A Potential Cabin

I was looking around in the newspaper classifieds and found a cabin for sale in there. Just thought I might check it out, thinking that it would probably cost more to move it than it would even be worth. I phoned the number anyway, just to get an idea how many millions of miles away it would be. Turns out, it is right in the vicinity of my acerage. I could drag it down the road for 2.5 miles and it would be there. Thats almost like some kind of a sign. I don't know though, I kinda had my heart set on building my own shack. I am kinda lazy though sometimes. This one would need quite abit of TLC on the interior to make it more liveable, so I would be building any way. The walls are built from 4x4 timbers. I'm thinkin it would have alot of air leakage for -40 degree winters. One solution would be to frame the inside with 2x4 studs and insulate, but then if I am framing, I guess I might just well be building. I don't know, this shack is a potential if the price is right. I'm not sure exactly what the right price would be just yet, I do know, however, that I would'nt be paying very close to the original asking price. This cabin is kinda what I have in mind to make me a home. It is 20x30 feet including the front deck/porch. Bottom living area is 20x20 and the top is 20x30. I think I could make it work.

A Scenic Drive

Snowy, land check up.

Went for a drive out to my land today. Thought I would take the dually cummins for a run as she just sits most of the winter. Gotta drive it once in awhile to keep it charged and lubed and all that. It was'nt a real nice day in Northern Alberta. We must get the weirdest weather on earth. One day -37 celcius, two days later +8 celcius with snow melting like crazy and then today -11 celcius and snowing and blowing. But theres no mosquitos and stuff out yet. Soon it will be nice and warm and I will be out in the bush trying to haul all the equipment home, and wallering around in mud like pig. Gotta just love it.

Theres no way I can drive in there with my pickup, and neither can anyone else unless it is with a snowmobile. I could have walked in, but, but, but, ............. Ok, I'm lazy? That snow is pretty deep. Did'nt have much business in there anyway, just wanted to have a look and see if was still there. I could plow it out with my backhoe, but I prefer to leave it snowed in for a little longer yet. Both of these pictures were taken today, unlike the pictures of my Feb update blog, which had pictures that were taken in the summer, not in Feb.

My mind kinda wants to change on modifying the garage in there, as lumber is cheaper these days, and it would'nt cost much to frame something new. I might as well build a cabin from scratch is what I am thinking. Besides, the little garage will work wonderfull as a little garage.

Prickly pear cactus jelly, peppers, and beans.

Last Friday Mar 13 I received a gift in the mail from a blogger friend from southern USA. All I asked for was "some prickly pear cactus jelly", and I was going to buy it. She insists, it is a gift. What I got was a box full of goodies. It was from "Cowgirl". She runs the blog http://cowgirlscountry.blogspot.com/ . Jeanie and her way of life is what it is all about in my book. Seems to me, she completely lives off the land. Thanks for the goodies Jeanie. I owe you one.






The cactus jelly is excellent on toast. She also sent some cayenne and ancho peppers out of her garden, and a bag of Anasazi Beans. It was like she read my mind on the beans. I have never had much to do with dried beans, but not too long ago, I was kinda trying to find some things out about them, as I was planning on making a purchase just to try them out for a change. Well here they are. Anasazi? I've never heard of that one before. And now I know a little bit about the cave dwelling Anasazi indians and some other interesting facts from long ago also. I get smarter everyday. lol.

This morning I washed about 1/3 of that bag and put it in a bowl of water and let it sit all day. Then I proceeded to sort of follow one of Jeanies recipes. http://cowgirlscountry.blogspot.com/2009/01/anasazi-beans-with-jalapeno-bacon.html I did change a couple things, as I did'nt have any homemade jalapeno bacon on hand at the time. lol. When I sauteed the onions and garlic, I also threw in a couple of chopped up fresh jalepeno's. Don't know if thats what you're supposed to do with jalepeno's, but it seemed to work for me. I also put in one of those cayenne peppers, crushed up.

Long story short, here are my beans. The finished product. I know they are not quite as pretty as Jeanie's, but they were probably the best damd beans I ever had. There was alot of bacon in there for the amount of beans, but hey, a man needs his meat. If I could change one thing about these beans, it would be the quantity, should have made more, I did'nt want to get too carried away on the first time though. I'm not going to be doing very many blogs about cooking, because a simple man usually cooks pretty simple stuff. lol. I am, however, now addicted to dried beans and will be experiementing with different kinds and recipes.

