Sarah vs. Marie

Before you may sit here thinking I am making some huge Martha Stewart meal from scratch (maybe you didn't think that at all) I will tell you that some of our meal is 100% sustainable form our land or scratch and some, not so much…

I have a good friend, that sad to say, I take advantage of every few years, like when I am pregnant with exhaustion or well, just because. She and I go back quite a ways. Although, I will say I met her friend Marie Calendar a few years back and really enjoy her being around more! But this year I called on Sarah for help in a few areas… She is always so faithful to me and it surprises me as I am not faithful to her… One year, sadly Marie and Sarah had a huge argument of competition at my home! Shame on those selfish girls!

We just killed (did I really say it…) 2 of the Clevenger brothers this morning… We did not wake the children because one would have cried for sure! The 2 Bourbon Red turkeys are from us, as well as a few small broiler chickens. I made homemade cranberry sauce from scratch with fresh oranges… Fresh and real mashed potatoes homemade here but I purchased the gravy… Rolls, butter, corn, a relish tray, my sister in law is bringing the whipped cream and hot mulled cider, as well as a jello fluffy salad thingy. Sweet potatoes from a can but with homemade sweet crunchy topping. I wanted to make my mother's homemade stuffing but this year I will do the stuffing about ½ from scratch… I am batting about 50% homemade or sustainable with no electricity and bulging pregnancy varicose veins and I am thankful for what all I could do homemade J. The most important thing is enjoying my family today and I will say, it was kind of nice having some help from Sarah and a few others this year J

Thank you all for your love and encouragement here. I am thankful for wonderful online friends like you. I read each and every comment and I wish I could visit you more. I pray you have a blessed Thanksgiving with your family and you enjoy your blessings! Jesus loves you so much…

I just paid $1.54 a gallon of gas with an extra .25 discount on each gallon up to 20 gallons! WOW!!!

I am excited...

Pioneer Maid Kitchen wood stove
We just got a response from the milk news this morning and we have a lead on one of these! We will see how much, condition and age etc.

Home learning...

I get a few emails a week as to what learning program we use in our homeschool. I have answered that here if you are interested.

reason #5 and some holiday humor...

Ok, this might not be an actual reason for moving to an Amish area and living off grid, but I would definitely consider it a perk that we will be seeing less of these J

reason #4...

We did not move to this farm and live off-grid solely for the purpose of saving money rather so we are not dependent on monopolies or companies telling us we must pay for a drink of H2O (laced with the chlorine and fluoride for us) ... We had a well at the other place so we haven't paid for water since 1991... BUT, did you ever stop and think what if the rates of utilities became so high only the rich could afford it?

• this article peaked my interest


• and this article about the cost of electricity on the rise


• oh and this article here about oil and natural gas

The good news? I paid $1.64 for gasoline, but who knows how long that will last.

You would be surprised with what you can live without… and reason #3...

Things have been very uneventful here. We did move another HUGE load of things here from the other place to get it out of our house sitters way. He was (is) getting a little miffed about the boxes all over… Hi "P"… J So now my clean house is back to unpacking a bunch of stuff and I have quite a bit of clutter here but the other place is clean!

I have learned so much in such a short time living off grid. I have much more to learn and I am so excited to imagine what I will have gleaned when I am sitting here in a year. Hmmm…

So many things we grow up with, we just cannot imagine living without… I realize most, if not all, of my children will not have the luxury (if you will, with all the strict building codes, etc.) to live off-grid or will simply choose not to live off grid as their choice. I am ok with all of that. I am happy though that they will know when they get older and live on their own, they will(HERE COMES REASON #3) be able to see that you can live without a lot… I believe this will make them stronger adults. When tough times come their way, they will realize most things are just extra and luxurious. In this struggling economy, who knows what is coming down the pipes.

Today I wondered, even living off-grid, now what could I do without??? I came up with this list:

• We could ditch the motor for the windmill and put a hand pump on the top (we have one setting idle) and do away with the use of gasoline.
  
• We could do away with the gas lanterns and stick with oil lamps or ditch those and only use handmade candles from the tallow of the animals we process.
  
