MAKING HEADWAY

There were some unexpcted hiccups this week, but we have made significant progress in getting things done. While I am doing all the construction things that need to be done, Gracie is busy making our little slice of Paradise beautiful. I make it functional, she makes it pretty.

She worked hard today putting all this together. I'll show you the result first. 

There were some flower pots around the little space, but she wanted it to be something more. She first covered the grass with brown paper from packages we had received from Amazon. After getting the paper wet to hold it down, she then spread dirt on top of the paper. Then she removed what she wanted from the flower pots and put them in the ground. They are not really visible in this photo. Everything was then covered with mulch.

When I went out to see it, the middle was empty--waiting for me to move a large blue pot. However, I wanted the bubbler bird bath in that spot and she allowed me that contribution.

We now have a very attractive front-porch-garden filled with flowers and herbs.

My project goal for the week was to get the system in place for indoor laundry and shower, which was a multi-step process. Since the ground was not level, I had to bring in some gravel on which to set the cinder blocks. That was a long and involved process for me. While trying to set the IBC, I accidently moved one of the stacks of blocks into a tilted position. Fortunately, I didn't kick it all the way over, so I was able to lift up on the container and reset the stack of blocks in one move.

Due to poor planning on my end, the two IBC's are far apart because of the house drain's location directly underneath the downspout for water collection. You can see how far apart they are in this pic. The distance between the two gate valves is 70 inches--2 inches shy of 6 feet. After getting it set up, I had to prop the pvc pipe, because the weight of the water within the pipe was causing a strain on the connections. One inadvertent bump and I was concerned that the system would collapse.

The 12-volt DC water pump arrived Tuesday and I went to work getting it hooked up. As of this writing there is still a tiny drip when the pump is on, but I will hopefully get that fixed with a new hose when it comes in Tuesday the 25th.

Looking down on the floor to the right of the laundry tub, you can see the 12-volt battery that powers the pump, which is directly underneath the tub next to the back right leg.

One of the IBC's was our water source for the past two years. We battled with algae build-up until we learned to wrap the tank in black plastic.
That stopped the algae growth. Freezing temps were the next foe to be defeated. I bought a small propane heater and put it inside the little shed for those times when it was below freezing. It worked great on its lowest setting.

However, during the very last week of its necessary function it caught fire. I wasn't here, but Gracie reacted quickly and got the fire out.

I removed the IBC from the little shed to get the two-tank system mentioned previously. I was able to empty it of the concrete blocks and other miscellaneous things. I then went to work to turn it into a shed for our garden tools. This is the result.

Y'all would've laughed at us if you had seen us with the two IBC's set up for their first rain. We were sitting on the porch when the rain began as just a sprinkle. When it finally started coming down, we both jumped up to look over at the downspout to see if it was working. The water was gushing through and we both laughed giddily. We had a half-inch of rain and collected 150 gallons of water from a 34x28 roof! We were ecstatic. Just the week before, I had to go to a water point to fill one of the IBC's, because we were below 100gallons of usable water.

We are both happy with the results of our work this week despite the car breaking down and needing a new transmission. We thank the Lord each day for the strength we have been given to be able to do these things at this age.

Until next time, do your work, play hard and love the one you are with.

LUMBER SYSTEM

NOTE--I had said I would try to publish weekly and here it is a month has gone by since my last posting. Can you forgive me? If I have an excuse, I don't know what it is. 😓

In this not-so-simple simple life there are things that we learn along the way that we may not have practiced too well beforehand. One of those things fits into the idea of systems which I menttioned in the last issue.

Most of us involved in this life called homesteading have been forced to develop a DIY mentality (if that was not already the case). We have to learn many aspects of the small farm, animal husbandry, machine repair and maintenance, growing and preserving food, woodworking and the like.

Learning to have the systems in place as mentioned last time is an enormous time-saver.

With the cost of lumber sky-rocketing the past few years, it is no longer wise to simply chuck the ends of cut-offs into the fire. Of course, we do that with anything less than a foot long; but anything longer than that can be saved for a future project.

The problem comes in "how to save and store all those pieces." Regardless of the size of your workshop--corner of the garage or a separate building--leftover pieces of wood begin to take up valuable space.

I've seen rolling carts with separate bins for these pieces, but that seemed to be mainly for fine woodworking. Regardless, it just wouldn't be practical for me with so much stock lumber.

I needed a wood rack, which I built inside the lean-to on the back of the deer-shack-turned-shop. You probably have to enlarge the photo to see it, but the end of each piece has a number on it that I put with a Sharpie.

That number is the approximate size in length of the board. I stacked them according to width, ie, the 1x4s on top of each other, then the 1x6s, 1x8s, etc.

The number helps save the time of inspecting each piece to see if it is long enough for the need of the moment. For instance, this morning I needed two pieces of 1x4 at least 28 inches long. I went to this stack, found a piece marked 29 and a piece marked 32. I removed them from the stack and made the cuts necessary for the project. Easy-peasy.

If this one idea is a help to you, please let me know in the comments. Also, if you have a different system, everyone who reads this would like to know, so leave a comment about your system.

Thanks.

Until next time, do your work, enjoy your life, play hard and love the one you are with.