Cottage days

Day 62- Day 67: Living without. 

Although I have been buying necessary things for the chickens, I haven't broke the challenge by buying books and such. So I'm going okay so far. This far into the living without challenge has taught me it is impossible not to spend money. But it is possible to not spend on frivolous things.

Here, where I live, the days of Autumn have finished and we are moving into Winter. There have been some early frost on the ground and the temps at night have dropped. It’s not too cold but I suspect it may get colder eventually. I haven’t had a chance to get up to my ‘lottie to work on the ground but I hope to get there to plant out some winter crops like beans.

I've also received some snail mail from Texas to brighten up those chilly Winter days. Thank you, Michelle H.

One of the main things I did this week was to construct a bigger chicken run for Hilda and Lillian. I didn't want to pay out another $180 for a run to add on to the coop they already had. So I did a little thinking and then took a trip to my brother's place. He gave me an old plastic table...and the plan grew. I took a trip to bunnings and brought some chicken wire, which matched the wire in the chicken coop.

Then with some wire cutting, and help from my Aunt who lives across the road, we managed to get a cute little chicken run up for the girls. To make the run work I cut out a wire panel from the coop they already had so it could be placed into and just under the table. The entire finished coop isn't only cute but also pretty sturdy against predators.

They even have some fancy bling on their chicken cottage now. I plan to put some pot plants up on the table to weight it down and make it look pretty. I think the girls are happy with their deluxe chicken run. All up, the wire and ties cost me $25. Everything else came from my Aunt's shed.

In other news, I've also started to write in a journal again. I think it is important for me to write down things and get them out of my head. It's also good to record my days as well. Hopefully, one day, I can also record my egg collection, my garden harvest, and eventually what produce I can for my own one-day-home pantry.

I hope everyone is having a good day or evening where ever you are.

Days past

Day 40 - Day 62: Living without. 

I spent $246 this month. The largest expense being for a chicken coop for my chickens and a garden plot at the local community gardens (An allotment)

There were smaller expenses too for the chickens, including their feed and bedding.

We've had rain on and off this month, making the weather turn cold and more Winter like. I don't think we are going to get much of a cold Winter unless it turns. 

Most of the month began off hard with the flu hanging around and I had to have a couple of trips to the dentist. Let's just say that was rough.

During this time I had my first Etsy sale at Hilda and Lillian. Etsy took a long time to process the order and I couldn't send the order until they did. Still, it is my first sale.

One of my major buys this month was for a small garden plot at the Toowoomba Community Organic Gardens. I've attended a couple of meetings and find the group very helpful.

I've even dug up the plot and planted a few things out. At the moment I'm focusing on just turning the soil and getting it ready for planting.

The baby chickens I got in may are now big girls and I brought a coop for them. The coop is smaller than what I thought it would be, but it will do them for now.

I hope everyone is having a good day or evening where ever you are.