Category: Family

editor1 Family, Homestead

We’re on the Homestead!

Well… it has been a hectic month. We have driven over 4500 miles, criss-crossing the southern U.S., hauling our belongings, pets, kids and selves from Georgia to New Mexico.

The first leg of the trip began on Easter. After playing and directing the choir for Easter Sunday Mass, we loaded up the kids, dog and lizards into the two vehicles and started out. Behind the dually, we had the gooseneck trailer hitched (loaded with 2 bulldozers); the Tahoe pulled a rented U-Haul trailer with the WWII Harley WLA motorcycle strapped inside. We stopped in West Monroe, LA for the first night.

The next morning, we were able to stop for coffee and have a short visit with friends in Bossier City, LA (where we lived for a few years — two moves back). Then, we headed north to Okmulgee, OK to pick up the third bulldozer. {Let me tell you, this bulldozer collecting can become addictive}.

After stopping in Clinton, OK for the night, we made the final push into NM and onto the homestead on the 3rd day. We dropped off the gooseneck trailer with the bulldozers, quickly unloaded the motorcycle and boxes from the other trailer and turned the U-Haul trailer in. We were all very happy to see the progress that had been made on the workshop and seeing Mom and Dad, where we left kids, dog and lizards during the next part of the move.

After a short stay, DH and I loaded up on April 12th and drove the dually (with some bulldozer parts to be delivered to College Station, TX), continuing on to Beaumont, TX, where we stayed the night. The next day, we stopped off in Metairie, LA for lunch with friends (we used to live in Belle Chasse, LA before Katrina). Continuing on, we made Warner Robins that evening.

Saturday, April 14th, we picked up the 26′ U-Haul truck in preparation for the packing up of the rest of our stuff (we ended up needing an additional pull trailer to fit everything, as it turned out). It was a relatively relaxed weekend, spent packing up any last things, cleaning house and having dinner with friends on one evening.

Monday morning, the real work began. We had scheduled a 3-man crew to load the truck for us from a local company — ReadytoMove… well only two guys showed up, and one was apparently hungover and was nearly worthless. About 1/2 hour after their arrival, we was tossing his cookies in the front bushes and then made a mad dash for the bathroom…

Seeing the hours slipping away, DH and I got busy helping with the carrying, loading, etc. We got done in about 5 hours, sending them on their way. We were still very happy that we had help for the heavy stuff, but were less than impressed with the company, even though they didn’t charge us for the extra time.

We scrubbed down the quarters, passed our inspection early on Tuesday morning and hit the road.

It was an easy and uneventful drive across the southern states and into NM, with a pleasant stop on the way to see more friends in Azle, TX.

Arriving in NM, we had a 2-man crew to help with unloading (they were excellent and finished up in quick time — thanks to American Moving and Storage) Everything miraculously fit in the workshop… the RV was moved to the pad and hooked up with water and power… life is good.

editor1 Family

Pack ’em up… move ’em out.

This week has been marked by large quantities of stuff being packed into cardboard boxes. I have long said that the only advantage that is universally true as a result of making a geographical move is that it forces you to sort through your stuff.

Each time this happens (this is move number 19 for us), I am amazed at the amount of stuff we have that we don’t really need. Things I might have thought would be useful to have ended up stuffed in drawers or cupboards… only to be discarded on the next chance to examine it in the light of day.

We have a room in the house that is becoming full of packed boxes. As we go through the process, leaving the things we think we need to live with for the next 26 days, the house looks strangely neater and more organized. It actually is looking much better around here without all our stuff!

We have houseguests visiting this weekend, and I’m frantically trying to get most of the packing done before I have to buckle down and give the house a good scrubbing…

editor1 Family, Homestead, Retirement

Things to Do on the Homestead

Things to do on the homestead when I retire

Aside from the normal day-to-day life maintenance things we all have to do, and the extra tasks of managing the homestead; garden, animals, trees, water collection, firewood procurement, we plan on leading a life rich with adventurous projects and time-consuming activities. Among them are the practical applications such as welding and blacksmithing, and vehicle maintenance. But there are others, such as learning how to make a timber frame home, fully restoring a WWII Clark Airborne Bulldozer, learning glass blowing, brick making, sculpting and a host of other things.

