She's Not Yellow Anymore

Hello, friends.  Well, this was the big painting week.  Joseph's business partner took off time to be with family out of state, so as the weather was cooperative (mostly), he took this time to paint the bus.  Before starting, he masked off all the areas that needed covering, created a plastic tent, then applied primer.  I sanded the bus, then wiped it all down with a damp rag, with a little help from him in some of the highest spots.  There were some wind gusts, quite a bit more than was forecasted, that tore off the plastic on three occasions, but he muddled through it all.  

He then gave the skoolie two coats of Seaside Teal.  She's not yellow anymore!  We're discussing what detail we might want, and are both leaning towards a curved line somewhere.  That can come in time, though, now that the main paint job is done.  He also plans to give it a coat of clear sealer.  It was an enormous amount of work for him, and something he hopes to never do again.  I've been gathering a few more items, like dog beds, bathroom soap dispenser, and stair treads.  There's still quite a bit to do, but this definitely feels like progress.

Mid-December

Hello, friends.  With the garden in its quiet phase, there's not a lot to report right now.  I did harvest kale, for a salad to bring to J's family's holiday gathering.  They also requested I bring the family's heirloom lima beans.  I recently came across these fruit Santas online, and decided to make those too.  I almost forgot to take a photo, before they were all gone.  Mine weren't quite as cute as the photo I saw, but they were all eaten.  

Early in the week, I canned up butternut squash.  Besides a small, homegrown one, they all came from Azure Std., and were all in pretty bad shape when we received them.  Some parts had to be cut away, but the majority of them were saved.  It was our first time ordering fresh produce from them, and we're hoping it was not representative of the typical quality of their produce.  The flesh was a beautiful color.  This was the initial filling of the jars.  They were all filled to the recommended 1" head space before canning.  I hope your week is a good one, where you can enjoy the beauty of the season.

New Cargo Deck

Hello, friends.  I intended to get this up yesterday, but ran out of time.  Joseph has been busy working on a rear cargo deck for the skoolie.  Our auxiliary fuel tank fits inside the mid-section, and there are compartments on either side, which will house the sewer connection hose and hose support on one side, and the fresh water hose, power cord, water pressure regulator, chock blocks and other miscellaneous items on the other.

Another day, he fabricated corners, where the bumper used to be.  You can see in the top photo that the bumper is now shifted rearward and reattached.  He sanded and gave the bus a good scrub yesterday, and intends to prime it soon! 

A Quiet Week

last Sunday nights surprise snow

Hello, friends.  I enjoyed being able to stay home last week, except for some errands.  I froze chard in a muffin tin, after preparing enough for one meal.  The last of the eggplant was dehydrated.  I made purchases by going through Swagbucks, which gave me 4% & 5% back, and also redeemed points for a $25 GC.  Our sweet potatoes were used in a curry dish one day last week, and baked for dinner another day.  Books were requested from the library, the day before I planned to go to town.  We're still low on rainwater, so J switched us back to well water, long enough for me to do laundry, all of which was dried on the line.  I held off on the light laundry, until we've got more rainwater.  We've got several chances of getting good rain this week, which will hopefully fill our tanks back up.

I dehydrated some eggplant this year, to try a new to me recipe for patties. The recipe was actually from a 19th century cookbook, and shared by someone, with her instructions.  J & I both agreed they weren't wonderful, but worth another try, with some tweaks.  We're still using tomatoes as they ripen, though the dish of them is getting smaller.  Some were used in pasta sauce last week, and cherry tomatoes were used in salads.  They're not the same as peak of the summer tomatoes, but still decent.  A year ago this week, McNibs took off after a scent while on our walk, and went missing for eight days.  I know that every day since has been a bonus, and am so thankful to have had another year with this silly boy.  I hope blessings find you this week.  

The Last Flowers

Hello, friends.  Last week, I harvested peas, lettuce, winter greens, rosemary, and thyme, plus greens for the chickens, on the days I was home.  I recently noticed something has been eating the chicory down.  Sigh.  Well, it's now taken care of.  The temperatures have been getting colder, and is supposed to hit the teens in the next few days.  On Thanksgiving, J and I covered the lettuce and chicory with row cover, to protect it a few more degrees.  Peas can thrive below freezing, but not once it hits 25 or so, so I harvested the last picking of peas on Thanksgiving.

