Anyone out there - it's been over 2 years since I've posted

Well, I'm in my 3rd Spring of living off-grid in a southcentral KY county. I finally got a garden planted this year, and it's coming along nicely. No pics this time around. I rarely get online anymore, just when I come to a friend's home to charge my cell phone. Last time I was online was in February!

Using a woodcookstove has now become routine, as well as heating water on the stove to bathe, do dishes, and do laundry. I still need to get better at preparing for Winter as far as stocking up on wood. Though the past 2 Winters have been mild with very little snow. My first Winter here, I got snowed in twice, even though I have a 4WD truck.

Learning to can on a woodcookstove has its challenges. Keeping the fire hot, and getting a good amount of coals going to begin with is the key. I bought some pig meat from a neighbor whose son had raised two hogs - I got 65 lbs of ground meat, and 10 lbs of loin. That was at the end of March, and I'm hoping they will raise more hogs, and then get them butchered in the Winter, and I would buy a whole hog this time around.

I've gotta get a new digital camera, and will take some pics of the place, and see about getting some of the garden. My dogs got ahold of my other camera, I haven't tried it, but maybe it still works. Sorry it's been so long since posting - I hope someone is out there somewhere! LOL

I'll try to post each time I get online from now on with any news. At least then it will be a number of times in a year. HA!! This is a rather boring post, isn't it - I just don't have my creative cap on today!! Take care everyone, and I hope to be in touch more often than every 2 years!!LOL

Hidee-Ho There Friends

Hey Everyone! Sorry no pics today either. Life at Hidden Acres Farm is going well, but it's pretty cold. We've had a couple of snows, and are in one now, and I am snow-bound. I've walked to my friend's home to get online and charge my cell phone, and check email - I had 519 messages! I haven't been online since I last posted here. Oh, the name of the farm is what my landlords, The Weavers, named the place where I am living.

Yesterday I was so lonesome, since it'd been since last Thurs that I spoke to or saw anyone because of the snow storm, that I walked about 4 miles to my landlords' home to say Hey. Mrs Weaver was gracious enough to invite me for lunch. They are in the midst of butchering, so there were 15 of us at the lunch table. The walk there was a killer because I was walking into a west wind, my eyelashes had icicles. And boy! did that hot chocolate that Mrs Weaver offer me taste good! I had a great time, and the walk home was a piece of cake walking with the wind, but I did find a blister on the ball of my left foot - *whine*. So, today, when I decided to walk to my friend's home, it was pretty easy since she just lives about 2 miles from the cabin, and the wind is light, and it's not snowing.

I'm slowly learning what type of wood burns quickly and heats quickly, which ones take a while to catch the fire, but burn long. When it's in the single digits at night, I'm up most of the night to keep the fire going because it does get cold on those nights in the cabin. But last night it was about 12 degrees, and when I got up this morning, it was 60 degrees in the cabin, with hot coals still in the stove, so restarting the fire was easy, and me and the cats were warm as toast in no time flat. I loaded the firebox, and turned down all the vents so it would burn low and slow while I'm here at my friend's place.

Two of my male cats still like going out in this weather, but they both have a good layer of fat and hair to keep them warm, plus they know they have a warm place to come in and get warm again. I've not been doing any more canning, although I did buy 2 10 lb whole pork loins and can that meat, and got 7 quarts, plus 9 pints, and still had some meat left over for a meal or two. This canned meat that I've put up has come in so handy during these 2 storms we've had where I've been snow-bound for a week - each time. Christmas and New Years was uneventful, but I did notice last night that the daylight time is increasing, where it is not pitch black at 6pm, but still a little light outside - a sure sign of good things to come in the Spring.

I hope you're all well, and had a blessed Christmas, and a wonderful New Year. May this year bring you many blessings. Take care Ya'll, and thank you so much for following this blog of mine, and for all of your wonderful and helpful comments. Oh, I do leave a pot or two of water on the stove for humidity, as well as for making coffee and hot tea. Thanks for the heads-up on that Sawn. I'll talk with ya'll soon. May God's abundant love and blessings be upon you all. So long from snowy Casey Co KY.

Long time . . . no post!

Hey everyone! I'm in town and at the library in Casey Co. It's been a long time since I posted. I've been pretty busy getting ready for the Winter, and just had a rick of wood delivered. Plus I have over a rick of "slab wood" that is from a sawmill - smaller pieces and slabs of wood taken off the logs that have bark on them. And everything is in the woodsheds.