• We could do away with the grocery store pretty much 100% and live fully off this land. I am spoiled that I can still go to the grocery store
  
• We could get rid of one of our cars and nix that gasoline bill completely and I would have to wait to do errands until the gentle giant came home at night.
  
• I could do all laundry by hand and make the laundry soap with the tallow from the animals instead of even making my own budget laundry detergent that I currently create from store bought things.
  
• There are just a few things… Life would become very hard without those things above I think. I could do it though... I think I actually have it pretty easy now J
  

What could you live without?

from the land

Ode to the Clevenger Brothers...

Three Turkeys

On the night before Thanksgiving

When I had gone to bed

I heard three turkey gobblers

And this is what they said.

The first turkey said I think I'll find a tree

And hide up in the branchesWhere no one will see.

The second turkey said I think that I will go

And hide behind the haystack

Where no one will know

The third turkey said I think it would be fun

To hide the farmer's hatchet

And run, run, run, run.

Then on Thanksgiving morning

When the farmer came around

Those three turkey gobblers

were nowhere to be found!

Author Unknown

a visit

pulling in like no body's business!

the gentle giant with visitors hooked to our hitching post the gentle giant conversing

Meal Planning

Part of our move to living off grid has challenged my meal plans. I have had to adapt to not having the freezer to grab from my stock pile for a quick meal. But, I have been adjusting more. I have had to adapt at new places to shop etc. and find all the secret places the locals shop. This last week finally feels successful in that we used of our purchases and pickings from the plans. The meat stayed fresh for the 7 days in my 7 day cooler and out of the 2 bags of ice I bet I only lost ¼ of the ice. Now, it is cold enough to keep the ice 100% frozen as well as the food almost 100% frozen by keeping outside, so that is great for us!

Another challenge has been not having a predictable oven. I guess I shouldn't say the oven is not predictable as much as I need my husband to light it these first few times until I get the hang of it. So, I cannot wait to put the roast in the oven until he gets home etc. I have 4 burners that I do not feel I need to wear a helmet to light them J. I have gotten real creative with cooking directly on top of the wood stove because of the oven issue. The wood stove does not have a thermostat of course. I have been playing it by feel and smell. Yesterday I cooked a huge pot roast in a Dutch oven on top of a 1" rack on the woodstove. I put the meat in the oven at about 11 am and cooked until 4 pm. Just like a crock pot I guess. It worked fine. I have done lots of casserole type things as well. I want to try bread next… stay tuned.

Yesterday I stocked up down the road at the staples store with about 3 weeks to a month of non-perishables. Instead of buying our meat this week(s) we plan to butcher our broiler chickens and consume and pressure cook them. We have 2 deer aging in the shop to consume and pressure cook. Thanksgiving will be 1 of our Bourbon Red Turkeys, although the children are not excited about this as they said I am killing one of the "Clevenger Brothers" (the kids made up this name) . Thanksgiving will be fairly simple this year. I love that each day as I cling more and more to this simple lifestyle I can look at our dinner table and see more of our very own food that we have grown and raised. It is so rewarding to know where it came from and as I cook with it I feel so blessed that we raised it from the bottom up. This year will be our first Thanksgiving apple pies from our very own apples. Next year I want to have our own pumpkins for pies… We forgot and carved this years J. It just keeps going on and on… I wonder if I have a "boggy" enough place on the farm to grow our own cranberries. At any rate I feel like I am getting back in the groove of our family meal planning while living without electricity….

a few of my favorite moments from the last week... and reason #1 and #2

my new banner photo above I love too! Whenever my children come to the door from outside play and knock I do not open the door and always say, "Yes, may I help you" (like I do not know who they are :)) So this time was extra fun with the lanterns and the chicken! I said to her, "The Inn is full this evening!" chubby hands on a homemade swing!
So here I am, all excited to update you on some neat experiences I have had lately. All cozied up in a coffee shop with my cream cheese coffee cake (non-organic), decaf Guatemalan coffee and a few other bad things I shouldn't be eating. I reach into my computer bag and realize my camera cord is AT HOME! HANG WITH ME I WILL SHOW YOU THESE MOVIES AND PHOTOS! So I cannot update the photos of the Amish movies and all! SORRY! We had a few Amish visitors the past few days... I have some neat photos. I must say it is pretty weird to be sitting at your kitchen table and seeing 2 Belgian horses pull in pulling a buck board wagon like no body's business. Then an Amish young man hooking up to our hitching post. Its pretty surreal to think we are actually living in this community in the year 2008! I love every minute of it!
I have tried to put it in to words just a bit why we choose to live off grid. I know I really have not answered the questions adequately at all. I will begin today to answer and it will most likely take until the day I pass to explain why... But for here and out, I will be attempting to do so. The Gentle Giant, my husband, will be enlightening all of us too!


