Showing posts with label DIY. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DIY. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
My Carry-On Gear For Three Weeks in South America
Note: This post has been updated July 22, 2013, to reflect what I did not use or need.
I had a couple people ask me what I was taking on my trip since I will be both in the mountains for days and then in much warmer weather later in my trip, so I figured I'd just blog about it to share with anyone else who might be interested. (If you are just tuning in, I am going to Cusco/Machu Picchu, Peru for ten days, Lima for three more, then Easter Island for a week.) I will be carrying my things in Patagonia's MLC Carry-On bag
and REI Purse (not this one but similar).
Clothes
2 Columbia sleeveless shirts - this shirt is very similar to what I own
1 Patagonia Capilene 1 stretchy long-sleeve shirt
2 Patagonia Capilene 1 stretchy t-shirts
Columbia Back Beauty pants
Columbia Back Beauty capris
Patagonia Houdini jacket
North Face Venture rain jacket
North Face Venture rain pants
SmartWool NTS Mid 250 zip-neck sweater
SmartWool NTS Micro 150 bottoms
Columbia Global Adventure dress
- (Update: ended up wearing this once, so I could do laundry)Board shorts - bought in HI
4 pairs Patagonia Capilene Underwear
Columbia hiking shoes - no longer in stock, but they're Omni-Tech hiking shoes
Teva sandals - no longer in stock, but they are water sandals
Swim suit
3 bras
Socks
Patagonia Better Sweater hat
iTap gloves
Cameras & Electronics
Canon PowerShot S100 Digital Camera
- Not seen, taking these pictures ;o)
- Not seen, taking these pictures ;o)
4 rolls of 120 film
14 rolls of 35mm film (Update: did not use all of it because my LCA+ wrist strap broke.)
Miscellaneous
Lots and lots of sunblock :o) (Update: did not end up liking this sunblock much.)
Extra quart-size bag
Cash
Water bottle
Toothbrush
HeadlampInsect repellant (Update: do Peruvian bugs not realize what bug dope is? This stuff didn't work.)
Deodorant
Cellphone charger
Passport and holder (Update: passport holders are cute, but I didn't use it.)
Trip papers (copy of passport, copies of trip info, etc)
Sunglasses
Lady time stuff
Coconut oil
Toothpaste
Mascara
Headphones (Update: did not end up using these at all.)
Razor
Earplugs
Dr. Bronner's liquid soap
I'm also bringing two pairs of work gloves, protective eyewear, and knee pads for the Machu Picchu part of the trip. (The ranger ladies at SERNANP ended up being SO thankful to have the gear donations from those of us who didn't need to keep our things. It made me feel good that they were appreciated.)
Snacks!
Note on the snacks: I didn't end up eating a lot of this stuff because we had so much food on the trip anyway, so maybe less snacks would be good.
ProBars
Chocolate chips
Dried apples (Update: I wish I'd had more of these! When hiking Waynapicchu these were PERFECT.)
Packets of almond and peanut butter
Almonds, both raw and wasabi-seasoned
Voila!
My bag weighs exactly 17lbs, which is the amount I can take as carry-on on LAN Airlines. I know it will be a bit lighter on the way back because I will have eaten all the snacks and will leave the stuff I used at Machu Picchu for someone else to use, as I have no use for it at home.
There you go! Everything I am bringing with me for three weeks in South America!
Update: So how do you think I did? I think I did pretty good as to figuring out what I would use or not. There were only a few items I didn't use at all. What would you have done differently?
There are affiliate links in this post. If you click through them and place an order I will get a very small commission, which goes toward my Antarctica trip in January!
Friday, November 9, 2012
Oh What A Difference A Year And A Half Can Make
I was just going back through some old blog posts. I have some ideas that I'd like to do and during my search for certain posts I stumbled across some interesting stuff. The following post is one I wrote on February 22, 2011. I had a list of all these crafty things I wanted to do. Since that time I have gone to Ketchikan for seven months, changed jobs, finished my bachelor's degree, and changed jobs again. I'm a totally different person than I was a year and a half ago! Let's recap what I wanted to do...
1. Learn how to make soap. (I can take a soap-making class at Mr. Green Beans. Just need $35 and time!)
*I took a soap-making class on March 6, 2011. That progressed into having an Etsy shop, selling some soap, and now discontinuing some soaps that haven't proven to be popular enough into me wanting to keep them! Get seven different soaps for only $5 here!
*Still haven't done this yet. Kinda over it.
*Still interested in this, but need to figure out how to get lots of fruits & veggies for cheap (u-pick farms?) before this financially makes sense. I also want a dehydrator so I can do that, too!
