rodentraiser

Kathie, the wildlife is great until it comes into your house. When I got home the other day after posting here, Reddy had gotten into my trailer. The space that I'm using as a pantry is where I also put things like kleenex, toilet paper, and paper towels. Well, guess who found a way to crawl into the cupboard from underneath? I came home and there was a trail of shredded paper towels from the inside shelf all the way outside to the other side of the trailer. When I used to sit outside before it got so cold, I'd keep a box of kleenex on the table and overnight Reddy would empty the box. Looks like he's upgraded. But he has to stay out of the trailer. I gotta figure out what to do about that. Usain Bolt is no longer among us, but there are 4 other little chipmunks. They look like little vacuum cleaners as they search the ground with their tails up in the air, so I call them Kirby, Dyson, Hoover, and Eureka. And the buck is back. He's not afraid of anything and he eats every green thing that isn't covered in netting. I keep telling someone to shoot him and I'd vouch that it was self defense because he was charging the shooter. So far no one's taken me up on this offer. lol Well, I guess he's still part of my family up here. Him I don't chase, though. I might be dumb, but I ain't stupid. He's got 4 points on his antlers this year and probably outweighs me and that's saying something. Did I tell you guys that we had a cougar up here? The guy who fixed the top of my trailer got a picture of it in the middle of the road in broad daylight. Right around the corner from my old lot. I make sure I'm in by dark now. I sure miss you guys, too. I'm looking to get a phone line put in if I can. Maybe if I do that, I can get DSL. Better than nothing.

As long as I dropped in, I may as well let everyone know what's going on. I still don't have a computer and probably won't for a long time yet. The only way to get a computer connection up here is to use a satellite company and the cheapest one charges $400 up front, the cheapest plan is $100 a month and then they have data caps. $100 a month will get me 20GB a month. Not very much. So being online has been shelved for right now. My stove is still not fixed. The guy who came out couldn't find the gas leak, so on Dec 9, he's coming out to run a dedicated line from the propane tanks to the stove and oven. That will run me about $600. Meantime, my stuff is still in storage, although I'm taking the totes out little at a time and putting them in the shed. I still don't have a shed for my washer and dryer and a couple days ago, I opened the washer to find about 2 ft of water in it. This with a tarp on it! We've had 12" of rain in my area since the beginning of November. After no rain all summer. I do have a great little computer desk though and an adjustable, comfortable chair for it. Now I just need to finish off the front area and move the bed (yes, I have a bed now!) and I will be able to move that poor computer desk inside. So far it's been safe under the awning, but you wouldn't believe the wind we've had here. The awning lifts up about 3 feet and SLAMS down again. This morning I noticed the awning was tearing off on the sides. The contractor told me the company that was supposed to put a cover over the trailer went out of business so he had to start all over again. Now it's going to be 3 more months before a cover is put on. Just in time for spring. Meantime, he had someone come and patch some of the cracks on the roof and I'm just holding my breath hoping the repairs will last. I also still don't have hot water, but I do have indoor running water and a TOILET now! Of course, it's going to get below freezing tonight and tomorrow night so I will have to turn the water off and disconnect the hose at night. And my heater that I've used for the last 20 years is no longer working. I bought a new, smaller one, but I really need something larger. Always something. Reddy Kilowatt is as bratty as ever. He will sit on my lap and run across my body to jump on the outside table to get his peanuts. I also have towhees that just love the peanuts, so I was calling out "Peanut" and throwing them peanuts. They learned that real fast. Now if I'm not quick enough, they come sit and squawk in front of me. However, I now have jays, who have also learned the word "peanut" and chase the towhees away. There is Crazy Jay, Screamin' Jay, Baby Jay, and Jay Z. The mountain quail also come out and peck seed. They're supposed to be shy and very hard to see and supposedly, birders come up to Washington just to knock them off their list. And I see them several times a day. And today I saw a flicker! The bobcat walked across the yard again, this time stalking about 10 feet from me and out my driveway. And did I tell you about the cougar that was around here? The guy who worked on my trailer got a picture of it on his phone. It was around the corner by my old lot in the middle of the day. I limit my outdoor time when it gets dark now. Not much else is going on. I have to log out of the computer now (i'm at the library), so you guys all take care and I'll get computer access as soon as I can. Miss you all!

