No More No Less

My photo mojo has just abandoned me these past few weeks so I'm going to have to rely on an old pic for today's post.  I was trying to capture a similar look while out on my early morning walk with Chigger today but I had waited too late; the sun was too high and the mists we've been having had mostly dissipated.

At any rate, this is going to be a shorter post, I think.  I just wanted to share a link to a site that I thought some of you, who are on the minimalist wagon with me, might enjoy if you didn't already know about it.  I've been reading posts on Becoming Minimalist for some time now and have really enjoyed what I have found.  And if you are not sure about living a life based on reduced consumerism, this site might help explain what it's all about.  Most people just assume that minimalism means doing without- most everything.  But that's simply not true.  It simply means reserving your hard earned money and time for the items and people in your life that are truly important, not things that our misbegotten society tells you is important.  Some of the statistics that he provides on just how far our western society has fallen down the greed hole is truly mind-boggling.  It is scary really, how much our media controls our minds and impulses, and ultimately, our pocketbook.

Now, unless you are some self-sufficient super person, we all have to buy some goods, and that's okay.  In fact, after I finish this and a few other chores I'm off to town to buy some groceries!  And I'll most likely treat myself to a nice lunch since it will be an all day trip. But the key here is that because I do not indulge in "sport shopping" as I like to call it, for crap I have absolutely no true use for, I can afford to have a nice day off from my regular jobs with a nice lunch while I stock us back up on a few things and run some other needed errands.

I'll try to write a little more about my minimalist practices later but in the meantime check out the site.  The articles are very well written and include everything from not buying so much, to decluttering what you have (something most people want to do), to just making more time for yourself.  I think it has a little something for anybody that wants to live a more conscious life.

Now, I'm off to clean the chicken coop and get all the critters ready for my day out!

What's (S)he Building?

  Unbelievably enough, I'm actually still keeping up with the "word" posts that I started so very long ago and am down to only 2 words left on the list!  One word after this post because we are going to explore the word "architecture" for Rich, who wanted to know how I designed and built my house.  And as you may have guessed, yes, I saved the harder words for last!  Or I guess I should say, words that involved the most time and effort to elaborate on in a blog post and I really wanted to do this one as well as I could.  It's not going to involve all that I originally wanted to but I think it will be fairly complete.
  Now, as far as how I built my house, well, that's the majority of the blog and you can just pick what part you want to see over in the 'labels' column, i.e. foundation, framing, electrical and so on.  And for any newcomers, yes, I am a woman and yes, I built my house.  Of course I had help! or you could say I was the help in some cases as Allen was in charge of framing and such but I did the formwork, the steelwork and all the interior after it was dried in.  I even did a long post on how I saved for and financed the house, which is somewhere in finances.
  Now, as far as how I designed the house, well, I didn't.  Okay, I kinda started out doing it and knew sort of the footprint I wanted but you all know by now that the BFA (big, fancy architect) had a big part in the design of the house.  I did use The New Natural House Book by David Pearson and The Solar House by Daniel Chiras for technical information on passive solar heating and cooling, correct placement of windows and all that and just general inspiration for a naturally built house and I highly recommend both books if you are interested in doing something similar.  I would also recommend any of Sarah Susanka's Not So Big House series for the sensible, actually livable designs and beautifully crafted houses she spotlights.
  So, I admit flat out I used, and still do use, an architect... and I've been really taken back by the amount of crap I've received over that.  I think I can kind of guess why in the blogging world.  From my reading of the popular homesteading/ DIY/ prepper/ doomer blogs I have gotten the distinct impression that if you don't do absolutely everything yourself and/ or you dare to use any conventional element from normal society (like a contractor or architect) you are not authentic and are pandering to "the Man".  Because you know, I didn't manually shred and chew 1,000 pairs of old blue jeans into natural cellulose insulation and I let a real cabinet maker make my cabinets so I'm just faking it all!  So to employ a honest-to-goodness architect!!  Holy shit! I might as well turn in my anarchist card immediately and cancel my subscription to Mother Earth News.  What the hell was I thinking!
I think what it boils down to is the idea that if you actually use an architect, you must have money and no real homesteader/ doomer/ prepper has that kind of money, so you are not one of us.  This theory is backed up by the fact that I've had a number of people ask me, to my face, "what, you think you're better'n everybody else?"  "Why can't you just do like everybody else?"  and let's not forget.."why d'ya even want to use some ol' architect?"  Well, let's ponder those questions for a minute...Some people could accuse me of an ego trip but I can't really see how because I can't say who the architect is and to me, that's where the bragging would be.  And no, it's not Frank Gehry.  Hah!  I'm not a big fan of his designs anyway.  I mention using an architect because it is something more people should consider, it's more possible than many believe and I don't want to give people the false idea that these cool designs are mine!  As far as why?  Hhhm, let's see...I found a notable, very experienced design professional who was willing, and even considered it fun, to design a unique little house in exchange for carpentry/ manual labor on my part...but nah, no thanks, I'll just use some layout I found in a magazine.  Yeah right.  I mean seriously, if I'm going to go to the extreme physical effort to build my own house, wouldn't you want it to be something awesome and reflective of your personality and life, rather than just stick something together that looks like some damn Jim Walter home some half-ass contractor could throw up in 3 months?  Of course, I know there are those out there now saying, well yeah, but the Jim Walter crap would be done by now!!! and you're still slaving away on only half of your fancy-smancy house.  Well, you got a point there I'll admit.  I'll also admit I've had some unusual physical problems and such that have seriously impeded my progress and it has caused me to question what I'm doing more than once, I assure you.  In the end, it's up to the individual and what matters most to them.  Some people want 4 walls and a roof and be done with it and there's nothing wrong with that.

