Always something.

I've been away for a while in my own little world again. Last week and this past weekend were busy and a little stressful at the same time. However, I'd like to start my posting on a positive note.

Late Thursday night, I saw a neat little cute RV stove for sale on craigslist for ten bucks. I have been wanting one of these little stoves for THE longest time. It was way too late to call up the number listed so at 5am I emailed them about it. I got a phone call from the people who were selling it, later in the day, telling me that it was still available and were willing to hold it for me. We made arrangements for me to pick it up after work. It was a nice drive as they live on the island. Here is the lil stove that I am so excited about.(Photo courtesy of Dave and Christy) Thanks.

The back drop with the rust on it is the overhead/vent area. It really is in good clean shape.
They were the neatest couple, David and Christy and the cutest lil baby girl, and in a very short time we discovered that we have homesteading and self sufficiency in common. We had a great conversation and exchanged some thoughts and ideas on homesteading and solar applications. They are actually in the beginning stages of converting a cab over camper trailer to live in full time! The idea fascinates me as it can be as settling or as nomadic as you'd like. They really have a good outlook on what they want to do. A plan like that is good when in its infancy stage as it can be shaped into whatever you want and desire. I hope to talk to them again as I really enjoyed meeting and visitin' with them. You can read more about them , what they do and who they are on their blogs http://nativerave.blogspot.com/ and http://christyilfrey.blogspot.com/ . They have their thoughts in the right place. You guys rock!

Last week or so I scored a used wooden white screen door. It was in a trash pile at an old house that was being emptied. The only thing that I could see wrong with the screen door was that the screen definitely had to be replaced, though the door itself was structurally sound. By the look of things, whomsoever had that house lived in it for some time and long ago. The old furniture that came out of that house was really old as were some of the clothing and housewares. I salvaged an old chair that looked to be out of a dining set. It is solid but needs work. I liked the feel of it. That chair will make a good winter project.

Last Saturday was Mom's birthday! She turned 59 and she still looks great! My haircut appointment happen to fall on her birthday but she wanted to go with me anyway. I hadn't had my haircut in over eight months or more. I had my hairdresser cut off about four inches on the ends. I work outdoors and my hair was really dry and lighter on the ends so it was definitely time. She did an awesome job as always. Thanks Maria.

After my haircut, I took Mom out to eat at the restaurant of her choice. Of all things on the menu she wanted a chicken fried steak so that's what she had. I have to admit though, they have a wonderful chicken fried steak. Everything went well except we had a shitty waiter. I asked him to bring me something and he answered me with sarcasm and I just looked at him in the eye and shook my head. He knew he did wrong so I didn't talk to him nor acknowledge him for the rest of the meal. He was trying so hard to get me to talk to him and trying to pacify me with extra this and that. Sorry, but that didn't get him anywhere much less a tip. This was my Mother's birthday and he had a shitty attitude. Normally, I would have told him what I thought of him, spoke to the manager then left but I had to refrain from that just this one day. We enjoyed the drive back home along the seawall. It was a beautiful day. I stopped to take this pic. Way, way down yonder across the bay is home. I grew up on the coast so naturally I love water pics.


Mom had plans for the evening with her friends. I had plans to go to bed early. I had a rather quiet evening..did some reading and researching for homesteading ideas and even threw a coupla crossword puzzles into the mix. I fell asleep and next thing I know its like 3:27am and I was wide awake and ready for the day.

I left the house at about 9am or so Sunday morning, a little late for my taste to head out to that lil' place-o-mine but I went anyway. The place was in shambles when I got there. We have had lots of rain the past coupla weeks so the grass and weeds were high. It looked awful. I had my trusty Echo weedeater and went immediately to whacking around and in front of the little house. It took a lil bit but then I figured it wouldn't be too bad once I take the lawnmower out of the house to mow around the area I have kept mowed and away from the nasty tall weeds. After fussing with the damn mower, it did NOT wanna stay turned on. Mind you, it was hot as hell, no wind, high humidity and miserable.

Po'ol' lil place-o-mine.


I was exhausted after just a few pulls of the cord, literally. I couldn't get enough water down so I sat in the shade for a spell and tried again. It was useless and I was discouraged as it seems that I keep having problems with my mowers. It was way too hot to attempt to start it anymore. I sat fer a bit just to take in this lil place-o-mine. I sure wish ,more than anything, that I could be there more often. It would be a lil easier to keep up with the place but sometimes certain situations don't allow me to be there as much as I would like...at least fer now.

As I looked around, there were still a few wildflowers poking out from tall weeds. The Texas Lantana are abundant right now and pretty to look at.


These Dayflowers are really neat.


...and dainty Wild Petunias.


About two weeks ago or so when I was last at my lil place, I had some watermelon seeds that I bought at the dollar store for 20 cents a packet. They were in a clearance area so I got a handful of seeds of sorts. Anyway, I saw the seeds when I was gettin' something outta the truck and thought, just fer kicks, that I oughta plant a coupla seeds in this nasty soil I've got n' see what happens. Well, with the sunshine they get and the rains we've gotten they both sprouted! Yes, I know the grass/weeds look horrible but this was just an experiment. I may have whacked the one on the left side of the pick because it was leaned over but the root system was unharmed. The soil was nice and slightly moist but not dry. I watered it some more though before I left. The lil pink arrows indicate their location.

It is not tidy as I was just bein' silly and curious about the soil.

Well ya'll, that's about it for me fer now. I hope you enjoyed yer visit and that yer homesteading projects are going well. I hope yer gardens are overflowing with abundance. Until next time, see you on the back roads.