WOOOWEEEE Cold Cold morning on The Homestead. The last two mornings have been below zero but they are saying by this time next week we should be getting close to 40 during the day. That will be Great ! We had a nice New Years dinner with KDee Jo , Tim,  Lil’ TNT, and Kevy D.  at there place last night. I just fired up the forge and getting ready to pound out some knives. It has been so cold the last couple of day’s that we pretty much sat in front of the fire and did some carving. Even Miss Kitty is starting to do some wood carving. After I pond out some knives I am going to start laying some rock for the hearth around the wood stove and build some shelving. So nothing to exciting going on around here right now.

It has been a few day’s since we did a blog so here we go…This Morning it was 5 below zero on The Homestead and the high today is 24 brrrrrrr. We had a Wonderful  Christmas this year. I would have to say it was the best Christmas we have had in a Long Long time. It was just a Very Wonderful Day. It was great to have some little kids for Christmas again. Little Tucker was to funny and we could not believe that at 6 months old he was Loving unwrapping presents. We also had Karra Lee’s Boyfriend 9 year old daughter Saleen with us and we really enjoyed watching her open her presents . Her Grandma showed up a little latter and we over heard her tell her Grandma “You missed it Grandma it was the best Christmas ever ! “ YES !!! That was a Great Feeling. We had all our kid’s and Miss Kitty’s folks too it was Great. And then we had Ham, Roast and lots of Homemade pies. I Hope You all had a Wonderful Christmas to.

Christmas eve it started snowing and continued for about 3 days so we have a good 8 or 10” on the ground. I will take the snow but the last couple of days the wind was blowing and ended up making some huge snow drifts . Yesterday we used Kevy D’s truck to run into town and after going across the creek headed off the Homestead the bottom of the Earth fell out and ended up nose first in the snow. When I jumped out of the truck I sunk almost up to my waist “HOLY CRAP !” So now I have Kevy D’s truck stuck and The Beast Broke down .GREAT!  Had Ol’ Red try to pull me out with his little 4x4 but no luck. About then Kevy D. shows up in his car and starts laughing at me and of course he has to take LOTS of pictures of this. Anyway we were supposed to be up the mountain to look at some property that Kitty’s folks are looking at. So thank the Good Lord for the great people we have in our lives Kevy d called our friends Dave and Linda and they headed over to pull us out. Kevy D. had this under control so we said see ya later. LoL! And headed up the mountain so as we come up the highway to the property we notice Kitty’s folks car sitting in a weird area to park so we pull up as close as we can and You guessed it Marshal is sitting in the front seat with a big ol’ smile on his face and I said “R U Stuck ?” YEP. Hahahahaha  CRAP !!! So we get out and start trying to push it out. Yea right, about that time a Ol’ Boy pulls over a little down the road never says a word drops the gate on the trailer and pulls a little Cat front end loader out drives over to the other side of the car scoops some snow the backs up open’s the little door throws out a chain we all look at each other hmmmmm COOL. Marshal walks up and asks the Ol’ Boy did you stop for us and the Ol’ Boy chuckles a little and said he has some roads to plow…But I Probably would have stopped anyway. We could not believe it so he pulled the car out and Marshal walked over to give him some money for the help and again he never said another word pulled his chain back in the door shook his head no waved and drove off. When we came back down the mountain at the same time all of this was going on Mackenzie Kevy D’s girlfriend T boned a guy who ran a stop sign. Thank God she is ok but her car is totaled. Very Scary ! So yesterday was a little crazy.

I need to get my hind quarters to work so that is all I got for now. We wish you all a Very Happy New Year ! Be careful  out there

Merry Christmas Eve Morning!  A couple of days ago we started blogging again and now decided to post the blog’s on our facebook page too. So for the last couple of days we have been very busy catching up on some chores now that the rain has stopped. Our creek is still just roaring and we did get some flooding on the lower end of The Homestead. We were so happy it did not freeze before the water receded or we would have had a huge skating rink. Monday we went with KDee Jo, Tim and Lil’ Tucker to his Baby check up and just like we already knew he is perfect. After that we did some treasure hunting and thrift storing scored a few things but it was pretty much slim pick’ns. Yesterday I worked on the little truck trying to figure out what is wrong with it. Still not sure what its problem is and the big truck has totally went bonkers and it is all electronic crap so I am not sure if I will be able to fix that one so at this time we still have no running vehicles errrrrr. Thank the Good Lord we make most of our living here on The Homestead. On a lighter note I finished a few knives and started sawing up some of the lengths of wood we have piled up for firewood. Miss Kitty has been so busy shipping packages out the last couple of weeks that she has hardly had time to wrap any presents so today she gets to put on her elf hat and wrap away. Lil’ Tucker has sure renewed our Holiday Season. For the last few years it has just been a real drag. Ought oh here comes some Hillbilly Philosophy… As you get older and realize that just because someone is family does not mean you have to like them or be around them and that is a Beautiful thing BUT it does come with a price. Life is short and I do miss spending time with my Grandma ,Mom ,Aunts and Uncles.

