The Impractical Cabinetmaker: Krenov on Composing, Making, and Detailing


James Krenov - 1979
    In this volume, first published in 1979, Krenov invites the reader into his workshop, where he shares his techniques and uncompromising approach to craftsmanship, along with thoughts about his work and its place in the world. Photo sequences show how Krenov composes a cabinet directly in the wood, without dimensioned drawings. He also discusses working with shop-sawn veneers, the technique of fitting curved doors, and the problems of accuracy and mistakes. The book concludes with a detailed exploration of three furniture projects: a curved showcase cabinet, a writing table with drawer, and a chess table.

The Flower Gardener's Bible: Time-Tested Techniques, Creative Designs, and Perfect Plants for Colorful Gardens


Nancy Hill - 2003
    They cover it all--from choosing your site and designing your garden to improving your soil, choosing and caring for your plants, and fighting pests and disease. Create the flower garden of your dreams with this comprehensive reference.

One Acre Homestead: Planning for self-sufficiency and financial independence


Sara Simmons McDonald - 2012
    She then illustrates a long-term plan to achieve her goal of self-sufficiency. One-Acre Homestead features a simplified permaculture design for a one acre farm that produces the majority of the resident's food. This design is based on practical workable methods that the author uses on her homestead. The author explains the importance of creating zones that will be dedicated to different purposes in the garden, and encourages planning ahead with slow but steady progress in mind. Instead of investing in expensive livestock, she focuses on a few small animals, practices forest gardening and growing trees for biomass production in order to achieve a no-till, sustainable gardening system. She explains why her goal on the homestead isn't to provide 100% of everything a family uses in order to be self-sufficient. Instead, gardening zones are established so that production can be maximized to meet the majority of a family's food needs in a crisis year. Written in an informal style directed toward the reader, the author aims to encourage others to take steps toward self-sufficiency no matter where they are in their journey. Using her own experience over the past 5 years as a guide, she urges readers to begin working now toward their goal of self-sufficiency. She often refers to methods that have worked for her in the humid southeastern US and makes suggestions for readers in other climates to adapt these practices to their gardens. This book is broken into 3 parts I. The author's journey II. The basic design process with lots of photos and reasoning for each step of the plan III. Gaining financial independence

Seed to Seed: Seed Saving and Growing Techniques for Vegetable Gardeners


Suzanne Ashworth - 1995
    This book contains detailed information about each vegetable, including its botanical classification, flower structure and means of pollination, required population size, isolation distance, techniques for caging or hand-pollination, and also the proper methods for harvesting, drying, cleaning, and storing the seeds.Seed to Seed is widely acknowledged as the best guide available for home gardeners to learn effective ways to produce and store seeds on a small scale. The author has grown seed crops of every vegetable featured in the book, and has thoroughly researched and tested all of the techniques she recommends for the home garden.This newly updated and greatly expanded Second Edition includes additional information about how to start each vegetable from seed, which has turned the book into a complete growing guide. Local knowledge about seed starting techniques for each vegetable has been shared by expert gardeners from seven regions of the United States-Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast/Gulf Coast, Midwest, Southwest, Central West Coast, and Northwest.

