4/1/07 Our neighbor dropped off a mould board plow since he wasn't using it anymore and we are getting ready to plow our garden.

3/1/07 Every two months we receive an electric bill in WV. We turn off the well pump, turn down the house heat down to 45 and turn the water heater off at the fuse panel. It will still cost us about 117.00 every billing cycle.

2/18/07 Due to illness we haven't made much progress on the house. The block around the house hasn't been touched due to snow and the cold weather since October last year. We did install a dryer and washer a few weeks back.

My son, husband and guest spent some time in the freezing weather, in front of a burning wood pile at dusk, while snow surrounded them, so they could have boys time together without us women folk. I stayed in the warm house with my coffee and sewed a few dresses for my customers.

We spent the weekend in WV and there was at least 4 inches of snow and ice. My Honda didn't do to well and my son, guest, and daughter had to push the car out of the drive way to the main road, which was not easy.

2/3/07 This weekend was fun for my husband and myself. We took the pleasure of practicing our wedding dance; DVD for our son's upcoming wedding on June 2, 2007. Our daughter was entertained as her parents tried to dance with two left feet. With Christopher's chronic illness he was only able to dance for 5 minutes at a time as he gets very tired these days. It reminded me of when we were in our early twenties and just dating. The thoughts make me smile.

Christopher replaced the filter again and performed several bleach treatments to our well over 3 months and so far the sulfur and egg smell is gone. We have learned that we have to replace our filter once a month. If not, the smell comes back, the water starts to turn brown and the water pressure will be very low. This is because the filter becomes clogged.

10/28/06 We arrived in West Virginia after a long week in Virginia. It is nice to take a break away from the city, work, and people. We turned on the water pump, since we disconnect when we go back to Virginia, and turned on the hot water heater. I turned on the facet and there was the egg smell. Ugh! I was told that when well water sits, the sulfur separates and you have the egg smell. After the hot water heater was cycled through once, the smell was barely noticeable. However, if you shower with the strong smell there, you smell like sulfur too.

This weekend we didn't do anything productive. Christopher isn't feeling well and he slept most of the weekend.

Oct 17, 2006

Today we woke up to the sound of rain on the roof. Normally this is a pleasant sound but this morning I remembered that we had left tools outside. I tried to wake my husband to ask if he was going to get the tools. He doesn't do well on rainy days so he said let them get wet. I could not do that. I woke my daughter, Amia, and ask her to go outside and gather up everything. I am glad I did because we left the windows down in the truck.

The phone company came out this afternoon and hooked up our DSL connection. Now working from home will go much faster.

We had to leave this evening to go back to Virginia. On our way we stopped at one of our neighbor's house. They are the treasurer of our property owners association. We hadn't paid our fee yet this year and thought since they were home it would be a good time to introduce ourselves and take care of a bill. Their names are Gary and Margret. They were very cordial and invited us in. Everyone we have met around us has been very nice. It seems the farther away from the city or suburbs you the friendlier and more personable people are.

Oct. 16, 2006 The wells brownish water will clear after operating a while. (Millers Bro Drilling, the company that drilled our well, will test our water for us for free if we bring in a sample.) Over a 3 week period, it developed a rotten egg smell which we learned is a non-harmful bacterium. We also learned that shocking the well with chlorine would help reduce this bacteria. Controlling these bacteria will be an on-going effort. The septic requires a delicate balance of bacteria to break down waste. Do not overuse bleach. Large amounts of bleach will kill the necessary amount of bacteria that keep a septic system working. With a new septic system and after careful consideration and research, we decided to give it a try and hope for the best. One quart of bleach is used with the first treatment. The smell returned within 2 weeks and increased over a couple of days. In the well casing a gallon of bleach is poured. It is not recommended to drink the water with this amount of bleach. With an untested well, bottled worked worked for us. The odor has not returned.

The hot water heater increases the odor from the bacteria. My daughter, Tracy who is a germ-a phobic, will not take a shower here until we fix this problem. Keep in mind this is a very common problem with well water. If you are use to city water, you may have a hard time adjusting to well water.

Well water, untreated can also stains the toilets, sinks, shower and tub. It can also stain your clothes during washing.

Last night my husband went to take a bath and he noticed how cloudy and amber color our water was. He had filled the garden tub with hot water and it looked so undesirable that he just could not bring himself to bath in it. He waited a while for the hot water heater to replenish and then took a shower instead. So this morning, he installed a Whirlpool, Dual Purpose, Whole House Pre-filter, with a 2 micron sediment filter which we purchased from Lowes. The filter housing cost approximately $30.00. It came with a 5 micron filter which I didn't use. The filter I used cost $10.00 for two. It will reduce chlorine taste and odor, sand, soil, silt, sediment and rust (written on the package). It was decided to try this before investing money in a more expensive and elaborate system. It made a huge difference in the color and clarity of the water as well as the sulfur (rotten egg) smell.

After he installed the filter, he flushed the hot water tank and ran the lines clear on all the faucets. He refilled the bath with water and it was crystal clear the way it should be. The filtration system we purchased is recommended for a 3 month cycle. We are generally only here on weekends so we may get a little more life out of it. Then again, the water was so cloudy and brown before the filter was installed that we may not.

I picked up a 50 pound bag of Salem potatoes from a local orchard grower. I washed and sliced them all. I followed directions on a bag of sodium bisulfate to prevent browning which read; 1 tablespoon of powder to gallon of water. Steam potatoes for 10 minutes and then cool in cold water, then pat dry and dehydrate. Needless to say, this did not work and now I have a whole batch of bad potatoes that are blackened. I did find another recipe to blanch and then soak in 1 bottle of lemon juice to two quarts of water for 45 minutes. That sounds like it will work so I'll try that next. Thank god the potatoes only cost $14.00 for a 50 pound bag so trying it again won't be to costly.

Oct 15, 2006

Christopher finished all but the last row of 4x8x16 inch block around the house this morning. The block will have to be cut down from 8 inches to 6 inches to fit. It will have to wait until he heals a bit.

For the past two years any fruit trees we planted died. The first year we tried, we planted trees that we ordered from a nursery magazine. They were twigs with a small root ball attached. They could not compete with the native plants and were engulfed in the fast growing field and lost. The next time, we purchased trees from a sale that food lion was having. These trees were over 6 ft. and should not be lost as easy but they did not make it through the winter. All but one was killed. So this year, we are going to try an area of the property that has standing trees. I think the last years trees died because the area was to wet or the trees could not take the climate in this part of West Virginia.

While we were out yesterday getting the corrugated pipe we stopped at Abundant Life Nursery and picked up the last of the fruit trees they had to do a fall planting today. I purchased 3 Lodi Apple trees, 1 Red Delicious apple tree, 1 Golden Delicious apple tree and 3 cherry trees. According to the man at the nursery these trees should all grow well in this area of West Virginia. We planted this year's trees at the depth the man at the nursery said we are supposed to. We staked them this time because the trees from last year were pushed over quite a bit from the strong west to east wind we get every winter. We had some corrugated pipe left over from the drain we put around the house, so we cut 12 inch sections of it and rapped it around the base of the trees to prevent weed-eater damage next spring. Around each tree we then pored 5 gallons of water. Hopefully next spring we will have live prosperous fruit trees. In the spring we are hoping to get more fruit trees, blue berry bushes, black berry brambles and some grape vines. Only time will tell if we are successful in our fruit growing endeavors.

