First Week at the Harn

Tags

books, DIY

Well I’ve survived the first week at the Harn.  Still don’t have a real routine as Thanksgiving happened this week, but I have developed a few protocols.  In the morning, Lucky wants to be fed as soon as I leave the bed.  But first thing is go outside to pee (usually) and then start a fire, depending on how cold it’s gotten over night.  We typically have the space heater on in the bedroom overnight but on nights I don’t I’m surprised to see that the Harn holds at 60°F.  When we have a heater on, we’re usually at 64°F in the morning; the other side of the Harn (unheated area at night) will usually drop to 60°F.  After the fire warms the water in the teapot perched on the top of the stove’s barrel, I will use that to wash me, dishes, or both.  Barring a need for either of these tasks, I can use it to make some oatmeal.

I’ve spent most of the time this first week moving boxes and unpacking a few.  Mostly I was clearing out the shelving unit that was the original wall of our 20×30 cabin space so that I can unload some of the boxed things from Indiana.  I’ll post a photo next week of the wall of books as I forgot to take one for this week’s blog.  It’s filling fast and I still have many boxes of books remaining to unpack.  I’m realizing that we will never have enough room for all the books we’ve brought and I’m leaving some of them for later unpacking, first pulling the best or most urgent reading materials for immediate shelving.  In the bedroom or on my bedside table are most of the current reads, recently acquired items, and permaculture/gardening/homesteading books. I have not made too much time to read as of yet but hopefully with this longer week of solitude I will make some time for a bit more of that.

I’m going through wood as Clay (our Rocket Mass Heater) is not fully massed and a lot of the heat goes right up the chimney.  Luckily we have lots of wood here and Dan and I pulled a half cord from the front woodpile (circa 2012) into the garage so it’s readily available for burning.  We did pull the clay buckets (and one manure bucket) into the garage to warm it up and this week I hope to get some of the structural cob started.  Since I fire the stove daily, it will be a good chance to use that heat to dry out the new applications of cob.  We hung a big mirror and the cloth wall hanging I made this past week to cover the construction-y looking wall behind our bed.  We also got the lazy susan cabinet’s countertop base cut so I can start working on that project. I’m hoping to use bottle caps to cover the surface and then pour acrylic onto them for a flat surface.  So many projects!  But now I’m here full-time so I can plug away at them through the winter.  Dan also put up the mailbox I painted so I can now get mail!

Meanwhile we had a lovely Thanksgiving at the Mississippi Headwaters Hostel. Another couple was there and Mom and Tom could have driven up with them as they were from Alex too!  It was a real blast sharing stories and photos of our adventures as we digested our Turkey Day meal.  There was chicken (I know, blasphemy! But there were no fresh turkeys at Aldi’s, only frozen.), cranberry sauce, stuffing, sweet potatoes, and pie – all the makings of an authentic Thanksgiving meal.

And I am grateful for so much of late.  Mostly I am thankful at this moment for Mom and Tom helping make this 2-year transition to the Harn so much easier than it could have been.  Not having to pay rent while we stayed at their place, being able to get so much work done to make things livable before we had to live here, being able to transition everything slowly up to the Harn rather than in one big move, the truck that made moving all that stuff possible, and all the support they have given as we’ve been making this transition the last 10 years – it’s invaluable.  I know parents are supposed to take care of their kids but they have done so much more than we could ever have expected and lots more than many parents even dream of doing.  I am grateful for the freedom to be able to make this move, even if I am a bit unsure at this point where it’s all going to take us.  I’m grateful for my son Tom and for Celia, who has his heart now.  They are good for each other.  I am also grateful for my grandkitty Jax ~ a big, sweet, fluffy ball of fur that makes Celia and Tom happy.  And I’m grateful for Fran and Ed who took care of Tom those last few years while he was finishing school.  They too have been extraordinarily supportive through the last quarter century since fate brought us together and it’s tough not being able to spend time with them every week like we did while Tommy was growing up in Indy.  And though I never knew him and barely had time to know her, John and Natalia Obert are often on our minds as we spend time at the Harn.  Some of the furniture, books and housewares that were once a part of their household are now special to us.  It feels good to know the history of these things, to be a part of a bigger family than just my birth family.  I am grateful too for all our friends and acquaintances who I am reminded of every day in little places around the Harn.  The calendar from Muzamba, the shaker from Anne Dunn, the wall hangings from Vicki, the fragile blue glass dish from Char, the suncatcher and small painting from Mariah & Virginia, the photo from SDI of everyone wishing me well (well, one guy was flipping me off… but I get it ~ he got my old job!), and the Christmas tree from Dan’s Mom, another I never had the chance to meet.  It reminds me that one day, once we are gone, our things will pass on to another who, hopefully, will love them like we have.  As Dan often says, All of our possessions will one day serve another.

