My brother came through and got me a dehydrator for Christmas! It's a Nesco FD-75A 700 watt unit. This particular model has 5 trays included with 2 fruit roll inserts and 2 screens (which I'd like more of). It's a top mounted fan with 95-160 degree thermostat for a range of foods from herbs, to veggies and fruit and meats.
On the way home, I stopped into a Rural King, where, low and behold- I found 2 boxes of 2 additional trays on clearance for $10 (regularly $15 online!) and purchased both those, too! I've got a total of 9 now, full capacity is 12 trays.
As soon as I got home, I got to marinating some venison steak and mixed up some ground venison with the packets of "Original Flavor" jerky spice included in the box. I will be ordering more of the spice packets, it tastes exactly like my favorite store bought brand! It also has a good instructional manual with recipes in the box.
I can't wait to try more recipes and foods. It will definitely come in very handy this coming 2013 harvest season.
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Monday, December 10, 2012
A Homestead for Christmas!
I mentioned a little about it in a YouTube I posted a few days ago, but... FINALLY! It appears I'm FINALLY going to be moving from the 'burbs to the country!
We've been looking on and off for the past several years. Our original intention was to buy raw land and build later, but we found a diamond in the rough on a deal too good to pass up thanks to my Mom! She happened upon it while browsing the internet. It's a 3 bdrm/1 bath foreclosure, and we'll have to go the rehab loan route to replace the roof (which we seem to have caught in the nick of time), and completely re-do the kitchen. The folks who were evicted took the kitchen sink, literally! Every cabinet, the sink, EVERYTHING in the kitchen (well, except the flooring, which is nearly new) was torn out. They had even tried removing the tiled back splash and ruined a portion of the drywall, which we will have to piece in. The pluses- brand new bathroom and hardwood floors...
BUT, the BEST part- it sits on 3 acres, and our nearest neighbor is about 1/4 mile up the road. We're surrounded by fields! We do have some yard work to do, though. New landscaping out front, tearing down a livestock fence, removal of a few dead trees, adding about 8 fruit/nut trees and tilling an acre for my garden. We've also got to do some rehab on the garage/barn and build animal shelters.
We were able to get this home for about 30% less than current finished appraisal value. Our monthly payments will be less than half than what we're paying to live in a suburban apartment right now. Closing is scheduled for mid-January (had to get estimates, holiday break, etc). I have no doubt this was an answer to prayers. (Especially considering we found a Bible in the basement when we went to view the house the first time!!!)
I'll talk more about specific improvements once we actually get working on the property. Some fun I intend on sharing includes: Building a Basement Root Cellar and Storage Room, Rehabbing a Garage/Barn, Building a Goat Stall, Building a Chicken Coup, and much more!
Hope everyone is having a joyous holiday season thus far!
We've been looking on and off for the past several years. Our original intention was to buy raw land and build later, but we found a diamond in the rough on a deal too good to pass up thanks to my Mom! She happened upon it while browsing the internet. It's a 3 bdrm/1 bath foreclosure, and we'll have to go the rehab loan route to replace the roof (which we seem to have caught in the nick of time), and completely re-do the kitchen. The folks who were evicted took the kitchen sink, literally! Every cabinet, the sink, EVERYTHING in the kitchen (well, except the flooring, which is nearly new) was torn out. They had even tried removing the tiled back splash and ruined a portion of the drywall, which we will have to piece in. The pluses- brand new bathroom and hardwood floors...
BUT, the BEST part- it sits on 3 acres, and our nearest neighbor is about 1/4 mile up the road. We're surrounded by fields! We do have some yard work to do, though. New landscaping out front, tearing down a livestock fence, removal of a few dead trees, adding about 8 fruit/nut trees and tilling an acre for my garden. We've also got to do some rehab on the garage/barn and build animal shelters.
We were able to get this home for about 30% less than current finished appraisal value. Our monthly payments will be less than half than what we're paying to live in a suburban apartment right now. Closing is scheduled for mid-January (had to get estimates, holiday break, etc). I have no doubt this was an answer to prayers. (Especially considering we found a Bible in the basement when we went to view the house the first time!!!)
I'll talk more about specific improvements once we actually get working on the property. Some fun I intend on sharing includes: Building a Basement Root Cellar and Storage Room, Rehabbing a Garage/Barn, Building a Goat Stall, Building a Chicken Coup, and much more!
Hope everyone is having a joyous holiday season thus far!
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