Homestead Round Up: June 6th, 2015

So much has been going on and I've been too busy to post much.

I went on an expedition around town to gather some supplies for a future project:

I love a full truck bed!

I also found a gorgeous chair next to a dumpster!

Needs recovering, but it's sturdy.

My newest project:

I removed the old furnace and built a pantry unit! It's pretty sturdy.  I'd love to add in another shelf or two, but we'll see.

Ducklings!

We've been having some cooling problems. By some problems, I mean our house is 95 degrees with the cooler cranked. We're working on that. Well, we've been working on that for the last month, but whatever. There is a highlight in all this!

DUCKLINGS!
Here they are cuddling together with my sister's ducklings while she fostered them for a week:

Now they're enjoying their new coop:

They are too cute, aren't they? They love their roomier coop! I just need to finish their run soon. I'm getting more in a few weeks, but these were the ones that hatched successfully.

Homestead Round Up

I'm starting a new section on my blog called Homestead Round Up! It's going to be a summary (with pictures) of my progress around the homestead.

The most exciting change? We've named our farm! We're now Thunder Goat Farm (like us on Facebook!). For those who don't know, Thor had goats pull his chariot, hence the name.

What else has been going on?

Well, there was a big wood pad buried in the ground that held the old washer and dryer, which I dug up and moved:

The hole is where it used to be.

We also put up more permanent skirting (the corrugated metal) and used field fence to allow access to our washer hook ups.

I started laying a brick patio using some old bricks that were on the property when we bought the house.

The Christmas tree John and I planted in December has a ton of new growth!

All those bright green spots are new growth!

My sister helped me pound T-posts for my garden:

I got the clothesline Ts cemented in:

Squint! They're in front of the corner of the trailer.

It's been a busy week! On top of that I sewed a hammock for a neighbor and started recovering some patio chair cushions for her.

Stay tuned for next week's update and check our Facebook page periodically. Right now there isn't much on it, but as we acquire more animals it should get more lively!

What's Up on the Homestead?

Remember when I said I'd update? Yeah, it didn't happen.I may have some photos to come, but right now, nope.

This post isn't an update, this post is a whine--and a new goal.

Dear hubby is INCREDIBLY picky. I didn't even realize that full grown adults could be so picky. Don't we all just grow out of it as we grow up?

I'll eat almost anything. I'm not a huge fan of fruit, I can admit that. I don't like raw fruit, I don't like fruit juice, I don't even like most desserts that have fruit in them, and I LOVE sweets. I'm also not a big fan of anything with almond extract. Yet, I will eat apple pie, blue berry pie, orange juice (with copious amounts of vodka--but that still counts, right?), and some tarts.

John won't eat:

• Ground beef (unless it's a burger--meatloaf patties don't count)
• Bean, and it doesn't matter whether they're whole, diced, pureed, on their own, in a salad, or hidden in brownies.
• Chiles-- he'll eat every hot sauce in the book, but actual, real food? Nope
• Onions--unless they're deep fried
• Tomatoes--unless it's pureed into a sauce.
• Pork--unless it's bacon
• Any cream or cheese sauce--unless it's powdered instant cheese
• Gravy

The man doesn't eat a single vegetable except raw baby spinach. The minute it's cooked he's done.

My new goal? Get this guy to eat SOMETHING. He lives off nothing but bread and cheese. I'm not altruistic. Don't get me wrong, I want him to be healthy and live a long happy life, but I really want him to get his IBS under control. When John eats healthy, his IBS improves. When John eats crap, it gets worse. I do not have the patience to listen to him bitch about his stomach being upset when it's self-inflicted!

I cook, I really do, but sometimes I just get tired of making the same three dishes! Then when I make something for myself because I love veggies, ground beef, and all things gravy, I go too far. While he's a good sport and does try two bites (per our agreement), he then thanks me for dinner and makes himself a hot dog--which makes his IBS horrible.

