Homestead For Sure

Finally Home

2010-08-21T12:57:00.005-04:00

Well, my family and I finally got our new house! Actually, we moved in back in May but I have been so busy with arranging everything, projects and figuring out where to put stuff that I have not had time to post on here. The house is perfect: 2040 sq ft, 1/2 acre that already had 4 apple trees, 2 pear trees, a peach tree and a what I think is a persimmon tree (either that or a plum tree that produces tiny plums). Plenty of space for a big garden, plenty of room for the kids to run around. The neighbors on either side of us are great! The neighbors on one side, their family originally built the house about 60 years ago and they have been very helpful with information about the house and property.
The house has 5 bedrooms, 2 full baths and a ton of closets, a mud room/laundry room a decent size dining room and a nice sized living room. The bedrooms are all nice size except for one that is kinda small.
We got lucky in that the inside was freshly remodeled by the seller. He said he took everything down to the studs before remodeling.
So far we love it! We have alot of plans for the place but it will be slow going. Right now we're just happy to have our own piece of dirt and to be out of the apartment.
So there you have it, we finally found our place that we will hopefully be able to turn into a working homestead/tiny farm eventually.

SurvivalCD's Emergency Preparedness Digital Library

2010-08-20T20:48:00.002-04:00

Great deal on a set of CD's full of information you need to know. Head on over to American Preppers Network and check out this article: http://www.americanpreppersnetwork.com/2010/08/all-survival-information-youll-ever.html

Another KY Preppers Meet-up

2010-01-24T09:07:00.002-05:00

That's right folks, we're having another meet-up. If you are a prepper or interested in prepping then you are welcome to come.

What: Meet and greet for preppers and like-minded folks. Bring your gadgets, preps, or
anything you would like to show (NO GUNS since it's a public restraunt!).

Date: Saturday, Feb.6th

Time: 2:00pm Eastern Time

Where: Golden Corral
8013 Preston Highway
Louisville, Ky 40219

Why: To get know felow preppers and other like-minded folks in your own community.

The last meet-up, which was my first, was a blast! Met some great folks and learned new ideas, heard some great tips and tricks and saw some cool gadgets.

NO, you don't have to live in Kentucky. If you live out of state and are able to make the trip to meet other preppers then you are more than welcome to join us!

Slacking

2010-01-24T08:33:00.002-05:00

WOW! It's been a while since I posted anything!
Quite a bit has happened since my last post. My family and I are getting close to buying our first home. While we originally wanted out first place to be a mostly self-sufficient farm/homestead, it looks like we will have to work up to that. The original intent of this blog was to be a log of our moving from apartment to homestead but I realized that even though I am ready, my family may not quite be ready to live totally self-sufficient. That and the fact that, for a while at least, I will have to work a regular job to supplement us until we are able to be totally self-sufficient. Yes, all of that crossed my mind in the beginning but I just didn't want to pay attention. While we will eventually be there, it's just going to take more time.
As I said, we are at least finally close to buying a house out of the city. It's a start! The realator, the lender and the guy helping get my credit on track all say that we should be in our own place by end of May.
I have always been proud of the fact that at 37 years old, I have never had credit cards, never had a car payment, never filed for bankruptcy(not downing those that have), never needed credit. Well, when you need a loan to buy a house.....having no credit is BAD! It's worse than bad credit!
Anyway, Things are looking up, and becoming a first-time home-owner at 37(I guess I'm a late bloomer. LOL) is close to becoming reality.
As always, I am open to ideas, suggestions and comments.

Kentucky Preppers Network Meetup

2009-12-02T20:35:00.004-05:00

This Saturday, December 5th The Kentucky Preppers Network will be hosting a meetup at Denny's on Dutchmans Lane in Louisville. Anyone is welcome and we'd love to see you there.
This will pretty much just be a meet and greet. Further details as follows:

What: Kentucky Preppers Network Meetup
When: Saturday, December 5th at 1:00 pm
Where: Denny's
4040 Dutchmans Lane
Louisville, Ky 40207
Why: A meet and greet for the Louisville members and anyone who would like to attend.

For more info, check here: Facebook Fan Page or Kentucky Preppers Network

Thank You Veterans

2009-11-11T18:53:00.002-05:00

I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you to all veterans, past and present, who have given and are giving so much. Thank you for fighting so hard to ensure that we are able to enjoy our freedoms.
Those that do not support the wars, please support our troops and remember that it is they who have fought and died to ensure that you may enjoy freedom. They answered the call, whether they were drafted or signed of their own free will.
In closing, I ask that everyone always remember at least 2 things:
1) All gave some. some gave all.
2) Freedom isn't free.

Thank you veterans for doing what you do, have done and continue to do!

