Simple Living and Simple Travel

Remember when I wrote about inadvertently leaving the awning out in a hail storm? I could have sworn it was rolled in. Anyway, 4-5’ feet of the canopy at the top was trashed. Yes, it took quite a while but I finally ordered a new canopy. I asked Deb to shelp me with the replacement. Here’s Deb pulling out the roller from the old canopy. Here’s the new canopy nearing completion. I’m holding the most useful tool, well, other than our two ladders, a can of silicon lubricant. We lubed the full length of the three 11.5’ slots that the beads of the new canopy had to slide into. Priceless stuff. Might be able to see some of the T-posts we set in the background. Thanks, Deb, for helping me with this. Should be good until the next hail storm. Here’s a photo of how Deb’s greenhouse is coming along. Awesome. Soon she'll be constructing a cold frame garden similar to my friends’ in Moab. Another shot from the galley window. Still a tad nippy in the mornings, 30s and a couple in t...

Deb does all her laundry by hand. So while I was there, so did I. The Calliger hand wringer was awesome. The first time, I thought it was a lot of work. But while doing my second batch a few days later, I was enjoying it, really. Did a number of batches during the four weeks I was there. Although one morning, I had to wear warm gloves under some heavy rubber gloves. Deb says the only time she minds it is during the winter. The life of a homesteader. It’s open range so occasionally horses or cows come through. Sometimes causing damage. I helped Deb start on some fencing. We set 44 6.5’ T-posts. I picked up a 2nd “14 lb. post driver with handles,” so the work went quicker. The first day I was getting a headache, all that pounding of steel on steel close to my ears. IBU and earplugs were not enough. The next day I dug out my shooting muffs and all was well. Many spots proved to be a bear getting the posts in. A couple days we were totally maxed. But as I staggered back to the Nash, ...