More goods not seen in the foreground L & R, and a room to the left

Other than Thanksgiving, my week was spent shop sitting at the gallery.  I think I've mentioned in the past that this building was originally a livery.  The wood is just lovely.  Things I brought to do during lulls included paperwork, the peas to shell, thread and needle to mend a sweater, and Christmas cards to write.  I also brought reading material, to have some relaxing time.  During the time I was home, I made golden paste for the pups, and suet for the birds.  Before it got into the low 20's, I cut a couple remaining roses.  Joseph was so helpful, and did a great job of preparing simple dinners each night.

Enjoying the last of the flowers

Back home Sunday, I worked to catch up a bit.  Two loads of laundry were hung on the line.  The peas I'd shelled were canned, along with a pint jar of lima beans I'd recently shelled.  Joseph had baked extra sweet potatoes Saturday, so I made a pie with most.  A jar of cashew parmesan was made.  Broccoli Pad Thai was made, using our broccoli and garlic.  J picked up items to do an oil/filter change on my car.  He asked what deals they were having, and ended up saving about $20 overall, which was great.  I'm very much looking forward to spending this week at home, other than running a few errands.  I hope your week is a good one, spent doing just what you like.

Bucket List Express

Hello, friends.  Joseph came up with a name for the bus, and hired a local man to paint it, on the front visor.  He removed a fuel line, and had three new hoses made, one for that line, and two for the new transmission cooler.  He changed the fuel filters, and replaced the priming pump.  

I assisted Joseph in connecting and purging the lines for the mini split.  He completed the wiring, so it should now be operational, which we'll be testing soon.  He put protective covering on the water lines, as well as more support.  He connected the drinking water tank line to the faucet, which is the last of the plumbing.  The punch list is getting shorter all the time!

Many Wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving

Hello, friends.  Last week, I strained lemon balm and cat's claw glycerites, and bottled them.  From the garden, I  harvested cherry tomatoes, green beans, peas, eggplant, kale, chard, and rosemary.  We had our first killing frost, so the tomatoes, eggplant and green beans are done.  I tried a new recipe for pea hummus, which was good.  I enjoyed it for several lunches.  It called for frozen peas, but as I had fresh peas on hand, I used those, which worked well.  

I'm working at one of the gallery's all week.  I began on Saturday, and will work through next Saturday.  I've been working on prepping what I could for the week, for our home, and what I could take with me to work on.  There are simple dinners planned, and J is helping with those as he can.  I haven't had much time to work on a post, so this one will be short and sweet.  I send good wishes for a very happy Thanksgiving, for all who are celebrating.  

November Peas

Hello, friends.  Well, the mystery regarding the drinking water has had another piece solved.  Though the gunky gutters didn't help, we realized there was another issue, after we got 3/4" of rain, but didn't have enough to use.  When J went to check the pipes, he found my ex-husband had never glued the PVC pipes together, and they had separated at some point, which allowed much of the rain to pour on the ground, rather than into the tank.  I'm very thankful J cares more about the quality of work he does.  I was surprised to learn that it appears a third of the weather stations reporting data in the UK and to the NOAA in the US do not exist.  The "data" was fabricated, which of course skews the data.  It's disheartening at times, to learn of all the corruption, but also hopeful that so much of it is coming to light in these times.  I believe, brave souls that we are, we signed up for this, knowing a great shift would be taking place.  Bravo, us!

From the garden, I harvested cherry tomatoes, eggplant, green beans, peas, and chard.  With veggie bags threatening to take over the freezer, I filled two large pots with the scraps, simmered them on the woodstove a day, and canned the broth.  Just after, I canned peas.  With the nice, long Fall we're having, the pea experiment has worked out very well.  I've been able to put some jars on the shelf, for the first year ever.  Sadly, the third orchid dropped it's buds this week.  Still, I'm considering the one that's blooming a definite win.  Before I went out of town, I gathered sweet potato leaves for smoothies, froze ripened tomatoes, and froze the excess chard in muffin tins, to use over winter.  The night before I left, we had rain (~2/3"), and J was able to get the drinking water turned on for the house. Not enough yet for the household water, but we're hoping soon.