I am not great at putting my thoughts and passions into words at times. I was reading another blog the other day and she said it best for 1 of the 1,000,000 our family has chosen to live off grid. I told you previously we did not choose living off grid to save money, although this is a HUGE BENEFIT... But here is reason #1 we choose to live off grid... Stay tuned for reason #'s 2-1,000,000. Thank you Rhonda Jean!

Update a while later in day:
Here Rhonda says it best too! SO here is my reason #2 I had these same struggles from about age 21 and on that she speaks about at an older age. I am so glad I "found my life" with the Lord's leading at the ripe old age of 37 :)... Here's to the rest of my life!

homemade root beer!

I stopped at the staples store up the road today and saw they sold Root beer extract. I have always wanted to try to make it but it seemed pretty pricey. Well, I couldn't refuse this price! V's is only $2.30 as opposed to this one. They are the same exactly. So, for $2.30 I can make 4 gallons of root beer (plus the sugar and yeast)! FUN! "V" even let us try some all made before buying it. It tastes exactly like real root beer, fizz and all, but with a touch of a yeasty taste.

Hello! greetings from a very cold Michigan. It seems to have gone from indian summer right to winter. Although, just light dusting of snow here, the temps are under 30 now. I can keep everything very cold now and that is nice. 2 deer to pressure can in the next week too! I am hoping to get atleast 40+ quarts of meat for our family in the pressure canner.

a couple things real quick. tomorrow i should be uploading lots of photos as i will have more time. and more updates! some great movies too... Forgive all my grammar and spelling errors. you should see what it is like trying to keep my thoughts together with a sweet drooling 13 month old :) running all around and pulling cords. I am doing the best I can.

I have tried to answer some of your questions under posts where you have asked them. Thank you for your interest.

I am getting my Thanksgiving stuff together and looking forward to getting my Johnson Brothers Friendly Village dishes out for the holidays, starting with Thanksgiving. This will be a memorable Thanksgiving here for our first. But it looks like just a few extra guests, but that is ok too...

We purchased a french press for our amish friends and they just love the novelty of it! Its neat to see what excites them.

Until tomorrow!

Ang

Die Botschaft

The "Die Botschaft" is a weekly newspaper serving old Amish communities everywhere. I wanted to include a small article from it here as I thought you might find it interesting

We had around 2 inches rain from Saturday morning till Sunday then it turned to snow but snow was melted again by Sunday evening, but had enough snow again during the night to make the ground white. Wind is from the west and was at 29' this morning.

People are still busy with fall work. Some are husking corn while others are working on buildings. The corn price is up and hay is down this year due to the abundance.

Jesse W. is building an addition to their house. I understand it is to be 2 bedrooms. The old bedrooms are to be added to the living room. Uri G. is also laying blocks for a new wash house.

The 15 day deer season ended on Saturday but they added more days for doe season to help get the population down. It was reported that in 1995 there were 62,000 car-deer accidents in this state. At an estimated $2,000 per vehicle damage. This runs in to a lot of money not to mention all the damages they do to farmer's crops.

Bud D. who was battling cancer this summer passed away on Friday morning. He lived ½ mile east of here, across the road from The Millers (Ang here this is our farm are referring too.) This article was written from our area In Michigan but taken from the 1996 newspaper.

And here are a few more letters I took excerpts (all different) from I found interesting: Names changed…
Grandpa Crist Weaver helped Johnny bring God's word. Grandpa had Peter 3^rd chapter. One thing they brought out was obedience is better than sacrifice.

