Day 2 - Guard Dog Adopts Housedog Status

Smoky has decided to become a house dog after a lifetime as a livestock guard dog. He forces his way in at night and he's stronger than I am, so in he comes. This makes night-time visits to the loo a bit tricky.

Day One

I'm starting a bit of photo journalism here. I"m farm sitting and this is what happens when you go out to do chores in tall, wet grass. My feet are so wet that they are sliding around my garden clogs.

First Real Try at Solar Cooking

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I got a whiff of propane this morning. That usually means I'm running out of lp gas. I have wanted to try solar cooking for some time and this might be the perfect time to give it  go.

I never seemed to have the right components together at the same time. I did have a box and some tin foil so I decided to try a simple prototype and see what would happen. I actually put in cooked food to see if it would reheat it. 

I used a cardboard box that I painted black on the outside. Then I realized that almost none of the black was going to be facing the sun. I lined the inside of the box with tin foil and put a scrap of black cloth in the bottom. I didn't have any glass to cover it with so I put the bowl in an oven bag. I put in some rice and sausage and let it heat for about 2 hours. It did work. The bowl was so hot I needed pot holders. The sausage was just right but the rice was just barely warm. Guess I should have stirred it once or twice. 

The box wasn't very large so I could only put a small bowl in it. I'd like to try a larger box and maybe make one out of wood so it wouldn't fall apart if it rains. 

Of course I could pop this in the microwave and have it ready to eat in 2 minutes, and I have a nice crock pot for all day cooking, but the crock pot actually helps heat up the trailer. Solar cooking is done outside, is free and I'm learning something. 

What the Heck is Zazzle?

In spite of Zazzle's growing popularity, there are still folks out there who ask me what it is. I thought I'd explain it a bit.

Sleeping Bulldog Tote Bag by SpotsDogHouse
See more Bulldog Bags

• Zazzle is a print on demand company. It's main appeal is that you can order as few as one item. Most printing places have a minimum of dozens of a particular design.
• You can design your own product or you can buy one that is already designed for you. You can even customize many ready-made designs.
• The ready-made products are designed by people like me who group them together in a virtual store. When someone buys a product with my design, I get a royalty. It may be only pennies or a dollar or two but it adds up.
• Zazzle offers more than just tee shirts and coffee mugs. There are pendants, trophies, stationary, cell phone cases, mouse pads, jewelry, electronics, housewares, hats, belt buckles and more items than I can list. They come out with new items all the time.
• From a few items I've seen they are high quality products. You can read the reviews to get an idea of what others thought.
• Zazzle products make great gifts. You can even get awards for your club or activity.

Take a look at my stores at
Ragtimelil       
SpotsDogHouse
RagtimelilsMugs         
RagtimeStudio

The Campaign for Land

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.