Did you guys miss this one by the same seller as above? https://sacramento.craigslist.org/for/d/lodi-dollhouse-shell-ready-to-finish/7408052866.html This is a Lawbre Glen Cove Villa. I'm not sure if it comes with the dormers on the tower or the staircase but for the price, it's a steal!

When my check comes in on the 3rd, I'm going to look for a computer desk and then call Dish. I already have my computer out of storage. HUZZAH!

I love it! https://www.boredpanda.com/miniature-dioramas-tatsuya-tanaka/

Hugs back to everybody! Another update here! WOOHOO So to catch you guys up: I'm moved over to the new lot and last month I brought home a 35ft 5th wheel trailer to live in. It was completely redone on the inside and is nice and clean. Of course, there are problems. It needs a toilet. I bought one but it needs to be installed. The windows don't open although I bought some WD40 and I'm going to try that. The windows are slide windows and are rusted shut. I needed a new bed. I bought one but it won't be delivered until Aug 5. There's a leak at the propane tanks, so someone is coming out to fix that at the end of August. The stove works and I can get the pilot light on in the oven, but the oven won't light. Hopefully, getting the leak fixed will take care of that. t needed a septic hose to attach to the septic system. I bought that and the contractor was supposed to attach it but still hasn't. The water spigot leaks, so I haven't attached a hose for running water inside yet, although if the contractor doesn't fix that leak soon (it's his system), I'm going to turn the hose on and just let it leak. The trailer's water heater is rusted out so it looks like I'm going to need to put in a hot-water-on-demand system - $1500. *sigh* Maybe by Christmas. I'm switching the bedroom and the living room. The bedroom was originally up in the cab part that goes over the towing vehicle. It's larger than the 7' x 7' area for the bedroom and since all I do is sit up there, the 4ft high ceiling shouldn't matter. I'll have room for my sofa, a computer desk, and my electric Franklin stove. Of course, to get to the "living room", one will have to walk through the bathroom but hey, little things. And as a bonus, I have to saw out part of the bathroom wall to be able to get my sofa in there. Always something. I have a washer and dryer! They're outside and naturally, the dryer plug doesn't fit the plug in part on the fuse box, so I need to buy an adapter for that. I was going to get my things out of storage in July but I plain ran out of money. So I'm looking forward to doing that next month. Getting my stuff out of storage, that is, although I'll probably run out of money too but I won't be looking forward to that. The new trailer has washer/dryer hookups, but I'd have to get those really expensive small ones and since I already have a washer and dryer outside, I just use the closet as a pantry and it's an awesome pantry! I have all the food at the new trailer now and I have a microwave if I need to heat something up. Yes, the new trailer is actually hooked up to electricity! Electricity rocks, by the way. But even better, I have a fridge! A small one, but I'm not complaining at all! The new trailer leaks and my contractor said he would ask his guy to fix the cracks in the ceiling, since the covered roof won't be put up till fall. Of course, the contractor says a lot of things. I'm not holding my breath. I've been lucky because it hasn't rained since I brought the trailer home almost 6 weeks ago. Things are gettin' kind of dry here in Washington, but for me that's just fine. For now, I'm still sleeping and cooking in the old trailer, but the awning is up on the new trailer and I sit outside there during the day. I made a stone garden bed about 30ft long and 1ft wide. I had - operative word HAD - a multitude of wildflowers growing there. But I started to feed the birds and ended up adding a red squirrel to the mix. He decided it was more fun to bury his loot in my flower bed and dug the bed all up. Well, maybe next month I can put some wire around it since a huge rabbit is visiting on a daily basis too. So far the squirrel, whom I call Reddy Kilowatt, has taken over everything. He chases the chickadees, the juncos, the doves, the chipmunk (named Usain Bolt because you should see this little thing run!), and even the rabbit even though the rabbit is about 4 times his size. He'd chase me if he could get away with it, but I don't run. I just wish he'd chase the deer away. I have a doe with twin fawns who walks through my yard every day and while I love to see them, they're eating up all my pansies and trees. One morning I saw a bobcat walk across my yard and a couple of weeks ago there was a cougar sighting up where I used to live (just around the corner and way too close). I had a feline meeting of another kind recently. I was reading by camp light on the bed in the old trailer at about midnight. The camp light doesn't throw much light beyond my bed. Anyway, I happened to look up and saw a face staring right at me from the foot of the bed. The trailer's screen door has a largish hole ripped into the bottom of it and apparently a cat decided to just come in and check me out. After staring at each other for a couple seconds, the cat left as quietly as it came in and I haven't seen it since. I'm just happy I wasn't reading a Stephen King book at the time. So I have plenty of wildlife to keep me company. Things are moving along S L O W L Y but they are moving. I hope by September, at least, that I'll be completely settled (here's hoping the toilet and shower work) and maybe have my computer hooked up by then. Meantime, the work never quits. I still need to get the dinette set out of the kitchen so I have room for my chopping block, there's a ton of weeds that need to be pulled in the yard, and I'm still painting my mailbox for the new lot. I also bought a bike and I'm trying to find time to ride that every day. I've only fallen 6 times on it. Pretty good, I'd say, since I haven't ridden a bike since 1989. My biggest problems are stopping and turning. Minor details. lol Anyway, I miss you guys and I'm sure hoping I can be back here in a couple months! Take care everyone!

