Forced to Delegate — Homestead Happenings for September 4, 2026 - EP 1163

0:00The place to be is living free, living free and Tennessee. Welcome to Living Free and Tennessee, where we talk about building the life you choose on your terms. Today is Friday, September 4, 2026. This is episode 1163 of Living Free and Tennessee. And as is typical tacticals, not on the show yet. I actually asked him to go home and do something and then come back so I knew he wasn't going to be here when we started. But I hear him coming up the stairs right now and I am coming to you from the base camp lodge at the Haller Homes, instead. Usually we have the cameras the other way, like with the hearth behind us or in the corner. But I thought the tactical would be more comfortable on the couch today. So we're, this is the lodge behind us. The teaching kitchen that I'd like to get all lit up and cameras in and a better vent hood and a different stove and some other stuff as we transform this place from home to

1:04homestead. So you can see that's like total normal kitchen, which is total cannibal, by the way. You can can in there if you want to. So never let the fact that you haven't homesteadized your kitchen keep you from homesteadizing your life because that's not what studying is about. So anyway, it's another week that's gone by and a lot of stuff has happened here this week. And then we're getting ready for going to the self-reliance festival in partnership with the Midwest Preparedness Festival. If you don't want to sit down, you don't have to. Okay. You just put your mic on and we can hear you anywhere. So. Which fellow? This one or one with shorter one. Okay. A little mini. Yeah. You want to roll the blanket or a towel? I'm probably better. And what we get. Where is it? In the bathroom cabinet. It's a towel in your room.

2:05Anyway, so we're starting the show a little differently than usual because I realize like we spend a fair amount of time talking about featured events and this isn't that. And those are going to be built into the show, but I'm going to try a new new flow today. And I'm just going to tell you we're going to talk about we're going to talk about forced delegation days in the hauler. We're going to talk about getting ready to go. We're going to talk about some of the things we're doing in response to the big heat wave that's been hitting us. A very fun little project I've taken on with a Q-Shop squash. I'm home-stead, home-to-home-stead updates. And I'm even going to talk to you about my home-made laundry detergent. Other things will come up if you actually want a specific thing to come up. All you have to do in the comments is write the word comment or question in all caps. And I'll star them and I'll work them into the show as best I can. Like this is your chance to interact with us at the home-stead. Is that better? I don't want to do it.

3:08Okay. So we'll start by talking about forced delegation days in the hauler. So a tactical has decided that he would like to become better at overseeing a work crew and delegating things, right, tactical? Yeah, that's exactly what it is. Yeah. So anyway, unfortunately, as you can see, tactical is he's in a muscle and joint flare-up situation right now. This is a huge, what you're seeing. So Packrat says that looks really painful. I'm sorry. Yeah, he's in a lot of pain right now. What I asked him to go home and do because he hasn't taken anything for the pain today yet is to go home and take something because he wasn't sure if he should. Oh, I don't wait until after earlier. He had somebody come help him with he's got muscle spasms and joint things going on. He had somebody come help him had Jenny come help him with some helping his stretches and other things.

4:14And obviously don't we don't want to bond pain meds for that, but he didn't might take one right after for some reason. So I was sure was supposed to take. So what has happened is the hand of inflammation has has come down on tactical and. There's been a lot of. Like for two days probably this has been going on or three days now. And it you know like he in the past when something like this has happened has pushed through to get his work done anyway. We kind of started talking about it the other day and I realized that a lot of his identity or self worth is tied up in his ability to work hard no matter what. You know distance also not really. You know, like if it was a actual life and death situation, yes, I could push through this, but.

5:16I think I slept for three hours last night and that was. Yeah, so he's like literally down and. He had me come talk to him at first and I was like listen, you're you're worth more than pushing through this anyway work wise as a human being. And it's your time to not push through it right now and so he's been. Getting better by get you know day after day, but it's still obviously very painful and so that means he's not doing any of his usual things. And that means other people are doing his whole things. You're actually still doing some of your usual things like you put the ducts to bed last night, right? Yeah, I mean. That was the hardest part of that was getting the feed scoops out of the barrel.

6:16Yeah, so we can help you with that today. So you don't don't do that today. Yeah, but like today or. Up until about two hours ago, I would not have been able to sit here at all. So if you need to not sit here at all, just do what you need to do. Those mics do wire stuff if you need to go on the floor or stand up or whatever. Pack rats says someone finds a reliable natural leaf relief for muscle spasms and cramps. I too am all ears. So what'd you do today to help reduce the spasms? Um, Jen helped with. Stretching and some facial release. No idea what the technique is called, but you'll apply pressure to the muscle that's locked up and you hold and. It will. Depending start to release. My everything was so locked up today that.