I've spent the last couple-three weeks canning. Turkeys were on sale at the local grocery store and I bought 2, just one at a time. I put it in my cooler on the front porch to thaw, then baked it in the woodstove. The first one turned out a little dry, but I got an oven thermometer for the second one and it turned out great. Between the 2 birds I got 11 quarts of meat, deboned. Then I canned 12 pints of chili. And now have 40 lbs of russett potatoes in the cellar waiting to be canned, and will hopefully get to those soon. Although the grocery store here has whole pork loin on sale very cheap, so I hope to get a couple and can those with a little onion and garlic added, and I can process that meat raw, and it makes its own juice.

My latest purchases besides wood have been a double-blade axe, and a small hatchet for splitting some of the slab wood that is too wide for the stove. Oh, and someone asked me if I had electricity. No, I don't have it, and I have the wood cookstove for heat and cooking. I'm finally almost all of the way unpacked, and have some more things to sort thru before moving my bed up to the loft. The cellar is under the whole cabin, so quite large for a cellar, and there's plenty of storage space, and a ton of shelving made just for canning jars. And with the hard, hard rains we had in the last few weeks, it doesn't leak at all - thank the Lord!

Sorry no pics today. I have been coming into town to do laundry, then take it home to hang dry, and there are lines running across the ceiling in the loft, so I can take home what I washed today and hang it up inside. The cats are doing great, and my youngest, Pookie, has caught numerous voles, and is so proud of himself that of course he brings them to me. One of my females, Annie, caught a vole and brought it inside and it was still alive, and it got away from her, so I'm assuming it got out some way since I've not seen it for weeks - or smelled anything dead! LOL

I'm not sure when my next posting will be. I don't come to the library much. If I come to town, I generally just get errands done, and need to get home to do chores, etc. But I'll try and be more reliable in the future. I really appreciate all ya'll's friendship and for following this blog. Oh, my email account had been hacked, but I went in and changed my password, so hopefully that will cause the hacking-sending out spam emails to stop.

Take care everyone, and I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. I sure hope I post before Christmas, and maybe next time I can post some pics of the cabin and valley in the Winter with snow. We have had a little snow lately, but this weekend we're getting rain on Saturday, then snow on Sunday with very low temps. It was in the single digits at night a few times this week. God's abundant blessings be upon you all. I'll be back soon, from Casey Co KY.

Wash Day at the cabin

Just a quick post to show about the day I did laundry at the cabin. I am at the public library in Casey County checking email and doing this post. Hopefully I'll be coming into town once a week to check email and blog a bit. Without further ado - here is the first wash day at the cabin.

My bathtub doubled as a washtub for doing the wash.

And the agitator is my trusty sponge mop.

My boiling water bath canning pots served as my rinse tubs.

The load was too big to do all of the rinsing in one tub.

Here I've finished rinsing half of the load and the other

is waiting to be rinsed.

Here's the rinsed load with my basket of wooden clothes pin.

It's ready for hanging on the line.

And - TA-DA - here is the clean laundry hanging on the clothesline

that I had to put up that day - it was about 5 p.m. when I finally got

the laundry hung out to dry, and it stayed out overnight

and all the next day to dry.

Not a very exciting post today, and I don't have a lot of extra time to spruce it up. Thanks so much to all of you for following this blog, and leaving comments - they are much appreciated. I'm gonna try and be more organized to get postings done on the day I come to town. I'm still unpacking, and also getting ready for the Winter. I've been able to get some wood delivered, and will get two or three more loads delivered by the end of the month.

Blessings to you all - have a wonderful week. We're gonna have great weather so I can get some things done outside, as soon as I get over this cold. Thanks for stopping by and reading this post today. Have a blessed Monday. Take care, from Casey Co.

Simple Silent Sunday

A photo from fotosearch.com of a view I am seeing often since I moved to Casey Co.

Have a peaceful-blessed Sunday, Ya'll.

Take care.

Meet the Neighbors

These gals and guys are my company most days. I like to sit outside in the rocking chair on the front porch, and it is so quiet that I can hear them pulling the grass up with their mouths. You will see that the pasture looks very highly grazed. The Mennonite young man who takes care of my neighbors comes everyday and moves them to new pasture. So this area is part of an intensive grazing system. Sometimes they get out of their fence and come and visit me around the cabin. So without further ado - Meet the Neighbors.

I think I need a new digital camera - so that will go into the budget planning over the next few months. It is overcast today - but this seems really washed-out, sorry for the poor quality. Looks to me like there is a mix of dairy and beef cows - Holstein crossed with Angus, Hereford, and Charlois - a lot of the females have that bony appearance of dairy cows.

Hope you all have a wonderful Tuesday, and have a blesseed rest of the week.

Take care Ya'll, from Casey Co KY.

