Your off-grid questions answered

So, here we all cuddled up by the wood stove with our oil and Leacock lamp lit. Come sit with us a spell and lets talk! The Gentle Giant and I will answer these questions together or alone. If alone it will be HA for "Homemakerang" and GG for "Gentle Giant" J Our answers are in red.

mima said...
Hey!!! My name is Debi and I'm enjoying your blog soooooo much!I found you thru Rhonda's amazing blog! Anyway! Is it possible to live off the grid in suburbia? We can't afford solar etc...but I do try to hang my laundry and use candles and very little electricity...I'm a newbie! But I do live in CA and could probably garden year round.Could you come over for a cup of tea and go over all I could do? LOL!!! Cyber cup of tea??? Thanks and hugs!

GG: I think it is very possible you could live off-grid in suburbia. Even some subdivision's do not have city water (we lived in two where we had our own well) so you could use your own well. You could get a garden pump on top of your well connecting rods outside your home and pump your own water. You would first have to pull all the rods up from your well, then remove your submersible pump. You would put the new rods down and a few rod links down you would put in a pump leather to match the size of your well casing then install the garden pump on top. It would be better even to lower down a 2" pipe to your 4" well and then install the garden pump with the new rods and 2" pump leather. This would be essentially what we have except for the fact that we have a windmill that is all brass and is powered by wind or small gasoline engine. Our connecting rods are all 1" galvanized that are each 8'ft long. Our well is 52' deep and our pump leather is at 24' below ground. What you could run into is that a pitcher pump will lift about 16 ft. A garden pump is designed to lift about 25-30 ft. Most residential wells exceed 200'. I am obviously not a plumber but this would most likely work. You would have to prime all your casings first. I would suggest seeking someone in your area to help you as I just put this in a nutshell. Toilets flush with a bucket of water and no electricity due to gravity.

HA: If you do not have a well, your water is pushed to you form the municipality usually so you could turn off your power anyway and still flush your toilet with that bucket of water.

I think it would be very possible to live off-grid in suburbia. In one of the above homes mentioned (in the subdivision) we heated 100% with wood. I would say I do believe that the MOST efficient way to heat with wood is a FREE STANDING (not attached to your furnace as these also require electricity for the fan to the furnace to get your heat) wood stove in the home and NOT outside the home. (The wood boiler systems require electricity to pump the heat to your home). I would not use any stove that requires you to buy pellets or corn either. Wood can always be cut and wood is always free if you are willing to look or call around for it.

You could do laundry with a small engine, by hand or at the laundry mat and live off-grid.

Amy said...

Hi! I sent an email yesterday but thought others might have the same question. In a few of the posts a battery pack is mentioned to operate the CPAP machine and other small electrical items. What type of battery pack is it?
I look forward to your posts and will enjoy the book as well :) Thanks for sharing your life with us.

GG: I use a sealed lead acid battery for my sleep machine and it runs on a 12-volt cigarette lighter adapter. Many CPAPS offer this feature (it is an additional cost) for camping trips or emergencies, etc. For use of the hairdryer, drills, flat irons etc. all require more wattage but not necessarily more voltage. We knew we could support these small appliances because we purposely picked out a larger inverter. The inverter is 4" wide and 12" long but packs enough power to run these small things on our farm as well as a table saw. We do not use the inverter much as now we are air drying hair, etc. We use the inverter to charge cell phones.

Gregory said...

I love your blog!! When you say that you are not duplicating your same lifestyle, other than living off grid, what else have you done to simplify your life?

HA: I have gotten rid of tons of clothes for all of us... I still need to get rid of more. This cuts down on laundry as well as clutter. For example, we have 1 good coat for each of us when we go out and then we have "barn clothes" (carhart type with bibs, gloves, etc. all the same color so they can be passed down to children and not "sexed" by the color of them. We did get pink hats for the girls though to make it more fun)

I also bought overalls for all the kids (i will get some when I am not preg) we hang them on a nail and wash once a week. We wear fresh shirts under them etc. and when we go out we never wear them. This has made life a lot easier. Kids have 1 pair barn boots, 1 pair snow boots, etc. It might sound small, but clothing for 7 people is a huge thing and getting rid of a lot of it really has helped me. I am still getting rid of stuff.

Before we moved I gave away my microwave, telephones, tvs, vcr/dvd, lamps, blender, extra curling irons and blow dryers, etc. You should have seen the pile of all these things... I wish I would have taken a photo of all of it! There is a photo is October of the children hugging the microwave I think. I was shocked they were not huggging the TV but we only got 3 channels so that probably helped. We traded our wash machine and dryer for 1 of our maytag wringer washers to a family that was leaving the Amish... How ironic is that?.

On a few occasions, we have lived without electricity for a week on certain vacations. I look back on those times as so peaceful and thought-provoking. What are you learning about yourselves?

HA: I posted in November a post about how I had to face myself spiritually. You would be shocked at how much you hear from GOD in the silence... At least I was.

GG: I am learning the importance of being home before dark (HA, but seriously)... As strange as this sounds in this short time I barely remember living with electricity. I am learning that I love living this way and it puts an entire new perspective on life. I am thinking about preparation (kerosene, gas or wood) for the next days ahead, etc. I am learning that a lot of people are interested in our life and I pray I can use this as an opportunity to witness to others about Jesus.

Many blessings to you,
Amanda

Veronica said...

