I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas! Even though money was an issue this year, I had a good Christmas. All the kids came to my house on Christmas Eve to celebrate. They all chipped in for the food and I did the cooking. Christmas Day was a time to relax and unwind.
We are still trying to move to Pennsylvania. The problem is right now my husband's daughter is a ward of the state because her mother is an idiot. Even though my husband has not been proven unfit, the state stepped in and took custody of his daughter. We don't understand why because we were taking care of any issues she might have stemming from the care or lack thereof provided by her mother. We were in the middle of a custody battle with the mother which we would have won in light of the things going on. We had the child in counseling and she was seeing a medical doctor again. We were in touch with the school as well to make sure things were going good there. But yet the state in its infinit wisdom still stepped in and now in order for us to move from this state, we have to wrest custody back from the state. Most people don't ever have to deal with this issue and so no one understands how hard it is to go against the state in a custody battle! Once they get control they don't like to give it up. The court papers give a listing of court dates for a three month review, a six month progress hearing, and a twelve month dis positional hearing. I am quite frustrated as my husband is and neither of us know how to rectify the situation. Our lawyer is less than useful as well. So we may just well be stuck in this area for a whole 'nother year!!!! GRRR
In the meantime, my sister is waiting for our arrival to help her with her mortgage. I was looking forward to being in PA in the spring to check my sister's soil, amend it, plan and start a garden and look into getting some chickens. My sister had raised chickens, rabbits, and a pig before, so she has all the necessary shelters and equipment. She got rid of all her animals because she was having problems working full time, taking care of her household,taking care of her parents and trying to take care of all the animals. My husband would work and my sister would continue to work while I stay home and maintain the home-front and raise most of our food.
I'm sure people are wondering by now why I just don't go out and get a job. The answer is because I don't drive and finding a job is practically impossible when you don't drive and there is no public transportation! I haven't had my license in seven years because I voluntarily gave them up due to a lack of vision; literally. I have terrible eye sight. I am legally blind without my glasses and I can't buy my new glasses right now. They cost over three hundred dollars and that's with my husband's insurance covering the frames. The reason I gave up driving though is because I cannot see in the dark when another car is coming towards me. Staring at the white line does not help! Even daylight driving is hard for me when the sun is shining bright. I do not want to be responsible for hurting someone and so I just quit driving. Recently I have been diagnosed with Glaucoma as well. I am loosing my peripheral vision quite rapidly to be honest. I get little flashes of moving darkness at the corner of my vision and it literally makes me jump. Can you imagine me driving down the road, getting a flash of movement to the side, thinking it's a deer or person and me swerving to miss it? I can and it's not a pleasant thought. The least that would happen is I would get rear-ended by a car behind me because I stopped suddenly. The most is I could swerve into on coming traffic and seriously hurt myself or someone else! It's just not worth it. I could not and do not want to live with the consequences of driving when I know it is not safe for me. The bad side of this is it's practically impossible to get a job. I've worked all my life and should qualify for disability, but unfortunetly the doctors are hesitant to declare me unable to drive. I just want them to go for a drive with me! My husband won't even go for a ride with me!
It's very hard to be so dependent on other people. I long for a day to go window shopping at the home improvement store (one of my favorite activities. I never claimed to be normal!), but my husband doesn't like doing that and so I never get to do it anymore. Sometimes I go a little stir crazy in the house and just want to jump in a car and take a little spin, but I can't! If I need something from the store, I have to wait for my husband to get off work or to have a day off. I have to schedule all my appointments around his work. It's not easy on him either. He works long hours and the last thing he wants to do when he gets off for the night or gets a day off is drive my butt around! Sometimes I feel like a burden to my husband- he deserves so much more! It's very frustrating for both of us.
This whole Glaucoma thing is pretty disgusting too! When I wake up in the morning and usually after I've been reading a lot I get this leaky eye thing going on where my eyes water and water and water some more. It's like having a cold in my eye! When I get up in the morning it literally takes time for my eyes to adjust to seeing...how crazy is that! It takes about fifteen minutes for my eyes to focus and quit watering. Glaucoma is a death sentence for my eyes. There is no cure. I have to put drops in my eyes every day and those drops cost me thirty bucks for a tiny bottle! Most people get Glaucoma in their sixties and seventies. All the doctors can do is try to preserve the eyesight until the person's death. They do this with the drops, laser surgery, and regular surgery in a progressive rear guard type fight. Because I am in my early forties, I have a bigger chance of totally loosing my eyesight before I die, because they have to try to preserve it for more years than someone in a higher age bracket. My sister (not the same as above) has glaucoma too! The doctor actually diagnosed it years ago. She has not used any medication or anything and right now she just has to wear glasses to read. I had my eyes checked about three years ago and my prescription hadn't changed. I went to the doctor this year and I have lost three prescription strengths in three years! And how does that make me feel? Pissed off!
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Housing
Someday when we get enough money I want my own property. I told my husband I don't care if the property has a house on it or not. As long as we have the property the rest will come in time. I actually prefer the raw property. The reason for my preference is that we will then be able to set up our homestead the way it will work best and not have to work around someone else's design. The is most especially true with a house. When building a new house we can take advantage of site design to incorporate more energy efficiency.
Any house we build will have to be oriented to the south with large roof overhangs allowing us to capitalize on passive solar gain in the winter. A wind block planted to the north will cut down on northern winds, while deciduous tree plantings to the south and large roof overhangs will block the hot summer sun. I would love to have a big masonry stove in the center of the house to provide heat. Wood stoves and fireplaces located on an outside wall loose heat to the outside more than a stove located in the center of the house. The kitchen should be located in the north of the house so that cooking in the wintertime will also help provide heat to that side of the house. Bedrooms can also be located on the north side because most of the time spent in a bedroom is spent in bed under warm blankets. The "living" area should be located on the south side.
