Kay Strayer

If you don't like the idea of replacing casters, finding a way to break down the integrity of the tangled hairs becomes the task.  Detangler might work.  Lubricate the caster afterward to prevent any moisture from discoloring it/rust.  PB blaster or WD-40 if you have it on hand.  Either of these products might also loosen up the hair too. I've used this trick, but not on a chair caster (I don't think).  

An ice pick/ thin Flathead screwdriver and a little bit of elbow grease might save you some dough.

I'm very late to the party.  What are the unfinished structures on the first page (The initial photos)?

Anonymous wrote:Here's one we made.  Works really well, as long as the sun is shining.  Does not work at all on cloudy days. 



Raisins made with fall harvested grapes took a month to dry because of intermittent rain clouds...but they did eventually dry! 

I use it to dry seeds, herbs, roots.  We dried almost a gallon of cherries in June, a couple gallons of sliced apples in September.  Tried to make fruit leather by spreading apple butter on a ghee-smeared screen...the thicker parts peeled off but the thinner parts had to be soaked off the screen.  Next time! 

OLD THREAD; Adding This For Future Visibility:

https://aurorasolar.com/blog/storing-solar-energy-everything-you-need-to-know/

(On storing solar energy for cloudy days)

Anne Miller wrote:I have read about Manzantia from Louis Lamour books.

Unfortunately Mr google says :

one species of manzanita, the Pointleaf Manzanita (Arctostaphylos pungens), is native to Texas, specifically found in the Chisos Mountains of Jeff Davis County.

This is not too close to me or other Texans ...

The manzanita berry may be native to Texas, but thanks to modern shipping I've found them in other states.  i believe they can be found throughout the south and midwest now.  

I used to pick these all the time.  I assumed they were inedible to humans and fed them to animals along my walks.

Flora Eerschay wrote:I love garlic! But I rarely eat it because my mother hates it :( so I planted it everywhere around my garden, both regular and ornamental varieties, and it looked so beautiful!

This sounds a mite like subtle revenge, eh?  Certainly very sneaky.  :)

"Won't eat the garlic?   Then you can stare at it.  Everywhere you turn, garlic everywhere.  Bwah haha."

No vampires tho.

Trace Oswald wrote:I'm not sure I understand your ask.  To clarify, you are looking for a house, can put $15-20,000 down and would like the owner to carry the rest of the loan for you?  I bought a trailer house that way when I moved back here.  I didn't even put any money down.  A friend had a trailer house on two acres of land, he sold it to me, he carried the loan for me.  You my be able to find some kind of deal like that.  It was basically a land contract, but with a trailer house and two shops on it.

I'm sorry, I'm just seeing these messages somehow.  I mean to pay $15,000-$20,000 for the home.  Total and with payments over the course of 1-3 years.  With a down payment as incentive to sell to me.  The problem I keep running into is that even if the home is decent, and the owner only wants $15,000-$30,000; they also want all of the money upfront.  It seems odd to me because that's not how most people purchase their homes.  They pay mortgages over the course of 20-30 years.  Basically it seems like a call to investors only.  

I know it's their home.  I simply mean the housing problem only gets worse when families aren't living in them.  Investors scoop up everything and owners hold out.  10 million vacant homes in the US.  It doesn't make sense.

I'm not greedy.  A piece of acreage I can build a couple of tiny homes on is sufficient.  I'd even take a decent mobile home on some land.  For the right price, I only need one (size taken into consideration).  You can't sleep in two houses at once.

I love that name for your cat.  Gawain: such a valiant knight.  

Ulla Bisgaard wrote:It’s always hard to put down an animal, including livestock, but remember that your animals had a much better life than animals at factory farms. Here we raise most of our meat, and it’s hard when we get to this stage, but I learned from a farmer friend to look at it differently. Our animals have a great life. They have plenty of space, freedom, good foods and are happy. When it’s time for culling, it’s done humanely with no stress or fear for the animals. This is what makes the difference between factory farms and homesteads. We also honor the animals by using all of the animal. Nothing is just tossed into the trash. It’s still very hard to do, but better than buying from factory farms.
Lastly, the breeds we raise are all on the endangered livestock list, because consumers don’t buy them. We work with other farmers, to ensure those breeds don’t go extinct. Over the years, three of our breeds, are now off the list, thanks to the conservation work we and others do.

I've cared for so many stray animals who were on their way across the rainbow bridge.   It never gets any easier.  Seeing a life extinguished is hard.

r ranson wrote:Thanks for that.
Putting it on my wishlist  for later.  And the Way of Kings as what I read of it was epic.  

I'm still on the dragons books.  I bought the first three and am just finishing up the second one, so I have a while.  Maybe I can find the Sanderson book second hand before I finish?  But it's unlikely as his stuff seldom comes up in the thrift stores.  

Maybe try a book swap.  If you have something someone else would like to read, they might trade you (temporarily or permanently).  Go frugal.  :)  
I believe there is a book swapping subreddit.