Then: The 3rd Week of July 2008 Now: June 13, 2011

 

Then: The Third week of July 2008

It is Monday, July 14.  The building crew and all the building materials are due Up Here today!  The first to arrive is the truck with the building materials which I meet at the gate at 8:30 am.  It was slow going up the road, but we got there. The driver unloaded it all with a built-in crane, while I drove back down at 11:00 a.m. to meet the building crew.  Of course I am wearing my .45 as always, in a holster tucked into the back of my jeans. It has become part of my daily outfit and I don't give it much thought any more, but the truck driver noticed it and yelled out to the building crew, "Better be nice to her, boys. She's packing!"

Wasting no time, the crew measured where the 20 poles would go.  They have to be sunk 3 feet into the ground and the holes filled with cement.  Unfortunately the ground in that area is clay - very dry, very hard clay.  There was no way the crew could dig the holes by hand.  So I called to rent a Bobcat with an auger to be delivered the next day and the crew spent the rest of the day setting up camp.  Since it is so far to town, the crew will be camping up here during the week and then going home to Spokane for each weekend.

My brother, RJ, came up for the week with his son, Mike.  They are going to spend as much of the Summer Up Here as possible.  Mike is 10 years old and very interested in watching the pole building go up.

The equipment rental company could not get the Bobcat up the road on a trailer, so two of the crew had to go down and drive it up the four miles.  Even having to do that, they got all 20 holes dug in one day!  There were two VERY large rocks in the way of two of the holes which had to be very carefully pulled out. At my request, Joe, the crew foreman, moved one of them to each side of the driveway.  I love big rocks!

Early Wednesday morning, Joe drove the Bobcat back down to the road for the rental company to pick up.  I went Down There for supplies.  The crew set and braced all the poles, as the building inspector will be up early Thursday morning.  He has to sign off on the poles before they can be cemented into the holes.  The two cement trucks are also due tomorrow.  One truck could hold the cement we will need, but due to the steep road, they cannot fill them up all the way.  The cement would just run out the back as they are driving.

I met the inspector at the gate early Thursday morning and he signed off on the project with no problems. Then I met the first cement truck at the gate at 2:30 and the second one about 4:00. Three round-trips on that road in one day is just no fun.

On Friday, the crew marked the nine poles with a laser that will be cut down to the level of the floor to support it. One full row will hold the rafters for the loft and the floor built around them. Both Mike and I are fascinated, watching how all this is done. 

The crew left for Spokane about 3:30 and, once again, it was just me and the critters Up Here. Over the weekend, I smoothed out the dirt floor of what will be the crawl space and dug down to the water pipe coming in from the cistern. It had been covered and marked for the work that had to be done prior to this. Then I laid the vapor barrier. I also went Down There to do laundry and get materials for the trap door that the crew will cut into the floor.

Now: June 13, 2011

We spent yesterday mowing and pulling weeds.  We have a small "domestic" yard in front of our porch about the size of the house, which has greened up nicely this year.  Last Summer we planted some grass seed to fill in the gaps of the grass that was already there.  Plus JB's Mother gave up some iris bulbs which I planted on the east end.  Everything is coming up and looking good, until I started pulling up dandy lions.  There went half the green!

The yard itself isn't much to mow, but the paths and road up to and along the south ridge need to be done also.  That took JB most of the day, and along with mowing the north side of the house by the grove.  What a difference!  With all the rain we have had, everything is growing twice as high as usual.  After he mows, it is easier to see and pull out the nasty little plants we do not want around, such as Devil's Thorn.

I went for a short walk around the south ridge path that JB had mowed.  So much better now.  I have not been at all comfortable going on our evening walks up there lately because the grass had been getting so tall.  We have not seen any rattle snakes this year, but it is definitely time for them to be out and about.  Sure enough, there was a large snake right in the middle of the path.  At first it gave me a start, until I realized it was just a bull snake.  They are the same color with very similar markings, but they have no rattles and their head is oval, not triangular like a viper.  Very good snakes to have around with their diet of small rodents.

The cement around the deck poles has set, and maybe today we can continue working there.  We did take off the pole braces.  It's looking good!

We were relaxing with a movie around 8:30 p.m. when I my eye caught movement outside.  There was a baby bear walking into our yard!  I casually got up, walked to the door, and was able to snap a couple pictures before the dogs noticed it and went berserk.  Hearing them, the bear ran over to the grove and stood up as if pondering whether or not to climb one of the trees.  After a minute or two, he ran down the west ridge.  Meanwhile, chaos is reigning inside as the dogs try to get out after it.  JB went out on the porch to see if he could spot the mother, with no luck.  But it took the rest of the evening for the dogs to settle down, and for their last outing of the night, I took them on leashes.

