April This & That

Hello, friends.  On two of the cool days last week, I canned black beans and vegetable broth.  The local wildlife has been notable.  First, the hummingbirds arrived.  J noticed one Sunday evening.  I quickly made up some food, and was rewarded by the first one at the feeder on Monday.  A pair of wild turkeys were seen on our walk one evening, and four deer were playing on our pond dam another evening.  Two of them skirted the asparagus patch we recently fenced, so we were happy that had been done.  I've been concerned, being many of them were munched off last year, so they weren't able to make ferns, and put energy back into the roots.  Many of the plants have sent up asparagus so far.  Though some are very skinny, they're alive, and can put energy into growing future years.  

I made an online purchase, using a 30% off code, and got another 5% back by going through Swagbucks.  The majority of the Swagbucks I receive are by going through them for online shopping, which can add up.  That purchase got me 275 Swagbucks, equivalent to $2.75, and is a company I regularly buy from anyway, for food, toiletries and supplements.  I  started cucumbers and eggplant, and the cucumbers were jumping up the next day.  Vegetable soup was made on a rainy day, with our canned veggies, one of the recently harvested small cabbages, a jar of black beans that didn't seal, and the soup container of bits of leftovers in the freezer.

I harvested asparagus and the last of the chicory.  Some of the bolting collard stems, and dandelion greens were gathered, to chop and use in the pup's dinners.  Catbrier tips and violets were added to a salad.  Laundry was dried on the line.  Compost and biochar were made.  Paper and cardboard were shredded, which will be added to the compost or the chicken coop.  Shopping on senior day gave me 5% off my grocery bill.  Herb seedlings are pretty expensive.  When I saw a hydroponic basil plant, around 10" tall at the grocery store for $3.95, I decided to get it.  I'll use some, and plant it when it's warmer, and have a head start on my basil.  It's been nice being outside on warm days, planting, harvesting and weeding.  Wishing you a lovely week.

A Quick Skoolie Update

 

Hello, friends.  This is one of the paintings I mentioned purchasing last week, and I absolutely love it where it's hanging, above our little couch.

I've been working on sewing curtains.  The door curtain is finished, except for the fact that when we hung it, the fabric above the rod flops over.  I'm waiting on long pins to remedy that problem. 

It turns out we confused ourselves, and in fact, the blackout backing for the window curtains does fit them.  There was quite a bit more curtain than blackout fabric, but when I factored in all the seams I'd turn over to sew, and the fact that I stopped the blackout fabric at the bottom of the large seam for the rod, as instructed, I realized that it was indeed what we had intended.  These are the first two hung, and I think they will work.  I'm a little concerned that there may still be light around the edges, but we can discuss ways to remedy that.  I plan to wash and iron them, so they'll hopefully hang better, once that's done.  

The skoolie had her first outing.  There was a large fundraiser in the community for a little girl with leukemia.  There was a lot going on to raise money, and one of them was a vintage car and truck show.  One of the organizers asked Joseph if he'd bring the skoolie, so we spent part of Saturday there.  I didn't think about taking a photo, until I was walking back to my car, but you can see us on the far right.  The car show was the first thing on the agenda, and many of the vehicles had already left.  We heard they raised over $60K for the family.  We were happy to be a part of it, and realized one little tweak we need to make.  Instead of grabbing the handrail when coming and going, it seems people want to grab the dropdown door on the other side of the steps (to keep us and the pups from falling in the hole when we're inside), which is only held in place by a magnet.  J plans to make some sort of latch for it, so no one gets hurt when touring the skoolie.  That's the latest.

Planting & A Small Harvest

Hello, friends.  Last week, I redeemed 2150 Swagbucks for a $25 GC.  Cabbage, chicory, and a few more broccoli shoots were harvested.  J had a birthday, and I made him German Chocolate brownies, as layer cakes are not a skill I possess.  I transplanted 10 peppers to cells for J's business partner, and started squash seeds... tromboncino, ronde de nice zucchini, and yellow straightneck.  The wildflower seeds gifted by my stepson have begun blooming.