Hey everyone! Long time, no chat. I'm doing this from my phone, so please forgive any weird errors here. I can't remember what all I've told you but I think I told you the contractor and I were switching lots. As a thank you (and bribe) for swapping, the contractor put in my septic system and the electric (water and driveway were free cause I already paid for them on my lot) and he's letting me pay it off without interest. I decided to do it this way because costs and who knows what a septic system will cost 10 years from now. And the loan is only 6 years. So septic, electric, and water (3 spigots) are all installed on the new property and I should be moving there tomorrow or Tuesday. I will actually have electric heat and light, plus a working fridge, and running water inside. It's been a long 18 months without those things. Electricity rocks! I don't know when I'll have my computer again tho. There just isn't any room for it in the trailer. But I will be working on a large garden and if the weather is nice, maybe I can finish up that dollhouse I was working on last summer. I have a 10x12 shedon the new lot so as soon as that's painted, all my stuff will come out of storage and I'll have much more access to it all than I do now. So things are going good. Cross your fingers and toes that maybe I can get my computer hooked up too. I miss you guys!

I want my houses to be a little more realistic. However, they always end up a little quirky and I swear the houses do it on purpose.

If I didn't laugh at dollhouse building, I would cry. Take yesterday. After sanding...and sanding...and sanding...I finally called it a day and cleaned all that dusty residue out of the house. Naturally, I started with the bottom floor, then did the top floor and...you guessed it. A nice breeze came up and blew ALL that dust back into the bottom floor again. It doesn't help that I have to sand everything because I had to use wood filler on practically the whole house. It's like when I glue. People always want to know whether I'm glueing or painting. So people now look at the UNpainted house and tell me they like the pretty beige shade I painted it. And I'm too embarrassed to tell them it's sanded wood filler. This is something I'm going to take up with God when I die. I want to know why I had to have a passion for little things. I mean, so what was so bad about dropping bowling balls on my toes anyway?