Practical

There are certain skills that are a necessity on the homestead. The ability to fashion basic implements, and the ability to repair them are very important skills to acquire. An ample supply of stock metal, a small forge, the implements to use them, and some basic welding equipment seem like necessities. Granted, I know next to nothing about any of that sort of thing, as far as any practical experience is concerned. In fact, my son, who has taken a basic blacksmithing class for a Boy Scout Merit Badge will be the journeyman and I the apprentice. I have never held a welding torch and have only engaged in conversations about it. Despite these shortcomings, I am confident of two things; I will find someone near our homestead that will help me to learn, and I will one day be able to fashion and repair metal objects that are of use on the homestead. In time, rather than just bending and fixing a broken piece of metal, my hope is that my boys and I will turn out hand-hammered hardware for handmade wooden doors. The wood will be custom fit and hand engraved to mold into the theme of the home, and the hinges, and hardware will be made to match the theme as well.

Our hope is that the wood we use will be harvested from the forest, hauled to our homestead and rough cut for drying and later use. The notion of finding a slightly used portable sawmill is intriguing and practical. The addition of a few basic wood working tools will provide us the ability to build nearly every wooden object that we need. In time, the skills we acquire from working on small projects will provide us the basis for building timber frame cabins and barns. There are numerous courses where skilled artisans teach laymen the basics of fashioning the components of a timber frame home. We plan on taking one of the 5-day courses and then applying our newfound skills on our homestead.

Enjoyable

My boys and I recently purchased a WWII Clark Airborne Dozer. It was originally built by the Clark Tractor Company of Buchanan, Michigan for use by the Army Airborne Engineers. It was designed to be small and lightweight so that they could fit it into a CG-4A glider and tow it over a landing zone and deliver it right into the combat zone. Since I am writing a book on the 139th Airborne Engineer Battalion, who used such dozers, it seemed like a logical step to get one. Besides, as I told my wife, “It will be very practical on the homestead for moving around the mounds of chicken and cow manure that the homestead will be producing!” You can follow my progress on the restoration and quest for replacement parts at the following threads: http://www.g503.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=194152 and http://www.g503.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=193653. My posts are under the forum name 17thairborne.
Other hobbies such as glass blowing, sculpting, carving, brick making, beer making, wine making, ammunition reloading are primarily geared toward enjoyment, but also have a practical side. Each of the hobbies could conceivably provide a business in itself for any of the family members, particularly the boys. Besides, what could be finer than sampling your homemade beer and shooting at the vultures overhead with ammo you personally reloaded (just kidding). These are but a few of the things that we desire to pursue on the homestead.

Why

I am tired of sitting in an office, behind a computer, going to endless meetings about nothing whose purpose is to validate a self-sustaining bureaucratic machine that thrives off itself and produces more volumes of administrative requirements to sustain itself in an endlessly growing cycle of waste. I am not against efficiency or the need for administrative processes; I’m just not well suited to negotiate within them, especially when the growth of the paperless office requires reams of paper to prove how efficient it is. When I was on the flightline or in a jet on the range or over some endless mass of sand and rock, I was at more at peace. I like to do things, to make things, to build and to fix. Heating and hammering metal into an object…that has got to be satisfying. Not to mention, a good work out. Taking a 16 foot, 32” diameter tree and turning it into a true, well fitting and perfectly mortised and tenoned component of a house frame has got to feel good.

editor1 Family, Holiday

Advent is Drawing to a Close…

Preparations for Christmas are almost complete in our household… As the boys get older, they do more and more of the decorating and gift-wrapping than ever. This year, our oldest boy put up and decorated the tree single-handedly. Both boys have taken turns wrapping presents… for each other and for us. I can understand now why my Mother always enlisted one or more of us kids to do the gift-wrapping at Christmastime…

There is a very respectable pile of presents under the tree now (including a carburetor for the bulldozer and a lot of airsoft equipment)  and two very happy boys getting more and more excited as the weekend draws near. They’ve had one day off from school this week so far, but are still getting some schoolwork done. Since we homeschool, we were able to have a good chunk of time off from school during our trip to New Mexico in October… now it’s time to pay the piper and have a few school days when the other kids are out.

This year we’ll be spending our Christmas at home here in Georgia, with just our little family. Being music director for the parish here, I will be at all Christmas services directing the choir. I look forward to it very much. By this time next year, we’ll (hopefully) be preparing for Christmas in our newly built home in New Mexico!