For whatever reason, none of my lettuce germinated, so J picked up lettuce seedlings, plus cabbage and broccoli.  J planted the cabbage and broccoli, and I got the lettuce in the ground Sunday evening, before the rain.  We're hoping for a nice long spring, so we'll get to harvest them all before they bolt.  I repaired a boot with shoe goo.  When renewing a magazine, I used a $5 off coupon code.  My car received it's first washing of the year, prompted by all the pollen.

My camera will no longer transfer photos to the PC, and is acting wonky in general.  M used it for work several years, then gifted it to me.  It's over 20 years old at this point, so I surely can't complain.  J checked, and the software is no longer supported.  I've looked around a little, but gosh, new ones are expensive, and I'm clueless as to what would work best for me (simple, with minimal bells and whistles).  For now at least, I'm just sticking with my phone camera.  Wishing you a peaceful, light-filled week.  Update:  I just remembered, Food Lion is having BOGO on Lindsay organic olives, which are some of the few without citric acid.  Though they're not inexpensive, that's what I've been buying for a couple of years, without ever seeing a sale.  You can bet I stocked up!

Starting To Come Together

Hello, friends.  Progress slowed on the skoolie while we were sick, but it's picking up again.  Joseph purchased and mounted shades for the windshield, and two front side windows.  I've been working on curtains, but it's been a bit of a struggle.  I'd mentioned I'd gotten blackout fabric at the thrift store, and though I had enough, it required piecing each of the four panels with three pieces.  When I finished sewing the bedroom curtains, and placed the first one together with the blackout piece, I found I had been working with the wrong numbers, on the blackout portion.  That's all I'll say about that.  J has bought more blackout fabric, but it's literally on a slow boat from China.  It'll eventually get here.  I've begun working on the bedroom door curtain.  I'm using fabric remnants from the bedroom curtain project, which required piecing.  I've got the main curtain sewn together, and the backing picked out from my stash, but we need to come to an agreement on what to do about all the seams from piecing it.  I'd like it to have the look of a quilt, using matching fabrics.  We'll see.

Joseph added a louvered panel to the genset access door, and added another louvered section for the bus engine's air intake, and riveted them in place.  He feels improved air flow will be a plus.

He fabricated a mount for a spare tire, and mounted it to the front of the skoolie.  I helped by holding it while he cut excess rod, and tightened bolts while he held the nuts.  I was excited to find two local small paintings this week, for great prices, along with a small bowl for the skoolie.  I'll share the paintings once they're hung.  It feels like it's starting to come together now.  Though our long hoped-for date of late March has come and gone, we're getting closer all the time to our maiden voyage. 

 

Spring Blooms

Hello, friends.  I've been enjoying all the spring blooms, and gathered a few for a bouquet.  Last week, J and I pruned trees and cleaned up flower beds.  Some years, there are beautiful days in February when I can get a head start on these things, but this year wasn't one of them, or maybe I happened to be away those days, so we're getting to it now.  I had hoped we could gather leaves for putting on the asparagus and berry patches, but it's been too breezy.  Hopefully, things will quiet down this week.  Suet was made for the birds.  We attempted to turn on the WarblerFall birdbath, but there's an issue with it, which J needs to look into.  

It's been nice to begin harvesting some things.   I'd mentioned the low temps killed the primary broccoli stems over the winter.  Last week I was able to harvest the side shoots.  Nothing like a nice big broccoli head, but any broccoli is a good thing, in my opinion.  Also harvested were chicory and lettuce, and the first of the asparagus.  Most of the potatoes are up, but sadly, the rabbits are really putting a hurting on the peas.  I expect they would be a lovely, tender thing for a rabbit.  Ah well, I suppose they need to eat too.  The largest of the Amish tomatoes were transplanted into individual cells. 

