One Item for BM a Day (2010-2012)

[FaeTora]

its not aggressive to me. But thats just my opinion. Just a tingle. It was odd the first time but eh, I love the smell. Its what I use at home because its eco-friendly, not horribly expensive, and I like the smell.

[motskyroonmatick]

I have used the Dr. Bronners on occasion and as a connoisseur of fine peppermint oil and a past mint distillery operator I am here to say what they blend with their soap is pretty good stuff. Not top of the line but not burned smelling and bad tasting redistill. I'd say 75% of best.

I've got some Giovanni Shampoo that is minty that I save just for the burn cause the light tingle is nice and refreshing.

[ygmir]

I use NOW foods "peppermint castille".......it's nice, and, tingly.......and, oh so minty fresh...........not "fresh as a summers eve" mind you, but, fresh, non the less.........

[EmilyD]

...as a connoisseur of fine peppermint oil and a past mint distillery operator....

Do tell, it must have burned yes? I know when I visited the Celestial Seasons tea factory they had the mint room sealed because the fumes were so powerful. Did you have to wear protective gear?

[motskyroonmatick]

...as a connoisseur of fine peppermint oil and a past mint distillery operator....

Do tell, it must have burned yes? I know when I visited the Celestial Seasons tea factory they had the mint room sealed because the fumes were so powerful. Did you have to wear protective gear?

Indeed it was extremely minty in the distillery(dramatic understatement). Many people could not step foot inside the distilling room even with 3 massive doors open to vent hot air from the boiler, steam pipes and condensers. Some people could not be in the general area. It took a while to get used to and I did not have to wear protective gear. It was hard on the eyes to begin with. I wore welding gloves when dealing with the steam lines and hot vapor lines but that was about it for PPE. I probably wore sunglasses to avoid getting any pure mint in my eye accidentally. I was very careful when draining the separators as the mint was worth about 18 bucks a pound at the time. That was before production in the Kalamath/Merril area and the Columbia Gorge took off. Apparently large growers in those regions secured large contracts and that pushed the price way down for the smaller growers. My leather boots smelled like mint for months after distilling season was over. That was nice. I still have some small bottles of pure mint oil about that I crack open every once in a while to get a whiff. It seems to keep very well as it smells just the same as 10 years ago when I bottled it. It is such a concentrate that to flavor frosting on a cake one would dip a tooth pick in to the concentrate and then run the tooth pick through the frosting. The frosting would then need to be mixed well and almost never required addition of more mint for a two layer cake. Powerful stuff. I think mint oil that you can get in the spice section is cut with vegetable oil to mellow it out.

Tazo (I think) has a factory/warehouse in Portland that I have driven bye and been amazed by the overwhelming smell of tea in the air. I've actually wondered how people work there....I guess I should know.

Many farmers in the Culver/Madras area were growing mint for tea. They actually used older model combines to thrash the mint. Combines are usually used for grains and seeds so this is a well outside of normal use. Set in just the right way it the machine would strip the leaves off of the stalk and the hopper would fill with leaves. The leaves were transported to barns where they were stored loose in big piles.

I definitely miss running the mint distillery. It was the most fun job for me on that farm.

[EmilyD]

...as a connoisseur of fine peppermint oil and a past mint distillery operator....

Do tell, it must have burned yes? I know when I visited the Celestial Seasons tea factory they had the mint room sealed because the fumes were so powerful. Did you have to wear protective gear?

Indeed it was extremely minty in the distillery(dramatic understatement). Many people could not step foot inside the distilling room even with 3 massive doors open to vent hot air from the boiler, steam pipes and condensers. Some people could not be in the general area. It took a while to get used to and I did not have to wear protective gear. It was hard on the eyes to begin with....

Thanks for the great story. You had a wonderfully unusual job. 10 years mint power, maybe we can harness it for energy?

OKAY back from topic drift. I'm almost finished sewing dress #4 (out of 6) and it's coming out really well. It's moss-colored eyelet (breezy) and I"m adding contrasting flapper fringe. It's a great dance dress for sure.

[VArocketry]

After I tie-dye my white SPF50 UV protection long sleeve t-shirts, I'm gonna silk screen this logo on it .... plus some glowy stuff all over.





