Exciting Week!

Jumping in with both feet this last week, I went and helped some neighbors butcher some of their chickens and roosters Thursday night. Be glad I skipped pictures of that.

A much more photo-friendly first time experience came on Friday afternoon when we went to feed another neighbor's lambs. She takes the ones a friend can't keep, called bummers, (usually twins and triplets) and bottle feeds them until they are old enough and eventually sells them later in the year. We threatened to smuggle Princess, the littlest lamb, on out, but with all three of our kiddos our hands were full enough.

I am awaiting a call anytime now to go back to the farm where I went for butchering to see their goats kid. The first is due tomorrow! I am excited about this opportunity and will take the camera for that.

And finally, something I wanted to do for a long time is about to happen. We were talking with someone the other day asking who to call about different things in the area when he asked if there was anything else we wanted. I said I wanted to learn to knit or crochet. He instantly mentioned someone and said he'd pass on my info to her because she knits up a storm.

She called me yesterday and is going to come over tomorrow for my first lesson. She learned to crochet when she was six from her mother. She then learned knitting from her first husband. She's now a grandmother to nineteen with another on the way and a great-grandmother. She just likes to teach others for fun.

She was friends with the father and uncle of the woman who owned our house before she was friends with her. The former owner here moved in in 1958 and is currently 92 years old. I have no idea what to expect tomorrow, but I am sure excited! I'll set up a little tea time for us to enjoy during our lesson.

Join in the Barn Hop!!!

Farm Kitchen

Making bread in the morning light yesterday.

I am Blessed

I know.

Neighbors

Our Side Yard

Everyone I've met so far here has been friendly, even if they are not quite sure what to do with me. Our chimney sweep mentioned to Sweetheart that his goats should be kidding next week. I told Sweetheart I would like to see that. Sweetheart said he'd mentioned they were hoping to butcher some roosters and chickens before the kidding began. I said I should probably see that, too.  So he called the sweep back, and set it up.

Neighbors' Cows Along Our Road

The plan was for us all to go Friday morning, but a phone call late yesterday came to say they had decide to butcher that night.

We decided that I would go and he would stay with our kids.

It was interesting.  I should up as they were already chopping heads and throwing birds.  I asked a million questions and they answered them all.

Once the birds were all done, um, flopping and running with their heads cut off, we picked them up by their feet and took them into the workshop to finish the job.  For the gal who has only ever touched chickens already in plastic and Styrofoam, I think I did pretty good.   

They were the nicest people as we all chatted and got to know one another while pulling organs out of cavities and slicing away...stuff. I'll get better at this and learn the lingo I'm sure.  Cleaning out the gizzards was really the only squeamy part of it and that was just because of the smell.  Not being a gizzard eater myself, I could skip this step entirely and be just fine.  And still have chicken dinners.

She is a willing teacher and I have a lot to learn, so I'm hoping this new friendship will work out well.  I am happy to pitch right in and hope I can be of some help and not a hindrance.  In turn, I'll teach another on down the road.

When we were done putting everything in the freezer she took me out to see her chickens in the barn and check on the goats.  She thinks they'll start kidding (having babies) on Monday.  They'll call me.  Cool.  Having birthed my own babies at home, I am slightly more prepared for that.  I think.  I hope.  We'll see....

Meanwhile, we are working on seed orders and poultry orders of our own.  Lots to do!

Life & Death

Our chimney sweep said his goats are going to kid any day.  We asked if I can come over and be a part of it all and they said yes!  They are also planning to "process" some poultry on Friday morning, so we'll head over for that as well.  Who would have thought?

Use vs. Value

I read the devotion the other morning in My Utmost for His Highest and my mind keeps going back to a certain thought from it.

"We should quit asking ourselves, 'Am I of any use?'
and accept the truth that we are really not of much use to Him.
The issue is never of being of use, but of being of value to God Himself.
Once we are totally surrendered to God, He will work through us all the time."

How many of us get our feelings of worth from doing? I feel the day has been a success if I can mark off all the things off of my To Do List.

How often does that happen? I mean really. I put so much on that thing that I'll be dead before I'm done! You, too?

So does that mean I am not successful/useful, and if I am not successful am I a failure and therefore worthless? Ah, the endless American striving! The finding of our identity by what we do: I am (was) a teacher. A title, an accomplishment, something we can understand and even value. It's often the first question we ask of a new acquaintance. So, what do you do?

But, what if we would could just totally stop. Not just for our own selves, but for each person with whom we come in contact. Stop and see the VALUE of the person as One He Loves, not for What They Do. What a freeing thought! He does the needed work through us anyway.

