its getting to look alot like garden time at the 'stead

After reading my friend Vickis post this morning over at the Veranda I took a leisurely Begley walk over the nearby Walliemart to see if the story was true about the20 cent seed packets.. It was.. I bought 3 types of beans, collard greens, lettuces and spinaches, carrots, brocolli green onions and cukes. Nasturtiums (edible) and for the Mrs i got bachelor buttons and african daisies (her fav)20 packages total for $4 plus tax.. Wallie is starting to get lots of garden stuff on the shelves. While Trash doesnt need very much as I find most of everything and only buy to fill in. It is a nice area to roam around at around 7am on a Sunday morning..
BTW if you wanna read the article she mentioned, wothout having to buy the mag or gawk in the mag section at Wallie world then here it is.

BUSY WEEK BEHIND ME

it has been a busy week in Babylon. There was time to blog only if i wanted to wake early and feel sleep deprived. I didnt. Too much going on. But I will try to catch yall up.
By the end of last weekend the SAfie had marked the taters down to 99 cents for a 10 pound bag so I bought a cuppla bags. They also had the hotlinks , hot dogs and other stuff for 99 cents so i partook. Lunches and snacks for the week.
I brought home and unloaded the granite rock border for another raised bed. NOw where to put it.
I also got a homemade entertainment center that I am planning to use for the pantry extension or place it in front of the window as a starter shelf for seedlings.
Yesterday I was over at the Safie for a dosage of beer when I meandered over to the deli section and found breast of turkey cold cuts by Hillshire FArms for 99 cents for 3 pound pack.. I bought 5 of them. 2 for the weekend use and the week ahead and 3 went into the freezer for future. Aint nuthin like a grilled turkey sandie with onions, mustard, maters on toast.. Wash it down with a mtn dew.

Sunday project

After seeing the spring time stuff while hangin out in the Lowies yesterday I decided again it was time to get busy. After 5 years of being at the homestead with the same old gray carpet that has been gathering pet and kid abuse and knowing full well that there was hard wood floors to be mine right underneath I decided it was as good a time as any to yank that crap up.. It took a cuppla hours to do but its worth it. It also gave me a chance to clean up all the hiding places that the animals have left surprises all these years. This is something that I should have done before we moved over here but alas. The first room is done. Now I need to find some flooring for the living room. As that rooms carpet is just as bad. I hate carpet.

Saturday morning

bfast-toast with jalapeno pepper jelly, coffee
lunch- turkey sandies, coffee
dinner- roast beast mashed taters spinach and water

After the enjoyment of digging out from the snow and going around the corner to save the jeepster and bring her home the wife and I enjoyed the day drinking coffee, sharing garden dreams for the season (she wants more pretty flowers and I want more edibles). We always manage to agree somehow. We are also talking about increasing productivity by building more raised beds..
One of the reasons I love winter is its a wonderful time to dumpie the materials needed for these projects.
We are going to convert the small stall shower in the bathroom into a seedling grow area. I am going to bring in some shelving and acquire a grow light. A simple water system attached to the sink ad drain should suffice nicely.
Yesterday in the dumpie I picked up a large plant stand curio unit and a cuppla over the window shelf units with the brackets already installed.
Today being Saturday I will partake of my usual dumpie homes to see what is available.
Enjoy your day. I will. Besides it is supposed to lighlty snow here at the 'stead. We need the moisture.

Denver Urban Homesteaders

I got an email yesterday from my local Homesteader buddies about this site and i am excited. It is unfortunate thatthey are to the south of me but it would give me an opportunity to head to south Denver on SAturdays to check it out and get some real produce and seeds to add to the stockpile up here at the 'stead. Since its on every Saturday I will have to head on down there and check it out. But ptob not tomorrow.
I am going to harvest some snow tomorrow for safe keeping.
I have plenty.

this sounds like dumpster diving to me

Somehow I just cant picture Rawles in a dumpie.. But who knows

How to prosper in a Salvage Economy

think POSITIVE

bfast- hot cereal toast and coffee
lunch- roast chicken, mashed taters, green bean casserole, and water
dinner-- chili with crackers and juice

Sometime you just gotta think positive. Spring is coming. I have my health. I am still employed. Etc.. I am in charge of my own day. God is in charge of my destiny. Trust in the lord and you shall not wont.
Remember that the pat you recieve in Babylon is only a 'means' not an end.
Enjoy Thursday.

meandering Tuesday

bfast- grits with jelly, coffee
lunch- baked potatos, pork and beans and melted cheddar cheese, water
dinner- roasted chicken, mashed taters, green bean casserole, water

Even a bad day in Babylon can be made better when you leave the shop and come home. The smell of chicken roasting and the faces of the kids as daddy walks in.. "what didja bring me?' As I take my coat off and light my pipe. Its still better than the world of Babylon..

