A somber post today. I’ve been ticked off by recent news articles about vandals damaging several Memorial Day displays; a couple at cemeteries. What is wrong with these people?
I know it’s a tiny minority but it riles me that these miscreants exist at all. Karma needs to smack them in the head.
Men and women have DIED for our country when we needed them most. I suppose the concept of death is alien to younger people, but when you see enough of it, you come to grasp the enormity of that sacrifice. Someday we’ll all cross that bridge. Give a care to those who did it willingly for their families, for their brothers and sisters at arms, and for their country.
Their families still grieve for them. Both should be respected and honored.
Are you a veteran or do you have anyone in the military? Are you traveling this holiday? It’s estimated 38 million Americans will be traveling over Memorial Day. Wow!
Stay safe.
Time again for another update on the State of the Homestead. The weather continues to be pleasantly weird. Last year we had an exceptionally mild winter. This year we’ve had consistent rain. Not that I’m complaining. Most of the rains were brief showers, though we did have a couple of gully washers that flooded roads leading into town. Despite the rains, I’ve got the garden planted and some of it is ready to be harvested.
ns. I’m keeping one of the daughters too. I’ll keep breeding for a larger sized rabbit until I breed his smaller size trait out. I still hope to find a home for him. I won’t rehome him until his son is old enough to take his place.
The dogs: I wasn’t expecting to add animals to the homestead since it impacts our ability to travel, but we can still do day trips. Aside from the surveillance cameras outside, we also keep two cameras inside to watch the dogs while we’re out.
The future: I finally bought the trays and seed I needed to start a fodder system for the animals. I’ll probably only do a test run during the warmer months and do the big trial for the winter months when there are less fresh greens available to feed the animals. I found the perfect shelving system at a garage sale. The trays I bought new because I wanted to make sure there would be no cross contamination from previous plants. You’d be surprised how many diseases your plants can pick up while they’re being shipped or stored.
with bleach before you reuse them. 
I put off meal planning for a long, long time. Looking back, I could kick myself. Not only have I saved money by meal planning but our squabbles over what to eat disappeared almost overnight.
iners: Glass, please. Let’s try to reduce our dependence on plastic. 
• Pantry staples: I use a laundry bin, but you can do something smaller like a stock pot filled with spices, a sturdy set of cooking utensils, and a set of silicone oven mitts.
• Kitchen Towels: Towels might seem a cheap gift, but boy, are they useful. I bought this particular set for myself. They’re good, absorbent bar towels.
Clock: Mundane maybe, but there are some clocks with clever assets, like the kind that recharge your cell phones.
Fire Extinguisher: I will admit, this is a boring gift, so be sure to make this an add-on to your ‘other’ gift. This is something people starting out NEVER buy for themselves. No one expects to have a fire which is why no one seems to have a fire extinguisher. If you’ve ever lived through a house fire, you’ll know what I mean. It could mean the difference between losing a kitchen and losing an entire home–or worse.
would’ve wanted. Even if they don’t have any dirt to call their own, a potted plant is a sweet gift and costs very little. You might be turning someone into a future gardener, and then you can send them to me so we can talk about tomatoes and geraniums. 🙂
When I call a tradesman to work on my refrigerator, or shop with the aid of a very helpful salesperson, I always ask for their business cards. I want to do business with them again, so I ask and keep their cards in one of several business card organizers.
• ChannelLocks: That’s a brand name. I never knew that! I’ve called them ChannelLocks for so long I thought that’s what all these pliers were called. Greg says you need two, but I’ve survived on only one.
handheld is good, but consider getting a headlamp too. I’ve found them to be incredibly useful when my hands are busy.
• A multi-tool: Kind of like a Swiss Army knife but with pliers. Very handy! Greg likes the Leatherman brand. He says Gerber is also a good brand. They’ve come down in price in recent years, so grab one if you need an all-purpose kind of tool. If you can only keep one tool in the car, this one handles a lot of sins.
When we bought our mattress two years ago, I noticed the pillow they had in the showroom was especially comfy. I asked the salesman about it and he showed me several densities and lofts (the height of the pillow).
o use a Japanese buckwheat pillow, which was fine, but I will draw blood on anyone who tries to take my Dough pillow. LOL!
e and bought the Roomba 880. I’ll report back to let you know how it worked. I decided to go ahead and get it when I saw that they were $100 off the regular price. I think the sale’s only for three more days. These things never seem to go on sale so I thought I’d better jump on it.
