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.