Latest Issue

The latest issue of Hobby Farm Home came in the mail last week, yay!

I spent some time over Memorial Weekend sitting outside perusing the magazine.

This is the only magazine subscription I have.

There are always good articles and lots of useful information for the hobby farm enthusiast.

Being away from home, the chickens, the garden... I thought maybe the desire to have a hobby farm would dissipate.

It hasn't.

Now, more than ever, both CountryBoy and I dream of having a small farm one day.

Meanwhile, we're working towards that goal and when the time is right it will happen.

We just have to hang in there!

Till next time,

Truck Issues

A couple of years ago CountryBoy and I bought a truck and a 5th wheel in hopes that he would get back in his trade as a Millwright and would be traveling from job to job.  They were a package deal as an older couple had just traded them both in for an RV.

They were in pretty good shape and the price was beyond unbelievable and we couldn't pass them up.

The job thing didn't happen right away but we now had a super nice 5th wheel to go camping, which we thoroughly enjoy doing, and CountryBoy had a truck again.  When ya' live in the country, ya' gotta have a truck!

A year ago last March he finally got back in his field of work and we are now living in the 5th wheel and the truck has traveled a few miles to get from Florida to the western part of the United States.

Little by little the truck started having some issues.  Understandably so.  After all, it's a 1997 Dodge 2500 Ram with 233,000+ miles on it!  It's also a Cummins Turbo Diesel and we're told those engines will last forevah... let's hope they're right.

With being told that and looking at a comparable new Dodge truck (with a whopping price tag of $54,000 YIKES!) we decided it would be worth it to keep this one and just fix things as needed.

So, last November, we had the front brakes replaced and the Master Cylinder.  (Always good to have brakes when going over these mountains.  Just sayin'!)

Then, the cruise control quit and the heat/AC would only blow out the defrost vents and not the front vents.

The fuel gauge quit working.  (It's kind of a good thing to know how much fuel you have since gas stations are few and far between out here.)

The interior brake and ABS brake lights stayed on making us wonder if something was wrong with the brakes again.

And the dash?  Ugh.  Initially there was one tiny crack when we bought it.  Now?  Cracked to smithereens and held together with duct tape.  At least the duct tape was almost the same color as the dash.  Sigh.

We decided it was time to start taking care of some of these issues.

If you've been following along on Facebook, then you know that it took four phases to get it all done.

Phase 1 was fixing the vacuum lines (that had two leaks in them) resulting in ice cold air blowing through the front vents and a cruise control that now works.  Parts were ordered for the brake light and fuel gauge issue.

Phase 2 was replacing the brake light sensor and an oil change.  Still waiting on the part for the fuel gauge.

In between Phases 2 and 3 I ordered a new dash and I worked on defogging the headlights.

The fuel gauge part finally came in the same day as the new dash so an appointment was made for the following week.  Fixing the fuel gauge was going to be tedious as they had to drop the fuel tank to get to where the new part needed to go.

Meanwhile, over the weekend, CountryBoy was going to see if he could install the new dash since I was told by the guy at the parts store that it should be fairly simple.  Remove the front, remove some screws and it should snap in to place.

Yea right!

Getting the old dash out was the only fairly simple thing about it since it was so brittle and cracked.

Nice!  Not.  Quite embarrassing actually.

But, once it was removed, there were tons of little screws holding the dash in place that were underneath and screwed in from BEHIND.  Whaaaaa?!  What happened to a few screws and being snapped in to place?

There was no way it could be done without removing the ENTIRE dash and ALL components which would mean it would cost a fortune for labor alone.

Ugh!  If I'da known that I wouldn't have ordered it.

So we put the new dash back in the box and the truck looked like this for several days...

Since the old dash was literally in pieces we had no other choice but to find the best way and the best deal to have the new dash installed.

The day finally came to get the fuel gauge fixed, Phase 3, and I was crossing my fingers that the dash would get done as well if at all possible.

It took half the day to fix the fuel gauge so there was no time left to tackle the dash.  Which ended up being a good thing.

After asking around town and the service rep as to who might be able to install the dash for me, I was directed to a body shop in town.  They gave me a quote of less than HALF of what the dealer would've charged.

So, the following day Phase 4 began.

I left the truck with them overnight so they would not need to rush.  Being an older truck, we just weren't sure what they would run into while trying to install the dash.

I have to say that I am SO glad I found them!  Not only did it cost considerably less to install they also went above and beyond.  Being an older truck with lots of brittle plastic they spent a lot of time plastic welding pieces together and fixing pieces that were broken.

They also buffed some scratches out of the paint in several spots, washed the truck and vacuumed inside.  Needless to say, we were VERY pleased with their work AND with the look of our 'new' truck!