This is an example of why I enjoy the route I have taken.  I could have never come up with this design myself.  Or the large steel beam that holds up my roof, or the rafter tails inside and out and how it kind of, in the back of your mind way, makes you think of a church when you see them.  The column in the drawing above is a recent thing that the BFA came up with and these will support the covered walkway that I've started and will extend further down the house as the next half is built.  The bottom half or less is stone around a concrete base with filigreed steel extending up to the roof.  The cool thing is that the steel design is cut from three flat plates and joined at ninety degrees so that a cross-section would look like a + sign.  It's still very strong structurally but does not employ the normal hollow tube used for steel columns so that you can have this really cool, open design but not have to worry about wasps and other horrible critters making nests up in it!  If the design looks a bit, erhm, intricate to you...then I would agree and we figured this will probably be simplified a bit to keep me from losing the rest of my mind trying to assemble these things.  There will probably be 5 or 6 of them when the house is totally finished.

Now, here is an old, original drawing of the entire house footprint.  You may notice that it's been marked on quite a bit, changed, and that there are no dimensions!  Well, there are some concessions you must make when working with a BFA in a barter situation.  If he had to work hard enough to put actual dimension on there I'd still be a slave to this guy! Ha!  Well, I laugh but those fancy columns just bought me another round of labor and sweat.  One good thing about taking a while to build a house is that you really, really figure out what is essential to what you want in a house and where to put it.  This drawing shows a 3 bedroom house but it will probably wind up being only 2 bedrooms and a really honkin' great craft/ sewing room.  And a much bigger master bath...I don't know what the hell he was thinking on that.  When I'm old and decrepit there's no way I'm gonna try stepping into a tub to bathe.  Hell, I'm half decrepit now.  I want something I can just cruise into and sit down.

This is the elevation drawing from the south side and it is somewhat different from reality in that not that many windows actually went in the existing part.  But that's okay.  Since we were experienced builders we really didn't have a problem building with drawings that were....not quite finished, let's say.  I would not recommend that if you are not experienced in construction.  Most people also have a hard time seeing in their mind what the finished house will look like from some drawings, so I found this actual photo of a contemporary dogtrot house.  Of course, this house does not look like mine is going to but you get the idea.  Their trot area is wider than mine is drawn now, and I'm thinking about maybe making mine a little wider, but overall it gives a very similar feeling.  Long, rectangular footprint, high windows, metal roof and a deck that bumps out on one side.

When you are building your own house, and it ends up taking a while, I think you also begin to think about other scenarios.  "What if I go to all this trouble and then don't end up staying here?"  "What if some giant storm comes and destroys my house just about the time I get it finished?"  Due to circumstances beyond my control in the years I have lived here, I have seriously considered the idea that I may not always live here.  What if I found some beautiful, secluded property with a gorgeous mountain view?  Well, no one knows what the future holds and how things are ultimately going to work out.  Often times it's quite a surprise.  I know it would break my heart to leave this house due to the sentimental value and I'm not kidding when I say I would rip out certain parts to take with me!  But, it is one thing to consider when building.  At least if I finished the house and needed or wanted to sell, I could be pretty certain of getting a good price in order to start over somewhere else.  Because the house was designed by someone who does that for a living, most everyone* that comes here raves over the flow and comfort of the place.  And it's not even all here yet.  People find it very homey and comforting.  It's personable, not some sterile, catalog ordered floor plan. So, it's an investment one way or another.

This post may not have answered your question Rich, if you even remember your question, so if it didn't just let me know and I can hopefully address what you really wanted to know.

*Everyone except my stick-in-the-mud family who hates everything.  Ha!