*I did get my own pot!
*I now do roast my own coffee beans. Learn how easy it is at either "Roasting Coffee Beans in a Popcorn Popper" or "Roasting Coffee Beans in a Frying Pan."
*I have that same sourdough starter and still haven't figured out what to do with it yet. I don't think I eat enough carbs to make this worthwhile. I think I like the idea of it more than actually makes sense for me.
*I now own the Baranof! I just haven't had a chance to use her yet. :o(
*Kinda over this. I still don't eat that much yogurt, although I theoretically want to?
*I made beer and I think I'm going to leave the beer-making to other people.
*Totally did that and they are delicious! I should do this again sometime!
*Over this. I like mushrooms but I don't need to spend $20 to grow them myself.
*While I really enjoyed this, I don't love it enough to keep doing it on my own.
*No more cheese. Cheese was a pain in the butt. I will let other people make cheese.
*I am currently taking Spanish again and, while I REALLY like the teacher, her method of teaching is not conducive to my learning and remembering Spanish. Half of the class is older adults that seem like they really should not be in a "fast paced Spanish class for those who have taken Spanish before" class because they are really holding a good part of the class back. Also, we really don't converse with each other or do hardly any "thinking for ourself and how to answer questions ourself" exercises and I learn from actually DOING things. Because we aren't doing that, I'm not really learning. If I end up taking Spanish again it will (sadly) be from a different teacher.
It's interesting to me to see what I both accomplished and did not accomplish. I am now maybe less "I WANT TO DO EVERYTHING DIY!!!!" or now maybe I've whittled it down into more feasible things. I do think it was nice to have some sort of idea written down as to what I wanted to do. I will have to think about new things I want to do and blog about that sometime!
Monday, September 10, 2012
How To: Cook Oysters in the Oven
I found out something new the other night: I like oysters! I'd had them before years and years ago and they were raw. I didn't like them. I'm big on texture and the texture was just icky. But the other night when my friend Allison invited me to eat three dozen oysters with our friend Katie I was hesitant but said yes. I'm SO glad I did because I found out that oysters cooked in the oven are magically delicious!
Apparently, 400* for about eight minutes is the secret. Since people eat them raw, it doesn't really matter how little they're in the oven, but Allison told me that as soon as the first oyster pops open a little bit then you can call them done. Let them cool a bit, then open them from the back with a shucking knife. Drop four drops of Sriracha (four drops was the perfect amount for me!) and a squidge of lemon on that sucker and suck it down. DELICIOUS! I could have helped eat another three dozen oysters!
So, anyway, I thought I'd share this because I didn't think I liked oysters at all, but I just needed them prepared in a way I liked them, so maybe anyone who thinks that they don't like oysters either can try them this way! What are some foods that you used to not like but just didn't have them prepared in a manner that was right for you?
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Roasting Coffee Beans in a Popcorn Popper: A Simple How-To
First there was roasting coffee beans in a frying pan and how to do it, but NOW, my friends, I am going to show you how to roast green beans in a vintage popcorn popper! I would not have known how to do this without working at my awesome job, Mr. Green Beans! Even though I have been working in the coffee industry for eight years (that is so weird and cool to say!) I have learned a lot at this job, including how to roast my own beans on a small scale! (Small scale because when I roasted at The Green Coffee Bean Company we roasted in a Probat L-12, so that's what I'm used to.)
You want to find a vintage popcorn popper because they get hotter than the ones nowadays. The West Bend Poppery II is apparently the ultimate in poppers. There are lots listed on eBay! Sometimes you can find them in thrift stores, but apparently they are getting harder to find. I paid $40 total for mine on eBay and I can tell you that it's still cheaper than buying an actual home coffee roaster and the cost I am still saving by roasting my own beans in a popper is still way cheaper than it is to buy roasted beans elsewhere!
Disclaimer: this is the first time I've ever done this and am delighted it worked! Beans may take longer to roast for you than for me. I'm writing this as a springboard for you to possibly be interested in roasting your own coffee and to delve more into it! And, as always, you are more than welcome to order your green coffee beans from my shop. *ahem* ;o)
I cut this box up to collect the chaff that will blow out of the popper. I've seen the box that Trevin uses at work and it works perfectly! So I jiggered this box and it worked great.
One of my favorite coffees, Ethiopia Limu! So yummy! It was the very end of one bag, so there was just a little skidge of coffee, but definitely enough to enjoy!
Since this is my first time, I measured out 3oz in the little popcorn measurer. The popper says it can hold 4oz, but since this was full after 3 I figured I'd just try that. I think it worked fine.