 But Then we have our wonderful kids and a long comes Lil’ Tucker Like a Breath of Fresh Mountain Air. This year he will probably be more entertained by the wrapping paper than anything else but how fun is that… I just Love it! It is a neat thing to move away and start new traditions that Lil’ Tucker will remember like I remember some of the Traditions from my childhood up until just a few years ago. Most of them are by the wayside now and I guess that is just part of life. And as the old traditions go away the new ones begin. That My Friends is a Beautiful Thing. 

WOOHOO !!!! The Rain has stopped ! For Now. Our Creek is Running Like a Wild River

In all my years I do not ever remember it raining for so long. It has been raining pretty much non-stop for almost a week straight. I am thinking about building a Ark just in case. We woke up this morning with flooding on the lower part of the property in DECEMBER ! The Creek is running full bore right now and then they are saying it should start freezing by Christmas. Lord I Hope Not ! So that is some of the trials and tribulations going on right now. A couple of other not so fun things that are going on right now at this time is we do not have a running vehicle. Our little truck has been down for a couple of weeks I think it is the starter AGAIN but yesterday the Ol’ Reliable Ford would not start. Not sure yet what it’s problem is I think the fuel pump or a injector is out. With the rain I have been trying to figure it out off and on all day. Thank The Good Lord we make most of our living here on The Homestead or we would be in trouble. So then KDee Jo, Tim and Lil’ Tucker come by to use the trailer to go the dump and when they go to leave there Jimmy will not start and I think the starter is out on it AGAIN. LoL !!! Needless to say this is one of them day’s we should have all just stayed in bed. 

HELLO AMERICANS AND OTHER FRIENDS AROUND THE WORLD...We have not blogged since we moved on to The Homestead. And then we just kind of forgot about it until a couple of day's ago. So lets see if Miss Kitty and I can keep this thing going. We are going to try to use it as a daily log and diary of what is going on around the homestead.

Uploaded videos (playlist)

Uploaded videos (playlist)

So A Lot has happened since the last post on here. At this point we have our property and in the process of moving.Here is my facebook blog from today...
We had a few problems getting The Vagabond to the Property so it is still in The valley for now.We did get Kevy D's Trailer up there and Red's Motor Home.Yesterday we picked up a Awesome Old 1969 Dodge Chinook Mobilodge Motor Home. We Love it and are going to stay in it until we get The Vag to the Property. So yesterday we worked on getting it ready for the trip to The Property and today loading it up with tools and materials so we can get going on things.Winter is right around the corner and man do we have a lot to do.Our goal is to be living 100% on the property by the 1st of September....This picture is looking down on our property

BOY it has been awhile since I did any Blogs! We have been very busy with Our Pursuit and Hopefully we are getting closer.I have been doing a few video's and have had some good feedback on that.I will try to keep up on this daily blogging when we are not in the mountains. (No Service up t

h

Happy COLD Monday Morning. Happy to say No Frozen Pipes this morning.Woo-hoo after spending most of yesterday working on them.We got heat tapes ran now so we should be good to go. Today I am going to get a load together to take to the auction and start pulling some crap out of the Old Ford Motor Home (The Cook House) so I can move my tools out of the Vag and into the cookhouse.Then I can Finish the floor in the Vag and start demoing the Cookhouse.I have about another week on The Vag and other then a few minor things inside and some outside stuff she is dang near Livable.With being sick and the weather we still have not made it up to Look at the property but maybe This Week.

Good Morning Americans !!! Another Very Cold Snowy Morning in Idaho Today. We Got Probably another 3" overnight and most of the schools in the Valley are closed Today. I have had a darn cold the last few days so I have been moving a little slow on the Vag. I did get the front room floor scrubbed and ready. Not a lot to report so far this week with all this darn snow everything is in slow motion. I really would like to huddle down in front of the fire with some good books and just hibernate until spring.

