NaNo 2011

Written by karen on October 31st, 2011

Tomorrow is the start of NaNoWriMo 2011. Those of you with us last year will know that this is national novel writing month, a chanceĀ  to write a 50,000 or more word novel in just 30 days.

This year, Brad is joining me in the fun. Very exciting.

What that means for this blogĀ  is that you won’t see much of us for a few weeks. Stay tuned though, we’ll be back December 1! If things go really well, we might post a quick update or two before then.

 

Kitty play

Written by karen on October 28th, 2011

Last night, just before sunset, the bobcat came around. Apparently, she was quite interested in the adobe. At first, she was trying to get under the pallets, where there are undoubtedly rabbits and mice that would make a tasty treat. When she couldn’t fit, she decided to climb on top.

bobcat1

The sandbags holding down the tarp were like big cat toys.

bobcat2

bobcat3

After play, some time to rest.

bobcat4

And finally a big stretch before moseying on.

bobcat5

 

Apples!

Written by karen on October 25th, 2011

We have done everything we can think of to do with apples. This has been our big project for the week.

We both peeled and cored many, many apples.

brad_apples

We made and froze bags and bags of apple pie filling. We also made some apple empanadas, apple scones, and apple pancakes.
Then we moved on to canning — applesauce and apple butter.

The timing of the whole canning is tricky. I used a timer and a little chart to keep track.

keeping_track

And we got some new tools that made this all easier.

Here are some of the results. Some of you faithful readers will be getting apple butter in the mail. :)

apple empanadas

apple empanadas

homemade bread w/cream cheese and apple butter

homemade bread w/cream cheese and apple butter

 

Windows

Written by karen on October 21st, 2011

Windows for the main house were delivered yesterday. Yay!

windows1

windows2

 

Lights, Camera, Action

Written by karen on October 20th, 2011

For most things in our new house, I don’t think I have been very particular (in the “picky” sense, I mean). There just aren’t a lot of things that I feel terribly strongly about. However, one thing my “dream house” must have is track-style halogen lights. :)

Except that halogen bulbs use a lot of power — not good for a solar house.

So for over a year, in our very-nearly-finished house, we’ve had bare bulbs on the ceilings in about half the fixtures, while Brad and I have both looked for lights that satisfied me.

And finally, a breakthrough — LED halogen replacements!

Aren’t the new lights beautiful? I think the Tumbleweed house is really finished now.

spotlight

conftable

 

Floors

Written by karen on October 18th, 2011

We love our stained concrete floors, and they seem to be the envy of almost everyone who comes over.

Over the 18 months or so that we’ve lived in the guesthouse though, the floors have worn a bit. The finish coat is wearing thin in spots, and under my office chair, even the stain seemed to have worn off. (We thought is was permanent.)

In researching this, we found out that the finish we used (Polysoy) is no longer the recommended finish. Now there is a new permeating finish Acrisoy. However, Acrisoy can only be used on freshly stained concrete, never over another finish.

But there is also a new coating called Ecofloorz, so we decided to try that.

The spot under the chair really looked bad, pretty much like raw gray concrete, so we decided to try restaining it again with Soycrete first. The results were nothing short of miraculous. The stain took great, and now you can’t even see where the worn spot was.

We are very happy with the new finish with Ecofloorz as well. It’s glossier than the old finish, but not too much so. I’m sure it will wear much better.
floors

 

Fall harvest

Written by karen on October 15th, 2011

Today was fall harvest day for the squash.

squash

The big green striped squash are Sonoran squash. Believe it or not, we didn’t plant any. We planted all butternut. But the butternut these came from were growing close to Sonoran squash, and I understand that they can cross-breed. I guess this is evidence of that.

After harvest, we put in a second bed of garlic and shallots for next year. Brad is getting very good at the alliums.

While we were planting, we heard the first sandhill cranes of the season flying overhead. A definite sign that fall is here!

Our tomatoes are still producing prolifically, and I have fall crops of lettuce and spinach coming up.

It is also apple time.

apples

We’ll be making lots of apple pie filling, applesauce, and hopefully apple butter in the next week or two.

That’s about it from here on the homestead for now! :)

 

My first watermelon

Written by karen on September 25th, 2011

There are lots. Stop by if you want one.

 

New tile design

Written by karen on September 15th, 2011

We poured a little stoop for the battery house today and had a new design idea.

batt1

batt2

Other than that, the roof is done, and we’ll finish the outside OSB tomorrow. Then it’s on to plumbing and electrical (I think).

The weather here is starting to change. The monsoons, which have been light and should be over by now, seem to have picked up steam in the last couple of days. Last night, it rained all night, and the thunder booms shook the whole house. It seems to be getting cooler and seems like fall is here.

 

Heritage Days 2012

Written by karen on September 13th, 2011

Heritage Days is an annual event in Portal to celebrate the natural and cultural heritage of our area. It is sponsored by the Wildlands Network and features two days of presentations on topics like our area’s biodiversity, conservation, local history, and other interesting topics.

This year, Brad and I offered to help put together a kids day for this event. For this event, there were presentations on tracking wildlife, native plants (including making newspaper pots and planting seeds), and our national forest. A theme throughout the day was “What Makes Our Area Special,” and the kids made this great mural showing all that they learned.

Kids Mural