First time wheat bread

Ok I done it first time making wheat bread. Turned out pretty darn good and smells great.I've baked white loaves before but today was my first day doing this,I got to make more!

Just the little things

This was a surprise. Meet our Texas scorpion. He got in somehow probably by me leaving the front door open at night. Found the little guy in the bath tub.I captured him and put in the cup and examined him,he seemed not too happy but I waited for hubby to come home from work to show him what I had and then I went and let him go. He eats bugs and stuff and I really liked him.This was my first scorpion to catch. This is what I found on them-Scorpions There are about 18 species of scorpions in Texas with most of them found in the Big Bend area. They have an average size of 2 inches. (He was two inches) The color may vary from dark to light. Although Texas scorpions are not considered deadly, they can inflict a sharp, painful, sting which may produce a local reaction. Individual reactions may vary. The venom is a neurotoxin and anyone stung should be watched closely for adverse or allergic reaction. So he stays outside unless he finds his way back in and then back out he goes.I just wanted to shared my critter with you.

More rain

I haven't blogged in a couple days been alittle busy. We got more rain last few days and its a welcome relief here in our great state of Texas. So far I haven't gotten any response to my ad I placed back east for some property.If I do ok if I don't it's ok too. Still looking at ads and just looking to what is out there. If anyone reads this keep an eye open will ya! My tomato plants are doing great,going to get some soon. My peppers are doing better every time it rains they grow a little more. I have blooms but they are not open yet so maybe these won't fall off. today it got 105 degrees outside til that thunderstorm arrived and it cooled down nicely. Now my husband is looking to build a pond and we have been looking at plans. We are partial to a Japanese style garden yard and a pond would be so nice.I like the bamboo and water fountains.A yard done this way is so pretty. Back home I took him to the Japanese gardens in Birmingham and at that time they didn't have water running thru their streams but all in all it was still pretty. We have always talked about the small maple trees and bonsai trees we'd like to have.We are planning on planting fruit trees too.I have been looking for anything that is solar. I'm buying now so when this happens( and yes it will happen), comes around we won't be short on stuff.I'm so excited. I cringed when we have to turn on the air conditioner cause I know that when it's on the bill is going to be high.At 105 you betcha I had it on.I would love to find a place with wind all year round and not so hot.I love the snow but he's not very fond of it.As long as he don't have to get out in it.But he will if he has to. I feel so bad for the people who are in New Mexico and Colorado right now. I hope they haven't lost everything. I've seen it happen with house fires and it's so sad. I would be scared to death if I saw a wall of fire coming knowing i couldn't stop it.So I hope we all pray for their safety. Well that's all for now,it's 4:41 in the morning and i think I will go fix some biscuits and sausage.

Lets See What Happens

I finally put an ad in a local newspaper back home for property in the area. I didn't want to move back home but now its seems like we are going to. I talked to my brother and he was excited about me coming home. He said he would help us get the cabin going and since he likes to fish and hunt and I'll have the garden seems like a smart match. Good trade with things we thinks lol.He's asking around and my ad will run for six weeks ,the paper will run the ad for free. After much thought about living in the desert and living generally in the southwest I have come to the conclusion that its not for me. I like the freshness of the air here but I also like the rain and we don't get enough. What I want to do,I can do better there.My basket gourds would do better because they need moisture and a garden would not be a hassle because of the soil. See Alabama like all southern states has always been farmed. All my ancestors were farmers,it in the blood I guess. But I like to grow stuff so it'll be fun. When my brother and I talked he asked about electric hook up,I told him we were going solar and he asked about water,I said probably either well or tank and I asked him about a septic system and he said it would cost me only 1500.00 to put one in.Well that's a seller cause here its 12,000.00. He is going to help with the cabin,hes a wiz with a hammer and nail.I knew he had put an addition onto his house and it looks great.So what do you think I'm going to do? See my husband can drive a nail but not good at measuring stuff. I bet two heads will be better than one. Besides little does my hubby know what I got in store for him with the garden. My sister-in-law ,we talked about chickens and composting. She is the one person I can just about talk to about anything. When you live in a small town its rough to make friends cause everyone already knows your business.I'm sure some of you can relate. Everyone knows my brother and he knows them.My sister-in-law ,she stays by herself and it's just her and my brother and her kids and grandchildren. She can't wait til I get there so she will have something different to do lol. And someone else besides who she talks to. You know how family is! And she can come to our house to hide from them lol. One thing I know we will have to do right off the bat is put up a fence for our dog. My brother told me that the coyotes are coming right up in the yard and several cats have gone missing,including theirs and next door.Well I don't want my dog to try to fight coyotes so a fence is a must. next will have to figure out how to protect the chickens I'm planning on having against them too. The county and state done alot of construction work there and upset the balance of the local wildlife.Progress will do it. May have some rain coming tonight. My tomato plants will welcome that.Will have to wait and see.I am so ready to move and get this going.I feel better knowing that somewhere there is a little acre waiting on me.I love Alabama with the trees and rivers and wildlife.I do miss it.I hesitate because all of my problems I had with my family was back there and I had to get away from them. Let me explain this.I have bipolar disorder and when I was home I wasn't on my meds and I was constantly fighting with them. Now I have been back on my meds and feel like I can handle life again. I was born with this and will die with it unfortunately. This is one reason to get back to the simple way of living.fresh veggies from the garden,no distractions,keeping balanced. I think it does a person good to find a balance in this world. This would be mine.YEP JUST LIKE RIDING THE WAVES!