Seven Year Ache

This post has been edited:

   Well, I didn't really expect some of ya'll to be filled with that much anticipation for what I was going to post today...I'm afraid it may be somewhat anti-climatic.  The big deal is.....today is my 7 Year Blogaversary!!!  and I was posting a bunch so that today's post would be my 1,000th post!!  Yay me!!!  I guess.  I had hoped to space my posts out a bit over the past couple of weeks until I hit 1,000 but the spinal tap and all that mess left me unable to post even pictures.  So..I had to get it all in this week!  Ha! but I did it. 

As I have mentioned a few times before, I started this blog just to document building my house.  Some friends wanted to see, since it was a passive solar and I was doing it myself, rather than contracting.  My first post was just a short one about getting the driveway put in and then it just sorta grew from there.  Many bloggers have talked about the role of ego in keeping a blog going this long and I wouldn't really deny that.  I mean, you have to have some kind of self-confidence or something to feel people would want to read about your life.  I think the fact my blog has never become uber popular, or even a little popular (lol!), does well to keep my ego in check though!  Same as in real life, I never fit in with the defined crowds.  And possibly my subjects are just too broad.  It doesn't matter though because I like what I write about.

I've learned a great deal about life and people while authoring this blog, just as I hope you readers have learned something valuable from me.  I've been very fortunate to have never (knock on wood) attracted the trolls like some other bloggers do or have.  People can be vitriolically hateful.  Yes, I have received a few very mean-spirited comments over the years but nothing compared to what I've seen others go through over nothing basically.  People can also be wonderfully kind and supportive though, even to others they've never met, and that fascinates me.  I've also learned, or had it re-enforced maybe, that not everyone is going to like you or agree with you all the time.  It's best just to shrug it off.  There a few other bloggers that I admire who would never have any association with me, no matter what I did and that's life.  I'm thankful for those of you who feel you have something in common with me and let me know occasionally.  I've also learned it's okay to sometimes look like an idiot.  I mean, who cares?  As I've said many times, if some of the crazy stuff I write about gives somebody a laugh or makes them feel better about their own mistakes then it's all good.  And I can laugh because I know that I haven't written about even half of the subversive, loony crap I've really done in my life!  haha!  Hey, life is meant to be lived.

So...who knows where I'll go from here.  Hopefully, you all will one day see me completely finish this house!  I mean the whole 9 yards, dog-trot, 2 part house.  I feel that I will be back to work on the house before too long and can continue to give you all some good info and maybe some inspiration for your own projects.  That... has been my main motivation all these years and it thrills me to no end when I see that that has happened for some of you.  Most everybody can do much more than they first think they can.  It is all nothing more than one little step at a time.  You just have to remind yourself of that every once in a while.
   
Some folks have asked about the results from the spinal tap and my health etc.  The tests results all came back fine.  I don't have meningitis or Multiple Sclerosis.  I don't have cancer, brain tumors or any contagious communicable disease or virus.  Well, I have actually had another bout of shingles but that's not what I mean.  All my internal organs are there and mostly functioning well.  I have in fact, begun to feel a lot better.  The horrible brain fog and fatigue is much relieved.  Now I'm just in pain.  But I can handle that much better than stumbling around like a zombie barely able to walk down the driveway and back.  Dr. Nabors is still hanging in with me (as far as I know) and is deciding what direction to go next.  So we'll see.

So...for my coming blog year..is there anything ya'll would particularly like me to post about, show photos of or otherwise expound on??  I know I ask this occasionally and don't hear much back, and that's okay, but thought I'd ask again regardless.  Oh, and I am still working on the "word" posts!!  I haven't forgotten.

My Valentine

This valentine is for YOU!!  All of my wonderful readers that have stuck with me through all the years I've been here writing.  Or, most of the years anyway.  You've seen me through sickness and in health, richer and poorer, although mostly poorer.  You've celebrated with me in the best of times and mourned with me through the worst.  Heck, I may have a longer relationship with some of you than I do my husband even! Ha!

Seriously though, there's a lot of you that have continued to read my crappy, little blog for a long, long time and I can't express how much I appreciate that.  Even if it hasn't been that long that you've read I sincerely thank you all.  Thank you for all the comments, the encouragement and condolences.  I really, really do appreciate you taking a moment of your time to communicate with me; I can't emphasis that enough.  There have been many a time when I was really down about something or just wondering if I was completely loony or wholly narcissistic to continue to write this blog and somebody would leave a comment about how much they enjoyed my posts and maybe it encouraged them to try something new or something they didn't think maybe they could do.  That sort of thing just makes my whole month!! forget about just a day!