I haven't decided on what we should build a house out of. Contemporary houses are built cheaply. I don't like the cookie cutter designs, nor the blah factor associated with them. I want something distinctive and original. I love the idea of a log home. When the time comes I believe this is the type of home I would prefer. I don't want one of those massive modern designs though. I know I want a walk out basement, a main floor, and an upstairs. But I don't want tons and tons of windows. Less windows on the north side allow less cold air into the house. The southern side however needs more windows to take advantage of passive solar. By putting in extra windows there, we would gain passive solar heat, but we would also save on lighting because who needs lighting when the natural light can flow right into the room and the rooms on the southern side would be the ones we used most often? The problems I can see with a log home is the cost. We would have to buy a kit and pay to have it erected. That's a lot of money. The upside is the house would last for a long time as long as we took care of it.
Now the method of building that has really caught my eye is cordwood. I've done a lot of research on this type of house and from what I understand anyone can do it. You use soft woods cut into firewood lengths. I've seen pictures of some of these houses and they look like stone houses. These houses are also known for lasting a long time. The plus for these houses is you can potentially find everything you need to build it right on your property. It's labor intensive, but cheap when compared to any other building method. I would love to see the inside of one of these houses because I am worried about it being dark on the inside and I also worry about the bug factor! I suppose it would be just like a log home to some extent, but I am afraid the spiders would love it and I just don't get along with spiders! There are places one can go to learn this type of building. There are also numerous books on the subject. Before I go to the extent of shelling money out for these resources though I would want to see one of these houses in person to really make sure I would like it.
Cob is another house type that I would be interested in. I've seen pictures and these houses have the distinctive originality that I am looking for. Although all the resources I've read say these houses are fine in snowy areas, I have problems believing that the snow wouldn't cause some significant damage. If I had the property I could experiment with it and see how well it holds up.
Earth sheltered houses are supposed to be great when it comes to heating and cooling, but I just don't think I would like the feeling of living underground. All the resources say these houses don't have to be dark, damp, basement-type dwellings, but I just can't imagine being underground all the time and not having those problems. I know of a house, a real pretty one too, that was built into the side of a hill. The house is quite old and really has been neglected so maybe it is not a fair comparison, but trees grew on the top of the house and their roots bore into the ceiling. Yeah that kind of worries me!
I know there are other types of houses out there. Some people have made houses out of train cars and semi trailers, but I am not quite that imaginative! I just want a house that is energy efficient, cheap to build, and looks appealing; is that too much to ask?
Any house we build will have to be oriented to the south with large roof overhangs allowing us to capitalize on passive solar gain in the winter. A wind block planted to the north will cut down on northern winds, while deciduous tree plantings to the south and large roof overhangs will block the hot summer sun. I would love to have a big masonry stove in the center of the house to provide heat. Wood stoves and fireplaces located on an outside wall loose heat to the outside more than a stove located in the center of the house. The kitchen should be located in the north of the house so that cooking in the wintertime will also help provide heat to that side of the house. Bedrooms can also be located on the north side because most of the time spent in a bedroom is spent in bed under warm blankets. The "living" area should be located on the south side.
I haven't decided on what we should build a house out of. Contemporary houses are built cheaply. I don't like the cookie cutter designs, nor the blah factor associated with them. I want something distinctive and original. I love the idea of a log home. When the time comes I believe this is the type of home I would prefer. I don't want one of those massive modern designs though. I know I want a walk out basement, a main floor, and an upstairs. But I don't want tons and tons of windows. Less windows on the north side allow less cold air into the house. The southern side however needs more windows to take advantage of passive solar. By putting in extra windows there, we would gain passive solar heat, but we would also save on lighting because who needs lighting when the natural light can flow right into the room and the rooms on the southern side would be the ones we used most often? The problems I can see with a log home is the cost. We would have to buy a kit and pay to have it erected. That's a lot of money. The upside is the house would last for a long time as long as we took care of it.
Now the method of building that has really caught my eye is cordwood. I've done a lot of research on this type of house and from what I understand anyone can do it. You use soft woods cut into firewood lengths. I've seen pictures of some of these houses and they look like stone houses. These houses are also known for lasting a long time. The plus for these houses is you can potentially find everything you need to build it right on your property. It's labor intensive, but cheap when compared to any other building method. I would love to see the inside of one of these houses because I am worried about it being dark on the inside and I also worry about the bug factor! I suppose it would be just like a log home to some extent, but I am afraid the spiders would love it and I just don't get along with spiders! There are places one can go to learn this type of building. There are also numerous books on the subject. Before I go to the extent of shelling money out for these resources though I would want to see one of these houses in person to really make sure I would like it.
Cob is another house type that I would be interested in. I've seen pictures and these houses have the distinctive originality that I am looking for. Although all the resources I've read say these houses are fine in snowy areas, I have problems believing that the snow wouldn't cause some significant damage. If I had the property I could experiment with it and see how well it holds up.
Earth sheltered houses are supposed to be great when it comes to heating and cooling, but I just don't think I would like the feeling of living underground. All the resources say these houses don't have to be dark, damp, basement-type dwellings, but I just can't imagine being underground all the time and not having those problems. I know of a house, a real pretty one too, that was built into the side of a hill. The house is quite old and really has been neglected so maybe it is not a fair comparison, but trees grew on the top of the house and their roots bore into the ceiling. Yeah that kind of worries me!
I know there are other types of houses out there. Some people have made houses out of train cars and semi trailers, but I am not quite that imaginative! I just want a house that is energy efficient, cheap to build, and looks appealing; is that too much to ask?
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Dreaming again
As you know if you have been reading my posts, my family has been going through a stressful time lately and I sometimes get to the point where I feel the need to rid myself of some of the stress to prevent myself from exploding (or curling up into the fetal position and crying for my mommy; pathetic, I know)! I have found a pretty good way to relieve myself of some stress.
