12/9/12

Today was a rainy day, so I decided to work in the shed a bit, where I would be in the dry. Using the lantern for light worked out very well, although is not idea since it requires the use of propane. I also learned the my wifi connection works in the shed, which meant that I was able to take a laptop and listen to streaming music, which is nice. I was able to accomplish quite a bit, although the shed likely seems less organized now than it did before. I cleaned out a bunch of debris from the mice nest that was inside the box containing the metal building. I also removed the last of the trash from that box. I was finally able to get to the stack of boxes in the back corner which had been there since we moved. The biggest thing of interest to be was the box with two bird feeders, one of which is a nice wooden feeder that Andrea received for Christmas several years ago. There were also several boxes containing canning jars, which I'm sure Andrea will put to good use.

This evening I took three more of the lessons in the renewable energy course I'm taking through Solar Energy International. Today's lessons covered solar, wind, and micro-hydro energy systems. I'm particularly interested in learning about micro-hydro, since I know less about it than other forms of renewable energy. Unfortunately, however, our property isn't suited to a micro-hydro system.

Andrea has been working on Christmas gifts today. She was able to finish up the last of the homemade gifts and also get everything wrapped. The weeks leading up to Christmas are always busy and stressful for her, so I'm glad to see that she has everything finished and can relax, or focus on other projects, during the next couple of weeks.

There is one more project, that I've failed to mention before, that Andrea and I both were involved in this weekend. We were interviewed a while back for a book about people who choose to live in a mobile home as a method of simple living. I received a draft of the book this weekend, and we've both been reading through it, with a special focus on the section in which we are being featured. This morning I sent a list of comments/suggestions to the author, most of which were requests to re-word some of my statements, as I found that I had originally worded them awkwardly. I'm told that the book should be finished within the next few weeks, at which time it will be available for purchase as an e-book. I will be sure to let everyone know when it is available.