Then: The 2nd Week of July 2008 Now: June 12, 2011

Then: Second week of July 2008

The men from the well drilling company came up to put in the pump.  It is a really hot day and there is no shade where they are working.  They have to put 600 feet of pipe down into the well, then lower the pump down.  The sun does its work and in a couple hours one of them is down and almost out.  Some cold water and rest in the shade gets him up again.  Turns out our little generator does not have enough "juice" to run the pump, so I will have to wait til August for water when JB gets here to buy our much more powerful back-up generator.  I'll just keep filling my water jugs at Safeway.

The end of May I had brought up a birdhouse from storage and a male wren moved in.  Shortly thereafter he found a mate and soon there were eggs in their nest.  I saw at least one baby, but I noticed they were gone today, so I assume the baby finally learned to fly.  I found an egg shell, and also an unhatched egg - so tiny!.  I will certainly miss them. 

I worked a bit on filling the big trench from the pump to the cistern.  This is a really big job with just a shovel and my arthritic hands.  Maybe I can con my brother and nephew into helping me. . .

The best part of the week is that my Jeep is finally ready, and just in time too, as I need to use the trailer.  I turned in the fancy, new SUV and got back my trusty, scratched and dirty vehicle.

I had ordered our front door and screen from Lowe's and I received a call telling me they both had arrived.  It is a double, glass door that opens outward and has blinds inside the glass that can be raised and lowered, opened & shut.  The screen will be inside the house.  The two sides of the screen meet in the middle and pull back, winding up.  I hitched up the trailer and went Down There to Lowe's.  Also bought an outside door for the loft, a small window for the kitchen, and vapor barrier for the 2 ft crawl space under the house.  Had to drive very slowly on the way back up.

Since I already had the trailer hitched up, after I unloaded the doors and all, I filled it up twice again with branches and hauled them up to the burn pile.

The best news of the week is that our contractor is going to start building on Monday!

Now: June 12, 2011

As it turns out, putting vapor barrier down in the crawl space probably was not a very good idea.  It tends to hold in moisture, and with all the rain we've had, we have some water under there.  A couple days ago I started putting a fan down the trap door and running it all day.  Will probably have to do than for a few months.  And I have to get under there and pull all that plastic out.  Under there with all the spiders and who knows what.  I can hardly wait 

The screen for the front door is still in the box as it turned out to be quite a bit more of a project than we had anticipated.  Maybe we'll get it installed next Summer. . .

Yesterday JB made a "speed" run to town to get cement for the three deck poles so it can set before it rains again (nothing is very speedy about going to town from Up Here).  But he picked up the mail and we had received several items we had ordered, plus we were running low on ice cream.  As I mentioned, we always try to do as much as possible when we go to town.

We got all three poles cemented into the ground and maybe today we can start putting up the plywood.  It looks like a beautiful day, with no rain in the forecast until tomorrow.

There is a great article in the June issue of Outside magazine entitled, "Natural Intelligence, Get Your Mind Dirty."  It is written by Richar Louv adapted from his new book, The Nature Principle.  It concerns his idea of "nature-deficit disorder," and is fascinating.  Here is a quote: "As a species, we are most animated when our days and nights are touched by the natural world.  While individuals can find immeasurable joy in a great work of art, or by falling in love, all of life is rooted in nature, and a separation from it desensitizes and diminishes us."  If that isn't the truth, I don't know what is!  The change in both of us while living on the mountain for the past three years is proof enough.

Then: The 1st Week of July 2008 Now: June 11, 2011

Sunset over Rose  Camp

Then: First week of July 2008

On July 1, I am eating breakfast about 9am, when I hear a branch breaking.  A small bear is trying to get at the yellow jacket trap I have hanging from a tree about 20 feet from the trailer.  I yell and he looks up, but just goes about his business as he now has the trap and is ripping it open for the sweet juice inside.  I grab my gun and camera.  I run out yelling, trying to explain to him that it will probably just give him a stomach ache.  He just sits down and licks it out.  I take some pictures, then shoot a round to scare him. He jumps up but doesn't go far.  I keep yelling and he ambles up toward the south ridge. He stops to nibble on a bush and I shoot off another round. Finally he takes the hint and runs off. 