After we planted the fruit trees we started trimming back and clearing underneath one of the Osage orangewood trees. We have several in the area we are now using for our orchard. It became a larger task than we had originally thought. Osage orangewood is the hardest wood that grows in North America. The Osage Indians used it to create bows for hunting. Osage orangewood, also known as hedge apple, grows twisted, intertwined and is covered in thorns. It was once used as a hedge to fence off areas to hold livestock. It was the original barbed wire. We think that this is why we have many of these trees growing throughout our property. This was a working farm back in the 1800's and the tree is not native to West Virginia.

The tree we started with is over twenty feet tall and has never been trimmed. Poison sumac bushes had gotten a foot hold underneath it and were quite stubborn. The tree itself had many branches that reached the ground. With the pick-up truck, chains, loppers, and a sharp chainsaw we cut and pulled out the unwanted portions. We had to either trim it so we could mow underneath it, or cut it down. It was lots of work, but I am glad we trimmed it because it ended up being a beautiful tree.

Oct 14, 2006

Today was the first day of frost here in West Virginia. The ground was coated with a fine mist of ice. As the morning passed, patches of green grass were uncovered.

The past few days my husband has been working on trying to finish the block work on the front of the house. After the first day of working alone with block and mortar, every finger on his hands was sore and blistered. He is stubborn and keeps working on it. He is going to be in bad shape tomorrow.

We are hoping the weather holds out to finish the last of 12 feet of block. We were short 90 of 4 x 8 x 16 block and 12 of 2 x 8 x 16 solid block. We ordered more from Cumberland Concrete ( P.O. Box 3369, Lavale, MD 21504-3369. 800-842-2807.) I called them yesterday and they were here in 3 hours. The cost was $167.45 which included delivery. We had another delivery for limestone gravel, 10 tons, from Cumberland Concrete as well. It was $15.70 per ton and the delivery charge was $68.00, which totaled $239.70.

The house doesn't have gutters, so when it rains, the perimeter of the house gets standing water. This is from water falling to the ground, off the roof, and creating a trench. When we put the country porch on, it will have gutters installed and will eliminate this. So, for the mean time, we purchased 200 feet of corrugated pipe to lie in the trench and the gravel will be dispersed on top of that. I think it is called a French drain. We will back fill over the stones and start the footers for the porch when the block work is done.

Oct 13, 2006 My daughter, Amia, and I spent the day preparing Jonathan apples for fruit leather. I can only fit a bushel of processed apples in the dehydrator. This will yield 24 trays of fruit leather (fruit roll-up). The apples are peeled, sliced, and cored. The apple slices are placed in a stock pot of water and a half a bottle of lemon juice. A food mill screen is placed in the bottom of the pot to keep the apples off the middle of the pot to prevent burning. The peels and core is placed in my Norpro juicer in the top basket to extract the juice for apple juice. The juice can also be used to make apple jelly or mix with other juices for jelly.

Oct 12, 2006 I took the end of the season tomatoes from the garden and placed in my Norpro juicer. I added a large onion peeled, cut and a couple of parsnips, and added some dried hot peppers to the pot. The extract from that made a great vegetable broth which was used for this evenings beef stew. The rest was frozen in plastic bags for future soups.

Oct 11, 2006 On the way to West Virginia, we stopped at Lowes to retrieve a filter for our well and a few other items. While there, we saw a front loading washing machine on sale for half price because it was a floor model with a couple of scratches. We do not have the truck with us so they have it on hold. I am hoping my father will pick it up for us while we are in West Virginia.

Sept, 2, 2006 My husband and I have 20 bushels of tomatoes on order from a Mennonite Farm, the Zimmerman's, in Elizabeth Town, Pennsylvania. If you pick the tomatoes yourself, the cost $3.50 a 5/8th bushel basket or $5.00 a basket to have them gathered by the farm. In total we paid $220.00 for all 40 baskets.

Today the weather is raining so we are happy we do not have to hand-pick them. We arrived on the farm in 3 hours. We were greeted by a young Mennonite lady who had all the baskets in 4 rows of ten. The tomatoes were firm but ripe and were all uniformly red. These will make great tomatoes sauce as well as some ketchup.

My mother had commented for a few years for us to can together. I thought this would make a perfect opportunity since we have a lot of tomatoes and jars to process. It took us 7 hours round trip to make it back to her house. We dropped of the truck load of tomatoes and Christopher went back to our house to get supplies, such as the outside stove, my Amish canner which hold 16 quarts, pots, etc,

My husband arrived with the stove, my family (my mother, father, 3 daughters, my husband, and myself) all started to cut tomatoes and bring them to heat on the stove. I had purchased a nice electric horse power, Italian electric sauce machine which ran $250.00. When the tomatoes were hot, we poured them into a large sieve to drain the water from the tomatoes. This will give us a nice thick sauce. The jars were in the dish washer and they were through the wash cycle and we were waiting for the heat cycle to sanitizing them.

As the first batch of sauce was being poured in the electric sauce machine, I looked over and saw my dad picking up cut tomatoes that had fallen to the floor. To my dismay, he then placed them into the pot of cooked tomatoes. Two things came to mind; one, why was he putting dirty tomatoes that fell to the floor in the pot of cooked tomatoes? Two, was his hands washed? My husband and I have a BIG rule; whatever falls on the ground, stays on the ground.

My mother, took knifes out of the kitchen drawer unwashed. She cut the tomatoes with them. When the sauce was ready to go back into the pot to be reheated my mother was inpatient so she didn't let them really get hot or boil. Jars were taken out of the dishwasher before going through the heat cycle or the jars were left out of the dishwasher to long. They remained cold for an hour. I knew from this moment, it was going to be a lot of work and a huge disaster. All this time, money, and effort was about to go down the drain. Educating my parents did not work. At the end of the canning process, three hundred jars of sauce is canned along with six quarts of ketchup. I did not let anyone help with the ketchup. The tomatoe sauce jar lids popped off, one-by-one over the next few days. Half the batch of tomatoes were spoiled.

8/29/06 I have called the electric company many times since the inspection was finalized and we still have no electric. I have several bushes of tomatoes to pick in Amish country PA this weekend. I really, really, really was hoping for electric. Pulling water up by the well and walking 100 feet is getting old! Allegany Power has informed me that it takes 15 business days and we won't have electric until next week. They do not have a day for us but it will be next week. Nothing like having a house and not be able to take a shower, run water for dishes, etc.

8/19/06 My daughter Tracey, granddaughter, and my son-in-law drove up to see us and the house. It was exciting to have them. The only problem is there is no electricity.

Tracey and I spent the day cleaning the house and chasing Natalia ran around as she had lots of room to roam. Marvin was mowing and by the next day, the coil died three quarters of the way. Time to order another coil!

8/18/06 We passed inspection on the house and now we need to wait for the electric to be installed.

8/16/06 Frontier phone finally came out at 3:30 this afternoon. He could not finish the job and said someone will be back tomorrow. Hopefully the electrically inspector will arrive along side of him.