Flea Season

Good Morning everyone I want to tell you about fleas that we had. My sweet mother-in-law gave me an article from a newspaper about how a lady killed her fleas by using 20 Mule Team Borax.She put it in a shaker and put it over her carpet,left it for two or three days and then she vaccumed. What Borax does is the fleas love this stuff and it acts like little razors so when they eat it,it actually cuts their insides and they swell up and die. Well I tried it since we had fleas(in Florida) so bad and wow it worked. I also shook some under my couch and chair cushions and waited and walla no more fleas.Be sure to also empty your vaccum bag too.

May Have a Lead

I talked to my brother tonite and he really liked the idea I had. He also said when we get the cabin he would help us.He likes to hunt and fish so I figured when we get settled in,we could trade up with the veggies Im planning on planting.My sister-in-law and I get along great.We have alot of the same ideas and she is a great person to be around. So this is going to be interesting.Only one thing,we would have to move back to Alabama but no biggie.I said I wouldn't because I really liked living out here. But some of the things I had planned would not work here.So....... I know it has been raining there more than here. Here being central Texas if you haven't read this. Maybe it's too hot here or maybe too cold but hopefully by next spring we'll be sitting in a cabin and I'll be getting my garden done. Where they live is country and I mean country. My ancestors settled there in the northwest part up in the corner. I did my genealogy which took 15 years to finish but I learned they were mostly farmers. Maybe thats where I get my instincts to grow stuff.I feel family is important to be near but my brother and I are close because we feel the same about things in general.The rest of my family I don't get along with.But thats another long story. Well I'm ready whenever this comes about. I'm putting an ad in the local newspaper hopefully today and see if I get a bite!

Tuesday Heat

Dang just wiped out everything I wrote.It was hot today in Texas and gonna be hot tomorrow.Yesterdays rain helped to wash alot of dirt away.gave my tomato plants a good washing.You could hear their ahhhs from in the house.

Finally gave the dog a bath,he was ready for it too. He crawled into the tub and looked at me like he was asking whats taking so long?Hes a lab/wolf mix. He was gave to me from a lady up in Hamlin Texas. her daughter kept hearing whines coming from a den and she looked and found my baby and 11 other pups.2died and she manage to give away the others. I wasnt looking for a dog cause I was still grieving over my other two I had to put down but....I called and she said she had two left one girl and one boy and she wanted to keep the girl. Now he was sight unseen.So she brought him to Abilene and I saw him coming out of that cage,he had gotten car sick and threw up.He was so scared,he had a yellow blanket(which he still lays on) and I never told my husband I got him so when I brought him he sniffed around and I went and woke up hubby. I told him I went and got a dog and boy he groaned and Orion was peeking around the corner growling at him. So hubby got up and first thing he said,hes gonna look better isnt he? See Orion was born with a bad case of mange.And after 160.00 and alot of TLC he looks like he does now. We almost lost him once and I couldn't find a vet to work with me on payments but the good Lord found us some money and I was able to take him to the vets.
So it was meant for us to keep him.Now he's a daddys boy. Everytime my husband goes to work he pouts and he jumps around when he gets home.Rotten dog!



Having sloppy joes tonight on wheat buns. We don't eat white bread and haven't for a long time. When we got married he would but I changed over to wheat and it became normal. I've changed our eating habits alot. Since we have gotten older it makes a difference.See do something enough it becomes habit:)

Lost most of my purple tomatoe plants  but I salvaged 4 so that wasnt too bad. My Cherry tomatoes are coming in great,going to get alot from them.It stormed here today so refreshing the rain is,We need more !

For all the furry owners out there flea season is on us and it could be bad.If you have carpet get a box of 20mule team BORAX and sprinkle your carpets with it. The fleas love this stuff. They eat it and it swells them up and they die. Works wonders!Worth the money too.

