More beads

My new stash of beads and findings.I couldn't resist a good sale.So I decided to get a few things and for the life of me have no idea what I'm going to make.The packge with 6 is natural jute cord,that's for baskets.I like making coiled baskets for stuff.I'm going to try my hand at making pine baskets since we'll have some pine trees on the property.I have every intentions of crocheting when we get settled in our cabin.I want to make some of those kitchen towels with the crocheted tops.

We are now on the look out for a wood burning stove.We will be doing some clearing on the trees and it would be good to have some use with the timber.And it will still be cool there in March,it'll be nice to have some warmth.Besides going great with the "look" of the cabin.It's been so great to look at the winter pictures people have been posting.So pretty and it makes the landscapes look so clean.

I still got this lousy cold.It's trying to clear up I think.It feels like I got two more days on it and it'll be gone.I hate these one week things,it throws my whole week off.As long as I stay home I'm fine but I can't stay in forever.LOL.I have been sleeping alot with this one and I haven't lost my apetite either so that's a good thing.

Well We're down to needing a love seat,a refrigerator,a stove(haven't decided an electric or gas)and a couple more bookshelves.I wanted to get a good bed but haven't found one yet.Hubstead wants to make a platform bed,I'm not so sure about it.I like a soft bed to snuggle in.Yea we'll see where this goes.I know we aren't going to be able to put a whole lot in the cabin but everything we have will fit.Soon after we get in we got to put together a utility room for the washer and dryer and chest freezer.

These stores will give away anything!

You know I went to the big store(W) and wanted to pick up a few things Sunday.Yep I now a have full blown cold.I didn't know they gave these away for free! Chills ,fever,headache.Tonight I got under a bunch of covers and managed to sweat my fever out.Just my head stopped up for right now.Hubstead picked me up some chicken noodle soup and 7up and that made me feel so much better.I have been filling up on fluids and keeping myself in check.I know it's just a cold but you know I haven't had one in at least three years.So I guess it was about time.Oh well! And really there were not that many people in the store either.

This is the reason why when you get your can food home,wash the cans good and wash your veggies and fruit before you put it away.I went to one store and watched the employee sneeze on the milk he was stocking,I kid you not! I wash the milk jug and any soda bottles too.Yeah can't wait to get to the cabin.At least I am going to know where my food comes from and how it was put up.

Besides all this I am in a pretty good mood this morning.Hope everyone has a good morning too and stay well!

Family History Finally Done!

I haven't been on here because I have been trying to finish up some extra leads on my family history.I have been trying to find two people that were elusive and yesterday both got dumped in my lap.It's so thrilling to find people(I get that way)I haven't been able to find but if I can get a bead on them either by name or date or county,I do pretty good finding them.Now I am sending information out to others who are related to me.You have to share with others when they share with you.That's basically genealogy good manners.I found some new sites and have been scouring them for more(you really can't have "enough")so I write or type or copy anything I can get my hands on.I really would like to do a book on our family but for now I got to wait.

Packed a few more boxes and doing some cleaning out.Not much going on besides that.

Windy Saturday,Cooking Ribs

It has totally amazed me living here in Texas how much wind we get.No wonder they have so many windmills here.There is a mesa not too far from here that has nothing but large windmills setting on it.I was so fascinated(everything fascinates me anyway)the first time I saw them in Palm Springs when we went to California.They were huge up close. I borrowed this picture but this is where there were.It seem they crammed these things in any nook and cranny they could.Here we only have a few on the mesa.You can kinda feel the change of weather here going on.TexWisGirl you feeling it yet up there lol? I also got the sneaky suspicion we may just get some snow here this winter not unless it stays up north.Usually the day before or on Thanksgiving day it get really cold.We use to smoke our turkey on our smoker but we get so much wind it futile.I am trying to talk hubstead into building us a smokehouse when we get home.He don't know it yet but it's on "the list".Of course I have alot of projects on my list he don't know about yet(grin).

I'm cooking ribs today and I cook them in beer.I don't know if anyone does this but they sure are good.I cut up onions and whole garlic and parsley,about three bottles of beer.We use Michelob only because it better.We found out the hard way about using the cheap stuff.
Let it simmer until the meat comes off the bones unless they don't have any and then put them on pan put bbq sauce on it and bake for a few minutes.I am dying to try the Jack Daniels BBQ sauce.I heard it was good.I'm cooking these babies for all weekend.I hate cooking on the weekends,I figure I cook all week I need a break from it.

Its done.

Yah!Put it in the crock pot,suppers doing it thing!!!!