I hope you too have much for which to be grateful.  And I pray that your possessions will serve you well for a long time to come.  And once you are gone, that your memory will last with others in a way that brings joy to their hearts.

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The Big Move!

Tags

DIY, Freedom, sustainability

I’ve finally done it.  I’ve moved to the Harn.   It’s a big step forward in our plan to live more sustainably and lighter on the Earth.  A plan that began over a decade ago as Dan and I realized we didn’t want to spend all our lives in the Rat Race working away all our best hours just for money and stuff.  We started with paying down a lot of debt when we had dual incomes and, as we learned more, and watched the changes in the weather and the economy, we developed a more and more detailed plan.  Like all plans, the details changed as time passed.  Sometimes the plan changed because new information was gained and sometimes because we realized (often through failure) that there was a better way.  And I’m sure that will continue as we begin the process of living at the Homestead.

Before moving, I was able to get a bit of work done with Mom and Tom – cleaning out the garage, mopping the basement floor and steam cleaning the carpets, moving in all the outdoor furniture and getting it all tarped for winter.  As I helped button up the place I’d been for over two years, I was packing to move to the place I’d been building for 10.

 

With a big snowstorm pending Friday, Thursday’s move meant unpacking quickly so I could drive to Bemidji to pick up our snow blower.  Lucky and I left Alex before sunrise and arrived at the Harn about 9:15.  It was 50°F inside on arrival.
I deposited Lucky and his litter box in the Arctic Entrance (AE) – our enclosed porch that acts as an air lock where we can come in from the cold and remove boots and coats and then enter the house proper without letting in a lot of cold air.  I unpacked the truck, started a quick fire to warm up the Harn a bit, and then let Lucky explore a bit.  Having no signal for text or calls to let everyone know I had arrived and was safe, I decided to head to town sooner rather than later, so I gave Lucky some food and put him back in the AE.

The drive to Bemidji became an adventure as I am guessing I didn’t quite lock down the trailer onto the ball of the hitch.  I noted it was making a bit more noise than I liked but I always feel like that when the trailer is empty.  Well, about a mile up the road, I could see the trailer swaying and realized I needed to pull over – and quick.  What a mess!  Thank goodness for the safety chains I’d purchased on our last run to town.  I was able to get the tongue back on the ball, whack things back into place, and create a lynch pin using a bungie cord locked in and wrapped around to lock the tongue down.  I checked it twice more before I turned east on Hwy 2 and all was well.  The remainder of the trip was pretty uneventful.  I was able to get a new lynch pin, picked up our online purchased “ship-to-store” washer (which turned out to be the floor model with a big dent and scratches on both sides so it was $150 off!), and our snow blower.  Dan called to say he was on his way north.

I got home and started unpacking boxes.  Started another fire and ate a bite, also feeding Lucky again – what a spoiled baby!  Dan arrived just after 4 and we off-loaded the snow blower and parked the trailer.  The washer unload will have to wait as the Smartie is in the garage for it’s own unloading… and to keep it warm for the big storm.  It was an early night and Lucky curled up with us in bed.  He’s not used to it being so much cooler!  Though the Harn will warm up with a couple more stove firings, we don’t have heated floors like Mom’s!

