Fort Kent, Maine

I am going to Fort Kent this weekend to visit my daughter Skye. We have people watching our home while we are away, so they can take care of our animals. (Zowie is going with friends)

Skye turned 20 this past Tuesday, and she and I are going to bake a cake together and celebrate with some of her friends and her boyfriends family.

Shannon

Salem Massachusetts

I went with friends to Salem, Mass for Halloween. We had a great time.

I did not sleep, however. It seems that an elephant rented the room above ours. It must have had RLS, because all it did was pace the floor all night. Every time it took a step, the ceiling squeeked.

Shannon

The trailer is banked…mostly

Good day, everyone. Zowie got the trailer banked the rest of the way Friday…mostly. We need another 1/2 length of plastic. I am considering the use of a few trash bags to finish the job.
Shannon

Just Sharing

Hello! Just wanted to share my The Green Mom column articles with you.

• Winter Herb Garden
• Healthier Cat Care
• A Greener Cleaning Guide
• Transportation Choices
• Family Gardening for Better Health

Happy Reading!

Shannon

Mini Homestead Happenings for 10/18/2009

Zowie and I spent some time yesterday starting to bank the trailer. We will finish the task this week. We will also have to clean the fans and the air conditioner and put them up, and close up the windows.

My stepfather and mom helped to fix some areas of the skirting that needed extra support, and mt stepdad replaced the broken window. I am thankful that these things were accomplished before winter.

I had already pulled the previous owners trashed items out from under the trailer, and Zowie had taken what wasn’t reusable to the dumpster.

The compost that I started last year was allowed to sit this year, and will be ready for garden use in the spring.

Shannon

Brr…Cold

31* in Milford, Maine this morning. Brrrr…

Hope you are all doing well. I walked yesterday, running errands.

Zowie started Algebra 2 tutoring. She says her tutor is awkward, so I am not sure how that will go. She is very exctied to be graduating in the spring, and then going off to college.

I am likely moving to Salem, Massachusetts in a year or two.

Shannon

Snow…Brrr

Yesterday we had rain mixed with snow all day long. Obviously, the snow didn’t stay. It melted right away. It was cold, though.

Zowie and I will have to bank the trailer this week.

Shannon

Mini Homestead Happenings for 10/12/2009

We replaced the broken window. My stepdad had an extra window from when he changed the windows on his trailer. He brought it over and installed it.

I have cleaned out the previous owners trash from under the trailer while it has been opened up under there. Zowie will be lugging everything to the dumpster for me.

Mom and I closed up most of the underside of the trailer. When Zowie and I were out to breakfast one morning, Mom and Lloyd closed up the rest.

Mom and I will be banking the trailer soon to prepare for winter.

Friends and family have dropped off used candle holders and candle ends so we can make recycled candles for everyone at the holidays again. They all loved the candles last year.

I purchased myself a new outfit while at Wal*Mart with mom. It was under $20.00, and is the first one that I have purchased in forever.

Shannon

Mini Homestead Happenings for 10/11/2009

It has been a while since I posted, but I have not forgotten about this blog.

First, I messed up with my depression meds and had to wait for a new doctor appointment. This put a damper on my bubbly, happy self and I neglected a lot of things. I have gotten straight on my meds again, and am doing much better.

I have also begun a freelance writing career, which takes a lot of time. I rarely have time for myself, but it is a happy thing. I love to write!

Zowie is in her senior year of high school. This is after many years of homeschooling. The principal accepted everything and she is preparing for college. Zowie spent 6 weeks on the university campus for Upward Bound this past summer, a college prep program, with her best friend. I am taking them both on college tours in a couple of weeks. We will be spending the weekend in Portland for this.

I will be in Salem, Massachusetts for Halloween this year with friends. Zowie and her cousin Zachary are staying here and having a horror movie marathon.

The weekend after that trip, I am going to Fort Kent to visit my daughter Skye. We are both excited about this. This is right after she turns 20.

I will be quite busy at these times.

Shannon

Hooray for Water!

LOL! Yes, I do love having running water again. It is wonderful. I saved a lot of water in the month that I had none, of course. I would like to share with you some of the things that I learned that I am still doing:

• I was only able to shower and one load of laundry per week at my mothers. I had to take sponge baths the rest of the week, washing my incredibly long and thick hair in a bucket. It is way too difficult to get soap out of my hair this way, and I would have flaky scalp issues because I couldn’t do it. I started just giving my head a good water rinsing every couple of days. NOW: If there is nothing pressing,  and it is not too hot, I will shower only every other day now. This will continue to save me money on my water bill.
• I had to wash my clothes out by hand every few days, leaving big stuff to do at my mothers. I had to learn to wear things more than once. NOW: The most important items to wash out after every use are underclothing. Unless you stain an article of clothing or you are very sweaty, you should be able to wear other things twice. This will continue to save me money on my water bill.
• Flushing the toilet takes a lot of water. I had already cut back on the amount of times that we flushed during the day, as well as added the filled soda bottle of water to the tank. While I had no water, I could only flush the toilet once or twice a day, and had to clean the bowl each time.  I had to do this with the dirty water from dishes, laundry, bathing and other cleaning tasks. NOW: I still use the cleaning water to flush the toilet. This will continue to save me money on my water bill.
• I used the cooking water to feed the plants, and (NOW) I am still doing this. This will continue to save me money on my water bill.
• I had to fill a bucket with rain water to aid in flushing the toilet. (NOW) I will be using that water in my gardening needs like I always have. This will continue to save me money on my water bill.

Shannon