The Inhofe's had company. We were there and baby Leonard was as busy as ever… He went and pulled the doily off the sewing machine which brought 3 or 4 plants along down. Such a fun mess with him but I was not too pleased…

Around 630 last evening ts car drove in at Simon's. Susan Yoder came running in all shook up saying they had a wreck at the crossroads of 27 and State Rd. They were crossing 27 and failed to see the ca coming. It hit the left front wheel going under the buggy tipping it over. The boy and they were unhurt except just minor bumps and bruises. The horse was hurt bad enough that they had to kill him and the buggy running gear is damaged very badly.

More later

Take a look-see

Kim, from if walls could talk, was the winner of our farm giveaway. She posted a photo here. I sent her some vintage fiesta ware, a vintage picture and pot holder (both from the 50's), Eclectic Culture Farm exclusive homemade laundry detergent in a vintage blue ball mason jar, our cherry salsa, and our raw unfiltered honey J….

Glad you enjoyed it Kim!

Ang

utilities...

We have been living here just 2 days short or a month. The Gentle Giant has been doing the math on how much we have spent on our utilities living here so far.

• Cell phone bill: $55 for a month for 2 different phone numbers(we had this already but cut our home phone at old place)
• Gasoline for the lanterns, the small motor for getting water from the well pit, the lawn mower and the tractor for odd jobs: 5 gallons of gas (Lets say gas is $2.90 a gallon for an average as we paid that at the beginning of the month but gas is only $1.84 today here) So about $15- for the month (we could eliminate the motor on the windmill if we wanted to use a hand pump on the well. We could get a non-electric lawn mower as the Amish use but I think I am just fine with that $15)
• Propane for stove $24- for the month

Grand total about for the month: just shy of $95-

We had the heat from the wood stove minimally at 72 degrees too!

We will be able to eliminate the propane bill in the winter when we acquire the wood cook stove!

We are very happy with the $95- and felt we didn't miss out on a thing. I heated tons of water for baths, etc.

I JUST REMEMBERD I HAVE GONE TO THE LAUNDRY MAT TO DO WASH A FEW TIMES THIS MONTH. Did not use the dryer though: $30-

So $125 a month. We can eliminate the wash bill when we get that wash machine :)

I am still very happy with the amount of money we have saved. I cannot tell you how much our utilities were before, even with never using a furnance... I will just keep that one to myself but you should know we are saving TONS by eliminating trash, electric, fuel oil for hot water, land line phone and MORE. We never had cable...

Living in the dark has been more enlightening than ever…

I have been living in the "dark" for almost 4 weeks now… After 4 weeks of detoxing from society, I have learned a LOT about myself… It has been great just having me to talk to and not so great other times. Life in the dark has come to a screeching halt! I never realized how much I would learn about myself in such a short period. Now, with the simpler quiet life, I am left alone to face myself. My vices are GONE… Before, if I started thinking real deep and couldn't face "going there", I could ward it off… I could hop online and do some good blog reading (as much as I wanted, at the drop of a hat)… I could go take a long hot bath in my claw foot tub and ward off thoughts I might not be crazy about dealing with… I could quick run to the library or store to avoid what I knew needed much work… I could run to the local thrift shop with a cup of coffee to "veg" with... It was so fun to avoid reality...

But now dear friends, I am left alone… Well I do have the Lord, my dearest friend. He has been speaking to me LOUD and CLEARLY!!! VERY LOUD! I cannot "run" away… I have nowhere to go but to deal with what I have been putting off for years. I must go to my Lord with these issues I have not wanted to see or deal with. This silence of the simple life can be deafening at times as I am left to face all the dark things about myself… Relationships that I have known were not healthy have been forced to be reckoned with. Seeing myself from others eyes (OUCH)… All my short comings as a wife, mother and woman… It really has been ugly… Mind you, I have been dealing with it all "inside"in my head, but I feel that this resounding noise going on inside must be felt by others as they see me, pass me by or interact with me. This NOISE is oozing out of me whether I want it to or not… It has affected all... I have learned so much about me…

What am I saying by all this? I NEVER would have thought living without electricity would have brought me to "this" place. Living without electricity has been easy… Facing me has not been. I am so very thankful that God is using this time to refine me to His perfect will… I am so indebted to HIM by his GRACE and HIS mercies are NEW every morning… THANK YOU JESUS! I wonder what else is looming down the pipe for me. I want ALL God has for me and I want to hear HIM and I have enjoyed his voice talking and dialoguing with me even when it has been one of the hardest journeysI have had to learn about myself yet…

November 8-9, 2008 Amish friends for supper…

Saturday:

Today we had our first Amish friends here for supper. They have been very helpful in showing us some of the ropes around here. We wanted to thank them over supper. They came from about 4.5 miles with horse and buggy. They were very good friends with the people who lived here before us. Their horse knew the way they said without their lead. It took them about a ½ hour to get here. They hooked the horse up to our hitching post and came in for supper. I am amazed they really still travel in this archaic way.