Christopher didn't do much today but rest and try to recover his hands from all the listers. He will try to get the tractor working for me tomorrow so I can mow. The first picture is me in my cheesy grin because I was so proud of myself. I learned to operate the thing that intimidated me. Then again, everything intimidates me. I have a fear for any form of transportation except for my feet. :)

8/15/06 My husband called the electrically inspector and he can't come out today. He will come out Thursday instead because we didn't call him between 8 - 9 am on Monday the 14th. Frontier phone didn't show up AGAIN to install the phone service. When I called Frontier, they could not find a work order again. Needless to say I didn't take that well especially the 3rd time. A dispatcher called me and said he would be out tomorrow morning.

The concrete blocks arrived as promised. Great service and we highly recommend hem.

Christopher parents will be arriving tomorrow to look at the progress of the house.

8/14/06 Christopher ran to Romney again, Romney Electrical and Plumbing Supply, to get a cover for the disconnect box. He mounted the new box and I called the inspector in the afternoon. The lady who answered the phone said he would be out tomorrow morning but I had to call to confirm tomorrow.

Cumberland Concrete, 301-724-2000, sales person arrived today to create a work order for concrete blocks. We need 615 blocks, 8 vents, caps, and sand. This amount was $991.00 The blocks will arrive tomorrow. It was nice they figured this out for us.

8/13/06 Christopher and I overslept this morning and that was nice since I never am able to sleep in even if I want to. We drove to Cumberland, Maryland and visited Big Lots. We purchased a queen size sleigh bed with a mattress and box spring. We picked up a couple of pillows and some kitchen items. We had to strap the mattress and box spring to the roof of the car since all this wouldn't fit into the Suburban. After arriving back at the house, we installed the last of the two ceiling fans and assembled the bed. I had purchased nice sheets about 2 months ago and made the bed. The house windows were open and a nice breeze would come through the window. I had to pack up and leave at 6:00 p.m. so I could go back to work the next day. I didn't want to leave Christopher alone or the relaxing atmosphere.

8/12/06 I tried to help Christopher dig the new ditch for the drain lines but the ground was very hard and not easy to deal with. I managed to dig about 14 inches and was to tired to finish. I tried mowing the grounds, but the tractor kept overheating and shutting off. So, we went to Romney and purchased the disconnect box and other items needed to pass inspection for the electric. The box was over $200.00 and the other items were about $50.00.

Today is our anniversary so we tried not to work to hard and spent most of the day together and tried not to worry about the electrical inspector.

8/11/06 I called the inspector at 8:30 and asked the receptionist what happened. She said she would ask the gentlemen and get back with me. The inspector called me back with a real attitude and said he had been trying to get a hold of us for two days and that my cell phone was disconnected or out of service. My cell was working all day and the day before so I feel like he fibbed. I told him Christopher drove 3 hours to meet him and was still at the property. He said that was very far away and that he would go out there given the circumstance but said it like it was my fault.

Cumberland concrete was contacted and a sales person will come out to do the estimate for us on Monday.

My husband called me several hours later and asked if I had made him mad because he failed us and over the smallest things. He didn't like the fitting for the ground wire. He wanted them to be an acorn style grounding clamps instead. He wanted bubble covers on all outside outlets and he also wanted another disconnect within 30 feet of the house. This made no sense since the disconnect was at the pole, before the house. If the house caught fire, why would the fire department drive past that disconnect so they could access the disconnect to the house that is burning? We will have 4 disconnects. One is located inside the house, one outside the house, one on the outside pole and the meter is a disconnect. We will have to go to Romney the next day and call the inspector back on Monday. It cost $100.00 for the inspection. We only have to pay once.

I left work around 2:45 today and drove to West Virginia to meet my husband. He wasn't in a great mood at first. I called him several times on my way. It is our anniversary this weekend, 11 years married, and I was excited to see him. I missed him and he missed me. We opened a bottle of wine when I arrived as the workers to the house had finished and the house was all ours.

I would purchase another house from them again but there were some minor problems. Two door knobs were damaged. According to the warranty information left in the house the water heater overflow hose was under the house in the crawl space and not outside the perimeter as indicated in the directions. The hurricane straps were missing in the middle of the house. The marriage walls were bolted every 8 feet instead of every 32 inches. The roof was nailed instead of screwed like the directions stated. A pile of trash was left outside which they were suppose to dispose or burn. Dirty scuffs in the house weren't cleaned off the wall but they did vacuum the carpet. The propane stove wasn't converted over from natural gas.

Oh, by the way, the phone guy didn't show up either. The phone company didn't have any record of our order. They will be out on Tuesday the 15th.

8/10/06 The electrical inspector didn't show up and they are not answering the phones. Christopher is a little upset but also enjoys being in the country away from the city and noise. We will call in the morning. At least we have the phone guy coming tomorrow.

8/9/06 Christopher has to leave tonight to go to West Virginia because the electrically inspector is meeting us tomorrow. We are excited to have electricity so our family can come and see the house and be comfortable. We can't get AC until the electric is in but the coil is in place. Christopher packed the Suburban that he borrowed from his father. He packed the dehydrator, food, tools, etc.

I will miss him but I will also see him on Friday night.

7/31/06 The house arrived today. It was very exciting to watch the process. I will let the pictures speak for themselves.

Building House Part 1
Building House Part 2
Building House Part 3
My in-laws arrived today to watch the house in progress. It was a very hot and miserable day for us and the workers. The temp today was around 110 with very high umidity.

7/29/06 The day started off very hot. I drove to Lowes and picked up supplies Christopher needed for this weekend. On the way in Christopher said he bought the wrong length of well pipe and wire. We had some how measured incorrectly from the house to the well. I stopped at Southern States after I picked up the 500 feet of phone line from Frontier. The phone line was free but the parts from Southern States were $290.00. I could not get the 300 feet of well pipe into my car. I had to go to pick up Christopher and then drive back to Southern States so he could mount the pipe on top of my car.

Christopher and Marvin (son-in-law) spent the rest of the day pulling wire through conduit. That turned into quite a project. After they completed putting the wire into the conduit they still had to bury it with the bobcat that was rented. That cost was $360.00 which included $80.00 for overtime on our last rental.. During the 90% burring of the cables, the bobcat sprung a leak and shot hydraulic fluid all over Marvin. We didn't get to complete that project and Tri County Rental didn't have another machine for us to switch with. They also didn't call us to refund part of our rental fee or call with a status or update. Instead, no one showed up and we still have cable to cover.

7/28/06 My life has become so busy I have no time for myself or much of anything else. Work has been so busy it has consumed all my time. I do not talk about this part of my life for various reasons but I have to work a full-time day job. With my husband being disabled/sick and a stay-at-home dad, by default, our time together lately has been very limited. Our house is being delivered on Monday, July 28, 2006 and I am anxious of the work that is to come. A dream come true for us, with limited time to spare, Murphy's aw!

