Homemaking

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Driving It Home

I got up early this morning to work on a transcription project, then I printed out some stuff for Laura and headed for her place. There, I helped her level her new fridge, a job that wound up being much hard than either one of us would have expected.

We then headed across the street to see if C&C needed our help. Not yet. We were asked to come back around 1:00. So I went home to do a load of laundry and continue with my transcription.

I returned to C&C’s promptly at 1:00 and got put to work. They had spent the morning laying out and leveling patio blocks that would serve as the foundation for their addition. The next step was to build the beams on which the floor joists will rest. Making their own beams would cost a fraction of buying them premade, plus the premade ones would have been too short anyway.

So the afternoon passed quickly to the sound of hammers pounding big spikes to connect three layers of wood. My wrists were already a little tender from yesterday’s hauling, so I ran out of steam in a couple of hours. No problem, that coincided with snack time. Caroline makes wonderful coffee and has it exactly the way I do, so a cup of her joe is always perfect. 🙂

It then took only an hour to do the remaining half of the job. I then earned a ginormous and delicious gin and tonic. Yuuuuuuum.

I’m feeling quite done for the day, but I still have a little transcription to do, so I’m trying not to crash. I’d rather finish it tonight so I can sleep in tomorrow before heading to Montana.

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Off the Grid, But Not Independent

A very grey sky and the threat of a storm has kept my batteries unacceptably low all day. I am so annoyed with the weather this summer. Anyway, I ran the genny for a few hours this morning and conceded that I needed to do so again this evening.

Since a generator should operate with a load on it, I actually microwaved my lunch. This evening, I decided to do a small load of laundry that I could hang in the shower and pulled out my spin dryer, which makes my favourite chore even better. I can’t imagine what the neighours who don’t talk to me must think about my laundry station. Wait till I build a serious one with a retractable roof on it. Bwa ha ha.

I am really loving the generator as it is making it possible to remain off the grid and still have all the power I need. I am however cognizant of just how dependent I am on propane and gasoline. Another solar panel is going to be in order for next summer as my single panel just isn’t enough here (which SUCKS).

I have another electrical upgrade in the works. I have a package en route to a nearby Montana border town, so I will be pulling out my passport Monday or Tuesday to go fetch it. And then the fun will begin. But I have to say the instructions seem a heck less intimidating than did the battery monitor ones, so either projects are getting easier or I’m getting savvier about all this electrical stuff.

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Look What Just Blew In From Kansas!

My friend L, whom I met at the beach last winter, arrived today after spending a month in Flin Flon, MB!

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He’ll be here about a week. We’re used to each other’s routine so, really, he could stay for a month. He got set up while I finished my day’s work, then we caught up over shots of tequila.

We both planned meals so between the two of us, we have enough to get us through the apocalypse! I promised I’d make a shrimp boil for his arrival night, so that’s what I did. Boy was it good, even with frozen Safeway shrimp! I added lemons and apple cider vinegar to the spices and that made a big difference. L contributed his homemade seafood sauce (MUCH tastier than the commercial stuff and very horseradishy) as well as a loaf of rye bread.

As we were gorging ourselves on the shrimp, sitting under his awning enjoying the Haven’s natural setting (like being in a campground minus all the neighbours on top of you), L mused that he has no idea what rich folks do that’s so great because, damn, this really is the good life. I couldn’t agree more!

After dinner, I took him for a walk around the hamlet and showed him the sights, of which there were surprisingly many.

If tomorrow is quiet for transcription, we’ll head out and explore the environs, including the petroglyphs. Willow Bunch and Assiniboia have museums we want to check out, as does this very hamlet. Apparently, the post master is the person who can give me the scoop on how to access the church.

It’s so good to have company and I can’t wait to introduce L to my friends here!

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A Good Day For Laundry

Today is quite sunny and windy, a perfect day for doing lots of laundry since it can dry so quickly. I started with the bed sheets and then did a couple of loads of tops and undies.

As I suspected, my clothesline doesn’t hold much, only about two Wonderwash loads of clothes or one of bedsheets.

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The clothesline has a tendency to fall over the minute a slight breeze hits it. I tried to stake it into the ground, but only got bent tent pegs for my trouble. So I decided to try bricks and they are doing a fine job of keeping my clothesline upright in all this wind!

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Here’s the antenna in the truck. The wind keeps turning the pole today and I have to keep running outside to correct it and try to get it to stop moving. I am not annoyed. I just can’t be bothered to ‘properly’ install the antenna when I plan to put a building in that part of the yard soonish.

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While the current load on the line is drying, I am soaking my dish cloths and towels in a mild bleach and very hot water solution before washing them.

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I really like having hot water accessible from an exterior tap! This is yet another feature of my RV that I have yet to take for granted. I don’t think I’d be so keen on doing my laundry outside if I had to traipse into the kitchen to get hot water.