Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

It’s our 10th episode! 🎉 Time is always weird, but it’s been especially weird in the last few months, so it’s hard to gauge whether it “feels” like 10 episodes. But if you’ve been listening to the show, we’d super-duper appreciate it if you’d leave a rating or review. Thanks very much, friends!

The biggest project we’ve been working on lately hasn’t been something on the property… it’s been about moving Vince’s mom out of her house in Napa so we can save enough money to make actual progress on our homestead. It’s a little scary because we don’t have a set plan for where she’ll live next, but it's an evolving adventure.

It’s our 10th episode! 🎉 Time is always weird, but it’s been especially weird in the last few months, so it’s hard to gauge whether it “feels” like 10 episodes. But if you’ve been listening to the show, we’d super-duper appreciate it if you’d leave a rating or review. Thanks very much, friends!

Our biggest current project isn’t something on the property… it’s moving Vince’s mom out of her house in Napa so we can all save enough money to make our homestead a reality. It’s a little scary because we don’t have a set plan for where she’ll live next— we’re thinking she can stay in the greenhouse during the summer and then maybe with us in LA for the winter. But sometimes you have to make a bold leap and hope that things work out.

So in this episode, we talk about moving her stuff into a storage unit in Merced and how coronavirus has complicated every little thing you want to do in this world. Then, just to make things extra exciting, Judy’s car abruptly broke down and we had to call a tow truck… at 5PM, on a Saturday, in a town we didn’t know, during a pandemic. Fun times!

Then we talk about the seasonal changes that have been happening on our property. Spring has sprung! Wildflowers are in peak bloom this month. We’ve also noticed a major increase in the presence of mice, rats, beetles, lizards, spiders, mosquitos, scorpions, and other perhaps less desirable forms of life that still are part of Nature’s miraculous tapestry or whatever.

We also met some of our new neighbors for the first time! Vince was busting up rocks at the dugout when some folks rolled up on us unexpectedly. It was a little unnerving for all parties at first, but it was good to start meeting some of our neighbors.

WHAT WE BUILT (OR PURCHASED):

I’m designing and building a SunShade (out of PVC, natch). More updates on the SunShade next time!

We brought a trundle bed up to the property for comfy and convenient sleeping in the greenhouse. Our sleeping situation is becoming real legit!

Vince has purchased some new electric tools for his growing Milwaukee collection: a string trimmer and 18-inch chainsaw. Vroom vroom.

WHAT WE LEARNED:

Mice are chewing up everything we leave out, from stuff we did expect (like cardboard boxes) to stuff we didn’t expect (like the linoleum glued to the floor of the outhouse). I actually like mice and kept them as pets in college, but the destruction they’re wreaking is Not Cute.

Vince and I cannot agree on the pronunciation of the words potable and nonpotable. One day, one of us will prevail… but today is not that day.

As always, you can check out more pics on our Instagram.