Beads and Roman Sandals Won’t Be Seen

...herb spiral which is essentially a mound. In the permaculture version the water hungry plants are placed at the bottom of the mound and the dry plants at the top, the idea being that the water collects towards the bottom of the mound shaped spiral. We didn’t do the mound thing out of laziness and a lack of materials, and because the herbs we planted don’t require much water anyways. As for the spiral shape itself, we’d like to think that it’s our...

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Essential System #7 – Repair Kit and Tools

...er glove – for gathering or distilling water or for one-handed first aid 8 water purification tables (in straw) – see our earlier post on water 6 safety pins – for, among other uses, creating a sling with a shirt for a broken arm 2 medicated Bandaid strips 1 package first aid cream 6 aspirin 1 baling wire 4 fish hooks (snelled #2/#8) – for fishing! 4 split shot sinkers – also for fishing 1 snap swivel (#10) 1 filament (10 meters) Beyond having eno...

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Looking for Tough, Drought Tolerant Plants?

...ve learned that if you’ve got a small garden, having plants that look good year round is particularly important. There’s a number of our favorites on the list: Salvia apiana, Rosmarinus officinalis, Ceanothus ‘Concha’. If you just cashed in your LA Department of Water and Power lawn rebate check and (hopefully) decided against the artificial turf grass option, the All-Star list is good place to start. Kelly and I are working, this summer, on lower...

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Dave Miller on Baking with 100% Whole Wheat

...ade, the wheat breads had a similar method: Starter was added to flour and water to build up a levain. This was allowed to ferment for three hours. Miller likes a long autolyse. Flour and water for the final dough were mixed and allowed to sit for at least a half hour before adding salt. This period gets the enzymes working. The final dough is mixed in a mixer for 5 minutes at the first speed and 5 minutes at the second speed (if you don’t have a...

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A Visit to the Reversible Destiny Lofts

...onaventure could equally apply to the Reversible Density Lofts and Tokyo’s urban hyperspaces that have, “finally succeeded in transcending the capacities of the individual human body to locate itself…in a mappable external world.” One of the first things you notice on arrival at the Lofts is Arakawa and Gins’ vibrant color scheme. In their instructions they suggest, “Use your loft’s brightly colored shaped volumes to structure and compose your own...

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