Frugal Prosumer

Many people know that I have dealt with medical medicinal herbs and wild edibles for most of my life.

Now that I have cancer I get all kinds of recommendations on what herbs I should use. Much to my surprise I found that my chemotherapy drug is based on four  herbs: mayapple, periwinkle, yew, and Chinese happy tree. 
The yew tree that grows around here has a delicious berry but the seeds are very toxic. The problem is too often we so gladly give recommendations not understanding that the what part and how of a particular herb is very intricate and formulation is a very delicate balance.

For instance they have found that when the mayapple is chewed on by animals it produces more of the toxins that are needed to kill cancer. Leaves that haven't been chewed on have very little toxins so in order to get maximum value out of it the leaves need crushing. Unfortunately much of this knowledge has been lost in our past and is not available to us.
The mayapple has been a very familiar plan…

Here is a good video to building an instant raised bed especially if you have some of these resources freely available to you. (cardboard boxes, compost, paper, straw)

For those how have found chick tractors not the ideal thing for different reasons or who don't have much free range ares. Also very good if you don't have the physical strength  to turn and make compost.
Watch it here on YouTube.

Greater Personal Freedom Starts with Deschooling Adapted from: http://www.dansanchez.me/feed/seven-ways-school-has-imprisoned-your-mind
Young America is suffering a quarter life crisis. Many are Deep in debt or have no real job skills.. Twenty-somethings are anxious about the direction of the country. The fact of the matter is that there is little you can do to sway the political course of an entire nation. But that doesn’t mean you are powerless. You can’t hope to liberate a whole country, but you can do a great deal to liberate yourself. The impediments to our freedom are not limited to the guns, handcuffs, and prison cells that threaten us with violence if we disobey the powers that be. We are also burdened with spiritual chains. These bonds are the self-limiting habits of mind and false presumptions that weigh us down throughout life. They were fastened on our minds through compulsory schooling. The mindset installed by schooling makes things much easier for the government, which …

Just another confirmation by someone else about the extreme importance of one another.

My obsession with being an independent woman. By Mischa Delaney

Very useful if you do much fishing especial as part of your food supply. With the following link I skipping the part where he stick the fishhook into himself. Fish Hook Removal.


Follow is some more information from: MedLine Plus 
Fishhook removal First Aid If the barb of the hook has not entered the skin, pull the tip of the hook out in the opposite direction it went in.
Fish line method:First, wash your hands with soap and water or use a disinfecting solution. Then wash the skin surrounding the hook.Put a loop of fish line through the bend of the fishhook so that a quick jerk can be applied and the hook can be pulled out directly in line with the shaft of the hook.Holding onto the shaft, push the hook slightly downwards and inwards (away from the barb) so as to disengage the barb.Holding this pressure constant to keep the barb disengaged, give a quick jerk on the fish line and the hook will pop out.Wash the wound thoroughly with soap and water. Apply a loose, sterile dressing. DO …

A good article from Money Magazine
The Boring Secret to Getting Rich | MONEY

It's boring, but that doesn't mean it's easy. The media likes to paint a certain picture of what it means to be rich — huge mansions, expensive cars, high-powered Wall Street or tech-startup-type jobs. If you buy into that image, being rich may feel like an impossible dream. But the truth is that most “rich” people live very normal lives. You probably wouldn’t even know they were rich if you saw them because they don’t fit the stereotype. Most rich people are a lot like you and me. They just know a secret that, while incredibly effective, isn’t very sexy. The secret to getting rich The secret to getting rich is as powerful as it is unexciting: live below your means. That’s it. The bigger the difference between what you earn and what you spend, the sooner you’ll find yourself with enough money to do what you want with your life. Now, I realize that “live below your means” may sound obvious or trite.…

Once upon a time in a land far far away (literally, in Japan) we made friends with a nice couple from India. They were missionaries that worked in a print shop. We learned a few things about them and their country. One of the things that they were eager to share was their recipes. And one of the recipes was the chai masala that I am demonstrating here. 

This is the first in a series of videos I want to share with people.

We have been absent awhile now but this phase of our lives brings us around again. And with the waters of time way under the bridge we want to share some of our life experiences and tips and recipes and words etc.

This is in hopes that it will help to "set you free" or "give you permission"to try some things, ponder some things, live life deliberately.

Hope you enjoy and even get a bit of a chuckle (okay a load belly laugh) out of some of it.




Here's the recipe: 
4 cups all purpose flour (one can be whole wheat or other)  1 teaspoon salt  2 cups warm water. in a two cup measuring cup I put 1 ½ cups cold water and poured in ½ cup boiling water gets it lukewarm right away 1 tablespoon sugar  2 teaspoons yeast butter for greasing your oven safe bowls or whatever  have fun with the additives like flax or seeds or ....have fun with it

For a number of years I ran a school for youth similar to these forest schools. We called it:


Never Never adventures. 
Where the students teach and the teachers learn.
Where there are no graduates and no degrees because the learning never stops.

We usually started out our trek into the woods with-- 
"We're going on a Never Never adventures.
- We never know where we are going!
- We never know what we are going to do!" and their favorite
- "We never know if were coming back"





Here is an interesting article on 7 "forest schools" from around the country:
"Ahh, there’s nothing better than some time with Mother Nature. Breathing the fresh air, being unplugged and disconnected, experiencing the peacefulness of the outdoors ... it’s pretty fantastic. When kids go outside and play in nature, there are real benefits to both physical health and emotional well-being. The only problem is, kids are spending less time in nature and more time hooked up to their tab…

Adapted from www.simplerway.org

By now we all understand the importance of reducing resource and energy consumption and stepping more lightly on the planet. But figuring out exactly how to do this in a consumer society can be very challenging. The aim of The Frugal Prosumer is to provide a practical action plan for those people who wish to live a ‘simpler life’ of reduced and restrained consumption.

The Frugal Prosumer way represents a life with less clutter, less waste, and less fossil fuel use, but also a life with more time for the things that truly inspire and bring happiness.

Beyond our basic material needs for food, clothing, and shelter, how much is enough? In particular, how much money and how many possessions do we really need to live well and to be free? These are not questions that many people ask themselves in consumer societies today, but they are some of the most important questions of all.

Instead of confronting these questions, too many people today spend their entire…