7:23Stuff loosened up a little bit, but by the end of that was probably still worse than. Wait. I don't know. It was still it's still bad. Yeah, so what he's using on a natural side right now is DMSO mixed with a homemade. Anti inflammatory. He is taking a pharmaceutical for the muscle spasms right now because the pain of that bad. He has turned the temperature up on my swim spa. And so he's gotten it. So understand this man does not put his body in swimming pools or hot tubs or bodies of water of any kind despite the fact he was in the coast guard. Uh, and so like the other day I'm talking and I'm like, you know, you might want to try going in the swims. But because it'll take some of the gravity pressure off your joints. He's like, well, yeah, I was in there two days ago.

8:23And it was cold and then he turned to eat up. So when I was swimming laps yesterday for the first time since my shoulder injury. I was like, it is hot in here. So I turned it way down not knowing I was like, why they accidentally turned it up to 94 degrees. When she says I was in there two days ago, two days ago, like three o'clock in the morning out of pure desperation. Yeah. Amy saying, ups and salts. Yeah. So lots of different natural things are being done. He's being careful with what he eats. I'm not going to say that the thought did not go to early question did not go through. I'm like, how much ups and assault would I need to do in the swim spa? You would ruin it if you did that. Do not do that. I just used my clock with tub. That's what the clock with club is for. You know, okay. Yeah. So anyway, so I'm calling this forced delegation days and what we have are sheep that need to rotate. And because it hasn't rained, the ground is like concrete.

9:25And so it's the best time to show amateurs how to put fence posts in, right? Yeah. So I believe what's going to happen. We haven't made a final decision is that I am not going to the farmers market to sell my coffee tomorrow. Instead, Mama sauce is in town is going to go and sooner or going to go. And I'm going to get my butt out on the hill with night hawk at about six in the morning tomorrow, which means you need to get up at six. Good chance already be up. Yeah. And then he's going to tell us what to do and not do. So we're going to be learning as part of that how to package the fencing for additional farm help, which we know we need it. Like we've literally been talking about how do we do it? How do we do it? How do we do it? I'm like, well, I guess I'm getting a crash course on how to put step in posts and concrete. Like I already kind of know step in posts. But this, I don't usually have to do it in the scenario we're going in.

10:27And then we're going to talk about paddock lines and what we're doing there. But it's, you know, when somebody's down on the homestead, this is why you cross train. I actually see it. You're going to hate this positive outlook. I see it as an opportunity to get better at delegating kind of like forced fund days. It's forced delegation days for you. Yeah. And hopefully by tomorrow morning, he will have had a little bit more relief of what Jenny did with him today. It's great. They'll be hitting the red light mat later as well. Like this is a point where it's like I'll try anything. Right? Yeah. Yeah. So that's where we're at. And hopefully we can figure out the underlying cause of this because Amy, as Amy said, tactical doesn't eat a ton of sugar. If by a tactical doesn't eat a ton of sugar, you mean, a little doesn't eat any sugar all except for fias Chinese food. That is correct. So it's just, it's something that has happened cyclically.

11:31And he did recently make a change that may have caused a toxin dump in his system to add to this, but we're not sure what caused it. Right? I think it was a combination. Yeah. Yeah. Is any of it because you pushed through something you shouldn't have? I mean, I think part of it, I spent way too much time in the truck. Yeah. And when I say that like day after day, I usually only leave the holler base in a week. And I was leaving the holler almost every single day. So even short trips started taking a toll. Yeah. And then the heat wave did not help that whole thing when whatever people say when you hit 40, your body throws a switch or something. Yeah, I think my body just did. I thought tell yourself that narrative. Well, I'm just saying like there is a distinct difference in once the temperature climbs on both like mid 90s.

12:40My body does not seem to tolerate it like it used to. Yeah. And this has been a heat challenge to your intensity because it's been both humid and hot. So earlier in the summer, he was handling it better, but I think you were outside in the heat of the day too long a few times. And then once you do that, it's like maybe next year you can again, but. Oh. Yeah. So yesterday or couple of yeah, yesterday he came in or two days ago, he was like, Hey, I'm not going outside because it's too hot. I'm like, well, then come in and sit in the air conditioning. And that actually brings me to another topic I was going to talk about, which is how are we handling the hundred plus degree days lately? And the answer is early in the morning and lately evening is how we're handling it. So it's almost like the inverse of winter where he waits until it warms up to go do stuff. Unless there's an emergency, we've been not doing a lot outside during the heat of the day.