(See all the dust on the black part of the dash?  Yea, it's EVERYWHERE here.  ALL the time. sigh)

I topped off the tank while in town and smiled as I headed back home 'cruising' over the mountains with the cruise control, the AC blowing in my face and watching the fuel gauge gradually move without any brake lights staring at me while seeing a pretty, non-duct-taped dash in front of me!

Yea, it took a while to get all that done and it cost a few bucks but it was still less than a couple months worth of payments on a new truck.  Well worth it in the end.

I also want to give a shout-out to my sister-in-law who faithfully 'rescued' me each and every time I dropped the truck off.  Otherwise, my bottom would've become shaped like a plastic lawn chair and all the dealer employees would've known me by my first name.  Thanks Sis!

This morning CountryBoy headed off to work quite pleased with his truck again!

Till next time,

Bits 'O This & That

Good morning friends!

In a bit I will be taking CountryBoy's truck to the shop for Phase 3 of fixing all the issues.  (I will do a past on all that we had done to it.)  This is going to be a major, time-consuming task (and probably quite expensive but still cheaper than a new truck!).

To kill the time, my sister-in-law is graciously coming to pick me up and we are going to head over to Kingman, AZ.  We will probably find a Hobby Lobby there, check out other shopping opportunities that we don't have in Bullhead and we will definitely stop at Cracker Barrel for some good 'ole country cookin' (and a bit of shopping at the country store!).

Yesterday, I tried to update the blog a bit... change the layout, add some things, remove some things and change the font.  For some reason, the fonts would not change.  They would change in the design area but not on the blog itself.  Frustrating.  I'm not totally pleased with the look yet so I will try again another day.  Maybe Blogger was having a bad day!

In other news, my tomato plant that I started from seed in an empty kitty litter bucket (using what was on hand) has some blooms on it, yay!

Two more blooms have appeared since this photo was taken.  I'm excited and hoping we'll get some nice tomatoes from this plant.

It's a far cry from the garden I planted last year while at home but hey, at least this is something and I've enjoyed nurturing and watching it grow.

Have you got any veggies growing?

Till next time,

The Pink Scarf Project

Today I am starting a new project that I am really excited about!

Yes, it does involve yarn but it's the reason behind this new project that has me so excited.

See, I am going to be participating in The Pink Scarf Project hosted by Vicki at 2 Bags Full.

To quote Vicki, The Pink Scarf Project has only one goal - "To bring a smile to the face of a woman who is fighting her own battle with breast cancer."

I, personally, have lost several friends to the horrible disease of cancer.  To be able to honor and remember them by participating in this project and to, in turn, put a smile on someone's face who is currently battling this disease in the form of breast cancer gives me great pleasure.

I will be making a couple of scarves; a frilly, knitted ruffle scarf and the other a simple two-stitch crochet scarf out of some shimmery rainbow boucle yarn.

As I am working on each scarf I will be praying for the recipient of that scarf.

This is a year long project that started last October and will be coming to a close this October.

If you would like to participate, please check out the details by clicking HERE.  You don't necessarily have to knit, crochet or sew.  You can participate by purchasing a scarf as long as it's primarily pink.

This would also be a great project for a ladies club, craft group, or church project.

I would love to see many of my friends, family, church family, followers, etc. get involved in this simple yet effective and meaningful project.  If you decide to participate I would love to know!

This afternoon I will proudly be adding The Pink Scarf Project badge to my sidebar.  Meanwhile, I want to get started on the first scarf, yay!

Till next time,

Time Flies

On the 17th of last month I was heading to the airport in the city of Lost Wages Las Vegas to pick up our dear friends from back home who had taken their vacation time to come out west to visit with us.

It's hard to believe that a month has already gone by since their visit.  It seemed to take forever for April 17 (and for them) to get here, then the week they were here FLEW by and here it is a month later already.  My how time flies!  I miss them.  If they weren't about to have their first grandbaby I'd kidnap them.

I digress...

We had an AMAZING time!  And saw AMAZING sights!

They were only going to be here for a week so I got busy planning an itinerary that would allow us to pack in as much sight-seeing as possible which included the Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, Route 66, old mines and mining towns, the Joshua Tree forest and Nelson's Landing overlooking the Colorado River.  We also dined at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. on the Colorado River and went 4-wheeling through the desert and over a mountain ridge.  Stayed a night at the Grand Canyon and even got to stay at a Bed & Breakfast in Williams, the gateway to the Grand Canyon and such a cute town!

Of course, LOTS of photos were shot between her and I while our Hubby's toted our camera equipment.  (We have awesome Hubby's!)

I'm slowly going through all the photos and picking out my faves.  I'll show them to you a few at a time so you don't get bored and overwhelmed.

For starters, we took the bus tour that traveled along the western side of the Canyon.  There were nine stops all together and we got off at almost every one of them.

