Silver Explodes & Cabin Framing Wraps Up

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Framing is (mostly) wrapped up on the cabin, silver explodes like it hasn’t done in decades, and I had a grocery store moment that made me question whether I smelled absolutely terrible — or if something else was going on.

In Episode 869 of The LOTS Project Morning Show, we cover real progress on the cabin build, why silver is suddenly ripping higher, how physical supply constraints are starting to matter again, and why sourcing food locally is becoming a priority as we settle in long-term.

Cabin Build Update: Framing Is (Mostly) Complete

The last couple weeks at the cabin were productive — but also a reminder that nothing ever moves as fast as you hope.

The 2×6 framing for windows and doors is finished, which is a big psychological milestone. While there’s still some face framing to do around the trusses for interior wall coverings, all of the critical framing needed to move forward is now in place.

What We Got Done

Finished main wall framing
Locked in window heights and placements
Dialed in trim and metal color concepts
Corrected a framing section that didn’t quite fit (the joys of real-world building)

There was one frustrating moment where a fully framed wall didn’t slide into place — likely a measuring or cutting error — but we were able to trim and adjust without tearing everything apart.

That’s the reality of DIY builds: you don’t avoid mistakes, you learn how to recover from them efficiently.

What’s Next

Final decisions on window installation depth
Coordination with the metal supplier
Pricing out metal siding install
Scaffolding setup for window installation

We’re taking a short pause to talk directly with the metal supplier before moving forward. Sometimes slowing down for one conversation saves weeks of rework later.

Silver Is on an Absolute Tear — Here’s Why

Silver has quietly gone from “boring” to “what the hell just happened?”

As of this episode:

Up ~160% year-to-date
Up ~85% over the last 3 months
Up ~28% in the last month alone
Brief weekend spikes over $80/oz
Currently hovering in the mid-$70s

That’s not normal price action.

Supply Has Been in Deficit for Years

For five consecutive years, the world has consumed more silver than has been mined.

Silver isn’t typically mined on its own — it’s usually a byproduct of copper and other metal mining. When prices are suppressed, there’s little incentive to aggressively extract more. Now that prices are exploding, the economics start to change — but that takes time.

New Demand Is Coming Online

Recent announcements around silver-based battery technology are a huge deal. Faster charging and higher capacity batteries mean more silver demand, not less.

Add in industrial use, solar panels, electronics, and medical applications — and suddenly silver’s role looks very different than it did a decade ago.

Paper Silver vs Physical Silver

When prices get volatile, people want delivery — not paper promises.

A lot of “silver” exists as ETFs and derivatives that aren’t backed ounce-for-ounce. When investors start calling for physical delivery, things get uncomfortable fast.

This is where physical silver starts to matter again.

This is not financial advice. I’m not telling you to buy or sell anything. I’m explaining why the move might be happening.

Could silver pull back hard? Absolutely.
Could it keep running? Also absolutely.

Volatility works both ways.

Physical Silver, Barter & Reality

Silver’s value isn’t about whether it’s “legal tender.”

If you’ve got something of value and someone else needs it, barter solves the problem.

That’s why:

Junk silver (pre-1964 US coins) matters
Recognizable bullion rounds matter
Verifiable weight and purity matter

When trust matters more than paperwork, physical assets tend to shine.

The Grocery Store Incident: When You Think You Smell Terrible

This one was unexpected.

After eating at a new Mexican restaurant near Walmart, Kori and I walked into the store and both had the same realization:

“Do I smell… bad?”

Turns out, we both smelled strongly like onions — not BO — but strong enough that we genuinely thought something was wrong.

We didn’t eat anything onion-heavy. We’re not sure if it was the kitchen, the food, or something in the air — but standing in Walmart sniffing yourself is a humbling experience.

Lesson learned:

Sometimes it’s not you
Sometimes it absolutely is the restaurant
Either way, confidence takes a hit

We’re undecided on whether we’ll go back to test the theory.

Getting Back to Local Food & Clean Meat

One of the biggest lifestyle shifts since leaving Minnesota was losing access to clean, local food.

Back then, we:

Raised our own poultry
Bought grass-fed beef and pork from nearby farms
Knew exactly what our food was eating

RV life made that hard. Storage is limited, sourcing is inconsistent, and quality drops fast.

Now that we’re settling in, we’ve started reaching out to local farmers again — looking for:

Grass-fed, pasture-raised meat
No antibiotics
No hormones
No vaccines

The response has been encouraging, and we’ve already got farm visits lined up — including one 10–15 minutes from the cabin, which would be huge.

Getting back to knowing where your food comes from changes everything.

Sponsors & Resources

🔐 Blockstream Jade & JadePlus

21% holiday sale + extra 10% off with code TheLOTSProject
👉 https://store.blockstream.com/?code=TheLOTSProject

☕ Food Forest Farms Coffee

Holiday Blend See the Light + C4 Membership
👉 https://foodforestfarms.com

Bitcoin Holiday Gift Ideas

Blockstream Jade or JadePlus
21% off + 10% with code TheLOTSProject
https://store.blockstream.com/?code=TheLOTSProject
The Bitcoin Standard (Book)
https://amzn.to/4qdKSyH
Bitaxe 602 Gamma Solo Miner
https://www.solosatoshi.com/product/bitaxe-gamma/aff/213/

Final Thoughts

Progress is happening — even when it doesn’t feel fast enough.

The cabin is moving forward.
Silver is reminding people why physical assets matter.
Food sourcing is coming full circle again.

And sometimes… you just smell like onions and have to accept it.

Next episode will have more cabin updates, farm visits, and whatever chaos the markets decide to throw our way.

Silver Explodes, Cabin Framing Wraps Up & the Onion Smell That Wasn’t Me

Affiliate Disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products and services that I personally use or believe will benefit my audience. Thank you for supporting this site!