Great Knife Score

2009-08-29T17:46:00.003-04:00

The other day I was checking out Craig's List and found 2 swiss army knives $15 for both or 1 for $10. That's a steal. 1 I think is the Champ and the other maybe the Camper. One the Champ, one of the jaws is broke off the pliers, the handle is broke on one corner but still worth the $ any day! I think the manufacturer will fix it for free. I met up with the guy and bought the knives and even though the one has some defects I found a great deal. They will be great additions to the 72hr kits I keep in my car and in the wife's car.
Also, I joined KPN(http://kentucky-preppers-network.blogspot.com/) as a contributing editor. Matt, the fella that runs the blog, is a great guy and always has great info. If you haven't checked it out yet then get your tail over there!
Thank you Matt! I look forward to working with you on the blog.
I am still fairly new to blogging so everyone bear with me. LOL
One last thing before I go....the next KPN meetup will be in Bowling Green, Ky. A date and time have not been set yet so keep checking for that info. For now, keep it in the back of your mind and try to make it to the meetup when the date/time are decided upon.

Are You Prepping?

2009-08-21T20:25:00.002-04:00

Are you prepping? Not sure what prepping is? Then you need to check out some prepping blogs such as http://kentucky-preppers-network.blogspot.com/ and http://americanpreppersnetwork.blogspot.com/. Those two will give you a great start.
Think of prepping like this: If you want to do all you can to ensure your family's wellness in a disaster (manmade or natural) then you need to learn everything you can.
There are lots of useful links so you can learn everything you need to know. American Preppers and Kentucky Preppers are my 2 personal favorites. You will also find links to your state's prepper blog.
Go ahead and check them out. What have you got to lose?

Check Out American Preppers

2009-08-20T20:09:00.002-04:00

Over at American Preppers you can find lots of very useful info about all things prep. If you are a prepper and have not heard of their blog then you need to get your rear-end over there. Also, they are giving away a free E/PAK of 72hr Emergency/preparedness action kit. A $12.95 value for free. Just complete 3 VERY easy steps!

The Garden

2009-06-28T18:24:00.003-04:00

The garden is picking up. We have some tomatoes coming on, some squash, green beans, corn is growing, sunflowers, and watermelon. All the rain we had the last couple of weeks made the garden really take off! I'm excited to see how it ends up doing. Since it was pretty much a learning experience, I have already learned a few things to improve the quality of next years garden if we get to do it at the church again. I weeded at the garden yesterday. I got some sunburn on an awkward spot....my butt-crack. Yes, my crack was hanging out. HAHA. But at least I got the weeds taken care of and the garden looks so much better.

1st Garden

2009-06-14T21:15:00.002-04:00

A local church decided to donate some of their land for church members and non members to use for garden plots. Each plot is 20'x20'. Our neighbor, Barb, who has been great to us is a member at the church. She told us about the garden plots and gave us an application. We got a spot and have been gardening for about a month now. I must admit that our garden is not doing as well as I had hoped. As a first time gardener I guess I should have known that I should not expect so much from it. I planted some corn, green beans, squash, watermelons, sun flowers, pinto beans, and zuchini. the tomatoes were the only thing I planted that were not from seed and I didnt plant anything until mid may. I guess it was kinda late, I dunno. Mainly it was meant for prectice. Of course we will eat anything that grows in it but I just thought it woukld be good practice since we will be growing all of our own food when we finally get our own land. Even just 20'x20' is alot of work. especially since the church does not have water available so I have to haul my own in buckets. And, it's a 10 minute drive from our apartment. Still, it's been a great learning experience and even though alot of work it's alot of fun. I'm excited to see how well it does.

Learning How to Preserve Food

2009-05-02T23:32:00.004-04:00

As a preperation for homesteading, we are getting ready to learn how to do home canning of food. I've been researching everything I can find about canning on the internet. Canning seems like it would be alot of fun...alot of work too. I guess we'll start off with canning some easy jelly from unsweetened fruit juices. Well, they say it's easy. I remember when I was a kid, my mother would do some canning. I remember the sound of the preassure cooker letting off steam and all of the jars and lids. Mom would do this all weekend.....from the time she woke up saturday until the time she went to bed sunday evening. Mmmmm. Homemade ketchup, tomato juice, jams and jellies, greenbeans.
I'm also interested in food dehydration. home dried apples, jerky, grapes, bananas and strawberries. I f you know of any good recipes or websites with canning or dehydration let me know.

The Beginning.

2009-04-26T07:26:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone! We have started this blog as a sort of log-book of our preparation and planning of our homestead. At the moment, we live in an apartment in Kentucky....3 of us full-time and 2 that are part-time. Myself (age 36), my wife Chrissy who is 24, and my son Harrison who is 14 months old today. Then my 2 stepdaughters, Madison (6) and Lilli (4) who we have with us every other week as they also stay with their father when they aren't with us.
We haven't really talked with our kids about homesteading yet but Chrissy and I are VERY excited! For us, it's about being closer as a family, saving money, going "off-grid", and finding our own piece of Earth......part of the legacy that we leave for our children and hopefully their children and so on.
We welcome you to follow along with us, comment, add any advice, tips and tricks as we prepare, plan and struggle to find our place to settle.