When I feel overwhelmed with stress, I go into my bedroom and close my eyes. I concentrate on breathing to sort of clear my mind. Then I begin building my homestead in my mind. It sounds corny I know, but it really does work! I am way out on a country road. The neighbors are far enough away that I cannot see them from the end of my driveway. I have a long driveway! As I turn from the county road into my driveway, set back about five to ten feet from the drive on one side is wire fencing marking off pasture areas where my livestock roam. Further up the drive we pass the barn at the back of the pasture. On the other side is a fish pond area filled by a naturally occurring spring. The house sits on a south facing, gently sloping hill. On the top of the hill behind the house is the orchard, more to the side is a woodlot for harvesting firewood, and interspersed everywhere is gardens, food giving bushes, brambles, and trees.
I accomplish three things with this dreaming activity. First I do reduce stress. Second, I come up with more and more ideas of my "perfect" homestead. Third, I take the recurrent things going through all these dreams and put it on my must have list and I also use this list to further my research. For instance, a commonly recurring theme in my dream is a house built on a gently sloping, south facing hill. In none of these "dreams" is my house on straight up flat ground. This tells me that when I look for land, I need to look for land containing a gently sloped south facing hill. Or as close as I can get anyway. In many of these "dreams" I also see fields of gently swaying grass or grain. This tells me I need to do more research on growing these things and how they can be used. I guess there is a fourth accomplishment with these dreams and that is providing myself with constant motivation because I can "see" the end result!
Of course, sometimes the stress is so bad or comes on so quickly that I really need a punching bag session first! I don't have a punching bag so hey, I use what's available, right?
When I feel overwhelmed with stress, I go into my bedroom and close my eyes. I concentrate on breathing to sort of clear my mind. Then I begin building my homestead in my mind. It sounds corny I know, but it really does work! I am way out on a country road. The neighbors are far enough away that I cannot see them from the end of my driveway. I have a long driveway! As I turn from the county road into my driveway, set back about five to ten feet from the drive on one side is wire fencing marking off pasture areas where my livestock roam. Further up the drive we pass the barn at the back of the pasture. On the other side is a fish pond area filled by a naturally occurring spring. The house sits on a south facing, gently sloping hill. On the top of the hill behind the house is the orchard, more to the side is a woodlot for harvesting firewood, and interspersed everywhere is gardens, food giving bushes, brambles, and trees.
I accomplish three things with this dreaming activity. First I do reduce stress. Second, I come up with more and more ideas of my "perfect" homestead. Third, I take the recurrent things going through all these dreams and put it on my must have list and I also use this list to further my research. For instance, a commonly recurring theme in my dream is a house built on a gently sloping, south facing hill. In none of these "dreams" is my house on straight up flat ground. This tells me that when I look for land, I need to look for land containing a gently sloped south facing hill. Or as close as I can get anyway. In many of these "dreams" I also see fields of gently swaying grass or grain. This tells me I need to do more research on growing these things and how they can be used. I guess there is a fourth accomplishment with these dreams and that is providing myself with constant motivation because I can "see" the end result!
Of course, sometimes the stress is so bad or comes on so quickly that I really need a punching bag session first! I don't have a punching bag so hey, I use what's available, right?
Same old; Same old
We went to court yesterday for the child custody hearing I posted about last time. Needless to say, I don't think we will be going anywhere for quite a while- bummer! The court hearing was a practical three ring circus. The biological mother went off on a tangent and the judge slapped her down. She then gave a horrific show of attitude to all parties involved, culminating in storming out with a security escort. Yes that turned out well in front of CPS and the child. To tell the truth, I was embarrassed! My stepdaughter seems to be taking it all in stride. In fact I tried to get her out of the court room at the beginning of the tirade and her response was she was mature enough to handle it and why does everyone insist on trying to say she can't? I explained to her that we were not saying she couldn't handle it, but because we love her and care about her we were trying to shield her from the things being said. Her response was heartbreaking because she said, "I guess I am just not used to anyone looking out for me!" How sad!!! I fear for this child. Although she is heartily upset by her mother at this point and pretty mad, there will come a time when she misses her mother and will wonder why her mother pretty much abandoned her.
On an entirely different note, I've decided if I am still in this trailer court come spring, I am putting in a garden and to heck with what management says....I'm already making a list of what I wish to grow. I haven't decided if I am going to try container planting or if I am going to direct sow. Container planting will probably not get me into as much trouble, but I don't know anything about container planting. And I would need quite a few containers for what I wish to grow.
Once again I am switching subjects. I'm feeling a little ADD today so please bear with me. I'm sure everyone has heard about the horrific shooting at Sandy Hook elementary in Connecticut. I can't imagine what those parents must be going through. I send my child off to school thinking she will be safe and come home to me at night, but with all the school shootings anymore what guarantee do any of us have that our children will come back to us safe and sound? I am to the point anymore where I have significant doubts about sending my child to school! I really think I am going to start doing some major research on homeschooling. I never considered homeschooling a realistic option because honestly I don't think I will make a very good teacher for my child as I struggle with math. However, upon further consideration and in light of the tragic events in Connecticut, perhaps it would be a safer option. After all I really don't think I can do worse than the inner city school here is doing! So yes I am going to research the options and what hoops I have to jump through ect. I will post about it afterwards. Wish me luck!
On an entirely different note, I've decided if I am still in this trailer court come spring, I am putting in a garden and to heck with what management says....I'm already making a list of what I wish to grow. I haven't decided if I am going to try container planting or if I am going to direct sow. Container planting will probably not get me into as much trouble, but I don't know anything about container planting. And I would need quite a few containers for what I wish to grow.
Once again I am switching subjects. I'm feeling a little ADD today so please bear with me. I'm sure everyone has heard about the horrific shooting at Sandy Hook elementary in Connecticut. I can't imagine what those parents must be going through. I send my child off to school thinking she will be safe and come home to me at night, but with all the school shootings anymore what guarantee do any of us have that our children will come back to us safe and sound? I am to the point anymore where I have significant doubts about sending my child to school! I really think I am going to start doing some major research on homeschooling. I never considered homeschooling a realistic option because honestly I don't think I will make a very good teacher for my child as I struggle with math. However, upon further consideration and in light of the tragic events in Connecticut, perhaps it would be a safer option. After all I really don't think I can do worse than the inner city school here is doing! So yes I am going to research the options and what hoops I have to jump through ect. I will post about it afterwards. Wish me luck!