Today and tomorrow will be mad baking days… cookies, bars, and candies will be freshly baked for sharing with neighbors and friends. On Christmas Eve, I’ll make up a batch of cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning. That is always a favorite.

I hope you all are enjoying wonderful winter weather, a good hot cup of something yummy to drink, and anticipating family time as we are.

editor1 Family, Homemaking Skills, Recipes

Divinity perfected…

Yummy, white fluffiness... melts in your mouth.
As long as I can remember, my Mom’s Divinity was a candy we all looked forward to at Christmastime. Guaranteed to send a diabetic into sugar shock, its light fluffiness never fails to satisfy that sweet tooth craving.

Once I was old enough to help with Christmas candy-making and baking, I always took part in helping to prepare this recipe. Mom always made several batches of it each year so that she could share with neighbors and friends, so there were several opportunities to learn the skill along the way. So, I never dreamed I’d have so much difficulty getting consistent results when I was out on my own.

Let me just say that I’ve had some very lackluster batches in the past years, some so soft that they could be referred to as “spoon candy”, some so dry and crumbly that they wouldn’t stick together.

This year was going to be the year I got it right. After a few long conversations with Mom, picking her brain about the finer points of deciding when to call it “ready” and add the vanilla, I got it right. I think it is now duplicate-able infinitely and want to share it.

Divinity (with notes and secret techniques)

2 egg whites, beaten to stiff peaks with high powered stand mixer
2 1/2 cups sugar (I told you about the sugar coma thing)
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup water
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla

In a 2 quart saucepan, combine the sugar, syrup, water and salt. Cook to the thread stage (230 degrees). Meanwhile, beat the egg whites to stiff peaks. Use a stand mixer with a good motor. Don’t try this with a small hand mixer (You’ll burn the motor out). Dip out about 1 cup of the syrup and slowly add to the beaten egg whites while beating. Scrape down the sides.

Continue cooking the rest of the syrup to the hard ball stage (260 degrees). Again, dip out about 1 cup of the syrup and slowly add to the egg white mixture while beating. Scrape down the sides.

Cook the rest of the syrup to the hard crack (300 degrees) stage (if you are using a water test method, the syrup will actually make a cracking sound when you drop the hot syrup into the cold water).

Finally, pour the rest of the syrup into the egg white mixture while beating.

This is all pretty straightforward… this next part is where I always messed up. It takes a long time beating this mixture before it is ready. After you’ve added all the syrup to the egg white mixture, you have to beat it for a long while. I timed it this time and it took me fully 15 minutes before it was ready. Start watching it very carefully once it starts to show any sign of solidifying… in my case after about 8-9 minutes… this could vary a bit. I think mostly I have lacked patience to beat it long enough in most of my failed batches… THIS IS THE SECRET TECHNIQUE… don’t give up too soon on the beating!

So you ask… “How do I know when it is ready?”

When the divinity starts to hold its shape when you turn off the beaters, and just starts to set up like meringue, it is ready. At first, it is very liquid and soft (obviously won’t hold its shape)… then, gradually it will start to solidify slightly. When you see this, stop beating, add the vanilla very quickly and make haste to spoon it out in dollops onto a sheet of waxed paper.

Mom likes to press a pecan half into the top of each dollop (cuts the sweet taste a bit) and has been known to add a drop of either green or red food coloring with the vanilla for a touch of color.

I realize there have been a lot of food articles this week… bear with us — Christmas is coming.

editor1 Family, Homestead

Shoestring budget

How do we get to the place where we spend every bit of income we earn (and, in some cases, more than we earn)? While we were re-evaluating our lifestyle, I was reminded of the contrast with our finances in the beginning. In the early days of marriage, when we were living on 2LT pay, and trying to make up for a few bad decisions, we lived on an amazingly small amount of monthly income.

Let’s just put it into perspective: When we were starting out, my husband’s gross monthly income was $1088.80, plus $280.70 housing allowance. After taxation, I’m thinking we ended up with around $1100/month. From that, we paid $350/month rent, utilities, $250/month car payment (yes, my husband did not ascribe to my views on paying cash for cars yet), $75/month car insurance, food, and $90/month for furniture (my sweet husband picked out furniture to surprise me — you can guess how pleased I was).