13:44And that's why I want a set post at six in the morning before the sun's really up up. If I'm going to set post and I'll probably only have an hour or two in me. And then whatever set up set up, which means the whole panic may or may not be set up in that amount of time because it depends on how long it takes. Nighthawk and me to put the post in. The gardens are tolerating it. They're not loving it. And I've, you know, you guys know I moved here. So I have a new cycle in the morning where I go on a walk. I usually wake up before the sun lately. And I do like the Bible reading and the journaling and then the sun's up. And then I walk the dog and then on the way back, I stopped by the Holler homestead and do whatever. And today what I did was spent 40 minutes watering the garden before the sun was really. Because you know, sun is up by them, but it's not over the bridge for us. So that just means that I'm doing outside work in the morning and then like this afternoon.

14:44After this show, I'll do either inside things or the other thing on my to do list this today is in fact to wash the truck, which involves spraying cold water at it. And maybe getting wet in the process, which is not as terrible on a hot day. So we could wash something that they too, if you hand her to me. Yeah. You just do that by yourself. I'm going to have to do it by myself or with somebody else holding her. And who's not like that half might be able to help me. Yeah. Anyway, so we're basically organizing the day around heat. And so the gardens are tolerated. They're not loving it. I had like the super lettuce that I use this year is already starting again for fall. I'm not receiving it itself. I will see how it is when I get back for self-reliath festival or if I'm starting over with that again after this particular heat wave. Because this has been a doozy. I'm pretty sure today is in fact the hottest day we've had so far this year for us. Amy said she had a well pump replaced yesterday. He did X 103 for third day in a row.

15:49I'm two states north of you. Yeah. Actually, it's going to be hotter at Midwest prepared this project in Kansas. What next week than here. And so mom, I couldn't figure out why mom was sending me all these texts about it. I was like, yeah, it's going to be hot, whatever. Not a big deal. And then I looked at it. I was like, oh, I see what she's seeing. So if we're too hot there, we're going to go get a hotel room for a night and sleep in air conditioning and then come back. Like that's totally that's part of preparedness is being prepared to spend money when you thought you were camping. But if I'm miserable camping and can't sleep, I will leave. Anyway, so the animals are happy and the big challenge has been the only way we have to move water is by carrying water. And he can't carry water. And I am so, so starting to be able to carry a little of the time. What that's meant is the base camp sheep are getting city water right now because I can do it from hose. And I need to check the goat today.

16:53Yeah. And then we have the power of the Holler neighbor community at play. So yesterday he was worried about the pasture sheep in water. And they're up a steep hill and he has a 15 gallon tank strap to the back of a four wheeler. And he looked like he was preparing to go up the hill. And I walked out and I was like, listen, this is not going to make anything better if you do that. So I was like, so maybe don't and we'll let Nighthawk do it when he gets home. And he'd like instantly agreed. I've never had you instantly agreed to anything like that before. He's like, I'm not going to argue with you. And so then Nighthawk, we waited for Nighthawk to get home. Nighthawk took six gallons up there. And Nighthawk told me what he did was carry two gallons at a time by foot up and down the pasture.

17:56Yeah, he didn't want to take a four wheeler up where he had to take four wheeler up to go up the normal way. And so he did it again this morning. And those are not completely topped off but they're close. But before it got hot, Nighthawk topped off water wherever he could so that we go into today with a lot of cold water places. And if we hadn't had that, it may have looked like every holler neighbor carrying manually a gallon of water or two gallons of water at a time. So, Zachrat says, when a farmer agrees not to work, he's definitely in a situation. Right. He also says winter project, more irrigation. We may be in a situation where we can get more hose spigots at the holler home set at my place. And we have been trying, I think actually the Jeep with with tanks is maybe a better if we're going to carry water. You know, the only trick with that is knowing how to get the Jeep up the hill. Yeah.

18:59Which depending can be a trick. Well, we'll figure it out. So that's how we're handling heat. What are you guys doing? Just wondering. Anyway, the other thing that's going on, did you see the squash I bought? Yeah. I bought a Q-shot squash that's this big and this big around and it's long. Like it's a corn squash shape, but it's like green and yellow. And it's a Q-shot squash. And that is going to be something that I serve whole but cut in half. So, have stuffed for farm to table day. I don't know what I'm stuffing it with yet, but it's going to be an amazing centerpiece thing. We need to bring a livestock scale over and weigh that thing. I found a scale at my house the other day. Yeah.

