The City Mouse in the Country

      I'm going to keep this simple.   One of the reasons why Sue and I moved back to Western Pennsylvania was due to our desire for healthier living.       Sue has had some various health problems through the years and has managed to fight them all.  She's a strong resilient woman and one of the many reasons I love her is that she is a fighter.   Many people would have given up, but she keeps on keeping on.  For privacy, I will not go into what ails her.      I, on the other hand, have a pretty strong constitution and want to keep it that way.  So when my doctor starts telling me he's worried about "cholesterol" and "high blood pressure" I can't help but pay attention.  Both my parents have heart disease and it's something that I've been aware of my whole life.  Both Sue and I actually try to maintain a low salt diet for example.       That's tough to d...

    We are having my family over for Easter.       Generally speaking I'm happy about this.   I don't get to see my brother and his family very often.  I'm sure that my niece will have a bit of fun feeding our next door neighbor, Billy the horse. as well as enjoying a good dinner of glazed Ham, carrots with some pesto and my homemade ricotta, scalloped potato's and maybe some grilled asparagus.       Easter is also a time of rebirth, a call back to simpler times when the natural cycles of the world held sway.   Both Susan and I are non religious, believing in Science more than some Higher Power but we are both smart enough to know that traditions matter; and that deep down we are still hardwired to be thankful for warmer days ahead. Blessing of the Easter Baskets     This is also the first major holiday since Thanksgiving that we will have family over.  Sadly my brother and I hav...

      Even though at the time of this publication no one is asking for a sequel, I thought I would share some simple financial tips that can apply not only to Homesteaders, but anyone really.          A lot of this may sound like common sense, a lot of it may sound obvious.  However you would be surprised at exactly how many people don't take advantage of what's at hand because they are so used to doing things in a certain way that they get trapped.  We feel like we have to work this job, or feel that we have to go to this store or buy that product.       So before I get into this a little background about me, I've been doing financial sales and service for over 25 years and have worked for companies like PNC Bank, New York Life, the IRS and 3M.  That being said, even though I am a licensed Insurance agent, always talk to a local financial advisor in your area.  Nor is this a solicitation for...

      I want to talk about making money on a small homestead.   Yes, it can be done.   Now that being said what the hell do I know about about homesteading or making money?     Actually not much about the first, but quite a bit about the second.   My whole life I've been in banking or financial sales of one sort or another.   Making money really isn't that hard, it's just that what is available is either misunderstood (life insurance for example) or somehow hidden away (ask your banker for rates on a No Penalty CD it's like a savings account but with a higher interest rate).      Sometimes it takes research, sometime it takes time to learn a new skill or just someone to point you in the right direction.     So I thought I would throw out a few ideas that I see mentioned time and time again on various Facebook and Reddit pages dedicated to "homesteading."  How do I make money? ...

       A few days ago I posted that to a site that I belong to that deals with philosophy and religion.  I'm not sure where it's from or who the artist was that originally did the piece.  I would give them credit if I knew.          What intereested me to this little meme was simple.  People are willing to accept the idea of Intelligent Alien Life, of which we have no proof of, without question.   Yet refuse to believe what is true and provable because they are biased in their opinions or it contracts some other deeply held value or belief.      Again, this is a non political blog but, sadly, this article is going to touch upon some religious and political viewpoints that can be controversial.   So you have been warned.      However there is a really huge fallacy here first that needs to be addressed because everyone concentrates on the alien.   What this pos...

    **EDIT**  Someone just pointed this out to me in another group that I belong to that many homesteaders - or those attempting to homestead (or just simplify life like I'm trying to do) have must more to worry about than ceiling fans and paint.   They have drought, predators and wildfires to worry about.   It is a fair criticism.     I am not belittling those facts.   This blog is only about my adventures and worries.   I may have to deal with those things one day.   If I upset someone because of this piece I am sorry, that was not my intent.   However we are all on our own journey.  This is mine and I decided to share it with you.          In the past couple of days Susan and I realized something.   We had goals set for the winter, things that we wanted to accomplish...and for what ever reason, we failed to meet those goals. Even though winter is tech...

  Special thanks to USA Today      A friend of mine online recently stated that the state of Texas was having a "Come to Jesus" moment.  Meaning that Texans would have some hard decisions to make in the coming weeks due to the winter storm.   Because a lot of the problems that were caused by this storm could have been avoid in the first place by simply listening to experts and making simple adjustments.     My heart goes out to the millions of people who have been without power for anywhere between 24 to 36 hours plus at the time of this writing.   Not being used to that type of cold, they were simply not prepared for roads covered in ice or electric lines snapping.  They were not prepared for the fact that water lines can freeze and or burst in these types of conditions.       Not having to deal with these types of conditions on a day to day basis, they were simply unprepared.     ...