All laundry was dried on the clothesline.  A number of items were hand washed, with homemade soap gel.  I'm still making biochar, for as long as we have the woodstove going, and am gathering material to use for it.  The number of days is rapidly dwindling on that front.  We haven't had a fire for a few days, but we do have some lower temps coming up, so we'll have a few more.  It looks like we'll end up with about 16 gallons of biochar, possibly a little more.  Some of the wintersown plants were getting too tall for the containers, so I raised the lids, where squirrels then dug around in two of them.  Sigh.

It's common for me to break out a jigsaw puzzle, for J & I to work on, whenever we get snow.  We didn't do that this winter, so I decided I needed a puzzle fix, and pulled out this one, of NC craft beers.  I had fun with it.  I believe it was passed to me by one of the local potters, and I'll pass it on down the line, to one of our neighbors.  As I'm typing this Sunday, I'm on the final day of the cleanse, and very much looking forward to enjoying potatoes tomorrow.  I hope your week is a good one!

Spring Has Sprung

Hello, friends.  I took it slow last week, giving myself time to recover.  Though our energy is still not back 100%, J & I are doing well.  Late in the week,  I got together with my sister one day, and went to see a musical my brother was playing the next day with my SIL.  I harvested lemon balm and nettles, and began jars of glycerite with them.  We finished weeding the asparagus, and J has enclosed the newest asparagus bed and berry patch.  The deer were munching on both of these last year, so we wanted them to have some protection this year. He put up deer netting, with white tape, to deter the deer, and hopefully keep the birds from getting tangled.  The first of the asparagus are up.  

berry enclosure

The potatoes and peas are coming up nicely.  Most of the fall garden died over winter.  There appears to be one surviving kale plant, two remaining beets, and several carrots, out of good sized beds.  None of the chard made it.  That's the gardening life.  You just hope for the best.  J moved all the grow bags, to behind the SoulSeeds shop, and planted them with potatoes.  They'll get the rain off the roof there, and not quite as much direct sun as where they'd been.  The potatoes were all planted with pieces with eyes, saved from when we were cooking.  He reused the same soil, as we had such a small harvest last year.  Hopefully, they'll be happier this year.  He mentioned wanting to put some more fruit near the grow bags, so I picked up two Nanking cherries, which we planted.  In the early years on the homestead, there were several sand cherries planted.  They were never especially prolific, so my ex cut them down.  One survived, but it has never fruited again.  Perhaps with these other cherries nearby, we'll get a decent harvest.  

I separated sixteen of the largest pepper seedlings, and transplanted them into individual cells.  Some of the Amish tomatoes are ready, so they'll be up next.  Being I hadn't been eating as much recently, and it's spring, so easier for me to handle all raw food, I went ahead and started the first 3-6-9 cleanse of the year.  I'm happy to report the MM protocol for rheumatoid arthritis has taken care of my symptoms, which is truly a blessing, as the function of my hands had really been affected (ie: couldn't squeeze clothespins or open jars).  I hope the weather is becoming milder, where you live.  Wishing you a beautiful week.  

Under The Weather

Hello, friends.  We have both been down with the flu, so this will be a short post.  J got sick on Sunday, and I came down with a milder version Monday evening.  It's been up and down, but we're both on the upswing.  I'm very saddened to have had to cancel attending a concert with friends, which I've been looking forward to for months.  Ah well, this too shall pass.  I did try a grocery pick up, for the first time, and was pleasantly surprised how easy it was.  I prefer picking out my own produce, as there are significant variations in size and quality.  For example, the celery I got ranged from 1 lb 3 oz to 1 lb 13 oz, which is significant, when you buy as many as I do (to juice).  But to keep everyone safe, this worked well, and I'm thankful for the option.  Kind neighbors also brought us groceries.  J asked if they could pick up bananas, if still in town, and they ended up bringing us three bags of things, mostly fluids.  The bananas were the only thing he felt he could eat that evening, and he'd already eaten all we had.  We're blessed to have such good neighbors.