My popper in the position with the chaff-collecting box.
Action shot of the beans spinning!
It took seven minutes for my beans to get to the color I wanted them to be. The first crack occurred at about 4 minutes and I let the beans continue roasting for another two and a half minutes or so. As you can see, they are a nice, even color, as compared to the bottom picture, which is the beans I roasted in a frying pan, leading to the beans roasting unevenly.
All in all, I think it was a success and I'm happy! I can't wait to try my coffee tomorrow morning!
I am linking this post to Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways.
Monday, March 19, 2012
Roasting Coffee Beans in a Frying Pan: A Simple How-To
This weekend I did something I hadn't done before, which was roasting green coffee beans in a frying pan! I've done it in a big roaster and in a small home roaster, but never in a frying pan. Did you know that buying green coffee beans costs about half the price of roasted coffee beans? Did you know roasting coffee only takes about ten minutes? It's super easy! And, of course, you can always get your green beans from Mr. Green Beans! ;o)
I got some Guatemala Huehuetenango coffee beans from work. Huehue is one of my favorite coffees, so I was excited to try roasting it on my own.
I preheated my iron skillet to the medium setting on my stove and poured in 4oz of green beans.
Then I just started stirring!
The beans started to change color and I kept them moving. They go through two stages of cracks. I like my coffees a little past the first crack, producing a nice medium roast. I stopped the coffee a little lighter than I wanted my end result to be, because the beans will get a little darker after you take them off the stove.
I then put them in my metal colander and shook them around until they were cool! The beans will produce a chaff when they are in skillet, which made it a little smoky in my kitchen, but nothing too bad. More of the chaff came off when I shook the beans around.
Ta do! Fresh roasted coffee beans! I put them in a Mason jar and didn't quite seal the jar, but turned the ring back around about halfway. The coffee will off-gas for a few hours after being roasted and is drinkable after that. Drinking coffee the next morning that I roasted myself was a good feeling!
Hot, fresh coffee was very enjoyable to have while I worked at the Saturday Market this weekend!
Have you ever thought about roasting your own beans?
I am linking this post to Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways.
I am linking this post to Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Another Awesome Use for Baking Soda
This weekend while I was helping Amy at the Saturday Market we got on the subject of keeping jewelry nice-looking and I asked her why my silver jewelry tarnishes so easily (answer: moisture) but then she told me of this awesome secret (maybe it is not a secret and you all know this) where you can put a little bit of baking soda in your palm, put a tiny bit of water in it to make a paste, and then use the paste to scrub the tarnish off your jewelry! It works and it is SO EASY!!! I had a small pile of jewelry going that just needed to be polished with a polishing cloth, which is boring and a pain. I immediately went home and tried my new trick and it works so quickly and easily!!!
Earring on the left was polished, earring on the right isn't. You can kind of tell the difference in this photo. I tried to get it to turn out a little better, but it still just looks dark. The left one is much shinier, though!
I wish I would have thought to do a "before" picture of all the earrings together. The little bee earrings were so grungy and yucky-looking and the fishie earrings were just sad. The fish earrings match one of the bracelets I wear all the time, so I kinda like wearing these, although they just haven't gotten any love lately due to tarnish. Not anymore!
Did you know about this awesome use? What else do you use baking soda for?
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Making Toothpaste at Home
The good part about this recipe is that it's made with coconut oil, which is really, really good for you. It is like doing oil pulling on a very small scale, as well. This also probably cost 40 cents to make or something like that, too. I always have coconut oil around because it's a main oil in my soaps, so why not try it out? Needless to say, I am very happy with the results. My mouth felt very clean and not in a weird, fake way. Also, Jonathan told me after he tried it for the first time that he really liked it, too, so it's a win!
Got my supplies out. You will need baking soda, coconut oil, peppermint oil, and a jar to mix things in.
I measured out three tablespoons of baking soda.
I measured out three tablespoons of coconut oil.
I mixed it all together with a fork...see how easy this is?
I put in one teaspoon of peppermint essential oil. Ta da! Toothpaste!
I did not add the vegetable glycerin or stevia, as mentioned in Crunchy Betty's post,
although I bet it would be good.
Edit: Vegetable glycerin makes it WAY better! More toothpaste consistency and easier to brush with. Add about 1 teaspoon and see how that feels.
Edit: Vegetable glycerin makes it WAY better! More toothpaste consistency and easier to brush with. Add about 1 teaspoon and see how that feels.
I scooped a little blob onto my toothbrush.
(Blob.)
And then I got myself some clean teeth!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)