6-7 January, 2012 Sourdough Pancakes, Door knobs, Aches and Pains...

I have a few minutes this morning before things get rolling so I thought I'd post a few pictures even though it's only been a couple of days since my last update. 

Since we've gotten Scott we've noticed a few more aches and pains.  Obviously we aren't as young as we used to be and after all my years of holding impact guns overhead as a mechanic my shoulders and elbows have had a hard life.  At this age he gets held a lot which is very important to a child's development.  At his size (25 lbs. plus) he gets a little heavy!  It's kind of hard on muscles and joints!  Electric heat pads are not practical in our case so we put some dry beans in a sock, tie it off and set it on the kettle lid.  We put another lid on top to help hold the heat and hang a blanket next to the stove.

When the blanket and bean-socks get hot we wrap them around whatever needs help.  For me it's usually elbow joints.  For Susan it's the muscles and tendons on the inside of her elbows.  It works well. The hot blanket keeps the heat in place longer.  We don't do this often but when it's needed it sure feels good.

The hot blanket trick also works well if you get chilled.  I used to use a dryer when we lived in town and heat up the blanket and wrap it around whoever was chilled.  Now we use the stove.

Our daughter (Barbara) has been experimenting with sourdough.  I used sourdough many years ago and asked her for some to start my own batch.  It makes great pancakes, rolls, etc.  Pancakes are the easiest so this is my first batch of sourdough pancakes in quite a few years.  They were the best pancakes we've had in a long time.

Scot likes the new clothes washing set-up.  It gives him more room for his toys.  We have to be in the room with him though because he likes to get out on his own. 

He loves playing in the water so his favorite way to "help" is when we are washing dishes.  He always cries when we're done and he has to get down.

We still have lots of ice and have been hoping for snow. If we get some snow it will bond somewhat with the ice and make travel a little easier. We had hope for some last night but we only got a little tiny bit ... not enough to do any good!  In the meantime I modified our outside slip-on boots.  These are some we keep by the door for quick trips outside.  They're kind of the outdoor version of a house slipper.  The sole was too thin for screws so I just put them in the heel.  It's great improvement on the ice.

We've tried a lot of different ice cleats over the years and these are the best we've found.  This pair is probably five years old now and has had a lot of use.  We keep it on a pair of mud boots by the back door and slip them on when leaving that direction.

There are reasons many farms and homesteads had piles of salvaged materials, old cars, etc.  They make great parts stores.  It's a 45 minute drive to town when something breaks plus the added expense of buying whatever you need to get.  We have different piles of everything from tires, roofing and scrap steel to the kitchen sink and bathroom tub.  They make life much easier when you live in a remote location and/or are short on cash. 

In this case one of the door knobs/latch broke in an interior door.  It's kind of nice to just go out and get the parts and replace it rather than get in the car and travel to town.  We saved about $8.00 in gasoline and $10.00 for the new knob/latch and about two hours of time.

Speaking of time ... it's time to go for a walk in the woods.  When Susan gets the snowsuit out, Scott lays on it and very IM-patiently waits to get suited up.  Have we mentioned that he likes being outdoors?

We went a little farther today, going through the woods to the place we shot our deer.  We've been taking things slow while we evaluate how well Scott does riding in the backpack in the cold. 

We found lots of tracks.  These might be wolf but they are old and the snow may have melted back making them larger.  Even then they're too big for coyote and I don't know anyone with a dog big enough to make them so I'm thinking they are most likely wolf tracks.

He's certainly comfortable!  We were almost back home and he couldn't hold out anymore!!!

So we gave him a bottle and put him down for his nap in the living room.  He slept for a couple of hours then was up for the rest of the evening. 

1-5 January, 2012 Ice, Tire Chains, Indoor Washing

It seems more like April than January.  The weather's been unseasonably warm this January.  We've had some rain but we're way short on snow.  Most reports put us around 40 percent of normal.  What little snow we have left at home has been rained on so much that it's turned to ice.  It makes for treacherous walking.  The chickens however seem to be enjoying it.  We've been getting an egg now and then.

We are fortunate that Scott thoroughly enjoys being outdoors.  Whenever the door is opened that's where he heads.  He was so disappointed to be brought in a couple of days ago that Susan put his boots on him and took him for a couple of laps around the car.  He's cutting more teeth and drooling like a Saint Bernard.  It makes him miserable at times during the day and interrupts his sleep at night.

Now that I'm home it's time to get some things done.  This is part of the framework for the wash tubs and wringer ...

This is the rest of it. (Some assembly required!)

I got it put together and in the cabin.  I had to do a little fitting for the wash tubs but it's solid and works great.  In normal winters we have a few days of nice, sunshiny weather now and then making it possible to do laundry outdoors.  This winter that's been a problem.  With everything inside it'll be easier to keep up with the laundry.  

We try to get out and walk a bit every day.  These were taken on an old logging road east of the place.  Odie is a bundle of energy on the walks.  I'm working on keeping her close but she still needs reminding at times.  I carry my 357 magnum in the winter time when the bears are hibernating.  The rest of the year I carry my 44 magnum.

