Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!!!!! 2022 is finally here, woot! Hope you had a great weekend, today I spent a great deal of time with an old friend, well she isn't "old", just someone I've known for many years, I am so excited, she and her husband bought the house next to me. It's always a scary thing to have the house/property right next to you on the market, you just don't know who might end up living next to you. I was thrilled to find out that the house sold to a friend.

Today she came out to look at the house in detail, she had been inside of it many MANY years ago when it belonged to my good friend and neighbor Glen, she had since moved away from the neighborhood, I kept in contact with her but didn't see her or talk to her as often as I did when she lived out here.

The property on the other side of me had also been put up for sale last year, fortunately for us my brother in law bought it, so I'm happy to know (trust and like) my neighbors on both sides.

Weather......

It's been quite warm, and breezy these last few weeks, but tonight there is a major cold front moving in, the temps are dropping, it even snowed/sleeted a tiny bit, I could hear it hitting the roof, I went outside to check it out, I could see stars in the sky, I still don't know where that moisture was coming from, I don't expect to see white in the morning, it's just going to be cold, supposed to get down in the mid teens. I can still hear the wind blowing, that's supposed to let up overnight, that's a good thing, we can build a fire to warm the house in the morning before church. It's hard to have a fire in the woodstove when it's really windy, it pushes the smoke back into the house.

I drained all the outside pipes, there isn't much to drain, our system is still pretty small, but it's important to get it done if it's going to really freeze overnight, which it is. I also drain the washing machine, the front of the machine has been removed and PB installed a drain so that the water that would sit in the bottom parts can be drained, it's typically less than a half gallon of liquid, but it's enough to cause trouble if it freezes. The washer is sitting out in an enclosed but unheated space, it's protected from the weather, but is subject to the outside temps.

I also drain the water line that goes to the washing machine, next I drain the shower, and if it's going to get really REALLY cold, I drain the inside water lines. Our system is pretty small and simple, but ingenious, it can drain back into the water tank without losing a drop of water, then the pump inside the house can pull the water back into the inside system in around 30 seconds.

Again, I hope you have a good weekend and I wish you a wonderful, peaceful, happy and prosperous New Year for 2022!

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Wretha,

Thanks for visiting!

Life In The Monsoon Season

Ahhhh, the fun time of summer, and the monsoon season. I sit here waiting for a delivery from UPS, our delivery angel is named Bobby, he is such a trooper, he goes all over this place, on non-existent roads in that big brown delivery van, places where I would be afraid to go in the Bug. He really cares about his job and the people whom he delivers to. I do not know exactly where he will deliver this time, the Country Store is not open during the week any more, that used to be the place where Bobby would deliver my stuff, he can also take it to the main headquarters of the community, but that is typically pretty far for me to go, he has been known to drive by my place and honk, an act of faith as our place is not really marked in any way, we have no street numbers posted, so I keep hitting refresh on the UPS tracking page and listening for Bobby in his thunder truck, you can hear him coming for quite a ways before he gets here.

What is in this alleged package you ask? Brain pills. Potential smart pills, whatever you want to call it. I like 5 Hour Energy drinks, but don't always have them around, I wanted to know what ingredient(s) were responsible for my alert, good feelings I have when ingesting this drink. I know it's not the caffeine, (gasp you say!), I have taken other supplements that contained caffeine, and it had little to no effect on me, I know it's not the mega-vitamins, I can get that from my Emergencee packets, nope that wasn't it. After reading the ingredient list, I discovered something I have not taken (alone) before, it's called Citicoline. Wiki says:

Citicoline (INN), also known as cytidine diphosphate-choline (CDP-Choline) and cytidine 5'-diphosphocholine is a psychostimulant/nootropic. It is an intermediate in the generation of phosphatidylcholine from choline.

Studies suggest that CDP-choline supplements increase dopamine receptor densities, and suggest that CDP-choline supplementation can ameliorate memory impairment caused by environmental conditions. Preliminary research at Harvard found that citicoline supplements help improve focus and mental energy and may possibly be useful in the treatment of attention deficit disorder. Citicoline has also been shown to elevate ACTH independent of CRH levels and to amplify the release of other HPA axis hormones such as LH, FSH, GH and TSH in response to hypothalamic releasing factors. These effects on HPA hormone levels may be beneficial for some individuals but, may have undesirable effects in those with medical conditions featuring ACTH or cortisol hypersecretion including, but not limited to, PCOS, type II diabetes and major depressive disorder.