We awoke late in the evening to find snow falling in big, soft flakes.  The rate of snowfall was slow but it was adding up.  By midnight we had several inches and by morning we had about 4-5”.  The snow tapered off through the first half of the day and we ended getting about 5-6” total.  Not exactly the blizzard we were expecting.  That was more to the southeast.  We spent all day working away to move and unpack so didn’t fire the stove  at all Friday.  It was still over 60°F inside with the space heaters but Lucky spent most of the day curled up in one chair or another.  He’s finding all kinds of beds in his new house!  And he usually ends up between me and Dan in bed each evening.  It’s warmest there.

We also made the first batch of popcorn at the Harn and it may have been the best batch I’ve ever made.  The outdoor grill is the only burner we have so I prepped the pan and headed out to the porch with it and my popcorn bowl.  It took forever… which means that the corn was sitting in the bubbling butter for some time.  Perhaps why it was so delicious?  I finished the rest of the batch the next day for lunch.  Fantastic!  Dan says I’ve set the bar high but I’m hopeful popcorn at the Harn will always be terrific.

While I had Dan available, we worked more on moving furniture and adding trim so that I can continue with the unpacking this week while he’s at work.  My Craft Room is coming together!  I’ve moved around about half of the remaining boxes to be unpacked.  The half I haven’t moved is mostly books.  We have WAY too many books.  No!  There’s never too many books!!  We were able to find the Christmas tree and got it put up too.  Dan’s Mom made this tree and it’s nice and small, perfect for the Harn.

I was able to get a bit more cob done on the stove and made dinner in the rice cooker. I’m seeing quite a few dinners in this great little appliance.  It’s tiny enough that I won’t have much leftovers when I cook with it… maybe enough for a lunch or two after making dinner.  Tonight it was enough for Dan and I for dinner with a leftover lunch for tomorrow.

Lucky is adjusting well.  He eats and then sleeps a lot.  Sleeps some more and eats again!  Mom sent several boxes of kitty food north as she’d forgotten she already had food for Lucky when she stopped by Ron’s for some more.  He certainly is “lucky”.  I hope that Mom doesn’t miss him too much.  Of course, she plans to be up for Thanksgiving so I’m sure he’ll be glad to see her.

Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Trump & Transition

Tags

activism, Democrats, sustainability

What a week.  I think many people were shocked, expecting Hillary to win.  The RNC got it wrong thinking the Don could never beat all in their wide array of candidates.  But he did.  The DNC got it wrong in thinking Hillary was unbeatable against Trump – it’s HER TURN for God’s Sake!  America is READY to elect a female president.  Even I thought for sure Hillary would win.  I would never have believed Trump would garner as much support as he did.  And why is that?  I believe in large part, it’s because I spend most of my time talking with like-minded people who all believed Trump was too racist, misogynist, arrogant, belligerent, potty-mouthed – name your trait – too SOMETHING to really be a viable choice.  But, like many, I was out of touch with where a lot of America is today.

At first I was in shock.  I was angry thinking that I live in such a racist, sexist society that they would elect this A-hole.  But then I started listening to what some Trump voters shared and thinking outside my sheltered and privileged existence.  I realized that many who voted Trump were a lot like me in that they wanted change.  Big Change.  I wanted Bernie because I am sick of politics as usual, protection of the wealthy and corporate and continued disenfranchisement of the poor and colored.  Bernie was all about CHANGE.  And guess what?  Trump was too.

Democrats, especially highly-schooled Dems, and the media alike were confident that Trump could not be our President.  He was too rough, had no tact, was too likely to start nuclear war.  Surely no one would vote for such a hot head.  But they did.  Almost as many people voted for him in this country as voted for Hillary.  The vote was much closer than I expected.  And again shows that politics doesn’t work.  The Electoral College does not represent the will of the general population.  Based strictly on votes, Hillary would have won, just like Gore.  But she didn’t.  And Trump played the game like a pro.  I also suspect that the low voter turnout was part of the reason Hillary couldn’t bring home the bacon.