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On a totally different note, let's talk goats. (See, told you it was different.) I want some, and now is the time of year to start looking and buying. I want them mainly for milk. (Not of course, simply for what they do, smile here in light of the last few paragraphs, but come on, it's a goat.) I like what I've read about Nubians. It is, I am sure, influenced by how darn cute they are as well. Just being honest here.

Most of our neighbors have goats and use (!) them for a variety of purposes: milk, meat, pack animals, lawn mowers, etc. For those of you lovely ladies (and maybe one of the two guys that read this blog) who have goats--please share. What kind do you have? What are the pros and cons of the different breeds you are familiar with? What should I know before I start this? I've read several books, but I want to hear what you think!

Amazing.

Joanne is on-line. She's back! She's blogging, tweeting, and texting.
Yes, she has a long way to go and is not yet moving her left side, but her progress is astounding. Be sure to check her blog and her sister's for more information. Also, you can go here (I think) to listen to the radio interview her husband, Toben, did last week. He's on Twitter as Toben Heim for those of you that do that.
Please keep her and the whole family in your prayers. It will be a long, hard road.

Barn Hop!

I love Homestead Revival.

When I saw the post about the Homestead Barn Hop I had to join in! I've been posting various pictures this last week from around the farm. Since we moved in just a few weeks ago, I am not doing much (!) except cleaning and trying to make it all a home for us.

I'd love to be writing about building our chicken coop, fixing fences, getting ready for goats and lambs, firing up the incubator in the basement we found, assembling and using the cream separator that was next to the incubator, etc. I can't. Because we're just not there yet.

I've been focusing as much as I can on here about the positives. I've posted some really neat pictures and have shared some of the beauty I've found. I've not posted about some of the really frustrating things.

Why? Because I'd rather vent to Sweetheart. Not really. Although I have been and he is tired of it. And not to just pretend it's all peachy, cause it isn't. But because I am trying really hard to stay positive simply because this is just this season. And this is the reality.

Reality: The three day drive just to get here was not fun. Having been sent the wrong keys was not fun. Waiting outside with the three kids while Sweetheart shoveled off the cellar doors and crawled in that way, thereby being able to let us in through the dining room window because the doors were padlocked shut wasn't much of a welcome.

Having the first person in town you meet be the only plumber in town who was nice enough to stop by on a Friday night because the pipes in the pump house burst when someone (not us) flipped the breaker and being without water for several hours didn't really start things off right.

Having to clean for a few hours just to be able to clear off a spot to sleep the first night- expected but yuck. Discovering that the movers didn't actually pack all the cushions with the couches or chairs and that they are mostly still in Colorado hasn't been that great either. Realizing that every rubber gasket from the washing machine to the sinks has shriveled up and died and that all the plumbing fixtures leak-has caused some unexpected work. Having to replaced the range the first because the mice had chewed up something important made things interesting as well.

Spending untold hours cleaning and cleaning and cleaning just to be able to function has been rather exhausting. We've moved out truckloads of stuff to be sold and to the dump with a lot more in the basement and outbuildings still to come. The endless killing of bugs and mice is well, gross.

Did I mention the normal work of just caring for the wee ones? They've expected to eat and be taken care of as well. :) And they don't like bugs. Major understatement for those of you that have met my kiddos.

Everything single thing I can think of is harder to do as I have to learn the way to do it here.

Any of you still reading? Because it gets better. It does.

All of this has felt totally overwhelming at times. More times than I'd like to admit. But it's not all there is.

We've gone a few towns over to see snow sculptures. I've shared a cup of tea and cake with a neighbor. We've been gifted baked goods and handmade soap. We had dinner at a neighbor's the other night and had another neighbor stay for a few meals as well as he's been helping us out.

Sweetheart has been working like a dog, but loves it and has really enjoyed everyone we've met. Shoot, that alone makes it all worth it.

The boys get to go sledding in the backyard. We have a barn. There are six mature apple trees, There will be roses. We have an original homestead house out back. We've found some really cool antiques around the place. I now have seven pie pans and I know how to use them! I can see the stars. Everyone has welcomed us. The mice situation appears to be taken care of and I kill fewer bugs each day.

The blessings do outweigh the hardships. I sometimes forget that in the moment when I feel so tied down and buried under the burdens. It is then that I remember and catch a glimpse of why my motto for the year is Fly Free.

See, here's the deal. These things are hard in the moment. They are. Shoot, the last year has been hard. If I took one of those stress tests where they give numbers for stressful events, I should likely be dead. But I'm not.

But hard doesn't mean bad, or wrong. Sometimes it's just hard. It wasn't wrong to move here. It's just hard right now. I don't think we made a mistake, or have done anything wrong. In fact, most of what we've had to take care of has had nothing to do with us. We're just fixing other peoples' mistakes and messes.