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Books
So in the meantime I guess I just have to keep learning. I have a couple of books that seem to be good over all type learning aides. They at least give an idea of the things you should know if you are going to homestead.
The first book is The Encyclopedia of Country Living 10th edition by Carla Emery. This book is a good basic source of information. It covers a little bit of everything, but doesn't really go into too much detail about anything. This book covers gardening with regular vegetables, but it also covers grains, grasses, canes, trees, bushes, and brambles (think blackberries). There is also a chapter on food preservation. Then there is information on livestock. Poultry, sheep, pigs, cows, goats, sheep, rabbits, and bees. It tells what each animal needs as far as basic shelter and food, but it also lists common ailments and treatments. There are tons of recipes included and she lists other sources for information. Over all not a bad book!
The next book I have is, The Back to the Basics Handbook by Abigail R. Gehring. I love, love, love this book! This book is easier to read than the previously mentioned book and it's packed with lots of information. The book covers how to pick and buy country property, how to build a log cabin, stone house, and barn. It also covers water sources, sewer options (I didn't even know how a septic system worked before reading this book), and fences. Part two of the book covers alternative power sources such as wood for heat, solar, wind, and little discussed hydro power. It wouldn't be much help unless it covered gardening and livestock, which it does along with fish farming and beekeeping. It also explains how to slaughter and butcher the animals as well as preserve the hide and meat and vegetables. Cheese making, butter, and buttermilk are also covered. It briefly discusses natural dyes, spinning, herbal medicine, soap-making, candle-making, and even basket making! I really like this book because it has tons of pictures and diagrams.
Neither of these books go into a whole lot of depth. It's more like a basic guide to start you off. From these sources you can get a good idea of what you are going to need to homestead. I like the chapters in the second book that cover old time skills. You don't really need those skills to homestead, but many of these skills are disappearing and I feel it is a good idea to preserve them by learning the skill and passing it on. I am looking forward to trying my hand at some of these. The up to date information on alternative power sources is also a must read! I was surprised by the information on hydro power. When I think of hydro power, I think of a big old river all dammed up, but you don't necessarily need that.
Well until next time, I will be busy dreaming of the day I will be able to use some of this knowledge!
The first book is The Encyclopedia of Country Living 10th edition by Carla Emery. This book is a good basic source of information. It covers a little bit of everything, but doesn't really go into too much detail about anything. This book covers gardening with regular vegetables, but it also covers grains, grasses, canes, trees, bushes, and brambles (think blackberries). There is also a chapter on food preservation. Then there is information on livestock. Poultry, sheep, pigs, cows, goats, sheep, rabbits, and bees. It tells what each animal needs as far as basic shelter and food, but it also lists common ailments and treatments. There are tons of recipes included and she lists other sources for information. Over all not a bad book!
The next book I have is, The Back to the Basics Handbook by Abigail R. Gehring. I love, love, love this book! This book is easier to read than the previously mentioned book and it's packed with lots of information. The book covers how to pick and buy country property, how to build a log cabin, stone house, and barn. It also covers water sources, sewer options (I didn't even know how a septic system worked before reading this book), and fences. Part two of the book covers alternative power sources such as wood for heat, solar, wind, and little discussed hydro power. It wouldn't be much help unless it covered gardening and livestock, which it does along with fish farming and beekeeping. It also explains how to slaughter and butcher the animals as well as preserve the hide and meat and vegetables. Cheese making, butter, and buttermilk are also covered. It briefly discusses natural dyes, spinning, herbal medicine, soap-making, candle-making, and even basket making! I really like this book because it has tons of pictures and diagrams.
Neither of these books go into a whole lot of depth. It's more like a basic guide to start you off. From these sources you can get a good idea of what you are going to need to homestead. I like the chapters in the second book that cover old time skills. You don't really need those skills to homestead, but many of these skills are disappearing and I feel it is a good idea to preserve them by learning the skill and passing it on. I am looking forward to trying my hand at some of these. The up to date information on alternative power sources is also a must read! I was surprised by the information on hydro power. When I think of hydro power, I think of a big old river all dammed up, but you don't necessarily need that.
Well until next time, I will be busy dreaming of the day I will be able to use some of this knowledge!
Just Hanging On
It's been quite a while since the last time I posted, but I've been really busy. Lot's of things going on, but we are still spinning our wheels in one place.
I was reading a blog the other day and the author commented about the price of living and how people were going to start living in extended family units again. I like this idea. I have a sister who has a big old four bedroom house in the country. She works like a dog all week long, gets her paycheck, pays her bills, and is left with about ten dollars to live on for the rest of the week. She's not making it obviously and she is worried about loosing her house. My husband and I, are living in a run down trailer in a park, paying almost as much as we would for a house, and not making it. Because of the drought this year the price of food is going to go up. The price of milk is suppose to double come January. We are barely making it now, how are we going to make it when food prices shoot up? I talked to my sister and we decided it would help us both out if we moved in together. She wouldn't loose her house and we would be able to afford to live. Best part of this? Having more family around, and being in the country!!! If we paid her as much rent as we pay now, that would loosen things up for her so she would have some money left over and we wouldn't be spending extra money on utilities and I could have a garden to help with all our food costs. My husband and I could get our credit cleaned up and save for a place of our own.
The only problem is we now have a problem with the custody of his child from a previous relationship. The kids mother pretty much let her run her own life and CPS has stepped in and taken custody. I don't understand this because my husband has never been proven as an unfit parent, but yet CPS has placed the child with the maternal grandparents. We cannot move in with my sister until the whole CPS thing is over with or my husband will forfeit any chance of getting custody of his daughter, because my sister lives in another state. God only knows when CPS will decide to give up custody. In the meantime we are stuck on the very edge of survival with no viable alternatives!