We’ll never know if Bernie would have landslided Trump but we do know that he at least represented big change and that was what America voted for even with such an inexperienced and unstatesmanlike candidate.  The DNC definitely did not read the tea leaves correctly, which is a bit unforgivable seeing as how Obama was elected twice with his Hope & Change slogan.  Maybe they figured enough Change had happened and what Americans needed was more of the same.  The DNC was wrong.  Whether Trump will turn out to Make America Great Again or simply represent his own best interests remains to be seen.  But many had become so desperate that they felt they had to take the chance that he might help make their lives better.  So they voted Trump.

A friend told me of her neighbor who voted Trump after getting her insurance estimate for 2017.  Her monthly payments will go from $165 to $485, which is completely unaffordable.  [I’m not sure how the government can charge you a penalty for not purchasing something that requires such a high percentage of your income.  We’ll see how that goes in the coming year.]  Anyway, this woman saw Trump as her best hope.  There are people who’ve lost jobs, homes, insurance coverage, even family members in the current political climate. They want to have hope for better jobs, better representation in government, CHANGE!  Trump promised change.  Hillary promised much of the same.  But many people have had enough.  They can’t survive if things stay the same.

I have some friends who are losing their minds over this election.  They want to protest.  They are living in total fear of what will come.  And it’s surreal to see people who have been astonished at the redneck pushback on Obama now basically doing exactly what those people did when they were living in fear of a black president.  On the other side of the aisle, there are people who have criticized Obama without end, saying he should be impeached, who now say, “We need to support the President we elected.”  If it wasn’t so insane, it would be comical.  In fact, I do have to laugh.  But it’s not a belly laugh.  It’s more of a laugh that says, “Seriously, people?!?”  Will we now see Dems become the Party of No?  Will we continue to see gridlock in DC?  Based on early data, it appears the Dems have now adopted the same tactics and phrases as their opponents did 8 years ago.  I’m guessing their Democratic Representatives will perhaps soon take the same steps as their comrades across the aisle have taken in the last 8 years.

One thing to consider is that, with Hillary not pulling the voter turnout we needed to win, lots of down-ticket candidates also lost.  The biggest effect this will have for most of us in in local politics, state level on down.  One difference from what we have today versus what Trump can expect in 2017 is that he will have a majority in both the Senate and the House.  So if he wants to do what he has promised, that should make it easier.

But is all hope lost?  Well, I’m not going to waste my precious days sitting in that boat crying.  For one thing, there is not a lot I can do about the results.  I cast my ballot and had my say and things didn’t go my way.  And life will go on.  In the grand scheme of things, I don’t have a lot of control over most of it anyway.  And anyway, at this moment… Obama is STILL The President.  NOTHING HAS CHANGED YET!  For all we know, Trump could be tried and convicted of rape before he gets sworn in (though don’t hold your breath on this one as I’m sure his lawyers will keep pushing out those court dates until he’s sworn in as President and then he’ll be safe for at least four years).  Or, he could die – he is an old white dude who isn’t in the best of health.  Those kind of guys keel over all the time.  No one knows their days.  So Trump may never become a sitting president.  But he likely will.  [Though I have some inkling that the Republicans might have him taken out so Pence can be the one sworn in, they may very well wait until Trump has a chance to show them what he’s got first.  Taking Trump out will always be an alternative.  We’re good at assassination.  Just ask Argentina, Libya, Iran.  But maybe they’ll just assure he gets prosecuted prior to his assumption of the office.  Then he and Noriega can share a cell in the Prison for Deposed Leaders.]

But let’s say he does make it to the Oval Office (assuming he won’t think that’s too drab a place for his gloriousness).  What will he do?  Let’s take an honest look.  http://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/Trump-s-ambitious-100-day-agenda-staring-at-10610762.php

• He promises to implement term limits.  I personally think this would solve a LOT of the problems in DC.
• He also will require a 5-year waiting period for legislators to become lobbyists.  Again, I like this idea as this is a source of much of our problems.
• He wants to implement a 10-year $1T (yes, trillion) infrastructure project.  I’ve been saying for years that we need a new CCC program.  Maybe it will be something like that.
• He’ll repeal the Affordable Care Act, but keep the part about staying on parent’s plans until age 26 and stopping companies from rejecting for pre-existing conditions. As this has become the Unaffordable Care Act in many ways, this might not be all bad.