I hope everyone had a nice Memorial Day We did,we did nothing but sleep today. When that storm came in I automatically got sleepy.I love to hear the rain and thunder.Puts me right out. Sitting here with the door open and got a good breeze coming in.I found out a good thing to keep mosquitoes out,I found a piece of material that was lacy and since I had alot of it I hung it over my front door. my hubby hates it but oh well no bugs come in the house not even flies during the day.We live near a horse pasture and we get horse flies here yuck!

I've been reading everyones articles and looking at  the pictures really great stuff. I'm getting some ideas about our cabin and what we should put in it. I still haven't found any property yet and am kinda worried that we arent going to find any.I really like central Texas but the property here is so expensive and the realtors don't want to sell just one acre. There are mostly farmers here.West Texas has property but it's a little too close to the border for my taste. We were looking in New Mexico up in the northwest corner but come to find out that is where they are having all the mining issues plus the water isn't good there along with the air.So thats out.So where to look next.If anyone has an idea I would love to hear it. The cabin part we got down,we know who to buy it from. Looking at property I found out that some places don't allow a small cabin like we want cause its considered a large shed,well the title on it says CABIN so thats another factor to look at.

Water here in Texas is another issue I've had to think about,hopefully this year we will get more rain and less heat.Drilling for water here is futile cause you have to go deep deep to hit anything  if you hit anything at all.I don't understand either how come with this movement towards simple living that when you ask someone at the enviromental department about a compost toilet they go completely blank.I laugh my butt off at the silence and stuttering they do. They ask why do you want a compost toilet you know you have to be hooked up to a septic system,Im thinking well maybe so but I dont have to use it. This is just a funny thing I run into asking questions and I ask alot too.



Well those images didn't go where I wanted them to lol, these are some of my beadwork that I've done. I haven't been beading too much here lately but am trying to get back into it.I've had a few things going on .

I can do traditional bead work and no I'm not native but I do alot of styles that are close.I have alot of my own designs worked out in my head and then I bead it. I do use a software for it.These are just two of a box full I have.I really like designing stuff and have had some ideas about designing my kitchen.I'm almost full Irish so I've designed some stuff for our bedroom. I hate this waiting but I guess life can be like that.

Went to the local farmers market this morning early. Bought some tomatoes and snow peas. I also bought a loaf of homemade cinnamon bread.You know I didn't mind at all paying what they wanted on their price.It just felt good to support them.There were a few vendors there and I was kind of surprised there weren't more but I guess it's still early for some of them.I wanted some free range eggs and I guess whoever was selling them weren't there.Came home ,ate something and then went back to bed.. What a morning lol.

Today I figured out that the purple tomatoes do not do well in hot Texas weather. I had a dozen and now I'm down to four.I did try the epsom salt spray and they seem to like it.It was 104 here today I brought my plants in to give them a rest from the heat and it helped Remember I have them in pots so they are easily movable. The wind is a bad factor here too,it about beats them down in pots.

Today I downloaded a copy of planting times for this area.Got to go and buy more seeds,I just don't know where Im gonna plant them.I have these giant basket gourd seeds and as I was reading up on planting them it seems this area is too hot for them to grow.Usually I'll try a couple plants and see what happens.Don't know until I try right?

I'm got to do some research on how much garden to plant to at least last thru winter months. I have a small freezer I'd love to fill to the top with veggies.That would be nice uh?

Well nothing more is new,I have been still looking  for land though.

Thursday Blahs

Well nothing new today,just been picking some parsley out of the pot so it can dry out.Feeling a little under the weather today so maybe a nap is in order uh?Still trying to post for some land here in Texas but the outlook  is slim. i really like living here but might have to move.

I'll be so glad to get going .Been sitting too long. Put an ad in the local newspaper for land,well see how that goes.We live near the base  and these planes are driving my poor dog nuts. Besides the noise they do something over there that makes a loud boom and when he hears it he tries to make a hole.His nerves are racked and so are mine.

He's 4 years old and he's a mixed lab.He's the light of my life .he took Alot of my pain away from losing my other two dogs back east. He's spoilt and loves his milkbones.When we get out in the country I was thibking of how to make him milkbones from scratch.Found alot of good recipes. When we get chickens thats gonna be a different story considering he hates cats.But I think I can convince him to not chase em.He's gonna as new at it as I will be.

Ok now on to something else. I picked up two 5 gallon buckets to hold flour and sugar. I need more to hold some other stuff. You can get the buckets at Walmart for under 3.00 a piece.You know when you get to sit and thinking about what all you need? Well I make a list of stuff that I think I need or may need soon.So 5 gallon buckets are on that lol. Of course I make lists all the time,sometimes more than one DUH!