I have started packing stuff up,things we don't use.So now I got boxes starting to pile up but that's ok makes it feel more real.Still haven't found anyone to rent us a camper for those two weeks.Plenty of you can come stay with us but I tell them no because of Orion.I won't put him out when it's cold,he's a house dog.So I told one of my friends if it comes down to it,we'll just get a two room tent and bunkout for those days.Not like we haven't done that before.I think it might be nice to do something different since we have been cooped up here for so long.It would give us a chance to do some clearing on the property and get use to it.I like it LOL.

Looking at the World Different

Each person in this world is different.This is a fact that I have accepted.Each person has their own ideas of how they want their life to be.One may want more than the other or one may want less than the other.Some just want to be comfortable while another makes their life unmanagable.It's all up to the individual.

Now me,I do look at the world different.I see beauty where others may find ugliness.I find the most simplest way to live and make it work for me.When I was a teenager(I don't usually tell this)I had severe problems at home.So I did the one thing I thought at the time that would solve these problems.Yes,I ran away but not from the problems just the situation.I gave myself a whole new set of trouble but I faired it pretty well.After years of trying to figure out this thing called life,I set my goals on my dreams and at the time that was all I had.I finally figured out the only thing I wanted was to just be left alone and let me live the way I wanted to.What's so strange is I ask myself why I had to wait til now to get to that point.I guess God figured I wasn't ready but now I am. Someone always told me "God gives you as much as you can handle"and that stuck in my head all these years.They were right.Now I feel like I can be "ME" you know.

Sometimes people are cut out to do great things while others are there for support.We're all here for one united reason and that is to take care of this planet.To me that is the simplicity of life.

On another issue,our health.There is so much information out there,it gets the mind boggled.Heres' my outlook.How we function is like this. We know our bodies consist of mainly water,bones,tissue and blood,cells included,right. If you were to take a jug and fill it with water and add a few skin tissues and a few drops of blood and a few bones they will swirl around and this is what we are suppose to look like on the inside.Now add grease,sugar,flour,additives and what you got?Yep a nasty mess and that's what we do.We add all this stuff and become all murky inside.No wonder we have health problems.Simple isn't it?


Finances,we all got to have money but if this planet keeps on going like it's going,are you willing to put all you have on a small looking credit card? Trust a bank?Trust the fact that they take your money and put it elsewhere? I have to do what I'm doing now but later no,as soon as we get the property up and running I'm calling it quits on alot of things. I have set my goals on being totally and independent of anything.I know it can be done because I'm sure there are people out there doing it now.The world even if people don't want to acknowledge it is going back to a simple form of living.We have to it's always meant to be this way.This is the way I look at it.I am a simple person who wants to live not live to be someone else.

One thing I personally have a problem with but it's just me I guess is the way people treat each other.Yes I know,all people are different and I accept that.A large population of people mainly in bigger cities become like robots and I feel for them I really do.I went that route and I did not like it.I did it cause I thought that was what other people wanted me to be.But if you look at the way things are now,employers want you to come to work,keep your mouth shut,do your job and go home.And please don't think for yourself.There is no such thing as retiring from a job now.So you see,I do look at what's going on and seriously don't want no part of it.As far as money,later, well,guess what, I probably wouldn't have it later anyways.So that is that.It's all good to feel like you are accomplishing something but it's a different story when someone else gets credit for it.And that happens more often that not.

One more thing,someone very special I knew told me later you will know the difference between reality and fantasy.I do really I do but I have found a way to do both.It works for me,maybe not someone else.Bipolar can be fun,sometimes.I don't go out of my way though to involve anyone else.Besides God knows whats in me even if someone else don't.

My two favorite guys?Check!
A cabin in the woods?Check!
A garden to grow?Check!
Woods surrounding us?Check!
My idea life?Check!
Calling myself the Wild Woman in the Woods?Check!

Something Different

I bought this today.It's a bottle of red wine.I'm planning on using it in the kitchen when I cook or maybe when my nerves get frazzled,I haven't decided yet.Depends on which comes first.

When I go out I really try to find the unusual. I see what I want in my head then try to go from there.I won't be able to get much for my kitchen because it's going to be small but I want it to have an impact on the rest of the house.We decided on as much rustic as possible.So getting some things here will be great.We have some antique stores that carry the tubs that are on lions feet.I have always wanted one.They're deep and you can just soak in them.Don't know yet on that item.They also have some old cabinets with the windows I thought would be cute and old diningroom tables and chairs.My poor brain has been in overdrive in the last few months and it's getting even hard to sleep.I lay there and think of all the things I can do with the cabin lol.But's that o.k. I am entitled I think!