I had a great weekend with my niece.  She had found a women's build with Habitat for Humanity on Saturday.  Though not actually hurricane relief, when the family moves into this home in January, it will free up their current housing for someone else, which is sorely needed.  This was in a Habitat neighborhood of around 20 residences, including several duplexes.  There were two other teams working, in addition to the women-built house.  I worked on setting up scaffolding, and we both did painting, on window frames and a door.  It's obvious at least someone in the family is excited.  This plaque was up, in one of the rooms I was working in, which gave me a smile.  It was very organized, and nice to meet all the other workers.  It was my first time working with Habitat, and I'd definitely do it again.

Guinness keeping me company while picking peas

Though she had worked a previous Sunday with the group we planned on helping, they're apparently no longer open Sundays, so we had to come up with a plan B.  I'd seen several mentions of a distribution center not far from the college she works at in Swannanoa, so we dropped in there.  They were happy to have us, and set us to work organizing a container of donations.  After lunch, we worked as pickers, which meant as the cars drove up, a team leader would get their needs, then send pickers to gather all the items.  I told J I definitely got my steps in that day.  It was all outdoors, a beautiful day, and a fantastic group of people to work with.  Though it was satisfying to finally get there and help, I'd love to do more, and am hoping it works out to go back.  I've already got the OK to park our skoolie in their parking lot, which might be wishful thinking.  I'm sure needs will change as the weeks go by, but expect help will still be needed in some form.  It would be great to be able to have the ability to help more than a day or two.  Most of the workers I spoke with were from other parts of the country... TX, IL, New Orleans, S. Carolina, and were staying for a time, all good souls.  Sending you wishes for a good and peaceful week.

Drinking Water

Hello, friends.  Joseph purchased and installed the faucet for our drinking and cooking water.  It's the faucet on the right side, where the sprayer would have been.  We'll use campground water to bathe and wash dishes in, but don't want to drink it.  We have a separate tank for our drinking water, and will run it through a Berkey water filter.  Joseph continues to work on bodywork, and is close to finishing.  He's pressure washed half the bus, in preparation for painting.

I forgot to mention it in my last post, but I'm heading to the mountains today to assist in hurricane relief efforts, so my usual Monday post will be late.  I'll get one posted as soon as I'm able next week.  Until then, take good care.  

A Little Drama

Hello, friends.   It's been quite a week in the US.  I'm thankful to have my sanctuary here, as a buffer from the drama.  I just hope we can take this opportunity to come together.  Speaking of drama, while working with the Fall plants in the pond garden, I moved a seedling tray, and found a fat and sassy black widow spider underneath.  I watched it for a bit, then it went and hid again.  I made sure to tell J about it, when he came to the garden, and we left it in an out of the way area.  It looks like they hibernate over winter, going dormant.  It wasn't the least bit aggressive, and I'm sure it didn't want to bother me any more than I wanted to bother it.

Early in the week, I canned peas.  I used a 10% off coupon code for soap supplies, and went through Swagbucks several times for cash back offers on needed things. A $25 GC was redeemed from Swagbucks.  I found .99 pomegranates at Aldi, and got two.  We didn't need heat for several days, but once the woodstove was going again, I simmered small sweet potatoes for the pups, and melted soapmaking oils on it.   The orchid I recently shared is still going strong, but I sadly found the largest orchid bud "slimed" one morning, with the buds dropped and a chunk out of the stem.  So, I suppose a snail or slug came by.  The third orchid is still intact, so I'll keep hoping that one blooms too.  

There's been no rain this week, except for a light sprinkle.  There is a chance tonight (Sunday) and tomorrow morning.  The well water clogged up our shower head so much that J couldn't finish his shower, without shaking all the particulates out of it.  I've harvested cherry tomatoes and green beans, a few roselle calyces and calendula flowers.  The chicken coop was cleaned out.  Summer clothes have been swapped out for winter in the dressers, and the closet rearranged, to better access the winter clothes.  One of the mornings without heat felt cool in the house, so I made a pear pie, to warm things up a bit.  Thank you to all who have and are serving our country, this Veterans Day.  Wishing you a peaceful, cozy week.

Little Steps

 

Hello, friends.  Joseph got the front visor primed and painted, and has it in a protected place, until the bus itself is painted, and the visor can be put back in place.  I attempted to follow a Youtube video, to macrame a cord for the bathroom window, but gave up after working on it a couple of hours.  Her hands blocked it some, and she was moving too fast to see it all, despite stopping and winding back multiple times.  It was not pretty, lol.  I've done more research, and found another design that looks a little simpler, and has instructions, in addition to the video, so I'll try that another day.  