Feb 22 2009- Just an update.

Well, I'm not crazy! Thats the conclusion I came up with after reading so many blogs about other people doing all the things I dream about, and all the people who also have the same dream but hav'nt got around to it yet, for what ever reason. It is now confirmed that I am not alone. I can't believe there are so many people with the same dreams as my own. I tip my hat to the full time RV'rs, van dwellers, off gridders, survivors, frugal homesteaders and such, and even the people who dream about it. There are so many interesting blogs out there, that I can't even keep up. The more I read about people doing the things I love, the more eager I am to get started on my own projects.


My goal for this year is to just get out there, I just want something rigged up to live through a cold winter in and I would also like to try my hand at some gardening. That should'nt be too tough, although I might need a little moral support on the gardening thing. Once it warms up a bit, like maybe April or May I plan to rent my place out in town, and live in my rv while the shack is being mastered. But not for sure just yet, still making plans. I do have a potential renter and I think she would be great to have if it all works out.



There is a well down below and closer to the creek, with a hand pump. 19 pumps I think it is and I have water starting to flow, I hav'nt tested the water yet. But my plan for now, is to put in a cistern up top and just haul my own water from town. I will then pump the water from the cistern to a smaller holding tank inside the shack as needed. This way I should avoid waterlines freezing in the cold winters, as I don't really want to be running power for things such as a heat tape. The inside tank will probably be about 50 gallons and I am unsure about the cistern, but the bigger the better. I will deal with the well at a later time.




I am equipped to haul my own water and it would'nt even be much of a chore, if I go to town or work there is a fill station I pass right by that I could use. I can water the garden etc from water from the creek if need be. As for putting in a cistern or any other dirt work, I will be doing it all myself. I bought an old JD rubber tire back hoe a few years ago, just for this purpose. I shopped around for quite awhile and got to know a good deal when I saw one. Of course it needed a little bit of TLC at first, as is with alot of things you buy at an auction. I have done a few jobs with it for various different customers over the years, but I never did get right full time with it. Most clients were people I know, you know the ones that think I am supposed to work for free. They got a surprise. lol. It costs money to operate things like that. Theres always something for expenses. I kinda thought a backhoe would be the ultimate acerage machine. Excellent for any lifting, landscaping or digging and it works really well for plowing snow, which is a major concern for a man in living Northern Alberta. I think I would be kinda lost without it.

Anyway, so just a bit of an update just so you don't think I forgot all about my plans and dreams. I am doing alot of thought about permits and all that lately, I am thinking that I will probably have to build a sewage treatment mound, although if I can legally get by without it, I will. It would'nt be to bad though, the major expense on that would be transporting of the materials, (sand, topsoil, washed rock), But then I do drive a truck for a guy and he does own just the thing to haul all that with. I can't see it costing too much. The rest I would do myself with the hoe. Anyway, catch you all later. Thanks for stopping by. I'll update somewhere down the line.

Feb 2009

Well, it has been about a month since my last blog. Thought I might as well throw something in here. I have been thinking and talking about living the simple life for a lot of years now. When I think about it though, I am already living the simple life. I can't see life getting more simple than this. I turn up the thermostat and the heat goes higher, I can spend about an hour in the grocery store twice a month, and I am in groceries. Everything is paid off, so it really dos'nt take much to have all the bills paid. I could put in 4 good solid days at work and it would all be handled easily. But is it really living? I don't know, in my line of work I live by the cell phone. When it rings, I usually curse a little then answer it and then shortly after I find myself on the road heading for work. It gives me a gut wrenching feeling evertime it rings, as it is usually work phoning. I love the things I do at work, but the lifestyle is really getting to me. There was a time when I was kinda greety and things were going really good, it did'nt matter then. But it wears a guy down after time. I work in the oilfield in northern Alberta area, hauling heavy equipment such as cats, track hoes, buggies, and generally anything in the construction and logging industries. I do enjoy it and the money is exeptionally good if you want to compare it to general hiway freight type hauling. It is all by the hour and there is usually a lot of overtime paid out. I am in the bush alot and see all kinds of wildlife and different mountain and country scenery, and I actually get paid for it. So it is going to be really tough to pull myself away from that. But then again, things are getting slower all the time. Hate to say it, but it actually makes me happy. It is alot easier for me to make decisions this way. This is actually what I have been waiting for, so I had better get after it. Once I am all settled in, I guess I could always do some part time stuff if things pick up, although I would really like to be able to survive without any work at all. Kind of a game I guess. Just to prove to me, that it can be done.