[Are you seeing yet how he looked so attractive to so many Americans?]

• He promises to repeal (he’s back-stepping already on some things and I suspect, like Obama, will find it’s not so easy to just have things the way he wants them to be) re-negotiate NAFTA and Canada is already on board.  Well, again, NAFTA has resulted in a lot of problems for citizens in all the North American countries so I’m guessing this might help them (though the rich business owners who seem to be the main winners in the NAFTA game may not be happy).
• He’s against the TPP – also a good thing to be.

So, are you with me in starting to realize that he was quite appealing to many Americans?  Now that I’ve taken an honest look at his plans, I’m starting to see how they could hold the nose and vote for Hope & Change … regardless of his racism and comments about pussy grabbing.

So Trump doesn’t believe in climate change.  It’s probably too late for us to really save Miami at this point anyway and no one else seems all that enthusiastic about making the real changes it will take to make a difference so… not such a big loss.  Hell, the government forces of OUR CURRENT GOVERNMENT are supporting DAPL in their fight against the Lakota Sioux who are on the right side of the climate change debate in their stance to KEEP IT IN THE GROUND.  Obama has done nothing to protect these people in their fight or put a stop to the insanity of big oil in this case.  So really, will Trump be much different?  And besides, the President doesn’t really have that much power anyway.  There is a system of checks and balances, or so they say.  And if he does, I’m guessing there will be some people standing against him.  Perhaps the mobs protesting some of Trump’s new ideas will make the crowd in Cannon Ball, ND look tiny.

So what’s a person to do?  First, keep it in today.  Hug your family members and focus on sleeping/eating/working/pooping – just like you do every other day, regardless of what the world at large is up to.  Remember to be kind because some people are dealing with terminal illness, or a really horrible period, or just feeling like their kid/husband/mother hates them and there is not much reason to live. In other words, there are lots bigger problems to have than worrying about some potential future that you may never live to see so why shit on today thinking about that bullshit?  Enjoy the sunshine.  For goodness sake, global warming is giving us one hell of a summery fall so why not enjoy every sunny day you can?

I, for one, am moving to the woods where I will begin my adventure with trying to live a sustainable life in earnest.  I find it a little interesting that this move coincides with such a crazy change in American politics.  I wonder if perhaps Dan & I were not blessed with some kind of finger on the pulse of the Universe to be in this space at this time.  Anyhow, in pursuit of this venture, I was blessed to have a soap-making lesson with good friend Beth Jansen this past week.  It was a fascinating process and much more forgiving than all the books and articles I’ve read on the process have led me to believe.  How did we do it?  Well, since you asked…