Joseph finished connecting the propane pipe to the generator.  The skoolie kitchen sink was cleaned, the counter wiped down, and I've cleaned the windows, inside and out.  There's a lot of construction residue on the windows, mostly polyurethane.  He's worked on them some, with a razor blade scraper.  Once we get most of it off, I'll go over them with acetone, and clean them again.  Little steps.  

A Happy Surprise

Hello, friends.  The beautiful Fall days have continued.  Last week, I canned peas and lima beans.  I had small amounts of each, and canned them in the same load, to save water, time and energy.  Golden paste was made for the pups.  All laundry was dried on the line.  I made vanilla sugar, following Annabel's instructions.  The usual composting, shredding paper and cardboard, and adding veggie scraps to the broth bag happened.  From the garden, tomatoes, peas, eggplant, basil, oregano, green beans and lima beans were harvested.  The green and noodle beans have only been about a dozen a week, so I've been adding them to the broth bag.  Sweet potatoes that had been chewed on, or were damaged when digging, were sliced and dehydrated for pup treats, once the ugly bits were cut off.  I gathered marigold flowers for dyeing, and added them to the dehydrator.  

While in a town delivering soap, I stopped by a thrift store, and found a vintage cotton sheet for $2, and a gold frame for $1.  A friend happened to be there too, and it was nice to catch up for a few minutes.  I stopped by the feed & seed, and picked up some plants... two varieties of lettuce, parsley, and chicory, which caught my eye, it was so pretty.  I've never had chicory fresh, only in a coffee blend, but tried a leaf, and thought it would be great in salads, similar to how we use arugula.  This variety had a lot of purple in the leaf, and is a milder tasting one.  I love having lots of greens available, being they're so good for us.  I got them all in the ground.  J put the hoops over the lettuce bed, and bought row cover, so we're ready to set it up, when frost threatens.  He got extra garlic this year, and gave a pound to a neighbor to plant, who in turn brought us some apples from the NC mountains, one of which was used in wild blueberry cranberry sauce, which J requested not long ago.   

 

While gathering some numbers for the holiday season, I noticed I'd had 1,234 sales (in 16 years) in my online soap shop, a rather auspicious number.  It's a small amount of income for me, but I appreciate each sale.  Last week, I took advantage of the warmest day, by washing and vacuuming my car.  That always feels better, and will likely do until warm weather returns in the spring, lol.  Boxes of my cold weather clothes were brought down from the attic, and still need swapping out.  I was delighted to see my first orchid flowers.  I've been trying ten years, after inheriting my Mom's orchids.  In previous years, any buds fell off before blooming.  Two more plants have buds, so I'm hopeful.  They supposedly don't like wood heat, but we've added another air purifier, so perhaps that's made the difference.  Wishing you some happy surprises, and peace this week.  

Dreamers

 

Yes, we're dreamers, and I'm thinking that's a pretty good thing.  I was recently pondering how I could know that Joseph had run the ozone generator, and decided a magnet should work, next to the door.  I'd chosen several magnets I liked, and this was his favorite.  The idea is it will be upright, when it's safe to go inside.  When it's upside down, the skoolie needs to be opened up, and aired out for a couple of hours, before spending time in there.  It can cause respiratory irritation otherwise.  When I took the magnet over to the bus, I intended to do some cleaning, but the ozone smell was obvious when I opened the door.  I'd rather not leave it to chance though, so we'll see how this magnet system works.  I purchased the magnet on Etsy here.  

This week, he's been fabricating the hangers for our propane pipes.  I helped him to take the visor down for painting.  He's purchased primer, and our secondary paint color.  He wanted orange for the front visor, and possibly another detail or two.  I'm not a big fan of orange, but can handle a soft, orange sherbet, so he ordered that.  We're closing in on painting.

Fall Colors

Hello, friends.  Groceries seemed especially high this week, even with my 5% senior discount.  There was very little on sale, among the things I needed, much of it fresh produce.  I did find organic crushed tomatoes on the markdown shelf, for $2, and got four of those.  I do hope prices will not continue going up, as they have been lately.  As the green tomatoes ripen, I'm freezing them, until I have enough to can.  I caught up on some YouTube channels I follow, while wrapping soap for the B&B.  J and I went to town for early voting.  There was a steady stream of people, but we were able to get in and out quickly.  I've really been enjoying the Fall colors this week.  

