Photo of the Week

Here's another of Cletus' work. Notice how the wood grain looks like clouds? Cletus makes his own frames too.

The Cat Coop

I was saying in an earlier post that I'd like to get some chickens. Not only will they provide us with meat & eggs, they'll make this place seem more like a farm. Sure we grow our own vegetables & have some blueberries,blackberries & thimbleberries. But there's just somethin' missin'...Livestock!
The only animals we've got on this place right now is a dog(and she's a really great one) & 6 cats. Now I'm not saying these cats are spoiled but, let me show you what their daddy Cletus built for them.
This here is the first Cat Coop I've ever seen. The cats have their own room in the basement where they can get in from the heat or cold. To keep them out of his workshop (which is also in the basement) He built them this Cat Walk. They go up these steps to the entrance.

The Cat Walk leads them to an enclosed area he cut over the door. It looks like a fish tank for cats.

From here they step outside onto walkways & ramps There's all kinds of perches & places for them to hang out & climb on.









For the Cat Coop, he framed it in like you would to screen in a covered porch. Instead of using screen though, he used chicken wire. I guess cause that's what we had on hand. (Though I don't know why we have chicken wire & no chickens but that's just me.)










Then he fenced in an area outside of the coop so they could get out & lay in the grass & catch insects & such. It's all really neat & the cat's just love it! I'm real proud of Cletus of thinking it up & then actually building it!











The main feature, though, is the automatic cat waterer. He took a big stone & chiseled out a bowl in the top of it. He drilled a hole through the bottom of the stone. Then he piped in water from the creek that runs next to the house. Water comes in from the creek in through the bottom of the stone. The water then trickles over the stone down into the base. Then goes back out, through another pipe, back into the creek. They constantly have fresh water. He even made the flow adjustable. This is just one of the neatest things I've ever seen.

Recipe: Umm,umm! Cream Biscuits!

I saw some fella make these biscuits on one of them morning shows. He says this is how his grandma used to make 'em. I don't remember his name or what show it was. Would have to be CBS or NBC since those are the only TV stations we get (unless you count PBS).
Cletus really likes these biscuits. I made 15 last night. There's only 2 left. That's them there in the picture. That man ate 9 of em. So light & fluffy. I can even add whole wheat flour & they rise real fine.
This is the best part, there's NO butter or shortening in em!!
Very simple to make. Made with flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and heavy cream - & did I say NO butter or shortening!

Cream Biscuits

2 cups all purpose flour, plus extra for the counter
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Stir in cream until a stiff dough forms. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter ( I use a cookie sheet instead of the counter). Knead the dough briefly.
Pat the dough into a 3/4 inch thick circle. Cut out biscuits. Place on a pizza stone, cookie sheet or what ever you like to use. Bake until golden brown, 10-15 minutes.
Take out of the oven, grab a few for yourself (cause they won't last long) & stand back!

Cletus was braggin on my biscuits to the lady that runs the store down the road. She says to try using mayonnaise. I'm off to find a recipe for mayonnaise biscuits! If you know one, feel free to post it here.

Photo of the Week

Here's one of Cletus' wildlife portraits. Some are designed to make you use your imagination. Can you guess what animal it is?

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Make Your Own Laundry Soap

Laundry Detergents today are made from petroleum products. They're expensive & to me smell bad. I avoid the "chemical aisle" in the grocery store like the plague! I don't understand why folks actually think that those odors they put in those products smell "clean". They make me gag!

You can make your own Laundry Soap. It's really easy.

Here's what you need:

• 1 Bar of real Soap, grated- Examples are Fels Naptha, Zote, Castile.
• 1 cup of Borax - This is the one product I will brave the "chemical aisle" for.
• 1 cup Washing Soda - The only brand I know of is Arm & Hammer. You may find it in the "chemical aisle" at your grocer. You can also find it online. I can't find it locally. I finally found it in an unlikely place, a hot tub dealer! Washing Soda is Sodium Carbonate. It is the ingredient used for PH Balancer.

Mix these ingredients together, dry. Use 2 Tablespoons per load. That's it!

I also ad 1/4 cup vinegar to the rinse cycle. That is your fabric softner!

What's a Home-Insteader?

A Homeinsteader is someone that decides to make a living from home, instead of going to work away from home. We've managed to do pretty well so far. But it's been a lot of hard work coming up with different ways to pay the bills. It's a combination of many efforts.

