Something like a bucket list.

I kinda spend a lot of time thinking about what I am going to do after the shanty is finished, and I am itching to start a new big, awesome, kick ass project to make say my name. 

This has led me to put together something like a bucket list that I am going to share with you today!

Here are just a few highlights of schtuff that I must do in this lifetime, in no particular order.

• Build a barn. Fill it with cows and pigs and maybe an alpaca.
• Enter an all you can eat contest.
• Rebuild the 1968 GTO that’s been sitting in my parent’s garage since I was in the single digits.
• Take a road trip across the U.S. and visit a bazillion state parks and binge on local famous foods.
• Become a beekeeper.
• Tap some maple tree ass and make sizzurp.
• Hike the Appalachian Trail.
• Take a pole dancing class and learn how to hang upside down by one leg while looking graceful and sexy.
• Run a marathon or two.
• Take horseback riding lessons and get good enough to work cattle.
• Acquire my own trusty steed and enough cattle to shuffle around.
• Write a novel.
• Okay, just write a short story.
• Learn how to speak French, pour de vrai. I took 6 years between high school and college and don’t have much to show for it!
• Truly live Zero Waste. I mean a sandwich baggie of trash per year kinda life.
• Learn how to drive a tractor purposefully, not just chug-a-lug around. Like bale hay and plow fields…like a lady boss farmer.
• Become a foster parent.
• Brew my own brewskis and ferment my own dandelion, elderberry and homegrown fruit vino.
• Learn how to make pottery on a kick wheel.
• Have my own booth at the Farmer’s Markets in the area.
• Turn my first car (’97 cavalier) into a derby beast, and whoop up on some hillbillies.
• Be more active in what I believe in politically. I don’t mean posting junk on social media – Actually get out, volunteer, lobby, make a difference.
• Go back to school and get a degree in Geological Sciences or Geography for no reason other than pure interest.

Never lose the optimism that everything will be fine, the patience to stick with your ambitions, and the confidence that you can physically and mentally learn how to do anything in this world.

Talking Sh*t.

Out of all of my homegrown, self-sufficient, make it from scratch, do it yourself, zero waste antics, this is the first time I’ve thought to myself, “Holly, how in the hell did you get yourself into this?”

This thing I talk of, my friends, is a matter of my septic facilities in the shanty, or the lack thereof more specifically.  Yep, no sewage system. So what does this mean? I am going to be using the “humanure” approach to dispose of my waste. I’ll do my ones and twos in a 5 gallon bucket disguised as a toilet and then compost it until it’s an organic material that can be tossed in the flower beds. Some people say once it’s broken down and aged, it’s completely safe to use on your garden, but, don’t worry folks, I haven’t hit that level of craycray...yet. There are tons of books and theories on this, and I can assure you it is totally legit and safe. It is also good for the environment - I won’t be polluting water sources, zero carbon footprint. It’s a completely natural circle of life type of thing. I’m going to go hug a tree now.

Last weekend I built my pot to piss in. It cost me $5 to make ($4 for a toilet seat and $1 for hardware from our ReStore and the lumber was scrap I had laying around). I based the plans off of the famous Loveable Loo.

How it works:

1. do your biz

2. cover with sawdust or peat moss

3. when bucket is full, take outside and dump in compost pile, cover with straw/hay

4. repeat

5. when your outside compost pile is 1 year old, make a new compost pile and let the old one sit for a year to age before using as fertilizer

6. repeat

The whole purpose of building my own small space was to become more efficient - buy less, use less, and live as simply as possible – all in an effort to save up to buy 100s of acres of dream property. And that’s what I will have to keep reminding myself when I am hauling buckets of feces out to the compost site in the middle of winter. Yay.

FOUR WEEKS UNTIL MOVE IN.

So the time has come to put it in high gear to get the shanty in some sort of livable condition. I have 4 weeks until I move in!

Things I am going to make my biatch this month:

• House wrap and install windows/doors.
• Hook up at least one sink and the bath tub.
• Close up soffits. 
• Insulate the hell out of water lines underneath house.
• Get wood stove in working order, so I don't freeze to death.
• Put on metal roof.
• Insulate walls/ceiling/floor.