20:00Yeah, I have no idea what it weighs, but it's huge. And I, one of the things I like about Q-shot squash is if you're going to grow a squash and you want a lot of squash output, like winter squash, that one makes huge ones. It's first of all and it's very resistant to the squash fine borer. So, and then it's just going to look neat on the table with a giant squash in the middle of the table. That's a picture in my head. I don't know if I'll get it done. But that's how you plan on cutting that thing in half with a knife. You go one side and then the other side. As a specific knife I use for that. Afrox. No. The big German heavy duty one. Do I have? Yeah. Like, Patrick's would work, but it's not the blade's not long enough. I have one of the longer blade.

21:07I can bake Patrick's work, but I'll use the longer blade. It's not a 12 inch. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So a 12 inch shoves life is not going to go through that thing. Yeah. Amy says Q-shot reminds me of a large sleepy toddler that carry. Yeah. I mean, I'm a shedding would go through it too, but we don't need to get that extreme. Yeah. I would rather carry a toddler than that thing. You didn't have to carry that thing. I carried it. Yeah. Cause I'm starting to be able to carry things. Again, which is exciting stuff. So yeah, I just think it'll be impressive and they taste similar to butter nut squash. So if you grow them, you can like cube them up and freeze them. Or you're not supposed to can them, but some people can them. Makes great butter nut squash soup. Only it's Q-shot nut squash soup. So yeah. Anyway, have you noticed a broody duck running around the yard? Yeah. She ran the coop earlier today because she was starving.

22:11Did you feed her? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So I've been working around the shed. And because I have tools in there at my dad sent me and I'm using some of the tools. And there's this broody looking duck. And I don't know. It's like their feathers stick out or something. They just look different when they're brooding. So the chickens and they look grumpy. Basically ducks can have a grumpy look on face, which is hilarious. Cause you don't think about an animal with feathers being able to have facial expressions, but they totally do. And so I've been noticing her every time I go up there running around looking grumpy. And I think it's because she must have a nest under that shed. Is that correct? I probably haven't seen. I don't know where it is, but I figure I go up there. I'm mucking around and she wants to like, you know, be angry in your direction, be angry in my direction. So I don't do that. And then she.

23:13So I have more monocrabbing this exactly. And and then she's been lately starving every time she gets out from under there. So I feel like in the next week or two, they're going to be baby misgivies if we're going to have babies. It'll be extra funny if they're a cacky Campbell. So it's possible. It's possible. It depends on who was laying under there, but we don't have a lot of cackies laying eggs at this point. So we've been having an egg, dirt in the hauler. And what that means is that like the chickens here are now laying for eggs a day, by the way, in the coop. I don't know if we put them in the coop at night, which hasn't been happening consistently consistently. And that's new. We're basically getting no eggs here because they're laying in the yard. I think they went through a molt. And that's typical at this time of year. So we've been buying eggs from Jenny next door because Jenny's next door now.

24:15And today we bought a dozen eggs from her. And she brought them down and their eggs have been collected in like the last few days. And she's like, this is the last dozen eggs for a while because now their chickens are molding, right? And we cooked some eggs for breakfast. And one of them was hard boiled. Like, you not. Like it was so hot wherever that egg was laid when that egg was laid that it was it was actually soft boiled, but it was boiled. Did you hear about that? Yeah. Yeah. And so I when I thought happened is she had eggs on her counter counter had some hard hard boiled one get mixed in. And it just ended up, you know, like mixed in. Nope. Legit hard boiled egg from the heat outside. I didn't even know that was a thing.

25:15I don't know. So I was rising. Packrat says an egg dirt is better than complete eggs. Diction. Hard hard hard. I'll see myself out. Yeah. It was like we ate it actually when we found the hard boiled egg. We cut it up and put it in this morning's egg. So you ate the hard boiled egg. The sun boiled egg. It doesn't even know what to call it. It's a baked egg really. Sun kissed egg. And that's how hot it is this week. My friends is the eggs are cooking themselves in the coop. I sold two dozen eggs this week and now I'm a little worried that she's going to crack an egg and find it how are boiled. Oh, you just moved the camera. Oops. So I wonder if that wrecked it. Whatever. Yeah. So I never thought I'd get to tell a story where it was so hot that we had a hard boiled egg that was really baked by the sun.