Joseph readied the ground, and planted our garlic.  He also tilled up a plot for me.  It's late, but I planted carrots, beets, a small kale patch, and a blend of bird and butterfly wildflowers my stepson gave me.  In other spots, I planted a blend of shade garden seeds.  The carrot varieties included Tendersweet, Danvers, Danvers Half Long, and Scarlet Nantes.  Some of the carrot seeds were saved from our garden.  Beets were Detroit Dark Red and Golden.  There's no frost in the 15 day forecast, so maybe they'll at least have time to germinate.  Peas, lima beans, green beans and kale were harvested from the garden.  

With a forecast of 80 on Saturday, I decided to give the pups baths, as I'm sure it won't be long before we shut the outdoor shower down for the season.  As I hadn't seen any in several weeks, the hummingbird feeders were taken down and scrubbed.  We ended up getting 3/8" of rain Saturday night.  It wasn't enough to begin using it in the house again, but we're thankful it helped water in the seeds and garlic we planted.  Greens of dock and kale were gathered for the chickens most days.  A pot of small sweet potatoes was placed on the woodstove, to simmer for the pups.  It's beginning to feel like the cozy season.  Stay well, friends.

Bodywork

Hello, friends.  Last week, Joseph finished hooking up the electrical for the generator, and did quite a bit of bodywork.  He welded metal on larger holes, and filled in smaller holes with body filler.

He bought a regulator and fittings to connect the propane tank to the piping, and installed it.  Onward.

Little Seasonal Chores

Hello, friends.  Well, we ran out of rainwater in the big tanks on Tuesday, while I was doing laundry, so we're on well water for the foreseeable future.  I made a nice batch of curry powder blend. This way, I can be sure there's no turmeric, which J is allergic to.  All the sweet potatoes were brought in to storage.  We had three nights with a frost advisory, so I picked the garden first... tomatoes, eggplant, beans, chard, roselle, and basil.  I also harvested a little parsley for a dish, and lettuce.  It turned out we had only the slightest frost.  I only noticed one affected basil plant, but everything else is doing OK.  I mentioned last year about gathering sweet potato leaves, to replace spinach in my smoothies.  As the sweet potatoes were in the pond garden this year, so less convenient, that didn't happen.  Many sweet potato vines will continue to grow, even after harvesting the potatoes, so last week, I harvested a bag of the leaves to use.  It saved me from buying spinach for the week.  

Early morning, with a full moon through the window

The last cabbage in storage was used, half in two different dinners.  A bouquet was gathered as well, the day I harvested the garden.  I had an errand in a town I don't go to often.  There's a branch of our library there.  I requested books before going, so they'd be ready to pick up.  I changed out the summer sheet sets to flannel ones.  The woodstove was lit for the season.  Batches of pesto were made with the basil.  The pup's coats were brought out for the cold mornings.  Seedlings of lettuce, chard and cilantro were planted in the ground.  Little seasonal chores.  Early in the week, I had small amounts of several things, all of which had the same processing time, so I canned a quart of tiny potatoes, a pint of fresh limas, and a pint and a half of peas in the same canner load.  Vegetable soup was made, using almost entirely homegrown veggies, including tomatoes, summer squash, limas, carrots, onion, garlic, peas, and potato.  I save small bits of leftovers in a "soup" container in the freezer, and this was added, which included jasmine rice and lentils.  It was an especially flavorful soup this time.  Tomatoes were canned over the weekend.  The season ended a bit better than I thought it might in mid-summer, and I'm thankful for that.  Take good care of yourselves, and have a lovely week. 

A Door & An Ozone Generator

 

Hello, friends.  Last week, Joseph finished installing the generator, and fabricated a door for the space.  He'd saved the hinge from the original door, so was able to cut it down, and use it in this project.  It looks so much nicer than the previous gaping hole there, and gets us closer to being able to paint the bus.  He's already purchased our primary color, Seaside Teal. 

 

Buses in general have a tendency to overheat on long upgrades, so he's bought a transmission cooler, and fabricated mounting brackets to place it in front of the radiator.  After he posted on a skoolie site about purchasing our mattress, someone suggested that an ozone generator works to repel mice and other critters, so there's now one of those on board.  We'll just need to air it out before boarding, whenever it's been less than 48 hours since running.  Next up... propane piping.