Eustace Conway

I don't know how many people here know about Eustace Conway and "Turtle Island Preserve." He has been featured in the History Channel show "Mountain Men." "Turtle Island Preserve" is a non-profit education center in the mountains of western N.C.
It seems the local government feels it would get a larger tax benefit by shutting "Turtle Island" down and allowing developers in. 
The opening salvos in their war came with a raid by a dozen government agencies. All there for the purpose of building "code enforcement." 
This happened on Sept. 19th. He has had to close "Turtle Island" and 'lawyer up."
He needs help now.                                                                                                                                      Who is Eustace Conway and why is he a threat?
Published by Trey Morrison on November 29, 2012 | 1 Comment
Folks… This one’s important. Please take the time to read this in its entirety, and if you’re so inclined to take action below. Trey & Coley

Government should serve the people. Unfortunately, over time the nature of government is to grow beyond its usefulness. It becomes unhealthy and obese.

When our country was formed it was based on awesome ideals. The flag and the national anthem represented those ideals. So far so good. But over time those ideals slip further and further away until all we are left with is a song, a flag and a government that has lost touch with its fundamental purpose.

As government continuously increases it’s control over every aspect of our lives we lose more and more of our freedoms.

What threatens the growth of government?

Is it the fiscal cliff we are hearing about in the news? Is it the citizen anger over government bailouts? Is it the loss of faith in central planning? How about the debasement of our currency? How about the growing concern over the government trampling our civil liberties? Is it Tea Party or Occupy Wall Street protests?

No.

When we’re angry we’re still engaged… We still show up to vote for this candidate or that candidate and expect them to right the ship.

The real threat to government is when it is ignored. When we turn our backs on it and demonstrate that we no longer need it.

Like an incorrigible narcissist, government demands our attention. When citizens no longer feel the need to bow in adoration, fear, or submission, government takes great offense.

But what if that wasn’t the case? What if we learned how to take care of ourselves? To become more self-reliant? More resilient?

What if we didn’t need government deciding everything for us?

For government at all levels such thoughts are hugely threatening and when such subversive thinking surfaces government can be swift to react.

Cold Days

WoW !!! I have been so caught up in the 1st of the year and 1st of the month I have spaced off blogging. Things are moving at a turtles pace right now.The weather has been extremely cold the last week and Ol' Red has been in town since before Christmas and has been hanging out a lot. So with that and working on paying some things off I have been pretty busy.We have a couple of pieces of property to go look at but we know if it is this cold down here it is going to be Very Cold up there.We are hoping to get up there in the next few days.They are saying by Sunday we should get above freezing so that will feel like spring time for a change.When we go up we would like to do a little fishing and maybe some hot spring'in.We have been out of fish for a couple weeks now and That is serious Business.

COLD IDAHO MORNING

Another Very Cold Morning in Idaho.I woke up at 3:30 am and was out of propane again...COLD!!! So at 4 in the morning Im in my sweat pants and snow boots changing propane tanks in a BLIZZARD...So it was a Long Morning. I put a temporary wood stove in the Vag this afternoon until I find the pop-belly stove I want.This one is ugly But Warm and it is supposed to be in the single digits for the next week.

1st of the Month...

I have Not worked on the Vag for the last couple of days. It is about the first of the month so we have been real busy Peddling our junk to pay the bills. Hoping to have that takin' care of sometime tomorrow so I can get back to work on the Vag. Things are moving alone with finding the property other the the snow and we are probably going to have to settle for 1 to 3 acres.We want to pay cash or have it Completely paid for in a few months. Our Goal is to be NO DEBT & BILL FREE. Here are a couple of pics of where we are at on the Vag.

Christmas is Over...Back to Work

Very cold in Idaho today and snow on the ground. Tonights low is 19...Got back to work on the Vag Today. I painted the bedroom and then noticed a leak around the skylight so I cleared some snow off the top and tried to seal it up and put a tarp over it just in case. I can't get the darn videos to down load on here so I will have to take some pics of the progress and get them on here. You can also check out the video's on youtube just look up idahosimplicity ..We are also on facebook w

Pursuit of Simplicity off the Grid & Self Reliant Homestead

e are also on facebook

Hope Everyone had a Very Merry Christmas. We have a very Snowy Cold Morning in Idaho Today. I took the Last couple of days off but it is time to get back to work on the Vag. We have some property we are supposed to go look at today but with all the snow I am Not sure we can get into it. But now that Christmas is over we need to get hot on it.Spring will be here before we know it.

Got the Vag Cleaned up and Cleaned out And then got Bedroom wall fixed and back together and also got a little paint in the bedroom.So had a Good Productive Day.I have been trying to get the videos on here But having some issues.So if you want to check them out they are on Youtube.

Today was pretty productive I got up at 3:30 am WIDE AWAKE.So I cleaned up the Vag and started working on the front wall shelve unit. Sometime mid-morning I pulled off the Vag to get some junk ready for the auction.Got to keep the moo-laa flowing.And then around noon I Had to tip over for a bit.Got back to work on the Vag around 3 and just finished up the shelves.Now its time to move to the back.