I honestly have a hard time believing I decided to undertake this project. I mean, of course it is something I would do… Highly impractical, low chance of success, no other fool would even attempt it. Sounds like a challenge to me. So I decided to grow my own coffee. I live in New Hampshire, so that means we have winter here. No coffee plants will survive under 40 degrees, never mind below freezing. I ordered three plants with the hope that at least one would survive. They took four years to grow, finally one flowered, fruit grew with the coffee seeds inside and took 8 months to ripen. I…
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Living in the country most of the kids go down town where all the houses are close together. It’s a bit of a tradition. So much so, they have the towns-folk donate candy to the houses down town. This year they shut that down. So our small neighborhood decided to step it up a notch. We normally make it a big deal for the small kids in the area – run it an hour earlier than normal so kids in our area can hit the local houses and then go down to the town. So we set up a fire pit at the end of the driveway, a table with…
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All my allclad can get thrown out! I have a new love in my life when it comes to cooking and it’s cast iron cookware! It started on a whim with a simple question last year on mmissionexploration.com about cast iron and if it was worth it. I received a lot of replies about how it was the best way to cook, etc. Even had a friend on the site offer up a free pan. I took him up on the offer, tried it, and haven’t looked back since. Actually, I’ve bought more pans than I can use right now. I don’t have any photos of the vintage Lodge cast…
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I picked up a new wood shed a little late in the year, as it took a full month to get it even after ordering. The wait was worth it. 6 x 10 and holds roughly 3 cords. Whomever invented this deserves the Nobel peace prize. What would have taken me all day, was shortened into three quick hours. I love heating our house with wood. It surprisingly heats our home quite well as it is well insulated and the double staircases let the heat go up one and push the cold air from the upstairs down to be warmed up and recirculated. Brilliant, even if by accident. Always look…
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During whaling times, the custom of fashioning a small round button from a section of Sperm Whale tooth and having it mounted to the top of the newel post of your home became popular. The presence of a Newel Post Button told visitors that there were no liens on the property. Hence, over time, the name changed to Mortgage Button. I ordered one a month ago as we paid off the house. It is installed now and while very few visitors go there or will even understand it, all that matters is that we know what it is and what it means to us, so we can smile every time…