So we will see what happens after I receive my bottle of citicoline, I'm hoping that is the magic ingredient in 5-Hour Energy that gets my brain going, makes me more focused and upbeat. I order citicoline capsules as well as Health Dropz Formula, this not only contains citicoline, it also contains vitamin B6 plus four scientifically tested brain support nutrients: Rhodiola rosea DMAE Huperzine A (an extract from Chinese club moss). I also ordered Ginkgo Biloba and DMAE by itself, I will try each thing separately to see which one gives me the biggest effect, I already know what Ginkgo does for me, my father takes it religiously, his doctors have told him that he has the cleanest arteries in spite of the fact that (at the time) he had high cholesterol, he now that under control with his diet, but he credits the Ginkgo for keeping his arteries clean, can't argue with success. DMAE is also good for brains, and I just read that it has to potential for life extension. It seems that Ginkgo is often paired with DMAE, so it should work together just fine, that combined with the citicoline, should make me a super brain.

Why not just continue taking 5-Hour Energy if it works so well you ask? It's simple, remember the thing that 5-Hour Energy advertises so heavily, the part about no crash later because it contains no sugar, well they have to sweeten it with something, and that something is sucralose, aka Splenda. Now it is just 2 ounces total for one 5-Hour Energy drink, but the fact that it contains this poison, and they still do not know the long term consequences of ingesting this poison, plus the fact that they have found that it causes all sorts of problems, including brain/thinking problems, (the very thing I am trying to stop!), it's high time to re-evaluate what I am taking. I do not knowingly consume artificially sweetened anything, with the exception of this one thing, and that is not a daily thing, maybe once or twice a week at most, so if I can cut out this toxin, I will be all the better for it. I did contact the 5-Hour Energy company, I praised their product, but asked if they would consider carrying a less toxic version made with Zylotol or one of the other less toxic sweeteners. They replied and said they were coming out with a version that contains stevia as the sweetener. YEAH! But until then, I will be cutting back on the 5-Hour Energy drinks, not that I take all that many to begin with. If it turns out that citicoline is the magic ingredient, I may be able to bypass the energy drink all together.

Now to the story of the monsoon season, a few days ago, we had a very localized, very hard rain/hail storm. It appears to have only affected our valley, and affect it, it did! I was gone at the time, I was across the neighborhood and could see the storm. I knew I would have to come home on the alternate, higher, rougher road, the one that bypasses the slimy, car-eating muck pit of an S-curve just before my place. On the way over the alternate road, I noticed a couple of seemingly abandoned vehicles, one car and one truck on the side of the road. That is not a good thing to see out here, it usually means a long walk over not so friendly roads for someone. I found out that they got a ride home, which is a good thing, they wouldn't have made it in their vehicle. The road had been completely washed out, past my place there is essentially no road.

When I got home, I found that our neighbor's bridge had been damaged by a couple of trees and lots of debris that jammed into the bridge. It took out one of the rails completely, left a couple of inches of mud on the top of the bridge. It was quite a mess, and made the bridge impassable. PB got to work right away and had that mess all but cleared away by the time the sun went down. I went around with the video camera and documented the mess. Watch and enjoy, enjoy the fact that this isn't your mess LOL! There are 12 short videos, they will play one after another



BTW, Shay, I am supposed to be going into town on Friday, unless everything falls apart, I should be able to get your book in the mail, thanks for being so patient!


All written text and audio podcasts from this blog are copyrighted and owned by Wretha unless otherwise stated. All rights reserved, You may download or copy for your own personal enjoyment, but please do not distribute (text or audio) without written permission. You may post a portion of this (or any) message from this blog on another site as long as you include a link back to this site and the original message. Wretha, properly pronounced wreetha, (included for the text reader), Thanks for visiting!

Update

The monsoon season has finally started, we get some rain once or twice a day, I haven't had to water my garden in about 4 days (woo hoo!). Today has been mostly cloudy, but it hasn't rained yet. The only drawback to the rainy days is we don't get as much solar power... it means we have to really watch how much electricity we use, can't run the computer all day, or run the refrigerator.

The hottest part of the summer has passed, the nights are cooling down, the days are still fairly warm/hot, but once the sun starts going down, I start looking for something to cover my arms, this morning it got down to 59 degrees F, I'm even starting to think about firewood for this winter, only have a couple of months of warm days & nights.

The garden is doing pretty well, but there has been some insect eating some of my plants, chewing the stems and killing the leaves, I'm pretty sure it's cut worms. I know about using collars and such, I am looking for BT, that has always worked good for me in the past. I ordered some diatomaceous earth and a duster to apply it. I also ordered a hose end sprayer, I'm going to use an organic mix to spray for fertilizer.