26:21But that's a fact what happened. It's hot enough that I can break a sweat doing dad jokes. That's true. I'm actually very pleased with how the air conditioning in base camp lodge has been keeping up if I'm honest. But I've also we have south facing windows of the 22 foot high ceiling and then on the south side and then south facing windows which are older windows so they're not terribly insulative. And I've been keeping the curtains closed which I don't usually like to do, but that is what it is. So who's ready for a home to home set update? Are you ready tax bull? No. We have been working on how to convert the chimney to be able to put a wood stove in. So I went to the fireplace store to look at an insert and let me just tell you. All of the insert except for one were kind of like they become flat with the fireplace wall which I can understand why you want that but as a home center.

27:27Like I'm coming in here with a homestead perspective right. I think like a home center and I think self sometimes in the winter the electricity goes out and if your only sorts of heat is power then it's really good to have a backup plan like oh I don't know a wood stove and so. That's what I want there right and I thought well I didn't insert but I want one that sticks out so I can put a Dutch oven of stew on it or something in that same event because if you cook with electricity. That's what if the bar goes out you're not cooking with electricity now granted I have other ways to cook but here it's an electric stove back there and I'm not looking to put a propane stove in without dramatically changing the ventilation system. So that's not a that's not a soon to happen thing that's a that's a I hope that they get to do that sort of thing and you know. I want a stove that I can cook on to if it gets like that because it usually gets like that once every year or two here and sometimes it lasts for a while and I live on a street where hardly anybody lives so if they're prioritizing who to get power back to we're not the prior.

28:40You know there's eight families here nine families here and that's different in that they if they can get power back to 157 families they're going to do that first right. So unless we're on the way to some other bigger problem that's not going to be us so the. We went to the fireplace store and discovered because I went I said you know like I'm interested in insert but actually I really just want a wood stove and can I put a wood stove in and vent it out the chimney the chimneys already been inspected by them actually and it's safe the only thing we need is a chimney cap. And she said yeah you line it and I'm like oh great how do I line it well apparently what you do is you measure from the top of the chimney all the way down to the bottom or to the damper for a flexible liner and chimneys are kind of shape where they go up and then they jog in and out and at that little joggy part you end up with a damper I happen to know this damper is broken or or completely removed I'm not sure which but I know that it's been busted out by somebody else.

29:48And so I don't have to worry about keeping the damper intact so you put this flexible insulated tube down there and then you use sort of like a I can't remember what's called but it's a rock based or something insulation it's something that doesn't that's heat resistant that you use in fireplaces. You seal the rest of it with that and then there's a special heat resistant sealing stuff you do that at the top and the bottom and then from the damper to the wood stove you have a pipe that comes down and then it feeds into the back of the wood stove. So any wood stove we get has to be capable of taking a pipe in the back of the wood stove so we looked at different wood stoves I really like the hearth stone manchester's favorite because it has built in convection on top to get the air out because the other thing I'm going to want in this space is to move the air. And you know that does it without electricity and I'll probably end up putting some ceiling fans in because it's high ceilings to push down a little bit and a blower underneath it when there is power is nice to because in my opinion would he is superior to electric heat from a comfort standpoint from a budget standpoint from many many standpoints it's better and so if I can just use wood heat here anyway as a matter of course.

31:17I will it's I've lived with wood heat for nine years is primary heat source and my sister asked me because the price for the hard stone manchester's about 5,600 or so it'd be really great if hardstone sees this and just like sponsors that because we said their name on the pot anyway. But that's going to happen and the lady at the store said if we put in the liner it's going to be this amount but if you're home setters you have the skills to DIY it and I can talk you through that so she was. She was like just measure these measurements i'll tell you how much of that flexible pipe to get you to get it for me or Amazon or wherever you're going to get it and then i'll have to help you make the exact measurement for the exact stove and she told us different ways to measure and drew pictures and things so.

32:20When I got out of there I was like man it's actually going to be a decent financial investment to get the liner in and a wood stove purchased and so I just kind of sat with that because i'm also not wanting to go into debt to do that like I could put it on a credit card but that's not a habit I need to be doing and so. As I really thought about it and journaled about it I realized what we need to do is get the liner in the chimney first and get that all done and get the roof cap all done and then I literally can put like I know which stove is the best stove for here. But I can put any stove in the the measurement from the bottom out is going to change based on the stove but that's a part that can adjust when the time comes so that I can get the Manchester if that's what goes in here. Amy says don't forget the chimney cap yeah so on top of that there you put a typical stove cap so that rains not coming down it it's absolutely true and then because we have a brick chimney.

