Another night and day of torrential downpours, lightning, thunder and hail. Midday, the skies grew dark, like it was night, as wave after wave of intense storms drenched SoCal. More t-showers are expected tonight and into tomorrow. So much for my planned “cob cooking day” today. Ray’s supposed to be bringing by his sculptured rain cover sometime this week so we’ll be able to use the oven even in inclement weather. Until then, the cob oven is under a tarp.
With the dramatic swing in temperatures, thoughts turn toward indoor projects. It was time to pull out a few knitted UFO (unfinished objects) the other day and start work on completing them before tackling any new patterns. Yesterday, I spent time sewing together a plum colored, wool cardigan, pattern circa 1970s. Also, helped Jordanne on her lovely, burgundy hooded sweater and took stock of my yarn stash.
Other knitted projects that need to be finished are: pair of socks, hat, crocheted sweater coat and a granny square skirt and afghan. Our goal is to finish a few, if not all, of these by Spring.
In the meantime, the urban homestead needs to prepare for colder and wetter months ahead. We are going to be installing gutters on the garage to capture rainwater so will spend time shopping for some that fit on our old garage without fascia boards. We already have plastic drums to capture the rainwater in; so, once we find the right type gutters, it’ll be easy to install and help with saving precious rainfall.
The homemade solar oven is being upgraded as we try to improve upon the design. Right now we are using wood for the outside reflectors covered with aluminum foil. The wood, however, is disintegrating in a few spots and we would like to replace it with metal (Ray’s bringing over a few pieces to try) Once we get something that’s going to work and last, we will cover the metal with reflective material reflective foil that’s used by NASA.
Here’s a cheap and easy solar oven using reflective windshield shade { Tip: Unplugged Living }
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green LA girl says:
October 17, 2005 at 7:48 pmAre you part of a knitting circle? I’m a big knitter too — I should blog about it more. Lately, I’ve been really into Bamboo yarn —
Cher says:
October 18, 2005 at 5:10 amJust wondering if you’ve ever had rain chains for capturing rainwater, which I’ve been hearing about and seeing a lot of lately.
PTF is informative and inspirational – thank you!
Cher
(Future Urban Homesteader)
Anais says:
October 18, 2005 at 7:51 amHi Cher,
Thanks for your comment. Yes, we’ve heard of rain chains (would like to somehow make our own since they are expensive)
Good luck in your journey.
Anais says:
October 18, 2005 at 7:53 amHello Green LA Girl
Yes, I’ve been part of a local knitting circle for over 10 years. Also, I’ve hosted monthly KNIT TOGETHERS here at our urban homestead.
I’ve been wanting to start a group called the CAST AWAYS 😉
Nancy Kelly says:
October 18, 2005 at 11:58 amEvery time I look at the photograph on the journal page of your beautiful front yard it gives me joy! What is the name of the feathery tree/bush to the left of the photo?
Nancy
Deb says:
October 18, 2005 at 4:33 pmI have a question – what is the first thing or things you would do to make the very first step into sustainable living as you have done?
Anais says:
October 19, 2005 at 6:41 amHello Deb
Thanks for your question. These are the steps that we have and will take towards sustainability:
Healthy Soil
Pure Food
Simple Living
Renewable Energy
Waste Recovery
Healthy Family
One Community
One World
Mary Ann says:
October 19, 2005 at 7:21 amYour site is gorgeous, your writing is terrific, your lifestyle is admirable. I wish I could read your blog more often, but in my rural neighborhood, I don’t have high speed internet access and your site takes F-O-R-E-V-E-R to load. Could you cut those lovely jpegs down to websize so I don’t have to go get a cup of coffee while I’m waiting for them to load?
Anais says:
October 19, 2005 at 7:22 amHi Nancy
Thanks for the positive comments, we are blessed to be living in a micro eden. The beautiful looking plant on the left of the photo is LEMON VERBENA. It’s a very aromatic herb, great for teas!
Anais says:
October 19, 2005 at 7:45 amHi Mary Ann
Thank you for your positive feedback! We are blessed that we are able to share our journey.
As for the slow loading pics (sorry!) My sister and I are slowly redesigning the site and their are photos that still need to be optimized. So, in the meantime, please exuse our dust and we thank you for your patience.
Anais