by JarHeadTed
April 04, 2012 12:32
So, I got a new toy yesterday. It needs a little work but it's what I'd call an 85% restoration.
This is my second CJ. My first one was a red CJ-7 which I had for about a yeara and a half. I didn't make enough money to fix it's mechanical problems so I ended up having to sell it. This one is a CJ-5 and so far, seems to be in much better condition overall than my old one.
The short list of things I'd like to do/fix on this Jeep includes:
1.) Get a new softtop for it
2.) Speedometer doesn't work accurately
3.) Fuel guage needs a new sending unit
4.) Shoulder straps for the seat belts
5.) Replace seats with something closer to the original version
6.) Install a center console
I'm sure this list will grow, but that's really all I want to get into right now.
So far I've only put about 61 miles on it. That includes the drive home since I bought it in a town about 50 miles away. I'll post more here about the jeep as well as the garden, hunting, the PSP and all my other projects. Later firends.
by JarHeadTed
March 30, 2011 09:10
I've been doing a lot of reading and listening to podcasts lately. I've learned a ton of information. The books I've been reading are The Urban Homestead by Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen and Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew. These two books are full of wonderful ideas and techniques. I've also been listening to "The Survival Podcast" by Jack Spirko. These three resources have led me to a new mindset that I think is very important in today's world.
Today is the last day that I can have the above books checked out from the library, so I went to Amazon to purchase these books. I'd like to thank Jack for pointing me to Square Foot Gardening. I'd also like to thank the Dervaes family for what they did.
There is a controversy going on in the Urban Homestead community right now because a family in Pasadena names the Dervaes's trademarked the phrase "Urban Homestead". They offended many people in this community and there has been a pretty significant revolt from them as a result. You can google their name to get more information and a link to their website as I'm not going to give them any more publicity than this. Anyway, I was introduced to them by this controversy. I also stumbled across the book The Urban Homestead because of this controversy. What a treasure trove of ideas. I highly recommend this book if anyone is interested in turning their home into a producer instead of a consumer.
What I'm saying is most homes cost us money. We pay a mortgage. We pay utilities. After some common sense gardening, water, and energy lifestyle changes, that liability can produce things for you such as energy, water and food as well as provide shelter. Add clothing and that's really all you need to survive. So, once again thanks to the authors and producers of the 3 main resources I mentioned in the opening paragraph.
by JarHeadTed
March 11, 2011 10:51
We have our backyard back. The temporary fence is down and the dog and chihuahua (chihuahua's are not real dogs) can run again. The sod still needs to be "installed" and the gate needs to be hung but for the most part the backyard is done.
Here is the backyard looking to the northwest from the patio. There is about 3 feet of flowerbed between the fence and the top of the rock wall (picture of the wall appeared a few day ago in a post). There will be flowerbeds on the inside of the fence as well that will be about 2 feet deep and bulge out to include the walnut tree that the whellbarrow is leaning up against. You can see part of the city ownered greenbelt behind out house in this picture as well. Our kids love to play back there as it makes the backyard seem so much bigger than it really is.This picture looks to the northeast and was taken from the same place os the other picture. You can see the opening in the fence where the gate will be as well as the compost bin from earlier posts on the other side of the fence. Where the gate will go is (obviously) where the graded ramp gives us access to the greenbelt. I will be building my future raised beds for the garden close to the bottom of the ramp. I can't wait.
by JarHeadTed
February 18, 2011 21:35
On this blog I plan to write about the things I am doing around my house to make it a provider instead of a consumer and about my steps to become more self-sufficeint. Most houses are a place to spend the night for most people. I want mine to provide for me. I want it to provide me with food, water, shelter, and heat/electricity. Is that too much to ask.
My house is a little over 30 years old and has had little in the way of updates since then. When my wife and I moved in the house showed signs of neglect. We even literally discovered a back fence, retaining wall and about an acre of city "green belt" and a creek after the second weekend in the house after doing hours of yard work. YES, IT WAS THAT OVERGROWN!
I also will probably have posts and rants about other items of interest to the self sufficiency prepper movements. Basically, nothing is off subject.