One of our favorite views looking east at the mountains.

The cat came along on this walk.  Once he begins with us he stays with us because he's afraid being alone so far from the cabin.

Susan, Scott and Odie.  Scott loves being outside whether in the back pack or on his sled.

Scott is helping me do some writing.  I was doing some proofreading on an article and some chapters of my book when he came in.  He likes sitting on my lap and taking inventory of everything on my desk.  As long as I'm not typing it works okay.  I need one hand to hold onto him.

When I'm writing however, we put up the gate. 

We were watching a movie on the little computer when Scott decided to join us.  He actually stayed in place when Susan got up to get her camera and snap this photo.

He's old enough to stand on the chair and "help" us now.  His favorite is helping do the dishes.  Just before this picture was taken he was on his chair helping me make the venison meatloaf.  

Susan was rotating supplies and found this can that had literally popped it's top on the shelf. I've never seen a can come apart like this.

I got the snowmobiles out and running this week.  Usually after taking the tarps off I'll take the spark plugs out and put about a tablespoon of gasoline down each cylinder then start the engine.  It saves a lot of pulling on the starter rope by priming the engine first.  This is mine.  It doesn't have a windshield on it.  The one next to it is Susan's.  It has a little bigger motor, deeper paddles, handlebar heaters and a windshield.  They both move right along.  The only time we open them up all the way is when we're on the lake.  Now we just need some snow!!!!!!

Emily and Stephen were over during the week.  Stephen helped me get the snow mobiles limbered up but we weren't out long due to poor snow conditions.  We spent the evening playing board games.  

Odie and the cat decided to add a chapter in their love/hate relationship.

We drove out to the post office this afternoon to send back a couple of article contracts and mail a completed manuscript.  The road was solid ice.  We made it to the neighbor's place and I decided to stop and put the chains on.  We have studded tires and they wouldn't grip hard enough to keep us from sliding sideways.

To put them on I drape the chains over the tires then drive forward until the fasteners are in the right place.  After that I hook the inside then finish with the outside hook.  Usually I can get them tight enough I don't need rubber chain tighteners.  I keep an old feed sack in the Cherokee with the chains, a pair of rubber gloves and another feed sack that's been split open to use for laying or kneeling on.

On the way out we passed another neighbor who had also stopped on the road to install his tire chains.   It's about as slick as I've ever seen it.

The problem with tire chains is that we take them off on the pavement and have to re-install them when we get back to our road.  It's still better than being in the ditch or going over an embankment though!

26-31 December, 2011 Back home again!

The people I was house sitting for returned last night so I'm back home again. Yay!!!! Christmas is over and the New Year is only hours away.  It's been kind of a boring routine this week.  Scott keeps Susan busy caring for him and all that entails.  Anyone who's ever had small children knows exactly what I
mean!  Scott is going through a teething phase and needs lots of attention so when he's awake she can't really get much done except carry him around.  When he's down for a nap she has to rush through the things she didn't get finished while he was awake.  And of course there are the endless diapers to change and wash.

But it isn't all work.  Scott decided to give a little tutorial on choosing a horse.

The right horse is very important he says...

It needs to be a horse you can trust no matter how you sit on it  ...

Sometimes tired cowboys need a break and the best way is to sit in the saddle backwards and use the horse's neck for a back rest.  Any good horse will of course understand your fatigue and take you home while you catch a few z's.

Once you find the right horse, Scott says, it's a pleasure to own and ride and you can relax and enjoy the scenery while wowing the girls with your exemplary riding abilities.  That's how a good horse helps you get the best girls!!!

Christmas present time.  Scott has his new bear and is playing in a box the presents came in.

Christmas day someone left the wrapping paper crate by the counter so he decided to help me make coffee.

One of Scott's favorite toys.  With this he can help Grandma and Grandpa get more outdoor exercise.

They made me pose for this picture.  Everyone knows that Grandpa is the real Santa.

Ahh ... back to real life again.  We got several inches of rain during the week so we set a barrel under a downspout to collect the bounty of water. 

We boil it n the kettle we keep on the stove then pour it through a coffee filter and into a tank.  A twelve volt RV pump, pumps it up into an overhead tank above the kitchen sink where we use it for washing dishes, etc.  The filter needs to be repositioned to a new place after a few gallons.

I cleaned out the chicken house today.  It wasn't real bad yet but the weather was cooperative and I wanted to work outside awhile.

I threw some flakes inside and let the chickens scatter them.  They'll love kicking the hay apart looking for seeds and bugs.  We got two more eggs this week.  That's pretty good for not providing artificial light and feeding them the cheaper food like we do every winter.

Odie took up a position to see if I was going to do anything interesting.  We (Susan, me, Odie, and Scott in the backpack) went for a walk through the woods this morning.  Odie's manners have gotten a little rusty over the winter so we did some obedience training to get her back in shape.

