The City Mouse in the Country

      I decided that I could not let this holiday and year pass without comment.  I've started and stopped writing this entry three or four or five times now.  I've always done some sort of "year in review" for every blog I've ever wrote and this is no exception.        However I've only kept this blog since late September and really haven't done much in the way of "homesteading."      The question for me become how do I summarize a year that has been anything but simple?  How do you close out a year that has...to put it mildly...been anything but normal?   A year that frankly, I can't remember some parts of because they seem to exist in a dreamlike state?      It started simply enough, Sue and I were living in Florida and talking about moving home to PA, discussing about starting a bed and breakfast , etc.   Nothing that was to wild or out of the ordinary.  ...

   Hey everyone!  Did you know that this page now has a companion Facebook page?    It will have articles, memes and such that interest me that relate to this page but don't really apply.  Be sure to check it o ut!        To be honest I expected errors, I expected mistakes, missteps and even the occasional "oops."   This is new to me, and I'm doing things like I've never done before .       This time however I let myself get carried a way a bit and made an error that could have been costly indeed.             Our wood pellet stove needs cleaned out at least once a week.  You can push it a few more days but the ash does build up.   This time we didn't have the air intake for the fire set right and the pellets built up, all the way to the hopper gate.  This concerns me because we have a friend that had the fire in their auger which en...

    As I wait for one or two more estimates about putting together a transfer switch, so I can use the generator to power parts of the house in case of a blackout,    I thought that I should as least do something in the kitchen this weekend.     Part of my journey into "country mousehood" is learning how to cook.  If your growing your own food, you should at least know how to prepare it is some form right?     Having a deep love and respect for history and a desire to explore, I've learned that flavors and styles change.  Big business determines what we eat (and that is several blog entries waiting to happen) and as such the American palate grows smaller and our desire for something that isn't familiar to us, grows less.     Hence you don't see venison (deer), duck, rabbit or turtle soup anymore in the restaurants and inns of America.  When I lived in Florida, I looked forward to eating other types of f...

      We moved into this house back in September 2020, although I don't remember the exact date.  We had been thinking about moving back home for some time and were seriously considering/pursuing  the dream of either owning or running a bed and breakfast.  Susan has the hospitality background and book keeping experience and I've the experience in management, marketing, finance and taxes to make a go at it..         It didn't work out that way due to several reasons, mostly because of Covid 19 but also because the place we found; which was an old 100+ farmhouse with a built on great room addition and an in ground swimming pool, would have required way to much work.  Plus the Small Business Administration didn't like a few things in our business plan - mostly the area where we where, which they didn't believe would generate enough tourist dollars to make the Inn profitable.       Part of our plan inc...

         I am not a cook.        In fact, I'm only starting to learn to cook.  I've always enjoyed good food and experimenting with different tastes and favors.   I've been lucky in my life to have found women that not only can cook, but love to cook; and have been introduced to a world of favors because of them.   I've eaten everything from a fiery red borcht to a Chopped challenge dish.                 However you start one little fire in the kitchen and it takes forever and a day for the women in your life to trust you around flames again.  However that's not stopped me from making a few things .            When I decided to make some changes in my life, I also decided that I should learn to cook.    Or at least make some simple dishes that I would enjoy.   So what is easy to make?   Someth...

  Hey everyone!  Did you know that this page now has a companion Facebook page?    It will have articles, memes and such that interes t me that relate to this page but don't really apply.  Be sure to check it o ut!      I find myself in a holding pattern.       The generator has been ordered and is making it's way slowly to me, it will take approximately two weeks to find it's way to my door.   In the mean time I have the estimate from one  electrician and I'm waiting on the estimates of two more.   I am a bit fearful that I will have no choice than to go above my self imposed $1500 budget.        I'm also fearful that after having all this work done, that the generator will sit unused in my shed.  Although if I am serious about becoming more self sufficient, then I'm sure that it will come in use, somehow and someway.       It has occurred t...

      Imagine the scene, a family fights for survival in a cold and dark world, where the winds blow ceaselessly and the wolves are always at the door.   A ragged man, tired of the weight of the world, exits the home and fights his way through the snow to a lone generator...with a single mighty pull the dark dissipates as the lights come on.  His family inside cheers for now they have heat and don't have to worry about eating cold beans out of a can!        Dramatic music swells.....       Okay, maybe it's not that dramatic.  Maybe the wolves at the door was a bit over the top, but the point is that ever since we lost power for just a tad over 24 hours recently; the idea of a generator has never been that far from my mind.     Plus, I work from home and I depend on power to not only allow me to access my computer and phone lines...but to also keep the pellet stove running. ...