Sprouts

Today I got to eat delicious organic sprouts that I sprouted this week. Last week I ordered Organic Alfalfa sprouts on Ebay, but hopefully I will be able to find some locally next time. I put some seed in a mason jar and filled it with water two times the height of the seed. I used just a little bit of seed because I wasn't sure how much it would yield, and the seeds have a guaranteed 80% sprout rate. I let them sit in the water over night, then rinsed and drained all the water out. I topped it with a rag and rubber band and let the sprouts hang out in my dark cupboard with the potatoes and onions for a few days. Every morning and night I rinsed them with water and drained them and shook them around so they didn't clump so much.
I figured today they are big enough to eat~ and they are tasty! For now they are stored in the fridge in what used to be a sesame tahini container, now a wonderful anything container. But I don't think they are going to last very long...


We have been eyeballing a 73 Westfalia (named Biscuit) close by that is going for very cheap. The body is in much better condition than Lenny's, with only one huge problem area~ the entire front "floorboard" is rusted through in many places. The engine and tranny is out which will give us a chance to go over everything and do it right this time. We don't want to abandon Lenny, but we know that he isn't a good candidate for a full on restoration. His frame is warped from the collision he was in, and the bondo is chipping in places with rust coming back. So we may just try to keep the working components good on him and fully restore the 73 slowly and completely and still get to have Lenny to go camping in and have fun with in the meantime.
I feel like I should put a warning on my page~ BEWARE~ VW addiction may soon follow purchase of only one VW Bus~

Solar Oven Experiment #1

A long time ago I mentioned the use of Solar Ovens~ I hope to make a heavy duty one out of wood and better materials, but for now I have one I made out of a box~


I used a Keurig Coffee Maker Box which is pretty perfect for a solar oven, but not so perfect for a Coffee pot. Purchasers of the Keurig also have to purchase small plastic and foil pods full of grounds for a single serving of crappy, old tasting coffee. For about a box of 24 pods it costs something like $7 or more, a lot more expensive than a conventional bag of beans or grounds.
Grounds and filters(most) are great for compost, and if you compost with worms~ they love it too. The Keurig takes something completely biodegradable and surrounds it in plastic to not even be recycled~ but thrown in the trash. Unless people want to take the time to cut off the foil, empty the grounds, rinse and dispose.
I highly recommend never entertaining the idea of purchasing such a worthless product, unless you have hundreds of dollars to throw away, in that case please donate to my Bus fund instead and I will make you better tasting coffee every day. Working at a coffee shop where we roast our own beans a day or so before we grind and brew it really does turn you into a coffee snob!
I used a slightly smaller box than the Keurig box inside, with more cardboard surrounding to insulate. Then I covered the flaps with heavy duty aluminum foil, shiny side out, placed my pot inside and covered it with a plastic wrap I found, securing it to the box with tacks.
The pot is a black saucepot with small handles on the sides with a lid. It is the large kind, so I will be getting a smaller one since heating up a lot of food like that at once takes longer and would be more suitable to be cooked in the desert of Arizona instead the shady yard of my house.
I cooked a veggie soup from random cans of veggies, soaked beans, pasta, tomato sauce, and spices. I made way too much to be cooked in the solar cooker completely but after about 6 hours in the sun the pasta was cooked. So I did have to finish cooking some of the liquid off on the stove.
I found out that smaller amounts work better, canned/already cooked works better because it cooks faster, water will not boil out since there is a lid keeping moisture in. I also need to get a thermometer so I can check the inside temperature so I will know in the future how long it will take to cook other things. My design worked very well though, so no problems there! It makes me happy to now have an environmentally friendly device I created from the PACKAGING of a very UNfriendly device.
What shall I try next...

Spring is in the air, in my nose and all over Lenny

Its finally spring time which hopefully means more camping expeditions in the near future! The pollen here is incredible~ when it rains there are highly visible swirls of yellow in the puddles. We've been laying low, working a lot and saving money- so I haven't had much to blog about. Lenny just hangs out in the driveway, waiting for another camp out. We drive him around a little but we still have yet to replace the caliper. We can't figure out if one is not engaging or one is not dis-engaging, so we are going to replace them both. We did get one of our starters re-built so we have a good spare, considering we won't know how long the one we replaced it with will last. Look how new & shiny!
Other than working, and painting I started some seedlings that are now sprouting~ we planted the beans last and they were second to sprout (cucumbers were the first to go) and they grow quick! Here's a picture I took Sunday~ (the smaller ones are tomatoes)

and here's what they look like today (Monday)~


Cucumbers~

from left~ 1 row Jalapeno, 2 rows spinach, 2 rows Bell pepper.
We will be container gardening and we've been scouring the thrift stores for random buckets, baskets, anything that is big enough to be re-purposed as planters. The large rubbermaid tub will have holes drilled in the bottom (like the other two plastic pots) and either a tomato plant, cucumber, or both will go in it. We just want to make sure our plants have enough space, which is where I failed last year. I am going to try to companion garden as well, if I find big enough buckets. Apparently 5 gallon buckets are large enough for tomatoes, peppers, etc but I am still a little weary about it, I feel like I should give them more space. What do you think? Has anyone grown peppers in containers? How large should they really be?
We also mixed our own potting mix with perilite, top soil and peat moss in equal parts. We saved a lot of money that way~ I wish I had done that before instead of buying pre-mixed soil. Oh well, live and learn, right? I am going to plant some herbs in a strawberry pot to keep inside, but I think I am going to buy already grown plants, instead of starting from seed. Although you save a lot of money starting from seed. Also the spinach will probably stay inside or at least come inside once summer hits because it will definitely not stand the heat, being a cold weather plant and all. I just hope the house will be cool enough for it, I eat so much spinach and when I heard it is one of the highest pesticide laden foods I really wanted to grow my own, and save money that way too.
As far as pesticides go, I am planning on making some mulch out of cedar and soaking it in Soap Nut water because soap nuts help repel bugs and isn't dangerous on plants. you can actually take your dish water after washing with soap nuts and water your plants. Now that's conservation if I've heard it!
Enough about plants~ this blog is supposed to be about Lenny~ so I must say good bye for now and hopefully I will have some Bus blogging to do soon!