My husband is in West Virginia today and has purchased the electrical line needed for the house. The bobcat will arrive tonight. Tomorrow morning I will stop at one of the offsite Frontier buildings and pick up 500 feet of phone line for the house. My husband and soon to be son-in-law will get to work in the morning on the electric before I arrive in the afternoon. They will install the electric lines, cover it with 12 feet of dirt and then cover the phone line on top of that. Christopher, has contacted the electric company to install a box and transformer. He had seen evidence of them being there by the flags located at the house seat and utility pole. We will stay until Tuesday so we can continue to take pictures for this journal. My camera broke so I am using a disposable camera and I am anxious to post the pictures once they are developed.

7/12/06 Yesterday we learned that Denny from the Health Department is leaving Friday to go to Mineral County. Therefore, we had to go to West Virginia today for Denny to approve our septic system. My husband was nervous all day, he drove me nuts. I feel very confident that he will approve the system. Christopher felt like he was in school again and having some one judge his work made him nervous.

Denny meet us at 1:20 and approved our system. He said he would have like we used a distribution box but the system we placed in was legal and ok to use. Now we need to make arrangements for the a bobcat and order the electric lines and burry the rest of the septic and electric lines.

7/9/06 My husband came home with his back hurting, dirty, and tired. Him, my two girls, Amia and Gala, and future son-in-law, Marvin, finished the septic install. He rented a track hoe from Tri County Rental and this time it only was $371.00. Much cheaper than the other backhoe and much smaller but the job was done. We will need to rent a bob cat next to finish burring the electric and phone lines. I do not think we will go to West Virginia next weekend as we need to make applesauce for this coming years supply. My granddaughter loves it as much as we do too.

Today I managed to get the beans picked, dinner made for tonight (lamb chops, butternut squash casserole, beans from the garden, salad, and corn bread salad. I also pickled banana peppers and weeded the garden. I had to also package all my orders for the next days shipping.

7/4/06 I got up and made scrambled eggs, toast, and coffee. My husband woke to his morning arthritis pain and had a hard time getting ready for the work day.

I hopped on the tractor and mowed more of the overgrown grass. The day was hot and muggy and my husband had a migraine coming on. In between mowing I would stop and get him water while he worked the backhoe and measured each leach lines. I would drag the infiltrators over to each line but about the 3rd line he was hurting to much. We decided to pack up and go home. We would just rent the backhoe again next week and try to get him some help. We would call Denny the health inspector and rearrange another day for Christopher to meet him and inspect the septic install.

On the way, I started to itch. Apparently, the overgrown grass wasn't just grass, it was also poison sumac which my husband informed me I was running over with the brush hog. He isn't allergic to it so it didn't occur to him to mention it to me. I stopped at Rite Aid in Romney and picked some medication from there. I hope this works. :)

7/3/06 Jolin dropped off the septic and the infiltrators. The cost as around $2,800.00 Septic pictures

7/2/06 I woke up with the rising of the sun and irritated my husband with all my tossing and turning. I got out of bed and started making waffles for us all. It has taken me many attempts to learn to make Belgium waffles, in a cast iron waffle iron, that were not either burnt or decimated when removing them from their mold. I found the waffle iron in Bird-in-Hand, PA at an Amish antique shop for $19.99. I have been looking for one for a few years. Everyone loved the waffles but didn't appreciate waking up so early.

After breakfast Tyler finished digging the trench from the well to the house seat. While Tina and Tyler were packing to go back to Virginia, I made another trip to the convenience store, again, to purchase dinner for the next two days and made a trip to Advance Auto in Romney for a Permatex for the tractor.

After I returned from Romney, my husband temporarily fixed the gasket issue with the tractor. He went to start the tractor and the battery was dead. Not only was the battery dead, but the jumper cables were too. So?.. back to the auto parts store I went.

I returned again, and my husband started the tractor up with no problems. I did purchase another set of jumper cables so I had that just in case. Before my husband could go back to working the backhoe he gave me a run down on how to use the tractor. I had never driven it before, but with Tyler on his way back home, and Christopher needing to operating the backhoe, there was much to get done before tomorrow morning when Jolin would arrive with the septic tank delivery. We felt pressured for time and it was about time I learned how to operate it anyhow. Christopher dug the hole for the septic tank and I had a great time brush-hogging around the areas that needed cut. Before night fall we had measured and marked the placement of the infiltrator vaults in the absorption field and had the septic tank hole dug and leveled. Working together we accomplished what needed to be done.

7/1/06 We arrived yesterday at 4:00 p.m. We had hoped our son had our old Ford 8N running since we just purchased a new starter and Bendex. Tyler, our son, stopped by our house in Virginia on Thursday to pick up the parts. He and his fiance arrived here on Friday night to accept delivery of the backhoe. Tri County Tool Rentals, 5546 US Highway 220 S, Moorefield, WV 26836, (304) 538-7895 had charged us $75.00 for delivery each way ($150.00), the cost of Diesel per tank was $35.00, and we will have the backhoe until Wednesday. We were not charged for Sunday and the 4th of July. The cost of the backhoe itself ended up being $580.00 which brings the total, with tax, to $808.80. If by Wednesday we have not completed our projects, then for an extra $200.00 we can rent the machine for the rest of the week.

I had hoped the area around our camper and house seat would be mowed. The grass is tall and there are a lot of ticks, since we had a mild winter. Unfortunately, the tractor had other issues that Tyler encountered. The tractor had a leaky gasket at the fuel bowl which made that machine inoperable. Christopher and I brought a weed-eater but soon discovered we had no 2 stoke fuel. The day wasn't a total loss since Tina and I were able to drive 15 miles to the convince store and purchase 2 stroke oil. While we were gone Tyler and my husband started a 100 yard trench with the backhoe from the utility pole to the well. My husband taught Tyler to operate the backhoe and they had a lot of fun. It reminded them of their youth playing in the sand box with their Tonka toy.

6/28/06 Today I ordered a utility pole in case we need another one for the house. The current pole is setup for a camper and not the house. The power company needs to put in a different amp transformer because the house is a higher amperage than the camper. I ordered the pole from South States in Romney. It cost $100.00 and $40.00 to delivery. The total cost was $148.35. Setting the new pole will also set it 100 feet closer to the house.

6/22/06 Our family has been very hectic over the past several months. We have been preparing for the house and trying to stay organized. We are making progress even though it is slow. Our well was drilled by Millers Drilling. It is 320 feet deep and produces 10 gallons of water per minutes. I am told 4 gallons of water a minute is good. The drilling cost is $3,342.76.

6/18/06 The footers look fine and they did a good job. Now we have to pack up again and head home since today is fathers day.

6/17/06 Our daughter, Gala, had a CPR class today so we could not drive to West Virginia until 8:00 p.m. to look at the footers. The drive is 2 1/2 hours so I wasn't to happy about that. In the morning we will look at the footers since it is to dark to do that tonight.

6/16/06 Slonakers and his crew dug the footers for the piers and foundation today. Christopher and I will drive up there tomorrow to make sure they didn't dig in the wrong place, like our drain field. His crew had a hard time finding the markers for the house so we are a little concerned.

5/27/06 This morning we woke up and headed out to West Virginia. We arrived at Slonakers around noon and ordered our house. It will arrive in late July. The house 28 x 60 and is 1600 square feet. The house is a little smaller than I wanted. This is a 3 bedroom house with two full baths. The kitchen is huge which was a must. The mud room is off the kitchen where the washer and dryer will go. It also has a sink which we will use for cleaning the garden vegetables during gardening season.