I must also confess I have felt really bad that I have not been able to give ya''ll as good a post this past year as when I was actively building my house or whatever.  I know a lot of people come here for 'how-to' or DIY kinda stuff and I just haven't been able to put it out there because I haven't been doing it myself.  Or able to even come up with the brain power to write about something relevant to that subject.  I have been feeling much better in some ways this past week so I hope to be able to get back to those type posts soon.  Or at least something of usable information, not just me rambling on, although I know that can be entertaining simply in the 'train wreck' kinda category.

I know over the past couple of years blogs have kinda fallen by the wayside for a lot of people, although there are still multitudes being published.  I have even cut back on the number I read myself.  Many, many bloggers I started out reading are no longer there.  *Ahem* Karen*cough*....Lots of them just kinda disappear with no explanation.  Not that they owe anybody one but still....I often catch myself thinking about a few.  Wondering how they are, if everything is okay for them.  And that's the funny thing about blogs and readers of blogs.  I think you honestly grow to care about some people though you've never seen them in person, or maybe never even seen them at all.  I have grieved after finding out some of my blogger buddies have passed on.  Ye Old Furt comes to mind.  He didn't comment a lot here but when he did it was usually pretty funny.  You will never know how often your kind words have brighten my day or helped me grit my teeth just a little longer until the pain could fade away.  I also apologize if I do not comment enough on your blogs.  I try to but I sometimes fear my humor or such might be taken wrong or sound stupid.  You know how it is.  So, as Erin from Iowa once said, I love you all in a non-creepy, non-touchy sort of way.  Haha!  I will never forget that Erin!

I know a lot of bloggers claim to have the best readers but they're just foolin'...I have the best readers!!

Father Figure

I just wanted to say Happy Father's Day to all the great Dads I know that read this blog!  And that means you Ed, Woody, Floridacracker, Richard, Philip and Karl!!  If I didn't mention you I may not know if you are a Dad or not or whether you read this blog!  When I see how these guys participate so much in their kids lives, especially their daughters, it sure gives me hope for our future and for the lives our our future women.  Ya'll guys ROCK!  Seriously.  I hope your kids know just how lucky they are.

I could write a lot more about fathers but I'm just going to say that I am thankful that I at least had a couple of male teachers that encouraged and believed in me when no one else did.  Thank you Mack, Ted and Ricky.  You have no idea how much your kindness meant.  (and yes, I have told 2 of these guys this in person!)

Workin' For A Living

Well, I finally bit the bullet and signed up to do an art/ craft show. I actually like doing the shows because I enjoy getting out and meeting my customers and seeing new places but I hate dealing the state and sales taxes. I mean, I have no problem paying my sales tax; that's fine. It's that the state of Alabama makes it into the biggest ordeal if you declare yourself a business that sells retail. See, if you only sell wholesale, somebody else has to pay the sales tax and deal with them. I like it that way but they, the retailer, also get to take a large chunk of your sales. But I am inevitably going to have to declare myself a business and do some shows to get more income coming in. The stores where I have my work are actually doing pretty good but like I say, they take between 40-50% of the sales. I know that sounds like a horrible amount but by the time I do a show and pay the entry fee, sales taxes, gas to get there, other travel expenses, signage, booth expenses etc. I'm spending probably 40% of my profits anyway.


So anyway, I've been pretty busy making stuff to fill up my stores and then have enough left over to do this show and in between running to Birmingham to deliver work and all.

I've been kinda down too of late. I guess I'm kinda depressed over leaving my construction job. I know that may sound funny and I've written about missing the guys, so ya'll know that part of it. I'm also down because see, I left before I was finished with my work. Some could say I drug up, although I gave Daddy Rabbit over a week's notice. We had talked on a couple of occasions about it beforehand. I know if you have not worked construction you may not see the significance of that but to leave before you finish your part is considered unethical or sorry. There were a number of factors that led to me leaving but one of the main ones is one that kinda makes me feel silly. It was my feet. I have developed a couple of issues with my feet and basically walking is often times extremely painful. Walking or standing all day in heavy boots on concrete is agony at times and if it rained...I would just about be in tears. I have been to the doctor and the inserts he made did help for a while but they have become less effective and his only other suggestion was to shoot me full of steroids. I will NOT go that route. So, I am now trying to find alternative help. I have tried about every kind of insert, padding, prosthetic, etc. they make and not much luck so far. I have plantar fasciitis in one foot and arthritis in both.
So, yes, I'm kinda down. Jack and I wanted to do a lot more hiking and such here and even go back to the Grand Canyon to hike to the bottom and back up. Hell, right now I have trouble walking to the mailbox and back.
But, I'll keep trying to find a solution or some therapy that helps. And I've also tried a number of shoes, boots and all that. So, that's what's going on with me.

