The Campfire - Page 27

Soccermom · 02-19-2010, 11:18 AM

I live in SWFla. supposed to be in the low 70s it hasnt seen 70 but for 1 day in the last 2 1/2 months.This week highs are in the low 60s and last week it was 50s.. I wear my ski coat to walk the dog at night~ much of our tropical foliage is brown and dead (so sad) global warming/cooling is no joke!
I know its much colder up North BUT I was hoping to unload most of my old winter belongings!
Marcia

ElaineM · 02-19-2010, 11:18 AM

Thanks for the weather update Maryanne. It was about 60 in Honolulu a few nights ago. Central Oahu might have been cooler. A friend and I went to Down to Earth and Kokua Market near UH a few nights ago and we were being blown around by the wind. The campfire feels good !!!!!!!!

ElaineM · 03-04-2010, 09:23 PM

I am here to drop off a thermos of green tea and throw some fresh dark orange and purple Okinawan sweet potatoes (full of antioxidants and other good stuff)onto the fire. I wrapped them in foil, so you will be able to pull them out with the tongs near the campfire.
The hot, soft potatoes and tea will taste great in the chilly air.
Enjoy !!

StephN · 03-05-2010, 11:08 AM

Hi Elaine -
Great to see you at the campfire again. Roasted sweet potatoes rock!
I am not here to really warm up physically (since spring came to Seattle about a month ago!), but to gather and send good healing energy to our friends here who are having a tough time.

chrisy · 03-05-2010, 11:55 AM

Hi y'all,
I hope you don't mind me crashing your campfire

I'm not sure I get the whole campfire thing but I needed to just come and sit and cry, staring into the fire, until I have no tears left.

It's been a rainy, cold winter here in Santa Cruz. It even snowed some in our little Santa Cruz mountains. Cold is of course relative - I can't really complain about 50's, but my soul definitely needs some warming up.

Like I said, I hope you don't mind. And I brought some pistachios from the San Joaquin valley. They are nice and big, and if we throw the shells into the fire, they will warm up until they glow and then burst into flame.

schoolteacher · 03-05-2010, 01:12 PM

I would love to see some purple sweet potatoes. I have been reading about how delicious they are. Thanks for the green tea and sweet potatoes.

Stephanie, spring hasn't come to GA yet. We had some more snow this week.

Chrisy, hope you are feeling better.

Amelia

ElaineM · 03-05-2010, 09:18 PM

Hey. Welcome everybody. It is nice to have some company. If you are feeling a bit blue Chrisy you came to the right place. The campfire is where we can release our worries and not so happy feelings in the smoke created by the campfire. So, I guess it is where we can emotionally, physically and mentally heal, as well as have an opportunity for fellowship with each other.
Okinawa purple sweet potatoes are kind of beige on the outside and purple on the inside. They have about the same shape as other sweet potatoes.
Relax and enjoy everyone !!!!!!!! Stay as long as you want to stay. Bring your camping gear and stay over night if you wish.

chrisy · 03-07-2010, 12:37 PM

Thanks elaine,
Hey, guess what? Okinawa purple sweet potatoes are sort of like me...kind of beige on the outside and purple (or in my case, blue) on the inside!

We've been having almost constant rain here, every day is grayer than the one before. Today it is cool, but sunny and all the ornamental fruit trees are blossoming. Perhaps I'll go out and breathe some of that in.

For now, tho, I've brought some driftwood to toss on the fire. The local beaches are littered with treasures washed up from...who knows where.

Burns surprising well, tho.

ElaineM · 03-07-2010, 04:47 PM

Thanks for the driftwood for the fire. It will warm us up.
Oh yes Chrisy. Take a nice walk in the sun while it is peeking through the trees and breathe in some nice, fresh air. A nice fire and some hot green tea will be waiting when you return. I just made a fresh container of it. I think we ate all the sweet pototoes though.
Please bring a little something back to eat if you see a store along the way.

freyja · 03-10-2010, 05:42 PM

I'm here to warm my tired, sore dancing bones by the fire and burn away some tax season stress. Ugg.

