Cabin coming along & Eye doctor visit

Yesterday was a full day! Don't remember if I mentioned that I woke up last... Friday, Saturday??.... and almost couldn't see out of left eye. By Sunday morning it was totally "dark".  So I guess between getting started on the cabin and not seeing out of left eye...very interesting past few days!

I didn't get to help a whole lot! My eldest daughter "abducted" me and off to Birmingham I went! And after a 4+ hour visit to the Callahan Eye Clinic ER I know that I have some version of "Retinitis Pigmentosa". As the doctor said, "it's sorta a 3rd cousin to Macular Degeneration but starts around the outside edges and moves in?! Anyway, what I have is a separation of the retina from the wall of the eye. But it is not detached, it is still attached to the eye, but is "floating" on fluid under the retina, mine caused by a seepage of blood.

Got a shot on the eye, good possibility it will not do much. But there is still the possibility that my body will reabsorb the blood,etc and some vision could possibly come back. Dr Rowsey spent a long time with me looking at the eye. In fact, had 3 doctors looking in my eye. Rowsey told me in his time practicing he had only seen this type of...."edition?"...less than 10 times. And when I asked if it was unusual to happen overnight he said no, but this was a rather extreme result. 

Soooo....got new glasses ordered yesterday...now for both eyes but really just the right! LOL! They should be here in a week...and of course I am going from reading glasses to bifocals!!  😂😉

Now back to the cabin!! I am so excited to see it go up. The floor base got 2 full coats of deck paint so as to make sure if it did rain it would be sealed.  The panels and framing for the cabin have been surprisingly accurate in their cutting and placement of holes. Even Cary was surprised, and quite happy with those two things!

Cary is so worried I won't be pleased with this once it is up and I'm in it. The side walls are maybe an inch shorter than I am tall (gravity keeps pulling me down!  Heheheh). But at least 3/4 of the space between

the walls, which is where I will be standing and walking, are I think an over average of 3-4 inches taller than I am. And after living in Lily for 4 years it already has the feel of "spaciousness" that I have not lived in for, actually, a long time! Even my little motorhomes did not have a very "open" feeling about them! 

This will be an ongoing project for several months but that is good! It will keep me occupied and will ease the "discomfort" of not being on the road on a daily basis!  😀  I have to be honest...I miss the road! I've been on the road for soooo many years that it has almost become a part of my "being"! But...as the years click by and I slowly wear out...it is a good thing to have a place to lay my head down and know it will be there each night!!

It has basically turned into a family project. The kids seem to be having a blast helping dad with it and it is a good experience for them. You need to know that a person can be self-sufficient in today's world and that it really needs to be an imperative that we can do things for ourselves. And helping others is a reward in itself!

 I'm not a lot of help with the cabin going up, I'm slowly learning (admitting?) what age does to & on us and helping with what I'm able. So I am in the process of starting the plans for my area and how to lay it out. Cabin first, make sure it is sealed, then get solar figured out and installed. Then bed, kitchen, shower, water! LOL! Have to shore up where the little wood burning stove will go. Also have to make final decisions on windows (at least a couple), the A/C for cooling, couple of tiny ceiling fans, etc,etc!!

I am still hopeful that the World and us will settle down, but it is not looking to good! Our "leaders" are...well...I won't go into that right now. Let me just say like I always do...I just do not have a lot of hope for our society in it's current condition and direction. So please be in a preparedness mode ALL the time and think about what you will do IF the SHTF! What will you do if in 5-8 weeks there is no fuel for the cars and trucks? What would you be able to do if you got hit by a flood, tornado, etc.?? Always be prepared!

Until next update and/or next video update.....Be Safe, Travel Easy, Go to the Woods often if possible....and live the preparedness mode!!

C'ya - Frog🐸 & Rosie🐶 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rain, rain go away!!

 

We succeeded in getting a pretty good coat of paint on the floor. I still had deck paint left over from when I painted the back porch on Lily. It "might" have  been just a little past its prime!  LOL!  But it is on just to protect the floor from all the rain we keep having pass through here on almost a daily basis for the past few weeks! But we had to unload the building box from truck and tarp it so it will be ready for use by tomorrow...hopefully!

