24/7 Chat About Anything

[maki2]

At last after many weeks of searching, I located the missing window screen. Now I can keep my travel trailer cooler and of course bug free. This afternoo. I have already been enjoying the cross breeze. I did not have any screen spline or a roller but I did have some 3mm shock cord and a plastic pan scraper. So that was an easy fix at no extra cost.

It is a windy day to day, gust of up to 30mph. I can here it roaring through the tree tops but down here at human height it is just pleasantly breezy. Such a nice change from Quartzsite and not nearly as dirty. I am still cleaning the desert dusty grit out of the car and trailer. Not totally dust free here as I am somewhat cvose to the graveled forest service road. It's Friday and people are arriving for weekend camping with their noisy 4 wheel offroad toys. They will be driving them up and down the road all weekend. That is OK I will be making some noise of my own but not nearly as loud.

I noticed something unusual on my drive to Dogtown Lake. There was a big area fenced off with deerproof fencing. Then I noticed thay it is an Aspen grove. Not any other aspens around in this section of the forest. It is nice that they are giving those trees a helping hand. I have seen deer scat near my campsite but so far theonly wildlife I have spotted are squirrels, birds and lizards. Quite a few Ravens around, some of them fairly large.

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[bullfrog]

Yes the desert is a dusty dirty place! Lol!!! If you ever need to replace your windshield they will know you have lived in the desert!

 

[maki2]

My back is letting me know I overdid it today, too much bending and liftng. But at least I got my little model maker's bandsaw up and running smoothly and cut some aluminum track to length. It has a bimetal blade on it. Much easier on my hands than using a hacksaw. I will have to finish up that project tomorrow; I am taking a few photos as I go to entertain the peanut gallery. It is for a small modification to my folding aluminum scaffold/workbench/sewing table/dining table.

Now it is time for making dinner, hasbrowns, smoked sausage and an over medium egg. Plus an adult beverage to help relax my back muscles.

 

[user 30781]

My back is letting me know I overdid it today

I make an amazing herbal pain rub.  I often think if I were hanging with the nomads moving with the weather, it would probably help some people.  It's got arnica, calendula, comfrey, helichrysum, cottonwood buds, St John's wort and more.  Oh yeah, and cannabis too.  Full spectrum, not just ***.  Cannabis is amazing for muscle issues and St John's wort is good for nerve pain and a great topical muscle relaxer.

This is something that would make it a bit difficult for me to be full time.  I keep all my infused oils refrigerated and I make like 2 quarts of each at a time.   It would almost be impossible to have the refrigerator space for everything.  No problem making the balm though, I only need low heat for about 20 minutes.

 

[vanbrat]

It's Friday and people are arriving for weekend camping with their noisy 4 wheel offroad toys. They will be driving them up and down the road all weekend. That is OK I will be making some noise of my own but not nearly as l

.

We camped one night at a campgrounds with dunes access last year. It was interesting to see all the different vehicle's that people had. They where loud but everyone was having fun and it was quiet after dark when the dunes closed for the night. Granted it was for 1, one, single night don't know if I would want it for a whole week.  
And if they are noisy then they can grumble to much about your noise. Nice trade off.

 

[nature lover]

We’ve had rain for quite a few days here in PA. I looked at the ten-day forecast and there’s dark clouds for everyone of them coming up. Not good for my solar. In addition to being wet it’s quite cold here in the mountains now, apparently I left Florida way too soon.

I got stuck in the mud here yesterday and had a tow truck come to get me out and he almost got stuck. This evening I was sitting here trying to save energy by not turning on the lights. I Got a small bag of sharp cheese cubes from my reefer for an evening snack. after I ate most of them I discovered they were very moldy. Well they make penicillin out of mold so I think I’ll be all right. I thought they tasted especially good. They probably would’ve tasted different if I had the light on. it’s time to close my eyes and go off to see the Wizard. God bless all the nomads, in the desert, in the mountains, on the road, and wherever else they wander.

 

[maki2]

Nature lover you know what spring weather can be like, perfect one day and a morass the next.

 

[jacqueg]

 I Got a small bag of sharp cheese cubes from my reefer for an evening snack. after I ate most of them I discovered they were very moldy. Well they make penicillin out of mold so I think I’ll be all right.  I thought they tasted especially good. 

Maybe you rediscovered Roquefort!

 

[Ravella and X]

I was going to come here and whine just a little tiny bit about the wind that is keeping me inside. Then I read about eating moldy cheese.

It is a lovely day here in the middle-of-nowhere Nevada! : )

 

[B and C]

Glad you are back Nature Lover.

I just spent two nights in Bryce Canyon NP. I rode a mule (first time for a mule) down into the canyon . I knew there was no way I could walk any of it. Dang, this mule I was on was huge, larger than the quarter horses I am used to and wide to boot. I made it into the saddle at the corral and dismounted and remounted at the 1 1/2 hour point (halfway) without much trouble. When we got back to the corral, I had some difficulty dismounting and stumbled backwards (cowboy butt or monkey butt for the motorcycle crowd). The cowboy tour guide stopped my backward movement and got me steadied. My butt still hurt this morning along with a plethora of small back muscles that let me know they were there. Much better this afternoon. Hopefully they will both quiet down by the morning.