We were hoping to move come income tax time which is in February. That's only a couple months away and I don't think CPS is going to give up custody by that time! Once they are in your life, they don't like to leave. I'm so upset, the anxiety of the situation is really getting to me! I am a person who likes to plan, but I cannot make any plans because we really don't know what is going to happen with all this!
I was reading a blog the other day and the author commented about the price of living and how people were going to start living in extended family units again. I like this idea. I have a sister who has a big old four bedroom house in the country. She works like a dog all week long, gets her paycheck, pays her bills, and is left with about ten dollars to live on for the rest of the week. She's not making it obviously and she is worried about loosing her house. My husband and I, are living in a run down trailer in a park, paying almost as much as we would for a house, and not making it. Because of the drought this year the price of food is going to go up. The price of milk is suppose to double come January. We are barely making it now, how are we going to make it when food prices shoot up? I talked to my sister and we decided it would help us both out if we moved in together. She wouldn't loose her house and we would be able to afford to live. Best part of this? Having more family around, and being in the country!!! If we paid her as much rent as we pay now, that would loosen things up for her so she would have some money left over and we wouldn't be spending extra money on utilities and I could have a garden to help with all our food costs. My husband and I could get our credit cleaned up and save for a place of our own.
The only problem is we now have a problem with the custody of his child from a previous relationship. The kids mother pretty much let her run her own life and CPS has stepped in and taken custody. I don't understand this because my husband has never been proven as an unfit parent, but yet CPS has placed the child with the maternal grandparents. We cannot move in with my sister until the whole CPS thing is over with or my husband will forfeit any chance of getting custody of his daughter, because my sister lives in another state. God only knows when CPS will decide to give up custody. In the meantime we are stuck on the very edge of survival with no viable alternatives!
We were hoping to move come income tax time which is in February. That's only a couple months away and I don't think CPS is going to give up custody by that time! Once they are in your life, they don't like to leave. I'm so upset, the anxiety of the situation is really getting to me! I am a person who likes to plan, but I cannot make any plans because we really don't know what is going to happen with all this!
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Happy Thanksgiving
Happy Thanksgiving! This year I am thankful for my family! I have a hardworking husband and three beautiful daughters! They will all be here tomorrow for the feast. I'm also thanking God that there will be a feast tomorrow.
I have a confession to make: I don't know how to cook that well! However, I have decided it's time to learn. I am not working at the moment so there is no better time than now. For Thanksgiving I will be making turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, dinner rolls, and two pies (apple and pumpkin). The stuffing will come from a box and the pumpkin pie filling will come from a can, but I will make everything else from scratch! I figure making the rolls and the pie crusts was stretching my skills far enough for now:) I have made turkey before so that really isn't a big deal. I'm also making deviled eggs. My kids love them! I will be amazed if everything turns out!
Big Holidays like this remind me of when I was a kid. The whole family and half the neighborhood would come to our house for dinner. Even though we didn't have much money, my mother always seemed to be able to throw together a huge holiday meal. She would start baking a week in advance. Pies, Breads, cookies, puddings, candy; she made it all. Dinner was always more like lunch because we would eat around one and then it was nap time. That evening we would eat leftovers and spend half the night playing games. My children will not be happy with me because tonight I will be hiding the computers! I can already see the looks on their faces when there are no computers to get on....I don't have anything against computers. I think they are a wonderful source for information and great way to express oneself, but Holidays are meant to spend together and I don't see being on a computer as a way to socialize with family. It's going to be an old fashion card night:)
Wish me luck! And to everyone out there, have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!
I have a confession to make: I don't know how to cook that well! However, I have decided it's time to learn. I am not working at the moment so there is no better time than now. For Thanksgiving I will be making turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, dinner rolls, and two pies (apple and pumpkin). The stuffing will come from a box and the pumpkin pie filling will come from a can, but I will make everything else from scratch! I figure making the rolls and the pie crusts was stretching my skills far enough for now:) I have made turkey before so that really isn't a big deal. I'm also making deviled eggs. My kids love them! I will be amazed if everything turns out!
Big Holidays like this remind me of when I was a kid. The whole family and half the neighborhood would come to our house for dinner. Even though we didn't have much money, my mother always seemed to be able to throw together a huge holiday meal. She would start baking a week in advance. Pies, Breads, cookies, puddings, candy; she made it all. Dinner was always more like lunch because we would eat around one and then it was nap time. That evening we would eat leftovers and spend half the night playing games. My children will not be happy with me because tonight I will be hiding the computers! I can already see the looks on their faces when there are no computers to get on....I don't have anything against computers. I think they are a wonderful source for information and great way to express oneself, but Holidays are meant to spend together and I don't see being on a computer as a way to socialize with family. It's going to be an old fashion card night:)
Wish me luck! And to everyone out there, have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Money Making Ideas
I've been wracking my brains trying to figure out some way I can contribute to the household income.
Growing and selling veggies is out because the park won't let me have a garden. I thought about doing some containers, but I can't afford to buy the pots and dirt necessary for this. I'm considering different containers I already own to perhaps find some that are feasible for pot plants. Oh now that did not come out the way I had intended! Oopsies!
I thought of selling compost, but again I am not allowed to have a compost pile. I was considering trying to use a garbage can to compost, but I just don't think it is realistic for what I need.
A worm farm is probably a fine idea! I have plenty of yard clippings, paper, and coffee grounds (coffee is my best friend) I can use. Problem is again I'm not allowed to have anything sitting outside! I really don't want worms in my house. I could possibly put them on my deck though. I would have to find a way to keep them warm and active in the winter time though. I could sell to the fishermen we have in the neighborhood. I could also sell the castings to people as fertilizer/compost.