Well anyhoo I called the cabin place and they told me I would have to be there in person to sign the paperwork and then they would order the cabin for me. I told them I had wanted the cabin to be there before we got there so we could at least have a roof over our heads(it's still going to be cold there in March),so I asked her if she could send us the paperwork and I could sign it here and send it with the money back to her,she said she would have to ask because they usually don't do that. If we can't that means either we will be doing some camping out for two weeks or I have been asking my relatives if they knew someone with a camper we could rent.Why not stay at my brothers?No Orion would not be allowed in the house and they have a bad coyote problem there.He is not an outside dog.And I'm not giving him up for no one,not this time.

So we will see how it goes.

Charlies' Friends(the lizard)

Well I found them after looking thru EVERYTHING!So here are the rest of the scrap pictures I did.We have-
Rattlesnake
Butterfly
Hummingbird
Flower and vine
Cactus

Just remember I was bored and threw these together.I am wanting to find some kind of frames to put them in together.If I seperate them I'll never find them.After going and trying to find them they were three feet away from me.Last place I looked in.Yeah I know.

It's been quiet here today for a change.The only thing I've done is clean some things up and put things away.I just hope I find them.

In the Mood

I'm not much of a Halloween person even though the origin of it is pretty interesting.
I'm more of a Thanksgiving and Christmas type.So I thought I would just post this,hubstead said it was just wrong.

ok I got them turned around but you get the picture.

Alright off to another subject.I have been watching the news and reading articles on the storm Sandy.I feel bad for the people in New York but at the same time people who live along the coast should know how to be prepared for a storm.Living in Florida and Louisanna for many years taught me some very valuable lessons.Always never let your guard down when it comes to storms.They tell you it's coming do what you got to do.I personally can live with out a cell phone(I know bite my tongue)but seriously if you can't get a signal you can't call right? Have a backup plan especially if you have young children,they are looking up to you when they are scared.I replied to a post earlier saying that when Hurricane Katrinas high winds came thru Birmingham,Alabama we lost power.No problem we had oil lamps that were on the wall and we lit them and went about our busy way.As far as cooking,we had a Coleman stove to cook on and make coffee.We were fine thru that ordeal.What was off was our neighbors came to our house wondering why we had lights.Oh yeah it was time for a lesson and a walk thru the house to show them we were prepared.I did not mind at all showing them how it was done.And as you know we are moving back home and the only thing(so far) we will have is water but no electric.No biggie for me I got my Coleman stove and my coffee pot,I'm good to go.Brother is going to let us use his generator,which,I really don't like using some eles stuff you know,I'm that type of person.But we are prepared.I got a can opener and a pot and fire,it's heaven to me.

Maybe this disaster is something that will jolt people into being more prepared.I pray for them and hope them all the best.

As much as we can Handle

A lady friend of mine when I was going through a rough time told me "God gives you as much as you can handle Ann".It didn't sink in till much years later that what she said was true.I watched as important and unimportant things slipped away and new things appeared.Human as we are, we experience joy and sorrow and pain and we cry and ask God why.He opens one door and shuts another.He gives and he takes away.This is life.So here is what I'm thinking,maybe he is telling people we have forgotten what is truely important in this life.We need to depend on him more and less on all the material things we have excess to.Simplicity is not a bad way to live,simplicity does not mean you have less,it means you have more.More peace of mind.Less stress and more time for family,friends and people who you care about.Things that you need to do that you enjoy.This is the way I see it.

When we get ready to move,we don't have much,really, we don't, and, I do not mind it at all.Everything we lost before has been replaced with very little but better things.Sometimes that happens we lose what we have only to be able to replace it with something better.But I have learned to not get stuff in excess.This where my simplicity comes in.I also now depend on talents that I have accumulated over the years.Like making a quilt or crocheting or sewing.Learning how to cook different stuff.I don't go with what in style,whats hot for today.We pick up only useful items ,like a phone,something we need.There is a difference between a want and a need.This has proven to be painful at times lol.But I got over it.

I guess what I am trying to say is for the people who have gone thru a rough time or are going thru a rough time,don't give up.One door may have closed but another one will open and it will be better than before.It could also completely change your life.It has mine.



I am a grain of sand on the beach that rode the waves of time to get here.

A Denium Quilt for Orion

We have several pairs of hubsteads jeans that were wore down in the crotch so I got them out today and made me a seed bag for the garden.(A bag that will hold the seeds when I am planting.)I still have to make a strap for it.I left the back pockets in,as soon as I get more batteries for my camera I'll take a picture.

I don't have enough for a big quilt so I decided to make a small quilt for Orions' bed.Hubstead is going to make him a real bed when we get home.In the meantime I have alot of black and some dark blue denium to mess with.I have to just figure out the designs I want to put on it.I made a full size quilt long time ago and I was really surprised how it turned out.I couldn't sew a straight line if I tried back then but it was fun.I've gotten better at it since then.If I sewed enough I could get really good but as some knows Orion decided to chew my sewing machine cord when he was little.Now I have to do it by hand.I still love him,he didn't know any better.Another thing on my list to get.

