I have some pictures (finally!), sorry the quality is not that great, it is from my cell phone, and it takes OK pictures, this will give you an idea of what I get to look at every day. :)
The first 2 are my cabin, it’s a work in progress, we work on it everyday.
This is a beautiful sunset, the pictures do not do it justice.
Bob and Pekoe looking at some deer.
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12-28-09
Winds, they are big around here, last night we had the strongest winds yet, it made the first night’s weather seem like a walk in the park. A couple of gusts must have been 70-80 mph, it really made the cabin feel like it was going to blow over. Fortunately Bob had strengthened the cabin up a bit more, he put in a few more cross braces and the biggest improvement was a heavy cable that he strung up from the windward side. The winds seem to come mostly from the west to east, so he placed this cable from the top of the southwest corner of the cabin going to two different trees, that really made a big difference, the cabin didn’t shake nearly as much as it had before. I spent several hours last night in prayer, praying for the wind to calm down and praying that the cabin would hold up. Both prayers were answered, the wind died down around 2 in the morning, and the cabin held up just fine.
Today we found one of our fans, we placed in next to the wood stove, it really helps circulate the heat around the cabin. So far we are running 2 lights (low voltage), a fan, recharging my cell phone and laptop, and a portable radio on a 45 watt solar panel and one of our golf cart batteries. We don’t have all of our electrical systems set up yet, we have 4 more solar panels to hook up and the other 3 golf cart batteries. The only time we ran the single battery down to the point that the inverter started fussing about it was when we tried to recharge 3 of Bob’s 18 volt rechargeable batteries for his tools, we were also running the 2 lights and my laptop at the same time. Actually I stayed up late and watched a couple of movies on my laptop, and it was enough to run the golf cart battery down. I don’t know at what point the inverter starts fussing, but it will not allow the battery to run down completely, that is a good thing.…
Well, our first Christmas on our property, the day has really been just like all the other days, we have just been working on everything. We got the compost system set up, I spent several hours gathering grass and leaves for the base, if you want to learn more about composting toilets, go here: https://www.jenkinspublishing.com/humanure.html it’s pretty eye opening, and it WORKS! Nothing smells, believe me, I would know it in our small 16×16 cabin! It’s just as sanitary and works great as any other system, especially considering we don’t have running water.
We were invited to our new friend’s house for Christmas dinner, everyone here is so nice! We assumed that we would move out here and pretty much keep to ourselves, we didn’t expect to meet such nice people, we are truly blessed! Sorry if I keep referring to people without using their names, I am trying to maintain our privacy as well as our neighbor’s & friend’s privacy, I just feel it is better that way for everyone.
Woo hoo! I took a shower today, it’s amazing how good that feels after not getting one for a few days, we still don’t have our water systems installed, that will take some time, but our neighbor has graciously allowed us to use his water as much as we need.
Today I was tending some of my plants that I brought from Irving, I have 2 containers of garlic flavored chives, a rosemary plant, and a few other plants, they weren’t very happy with the trip, then change of altitude & weather, but I believe they will survive ok, I was watering the plants with a 5 gallon water container, the kind that goes on a water despenser found in offices and such, the water was left over from our last trip out here, I found a dead mouse in the bottom of the container (eeewwww!!!), poor thing, I hope it didn’t suffer too much, it was well preserved in the icy water, I guess I will not be using that container for drinking water! :)
Well, merry Christmas everyone, and have a safe and happy New Year!…
Finally, we made it, we left Irving TX for the last time. We had everything ready to go, our 28 foot trailer was packed, the bug was hooked up to a tow bar, the bug was full of boxes, the wiring on the trailer and the bug (for the tail lights) were hooked up (and working properly). All we had to do was get in the vehicles and go, it was a some time after 1 pm and we heard a crash, I went outside to see what had happened, my husband’s son had a car accident right outside, wow, we were minutes from leaving when this happened, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, but fortunately everyone involved was OK, though both cars were totaled, the other person involved had to go to the hospital, but the officers and the fire personnel there told me she would be OK. Anyhoo, when we pulled out of the driveway, I looked at my watch and it said 4:30 pm.
The trip was fairly uneventful, after the first few miles, we realized that the trailer would hold up, the tires would hold up (on all the vehicles) and the load would hold up just fine. We had to stop to adjust the tarps once, that took about an hour, we couldn’t just move one thing, it was like a big 3D puzzle, if you touched one thing, you had to move 3 other things, we finally got it straightened up and we were back on the road.