Along with the worm idea I had thought about rabbits. I could put the hutches on the deck and no one would notice, right? RIGHT? (Can you say redneck?) The warm poo would keep my worms active and the act of composting would in turn keep the rabbits warmer. The worms could eat the rabbit poo and on top of the uses I would find for my worms, I would be able to sell rabbits as pets or meat. The problem with both of these again is the initial start-up costs. grrrr and it was such a good idea! I could even use the rabbits as meat myself, but I would have to find some place to take them for slaughter and butcher because I know I couldn't get away with that here!
Too bad I couldn't find a farm that could use a beginning farm hand! I could get practical experience and pay all in one fell swoop. Problems with this idea....it's past fall harvest and the farms won't be hiring until next season. I don't even know how to go about looking for a farm job....or marketing myself for one. My husband would have to drop me off before he went to work at four-thirty in the morning and no one would be home to get the child off to school.
If anyone has any suggestions I would be glad to hear them!
Growing and selling veggies is out because the park won't let me have a garden. I thought about doing some containers, but I can't afford to buy the pots and dirt necessary for this. I'm considering different containers I already own to perhaps find some that are feasible for pot plants. Oh now that did not come out the way I had intended! Oopsies!
I thought of selling compost, but again I am not allowed to have a compost pile. I was considering trying to use a garbage can to compost, but I just don't think it is realistic for what I need.
A worm farm is probably a fine idea! I have plenty of yard clippings, paper, and coffee grounds (coffee is my best friend) I can use. Problem is again I'm not allowed to have anything sitting outside! I really don't want worms in my house. I could possibly put them on my deck though. I would have to find a way to keep them warm and active in the winter time though. I could sell to the fishermen we have in the neighborhood. I could also sell the castings to people as fertilizer/compost.
Along with the worm idea I had thought about rabbits. I could put the hutches on the deck and no one would notice, right? RIGHT? (Can you say redneck?) The warm poo would keep my worms active and the act of composting would in turn keep the rabbits warmer. The worms could eat the rabbit poo and on top of the uses I would find for my worms, I would be able to sell rabbits as pets or meat. The problem with both of these again is the initial start-up costs. grrrr and it was such a good idea! I could even use the rabbits as meat myself, but I would have to find some place to take them for slaughter and butcher because I know I couldn't get away with that here!
Too bad I couldn't find a farm that could use a beginning farm hand! I could get practical experience and pay all in one fell swoop. Problems with this idea....it's past fall harvest and the farms won't be hiring until next season. I don't even know how to go about looking for a farm job....or marketing myself for one. My husband would have to drop me off before he went to work at four-thirty in the morning and no one would be home to get the child off to school.
If anyone has any suggestions I would be glad to hear them!
Obstacles
In my previous post I said we had several obstacles in our path to homesteading. The biggest one at this point would be credit. After so many years of me being laid off we are in a great pit of debt and without a second income I don't know how we are going to climb out.
Right now, we live in a trailer court. Yes you heard me right; we live in a trailer court! We pay an astronomical fee for the lot rent, but the trailer itself was free because it's falling down. At one time we had hoped to fix it up, but again without a second income this is impossible. We have now decided we no longer wish to fix the place up because living in a trailer court with all their rules and regulations just doesn't fit with the goals we have. I thought I could improve on my gardening, composting, and all around country living skills while we were here, but the new manager of the "park" does not allow regular gardens or compost piles. We are not even allowed to have a clothesline! We have to manicure our lawns so short the hot summer sun bakes them into a pile of dry brush to which they want us to add water to supposedly green them up but more often than not turns the yard (if you can call a narrow strip a yard) into an unattractive pig wallow minus the bonus of pork meat! Does this even make sense? I'm kind of on a rant here, but I really need to explain the absurdities running rampant in this place! I have a small back deck. The walls for said deck are made of lattice to help foster a sense of privacy. In the summer time beautiful bell shape flower vines climb their way up the lattice to provide living walls of privacy. In the fall the flowers and vines die back and the next summer the new vines trellis themselves over the old vines creating another layer of privacy. Well I was told these brown vines had to go because they were dead. I strongly objected, but was made to feel like an errant schoolkid who didn't realize that brown meant dead. Actually I did realize this, but my vines created more privacy by climbing up the dead vines already in place and they did it quicker and quicker each year. Last year I had to tear it all down per the manager's instructions. I did that and this year the vines didn't even make it to the top of the lattice. I'm a private person. I like having time to myself outside. When on my deck, I can spit and hit the next trailer! Now this little bit of privacy has been taken from me and I am not happy!
But I digress. I hate living in a trailer park. I want a few acres out in the country where I have all the privacy my heart and personality desires. This place needs to be in the great state of Pennsylvania because that is where my husband and I are originally from and we wish to be closer to friends and family. It doesn't even have to have a house on it; as long as I have the land the rest will come even if I have to sleep in a tent!
Probably the next obstacle we face after credit is time and health. As I said before, my husband has had several hernia surgeries and I myself have had two ratator cuff injuries, one of which required surgery, and I just had surgery on the ulnar nerve in my elbow. I need exercise which I would have plenty of if I were living a homesteading life. I have high cholesterol and all problems associated with it, but if I had a steady diet of home-cooked from scratch (you would be surprised at what some people consider home-cooked meals to be) food I believe I could beat the cholesterol problem. I am worried about time because neither of us are getting any younger and I don't want to be starting out on this life when I am fifty! Once I get started, I will do it until there is no physical way possible to continue, but if I continue to live the way we live now, stress will have me in the grave within the next five years.
Don't get me wrong, I know living a homesteading life is not easy work, nor is it stress free, but I truly believe it is less stress and the type of work it entails is not only good physically but spiritually as well.
Time and money are my enemy, but again hopefully I can find some way to have an income which will allow me to save to make this dream a reality!
