Rebecca's journal-may be time to restart this

[Farmfresh]

Don't JUST haul it away ... people now a days are PAYING BIG BUCKS for metal. You have to sort it into piles based on what KIND of metal it is and do a little homework, but a friend of mine has made quite a little bit on the side this way.

Might be enough to pay for a big dumpster for the really trash stuff.

That is what we did at my daughters. HUGE garage sale for money to buy dumpsters to fill with trash.

 

[rebecca100]

I have already looked into dumpsters. $300 for a month for a big one. I do believe we could fill it! Right now I just do not have the money! I want to rent one for our old place to to help clean up what is left of the tornado damage. Maybe this winter when my dh job picks up better then we could get one to do the sheds. Right now we are just on the outside stuff. We gave away most of the metal that we couldn't use the only problem was that people came and took the aluminum and higher priced metals and left the rest. Buggers!
On another note, I had to redesign the garden beds. I am going to do two 4x20 rows and two 10x12 beds and three tractor tires along the back, my dh didn't like the terraced thing or the squares so it is flat now with a higher back to keep the soil from washing. It isn't a terribly steep hill so maybe it will be okay, especially after I mulch it. Now I just have to get the dirt to fill it. We have a backhoe, now if I can just find some good topsoil maybe I can plant a fall garden. Oh and I just got another order of seeds in! Yea!

 

[rebecca100]

Well today we finished the chicken pen and dug the hole for the storm/root cellar. It will be fairly large and we will use some of the concrete blocks that we were going to use for our house to build it. Then I spent the day looking up Alaska. I wish we could move there. It would seem adventurous and we could live SS for real. Okay maybe that's not practical, but it is a nice dream. My dh wants to move up north, but there is no way even if we sold everything we have and bought a place, we know nothing about living in really cold climates, or how to keep animals there, or anything else about it. I really didn't like the idea of it until I started reading about it.......Now it seems like it wouldn't be so bad. Oh well...... On to other subjects, work wants me to come in, but then I will only have one night off to sleep and with a baby to watch tomorrow, I don't think it's a good idea. I think I will go to sleep tonight and dream of a log cabin in Alaska.

 

[Farmfresh]

I think you are wise to stick to a climate you are accustomed to. Homesteading can have challenges enough without that problem.

I homestead in a city of over 150,000 people. I am here to say it is not so much WHERE you live as HOW you think. I would LOVE to have around 15 to 20 acres someday and get back to raising larger livestock, like cattle. Until then I will do the best with what I have and stockpile my skills.

A dream is a lovely thing, but remember to keep it real.

 

[MorelCabin]

Hey, I can sell you a log cabin close to Alaska...trust me, it feels like Alaska up here during winter:>) Wanna become a crazy canuck?? LOL!

 

[rebecca100]

LOL I don't think Canada would let us in!


Well we went out to our old place and picked up our blocks for the storm/root cellar. As soon as we get it done and covered, I will have the dirt for my raised beds since we put the good soil on bottom, we have to remove the poorer soil before I can get to it. You know, it is weird that at work only a few of us knew what a raised bed garden is. I actually had to explain it to a couple of co-workers! And I got my 3x8 panels of glass, I have eight of them, now I just need to deciede what to do with them.
Oh and we wet horseback riding yesterday! We hadn't ridden in almost a year. Since we can't have our horses here they were out on pasture. I was really expecting them to act a fool since it was cool out and they hadn't been ridden in so long. I was wrong-they were great. I enjoyed myself more than I had in a long time. The only problem is that there are five of us and one big horse and one mini. My ds rode the mini while I and my middle and youngest rode the big one. (not at the same time) We doubled up. My dh sat on the truck in the pasture and watched. He rode for just a few minutes to make sure they were going to act okay. The mini was refusing to go so my ds got a leafy limb to swat his rear with, all he had to do was show it to him and they were off! David(my ds) was laughing and really thought it was funny. Shorty(the mini) found a bouncy little trot and that was about as fast as he would go thank goodness. He took turns leading the girls on Shorty and them my dh or I would lead them on Magic. Now if we could just get Shorty's wagon wheel fixed......
Ohhh...I miss our old place and I can't wait until we get a house there or even a mobile home would be nice.

 

[rebecca100]

I am so dippy! The title was too long and I couldn't fit in the t for kraut and I thought my keyboard had quit. I must have pressed fifty buttons before I figured it out. I think the lack of sleep has made my brain quit working. I can't even remember my age half the time, much less figure anything out. It is getting really depressing. I was salulatorian in high school(while married and pregnant). Now I read something and can't even remember what I read and can't seem to comprehend it anyway. Anyway, we putting an addition on to our mobile home. The girls will get to share a new room! They are excited. It will be 12x 16. We will be starting on it this weekend. Yesterday and today I canned pears for the first time. I just waterbath canned since it takes so long for the pressure canner to heat up and cool down. My dh helped with it all and wants to do some more. We canned 9 qts of pears. Today I think I will start some jar kraut. It seems easy enough. The library is supposed to be getting the book Nourishing Traditions for me. I stopped by there but didn't get a chance to search for any other good books. The traffic was getting bad. It was lunchtime and there were trucks and horse trailers everywhere. The National Chuckwagon Races are this week. For a week the population of Clinton triples and everyone is camping out with their horses and there are country music singers. Trace Atkins I think it is today. There are also horse clinics, the snowy river run, trail rides and everything else. The sad thing it is costs $30 per person to go. I have never been. The traffic gets unbelievable and there are venders on the side of the road selling campfire wood, hay, tack and everything else! Well, anyway I just found out the bank is giving us $250 for all the reward points we have gathered for using our debit cards!!! YEA!! Well that's about it.

Oh I forgot to mention the horse and cattle drives and the cowboy mounted shooting! And the battle of the bands. okay now I am wishing I could go so i will shut up now.

 

[punkin]

Trace Atkins is one of my favorites. Sounds like that would be a fun time.

Good luck on your new room. I'll be your girls are excited. You should take some pics and show us the progress.

 

[rebecca100]

Well anyway after a rough night last night at work I thought it would be best just to crawl into a ball when i got home and sleep all day. Well, I happened to have the radio on while I got ready for bed when I heard my name mentioned as this weeks contest winner. I won 2 movie tickets! Doesn't sound like much, but it is the first thing like that I have ever won. Then I of course stayed up to listen to the radio some more and wait on my dh who was gone helping a friend with her husband who has alheimers to get home so I could tell him. I was listening to the Trading Post when he got in and heard some free chickens. Well I called and he held them for us so i got 15 straight run young grown White Rocks for free! Over half are roo's though. And to top it all off the lady that my dh was helpings neighbor gave him a pom-pom puppy since they knew mine had died a few months before!!! Wow, I'm afraid I'm going to wake up any time now. Maybe my bad luck is changing. Oh and my old pom was named Fancy, this new one is named Goldie.

 

[Farmfresh]

Wow that is GREAT news. Sounds like you had a really good day!