Comparison of Lifestyle

Just thought I would summarize a lot of research I've done for this blog (some entries haven't been made yet, they are in draft). You pick which lifestyle you have, and maybe you can get some advice from the ramblings of my mind...and the research I've turned up.

I've decided that there are 3 basic types of lifestyles out there and I'm going to share MY perspectives about them. Again, these are MY perspectives, so don't waste time telling me that I'm wrong just because YOUR perspective may be a little different from mine. Know also, that I am a bit of each of these, depending on my mood that particular day, the experience I am having, and what amount of time I have to expend.

• Efficient - defined on Dictionary.com as "performing or functioning in the best possible manner with the least waste of time and effort." My perspective: very busy people (work, school, family, hobbies, etc), that strive to be efficient in experiencing life by simply purchasing objects or hiring others to do the personal projects because they don't have a lot of time or experience.
• DIY - My perspective is that they too are busy people, but strive to experience life by using some of their time & skills as a hobby to save money to create what they want, and will solicit friends to assist if needed on a personal project.
• Hippie - My perspective is that they stay busy by floating through life by finding ways to recycle things they use, collect, and obtain; which is inspired by the things that sift through their minds, how they can use them, give life to something, is a "green way" to live, and yet also reduces the costs of their out-of-pocket costs.

So, what am I "really" getting at in this entry. I had to explain some things, so you can understand the table below, where I share a topic and then compare how each of the 3 will deal with it, IMHO. If the entry is a link, it is to an entry on my blog about it. Yeah, I've lived through this...

Topic	Efficient	DIY	Hippie
Colored flames in the fireplace	Duraflame Colorlog	DIY Colored Pinecones	Newspaper Logs & Colored Pinecones
Reduce costs due to cooking	Eat out more!!!	Use a Toaster Oven & Crock Pot vs. a Full Oven	Hobo Pies in the backyard, Newspaper Logs & Collected Firewood
Driving	Limo!!!	Carpool & work local	Walk, ride bike, or work at home
Stay warm in winter	Fire up the furnace!!!	Set thermostat to the recommended settings & layer up a little	Set thermostat to the recommended settings, layer up a little, find a Snuggle Buddy
Stay cool in summer	Warp drive on the A/C all the time!!!	Set thermostat to the recommended settings	Set thermostat to the recommended settings but what are these "pajamas" you are saying are needed?
Media Entertainment	Opera	Movie theater once in a while, Netflix, video store	DVD from the library, read a book, swap movies with friends, look at the stars...
Saving water in the toilet	I use the newest toilet at 1.6 gpf	Install a Dual Flush Kit or use an 1/2 gallon milk carton	"If it's yellow, let it mellow... If it's brown, flush it down..."
Furniture	Arhaus, they deliver & set it up	IKEA, I'll put it together myself	Dumpster Diving!!!
Popcorn	Commercial brand & at the theater	Air popper	Kernels in a brown bag, and I can recycle the bag after.

DIY Colored Fireplace Pinecones

Most people like to sit by the fire to watch the flames dance. I remember doing that when I was young, and my grandfather managed to AWE & SHOCK me when he threw in a pinecone, it burned true yellow, and then he threw in another one and it burned yellow-green!!! Being intrigued, I asked where he got them. He made them, and then he spent two days teaching me how he did it. Recently I thought about it, so I decided see what other suggestions were out there.

Plow & Hearth

They are for sale in stores and online. Plow & Hearth has them for $40 for a 5 lbs. bag, Amazon has them for $20 for a 2.5 lbs. bag, and a lot of craft stores have them too. But in living near a lot of county park trails, and remembering what I was taught, I sought more information about making them myself, to not spend so much money. By walking Dozer in the woods and taking a bag with me, I collect as many pinecones as I can carry for free. I just need to have the right things in the pantry to add the color.

While I remembered that my grandfather used table salt for the yellow and Borax for the yellow green, a little more research shared some other household things that will create more colors. The best site I found (About.com/Chemistry) had a great table. I edited it a little to only include things you can get at a local store, which I summarized from Make-Stuff.com.

Color	Chemical	Where Found
Red	Strontium Chloride or  Strontium Nitrate	Found with aquarium supplies in pet stores
Orange	Calcium Chloride	Rock salt, to melt ice on roads & driveways.
Yellow	Sodium Chloride	Table salt
Yellowish Green	Borax	Look in laundry detergent section.
Green	Copper Sulfate	Look for it in swimming pool supplies
Purple	Potassium Chloride	Is a salt substitute & found in the spice section
White	Magnesium Sulfate	Epsom Salts

Now your question is "what do I have to DO to make them?" Like all of the other recipes that I've posted, I will give you the ingredients, instructions, and tips. I found the best site to share with you, Birds & Blooms. I copied & pasted their info below, but check out their site too.

Prep Your Pinecones: (If you use plain pinecones purchased at a craft store, skip this step.) If you’ve gathered pinecones from the great outdoors, bake them in a 200 F oven for 1 hour to remove bugs and open up closed cones. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil first, as sap will drain from the cones. Allow them to cool.

Materials:

• Large bucket
• Tongs or slotted spoon
• Flame colorant – choose one of the following from above, depending on the color flame you prefer

The Process:

• Pour 1/2 gallon of hot water into the bucket.
• Add 1 cup of the colorant of your choice, and stir until dissolved.
• Add pinecones to the mix. Be sure to add only as many as can be completely covered by the solution. Soak for 8 hours or overnight.
• Remove the pinecones and set on newspapers to dry completely – at least 3 days.

It enthralls the kids, and gives you romantic people something to watch, but I do have some tips.

      ✔ Do NOT use in a gas fueled fireplace, especially an enclosed one
      ✔ Do NOT use on a fire or BBQ where you will be cooking
      ✔ Do NOT keep the chemicals in touch with the kids
      ✔ Burn only one color at one time, mixing the chemistry changes
           things dramatically

But, when kicking back in front of the fireplace, fire bowl, or even campfire, it can help enhance the experience that everyone can enjoy...burn on...