There's Texas and Then There's Texas

I've been thinking a lot the past couple of days about West Texas. I've never been there except to drive through. I've never really wanted to live in a desert. The thought of not having water always seemed like an insurmountable obstacle. But I found an article about a guy who is doing just that. He's totally off the grid and stores water from the infrequent rains. (to the tune of nine storage tanks.)
It seems that land is still pretty cheap there. All I'd need is 2 or 3 thousand dollars. How I'm going to get that, I have no idea but it almost seems doable.
In the meantime, I can be working on my solar system. No, not THAT solar system. The one that gives me lights, fan and a computer.
I have been reluctant to leave the dogs in the camper in the summer. If the power ever goes off (and it has - for no apparent reason) the dogs would die from the heat. It would be like leaving them in a car in the sun. It finally dawned on me that I could start working on my solar power by getting a deep cycle battery and powering either a 12V fan (expensive for a good one) or getting a (cheaper option) converter to run one of the fans I already have. I don't know if that would be enough, but it would be worth a try. In any case, it would give me a source of light (and a fan) when the power does go off. For now, I could charge it from my AC power.
Now I just need cash for the battery and the converter. I already have a battery charger. So buy lots of stuff from my Zazzle store!

Naps

I've had a bad spell of no energy and too many naps. I also realized I'm feeling a bit shaky when I grocery shop in the morning. I have to go in the morning because it gets too hot to leave the dogs in the camper later in the day. If the power ever went off, it would be like leaving them in a parked car in the sun.
Anyway, I thought it might be my blood sugar. I've had low blood sugar for many years but it seems to be affecting me more as I get older. I started paying more attention and eating a meal or a snack every couple of hours. I was amazed at how much energy I had the past couple of weeks.
Today, though, I was a bit shaky in the grocery store and when I got home, I simply had to lie down and take a nap. I slept really hard and I'm still trying to wake up. I had help with all the noise in the park. People are mowing the grass and weed-wacking and I can hear my neighbor's conversations. I really long for some peace and quiet.

Do I Love It?

Wow. I've actually been cleaning out here. I ask myself two questions - is it useful and/or do I love it. If it's no on both, out it goes.
And I'm doing the "throw one thing out a day" method. I run out of steam if I try to do it all in one day. Still, it's making progress. It's amazing what I hang onto thinking I might use it someday.

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.