A Little Sewing & Another Garden Experiment

Hello, friends.  For the first time ever, we ran out of our drinking (rain)water.  With the skoolie project, a lot of maintenance-type things on the homestead have been neglected, including cleaning out the gutters to that tank.  I swept the shed roof while I was up there, and cleaned the muck off the gutter screens, which were covered with soil-like material.  It's no wonder there was no rain getting through, to fill our tank.  The forecast is showing little to no rain in the 15 day forecast, but in the meantime, we're able to use the main tanks to fill our Berkey.  As long as they last, that is.

One of our game roosters had a bad habit of flying out of the chicken yard, to explore other areas.  Last week, something killed him.  So, now our flock is down to 11, including three roosters, which truly is enough.  All but two of last year's sweet potatoes were used in a curry.  It's time to bring in this year's potatoes, as they should be done curing now.  All the houseplants were brought in.  Last year, we dug up one of the pomegranates, and brought it indoors in a pot, to see if if would bloom earlier once taken back outside, thinking it would have a head start..  It didn't.  In fact, this year it didn't bloom at all, so we're no closer to getting ripe fruit.  A few years ago, J placed a large rock in the backyard, to use as thermal mass, and planted one of our olives in front of it.  It didn't make it, so we're now trying the pomegranate in that spot, and hope it thrives.  Gardening is always an experiment.

Two of the roses started in the spring, from cuttings I'd pruned, were still looking happy, and were planted in the rose bed.  One even has a rosebud, which looks like it will soon open.  A volunteer borage was transplanted.  Three tomatoes were picked to use for the Amish tomato starting tip Stacy shares, and are ready to winter in the basement.  Last week's harvest included peas, lettuce, eggplant, tomatoes, lemon verbena, green and noodle beans.  I gathered zinnia seeds for saving.  Making new covers for the decorative pillows on our bed has been on my to-do list for some time.  I finally got around to sewing them, using the remaining quilt square, which matches the bed quilt.  As there was only one, I cut it in half, and used thrifted linen fabric for the remainder.  I've gotten to attend a couple of performances with a neighbor recently.  The first was Sense & Sensibilities, and was a very humorous take on it.  This week's was Constellations, which was a somewhat dark, more serious play, but also good.  My niece and I are making plans to volunteer together in Western NC in a few weeks, which I'm looking forward to.  I hope you have a lovely week!

Work Continues & A New Mattress

Progress has been made on the skoolie, especially the past week.  Joseph has been running pipes for plumbing, and wiring the pumps.  He bought our mattress, crafted from organic wool and cotton.  I've been sleeping on clean mattresses since the 80's.  We spend so much of our lives with them, it makes sense not to expose ourselves to toxins, while we sleep.  PSA: if you're not aware, flame retardants and formaldehyde are common in conventional mattresses, which outgas toxins.  Formaldehyde is a known carcinogen.  The first mattress I bought, I had to provide a prescription saying I required a formaldehyde-free mattress for my health.  Thankfully, I was working in a Cardiology group, and one of the Dr's provided it.  It seems that's no longer a requirement.  Here's a link, if you'd like more info on the health risks of conventional mattresses.  

Joseph has begun working on the generator.  Once it's running and placed, he'll fabricate a door for that space.  We've been discussing how once we're up and running, we could be of assistance in natural disasters and such.  Being we can be self-sufficient for a time, we could just park and have what we need, to easily be of service.  Something to ponder.   Onward.

Resilience

Hello, friends.  I hope you are doing well.  J recently visited family members in Eastern NC.  His Mom sent him home with several things, including canning jars, which I was delighted to get.  I put some of them to use right away, in canning vegetable broth and eggplant.  Before canning, I set aside a little over a pound of eggplant to try a new recipe, and it's a keeper.  I harvested a large amount of basil, and made batches of pesto, then froze it.  This week's harvest included green peas, eggplant, tomatoes, green beans, and the last pawpaw, which was used in a fruit salad.  While canning tomatoes one day, I shelled peas while keeping an eye on the canner.

