Hello friends. It's been a very long time, hasn't it. I blame it on Instagram with it's simple, easy, carefree ways. And only having internet on the phone makes it much more simple to connect there rather than here.
But, I've missed it here.
And we have some very exciting news to share.
In early spring Mike and I started talking about the possibility of getting a job away from the homestead. Summers out here have been much more difficult than we anticipated, income-wise, and we really want to be proactive about the major expense of vehicle repairs that are inevitable with a twenty year old truck. We also have several projects on the house that need to get finished, like siding and flooring. Ok, the flooring isn't a need, but I'm really tired of plywood. However, we had very specific ideas about what the job could entail. For instance, it needed to be part time and close by (the closest town is 14 miles). It needed to pay a reasonable wage and be work that would enhance our lives or enable us to learn something of value. Jobs at the library, farms, or local greenhouse were top on our list, but nothing seemed to work out. We decided to stop fretting and that when the time was right, things would work themselves out. Life always works that way, doesn't it?
And, of course, it did.
Mike and his cousin went fishing one afternoon and their boat wouldn't start. The park attendant came over to help out and offered to charge their battery at his camp site. After chatting about fishing and such, he mentioned that there was an opening at another campground in the park system. When Mike came home and told me, I knew that this was what we had been waiting for. We both sent in our resumes and were asked to come in for an interview. Everything went well and before we even got half way home, they called to offer us a job. Originally, the job was to be full time for one person. However, they liked us both so much, and couldn't decide between us, that they created a new job position, as a team.
Mike and I are going to be running a local campground and county park on a seasonal basis, from May to November. It's going to mean a more reliable income for the summer months and will work perfectly with our busy winter season in the shop.
Most importantly, we can be together as a family, working, learning, and living together, which was our whole intention on moving to the homestead in the first place.
We will live at the campground full time, coming back twice a week to check on the garden and fulfill orders for the shop. Our oldest son will stay at the house, as he works nearby, and take care of the chickens and animals.
When we moved out here two years ago, I never could have imagined how much life would change or what our path would look like. Certainly, not this. As excited as I am, I'm a little nervous and sad as well. I envisioned us having goats, a small flock of sheep and maybe even a dairy cow, but those dreams will have to be put on hold. If things work out this summer, living and working at the lake will become a part of our rhythm of the seasons, and I'm totally ok with that.
Oh, and we start on Monday. Which means we're going to need a few things to get us started. Living off grid, means that we've got this camping thing down, but our camper was damaged while we were living in it and building the house, so we need a new one. To help fund some of our essentials, we're having a shop update on Friday. I'm hoping to have a few skeins of hand dyed yarn, project bags, and other goodies. I hope to see you then.