Old Friends & A Coastal Sunrise

 

Hello, friends.  I hope you've had a good week.  Last week, I finished signing up for Medicare, after choosing the supplement I want.  J did a great job researching, and we were able to get a plan that has no premium, and also pays $100 towards Part A & B, so all of it will end up costing $64.90 a month.  My understanding is the plans do their annual change up on Oct. 15, so we'll see what it looks like going forward.  But for now, we're pretty pleased.  I ran tomatoes through the food strainer one day, then the next morning, put them on to simmer for tomato sauce, giving me another three pints for the pantry.  This makes it a lot easier than trying to do it all in one day, and I plan to continue doing it this way any time I'm able.  I filled the dehydrator with halved figs, which filled a half gallon jar.  

Knowing it won't be long before we integrate the chicks in with the rest of the flock, we began letting them into their large yard last week, so they can all see each other across the fence now.  It's supposed to help with an easier transition.  There was a virtual GC I had redeemed via Swagbucks some months ago, which was good until some time in '27, but when I tried to use it, I got a message it was expired.  I first initiated a conversation with Swagbucks, who told me to contact the card issuer.  Though I dread these types of phone calls, they actually made it reasonably easy, and I received a new card last week.  I immediately loaded it on my Amazon account, and it worked fine.  I had loaded other GC's on Amazon recently, anticipating Christmas lists I'd be receiving.  A decision was made to scale back for Christmas this year, and I will only be celebrating with my sister, instead of both siblings and their families.  I do understand, as families continue to grow.  Life always brings changes, doesn't it?

  

sunrise on the inland waterway

On Thursday, I drove to the NC coast, to meet an old friend.  We had the nicest time catching up.  We ate out twice, and all was delicious, including the leftovers.  I had scoped it out beforehand, and found spots where there were items I could eat.  My friend suggested a spot I hadn't found, and it turned out to be wonderful.  We did a little thrifting, and I found two pairs of workpants for J, a canister for my shop, and a half price tank top.  The last evening, we just stayed in and hung out.  It's such a precious thing to have one on one time with dear friends.  Because of my time away, I didn't get a skoolie post up this week, but plan to get one up this Friday.  Wishing you a wonderful week.

Morning Glories & Bumblebees

Hello, friends.  Last week while getting groceries, I found dogfood on sale for $6 off, and blueberries for my smoothies for $1 off per package.  Two books were requested from the library.  Swagbucks points were redeemed for a $25 gift card.  I opened a jar of our eggplant caponata, so we could enjoy it with dinner on one of the hottest days.  Mini ciabattas were heated for J to have with it, and I used tasty GF crackers.  We're eating sliced cucumbers and tomatoes most meals.  Cucumbers, tomatoes, elderberries, the first tromboncino, figs and zucchini were harvested.  I've seen our first few honeydew melons and butternut squash in the garden, and on Sunday, saw the first little kajari melon.  Bags of frozen tomatoes, along with newly harvested ones, were cooked down into tomato sauce, and canned.  I'm always surprised by how little it produces, once cooked down.  Close to 4 gallons of tomatoes made three pints.  Oh well, I'm still quite thankful for it.  Two pints of tomato juice were also canned.  

I removed several tomato plants that were dead or dying from the garden, then replanted with new seedlings, which I've kept going since the spring.  We expect they're too small to produce, but it's worth a try.   J and I were discussing our decision to have a smaller, simpler garden this year.  Our main goal this year is to grow enough tomatoes to put up plenty of sauce and canned tomatoes.  The tomatoes have had so many challenges this year... a large variety of worms/caterpillars, aphids, and some sort of blight.  With having a simpler garden, I've been able to spend around 1 1/2 hours almost every morning tending to them; cutting away yellowed  and chewed leaves, cutting stems to open up good airflow, and looking for the aforementioned worms.  There's no guarantee we'll end up with all we hope to preserve, but during a normal year, there's no way I'd have that kind of time to devote to them.  Perhaps it was intuition that spurred us to make changes for this year.  All the bees in this butternut blossom made me smile one morning in the garden.  

A new batch of golden paste was made for the pups.  Tomato skins and bits were dehydrated, along with elderberries.  The tomato skins were turned into powder, to add to dishes, and the bits will be used in bird suet.  The last of an older batch of nettle & comfrey tea was used to fertilize all the houseplants, rosella, dwarf pomegranate, zinnias and nasturtiums.  As I suspected, every last hazelnut has been removed by the squirrels.  Sigh.  A quart of food was made for the hummingbirds.  A basil seedling that had gotten broken when the others were planted, was finally large enough again to plant in the garden. On Saturday, we headed to a family reunion in Eastern NC.  I brought apple beet salad & cranberry quinoa kale salad to share, and brought water and snacks for the drive.  On Sunday, I made stir fry for dinner, which included our cabbage, pepper, and garlic.  The cabbage was one of the offshoots from one that was harvested weeks ago.  I'm very much looking forward to a trip to the coast to visit an old friend this week.  I hope your week is a good one as well.  

This & That On The Skoolie Build

Joseph found an inverter on sale, and installed it in the bus.  This will convert 12V battery power to 120V AC power, basically normal household current.

I've been meaning to tell you he applied for the bus title to be changed to an RV title, aka a "house car" in NC, and was delighted when it arrived a few weeks later.  It will mean lower insurance.  It also means he won't have to get another CDL license, which he let lapse in the past few years.  