After visiting Slonakers we stopped at Millers Market in Romney and purchased our bulk supplies. I purchase most of my bulk items at Millers Market which are hard to find anywhere else. I ordered 10 pounds of black sweet rice, 10 pounds of pot pie pasta, 3 gallons of honey, and some odds and ends. Afterwards, we headed for our property and stayed the night there.

5/22/06 This weekend my family grieves another family pet of 11 years. This is our second loss this year. Our German Sheppard was put down. She was old with arthritis and a very heavy due to surgery she had a few months ago. We have four more dogs all the same age. We just pray there will be no more lost this year.

Christopher and my son Tyler completed the percolate test this past weekend as they tried to throw themselves into work to break away from the grieving process.

I will mail the application for the septic permit this week.

5/11/06 Today it rained so we all stayed in instead of going to Lancaster, PA as we had planned. Sister Lori and I stayed home to cook and sew. I made a day dress for the next day adventure. The weather is cool so long sleeves will do fine.

5/10/06 Today off to Washington D.C. to site see with Sister Lori and her family and mine. We walked all over DC and was exhausted. I think we saw a total of 4 things and was so tired that her daughters and I had to rest. I think we did the most complaining too. :) D.C. was jam packed and the metro train we took to D.C. and back was full of commuters going home. I do not think we want to try that again. We do not like crowds and that is all there were, people.

5/9/06 Sister Lori, my business partner and best friend, arrived tonight with her husband and 3 children from the west coast. It is very exciting seeing them. This is the first time my husband and most of my children met her and her family face-to-face. Sister Lori's husband and my husband, Christopher, got along very well. They both are the same stature and build and have the same interests in life. They started talking about cars and guy things so Sister Lori and I went off to do our things, set the table for dinner. What an exciting day!

4/15/06 Miller Brothers Drilling LLC, Rt. 50 W Rd, Romney WV 26757 (304) 738-3266, met my husband and I in West Virginia on Saturday the day before Easter. They provided an estimate of 10.50 per foot for drilling, 9.50 per foot for well casing (10.50 if steel). The estimate for a 250' well averages to about $4000. The down payment is $1,000.00 before they can perform the work. I mailed in the payment and the paper work with the deed information on the 19th of April. Miller Brothers said it will take about 2 weeks for the court house to return a permit and it could take up to 6 weeks before he can do the work. West Virginia does not require you to have septic permit first, so we can continue the process of the septic and well without one holding up the ther.

4/7/06 We are anxious to go back to West Virginia and perform our peculation test. However, it has been raining today and we hear it will rain tomorrow too. I think Christopher will have to go to WV on Sunday and perform the test on Monday instead. Tuesday he can get the permit and then start ordering supplies for the septic system.

The salt and sugar cure has been applied again to the ham and bacon. We should have applied it 3 days ago but we have been busy. Smoking the ham will begin in a few days.

4/4/06 The backhoe arrived an hour late but it was there before Denny, the health inspector, arrived at 10:30. Christopher dug 4 holes with the backhoe, in the same spot we first dug when this all began and we passed for a Class 1 over sized septic system. After a few months of this, we learned one big thing. Have the backhoe and the health inspector there at the same time. do not waste your time with digging the hole and then having the inspector come out. All that did was waste our time and his. We are very grateful this part is completed and will perform the actually percolate test this weekend. After the percolate test, we will submit the necessary forms for the permits for septic and well. Today's total came to $300.00 since we do not need the backhoe for 2 days.

4/3/06 My husband, Christopher, left this evening for West Virginia. We have tornado warnings until 11:00 p.m. tonight so that makes me a little nervous, him being on the road. The clouds are dark, we just had a hard down pour and lightening lights up the sky every few seconds. My daughter Amia and one of our dogs went with him. Amia is home schooled until the end of the school year so she can miss being home for a couple of days.

Mark from Tri County Rental called us and is giving us an upgraded backhoe to rent tomorrow because they are going to sell the backhoe we originally rented. We are hoping Christopher can get all the tasks done tomorrow and save us $200.00 of rental. He wants to try digging the observations holes and dig out some dirt around our ice house. We would love to have the root cellar dug out but we are not ready to order the block until we get the house ordered and set.

3/29/06 Arrangements were made for the back hoe to be delivered on the property for Tuesday morning, April 4, 2006. It will cost $50 each way for delivery and $200 a day for rental. We will keep it until Wednesday evening so the total cost is $500.00. Pray we know something that day, class 1 septic or class 2 septic.

3/28/06 I called around and found Tri County Tool Rental, Route 220, Moorefield, WV 26836 (304) 538-7895 to rent a backhoe for Tuesday when my husband will meet Denny out on the property to dig more observation holes. Their prices seem to be reasonable but the gentleman I called didn't call me back to make arrangements for the rental and delivery. I'll call him back tomorrow.

My granddaughter learned to crawl today. She had been struggling with coordination but today she finally got the arms and legs to move. She moved a couple of steps and then fell down and then dod it all over again. She is so cute!

3/27/06 The scrapple set correctly over night in the refrigerator. I vacuumed packed the 8 bricks I had made and placed them in the freezer. I would have taken pictures of the scrapple process but I didn't want to gross anyone out.

I called Denny the Health Inspector and made arrangements for him to meet my husband as he wants us to get the backhoe. I called our neighbor Larry and his backhoe is broke so now we are on the hunt for an excavation company or to rent a backhoe. This is an aerial photo of our property, it is the one circled in red. The river surrounds the land. The dark grey surrounding the river are rocky cliffs so we are in a little valley. We get a lot of wind so we will eventually research wind generators for alternative power.This is a closer view of the property. It is 18.16 acres. We want to build the house approximately where the dotted line ends.

3/26/06 We took the bacon from the hog which are called flicks. We have two slabs weighting about 20 pounds each. After arguing what cure to use, we decided to go with a salt and sugar dry cure which consisted of 5 pounds of evaporated salt (not iodized), 2 1/2 pounds white granulated sugar, and 2 1/2 pounds of brown sugar. I didn't have enough brown sugar so we went to Food Lion around 8:00 p.m. and purchased a few pounds.

The cashier asked if we were baking and I said no we are curing a hog we had slaughtered. The look on her face was priceless. We do not exactly live in an area where people buy and slaughter hogs. We live in a suburb of Northern Virginia. Mostly white collar workers who love Starbucks and buying box food. One neighborhood kid didn't know what garlic was and was shocked vegetables came from the ground.

We d ecided not to use saltpeter in our cure. According to The Canning, Freezing, Curing, Smoking of Meat, Fish; Game, by Wilbur F. Eastman Jr.Chemically, saltpeter is either potassium nitrate or sodium nitrate (which is called Chile saltpeter. Since nitrates change to nitrites in our bodies, there is fear among many that it can be harmful to one's health and body systems, for nitrites have been charged with combining with the blood's hemoglobin to reduce its ability to carry oxygen throughout the body. Also, nitrites and protein (i.e. meat foods) may form nitrosamines upon heating or during digestion. Nitrosamines are carcinogens, so it is best to limit consumption of cured meat.

