My husband John grew up on a farm and loved it. He loved everything about it, the animals , working outside, the quiet at night, the solitude... John loved the farm. I grew up in a rural seeting with miles between the neighbours and us, lots of quiet and I hated it! I was always longing for the town, going places and people!!
About 7 years ago my husband asked me to give farm life a try. He had found a hundred acre farm that was for rent, and I thought it would be an incredible experience for our family of seven.
I went to the farm skeptical and nervous that I wouldn't be able to handle the learning I was going to have to do.
We picked up 20 Rock Island Barred laying chickens, 40 white chickens for butchering, and 10 turkeys. The outdoor paddocks all needed repairs so we couldnt have animals just yet, had to wait for the summer to work on that.
Our house was massive 3600 sq ft and was oil/wood heat. I kept a fire going 24/7, and used 4 cord of wood in one winter and had our oil filled twice to keep the house at a cool 62 degrees.
Sadly, my father passed away suddenly that February and we decided to move closer to my family, leaving our farming dream.
The things I learned going to that farm are invaluable to me. I learned that I am much stronger and more determined than I knew. I can be inventive when need be, I love the quiet and the creative nature that goes with being outside.
So we have decided that we would like to buy land and build a small home- maybe cordwood, or
in ground... not sure yet as my husband is a builder and has tons of ideas. We would like to live off the land, with some livestock. I always thought this was a hobby farm but today I learned that my dream is actually homesteading. The definition of homesteading is - Broadly defined, homesteading is a lifestyle of self-sufficiency. It is characterized by subsistence agriculture, home preservation of foodstuffs, and it may or may not also involve the small scale production of textiles, clothing, and craftwork for household use or sale. -Wikipedia
This is what I long for a life of self sufficiency, living partially or mostly of the grid, and our life to be simpler. So this is what we are working toward, I would like to be on our homestead in 5 years, thats our goal!
Sunday, July 27, 2014
Friday, July 25, 2014
Braided Bread and Glory Road
The past couple of days have been hard for me so it took some time to get to making the braided bread I had said I was going to make. Now and then I have migraines... not just a bad headache but a serious dizzy, vomiting, in a dark room migraine, and I have been battling them for the past three days.
Also for some reason we have some kind of a raccoon hotel in our attic and so far this year we have removed humanely 8 raccoons. But there is another one up there and they are a nocturnal creature that loves to scratch and play at 2 am... not conducive to sleep and didn't help the headaches.
Anyway, today I felt a bit better though sleep deprived and tackled the bread. I am by no means a baker, I like to cook but baking isn't for me. My 11 yr old daughter had asked to watch the movie Glory Road, and I thought this was the perfect time. We could chat about the lessons from the movie while I was baking the bread. Glory Road is an amazing movie full of life lessons and history, if you haven't seen it you should take the time.
I found this braided bread recipe on a blog I follow called Mama's Minutia. The blogger is funny and smart, and this looked so good.
TA DA !! I am so happy with the way it turned out. the smell is amazing, and the colour beautiful. But the taste is outstanding, and kid approved!! It was easy to follow and didn't take too long as far as bread goes... and isn't it pretty?!
New week I will try another new recipe because it was so fun going with the unknown. Happy Friday!!
Also for some reason we have some kind of a raccoon hotel in our attic and so far this year we have removed humanely 8 raccoons. But there is another one up there and they are a nocturnal creature that loves to scratch and play at 2 am... not conducive to sleep and didn't help the headaches.
Anyway, today I felt a bit better though sleep deprived and tackled the bread. I am by no means a baker, I like to cook but baking isn't for me. My 11 yr old daughter had asked to watch the movie Glory Road, and I thought this was the perfect time. We could chat about the lessons from the movie while I was baking the bread. Glory Road is an amazing movie full of life lessons and history, if you haven't seen it you should take the time.
I found this braided bread recipe on a blog I follow called Mama's Minutia. The blogger is funny and smart, and this looked so good.
TA DA !! I am so happy with the way it turned out. the smell is amazing, and the colour beautiful. But the taste is outstanding, and kid approved!! It was easy to follow and didn't take too long as far as bread goes... and isn't it pretty?!
New week I will try another new recipe because it was so fun going with the unknown. Happy Friday!!
Thursday, July 24, 2014
Journaling Out Loud
I am writing this blog more as a way of journaling my way through various attempts at new recipes and projects. Figuring out what I really love to do and what I actually can't stand. I have long wanted to have a blog but have not made the time. So this is the first thing on my list of projects I have wanted to try. Here goes... tomorrow I try a braided egg bread recipe I found on another blog. I look forward to letting you know how that goes, accompanied by pics. Next week I will attempting peach pie preserves... yummy
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