The Easy Way To Clean: How to clean your house using a three times faster method


Ian Stables - 2012
    then this new 30 page 'to the point' book by Amazon best-selling author Ian Stables will show you how. It makes house cleaning, without scrubbing, possible.Unlike most books about house cleaning tips, this one isn't just filled with lots of similar.This is based on a method first developed years ago whilst working in a small hotel belonging to the author's, now late, father. With guests coming and going, cleaning had to be done quickly. His father used to be amazed how his son was able to clean a room, top to bottom, in just 5 minutes. It was because he had a method.The method is the result of developing a common sense way of cleaning.Cleaning your home is a lot faster and easier if you have a method that works. That's what this is. It gives you a simple method of cleaning your house in a much more efficient way. It makes cleaning and organizing rooms like your kitchen, bathroom, bedrooms and living room very easy.It also gives you a simple 15 minute system that will effectively de-clutter and organize your home. This system is easy and gives permanent rather than temporary results.The Easy Way To Clean: How to clean your house using a three times faster methodYou'll be able to...Know what you're doing and do it a lot fasterYou'll find out why having a plan makes it so much faster and easier. You get to know what this simple plan is.Tidy up a room in minutesUsing a simple step-by-step method you can easily tidy a room in just minutes.Clean rooms three times faster without scrubbingThis uses common sense and a simple plan. It makes everything easy and gets rid of the need for scrubbing. Unless absolutely necessary.Dust an entire room in just minutesForget spraying, polishing and buffing. You may not realize it, but traditional polishing can spoil the look of your furniture over time.Vacuum with minimum effortVacuuming often results in aches and pains and can take a lot of effort. Not any more. This method removes all that effort and makes it almost effortless.Clean glass without streaks in minutesThis doesn't involve vinegar or any traditional cleaning products. My ex-girlfriend used to always get me to do her glass because of the results I got. This method cleans glass in just minutes. No streaks.How to clean the entire house in one goA plan that cleans the entire house in one go using the methods you learn.Organize and de-clutter your home in just 15 minutes a dayForget about trying to spend a whole day organizing a room or the shed. That doesn't work. It only gives temporary results and takes a lot of hard work. Instead, follow a simple 15 minute daily plan.Sort and organize any area fastEasily sort and organize anything including cupboards, drawers, wardrobes, etc.Always keep things tidyThis simple method will allow you to keep in control. I used to have the kitchen looking like nothing had happened. The only things visible was the pans on the cooker cooking Sunday dinner.Start making it easy on yourself and learn this method today.

Hardy Succulents: Tough Plants for Every Climate


Gwen Kelaidis - 2008
    From agaves to ice plants and sedums to sempervivums, hardy succulents can bring color, texture, and versatility to perennial flower beds in any climate. This comprehensive guide offers clear growing instructions accompanied by vivid photography of these durable and beautiful plants. With tips on choosing the right varieties for every North American hardiness zone, you can enjoy all the quirky vibrancy of succulents wherever you live.

The Modern Natural Dyer: A Comprehensive Guide to Dyeing Silk, Wool, Linen and Cotton at Home


Kristine Vejar - 2015
    Now, in The Modern Natural Dyer, expert Kristine Vejar shares the most user-friendly techniques for dyeing yarn, fabric, and finished goods at home with foraged and garden-raised dyestuffs as well as with convenient natural dye extracts. Demystifying the "magic," Vejar explains in explicit, easy-to-follow detail how to produce consistent, long-lasting color. With stunning photography of the dyes themselves, the dyeing process, and 20 projects for home and wardrobe (some to knit, some to sew, and some just a matter of submerging a finished piece in a prepared bath), The Modern Natural Dyer is a complete resource for aspiring and experienced dye artisans.

Our Quirky Pot Luck Recipes


Katy Ardans - 2012
    With a small budget, a few hours of preparation, and some late-night cooking, we put together a down-sized Top Chef potluck competition — save for the fame, sweating and nervous breakdowns.As potlucks were created in the nature of giving, it seems only right to want to share our recipes — and some tips on setting up the event — with fellow food lovers.

The Five-Year Guide to Self-Sufficiency: Simple Living Made Simpler


Amelia Barrows - 2012
    Now, however, with prices rising and more chemicals than foods in the grocery store, families are starting to take notice. The return to sustainable living is long overdue, but many are so intimidated by the amount of work involved that they never even start.The Five-Year Guide to Self-Sufficiency follows a logical progression to move your homestead forward every year in an organized and affordable manner. Over the course of five years, you will learn how to get the most from your land, whether it be half an acre or 100. You'll grow everything from a basic garden bed to a fruitful orchard, pick from a wide variety of livestock ranging from chickens to alpacas, and lead a simpler life with less reliance on fossil fuels.The road may be long and arduous, but there's no need to overwhelm yourself. By taking everything at a rational pace, you too can remove yourself from a meaningless culture and improve your quality of life one day at a time.

Poverty Prepping: How to Stock up For Tomorrow When You Can't Afford To Eat Today


Susan Gregersen - 2012
    It's a struggle just to make ends meet and afford what they need right now. I think anyone can start to prepare for the future. My husband and I have a 4-figure annual income that isn't even close to hitting five figures. If we can do it, you can too. We're not just telling you how to do it, we're living it! Don't be put off by books, websites, and forums that lead you to think you have to buy expensive pre-packaged food storage, or foods that you're not familiar with. Stocking up doesn't have to be expensive or complicated. You can get started with just a few dollars a month. If, at the end of the book,you still don't think you can do it, send me an email and we'll talk. I've included my email address, my blog link, and we're working on a website.

