Wow! Double digit weeks already.  Can you believe we’ve gone through ten weeks – seventy days – already in 2017? Tick, tock, tick, tock folks! Time marches on and you need to make sure you’re making the most of it.  With that thought in mind, come along and see what I accomplished this week on the Suburban Steader Homestead.

This Week’s Milestones

Sickness Lingers Longer…Still!

Last week I lamented over how I had a horrible and cold.  NyQuil was useful in the sense that I was able to sleep but the poor Mrs basically ended up sleeping next to a bear.  The snoring was amazingly loud (or so I’m told) and she was getting minimal sleep.  Well, I do feel a little better about the situation.  I went to the doctor on Monday and found out I had strep throat.  At least there was a good reason for a cough, sore throat and grizzly bear snoring.  I’m on some horse pill sized Amoxicillin now and have seen some pretty quick results.  The snoring has been reduced to the occasional brown bear level, which I suppose is an improvement.  Hopefully, this illness is the last one for the year.  Our family has definitely paid the price this winter.  We’re hoping for a happy, healthy spring season.

Keeping My Hands Busy

I’m so happy.  I finally have my garage/workshop back into some semblance of order.  The good news is that I have finally finished my gas can shelf.  It didn’t come out exactly as I designed but I kind of like when that happens.  My usual approach is to design it in full on SketchUp (or even on paper) and then modify the design as I’m building it.  So, without further ado, here’s the final project:

Let me know if you want plans for this design.  I might make them available on the site if there’s enough interest.

I also got my grandfather’s hand plane rebuilt.  All the parts have been cleaned, the plane is sharpened and it’s all put back together.  The plane needed a lot of regrinding as it was quite out of square.  Right now, I’m in the process of treating my wooden handle and front knob with Boiled Linseed Oil. I’ve treated it every day for the last week and am now onto treating it once a week for a month.  From there, I’ll move on to once a month for a year.  After that, it should be fully treated.

I think that, once things get cleaned up a little, I’ll move on to restoring my grandfather’s toolbox.  Pictures of that to come.

The Planting Season Is Upon Us!

This last week was probably the busiest I’ve been with planting so far in 2017.  Parsley, Peppers, Sage and Lettuce were all started this week and I’m already seeing some sprouts.  Hardening off the onions and lettuce should occur in the next week or two.

Blog Work

The post this week was about the ten best survival skills for natural calamities.  It’s an interesting article that addresses skills at the 10,000-foot level.  I think it provides a good place for the reader to dig in and decide where they want to grow their skills.

Next Week’s Goals

It’s that time of year where the gardening really takes off.  We’ll take a little break this weekend since we’re heading out of town, but next week we’ll be hardening off the lettuce and onions.  In addition, we’ll be planting cilantro and basil inside.  And, weather permitting, we’ll sow peas and lettuce outside as well.  I love this time of year because browns are replaced with green and that smell of spring – that smell of rejuvenation – starts to come back.  It’s such an invigorating time of year and I’m really looking forward to getting back out into the yard and getting my hands dirty again!

In the words of Porky Pig “Ba-da-ba-da-ba-da, That’s All Folks!”  Week 10 is officially over!  Our homestead is really starting to gain traction and I’m excited to see how this growing season goes.  In addition, we’ve got a lot of DIY projects that we’re contemplating so stick with us and see what happens!

Thanks for reading!

Dan

Founder/Owner at Suburban Steader

I am a middle-age guy with a wife, two young kids and a crazy dog. We live on Long Island, NY and had an interesting experience with Hurricane Sandy. That experience led me towards the self-sufficiency movement and eventually led to the founding of SuburbanSteader.com. I aim to provide suburbanites with the confidence and know-how to become more self-reliant by providing content on topics such as gardening, personal health, financial responsibility, cooking, self-preparedness and self-protection.