I start working, but it is just too hot.  I had set up a hammock in the grove, so I grab a book and go lie in the shade.  The rest of the week is cooler and I am able to get a lot of work done.

Our contractor called to advise that they won't be able to start until 7/21 at the earliest!  Well, lets just hope this all gets done before the first snow flies. Nothing else to do but just keep on trimming trees and clearing bushes.  At least I'm in much better shape now.  My brother came up for the week of the 4th and brought some extra electrical supplies he had, along with some really good books on wiring, plumbing, etc.  Also brought some more snake shot.

The sunsets over the Cascades range from the sun going down with a slight pink on the crest of the mountains and surrounding hills, to brilliant pinks, reds, yellows and oranges.  One evening it was so intense that I took 89 photos and they are phenomenal!  It's really difficult to be up here and not take pictures.  I keep telling myself that the pictures will be a much better record of this adventure than my words are.  When I went to the laundromat, I took my computer and made a disc of pictures for JB and mailed it to him.

My cousin called to tell me that she made a great necklace out of the snake rattles!

Now: June 11, 2011

The weather forecast has changed from rain to sun for the next several days.  Thank goodness!

Yesterday we got ALL the joists hung for the deck, except the center ones that will be attached to the pole.  Actually JB did most of the work, hammering in all the hangers, while I just helped put the boards in.  But I did get a few small piles of branches moved up to the big pile for cutting.  It was a good day, and we have a lot to show for our work.

I have mentioned the gate on the road so I better explain about it.  It is amazing how town folk simply ignore "Private Road" and "No Trespassing" signs.  Their attitude seems to be that even though it is private land, there is so much of it that the owners couldn't possibly mind if they drove or hiked through it.  So about ten years ago Larry and Elsie put a locked gate across the road about 1/4 mile down from their house.  Everyone who owns land Up Here has the combination and is urged to keep it private.  It works for cars and ATV's, but motor and mountain bikes and hikers can and do get in.  At least once a year we will get a hiker coming over our South ridge completely befuddled why we are upset that he is there.  What part about "private" do they not understand??!!  When Larry encounters trespassers, he asks them for their address.  When they ask why he wants it, he tells them, "So I can go sit on your deck and use your pool.  Same thing as you hiking/biking across my "yard", however large it is!"  When we lived in Illinois, I saw a sign on a private road that read, "Private Land!  Trespassers will be shot.  Survivors will be shot again."  I'm seriously thinking of getting one of those.



Then: The 4th Week of June 2008 Now: June 10, 2011

Then: The 4^th Week of June 2008

On my way back from town on Thursday, I smell something burning as I am opening the gate.  It looks like there is smoke coming out from under the hood of my Jeep!  I quickly drive up to Larry & Elsie's, park and open the hood. Sure enough, my engine is on fire!  I run around looking for some water; find the dogs dish and throw the water on the fire, which puts it out.  OK, there is no cell service here.  My cousin is due up tomorrow for the weekend.  And I'm sure I need a tow.  So I walk down to the next house, and fortunately they are home. They let me use their land line to call a tow truck, and I schedule it for tomorrow, then they give me a ride back up to the gate.  I settle in on Larry & Elsie's lawn, and when they arrive home shortly thereafter, Larry takes one look at my Jeep, starts laughing and says, "You have a nest in your engine that caught on fire!"  Real funny, Larry.


He gives me a ride up to my camp on his ATV, for which I am very grateful.  Actually he and Elsie have been coming up to check on me a once or twice a week since I've been here.  I am getting to know our very knowledgeable and generous neighbors quite well.


I call the insurance company, Jeep dealer and car rental agency, setting up everything for the next day.  Fortunately this is all covered under comprehensive in our car insurance. Yippee! 


I walk down the next day (3 miles) to meet the tow truck at the gate, and my cousin, Ann, arrived about the same time.  My Jeep is towed to the dealer, and we head on up to my camp in her car.  Ann is ecstatic to be able to pack her gun and get in some target practice.  Just as she was going in to test the outhouse, I saw something wiggling through the grass.  Yelling, "Fire in the hole", I shoot that rattlesnake right in the mouse.  She comes running out, pulling up her pants, saying, "I thought you were just joking 'cause I was in the outhouse!"  No, I did not misspell "mouse," as the snake had obviously just eaten one and that's where I shot it.


It's the first time I'd ever shot anything, even a snake.  After the adrenalin subsides, I cut off the rattles and head.  I give Ann the rattles and toss the snake, sans head, over the ridge.  The head went into the outhouse hole.  One of these days I will learn to skin a snake, and maybe even cook one.


