Monthly Archives: August 2014

Lazy days?

Hardly. For some reason, we are in major cleanup mode. Had help securing the chicken yard yesterday. There was a hole they were getting out of and major tunnels under the yard. We’ve moved away the lumber and should see fewer vermin.

The bird areas have had a major cleaning. I do feel the effects of the extra bird dust in the air, but it will improve air quality during the winter. I need another major food shop (or two) and we will be in decent shape for the colder weather. I am looking forward to home baked bread and soup. I think I am going to get an electric grain mill. I have the Corona to fall back on. I have the grain grinder attachment for the KitchenAid but it’s terribly slow. And, while we need to go Paleo to lose weight, you can’t stock up and eat Paleo. There are just too many crazy things going on in the world to expect the grocery stores to always be stocked. I’ve seen what the Camas Safeway looks like when they predict snow! And food is not getting cheaper. I am thinking about buying some veggies to put up for storage. I haven’t tried to keep potatoes, carrots, apples and other crops stored. The big issue is finding a good location. If I want to grow more of my own food, I have to figure out how to make it last.

Ah, such an exciting life!

We took our first long trip in the new truck. Went to McMinnville and picked up a welder for $50. The truck seems fine. We really need to fix the doors. For some reason, they’ve been auto locking. And you have to use the key to unlock them, so it’s a two person job. The driver’s door needs an interior door handle and it doesn’t close correctly. It’s a lot of fun at the car wash!

Lon got me something really nice. I used to have Carla Emery’s
Encyclopedia of Country Living. It was one of the early ones, with the colored mimeographed pages. The binding fell apart and I think it finally got water damaged and had to be thrown out. I have one of the newer editions and was talking to Lon about the book. Most of the early editions are going for around $100, but he managed to find one for half that. I asked him to go ahead and pick it up for me. It arrived yesterday and it looks like an unused book. I’m going to put it up, so that it’s preserved. I really love having that original version again. I used it so many times, over the years.

I have been picking up a number of “stocking up” books. They aren’t exactly food storage and I’ve checked all of them out from the library first. They are nice reference books. I’ve been trying to build up a bit of food storage for the winter. It’s not as much as I’d like yet. I want to spend less time and money running to the store. The problem is that we need to move back onto a low carb diet and you just can’t do food storage for low carb. It requires too much fresh food. I am trying to stock up for making soups and beans during the cold weather. I guess we’ll be eating even smaller portions.

Hot spell

We’ve had a number of 90 degree days lately. That may not sound bad, except that it’s always 50% or better humidity. It’s very draining. It dropped back to the 80s for a bit and we are now scheduled to hit 100 degrees tomorrow. I am not looking forward to it. The poor garden is just burnt up. We are starting to get a few ripe tomatoes, but they don’t do well in extended heat. I am still planning for a larger garden next year. We all want to try corn and I have some good winter squash varieties to try.

Word is that the new engine is in the truck. Won’t be able to license it until payday, but we do have a trip permit. I am looking forward to it, as I enjoyed driving the parts truck. The seats are comfortable and it’s easy to handle. It’s a nice looking truck too.

Petey, the cat is still hanging on. He’s had a stroke, I’m pretty sure. He’s lost a lot of weight so it’s probably either cancer or kidney failure. I have been giving him vitamin C and sharing my prednisone for the lung congestion. He still gets around and seems to eat okay, so we aren’t at the end just yet. The hot weather is hard on the older cats and Loretta. Fleas are bad, and I’ve finally gotten my order of diatomateous earth. It really does kill the fleas, but takes a few days. I carry a flea comb in my purse and comb the cats whenever they get in my lap.

Things designed to make you feel old: my best friend from high school just retired. I would love to be able to retire and spend time growing things. But it’s just not happening any time soon.