Oh, and I want to thank DoubleHomestead for this award that he felt I deserved!! Thanks so much! I do appreciate it and meant to mention it earlier; I've just had a number of things going on and on my mind. My longtime readers know I'm kinda dingy sometimes but I do appreciate every one's readership, emails and comments.

Heart To Heart

I've always said that I have the best readers of any blog out there and I just wanted to prove it today and say 'thank you' to all ya'll lovelies out there. Apparently I have a number of fine craftspeople that read because ya'll have sent me some of the most beautiful work and you'll never know how much that means to me. I've shown ya'll photos of some of the other gifts (like from Page, a wonderful artist) and these are some recent things I've received. But now, let me stress, all of the wonderful, encouraging emails and comments I get from all ya'll mean just as much. I just thought ya'll might like to see the work of some other people that much deserve the exposure and some readers wanted em to show the little cap I got from Peg on Vancouver Island.
First, the little woven form is from Gin Petty. She exhibits widely around the US and is a well known southern artist. I hope you don't mind me mentioning your name Gin; I looked everywhere for your email to thank you and ask first but I couldn't find anything! Anyway, I love it!! thank you SO much. It will be displayed prominently. Oh, and I wasn't horribly offended by the pink paper. ha!



The beautiful pen is from a reader who says he just does that as a hobby kinda. Nice hobby!! I use it all the time Seth; thank you again. The beautiful glass plate is from Island Rider over at From A Heavenly Land blog. Jack and I had the great pleasure of actually meeting IR and her husband last year when they passed through Birmingham on vacation. This plate is just beautiful! Unfortunately the light in this photo doesn't show all the complexities of the design and glass. Forgive me for waiting so long to show it Cathy.



And here is the little handmade cap from Peg! Isn't it cute!? Oh, disregard the butterfly growing out of my head there...Even though it didn't get real cold this year I wore it anyway like this. It does usually get quite cold here in the winter though and I will wear it for warmth then!



I appreciate all of ya'll kindness, whether in the form of these beautiful items or your great comments and emails. I still maintain that you can have real friends in people even if you have never met them in person. See, aside from my work fellers, I don't have a large number of friends, or even a medium number really, so I really do appreciate and cherish your contact and kind words. I've always been kind of an outsider even among outsiders! so your acceptance means so much. I will always cherish these gifts, whether they are your art, seeds you have sent or simply words to encourage and help me.

A Tail Of Two Chickens

With the addition of 5 new hens our egg production is starting to ramp up.  I say 'starting to' because they are just now beginning to lay even though they are supposed to be a year old.  I know they laid for the guy we got them from but had stopped completely come winter, where ours kept on laying.

Here are 2, well actually 3, of the new hens waiting for a nesting box to open up.  If you look carefully behind them in a nesting box, there is a 3rd hen standing over one of our old hens in the same box!  I guess they got anxious or thought they couldn't hold it or something!  I don't know.  Just in case Jack built 3 more boxes on the wall opposite these.  They say 1 box for every 5 hens should be enough but we've noticed a pile up a couple of times so thought maybe a couple more boxes wouldn't hurt.

As I was saying though, you can see these new hens are a little scruffy looking.  Most of their tail feathers are missing and their other feathers are kinda gapped up and well, they just looked scrawny.  I picked one of them up one day and it was scrawny!  Poor little things, I don't think they got fed a whole lot where they were.

Now, this one that I've named Bobbi, for obvious reasons, looks okay.  Smooth, shiny feathers and fairly plump looking.  Just absolutely no sign of any tail feathers.  I don't know what has caused this.

 Our original bunch looks quite healthy I think and they should, considering how spoiled they are!  I have discovered a lot of rural people just don't feed their chicks much or supplement their scratch any.  Now, we don't want to spend a fortune of feed but we do want them to be healthy and happy.  Oh yeah, ol' Runt feels he has to put on the "proud rooster" pose any time I come around with the camera.

We give all our chickens free choice 3-way scratch and the hens get a layer mash if they want it.  Of course, they get to range the yard for bugs and greens.  We also cook a little rice or oatmeal for them on occasion and they get leftover fruits and veggies if we have them.  Jack also goes to the discount bread store for $.50 loaves and they get a handful of bread as a treat now and again.  About twice a week they get a vitamin supplement in their water and a little apple cider vinegar in there too.  Any hen that is molting gets a few bites of cat food to help through this process.  They say the protein helps them get their feathers back sooner.  I don't give them much though.  Just a few bites.  They may occasionally get yogurt or some cottage cheese too.

Since the meat birds don't get out we try to supplement their regular grains with as much greens as I can find.  We went to my mom's the other day and brought back two big sacks of turnip greens for them.  They loved them!  They had already gobbled most of them in this picture. 