We have been seeing lightening bugs, just a few at a time, but more and more each night. I've been told that before the summer is over, it will look like Christmas trees all lit up, I can't wait to see that. :)

I have been cleaning a lady's house out here, it's much more fun cleaning someone else's house for some reason. She thinks my house must be super clean because I do such a good job on hers... I hope she never sees my house! Living in a small, barely 2 room cabin/house, yeah, it's clean, NOT! Hehehe, I tried to tell her that, but she doesn't believe me... oh well.

This lady wants to sell her house and she wanted me to detail clean it, from the ceiling fans to the corners of the rooms, it's been quite interesting... she is an artist and a very nice lady. The first day I worked over there, about 3 hours in, she asked me if I wanted to go into town, I said sure, we went to the bigger town nearby, then she took me to another town where I hadn't been yet, we went shopping and I took advantage of being in town to stock up on foods and goods, I don't think she was expecting me to get as much as I did, but I went as fast as I could, and she had plenty of room in her vehicle, it was quite the fun day. She has offered to take me into town any time she is going, like I said, a very nice lady.

I finally broke down and turned off my cell phone, it was a hard thing to do, I have had this same phone number and service going on 8 years... I got it when I worked for Best Buy, I had an employee deal and I'll not be able to get such a good deal again, but since it really didn't work for me out here, it was money spent that I could use on something else, like my internet service! I called Sprint and told them I wanted to stop service, of course they tried to get me to sign up for another service, but I explained that I didn't work for Best Buy any more, and my phone didn't get a signal out here, or at least it barely gets one when I am on my mountain, it does not get a signal at all when I am out on the roads, well Sprint understood and was willing to let me go. My phone will work until the 10th, then it will be turned off... bummer. Oh well, all good things must come to an end, it was a good 8 years. The biggest drawback is I will not be able to do pictures for the blog until I either find my digital camera or get another one, I had been using my cell phone to take pix, it may be a while before I am able to post pix again.

That's about it for now, except for one thing,

HAPPY (LATE) BIRTHDAY TO MY SISTER!

Wretha

Thanks for visiting, I love comments (but not spam), you may leave anonymous comments (you do not need to sign up or sign in). I do moderate/approve each comment, if your comment doesn't show up within a day or so, try to leave it again, if you still have trouble, email me.
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2 Comments

seth said...

wretha.....was wondering if you ever got the email i sent you about where my property in west texas is located, was just wondering it's any where near you guys?

June 30, 2008 10:27 PM

Wretha said...

Seth
Got it, just replied, hmmm, close is relative... probably closer than most of the other people who read my blog (grin).

Wretha

July 1, 2008 5:04 PM

Finally, Some Rain

It DOES rain in the desert! We finally got a good rain yesterday, between 1.5 and 2 inches, it started about 4ish, and it didn't stop until nearly dark. A couple of times, it really rained hard, we really, REALLY needed this rain.

Here are a few pix of the rainbow that appeared during the rain. It doesn't show in the pix, but there was actually a double rainbow. These images are looking east.









This pic is looking south.


These pix are looking west.




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Scorpions & Such

Found our first scorpion inside the house, it was bigger than the ones I have been finding outside. I am glad we found that one, I'm not happy it was inside the house, we have been working on tightening up the house, putting up screens and such. But in spite of all the bugs, I am still happy to be living here.

It's been H O T! Fortunately the humidity is typically low, right now it's 95 degrees F and 16% humidity, the wind is blowing so it's all good. I've been heating our dinners outside using the sun, I still don't have a proper solar oven, so I have been using a black roasting pan, it gets plenty hot. Yesterday heated a turkey and dressing meal (pre-made), these are supposed to be heated in a microwave, I had been heating these in boiling water (anyone remember boil-in-bag meals?). I took them and set them inside the black roasting pan and set it out in the sun, it gets toasty hot in about an hour. I wanted more dressing/stuffing, so I got some Stove Top, divided it between 2 plastic containers with lids, I added enough water, put the lids on them, shook them up and put them in the roasting pan too. Everything was hot and good.

Hmmm, let's see, what else has been happening... we ate dinner at our friends house the other night, I'll call him JB and her PB, they are a very nice couple. She made homemade spaghetti, she is a very good cook! They have lots of kids, started late in life, I can't imagine raising young kids now, our (respective) kids are grown and living their own lives (even having their own kids). Anyhoo, their kids are great, and quite unusual out here, there just aren't many kids living out here. Oh well... JB is helping us with some material, he has quite a spread with lots of stuff, some might call it a mini junk yard, but it's all good stuff, and he seems to know what he has and where it all is. We saw him today on our way to the mailbox, we saw him outside and stopped by to say HI, he is really a very nice guy.