Hi. I'm Veronica and since I home school, I think I may have found your site through someone else who home schools. I've actually been visiting for a little while now. I'm interested in how you have located some of your appliances. I love your washer and especially your cook stove. We have quite a large wood stove,which I like quite a bit.

HA: The Amish have been wonderful in telling us where we could go to find certain things. We have posted ads in the Farm Mill up the street for us, as well as the Milk News, (Amish) and we have been so blessed to have some direction from others that have gone before us (an entire life of living off-grid)

Captain's Wife - Jennifer said...

Hi. :) Were you and the Gentle Giant ever not on the same page? I'd like to see TV leave our home as a start. I think it would have the largest immediate impact on our lives and relationships. My husband is against that. He'd do it if we had to, like if the "grid" was gone. But has little desire to make those choices.

HA: I believe we were on the same page but at first one would be off the page and the other on, then vice versa, etc. This was due to a lot of prayer at first and waiting to make sure that God was driving this 100%. We had to be careful we knew moving off-grid was God's idea rather than because of our own excitement and desire. We came to the conclusion to "do it" with God's leading and had 100% peace from that point on. I won't say it has not been challenging at times, but during all the challenges we have always had 100% peace that we did the right thing.

GG: sometimes in these situations it is easier to ask yourself why would you give up TV? Instead of why wouldn't you? If your husband asks these questions to himself, it may get him thinking... Maybe not. He will arrive at conclusions that he then owns and it would be "his idea"... I believe we were always on the same page when choosing to live off-grid.

Sarah Sanders said...

I so very much long to live the kind of life you're living right now. Maybe someday if God allows, we'll be doing what you are doing! I'm completely inspired my you.
My question is this: what kind of changes have you seen in your family dynamics since making your switch? How has it affected the relationships between your children? between you and your Gentle Giant? between you and your children?
Wishing you His greatest blessings,
Sarah

HA: I was feeling the urgency for about 2 years to leave the rat race... I would not say even then our family was in the normal rat race routine most folks are. We never where a running family, kids in everything, go out each day life. BUT, I was feeling crowded in by life itself and somethings I knew were not what I wanted my family to be in etc. I felt we were also living easy Christianity. I can hear it now from some of you, "God never said it is bad to have an easy life or have nice things"... You are correct. BUT, what we personally could no longer stand complacency and living a status quo life... I am not judging others that do not choose to live off grid, but for our family this has brought us even closer.

We never were big TV people or video games, etc. We did tons as a family, but I have seen a lot of things change. A very few examples, my daughters want to be even more domestic. Right now our 15 year old sits reading a cookbook by the stove, the other daughter is writing in a journal, Ruthie is sound asleep. The GG is reading out loud to the kids A LOT, all on his own and not with my prompting :) He always loved reading to the kids but it was a few time a week of story book time. Now it is a daily routine at night and I just love that.

I will say the GG and I do not get out as much on date nights etc now it seems. But we do everything together now, he even helps with laundry and cooking as these things are all new to both of us with these new "appliances" we are learning...we talk tons.

One big family dynamic change, we go to bed VERY EARLY! One thing, we are so tired at night and the other, it gets dark pretty early :)

We have also been growing in our family dynamics spiritually as we are brought to God's word to help with all these huge changes ... He is really refining us and the fire is HOT sometimes when He does it!

The children have been forced to work more together and even the GG and I have had to include them more in tasks and this has been a learning process as well.

GG: We have always been a close family, extremely close. But since we have moved here we have become a "swarm"... With each little movement with one part of our family causes the whole family to go that way. It helps to be aware of this so that this does not become a negative thing. When you live without all the frills it seems, as we are learning still how to do this, the slightest thing can upset the direction of the "swarm". We have to be prepared for all of the normal things well ahead of time. IE, you are turning your thermostat on but today I actually went and hauled 7 cords of wood for NEXT winter. The entire family has to work in this mode as well. If there is an injury, everything stops... An injury really sets us back. Our son just had to have stitches and the swarm then went in a different direction that day, as it should, but things did not get accomplished.

Jenni said...

I just found your blog and am enjoying it very much! I am sure to be back with lots of questions for you.

CW-Jennifer,
I am right there with you. I want very badly to toss the t.v. and am fighting a battle royal. I wish you good luck:)

Jenni

HA: MY 2 cents, just get rid of it and let the pieces fall!

Peggy said...

Hi Ang!
I am so impressed with all you and your family are doing. I can't wait for the book! My question is about your ice. How long into the summer will it last? What will you use to keep milk, etc cold when its all used up? Are your summers hot and humid? If so how will you keep the house cool when you cook? Will you have a outdoor kitchen in the summer? Sorry I have so many questions. Take care of yourself. I know its getting harder to do so much as you get closer to your delivery date. Hugs my friend

HA: The ice house should last for about 9 months, but we will see... as we are new to this. Worst case, we buy a bag of ice to get through it if we run out. We just had to try it to see how it will work. I think we will need to insulate it more... YES HOT SUMMERS AND HUMID. We will have a "summer kitchen" area in my wash house (right off the house)

Misti Aldrich said...

I guess my question would be regarding when you and your husband decided to go off-grid. I'm much more advanced in my desire, as I grew up on the "survival" mentality. My husband grew up in the Twin Cities in Minnesota, on tv and processed foods. He's come along ways and is interested in what I am, but doesn't seem to "get it" yet. Hopefully once we move to the country he will. Were your husband always on the same page? What brought you together to the "ah-ha" moment.

