together with good friends. The time just goes too quickly

Here I am. Finally back on line. Yes it was a great day to get out, catch up and catch fish. We need to do this more often.

Memart's and your family have our heartfelt condolences.

Sure looks like a slice of paradise to me. I'm surprised your dog doesn't go chasing after the fish more often

Anything for a dollar!!! That's humanity!

Funny, Thorold Hilton often has guests in on assault. As for "breach of trust"... He violated the law, and betrayed his duty. Where I come from we call it treason.