Silent Saturday

Early morning at the cabin in the valley - Casey Co KY

Have a blessed Saturday Ya'll

Amish America Book Giveaway

The blog Amish America is having a book giveaway on their site for a book that talks about the religious and spiritual beliefs of Amish. Here is the link to the first part of an interview that was done with the authors of the new book. Check this out, the 2 interviews are very good and informative. Hope you're all having a great day - have a wonderful and blessed Monday. Take care, from Casey Co. Here is the link:
Amish Way Book Giveaway

I'll continue over the next few days on what is happening new down here in the sticks.

Simple Sunday - just some shots

Just some photos today - here is the view looking to the back of the cabin.

There's my bathtub on the wall, and the door to the left is to the

dumb-waiter that is lowered to the sub-basement to keep things cool.

I think there may be something wrong with my camera, but this looks a bit

blurry on the left, but this is the back of the cabin, so you can see the

size of the place in this photo. And it is built on a hill, so that is what

you see from the front, the three levels. There on the right leaning up against

the cabin is my mailbox post, someone pulled it up out of the ground

before I had a chance to put up a mailbox. So, my landlords are gonna

get it put back up and I'll then get a mailbox.

That bar across the top got into the photo - it is one arm on the

clothes line frame, but I need to get some clothes line wire for it.

Here is a photo of the woodshed, and also the outhouse, and you can't

see it, but the rope is attached to an old farm bell, just in case I run into

trouble. I don't get any cell phone reception down in the valley. My neighbors

down the valley should be able to hear me.

This is a little blurry thru the windshield of my truck - it's on the way down

the ridge into the valley where the cabin is located.

Another photo out of the windshield. This is what it looks like coming up

from the valley, onto the ridge opening, then I go thru this little bit of

wooded area to get to the main road.

Hope you enjoyed these photos today. I meant for it to be a simple

Sunday post, and it turned out more complicated than I thought.

I'm getting online mainly at my friend's home, so I don't have to

go into the public library.

Take care All - and have a blessed Sunday.

From Casey Co.

A quick note without photos

The photo of the cabin from far off just makes it look big. The main floor is just 16 x 20 sq ft, and the loft is 16 x 10 sq ft. I'll take a photo from the back so you can get a better perspective. Yes, there is an outhouse, and yes I do have a chamber-pot of sorts so I don't have to go out to the "house" after dark, I just dump it in the morning. Three of the 5 cats will go out regularly when I am there, I don't let them outside when I'm not there yet. The other 2 are a little skittish, but it's just been one week.

I'm working today at my friend's farm, but will take more pics later on today to post tomorrow or so, to give a better view of the outside of the cabin. The front that I showed is the basement entrance, the main floor's porch, and then the loft's porch.

Thanks so much for your well-wishes. It is so good to hear from everyone. I miss getting online to visit with you all, although I do like the solitude of the cabin. I'll try and take some photos of the road I drive down into the valley to the home.

Better get to work. My friend is waiting. Beautiful weather here this week, and good to be working outside in the gardens. Take care All, and have a blessed Wednesday. Finally, from Casey Co KY.

My coming home move

I made it to Casey Co, and will post some pics, but not a lot of detail right now. Everything went fine with the move, finally. The guy that was supposed to load for me was stuck in FL on another move, and when he thought he would be in town, was still stuck in FL - so the move had to be changed to last Tuesday.

OK - here are some shots of the cabin and area.

This is a shot of the cabin from across the way, and that is the driveway

going up to it. That cross piece of wood by the cabin is the hitching

post for the horses when my Mennonite landlords, Mr and Mrs W 

come to visit or if someone comes to repair something.

This is a shot taken from my front porch of the stone bridge that was built

by the W family, who built the cabin for their son and his wife.

A morning shot from the front porch.

The porch faces north, and the cabin sits in a valley

so there is fog every morning, and heavy dew.

Here is the dairy barn when Mr and Mrs W's son was

trying to get into the dairy business, but was not successful.

So the buildings are not being used now, but I am hoping

that I may find some use for them in the future.

This is inside the cabin facing the back, or south.

I think you can see the staircase going up to the loft, and

there is Alpheus on the cat tree.

This is the wood cookstove with my various "tools" needed

for cooking. I have just been warming up food on the stove,

and haven't really done any cooking yet, but am planning

a trip to the grocery store today to pick up a few things.

So I will cook tonight, hopefully.

This is kind of a dark photo - but it is my cat Sarah,

and a basket of goodies, and a flowering plant that Mrs W

brought over when she and Mr W came my first day in

the cabin. They came to give me a crash-course on

lighting the wood stove, and a few other things

I needed to know.

That's all the news from here. This is kind of haphazard, I know.

And I will do a better job of it next time, and show the dumbwaiter

where I can keep items refrigerated in the sub-basement.

So, I've made it a week here, and it's been easier than

I thought it would be, but it isn't Winter yet! LOL

Oh - the outhouse does have a toilet seat, so I'm not in

jeopardy of getting any splinters! ROFL

Take care All, and I'll write more soon.

