I can't stand it anymore. I've decided it's time to rent a full storage space.
The one's at the park are actually boat storage with dirt floors. That makes them less than half the price of other "climate controlled" units around here. I have been renting a half of one with my stuff on pallets. After the last rain, I was putting more stuff in and the mud was awful. I came out one inch of mud on my shoes.

A neighbor just put a floor in his unit. It really made a difference. I thought I'd put some plywood on some pallets and make a floor I could take with me.

I really need to clean out the trailer and have a place to do some work, even if it's only warping a small loom. I simply am too crowded to do anything but sit at the computer or lie down. It's making me nuts!

Step One for Homesteading

I can find tons of info on how to build a house out of just about anything for cheap, how to build solar systems, how to build, well, you name it. What I can't find, is how to get the land to build on! Somehow, I have to get enough money to buy land.

Seems there are two choices - save money from what I have - which is precious little. Or make money - which is coming very slowly. Or the third option would be to win the lottery. Ok, two options.

I am working on increasing my income from my online work. Writing didn't work out for me, but Zazzle hasn't been doing too badly. I do need to put more time in and slow down on the family history stuff.

Another option would be to convert my old camper into solar electric. My electric bill is pretty low, but I could save the money and put it aside for land. Still at about $40 a month, that's $480 a year. It would take about 10 years to even get close to having enough. And that's after spending a lot of money on equipment. Of course it would be good to have on hand in case of emergency. So maybe that is step one.

I'd love to run out and buy the stuff I need, but that is beyond my means. So I will have to collect the stuff as I go. I need to experiment with low-cost systems until I feel ready to jump in with a bigger system. I just saw a tent cooler that ran off of a small rechargeable batter that looked like a battery for a fence charger. Wonder if that would work? If I can start with a small battery, I can charge it with the power from the camper. Or I could just buy a deep cycle battery from Walmart.

I'll have to do some research. All suggestions would be appreciated.

The Family Has Taken Over my Life

I know I haven't been writing much lately. I've been obsessed with family history. It's like a puzzle that won't let go. Some days I wake up, eat and sleep the mystery. Sometimes I discover something that only leads to more questions. Here's an example.
I thought I had everything I could find on my great-great grandmother Eliza Jane Welch Pettey. I knew when she was born and when she died. I knew who her parents where, although I didn't know too much about them. I knew who she married and who her children were. I even knew where she was buried and had even visited her grave. What I didn't know, surprised me.
During a visit to my dad's I happened to pick up a book of our family history. I scanned through it and just by chance started reading about Eliza Jane meeting William H. Pettey, my g-g-grandfather. But what startled me was the comment that she was living with her sister, Fannie, in Nacogdoches. I didn't even know she had a sister.
Fannie was married to Mathias Myers so off to search for census records. Sure enough, I found Mathias Myers, Sarah F. (Frances "Fannie") a couple of children and "sister-in-law" Eliza Jane Welch at 16 years of age. The sisters both gave their father's birth place as Ireland. I already had found that Eliza's father was a James Welch from Dublin Ireland, born in 1830. And she listed her mother as Martha Willis from Georgia. I had even found a record of their marriage in 1854 in Lawrence County Alabama.

Where did Martha go?

A Miracle and Payback

I wasn't expecting a miracle. I had a friend who had said she and her husband would try to help me buy a car. At first, they said they'd help once they sold their extra car. But there was a problem with the title. So I didn't get too excited. I know how long things take sometimes. I was happy that they were thinking of me and wanted to help.
Then the miracle happened. I got a text message that they were going to give me a van. I just couldn't believe it. I had signed up for Charity Cars online but didn't expect to see any results from that for a LONG time. I was pretty far down on the list and couldn't find my way around the web site. It was not an easy web site to navigate.
So we met last week and went to the registry and I now have a van. I can't really believe it yet. I still feel like I'm borrowing a car. That's OK too. I will take better care of it that way. I get almost weepy when I think about how generous they were and how it has changed my life. It's just an amazing feeling to be able to go to the store any time I want. People can invite me over to visit and I don't have to ask for a ride.