I've enjoyed your blogs so much and can not wait until you have a book that incorporates it all.

Warm Wishes,

Misti

HA: The economy was enough for me to say "AH HA" but we did not move here primarily to save money. I wanted to be closer as a family and was ready for a change for quite sometime. I felt we needed to do this as a family.

GG: Although we did not primarily move off-grid to save money, it has to have you thinking that last night while we slept we spent 0 cents. That is just one of the huge perks to living off-grid. Another one is you have a sense of responsibility that you have lived through anything! If the world has a black out, our day will go on just the same as yesterday but our main reason to living off grid was to lay everything down before the Lord and to be used by God. This decsion has foced us to be humble...

EmilyK21 said...

Hi - my name is Emily. I haven't introduced myself yet because you have sooo many following you I didn't want to add any extra comments for you to wade through - but i'm not a lurker! :) I found you through my sister's blog: Regan Family Farm. I really enjoy reading your blog. Its awesome! If you aren't going to cover this in your book, it would be neat sometime if you wrote one for beginners! You know, going through the basics for people who are just getting started and/or are interested in this lifestyle. Where would they even start? Thanks so much!

HA: start by trying this at home for a week or even a few days and see what you think. I will say it is harder at home though as the electricity is there and you cannot just turn off your fridge to "try living off grid" for what would you do with the food etc? Try living with oil lamps first. We did that off and on just to create more of a peaceful ambiance in our home at night... it really worked for us. Try it once, I bet your kids will love "House on the Prairie Nights" that is what we called them. Now we live it...

GG: I think you would be shocked to know that even when you turn your house utilities off 100%,YOU STILL GET a bill!!!

Kathy said...

Well, my question is how you manage without indoor plumbing. While I think I could live without electricity if I had suitable substitutes for heat, cooking, etc., I think living without indoor plumbing would be very difficult.

How do you manage to get everyone bathed in your large family? And what about hand-washing - do you have hot water available somehow?
Thanks for sharing!

HA: Water does run to the house, but it first has to be pumped by the windmill into a holding tank or directly from the windmill (as we are doing now for the tank freezes). The water is cold. We bath daily. We have a 30 gallon sterilite type tub (what you may store your Christmas tree in). We have the hot water resovoir on the stove and now we always have hot water as long as we keep the tank filled. We turn on the faucet and hot water comes right out. We put it in a bowl and bring it to the sink to wash hands, etc. Preparation is the key here. We bathe right by the woodstove with a curtain up. It is nice and warm this way as well.

connibrett said...

Hi! It's Conni from the west side of the state. I have a few questions. . .
1. How much of your own food do you grow, preserve, grind, etc.?

HA: the entire summer we eat 100% out of the garden only going to the store for staples. This is about June-October. We can and freeze so during the other months we eat about 40%. I will say now, Feb-May are the leanest months from our larder as we have eaten it down. I did not can and freeze as much as I had wanted as I had bad morning sickness during that busy time. But, we did just have our own tomatoes today, 2 large freezer bags full. Tomato soup tomorrow :). Goats milk is great as well as it keeps us out of the store but this is also a lean time for that as goats are dried up due to pregnancy.
2. Do you plan to have indoor plumbing/baths at some point? and can you have an indoor toilet 'off grid?" GG we have indoor baths and plumbing (see above) but we are going to be storing more hot water in the future. We brought our claw foot tub along with us to have a better way to bathe in the future. We store 600 gallons of fresh water in the barn (gravity fed to house) when it is not freezing out. We have a 1000 gallon auxilary tank for holding fresh water as well, but we are currently not using that. We have 2 wells here.
3. How often do you go to the 'grocery' store? HA twice a month.
4. Have you seen this way of life make a difference in your household spending or are you just spending $ on different kinds of things? HA it has made a HUGE difference in household spending. Now instead paying utility companies we buy things for the farm but we are on a tight budget currently.
I may think of more questions . . .
I agree with your 'dear Amish friend" this has been a bitter winter, if you can make it through and be pregnant, I think you have what it takes!

tiffibug said...

Hi there. I am sooooo enjoying your blog so very much. My name is Tiffani.

My question is this: How much adjusting have you had to do in order to cook on your wood stove? I learned how to cook on one as a child, but haven't used one since then.

HA woodstove cooking has not been a challenge because we have heated with wood for 8 years. I think it would have been a huge challenge if we had not previously mastered heating with wood as I remember the early challenging days of learning to heat with wood. The cookstove took a few days to get used to noteably the top of the stove is the hottest and the bottom the coolest, the opposite of how I used to cook. When cooking in my wood stove I can actually set a cake on the bottom of the oven and it does not scorch or burn. But if the cake is to high the top browns to quickly and the bottom of the cake is not finished.

Lisa said...

Hello Ang...my name is Lisa and I have posted a few comments and an email over the past couple of weeks. My hd and I are enthralled but what you and your family are doing. Although I can't wait to hear the answers to all of the previous questions...I guess my biggest questions have to do with the children as I have 3 and they do love there TV and video games...I am trying to limit these to a minimum each day and wanted to know how your kids adjust.

HA without sounding harsh, remember who the mother is and who sets up the rules. Just say NO. I know when I find that my children are spending to much time with something I know is not something I find beneficial to them, I am usually part of the problem as I look forward to them having that time to be "baby sat" so that I can get something accomplished. It is a very easy trap to fall in to as a mother, speaking from experience here.