We arrived on my property at about 3:30 in the morning, the moon was all but full, we could see everything, including our breath, it was cold, COLD COLD! And the wind was blowing, I estimate around 15-20 MPH, gusting to 40 on occasion. Our cabin is not completed, it is, for the most part in the dry, meaning that our stuff inside doesn’t get wet when it rains, but some of the walls are basically heavy builder’s plastic and hog wire. We are sitting about 8 feet off the ground. I was really tired when we got in, once we got inside the cabin, I zonked out, even with all the rocking and rolling of the cabin, I told my husband that the cabin would fall whether I was awake or asleep, according to what our neighbor had told us, there had been heavier winds before and the cabin held up just fine, so I had confidence it would stay in one piece for one more night… fortunately I was right.
12-24-07
I found out the the wind gusts the first night were really close to 60-70 mph, and I believe it, but the cabin held up pretty well, nothing fell or blew off, even though it sounded and felt like something was about to give away a couple of times. Fortunately it has …
Christmas Eve the Science Channel ran an all nighter on their new show Invention Nation. With only six episodes so far it is definitely a statement to the innovative spirit of Americans.
Since wrapping presents lasted well into the morning hours, okay the show got our attention so wrapping didn’t go that fast, we were able to see the episodes from the beginning. Though we do admit that after midnight retention of what we learned definitely went down. Even with that we still had some interesting things stick in our tired brains. (Did we mention that the children woke us up before 7am). So please forgive us if this if it’s a little jumpy we just wanted to let you know about the show and the great ideas that stuck.
Chicago Department of the Environment was highlighted not only for it’s use of a green roof but it’s programs to educate the public about the advantages to building green and using alternative energy. The benefits of having a green roof were also highlighted and the hosts decided to even add one to their bus. One of the highlighted benefits was the improved insulation it provides, as well as improved use of the space. Since it is no longer a dark magnet for the suns’ heat and energy it also adds more plants to help clean the air.
Along with the thought of improving roof conditions in a city environment is a reflective roof. The people at Green Products has taken this a step further by using only natural ingredients to make their coating for the roof. So not only do you get the increased energy efficiency that a white roof gives, but can do so without the guilt of using synthetic products. Just think if we coated all the black topped roofs in American cities with this reflective material we could make a dent in the amount of energy the earth absorbs from the sun. since we are losing the reflective ice caps maybe we need to look more at this emerging roofing trend. This could help, not to the extent of the ice caps of course.
The show had many more Americans highlighted about how they are working to make their environment better not only for themselves but for us all. The only problem we really saw with this show was how little information was given about each person, project, or home highlighted. Also their web presence didn’t then fill in the gaps. So when looking for something specific we had to rely on memory and our old friend Google. Though if this show is intended to just get our imaginations revving then we have to say it did that. Seeing others working to improve their lifestyles, can be just the thing you need.
The show airs Monday nights at 10pm on the Science Channel. Also on December …
Focus The Nation is a movement that wants to find global warming solutions for America and they want to do it with the help of all Americans. They currently have four programs they are promoting to help America: National Teach-In, Green Democracy, 2% Solution, and Choose Your Future.
The National Teach-In is set for January 31, 2008 and is hoping to engage students and citizens alike with their political and decision makers in a dialogue about global warming studies. It is designed to be inclusive of all educational types from K-12 to universities/colleges, also civic organizations, as well as faith organizations. You can get involved by either going to an event or if none available helping to host one.
Green Democracy is a program to help get lawmakers involved in the National Teach-In by having events invite their elected officials to their event to have a round table discussion about global warming and it’s effects on their communities. This is a designed to be a true grass roots effort. They even supply step by step instructions to help getting through to Congressional representative’s offices. Since getting anything done there has to follow protocol. Focus The Nation is trying to set up virtual round tables for those Congressmen and women who are unable to get back to their districts to participate also.
The 2% Solution is a free, live, interactive webcast set for January 30, 2008 at 8pm eastern. Stephen Schneider, a Stanford University climate scientist, Hunter Lovins, a sustainability expert, and Van Jones, a green jobs pioneer, plus various youth climate leaders will host this discussion of global warming solutions. This webcast is being encouraged to be shown in school auditoriums and gyms, be assigned as homework, host a show in your church, clubhouse or even your living room.