The next day, I canned peas and recanned broth.  I've been having lots of seal failures the past couple of weeks.  When I've redone them with different jars and lids (but same brand), I get the same results, which makes me think it's the lids.  I had started using some no-name canning jar lids we got, and am not having a great success rate with them, so J placed an order for a brand with high ratings.  A pan of GF bread ends was turned into bread crumbs.  The chickens get the two banana peels from my breakfast smoothie in their mash, but if I also have a lunch smoothie or freeze bananas, and have additional peels, I've been putting them in a jar with water, to turn into fertilizer.  Every few days, I water different plants with the liquid, and usually put the peels around rose plants.  On Sunday, I got the windows washed, all but the one with diamond panes in the bathroom, which doesn't lend itself to using the squeegee.  I am still loving that system, which only requires a couple drops of soap and water.  No spray bottles or rolls of paper towels, and it's so much quicker.  It will soon be time to bring in all the house plants, with a forecast of temps in the 40's, so now the windows are ready for them.  

  

With this second round of green beans planted from our seed, we've gotten some noodle beans mixed in.  I've just been cooking them together in the wok, which I think makes a pretty dish.  I am so very proud of my niece.  She returned to her Asheville home this weekend, to begin helping hike food and water into inaccessible areas.  She's an avid hiker, used to carrying a pack, so this seems the perfect fit for her.  I've not mentioned this before, but a few years ago, she had signed up with the Peace Corps.  She was talked out of going, due to family dynamics I won't get into here, just hours before she was to board the flight taking her to her assignment in Africa.  It broke my heart for her, and hers too, but she's resilient.  I hope this is helping heal her heart, in her desire to be of service.

Forget-me-not

I'm not sure how much of the Helene aftermath is still in the news.  I've been keeping up with what's happening on Facebook and various Youtube channels.  It's hard to comprehend how bad things actually are.  Some of the more heartbreaking news I've seen is a family that hiked 22 miles... 11 miles out and 11 back, for supplies, as there is no access.  They were able to have a family member provide an ATV, so they will no longer have to hike that distance.  Another was of an elderly woman, crying as rescuers reached her home, having seen no one for eight days.  A story that had me bawling was about a church in Fairview, the little community we just returned from.  Two hundred people were found in the church, none of whom had had anything to eat for 6 days.  Can you imagine?  Update: it looks like the story about the church may be a story passed along that is not true, but you don't have to look far to find other stories of suffering.  Hold your loved ones close, and stay well, friends.  

A Little Getaway

Hello, friends.  I'm sorry for not putting a post up last week, but we were enjoying a little getaway.  My experience at the herbal conference two weeks ago exceeded my expectations.  The Square reader had some glitches, and with three of my sales, several minutes after the payment was approved, they canceled the payment due to a "problem they were having".  I did manage to run down one of the customers, and re-enter the payment.  After contacting Square about the other two, they did not make good on them, sad to say.  Other than that, it was a positive experience, and one I would do again.  I cut my toothpaste tube, to get the remainder, and got quite a few more brushings from it.  

The morning after the conference, we headed to the mountains.  We found a lovely log cabin rental, with a gurgling creek just beyond our porch, which soothed us while reading, and lulled us to sleep at night.  It was not a frugal choice, but it was the perfect peaceful, secluded place for us.  Before leaving town, I froze the tomatoes for future canning, gave pawpaws away to a couple of folks, froze shishito peppers we were gifted, and dehydrated eggplant.  Some of the eggplant was seasoned to make it into "eggplant bacon" in the dehydrator.  It turned out truly awful, and was used up in the chicken mash.  For the plain eggplant, there's a recipe I'm going to try for patties.   Chard was harvested, and brought with us, along with a jar of our lima beans, pesto and onions.  We ate all meals at our cabin, except for a dinner, when we met our niece.  

The black eyed susan vine has started blooming

We visited one thrift store, and the only thing purchased was a bag of cotton quilt batting, for $6.  It looks to be around $50 online.  We tried some discount grocery stores, and got a few things, including quarts of raw honey @ $10.99 & $11.99, a 10# bag of pasta for $4, and Pepperidge Farm bread BOGO.  On our way out of town, we dropped pawpaws off at a neighbor's, as he made it known they'd like more, and picked up library books.  When we returned Tuesday, we harvested eggplant, tomatoes, pawpaws and green beans.  Wanting something simple for dinner that night, J boiled eggs for egg salad, and I sauteed some cherry tomatoes, onions and garlic to have over pasta.  The early bands from Helene reached us Tuesday evening, and we lost power during a thunderstorm, for most of the night.  J started up the generator long enough for us to get our showers.  We've got one or two solar batteries that seem to be having problems, so it didn't kick in.  Two free Kindle books were read, over the next few days.