GG Children generally want to receive some sort of honor from their parents so if there was a way for them to receive that feeling that mom and dad respect them so much to limit these things, the children would do just about anything to get this reward. For example, when your husband is out for breakfast with his friends and he puts his arm around Johnny and says to his friends, "You won't belive what Johnny did this week,..." Your son would feel so honored he would want to continue doing what it took to get the honor, including limiting his tv/video time.

HA LAUNDRY IS A HUGE CHALLENGE (if you read my post about using the wringer washer) BUT IT IS GETTING easier...Another question is....I get so over loaded with laundry...how do you keep up, it has to take more time and make the work so much harder...I am so impressed. What about sewing, I read the blog about using the rotary/treadle mashine...do you sew and do you do it by hand or use a machine?

HA I need to get a treadle machine. I hook up a generator when I need to sew something. Since we have moved here I have not done a lot of sewing, except for mending by hand, as we have been so busy.

Renata said...

Hi Ang
I do have one question - do you think your day is busier now living off-grid or is it just a different list of jobs? I think you're doing an amazing job & love reading your blog!

HA just a different list of jobs. as I am learning these new things it seems to be getting a lot easier. I had WEEKS where I had to let things go so that I could just get food on the table, school done, baths, dishes done and feeding animals, etc.

gail said...

My question would be. What do you do after your evening meal at night when most families are sitting around the TV. Do you read, YES games YES , do hobbies BAKING, but not a lot of time for hobbies but I will say living here has been a passion of mine for years so I find it fufilling as I would a hobby.
We lived for 6 years happily without TV until we where given iTV for a computer by a well meaning relative and I am so sorry we have it. My husband just sits in front of it and I am usually in my sewing room. When we didn't have TV we spent our evenings more productively with a lot more conversation.It's addictive and I really don't like it.

Blessings Gail

Ryan said...

Hi Ang,

It is great to read what is going on. Surprised your kids don't have more to say. I do have a question... is your use of gas for the water and laundry actually raising your 'carbon footprint' over using some electricity for the same?

HA Ryan, my kids have lots to say actually but they will never be posting here on an adult blog or conversing with people in the cyber world. There are so many wierdos in cyber space that approach children and I am protecting mine. I believe I answered your carbon foot print question on your own blog: "I would be much more concernced with stray voltage that my small use of gasoline"

Ryan

cathy c. said...

Hi, I found your blog via Rhonda's down--to--earth. Thank you for sharing! My question to both of you is: did you grow up in "normal" suburbia... or rural? Did you have what we would call an average upbringing? you know, tv, movies, parties etc. Did your parents live simply? Was it a choice?

HA this was a choice, we grew up in suburbia, hubby on 5 acres, I in a subdivision. yes, average upbringing but we both accepted Jesus in our hearts and had that in our upbringing. We did tv and movies but not partying. I fell in love in highschool with a friends home in the country with nature abounding and knew then I wanted to live away from it all. I should say it took 8 years to get away from neighbors etc. so this usually cannot happen overnight but "NEVER give up on your dreams or aspirations for when you do you will cease to exist..." (Thoreau said it something like this...) On the parent note, I believe we live more simply than they do. They have all the modern conveniences including but not limited too :) high-end cable, call waiting etc. But we do eat out folks!

Thanks! cathy c.

suezoos1 said...

Found you via Down to Earth. Just finished reading everything from Oct. Had to see how everything was going from Day 1..I will be checking back every day now. I so admire you and your wonderful family. I do manage to heat my house with wood and have done so for the last 25 years..nothing beats coming in from the cold and backing up (a southern tradition) to the stove to thaw out..of course here in NC we don't have your kind of cold. Blessings to you..Sue

Brenna said...

Hi! One day I googled amish/michigan and I came across your blog and I love it! I live here in GR and buy my meat & cheese from Grassfields.

My question for you is, "What has been the hardest thing to go without?"

HA I MISS MY wonderful custom built closets at my old place. I felt more organized there but I will say I am getting more organized each week.

GG I miss backing out of the heated attached garage in the morning with the push of a button. We really miss chasing the babies around and keeping their fingers out of the electrical sockets! NOT!
Thanks and stay warm! Brenna

Michelle said...

Hi! I really want to thank you for sharing your "adventure" through you blog and for opening up this Q&A. I have so many questions. So I'll limit myself to two and I'll wait for the book:) Do you use a generator or other power source for some small things like a grain mill or a mixer, or do you do this by hand? HA MOST by hand but i have hooked up to the battery for my kitchen aid mixer for big christmas baking. The other thing I wanted to know is did you buy your off grid items slowly prior to buying your home or did you jump in with both feet to your new lifestyle with nothing and just bought things as you needed them? GG There is really not that much to buy as much as there is to get rid of. We jumped in with both feet with nothing off-grid except for a few oil lamps we had previously purchased for Y2K. We moved our woodstove with us as well as bringing 11 full cords of wood I had previsouly cut and split. 10 days into living off grid we bought our Berkley water purifier. Before we moved in we bought a small gasoline engine to get the water to the house... You can see how we purchased the bigger items as we went along. The Amish left NOTHING here for us except the buildings, a small inefficient stove and the kitchen sink. Thank you so much. You are living my dream, so I'll be tuning in to see what new adventures you have. Blessings!

Cathy-Dalton-Garrett said...

