Mac and Cheese

About 8 years ago Kraft decided to make Mac and Cheese even easier to make than it already was. So they included directions on how to make it in the microwave on the classic blue box. Then they realized that this was such a good idea that they started selling it in individual sized portions for about the same cost of the normal boxes and stopped printing the microwave directions on the classic boxes. I am sure that this was intended to force people to buy the more expensive smaller servings if they wanted the convenience of using the microwave. However the joke is on them since I still remember the directions.

In a large microwavable bowl add the noodles and 1 3/4 cups water.  Microwave for 3 minutes and stir. Repeat 2 more times to make total cook time 9 minutes. Then add the usual 4 tablespoons of butter, 1/4 cup milk and cheese powder.

Archery Range

It has been at least 10 years since I actively practiced my archery skills. I decided that it was time to change that. This is why I set up an archery range at Tami's parent's place. Their place is on about an acre (maybe more) and there is nothing but trees behind the property. So I took a couple boxes from our move and piled them up to give a good target.

Unlike the traditional techniques that every scout learns at camp I am trying to learn how to shoot like the bowyer Tom Turgeon. I also plan on making my own bow at some point in the future. It does not seem like that it would be too complicated, but I would want to use the correct tools to make it easier. That means I need to wait a little bit until I can get everything. So until then I will practice shooting while I am out here.

For more info check out http://www.boisebowsandarrows.com/home

Craigslist

I realize that this is something that most people are rather familiar with even if they have not used it. You should seriously consider using it if you have not used it and ever need to make a purchase of something that is a little more expensive but is either durable, or will only will be rarely used. In the past few weeks I have picked up a craftsmen scroll saw, a Ryobi miter saw, and now a router (its out in the car and I have not seen the brand name yet). A new Ryobi miter saw is 120. A Craftsmen scroll saw is also usually 120. Fixed base routers with router tables start around 140 or so. So to get everything new it would cost me about 400 with tax. Now of course everything I have got is used, the scroll saw is old as is the router. And the miter saw is missing it's saw dust bag.  Nonetheless those are rather minor things considering the grand total I have spent so far is $60.

It takes time to grab great deals like this. I spent about 3 months looking at miter saws until I found one that was cheap enough that I could not say no. So it takes a little bit of patience but it can pay off. Be careful of lemons as you search for the diamonds in the rough. Next on the list may be a Kitchen Aid if I can find something for a good deal.

Community Supported Agriculture

CSA's are not a new idea but they have changed over the years. It used to be that a group of people would get together, buy some land, and then hire a farmer to tend the land and provided them with fresh produce. Now it is more often a farmer who owns land already that will sell "Shares" of his or her crop. This way any family can basically pre-purchase all of their vegetables and sometimes fruit, eggs, honey, and on occasion meat.

There are both pros and cons to a system like this. Some of the major pros include being organic, being local, being fresher, and getting to try new veggies. Some of the major cons include having vegetables that you will not eat, having a bad growing year (you are accepting the risk along with the farmer), and having to learn to eat what is locally in season.

We are currently looking at a CSA from a farm about 30 miles from here that has a pretty good variety of food including some fruit, but no honey, eggs, or meat. The thing that is drawing us to them the most is that if you are willing to come to the farm at least 12 out of the 22 weeks and help pick then you get everything at half price. Not only that but we will also get the opportunity to learn some of the tricks of the trade. And by we I mean Tami since it is only on Wednesday and Sunday mornings (but hopefully I will be able to go at least once sometime).

Check it out in your area.
http://www.localharvest.org/
http://www.bountifulbaskets.org/
http://www.eatwild.com/

Wishful Thinking

I am just looking to put down a few ideas about what I want in the future. I want a piece of land that can be a hobby farm. I do not know if I would be brave enough to jump into a full farm right away, nor do I think that Tami would let me. However even on a small plot of land I could do most of what I want. It would have to be on at least two acres unfortunately, since there is a lot of ordinances restricting "farm animals" out here. Anything less it is illegal, but at two acres we could all of the sudden have 64 chickens 2 cows and 5 goats or pigs. Why I could have half of that on an acre out in the middle of nowhere I don't know.

Now I do not think that I would start with that many animals all at once. I think I would want to start with a few egg laying chickens, maybe 2 milk goats, enough meat chickens each year for our family, and at least two bee hives. Now I do not think that I would go buy all of this at once. I think it would be a one species at a time deal so that I would have time to figure out the basics before I add something on top of that. Tami would want us to start with the chickens probably and I would be content with that even though I might prefer the bees.

I would also want to have a garden that was about a quarter of the lot. I would try to grow multiple varieties of everything that we love to eat and maybe a few things that could be experiments. I have learned to love zucchini just in the past year after all. I would also try to plant a small variety of fruit and nut trees. A few sugar maples would be great too. All of this together would keep me happily busy in the afternoons and on saturdays.

In order to prepare for this as best as I can I plan on filling our balcony with as many plants as possible this spring. We have great light and I hope that the garden will do as well as our last little container garden did this past summer. And hopefully better than our poor Arizona garden. If I can convince someone to let me "rent" a corner of their property I will start an apiary as soon as possible and maybe use honey to pay the "rent". 

Learning by Necessity

So I got my shop smith set up today at my in-laws (since Tami convinced me that my neighbors would not appreciate me using it so close to them).  After finding a good branch to turn into a candle stick holder I started it up and started going to town. After about 15 minutes or so I found that it was having a few problems.  Then the completely stopped spinning. Not only am I brand new to using a shopsmith I never have done anything with motors or even much anything electronic.

So over the next couples hours I had to learn how to take it apart, how everything fit together and how to fix it. Once I got the drive belt off the motor I was able to diagnose the problem that the motor itself was the problem. Looking inside I was able to see that it was all clogged up with sawdust. After cleaning it out with a can of compressed air I found that the motor was running just fine again, maybe even a little better than when I bought it.

Out of all the ways to learn, this is not my favorite. It is stressful not knowing what you have to do to solve a problem and not really knowing where I could learn the proper thing to fix the problem. I much prefer learning something and then doing it, not doing it and then learning.

Equal spacing trick

I just learned a quick trick used for spacing things out at an equal distance without having to do any complicated math. For example if you want to space out banister for a porch rail. Take a long piece of elastic from a fabric store and use a permanent marker to mark every 2 inches (or another even distance) on the elastic. Now you can stretch the elastic so that two of the marks reach the ends of your length or banister. If you want the banisters spaced farther out then stretch the elastic a little more and eliminate a banister post.