How to Make Contact Paper Countertops on a Budget

How to make contact paper countertops on a budget

Need Countertops on a Budget? When we were making decisions about what to do with kitchen countertops on our homestead, my mom told me about contact paper countertops. When she was a young girl, my great grandmother would recruit my mom and her sisters to change out the contact paper in her kitchen. It took me a while to warm …

A New Backside (on the manufactured home)

A new backside - Manufactured Home Reno

We’ve been busy working on the back side of the future homestead’s manufactured home. By the time we’re done with this It may as well be requalified as a site built home. At any rate, last weekend we removed the back window of the living room and replaced it with a sliding glass door. While we had the window removed, we …

Raised Comfrey Bed | Part 2

Raised Comfrey Bed Part 2 Hero Image

In part two of the Raised Comfrey Bed series, we finish up the bed construction. The primary focus of this episode was to sheet mulch over the soil. Click this link if you missed Raised Comfrey Bed | Part 1. So what is sheet mulching? Here’s a good definition from Wikipedia. In permaculture, sheet mulching is an agricultural no-dig gardening technique that …

Raised Comfrey Bed | Part 1

Building a raised comfrey bed

This weekend we started preparing a Raised Comfrey Bed to plant this spring. This bed has a couple purposes. 1: The comfrey leaves will be sold to midwives in East Texas to be used in their practice. 2: The comfrey roots will be harvested and sold as cuttings for propagation. If you’re not familiar with this amazing plant, learn more …

I Finally Used my Granberg Alaskan Chainsaw Mill

Granberg Alaskan Chainsaw Mill - East Texas Homestead

Last Christmas, I collected quite a few Amazon.com gift cards from friends and family. In years past, this would cause a dilemma due to having so many options. Not this year! I knew exactly what I wanted. I had become quite a fan of the Wranglerstar channel on YouTube and really enjoyed his videos on timber framing. One of the coolest …

Mr. Heater – Big Buddy with 20 lb Propane Tank – Review

Mr. Heater - Big Buddy with 20 pound propane tank

How to use Mr. Heater Big Buddy with a 20-pound propane tank In the video below, I show you the first time I started up and used my Mr. Heater Big Buddy propane space heater. I opted for using the 20-pound tank connected by a hose and propane filter. This seems like a better setup than the 1 pound tanks since …

Easy Freeze Plug Fix for Jeep Wrangler

How to fix a freeze plug with JB Water Weld This isn’t the classic “homesteading” post, but it is part of our journey. the video below shows you an easy freeze plug fix for my Jeep Wrangler. I want to start by saying, I’m not a professional mechanic. But i can tell you that this $9 tube of JB Weld will cost …

Halloween: Jack-o-Lantern Activity for All Ages

Fun Pumpkin Activity

You may have already seen my post It’s Pumpkin Time! A Fun Pumpkin Craft for Young Children, but since it’s the week of Halloween, I figured I’d post another easy pumpkin activity. If you’re looking for a way to entertain your child and keeps them engaged, this is right for you! Buddy worked on switching the faces for at least 30 …