And eventually, it'll all be fixed and clean. And we'll have a couch to sit on. And we'll get to paint. And that will help a lot.

(Side Note: I chose "Edwardian Lace" for a color. Trying to convince myself it wasn't just for the name. It'll be beautiful against all the dark woods.)

And so we will get to move on with our plans and dreams. We are holding on tight to those things even as we work through the challenges. There are moments I think I'd like to go back to my old life, but reality brings me back: I had outgrown that life already. Here I have room to spread my wings and really fly.

As we sat at the big table yesterday enjoying our grilled cheese sandwiches on homemade bread, served with pickles I put up and tomato soup made from the tomatoes I grew and canned, I could smile and think about being ready to learn how to make the cheddar cheese myself. Soon. Because that's what part of all this is about: learning and growing and living the life we've dreamed.

Dumpling

"Daddy, you said the brand new house would have a mud room. Where is it?"
"What do you mean? What do you think it is?"
"A room full of mud."
Now that would be cool....He looks like a boy who would truly enjoy a room of mud.

Interior Pictures

The last post shows a variety of pictures from outside. These pictures are some of my favorite features of the inside of the home. Due to less than stellar lighting and some bad color schemes in the home, I opted to render it all in sepia. It not only makes it more timeless, it hides how badly everything needs to be painted.

Pictures from this Morning

It is hard to get a picture of the house as the front yard is crazy full of snow and there are giant evergreens blocking it from the road. This picture is from the corner of the property. On this side of the barn is a nice pasture area for livestock. Most of the land is in the back heading towards the hills.
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Here's the back side of the barn. We love the simple arrow weather vane on top.
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Here is the front side of the barn that faces the house.
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Here is the view from the front of the house we could see without all the evergreens. I did crop out the property across the street. There is a reason for the wall-o-trees, but I'd still like to do something different.
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Here are my walking buddies, Zeke and Diesel. We don't need to get a dog ourselves as there are plenty around to share.
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Car art down the road. The boys liked this picture.
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Pretty tree on the walk.
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The End.

Barn

This is the picture I just snapped.
Pardon the truck in the corner.
I am being lazy and not wanting to tromp outside in the snow in my slippers.

I love you

Big Brother. Watching these two together is so wonderful. There is so much love.

These Days

The Backyard at Sunrise

Our Barn at Sunrise

The only pretty spot that's done.

I took a ton of pictures of Sweetheart and the boys sledding out back, but none of them turned out. We are still just busy cleaning up and out and trying to move in and take care of the three little ones and plan what's next and working hard and meeting folks and goats and not really having time for pictures and blogging. I've been writing real notes though.
And I put Kimberly's Cup on Facebook. Not too sure how that will work. If you are reader from a reader, click onto the real blog and follow the button on the right. This allows me to hopefully keep up with people on FB without announcing all my personal info to the world.
We are headed to a neighbor's for dinner tomorrow night. Looking forward to that! Sweetheart is busy working hard fixing things, but seems to really enjoy it all. Well, not all. But he seems to have finally relaxed and is totally in his element.

True Love

Go enjoy this post from my Aunt Linda. My Uncle Paul had a stroke awhile back. Love never fails.

There Will Be Roses

Today I put on Sweetheart's boots and went and walked the land for the first time. I peeked in the outbuilding/shed/thingy wandered around the barn and trudged through the snow along the fence lines. I passed the old truck--it was empty Kay;)--and skirted the end of the frozen pond.

I looked at the bushy treeish things growing on both sides of the fence line and noticed the one-inch thorns, but without any leaves or growth I couldn't identify them. I walked on. Passed the grove of trees that diagonal bisect the upper pasture and headed for the top fence.

I looked closer at another group of growing things. It was then I saw the rosehips. I bit into one frozen one, its fresh taste on my tongue. One another bush I saw a single leaf. Roses. They are all roses. Tears filled my eyes, cold against my cheek. A whispered prayer of gratitude spoken, repentance offered and accepted.

You see, I've allowed myself to get discouraged. But somehow, the promise of the roses washed it all away with His grace. I continued along the fence line now smiling, even laughing alone. Heading back toward the house, swinging open the garden gate; I am home.

Still Here

And still cleaning. Unpacking has begun as well. Looking forward to taking a break soon. Maybe heading a few towns over to see their winter festival and ice sculptures. Or, just walking the fence lines here and exploring my own property. I still haven't made it to the barn or the other main outbuilding. I walked into the garage twice and the basement and attic once. It will be a long time before I am bored. I've got too much to do!