They also get the vitamin water, vinegar and cooked rice or oats.

I have to leave tomorrow for work so I don't know when I'll get to post again.  Hopefully it won't be too long.  Those of you who ordered stuff; I fired last night, so barring any catastrophes I haven't seen yet, Jack will be mailing your orders off in the next day or two.  Thanks for being patient! 

And Peg, I received my little hat!!!  I love it!!  thanks so much!  It does get cold here, although you couldn't tell it from this winter, so I'll be wearing it often.

Peaceable Kingdom

I hope everyone is having/ has a nice, peaceful holiday weekend. Yet may we remember those who shed their blood for our freedom.

May peace eventually settle on this nation and this world like snow drifting down on a winter's evening.

May our government come to care enough about it's citizens to stop sending them into wars based on lies and false pretenses. May our young men and women live to see all the seasons of their lives and not be cut down in mid-bloom.

Be My Guest

Today I have a different treat for ya'll; I have a guest blogger!!! I've never done a guest post before but was contacted by a fellar that was interested and I liked his article, so I thought we'd give it a go.
This was written by Matt West who describes himself this way: "I am an aspiring writer with a strong interest in the more traditional homestead and self-sufficient ways of living."



Sustainable living becoming more appealing.

Today’s world is flush with a number of rising cost areas including rent, gas prices, and food. With the inflating prices, living a sustainable and self sufficient life is becoming a more attractive option to many people out there. Living a simple and more sustainable is not something that must be undertaken at once, while they take advantage of the multiple benefits to be had.

Self sufficiency and sustainability is about cutting down the level of importance designated to rather unnecessary areas of life. The important aspect of living a more simple life is to take value in the right areas such as love and family, while pushing out the need for material objects and possessions. This core feeling of need being designated to other aspects of life helps to push a sustainable lifestyle.

Along with the adjustment of need in life, a sustainable way of living allows for anxiety and stress to be driven down. Another aspect of living simpler is the ability to not sweat the small stuff, so to say. This is about not letting the common stress of everyday life to get to you. The stress of work problems, bills, and products are toned down, while more important aspects of life like family are given more value. This type of adjustment allows for a cut in overall stress and anxiety.

Taking part in a more sustainable and sufficient lifestyle is also about improving your health. Growing your own produce at home can make for a great way to have an impact on physical health. First and foremost, growing produce eliminates the chances of chemicals or toxins getting into the food you consume. There have been plenty of cases with toxins in food like melamine, Bisphenol A, pesticides, and asbestos exposure. Growing your own foods at home allow for full observation and cuts out the risk of any chemicals getting into your foods. Also, growth of your own produce at home allows for the freshest and best taste possible. It will cut out the time that is usually wasted between when a fruit or vegetable is grown and how long it takes to get to the grocery store. Having plants in the backyard allows the grower to pick the time of consumption.

Along with the physical health benefits of avoiding toxins, sustainable living also helps to cut down on health problems that are often a result of stress and bad choices. With a decrease in stress and anxiety, people run less risk of health problems like heart attacks and respiratory issues. Also, transportation use is a major part of living a more sustainable life. Using public transportation or riding a bike can have an excellent effect on your physical health as a source of exercise.

In the end, the benefits of living a sustainable lifestyle are endless. They extend beyond just the taste of food and all the way to mental aspects and lowered risk of health problems. As prices continue to rise throughout the world over time, the prospect of living a more simple and sufficient life becomes even more appealing.

So, I think Mr. West makes some valid points. Now, I know a self-sufficient lifestyle does have it's own type of stress. For instance, chickens can make you want to pull all your hair out, but to me, it is a far better type stress than the highly consumptive lifestyle and constantly worrying about being able to pay all your bills etc.

Let Me Ask Ya'll Something

Hey, I got a question for you all now; well two questions actually! This is for anybody who may raise beef to sell to individuals or any individual who has recently bought a whole or side of beef from an independent farmer. What is beef going for, per pound, these days in this situation? A neighbor of my Mom's recently gave me a price per pound by hanging weight and I am trying to determine if this is a good deal or not.
Also, for those who might own some acreage; what is a decent charge for someone storing hay on your property? This hay takes up probably 1-1 1/2 acres.
Thanks so much if anybody has any idea on these questions. I know prices can vary quite a bit around the country but maybe this can give me some idea.