Fact or Fiction: Science Tackles 58 Popular Myths


Scientific American - 2013
    Drawing from Scientific American's "Fact or Fiction" and "Strange But True" columns, we've selected fifty-eight of the most surprising, fascinating, useful, and just plain wacky topics confronted by our writers over the years.

Elements of Style Revised Edition: A Practical Encyclopedia of Interior Architectural Details from 1485 to the Pres


Stephen Calloway - 1991
    Examines the details of architectural styles from 1485 to 1996, and provides a directory of suppliers and biographical data on select architects and designers.

Good Cheap Eats: Everyday Dinners and Fantastic Feasts for $10 or Less


Jessica Fisher - 2014
    Those recipes are organized into 70 multi-course dinners—main dishes, sides, and add-ons such as soup, bread, or dessert—including: Simple Bean Tostadas, Chunky Tomato Salsa, Lemon Pie with Honey-Ginger Ice CreamChicken Kabobs with Mint-Yogurt Sauce, Curried Couscous, Greek Spinach SaladAsian Chicken Salad with Rice Noodles, Ginger-Orange CrispBeef Potpie with Flaky Cheddar Crust, Winter Greens and Citrus SaladCajun Shrimp and Sausage Rice, Buttery Dill Carrots, Banana-Walnut Mini Muffins Each dinner feeds a family of four for ten dollars—a little more for larger families, a little less for smaller ones and singles.  The menus are just suggestions, and readers can mix-and-match any of the tasty 200-plus recipes as they like.  In more than 100 tips scattered through the book, Jessica distills her hard-won wisdom into a wealth of ideas for how to be a penny-wise shopper, how to find good cuts of meat that are cheap, how to reduce waste and maximize leftovers, and more.  Never before has living so affordably meant living so well.

Earthbag Building: The Tools, Tricks and Techniques


Kaki Hunter - 2004
    This has led to widespread interest in using natural materials—straw, cob, and earth—for building homes and other buildings that are inexpensive, and that rely largely on labor rather than expensive and often environmentally-damaging outsourced materials.Earthbag Building is the first comprehensive guide to all the tools, tricks, and techniques for building with bags filled with earth—or earthbags. Having been introduced to sandbag construction by the renowned Nader Khalili in 1993, the authors developed this "Flexible Form Rammed Earth Technique" over the last decade. A reliable method for constructing homes, outbuildings, garden walls and much more, this enduring, tree-free architecture can also be used to create arched and domed structures of great beauty—in any region, and at home, in developing countries, or in emergency relief work.This profusely illustrated guide first discusses the many merits of earthbag construction, and then leads the reader through the key elements of an earthbag building: Special design considerations Foundations, walls and floors Electrical, plumbing and shelving Lintels, windows and door installations Roofs, arches and domes Exterior and interior plasters.With dedicated sections on costs, making your own specialized tools, and building code considerations, as well as a complete resources guide, Earthbag Building is the long-awaited, definitive guide to this uniquely pleasing construction style.Kaki Hunter and Donald Kiffmeyer have been involved in the construction industry for the last 20 years, specializing in affordable, low-tech, low-impact building methods that are as natural as possible. They developed the "Flexible Form Rammed Earth Technique" of building affordably with earthbags and have taught the subject and contributed their expertise to several books and journals on natural building.

The American Meadow Garden: Creating a Natural Alternative to the Traditional Lawn


John Greenlee - 2009
    The time has come to look for new ways to create friendly, livable spaces around our homes. In The American Meadow Garden, ornamental grass expert John Greenlee creates a new model for homeowners and gardeners. For Greenlee, a meadow isn't a random assortment of messy, anonymous grasses. Rather, it is a shimmering mini-ecosystem, in which regionally appropriate grasses combine with colorful perennials to form a rich tapestry that is friendly to all life — with minimal input of water, time, and other scarce resources. Kids and pets can play in complete safety, and birds and butterflies flock there. A prairie style planting is a place you want to be. With decades of experience as a nurseryman and designer, John Greenlee is the perfect guide. He details all the practicalities of site preparation, plant selection, and maintenance; particularly valuable are his explanations of how ornamental grasses perform in different climates and areas. Gorgeous photography by Saxon Holt visually illustrates the message with stunning examples of meadow gardens from across the country. We've reached a stage where we can no longer follow past practices unthinkingly, particularly when those practices are wasteful and harmful to the environment. It's time to get rid of the old-fashioned lawn and embrace a sane and healthy future: the American meadow garden.