• Cutting back: One of the main things we cut out was eating out. It's too expensive. You don't know what's in the food, how it's prepared or who prepared it. Making you own meals is much more satisfying, taste better & can have much better ingredients. It's best if you grow your own vegetable & meat. If you can't do that then find a farmer or market that sells quality produce. In the case of vegetables, organic is best. In the case of meats, free range hormone free is best. The farmers markets are the best place to start. There are specialty grocery stores that carry organic, free range meats. Conventional grocers are starting to carry organic,free range veggies & meats. Ask your local grocer to stock these products. They really do taste better!
  

How many pair of shoes do you really need? Who really cares if you wear the same dress or suit to every wedding or funeral? Our ancestors got along just fine with a minimal amount of clothes. I sure wouldn't pay the prices they charge in the department stores. There are some great bargains to be found in thrift stores. They not only have gently used items they also get donations of new items from those same high priced department stores! If you need more than 1 dresser & 1 closet to put your clothes in, you've got too many clothes!

Organize your trips to town. I've got it to where I only make 1 or 2 trips to town a week. I've cut my gasoline bill quite a bit. I don't run to the store (nearest is 6 miles away) everytime I need something.

• Take on many jobs: These are my current occupations

Farmer's Market Vendor: During the Spring,Summer & Fall seasons I sell our garden produce & our woodworking at the local Farmer's Market.

Ebay Seller: I sell stuff that comes my way on Ebay. Mostly, I'm selling the stuff that I put in the basement when we downsized. I also sell on other auctions sites, yard sale groups & forums. Where ever I think the item I'm selling would be appropriate.
Please visit my Ebay

Sign Maker: I make a little extra by designing & making signs.

Carpenters' Helper: We've been lucky enough to find work at the neighbors house. They've completely renovated their house. Cletus has done a lot of the work. I've helped out when he'll let me.

Chief Cook: I've saved us a lot of money by learning to make meals from scratch. I don't buy prepackaged food. I buy the ingredients it takes to make the food. Yes, it takes longer but it's much cheaper & hopefully healthier. Now, I don't claim that I make every single thing that we eat, but I'm working on it.

Mystery Shopper: I can pick up a little cash & get some things I already would buy for free!

Blogging: This is my newest venture.

You can do this too. It just takes imagination & motivation. Here's my motivation & my office!

What's on my mind today?

• Building a Greenhouse: A nice fella from a homesteading forum is sending me some things to help me get started.
  

• Getting some Ducks & Chickens : Hope to get the ducks from a local rescue group. Not sure about the chickens yet. Might just get ducks this year.

• Planning this years' garden: Have lots of seeds but need more. Also, need some seed potatoes. I'm ordering some strawberry plants, apple trees & some blueberry plants from the local 4H. Cletus says the best time to plant potatoes around here is Feb. 14.
  

Romena, There's a Car in the Creek

Ya'll remember me saying that not much happens around here? Well, yesterday we had us a little excitement. About 9 AM Cletus said he was heading down to the blue store. Well, he comes back a few minutes later. I knew something was up cause it takes a lot longer than that to get there & back. Plus, he usually stays & catches up on all the gossip..,uh I mean, local news.
Cletus comes in the house & says that there's a car in the creek. Now, our creek runs parallel to the road & has lots of steep banks. "A car in the creek!" I said. "Is there anybody in it?" "No" he says. "It's a black Taurus". He said I should go down & get some photos of it. Then, he headed back out to the store.
So, I take the camera on down the hill & snap a bunch of pictures from all kinds of angles. I then notice it doesn't have a tag on it. Now that looks really suspicious. Cletus comes back from the store & says he's going to call the Sheriff. He also says there have been some break-ins in the area. Several neighbors have seen this car creeping around.
Well, instead of the Sheriff, a Highway Patrolman comes up. He's a real nice fella too. Cletus had a good time talking to him while they waited on the wrecker to get here. I went back down with the camera & got some shots of the wrecker pulling the car out of the creek. We also pulled some "evidence" out of the creek. The car was registered to somebody 2 counties over from us. Who ever was in the car probably had a long, cold, miserable walk back to town.
We're waiting to hear if there's any connection to the break-ins. I'll keep you posted. I know you've got to be hanging of the edge of your seat! In the meantime, did I tell you about the time an ambulance went up our road? Sirens blasting & everything!.......

Welcome!

We hope you go away with something worth knowing. Thanks for stopping by.

Oh yea, some of you may ask where this Globe Valley is. Well, we like to keep this little Valley all to ourselves. Not too many folks come up here. That's why it's so peaceful. The locals, if they find this blog will know where to find us. I may even drop little hints here and there. If you figure it out, keep it to yourself. We'll let it be our little secret.