My cherry tomato plants are coming along great ,I got real small tomatoes coming in. The bush looks like its going to be producing alot.My purple tomatoes are not doing well but its still early.I figured I'd get a head start on what I can grow and get some time in.I have seeds like beans and peas and some gourds and cantaloupes but not ready for that. I can't grow anything here in this park.You're not allowed to dig up the yard.BLAH BLAH BLAH lol! I want to see how the weather is going to do. My next door neighbor was allowed for her daughters school project to put a small garden in the back in and at first it done good but then the corn didn't look good and her squash was a little skinny. The soil here is not very healthy for plants.

I've seen some substitutes for planters I'd like to try. Like the pallets and tires and fence planters with coffee cans.I'm saving containers that I get from our local grocery store to put other stuff in. We go to Sams and you know how big some of their stuff is since you buy in bulk,well I keep the coffee creamer for Orions dogfood and right  now I keep some for sugar.easier to handle.The plastic coffee cans I keep and put dried beans in them.If you don't want to keep the cans keep the plastic lids cause they will fit corelle dishes(the small bowls) found that out by mistake lol.So I keep a few for that.

I try to reuse any containers with either snap,screw top lids. Good to know when times are tough or you need space.

These are some containers you can use for anything you need to put up.





I can find just about anything to use so it keeps stuff out of the landfill. I could buy new stuff but it's not the same. I sew by hand too and make stuff for the house. I have an array of things that I like to do. My beadwork keeps me busy but I'll blog on that later. Well I hope this helped out someone,Its a start!

Ready for a change

My computer got wiped out yesterday,I clicked on a site and that was it. Unfortunately it was a website for off grid living. Too bad too.Well been talking to hubby about the off grid living thing and I think I got him on board. He doesn"t do change real well so we'll see.But he's tired of our money going out the door.My Cherry tomatoes are doing very well,I have alot of blooms on them. I decided to go ahead and make a get list of things I think we are going to have to have to start this adventure out with. I posted on yahoo groups for a propane frig. I figured starting out it would help. We used to live in a camper so I'm going on that theory.Everything else we already have except a toilet and solar panels. I was looking on Ebay for a solar setup.

I don't know yet where to find land but I also know we better hurry up and find something.At this point I just want to get settled down some wheres.The only problem I'm having is since we are going to start out with just the basics,I am a cool weather person and I'm not much into the heat.Whereas hubby is a heat person,so we are going to have to find a spot that is suitable for the both of us. Hey everyone keep your ears out LOL.

I have some giant gourd basket seeds that I can't wait to plant.I think tho they are going to have to have moisture for them to grow right.I'll be selling these when I get them done.I also have beadwork for sale.I used to sell on Ebay and I sold stuff on there for a long time,I still have my account but don't sell for now. Maybe later I'll get back into that. I can do lots of things with my hands and I love selling stuff so maybe this will work out to my advantage.I can do most leatherwork but never got into the carving part. I kinda like plain looking leather.


I can't wait to get some peace and quiet. When you live in a mobile home park it can get very loud.The weather here is nice and is going to get hot today.I have to remind myself to water my plants. I planted some purple tomatoes and they seem not to do so well here.Ready for a change.

I would love to hear from people who had made a decision to do what we are planning on doing and doing it from scratch. It would be refreshing to get other ideas.

Off grid living

Well since I'm new to this ,I'm gonna give it a try. I live here in Abilene Texas and have been here for 4 and half years. I am at this point in life that I'm looking for something different . I have been  diagnosed with bipolar and  was thinking of off grid living to ease some stress in my life. I was partially raised in the country back east,I'm from Alabama and country life has always suited me. I get so excited about learning different things even at my age. When I was in my twenties I learned how to make homemade baked bread which now comes in handy when things get tight. I taught myself beadwork and now have a good bit of working with them to bead just about anything. I started out doing leatherwork and changed over. I recently put out some tomatoes plants in pots because where I live digging in the ground is not allowed. They are alot bigger now and I grew them from seeds.

I really have been looking for a place where I can get a garden started next year and live a simplier life. I would love to find some property around here to start my idea off grid living but since talking to some local authorities it seems that in order to do this you have to have a septic system installed ,now septic systems are not cheap and with my little bit I have I saw i couldn't afford it. So I'm really trying to think outside the box on this idea. I've  posted several questions to others to see if someone could come up with anything so please send it ,post,let me know.

All I do now is sit and look thru hundreds of postings and see if anyone else has had an idea. This is something I really want to do. If I could find something I want to post all the progress I can on here and let others know if I can do it so can they.I'm not rich or have had alot of money but I think my dream is not too far fetched.