• DIY

    How to Fix the Heating Coil on Your Dryer

    Well, we fixed our dryer yet again!  This time it was the heating coil that busted and it was considerably more expensive to fix than the $4 part we purchased and put in two years ago ($75 with shipping), but it was more than worth it! Let me back up a bit.  About a month ago, after the dryer finished…

  • DIY,  Eat,  Food Storage & Preservation

    How to Make Tomato Powder

    It is officially the Time of Bounty again.  You’ve sown your seeds, cared for their sprouts, transplanted and top dressed the healthiest growers and are now harvesting a bounty of tomatoes and squash and corn and maybe even peppers from your garden several times a week if not every day. This wonderful process leaves you full of pride while feeding…

  • Chickens

    Flies in the Chicken Scratch

    Teeny, tiny flies…tons of them…in our chicken scratch. We’ve been keeping chickens for a few years now and I have never seen this before!  I first saw them on Saturday when I went out to feed the Ladies.  I opened up the Scratch Bin and noticed a few tiny flies, but didn’t think anything of it.  Then, as I scooped…

  • Prepare

    How to Build a Better Every Day Carry Bag

    Today I will talk about Every Day Carry Bags, but first, I just want to talk a bit about the process of preparing for SHTF/emergency situations…When I first started looking at our preparations for potential SHTF situations, I felt quite comfortable with the process, thinking we were pretty prepared, but the more that I think about it, the more I…

  • DIY,  Food Storage & Preservation

    How to Preserve Basil in Olive Oil

    Somewhere online (maybe on Pinterest), I read that you can preserve herbs in oil.  It was one of those “Aha/Duh” moments because it was so simple! So, last year we attempted this trick for the first time and it worked perfectly!  This year, with an abundance of basil on hand, we’ve already begun the process of harvesting, chopping, pouring and…

  • Prepare

    How to Build a Better Every Day Carry (EDC)

    As mentioned in my original How to Prep for the Unexpected post, I am determined to tighten up our emergency plans and supplies. So, in the interest of starting at the beginning and after being inspired by sites like everyday-carry  and everydaycarryblog,  as well as a couple of old posts by Kelly and Erik at Root Simple, I’ve decided to stick to…