Several days, I managed to work on my inbox, and cleaned it up significantly.  Much of it was recipes to print, things to read or watch, or something kept as a reference, or for another reason.  One was sent by J in '22, a home canning water-level measuring stick.  This would be really useful, and I intend to make myself one.  In garden news, potatoes and peas are coming up.  The indoor grow stand was rather neglected for a few days, but most is doing OK.  The greenest pot in the photo is from the pepper core I planted.  The rest are all tomatoes; the Amish tomatoes are in the round pots.  Separating seedlings is on my to do list.  That's it for now.  Stay healthy out there.  Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Local Sculpture Garden

Hello, friends.  I hope you've been doing well.  Since my last post, I made cookies and a sweet potato pie.  Some of the cookies were shared with our mail carrier.  A 30% coupon code and 4% cash back was used on a food order.  All laundry was dried on the line.  I mended the hem on a long wool skirt, and cut a long holiday table runner in two, removing the damaged portions, turning it into two runners.  I made a GF version of Staci's eggless blueberry lemon cake.

The two pepper seedlings that came up have died, so J suggested I try planting the core of some store bought ones, which happily has produced many, healthy looking seedlings.  I've begun watering the Amish tomatoes, and started more varieties.  A neighbor gifted us several packets of seeds she wasn't going to use.  Of the wintersown seeds, bachelor buttons, borage, and tansy are coming up.  

Our holistic vet came to give the pups their annual check ups, and pronounced them doing great for 14 years.  Especially since McNibs had his "walk-about" a little over a year ago, I've been more conscious that every day with them is a blessing, and daily try to shower them with love, as if it might be their last.  Though it hurts my heart to think of it, I've been praying that they leave their bodies without suffering or illness, and not need outside intervention.  I do hope we have many more months with them both, and we get to enjoy some great skoolie adventures with them. 

A friend and I went to a couple of local shops on Saturday, as there was a special event going on.  I bought local honey, two plants (witch hazel and lavender), and a small hanging tile for the skoolie.  In our small town, there is a fine arts foundry, which has placed installations throughout the country, as well as some others around the world.  They have a sculpture garden, and after lunch, we headed there, for a stroll around the pond.  They invite other artists to contribute work to the garden, so some pieces are finer, while others are not.  Though I've said it before, I'm thankful to live in an area with so many creative folks.  

Knowing it would soon be lighter in the evenings, with longer nights gone for some months, I wanted to enjoy some of the Angel Studios movies these past evenings.  My favorite so far has been Cabrini.  I may be biased because my grandparents were all immigrants, and my maternal grandparents Italian, but I thought it was a wonderful story.  The Last Rifleman, with Pierce Brosnan, was also a favorite.  Though some of the subject matter is difficult, it's really nice to know there will be minimal violence, and no highly sexual content in their movies.  I do feel they're an organization doing good things, and worth supporting.  May you be surrounded by light this week, and share any overflow with the world.  

First Ride

view from the co-pilot seat

Hello, friends.  We've just gotten back from my first ride in the skoolie!  Before you get too excited, it was just to the local hardware store.  But, we already figured out a couple of things that need attention.  My seatbelt needs to be adjusted, and Joseph's seat needs oiling, as it was quite squeaky.  The point of our little foray was to see if we could identify anything that might need tweaking, so mission accomplished. 

After an appointment this week, I picked up a couple of things for the skoolie.  I was delighted to find a pack of various shelf liners for $2 at the thrift store, and then found a scrubber for $1 at the dollar store.  The circular vegetable scrubbers I usually buy are around $6, so if this works well, that's a nice savings.  Joseph added shelves in two of the kitchen cabinets, and the armoire we'll be using as a pantry, which should help with storage.  That's the latest.