Oh well, enough rambling for now... don't seem to have much to say. I'll try harder next time... :)
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5 Comments

lornkanaga said...

Other than the occasional scorpion, life seems to be pretty good. Bless your neighbor with his "junkyard" as he sounds like someone who truly knows how to recycle (g).

TheMajor'sLady

June 6, 2008 4:22 AM

lornkanaga said...

Oops. Forgot to ask something about your make-shift solar setup. Have you considered cutting three sides off of a box (leaving a bottom and two sides), then covering that with aluminum foil to increase the reflective heat generated for your pot?

I never thought of using a solar oven for microwave dinners! I kinda doubt it would work for microwave popcorn; too bad, as I love the BoyScout's Trail's-End popcorn.

TheMajor'sLady

June 6, 2008 4:52 AM

Wretha said...

Thanks TheMajor'sLady, life is pretty good out here, the scorpions aren't really that bad, just gotta remember to check shoes and clothes before putting them on, and be careful where I am putting bare feet when I walk around the house, can't put bare feet in places where I can't see... ;)

I actually have a cardboard solar oven, it's under my bed right now, I need to get it back out and start using it, it's not as sturdy as one made of wood, but it does work, I don't know if my black roaster would fit in it though, I think I have a smaller one, somewhere...

Wretha

June 6, 2008 12:01 PM

lornkanaga said...

With a three-sided box, your roaster could hang out a bit and you'd still get loads of reflected heat. (Of course, don't take apart the one you already have.) Also, you could prop up two pieces of aluminum (if you have any left over from your roofing project).

TheMajor'sLady

June 8, 2008 6:21 AM

Wretha said...

TheMajor'sLady, I did find my small roaster, gotta check to see if it fits in my cardboard solar oven... I think it should. I've been eyeballing all of my empty glass jars, those can be painted black (leaving a small vertical strip clear to see the food inside), those are great at heating foods like soups and such.

Wretha

June 8, 2008 11:43 AM

Update

Wow, it's been a few days since I've written anything here, let's see if I can catch everyone up on what's been going on... Bob has been working on the bedroom addition to the cabin, I suppose it's beginning to be more of a house and less of a cabin, Bob doesn't like me referring to it as a cabin, so I will try to stop referring to our house as a cabin. :)

The bedroom has a roof and walls now, we had lots of windows (thanks to everyone who donated windows to us!), so many of the walls are mostly windows, that's a good thing! We have great views, and it makes it a breeze to ventilate (pun intended). Most of the windows have screens too, for the ones that don't have them, we will make them. Bob also built a deck outside the bedroom, it's nice to go outside and sit on the deck, especially at night when it's cool and the stars are out.

It's been getting hot during the day, as long as the wind is blowing, it's pretty comfortable, but on the days the wind is calm, it can get pretty warm in the house. We have found that during the hottest part of the day, the best place to be is under the house, it can be in the upper 90s in the house, but in the upper 70s to 80s under the house, the concrete walls tend to be cool, they register 75 degrees F. Our house sits some 7-8 feet above ground, so it's pretty easy to walk under the house, still Bob has worked on digging out the dirt to increase the head room, we will eventually close up the bottom floor with concrete, and pour a concrete floor. It should be very comfortable down there, might even sleep down there, though it does get cool at night (typical desert, hot during the day, cool to cold at night). Last night I went to sleep with one light blanket, I had all of the windows open, I woke up early with a chill, I had to grab a second blanket. Trying to sleep during the day though it difficult, the bed traps your body heat, and it gets too warm, if we had a bed under the house, it would be easy to take a nap during the hottest part of the day.

Bob's brother is supposed to come down for a visit soon, maybe in a week or so, I can't wait, he will be a big help to Bob, I can do just so much for Bob, I am a big help, but I don't have the strength of a man, so having another male here for a while will be a big help. Bob's brother has lots of good ideas like Bob does, so the two of them together can bounce ideas off of each other and come up with even better plans together than they do separately. Bob wants to build a separate guest house, his brother will make things go lots quicker, and I think having someone else here inspires Bob to do more, though I can't complain a bit about what he does, he works hard around here and does some amazing things! :)

My Dad will be coming out in July, he will be staying at least a month, hopefully we will have a nice guest house for him to stay in, if not, he can stay in the bedroom in our house, our neighbor has also graciously offered his spare bedroom too if my Dad wants it, though I know my Dad, he will not want to impose, and he doesn't know our neighbor as well as we do, he will want to stay on our property if at all possible. We will be using our neighbor's facilities as we always do, for bathing, laundry and such... I take the opportunity to catch up on my TV watching while I am doing laundry, I really don't miss watching TV on a daily basis, it's nice to watch it once a week (or so), though I think I don't get to the laundry as soon as I could, gotta wait for the commercials ;).

