JetBoil Cheapskate

First of all, I'm cheap in many ways, in particular I don't like paying unfair sums of money for something easily accomplished at far less cost. Case in point; C-O-F-F-E-E. A nice cafe mocha or other gourmet specialty can easily kill 5 bucks. It's not that I've never wasted 5 dollars but I'd rather waste it on MY terms...call me crooked  :)

With 2 teenagers, I'm often sitting in my van waiting for one to come from a practice, or other activity. during such times I retreat to the "kitchen" and fix myself a drink or a snack, or both. While I have no end of stove options, for convenience I often rely on my JetBoil Zip. It will boil water in a couple of minutes, and I usually try to have several varieties of hot chocolate, coffee etc on hand...

My "system" is designed to defeat the need to purchase those $7 butane canisters from places like MEC. Those expensive canisters contain a high-grade butane-propane mix designed for serious outdoor endeavors.  I don't normally need that in the comfort of my van, so I have adapted the JetBoil to accept cheap butane canisters from the local hardware store. These cost about $2.50, or a third of the price. The downsides are that the whole unit is a little unstable, and the straight butane is not quite as hot or efficient. Neither of these are significant problems for me. Here's a couple of picures of the adapter...

These adapters are readily available on Ebay for less than $10, well-made and worth it.

So, in a couple of minutes I can be sipping a nice beverage...

For these episodes, I normally opt for an instant powder concoction such as the Nescafe individual Cappuccino:

The JetBoil is great to have for other uses too. The whole unit stores together quite compactly, and can be carried in a small knapsack or fanny pack, to be used on a hike or walk. It's also good for power outages, and can be used to cook or heat foods other than just water...

Sometimes, I break out the heavy artillery and make real coffee, but that's for another post...

hotfingers

In my opinion, this nifty startup is worth supporting. I hope this guy does well with this.  See http://www.briangreen.net/2013/04/hotfingers-another-geat-kickstarter.html for another review, and watch the video below...

Spent $16 at Princess Auto...

So what does 16 bucks get you at my favorite store ?:

2 Emergency Ponchos @ $1.49 each

These are good to have tucked away in a vehicle etc.

2 Tool Holders @ $2.61 each
...planning on mounting these in my camper van, likely up front around the shifter console/dash etc.

6 feet of rubber tubing for $1.99
...not sure why I bought this...

and finally, a mini tripod for $3.99

There you have it. The SURPLUS section never fails to yield some interesting stuff...

My Father

My Dad was born on March 1st 1914. He died in the summer of 1980. 

Today would have been his 99th Birthday...

Snowshoes

Around these parts, if you wanna take in any outdoor winter activity, my old High School motto (Carpe Diem) is a must. Our coastal locale often means we're on the line between rain and snow, usually getting either or both with any storm. The sun is out so let's go snowshoeing...

 Thankfully, the evenings are getting a bit longer such that we can squeeze an hour or so in after work or school.

James attempts his best "rugged" pose

I'm hoping for more snow and a bit more freeze-up too please. It would be nice to get a full day in, or even an overnight winter camp-out. We'll see how this works out. Stay tuned...

These "modern" snowshoes are far superior to the old wooden and rawhide contraptions of years past. They don't get wet and heavy, and the harnesses are simpler than the old leather varieties. Costco often has a good deal. I bought a second pair this past Christmas, with poles and a carry bag...

X-C skiing

With the "warm" winters we've been having in Halifax. cross country skiing is something that doesn't happen too much for me. Nevertheless, Saturday, I managed to overcome inertia and go for a little glide. As you can see from the image below, there was not much snow, and an ATV beat me to the trail...

the weather was nice though, about -9c and sunny with very little wind...

...took me a while to get the stride and rhythm, I forgot how much fun this is...

A bit icy in spots, but it's only January so there should be lots of chances for more....

Old Faithful (not)...

Hot Chocolate was in order of course...

other end is a spoon...

Route followed...I was surprised to realize that I had gone about 1.3 kms in the trail. It only seemed like a few minutes, then again it's easy to cover ground on skis, much quicker than snowshoes. Oh, well, I'm hoping to get some more of this in. One setback though, my ski boots had succumbed to some sort of dry rot while in extended storage...they were falling to pieces (literally) by the time I got back to the van. Not to fear, for a new pair is on order...

more to come...

Belated Happy New Year

We're beyond the first week of January already, WOW ! We all stayed put this Christmas season. Not too busy, but lots of food,fun, and celebration. Christmas morning was quiet but nice...

I think everyone was a little more tired than excited, the by-product of growing up I'm afraid...

 We all headed out to a homeless shelter to help serve Christmas Dinner to some friends in need. It's good to have the strength to help. We even made it back home in time to put our own feedbag on...

Alas, the boys and their friends had to sit at a separate table. They got over it though.

Switching to New Years, I remember a tradition from home where folk went to church on New Year's Eve to "ring in the new year". Thankfully, a bunch of "young adults" have handsomely resurrected this practice with a service called "Arise". Joel and James were in the thick of things, playing guitar, drums, singing etc. 

I'm glad to see that the new generation is picking up the ball where us "older" folks have so often failed. God help my generation and our collective complacency, Amen.

(above Photo by Ibimina Koko, and I stole it without his permission)