Ann drops me off at the car rental office on her way out of town on Monday after a great weekend.  I choose an SUV and warn them it will be really dirty when I return it.  Hopefully it won't get scratched.

Now: June 10, 2011

When I finally got my Jeep back several weeks later, I had decided not to get the hood repainted.  The burnt circle will be a constant reminder for me to check under the hood every time before I start the engine.  At least I didn't have to pay for that $4000 nest!  Driving a new Toyota SUV was kind of fun, but it just isn't a Jeep.

So what is with all this @#!!?%$ RAIN??!!  Because of the rain on Wednesday, even though it was a nice day yesterday, all the dirt was one big muddy mucky MESS.  We couldn't work on the deck in the morning.  Had to wait til the sun dried it out a bit.  So I spent the morning doing what I hate most - dusting.  Did I mention the dust Up Here?!  It's everywhere, all the time.  There is simply no keeping up with it unless I would vacuum and dust every day, and that just isn't going to happen.  Dust bunnies Up Here are just another pet.  We do vacuum about once a week and use our non-electric floor sweeper very day or two, but I hate dusting.  I did it yesterday in anticipation of our Summer guests.  (Which is a clue as to how often I dust. . .)  After all, this is a cabin in the woods, not a house Down There.

We worked on the deck in the afternoon and got two joists put up.  The water in the pole holes has caused them to shift a little, but the joists will pull everything back into place.  Hopefully we can get more done today.  It is supposed to rain for the next few days, but right now it's looking good.

Larry and Elsie came up to visit last night and brought us fresh eggs from their chickens.  These are not just any chickens, they are pampered pets.  I'm pretty sure they eat better than we do as Elsie gives them greens from her garden, apples, bananas, watermelon, cabbage - well, you get the idea.  So, their eggs are the best tasting ever.

One thing I didn't mention about our dogs yesterday is their concept of the front door.  If they both want to go out at the same time, you have to get a good grip on the door handle as, to them, it isn't simply a door but a starting gate.  If you're not holding on tight, the door will whip right out of your hand.  But we love them, and they love it Up Here.

Then: The 3rd Week of June 2008 Now: June 9, 2011

Then: The Third week of June 2008

The snow on the ninth was Winter's last fling.  Now Spring is rapidly moving toward Summer and it is warm enough for me to use the shower.  I set out the solar water bag in the morning and by late afternoon it is nice and hot.  Then I hang it in the camping shower enclosure we bought at Cabella's.  Not that I haven't been washing prior to this, but no showers.  Just a washcloth, soap and a basin of warm water.  But these showers feel so good, and I guess they not only washed away all the sweat and dirt, but some of my common sense as well.  One evening, feeling so clean and languid, I went for a short walk - without my gun - to our north ridge admiring all the flowers, when something moved a few yards in front of me.  A baby bear!  Then mama bear stood up about 20 yards further up the ridge.  And time stood still.  We looked at each other and somehow I had the presence of mind (or stupidity) to actually take her picture.  Then I grabbed my whistle and blew it.  I could almost hear her muttering as she and her cub ran off into the woods, "Well, there goes the neighborhood!"

As they took off in one direction, I took off in the other, and actually arrived back in camp without having to change my underpants.  Needless to say, now I never go anywhere without my .45.

The holes were dug for the water cistern and septic tank this week, and the tanks delivered and set in place.  It took almost an hour for me to lead the truck carrying them up the 3 miles from the gate.  When we arrived, the truck driver could barely get out of the cab as he was shaking so much.  Guess he hadn't been told about that road!  He said he thought for sure he was going to lose one of the tanks several times and go tumbling down the side of the mountain after it.  But now all is well.  The tanks are in the ground and the drain field finished.  The cistern cannot be covered with dirt yet as it has to be connected to the well.

Last year I had done quite a bit of research on wood stoves, and finally decided on a soapstone stove from the Woodstock Soapstone Co., along with a stone hearth for it to sit on.  The soapstone will hold and emit heat long after the fire is out.  I had ordered it in April while staying with my brother, scheduling delivery for June.  This week I got the call advising of its delivery and met the truck at our storage unit.  The stove alone weighs 500 lbs and the hearth another 200!  The driver used a forklift to unload and move it.  I have absolutely no idea how we will get it up the mountain and into the house. . .

