Hung Out to Dry

There's been way too much drama going on here lately which is why the simple act of "doing laundry" felt so good these past few days. The wash wasn't done as old as school as I have in the past with a homemade rapid washer and a couple of plastic pails nor did I use the wringer . 

I also don't or rather haven't had a mechanical clothes dryer in over 7 years. I do have a swing arm wall mount clothes dryer that I adore even though it's been missing an arm for years. 

Thinking of painting the rack to match the walls perhaps after hubby replaces the missing arm. 

We bought this wooden clothes drying rack in Pennsylvania when Woodsrunner & I were on our honeymoon five years ago for $10. Since then I've bought another for $25 which I have yet to hang.
One drawback to small homes is lack of wall space. Which is why the drying rack is located here in the front room for all the world to see when they enter my home. That & there's a furnace duct directly underneath. The rack predates the wood stove by 3 years. Generally took a full 24 hours for clothes to dry when we ran the furnace.
Before buying this rack @ an antique store I used a floor model or as an old roommate who was British always referred to a clothes horse. There are several modern wall mount racksavailable on Amazon that have caught my eye. One or two styles would fit easily over a large picture window mounted on the wall.

Can't help myself but when the rack is open I always think of Mary Poppins

Usually when people stop by their comments range from what is it even if it is covered with damp clothes to my grandmother had one on her back porch.

Then for whatever reason, many feel the need to make the statement that they would just get a normal clothes drier (I'm not normal so why would I have a normal clothes drier).  By comparison I don't get such off comments when people stop by & I'm hanging laundry on the line. Most tell me they wish they had a place to hang a clothes line.
I smile, then casually mention our electric bill is never above $40.
Sometimes I discuss how clothes last longer when you don't subject them to extreme temps or the tumble factor.
Mostly I just am thankful that on that day, there were no stoppenfloppers or drawers hanging out to dry.


~~ pelenaka ~~

Packets of Hope on Sale (Giveaway Winner)

Thank you to everyone who gave a shout out about their gardening style and to those of you are new to following my urban homesteading blog.
I didn't use a random numbers generator to pick the winner, instead I simply wrote everyone's name down on a packet of seeds in pencil. I decided against marker in case I wanted to use them for a barter this Spring. I reached in & picked one from the bottom of the pile.

Grace, congrats ! I hope that this book will offer you much guidance @ your new place. Look for my email.

I scored a great deal last Sept. @ a farm store - 2011 seeds for 15¢ each. It took me like over an hour to go through the whole bin. People wandered over to see why there was a woman kneeling on the floor surrounded by three galvanized wash tubs. Must be something good one woman muttered as she walked over. Oh seeds is what she told her man as she walked away. He shrugged.
I know that there's a lot of advice against not using old seeds but I figure it this way - if dandelions can spreads seeds into sidewalk cracks and be successful, then I can certainly put out a garden using last year's seeds.


~~ pelenaka ~~

Devil Knocks You Down

And God picks you up.

Friday was one of those days that makes you glad your higher power had your back, and that being a preparedness minded individual is worth all that effort.

Friday @ 0600 I got a call from the in laws that Woodsrunner's 94 y.o. grandmother was in a hospital in Rochester. By 9:30 he was on the road headed north. By 10:30 he was broke down on the side of the thruway. We had let AAA lapse since neither of us was leaving city limits on any regular basis. Unfortunately as anyone who has ever been in a financial jam knows if it can break it will, so despite doing our do diligence with our little car's routine maintaince the devil choose his best opportunity to to give a big shove.

Quick phone call to me (I happen to be in Rochester well Webster area working as a chauffeur ) I remind him there's the emergency bucket in the cargo area. Bucket has items such hand warmers, urinal, first air kit, water, snacks, and road flares. There's also a few fleece blankets in the back seat. He ended up not needing it but we both agreed it's good to know that it's there.

By 11 he'd made his way limping along to a garage - $270. Wait for it ... part needed not available til Monday. At that moment he said he did feel a hot breath on the back of his neck.

Then God steps in.
By Noon I'm headed back toward Buffalo and as I just come up to THE exit he rings me for a pick up. I'm two minutes away and my employer is delighted she's help in this drama. After a quick prayer over our car all three of us our on our way. Hubby shares the back seat with her but thankfully no one mentions the bad hair day that makes me resemble Morgan Freeman.

Within a few hours I've finished my gig, we've rented a car their last one for their cheapest rate - and are again traveling to Roc City.

Then about an hour after being in the hospital with one of the sweetest ladies I have ever known I get a phone call from BPD. Your daughter has been hit by a car while on her bike. She's in the ER.
Two phone calls later one to the ER for a status update - waiting on us to sign her out no injuries just sore and yes they did find the index card inside her coat with medical info (a prepardness thing).
By the second call out to start a prayer chain I've start to breath easier.

We're waiting on the final police report but per Po Po it seemed to be both driver & bicyclist's fault. He mentioned that she was in the crosswalk when the car struck her. I'm not sure what that really means. Thankfully this occurred @ an intersection where the car had been @ a stop (debatable) instead of traveling along the city street. I was assured that texting wasn't in play here.

Daughter is more receptive to bicycle lightening. Both of are looking into some unique alternatives in addition to head & tail lights for our bikes. She was wearing heavy mittens & her Winter parka which kept her from having road rash but if it was Summer she would have been bare handed & in a t-shit and shorts. Looking into options for riding gloves.