It has cooled down here in Texas and it's about time.I had my front door open numerous times already and letting the trailer air out.Cuts down on the electric bill.Orion loves it when the door is open,he thrives on running in and out(we don't have a screen door).I wll be putting one on the cabin though.Poor baby has been sick and I'm keeping an eye on him.His stomache has been messed up since yesterday.I have noticed that when the weather changes he gets like this.His eyes were watering the other night.

Well I just wanted to let ya'll know what's up and when I can do,I'll take some pictures.

My Lizard,Meteors

I was looking for something to put up top for a picture and found Charlie,my lizard.Charlie was done on a scrap piece of paper during one of my "slow" days.I have several pictures I did like this,done in Southwest designs.I have cactus and flowers and a rattlesnake.I took my water base markers and some water and took my fingertip and smeared some of the ink.Yeah I can amuse myself in such ways.I get bored I'll pick up something and start piddling with it.I've yet to find a frame for these pictures and can't quiet figure out how to place them.Most are 3x5(index card size).

Silly me,I love sitting outside and watching a good meteor shower.It was a little disappointing cause I only seen about 8,3 were very nice and the rest were small and quick.Orion thought it was special cause mommy was sitting outside with him and stayed on the steps.I was smart and got a chair.So a pot of coffee later and no really significant meteors I decided to come in.It was windy here this morning and yep I got the sniffles.But it was worth it.I don't get a chance to sit outside much especially during the summer so it felt really good.I put on a pair of sweat pants and got a blanket and was in heaven looking at the stars.And no mosquito bites!

It wasn't as dark as what I hoped it would be.The street lamp was a bit bright and some of the neighbors had their porch lights on.I'm going to try again when the next one comes thru and maybe we'll be on our property by then.Sister-in-law said it was dark there and we would have to install some kind of lights outside.

When I find these other pictures I'll post them,right now I haven't a clue where I put them.Which is what happens a lot.You know when you go looking for something and you find other stuff and say hey I was looking for that, well, I get side track and forget what I was looking for in the first place.

Have a Happy Sunday!

Everything Going Up

They warned us.

They said that this year and the years to follow that prices were on the rise.Everything from clothes to gas and all in between.Wow,my thoughts,pitiful.I can see why more Americans are doing what they are doing.I've even heard of people moving out of the USA because of this.Now small farms are popping up and people raising their own livestock.Being self sufficient is what they don't want.They want us to depend on them.But I also wonder how long it will be before they start new rules to regulate our small farms?Some states are already doing this from what I have read.

The last few years to me have been the worst.Prices are getting outrageous.I know how to sew clothes,cook,gardening(always room for improvement),livestock?we'll see lol.But if you have talents,use them.Now is the time to shine! Someone told me I have too many theories about life.We'll let's see if you think so.

They use pesticides on plants(Roundup) which causes all sorts of diseases in humans,THEREFORE,you have to go see a doctor,THEREFORE your insurance premiums go up,THEREFORE,your medications go up,THEREFORE,you have more side effects,THEREFORE,more doctor visits,SEE?

Now let's look at clothes.I have never in the 52 years I have been on this earth see clothes that fall apart now so easily.My hubstead has had to buy jeans every two months because in the seat of these jeans keep wearing thin and ripping.Not in the seams,in the fabric.Have you ever bought a pair of pants and washed them a couple of times and the thread comes out? or even a blouse or a shirt? That's what they do so either you fix it or you have to buy another one.It's set up like that.I tried to find the company listed so I could call and complain,yeah right,no number was listed.It was thru the store I bought them and would of had to take them back.No I wanted to let the company know how flimsy those were. Drats!

Appliances.This is a good one.Appliances are only meant to work so long and then you have to go get another.Have you notices that most appliances will last a year or two?Or even on some ,not even that? I knew a man who had a coffee maker that was HIS mothers' and he was still using it long after she died.WOW,all he had to do was buy a cord for it one time.Now that is a miracle.No wonder our landfills are packed.

Understand that I have seen such atrocities in this American.I wonder though would it be different if things were more American made,would it have an impact on what we use? I was looking thru a catalog of non electric appliances and reading reviews(which that's a must for me)and read one appliance I wanted was made of plastic and the hoses would break off.Was made in China.MMM don't want that,whatever happened to metal parts? Oh yeah that's right,plastic is the cheap way to go so consumers will spend more money,ahhh the agony.Not this gal.

