Hello Homesteading & Country Living

[Neb]

Hi Y'all.

I am Ben and had been a contributor to MSP until it fell by the wayside.

I am a retired Software Architect and have been into preparing for disasters and a self sufficient life-style going back to when I saw the first episodes of James Burke's Connections series.

I have dreams of orchards, gardens, and a steam driven machine shop but those are hold until I finish off fixing up a wreck of a house I purchased to pad out my retirement income. That means I have been digging out a basement by hand and installing concrete walls.

Ben

 

[Grimm]

Welcome.

 

[Meerkat]

Welcome

 

[Meerkat]

What state you in Ben?

 

[Neb]

What state you in Ben?

Thank you for asking.

I am located in SW PA in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains.

Ben

 

[Meerkat]

Thank you for asking.

I am located in SW PA in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains.

Ben

Thars nice I was south of the Appalachhian Mountains in the foot hills too. In Georgia now in Florida.

 

[phideaux]

Sounds like you got the energy.
Digging basement by hand, ain't no lazy man's job.

Good luck on achieving your goals.
Oh , and welcome to the forum , thanks for joining us.

Jim

 

[Patchouli]

to the fold.

Our attitudes and demeanors vary, as well as our situations.
Nice work on the block and stairs. Please, jump right in.

 

[Neb]

Sounds like you got the energy.
Digging basement by hand, ain't no lazy man's job.

Good luck on achieving your goals.
Oh , and welcome to the forum , thanks for joining us.

Jim

I try to "cheat" every time I have a chance.

I have a pair of Harbor Freight jackhammers to cut through the shale. A roller conveyor (see image where youngest G-daughter is testing it out) to move buckets around, and a home made skip hoist to haul the buckets out of the hole.

Thank you for the welcome!

Please give me some time to get used to the interface and familiarize myself with the various threads.

Ben

 

[The Lazy L]

Welcome!

PA is mostly rock? I don't envy your basement digging project.

 

[Neb]

to the fold.

Our attitudes and demeanors vary, as well as our situations.
Nice work on the block and stairs. Please, jump right in.

Thank you.

A work zone does not welcome a PC but when I find myself in front of my laptop, I will "jump right in".

Ben

 

[Neb]

Welcome!

PA is mostly rock? I don't envy your basement digging project.

Quoting a sign I saw "What does not kill, makes you stronger, except bears. Bears will kill you!"

I hope to someday use that "rock" to fire a steam boiler. I have a coal seam running across "The Ridge" where I put in an orchard some years ago. It seemed like a natural choice to use the fuel in my backyard to move toward a more independent like-style.

I have the steam engine...



I still need to get/build the steam boiler to fire it.

Ben

 

[snappy1]

Welcome from Mississippi!

 

[Weedygarden]

Welcome from Colorado! I am impressed by that hand dug basement! I have a friend who told me his dad dug a basement under their home in North Dakota one summer. I can only imagine how much work and I do not envy it!

What is MSP? Many years ago, I tried to join every forum I could find about preparedness, homesteading, and survivalism. I now know I didn't find them all.

 

[backlash]

Welcome aboard.

 

[Meerkat]

Welcome from Colorado! I am impressed by that hand dug basement! I have a friend who told me his dad dug a basement under their home in North Dakota one summer. I can only imagine how much work and I do not envy it!

What is MSP? Many years ago, I tried to join every forum I could find about preparedness, homesteading, and survivalism. I now know I didn't find them all.

I agre Weedy that is some impressive looking work for sure.

 

[Bacpacker]

Welcome from Tennessee

 

[dademoss]

Welcome from Ohio

 

[BadgerLandHunter]

Welcome from WI. Nice job on the basement!

 

[Peanut]

Thank you for asking.
I am located in SW PA in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains.
Ben

Welcome from Alabama! I know some folks near Coal Center in Washington County. Pretty country there abouts.

 

[Amish Heart]

Well it's about time you showed up, Ben. Urban and I have been waiting on you.
Aren't you going to show the Hobbit Hole photos? They are impressive.
I think us three were the last of the MSP until it went kaput.
Glad you're here

 

[Spikedriver]

Welcome from Iowa!

 

[Neb]

Well it's about time you showed up, Ben. Urban and I have been waiting on you.
Aren't you going to show the Hobbit Hole photos? They are impressive.
I think us three were the last of the MSP until it went kaput.
Glad you're here

Hi AH

Is there an existing thread or projects of that type?

Ben

 

[Neb]

I agre Weedy that is some impressive looking work for sure.

MSP = Mainstream Preppers

It was started back in the early days of the series"Doomsday Preppers" by "Costa Rica Prepper" . He was the guy that packed up his house in a shipping container and moved to Costa Rica.

It had more than 2k members but the traffic fell of in 2016. In heyday it was quite active.

But my first impression is that this site may be a good substitute.

Ben

 

[Meerkat]

MSP = Mainstream Preppers

It was started back in the early days of the series"Doomsday Preppers" by "Costa Rica Prepper" . He was the guy that packed up his house in a shipping container and moved to Costa Rica.

It had more than 2k members but the traffic fell of in 2016. In heyday it was quite active.

But my first impression is that this site may be a good substitute.

Ben

Ben I'm pretty sure I remember the name Doomsday Preppers.

 

[Amish Heart]

Whatever happened to Costa Rica Prepper? We also had a member named Hi Ho Baron, and he passed away suddenly, then things slowed down. It was a shock.
You can start your own Hobbit Hole thread wherever, Ben.

 

[hiwall]

 

[Neb]

Whatever happened to Costa Rica Prepper? We also had a member named Hi Ho Baron, and he passed away suddenly, then things slowed down. It was a shock.
You can start your own Hobbit Hole thread wherever, Ben.

He seems to be alive and well based on what I see on LinkedIn. He was updating his adventures on his YouTube channel but that stopped about 5 years ago.

I will try to get a short video to use when I share an introduction to the Hobbit Hole remodeling project.


Ben

 

[DrPrepper]

Welcome from the mountains of Arizona!

 

[havasu]

Glad to have you here Neb!