Now: June 9, 2011

Yesterday was a typical Seattle day - cold with rain and fog - so we pretty much stayed inside all day.  Got all our maintenance done, and worked on our computers.  Because of my passion for photography, each month I have literally hundreds of pictures to label and sort on my computer, so I worked on those.  I also created a new page entitled, "OTG Equipment and Appliances We Use."  I hope this will be of some use to those of you who are planning to live off the grid.

The rain stopped long enough for us to go on our daily walk after dinner.  It's not a really long walk, but half of it is up hill, as is any walk UP Here.  We walk up to and along the South ridge with a view of the next canyon and the mountains.  Then we walk down to our North ridge with a view of the Columbia River, mountains and the canyon up which our road climbs.  We all enjoy it and the dogs get insist on going even in bad weather.

And, speaking of our dogs, let me tell you about them.  We have two: a female Red Heeler (Australian Cattle Dog) and a male Blue Heeler/Terrier mix.  She is 3 years old and he is 5, both rescued from the Humane Society.  We got our little female in September of 2008 when she was just 4 months old and named her Dinga.  A mix of Aussie and Spanish as she looks like a female Dingo, from which the Australian Cattle Dogs are bred.  In keeping with that international flavor, we gave her a Chinese middle name - Ling.  (Dinga Ling)  We got our little male in June of 2009.  He was already named Jesse, so we gave him the middle name James.  They both weigh between 35-40 lbs, which is just the size we wanted.  This is not the place to have a very small dog because of the eagles, hawks and coyotes.  And with such a small cabin, we had no room for a large dog.  They get along great, and are wonderful companions for us.

Then: The Second Week of June 2008 Now: June 8, 2011

Then: The Second Week of June 2008

There is a Mule Deer buck that has been coming near my camp in the evenings and bedding down for the night just down the driveway.  The second time I saw him, I walked to within 50 ft or so and started talking to him.  He just looked at me and continued grazing, then settled down for the night.  I shot some great photos.  This is just incredible!

On June 9, I had gone back to sleep again after JB's call when our building site contractor called at 7:15.  As soon as I said, "Hello," I added, "Holy Crap!  It's snowing!"  Yes, indeed it was, and ended up covering the mountain with a good 1/4".  Fortunately it all melted by early afternoon, but it was COLD.  Got some great photos of snow on the wild flowers.  I have heard it said, "Winter isn't over in the mountains until there is snow on the dogwood."  I can now personally vouch for that.  As I was talking on the phone, my deer friend sauntered up the driveway and into the woods.

Our building-site contractor has finished grooming the road and is working on the building site.  The two large trees have been chopped down, cut into a few pieces and moved to the other side of the driveway just up from my camp.

We had wanted the house to face west and overlook the canyon, with a view of the mountains, however we had not anticipated the slope of the land versus a flat spot to build upon.  As the backhoe dug into the dirt, it was obvious that if our porch was on the west side, we would have a view of a 5 ft wall of dirt.  I was in tears.  I changed my drawings, switching the front door to the east end and the loft on the west.  As we sit on our porch, we will look into the woods, down the driveway and off to the north ridge,  and up to the south ridge.  The deck off the loft will overlook the canyon and mountains.

Now:  June 8, 2011

As with each thing we thought was going wrong, it always turned out better than our original plan.  We love that our porch faces east with the above described view.  We get the morning sun on the porch and the afternoon shade.  As I sit at the computer in the loft, I can see the mountain peaks and canyon.  When the deck is finished, we can enjoy the second story view which is even better than from ground level.

I never saw my deer friend again, although I'm sure he saw me.

And speaking of our deck, yesterday we got the third hold dug, set the poles and screwed in the header board all the way around.  And it isn't even rustic!  It's all flush, true and level.  Don't know if we'll be out working today or not as it is 38 degrees out there with fog from the valley blowing through.  Yesterday was a perfect day for working outside - sunny sky but not too hot with a nice breeze.

We will probably do our inside maintenance since it is so wet and cold out there.  Propane appliances require a lot more cleaning than do electric or gas.  Our kitchen stove needs to have the under side of the top cleaned once a month from a sooty-like build up.  That's JB's job.  The refrigerator should be defrosted once a week as ice builds up on the back inside metal slats.  That's easy enough though, as I just turn it off every Monday for an hour or so.  Of course the wood stove also needs cleaning once a month.  That's my job, and a dirty one it is.  But we bought an ash vacuum this spring which really helps.