We took our dry cure mix and rubbed it liberally into the bacon on both sides. The bacon should be hung in the refrigerator but we didn't have enough space so we placed them on a large cookie sheet. The ham, which is about 50 pounds, was also rubbed with the dry cure and then placed in a muslin sack tightly. A pan catches all drippings. We are going to smoke the pig-ears for our dogs. The bacon will need to cure for about 10 days because of the thickness of the meat. The ham will need to cure for 60 days. Both meats will be overhauled every four days. After the curing process they will be smoked in the smoker we purchased from Sportmansguide.

A friend of ours, came by today because he found our blog while researching septic tanks in West Virginia. He dropped off a brand new solar panel. We can't wait to try it. THANKS!

3/26/04 I put all the fat from the hog into a big pot and had that cooking for hours on the stove outside. Cooking that much fat puts off an intense aroma. I have to shower after coming in or I'll smell like the lard for hours.

I have a small book called Pennsylvania Dutch Cook book, Fine Old Recipes which has a lot of old recipes, hence the name. There is a section on curing hams and making scrapple. We kept the head of the hog which is what is used to make scrapple (Ponhaws). Split the head in half or as much as possible. Remove the eyes and brains. (mmmmm) My husband had that pleasure. Pressure cook at 10 pounds of pressure for 30 minutes. Some recipes call for 4 to 5 quarts of water but you can't add that much to a pressure cooker. You can add the extra water after the cooking is done. When the meat all falls of the bone or is pulled enough away from the bone remove from liquid and chop fine. Make sure to remove any tiny bones and gristle. Skim off all fat. Add cornmeal, salt, pepper, and sage to taste. Cook on low heat for one hour stirring constantly. It should look disgusting at this point. (that makes me laugh :) However, it does taste good. When the cooking is done, put in greased molds and let it sit in a cool place. Slice and fry when read to use.

I have to say this is my first time and there isn't much measuring just a lot of guessing. I can only tell you my experience so good luck.

3/25/06 My husband and I went to Romney, West Virginia this morning to pick up the hog we ordered from Mike McKee's farm in Hampshire County. We paid him $180.00 for the hog which included transporting the hog to Eddy's Farm and Slaughter. Eddy's Farm and Slaughter charged us $170 for the butchering and packaging. Hot weight was 216 pounds. All in all we paid $1.62 per pound which is a bargain for us. Plus we know where the animal came from and it is a whole lot better for you than store bought, in my opinion. The hog was feed soybean, wheat, and corn if my memory is correct. I also had the slaughter house save me the fat which I am rendering for lard for my soap.

On the way to West Virginia we stopped back at Slonakers home and looked at another house there on the lot. It had everything we are looking for. The high pitch roof, the open rooms, huge kitchen, the garden tub, stand-up shower, and dry wall. It is 1600 square feet, a little smaller than I wanted, but it looks great. Now we just need to finish the septic.

3/21/06 Today the weather is calling for a light snow. I hope it doesn't get to cold as I have some of my garden already planted; Lettuce (covered from the frost at the moment), garlic, shallots, white onions, red onions, green onions, spinach, horseradish, rhubarb, peas, potatoes, and elephant garlic. Last year about 50 cherry tomato plants were purchased instead of Roma tomatoes. Needless to say I didn't have tomato products to can like sauce, stewed, chopped, etc. I did have a lot, and I do mean a lot of cherry tomatoes that went to co-workers, friends, and family. They were just as sick of them as I was by the end of the summer. That mistake won't be made this year. I need to plant around 100 plants for us to have enough dried tomatoes and canned goods for us, my daughters family, and my son's family.

The house plans are still on hold as my husband is still not healthy enough to resume this process. I am sure God has his plans set for us and I will have to try to be patient.

3/9/06 This weekend is supposed to be in the high 60's and I plan on tilling the garden. I have garlic, shallots, and onions to plant. The smell of spring is in the air.

I purchased a new hand cranked wringer today. I hope it works well. It should arrive in a few days. I can't believe how expensive a wringer is. Lehmans has one for $179.00 and the one I purchased is $95.00. I will have to take a picture of it when it arrives.

2/11/06 It has been a long day. Today it is snowing and will continue to snow until tomorrow. I have been working on our house in Virginia for some time now. I have been spackling, sanding, finishing my hardwood floors, painting and replacing tile at my front door. It has been challenging since I broke my right hand not to mention how raw they have become. I have to go to physical therapy because scar tissue is preventing me from bending two fingers. I also have pain so maybe it will help.

The weather was so nice over the last month. The trees started to bloom. I am anxious to get back to working on our house plans in West Virginia but I will have to wait another 2 weeks for my husband to get a little more healthy.

The garden is almost ready to be tilled to plant my onions, garlic, and shallots.

1/28/06 I haven't written in a while because my husband hasn't been doing good. He has been fighting a migraine for other a week and that has put us behind in our plans for the house. We hope to resume soon.

1/7/06 The backhoe guy dug about 10 holes and we found model clay in every spot. We will have to call Denny back on Monday and find out what we have to do. We did find there is suppose to be an old septic on our property. A neighbor told us that when the property was owned by University of WV they had a septic installed. We found evidence of a hose and electric line but did not find the septic tank. The hose ran to the hand dug well which is 25 feet deep. Maybe it is on the map at the county building. We will find out on Monday. So far our total amount spent on this project is $250.00 for the backhoe operator.

1/3/06 Denny the health inspector came out and looked at the observation hole. We have model clay about 3 feet down so we will have to dig more holes. Model clay means water does not drain pass that point.

1/2/06 While Christopher and the boys were in WV I was sanding our hard wood floor and broke two of my fingers on my right hand so typing is a little difficult. I was working on the stairs and I fell down on them but they will heal.

12/30/05 Christopher and my son-in-law, Marvin, left for WV to meet the Larry the backhoe operator we hired to dig the observation hole. He will stake off the area for the house and for the drain field.

12/29/05 Now it is time to look for a drilling company. We will try As. 304-822-4092. Over the phone we were quoted $9.50 per foot for casing and $10.00 a foot for drilling.

A quoted us 9.50 a foot but we have to call back in a week for an available date for them to come out.

12/28/05 I left the house at 9:00 and traveled 234 miles round trip to West Virginia and back. I packed up all my packages for my customers and dropped them off in the small town of Augusta. It is hard to get over how a small town has friendly postal workers. He even greeted me with a smile! A lady walked in and he could tell her that her husband already had a mail box key. Now that would never happen where I live. You are rushed to get the packages on the counter, tell the teller what you wanted, and have them sigh as you ask for stamps or that you need to fill out a international slip for customs.

We stopped at Slonakers Mobile Homes, in Augusta, WV. (304) 856-3520. Mr. Steve Slonaker seemed to be fair and courteous. Our friends Steve and Ruth, suggested we see him. They purchased one of their homes from him. Slonakers homes were of better quality than the other manufactured homes we visited yesterday. They were commodore homes. Mr. Slonakers suggested I speak with our HOA to find out if we can have a manufactured home so we do not get into any legal disputes. There was a court case to determine if a manufactured home was a trailer. Charles Carl was the attorney and it was the Frank White case according to Mr. Slonaker. He suggest that once a home is placed on a permanent foundation it is not a mobile home anymore.