I'm going to start conning him in to eating healthier and I'll be sharing all kinds of great recipes to help others convince adults to eat like adults. A quick Pinterest search yielded tips for helping moms get their children to eat healthy. Growing up our options were eat what was cooked or starve--I'm not sure why moms suddenly need tips getting their kids to eat. I'm sure starvation still works. The bigger issue is convincing a real adult to eat what is cooked and not cook something more desirable for themselves.

Back from the Farm

While I've been missing, I've been busy rebuilding the house!

Electric is done, yard is fenced, floor is rebuilt, house is completely replumbed, temporary skirting is almost up, and roof is nearly fixed.  Wow, I've been busy! In addition, I've house-sat for three weeks, paid off half my credit card, done 2 commissions, taken up an internship, and packed most of my house.

Picture will come once we get unpacked at the new place! Is it perfect? Nope. Is it livable? Absolutely.

Since it's the beginning of the month, I thought it'd be good to go over resolutions! I'm a big fan of resolutions. It makes me feel motivated and gives me a goal to work towards all year long. 

2015 Resolutions:

1. Send my novel off to at least 3 agents or presses.

2, Pay off my credit card (I owe about $700)

3. Pay of my car (Dad lent me money, I still owe $400)

4. Start a garden!

5. Lay laminate (in the mean time, we'll be living on waterproofed plywood)

6. Paint the Kitchen and Living Room

7. Rebuild the 2nd bathroom (floor rotted away)

8. Lay vinyl in the master bath (they put carpet in..)

9. Finish business plan and execute!

10. Rebuild coop and run water to it

11. Get bunnies!

12. Build roosting boxes.

A wonderful lady in a nearby town has a breeding pair of meat rabbits to give to me as a house warming present whenever I'm ready for them, and my mother-in-law to be has offered to buy us 6 chicks as a house warming present! I've cleaned out the coop, so I'm halfway there! 

Snag Resolved!

The septic issue has been resolved. Instead of paying the $20k we offered, we'll be paying $23k, If the septic costs us the full $10k, we'll need to scrounge up some more money.

In addition, I'm officially off the job hunt. I quit my horrible job a few weeks ago, without much notice, and have been desperately hunting. I am not a person that is unemployed for long. I apply  for jobs like it's a full time job when I'm not working. I devote a full 40 hours each week to either interviewing or applying. Needless to say, I usually am out of work for no more than a month. Well, John and I discussed it, and it makes more sense that I don't work and fix up the house. We need to have someone available during business hours for paperwork, septic work, electric stuff, etc. Plus, I'm more of a handyman than he is.

If I get the work done in two weeks, instead of three months, we'll have saved far more money than I would have earned. Plus, realistically, if I can come up with enough money to pay off my credit card (I need about $200 per month to get it paid off in a reasonable amount of time), I'd rather focus on school than working. I currently make about $40 per month for writing articles, I can make another $60 per month helping out at my sister's house. I'm hoping that my craft stuff and house sitting will make up the remainder. That means I need to get my butt in gear when it comes to getting my shop up and running.

A Big Snag

We found out that the septic tank can't be certified. Either we need to install a new septic immediately after we buy (otherwise we can't legally reside in it), or they need to put in a septic for us.

Basically, in our county a residence must have a certifiable septic to be bought or sold. Due to the fact that the trailer isn't affixed to the property, the property can be sold as vacant land instead of a residence. Vacant land doesn't need to a have a certifiable septic tank, but it commands a much lower price due to that fact.

So, initially we all agreed on $28k...when we thought there were two working septic tanks (one for each hook up), not one tank, which doesn't work, for the two hook ups.

We offered them either $20k as is, or the initial offer of $28k if the septic tank is brought up to code.

I called around and getting a new septic could cost between $3,000-$10,000 depending on how much work needs to be done and how much of the digging we can do ourselves. I contacted our realtor and told her what we wanted and we should hear back from the seller on Monday!