From the above figures, you can see that we had $765/month already accounted for in fixed costs before utilities, food, gasoline, etc. It didn’t take me long to figure out that we were going to run out of cash waaay before we ran out of month.

So… I made all our food from scratch, watched the sales and did pretty well on our food budget. I had a bicycle that I used for transportation in the near area. No shopping trips for me, no eating out.

It still wasn’t working.

My idea was that I should find work. I immediately tried to find office work in the area, but had no luck. The local businesses had no interest in hiring a transient such as myself and had no pity for me since my husband was employed. My idea of finding work as a waitress was nixed by my husband (who didn’t think it was a fitting occupation for an “officer’s wife”, haha).

Upon looking at our monthly bills as our savings dwindled, I settled upon the utility bill as something we could reduce. I found the electric bill to be much higher than I recalled from college years. I began turning off the heat or A/C during the day and noticed a huge difference. This worked so well, I also turned off the hot water heater and only turned it on to heat up water before evening showers (trust me, it did save electricity).

Just the difference in utilities made all the difference for us. We were able to pay all our bills each month without dipping into our savings and still had about $40* left over for “fun money” each month.

Using this same train of thought may make the difference for folks trying to figure out how to get by on less or how to make it possible to save up a nest egg. It also illustrates how much an impact on monthly expenses reducing your utility costs can make. I won’t say there weren’t a few hot, humid days that I didn’t long for air-conditioning, but we made it!

*I was pretty gullible back in those days. My husband somehow convinced me that we should spend that $40 on an all-you-can-eat pizza buffet (total cost $12) and the rest on video games. He told me that he needed to play those games in order to develop sufficient hand/eye coordination that he wouldn’t die while learning to fly helicopters. If I hadn’t acquiesced, imagine the guilt I’d have felt if he had crashed.

editor1 Family, Homestead, Retirement

Background

We’re moving home

In 2012, we’ll have been married 30 years. During that time, we have never lived anywhere longer than 4 1/2 years, and several times we moved from temporary to permanent housing within a very short period of time. Yes… we are making our 19th move of ourselves and belongings when my husband retires next year.

This time, we are moving back home. Along with our two boys, dog, two leopard geckos, and accumulated paraphernalia gathered as we, like gypsies, moved along to new ground periodically, we plan to make a new life for ourselves in my hometown.

The Decision

So… how did we decide to take this road? How did we choose where to put down our roots and spend the last years of raising our boys? In the end, it all came down to relationships and family. We didn’t choose our chosen locale based upon tax rates, local government, climate, inches/year of rainfall, employment or educational opportunities, cost of property, proximity to a major airport or good medical care…

The big draw for us was the grandparents. Yep, my parents have lived in the same town since 1961 and they aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. My in-laws also live only a couple of hours’ drive away. We want our boys to grow up around them. It’s as simple as that. Once that decision was made, the rest was easy.

It’s been only a couple of years ago that we made the decision for my husband to take the earliest possible retirement opportunity. Before that, we had envisioned continuing on for several more years working within the system and moving as required. We began to look at things a bit differently and focus more on preparing for our personal future more than on career. At that point, we began making a few changes to allow this early retirement to happen.

Making it Happen

Saving our nickels and dimes, eliminating all forms of debt, reducing our monthly costs ( in order to save more nickels and dimes)… this was a big factor in making this possible. We figured out that, in order for us to even have a chance of living on the monthly retirement income we’ll receive, we can not have any debt.

We calculated the amount of gross income we will have as retirement income, deducted our ‘off the top’ expenses, including healthcare coverage and taxes. Then, when we saw what was left over to live on, we were at first a bit dismayed. That number was about 25% of our current net income! Scary, right?

Well, we took a look at it and were wondering if we could actually live on it if we didn’t have any of the typical debt that most people have. Could we have a decent life on 25% of the amount we currently earn? We decided to try it out.

For the last year, each month, we decided to see if we could live on just what we would have at retirement, not exceeding that amount on any of the day to day living costs. We found out that, not only could we do it, we could actually live on less than the monthly income using a few simple techniques. I’ll put a post together on simple cost-saving methods that allowed us to live on less without sacrificing our quality of life…

Thanks for reading…