Of course, now, I want to pay it forward. My new neighbors don't have a car. I've taken them to the store a couple of times. The husband is a locksmith and he fixed the lock on my camper. I had lost the key for it and he had keys that just happened to fit and adjusted it for the sagging door. I like the barter system.
But the other night they asked for a ride to a friend's house, which was some distance away, to pick up cigarettes. I didn't want to drive that far, and I didn't want to go right that minute. I had just settled down for the evening and was sipping a cold one and watching my little lizard buddy on the plant shelf stalk a fly. (I live an exciting life.)
I did take them but I was a teeny bit annoyed. When I thought about it, I realized I had always asked people to take me when it was convenient for them usually when they were going anyway. I only asked someone to drive me to the nearest corner store if I really needed something that day.
I really want to help, but I feel like I need to decide what I am willing to do.I end up doing what people ask and then being annoyed because it wasn't what I really wanted to do.
I will take them to the store when I'm going anyway or we've made plans to go. Or I'll take them to the corner store and even loan them money for cigarettes if they are desperate.  I will not drive them to Walmart which is miles away in the next town just because that's where they'd rather shop. I want to help but I don't have unlimited gas money and I treasure my time.
I hope I'm not being selfish after all the generosity that has been shown to me. I'm torn with trying to make a decision on how to handle this.

Results of the Great Experiment

My seeds have all sprouted and look healthy even though I was away for the weekend. This is such a great way to start seeds if you have to be traveling or just get too busy to pay attention. I have three different types of plants growing so you can't judge by the amount of growth. What I was looking at was how much water was used up when I came home from my visit. They all three had a tiny bit of water left in the reservoir but all the rest had been sucked up into the soil.
The conclusion is - - they all worked the SAME! It doesn't matter which method you use, they all work! There may be more efficient ways to start seeds if you're doing a huge garden, but for my needs, this is just perfect! This system is great for starting seeds,and growing herbs and veggies like lettuce that don't take up a ton soil.

The Great Experiment

I needed some pots to start some seeds for my fall garden. I decided to experiment with self-watering (actually self-regulating, you still have to water but not as often) containers made from soda bottles. I've seen so many ways to make these. Most are pretty similar but just enough different that it made me wonder which one works the best. So, I started with three bottles. One just has holes drilled in the neck, one has a wick made out of paper towels and one has a yarn wick.

All three were pretty easy to make. The first one has a bunch of holes in the cap, around the neck and the shoulder of the bottles. I cut it off below the shoulder.


The instructions said to use a straw as a filler hole and to drill a overflow hole in the bottom third of the water reservoir, but I didn't have any straws so I just made a hole that can serve as a filler hole and an overflow hole.

I know it's a little hard to see, but it's a half-moon shaped hole just about where the bottom of the label was.

The second one has a wick made from two paper towels.  One towel is folded in half, and folded again. Then it's folded in half the other way and rolled into a tube. The tube is then set in the center of the second paper towel and pushed about halfway through the mouth of the bottle. The long tail of the second paper towel is spread out to catch the soil when it is added.
I have some reservations about how long the paper towels will last. I've seen some involving sponges and old tee shirts. Might give that a try later.


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Here's a video of how to do this one

The third one just has one hole with a length of yarn (or string) through it. One end will sit in the water reservoir and the other will be up in the soil.

All of the tops were inverted and pushed down into the ends of the other section of the bottle.






Then I put soil in the containers and watered it from the top to get everything working. The one with holes just gushed water and the overflow hole did its job. The one with the paper wick slowly trickled down and the water is amazingly clean. The yarn wick one took the longest to flow down. The soil is still a bit soupy.

I planted the seeds and now I wait. I will report back as things develop.

Mini Gardening in an RV Park

Some things in my little container garden are coming in pretty good. The Swiss Chard that I planted in the shoe bag is fantastic. I almost hate to pick it. It's just huge and beautiful. But I don't like to let food go to waste either.


The carrots are doing well too. I wish I had planted more but there is still the fall season.

I have some chard and carrots cooking in the crock pot as I write.

That's a hammer on the table for size.

 The tomatoes are not doing well - again. I'm trying a home made wilt spray that seems to be working. I'll take before an after pictures if it works. Onions are doing fine. I just replanted some mint. I've got some mango seeds sprouting and even some Jerusalem artichoke from the side of the road.

I've been given some houseplants too, not that I need them, but they're sort of like stray animals...I even adopted a Purple Fountain Grass from the dumpster...