After eating lunch my husband and I went to the Health Department. Christopher took a test to become certified to install our own septic system. It took him about 2 hours to complete it and since he didn't get done until 4:00, their closing time, Denny said he would call us in the morning with the results.

A little ways down the street we stopped at a concrete company who makes septic tanks, Jolin Concrete Industry - (304) 496-8007 - Rt. 50, Augusta, WV 26704. We can get a concrete septic tank for $650 and they will place it in the hole. It will cost us around $2,500 instead of the $7,000 - $15,000 that we were quoted. The original septic installer gave us the city people cost which is the same for "your not from around here" cost. Now we just need to research a leach field filtration system and here is a site that was recommended to us by our friend Steve. http://www.infiltratorsystems.com/index.html I ordered a video and manual over the internet.

We stopped off at Southern States and picked up some surveying tape. My husband has to mark the area off on Saturday when he meets our neighbor to dig the 6 foot hole. The hole is called an observation hole to evaluate the soil depth to bedrock and the seasonal water table. (Now, I have no idea what that means, but I do not need to) The inspector will meet my husband on Tuesday to look at the 6 foot hole and tell us if the soil is appropriate for a leach field and to do the percolation rate measurement. (My husband smiles big as he sees me typing this and informs me I have been typing perk wrong so the correction is made in this document throughout.)

12/27/05 Today I looked at manufactured homes and I am very discouraged. The first place we stopped was someone's house. Fowler Homes. We were expecting a parking lot of homes. Needless to say we didn't go in and left to the next place. The next stop had good homes, but the dealer just seemed shady and gave us an outrageous price. The last stop the sales lady just had an attitude that she was God and we were nobodies. She had a more decent price but the product was very cheap. I am very frustrated and ready to cry.

Our home owners states no trailers. Is a manufactured home a trailer? I can't seem to get this answered. The president of the home owners association is not home until January 3rd so I will have to wait till then to get that answer.

I called the neighbor with the backhoe. He will meet my husband on Saturday to dig the 6 foot observation hole. Tomorrow we will go to the Health Department and drop off the percolation permit and meet the inspector. My husband may try to get certified as a septic installer at that time too. We will stop and get a price for the septic tank. The very last step for tomorrow will be to stop at Southern States and pick up stakes and ribbon to mark the septic area. We have to stake off a 100' x 100' area for the leach field.

So far our cost for this project is : $250 for our lawyers to look at the closing and a lot of gas money.

Manufactured homes we checked out so far are Wamplers, Fowlers, and Rankins.

12/26/05 On Christmas Eve my family and my siblings went to my parents house. My children, Amia 13, Gala 17, and Tracey 19 had a good time. We celebrate this day with my parents. Christmas day we would have been spent it with my husbands parents. However, this year they weren't celebrating because my mother-in-law has breast cancer and is going through treatment. She has kept to herself because she doesn't want to burden us. My husband has been sick for over a decade. His life expectancy is less than an average person. She doesn't want to add any more stress to our lives. She just doesn't understand that staying away causes more stress. It makes me feel very odd about the whole thing, but they are adults and that was their decision.

Christmas day my kids including my grand daughter and son, Tyler 24, and his soon to be bride Tina joined us for dinner. It was a good day but long.

Today we are getting ready for a 3 hour drive to go look at houses for the property. There are a few places we want to check. My husband ordered a book on the do's and do nots of buying a manufactured home. He just finished it today and has prepared a check list of the things we are looking for. It should be interesting tomorrow.

I ground some kamut for my pasta. I made it from pure fresh ground kamut. It has a great flavor and its better for you than store bought. It was good.

12/22/05 My husband and I went to the attorneys today and they found thatthe first page to the promise note was missing. We ran home to find it but we didn't have it and had to call the bank. The bank faxed a copy to our attorneys office. We went back to the attorneys and he found some more minor problems, but we got that fixed with out much problem. Another step in our process is complete, but it is getting exhausting.

I called around to find more manufactured home vendors. I have done so much research that one house plan after another starts to look the same. I have been getting a few headaches from the stress of working, looking for houses, and my husband is not sleeping because he can't stop researching. We found one model that we like just to find out we can't afford it and then on to the next house plan.

I finally received the check from the septic man. He returned my 400.00 after sending him a legal notice to pay in 30 days.

12/21/05 The loan papers came in from the credit union. I made arrangements for my attorney to look over our loan and deed tomorrow.

I contacted several dealerships of manufactured housing today. One vendor offered $91,000 for a Norris Silver I model number 27NSI32563AH06. It is a 32 x 56 manufactured home that is 1718 square feet. Another vendor offered $71,834. However, according to our research this is still high. As you can see there is a $19,000 difference in price from one dealer to another. The first vendor included some options like a steeper pitch roof, flood lights, wiring and bracing for ceiling fans and dry wall through out. Every manufacturer of manufactured homes offers many options available for each model. We will try to get itemized pricing for each option.

12/19/05 I just got off the phone with Sister Lori. She can make me laugh. She had to remind me of her attempt at making tomato sauce. Now keep in mind it has taken me at good 10 years to make great sauce. And she reminded me of my first attempt too. Now having said that, she makes plenty of jars of great jams, jellies, and so on and her husband taught me how to add just the right stuff to make a great Italian sauce.

When making sauce, you need to grow Roma tomatoes. They are the best for that as they have lots of meat and not so much water. Pick ripe red tomatoes. Do not put any of them in refrigerator. Place them in a heavy bottom pot or pot with a trivet so they do not burn. If you burn one tomato, the whole pot will smell and you will have to throw the whole thing away. After they have all soften, are not whole tomatoes anymore, and have are very hot pour the mixture into a large metal sieve. Let the water drain away. Take a food master or food mill and put the drained tomatoes in the top holder. The peels and seeds will come out one side while the juice and pulp will slide down the ramp into a bowl or pan. Take the bowl of peels and seeds and feed that through one more time. This will contain the most pulp and thicken the sauce. I will take a fine metal mesh sieve, like the one that fits over the sink, and very slowly ladle a bit of the sauce into the sieve. You will see clear water drain away. I add the drained sauce back into the sauce mixture and back into the pot to heat again. Process like normal but I add a few cloves of garlic, bay leaves, and fresh basil. This will make for a very thick sauce.

Well, Sister Lori did exactly what I first did. She didn't have a food mill to take the seeds and peels away so she tried her best to remove the peels as she cooked. She then placed it in the hot jars and processed as normal. Well if you have ever done this, the peels will roll up into paper thin annoying items in your sauce that will choke you and of course all the seeds are there. She made a jar for dinner, poured it on the pasta and well, it all went down the drain and trash and so did the rest of the jars. Bless her heart. I do not know why I find it so funny but I just do. The joys of learning to can sauce. :)

12/17/05 The ground has been covered with a light snow and some ice from the day before. It gives me some time to think about our house plans and what we want on our farm in WV. The man I paid for our percolation test, needed to put the septic system in, returned only $100.00 of the $500.00 we paid. That was disappointing as we will continue to write and bug him for the rest of our money.