Hey!
My name is Cathy and I have been following your families adventure since your move to your farm. I found you through a dear friend's blog "Farmhouse Blessings". After living in Ashland Ohio for a few years, I admire the Amish and their values. We have a small farm in West Tennessee and raise our own chickens for meat and eggs and goats for milk. I was raised on farm in South Georgia and married a man from New York.. This is definitely a culture shock for him. My desire is to see our family follow in the simple ways of the Amish and keep with our faith as strong as the Amish keep with theirs. My question is a How to question. "How do you can your deer meat?" HA Buy a pressure canner. We have an ALL american pressure canner that cans 14 quarts at once. I blogged about it in Sept or Oct 2008 I think. You cannot water bath can meat. It could kill you. It was easy, if I can do it, anyone can :) We have 2 deer in my freezer but I want to can the next ones we get. Prayers to you and yours....Cathy

Sherry in MI said...

Hi Angie ~ I'm not too tech savvy, but after reading all these comments I think maybe you just need a weekly webcast (or whatever it's called) where we call in or email our questions and you answer them "live." What do you think?! HA Maybe you can research how I could do this :) I am not sure how much interest there would be. In the mean time now I know you are checking my spelling :)

lilymarlene said...

I'd love to know how you power your computer...... I read here daily (since Rhondda mentioned your blog) and always wonder this..... GG we power our computer with 5 amp hour batteries. We have alltel wireless for our internet. We have a computer business and you can buy all of these things from us :)

Amy said...

Hi! I am so thrilled to have found your blog. I found it through someone elses links, but I don't remember whose since I read so many.

Anyway...my question is: What steps to you recommend to a family to prepare for a transition from regular on grid living to living off grid? I would love for our family to make the change someday when we finally have our farm, but would like to know what steps to take starting now to prepare.
Thanks!

GG: do lots of reading, the Nearings "The Good Life" but step 1 would be to really desire to live off-grid step 2 to be in unity as an entire family step 3 find a reason not to live off grid and discuss it in depth. Step 4 PRAY! that should be step 1. Step 5 live off grid one day a week first Step 6 cook like you live off grid ...

Nadine said...

Hi, I am pretty sure I introduced myself but will again. My name is Nadine and live in Alberta, Canada. I found your blog through Rhonda's.
Debi poses a great question ..is it possible to live off grid in the city? HA SEE above please
What about water source?. my husband and I have talked about the weird idea of this last year( not weird to us)...we really don't want to live in the city and still dream of a homestead but if it is not God's will...could we not live off grid in the city?..we are not even allowed chickens..never mind drill a well... HA See above, but I would be putting my house up for sale!
How could one even venture into the possibility of doing off grid in the cities?
Wouldn't it be interesting to accomplish? Has it been done in Canada? I think it has been done in the state already?
Food for thought...
I would be up for that cup of cyber tea too Debi!..lol!

Blessings
Nadine in Canada
ps..love your blog!

The Knop's said...

Hi Angie! We've been reading your blog since we bought King Phillip and have enjoyed reading about your life among the Amish. We were wondering how long the ice in your ice house will last. Thanks for sharing your adventure with us. HA Hi Bonnie! We hope about 9-10 months!
Bonnie

Stoelly said...

HI Ang

I have enjoyed reading your blog and have recommended it to some mutual acquaintances. I have a question for the Gentle Giant ;)

Are you finding it challenging to live in the "on grid" world 40 hours a week and then return to the "off grid" lifestyle? What adjustments have you had to make?

Love

M.

GG I find it refreshing to come home each night. I am leverging my abilitlies in the on grid world to accomodate my goals here on our off grid farm.

HA regarding the questions about goats, they are EASY! we were green horns. Get Storey's goat guide book and start with 1 experienced milking goat. That is what we did.

Thank you for all the interest!

Take a guess… ***UPDATE***

THE ANSWER:

On a normal day without large tub baths or laundry we use: 58 Gallons

On a large tub bath day add: 10-15 gallons

On a laundry day add: 25 gallons

SO Janet, Tiffibug and Peggy were correct guessing.

We fill the large bath tub 4-7 days a week.

Regarding the carbon foot print question: We only had to heat our water for about 9 weeks with the propane burners, now we have a hot water reservoir heated by wood. Regarding the gasoline engine for the windmill, that is ran about 10 minutes a day. The wash machine about 3 hours MAX a week. We have one family car that is driven only 5,000 miles maximum an entire year. The Gentle Giant does have a daily commute above the 5,000 miles, but we are not runners. We combine trips quite a bit. I dare say that even people who live in the city put on more miles than our family with their little jaunts here and there. They figure, I am only about 5 minutes from the nearest grocery store so its ok to run there once, if not twice a day. The wash machine engine is run daily for an hour. I would be more concerned about "loose electricity aka stray voltage". Whether a myth to some or not, studies have shown that to be real. This is an interesting book on the subject itself.

"Everyone who uses a shower, hot tub or swimming pool, or even touches an outside
water spigot, needs to read Russ Allen s book as it discloses the shocking truth
about the North American electric distribution system. Even through the book
details the slow death by electrocution of Mr. Allen s dairy cows by the local
electric utility and the ensuing trial, what happened to Mr. Allen can happen to
anyone." --Donald W. Zipse, P.E., electrical forensics engineer, IEEE Life Fellow

On a normal day (not a laundry day) how much water do you think our family of 7 uses? It is very neat to think we know how much we use.

How much do you use? Remember a bathtub can hold up to 30-40 gallons. Each toilet flush is a few gallons…

Place your answer below. Thanks.