It's All In The Details

Hello, friends.  Joseph did get the bus inspected, shortly after I last posted, then went on to get permanent tags, so we are road legal.  On the way home, he filled our propane tank, so we're ready to cook, heat water, and make power with the generator.  We plan to use the generator only when we're not hooked to shore power, and the solar isn't keeping up.  We hung the thrifted slate welcome sign near the door.  

We're slowly taking care of details.  I bought a paper towel holder, and kitchen wrap holder, and he hung those.  I've run kitchen items through the dishwasher, and have begun putting them away in the skoolie.  First, we put the type of shelf liner that grips in the cabinets for plates, bowls, and drinking vessels.  This will help things stay put while traveling.  I have more liner left, so I'm deciding where else I want to use it.  It may be I'll want it in every drawer and cabinet, and will just need to buy more.

We're figuring out window and door coverings.  This isn't the best pic, but you can see a rod above the right side of the door, and if you look closely, another one above the bedroom window.  A few months ago, I thrifted fabric for curtains.  I'm using it to make the two bedroom curtains.  If there's enough, I'll make another for the bedroom door.  Joseph worked on the vent piping for our water heater, and finished that. He installed magnetic latches on the armoires and the above bed cabinets, and added the knobs.  Cleaner was purchased for the radiator and intercooler exterior, and that job was done.

We were looking at knife racks, and decided we liked the vintage hand-painted ones.  The majority seemed to be chickens with a nearby axe, not exactly the aesthetic we were going for.  We found this one, with painted daisies, on ebay.  Joseph repaired a power steering leak.  Exterior storage compartments are being organized.  He was giving the cabinets a second coat of paint.  I asked him to lighten them as much as he could, as they turned out a bit brighter than I envisioned.  He added all the white paint that would fit into the can, which made a slight difference.  They will certainly wake us up every morning :o).

Blessings & Treasures

Hello, friends.  Slowly, there are little signs of spring appearing.  Many trees are starting to bud out.  It seems we got through last week's teens without any obvious damage.  Before the frigid spell, I did some winter sowing.in various containers.  The seeds I chose this year were four o'clock's, sunflowers, calendula, lupines, borage, forget-me-nots, rudbeckia, hollyhocks, bachelor buttons, milkweed, cosmos, orach, phacelia, rose campion, mullein, tansy, nasturtiums, red carthamus, evening primrose, black haw, and black-eyed susan vine.  I already had all these seeds, without buying any this year, and decided it was silly not to plant them. Here's hoping for good germination.  An online food and supplement purchase was made with a 15% off coupon, and I went through Swagbucks, which gave me an additional 5% cash back.  

We were happy to get some snow.  On Tuesday, it was a very fine snow, which some call hominy snow.  On Wednesday, there was a very pretty snow, with bigger flakes.  Even so, we believe we got less than an inch.  J requested chili for a dinner.  I haven't been a great fan of chili, but as it had been a while, I did make some.  Turns out I'm still not a fan.  It's funny, because the flavors and ingredients are not that different from the sloppy joes I make, but something about it has never appealed.  All laundry was dried on the line.  I put the sheets right back on the bed, which always smells so good.  J planted onions, and prepped an area for me to plant peas.

On Friday, I was able to spend the afternoon with my sister.  We of course went thrifting.  At the first store, I found a vintage pillowcase with crocheted edge, sewing supplies, and two types of velvet ribbon for under $4.  Our next stop was the Goodwill bins, where I found Smartwool socks, a Cherokee tie-dyed cardigan in like-new condition, two ribbons, and a small vintage linen for $1.92.  We then headed to my co-op, which was nearby, to enjoy a beverage, and sit and catch up a bit.  During the week I canned garbanzo beans, pints this time, and made golden paste for the pups.  

For Valentine's Day, J had ordered two dozen roses to be delivered through Amazon. When they arrived, there were only a dozen.  When he spoke to them, they tried to get him to agree to a 20% refund, which he said didn't seem fair, when half the product was missing.  They came back, and asked if he would like them redelivered correctly.  He agreed to that, so another delivery of flowers arrived on Wednesday.  How blessed am I?   I hope you're finding things that bring you hope and peace, in these very interesting times.  