The good thing is...it is looking like we will have very small chances of rain over the next couple of weeks. The downside to that statement is temperatures here, in a couple of days and going for a couple of weeks, from the forecast as of now, our Hi's are going to be bouncing in the Lo to Mid 90's. 😕 

So I'm still hopeful to be in the cabin working on the interior within a couple of weeks. I might still be sleeping in Lily but I'll be "settling in" to my tiny mini-homestead cabin!! I'm going to do a video this weekend, or so I plan on it, about what we've accomplished so far. And in the video I'll explain some of the changes I will be making from my "original" plans on the interior. 😉

 All that being said, this life changing experience is coming together quite well. Maybe not as quickly as expected...well...definitely not as fast as wanted! LOL! But they say patience is next to something! Forget what, but I'm being given a very large dose of learning patience...especially when it comes to MY timetable!!  Heheheheh

That covers things for the moment here at "Frog's Tiny Mini-homestead" project and life changing event!!

Hope everyone is still doing well. I really hope you guys are taking the time to prepare yourselves and you families for some rocky times coming at us possibly sooner than most expect. Please try your best to live in a mode of preparedness!!

Til my next update...Be Safe, Travel Easy, Go to the Woods Often.....and Live the Prearedness Mode!!

C'ya - Frog🐸 & Rosie🐶

Have You Thought About The Gas?

Hi gang! I have been thinking about this "Middle East" thing. And listening to reports, Bloomberg, Goldman Sacs...etc, etc. And all the numbers that keep being bandied about! Almost all the information that seems to be coming out of our "news" channels keeps talking about the price of oil. But I do not see/hear much, if any, talking about the amount of oil that is here, in the US, in storage. Basically nothing and it seems the public is not interested.

 

 

 

 

I asked Google AI....As of May 29, the level in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) was 357.1 million barrels. But that report was dated May 22. Tank bottom is 159 million barrels. I heard today that it is at 279 or so million. Last week we drew down approximately 9-10 million barrels.  

 

At this rate we will hit "tank bottom" sometime in August from what my math says. "Tank bottom" is 159 million barrels due to the fact that the oil is stored in salt mines/caves, and the last 150 million barrels or so has dirt, rocks, "trash" in it and can not be pumped out. 

All this does not take into consideration the fact that we are exporting oil AND importing oil also. We use "heavy oil" in our refineries, "sweet oil" (the light stuff) is what we ship out to other countries that refine it. So you can chase numbers all day and it still seems a guessing game. 

But let it suffice to say that at the current rate, the situation in the Middle East, etc.....even if "peace reigns" tomorrow....it will take several months to get that oil here and processed into the fuels we need to keep our economy running.

I will not go into the numbers being thrown around for a barrel of oil if tank bottom is reached...both here and in Europe and all the other countries that are already almost out of oil/fuel. Let me just say that IF regular gas hits $7 or more a gallon, we will probably not be in a good spot! And if gas gets that high....diesel fuel....well, $12-15/gal is being talked about if not higher. Apparently for every $10 increase in the cost of a barrel of oil, gas from the pump goes up .25 cents. Diesel goes up .29 cents. And for those that don't really think about it....everything in our economy rides on/in a semi (tractor trailer) that we take for granted in the grocery stores, online shopping, pet supplies....EVERYTHING....will slow way down or could just stop getting to the stores or wherever you shop from. And those shipping costs have to be paid....and the products that they carry is what we see as the price increases at the pump. Which means....WE will pay for the increases in the prices we pay for everything! It could make the bare shelves of COVID not look as bad as they did.

 Today a "War Resolution" was passed in the House of Reps, now goes to the Senate. So it could be a way to "gracefully" get out of this conflict. Or maybe there will be a signed agreement that brings this to a close.

But whatever is in the coming days the one thing you can be sure of....we are going to pay for this in more ways than one.

So I again say that I hope you have put back some basic food stuffs. That you have some gas stored away just in case. Might not be a bad idea to have some bottled water tucked away, extra meds, fashlights....etc, etc.

Rosie and I are stocked up, looking down the road, prepared for flood, rain, heavy rains, high winds, power failure....all those great things! I hope all of you are also!

Til later and brighter days to come.....

Frog 🐸 & Rosie 🐶