Still trying to decide if the date hieroglyths (2010) should go inside the shield..... maybe smaller and under the legs ...

A night time pale UV glow color under the shield is being considered, too.


P.S. BLING .... could you post a pic of the camelbak strap improvements? I'd love to see 'em.

[Savannah]

Definitely put the hieroglyphs inside. That's a kickass logo, but--to me--the hieroglyphs look a little weird where they are.

[illy dilly]

Definitely put the hieroglyphs inside. That's a kickass logo, but--to me--the hieroglyphs look a little weird where they are.

Agreed, I'd ellongate the arms, and make it look like the man is holding the hieroglyphs. (but thinking twice, of course I would say that, cause its the same thing I did with the sun in the CO flag.)

[AntiM]

Figured out my post-playa decompression day/intro back into real world arrangements in Reno! And, even better, it will be free! I LOVE time the fact that my mom has time share condos and has not used them this year!

Today was the first day I could reserve mine, nothing open! I'm on the wait list for a sleeps six, which has been a decent gamble in the past. Did you get in?

[Bling]

What we did this past weekend was proof-of-concept for our private potty plans. So, part of this is a repost from the potty thread. We got a "luggable loo," though any 5-gallong bucket could work for this purpose. Then we tried out our WAG bags.

WAG bags are "waste kits" that each contain:
-- A large, sturdy plastic bag filled with powder similar to what's used in disposable diapers
-- A small bit of TP
-- A wet wipe
-- A ziploc bag for disposal

You place the large plastic bag in your loo of choice, and can then use it 4-5 times for liquid or solid waste. It worked like a charm! The powder turned the pee into a solid, odorless gel. After 5 uses, I just pulled out the large bag, tied it shut, and closed it inside the ziploc bag.

The whole system is then APPROVED FOR LANDFILL USE. Yes, you can toss it out with regular garbage. WAG bags are AWESOME!. I bought a case of them online, plus some extra "poo powder" on eBay for more odor control. We'll bring along an old stainless trashcan with a lid for disposal and pack the whole works out...

[EmilyD]

What we did this past weekend was proof-of-concept for our private potty plans. So, part of this is a repost from the potty thread. We got a "luggable loo," though any 5-gallong bucket could work for this purpose. Then we tried out our WAG bags.

WAG bags are "waste kits" that each contain:
-- A large, sturdy plastic bag filled with powder similar to what's used in disposable diapers
-- A small bit of TP
-- A wet wipe
-- A ziploc bag for disposal

You place the large plastic bag in your loo of choice, and can then use it 4-5 times for liquid or solid waste. It worked like a charm! The powder turned the pee into a solid, odorless gel. After 5 uses, I just pulled out the large bag, tied it shut, and closed it inside the ziploc bag.

The whole system is then APPROVED FOR LANDFILL USE. Yes, you can toss it out with regular garbage. WAG bags are AWESOME!. I bought a case of them online, plus some extra "poo powder" on eBay for more odor control. We'll bring along an old stainless trashcan with a lid for disposal and pack the whole works out...

What's the name of that poo powder Bling? I bought some cat litter crystals but the power must certainly be better and less bulky. Also, Ace Hardware has these spinning tight lids that fit over painters buckets. I got a couple they seal up real tight:

[Bling]

When I found it on eBay (there's none on there right this minute), it was just called "extra WAG bag pooh powder."

[Plumeria]

Figured out my post-playa decompression day/intro back into real world arrangements in Reno! And, even better, it will be free! I LOVE time the fact that my mom has time share condos and has not used them this year!

Today was the first day I could reserve mine, nothing open! I'm on the wait list for a sleeps six, which has been a decent gamble in the past. Did you get in?

Technically no. But, I am level 1 waitlist to have the condo for the week and then a level 2 waitlist for just the one night.

[EmilyD]

When I found it on eBay (there's none on there right this minute), it was just called "extra WAG bag pooh powder."

Any idea what it is chemically?

Is it like this stuff?

[Bling]

Not a clue, I'm afraid. Probably proprietary...

[EmilyD]

Not a clue, I'm afraid. Probably proprietary...

I bet it's this stuff:

http://www.biorelief.com/portables-comp ... atment.htm

http://www.easycaretoilet.com/site/7796 ... ct/D105POW

[Bling]

Yup, that's it! I found 1/2 lb. on eBay for about $20.