Encouraging words

We woke again today to -15 wind-chill with the temperature gauge reading 0 degrees outside. This has been a hard winter, one of the coldest on record here in quite some time. It is common around 3:30 am the Gentle Giant usually gets up and reloads the woodstoves so when we wake up it is not to cold. Well this morning we all slept through the night and it was cold when I first started stirring. It makes it much harder to get up when it is so cold J.

Last week during our first dinner after ice cutting with the Amish, a kind Amish woman stated to the Gentle Giant and I, "If you two can make it through this hard winter, you can make it through anything"…

Ruthie’s back…

I had another blog a time ago and featured a tag of cute sayings by our 7 year old daughter. Well, this one I must include here…

While painting the other day with the kind Amish woman, Ruthie calm and coolly asked her, "So when did you decide to become normal"? J

a teaser...

If you like what you see here so far you just gotta know that: I am leaving a lot out of what is going on!

I am drafting a book as I have mentioned before. It could be completed by January 2010 for our first complete year living off-grid. I will share more of our personal struggles and triumphs, as well as some wonderful pictures not shown here.

I may self-publish or I am hoping a publisher will contact us... (A girl can dream, can't she?)

Regardless of how it is published, I know you will enjoy it. I have some great recipes to include as well from cooking on top of a wood stove (not a cook stove) and more.

Stay tuned!

off-grid living questions...

As much as we live off grid, we are not trying to duplicate an “electric lifestyle”. By that I mean, we are conserving and living much more simple. If you would like to live off-grid but want to duplicate your same lifestyle doing it, you really have missed the point. We are not trying to live the life we once did. I really should have something in the title of this blog like “Living Simply Off-Grid at Eclectic Culture Farm”. Do you understand?

I want to open this section for questions here in the comments if you have anything you would like to ask about living off-grid, etc. (please have it pertain to off-grid living) I will answer the questions in this comment section and closing the comments Friday, January 30, 2009. I will not allow anonymous comments. If you have been a lurker (no anonymous comments allowed), please introduce yourself. Any derogatory comments will not be answered. Let's have some interesting dialogue. I am looking forward to it... The Gentle Giant will chime in as well...

Ang and the Gentle Giant

Welcome **update**

Ok, I was so surprised when I logged into today and saw in a few short days that we have over 20+ new followers here. I won't be able to keep up with blogging each and everyone now J but I want to say thank you for stopping by. Thank you for your questions and your encouragement! God bless you and WELCOME!

UPDATED JANUARY 26, 2009: If you are interested in reading about our entire journey (we closed on this farm 10-15-08), start here. If you would be so kind to leave how you found us, that would be nice of you (smile)

Ang

The 2009 Ice house complete!

Originally uploaded by Homemakerang

Two of the toughest ice men you will ever meet!

Our 8'x8' ice house (an old meat cooler/locker) holds approximately 190 14"x14" 75 cubes!

Ice cutting Day 3

The more I get to know and really understand the Amish, the more I see how they are so misunderstood. In the words of an Amish woman that I spoke with this week, "We do not have all these rules to keep us pushed down or 'under the law'. We have these rules to help us. We all get a voice to vote on what rules we want and do not want, down to the youngest woman in the church. We all need to agree 100% for a rule to be passed. When the rules are passed we write them down (Ordnung-different for each Amish sect) so we can have a copy of them. Having these rules makes our lives easier as we have 90% of our choices in life already decided for us. Today, most people suffer from choice overload. Go down any shampoo isle of the grocery store, even the little stores, and you have so many choices to choose from. For example, the little movie store in town with 40 or less movies to choose from. On his way home dad picks out a movie for the family to watch once a week. When he comes home everyone is happy to have a movie night. Later on a new and larger video store is built in town with over 1,000 choices of movies. The children find out and they all voice their requests. Daddy goes to the movie store and now spends an hour trying to figure out what would be the best fit for the family out of the 1,000 choices. Daddy brings the movie home for family night and when he pulls the choice out of the bag, everyone starts bickering because they now know of all the choices they could have had. Daddy feels guilty because he thinks of the other 7 movies he could have chosen… Being Amish helps with choices. You know what you can do and what you cannot. You do not worry each day if you are doing the right thing or choosing the best option, it is already figured out for you. Now you may go about your business and do what really matters: faith, family, community and work…"

The more I get to know and really understand the Amish, the more I see how they are RIGHT. Just like any group of people you choose to hang around with, go to church with or fellowship with, does not necessarily mean they believe the Word of God. The Amish as well, have many born again believers and some that are not. You would want to be choosy with who you spend your time with, just like we do now as we are English… It really has us thinking…. A few of our children see the logic in all of it and are really pondering how we live now. It is really hard to put it all into words. I guess it's one of those, "you've gotta be there moments"! Many myths of the Amish have been debunked for me. They can read their Bible privately in their own homes, they sing English Hymns, they really are just like you and I but they dress different and they do not have so many choices. Sounds kind of nice. SOUNDS very freeing to me…

Onto ice J… The last day, Thursday, was going to be about ¾ of a day of cutting to finish 2 ice houses. A large dinner was not being served. I decided when I dropped the men off I wanted to go back to the pond to see how this was all being done. I dressed in warm gear and sat on the back of the sleigh (see pregnant sleigh ride below). Our son got up on the cutter/sleigh with some Amish men and the Gentle Giant. One Amish man handed our son the reins. This made me very nervous… #1. Our son would be driving the team on the road to get to the back of the property… #2. I have quite a fear of horses… I figured, well I am just sitting on the back, it can't be too bad, I can always just stand up and get off if it gets to out of control. Boy was I wrong! I did not know these horses could pull this sleigh 12-15 miles an hour! That's not fast but definitely too fast to jump off of and especially while pregnant! I just had to pray, hold on and hope that no cars were coming. I would later find out it was a good thing the first 2 days I did not attend the ice cutting period! Men and dogs fell in the water, the buzz saw was uncovered and any one could have slipped on it, horses to pull in and out (some kicking wildly) and more… Moms should just stay back on these types of adventures J Dad's are better fit for these type of things.