I was able to get a 6.49% fixed rate loan from my credit union opposed to the 7.49 to 8.99 interest rates from every where else. I also called the health department and spoke with the inspector there and he will be sending my husband some information on how to get certified to install our own septic system. We also found a neighbor up the street that we will ask to dig the hole for the septic and our septic tank.

During the week after Christmas my husband and I will go look at Modular and manufactured homes.

12/8/05 Tina, my sons girlfriend said yes to his proposal of marriage.

12/7/05 Our smoker came in a few days ago and it had a broken part. Not a big deal since my husband, son-in-law, and son didn't get any deer this last weekend. :) Sportsmanguide will be sending us a return label and another smoker. Maybe the boys can try this coming weekend before the season is over.

My husband called the guy we hired to do the percolation test and we finally asked for our money back. We need to find someone else now to do the percolation test and we will have to wait till the snow is gone and for the weather to clear up. :(

We are looking at modular homes, as one option, we like and hope to find out more information on them. This plan is 2605 square feet home. I hope to use my business in the upper floor until our shop is built. We wanted to build the home ourselves since we have the knowledge and skill, but my husband is to sick. He has been disabled for 15 years and it would just be to hard on him. We go back and forth on this decision, but I think we will stick with the modular home, so far.

P.S. My son will be asking his girlfriend this weekend for her hand in marriage. Interesting to see how that will turn out.

12/3/05 My husband and I headed to WV to pick up the grain, lamb, and steer. We picked up the lamb in Fredericksburg, VA and headed to 66 toward Romney, WV. We stopped at Millers Market and picked up the grain and oils. The price they gave me on the lard and olive oil was incorrect. The clerk stated gallons which really was 1 liter per bottle and the lard wasn't a 5 gallon bucket. It was a gallon. Everything was fine and the clerk gladly took back the olive oil.

We picked up the steer and went to our friends house, Steve and Ruth. They have a wonderful place where they grow fresh produce and raise animals.. Steve has purchased a manufactured house and built his own house and out buildings. Ruth gave us about 3 dozen eggs and I got to hold one of her friendly chickens. They were so cool. They even laid green eggs. We ate a delicious dinner that Ruth had prepared. Most of the food was grown on their farm.

After dinner Steve suggested a few options to help us get a house on our property. He expressed to us the other expenses involved in building a house and e-mailed us this spreadsheet. They have been very helpful in decisions regarding our house building project. There information is as follows. www.martin-construction.net and www.churchviewfarm.info

11/29/05 Yesterday I contacted the Health Department in Augusta, WV (Hampshire County Health Department - (304) 822-5111 - HC 71 Box 9, Augusta, WV 26704 ) and spoke with the inspector Denny. I asked him if our application for a percolation test was submitted and he said no. I hired and paid for it 6 weeks ago. I left several messages for the company I hired with no response. I called the gentleman at home this evening and he said the weather went sour after we paid him to do the percolation test. We were on our property several times and the weather was fine. However, the rains had been coming down for the last couple of weeks which isn't good for a percolation test. Denny said he would try to get a hold of him and give me a call back.

My daughter wants to have her wedding on our property but we need a house first. :(

11/28/05 Today has been a long day. Lots of packages for our customers go out the door. The kids are decorating the Christmas tree. I also found a smoker from sportsmanguide.com that will help us preserve the deer meat in a couple of weeks. I am not sure it will get here in time but we hope so. Christmas time can be such a busy time as people go out and buy every electronic device known to man kind that they will only enjoy for a couple of months at best and will no longer be any good by next Christmas.

11/27/05. As of yet, we still haven't heard anything on our Percolation test. Very frustrating. My husband, my son Tyler, and my soon to be son-in-law will be going to the property this coming weekend. They should see evidence of any percolation test. It is hunting season and our property has A LOT of deer. This weekend will be busy for them as they have to pick up the steer that went to slaughter a couple weeks ago. I have to pick up a lamb that is back from the butchers too. I get a lamb about 4 times a year from a near by farm in Culpepper. There is also a Mennonite Market in Romney called Millers Market that my husband needs to pick up 60 pounds of Kamut grain, which is very hard to find, and 60 pounds of red hard winter wheat. I ran out some time ago and would like to get back to grinding my own flour. Fresh ground flour is to heavy for me so I have to mix it with unbleached flour from the store. The Mennonite store also found olive oil for $7.00 a gallon and I have been paying 19.00. They were also able to find me 5 gallons of lard. I use them both for my soaps. I like using a high grade of oil to get a high grade of soap. All I need to find now is bulk lye.

11/19/05 My husband and I still haven't heard anything about the percolation test. As of last weekend, there were no evidence of a percolation test done. It has been about 1 month and we can't do anything else until our percolation is done. The type of septic system determines the loan amount. If we require an alternative septic system the cost will be much greater, around 15,000. However, the people in our development all have standard septic systems.

11/12/05 Well today is canning day, again. I have a couple of bushels of apples left to make more applesauce. I think applesauce is on our table, nightly, along with the honey, butter, and bread. The kids love it. I use a lot of lemon juice in mine so the color stays nice and bright. It is hard to find space when you have so many canning jars and no room to store them. My neighbor works at a thrift store for a local church. The thrift store can't accept canning jars, I do not know why, but he gives them to me. It makes it less expensive to give my friends and neighbors jams and jelly, as we often do. The only thing is I do not think people really know how much time and money goes into canning. In the summer I go through 150 pounds of sugar and a case of jars isn't exactly cheap. From time to time someone will ask us for canned goods because it is homemade or they liked what we gave them last time. My husband and I came up with a rule. We do not give someone another jar unless they give us back the jar from the last gift. This isn't something we can do very often. When we are asked for canned goods it does make us wonder do they really know what goes into canning? I guess I'll have to do a page on that someday. :)

11/11/05 My daughter and granddaughter came by for the evening. My daughter is 19 and she wants me to teach her to make aprons and come up with her own style. Her extra money is used for her college fund and to help with the baby. The baby is used to having her swing so it is a little difficult to sit down and just sew. Not to mention teaching too. :)

11/10/05 It is the end of a long day. I have made arrangements for an acquaintance to pick up 32 bars of soap she made with her two friends a couple of weeks ago. That was an interesting day. I met them at a church retreat last spring. They asked if I would teach them to make soap. So after months had gone by, they came over and we made soap. They seem to be stumped and amazed at my life style in the kitchen. While the soap was being stirred by one friend, the other was helping me put apple sauce threw a food mill. My daughter was shaking the cream for butter and the dough to make bread for that nights supper was rising. It was a busy day and also rewarding to teach others a skill.

The day was full of tasks at work and at home. I am itching like crazy because I got into poison sumac while clearing my barn in West Virginia. I am so allergic to the stuff and even with no leafs and pollen I am still covered by a rash from coming in contact with sumac. I have 18 acres in West Virginia that my husband and I plan to homestead on. We have a barn, well, and camper there at the moment. We are planning to build a small house on the land but I can't seem to get any results on the percolation test, still waiting. I have to get the well company to call me back, and the septic guy wants $7,000 - $15,000 to install the septic system. Outrageous!