Laundry, typically I do 3 loads a week. I separate the laundry into towels and socks, another load for blacks, darks and jeans, the final load is the light colors. I need to get our blankets and bed stuff into the wash too, it's easy to put it off, mainly because I can carry one basket to my neighbor's house at a time. That's pretty much all of my laundry, if I do the bed stuff, it will have to be on a separate day, maybe I'll do that later on today, there's nothing like fresh, soft sheets and blankets!

The sun is coming up, I have been on an opposite sleep schedule, I tend to do this from time to time, I'll stay up all night and go to bed about the time the sun is coming up, last night though, I went to bed fairly early, I woke up early too, I think it was because I was chilled, I grabbed a second blanket, but by then I was wide awake, so I just got on up, I suppose I'll be going to bed early tonight too. That's OK, I'm not on any particular schedule, nothing says I HAVE to sleep or be up at any particular time. As long as I get the garden watered once a day, and make dinner at a reasonable time, it's fine. I have never been one of those people who have a routine, go to bed and get up at the same time, I can sleep anytime, I almost envy those who have a natural schedule, but I'm not complaining, I guess my natural schedule is flexible.

I detect the scent of moisture, it's an odd scent here, it smells faintly of wet dirt, when you smell it, you first wonder, what is that smell? Then you remember, it's the smell of moisture. That was one of the other things that caught my attention when I woke up this morning, it was almost overpowering at times, this happens whenever the humidity is up and when it rains. Last I checked, there was a 20% chance of rain today, chances are it will not rain, it might rain around us, it's strange to hear it raining in the next valley over but not getting one drop. It also might rain but the rain will not actually hit the ground, maybe a drop or 2, we'll see what happens.

I guess I'll go out and sit on the deck and watch the world come to life. :)
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1 Comment

Mayberry said...

Get a hammock for an afternoon siesta! They eliminate the trapped heat of a bed, and are really comfortable. String it out when you want to use it, and put it up when you're done. I'd sleep in a hammock all the time if it were up to me!

May 26, 2008 12:49 PM

Snow, more pix, helping out...

03-04-08

We had an interesting few days, it's been warm, nice, perfect weather, then yesterday, it snowed, all day, but it was so light that it didn't really stick, it was pretty though, nothing like seeing snow in the high desert mountains. :) Sorry, no pix of the snow, I took the day off from everything, I got up long enough to eat and use the toilet, it was a very lazy day for me, I slept most of the day. By the time I got up for good, the sun had come out and the snow that did stick, had mostly melted off. We ate dinner at our neighbor's house and had a pretty good time, good food, good company, TV and the internet, what more could one ask for? ;)

Last weekend, we went to our friend's new place, I have a few pix of us, Bob and I and our neighbor (who is our very best friend out here!), we are sitting on top of another mountain, I took the opportunity to take a pic of myself, I hate having my picture taken, I tend to hide behind the camera (grin), but I am fairly happy with the pictures (mark it on the calendar, that doesn't happen very often).


Here's Bob


Here's Bob and our neighbor (and very good friend)


Anyhoo, we have been helping our friends get their house ready to be lived in, it's an 80s model single wide mobile home, it's not too bad, a little water damage, mostly on the edges of the floor, we helped pull carpet (shag carpet), paint walls and clean. This place had been empty for many years and it had been home to mice and various other animals, they caught a ring tailed cat inside too, they are messy, nasty creatures, at least if they are inside your house they can be... It will be a cute place when they are finished with it. They are getting 11 acres on top of a mountain, very pretty view but the ride up is pretty rough, you almost have to have 4 wheel drive, our bug does it pretty well, I can't imagine driving up and down every day though. Oh, I almost forgot, they fed us a great BBQ meal for helping, we would have done it anyway, but it was nice to eat a good meal with good friends and a great view.

Here is the view from their property




Today, we went to town, we were going to the post office, and missed it by 13 minutes! Darn, small towns, I forget that they roll up the sidewalks earlier in the day. We will have to go again tomorrow, bummer, it's quite a drive into town, heck it's a 12 mile round trip just to go to the mail boxes out by the main road. Oh well... :)
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2 Comments

Anonymous said...

Hey sis,

I see you and Bob have done so much. I enjoy reading your blog. Glad you are enjoying your new home. Hope to see you soon.

Love ya & miss ya

Alma

March 9, 2008 9:07 PM

Wretha said...

