Author: Julia

I am a retired software solutions architect. I have been married to my husband, Bruce, for over forty years. We went full-time RVing for 3.5 years and saw much of the United States. After deciding to stop RVing, we bought a ranch house halfway up a hill on five acres. After Bruce and I talked about names for our five acres, we settled on Blackberry Homestead as a homage to the wild blackberries on the hill. We are working on creating our homestead. I love cooking and enjoy sharing recipes. I am also an artist, and I’ll share my current projects. Gardening and reading are my favorite hobbies.

Cooking on the Flex Burner on my Induction Stove

October 22, 2024 Last night, I wanted to try out my flex burner on my new induction stove. The flex burner can hold different sized pans and if the flex burner is joined, a griddle can be used on it. First, I put down some parchment paper on the flex burner. Next, I carefully paced […]

It’s Leveling Time!

October 20, 2024 Nox came to visit this morning around sunrise. She is use to the blackout shades at the RV. The sunrise seems to wake her up at the house and she’s ready to join us. She was very happy to be allowed in bed with us this morning. Bruce and I went back […]

Positive News on Bruce’s Poison Ivy Rash

October 20, 2024 Since Bruce has been putting the extra strength Benadryl cream and Calamine lotion on his horrific poison ivy rash, it is starting to heal up. He is much less itchy and he can go much longer between putting on the cream and lotion. He is no longer in pain from the rash. […]

Trying Out My New Stove and Laundry Time

October 19, 2024 Bruce came home with a couple loads of laundry from his trip to Golden, CO. Since Bruce doesn’t have a lot of clothes, I needed to do laundry today. I had thawed some sausages we picked up in Missouri, so I wanted to cook them for breakfast. After wiping the glass cooktop […]

First Night at Blackberry Homestead and a Busy Next Day

October 19, 2024 On October 17th, I watched the moon come up through the trees from the patio. It was beautiful. The picture didn’t come out that great. I got ready for bed (shower and poison ivy treatment) and let Nox join me in the new bed for a while. Bruce called and we talked […]

Bruce Made It Home!

October 18, 2024 Bruce pulled up to the house tonight around 9:30 PM. He was itching so bad from the poison ivy that his goal was to say hi to me and Nox and then to treat it. When he took off his shirt, I was horrified. The poison ivy rash is all over his […]

The Truck Was Ready to Go This Morning

October 18, 2024 This morning Bruce called the dealership and got their answering machine. He left a message. Not too long afterwards, Bruce got a call back. The truck was ready to go! It just needed new batteries. He texted me from the Uber while he was on the way to the dealership. He wanted […]

When You Want To Sleep in Your New House But Don’t Have Bedroom Curtains, a Trashy Solution

October 17, 2024 I spent a good bit of the day at the RV doing laundry. I also went through my kitchen drawers and cabinets to decide what else I should bring to the house. Around 4:00 PM, I headed to Blackberry Homestead. Once here, I took Nox inside, then got her bed along with […]

Update on Bruce’s Trip Home

October 16, 2024 With the truck loaded with property from the storage units, Bruce started home yesterday morning. He had a couple of problems yesterday. The DEF light came on but the DEF tank didn’t want to take any DEF. After some careful trying, Bruce was able to fill the DEF tank. On he continued. […]

Flower of the Day

October 16, 2024 We have lots of honeysuckle on our property and this one was still blooming. Here’s a picture of Japanese honeysuckle aka gold-and-silver honeysuckle. I love how it has both yellow and white flowers on the same vine.