Life goes on, and on, and on...

My apologies for not posting much in the past months. Life has a way of getting in the way of tasks like this. I'm adding the body of the letter I just sent to Sharon Astyk- a wonderful author,
lecturer, farmer, and mother that I met at the North Country Energy Fair in Canton, NY a few years ago. It explains what I've been doing and how things are going.

If you are interested in my book on scrounging or information on my deep well pump plans or pump kits then I remind you to e-mail me directly at jsjuczak@gisco.net and I will contact you directly.

here's the letter...

Hi Sharon;

I just finished putting 25 heads of red cabbage into jars.
I'm trying an acid ferment recommended by my friend Amy.
You basically shred the cabbage, pound it to break it down a bit
and add lemon juice. It will slowly ferment over 6, or so days
and then you can it in canning jars with the lids on 'not so tight'.
It tastes a bit saur krauty, but without the salt. We'll try it on the
extra green cabbages in a while. I still have to harvest the last of
my brussels sprouts...I haven't looked at them in a while...hope they
are still there.

Yes, its been super busy. I had surgery (rotator cuff and
carpal tunnel at the same time) about 5 weeks ago and have been
recovering. In that time we've built a 24' x 32' cabin for my parents
(the shell is complete and relatively winter tight), gotten a green light
for becoming a 501(C)(3) with the help of the Syracuse University
Law School (they took us on pro bono), turned in my application
package to become a professor/department chair at the local
community college's new "Energy Program Director" position (I wrote
the initial job description while teaching there at night- so I think my
chances are good), gotten several chapters to my book on water supplies
for the homestead (Water, water everywhere...how to get a drink- is the
working title- I'm still not happy with that one, but it fits the best). The
bad news is that Krista has had to undergo a couple of surgeries to get
rid of breast cancer. We find out if Friday's surgery has 'fixed' the problem.
We caught it really early and acted quickly.

That all said, I still need to send you a deep well hand pump kit. I've only sold
a few of them, but the plans are still moving. I am selling a few books and
plans sets per week, on average. It isn't much, but it all helps keep me gainfully
unemployed. I'm ready to gear up and produce pump kits and partially assembled
pumps. I do understand that if the business takes off it will probably become
a more than a part-time business. I've been lining up my 'sub-contractors' so that
it can be done high quality, but with minimum investment of my time...my speciality is
making sure things run smoothly on construction sites and manufacturing businesses.
Please resend your street address and as I clean up the shop after a summer's worth
of mess I'll put together a kit for your and your son to build as a winter project!

We had a lot of work done on the farm this summer. I have fenced in 4 acres, planted
a 170 tree orchard, built a 3000' drip irrigation system and supplied 14 families with
a weekly vegetable share. My biggest boon was being approached by the Jefferson
County Summer Youth Employment Program (their budget was doubled and they had
more kids than work!) to see if I had part-time work for 23 kids for most of the summer!
Lots of things got done...some of it good. I'm still finding tools and supplies scattered
all over the place and fixing the things that they broke, but I'm 3 years ahead of where
I though I would be if I had to do all of the work myself. In all it balances out.

I will update my website/blogsite today (probably with an edited version of this letter and look
forward to the orders pouring in).

I spoke at the PA Renewable Energy and Sustainable Living Fair this summer. It is a high energy and fun event....they could use you next year...I gave 12 of the 6 lectures they had me
scheduled for. If I'd had all 150 scrounging books that I'd just received from my printer
I would have sold out! It was crazy, I felt like a pole dancer with all of the $20's people were
stuffing into my pockets to get the books I had brought with me! I sold out of pump plans, too!

The North Country Energy Fair in Canton, NY is dead...the Community Energy
Services group that was the organizer fell apart about a month ago (some internal strife and problemswith NYSERDA funding). There is a grass roots group that is trying to get a sustainable living fair set up in its place. It would be a shame if it just stopped...there was a lot of momentum.

Enough babbling! Have a great day! -Jim-