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Life happens so fast. Since my very first blog, I have attempted some projects, welcomed to hurricanes to the neighborhood, and started the homeschooling year. I really haven't had time to blog. I did attempt once but when I was finished, I hit the wrong key. Of course, I deleted it. Well, my projects are progressing. I finished my first quilt. It was for my friend who was supposed to have a girl. The quilt is pink, pink and more pink. I even monogrammed it. I finished it two days before the first hurricane hit. My friend called my that day only to tell me that she was getting checked out to make plans for the weather to come. I say only in jest because she also let me know that she was having a BOY! Disappointed, I began to scrounge for a substitute. I cleaned out my knitting bag and there in the bottom I found concellation. For some reason, I had crocheted a baby afaghan and sweater in mint green two years ago. My friend is quite pleased with her gift and will be keeping the pink quilt for her grandchildren. I started knitting my first pair of socks. At the rate I am going (i.e. the quilt), there is no telling what the socks will turn out to be. As for the hurricanes, we fared well. We did not evacuate and only lost power a day and a half for both. We did have friends who have a small stable in the Baton Rouge area who lost power for 14 days and trees down everywhere. My husband and I packed up the tractor and the chainsaws this past Friday to give a helping hand. We were able to get a lot done. It felt great to be able to help and we received a special gift for our efforts. My husband and I have poison ivy and oak EVERYWHERE! Remember, giving from the heart can spread like a rash to those around you. LOL School is going well. We are having a lot of fun with it. Last year, my children were home-schooled with a larger group of children. Since we have moved to the country, we decided to home-school at home. I was a little worried about routines and juggling school and home. It hasn't been to bad. I have been able to maintain some what of a schedule. The kids love being at home and the flexability. I hope I can keep up the momentum. As I sit here and scratch, I can not help but think of how fortunate my family is to live in our new home. It will be a year Thanksgiving day that we moved from the subdivision in town. My husband and I had a discussion this past Saturday about the decisions we have made in the past year. Both of us find ourselves truly happy and free. We still have a long to-do list to build up our "family farm" but there is no looking back. |
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Our family now owns a farm in the making complete with an old farm house and fifteen acres. We have three children, ages 17, 10, and 2. Two of which are home schooled. Our extended family constists of 5 dogs, 5 cats, 3 rabits, 5 horses and 1 donkey. It was not always so. How did we get here? It started out with a love for horses. My eldest child at age 3 requested a horse. We thought this was a passing phase. We gave her a horse collection and thought that would be enough. At age 12, she read an article in the paper about an accomplish dressage rider in our area. We were able to make arangements for our eldest to become a working student. Again, we thought it would be enough. Our second child showed an interest in horses and became a student as well. We finally decided that we should make a commitment to children's interest and purchase their first horse. At this time, I was pregnant with our son. We still lived in town and sood realized that commuting twice a day to the country to feed and ride would get old rather quickly. We began a two year search for the perfect place for our hobby. This is comical because this would develop into not just a hobby but a new way of life. During our search, I became insterested in "organic living". Which to say the least is every expensive if you don't make it or grow it yourself. This is when the concept what we desired for our family changed. We began doing research on farm living. This is how I found your site, looking for information on goats. November of last year, we purchased our new home. It is a farm house built in 1948. It's a "fixer upper". In that time, we have gone from one horse to a mangerie with chickens and goats to come. We couldn't be happier. The only downside to our new way of life is money. With growing needs and the rise in everyday costs, I am actively searching for ways to have our farm make a little money just to cover operating costs. So if there is anyone out there who may have an idea let me know. I would love any suggestions. My skills include knitting, crocheting, sewing and painting. I thought about selling handcrafted items online but I don't know how to get started. |