We made it to the back of the 80 acres ok… Even though our son was driving on the wrong side of the road and the horses thought he was doing this to go to some other house so they decided to try to pull in that driveway… I was breathing pretty hard and trying to think mind over matter ANG… RELAX… When my two feet made it to the snowy ground I decided that after that adventure I would just take the truck back to the house J.

I was amazed at how straight and uniformed each piece of ice was cut. Each block of ice (75 lbs) had to picked up by hand with sharp tongs and then placed on the cutter sleigh. When the sleigh was full, it was pulled by a Belgian horse team to a truck with a goose neck trailer and each cube then had to be moved into that trailer. The ice was so thick and strong that the horses could stand on the ice with their cutter/ sleigh attached. The horses seriously really enjoyed being used for this purpose. Perfect temperature for them as well, a high of 10 degrees! One man said the horses love working in the cold but in the hot they have the huge horse flies to deal with etc.

I heard the men talking about the big dinner they were having and I remember the lady whose house ice was being unloaded saying she was just having coffee and cinnamon rolls. I felt panicked for her (being a woman and all) that 24 hungry people were going to be showing up starving. When I made it back to the house, by truck mind you, I quickly headed for home and grabbed some ground beef I had cooked the evening before, Lithuanian sausage and left over chicken. I piled in the van with the family and a few Amish riders and we headed that way. When we got there she was somewhat prepared but happy for the extra meat as she was only making calzones. We all sat down to calzones, a casserole and dessert and had a wonderful meal. Not a lot of talking. Morale seemed to be dwindling for the 3^rd day of being in the frigid temperatures but all was still well. The men just wanted to be done with the work now… A few Amish ladies were missing as they were helping set up for church this Sunday.

The girls and I helped clean up the meal. Then D was so kind. She is very artistic. She got all of her paints out and showed the girls and I how to paint flowers, etc. Then she made some cards with us to take home as well. D used to be an artist for Pathway Readers while she lived in Canada. (I visited her this Saturday and she had hung the children's paintings up on her wall J) She is a great free hand sketcher and our son seems to be talented in this area so I may hire her for some art lessons. I tried to curl up in a chair with the Great Him, but he was cutting molars and NOT happy. We were finished with the day around 3:30 and all went home. The Gentle Giant, our 2 sons and I took NAPS!

I am so thankful the Lord's hand was on all of the ice cutters and the group for an accident free 3 days! I hear that is very rare!

Oh, one more thing I learned (boy do I have lots to learn). You do not store things in the ice house, you bring in a block every 5 days or so and use it in an old ice chest or cooler. Our next thing we are looking to purchase and really need: An antique ice chest or we can have the Amish make us one. Stay tuned J

 

Ice Cutting Day 3 A pregnant sleigh ride...

Be sure to read day 2 below first. This video was filmed off from the back of the cutter/sleigh. On the last morning of ice cutting I wanted to venture out to the pond to see how this was really done! You will see the dog chasing us in part of it. Again, I could not show the team of Belgians pulling us as I wanted to respect the Amish and photos. I should add that my 11 year old son is standing up and driving this sleigh I am riding on! Here is a glimpse of day 3 that I will be posting tomorrow...

