Well, we are still, sorta. We don't have internet access. But anyhoo... My neighbor decided it was time to get satellite TV. As his antenna was no longer needed, he said we could have it, so we uprooted it from the ground around his house, taking down the guy wires one at a time and removing the antenna, which had a little bit of damage from years of use. So, I climbed up on top of the house (lostintexas or Texaswahine, if you're reading this, I am IMMENSELY grateful the addition was we...
Dr.Guy posted a recent comment by actress Jada Pinkett Smith that started me to thinking in light of the recent Oscars (Pinkett Smith and husband Will Smith being in the field and all). Hollywood family men and women boast about their "having it all"; being career actors and parents as well, but does their boast have merit to it? When the children wake up with a nightmare,who do they turn to? Mommy or daddy who are on a film shoot in Australia, or the ever present nanny, upon whose parenting ...
Well, folks, I have to say, I've been pretty hard at work, and am feeling an early dose of spring fever even though we probably have a winter storm left in the year. I went out and bought a copy of this year's "Writer's Market". Once our taxes get in, I intend to get a computer and start writing seriously. I've identified a few magazines that are strong potential markets for my work, and now have given myself the confidence (through blogging) that I CAN stick with my longer projects long enou...
I love my darling children. I especially loved them today when our power bill showed we had used 122 fewer kilowatt hours in February than in January...and thus saved almost ten bucks (our primary heat source is gas, so it can't entirely be attributed to a warmer month). Now, we're gonna try to chop it down a little further over the next few months, but....it's great to have kids that help save money. Here's how we accomplish that, for those who are asking (hehe): The children's allowan...
So, I went down to the Post Office today and, though dismayed not to find large sums of cash randomly inserted into my box, was pleased to see that one of my requested catalogs had come in. It was a catalog for farm supply items (can we say "Green Acres", anyone?) and, most importantly, had the information I needed on the chicks I want to purchase. My wife and I had agreed that if the chicks we want to purchase were unavailable (Delaware chicks), or too expensive, we would buy the cheapest ch...
Well, I was having a conversation regarding our vehicle situation as we are hopefully within a couple of days of restoring our "pimped out ride" to the streets. The individual in question mentioned that I would be better off applying our tax money to a new car purchase than buying another used car. That all works well. In theory. The truth is, we're busting our humps just to maintain our current standard of living. We're collecting cans off the highway, we're running as many paper routes a...
For anyone whose ever constructed a greenhouse, I have a question. I'm looking at exhaust fans for the structure; the greenhouse catalog advises 1 CFM displacement per cubic foot of greenhouse space, meaning I would need about 1000 CFM displacement (8x16x8). I am looking at DC fans, however, as I could power them with wind power with no loss for inversion to AC, as well as providing the house with backup power in the event of a power failure. The DC fans I have found are much smaller, however...
I came home today to a pile of dog crap right behind our house that was not ours or our neighbor's dog's crap (I can tell by the size). It infuriated me because it obviously belonged to one of the plethora of strays that populate this small community. We are, of course, in the midst of working to homestead our property, and the prospect of a yard full of potential chicken killers is not an enticing one. I am hoping we can achieve some level of effectiveness with an electric fence, but even th...
Well, in our ongoing attempt to "officially" become homesteaders, I borrowed a greenhouse book from the library. Unlike most of the other books I have checked out, this one is VERY dry, but it did open my eyes to some possibilities I hadn't considered. First off, we're going to have a dual venting system that will exhaust the hot air from the greenhouse into the house (it's going to be attached) and supplement our heating in the winter. Since we're converting to wood heat before winter hits, ...
Earlier in the week, we received a large quantity of peaches and zucchini (of course) from our neighbors, who receive it from an organization that distributes surplus produce. I reasoned that these free goodies would be a good opportunity to experiment with preservation with no cost to us (except the cost of equipment, which is really an investment). So, I did a little research and went out to buy pectin, paraffin, canning jars (my wife had unwisely discarded jars from spaghetti sauce, apples...
Well, I was delighted when I checked my post office box today (we don't get street mail out here). In it were two catalogs, one for wood burning stoves, the other for greenhouses. Now, don't get me wrong. The wood burning stove catalog will get its fair perusal, when the weather starts to turn and we need to get off of this expensive albatross known as the gas company. But for now, my thoughts and energy are on the greenhouse. I can well see how the temptation to overspend can quickly over...
A little background, for those who don't know. During World War II, families were encouraged to plant "victory gardens" under the idea that, if a family produced part of their own food needs, more energy and money could be devoted to the war effort. While the need for victory gardens is slightly different in this day and age, I believe the concept is one that is much needed, both to improve the quality of our food and to increase the sense of community in many towns and cities across the nation....
I'll throw a shocker to some of you who know my tendency towards back to earth living: I'm actually IN FAVOR of genetically modified foods on a commercial scale. Years ago, it was virtually inconceivable that we could begin to support the vast numbers of people currently residing on this planet. The fact that we've done a grossly inefficient job of distributing the food fairly notwithstanding, we have made INCREDIBLE strides in maximizing yields over minimum area, and we HAVE the resources to...
I used the title phrase in my last blog, and got to thinking about what exactly constitutes a sense of community. Growing up in the heartland, I have long eschewed the big city as my experiences there have shown that "community" is an unknown factor in most of those cities. When we arrived here, we arrived, as many of my readers know, with very little. Many individuals in the community helped us with furniture, secondhand clothes, food, and the things we needed to get by (and a good thing to;...
Well, I have had an interesting day today. In my quest to make our house a homestead (we hope to be chiefly self sufficient within 5 years), I have been researching chickens and finding the breed that best suits us. Being conservationists and back to earthers, we wanted a breed that is "dual purpose" (good for meat and a good egg layer), and can forage well (as they'll be somewhat free range...to understand what I mean by "somewhat" free range, you need to have read Andy Lee and Patricia...