And we wonder in all of this why we are stressed and angry and aggravated.See doctor visits.I am not going to list all the things wrong in our world because it would be too many pages,I'm sure you get the picture.Where are heading?remember the old ways?Yep that's where we are going.Instead of forward we are going backwards. I personally think that for people who don't earn enough money and are basically poor,it's the way to go.And we have plenty of people in America who are poor.I get so mad when people who are trying so hard only to get knocked down for their efforts.We have done that,plenty of times.And I said if I could help when times are good for us I would.
This is my promise to God for his blessings on us.Our garden won't only be for us,it'll also help my family so they can eat.We have to help each other in bad times.Hubstead and I have given food to friends who couldn't afford to eat before and I've took people to grocery stores and bought food,why?because when we got down,something or someone always helped us.That is how it works.We have been down to our last dollar and all of a sudden something comes about that we have money.It's alway been like that.

I'm just expressing that whatever we put out we get back.I also think that for some reason or another ,people have become cold,indifferent.That to me is what is pitiful.I don't ignore them but I don't let them get to me.This is my opinion and I am sticking to it.

Once we get this thing we are doing going on,I'd like to see others be able to do the same.I know it will be hard work,I'm ready for that(with the help of a pain pill every now and then but..)I'm in not so good of shape right now but that will change when we get home.

You know there is so much talent out there.I'd buy from someone who made things that I want quicker than buying things from overseas.The problem is either people can't get their stuff out there or they just don't have the means.Another theory coming on.Not everyone is bad,there are good people who have a hard time because of rules and regulation that apply.And they just don't get a chance.You have to make a stand and like they say if you can see it with your mind you can make it become reality.It may take a while,I got more patience than most people,makes a big difference.

Well I'm going to quit here because I could ramble on all day about this stuff but I won't so have a great THURSDAY!

Tuesday Morning Ramblins'

It's cool here this morning at 50 degrees.I love winter.Nothing like sitting in front of a crackling fire and all snuggled up in a warm blanket watching the snow fall,crap I just woke up lol.That's not gonna happen here,for one I don't have a fireplace.Eventually I would like to put a fireplace in the cabin,that would be nice and northern Alabama gets snow but not that often.My hubstead said here while back that he bet if we were there they would get a snowstorm of epic proportion.Thats what happened when we came here,Texas never had a deep snow,hubstead said it happened because we were here.yeah ok.Sounds creepy uh? Stranger things has happened.

I'm cooking a crock pot full of roast and veggies today for supper tonight.If something can go into one skillet or pot,I like it.I got a load of recipes for stuff like that.I talked to my sister-in-law yesterday and her brother passed away.I let her talk(I'm a good listener) and by the time we finished she was feeling better.Her and I are so much alike it's scary.I've never met anyone who likes the exact same things as myself.She can't wait til we get there and get away from all the noises she puts up with.She has a house full of people running in and out all the time.She was sick from a sinus/cold and she sounded bad.I tried to tell her of some remedies that I thought would help.I told her when we get home I'll doctor her right up and make her feel better.She wants to be able to come to our house and hide from her family,they live next door to her.I told her great she could help me unpack and stuff like that.Hubstead and brother will be busy exploring the property anyway.

Hubstead asked me last night how many chickens we are planning on getting.I said between 6-8 to get started.He said I guess we will have to have a rooster too uh?Yeah most likely.That was about the end of that conversation.He is still getting use to the idea.But ya know the more he thinks about it,I think he is getting into it cause he is looking stuff up on the internet and telling me to come look and see what he has found.
He looks at ponds which he would like to have and things he wants to make from wood.I do know that he may hestitate now about this but....he will feel different when we get there and he be busy,plus all the help he'll get.My crazy cousin told him,look,you'll like it when you can pee off your front porch and nobody will say anything to you!Yeah ok.

I did find a good way to keep Orion in the house when I have my front door open and I don't want him outside.My neighbor was throwing away her wooden baby crib and I used the side railing for a gate.Works wonders.I'm gonna have hubstead to put a piece of wood on the end and hinges so I can put it on the porch.He doesn't seem incline to jump over it or maybe because he is just too lazy to do it.

We were thinking of getting a used baby bed and doing some remodeling on it and making a dog bed out of it.Orion isn't going be the only dog we have I bet.He gets cold at night and likes to curl up in a ball so this would get him off the floor out of drafts.


Well I can smell my roast and the dishes are screaming to be washed and the kitchen needs to cleaned.I got a couple of loads of clothes to do and some to be put up.And not enough time in the day to do what needs to be done. What's a girl to do?

