Time flies!

When you're having fun....really......fun?  Sorry about the lapse.  We moved from a much larger house into a little itty bitty place so as to stay within the newly retired budget. Stumbling and falling over boxes and bins for weeks I finally decided I had to do something!  Everytime we went to do anything we had to look in 10 different places to accomplish whatever task we were attempting.  So we are now more or less organized (mostly less but a vast improvement).

 

Periodically we would fling ourselves outdoors to get a break from all that organizing.  We put a   garden in front and one in back.  We didn't expect much because it takes time for my chickens to produce enough manure and no extra cash for mulch etc.  We did start a compost pile but obviously that takes time as well.  This is what happens when you plant a garden at the beach!  Well we are not truly at the beach but you would think so looking at this "dirt".  This is truly an epic FAIL!!!

 

 

 

 

 

Ok...lesson learned...I guess.  I have to say that apparently not all sand is equal.  The first year we were in Tuba City, Arizona we planted a garden in the red sand there and everything grew well...who knew!

 

 

 

My DD's sunflowers have done much better!

 

 

 

 

 

Onto the backyard (so to speak).  This is doing much better, though nothing to brag about!  Less sand/more dirt.  At least when DH rototilled this area the dirt looked dark, not white!

 

 

The weather here has been stormy for weeks.  Luckily I have a battery pack on my computer which will last for 45 minutes once the power goes out, to give you time to finish up and turn

off.  We just had a CRACK....BOOM that struck a tree in the front and it's down, away from the house thank goodness.  I can take a hint.

TMI

Thought I would tell you a little about me and DH.  It will help you to understand the dangers involved in us doing anything together. 

Together we make one whole person.  He has had a severe head injury...my brain is still functioning (more or less).  We both have bad backs...............his hurts when he sits; mine hurts when I stand.  He has 1/2 a stomach (from accident #2) and can eat anything and everything without gaining a pound.  I have all my stomach and can gain weight breathing air.  There are other missing parts but who cares...you get the idea!

The point is it's hard to do things like build a fence with only one person (even if it looks like 2 people)!  We have also come to learn that we don't speak the same language.  (Recent example related to a piece of wood:  "Put the side facing up.....no that's the wide part....oh you mean the edge....no the wide part.....the plane?)  We can and do drive ourselves crazy.  Thankfully it is a short drive and doesn't take long.  This is the point when I just leave and go into the house.  He did finish the gate and the only thing we really had to change was turn the latch right side up!  There is a disconnect in his brain between what he wants to do and how he does it.  However the male part of his brain that won't read directions is intact!

Here is the finished gate.  Giggles are allowed!

Do Over

Have you ever wanted a do over?  I have.........lots of times as a kid and more than a few as an adult!  I always pictured it as a sorta "Peggy Sue Got Married" kind of thing.   Not so much!

Bankruptcy is not fun or easy.  It is humiliating. No we weren't spendthrifts, actually we were way more frugal than most people.  Things happen that you don't expect and can't control.  We fought hard for a year and then we lost everything. 

But this blog is not about what we lost, it is about what we found!   A simpler life.

So we are starting over.  A do over if you will. 


           

It is definitely a must that I get the photo thing figured out.  Yesterday was the monthly trip into town.  While browsing through the Goodwill my husband found a great pair of Nike shoes.  Cost $4.  Problem: they are bright blue/grey with orange trim and laces!  He plans to wear them for working out with the chickens.   The girls may not be ready for this.  A picture would be self explanatory.  I'll work on it.

Stretching

Like everyone else these days I'm having to stretch.  The cost of food is rising and the packaging is shrinking.  So I can , freeze and dehydrate everything from my garden, and whatever is on sale.  I cook everything from scratch, make my own mixes and bake my own bread, bagels and english muffins and pastries.  The cost of everything else is rising as well.  So I quilt, sew, and knit.  Anything I can make myself or learn to make myself I do.  I'm not complaining....honestly.  The sense of accomplishment as a family that we get from all this activity makes it all worthwhile.  I have gained a new perspective and appreciation for my Grandparents over the years.  I'm guessing I will stretch as far as I have to.

The latest stretch is with our internet.  I realize some have had to give up internet and use the library and we may have to go to that.  We will see.  The internet server we use has changed their method of billing.  We will now be charged based on gigabyte usage.   We live in a rural area in the high desert of Arizona.  We had tried satellite but they charge by bandwidth, and if you exceed your bandwidth they slow you down to a crawl.  So we stopped the DTV and internet and went searching for something more reasonable.  That's how we came to be with our current company.  Since we don't have cable for tv, we use Roku. We don't watch much tv, thank goodness, because,  guess how many gigabytes streaming uses!!!!   All of this was to say, if you've noticed when I add my posts it's after midnight.  That's because for now usage is FREE from midnight to 6:00 AM.  More stretching.

God seems to be stretching us, molding us, teaching us to do more with less, drawing our family closer together and into a closer walk with Him.  He is revamping our wants and trimming our needs, bringing  joy and contentment into our lives and teaching us to slow down and appreciate His gifts.

How are you being stretched these days?

Making progress

Well I found bread crumbs after all!  My DD,  affectionately known as the computer fairy has been busy helping me and we have made some progress.  Still have lots to do.  Pictures, finish setting up my Etsy shop (Ladybug's Homestead) and general decorating.  I really don't like computers and I think mine knows this.  I'm trying to bond with it.  It is resisting this procedure.

I have found that retirement just means I have more time to get more work done around the homestead. There is satisfaction if not relaxation.    Today I canned 10lbs of chicken, at $1.67/lb I had to buy some.  This was a good price for this area.  My chickens were relieved.  I've explained to them the way of the world and they are producing eggs at an impressive rate still.  Little do they know how safe they really are.  Neither DH or I can wield an axe with any accuracy and one of the things I hate most in the world is plucking.   Should TEOTWAWKI arrive I may have to work on the whole axe thing.

Ladybug (the youngest drooling basset) had surgery last week.  This upset the other two more than her.  She was drugged and happy for about 5 days.  In case you were wondering it is almost impossible to keep a dressing on the side of a fat (we call it fluffy) , moving basset hound.  The other two kept trying to discover what was under that funky looking thing wrapped around her and inbetween doses of pain killer, she is attempting to run around and play.  It reminded me of having toddlers, all the same age, running in three different directions.  I thought I was having an acid flashback from the 60's.  Never having taken acid it would be hard for me to know but I was definitely bordering on a fugue state!

The most fun thing this last week was watching the DVDs my DD got me for Christmas.  They are from Homestead Blessings.  They are fabulous.  I have Bread Making, Quilting, Soap Making and Dairy.  I've been baking bread for a long time but their recipies were terrific and I want to make soap, and mozzarella cheese and butter and yogurt and get back to quilting and, and, and get a cow.......yeh I know.....I'm retired!

Falling through the looking glass!

Wow!  I should have waited for my daughter (the computer fairy).  But there I was staring at a blank screen.  A button said create blog......I've been talking about it for months.......its now or never.....I clicked and.............................fell through the looking glass.   I've been wandering around the site pressing buttons, clicking "more info" and actually lost my blog twice.  Finally found myself.  If I can't find myself how can you find me?  I should have thought to drop bread crumbs!  Hopefully I'll be able to find myself again.   When I do I will develope this blog more.  I can guarantee this could be a slow process, unless the computer fairy saves me.

Oh, btw, drooling acre is home to the hyper-salivating 3 basset hounds who live here, along with 5 chickens, 1 very small cat (regal in nature) and the 3 humans they own.