How Sweet It Is

Wow!!!!! thanks so much for all the comments and wonderful feedback that ya'll left on the last post. I really do appreciate the time you took to comment. I would have normally answered each one but I didn't check until later and there were so many, I thought it might be easier just to answer you here. I think that lack of time these days is what has contributed most to a lot of bloggers stopping. Lots of people are now having to work longer hours or even work more than one job. And, as some of you mentioned, some people feel they have just said all they have to say. I guess if I had limited my blog to just my house it would have petered out too, because there have been times when progress has gone so slowly, the blog would have virtually stopped. Fortunately, I like to run my pie-hole about most anything, so you all still get to read about my train wreck of a life!
I have dutifully taken note of the things ya'll said you would like to read about and will do my best to post on those things. Thanks again, truly, and welcome to the new readers.

In fact, these photos are what one of my sweetest readers, Floridacracker, asked me about a little while back. He wanted to see the stone retaining wall I had been building around the parking area. I thought I had shown a full scale shot but I must not have. Anyway, here it is. It is not completely finished at the areas next to the steps but it's getting closer.

I don't lack a whole lot finishing but sometimes so many other things distract me. There is just so much to do here. Cleaning up the yard helped so much though, to give me some incentive to finish things like this.

Some of you may remember my plan to weave various little curious objects into the wall. How many can you see? I have not put everything in that I intend to, as this is just one small section of the wall. This stone is just dry stacked for now but I do intend to go back and mortar in a few pieces of the loose stone, concealing the mortar as best I can.

Here is the broccoli. Yesterday was warm enough that I pulled back the plastic over the tunnel to let the crops get some good sunshine, which I do if the temps are going to get above 50 degrees. These plants are about a foot tall. I will be so excited if I actually get some broccoli off these plants. At least you don't have to worry about too many pests at this time of year, although I know there is still the possibility of some.

The cabbages, which are about 14-16 inches across, are trying to form heads. Everything seems healthy and robust so far. In the worst cold they are a little wilty looking but then as it warms up they spring back up. I have read that cabbages can easily take 20 (F.) degrees, so these seem to be doing okay. However, I put the light, with a 100-watt bulb, under the tunnel on nights that are going to be in the low 20's or lower. I am trying to come up with some other form of heat that could safely be put under there and would not require much or any electricity. Any ideas? I do not believe it is weather proof enough for a small ceramic heater and those things use a good bit of power anyway.


*James Taylor

Stars And Stripes Forever, Babeee!

Okay, I took a little liberty, ha!, no pun intended, with the title of that great work but it's one of my favorites! I hope all of my fellow Americans are enjoying and celebrating this wonderful holiday and remembering what it's all about. I have mostly worked on the house here by myself but did go have a nice lunch with Fred and Allen and another friend and then Allen and I rode around and visited a couple of other friends for a little while. So, I have taken a little time just to relax. I'm going to watch the Boston Pops special later; I always enjoy their performances.
I would recommend two other posts by fellow bloggers on this day. Jim over at Coffee With The Hermit has a good one and the annual 4th post that Ed at Riverbend Journal puts up is great. It brings me to tears every time I read it. And last but not least, Beatrice and Grenville at Frog and Penguin have loads of great pics of 4th festivities up their way. Check them out!

So, God Bless America, land that I love!!!
Oh, and you gotta check out Google's header for today; it's cool!

*John Philip Sousa

Thank U (Revised)

I would just like to extend my gratitude and respect to all the servicemen and women of our country, past and present. May we all remember that this is a day for more than cooking out and going to the beach. My family served mostly in WWII and Korea. One of my uncles won the Bronze Star. All of them were fortunate enough to come home. I am very proud of all of them.

The construction job that I am most proud of working on was our state Memorial for our fallen soldiers from all wars. God help us to never have to build any more.

Edit: I have been reminded by a reader that Memorial Day is for fallen soldiers only (which I knew but just didn't word it in a very clear way), they put it much better: Although every day is a good day to say thank you to those who have and who are serving in our nation's armed forces, please let's remember that Memorial Day is the day designated to remember and honor our nations *war dead* and should not be confused with Veterans Day. This extra special class of veteran deserves their special day of remembrance and our gratitude for their ultimate sacrifice. Please, let's not dilute the meaning of Memorial Day.
I apologize for not being more specific in my wording or any perceived disrespect. I would never knowingly slight any serviceman the respect they are due.

*Alanis Morisette

Thank U

Thanks for all of ya'lls input! I will be going with the 5" header trim and Mouse got to rub it in a little that he was right. That's okay though! I'm always open to suggestions. And I appreciate all the other suggestions and ideas that you all commented on.
So, I'll be changing that piece of trim out soon but first, a little diversion. Since I have this Bobcat at my disposal, I need to get on with the work that I got it up here for, in case they come to get the machine before too long. I had to go into town today and buy a little more waterproofing membrane to finish the foundation/ retaining wall, so that I can finish backfilling and grading. After that is done, I will have a much better surface to work off to finish the siding on the west and south sides of the house. I have already installed the drain and gravel and will be able to start filling with topsoil tomorrow. Yea! But don't worry; I have taken photos of the whole process so you will be able to see what I did. I just wanted to have the whole process done and photographed before I started to show you. Anyway, it was a rough ordeal as you can see from this one photo below...