[AntiM]

Figured out my post-playa decompression day/intro back into real world arrangements in Reno! And, even better, it will be free! I LOVE time the fact that my mom has time share condos and has not used them this year!

Today was the first day I could reserve mine, nothing open! I'm on the wait list for a sleeps six, which has been a decent gamble in the past. Did you get in?

Technically no. But, I am level 1 waitlist to have the condo for the week and then a level 2 waitlist for just the one night.

I got on the level one wait list for one night, didn't bother with the week long option.

[Plumeria]

Today was the first day I could reserve mine, nothing open! I'm on the wait list for a sleeps six, which has been a decent gamble in the past. Did you get in?

Technically no. But, I am level 1 waitlist to have the condo for the week and then a level 2 waitlist for just the one night.

I got on the level one wait list for one night, didn't bother with the week long option.

I already was on the weeklong option. Because I have family who could stay in it if I end up getting it and I could get on the list earlier when I did it weeks ago! yippee!

[EmilyD]

Well, I finally finished dress #4 but it's kind of baggy and not super flattering. It's very comfortable though. Maybe I should make a lace-up bodicey thing. What are those called? Anyone made one before?

[Plumeria]

I was cleaning/organizing in the garage and going through boxes. Found a brand new sewing geni and mini stitcher! I count this as my item for today! See, I can't sew for the life of me, but, with this little machine and the mini stitcher, I can do what I need to do instead of finding someone to do it for me! I am SO glad that my mom bought this years ago and never used it! hehe

[Bling]

Very cool! I used to have one of those, but moved up to a full sized machine. Handy, though.

My big box-O-ties came, and I found enough to make the skirt I had in mind, with tons left over for my daughter, who's also coming with us.

[bm_cricket]

I'm just making stupid wiki entries about Burning Man. And trying not to let my mind go tooooo far astray.... Oh, butterflies...

[EmilyD]

I was cleaning/organizing in the garage and going through boxes. Found a brand new sewing geni and mini stitcher! I count this as my item for today! See, I can't sew for the life of me, but, with this little machine and the mini stitcher, I can do what I need to do instead of finding someone to do it for me! :) I am SO glad that my mom bought this years ago and never used it! hehe

COOL! Because there's some pink fake fur on it's way to you! ;-)

[theCryptofishist]

Technically no. But, I am level 1 waitlist to have the condo for the week and then a level 2 waitlist for just the one night.

I got on the level one wait list for one night, didn't bother with the week long option.

I already was on the weeklong option. Because I have family who could stay in it if I end up getting it and I could get on the list earlier when I did it weeks ago! :) yippee!

I got confused and thought you were talking about imaginary options that come with tiered tickets.

Maybe the threads are getting tangled.

[EmilyD]

I'm just making stupid wiki entries about Burning Man. And trying not to let my mind go tooooo far astray.... Oh, butterflies...

And your work there is definitely appreciated! I purchased a shade structure from Jon Sarriugarte ("Golden Mean" Snail Car), in case you want to add his Form & Reform Blackrock Shade to the Wiki. He designed and tested it specifically for Playa use and his prices are much lower than other awning companies for equivalent parts:

http://www.formandreform.com/wordpress/?page_id=2576

He doesn't know I've suggested this, nor will I get any compensation for promoting his structure. I spent months researching and even had a friend design us a structure. He's the one who found Jon's shade for sale at the Maker Faire and insisted it was as good (and simpler to assemble) than his.

[C.f.M.]

I'm avoiding posting around here, until I find out if I'm freaking going...still waiting to hear about the scholarship. /sigh

Am considering purchasing a Jetboil stove, if anybody has thoughts on it (see link).

Those shade structures look tight.

[Bling]

Well, it's certainly SMALL, but it doesn't look all that useful to me--except for heating up things in a cup. We're looking at a 2-burner one (since, of course we sold the old 2-burner Coleman stove at a garage sale a few years ago...): http://www.campchef.com/store/item/413/ ... combo.html. (Cheaper on Amazon).

[Fire_Moose]

That stove looks a lot like mine (http://www.brunton.com/product.php?id=617) which i love

that site lists it at like 140$ but i got mine from REI for 50ish

/shrug