Tornado Watch today

We have a Tornado watch today here in Texas,nothing new on that home front.I wonder if the weather people knows that we sit in a bowl and everything passes over us?Yes it does,that's why we don't get much.We do get dust blowing all over the place during the summer.The weather man here has done some looking into the fact that everytime a storm approaches the city it either goes around or fizzles out.Well he hasn't found out too much,maybe it's just the way we are situated.We also get a lot of wind here.Great place for windmills.East of the city gets all the bad storms and heavy rain.I've been watching the weather for awhile now,mainly to see what this winter is going to do.We are hoping it stays fairly nice so we can move after the first of the year and it won't be really cold.I'm keeping my fingers crossed.Not like we haven't moved when it was cold before.

This was daybreak here this morning.We had a little rain and a couple of rumbles of thunder not too much just enough to let you know it was raining then it quit.
Starting to see some pop up showers west of here and a 40% chance of rain.It's 2:40 P.M.

Ok I've been trolling thru some blogs and have quite enjoyed reading them.I really like to read the ones where people start from scratch and take progress pictures.That's what I'm going to try to do as long as I got batteries.

I wanted to post this little thing-I got it from Ebay,it came from Jerusalem.It's an oil lamp and it's very small about 3 inches long and you can actually put olive oil in it.Well the problem with it?,it leaks the olive oil thru the pores.It's made of clay.But I just love it and unfortunately they don't make a bigger one.I asked.

The guy I talked to told me that this kind of oil lamp is what they use in the homes there.Just an interesting little tidbit here.


I can't wait to get going. I don't want to start any beadwork until we get home. I seem to not want to finish my beading if I get interrupted.I'm just that way.Once I start a design I want to finish it. So I'm gonna wait and see how much room we are going to have.I would really like to set up an area that is all mine to make a craft work area out of. I told hubstead he can have the barn to make a work shop.He is thinking of getting into woodworking .I hope so,he can make stuff for the cabin.Oh yeah he'll be busy.It will be so great to not have to move again ever.Oh one more little item,remember I said we were hoping that the well was ours? It is it's directly behind the barn on our property.YAH! we got water to work with.



It's starting to getting more cloudy here so everyone have a great Saturday!

Yah my books are here!

Well I got the start of a somewhat library going.I got my books in and the one that is Storey's Basic Country Skills is big.Mr.postman brought it right to me.This book is almost 2 inches thick and heavy(for me anyways).I've already been reading some it.564 pages of fun.It covers a lot of stuff.Does any one have this book? if not get it.
The other one I ordered Ed Begley,Jr.'s Guide to Substainable living covers his life in California and how he lives an eco type life.His neighbor at the time is Bill Nye the science guy who has helped him.Ed has converted his home into a friendly green environment,he tells you how he did it and its a really good and informative book.It also has pictures and of course pictures of Ed.

Heck even hubstead looked thru this book.I told him it would help him when we moved and he can get some ideas from it.He's not minding it too much as long as someone can show him some of the ropes.We got a big adventure coming so he is getting a little more excited because at least like he said it won't be here.I think he really hates this place and I know he despises his job.I wouldn't of minded to stayed here but it's just getting tooooo expensive to live.

It's cloudy and cold this morning,boy it feels so good after all the heat we had.I don't have neither the air or heater on,it feels just right.I'm hot natured anyways.Hubstead gets cold easy so every now then I turn the heat on to knock the chill out of the air.Back home when we lived in the house we didn't have central heat or air but we opened every window and door and had a cross breeze come in. Sometimes it was bad because of all the pollution there.When we got to Texas I couldn't believe all the crap I coughed up.Most time I do with a fan blowing on me especially at night. I think it's the humming noise it makes that helps me sleep.

I still haven't knocked a dent in this trailer yet. I'm going thru a few things and trying to get it packed.September went fast and now this month is going fast too.I got to get on the ball here.I have been watching the weather and thinking that come January or February if the weather holds out and don't snow,we might be able to make a run for it.50s' we can handle moving in no biggie but anything colder is a problem.We a way to heat the cabin and I have a way to cook and refrigerate some things so it's all good there.We have our bed,I told hubstead it will feel more like home as long as we got our bed to sleep in no matter how crappy the thing is.I was hoping to get a new bed this year but it wasn't in the stars.Well it's 8:04 a.m. and I think I am going back to bed and get warm.Orion has been making himself comfortable at the foot of the bed and hubstead has to sleep sideways LOL.He does that when he's cold.

So everyone have a great day today!

Will I miss Texas?

Yeah I think I will.A lot of my family has always migrated here from back east and spent time here.I love the open skies and the mesas.The air seems so much cleaner.I won't miss the heat though,I never thought air could be so hot.I have spent time in Arizona before and it was hot there but Texas? Well before someone gets an idea of the state,let me tell you,the heat will absolutely dry your skin out and take alot of water out of you.And yet the humidity in the southern states will kill ya too.I don't know which is worse.But all said I do like it here,where we are everything is nearby and convient.I do get scared of the storms cause we get some good ones.I've watched a tornado form near here while I was looking out the livingroom window,it skipped over Abilene and killed a guy east of here.The snow is something else but as long as you don't have to get out in it.And it don't really snow here that often.But it is cold!