We began with a jar of 100% lye from Ace Hardware – $3.85.  We put this into 4 cups of water in a glass bowl, stirring it in slowly in a well-ventilated area.  No, we did not use respirators.  And we survived!  [Note: Always use glass, stainless steel or plastic – never aluminum, when making soap.] We then heated about 12 cups of old used fat (lard from making doughnuts, bacon grease, etc. – any kind of hard at room temp fat will do like bear or deer grease.) – FREE!  Well, worthless unless you’re making soap anyway.  We want the two pots we have to be at the same temperature – hopefully about 95-100°F – before we mix them together stirring the lye mix into the fat, again slowly.  [We were on a time crunch so I’m guessing we were right about at 100° when we did our mixing.  And our soap was fine!!]  While the two mixtures were cooling, we had mixed up the good stuff: 1 c. oats, two large aloe shoots, 1 c. goat’s milk, some fresh sage and lemon grass, and some dried rose petals. When you’re blending in tough materials, like lemon grass, cut it into small pieces to make it easily blendable.  [We added a bit more goat’s milk later as it was clumpy when we tried to pour it into the fat/lye mixture – you want it to pour, not clump into the soap mix.]  We added this concoction into our soap pot and then we began the stirring.  We stirred and stirred, waiting for the mix to cool and thicken.  This takes a LOT of stirring. Remember, SLOW STIRRING.  It’s good to have a seat.  It’s also a good time to think pleasant thoughts about all the people you will bless with this soap and maybe even put a few wishes for luck, love and happiness into your brew.  You may notice the soap liquid is whitening (cooling) more at the top and you will need to pull up from the bottom as you stir.  But NEVER beat the mix.  Always slow and steady stirring. Eventually, the mix will thicken to a point where when you pull up a spoonful and drip it back into the mix, it will not go right back into the mix but will instead create a small droplet ball of soap on the surface.  [Or so says the recipe.  I have yet to experience this as we were, I think I mentioned, on a time crunch.  So we did the next step a bit prior to reaching this point.  And, again, our soap turned out fine!]  So the next step is to pour the mixture into a shallow box that is covered in a plastic bag.  Over this, you place slats of wood which will hold up a second plastic bag and then some wool blankets which will keep your mix as warm as possible.  Because, after trying to cool your mix to the point where you can pour it into the form, you now want the mix to cure as hot as possible – so we slow the cooling with blankets.  Once the soap is hardened (usually about 24 hours, but in our case about 10), then you cut it into squares and re-cover it to cure some more.  After another 48 hours, remove these squares into a box lined with paper where they are all separate and allow them to sit for 30 days to be fully cured.  This recipe will make enough soap for a year’s worth of washing for a small family.

Now I know what you’re thinking… what’s a Hippie like me need with soap?  I hear you!  But I actually will shower at least once a week.  And I do like soap, especially soap I can make myself.  I’ve used some of Beth’s soap having been the recipient of a gift bar some time back.  I can tell you it lasts for a long time!  And it will suds you up in a lovely and moisturizing way.   I plan to make more of my own and try different ingredients and techniques so I can give Beth some reports on what I learn.  And maybe I can teach more people to make soap once I get some batches under my belt.

Dan and I made quite a bit of progress again this weekend at the Harn.  It is becoming a real home just in time for the move this week.  We now have a bed in the bedroom area having moved all the construction and tools out last weekend.

We have a wide open kitchen which was able to accommodate a new “island” we made by putting castors on the bottoms of my old craft cabinets – I love it.  And we moved a bunch of other furniture around to make things work a bit better.  Now I can continue with the unpacking and organizing.  The truck fits in the garage… just barely.   And with the wonderful weather, I was able to split some wood in almost no clothes.

We’ve got about three boxes of stuff for the giveaway and I plan to find even more stuff to downsize as I go.  Lucky (our cat) will keep me company as I figure out how Life at the Harn will work exactly.  It will be interesting to see how cooking, dishwashing and laundry work.  For the meanwhile I will be heading to the laundromat as our plumber is booked through the end of the year (and we don’t yet have a washing machine).  But sometime before spring I should be able to do laundry at home.  I will keep you posted.

Some people say I’m “running away to the woods” as if I’m an ostrich burying my head in the sand now that the political climate has taken such a turn for the worse.  Many think I’m going to isolate myself and hole up for the duration.  But I have every intention of being a part of a new community – as yet to be determined.  And I have lots of old co-workers who will verify that this move to the woods has been the plan for more than 10 years.  I think some of the old SDI crew really didn’t think I’d ever leave but then… I retired! And now that Dan and I have gotten the Harn to a livable status, the real work of living a bit more simply starts.

And hey, there’s always a chance that the renegotiation for NAFTA may include a renegotiation of the Louisiana Purchase and thus, I would immediately become a citizen of Canada (I assume Quebec will take ownership for France due to proximity).  I may have to learn to speak French!  But what about you, my friends in Indiana and other parts south and east?  Don’t lose all hope.  Obama could still declare Marshall Law and take away all our guns thus allowing him to stay in power indefinitely.  Bwuahahaha!  Just as the Republicans have always feared!  Stay Vigilant!! Tomorrow is a new day.