The day after we returned, I went to the DMV to renew my license, and spent most of the day waiting.  Happily, I passed my eye exam without problem.  The week earlier, I had an eye exam at an office, and passed at 20/20 there, but I do have some cataracts, and he suggested glasses.  I purchased an inexpensive pair on Zenni Optical.  I don't know how much I'll actually wear them, but I wanted to have them, in case I didn't pass at the DMV.  You may have read about the devastation the storm did to Western NC, as well as in other states.  My niece managed to find a route through SC, to get back to her parents home here.  The college she works at will be closed a minimum of two weeks.  I keep thinking how we just missed it.  We got our second Azure Standard order, which I picked up this time.  We got everything we asked for, except for rice.  I was able to can tomatoes again.  This time, I dehydrated the skins for us, and pulsed it in the Bullet, to make tomato powder.  Well, that's been some of the goings on the past two weeks.  I hope you've been faring well.  Stay safe, friends.  

Update- If you're looking for a way to help, here are two resources:

https://www.nctripping.com/help-western-nc/

https://docs.google.com/document/d/154hYrmMKWNKWIwcTkUP8GhcAn4z4LXnFr2AKMgv3Qik/edit?fbclid=IwY2xjawFoMBBleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHWLgEUVeqKcD37uR2Np0qN5nBGXZFkUU7fmUd8X29dbquBTlZMCV348z3w_aem_VXRIRFirSfDqRT4nKkcaSw&pli=1#heading=h.6uj98onhfl96

Biodiversity On The Homestead

Hello, friends.  While I was working my last Saturday at the pottery last week, J harvested the sweet potatoes.  As in previous years, some have been munched on, but we're happy with what we've got.  I never got around to braiding the garlic, so he cut off the stems and put them in storage, as he needed that shelf for the sweet potatoes to cure.  I was hoping he'd find more butternut squash or melons in the nearby patch, but not so far, as all we got was the one immature squash and one misshapen watermelon.  Hopefully, we'll have better luck with both next year.

I learned beauty berries were edible a couple of years ago, and have been munching a few during walks ever since.  To me, they have a slightly sweet, floral flavor.  I'd read about making jelly from them, and did that this week, which turned out a pretty color.  I wanted to do something with our ripe pears, and decided to make a pear pie.  Golden paste was made for the pups.  Laundry was dried on the line.  Thanks to reseeding, we've got some nice kale patches.  Two more people in the neighborhood wanted pawpaws, and I froze some more.  I saw a new method of prepping them, which I tried.  Though it's still time-consuming, I believe it did save a little time, and it's not quite as messy.  You freeze the pawpaws, let them thaw 20 minutes, peel them, then cut the seed and pulp apart.  

While heading to the chickens one day, I noticed a Pandora Sphinx caterpillar on a grape leaf, which was kind of wild looking.  I'm happy to see plenty of biodiversity here.  I have to renew my license this month, and am dreading going this week, as I expect they'll tell me I need glasses.  Since the last renewal, I began using readers, which are pretty much a necessity for me now.  Ah well, it's small stuff, and I'm so thankful to be as healthy as I am.  Speaking of which, the last cleanse moved me forward in getting eczema-free, so I'm in the midst of another.  I follow folks online who are doing this cleanse back to back for months, to fully heal other issues.  I'd miss cooked potatoes too much, and once it gets cooler, it's hard for me to do all raw foods.  Though I'm sure that could change, with more serious health issues.

This is the bouquet sent by my daughter in spirit.  Isn't it lovely?  I've been wrapping soap, and putting together Garden sets, getting ready for Friday's show.  J bought seedlings of cabbage, broccoli, collards and lettuce at the feed and seed store.  He tilled up a spot, and planted them all, plus seeds of winter greens mix.  Our green peas are doing well, and have lots of blooms on them.  While cleaning up the garden for the seedlings, he found another butternut squash, which made me happy.  When I went to gather eggs yesterday, I found a rat snake in the nest box, which required alerting my personal snake wrangler.  He's been doing it for years, so it doesn't phase him.  We then rehomed it.  Our little bit of excitement for the day.  Wishing you only good surprises this week.