My Boston's Boston Red Sox

Chloe, my tenacious Boston Terrier is entered into a costume contest and I really want her to win. 

Winning could mean a lot of doggy toys for this girl:

She's dressed up as Boston Red Sox player David Ortiz! Except, on her shirt, it says "Big Puppy"instead of Big Papi and it has the number 34 on it. 

To vote, all you need to do it go to this link and type Chloe into the box and sumbit!

Thanks in advance for voting!

Rocket Mass Stoves And Permaculture!

This post was sponsored by Woodburningstoves2.com. All opinions are my own and it is all written in my own words.

It's that time of year!
Time to get those heaters going in your house.
For those with wood heat it means you've spent all year getting ready for this; splitting and stacking, drying and hauling wood to your cellar to use. Then you'll have to repeat the process over and over again all winter long. Some houses can use up to 8 cords of wood! That is huge amount. That is a lot of trees, a lot of smoke, and for most conventional stoves..... a lot of wasted heat!

What if you could have a stove that could use only an 1/8th of the wood and cause barely any pollution?

That would be called a Rocket Mass Heater.
Look at this beautiful one:

Rocket Mass Heaters are very different from an everyday stove: the wood stands vertically, the fire burns horizontally, and the heat from one fire can last for so much longer! Here is how they work:

These heaters work so well, some people have reported warming their houses on only the fallen branches on their lawn!!

I lived for almost 5 years in a one room rough made building, much like a yurt but made out of wood, that only had a wood stove as a source of heat. And, it was such a hassle. I love a wood fire and sitting all snuggly by it..... but having to get up at three in the morning because the fire's out and the house is in the 40's..........not cool. We used so much wood and got not a lot of heat out of the process. If only we'd had one of these Rocket Mass Heaters!

For more information on how a Rocket Mass Heater works, including videos and more images, 

Go HERE

Another great site where you can get information on Rocket Heaters and on cool topics like Permaculutre......with everything from aquaponics, earthworking, and homesteading is 

Permies

The evil mastermind behind these sites is Paul Wheaton, a permaculture guru from Montana and a wearer of the awesomest Steampunk Hat in history. Here he is on the cover of the Missoula Independent:

And HERE IS THE HAT:

How cool is that. 

Totally Steampunk. 

You can find Paul Wheaton here:

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Best Bike Storage

This is a sponsored post. All opinions are my own and written in my own words. 

Many thanks to The Graphics Fairy for the Steampunk bike image!

Where do you store your bike? 

Bicycles can be such a pain to park or store because they are so large and heavy and their shape, while very reasonable while riding, is not very easy to handle when your feet are on the ground. If you own a business that encourages it's employees to conserve gas and get healthy by biking, you're going to need Cycle Shelters for those bikes to park. 

I'm a big fan of this particular bike shelter. It's super curly! Not only does it do the job well, but it imitates the shape of a bike in many ways and makes an artful and purposeful impact. Looking at that shelter, you would know just what it was for, and also be reminded of the beauty of bikes!

Bike shelters don't have to be an eyesore. They can be a lovely addition to the landscape. This one has alpine style that I think would blend in really well with a building of similar style.

Ultimately, what you choose for a bike shelter has to fit your needs. It has to be able to contain the right number of bikes as well and cover them from the weather. It has to be accessible and easy to use and, if you are hoping for style..... you've really got to find one that matches the looks of the buildings around it. 

There are bike shelters that are just simple metal frames with plastic roofs, aluminum sided ones, wood and aluminum, modern styles, new age styles, classic and antique styles. The question is, which one the right fit for you? I feel that having a bike shelter is not only a very polite amenity for a business to offer but also one that shows how much that business appreciates it's workers and is encouraging it's employees to be healthy.