My 2018 accomplishments

[Jantrix]

Well this year has been an amazing journey for my wife and I. After purchasing a 10 acre homestead, off the paved road, in an Idaho canyon, in late 2017 we have -

1. Moved in. 

2. Built dog run.

3. Refloored and painted the guest room.

4. Built some raised beds, planted a garden. Wiped out by crickets and grasshoppers. Greenhouse next year.

5. Cleaned up the property. It was a failed goat/sheep/pig farm prior and all the remnants of that were everywhere. Pens, enclosures, paddocks etc. A real mess. Now it is a beautiful blank slate.

6. Cleaned out the barn. See #5.

7. Build a chicken coop in the barn, and a chicken run outside. Added 20 odd chickens. They are tasty.

8. Built a goat pen in the barn and an enclosure outside the barn complete with goat gazebo. Added two female goats. Thelma and Louise.

9. Entirely changed our life from something dreary and unfulfulling to something that makes me smile and sigh every day. Life is good.

10. Oh , and I managed to build a model too.   Turbo slant six '41 Willys.

Edited December 26, 2018 by Jantrix

[espo]

I remember when you were building the Willis. I like your idea of a different drive train than the norm. Good luck to you and your wife "getting back to the land" as they say. 

[oldcarfan]

Sounds like you have your hands full in a good way!

[TooOld]

Love the Willys , some excellent work there Rob !  And congrats on your homestead , sounds like you're starting to settle in . 

[donb]

Very busy life this year. The Willys is way cool.

[cobraman]

Surprised you had time to do even one model !  The model is very cool BTW.

[Tom Geiger]

I've enjoyed the reports of your adventures in Idaho! Everyone daydreams about doing something like this, but few actually do it!   Good for you!

[mikemodeler]

Sounds like living in Idaho is agreeing with you Rob! Congrats on the move and nice job on the Willys!

 

[ismaelg]

Nice model and even nicer story!  Wish you all the best!

[larry ray]

I love your story And the model too.

[slusher]

Awesome Willys! Great story!

[vintagercr]

Well done

[landman]

15 hours ago, TooOld said:

Love the Willys , some excellent work there Rob !  And congrats on your homestead , sounds like you're starting to settle in . 

What is now overwhelming amount of work will settle down into some enjoyable chores and then you'll turn out gems like your Willys all the time. Enjoy your new life.

[ChrisR]

NICE!!!

[Jantrix]

14 hours ago, Tom Geiger said:

I've enjoyed the reports of your adventures in Idaho! Everyone daydreams about doing something like this, but few actually do it!   Good for you!

Thanks Tom. It really has been a life affirming year. It really comes down to figuring out what you want, and having the guts to make it happen.

2 hours ago, landman said:

What is now overwhelming amount of work will settle down into some enjoyable chores and then you'll turn out gems like your Willys all the time. Enjoy your new life.

Yes that is where I am now. For the last year there was so much work ahead of me, that I felt guilty staying in after a day AT work. Seeing the mess would drive me crazy. But now it's all good. Just a few chores keeping the animals fed, watered and warm. In the spring we'll start fencing the property. And cleaning up the deadfall along the creek.

Thanks for the ataboys on the Willys guys. It was fun build.

Edited December 27, 2018 by Jantrix

[bbowser]

Glad you have the homestead at least partially squared away.  I don't think you ever get done working on the property!  I love the 6 in the Willys, very cool.

[Tom Geiger]

1 hour ago, Jantrix said:

Thanks Tom. It really has been a life affirming year. It really comes down to figuring out what you want, and having the guts to make it happen.

You do realize there is a book in your experiences!  

[Jantrix]

1 hour ago, Tom Geiger said:

You do realize there is a book in your experiences!  

Interesting idea. However if you Google "homesteading book" you will darn near break the internet. Homesteading or "getting back to nature" is such a popular trend these days, there is no shortage of such stories. TV shows, magazines, blogs, etc, etc. It is enough for me that my friends and family are enjoying what I've been putting out about our little canyon. If one person someday sees what we've done and is then inspired to find their own way out of the rat race, then I'll be ecstatic. 

[89AKurt]

Nobody can top that excuse for building only one nice and unique model!  All I did to my home was a little remodeling and painting, so no model building happened for a few months.  My wife lived in Moscow, she showed me the area, beautiful, more old trucks sitting in fields than any junkyard around here.  Thanks for sharing!

[Tom Geiger]

2 hours ago, 89AKurt said:

 My wife lived in Moscow, she showed me the area, beautiful, more old trucks sitting in fields than any junkyard around here.  Thanks for sharing!

I'm sure you meant Moscow, Idaho!   

Every time my friends and I went to the Greater Salt Lake Championship, right after the awards ceremony on Sunday we'd point the rental car in a direction and just drive to see what we could find.  One year we wound up in Paris, Idaho on the banks of Bear Lake.  Great country!  We had fun just roaming around. We found a little general store and got into a conversation with the owner... who was a from Long Island, NY.

Joke of the day was that we couldn't find the Paris Hilton! 

[Jantrix]

21 hours ago, 89AKurt said:

Nobody can top that excuse for building only one nice and unique model!  All I did to my home was a little remodeling and painting, so no model building happened for a few months.  My wife lived in Moscow, she showed me the area, beautiful, more old trucks sitting in fields than any junkyard around here.  Thanks for sharing!

That's up in the panhandle right? I haven't been that far north yet. I've heard its beautiful. We're down here in the desert just west of Boise. We love it.

[89AKurt]

1 hour ago, Jantrix said:

That's up in the panhandle right? I haven't been that far north yet. I've heard its beautiful. We're down here in the desert just west of Boise. We love it.

I had to look at a map, it's on the west border, almost bottom of the straight line.  Palouse is the region.  Don't think I've been in Boise area.

[bobthehobbyguy]

Great job on the Willys. You definitely had a very productive year.

[FredRPG]

Fresh eggs and goat cheese, can't go wrong with that, nice model too. Happy New Year!

[Jantrix]

Thanks guys.  Here's the view.