ElaineM · 03-10-2010, 08:49 PM

I am here to warm up by the fire and get away from the 40MPH winds and rain we have been having in Hawaii.

VirginiaGirl · 03-14-2010, 06:28 AM

Hi Everybody,
Love the campfire idea, glad it's still going since I've just found the "campsite." And reading about the pros & cons of outhouses, I have to wonder - did anyone bring toilet paper?

Years ago when we were out boating and beaching along the river I felt "the urge." Since I was anticipating having to "do my business" outside, I grabbed some nice clean healthy looking leaves off a tree and tucked them in the waistband of my swimsuit. Thought I was being smart by not getting anything off a vine. Not so! I ended up with poison something all over my stomach and creeping both directions! But I was thanking God that "the urge" passed without using those leaves as (where) I had intended!

While I think every girl and woman should know how to squat & pee & drip dry in the woods, my question is: Would using toilet paper for other bodily functions eventually lead to the feared over-development and modernization of our camp that an outhouse would bring?

ElaineM · 03-14-2010, 02:27 PM

A while back I think I or somebody else asked Bill to build an outhouse, but I don't think he ever finished it.
I think your experience is a good lesson for all of us.
Bring a roll of toilet paper whenever we visit the campfire !! Smile !!

Bill · 03-14-2010, 05:49 PM

I was hoping nobody would remember that. Honestly, Elaine, I've been working on it in my spare time, but I wanted it to be a really, really nice outhouse, so it's taking a little longer than I expected. (Virginiagirl, I really didn't want to have one here at all, but I got out-voted like 50 to 1. Actually, don't tell anyone, but I'm trying to build a camp hot tub first, and I've been fishing.....fishing alot, actually, now that you mention it....well, maybe fishing too much....I promise I'll get back to work asap on that outhouse. It's gonna have window boxes and everything)

ElaineM · 03-14-2010, 09:00 PM

Thank you so much Bill. We will have our own little campfire spa when you are finished. Sounds great to me !! I will even donate the first package of toilet paper !! Can we put pretty flowers or healing herbs in the window boxes?
What have you been catching?

Bill · 03-16-2010, 04:57 PM

You're welcome, Elaine. Thanks for tending the fire! I've been out troutfishing to the northeast, and I've caught a few decent catfish just south of our camp. It's good to warm my bones by the fire a bit and listen to the spirited chatter of my good friends.

ElaineM · 03-16-2010, 09:31 PM

You are always welcome to join us Bill.

freyja · 04-10-2010, 10:10 AM

For the record, I'm with you Bill. I'm all for hot tub and fish dinner before outhouse. My son and I would love to visit that catfish spot with you sometime. I bet my husband will help you with that outhouse. He's pretty good at installing skylights! He put one in our bathroom and now it's my favorite room in the house.
So good to be here with you all. Happy Spring!
Celeste

Bill · 04-11-2010, 08:10 PM

Hey Celeste! Good to see you back around the fire. Thanks for volunteering your hubby to help with the outhouse-skylight. Actually, a few weeks ago I was thinking of redesigning the outhouse so that you would walk in the front door, and if a person was in the "seated position", you would politely ignore them, cover your left eye with your left hand and then climb a ladder to the right, which would lead you straight up to a hatch on the roof we could go through and gather to watch for shooting stars! Your husband could help with the hatch. I thought it would be nice and efficient to only build one structure on our island. An outhouse/observatory type-thing, you know, with a cool deck on top, for mingling and star-gazing.

ElaineM · 04-11-2010, 08:42 PM

Boy, it is going to be a first class outhouse !!!!!!!!! I would have been happy with a simple place with a toilet and a few potted plants outside.
Since this is developing into a a first class facility maybe the hot tub can be put next to the outhouse. Smile Bill !!