That drain pipe is fiendish but I finally got the upper hand on it! I am so happy to have this part almost completed because I think it is going to make things look further along, like I've actually been doing something all this time.
Every time I get into one of these bigger projects, even if I make good progress, I always get a little overwhelmed. I'm not sure why. I guess it reminds me that I still have many more, just as big projects to finish. But things are going well. I just have to keep pressing on and not think about things too much.


*Alanis Morissette

More Today Than Yesterday

Well, the second lift is completely done and I'm inching my way up this side. Since it's getting dark so quickly now I really need to get my butt in a higher gear and get to work earlier. However, some mornings lately it's been pretty cold and frosty on that ladder and pickboard so I've been a little lazy. I'm about out of siding also, so I think next week I'll have to buy another load.
I've worked on the stained glass window some more also. If it rains much this weekend I think I'll try to do even more. It won't take a huge amount of time to finish so I've got to get going on that too. Ugh! So much to do, I just don't need to think about it all. Just one thing at a time.

I know the blog hasn't been very interesting or exciting lately. I've just been kinda blah and not getting out much. I have had a kinda weird rash of calls lately from people I haven't heard of in a loooong time. Funny how stuff like that happens all at once sometimes. Cat Daddy stopped by out of the blue last Sunday morning. I was very surprised to see him; I didn't think he was coming home much. He wanted me to help him straighten out his 401K distribution. So we did that and talked a little. It was the first time I had seen him in a few months I guess.
One of my good work buddies called early one morning. He had heard I was back at work and felt bad when he realized he woke me up but I was glad to hear from him. I hadn't talked to him in about 6 months or so. Then, a girl I went to college with called one night. I hadn't talked to her in a couple of years and was kinda embarrassed that I didn't recognize here voice, but hey, it had been forever since we talked last. She seemed kinda miffed but I couldn't help it.

Oh, while I was working at our office, I found out that the Big House that I worked on a couple of years ago has recently won a construction award in the restoration category and the RR job I was on won for Heavy Industrial Construction. I was proud but I didn't think that job was that heavy of industrial work. But who cares! We won!

I wish I had something funny or exciting to write about but things are kinda ho-hum right now. Maybe that's a good thing. I do have some stuff to write about if I can get my thoughts together enough in the next little while.
I can't believe how fast this year is winding down. Sometimes I feel life is just slipping away and picking up speed every second. Well, hope to have some fun this weekend and hope you all have a good one too.

Thank You

For all of our military folks out there, past and present, 'thank you' does not say enough but it's heartfelt anyway. We are forever in your debt.

This photo is of my one and only (so far) public works at the Alabama Veteran's Memorial, that Allen built, btw, and that I was lucky enough to work on some also. About 20 or so Alabama artists were commissioned to create these sculptures for the regiment of columns that are part of the memorial. I believe I showed the memorial in it's entirety last year. Not that I think my work is all that great, but many of you have asked to see more of my artwork. The ship depicted is the USS Alabama and the flower at the base of the rifle is a camellia, our state flower.


*Alanis Morissette

I'll Be Home For Christmas

I spent my first night in the house last night (the 23rd). It was wonderful. I did have a little trouble going to sleep at first. Maybe excitement; maybe that moon was so full and bright, I kept wanting to get up and look outside. I'm not used to so many windows.
I wish you all a very happy and peaceful Christmas time. May your households be filled with joy.
Merry Christmas Philip, I hope you do receive a book or two or other special treat.
Thanks for the Christmas card Karen and Regina. Sorry I did not send any out this year. I just couldn't swing it.
I'm going to go put my tree up now and get ready to cook a good Christmas breakfast in the morning.

Shout!

Thanks to Pablo at Roundrock Journal for mentioning my little blog on his blog! Thanks a bunch! I noticed quite a few people stopping by from there. Hopefully, I will have some posts soon pertaining to the house. I apologize for it being slow but it will pick up soon I think. I hope..?
Hey Pablo, I moderate my comments so even if you are on an old post and leave a comment, I will see it. Maybe you or Blogger or whatever is the problem will get that straightened out soon! We miss your input!

Appreciation

Just want to thank Rurality for so graciously mentioning my blog on her great site and sending folks over! If you are one of mine and have not checked hers out you should go to www. rurality.blogspot.com. Great photos!