I’ve been planning this for a couple of months and, as of last weekend or so, I’ve begun working on my tool cabinet.

I tend to be an impatient person when it comes to realizing my own project plans, so I often go straight into milling wood before a drawing. This time, I resisted that urge and started with a sheet of cardboard.

Looks like my cabinet will be 8″ deep by 36″ x 49″, or so. (Plus the depth of the doors) I’d like to have the main interior house my user planes, plus braces, egg beaters and straight edges. The area under the plans will be a drawer box for some layout tools, parts, etc. Then, the front will be covered by two swing-out doors about 3″ deep. The doors will house chisels, marking and measuring tools and my dovetail saws.

The wood will be cherry, culled from my pre-existing lumber supply. What I have is very likely trashy by some of you guys’ standards, but I make a habit of buying lumber when I find a good deal and try to do my best with that. Here’s the pile I’ve started with:

I have two wide 13/16″ planks of curly cherry, but I’m saving them for something special. I’m thinking I’ll use some of it for the drawer fronts or the swing-out doors.

I have a confession to make here. In the weeks leading up to this, I’ve been afraid that my own inexperience would cause me to botch the primary dovetails on this main carcass. That fear led me to seriously consider an easier, but weaker joint like a tongue and groove. I even went so far as to make my first scribe mark for doing so when I finished preparing the four sides of the main case…

BUT, at the last minute, I decided to go for it and do dovetails instead. I knew I would regret it if I didn’t try. So, I started in on them yesterday. (Please overlook the signs of electron-burning in the last image. I blame the fact that I don’t yet have a saw bench and adequate saw sharpening skills. Yet.)

I must say, despite being out of the shop for a while, I’m pleased with how they came together. Although they’re not perfect, they’re an improvement over my previous efforts and I’m satisfied with them for this particular project.

(As you can see, I had to glue up at least two sides to make boards wide enough for my use, 8″. But grain and color matching really isn’t a big concern for me at this point. I just want square, the best joinery I can muster at this stage in my journey, and a place for my tools.)

Here’s where I am as of this afternoon. A test fit:

Looks pretty good to me, all things considered.

I’ve been looking around for months for a good, but inexpensive iPod dock option for my shop. Something small, but with decent sound. I had given up until I stumbled on a deal on Buy.com a few weeks ago. $50 Griffin Amplifi. (Normally $130) This baby sounds very good and I’m thrilled with the deal. (Simple Living Content: I don’t like overpaying for such things.)

Zen Habits is a great blog for anyone who isn’t necessarily a back-to-nature type, but still seeks a simpler life. I always find it useful.

Foxfire.org

‘”Foxfire” is the name of a series of books which are anthology collections of material from The Foxfire Magazine. The students’ portrayal of the previously-dismissed culture of southern Appalachia as a proud, self-sufficient people with simple beliefs, pure joy in living, and rock-solid faith shattered most of the world-at-large’s misconceptions about these “hillbillies.”‘

Walden Effect – Homesteading and simple living blog
I like this one especially because it comes from a real world example of homesteading today. It feels immediate and tangible providing encouragement to anyone else who strives to live more simply.

After several months of letting the blog stagnate, partly due to my frustration with how most Wordpress themes handle in-post images, I think I’ve finally found a permanent Wordpress theme for Turn off the World: Thesis. I stumbled on this one last week and couldn’t click the buy button fast enough. Many thanks to DIYThemes for making it available. I consider it well worth the $87 one-site price – especially since I think it will facilitate much more frequent posting.

I don’t plan for this blog to be simply a link aggregator. But I do think it is fitting to assemble a single post on a periodic basis, containing any links I’d like to share with you. That said, here is your first list:

• Aptera – What I like about Aptera is their effort to make an alternative fuel vehicle at an affordable level. Of course, “affordable” is subjective, but the point stands when compared to companies like Tesla. (You’ll find that I’m a bit of an alt-fuel nerd.)
• Ready Made Magazine I’ve always thoroughly enjoyed the premise of this magazine, but just never managed to fit a subscription into my priorities. Sadly, its sister publication, Craft, has ceased print publication. But it still exists online. Be sure to check it out.
• Back Home Magazine – Another magazine similar to Countryside, but it hasn’t been around as long. The more the merrier, I say.

