Happenings over the last few months on Green Acre Homestead
New Headboard
I finally finished a long standing honey-do project: to build a new headboard for our bedroom.
DONE! That only took a year or so. :-)
Getting Our SMOKE On!
I've used the Smokehouse a few times to cold smoke a variety of cheeses. We treated our family to an apple smoked assortment for New Year's Eve and they all want more! The smokehouse works great and is a fun thing to have on the homestead. Maybe some day we'll branch out and sell some smoked goods.
Cheeses ready to start smoking. Gouda, Cheddar, Mozzarella, and Swiss (left to right, top to bottom).
New Windows!
We finally had the money to get new windows for our house. These are dual-pane thermal windows and look and feel great! I'll do a more specific post on these later. I'll cover removal, wall stud repair, and installation -- the whole thing. Stay tuned!
A "New" Vehicle
Out with the Old
I've been driving an old Ford Ranger truck for the last several years. It's a good truck, but I've also maintained it properly (makes a big difference in a vehicle and the perception of quality). There were only three problems with it:
- Manual Transmission - While not really a problem, driving it for my daily commute and dealing with a lot of stop-and-go traffic, having to constantly shift gears really got old.
- No Room for Family - The truck is an extended cab truck, but not large enough to properly sit my two young ones in their car seats in the back. This made the truck as useful to the family as a motorcycle and made my wife solely rely on her Jeep for all outings with kids. Not an issue exactly, just no redundancy.
- Two Wheel Drive - This was the part that was the least important, but the most maddening. The truck was terrible at driving off the road, even into the grass!
In with the New
For my new vehicle I needed the following:
- Good on gas for commuting to work.
- Room for the whole family.
- Hauling capability - lumber, large items, etc.
- 4 wheel or all wheel drive.
- No car payment - must be purchased outright from savings.
So What'd I Get?
2005 Honda Element EX AWD