I was asked yesterday if I had ever thought of making a primitive podcast of LWT.. What do ya all think? I would def be interested in doing this if there was interest.

growing onions from discards

Being the scrounger that I am I thought this would def be something worth trying. I find alot of onions in the dumpies and am always looking for ways to recycle/reuse.
I will def have to try this this spring. Gonna start collecting em now.

click here for the article

SUnday snow

We got about 4-5 inches overnight and now it has stopped and the sun is shining// But alas I guess the outdoor picnic plans will have to be changed.

Saturday afternoon dumpster finds.

Yesterday morning I picked up a really cool thinsulated camouflage bomber jacket. Today i hit a moload. While taking a walk to the Safieway dumpie I got 2 new 17 in monitors that work, 3 large garden planters and a bunch of large rocks to form a new bed. I had to step back and get the jeep to bring the stuff home.
At Safieway i got some taters, red peppers (organic so good for seed)and some greens and sliced apples (great for the birds).. With the new found treasures I treate myself to a beer and a pack of fresh smokes.

warm and sunny Saturday

bfast- grits and jam, toast, orange and coffee
lunch- cheesey veggie chicken soup with baked potatos, water
dinner- tuna melts, salad chips and juice

the week in Babylon was hell. The morale is going down hill fast. The agendas are becoming clearer and clearer. Why do I mention it here. Because when I leave their my life begins again.. Coming home to the 'stead is my salvation. Hanging with the wife and kids and animals is what makes me happy.. Planning the projects for spring, the upcoming warm months etc is much more desirable than thinking and perusing the Babylonian mentality.. I cant stand that negativity.

Life is too short. I went out this morning early and filled the feeders so our feathered friends can have some food. I also filled up the compost bin with the donations from inside. I also crumbled up the stale bread for the squirrels and rabbits. Now I am sitting by the window watching the animals partaking..

FInally Friday

bfast- grits and cheese, coffee
lunch- leftover salmon, salad, and veggie soup. water
dinner- homemade cheesey, veggie chicken soup, bread and juice

For some reason the morale in Babylon is going down hill.
Days are being spent staying low and working on my own projects. Building projects for the spring at the 'stead are taking shape.. A cuppla more raised beds and maybe the greenhouse I have been contemplating for years.
I am also interested in seeing if I can get that motorized bicycle thing from Afrigadget to work..We shall see. That method of transportation would suffice during a SHTF scenario.

Hump day again

bfast-grits and jelly, toast, coffee
lunch- pasta and turkey sauce, chips, water
snack- popcorn
dinner turkey/cheese sandies chips, iced coffee

Spent the day working in utter geekdom. I then came home and worked in the home lab for a few hours solving some perplexing technical issues that had been eating away at me.. Finally got them solved and all is well. At least until the next perplexation comes around.

Looking thru the seed catalogs and garden books is getting me excited also. Time to start pulling out the leftover and harvested seed from last year to begin again. Plus we have all kinds of other varieties to contemplate.. Gotta love it. Well for me anyway. My philosophy on the garden is make it better than last year. With that simple goal in mind results are almost always assured.

a little bit of geekdom goes along way

It is the day of the big game and the big tv's internal speakers went out a few months ago.. What do you do? SInce most of us cant afford to run right out and buy a new Plasma screen. And I prefer ths old tv anyway with the menageries around here.. Well since the cable box hooks thru the vcr to the tv.. And since the VCR has speaker connections on the back.. Why not take an old pair of stereo speakers and hook them to the vcr.. VOila it works. Now the old reliable dumpie found 32 in TV has stereo sound..
Just in time to see the saints kick some butt later today. Or will it be the COlts. Who the hell cares.. Its Super BOwl Sunday.