33:27We also need to protect the top masonry from rain which has not happened and it has some cracking so we need to fill that in and then put metal or something on the top of that which. After the liners and we can figure out what the shape is of the piece of metal to protect that will be so. Anyway and I think it's going to be metal I'm not sure what we're using but I believe it's going to be metal this all happened after I had can't ask up there getting set to put a new cap on the whole thing and have it custom made and I texted them like you haven't put that order and yet have you said no I'm like hold off because it may be a different shape now and we need to get the liner done so. So I did that and then I was just sort of poking around on Facebook marketplace and there's a hard hardstone heritage one which is like the Manchester or the heritage can go in the heritage puts out a little bit less heat doesn't have the built in convection on the top.

34:27But perfectly acceptable so for here has the side loading has whatever goes out the back for hooking up to a stove pipe. There's one in Georgia for $1,500 instead of $52 because it's used but it weighs 520 pounds so. We were thinking of driving down to get it but then I was like it's five hours each way so now I'm getting an estimate to freight it here and see if that works out and if not. Again I can put any stove in here and it's going to be better than no stove in here so we'll just see what we want to do and we says we used crown coat like very thick sandy paint and she said I think you said it's like $1,000 in parts for you to do your because apparently she did her own chimney liner so that's the big coming home to homestead projects that I'm working on is just getting a lot of things. I'm putting the stove like the fireplace ready to handle a wood stove and then I'd like to have a wood stove in you know in the next two months if possible but it'll be in when it's in like it's going to happen on its timeline and I don't want to do it by putting anything on credit so I'm really looking like if y'all have ideas let me know.

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36:57Anybody who's starting a side hustle or has a business I think it's well worth just having that newsletter and signing up for it and downloading some of his guides to see are we set up the way we need to be because a your legal status can inform that a lot but b there are things that are out there you may not be taking advantage of. Check it out agresstaxadvice.com and on the topic of money the wealth studying podcast is our second sponsor today John Pugliano the wealth studying podcast puts out. Weakly episodes about 15 minutes long at wellstudding.com he's a money manager at investable wealth.com and his philosophy is that he homesteads his money basically so he made his first million through investments before he took on his first customer and he tells. On his podcast how he's making investment decisions it's not behind the paywall it's literally out there for you to consume at wellstudding.com or download it on any pod catcher okay what do you guys think sponsors early in the show or later in the show you tell me what you think I just try to hold different flow today.

38:07Right after this episode one of my doing inside jobs because it's a hundred degrees out there. So it's one p.m. right now we we usually end about one thirty and next up on my to do list is something that I have started doing that I always used to think was dumb and that's. Making homemade laundry detergent and the reason I kind of went back down that rabbit hole the first time I went down it it ended up clogging my pipes. And I was not happy about that and then the plumber said just use liquid laundry detergent so a lot of the liquid laundry detergent had what you're paying for is water right. So then I started doing a little research like what are people what did people used to do before liquid laundry detergents were on the market and they had washing machines by the way. A they used more water to wash their clothes but B they could use they would use a laundry bar with washing soda and the recipe that spread throughout the DIY communities also includes borax.

39:10And I found one with no borax I found it just washing soda and the laundry bar and that's it. And I thought well I wonder if it's the borax sticking to my pipes so then I made laundry detergent tried it and it worked it it got the clothes cleaner than when the borax was in them because I have very hard water by the way and then it also did not. Like resellify after dissolving in the water and I was like well I think my problem came from the borax in the homemade solution so a test for those of you using powder laundry detergent would be put some of the jar and shake it leave it out for a day or two and see if you're getting a lot of solid settling back out because that can go on your pipes. But I started doing it and then it is yeah Amy says borax is effective in hot water true I actually washed with hot water Amy the problem is further down the pipeline it it is not as hot and then I end up with this solid white powdery mask we have to bust out nobody likes doing it by the way tactical left the show for the day because he's going to go be comfortable elsewhere which I told him he could totally do.

40:33So that is something I've been going down the rabbit hole up and as I'm doing like it takes me 10 minutes or so to make the laundry detergent and I just great I hand great the bar because I haven't found an automated way to grade it that works well I tried my food processor greater doesn't work at all well for that. And then I put three cups of washing soda in and then I put that in my food processor with just the whirlie blade in there with the graded soap and I turn it on and that makes me one court of laundry detergent I use a tablespoon per load or two tablespoons if it's tacticals close or something that's been through a lot. And it's been washing better than than what I was using before so anyway I guess just don't be afraid to try new things because it it does take time but it doesn't take that much time and I'm getting superior results at this point now.