If you look close you can see part of the Colorado River in the center of the photo.

At one of the stops I passed this tree and knew I had to try and capture it with the wispy clouds behind it...

The tree seems to be showing off the canyon and saying 'Tada, here is one of the greatest wonders of the world for your viewing pleasure'!

The sun is extremely harsh here so getting a decent shot where the image is washed out and over-exposed is somewhat of a challenge.  I shot the same photo several times using different exposures and ISO settings.  It was good practice.

We spent two days at the canyon so I'll have a few more canyon shots to show you but, for now, I hope y'all have a wonderful weekend and thanks for stopping by!

Till next time,

Odds & Ends

Wildlife....

Incoming!

The birds go absolutely NUTS when they discover that I've filled their feeder with tasty seeds.

At any given time the platform will be full of birds all vying for the seeds.

And for the rest of the birds (that won't fit on the platform because there's no room) there are plenty of seeds on the ground that have been raked out of the feeder.

I'm amazed that I have more birds here in the desert hitting this one feeder than I had back home in the country where I had several feeders.  Go figure!

And here's Miss LizzieBelle chillin' with her chew stick...

I just love her!

Simplifying...

My quest to simplify our life began while we were still living in our house back home.

Now that we're living in the fifth wheel, my quest to simplify continues even more so.

Space is limited.

Storage space is priceless.

Currently, I'm focusing on simplifying the masses of cleaning agents that I've accumulated and have run out of room to store.

I'm also wanting to steer away from commercially made cleaners laden with tons of chemicals.

My first non-toxic 'green' cleaning product will be a multi-purpose cleaner made of distilled vinegar, grapefruit peels and mint.  You can read more about it HERE.

Don'tcha just love that mason jar?  It's a half-gallon antique blue Ball mason jar.

I found several of them at a shop in an old mining town not too far from here.  I picked up two of them.  Score!

The mixture has been steeping for a couple of weeks.

I'm going to let it steep for another week or two before using.

Projects...

I've posted my latest projects on Facebook but for those of you who aren't in to Facebook I'll fill you in on what's been keeping me out of trouble busy the last several weeks.

First on the list was finishing a baby blanket in time for a friends' baby shower.

Thankfully, I got it done!

Then, I made a couple of produce bags out of tulle and ribbon...

I was pleased with how they turned out and the size worked out well so I will make a few more and soon, no more plastic bags, yay!

(The cashier at Walmart was wondering when they started carrying these bags, ha!) 

I'm currently working on Frilly Knit Scarves made from Red Heart's Sashay yarn.  I had quite a stash of skeins so I'm getting those done and ready to sell online.

After that, I will be starting the same baby blanket as above only in pink.  For who?  I don't know.  I just enjoy making them.  Maybe I'll sell it online.

Creativity...

Speaking of selling items online, I am currently trying to decide whether I want to continue listing my handmade goodies on Etsy OR do I want to create my own retail website.

I like the fact that Etsy is known to the people who like to shop for vintage or handmade items online but I don't like all the fees they charge for listing and selling items.  I know they have expenses too but I'm just looking for ways to cut my costs so that I don't have to charge as much to cover their costs.  Make sense?

I also know that I will have to do some serious marketing for my site if I break ties with Etsy. Another thought to ponder for sure.

Anyway, I'm currently checking out free web-hosting sites and hope to make my decision before too long (seeing as my Etsy shop is currently inactive, yikes!).  I want to start with a free site and see how it goes before spending money on domain names, sites, etc.

Do any of you have any experience, recommendations or advice for me?

I have had several people recommend WordPress but I think that will be down the line as I currently don't want to spend money on a site just yet.

I'd also love to find some local craft fairs to participate in.  Not sure how to go about doing that but it's something to ponder as well.

That's enough odds & ends for now... tata!

Till next time,

Evenings & A Gentle Reminder

What do you like to do in the evenings?

Do you read?  Watch TV?  Get your craft on?  Play video games?  Catch up with the family on the day's events?

Do you have a routine? or does it vary?

CountryBoy and me?

Well, our evenings are rather short.  About two hours, in fact, from the time CountryBoy gets home from work until the time we usually go to bed.  (Four in the morning comes awfully quick!)

We catch up on the day's events during supper and after the dishes are washed I usually sit on the couch while CountryBoy sits in the recliner and watches cartoons on Netflix or 'shoots something' (meaning he plays video games) and I knit frilly scarves or work on whatever crochet project I have going on at the time. Some evenings, weather permitting, we'll sit outside and soak up the outdoors.  (If we were allowed to have a fire pit we would be out there every evening!)

Just before we go to bed we walk LizzieBelle.

Sometimes, we are blessed with this beautiful sight while we're walking her...

Such beauty and the fact that the sun will set each evening and rise each morning is a gentle reminder to me that God is still in control even through all the craziness of this world and that He has a plan for all this craziness.  For that, I am truly grateful!