My neighbors are devastated cause we are very quiet and they said they will probably get somebody loud next.We got an oil boom going on and most the people here are oil workers.I told them hopefully not.I know their dogs are gonna miss Orion.They run the fence and just bark at each other and have so much fun.Once we get home,Orion is not going to know what to do.He's gonna have to find something to start barking at LOL.

So lets see:
Won't miss the high electric bills
water bills
loud noises from the base
train tracks
people screeching their tires
party noises and loud stereos
cars with the boom boxes
the race track with the motorcycles
rattlesnakes and scorpions
everything being expensive

Will miss the open sky
fresh air
the windmills on the mesas
my H.E.B. store(that to cry for)
all the nice people we have met


So yeah we're ready to leave and I know I keep saying that.It's almost like I'm trying to convience myself and I guess I am.I said I'd never move back east but after much looking at land prices and all the states I looked at about rules and regulations,Alabama was still the best choice.After all its country living I was looking for.I also think that the older you get you want to be closer to your family,maybe that's me but I do miss my brother and sister-in-law.They miss us too.O.K. enough of that or I'll start crying again.



And I was reminded by my cousin that we'll have to put up with critters of all sorts,yellow jackets and hornets,poison ivy and oak,snakes of several varieties,clearing brush and trees.If I could would of reached thru the phone and strangled him LOL But that's ok nothing that I haven't done already.I told him yeah but I got you to help with some it.

My crazy cousin Mike

he a nutjob! but gotta love him.

My beautiful niece and her family.She had to go have that stomache thing put in to lose weight and she has done so good from it and she looks so much better.


My brother and sister-in-law(they would probably croak if they knew I posted this pic)they were going out to a halloween party.

A True Spooky Story

This is a true story and since it's getting close to Halloween I figured "why not". Hubstead and I had bought a old house back east and with all old houses,this came with a story.The couple who had previously had the house were living together and long ago they were more than friends,they loved each other.Then they seperated and married other people.Later as they got older they found each other again and were living together in the house she owned.I guess she really loved that old house because when she died ,she died in the first bedroom.Now she wasn't a mean person,as far as I knew and heard she was very nice.

Here comes the spooky part,when we moved in the realty agent told us about her dying in the house and I really didn't think nothing of it.One night I kept seeing something out of the corner of my eye and I just dimissed it and went on.Until I saw it again but this time I looked quick and it was a floating apparition of her! She didn't seem to be a threat or anything and sometimes I could hear her humming.

After living there for a couple of years I'd keep seeing her and nothing happened then one day hubstead was outside cutting grass and I was watching him from the kitchen window and I was washing dishes.I felt the floor vibrate(like a small earthquake) and a noise coming from the first bedroom and I walked in there and as I rounded the corner the bedroom door was closed and as I opened it I couldn't believe what I saw.Every piece of furniture in the room was away from the wall and was in the middle of the room.One of my dogs was up against the corner of the room shaking like a leaf and the other was standing by the door.I got them out of the room and pushed all the furniture back in place.Hubstead came in and I ask him if he came around the front and went in the bedroom and he said no.So I told him what happened and he just stood there and gave me a funny look.I was thinking am I crazy?

It never happened again but other pieces of furniture would be out of place. I could also hear the old floors creak like someone was walking across them.I was trying to fall asleep and I had my eyes closed and a face appeared and it was so evil,I slept on the couch that night.A few months before we got ready to move I could hear a little girl laughing and hear people in the kitchen talking and a radio playing old 1940s music.I would go in there and it would stop.I've woke up and the front door would be wide open (it was a new door and locks).I was talking to a friend long distance on the phone one night and the couch was facing the large front window and I looked up and saw something outside floating across it.I jumped up and ran to the door and opened it really quick and what ever it was ,was gone.It looked like a small face.

All of a sudden I could feel something evil starting to appear and I would just pray and pray it wouldn't hurt us.It never did but by that time my nerves were shot.We had lived there for 5 years.I was so glad to move from there and I tell people this story because there are things in this world we can't explain nor comprehend.Old houses do keep secrets. I accept this fact so it doesn't bother me anymore.I have had some really strange things happen to me in my life,you just go on and hope it doesn't effect your thinking.I guess that's what my Grandmother meant when she said I was special,you think? I believe she had the gift of a sixth sense.I love ya Grandmother.


Anyone out there have a good story?

Books versus Experience

I ordered three more books this week.I'm trying to get some reference books going.