41:38You can use different laundry bars and Emily from Hoppegrid meat company actually sent me an experimental bar that I haven't played with now but it's about time for me to make more so I'm going to try her bar it's a smaller bar so the ratio will change a little bit but that's going to we're going to see because then my next step because I buy the felled nap the right bar which is like under two bucks a bar. I'm going to try her homemade bar which will actually increase the cost but then increase my support of the local food network which I know soap isn't food but it's part of household right the more things I can source here locally and support other people who are doing this the better we are so yeah plumber Mickey says dissolve first then only use the water portion not the solids that separate he has a hole yeah well we should do an experiment with mine you can check it out. I found that the homemade laundry detergent is also getting dog smell out of the dog blankets pretty well without me adding anything else and I used to have to add like light saw or bleach or something I do still use bleach on the whites but it's it's been sort of an interesting it's like I'm in my 50s relearning how to do laundry the old fashioned way or not really like I'm not scrubbing it on a washboard but with old fashioned laundry.

43:06What would you want to say if I buy you a washboard what do you use it one time for a video yeah he just asked me if he buys me I mean when there's no power I have wanted a washboard on more than one occasion. I'm trying to remember if we had washboards miles and boot camp I think we throw it on a concrete trough and use the scrub brush I I put it in the bathtub and use a scrub brush right now when I have to or I stop on it in the bathtub yeah which is dangerous if you you know you have to be careful about that because my bathtub slippery but yeah I used to have a laundry plunger that you put in a cup. I bought it and I brought it to North Carolina to use never used it there and we were going to a friend's cabin just left it there was like okay never out I'll use it never went back again as she sold it with my plunger and my crock pot which were over there so which is like I don't mind but so it but that was like I thought that was a good decision for backup laundry where you really have to beat the clothes because you just use it like a toilet plunger only it was a hard plastic

44:22thing that let water through so maybe so stuff like a hey baby video in the making yeah hey baby want to wash my clothes we have to find a better way to say that though be something about the washboard. I'll have to think about it but yeah I was kind of starting to get to the point where I felt like I was going to have to start hand washing clothes because they ruined washing machines by requiring them not to use water and the best way to wash it. So I'm going to wash your clothes with water all the other ways are less good and then you start using more and more and more and more like soaps or products to get your clothes clean because you're not using water and what's easier on the earth water. So I know some people are like but then we're depleting the water well it's because we're not using the water that we use for washing the clothes for something else a long way because we just basically treat it like black water and it's not black water.

45:25So there are ways and a lot of the codes are in our way of actually living in more in concert with nature which causes me to be very frustrated a lot. So when I talk about the featured event of today's show you know that is September I think it's 12 September 13th on September 13th which I believe is next Sunday not the one in two days but the one in a week at Bluebird Farm which is not Blueberry Hill. Bluebird Hill. Anyway at Stronger 3 sources I keep messing up the name of his farm and somebody's making fun of me about that it's Bluebird not Blueberry. He's doing a wild edible walk this is literally your only chance if you're in the Knoxville area or willing to travel to the Knoxville area to go on a wild edible walk with Carrie there is not another wild edible walk scheduled at this time that you can take advantage of.

46:32So thing about wild edible walks is you can take advantage of them by going on them and you can do it one time of year in the same place and learn new things every time because different things are ready to go and at this time of year we're starting to get air potatoes and watercress and all sorts of interesting things spice berry bushes are coming out like there's all these interesting things that you can build and can forage for you can build it into your. Food plan you can learn about the plants September 13th and the way you get signed up is you send an email the Stronger 3 sources at gmail.com the class does cost money it's $30 well worth it because not only does he show you the plants he's trying to use them and he has insights on how to use them and not just like I read it in this book once and it seems like a good like sass of rastis seems like a good idea. Is it or is it not have you made sass of rastis did you use the route or did you use the lease how much how long did you boil it for did you bring it to boiling what did you mix with it to make it taste good did you have other other flavors in there or did you just go straight up sass of rastis are there any risks associated with drinking.

47:48Rupes sass of rastis those kind of questions are good things to ask if you're going to do it so check it out Stronger 3 sources strong roots resources at gmail.com to get signed up it is $30 that everything I have for the week guys do you have anything else you want to talk about. All right well we're going to go into making laundry soap here next and then other basically inside things until 6 p.m. when opalent and I are going to do another round of the bookcase we're building for canned goods so we're going to build a bookshelf for canned goods and we started recording the video and then she broke her toe. When we went for day 2 and instead of building it on day 2 we went to the emergency room and we're basically to the point where she's going to tell me how to make the bookshelf from here I'm going to end up making it without her and she will you know take her poor broken toe to wherever she's going to go but there's going to be a video about how she broke her toe.