Have a blessed Tuesday.

Interloping Squatters

These are the photos of what my livingroom looked like today

while I was on the couch working on the laptop.

Albert in MY rocking chair

Albert on MY footstool

Sarah in MY rocking chair

What is wrong with these photos, I ask you?

They don't even have to decency to look me in the face!

Cats, can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em.

Have a blessed Monday evening.

Tomorrow is moving day (I hope!)

Will keep Ya'll posted once I get to Casey Co.

Early Monday Morning

Thanks to fotosearch.com for the photos in this post.

He who created the Pleiades and Orion

and who strides the heights of creation

He is the Lord, the God of Hosts by name.

He formed the mountains and created the wind

and thru His Spirit declares His thoughts to men.

He who created the Pleiades and Orion

and who strides the heights of creation

He is the Lord, the God of Hosts by name.

song - Pleiades and Orion by John Michael Talbot

Have a blessed Monday, Everyone.

From central KY.

Sunday Sabbath

God's Promise

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart. I will be found by you," declares the Lord, "and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you," declares the Lord, "and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile."

The Promise of the Lord to the Israelites during the Babylonian exile.

As minor as the setback of not being able to move yesterday was in the big scheme of things, I found comfort in these verses which are among my favorites in the Bible. May you, too, find comfort in the fact that God has plans for your life, to give you hope and a future. Be well, everyone, on this Sunday Sabbath. God bless you All.

Best wishes from central KY.

Simple Saturday and moving delay

There was a glitch today in getting the mover-helpers here thru U-Haul to load my belongings to be moved. So the move has been rescheduled to Tuesday. Now I have time to do all of my laundry before the move. I'm tired. And I'll leave you with this simple photo of an image that can be found all over KY at this time of year. Have a blessed Saturday evening, Ya'll, and a joyous Lord's day tomorrow. My best to you all. From central KY.

Tobacco barn

Friday Fotos

You've heard of wine in a box - here is cat in a box -- Miss Annie.

Of course my cats have "cat" beds, but they

seem to like anything BUT their own beds.

Sorry for the poor quality of the photos, I have yet to master taking pics with my digital camera, plus it's a cheapy camera! I'll have to invest in a better one sometime.

Hope Ya'll have a great & blessed weekend. I will be offline for quite some time since I am moving tomorrow and don't know when I will get to the public library to update my blog. But I will have photos of the move, and pics of the cabin, etc. Thanks for all of your well-wishes for my move. The weather is going to cooperate greatly, and is supposed to be in the 70s for a high, which is great with the cats riding in the truck with me, so that they don't get too stressed with hot temperatures.

See Ya'll soon. Take care, from Fayette Co KY - soon to be Casey Co KY.

Thoughtless Thursday

No words, just a photo for this

Thoughtless Thursday

9-patch Star crib quilt

Have a blessed Thursday, Ya'll.

From central KY.

Way-Back Wednesday

As most of you know I am moving on Saturday. I have been going thru all of my storage boxes, and found these neat little figurines that I'd forgotten I had. My Mom gave them to me when she and my Dad were cleaning out my Grandpa Schanding's home after he passed away. Here are photos of the three figurines.

The cow is a little cream pitcher. And I think the donkey used to have something that would lie over its halter on its back. The pig is just a pig, albeit a little creepy looking! Here is a better shot from the side to see more of the figurines.

I do treasure these because they are so old, and my

Grandma Schanding probably picked them out. I never

knew her since she passed away in 1958. But in seeing

photos of her in her twenties, I look quite a bit like her.



Hope you enjoyed these little pieces for a Way-Back Wednesday.

Take care Ya'll, and have a blessed day.

From central KY - Fayette Co.

Treasure-Find Tuesday

I have been on the look-out for a rocking chair or two to go into the cabin and/or go out on the main floor's deck/porch. I found this one on Craigslist for $15. The cushion came with it, and I did notice that the cane seat needs some work, but it will do the job. It needs refinishing or painted. And if anyone can tell me if I need to do something to it before painting, please let me know. From the looks of it, it has been outside some, it has that weathered look and feel about it. So I know that something needs to be done to it to prolong its life. I also contacted another person with a rocking chair for $10, but haven't heard from them. I will continue to look on Craigslist to see if anything else comes up before my move on Saturday.

So, without further ado - here is the rocker that I just picked up this evening.

OK - sorry for all of the mess in the background, I'm still packing up stuff for the move. Please forgive! Whaddaya think?

Take care All - and have a blessed Tuesday evening. From central KY.

Sunday Evening's Sweet Dreams

May you all have sweet dreams for this Sunday night's sleep.

Good Night, Ya'll. Sleep Tight.

From central KY - Fayette Co.
Photos from fotosearch.com