Britesea - Living the good life in rural Oregon

[~gd]

God luck with the duck down there is a patch on their brood spot but many will pluck it them selves[ i think it depends on climate] most lose it when they molt after hatch and drakes don't have it at all. I gave up on duck down after I got geese. Dick feathers [small ones not flights] make firm pillows grandma used duck feathers for cores with a down outer wrap. THey smell and the smell is in the oil it takes alot of washing to remove the oil.

 

[Britesea]

Well, if there isn't any useable down, so be it. It was just a thought that I might be able to get more resources from them.

 

[Daffodils At The Sea]

Britesea, we made one of those Sungrabbers, and they work fine when it's warm or hot or very sunny out. They do need 2" rigid insulation lining the chamber because cold air flows completely around it outside, affecting the inside temp. It should be as wide as your window opening, or else build plugs for either side of it. Otherwise the open spaces on either side of the grabber will let in cold air. The grabber also needs to be closed or disconnected at night and on cloudy days, and secured for gusty winds.

Our passive solar house has 4 x 5 windows on the south wall, and I can feel heat coming through the windows as soon as the sun hits them, even if it's near freezing outside. But I'm sure it gets much colder where you are. The stores these days sell not only double glazed, but Low E windows, which stops this flow of heat inwards even more. So if you can go to a salvage place and get double glazed, NON-Low-E windows (before 2009 I think is when they started) your windows will allow a lot of heat in without the grabber. The stick-on plastic would stop this flow of inward heat, but the pull-down shade is nicely controllable.

I really like the blackout pull-down shade for at night, along with the thermal blackout curtains for keeping the heat in. They are out of the way during the day, but still look great.

The link is too long, but searching on Grommet Top Thermal Insulated 84-inch Blackout Curtain Panel Pair at Overstock.com are the ones I got (using coupon codes, too). There are two types of fabric, a suede-type of finish, and a more smooth, "silk-like" finish (it seems like of plain to me). I prefer the suede finish. I put the grommets above the window opening on a curtain rod that is the same color as the wall (white) and I really like the look. The rod is not so dominating.

But the double-glazed windows won't keep the heat in by themselves, so being able to open and close the thermal curtains is really nice. The curtains and shade also do an excellent job of keeping the heat out during the summer, and the inside stays really cool. I felt like I got more bang for my buck with pretty sage green curtains. Give me any excuse to decorate!!

 

[Britesea]

Well, we may get cold, but we have about 300 days of sunshine a year so it may still be worthwhile to do. I was planning on putting window blankets for night time, but the double glazed windows would help in the daytime and still give me some daylight. I suffer from SADD, so I need the light. I could keep using the heat-shrink plastic film, but I'd like to have something more permanent; plus I can't open the windows on warm days (we actually get a few every winter) if I have the plastic.

In other news, my ducks have finally all gotten their adult plumage, and the results are in.... I have 3 hens and 7 drakes. So it looks like several duck dinners in the future. Anyone know about how long before the pinfeathers won't be so numerous? I'm sure the feathers are still coming in; the defining colors on the last ones only showed up this week. I'd like to take care of the excess drakes before they start stalking the ladies.

I tried something new (for me at least) for breakfast this morning-- cooked red wheat berries, with a soft boiled egg on top. yummy. Last night I finally found a recipe using tuna that my husband and son liked. Tuna Alfreda Casserole. Up until now, the only way they really liked tuna was in tuna salad. They will eat the standard tuna casseroles (tuna and cream of mushroom soup, or tuna helper), but I get a lot of grief.

I'm canning up some Dilled Carrots today, which made some more room in my fridge. I also found a frozen block of bacon ends and pieces in the freezer. I think I'll make some beans for dinner.

Hubby is off buying a hunting license today; we've been seeing a lot of wild turkeys, and the season opens today. He hasn't hunted since he was a boy, but he has an experienced friend that has offered to "hold his hand" this weekend.

 

[Denim Deb]

Hope he gets something. I'm hoping to start hunting this winter. I got my license several years ago. Hubby and I were going to go. But, we rarely did, so I don't really know what all I'm doing. I'm planning on shooting skeet first just so I get some experience safely shooting B4 heading for the woods.

 

[Britesea]

Wow, I hadn't realized how long it's been since I last posted. My son bought me Civilization V for my birthday, and it's addictive; all my spare time has been spent trying to "conquer the world" lol.