He began the framing, which is pretty exciting!  He's framed out the back wall of the bus, and inserted insulation and our stained glass window.  Though there will still be plenty of infrastructure-type things to do, I'm happy we're getting to a pretty part of the build!

Summer's Midpoint

Hello, friends.  I hope your week has been a good one.  Several small chanterelles were harvested throughout the week.  Some were dried, and others were added to our dinners.  I tried a new recipe for GF tortillas.  I'll try adding more water next time, as it was small and dense.  I had to quarter the recipe, as I only had enough of one ingredient for that much.  Making tortillas is a skill I've not mastered yet.  I'd bought a large pack of portabellas.  We had some in sandwiches one dinner, and the other two were frozen, after steaming them.  That's a new to me experiment, so we'll see how it goes.  Speaking of experiments, I've been meaning to report back on the yeast/sugar fertilizer for the cucumbers.  It did seem like it might have given them a little spurt soon after, but nothing significant since.  I held off doing a skoolie post this week, as not much had gone on, but there was good progress over the weekend, which I'll post about next week.

I began the week gathering pears off the ground that the squirrels had knocked out of the tree.  They'd been gorging themselves for weeks.  The tree started out with 200+ pears, and by Friday, it was down to 11 small pears.  I found the fruit picker, and harvested all but one.  Hopefully, I'll have enough to do a small batch of jam.  We enjoyed one in salads with toasted pecans and feta (mine vegan & J's goat cheese).  I started a new batch of nettle and comfrey tea, and made a batch of hummer food.  A brief, strong storm came through one evening, and we lost power for 5-6 hours.  Our solar batteries were depleted, and the generator wouldn't start, and while researching the issue, one of the batteries blew up and drenched J's legs with battery acid.  He quickly washed them in a baking soda solution, and thankfully there were no lasting effects.  The outage happened just as dinner was finished being prepared.  We usually eat dinner with at least one beeswax candle.  That night, I added a few more.  Then we read, J by flashlight, and I by headlamp, until bedtime.

J did end up relacing both generator batteries.  I'd been drying the herbs and elderberries on trays in our kitchen lately, which worked fine until the last batch of elderberries, which started to mold.  Into the compost they went, and the next batch of elderberries went right into the dehydrator, along with stevia and lemon verbena that had been air drying.  The next day, some of the thyme I'd been working on was added.  We got broccoli and cabbage seedlings planted for the fall garden one evening, before a good rain the next morning.  The first zucchini was harvested.  Tomatoes were frozen, until I have enough to process.  I've seen several mentions online of summer being almost over.  I understand that things seem to shift, and the light noticeably changes once August arrives, but August 7th is actually the midpoint of summer, so we're just now in the middle of it.  We've got many weeks left, before Fall arrives.  I'm not wanting to wish the days away, and will enjoy these remaining summer days.  I hope you'll join me.

Early August Days

Hello, friends.  Last week, I was happy to find cherries for $1.99/#, and cantaloupes $1.79 at Aldi.  I harvested a few tiny potatoes from a volunteer potato, which was missed last year.  I was not enjoying one of the library books I had gotten, so I started reading the other one I'd picked up.  There are plenty on my "want to read" list, so no use wasting time on one I'm not enjoying.  I made a batch of cashew parmesan.  In the garden, we spotted the first tiny zucchini and tromboncino squashes, and first cantaloupes.  The tomatoes are finally ripening, though we seem to still be eating ones that ripened early due to dying stems or being chewed on.  Not the most flavorful, but we'll take them.  I found the first parasitized tomato hornworm of the year, which I was glad to see.  

My massage therapist told me a Lowe's store I usually pass whenever I have soap to deliver, has an awesome markdown area.  She was right, as there were three large shelving units full, plus a cooler.  I picked up a dented can of organic black beans for .75, and a lb. of organic dried lentils for $2.20.  When I first saw them, I thought that was still pretty high, even if 50% off, but when I thought about nonorganic lentils at Dollar Tree being the equivalent of $1.67 per lb., I decided it wasn't too bad.  I'll make stopping there part of my monthly routine, and hopefully remember to look through the cooler next time.  In the garden, cucumbers, tomatoes, basil and oregano were harvested.

When I couldn't fit another thing in the freezers, I pulled out thirteen gallon bags of veggie scraps, simmered them, and canned 18 pints of concentrated broth.  It's good to have a little breathing room in the freezers again.  All laundry was dried on the line.  Our fourth try at yellow squash were large enough to be planted out over the weekend.  Here's hoping they thrive.  I started seeds of chard and broccoli.  J had wanted to give the mama hen a break, and separated her from the chicks, putting her back in with the rest of the flock.  They were all miserable, so after three days of watching and hearing her clucking sadly at them, I managed to catch her and reunite them.  All is well again.  The chickens are still getting their daily mash, depending on what's available. Most days tomato is included, which they love.   They've also gotten frozen cubes of corn on hot days, and melon rinds.  My Fall-inspired soap is on the drying rack.  Cool days will be here before we know it!

Small Steps

 

This week, Joseph fastened the wire track, and inserted the wires into the track.  He also drilled some more holes for rivets.  

Sorry for the dark photos, but you can see the gray morning we're having.  

I chuckled as I walked past this, which Joseph had placed just outside the bus, thinking about the strong stomachs bus drivers need to have.