~~ pelenaka ~~

We Think We Can

Locomotive on display @ the Great New York State Fair 

We hit a bit of uneven track, hubby has officially joined the ranks of the unemployed.
This change up was suppose to come the end of this week but yesterday husband walked in the door with the news. We had been expecting it since early October, even before corporate sent word. There were tell tale signs for those who choose to read them. Shoppers shopping but not really spending. No longer was it the guy down the street who was laid off now it was a brother, a sister-in-law, or a partner. Recession was moving into the hood and the burbs.

So we began planning, putting pencil to paper, taking inventory of debts & goods assigning them a spot on teams.
Black is good.
Red not so much.
Grey is the worst, a short list of luxuries that border must haves. Hard to make that call because well it's not black or red it is grey.

When news of the company closing this branch hit our own six degrees, acquaintances and friends all asked what we would do. For those who really know us their comments were spoken to the tune of if anyone can handle this you people can. Good to be known as you people, lol.
We aren't in a situation like most in our crowd so yes we are those people.
No car note, cheap mortgage, a hearth to cook on, a bit of land to till.
The drive to learn the old ways even if it's gathered in cyber space.

It's all good.
We put this in God's hands.
Besides, the light @ the end of the tunnel isn't a train.
The lamps not lit.

~~ pelenaka ~~

TVP

Last year after our federal income tax deposited hubby and I visited Niblack Foods @ the Genesee Regional Market in Henrietta, New York. I wanted to stock the pantry in bulk with a food items that we use along with several that were new to us. One of those items is Textured Vegetable Protein made from Soy. I bought the unflavored granular version but it also comes in beef, chicken, & pork, as well as chunk form.

Dinner was a pasta sauce melody of Green Bell Peppers & fresh mushrooms both past there prime (food bank cast offs) along with an onion (on sale from Aldis), Italian herbs grown in the backyard this past Summer, and olive oil bought a few years ago @ Big Lots. Oh a quart of home canned tomatoes. Whole Wheat pasta was a barter.
Sometimes it takes many different techniques to put food on the table when money is tight.

The TVP was easy to cook I just added it to the sauce pot along with everything else then let simmer til done. No taste either way but it did of course make the sauce thicker which was nice. If I had known it was this easy to use TVP would have been on the menu years ago.

Diffidently going on my Amazon grocery list both as a pantry staple & as a long term prep item.


~~ pelenaka ~~

Teaching a Virgin to Hunt

IGYBB

The old biblical addage about giving a man a fish versus teaching a man to fish ...
Last week I accompanied Woodsrunner, out to the wilderness as I call it for a day of deer hunting. In reality we were less than an hour from our city lot in one of the many multi-use sections of New York State land the website lets you download maps to print as well as a Google earth link.
Notice the pine tree with the painted yellow markings ? Gang tagging ?

Besides just hanging out hubby was teaching me the skills of the hunt (virgin here). I'm a fairly accomplished semi-backwoods camper (I can set up a tent in five minutes while parenting three children under 4), having tent camped in several states and climates from the beaches of Oahu to California, mountain and desert. But my outdoor skills such as trail & game reading are pretty much none existent unless you count that I can recognize bear scat & coyote tracks.

An unseasonably warm Autumn day reaching almost 60° slight breeze hadn't rained in over a week.
If I positioned myself  just right in a dabble of sunlight all was right in my world. I was communing with nature, basking in the good vibes given off by my man, and reading my Kindle.
K, before you judge I wasn't actively hunting, sitting motionlessness for any length of time got old quick. Boredom sets in. Bad things happen when I'm bored.
Later after a lite lunch in the woods, husband found a nice spot where he could set up and I could lean up against a fallen tree. Yes, it was a good nap. No, hubby didn't bag a doe for the canning pot. Yes, I'll be taking my hunter's safety course so I can hunt next year. Yes, we've worked out a trade agreement for him to field dress anything I'd manage to shoot.

It's a powerful concept standing while one ...

As it turns out this is my 1st free homesteading tool bought on Amazon using my Swagbucks. I'm classifying this as a tool because it will allow me to do other homesteading "chores" more efficiently.

When I'm urban I keep a mental map of where the best powder rooms are along with the locations of public restrooms that fall under the gotta go NOW category. When your out & about via car it's no big thing to stop & go pee. On a bike it's a different story. Besides pedaling out of my way I may have to remove & bring in any items I'm carting around with me like groceries or fruit that I've gleaned. 

Product review for the GoGirl Female Urination Device, Khaki -

Worked like a charm except for a bit of operator error on my part, say it with me practice, practice, practice... Wonderful feeling of power overcame me fueled by the fact that I didn't feel a draft on my bum. As the oldest of five four brothers I have always been jealous. It was always such a big deal for me to to potty when we were kids hanging out in the woods near our house.

Husband found the audio portion of my testing unnerving but did appreciate not having to leave just to find the woman in his life a suitable public restroom. 

As the add copy says I can see using this for public restrooms instead of the old hover maneuver. 

I added a small sandwich bag filled with wipes and a tiny bottle of hand sanitizer plus an empty bag to keep the GoGirl in after use. Everything fit neatly in the inside pocket of hubby's wool hunting jacket. 

If you're real picky add a couple of medical exam gloves.  

Worth the under $8 spent.

~~ pelenaka ~~