The reality is I may be living in a plywood box, brushing my teeth over my dirty dishes, scrubbing my clothes in the bath tub and have one electric outlet running from an extension cord hung out the window. BUT, I will survive and can work on all of the finishing touches during fall and winter.

Here are some recent photos!

Freezing Garden Green Beans

This year I didn’t plant very many green bean plants, so I have been able to pretty much eat everything that I’ve been picking fresh with very little excess.

For this small amount left over to preserve <and because the beans don’t keep long enough in the fridge for me to stockpile for a canning day>, it’s not really worth the effort to can a jar or two of beans at a time.
(Note: You must can green beans in a pressure canner. A water bath does not get hot enough to kill bacteria and preserve.)

Freezing is definitely the way to go. Here’s how I do it:

1.       Rinse and snap beans into 1 to 2 inch pieces.

 

 

2.       Get a pan of water boiling big enough to hold all of your beans...obvi.

3.       Once you have a good boil going, you can dump in the green beans – let boil for 5 minutes. I also add in some sea salt for good measure.

 

4.       While they are boiling, get a large bowl of ice water ready.

5.       Drain green beans under cold water and then immediately submerge in the bowl of ice water. This process is called blanching. It helps the green beans keep their color, taste, consistency, and it’s just what you are supposed to do, so don’t ask questions.

 

6.       I keep them submerged until they are cooled. It just takes a few minutes. Then I drain, pat dry, and transfer to a zip-loc bag. (I know, zip-loc, not very zero waste of me, but I haven’t found anything that works as well yet.)

7.       Label and throw in the freezer to enjoy later!

The Shanty Gets Walls.

It was an awesomely productive weekend on the shanty. I have four walls! This is thing is legit.

I was very lucky to have the gracious help of my best friend's husband, Nick, and his friend Keith to hoist these babies up an in place, and of course, the moral support of Ellen and baby Jackson.

I prebuilt the 2 short walls and premeasured/marked all the studs for the long walls (which I put up in 16' sections) before the crew showed up so we could get a jump start on Saturday bright and early. By 4 p.m., we had all four walls up! I was surprised how smoothly things went together and what a breeze it was to get everything plumb and square.

Gorgeous.

The final wall going up.

Ellen and Jackson showing love from the Redneck Cabana.

 

The shanty is going to have a shed roof, so there is one tall, 12 foot wall in the front. The rest of the walls were built to 8 feet and later on, I will put in filler studs on the side walls to make up for the  space left behind from the pitch.

I chose to do the shed roof for a couple of good reasons.  It's just easier. There will be less cuts when putting up the rafters, I won't have to deal with a ridge seam when I do the metal roof, and I will only have to have gutters on one side of the house. It is also going to give me a vaulted ceiling on the inside so it will feel like I have some more airy space in there. I do have to shell out a little more cash monies for 20' lumber to span the 16' structure, but I think it will be worth it.

Moving Forward: Finish framing out windows, put up wall sheathing, and the dreaded roof work.

P.S. I realize I skipped the post about building the subfloor! Coming soon :)

Garden's-a-Growin'

In the last week or so, we've gotten the garden off on the right foot. Take a look!

First turned up the whole lot with the shovel so the old tiller could get through it!

All tilled and gorgeous.

Put up the fence and raked some rows.

The corn is popping up, tomato plants are in the ground and the beans, cucumbers, and butternut squash are planted. I still have peppers, potatoes, and herbs to get going. I can't wait to have fresh garden veggies!

AND...The fruit trees are taking off this year! I have peaches and apples for the first time!

Precious peaches.

In other Homegrown news...

So the hot topic is the shanty, but there's lots of other homegrown things happening around the property!

1. We built the chickens a new run. It's made out of panels that can be attached to different sides of the coop so they can get to fresh grass and bugs.

2. My favorite neighbors (the sheep) had their lambs!

I could watch these guys all day.

Nursing. Adorbs.