I was having a wonderful time using the wood filler to fill in all the cracks (or in my case GAPS). It's so much like finger painting. Then came SANDING. If I had known how much I hate sanding I'd have taken up fly fishing instead of dollhouses. I think there is a conspiracy regarding brads and nails. I'm convinced the makers deliberately put in crooked ones in every package just so they can laugh at me trying to nail them in. Water based and water soluble only mean if one teeny drop of moisture touches what you're working on, it will dissolve, disintegrate, curl up and die. Water based and water soluble does not mean 'can be cleaned with water'. You will need blasting caps and chisels to get anything water based off your hands. There is always ONE expert in every crowd who looks at your work and says "I think the eave on this side is a whole 1/32 longer than the eave on the other side." I always respond graciously and tell them "If you know so much about it, numbnuts, there's the exacto blade. YOU fix it!" I also make sure to show all my teeth so they think I'm smiling. Windy days are not good days to put together dollhouses unless you want to lose weight by chasing essential wood pieces (like an outside wall) over and over again all across the yard. Putting a dollhouse together when your area is covered by smoke from forest fires allows you to be inventive. When someone sniffs it and says, "Your dollhouse smells like smoke", your options can range from telling them you were roasting marshmallows in it last night to letting them know you were releasing your inner arsonist by setting the base on fire. Miniature linen closets 1" in depth viewed on their open side instead of the from the front will make you cross-eyed. I have more thoughts but most of those are unprintable so I'll stop here. Just to add: posting from phone should be made into a punishment applicable in all 50 states.

Kells, I hope your hand comes back. Wait, that didn't come out right. Well, you know what I mean. I've been all over since the virus started and wearing only a Kleenex over my mouth and nose. It should be a bandana but I haven't been anywhere I could buy one. I can't wear a mask because I get a panic attack when something is pressing over my mouth. So I've been lucky or I've had the virus and just didn't know it. Which could be the case since I've been to Urgent Care twice and the doctor's office three times (for other things). No places better for picking up the virus! But I go to the store, the post office, the laundromat, the mechanic's (THREE of them now!), and the only time I've felt under the weather was yesterday, the day after my flu shot. And that was weird because I've never had a flu shot affect me before. I'm not worried about getting the virus. I AM concerned because it's not over yet. I hate to say it but I think slowing down the virus is just causing it to hang around longer and giving it more time to mutate. *It's not that try to go out everywhere, but I only have a cooler for a fridge and 3 bags of ice will melt in 3 or 4 days - 2 days if it's really hot. And I have to have a running car and groceries, plus get propane tanks filled.

We were getting very worried about you, Jeannine! Glad to hear from you!

That is to say, I GREW CORN. At least it didn't sub with a p.

I miss you guys! So far I'm still in my trailer and I had a great summer. I started a garden and green some watermelons, vorn, cherry tomatoes, and strawberries. I've had deer visit me (and my garden) on a daily basis. Lots of birds, hawks, a hummingbird, and other assorted creatures(some welcome, some not) have also dropped in. The contractor is "working" on a lot swap where I would swap my lot for one of his and in the process get a loan for septic and a better place to live in So far it's been off and on, mostly off, so I'm not really counting on this. But i have enough to pay for electric now and if he doesn't put it in, I'm still on track to have a transformer put in in December or January. I haven't saved asuch as I hoped because my car has been into the mechanic's at least five times this year. In fact, that where I am right now. I told the guy this time to do an exorcism. After watching the brake lights come on all by themselved, I figured it was possessed. Anyhoo, after having to get rid of all my miniatures projects shortly before I moved, I found a New Orleans kit on Craig's List and put it together. I modified it slightly - it has an extended living room and will now have a curved staircase, plus a linen closet in the upper hallway and a regular closet in the bedroom. It has to live in my car and with the rain we're getting lately, I may not be able to work on it as much. It's too big for the trailer I'm living in. But I'll try to keep you guys on top of what's going on. Hopefully by the first of the year I can be back posting with you all!

Well, we've had something like 22 or 23 straight days of rain in January and somebody said 26" of rain in our area last month. Yesterday it was snow again. The trailer now has a tarp on it, so we're good there. But the mold problem is getting out of control. I just cleaned mold off of the walls a week or so ago and it's back already. Of course, the propane heater has a lot to do with it. But the good news is the contractor told me he bought all the remaining lots for sale and he is going to put electricity on all of them, including mine. This is supposed to take place sometime this summer. And if I don't have enough saved for the transformer, he'll let me pay it off. Electricity. I can hardly wait!