A New Curry & Seedlings

Hello, friends.  I hope you've had a good week.  When I baked sweet potatoes for a dinner, I baked extra for a pie, which was made on Monday.  We enjoyed it several days.  I've been wanting to try my niece's favorite curry dish, and did, using our collards, onions, garlic and gifted peppers.  It was delicious, and will make it into our rotation.  She recommended adding a protein, like chickpeas.  The week turned raw again.  One day, I simmered apple juice with spices on the woodstove, for a warm drink for us.  I cut open toothpaste and lotion tubes, to use the last of them.  I'd been considering getting a membership to Angel Studios, as there are a few movies I'd like to see.  For President's Day, they're having a 20% off sale, so I decided to join.  I do want to support them, as their movies appear to be more wholesome than many, and am thinking I'll stream what I want, then likely take a break until there are more I'd like to see.

Vegetable soup was made for a dinner, which used a container of frozen leftovers, plus many homegrown veggies.  I enjoyed the leftover soup for lunches.  A batch of whole wheat chocolate chip cookies was made up, and cookies shared with my massage therapist. I intended to share some with our mail carrier, but she came especially early that day, so I missed her.  There's more dough, so I'll bake up some fresh ones this week.  We received wonderful rain.  Though the tanks aren't full, they are fuller than they've been in months, and we are so thankful.  More seeds were planted, including parsley, roselle, spilanthes, tithonia, artichokes and portulaca.  The first pepper seed is beginning to sprout, and I found the Hopi Red Dye amaranth like this, 36 hours after planting.  That's some serious life force!  The amaranth seeds were from '21, so I planted them quite thick, not expecting all this vibrancy.  

After an appointment, I shopped at Harris Teeter, getting the 5% senior discount.  Two packs of bias tape, and a pack of colored ball pins cost .50 at the thrift store, which will be added to sewing supplies.  I like to dye the white bias tape with plants, and use it as a drawstring for bags.  I went through Swagbucks to make business purchases.   Another hen was killed this week, this time inside their screened porch.  Sigh.  We still believe it's a hawk, or possibly a weasel, with the very specific part that was eaten.  Understandably, the flock has been very reluctant to venture out of their coop.  It happened the day I was away from home, when J was working inside his shop.  As February often is, the weather has been a bit of a rollercoaster, with beautiful spring-like days, and raw, cold days.  This week, there's a chance of wintry precipitation, though what exactly keeps changing.  We wouldn't mind if that's the last real hoorah of winter weather here.  I hope you stay safe and cozy, whatever the weather.  

We're Playing Tag

Hello, friends.  Joseph continues finishing small jobs on the skoolie.  He installed two auxiliary fans he'd purchased, which will kick on any time the system temp gets over 190 degrees.  My understanding is this will help when we're going up long inclines, like the one heading into Asheville.  He also serviced the transmission, replacing the fluid and filters.

He then set out to set up insurance on it.  It took a number of calls to various places, but he succeeded.  As soon as he found out we were approved, he headed to town, to get temporary tags.  Today, he plans to get it inspected, which is why the temporary tags were needed, then head straight to getting permanent tags.  A real red letter day!

Seeds & Blooms

Hello, friends.  Last week, I canned up vegetable broth.  The grow station J had given me my last birthday was set up, then I began gathering our seeds.  Five varieties of peppers were the first thing planted.  While visiting with a friend, she reminded me how long they take to bear fruit, and I remembered that all the peppers last year, both homegrown and store bought, had not born fruit by the time of the first frost.  Hopefully, this year will bring a bountiful harvest.  J prepped a garden spot, and planted onions, using our compost, and leaf mold.  I made bean burritos for dinner one night.  GF tortillas were made for myself. The recipe was doubled this time, and they were even better than the first time.  I used the smallest ones for lunch the next day.  The extras were frozen.

