2022

Winter in Tennessee

Well, if I haven't said it before, I'll say it again! Neither of us realized how much time and work it would take to get the land ready to live on before we even start to build.

January was colder than we expected. All the winterizing we did in December was not enough and our water lines froze a few times. Luckily we had onboard water in the RV, so it was manageable. Not only did we insulate the two main water totes outside (including the plumbing between totes and to the pump), we had to insulate the pump, plumbing and filtration system inside the container! That did the trick, and gave us some more storage space outside.


The heater in the RV is run on propane, and we have a portable tank that gets refilled as needed, supplemented by the onboard tank for emergencies when the portable on runs out - which it did, a few times :)
But, being the cold wimp that I am, I was always feeling cold in the RV, so the best husband in the world skirted the RV all the way around with Mylar sunshade material - worked like a charm!

The winter days were short and cold. Because we're at the beginning of the Central Time zone, we get light early in the morning, but by 4:30pm, it was already dark outside. We also realized that we didn't properly align our container to get the most benefit from the winter sun onto the solar panels, so by 3:30pm the tall pine trees behind us were casting shadows on the panels. It was tricky sometimes trying to cook dinner with electric appliances early enough in the day to utilize as much solar energy as possible. In the end, we were dependent on the generator more than I would have liked. It was too cold to leave Kitty outside at night, so we made space for her as well; two adults, two 60-lbs dogs and a kitty, all sharing the RV - what a looooong winter!

By the end of January, we decided it was time for Pete to find some work since it was really too cold to make any signification progress on the house build. He was hired on fairly quickly at the local Lowe's, and that brought with it medical benefits and some great discounts for stuff around the property and for the house!

By March, I was managing the rental; our monthly tenants moved out and we were able to find long term tenants - a family of adults who needed a house while they're building their own house in the area. Since they weren't moving in until May, we took the opportunity to get out of the RV for awhile and enjoy the comforts of a home. We worked on a few improvement projects and had family and friends visit us. During this time, I started looking for work as well. I know everyone says it's hard to get back into the market; my problem is that I'm not sure what I want to do! I think I'd like to learn a new industry where I can put my skills and experience to good use, but at the same time, I loved the travel world and know it well. I was lucky enough to find a contract job that has hired me out to Kimberly-Clark; I love the people I'm working with and the work itself, so I hope to stay on with them for awhile.

My 15 year-old nephews, Yanni and Tely, came to visit us at the end of May. We took them on hikes to waterfalls in the area, and they helped us around the property, mainly clearing more trees and planting trees & bushes in our newly landscaped triangle by the driveway. They were especially happy that you can buy and shoot off your own fireworks here in Tennessee!

The Bermuda Triangle
Gets a Makeover

If I haven't mentioned it before, we have a small piece of land that sits inside the circular driveway that we've dubbed the Bermuda Triangle. In the beginning, we just left it wooded, and it's where we stored the felled trees. Over time, we started cleaning it up, and finally, we decided to clear it completely, except for one oak tree.

We soon realized that by clearing it out, anyone on the road can see straight up to driveway and has a clear view of the RV - so much for privacy! But now we had a clean slate, and so we bought grasses, bushes, roses and a few fruit trees to help fill up the area. The boys helped me plant everything and throw down the bagged mulch, which wasn't enough to cover the whole area. Pete brought more mulch on the trailer, and one day when he was at work, I decided it was time I learned how to pull the trailer. I maneuvered it around the triangle and threw down the rest of the mulch. I felt very accomplished at the end, except for the fact that I couldn't properly back the truck and trailer into their parking spot - driving them backwards is impossible - I have a new respect for those that pull trailers!

Meet Red Velvet

In June we finally pulled the trigger on the electric car that we've been wanting, and got the Chevy Bolt. It's the perfect car to zip around town in, and she does pretty well on cross country road trips, as we found out in the fall.

In order to charge her properly on our home solar grid, we upgraded our system to a bigger battery pack and a second inverter. These upgrades were going to be necessary for the future house, so we did them early to accommodate the car.

Loki & Olive Goodness

I've been wanting to post this for awhile - we cook our own dog food for Loki & Olive. We feed them a pound of it at night, and they still eat kibble in the morning (more on that). We use the rocket stove that we built last year, and we use a paint mixer on the end of a drill to mix it all up. See photos, if interested.

  • 10 lbs bag of chicken quarters
    We cook the chicken first for a few hours in water in a stock pot, until the bones fall out of the meat

  • I remove the meat to cool off and add the following to the broth:

    • approx. 10 lbs of sweet potatoes

    • 1 1/2 cups of beans (mixed variety)

    • 2 bags of green veggies (broccoli, green beans, etc)

    • 1 bag baby carrots

    • any leftover spinach that's no good for salad

    • 1 - 2 cups brown rice
      All of this cooks for about another hour while I de-bone the chicken

  • When the veggies are cooked, I add 1 cup of oats, a couple of tablespoons of oregano and a tablespoon of turmeric

  • Occasionally, if I have farm fresh eggs, I'll wash, dry and grind down the shells and add them for calcium

  • We add the chicken back in and mix it all up!

Afterwards, I put all the bones (except for the small pointed ones) into the pressure cooker for another 30 minutes, along with some of the broth.

  • The bones get soft enough to become snacks

  • The broth is added to the kibble in the mornings for their 'cereal'

I feel like they're getting a lot of nutrition from the bone marrow! We also supplement their diet with fish oil and vitamins, as well as home-made pumpkin, peanut butter or applesauce treats. Pete calls them spoiled doggies :)

What's Next for 2023?

It's been a busy year getting on track financially so that we can continue with the build. We survived the great freeze of December 2022 - temps dipped to single digits and windchill in the negative for a few days, yikes!

We've been finalizing the plans and have put in our permit for the septic. We hope to start pouring concrete in the spring, fingers crossed everyone!