Right now, we live in a trailer court. Yes you heard me right; we live in a trailer court! We pay an astronomical fee for the lot rent, but the trailer itself was free because it's falling down. At one time we had hoped to fix it up, but again without a second income this is impossible. We have now decided we no longer wish to fix the place up because living in a trailer court with all their rules and regulations just doesn't fit with the goals we have. I thought I could improve on my gardening, composting, and all around country living skills while we were here, but the new manager of the "park" does not allow regular gardens or compost piles. We are not even allowed to have a clothesline! We have to manicure our lawns so short the hot summer sun bakes them into a pile of dry brush to which they want us to add water to supposedly green them up but more often than not turns the yard (if you can call a narrow strip a yard) into an unattractive pig wallow minus the bonus of pork meat! Does this even make sense? I'm kind of on a rant here, but I really need to explain the absurdities running rampant in this place! I have a small back deck. The walls for said deck are made of lattice to help foster a sense of privacy. In the summer time beautiful bell shape flower vines climb their way up the lattice to provide living walls of privacy. In the fall the flowers and vines die back and the next summer the new vines trellis themselves over the old vines creating another layer of privacy. Well I was told these brown vines had to go because they were dead. I strongly objected, but was made to feel like an errant schoolkid who didn't realize that brown meant dead. Actually I did realize this, but my vines created more privacy by climbing up the dead vines already in place and they did it quicker and quicker each year. Last year I had to tear it all down per the manager's instructions. I did that and this year the vines didn't even make it to the top of the lattice. I'm a private person. I like having time to myself outside. When on my deck, I can spit and hit the next trailer! Now this little bit of privacy has been taken from me and I am not happy!
But I digress. I hate living in a trailer park. I want a few acres out in the country where I have all the privacy my heart and personality desires. This place needs to be in the great state of Pennsylvania because that is where my husband and I are originally from and we wish to be closer to friends and family. It doesn't even have to have a house on it; as long as I have the land the rest will come even if I have to sleep in a tent!
Probably the next obstacle we face after credit is time and health. As I said before, my husband has had several hernia surgeries and I myself have had two ratator cuff injuries, one of which required surgery, and I just had surgery on the ulnar nerve in my elbow. I need exercise which I would have plenty of if I were living a homesteading life. I have high cholesterol and all problems associated with it, but if I had a steady diet of home-cooked from scratch (you would be surprised at what some people consider home-cooked meals to be) food I believe I could beat the cholesterol problem. I am worried about time because neither of us are getting any younger and I don't want to be starting out on this life when I am fifty! Once I get started, I will do it until there is no physical way possible to continue, but if I continue to live the way we live now, stress will have me in the grave within the next five years.
Don't get me wrong, I know living a homesteading life is not easy work, nor is it stress free, but I truly believe it is less stress and the type of work it entails is not only good physically but spiritually as well.
Time and money are my enemy, but again hopefully I can find some way to have an income which will allow me to save to make this dream a reality!
Introduction
This is about the third time I have started this blog. No worries though because I don't think anyone has really read it yet. As if you couldn't tell I am new to the blogging world. I'm not really sure how this works, but bare with me and I am sure I will figure it out.
The reason I have decided to blog is to alleviate some of the boredom from being home alone all the time and some of it is to allow myself to get some of my ideas down on paper, so to speak.
I am obsessed with the idea of homesteading. I grew up in the country. It was a long time ago, but I remember it as if it were yesterday. As a child, I had a whole valley as my playground. My mom was an avid gardener. I quite clearly remember toiling in the dirt next to her. I also remember raising pigs to slaughter. I was quite attached to the first pig. I named it after my best friend, even though the friend didn't take it as the compliment it was meant to be! The first slaughter was difficult for me because of this. However I learned very young the price we pay (and the price the animal pays) for our food. Throughout my childhood I remember times were tough. But we always seemed to have enough food; we even had some to share. Our neighborhood consisted of three houses in the valley and we were always hosting game night which was pretty much just about every night of the week. In fact if we didn't have company it was odd. I was raised in a single parent household. My mother worked very hard to make sure we were well taken care of. My father died when I was young and I was raised on a stipend from his work years until I was eighteen.
At about the age of ten on, I was too busy and too easily embarrassed to pay much attention to the things my mother did to provide for me. All I could think about was getting out of "the life". I did just that. I still don't like living in town or in a city, but even worse than that, all these years later I have finally realized my mother was on to something.
I realize this because I have two children. Most of their lives I have worked really hard for this business or that company and barely made ends meat. I couldn't figure out how my mother raised me with so little income. I have missed most of my oldest daughter's childhood because I was working all the time. My second child is just now reaching puberty and I have missed half her young life. She's having trouble in school; the school says she has ADHD and wants me to get medicine from the doctor to allow her to concentrate. I say my child is a healthy child with a lot of energy who just needs a few acres of land to roam and a healthy diet of food without additives, preservatives, and a whole lot of other things I can't even name.
A couple of years ago I attempted a garden to help supplement our food bill. I fell in love with gardening. Who knew it was so exciting! However, I did not pay attention when my mother did all this back in the day and sadly she left me about ten years ago. My biggest regret is not realizing sooner all the wonderful skills my mother had. Now if I have a problem I cannot call her on the phone and ask questions. Although I was raised in the country I did not retain any of the valuable knowledge my mother tried to give me....instead I feel like a beginner.
I am tired of trying and failing to make it working for some one else and going deeper in debt! In '09 the company I worked for went bankrupt, in '10 the company I worked for shut down the place I worked, in '11 once again the company I worked for shut down the place I worked at. In '12 I finally got a job, thinking I was extremely lucky, but it was a sham from the beginning. I interviewed for one job which has a certain rate of pay and a certain schedule. Well when I started the job I was actually given another job with a lot less pay and a horrible (nights) schedule. After working there for about three months the owner's son called me and left me a voice mail stating I was fired!!! I was suppose to be the manager of a food establishment, instead I was the night clerk at a convenience store! I barely made above minimum wage! The supposed reason I got fired was missing too much work. I had to make a three day trip because of a family emergency. The boss knew of this ahead of time and approved it. When we got back from this trip I spoke with him and asked him if I could take more time off in two months to go back and check on the situation. He said no problem give him the dates. I gave him the dates with about six weeks notice. Again he approved the time off. When I got back the butt head fired me! So now I am stuck at home without a job again.
