(Circa 2007 when this journey began) I am the only one who can do for myself and my kids. Of course I have a great support group of family and friends who help, but at the end of the day I am still the only one there for my kids. I have to do the work required to keep up the home, bring in the money, and to do for ourselves. I have to do the canning, be worried about…
This weekend is a prime example of why I usually try to make do with what I have. I did more running this weekend than I ever like to do, just to find three rolls of the kind of fencing I wanted. I was not a happy camper, but I have accepted this part of life.Living in a rural area has its joys. I love the quiet, the openness, the lack of city regulations, the lack of noisy neighbors who…
I grew up in love with the Little House on the Prairie and Anne of Green Gables books. I still love them. I still read them all the time. I love the adventures of Anne, Laura, and the people they loved and encountered. I love how they dealt with the situations they found themselves in and their daily lives.What I loved most were the lives they led. I realize that Anne was a fictional character, but she was based upon…
Have you seen how much pet food costs nowadays? I tend to buy better quality food and treats because I believe that the by-products are not good for our pets. I also believe that if I wouldn’t eat it, they shouldn’t eat it either. One of the areas I have tried hard to cut down expenses in has been pet food. I have two indoor cats, one outdoor dog, two goldfish, and twelve chickens. I feel like I am buying…
In my area of Iowa, we are soaked. We get about 2-3 days of rain, 2-3 days of no rain, 2-3 days of rain, and now cooler (than I like) temps. We have rain coming again at the beginning of the weekend. My garden is tilled. Nothing is in it. I have a fence to build around the garden, but the ground is so soft that I don’t think it will stay upright. We have a lot of mowing to…
Photo by my daughter, Jordan The garden is tilled! Now time to start planting and planning some more. I love gardening and all it entails. I am working on making the homestead into a food producing machine. A lot easier said than done, but every year I make progress.What am I going to do this year?1. Plant asparagus and hope it comes back next year. These are second year plants as opposed to the first year plants from last year….