We chatted over dinner, sloppy joes, corn casserole, chips, dilly beans and dilled pickles. We served cherry dump cake cooked on the woodstove (all these recipes coming in the book J) and hot coffee from the French press. They were very intrigued with the French press as they had never seen one before. They loved the coffee and noticed the great taste. I think we know what we will get them for Christmas.

They brought us a bunch of magazines about the local farm markets and they encouraged us to get involved in that as they are. They actually were the starters of the Saturday farmers market in our local town. This is one reason we moved here so the children could spread their entrepreneurial wings even further. It's really not about the money, although we could always use this, it's about teaching them the value of a dollar and how to earn the money themselves. We have lots of plans in the works, but will take one at a time. The children loved having them for supper here. They helped bring the horse water and hay and watched Mr. "A" put the blanket on the horse.

We talked quite a bit, they asked us lots of questions and we asked them lots of questions too. They were very open and seem to be just like you and I. They are Amish because they want a simple life. They talked about how they do not understand BIG business in America in that if a company is doing well, strong and steady but may only have 25 employees, why would they want to even grow if they are safe. Money is not a driving force in their life. Living with just enough for them and enough to help others is their driving force. They do have mortgages though and loans, this surprised me a lot as I had always thought of them as "debt free", etc.

Everything made a lot of sense with what they said. A lot of myths were debunked. They DO read the Bible on their own and they DO read books. In fact, they came from the library book sale this very day with a book about horses for our children as a gift. They buy books for their church (their sect) lending library. I was very surprised when I mentioned to them that I was formerly a nanny and they had just finished read the NY Best Time Seller, The Nanny Diaries…?? I didn't ask much about that J.

They were very respectful to us and said they admired the courage to leave living on grid and that it took a lot of guts to do it. They wondered if we were getting a lot of "flack" from friends and family. We told them yes and no. They said, "Don't worry if people do not understand why you are doing this, they are missing out on the freedom it really is bringing you". They said that going without electricity is easy, it's the other things being Amish is hard about. You must get along with your church family, it is not an option. These people are you sole support, your community, even your insurance. You see the everyday at times. When you build or buy a home, these same people self-insure your home with you that in event of fire they will rebuild it; you do the same for them, even if you are not "fond" of them. They said it's something they have really had to learn and still are. Being Amish in "D's" words provides 100% security from the cradle to the grave. They are very close knit and they help each other daily in getting all the farm work finished. They do not go anything alone. If someone needs to butcher a cow and can 49 quarts of meat, then you do it together on Monday and then on Tuesday you go to someone else's farm and you help them. You eat together, you raise your children together and you do so many things even we would not do as immediate family together. Even Christmas baking, 30 ladies will get together and bake on a large army surplus size stove and then divvy up all the goodies at the end and then you have your baking done in about ½ day and in a very large quantity. It's really neat. I wish it could be like that for us but honestly I would have to really mature a lot in the people area as I seem to be more of a loaner J… Yes, I really just said that…

They had some great books to read that I will get from them this week. Sounded real interesting. They are in no way trying to convert us to be Amish, they are sincerely friendly people. Although, they mentioned that people DO become Amish… Interesting.

They told us about our Amish neighbors that he is 1 of 19 children. His parents are both still alive. Each of the 19 children had a minimum of 9 children, some of them up to 18 and counting… What a lineage, can you even imagine a gathering of the "immediate family"? Pretty cool!

When they left I was in shock seeing them get into a weak seeming little black buggy and taking it onto the road. I couldn't imagine being passed by a semi in that.