Choose Your Future is a forum based initiative that hopes to open discussion and use the top five into priorities for action to be held up as a citizen endorsed agenda for political leaders in Washington DC and capitals across the country. Current threads for this forum are “Invest in the Clean Energy Revolution“, “Create Green Jobs, Save Energy“, “No New Coal Plants without “Capture and Sequestration“”, “Cap Pollution & Cut Checks (to All Americans)“, “Build Green: Carbon Neutral by 2030“, “Jumpstart Low Polluting Biofuel“, “Support Stronger Forests“, “Tax Global Warming Pollution“, “Cleaner Cars, California-Style“, “Get Efficient — Cut Energy, Save Money“.
We here at The Off-Grid Home encourage you to become involved even if it’s just watching the webcast or putting you two cents in on the forum. We are all part of this Earth so we must each decide whether we are going to be part of the problem or solution. We hope if you are reading us …
Well, believe it or not, I’m finally here, we left yesterday at about 4:30 in the afternoon (long story!), the trip was for the most part pretty uneventful, we got in about 3:30 in the morning, the moon was nearly full and it was great! Cold. but great, I just overheard someone mention that it is 28 degrees F tonight, it’s supposed to get down to 18 tonight, we have GOT to get that wood stove hooked up… another night snuggling under 6 or 7 blankets, it’s great! Sorry I have to be brief, I’m using my neighbor’s computer, and I’m ignoring everyone, so I have to cut this short, I’ll write more and post it in the coming days.…
This is my bug, it’s a ’69 VW Beetle, even though it looks rough, it’s in pretty good shape, the engine is in great shape, the body is in great shape, very little rust, it shifts good, we just replaced the tires, actually put military tires on the rear, these have a very aggressive tread, they will take just about any abuse/road I can throw at it.
We plan on making it a Baja Bug, we will trim the fenders, add a different exhaust, paint it in camouflage colors (tan, green and black), I’m sure my husband has more plans for this bug, he had many of these when he was younger, and loves the bug. This car will take the abuse of the dirt roads in the mountains where I live, every one else’s cars out there are beat up, even newer cars & trucks are bounced to death in a year or so, my bug will not fall apart because of the roads, and anything that does need to be repaired, replaced or improved will cost much less and be much easier to do.
The last 2 times I was out at my property, I had my small pickup truck, and it worked OK out there, but it was clear that the roads were going to take their toll on my truck in very short order, they refer the roads as “washboard” and that is a pretty good description. I can’t wait to drive my little bug on the rough roads out there. :)…
Well, it finally stopped raining, but the temp dropped to well below freezing for a couple of days, so we decided to wait until the weather warmed up a bit, doesn’t sound like we are very hardy pioneers… well the reason is a very good one, our food. We have several cases full of canned food and we couldn’t afford to allow it to freeze. We are relying on this food to keep us fed through this winter, so we can’t afford to let anything happen to it.
It got above freezing each day, but it got well below freezing each night (28 F), we knew it would take at least 12 hours to travel the 500 miles we had to go, there would not have been enough time to get there and still have enough time to properly stow our food and keep it from freezing.
The last two nights, we used a portable heater to keep our food from freezing on the trailer, the food is packed in a big cage in the middle of the trailer, we wanted to take the food off the trailer and take it into the house but getting to the food meant removing too many other things off the trailer, it became painfully obvious that we had to find a way to keep the food above freezing, there was no way we were going to get everything off the trailer to get to the food. So we used heavy builder’s plastic and canvas tarps to enclose the cage, then we placed a piece of stainless steel panel inside the cage as a base, and placed a small space heater on the stainless steel panel, there was a good 3 feet of clear space between the front of the heater and the first set of boxes so it was safe. We secured the whole thing to keep cats or any other animals from getting inside, we have lots of feral cats running around here and they would have done just about anything to get inside the heated space, it worked out great, our food stayed good, and no animals got inside.
Now that the freezing weather is past, all we have to do is make sure the vehicles are ready to go, we have to wire up the VW bug’s tail lights so that while it’s being towed, it will be legal (the brake lights will come on when I brake), and tweak the trailer load. We should be leaving for the final trip either Tuesday or Wednesday. Hopefully the next post I make will be from my property.