I've been working on being better about self-care this year.  I'm using infra-red therapy, and purchased a course (while 1/2 price) on stretching and moving, which I've been fairly good about doing daily.  On a cold day, sweet potatoes, bread and butternut squash crumble were baked.  Parsley was harvested for the crumble, which also used our squash and onions.  A jar of cabbage came from the pantry, for a side.  I won the equivalent of $25 on Swagbucks, which will go towards a gift card.  While going through more seeds, I found another variety of peppers, and planted some of those too.  Suet was made for the birds.  We're enjoying the first blooms of the year.  Hope you have a lovely week!

Hope & The Earliest Blooms

hellebore buds

Hello, friends.  Last week, I harvested some of the red-leaf lettuce.  Garbanzo beans were getting low, so I canned a batch of those.  I emptied a bin of shreds in the chicken coop, which always freshens it up.  We lost our big rooster last week, and then a hen, so our flock is down to nine.  Our rooster died due to sickness, and it's likely a hawk got my favorite little game hen on Sunday, possibly because there's not much protection, with only two tiny game roosters remaining. It's always sad.  J's plan is to not replace any of the chickens as we lose them, with our future plans to travel.  We'd recently been getting around 5 eggs a week, which has been nice, especially with prices as they've been.  A few more gallons of sweetgum balls were gathered for biochar-making.  I'm making new retorts, as the old ones get retired, because of holes in the cans.  

putting scraps on to simmer

Four loads of laundry were dried on the line, during the the week.  It was a bit cold when I hung the first laundry, in the 40's, but thankfully, the week has warmed up beautifully since then, with some days in the low 70's.  I believe I've finished my portion of the taxes, only waiting on documents coming in the mail, and some items from J.  I did much better this year than last, and am happy to have it behind me.  Now come thoughts of seeds and planting.  We'd been neglecting the outdoor freezer, and got a number of things from it last week.  I brought in some of our crowder peas and collards, which made a nice dinner with jasmine rice.  On Sunday, I got three gallon bags of veggie scraps from it, along with five more from the indoor freezer, and started them simmering on the wood stove, to can up broth on Monday.  J brought in some meat from the freezer, so between all of that, it's got quite a bit more room in it now.

One of my favorite long skirts needed some TLC, and I mended it up in a few spots.  I know that western NC isn't as prevalent in the news, as it was shortly after Hurricane Helene.  For those who aren't aware, there are still many washed out roads and bridges, more than four months after the hurricane.  President Trump's first official visit his first week in office was to western NC, where he promised to send some long-awaited assistance, signing an executive order to fast-track road repairs.  True to his word, the Army Corps of Engineers has shown up, to work on this, bringing much needed hope to the region.  The earliest blooms have begun coming forth.  I look forward to their cheery faces.  

Lots of Little Skoolie Jobs

Hi, friends.  Joseph has had more down time than usual this week from his job, so he's gotten quite a bit more done on the bus.  He fabricated a bracket for our telescoping ladder, and installed it on the back of the bus.

I assisted him in getting a tool box onto the deck up top.  He's found some pretty boat cushions to use on top, for seating.  We plan to have camp chairs as well, but it'll be nice to have the additional seating and storage.

We redid the awning fabric, and got it on the roll correctly this time.  He completed the installation of the auxiliary fuel tank, and got a delivery of diesel to fill the tanks.  

We had a piece of oak, left over from our counter build, and he decided to make a hand rail with it.  He made the rail, and fabricated brackets to install it.  

He serviced the generator, which involved new filters and spark plugs, and an oil change.  He bought fire extinguishers, and installed one inside, and the other in the engine compartment.  He installed a hot water control valve and defrost control cable, and replaced hosing to the heater.  Now that things are hooked back up, he filled up the antifreeze.  I told him this morning that I think we should begin discussing where our maiden voyage might be.  It'll be local, and another two months or so away, but close enough to start talking about.  Woohoo!