I'm so sorry, Rebecca. It must be harder for you now because you had thought he was getting better.

Yeah, that would be me. That was such an embarrassing sale for me. It's been years and years since I sold anything on eBay and I naturally thought I could use the money from the house to ship it. Silly me, you have to have a shipping number to put in before Paypal releases the funds. So then I was stuck having to explain to the buyer that I wouldn't be able to afford to ship her house till the beginning of this month. THEN Paypal released the funds anyway and I shipped the house the next week. Kudos to a patient buyer. On top of everything else, she actually sent me a thank you note and a check for part of the shipping! Here's a shout out to chelleshome on eBay. I wish I could have given her a million positive feedbacks. People in miniatures are something else - a cut above the rest of the population.

Don't throw out the instructions! If you ever resell the house, the new buyer will want them. Personally, I'd keep the house. It's a nice house and it's not that difficult to put together if you can hammer some nails in. You won't mess it up. And in terms of money, you really got a bargain. Most kits using 3/8" wood cost more than what you paid and then you have to buy the doors, windows, and staircases separately. First thing is to see if there is a list of parts with the house. If there is, just go carefully through the parts and label them with a pencil. You can also use duct tape to put your house together without gluing or nailing it first. That will allow you to see any future problem areas and give you an idea of what rooms there are and what size they are. Just take it one step at a time. Remember, if you put your house together slowly, by the time you get towards the middle, you'll be very familiar with the parts and there will be a lot less of them as you go along. As for decor, you can do any decor you want. How about making it an updated Victorian? You can have all the Victorian trimmings you want and still have some modern things in it as well. I would personally want to have a 1950s house for my own dollhouse, but I'd make sure I also had a computer. People do style like that today. Good luck!

I want to go to Key West. After the rainstorms we had at Christmas, we then got SNOW about 2 weeks ago! I got about an inch the first night, then 5 inches a couple days later, then another couple of inches the next day. Then it started to rain (got rid of the snow all right) and it's been raining non-stop since then. All our roads are flooded. It's been so much fun. Not. I had put out 4 plastic buckets (the humanure thing is over - poop in sawdust is going out with the trash now) and they been out there for about a week and a half. This morning I went to rinse them out (how silly) and they each had 4 GALLONS OF WATER IN THEM! They were rinsed. No problem. I'm going to get a 4-sided screen and next time it's pouring like this, I'm going to go out and take a shower and wash my hair. Honestly, it can't be any colder than just going to get water and getting soaked doing that. I was out for 15 minutes today and my hair looks like I just washed it. I'm getting a little tired of rain. And the trailer is leaking, but I'll admit, with the rain we've gotten, the Ark would have leaked.

Hey guys, I'd post more often but nothing happens. Same old, same old. The weather is a good topic. We've had rain like you wouldn't believe. About a week ago we had a storm that dropped something like 5" of rain on us in about 2 days. Naturally, I was out in the middle of it and while there weren't too many slides, there was a ton of water over the road. I have one headlight and that makes it hard to drive in the rain. I'm sure glad the contractor insisted on putting in a driveway for me. Otherwise I'd be up to my door handles in mud. Today is pretty nice and warm again (warm being about 50°). But by Monday a cold snap is supposed to come in and wow! is it gonna be fun. Highs in the mid 20s, lows in the low 20s. And snow. The original forecast was for 16" of snow! But it looks like 6" to 7" is more likely. And sure, why not? I live up there now. The first mouse is gone. He fell into a 5 gallon bucket and I dumped him far, far away. The trailer leaks, however, so the second mouse fell into a bucket and drowned in the water (I would have saved him if I'd known). The third mouse is still on the loose. I'd buy a Hav-a-Hart trap but I'm just stretching out money right now. In December it was clothes and Comcast, this month it's car insurance and the garbage bill. Always something. Meantime I'm trying to coax this mouse into the bucket like the last one. But not to deliberately drown him. I consider wild mice vermin, but I can't do that. My lot was one of about 8 (or 10) that was for sale from the same owner. Now the contractor has bought all the lots. He says he's going to run water and electric to each of them, put in septic, and then put houses on all of them. I don't know, that sounds like it's going to be in the millions of dollars. But he's starting with electric. It's one transformer to every two lots and my price for a transformer would be $5000. I'd get back $2500 of it when that other lot sold. But the contractor is saying if he puts electric on all the lots, he'll only charge me $2500 (and whatever it costs to run wires to a meter) and even better, there's a program that I might qualify for that will pay for most of the cost of installation. Best of all, he's telling me this might be done this summer. We'll see. This is the guy that took a year to mow the weeds on my lot. But it's something to look forward to - imagine, electric in the trailer! I might be able to start a mini mini-project. So that's about all the news. I'll show up again to let everyone know what's going on.

