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!

January Days

Hello, friends.  We actually received some snow last week.  Sadly, it fell after dark, so other than a couple of peeks out the front door, we didn't get to see it falling.  Only an inch, but we'll take it.  The bird feeders have been very busy, which required more suet to be made.  A batch of pinto beans was canned.  Two orders arrived leaking last week.  One contained dish soap, which made a real mess throughout the box of other items.  The box was punctured, but only one bottle was missing product, which they replaced.  The other was a case of 6 olives in glass jars, which was unsecured in a much larger box, and on its side.  Two of the jars lost their brine, and this was refunded, after a bit of perseverance.  Both of these leaks were due to poor packing of the orders, with no protection given to either. 

I forgot to mention that as part of winter preps for the chickens, we hung clear shower curtains around their screened porch area, which is where their food and water are.  It helps keep the wind off them at ground level, and keeps snow out, which they much prefer, and the area drier.  I picked the curtains up at Dollar Tree, and bought cup hooks online, which seem to hold them better in the wind than nails.  I secure them with wood and stones at the bottom.  I'd seen a "tip" online to place a bottle filled with brine solution in their waterer, to keep it from freezing.  As often happens with these tips, it was a failed experiment, at least when it's in the teens. J said he could see it making a few degrees difference, but that's all.  I'll try it again when nights are not quite as cold.  In the meantime, I'm chopping ice and bringing a teapot of hot water out through the day.

Though our tree had hardly dropped any needles, it was getting pretty dry, so we took it down.  This area is where I plan to set up the new grow light station J got me last birthday.  I'm still plugging away at taxes, and would love to have them squared away, before starting a new project.  I went through Swagbucks for two purchases, getting 4% and 16% cash back, which is pretty significant.  We've been managing well through the bitter cold, with only our drinking water line freezing.  We can just use the household water, to run through the Berkey until it's thawed, so it's small stuff indeed.  I feel for all those who have been greatly impacted by the weather.  

You may remember it was a goal of mine to grow enough peas that I had some to can, and was excited it became a reality last year.  Well, it turns out I don't love the home canned peas.  They're certainly edible, but seem to have a duller flavor than the store bought, and are a little mushier.  We'll eat what I've canned, but moving forward, I want to grow enough to eat fresh, but not preserve any. I wasn't a fan of them when I froze them either.  Growing our own food often seems like one big experiment.  Wishing you a beautiful week!

Skoolie's First Snow

 

early morning, after a bit of snow

Hello, friends.   Joseph has been hard at work on the skoolie, on a number of tasks.  He's fabricated brackets, which he attached to the back of the kitchen drawers, and attached magnets to the back of the kitchen drawer body, to secure them as we travel.  He also secured magnet latches on all the cabinet doors.  Neither one of us wanted plastic latches, and he didn't like anything else he saw, so he made them himself.  

He mounted the CB radio antenna.  His handle is Square Peg :o).  His main concern is being able to hear the chatter about road conditions, which was helpful to him years ago, when he was a truck driver.  He placed the tail light wiring into split loom, and fastened it with padded wire straps. 

He decided he wanted a front bumper valence.  It may help slightly with air turbulence beneath the bus, but is mostly for aesthetics.  He fabricated a mounting system, and bolted it beneath the bumper.  He installed an LED-compatible flasher for the new turn signal lamps, and mounted a new auxiliary fuel pump in the engine bay.  He also installed LED marker lights.  

The new awning arrived in many pieces, and was one of the few things Joseph had never done before.  We worked to get it together and installed.  We still need to tweak one thing, as we placed the fabric roll backwards, but then we can cross it off the punch list.  He fabricated a visor for the passenger side, which I'm sure I'll appreciate during the mornings and evenings on the road.  He's spoken with the man who offered to help him change the gearing, and that is scheduled to happen sometime in March.  That should be the last big job on the list.  We're getting closer!