This has been a rough week for housework- I had to make an emergency run into town to check up on DS. He is housesitting for our renters for 2 weeks, and I got a call from the wife because they had been trying to contact him all weekend and he wasn't answering the phone; they don't have an answering machine so they couldn't just leave a message either. I tried to call also, thinking maybe he would pick up if he recognized the caller ID. No answer, so I drove in, imagining all kinds of horrible accidents along the way. Since I have a key, I just let myself in... and there he was, playing games on the computer. Seems the phone is not ringing- we tested it and there was no dial tone, and yet he is able to go online with the computer? So I left him my cell phone, told him to call Cathy, gave him a hug and came home to a raging headache.
The next day, I was gone from the house for several hours talking with the owner of the local bead store. Since I'm retired from my jewelry business I decided to start divesting myself of the excess stock. Made $250 on that, pretty much what I paid for the stones but at least it freed up some money. Came home to a message on the phone reminding me that the board meeting for the community action organization was in 1 hour. That went on until 9pm... so no work done that day either.
So yesterday, I spent pretty near the entire day cleaning the kitchen and bathroom.

I did manage to finish the door hanging I've been working on, and got it lined and hung. It looks gorgeous, and is definitely helping with keeping the heat in the living room instead of bleeding into the storage room.

I've almost finished cleaning up the junk that had accumulated around the shed and yard; things are looking much better. DS has been raking the pine needles away from the house and outbuildings, and piling them up for the burn pile. I'm thinking of using them in the garden though- to keep the weeds down in the pathways. I know they are acid, but our water tends to the opposite so maybe it will balance.

I bought some cinder blocks and I'm going to try building some more raised beds using them instead of wood. If they work, it will be a lot less expensive than wood; but I'm not sure they will do well with alternate freeze/thaws, so this is an experiment only- for just a couple of beds.

Somehow this fall I missed the elderberries-- just never noticed when they ripened. *sigh*

Today, I need to grind the pork meat I bought on sale, and can it for dog food. Once this batch is done I should have enough for about 2 months of her meals, maybe more. Once the turkeys go on sale, I'll buy a bunch of them for dog food as well.

By the way, when DH went hunting turkeys, he didn't see any sign of them

 

[Denim Deb]

I see a ton of turkeys. Wish I could send some your way.

Pine needles won't change the acidity of your soil. That's an old myth. I'd always heard that as well, then found this article awhile back.

 

[Britesea]

Interesting about the pine needles, Denim Deb. With our alkaline water, blueberries don't do well here unless you amend the soil regularly. I was kind of hoping the pine needles might be a cheap way to do that.

I finished grinding and canning the pork - it made 8 quarts so I was right, with the ones I already have in storage that's 2 month's worth for her. But I'm running low on the veggies. Since the garden isn't producing right now, I'll buy either frozen mixed veggies or produce on sale and dry it. I'm waiting for pumpkins to get cheap; she loves pumpkin.

I just found this recipe online that looks really interesting- think I'll try it out this weekend:

ONE PAN PASTA

12 ounces linguine
12 ounces cherry or grape tomatoes, halved or quartered if large
1 onion, thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
2 sprigs basil, plus torn leaves for garnish
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
4 1/2 cups water
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for serving

Combine pasta, tomatoes, onion, garlic, red-pepper flakes, basil, oil, 2 teaspoons salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and water in a large straight-sided skillet. Bring to a boil over high heat. Boil mixture, stirring and turning pasta frequently with tongs, until pasta is al dente and water has nearly evaporated, about 9 minutes.

Season to taste with salt and pepper, divide among 4 bowls, and garnish with basil. Serve with oil and Parmesan.

 

[Denim Deb]

That looks good.

 

[Britesea]

Yesterday DH and I went into town on a shopping spree. Not really, but he made the final payment on his muzzle-loader that he had on layaway, and I took a portion of the money I'd gotten for the gemstones I sold to buy a kerosene stove and 5 gallons of kerosene. I feel much better having an alternate heat source available now. Our current heat source is an ancient natural gas wall unit. It works very well, but the last time I had someone come out to work on it, the guy told me that I'm on borrowed time with it- if it breaks I might not be able to have it repaired as some of the parts it uses are no longer made. It's been preying on my mind- what if it died the True Death in the middle of winter? I would have liked to install a woodstove, but we just don't have the money; the stove and fuel only cost about $170. Now that we have an emergency backup, I feel more comfortable saving up a little at a time to get the woodstove; it will probably be more than a year before we can afford anything other than the tiniest non-catalytic models though.

Today I think I'll put up the shrink-plastic windows. It's been getting down to the mid 20's every night and that will help with comfort and heating bill.

Fish burritos for dinner tonight, which frees up some time to make something for dessert. I'm thinking some homemade butterscotch to pour onto the ice cream in the freezer...