48:59Related to the bookshelf for canned goods and we're going to talk about that too because she was a little irritated that she broke her toe but also broken toes are painful so I'm basically surrounded by people in pain all the time now and you guys are remaining remarkably cheerful about it say because I'm pretty sure you don't feel cheerful about it not at all so they're play acting cheerful this tactical creek or this will create. So funny like this tactical creek or this will create says get a speed queen no bells or whistles works great yeah I actually found a speed queen I kind of want to buy that's a coin operated used one for my commercial operation we'll see. I was like you know they use actual amounts of water in those and it's in good shape and it's only 500 bucks that's on that's what I have a long wish list of things like that and ahead of the speed queen on the on the wish list is going to be a liner for this chimney and a wood stove there's a my two.

50:04You like big wish list things I have a third wish list thing and I can't remember what it is but it's probably related to chickens in the porch so. I've eventually I want to cook stove here but that's. That was not so I am getting an ANOVA con be Steve steam precision oven for here which is a $1,200 item to $1,400 retail I have one next door and I was thinking of moving here and I was just like but we cook over there it's really nice to have that there but when we cook over here if you really nice to have that here but when we cook over there and then I'm going to. I found one used on Facebook marketplace for 150 bucks and Valerie picked it up for me and we're going to see Valerie sometime in the next week and so that one was not high on my priority list but it became pretty high on my priority list when it was only $150 that's what happened so and then that actually reduces my desire to worry about this electric so sucks the oven sucks the stove sucks like the whole thing sucks.

51:18I've just been like I'm just going to cook on it like whatever it'll work it's fine it's just it has some personality traits that are not desirable in the stove or an oven and I've been sort of keeping my eye out for a used one but better would be. For the long term get a decent vent hood and a gas of propane one and get propane here and that's again on the hierarchy of things on the home to homestead adjustment the wood stoves way ahead of converting that so I've just been you know I've been thinking like I could get one for maybe $200 $400 used on online right now and put it in there but then that's two to $400 I haven't used for the stove projects so we're really doing a lot of prioritization here anyway I was going to tell you guys about a chore rotation I did this week where instead of because I used to when I kept house there was one day where the whole house got cleaned and I keep trying to do that here and it's not working and so last week I tried a home to homestead adjustment the stove is not working.

52:30I said chore rotation and the deal is there are two houses that need to be cleaned but also I need to have a life and I need to you know like do this show and we have a hollarous coffee that's shipping I just fact this morning I shipped coffee before the show because it's now a morning thing I do and that's all part of that chore rotation and it includes like the personal things I'm doing like going to choir or whatever and I tried it this week for the first time so like all the bathrooms get cleaned on Monday. And then on Tuesday all the laundry gets done and then on Wednesday I think that's vacuum and mop day anyway what I've determined it worked it actually worked pretty well the places are in pretty good shape there are also there's the second person here right now with a broken toe who understands what the chore rotation is I didn't do everything by myself and I also determined that any day when anybody in the hollar has to go to the emergency room.

53:30That whatever the chore of that day is doesn't have to be done and we move it to a different day because on Wednesday for vacuum and mop day that was the day that tactical went to urgent care and that like even though wasn't me going with him it throws a monkey wrench in the scheduling so so there has to be some flexibility in it so I'll do a second iteration of that but it it actually we're way better ahead than we have been as far as that part of the room. So I'm going to do a second iteration of the room instead and then I've really figured out a good morning cycle where where I walk the dog and then on the way back I do all of the things that have to happen at the hollar homestead before I come back to base camp related to gardens or whatever if I can do that because then it's just done so anyway that's the show for this week I hope you guys are getting set for a wonderful three day weekend for labor day weekend. I'm ready to go to self-reliance festival so after I do the homemade laundry detergent which I'm doing because we're almost out I will then shift to getting ready for self-reliance festival which starts with cleaning the truck because I'm sleeping in the truck while there and I like there's some the back isn't bad that I want to clean the back bed out and then the outer part because it's easier to see and while I'm doing that I'm actually hoping to clean the tundra as well because it could use it too.

54:59That's done and then it's time to start pulling the stuff we're bringing to self-reliance festival I hope to see y'all there in Kansas if you're going to be there. Don't not say hi to me if you've never met me like come up and introduce yourself this way I'm there. Anyway have a great weekend and this is a cakey.

55:59you