My husband works. He drives truck for a pop company making local deliveries. Don't let anyone fool you, this is back breaking work. Half the time the equipment doesn't work, there isn't a loading dock, and in the winter time some of these stores don't remove the snow or treat the ice in the dock area. In the last year he has had two hernia surgeries and we believe he is working on another one. Most people believe these pop companies pay good money. Again, don't let them fool you. After taxes, insurance, and child support for one child my husband brings home less than three hundred dollars a week for a family of three. This might sound like a lot, out of that he has to pay his car payment, insurance, and gas for work. He also pays the co-pays for all medical bills including the child he pays support for. So really the income we can use for rent, utilities and groceries is less than two hundred a week. Oh and in this state I have to pay school fees to the public school system to send my daughter to a crappy school. Nice.
So I come from a simple country life where having very little seem to give us quite a lot and now I am living a life where we are going into debt trying to work and unable to put adequate food on the table for our own little family let alone help anyone else out! Homesteading makes sense. I would take care of the homestead and my husband would work outside the home, at least in the beginning.
We have several obstacles in our path, but I believe with hard work, perseverance, and a tad bit of luck we can get to where we want to be. Wish me luck!
The reason I have decided to blog is to alleviate some of the boredom from being home alone all the time and some of it is to allow myself to get some of my ideas down on paper, so to speak.
I am obsessed with the idea of homesteading. I grew up in the country. It was a long time ago, but I remember it as if it were yesterday. As a child, I had a whole valley as my playground. My mom was an avid gardener. I quite clearly remember toiling in the dirt next to her. I also remember raising pigs to slaughter. I was quite attached to the first pig. I named it after my best friend, even though the friend didn't take it as the compliment it was meant to be! The first slaughter was difficult for me because of this. However I learned very young the price we pay (and the price the animal pays) for our food. Throughout my childhood I remember times were tough. But we always seemed to have enough food; we even had some to share. Our neighborhood consisted of three houses in the valley and we were always hosting game night which was pretty much just about every night of the week. In fact if we didn't have company it was odd. I was raised in a single parent household. My mother worked very hard to make sure we were well taken care of. My father died when I was young and I was raised on a stipend from his work years until I was eighteen.
At about the age of ten on, I was too busy and too easily embarrassed to pay much attention to the things my mother did to provide for me. All I could think about was getting out of "the life". I did just that. I still don't like living in town or in a city, but even worse than that, all these years later I have finally realized my mother was on to something.
I realize this because I have two children. Most of their lives I have worked really hard for this business or that company and barely made ends meat. I couldn't figure out how my mother raised me with so little income. I have missed most of my oldest daughter's childhood because I was working all the time. My second child is just now reaching puberty and I have missed half her young life. She's having trouble in school; the school says she has ADHD and wants me to get medicine from the doctor to allow her to concentrate. I say my child is a healthy child with a lot of energy who just needs a few acres of land to roam and a healthy diet of food without additives, preservatives, and a whole lot of other things I can't even name.
A couple of years ago I attempted a garden to help supplement our food bill. I fell in love with gardening. Who knew it was so exciting! However, I did not pay attention when my mother did all this back in the day and sadly she left me about ten years ago. My biggest regret is not realizing sooner all the wonderful skills my mother had. Now if I have a problem I cannot call her on the phone and ask questions. Although I was raised in the country I did not retain any of the valuable knowledge my mother tried to give me....instead I feel like a beginner.
I am tired of trying and failing to make it working for some one else and going deeper in debt! In '09 the company I worked for went bankrupt, in '10 the company I worked for shut down the place I worked, in '11 once again the company I worked for shut down the place I worked at. In '12 I finally got a job, thinking I was extremely lucky, but it was a sham from the beginning. I interviewed for one job which has a certain rate of pay and a certain schedule. Well when I started the job I was actually given another job with a lot less pay and a horrible (nights) schedule. After working there for about three months the owner's son called me and left me a voice mail stating I was fired!!! I was suppose to be the manager of a food establishment, instead I was the night clerk at a convenience store! I barely made above minimum wage! The supposed reason I got fired was missing too much work. I had to make a three day trip because of a family emergency. The boss knew of this ahead of time and approved it. When we got back from this trip I spoke with him and asked him if I could take more time off in two months to go back and check on the situation. He said no problem give him the dates. I gave him the dates with about six weeks notice. Again he approved the time off. When I got back the butt head fired me! So now I am stuck at home without a job again.
My husband works. He drives truck for a pop company making local deliveries. Don't let anyone fool you, this is back breaking work. Half the time the equipment doesn't work, there isn't a loading dock, and in the winter time some of these stores don't remove the snow or treat the ice in the dock area. In the last year he has had two hernia surgeries and we believe he is working on another one. Most people believe these pop companies pay good money. Again, don't let them fool you. After taxes, insurance, and child support for one child my husband brings home less than three hundred dollars a week for a family of three. This might sound like a lot, out of that he has to pay his car payment, insurance, and gas for work. He also pays the co-pays for all medical bills including the child he pays support for. So really the income we can use for rent, utilities and groceries is less than two hundred a week. Oh and in this state I have to pay school fees to the public school system to send my daughter to a crappy school. Nice.
So I come from a simple country life where having very little seem to give us quite a lot and now I am living a life where we are going into debt trying to work and unable to put adequate food on the table for our own little family let alone help anyone else out! Homesteading makes sense. I would take care of the homestead and my husband would work outside the home, at least in the beginning.
We have several obstacles in our path, but I believe with hard work, perseverance, and a tad bit of luck we can get to where we want to be. Wish me luck!
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