 

They arrived around 545 pm and left at 945 pm. We could hear the clip pity clopping for a good while, even when the lantern on the buggy was out of site. I admire them for not buying into all we have and just saying the same and withstanding the peer pressure…

I did not take photos. I don't want to be another one of those "gawkers" that bothers them. I didn't even photograph the horse and buggy as I didn't want them to feel we thought of them as a novelty. Sorry no photos. Maybe I can snap some of the farms in the area from a distance.

Oh yes, photos of the cottage coming. It was not the dawdi haus, but another home where a young married couple resided here on the property. It was their son and daughter in laws home. Who knows, maybe one of our own children will live there someday… It's right by the pond and an adorable horse tack barn with a hitching post. Who knows, maybe the gentle giant and I will retire there and pass the farm to the kids some day.

Welcome to the country…

I have been truly amazed at the friendliness of people up here. We have been warmly welcomed by all. Even when I call to try to find a new service and people understand our new move to an unknown area they ask if there is anything else I might need, like a new connection, etc. The other day a sweet older lady drove in the driveway and said, "welcome to the neighborhood"… When asked where she lived she stated, "I live about 1 ½ miles down the road about 3 farms from here"… It's nice to know people are looking out for us. When the neighbors across the street found about our windmill/well problems, they came right over with a plate of cookies and told us anytime we needed water we could come and help ourselves. It makes it pleasant knowing people are so kind and seem to genuinely want to help usJ.

I found 3 new shops that women run out of their own homes. They sell primitives and more… From large antique furniture items to smelly candles for long winter nights. They start their holiday open houses (although I am in no rush for Christmas at all) this weekend. I am excited to see what they have and take a little road trip to discover some new places, etc. I also am looking forward to a new home school support group meeting this Monday evening. I have never really joined a home school support group but I thought it would be a good idea as we are relocating to get to know a few likeminded families, etc.

It is another beautiful day today… Indian summer for sure. I am enjoying every minute of it. I am getting excited about Thanksgiving meal planning also. Have lots of odds and ends cleaning to do this weekend, inside and out… Getting that list put together as we speak…

Random photos

enlarge photo to see lighting of lanterns Matt hard at work

clothes on line

a view taken from the back of the "back 40" looking toward the farm

my quiet place...

our saw mill

bird in flight

To the Mack Pack

I have not forgotten your package… I have it all together as I had to pick up some stuff from the other place yesterday. I promise it will be worth the wait!

Xoxox

ang

The day after election day...

The day after Election Day 2008…

This is about the only time you will see me discussing politics here… I have a very private blog for that…

I do take voting very seriously. We were still registered at our old home so I drove 50 minutes each way to go and vote. My hubby’s just came from work to vote and this year he took the kids to see our rights put into action. I hope you took the time and even the inconvenience to vote yesterday.

It was strange as we went to sleep at 930 pm and I had no idea who the president was, nor where the stats were at. My Busch radio’s c size batteries decided to hit the dust last night… so much for the kids coloring in their maps. We did have quite a lengthly discussion on the history of the election day and where it came about. It was decided in 18—that the 2nd Tuesday after the first Monday of November was a great day for the Presidential election because 1 the busy farming season was now over, 2 to vote before the weather was bad 3 on a Tuesday because some people traveled great distances to vote and needed Monday to do it and 4 the electoral college annual meeting was held on the first wed after the first Monday of November each year back then, but now meets December 15 I believe...

I woke up at 1145 pm and was itching to know who became the 44th president of the USA… I logged onto hubby’s blackberry and saw what seemed to be a landslide…

Hubby is printing out all the stats at work, as well as the finished maps (blue and red to color in of electoral college) and we will talk all about that this evening with the kids… Right now everyone is outside enjoying the gorgeous summer like weather, 70+ degrees… who knows how long this weather will last but I bet it will be shorter than our resolve to keep living off grid… (read here if you didn’t catch this one)

Deer and apples...

Deer and apples…

I found out that 1 yearling deer makes about 14 quarts of meat for my 14 quart all American pressure cooker, a perfect fit. I canned my first deer today that I got this season, with my van… This deer was hit in the broad daylight and it never touched the ground. It was bounding in the air from a corn field, as it came down I smashed into it, it never hit the ground and was launched again into the air. I pulled over to find it laying on the side of the road taking its last breaths. My husband was about 3 minutes behind me and came up on us. I had already called 911 to keep the deer and receive the instructions to follow the proper way to tag it. My husband picked the deer up and put it in the van… I was leary of this thinking, what if its really not dead yet??? I did not want to be the recipient of the deer “waking back up” as I was driving home so I traded cars with him. The deer did not come back to life on the way home and I will note it never did, even after I pressure canned the meat.