How do you like to spend your evenings?

Till next time,

Gotta Love Tumbleweeds

Tumbleweeds remind me of old Western movies.  You know the scene where the tumbleweed is quietly tumbling through the ghost town?

I saw one yesterday scurrying across the RV park only to get hung up by some desert shrubs.

You can see them lined up against fence lines as you drive down the road.

Occasionally, you'll witness one tumbling across the road hurrying to get out of traffic's way.

Thankfully, tumbleweeds also catch items that have become victim to heavy winds.

The day before I took our visiting friends to the city of Lost Wages Las Vegas where they would spend a couple of days before flying home we had a terribly windy day and night.  When I ventured outside the following morning I noticed my garden flag was gone.  Not even hanging precariously from the pole but gone.  Vamoose. Kaput. Sayonara.

I searched the desert while walking LizzieBelle that morning.

Nothing.

Later in the afternoon as we headed for Las Vegas in the Jeep we four-wheeled across the adjacent desert in search of my flag.

No sign of it.

Sigh.

I liked that flag.

It had a rooster on it.

And I got it on clearance!

Oh well.  I had resigned myself to the fact that it was long gone.

One evening when CountryBoy and I were sitting outside several days later I was telling him about my flag and how upset I was that it was gone.  Forever lost in the Mohave Desert.

As I was talking he looked behind me at our storage trailer and non-chalantly said "there's your flag".

Whaaaaaaaa?!

"There's your flag next to the tumbleweed."

Saved by a tumbleweed, woohoo!

Apparently, it's been there the whole time. Sigh.

I just knew it was stranded in the desert somewhere and I didn't even bother to look around our campsite.

Nonetheless, I am thankful for that tumbleweed that got wedged under the trailer that ended up rescuing my garden flag from uncertain dry rot and death in the desert.

And, thankful that CountryBoy glanced behind me while I was talking about my flag.

It's the little things in life...

CountryBoy retrieved my flag and put it back on the pole.  He then got an office clip and clipped the flag onto the pole so that this wouldn't happen again.  I love that man!  And tumbleweeds!

Linking with

Till next time,

Vegetable Stock from Scraps

Mmmmm, veggies!

We eat a lot of them around here.

Raw, steamed, roasted.  So far, there's only one vegetable that I've met that I didn't care for and that would be green peas.  Ew.

But, I digress.

I have been buying a lot more fresh produce since I am decreasing the amount of store bought canned goods to store in our pantry.  (You know, due to the whole BPA that's been found in canned goods not to mention the whole sodium issue and other additives to preserve or to add flavor that our bodies just don't need and don't know how to process or eliminate thus resulting in disease but that's a whole 'nother post.)

Along with having more fresh produce on hand means having more vegetable scraps when preparing a meal.

When we were back home on the farm, I would throw the scraps in a bowl and then take them out to the chickens who happily scarfed them up in no time flat.

Since being on the road, I've just been throwing the scraps in the garbage.  It would bother me every time I tossed a scrap with the whole waste not want not going through my mind each time I did.

Thankfully, I came across a blogger who mentioned that she uses her veggie scraps to make stock but she didn't go into a lot of detail.  Since I wanted to find out how to use all those scraps I was needlessly throwing away I 'googled it' to see if I could find some more information.  Luckily, I came across THIS post.  (You can read detailed instructions there if you'd like.)

Has 'googled it' been added to the dictionary yet, ha?  It's such a commonly used term today that it wouldn't surprise if it was added.

Sorry, back to the stock...

Simply put, I began putting all my veggie scraps in a one gallon freezer bag and storing them in the freezer.

When the bag is full, I dump it into a small stock pot, add about 4 quarts of water, a couple of bay leaves and let it simmer for at least 30 minutes allowing the veggie scraps to do their magic.

Since this will make enough stock for a couple of batches of soup I did not add any seasonings at this time, other than the bay leaves, because I want to be able to season the stock according to the soup I'll be making in the future.

(NOTE:  I added cabbage to this stock even though it's not recommended since I knew I was adding cabbage to my soup.)

Talk about delicious and so easy and cheap!  There is really no need to ever buy canned or boxed vegetable soup again saving you money.

The beauty of making your own vegetable stock gives you the freedom to use the vegetables you like and commonly eat as well as being able to season it the way you like.

Think of the money you'll save by using scraps from fresh veggies to make a delicious vegetable stock that has no extra sodium, preservatives or additives PLUS you'll be using every bit of the vegetable with no waste.  It's a win-win!

Now if only I had a compost bin...

Here's the soup I made last night with some of the vegetable stock...

Mmmm, so tasty!

Now get to saving those scraps my friend!  It will do your body (and your wallet) some good!

Till next time,