I found the culprit...

bfast- jalapeno/pepper jelly and butter burritos
lunch- apple, toast and jam, coffee
dinner- bean and cheese burritos, chips and juice

and it was right under my wifes butt all this time..
For the last several months I have been seeing an increase in our family waters useage by about 500-100 gallons a month/ I had presumed it was due to the increased useage during the winter months on laundry and showers. Well yesterday I did a tad of an investigation and discovered the source. Apparently the in the wife's bathroom the toilet tank had fallen out of adjustment and has been running constantly..Since I don't use that bathroom I would never notice.. So I snuck around and adjusted the toilet mechanism as it appeared to have been out of adjustment. This should now start saving us some more money.
With gardening season coming around the savings are necessary as expenses rise for the gardening season.

DIY: Coffee can compost bin

I was roaming around the www the other day and came across a lot of ads for in= house compost bins.. The prices rune around 20-50 dollars for a pretty metal shiny bin to heep fill your daily organic veggie matter, coffee grinds, citrus peels, egg shells etc. All of that wonderful garbage that you want to add to your outdoor bin .
You can either keep these pretty shiny bins on your designer counter top or hidden in the below sink cabinet. Some even have a filter so you dont have to smell the aroma of the rotting stuff as you open the bin.. What the heck is this crap?
Me and Mrs T drink alot of coffee so we have alot of the old cans lying around and always a fresh supply in transit.. We buy bothe the plastic Tubs and the old reliable tin cans.. What to do with them..
One thing we do is use the big old FOlgers container for a by the sink compost bin for the dailies. The black lid seals the freshness in and the size allows for several days of filling before dumping into the large pile outside. The cost is free with the purchase of the 2 pounds of ground coffee already in it. Darn shucks.. Mrs Trash, on occasion has even decorated a can or two with decoupage or wall paper to make em pretty on the counter.. If ya want one I am sure we can send you one for less than the cost of one of those yuppie shiney ones.
If anyone wants one let me know. I might be able to oblige.. Or it can be a great DIY project.

I am gettin tired of all the crap ads

Do ya ever go to a blog and it is laced with ads for survival crap spewing all over the site.. I do .. It used to not be that way. The survivalist communities used to be about sharing info and strategy and not primarily for selling crap. We used to be able to share our ideas and talk like plain folks about the issues and our plans.
Not anymore. Look over to the left at some of the blogs i frequent and you will see what I mean.I am getting tired of it.
LWT (my blog) was stared as my own personal site to banter about my views on life and living.. I dont need the f'n money from the readership to support my ass . My full time job and my sideline businesses do that well enough for now.. I do this blog as a place to voice my views and share my opines about one family's (mine) struggles thru this hell we live in.. And how to make it more tolerable and somewhat enjoyable.
Hope y'all like it and will continue to come on back..

living off the excesses of others

bfast-cheesey grits, orange, coffee
lunch- leftover italian veggie soup, chips and water
dinner- roast beast, taters, salad and juice

Yesterday I was listening to a podcast from good ol Jack at the Survival Podcast and he was talkin about the skills needed for TEOTWAWKI survival.. Besides the usual mechnanical and technical skills that we should all have and a little gardening skill etc. He forgot a few.
1.Vehicle/ Home maintenance-- Since there aint gonna be no mechanics/ plumbers, handymen etc around there will be a need to fix your own dam car, truck, motorcycle, bicycle and around home stuff. Ya better learn how to do that work or your forked.
2. Creative food/ Supply gathering-- Dumpsters and deserted buildings and such hold a myriad of stuff that will be edible/useable.. DOnt be afraid to climb on in and check it our or go scavengin around.. Practice these skills now for future necessity. Share these skills with your kids.
3. Conservation.. Since after a disaster you may turn on the faucet and nada comes out, you may as well practice now.. Set the standard for the family at 1-2 showers a week. During summere use the community pool for bathing etc.
4. Frugality- As in number 2 clothes ands other essentials can be found quite cheap at the local thrifty mart or for free if you fins them in dumpies or at abandoned houses. DOnt be afraid to grab them and use/ share/ barter. Practice frugal living.. Ols pasta sauce cans and jars make wonderful cups or bowls when in a pinch. The large size beans and veggie cans make ok pots for cooking, etc. Dont be afraid.
Most of all practice these skills now for future use...Our relatives during the depression did and they survived.

snow this morning

Bfast- grits and jelly, coffee and a banana
lunch- Pho with water
dinner - homemade pizza and leftover veggie soup, water

It was kind of refreshing to see some flakes coming down as we headed off to Babylon this morning.
But alas by later in the morning the snow flurries were gone and not even a race of it ever happening. Gotta love it