A couple of reviews

[hchi...@hotmail.com]

Our move to the country has been interesting, with confirmation of
many of my ideas and past experiences, and a glorious change from city
life. However, even with my past experiences and knowledge, there is
a tremendous amount to learn and a lot of trial and error.

I have a few selected how-to books that are meant to give guidance in
building arts and basics, but these haven't quite hit the mark, so I
decided to take a plunge and get the three CD set of the first 30
years of Mother Earth News. While I give TMEN, the magazine, a mixed
grade, and think that it has gone downhill, the CD set is very handy
for searching. For example, DW asked about companion planting and I
was quickly able to find a couple of articles, much to her delight.
I've since found other articles of interest and appreciate the lack of
ads, lack of cardboard subscription inserts, and lack of inane and
questionable letters to TMEN and other filler. For anyone who ever
thought TMEN was more than 20% helpful, this CD set is worth the $50.

While I was at it, I ordered "The whole shebang" from Backwoods Home
magazine. While much more expensive, I think it is a valuable
resource for anyone moving to the country. Lots of informational
articles, and an editorial viewpoint that reflects a lot of the
independent country point of view. From an initial skimming of the
anthologies, it looks like I have a month or two worth of reading
ahead.

At some point, I may get the HomePower CDs, but the above appear to be
much more helpful for now.

Now for a product review:
The Big Berky water filter from JamesFilters. For years, we've had
various reverse osmosis, carbon and sediment filters, and always found
the filters don't last as long as described, and that we could start
feeling bad if we used them past three months. With replacement
carbon filters costing from $10 to $30, and a reverse osmosis membrane
running around $80, these costs kept adding up. (I still use a
distiller for some of my water, but that is a different story). The
Berky filters are able to do the filtering that the undersink and
add-on filters cannot. If we needed to, we could take stream water or
mud puddle water and run it through one of these filters and feel
perfectly safe. Because of the washable ceramic filters, we won't
need to purchase replacement filters for four years or more. At $225,
it ain't cheap up front, but it is one less thing on my list of things
to constantly be concerned about, or constantly have to be spending
money on.