I don't have a strict written in stone plan. I always like to wing it. I like to think I am free to change my mind on any of my own plans that I would like to and not feel guilty about it. I do have alot of different ideas and plans, but I know from experience that not everything goes as good as planned. Sometimes nothing does. I am thinking about things like permits and all the legal stuff. Or should I just shut up and do things in a different way? I'm undecided at the moment. I would like to do everything legally, but will they allow my ways? Guess it all depends. I know one thing, I would not do anything to knowingly harm any land.

There are power lines that run right through my property, that I could very easily hook into, but that would be cheating. In the long run it would probably be cheaper than solar, but my interest for solar energy wins. If ever I do wish to connect to the grid in the future, I guess I could always sell power back to them with my setup. If that can legally happen in Alberta. (Guess I should be more up on my investigations, but I've always learned these things when the time comes). There is a 16' x 24' garage on the property that I am thinking about converting to a cabin. Here again, kind of undecided, I might build from scratch. The size would be perfect for me though. Not much area to heat. I am thinking a small airtight wood stove and also a propane heater of some sort for when a man is away for prolonged periods. I put a new floor in this garage last summer. Insulated and 2x8 studding. For what ever I use it for it has a good floor in it if nothing else. Although my property is in the country, it is still not very secluded. I would really like to be further from civilization but I guess this will have to do for now. At least I can walk outside and not be stared at. I'm really hating the town life.

I am more in the thought process of it all at the moment, not much is physically going to take place until spring or summer as I am still doing our winters work off and on I am planning on at least finishing the winter haul season. The picture is my potential dream shack. It surely does need some work, but it's not too bad. I put some skids under it and can move it where ever it may need to go.

Simple man, simple plan.

Hello, my name is Mark. This first blog of mine is nothing special. Just a note to say there will be some future blogs sometime and kind of an introduction of myself. I do have a plan to change my lifestyle greatly. And looking at the economy, it may come sooner than later. With me, it is all by choice. I can stay living as I am now and still survive nicely, but I have always had a dream of a self sufficient lifestyle. I cannot even believe that there are not more people out there with the same dreams as my own. I know of no one else around here who thinks the same as myself. Most of them may just think I'm crazy. I have been planning something like this for quite some time, however I don't get into a rush to do things. There was a major oilboom recently, I like to take advantage of things like that while it is there. And while that is taking place, there is just simply no time for other things. I don't usually like to take time off from work for a holiday, I wait until slow times. My line of work is like that. Yet alot of people may think I am a procrastinator. I think of myself as a good time and money manager. If you get into a hurry to do things, you will simply pay too much. I have an acerage that I don't live on yet, but I plan to be there soon. My acerage plans are going to be hopefully somewhat of a semi-retirement. I will be seeking income, but I hope to do it on a more self reliant way, other than working my life away for someone else. I plan to live frugally, so a large income will not be necessary. I have never been the kind of guy to want a big fancy house or shiny new car. I have always been frugal. I do have anything I want, I just usually never pay full price. I have been accumulating tools and supplies slowly and cheaply over the years to make my dreams come to life. All I need to do, is gitter done. If things stay slow as they are now, it will start to take shape this summer. But if things all of sudden started to boom rediculously again(I don't think they will), I might have to put it on hold for a little longer yet, maybe. But maybe not. Life is simple if you make it that way. (Simple = FREEDOM). For now, the plan is to get out there this coming summer and cabin up. I would love nothing more than sitting comfortably within the confines of a medium to small cabin type home with the sound of a crackling fire on a minus 30 something celcius night. It could possibly turn out to be a major nightmare also, I guess. lol. One way to find out. Does anyone out there have any downfalls to this or any advise they would like to share? I would love to here from you. I plan on posting my future progress as things start to happen.