and , despite all this , dad still said , aaaah , this is the life , as he sat in the dark every night , trying to read the next chapter of his book , eco-tips for renewable resourcefulness ; a home builders manualby p. blah blah codswallop by the light of the puny little kerosene flame , batting away the mosquitoes and drinking some sort of green tea concoction that hed started on for antioxidants .