Storey's Basic Country Skills: A Practical Guide to Self-Reliance, John Storey, Martha Storey

Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens, 3rd Edition, Gail Damerow
Condition: New

Ed Begley, Jr.'s Guide to Sustainable Living: Learning to Conserve Resources and Manage an Eco-Conscious Life [Paperback]

I figured I better have something on hand just in case.I've never read these books so it will be great to do some reading and learning.And we all know sometimes books don't let you see everything but experience will.I know how to do most stuff like cooking,washing clothes out by hand and putting them on the clothes line,sewing and mending,gardening and basic every day doings.I want to do my own canning and what ever else is out there.I really want to learn how to cook on a woodburning stove even though it's a pain in the ___.So I've heard.My Auntie made it look so easy when we would go see her.

I go through reading blogs everyday.And I find them to be most fascinating.When we get to our property and get somewhat settled in,I'm going to get my flowers planted and hopefully get some nice pictures to post.May take a year or two lol.But getting started is half the battle right? We have been watching the weather and geesh I see snow already.We were planning on moving at the end of the year but we may have to wait til March.I kinda do want to wait til then cause at least it may be cold but doable moving.We had 2 foot snowdrifts here a couple of winter ago.

Now if you look close enough to the side of the trailer,yep that's deep for here.Orion loved it and he jumped right in the middle of it.It snowed so much we couldn't even open the front door,we had to push it open,along with the gate too.We are not used to seeing so much snow.Florida will do that to you.I told hubstead we need to get some more winter clothes going.

Well have a great weekend everyone!

Orion the Amazing

Right when I think this crazy dog can't get any lazier,he does something amazing. I had my front door open night before last and it was getting dark.Remember I live in a trailer park(BLAH)and I have been keeping my door open a lot to air this place out.Now this hound barks at everything and anybody.After a few years of listening to him I have become familiar with what barks mean what.So I'm sitting here and all of a sudden he starts barking like mad. I figured he was just barking at someone walking down the road.Nope....this guy was standing in our driveway looking over towards the door and as soon as he saw me he starting walking away.We've had homes broke into before around here and I am so glad I got him because even if he is slightly aggressive he's still my little furry man.What's so amazing about this? He got in between me and the door and wouldn't let me out until that guy left.He's never done that before. So furry man got two milkbones for that.

Orion is strange that like,I've never had an animal that right when you think he isn't listening he does something unusual.He thinks(I think) he's human.He mimics things we do and he has a personality that won't quit.He gives dirty looks when he's mad at me brow furrowed too.He catches on pretty darn quick to things,he knows how to aggravate and I mean aggravate like a real person.He can sit and stare at me without blinking if he wants something really bad and not move a muscle. I have trained him to do some things.There has been times I have told him to do something the first time and he's done it.Example-my next door neighbor while we were talking outside her daughter gave him some treats and one was a snack bone and when we got ready to go in at first he was walking off and leaving it,I told him one time to bring it with him in the house and he got it and brought it in.His volcabulary covers about 35 to 40 words and sentences.I think thats pretty darn good.We do hand signals for him too.I taught him if I put my fingers to my lips and go sshhh he get quiet,another is tell him to come to me with just my finger crooking he comes.If he is in a rotten mood none of this applys,I can't get him to do squat lol.About once a month he gets in a cycle for around two days he won't listen,he won't mind and it's his way or no way at all.

Sometimes I'm the meany,I tell him he stinks and goes and hide,I go out and he thinks he's suppose to go.if he don't get to go God help hubstead if he's in bed.Orion will go jump all over the bed til hubby gets up.He is persistent.All in all the only bad habit he does have is he doesn't want anybody in our house ,near me or hubby.I was told that was the wolf instinct in him.We're his pack and nobody else is allowed.He also has to sniff everything we bring in(thats mainly looking for treats)I know alot of dogs are like this it's just I have never had a dog like this.I find him an amazing little creature.He's good about if you leave a plate of food at his face level he won't touch it.All I have to do is shake my head no.When he's ready to go to bed I'm suppose to go too.Yah he's got me wrapped around his paw! And he knows it Dang Dog!

More rain still!

It's gone from being mud to water puddles to an obstacle course to the truck.It's still raining. But no complaints until the grass has to be cut and we start finding critters in the trailer again lol.oohhh Just got a severe alert on hubsteads phone(scared the crap outta me)they have a flooding advisory out this morning.I didn't know his phone did that.He went and got him anew phone and I'm still learning how to use it.

In the meantime,over on the couch I have a sulking dog that would like to go out and I know he does,but,MOM it's raining!I don't want to go out and have to pee in the rain. I promise to learn how to use the commode like you and daddy.I bet that's what he's saying.He isn't budging to go out.Dang dog.