I have mice and it's NOT a good thing. I went shopping with Lisa on Monday and got some new shoes. Night before last, I was making macaroni and cheese and spilled the macaroni all over the floor. Naturally, this is when I discover I have no dustpan. So I just swept it all up in a corner. Yesterday I put on the shoes and thought I had a rock in one of them. I shook it out and it was a macaroni noodle. Oh, okay. This morning I shook out the shoe again. Nothing. But when I turned the other shoe upside down, ALL the macaroni I'd swept up came cascading out. Some mouse thinks my new shoes are a nice place to store his pile of macaroni. Looks like a cat is in order. And yes, I've been too lazy to pick it up. But in my defense, I've been driving all over. In less than two weeks, I've been to two libraries (one of them three times), to two Walmarts, to the doctor's twice, the grocery stores several times and did a large shopping yesterday, picked up my prescriptions, had my car washed, been at the bank, the Social Security office, and then Social Services twice, dropped off a payment at the optometrist, did laundry at the laundromat, and stopped at my storage locker, the Hallmark store, and various other places. Since I live so far out, I try to do all the trips together. I sometimes leave early in the morning and don't get back till evening. I ordered two large water containers from Walmart and they arrived two days ago. Those have been sitting outside the trailer until last night. I finally came home just before it got dark and filled up and carried back to the trailer 7 gallons of water. It's not the number of places I go. It's just that it takes forever to get anywhere in the traffic.And I'm not even Christmas shopping this year! I'm just telling people who ask that I'm on the "Christmas-once-every-five-years" plan and that this ain't the fifth year.

I don't know much about the company, but Afton did make quite a few nice dollhouses. Their roofs (rooves?) seemed to be very steep and high - that's one way I ID them, Older catalogs still have pictures of Afton houses and I have one catalog from The Dollhouse Factory that listed their houses.

Congrats, Jackie!!!! We had some snow here about 5 or 6 nights ago. It was about half an inch and gave me a heart attack when I saw it, but it all melted by about 2pm. Sure was pretty while it lasted, though. It's been really warm. I made a grocery list for foods I could put in the cooler. Now I have to change it because the ice in the cooler is melting too fast.

Once I have electricity, I should have heat and a fridge. Meantime, I just have to depend on the cooler. We had a heck of a windstorm last night. One blast came through so hard the trailer rocked and it really roared. I swear I thought we had a landslide somewhere near, but it was just wind.Now we're looking at cold. Brrrr.....