* Footnote: If you’ve visited even twice since I opened the doors here at Turn off the World, you’ve noticed the site’s look and feel has changed several times. Apologies for the stark inconsistency. I’ve been trying to find a simple Wordpress theme I can be happy with. This one seems to do the trick for the foreseeable future. Thanks for your patience.

Since this time last year, I have been mulling over how I might both protect my current gardening efforts from my local forest creatures as well as expand those efforts toward a larger portion of my total food supply. I have become more and more serious lately about trying to turn my little slice of the city into a place which can have a real impact on my self-sufficiency.

Last year, I put two inexpensive beds in my front yard for vegetables. At the time, I was learning a bit about the “lasagna method“. (More on that later.) Although I did get a few armfuls of bell and banana peppers, plus a handful of standard tomatoes and some small salad tomatoes, I had quite a bit of trouble with rabbits and squirrels picking off my young plants and early vegetables. Since then, I have been experimenting in my head with some ways I might build some all-over protection against the animal onslaught.

Front Yard Beds - Cinder blocks, "lasagna" method.

This year, I’m starting by expanding my planting to include both the beds in the front yard and six tomato plants in 5-gallon buckets in the back. I’ve used the bucket approach in the past, but never both. To help guard my bucket tomatoes, I plan to add beefier cages around the buckets an then chicken wire around the sides, with a lid of sorts on top.

In the front beds, I’m considering building some box-shaped cages with chicken wire and PVC pipe. I’ll post again when I begin that process. I may end up building them out of wood instead as I have plenty of that on-hand without the need to buy PVC at Lowe’s.

Back yard, tomatoes in buckets.

I am also looking at clearing brush and debris from another part of my property, erecting a privacy fence around it and setting up another expansion to the garden there. I may use this future space for beans, lettuces and potatoes, but a fair amount of work will be necessary this year to prepare the area for planting next year.

I am less than an amateur at gardening, but I’m determined to get better and learn because the act of gardening is -for me- a hallmark of simpler living. The quiet time offers me good moments of self-reflection, and the back aches I have later that evening are an oddly rewarding reminder of honest work.

The other day, I was digging around Tauton Press’ website (publisher of Fine Woodworking magazine) and discovered a nice new website they’ve put together:
VegetableGardner.com. I’ll be revisiting it as I put in my two small beds of vegetables.

Soon, I’ll share with you some other sites I’ve uncovered which cover small scale or “square foot” gardening as well as some dealing with the “lasagna method”.

Somewhere along Hwy. 71, on the way to see my folks.

There is a very broad swath of like-minded individuals around these days who share overlapping interests in everyday simplification, eco-friendly living, homesteading or turning off the world. Many are honorable, dedicated people who do not believe that the modern conception of life is the only choice. A lucky minority are able to jump into this philosophy with both feet, eschewing anything and everything which might interfere with this purist ideal.

With this site, I am hoping to introduce to anyone reading the rewards of the aforementioned pursuits – no matter if you are someone with a Blackberry growing out of your palm or a 40-acre farmer with no electricity.

Whether its cutting back on television or growing my own tomatoes, I am learning first-hand that even a single moment’s effort at simple living pays dividends toward my everyday fulfillment. Learn with me.

I discovered this magazine about a year ago, but recently received a subscription as a gift. My only complaint is that it isn’t published everything month. http://www.countrysidemag.com/.
They publish two blogs, as far as I know.

• Countryside Living – This one hasn’t been updated in some time.
• The Scarecrow Chronicles – This one, however, appears to be updated pretty regularly.