And from Danny: 67 days ‘til Trump Time… He’ll put the Bully in Bully Pulpit.

Harn Prep Finalizing

Tags

books, DIY

Every weekend brings me closer to the move to the Harn!  I realized this weekend that it’s kind of like living there already as we’re pretty much spending 2 to 3 days a week @ the Harn.  Soon after the election, I’ll be moving Lucky to the North Woods.

We were able to make quite a bit of progress this weekend with installation of my freezer and dryer [note my Bill Belichick sweatshirt – it’s a rag Tobert passed down.  Once I move to the Harn I will probably dress like a vagabond most days!]  We also re-installed the workshop pallet floor and migrated much of the interior clutter out to the garage.  This frees up space for me to organize the house and make it less construction zoney and more homey.

We also got some more wood pulled into the garage after re-loading the inside woodpile. With the predictions for a cold and snowy winter, we want to be sure there is plenty of readily accessible wood.  We’ll also bring in about a half cord or so to just inside the garage door so I can reload this wood box as needed even if there is a week or longer storm.  I imagine cold, crisp days will find me gathering kindling and wood in the forest as this will be a good way to warm up and get some fresh air.

We made a trip to town which I thought  would be quick – back by noon I promised Char, so I could deliver her new Anne Dunn signed copy…  Our intention? To drop off the mower for addition of the snowblower attachment, pick up supplies from Menards for the closet, and grab some frozen food for the new freezer, then stop at Char’s on the way home.  As we headed out, we decided (ok, it was ME!) that we probably need new tires on the trailer too.  So we asked Brett at the Home Repair Professionals  https://www.facebook.com/hrpbemidji/ about them he recommended used tires since most tires on a trailer are never used before they begin to show signs of rot… like the lovely examples we now sported.  Actually, ours were relatively bald too.  So we headed to Tires Plus to get a quote.  Ended up getting two “new” used tires for a really good price.  Our buddy Sebastian was fantastic and got us on to our next destination, Menards.  We spent almost two hours here – oops!  Noon already!  As Danny had been fighting a sinus headache all morning, and neither of us had eaten, we swung into Dickey’s BBQ for a quick lunch.  Then we picked up the trailer and headed up to our buddy Bryan’s for some pallets and barrels – since we have the trailer with her new tires and all.  Then back to town for frozen food and then, since it was 71°F, we decided we’d stop at home to drop off supplies before heading to Char’s. We unloaded barrels and pallets, put our food in the freezer, I put Danny onto the couch for a quick nap and I headed to Char’s.  I needed a bucket of poop so that took an extra minute so even though Char wasn’t home, I gave Dan a nice rest.  I got back after 4.  There went the day!  We still managed to work until almost 10:30 so not a total loss.  But boy, a trip to town can be an all day affair!

Once we cleared everything out of the house to the garage – well, most of it anyway! – I discovered that we actually have LOTS of space to get organized.  I will be spending some time getting things from Indiana unpacked and put away, placed into boxes for donation (we brought too much stuff north) or put into the back of the truck for the refuse station.  The addition of the cistern room for protected storage and the spray foaming in the garage for insulated space will both give me more options.  Some things must just stay inside to prevent freezing and the utility closet will give me space for that.  It was fun thinking of all the things that still need to be done to settle our home and only a bit frustrating at how long everything takes to get done!

We were able to get the closet system started by installing a rod and one of the two large shelves on the south wall.  This little DIY project was under $50 and will give a versatile space for accessing clothing.  I am imagining that we will have winter clothes out now and summer clothes stored since our space is limited.  But we’ll see, maybe we’ve downsized clothing enough to have room for everything.  I’ll have to post AFTER photos once I’ve unpacked it all.

Unbelievably, we had the Harn windows open to air out the house this weekend.  It was in the 70s!!  In Northern Minnesota!!  Crazy.  But I’ll take it as it gives us that much more nice weather in which to prep the place.  There’s still a ways to go but it looks like Lucky and I area gonna be in good shape in a few weeks.