I know it's been a while, but all of a sudden I have to remember my passwords when I'm on the library computer and it takes forever to reset them. And then when I do, I forget what I reset them to. Holly, the man who sold me the trailer sold it with two full propane tanks and a new 12 volt battery. One of the propane tanks is hooked up to the stove and oven, and the other is a spare. I bought one of my own, so when it went out, I switched to the spare and I'm getting my empty one filled today. Using a Mr. Buddy heater 3 to 4 hours a day will have a tank last about 3 1//2 weeks. Although, we have some really gnarly cold weather coming up. It's supposed to get up to 37 for a high and as low as 25 for a low in the next couple of days. If it rains, we'll have snow. Funny, I'm not looking forward to snow like I used to. LOL Anyway, the fridge doesn't run by propane and the heater in the camper needs an electric ignition that would come from a generator. So I just use the Mr. Buddy heater and I'm good. I keep a cooler outside and in this weather, a bag of ice will last over a week. I don't run the heat at night, but I'm plenty warm. I have a light blanket under a sleeping bag and then a couple of blankets on top of the sleeping bag. Last night it was 40 degrees and I slept with the window open above my bed. I'm so comfortable in the mornings that sometimes I don't want to get out of bed. Sometimes I don't. But because it's so cold, my nose runs all the time. I put a small garbage pail at the foot of the bed so I could throw away kleenexes without getting up. One day I threw a kleenex into the heater while it was on. That was exciting. I can connect my hose to a spigot, but the water pressure is so high that when I turn the water on, it sprays from everywhere. Also, if I leave the hose connected, the water stays in the spigot even if it's turned off and I don't want the water freezing in the spigot. When the hose is taken off and the water is turned off, the water drops back into the pipe below ground which is below the freeze level, so the water won't freeze then. I just have to haul water every other day for drinking and washing. When I can afford it, I'm going to buy 2 5-gallon containers for drinking water. There's no septic system to dump anything in. Lisa (Lisa_F here) came up one day and brought me some groceries and a plastic toilet seat to put on a 5-gallon bucket. I don't have sawdust and no access to any, so she also brought up a HUGE compressed bag of pine shavings from a pet store. I go in the bucket and then throw in a couple of handfuls of pine shavings. There's no smell once I do that. In a couple of weeks, I'll start humanure composting. I'll start by digging a small hole in the ground, throwing in some straw, then I'll toss my buckets, and then throw some more straw over that. I just need to find a bale of straw is all. I'll also need to find 4 pallets to stand up on end to put around the compost. Meantime, the buckets can stay outside with their lids on them and like I said, there's no smell. Well, better than an outhouse. The only thing that bugs me is there isn't much to do. I'm sure that once summer comes along, I'll have plenty I can do, plus I'll have the trailer and the terracing paid off and I'll have a little extra money to buy plants and stuff. I was hoping I'd have electricity by next winter, but I have a feeling it's going to be another 18 months before I see that. Once I have electricity, I could live in that trailer forever. Of course, I still won't have a computer, unless I want to get DISH. So all I do is eat, sleep, and read, and I'm running out of books. I can read about 300 to 400 pages a day and the library here really doesn't have a big selection. I don't know what I'm going to do over Thanksgiving when the library is closed for 4 days. So I'm fine and all, just bored. Lisa has actually convinced me to get a kindle and as soon as I can afford it, I will. I use camping lights for light at night. I can use the lights in the camper and I do use the one over the stove all the time, but I don't want to run the battery down. I don't have jumper cables yet and I'd need to jump start that battery and charge it from my car battery when it finally runs down. I tried the oil lamps. Either they're cheap or they're too small. I turn the wick up an inch and I get lots of light - for about 30 seconds. Then it drops down to the light of a tea candle and I have to turn the wick up again. I can go through a wick in about 5 hours and still not have enough light to read by, so I just light the lantern to have a flickering flame now. The biggest expense (and I knew it would be) is batteries. The camp light I have for reading is nice and bright, but that only lasts for about 12 hours. So I'm changing batteries practically every 3 days. I'm thinking of getting a propane lantern. I'm not sure how I'd get one to work by the bed, though, since that's where I read all the time. Anyway, that's where things stand now. I'll check back occasionally and let you guys know how things are going. Right now I'm cold, but happy (because this library is freezing!). Today I have to go drop off the modem, fill the propane tank that ran out, and do some grocery shopping. I also need to stop at the main library to drop off books and look for more. So off I go!