Hi Sis! I miss all of you very much, we are planning on mbuilding a guest house, Bob will start it soon, we have nearly everything we need to complete it, so when all of you come out, you will have a place to stay, with a great view! :)

Wretha

March 11, 2008 9:45 PM

Stuff To Do

Today was a banner day, it was a beautiful day, sunny, slight breeze, warm , the high was 75 f. After lounging around most of the morning into the afternoon, we got up and started working on concrete. We poured about a foot in depth and about 10 feet long, we are pouring a three sided wall, we pour, allow it to set for a few days, remove the forms and reattach them higher on the wall and pour again, this keeps the forms from bulging out too much, concrete is heavy. Bob mixes the cement powder, local soil, local gravel and a little water in the cement mixer, pours it into a bucket and brings it to the wall, he pours it into the wall cavity, I tamp it down and smooth it out as best as I can with a stick. We also throw in fist sized rocks and poke them into the wet concrete.

After that, Bob got out the powered post hole digger, my Dad gave it to us, so far, digging has been so easy that Bob hasn't felt the need to use the auger, but he tried it tonight, and was very impressed, he dug 3 holes a few feet away from the south side of the cabin, he set some long 2x6 boards in the holes, filled the hole back in with dirt and a little water and tamped it down. His intention is to make a scaffold structure so he can work safely on that side of the cabin. While he was doing this, I made dinner, I was instructed to post the recipe on my blog, so I will. It's a recipe I made up when I was a teenager, it's extreme comfort food.

4 slices of bread (your choice-white or wheat)
4 wieners (hot dogs)
1 can chili
1 can cream corn
mayo
shredded cheese (your choice)

Heat the cream corn and the chili in separate pans, you can heat the wieners in the chili if you want or heat them separately, leave whole or cut into bite sized pieces, your choice. Take 2 slices of bread for each serving, place it on a plate, slather each slice with a thick layer of mayo, I like Miracle Whip, my hubby likes real mayo, make it thick, pour the chili with the wieners) over the bread, place some shredded cheese over this, as much as you want. Next pour the cream corn over the top. Eat. This serves 2 hungry people.

I don't have a name for this, anyone want to name it? When I made it as a teen, I didn't add wieners or cheese, I add this now to make it more of a meal. It may sound like a strange combination, but it's very good, have lots of napkins. Don't ask about the calorie count, if you have to ask, then you probably shouldn't eat it (grin!), we aren't worried about calories out here, as hard as we work, we burn off more than enough. Walking up and down the property with buckets of gravel and dirt in this thin air is a super workout!

Work

Before we moved out here, we did a lot of research on how to build and live off grid, I found a lot of websites boasting about how green they are while spending lots of money and using heavy equipment and lots of hands helping them. It can be discouraging to the average person who wants to do this but doesn't have much money (or equipment or help). I am here to tell you that it CAN be done, we have done everything with very little money and mostly by hand. The most expensive part was buying the land, before we moved we started buying a few thing here and there, the deep cycle batteries, the solar panels, yes I know those are expensive, but they are coming down in price, and if you are willing to live a more simple life, you can make it with a few batteries and a few solar panels, we are doing it, and we are doing it very well. We would not be able to power the same amount of stuff as we used to have when we lived in the city, but living out here, in a small cabin, using the bare minimum of lights, a radio, a small cube refrigerator, cell phone, computer and the water pump, our little system is working great. We don't watch TV, it's just a time waster and an energy hog, I don't miss it very much at all, but then again I didn't watch it much before.

We have built out home ourselves, with hand tools and sweat. It's not the Ritz, but it's ours, free and clear. We get a lot of material for free by doing things like Bob did the other day, a neighbor around the mountain from us was tearing down a building, he gave us the material as long as we took all of it, we ended up with a lot of good, usable wood, some of it is no good, but for a half a day's work, we got a truck load of wood for free. You gotta network with the local people to find out what they need and what you can offer, the barter system is alive and well. If you have skills, especially out here where it is remote and costs a mint just to get someone to come out to your property, and that is before they start doing any work, you can go a long way toward getting the things you need. Bob is good with his hands, he can repair most any appliance, motor and is good with carpentry, electronics and a hodge podge of other things, it has come in handy for us as well as for a few neighbors who help us with other things.

For anyone who really wants to do this, let me say that it CAN be done, and you don't have to be wealthy, you just have to be willing to do the proper research, learn from everyone, and be willing to work hard. It's not a vacation, but it has been worth it. It has been worth everything we have given up, which by the way hasn't been much:

Noise
TV
pollution
Stress
Close by stores
Close by neighbors (packed in like sardines)
Traffic problems
High bills
City codes (building, parking...)

