Shy: A novel by S.D Kupiec
Chapter 1


Even with the scowl, I couldn’t take my eyes off him. The man, if you could call him a mere man, stood in front of a
large bonfire, looking like he’d just stepped out of an old cowboy and Indian western. A giant, with long black hair so slick, it reflected the light of the fire that burned behind him.
Somehow his eyes did, too.
A dream brought on by research I’d done on the history of my parent’s land, no doubt. It was my dream, though, and I wasn’t in a hurry to find out if this god-like looking creature was good or not. His chest was bare and covered in painted handprints. No pants, either. Just a loincloth. His thighs had the same red marks.
Still as a statue, he stared at me. Glowered, really, but I didn’t care. He was my subconscious.
“Okay.” I spoke, eager to hear what his voice sounded like. “What do you want?”
He didn’t move. Not even a twitch. Was he a statue? I was tempted to find out. Touching him wouldn’t hurt. And a smile, probably an impish one, squinted my vision. I stepped forward.
My movement must have startled him, because his head fell back, his arms stretched out and he let out a holler that rumbled like thunder across the clear night sky. When he
stopped, the world was silenced. Not even the fire’s crackles dared make a noise.
Dream or not, I looked for the best direction to run incase I needed to escape. A figure stood off in the distance. I couldn’t make out anything but the shape of a body. A guy, maybe. But he didn’t move either. Like a see- through statue.
The world was open. I could run in any direction, except there was nowhere to go. The landscape was nothing but cactus and Juniper in every direction.
“Look,” I turned my attention back to the man in front of me. Right in front of me. He’d moved so fast the movement was blurred. And now I was staring at the sweat rolling down his chest. I hadn’t noticed that before. His hot breath blew in my hair and I looked up to see him bent over me, his nose almost touching mine. His features out of focus with the closeness.
“Wh-at—”
His fingers curled around my arms easily, pulling me up and even closer, if that were possible, and squeezed. I was afraid my arms would snap in half.
“You belong to me.”
As his face vanished, so did his grasp and I dropped to the ground. Only a few inches, but the landing jarred me and my knees buckled hitting the floor of my living room hard.
He was gone, though his voice, those words, echoed in my head. The coldness of the night crawled up my legs as the shivers made their way down my back, meeting in the middle. I’d never slept walked before. I’d never had a dream that had felt so real before. I could still feel pain where his hands had been and when I rubbed them to help them realize it wasn’t real, they were tender. Bruised, though I couldn’t actually see the marks in the darkness of the night.
Then true Sara re-emerged. The weakling I’d become so many years ago. In the dream I’d felt scared, but strong. Here all I could do was cry.
“Sara?” My mom stood in the doorway of her room, rubbing her arms. “What are you doing up? It’s 3 in the morning.”
I didn’t talk to her. I never did. Not that I was biased. I didn’t talk to anyone unless I had to. This wasn’t ahad to situation. My staring usually made people uncomfortable. That’s what I wanted it to do. It kept people from wanting to ask questions, or to try and carry on a conversation. Mom was used to it, though.
“Can you be a little quieter?” She was already turning around to go back to bed. “See you in the morning.”
A slight nod was all I gave her, not that she would see it, but I stayed on the floor, shivering from the cold and the fear until I could finally stand and go back to bed.
My bed was cold as I crawled back in, as if to tell me I’d been gone too long. Wrapping myself up in the quilt, I couldn’t close my eyes. Every time I did, he was there.
You belong to me.


Have You Ever Seen A Teacher Do This?


I do public demonstrations of sinus rinsing because sinus rinsing has changed my life. I only wish I had known about it years and years ago!

How to Sharpen a Disposable Razor



Cold Frame Polycarbonate Plastic




I just got this email: 

"Sorry to bother you.  I have made a number of phone calls the last couple of days trying to find somewhere in Utah Valley or even Salt Lake Valley that sells the twin-wall polycarbonate you recommend for cold frame construction, but have been unsuccessful.  I wanted to ask if you know where to buy it locally, or if you special order (and if so, from where)?"

Answer: I am the only "place" in the West and perhaps the U.S. that sells it in small quantities. I don't know of any other place that sells it in smaller quantities than bulk. I just got a truckload of it delivered today. If you are looking to build cold frames, here is the link:

-Caleb

Forgotten Skills & Backyard Renaissance Classes Autumn 2013

Forgotten Skills & Backyard Renaissance Classes Autumn 2013
with Caleb Warnock

TWO OPTIONS for taking this year’s classes:
1. August 10 from 8 a.m. to noon in Caleb’s Backyard. (Email calebwarnock@yahoo.com for address) $99 before noon Aug. 8. $129 thereafter. Register at SeedRenaissance.com. Each participant takes home a cold frame and $50+ seeds. Check-in begins 7:30 a.m. Healthy lunch included. Bring your own chair.
2. Online. $99. $99 before noon Aug. 9. $129 thereafter. Check-in online Friday, Aug. 9. Class online from Aug. 12-16 at your convenience (no specific time required). Each participant will be mailed cold frame polycarbonate with instructions, and $50+ seeds. Register at SeedRenaissance.com.

This year’s classes include (times listed are for the class in my backyard, not online):

- No Nonsense Household Tips for Saving Money. 8-8:30.
This popular class is offered again for the first time in three years! How to make the best, easiest bulk powder laundry soap, enough for more than 1,000 loads in 20 minutes at 1.8 cents a load! Save hundreds of dollars on shaving razors, dishwashing machine soap and much, much more!

- Backyard Help for Cold, Flu, Sinus & Asthma. 8:30-9:30.
In this hands-on class, Caleb will teach you the best backyard herbal treatments. We will make and sample the herbal treatments, starting from scratch, and discuss which herbs to use to help which conditions. This class covers prevention and treatment.

- Forgotten Prepper: 15+ Essential, Simple Skills You Don’t Have. 9:30-10:30
Easy homemade garden hand soap, backyard candles, sanitation, backyard lotion, and many other things every family should know for emergency preparedness and everyday use.

- Never Buy Chicken Feed Again -- 20+ strategies for feeding chickens. 10:30-11
Includes at least a dozen foods you can grow in your garden for year-round chicken food, as well as where and how to get free chicken food, and how to manage a flock to make is self-sufficient.

- Fall and Winter Gardening With Cold Frame 11-noon
Each participant will go home with at least $40 in seed for fall and winter gardening, with the latest information about the best autumn and winter varieties. Cold Frames -- Each student will go home with a cold frame that we will make in class, with information on how to use it and the seed you need to get started immediately.

- Four Best Wild Edibles. Noon-1
Each student will certify with Caleb their ability to individually recognize, harvest and prepare the four best backyard wild edibles.

- Q and A with Caleb. 1 p.m. until whenever.
Caleb takes your questions.