The sun actually showed up a couple of days this past week so I took some pictures just in case I didn't see again for awhile.  This is Marl Lake below the cabin I was staying at.  We got some rain later in the week which turned the road and any paths into ice rinks.  The packed snow turned to ice making it difficult to get up our road even with four-wheel-drive and studded tires.

I was treated to a rare sight with this rainbow.  It touched the ground about 300 yards form the cabin's front door.  Pretty cool and made the rain worth putting up with.

The Internet has been very slow today so I left several photos that I'd planned to post, out.  We want to close hoping that everyone reading it has a great year ahead of them.

16-25 December, 2011 - Oops and "Merry Christmas!"

I didn't realize it had been so long since I made my last post.  I apologize for that.  Our normal routines are a little off due to the house sitting and Christmas.  My computer is at the place I'm house sitting and Susan has hers at home.  I keep forgetting to bring her camera card here to get pictures or download them when she's been here and even though I had my computer with me yesterday I forgot to download pictures from her camera.  So, I don't have near the selection of photos to draw from that I'm used to having.

The biggest problem people have in our experience when they try to live off-grid is understanding that energy conservation is as much an art as a science. You really have to get creative to do it!  There are some harsh realities about living off-grid.  This photo was taken at 10:39 AM and the sun is just now clearing the mountain tops to the South.  It will still be another 30 minutes before it's rays clear the trees and directly hit the first solar panel.

This is sunset at our cabin about a mile away.  It was taken at 5:16 PM.  The solar panels have been in the shade for at least 30 minutes.  That means we have less than six hours of direct sunlight on the solar panels.  During that time the solar panels have to produce all the electricity we'll need for a 24 hour time period.  This includes recharge the batteries that we were running on for the 18 hours we didn't have

  direct sunlight on the panels.  If it's a cloudy or overcast day (meaning there are no shadows) the solar panels will only produce about 10 percent of their maximum rate.  So ... if you can produce 1,000 watts per hour on a sunny day you're down to 100 watts per hour on an overcast day.  With six hours of sunlight you'll have 600 watts of power available in a 24 hour period.  But that's not exactly true either because it takes about 125 watts of generated power to store 100 watts in your battery (About 20-25 percent of the power generated is lost in recharging the batteries.)  So in reality you'll have about 480 watts available for use in a 24 hour period.  That means you could run a 100 watt light bulb almost five hours (remember it's dark from about 5:45 PM until about 9:00 AM - over 15 hours).    If you go to bed at 9:45 PM and get up at 7:00 AM you're going to need lights on for at least 6 hours. 

Anyone want to figure up what you'll be able to use without going over your 480 watts of available power in that 24 hour period of overcast weather?  

By the way, if you pay less that $2.50 per watt for your solar panels you got a good price so in order to generate 1,000 watts of power it will cost $2,500.00 just for the solar panels.  That doesn't include the price of the inverter ($1.00 per watt is a good price), the charge controller(s) - (figure a minimum of $200 for a system of that size) and batteries (another $500 minimum).  By spending this kind of money you'll be able to power a 100 watt light bulb for approximately 5 hours on a cloudy day.  Of course that's the worst case but you'll need to remember that your highest electricity use is during the winter when it's coldest and darkest.

This was taken from the front porch of the cabin where I'm staying.  The sun won't be over the ridge for another 40 minutes so the fog is hanging low in the meadow. The time was 10:00 AM

This was taken at 10:47 AM.  I had to tweak the contrast a little to make the moon show up better.  This is about ten minutes after the "sunrise" photo was taken and the sun still hasn't hit the solar panels yet.

One of the "working cats" on the place.  The cats are more than pets.  They're needed to keep the mice and other rodents in control.

This one is the brother to our cat.

There's a bird feeder on the front porch so I get some feathered entertainment while writing.

A couple of the kids were over and brought some pork chops for dinner.  I went to fire up the gas grill and the propane valve was leaking so I got out the old-standy and the charcoal.  The food tastes better on a charcoal grill anyway.  I've just gotten lazy and impatient since getting my gas grill.

It is possible to break a maul when using it to hammer.  To be fair though, I've seen the same thing happen to sledge hammers.

Odie has been feeling left out and wanted her picture taken and posted even though this wasn't her most flattering pose.

Ahhh .. spaghetti squash.  If you've never cooked these, the easiest way I know of is to cut them in half. lay the halves (open side down) on a cookie sheet and bake them at about 375 degrees for approximately 30 minutes (the time will vary according to the size of the squash).

Before you bake them, remove the innards.

Save the seeds.  They can be eaten raw or toasted and make good snacks.

Once they're cooked, scrape the insides out ...

...and top it with spaghetti sauce or butter and brown sugar.  I put this back in the oven for about ten minutes to heat everything back to the same temperature.

Susan took this while on the lawn swing with Scott and the cat.  The cat's been feeling neglected too.

This little guy loves being outdoors.  Here he's getting his first wheel barrow ride and thoroughly enjoyed it.  He likes the sled and backpack too.  We have to watch him though.  He's pretty good at shedding his shoes and socks.  Susan pins them on now so that when he gets them off we don't lose them!