The Suburban Steader Homestead was a fairly quiet place this week.  This time of year is, unfortunately, not a busy one when it comes to homesteading activities.  That being said, summer is a busy time so let’s check in and see what happened.

This Week’s Milestones

A Great Getaway

Mrs. Suburban Steader and I were able to get away last weekend without the kids.  Her folks got them off the bus last week (last Friday was their last day of school) and kept them until Sunday.  We made dinner Friday night and hung out because Saturday was going to be big!

When we woke up Saturday morning, it was pouring.  When I say “pouring,” I mean I was contemplating building an ark!  But, we were trusting of the weather reports that said it was going to clear up mid-morning so we headed East.  I’ve never driven that long with my windshield wipers on high and still having trouble seeing.

Anyway, we got to Montauk, the easternmost point on Long Island, and had a great day.  We climbed up the lighthouse and walked around the rock walk they have there.  Then we went into town, had a great lunch and visited the Montauk Brewery.  Overall, a great day with the Mrs. that was capped out with a great dinner at a local tapas restaurant.

Retirement – Kind Of

Like most Americans, I fly an American flag in my backyard.  Well, the flag I had been flying for the last year or so has developed a tear and was ready for retirement.

I bought a new one and properly folded up the old one.  There are two ways to properly dispose of an American flag according to the VFW.  First, you can burn it yourself in a special fire and then bury the ashes.  Secondly, you can bring it to a local VFW and they will take care of it for you.

I’m leaning towards the second option as I’m not sure I can bring myself to burn a flag myself, even though it’s perfectly acceptable.

How have you disposed of your worn, well-loved flags?

We’ve Got Climbers!

The cucumbers we have are doing great!  And they’re starting to climb.  I quickly realized that I needed something for them to climb up.  After visiting my local big box store, I realized I had two options.

My first option was to buy some very nice metal trestles that the cukes could climb up.  There were a few different options and they’d surely look good in my garden beds.  Remember, in a suburban setting, aesthetics are sometimes as important as function.  The downside was that this option would cost me over $100.

The second option I had was to buy a net and some long garden rods.  Visually, this option was not as appealing, but it would only set me back about $16.

Well, for $16, I couldn’t resist the second option.

It was a little more complicated of an install simply because I had to connect the net to the rods.  A few small zip ties took care of that issue.  Once I was done, I noticed that this setup kind of blended into the background (the white PVC fence helps) and actually looked fine.

It’s always nice to save a buck!

Next Week’s Goals

Fitness

I’ve continued my running from last week and it’s definitely getting harder.  At the same time, the “high” I get after the workout is better and better.  Unfortunately, I’m fighting a summer cold at the moment.  It makes the running hard and causes me to be tired and worn down.  I’m hoping to beat this thing by this weekend so I can relax.  I’m going to continue the running, despite my illness because I’ve found that, in the past, that working out through a cold actually helps me.

Fourth Of July Activities & Product Reviews

Next week is the Fourth of July so I expect to be spending some time around the homestead grilling and relaxing – perhaps with an adult beverage in my hand.  I also expect that you’ll see a product review next week for some backpacking food that I used recently.

What kind of food do you like to take with you when you go backpacking?

That’s it folks – Week 26 is in the books!  How was your week?

Thanks for reading!

Dan

Founder/Owner at Suburban Steader

I am a middle-age guy with a wife, two young kids and a crazy dog. We live on Long Island, NY and had an interesting experience with Hurricane Sandy. That experience led me towards the self-sufficiency movement and eventually led to the founding of SuburbanSteader.com. I aim to provide suburbanites with the confidence and know-how to become more self-reliant by providing content on topics such as gardening, personal health, financial responsibility, cooking, self-preparedness and self-protection.