The Rides Of March

We attended TROM~ The Rides Of March~ Friday through Sunday in Atkinson NC, close to Wilmington. It was a small event with 25 Buses but it was nice because we got to get to know people better. The weather was nice for us with highs in the 60s and lows in the upper 40s/low 50s. It did sprinkle a tiny bit Saturday evening and Sunday morning, but the brunt of the storms held off until we were driving back. Lenny ran great as usual, and people really enjoyed looking at his interior. I think we inspired a few people, hopefully!

Engine Bonfire

Next weekend we may try to attend Paddy's Wagens in Columbia SC if we have the days off. Gotta love those Bus festivals!

Crafts~ for your health!

We're gearing up for TROM~ The Rides of March in Atkinson NC. It should be a lot of fun as it is a smaller gathering than the ones we have been too~ so we'll get to know people better. I've been doing a lot of crafting since we've been back and I've gotten into jewelery making a little bit~ here's some of the stuff I've made:

Needle Booklets to sell at TROM

OPEN~to hold your sewing needles/pins

Petrified Wood I found in AZ~not at the forest tho its a $350 fine for removing park items

Skull Bead Necklace

I did some paintings for our new friends who we stayed with many times in Arizona and New Mexico as a Thank You. Even as new friends, they were so hospitable and made us feel like we were at home. We miss them very much! But luckily with Facebook (except Laura who needs to get on facebook!) & E-mail we are able to keep in touch with them regularly. Hopefully they won't read my blog before I put these babies in the mail tomorrow!

For Laura~

for Peter~

For Slavio~

Also have a few other paintings I am working on, put a few up at a local coffee shop (my new job) for sale as well. Our next Bus festival I plan to make rear hatch screens as I didn't get a chance to make any this time around. I'll post pictures of TROM next week!

Lenny's battle with "cancer"

Rust. It's the cancer of cars, once it starts forming its hard to stop it~ usually the only way is to remove the cancerous parts completely. But when you have rust spots around the doors, around the windows, bubbling up here and there- a rust free car becomes unimaginable. And that is where poor Lenny stands today. The damage done to the driver's side not only impacts the nose, but also the entire length of the body. Bondo the previous owner patched is cracking, revealing more of a rust problem. I suspect that is what stopped the previous owner from restoration, this is also why I chose to do a spray paint job. His cancer does not mean I am going to get rid of him, or even stop driving and working on him- no way! I will camp in him and drive him until he can't be driven any more, I am going to get the most out of him while he is still whole, and when I am not driving him he will hang out in the garage.
The rust issue is really the only problem with Lenny that I can see. The Engine & Lenny's interior is complete, undamaged and restored. The mechanical parts are rust free, including the undercarriage. If it ever comes to it, maybe I'll just find a rust free shell and put his insides in it. That way Lenny can live on with a new "shell" and his old one will become my dream green house bus! Only time will tell I suppose...

Happy Anniversary Lenny!

*EDIT* I was finally able to get a good connection and upload some pictures of the "end of our trip... "

Leroy & Hank riding in "Dean"

Dust Storm outside of El Paso~ tumbleweed!

More petroglyphs we saw in Albuquerque

A year ago today we bought Lenny! It's been a bit since we've posted, but we went to Albuquerque NM after the painted desert and stayed with friends for a few days. We had a blast and were too busy to really get online to post. Then we heard of the winter storm that was passing through Monday the 31st so we left early and pretty much drove before the storm that had the Querque in single digits with a lot of snow! We did sleep shortly at a rest area in Texas because of a lightning/ice storm. We woke up at 6am with ice covering the INSIDES of our windows and continued onward. I'm happy that our heat does work, we just hung a blanket up behind the cab to keep the heat concentrated in the front as we drove. Tuesday we drove continuously and stopped in Houston for gas where the starter was finally dead. A nice man helped us push the bus to start it and we drove him straight to Greenville South Carolina, even kept him running while we filled up. It was a pretty tiring drive but I am glad we did it because that storm would have gotten us stuck somewhere for sure. There were also storms in Louisiana when we drove through at night but luckily we missed them all. We had great luck and Lenny drove great all the way here. Today my dad helped us put the spare starter on and Lenny started right up! His engine sounds great and he is driving good. So today we washed him and cleaned him out, he is almost perfect. I did notice that I may have to replace the rear break lines soon and we have to get a break caliper for the front, just minor things. Got to get him ready for "The Rides of March" which is a Bus campout the first weekend of March around Wilmington NC. Gotta get the Bus all spiffied up again! He was full of so much sand, I could have made a sandcastle! I am sort of bummed that we had to come back so quickly and didn't get to see New Orleans like we wanted to, so I foresee another trip out when it gets warmer... Lenny drove so great~ going to New Orleans would seem like a short trip!