3. Rosy's gone broody. I put her out in the chicken tractor to try to snap her out of it. Not working.

Rosy. Very unhappy that I've moved her off the nest.

4. I'm getting ready to till up the garden this weekend! Hopefully I will have time to at least get the corn planted. It's roughly 30'x25'. 

The garden patch will be around the chicken run.

5. The apple trees are blooming. My favorite.

6. I bought a goat baby. His name is Felix. I am going to have him wethered, and he will be the companion to the dairy doeling I am currently looking for. Goat cheese, this time next year? I think so.

Felix.

*Updates on the Shanty progress will be coming soon!

the perfect weekend.

Half of the floor joists are up! I don’t know if I am just getting better at this house building, tool slinging thing or this was just a beginner level job, but it went superfast and didn’t give me much hell.

Pneumatic nail gun, you are my BFF.

As you can see, I decided to go with untreated 2x8s. I think it should be fine.

Next weekend I will be finishing up the joists and working on putting some cross bracing in.

Morale is high, and I am AHEAD of schedule. #goshawty

 

And since I finished up early on Sunday afternoon, I got to enjoy a seven mile hike around Dow Lake at Strouds Run. Amos enjoyed it too; he even jumped in the lake with some dog friends we met on the trail! It was pretty much the cutest thing I've ever seen in my life. Ever.
 

I think I could sit here forever and never get bored.

 

 

Successful weekend!

I woke up, busted ass, and conquered all three beams by Sunday at 6 p.m.

Everything is level, and I have a great big smile.

All-in-all, it took me one month of weekends and evenings to get 15 6x6 posts cut and up, notch them all, and get the 2x10 beams bolted on. Pretty pleased with my little.lady.self  ;)

Here’s some photos:



By the end of Saturday, had two beams up.



Sunday: All up and bolted on!



Another view.



Yeah, I couldn't help myself. Probably not the last dorky picture you will see of me during this process! Get used to it.

Here's an update.

I have one row of posts left to get notched. I have been making the cuts with the circular saw and sawsall while the posts are standing, because I refuse to take them down and have to put them back up – Putting them all up plumb and level so I could snap a chalk line took way too many hours, and I don’t want to do it again! Even though it would be easier to do this notching business on the table saw. If you are wondering why I am even doing this notching business in the first place, it is because I am cheap and don’t want to spend $300 on post-cap hardware.

I’ve been making score cuts with the circular saw (blade set to 1.5”) and then making the vertical 9.25" cut down with the sawsall. So after about three posts, I start getting a little sloppy with the saw. For the sake of retaining 10 fingers during this process, I’ve just been doing a little each night after work.

 

 

And then… I am going to get all of the beams up this weekend. I repeat, I am going to get all of the beams up this weekend.

We are getting so close to putting down the floor joists and subfloor, and when it is done, I am going to roll around on it and giggle. I may even set up a tent and camp out for a few days.

Beam me.

Success! We have a beam! Is it strange that I think this beam is dang sexy? So this was the first weekend working on the floor parts. It took me three days to get the five 6x6 posts cut level, notched out for the 2x10s, fastened and plumb, and get the 2x10s up. A skilled carpenter could have probably done this job in 4 hours, but nonetheless, I feel like a badass for accomplishing this much.

Sexy.

Now, I get to repeat this process two more times. There will be three 32’ 2x10 treated beams that run the length of the shanty, spaced eight feet apart o.c. The beam is constructed by notching a 2x10 into both sides of the 6x6 post and fastening everything together with two 1/2”x7” carriage bolts. The floor joists will sit on top of these beams running perpendicular.

I am planning on using 2x8 floor joists, 16” o.c. and am debating on whether or not to use treated lumber.  I could save some cash monies by going with untreated and have read that even though it will be open/crawl space underneath, I have enough clearance from the ground where treated boards wouldn’t be necessary. On the other hand, I have read forums where people say they wouldn’t use anything but treated. I wish there was an almighty carpentry god that could give me one clear answer, because I am spending a lot of time wading through everyone’s opinions!

Onward!