There is more than I can list, the main thing is the noise level, it's so quiet out here, and the air is so clean, you can see so many more stars. I do have to collect wood for heat, for now I have to tote water, I have to be aware of my power usage, but I don't get a monthly bill for my electricity or heating, it's a trade off, and I don't mind it at at all.

I am thinking about what I am going to grow for food this spring, we will have to decide where to put the garden, and we will have to protect it from the animals who would like to eat our veggies as much as I would. I plan on planting carrots, onions, tomatoes, potatoes, peppers (hot and mild), beans, peas, spinach, kale, okra, lettuce, garlic, herbs... and I don't know what else, I ordered some seed catalogs, I can't wait to get them.
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2 Comments

HOLLIS said...

I am in the research stage. I just found your site and love it. If you don't mind me asking what did the land cost and how much did you get? I am researching on how to do this with kids. We have a 7 & 8 yr olds. Any advice there?

May 21, 2008 7:28 PM

Wretha said...

Hello Hollis,

I don't mind answering most questions (grin), we purchased just under 6 acres, we paid $11000 for it. The land had nothing on it, no improvements at all, most properties around here cost more, the reason ours was less was because accessing the largest part is difficult, there is a dry creek bed running across the front of the property, getting a vehicle across, or anything else for that matter is not easy, but it's doable. You need a 4 wheel drive vehicle or you have to use a winch to get across and up the other side. We park our vehicles on the street side and walk across most of the time. When it rains, we just stay on the high side and don't leave the property.

Where are you looking for land? You can email me directly if you want. :)

Wretha

May 21, 2008 9:11 PM

02-21-08

It's been several days since I wrote anything, that is because not much has been happening, Bob has been gone during the daytime, I do get some things done, dishes, cleaning, taking care of the humanure toilet. Day to day life is becoming normal here, at least normal for me :) I get up in the morning, I look outside to see how the day looks, I take the dog out, I change out of my pj's, I take a sponge bath using the water from the stock pot that is still warm from last night's fire. I put on my clothes, I do any dishes that were left from the night before, if I am hungry, I eat something, usually I make a bowl of oatmeal, if the water in the pot isn't hot enough, I have a 2 burner propane stove, it doesn't take long for the water to get hot enough to cook the oatmeal. Sometimes I listen to the radio, we get one station, it's a NPR radio station out of Marfa, they play a variety of music, I have heard everything from rock, classic rock, country, old country, ancient country (grin!), pop, jazz, classical, Cajun, folk, blues, and some I can't put a name to, and that's all in an hour or two! It seems that they don't want to offend anyone or leave anyone out, so they play this crazy variety of music one after another, you might hear Pink Floyd then right after that they might play Hank Williams Sr, then something classical... it's like a crazy quilt for music. Anyhoo, at some point during the day (or evening) I go to my neighbor's house for water and company, once Bob gets home and gets cleaned up (as much as possible), I make dinner, we eat dinner while watching the most beautiful mountains and sunset. Our mule deer show up just before sunset on most days, they have gotten quite used to us, for better or worse, they hang around for an hour or so, depends on how many crackers I toss their way. After dinner, if I haven't gotten water yet, I will go then, otherwise, we have movie night a few nights a week, IF the weather cooperates. If the wind is gusting, we can't hear anything but the wind, many movie nights have been canceled because of the wind. But that is OK because we do like to talk to each other, actually we are opposites from most couples, in most other couples, the female talks more and the male talks less, often to the point where the female wished her mate would talk more and the male wishes his mate would hush up! :) In our situation, Bob is the talker, I like to say that he narrates the world, this is a good thing, I appreciate his gift for gab, I on the other hand, tend to be a bit on the quiet side, at least as compared to most of the other women I know (though I can chat up a storm when I need to), so for us, it works out quite nicely.

I just heard the Bug pull up, it will take Bob about 5 minutes (+/-) to walk up to the cabin, once he gets here, we are supposed to go to our neighbor's house for dinner, our neighbor is cooking a pork roast, Bob just walked in, I stopped typing and started heating water for coffee, Bob is a coffee drinker, he likes it semi-hot and very sweet.