The canning was easy and I can see it will get easier as we go along. This was the first time to pressure cook meat and I had a very friendly helper on the ball/kerr hotline to cheer me along (1-800-240-3340, I thought you’d ask) and I only had 1 lantern lit as hubby was hunting out back so it made it hard to see (yes, I have to learn to light those lanterns yet, I am a pro at the gas lamps though J ) the canning took about 2 hours of prep of cutting deer up (see movies of the kids, they did it all by themselves and knew all the parts to cut like loin, roast, back straps etc from years of watching hubby) I left 2 of them to cut the deer up while the other 3 kids and I headed to the back 40 to pick about 4-5 bushels of our apples (see movie)… back to the deer: I brought the meat in, washed it again, cut meat into 1 inch pieces, browned on stove, put in hot quart jars and put 1 ½ cups of boiling water for each 4 cups of venison. I then put the 14 quarts in my pressuer cooker on the stove. (to this point, (my work is completed now) incuding the cutting up of the deer outside it took about 4 hours) It took about 45 minutes to get to 10lbs of pressure and then I pressure canned it for 90 minutes. Pretty good for the first time, I bet it will get quicker from here, or I hope so.

I figure if my family eats 2 qrts of meat a day in a year, I will need 718 more quarts of meat from today on for us until next year at this time… I would have to do the above process at least once a week for a year to keep up. I do know it saved a good chunk of money… It is rewarding this morning (Nov 5, 2008) to see the meat in my cupboard next to our applesauce, green beans, cherries and more…

About those apples. They will yield about 5 gallons of cider so I am tempted just to keep the apples and put them in the root cellar instead, we’ll see…

for the record...

I always want to be upbeat here! Always. BUT I must put some assumptions to rest… We saw lots of people this weekend and I just have to set the records straight… I was humorously amazed at some questions presented to me this weekend… I am not even including the other list my children and hubby where asked.


NO, we are not turning Amish, nope, not a bit, just living off grid in an Amish area… Lots of people do this even though it is new to you…

Yes we still have phones, 3 of them actually…

Yes we still take baths and showers and even blow dry and flat iron our hair all on battery and not at the expense of the power company …

We only live 45 minutes from church (People that live in California drive up to 2.5 hours a day each way in their daily commute… don’t believe me, ask a Californian)

My husband only drives 10 extra minutes to work now, totaling about 35 minutes max.

This is a good fit for your family but this isn't for everyone... Really? You are the first person that has told me that (in the last 5 minutes)

I have heard lots about "YOU WILL BE PUTTING SO MANY MILES ON"... As much as I do not “run” I bet your running around all week in the 5 mile radius of your home would quadruple ,at least, the mileage you put on your car weekly compared to me even though I live a farther distance from everything than you… (I put 5,000 miles on last year when I lived near town and this even included family weekend driving, I try to use prudence as much as always possible…)

The kids love it, we would not have done it if they showed a distaste for it but at the same token I wouldn’t let my child tell me they would be mad if they could not have their vidiot games either…

The kids don’t miss TV. We have never had cable, or sky angel like someone thought??? Where do people come up with these things???? We have gotten 2 channels on the TV most of our lives if we are lucky they come in that day…

I don’t mind if you feel comfortable telling me you would hate what I am doing, but you must know I do not feel comfortable telling you I couldn’t live 5 feet from your neighbors in your subdivision either … Nor do I care if you do or not and just want you to be 100% happy in your set up and I always only wish you God’s richest blessings on your family.

“Do you even get radio channels there?” HUH???

