Come on baby, light my fire.







First of all, we want to say thank you to all of you who sent messages and left comments last week.  It's always a little scary to share the parts of our life that make us radically different from everyone else.  By doing so, we open ourselves up to the possibility of judgement and criticism, but your kindness and encouragement were just what we needed.  

Earlier this week, Mike and I looked at the calendar together and had one of those oh crap moments.  It's almost May, which means it's almost June and we have a ton of stuff to get done before the big day.  There's nothing like an impending deadline to light the blazing fire of motivation... 

* Last weekend we went up north for the first time since January, when the snow was up to our hips in many places.  Most of it is gone now, except for a few patches along the shady tree lines.  Right now everything smells perfectly of spring and wet leaves and mud.  The silver lining of all the early and lingering snow is that the ground was heavily insulated, and the frost line was very shallow this year.  That means we'll be able to put in the well a few weeks earlier than planned.  I'm also happy to report that our chicken coop stood up to the brutal northern winter and my confidence in building our house has grown exponentially.  Next trip, we're going to build a door and finish the front of the coop.

* Simplifying and packing.  If it hasn't been used since the last time I went through everything, it goes.  Books, toys, clothes, craft supplies... nothing is safe.  The boys are having a lot of fun discovering forgotten treasures and I finally found a use for Mike's old set of encyclopedias!  

* Seedlings.  So far I have started a variety of onions.  My first two trays died and I think it was due to damping off.  I'm letting them completely dry out between watering and that seems to have helped.  This is our first real effort at starting seeds, so we're taking it slow and learning as we go.  Hopefully, we'll end up with enough food at harvest time to feed us through the winter.  

Now, if I could just find some motivation to knit.




6 comments

  1. Well done!
    We are making a change as well. Much later in life than you, and not quite so "hard core". But it feels so good to be following a long held dream.
    Sending you hope and strength and happiness.

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    1. Better late than never! Best of luck to you on your new journey.

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  2. I am so excited for you and your family Liz! We have been on our own now for five years and while some times we go though trials wondering if it is all worth it, we always come back to the conclusion that it is!
    Thinking of you, Tonya

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    1. Thanks, Tonya. I am so glad to hear that you're staying put and making it work, you've been such an inspiration to us over the last two years. :)

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  3. Mmm I can smell the paper of those books. This year I started my entire garden from desert adapted seeds. I am so glad I did too. It's going well so far. Better luck with the next round!

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  4. Deadlines! They are good, right? Definitely helpful in getting things done. I am trying to purge here as well because whatever we end up doing next, it will inevitably be smaller (in terms of living space -- but bigger in terms of so much else) than what we have now. But, my oh my, it's hard. Some stuff is easy to part with. Other stuff, not so much. And, yet, so much of it is just not needed.

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