Oh, one last thing, I can send messages from my cell phone to this blog, the problem is I don’t do the text thing very well, I can type on a regular keyboard just fine, but it takes me a bit more time and …
Latest empty gesture from Bali is suggestion we turn off all power for one hour on one night next March. As a society, we’re scared of the dark – lets turn the lights off every night, and get back to reality.…
Ugggg! Will it ever stop raining? I am thankful that we aren’t experiencing the ice like our neighbors to the north… Today I went outside to check on our stuff, our last load of stuff is sitting out on a trailer, it’s covered with builders plastic, it’s basically super heavy plastic, that’s the only thing protecting our belongings. It was still raining a little when I went outside, I noticed that water had pooled in places on the plastic, gallons of cold water threatened to soak everything underneath it. I was able to pull the plastic taught and let the water drain out onto the ground. Ohhhh, it was cold as it flowed over my arms, refreshing!!! It appears so far that everything is OK under the plastic, we will find out when we unload it.
Now on to a more pleasant subject, I have had lots of fun driving my new/old bug! I drove it over to my Dad’s house to show it off, he lives about 30 minutes away, that gave me a chance to try out driving in it, one thing I learned, I’m glad I’m not driving it to west Texas, I will be towing it, just driving to my Dad’s house and back was fun but rough, I don’t think I’d like being rattled for 12 hours. It does need some work, the dash has gaping holes, in case you aren’t familiar with old bugs, the engine is in the rear, the front has the gas tank, wires, the spare tire and the rest is open space, it’s the trunk. There used to be a radio and speakers in the dash, these are missing, and the glove box is missing too, you can look right through from the front seat into the “trunk” area, that means that all the cold air comes right in through all the holes in the dash to the inside of the cab. My husband did have pity on me though, he took a can of spray foam and plastic bags and filled up all the holes in the dash, at least no more air leaks in. Once we get settled in at our new home, he will work on a better solution. When I got to my Dad’s house, he came out and looked it over, just like most dad’s, he wanted to pop the hood, so I showed him the trunk, the first thing he noticed was all the foam, not standard issue on most bugs, I explained that it was temporary. Next I showed him the motor, I don’t think he is very familiar with bug engines, he is a real do it yourself kind of man though, and has changed out his fair share of motors on many other vehicles, so he was able to appreciate the simplicity and durability of the elegant engine that was staring …
One of the ways I will be cooking off-grid is to use the sun, it’s free, nearly always available where I live, and it works great! My first attempt was about a month ago, it was the last time my husband and I went to our property to take a trailer load of stuff out there. We spent a week there lugging boxes of stuff across the dry creek bed and over to our cabin. My mother in law came out with us, yes we are trying to get her to move out there as well, we figured the best way to convince her what a great place it is was to show her. On one of the days we were there, my husband and my MIL went to our other neighbor’s house around the mountain from us, I haven’t been over there yet, but I understand they have a beautiful rock garden, as my MIL is a major rock hound (she belongs to at least 2 gem and mineral clubs and is very active in them), anyhoo she and my husband went over to see the rock garden, I was left at the cabin on my own, I got a bit bored and decided to work on making a quick solar oven.
I had lots of various materials laying about, I took a medium sized cardboard box, this is a box that reams of copy paper come in, it has a lid that fits over the top and comes completely off, I don’t have the exact dimensions of the box, but it holds standard size copy paper (8.5×11), 2 reams wide and 6 reams deep, I hope that makes sense (grin). I took the lid and cut a flap, I measured in on the top about an inch or so from the edge, I cut three sides and left one side attached, I creased that side so it would open and close. Next I took some clear, heavy duty plastic wrap and lined the opening in the lid, I used heavy box tape to secure the plastic. I had purchased several solar or space blankets, these are silver colored mylar film. I lined the box with the space blanket, I didn’t want to cut it as this was just a temporary oven. The mylar hung over the sides, but that was OK, I put some canned food in the box, placed the lid on the box, propped it up facing the sun and waited. The box heated up pretty well, but I wanted to improve the heating, so I took a black plastic trash bag, I put it inside the box and placed the canned food on it and folded the excess bag over the cans. I replaced the lid and waited again. While waiting, I decided that I wanted some hot water too, I found a half full …