Yes, It will last and if in 10 years we decide that we want electricity we did not fail. Its strange people have bets how long it will last…

I bet you will be cold! Uhmmmm, we have heated with wood for 7 years now, 100%... Not just when convenient, not with an electric furnace blower or anything… we really have heated with wood the real old fashioned way…

Please don’t feel sorry for me, my husband did not drag me away from the palace to this compound or something, we are on the same team 150%... We couldn’t have done this move without God and each other. Notice we didn’t mention without you but we still love you lots :)

I am sorry but I can really not answer your question in a 30 second time frame of how we got to here. It was a decision with much prayer for years in the making so 30 seconds would not cover the answer you are looking for…. Oh, I see , you weren’t actually that interested as I see you are already distracted… Well, when you remember what you asked me again you must know that just because you just heard of what we are doing does not mean we did not put years of thoughts, research and prayers into it…

To that same person, "its just fine and ok with me you cannot understand why we did this, it actually is out of your grasp to understand it and that’s ok, But I wont be spending much time trying to sell you on it or explain it"...

Yes we are still wearing makeup and yes I will wear pants…


The list goes on…

I hope I answered all the questions…

I hope you are just as happy and blessed beyond measure as we feel we are and I always wish you all the best, and I encourage you to pursue your God lead dreams…
xoxoxo

in the presence of...

November 3, 2008

It was a fairly mild day today. I will take these beautiful Indian Summer days anytime! The evening was chillier. I am getting braver and braver to walk alone to the outhouse in the dark :) Tonight, I guess I was maybe getting to proud of the fact I was less scared. I threw on my wellies and strutted my stuff to the outhouse, without a flash light or lantern… As I left the “safety” of the back of the house into the darkness, I could feel the presence of something(S)… I heard lots of rustling and breathing… I quickly turned myself around and made a run for the house… Mind you, its only about 9 feet, but I made a run for it!

I went inside asking for a flashlight and someone to quick come with me (I wasn’t going to do this alone!) Wwe shone the flash light out and there, just 2 feet from the outhouse was the goat, the baby goat and the cow eating the leaves away! I am just glad they did not spend the entire night loose. They had escaped from the barn after they were just put in for the evening. Each night we haul them back in and I guess they were not ready for that yet… I seriously think it may have been to do with the time change. Animals sure can be creatures of habit to ya know… More than I thought.

November 2, 2008 the store and a wonderful visit from friends...

I went to H's staple store this morning. She seems to be getting a little more trusting today. Today she invited me into her home, not just the porch where the store is located. She was welcoming and giggly. She wondered if she was smoking me out as she was burning leaves around her entire home. She saw our ad in the milk news about needing the wash machine and the kitchen cook stove. She happened to have both of these and I think she invited me in to see her Ashland cook stove she had for sale. It was a very nice stove. I reached out to touch the top of the stainless steel and she grabbed my hand and said “Oh, its very hot”. I did not know that so I was thankful for her caution. I got to see most of her entire main floor and kitchen. Very simple, and reminded me a lot of my own home. I wonder if the overly friendliness will continue more. Maybe I need to trust her more…

After lunch some old friends came to the farm with their 8 children. They brought us a wonderful meal and tons of goodies with a wonderful smelly candle handmade by the family. The children thoroughly enjoyed themselves and the weather was perfect. We haven’t gotten together in ages but it was so neat to meet with some like minded people and everything just fell into place when they arrived. I think they were amazed at how much work this lifelong project is going to be. That’s just it, we look at it as a lifelong project. If I thought we would have to get everything finished today, well then I would go bonkers… I can rest knowing we have a lifetime of time…

UPDATE NOVEMBER 5, 2008: We just received the sweetest handmade package with gorgeous handmade cards from the "G" family above for their visit! HELLO, we should be thanking you, we had a wonderful time and were so blessed by your company and all the wonderful food you brought! xoxoox

November 1, 2008

I found the neatest thing today. I found an old brochure for our house as a large estate Amish auction back from March 2007. I got to see some photos and some interesting things I had not known about this home before. I sure would have liked to seen this Amish farm in “all its glory” but we purchased it unoccupied.

Some neat things listed on the brochure that I wish were left with the house:
A treadle sewing machine
An antique icebox for the kitchen
A granite sink with a drain board
A Pioneer Maid wood burning kitchen stove with a large water reservoir (just the one we want)
A Maytag wringer washer (just the one we want )
And more!

Also, a great verse I read as it reminded me not to want too much today,
Proverbs 30:5 “Every word of God proves true; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him” and then 30:8 “Give us just enough Lord”…