Next step is to figure out where to head next. Do I head to my friends place in Idaho or visit another national park? My groceries are getting low but I "could" stay out another week or so without re-provisioning but won't get to eat what I want, rather what I have. My batteries in Idaho are calling but my 11 year old AGM's are holding in there. I draw 70 amps for twenty minutes making coffee in the mornings but they bounce back to 12.4 volts before the sun comes up. Now I am wondering if I bought batteries too soon! LOL It has been nice making coffee in the mornings without running the generator but I really liked the high amperage boost the batteries got for that 20 minutes.

 

[maki2]

Got 2 projects finished today. Laundry (its been 2 weeks!) and I got the wing side extension surface support brackets installed onto my scaffold table. Not enough time this evening to get the photos of the project edited. I reduce tne file size on my computer but I do that during the day when I have lots of solar coming in.

Tomorrow I have to set up my vinyl cutter to cut kits for a couple of orders I need to ship on Monday. Also going to start on the sewing projects I have left to do. That sewing will take a couple of days but the first task is to tighten the belt on the machine and clean and oil it. I plan to list it for sale when I am in the Flagstaff area so I want it to purr properly for a new owner.

 

[user 30781]

Are you using a treadle machine, Maki?

I have a treadle that my kid's dad bought me years ago when we first got married. It came with all the parts, including a couple belts if I remember right. It's currently sitting at my oldest daughter's house. We always just used it as decoration but I'd kind of like to get it running again. When I was little my aunt did all her sewing on a treadle and she used to let me sit by her feet and work the treadle sometimes.

 

[maki2]

No treadle, it is a Bernina Record 830 that I purchased new circa 1974. Fortunately it is a sought after classic sewing macine, almost a cult classic, so it should not take too long to find a buyer.

 

[Gypsy108]

Well... I decided I need to start working again ... I’ve been home for a year now... since I quit working my health has declined dramatically...I am in bad shape physically... and gained 30 pounds...I will be helping a lady that fell a few weeks ago... she needs cleaning, cooking , whatever.... I hope it helps get me back in shape ... it will also help me financially so I have my emergency fund for being on the road... I hope to leave before winter...hopefully can save at least $5,000 .   That’s my plan .

 

[bullfrog]

^^^sounds like a good plan!

 

[maki2]

gypsy108 that sounds like a sensible plan. You do not seem to be emotionally ready to get on the road yet. Too many things are worrying you about making that commitment of leaving everything behind and just going for it. Some folks never do make that break away from sticks and bricks living no matter how much they dream of doing it.

Lately you have presented more negatives of why you can't do it than positives of why it will work for you. Maybe you will figure it out and make it happen before winter, maybe you won't. In the long run just try to keep your head in a good place.

 

[nature lover]

Greetings nomad friends. Another rainy day in the mountains of South Central Pennsylvania. It’s about midnight and it seems cold to me although it’s 45°. The dampness makes it feel colder. And spending the winter in Florida makes it feel colder too. I think I left Florida too soon. If I live another year and get to Florida again I’ll consider staying a few weeks. the weather could be totally different next year I got some great pictures of an eastern Meadowlark this weekend. And was lucky enough to get a great picture of an eastern tailed blue butterfly. When their wings are closed they’re less than the size of a dime. I have seen them and taken pictures many times but never had one resting with his wings open to see the top part until now I will put some pictures up as soon as I get online with my laptop rather than this iPad. Getting out in the forest and seeing the critters and flowers and etc. helps to keep me almost sane. God bless the nomads, the same And even those of us who are not quite sane.

 

[maki2]

Guess I will head to Fagstaff very early tomorrow morning before the winds come up. A new errand I need to run in a larger town just showed up last night. My hone won't turn on. I have been through all the various recovery steps to try but no luck with that. I just bought it a year ago so it is not age related. Oh well Flagstaff is large enough to have several Verizon stores and several mobile phone repair stores.

Glad that I have redundancy in connected devices. But I have never set this Verizon connected tablet up to with software for making and receiving voice calls. It does have its own phone number so I can do text messaging with it but not voice calling. So installing voice calling is on my to-do list for today.

 

[user 423]

I think I left Florida too soon.   .....Getting out in the forest and seeing the critters and flowers and etc. helps to keep me almost sane. God bless the nomads, the same And even those of us who are not quite sane.

Welcome back NL. I really enjoyed the pics of the Florida birds you posted and hope you're able to take some pics of your forest surroundings in PA. Taking pics is something I need to do more of and I will try to do better during my wanderings this year. That's if I can do very much wandering what with gas seemingly going to be pretty expensive this summer. Keep busy with something my friend. It helps.

 

[maki2]

i could use some of that sanity today. I don't enjoy packing up camp days after a 2 week stay. So much to stow away securely. one of these days that will change and the most time consuming chore will be taking down the screen room.

Oh well it is partially packet away, but now I have to stop and go into town to the post office to receive a package and ship out some orders.

Hopefully I will meet and camp with a new friend outside of Flagstaff tomorrow. She has dogs which could be fun for me. I miss my friend's dogs. I will get settled into a camping spot and the next day or so after head into Flagstaff to get my phone repaired to get a new vehicle side 4way to 7pin connector. Find an office supply store, etc. Thankfully it is not a big metropolitan city, just big enough to have stuff I need like cell phone repair shops and a lumber yard.