The two trees that our site contractor cut down are long gone as firewood.  That's another continuous job Spring through Fall, cutting firewood.  We have so much downed timber Up Here that we probably won't have to cut any trees down for several more years.  The land was not groomed in any way before we purchased it, and it was logged several times.  Plus we had our 40 acres thinned about 18 years ago and they left a couple small piles of small trees not suitable for lumber.  As soon as we the snow starts melting in the Spring, I am out  gathering downed branches and small trees.  If you don't get them before the grass and bushes start growing, you won't see them again until next Spring.  So we have quite a large pile of wood already, just waiting to be cut.  Everything needs to be cut into 16" lengths for our stove.  And pieces more than 4" in diameter need to be split.  We like to have at least 8 cords cut for the winter.

Then: The first week of June 2008 Now: June 7, 2011

Then:  The first week of June 2008

I have been meeting with our building contractor to iron out the last few details.  They should be able to start building just after July 4.  I have also hired a contractor who is going to prepare the building site, cut down a couple large trees that are too close to the site; and improve a couple places in the road for the large trucks trucks that will be delivering various items, such as two 1000 gallon cement tanks (water and septic), building materials, cement, etc.  Hopefully he can start next week.  I also finally got the building permit.  (Short sentence, long painful story.)

Most days I am still trimming trees and clearing undergrowth.  Sometimes it seems like I work and work but it doesn't look like I've done anything.  Then suddenly one day, it all looks different.  I can feel those 15 pounds I put on in Illinois dissolving in my sweat.  All that good, fattening, Midwest food.

JB wanted me to check out the possibility of moving our building site about 100 ft south to where there are less trees to block our view.  But in the time I've been here, I've noticed that the wind really sweeps up and over the ridge there - no trees, no wind break either.  So the original site it is.

Laundry is fun up here.  For my small items, I have a manual, bucket washing machine which my brother suggested.  It is a 5 gallon bucket with a lid.  I cut a small hole in the middle of the lid into which the handle of a plunger fits.  Pour in water, add soap and clothes.  Push the plunger up and down vigorously.  Viola!  Clean clothes!  For larger items I go to the laundromat.  That's something I haven't done in decades.  At least there is electricity and free wifi there, so I always take my laptop.

JB calls every morning when he get to work at 7:00 am his time, 5:00 am my time.  Half the time I fall asleep after his call.  One such morning I was awakened by what I thought were chipmunks scrambling over the water jugs just outside the end of the trailer where I sleep.  I peeked out the curtain and was almost face to face with a bear trying to get at the water!  I yelled at him and he took off up the slope.  I was able to grab my camera in time to snap a few shots  (see above photo).  He came back a few days later with the same results.  I guess they are waking up now.  The adventure continues. . .

Now:  June 7, 2011

I am late posting this morning as I could not get on the internet at 5:00 am.  We have a wireless card for our computers and a signal booster, but occasionally the signal just is not strong enough.

I left for Down There at 8:30 am and was back by 3:00 pm.  The best part of the trip was that I saw two bears, one as I was going down and the other as I was coming back up.  The first was just a big, black blur as he ran across the road in front of me going up the mountain.  I spotted the second one as I came around a corner and he was was running up the road.  Just a little brown buy, probably a yearling, who kept running in front of me for several yards before plunging down into the woods.  Larry said he had seen a few bears in the past couple weeks, but for me, it is now official.  They are awake.

All the bears up here are Black Bears.  That does not describe their actual color as they come in all shades - blond, red, brown, black. . .

Getting home is never the end of my chore as now I get to put everything away and vacuum seal any meat that is going into the freezer, or dry bulk foods that need dividing into smaller packets.  We buy large quantities (God Bless Costco!) as I always try to have at least six months worth of food in the house.  I have been vacuum sealing my freezer meat for years as there is never any freezer burn and it lasts months longer.  Now that I am buying so much of everything, I also vacuum seal cereal, flour, snacks, etc.  Some in 1/2 gallon jars and some in bags.  For long term food storage, it's the best tool I have.

We do a load of wash on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, so JB hung out the laundry while I was gone.  We schedule it this way as we fill the cistern for about 30 minutes after each wash.  Our well pump is set up to automatically fill when the float gets down to a certain level, however our inverter cannot run both the well and cistern pumps at the same time.  That's another story for "Then".  For now we just manually turn on the well pump as needed.

I have a dryer, but I have never used it.  We have a clothes line in the house which runs across the living room to the dining area that we use in cold and/or wet weather.  We have another line outside which I use as often as possible.  There is nothing you can put in your dryer to make laundry smell as good as it does from drying outside.