Saturday, June 30, 2012

GREAT news!!!

Two posts from me in one day. Rare but needed today. We have some GREAT news!!!

We have AIR CONDITIONING!!! I am sitting in my house; doors & windows shut ... with the fan & A/C blowing directly on me. Thank you, Lord!!! The best part ... they are connected through our generator & battery bank. This is HUGE for us!!! We just may be able to bypass getting electric, which would sure save us a lot of money!!! Hopefully the house will soon feel like Winter in Summer!

God provides!

Keeping Cool in Excessive Heat



The sun has been beating down on us ... and the humidity just keeps rising. We've actually had an "Excessive/Dangerous" heat warning & it continues until tonight at 7:00 p.m. How did we survive? An ice chest filled with ice ... kept my feet in it all day. It actually kept me fairly cool. The pool also does wonders for combating heat, especially since some of it sits in shade. I knew the pool would be a great investment!!!
We were able to get some things done around the property & are now preparing for some bush-hogging and back-hoeing. We'll be starting our tire & pallet barn soon! We're thinking of roofing with corrugated plastic. Any thoughts on this?

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Early Morning



With my schedule being all out of whack, be it because of not sleeping very well in the heat, or staying up too late while working ... I haven't been up early mornings very often lately. I didn't realize how much I'd missed that until this morning. I was actually up early enough to greet the sun. Early morning is my favorite time; especially when it has silvery clouds dancing across the sky.
I could get lost in the clouds & I wonder if angels dance on them .. or at least sit to watch the world from them.
Early mornings is my refreshing time. The house is especially quiet with the exception of two cats, playfully romping across the floor. It's my time to read my Bible, uninterrupted ... pray & then just sit and relax before the hustle & bustle.

Not sure what the plans or goals for today are ... but I'm sure they will be big. Maybe the 5 year old has to go out & save the world .. and the 8 year old will take her babies to the doctor for a cold or fever. Maybe the 11 year old will finally finish (or start) building that mansion he promised me. The 12 and 15 year old's will undoubtedly have time to conquer the world. I love watching & listening from a far, the things my children do, think & say.
On the real side of things ... we are straightening up the yard (stacking tires, picking up trash, moving tings around, leveling the rest of the area where the pool is ... and I think that's it for outside stuff). As for other things ... it's just too hot to do much of anything. What ever needs to be done though; will get done.

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Might as well go back to town?



It was stated in a comment that if we plan on hooking back up to the grid, we might as well go back to town. It was later explained that it was because the cost of the grid tie, power pole, wiring etc was expensive especially when you are going to run an air conditioner. We already run a fan when we run the generator .. helps but not enough. Between the cost of gas to run the generator, and the cost of propane to run the fridge and stove .. connecting to the grid is probably cheaper. I'll have to do the math on that to figure it out. I know the cost of the solar panels, wind turbine and battery bank ... add that to the cost of wiring (in any case). I'd be willing to bet that connecting to the grid costs more upfront but less than what we are paying out in gas & propane costs monthly. 


Decisions, decisions!

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Every penny counts!

When you are raising a large family with less than a doctor's salary, every penny counts! It's even harder when the company your husband works for keeps giving less & less hours. There was a time that our internet sales were in full force but when we went off grid, we cut internet service so all that had to be put on the back burner. Now we're back on line & wanting to get our "Trading Post" up & running again.
There are all kinds of things needed on a homestead. In light of recent issues, our most recent need is an electric pole. We've lived just fine without normal electric but the heat is getting to my health. As stated in an earlier post, we are going back on grid just long enough to get the battery bank built so we can store enough power to run our entire house with some modern desires ... air conditioning being the front runner.

There are all kinds of ways for someone to make a living from home. You can sell crafts, home made items (clothing, food etc), wood working, writing, voice overs ... so many ways if you just think outside the box. We are doing a variety of things; from home, from this page and from other sites & blogs. Today I'd like to introduce you to our Cookbook Collection.


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Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Summer is not my friend!



There have been some really big changes around here ... mainly in my thinking. We have lived the pioneering life for over a year now (almost a year spent at our current property). I have decided that I am not Laura Ingalls. She was an amazing person & I am thrilled to be learning the skills she had. We will live our lives utilizing those very skills ... BUT ... until we have a big enough battery bank to provide our power, we will connect to the grid. Yep .. that's right ... I went there. We have power but it's provided by a generator. Not a problem unless you run out of gas. Really we haven't had a need for major electricity any way .. but .. it is Summer. Living without an air conditioner is getting hard. We have a pool now (which the children LOVE) ... but I am not able to get in because of a minor surgery on my foot. So ... that leaves me suffering in the heat. We are working toward connecting to the grid soon. At first I felt like a failure for coming to that decision ... but not any more. There is no reason we have to suffer to reach our goals & dreams.
We will have some of today's technology ... but we will be wise & use as little as possible. Eventually we will disconnect from the grid again ... but only when we can support our needs with other means! We have built some things for our home, that we will continue to use ... such as the solar water heater. It's amazing! We will also continue to use our sawdust toilet. There's no reason to change over to septic. We will compost, recycle and reuse what ever we can. We will move as quickly as possible to go off grid again ... I just know that Summer is not my friend!