I have figured out a glitch in our power system, not a bad one though, I dug out my alarm clock a few days ago, it runs on 110 and has a battery backup, it's just a standard, digital alarm clock. The first night I had it plugged up, it worked just fine, but the next morning, I noticed the time was wrong, it was a head about 20 minutes, I assumed that either Bob or I had hit the wrong button and made the time jump ahead, I reset the time and watched it for a bit and it ran just fine. A few hours later, I noticed the time had jumped ahead again, not much, between 5 and 10 minutes, again I reset the time and assumed that one of us must have bumped the button that resets the time, it's quite sensitive. So today, I was watching the clock to see if it was having a problem, the digital clock was a minute behind the clock on the weather station, I heard the power inverter's fan kick on for a few seconds (that happens when the refrigerator comes on or some other load occurs), right after that, the digital clock jumped a minute ahead of the weather station clock, that was the "aha" moment, I started making the inverter fan come on by turning on lights and other things that cause a power load to occur, each time I did this, the digital clock would jump ahead 30 seconds to a minute, so I am going to have to isolate it from other power loads in the future, Bob thinks he can do something to change the "flavor" of the power, we will see if it works, it would be great of it did, but it's not a big deal if it doesn't work, for the most part, we don't need an alarm clock. :)

Moon

Last night I watched the lunar eclipse, I saw it from the point where the moon was red, I got a late start and missed the first half. I went out about once every 10 minutes to see what was happening. I must say that I wasn't very impressed, it was kind of fun to see it, but not a huge thrill, I understand our next full lunar eclipse will happen in about 3 years... A strange thing that happened during the eclipse, I don't know if it was associated with the event or just a coincidence, my cell phone couldn't acquire a signal at all, this went on all night, it worked during the day just fine, but about sun down, it started "looking" for a signal and it did this all night. This morning, it finally started working again, I hope this doesn't happen often, I get a marginal signal at best, it's always a "roaming" signal, and for the most part, I have to stand in a certain place in the cabin, if I move around, my signal drops out and I may even lose the call alltogether.

Comments

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has been leaving comments, I really REALLY appreciate each and every comment, keep them coming! :) Comments, questions, I read and respond to them, so if you ask a question, go back to that comment and look for my response, it may take a few days to get back to you, but I will respond.
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5 Comments

Oldman in th eBoonies said...

Perhaps I missed it in your posting but Unless you have a true sinewave converter you will always have problems with a power inverter and some elctronics. Variable speed motors and standard inverters do not get along well. I replaced the variable speed fan on our Wood burner with a equivilant CFM bathroom fan and some flexable ducting. The inverter is much happier now. This was a much cheaper solution than a Sine wave converter.

Thanks for the info on the water pump. I keep forgetting about RV and Marine stuff. I am building a rainwater catchment system and 12 componants are essential. Since we are in the frozen great north the project is on hold for a while.

February 22, 2008 7:17 PM

Wretha said...

Yeah, we have an inexpensive inverter, it was the biggest one I could get where I used to work, Best Buy is not known for selling inverters, computers yes, but not the bigger inverters, but it was a good deal for me so I got 2 of them, eventually we will get a bigger/better one, but for now, what we have is working just fine.

Where in the frozen north are you located?

Wretha

February 23, 2008 9:07 PM

oldman in the boonies said...

We are in Central Wisconsin. We got 14" of snow last sunday after it had been -20 for a couple of days in a row. we have had about 80 inches so far this year. It is in the high 20's yesterday and supposed to be 35 today.

We are in our late 50's. We have about 5 acres. We grow about 75% of our vegetables. We have 5 chickens.

We do have a nice 6" well that gives us all the water we could want. it runs on 220 and that scares me. I have put together a rather extensive rain water catchment system. while it is still evolving I am always looking for better ways to do things.

You and Bob are doing great. I look at your every day to see if you have posted.

February 24, 2008 8:11 AM

nanabird2000 said...

Hey Wretha, everyone sends their "Hello's" sounds like things are going well for you guys. Was nice to talk to you the other day. If you keep up all talking to the animals you may turn into Dr Dolittle and the animals talk back to you, :) Glad you guys are doing good your neighbor sounds like a heaven sent, you must be company for each other. Keep up the blogs look forward to reading them and enjoy the pictures too, explains alot of things, thanks. Until next time......Nancy

February 25, 2008 9:53 PM

Wretha said...

Oldman, wow, that is too much snow for me, and too much cold! I really love living in the desert AND on a mountain, I get the best of both worlds. We are going to get chickens sometime this spring (I hope!), I can't wait to have fresh eggs and the occasional chicken in the pot... we are also going to grow lots of fruits & veggies. How do you store (long term) what you grow?

Nancy, thanks so much for keeping up with me, I miss each and every one of you! I will keep up the blog, it's great fun and honestly, it allows me to remember things that I might forget, especially about the early periods, and helps me to appreciate each step.

I have more pix that I will be uploading soon, stay tuned! :)

Wretha

February 26, 2008 10:07 PM