Cutting Ice Day 2

I will tell you after Day 1, I barely slept that night. I was in awe of the day and also I was so nervous I would over sleep for the next day when everyone, all 24, would be eating noon dinner at our home. I kept thinking that I would be awoken to 5 Amish ladies at my front door and I had over slept. This dream continued throughout the night so finally at 6:30 am I just decided to get up and get with it! I am glad I did. The Gentle Giant had Charlie horses the first 5 minutes into the night of sleep. I should add that all of us were in bed by 8:45 pm! WE WERE exhausted… I was on my pregnant feet all day and he was much more physically active obviously… He did not sleep that well either. He said he would be humiliated if he over slept. The guests were not to arrive until after 10 am, but boy was I surprised at 8:45 when they started to pull up to the house. I was still in my PJ’s and robe cleaning the kitchen and I did a really quick change and wash up and they never knew I was in PJ’s.
They immediately walked in, a mother and daughter (I had only met the daughter previously, a sweet heart GEM of a lady. At age 35 never married. Beautiful and domestic and very intelligent… hmmm? I never did figure out why she is still single…) and asked how they could help. I felt so awkward giving them jobs as they were guests in my home and one lady I had never even met. They said this is the “Amish” way. So, I let my guest finish up washing the breakfast dishes and sweeping floors! ACK, it was quite hard for me. I would have rather served them coffee or tea and had them sit in the front of the house, but they insisted.
I am amazed at how much help the Amish give each other. They never let you out alone on a limb in the first place, ever… But if you found yourself there, they would be coming to rescue you and help you. That is the Amish way…. And a dear Amish friend of mine always says being Amish gives you security from the cradle to the grave. They insure each other, pay each other’s medical bills, work their fields, clean their homes and spiritually encourage you to stay within the rules of the Ordnung and the German Bible from the Martin Luther Era. I will touch on why the Amish have many rules later and why they abide by them. I asked an Amish lady why and she had a great answer. It’s not the answer you may be thinking of. We (The English) really do not understand why the Amish do what they do. As I now have talked to more Amish in depth about the whys, I really feel I am getting a good grasp on it. Of course, I still cannot fully grasp it…
My menu consisted of baked chicken drum sticks with a seasoning, fresh cooked carrots in a sauce, deviled eggs and chicken rice. I made the famous Fruit Cocktail cake of Farm Girl Cyn’s, Chocolate Mayonnaise cake and white cake with whipped crème and canned strawberries for the top. All the ladies helped with setting the table, pouring water, making coffee and the rest of the meal. When the men all came in, they washed up and were seated the same way as Day 1. We did the silent prayer as well, signified by the Gentle Giant. I was last to be seated and that signified the beginning of getting ready to pray. The lunch was quieter than the day before. All the men discussed their aching bodies and one mentioned he had Charlie horses all night as well. The men really liked our wash house and appreciated the ice house. They liked seeing many similarities in our home as theirs. The ladies loved my new stove. One Amish lady had just got a new stove about the same time as mine and her and I discussed how we were getting used to baking in our stoves. I later found a dozen cookies from her hidden up in my cupboard for a gift. She is the lady that owns the staples store. She was the lady who said, “We will see how long you will last living without electricity”. I believe the cookies were a wonderful gift from her and I believe she does see my true spirit and resolve now. She is a little rough around the edges, but when you scrape that away, she is wonderful lady, a GREAT mother and more…
Everyone helped to clean up after the finishing prayer after supper. I also had every dish in my home dirty as well. I laid the baby down and came out and I tell you the kitchen was about 50% cleaned up already in about 5 minutes… Many hands make light work… Yes. The teenage daughter enjoyed hearing the girls play the piano. They enjoyed seeing our family photos on the wall. Some wanted to see our school books and others looked at my family recipes. The teenage daughter asked our daughter about the same age if she could have a ride on the snowmobile. It was pretty cute seeing her on the back with her blue dress and helmet over a bonnet! She said she would trade her pony for the snowmobile and my girls were thrilled, but both parties knew it could never really happen so they just laughed. She did promise to ride her pony down in the Spring and the girls loved the idea!
Some women worked on their caps (did you know they make every piece of their families clothing? Even the caps and bonnets) others sewed denim projects and mended socks. I sewed up a few holes in The Gentle Giant’s down coat. I was doing all I could to stay awake. Don’t get me wrong, I was enjoying the company, but I was exhausted. The little children played very well together. The Great Him was having so much fun with some kids his size. There were 6 Amish ladies at my table with children as well. They seemed to be enjoying themselves. One lady told of how her adopted daughter left the Amish and how she missed her as the daughter does not see them. It really is not true if someone leaves the Amish that they are not allowed to ever talk to a family member again, at least in this sect.
Women started to leave after 3 pm. The final guests, an Amish couple did not leave until 8 pm!!! We had left over supper together. The Gentle Giant and I literally fell into bed… Again, by 9 pm. I left the supper dishes for the next day… Day 3 of ice cutting and wonderful fellowship.
The Gentle Giant and I again had a full day of so many things going through our heads, so many! I cannot explain what we are feeling even now… it’s really big, its deep and a lot of all of it really makes sense to us… My children all commented on how full their hearts were and more, all on their own. The Amish definitely are different, the Amish are definitely …
To be continued…

very short ice cutting video

It was hard to do videos or pictures as I was trying to keep the Amish out of all photos. The saw that you hear is a buzz saw hooked to a small gasoline engine that rides on a sled type device about the size of a lawnmower frame. They made the saw themselves. There was no way to get a good picture of the saw as the Amish were always 2 feet from the saw.

Ice cutting Day 1

Originally uploaded by Homemakerang

Ice Cutting Day 1

Where do I begin? These last 3 days have been so full I am not quite sure I am even ready to write about the events that have transpired. I am overwhelmed with warm feelings and peace and I found a place in my life that I wish I could stay at… FOREVER…

Tuesday: I woke up a nervous wreck! I knew in a matter of a few short hours I would be taking my beautiful family to eat at our new neighbors for the first time… Not just any neighbors either, but our Amish neighbors. It wouldn't be a quick lunch; we would stay for the entire day and help with some inside housekeeping as well. I have done a lot of research about the Amish, so I felt very aware of what I was stepping into, but I did not want to offend in any way. The Amish are very private people. I considered it a great privilege to be asked to dine with them with my entire family inside their private home. I wanted to make sure to honor this wonderful invitation. It's kind of like when you expose your family to something and the whole entire time you wish you could leave the situation, but at that moment you are forced into it and you must, for the sake of getting along, tolerate others behaviors or life styles you usually would not consider being around. Then you get in the car and have to discuss it will the kids why we don't participate in these kind of things or behaviors, etc. and it really was a horrible time and your kids were over exposed to a bunch of crap and you feel sick about it. What am I saying? I was nervous because I did not want the Amish to feel we were intruding in their very own home with things they would not condone of… etc. and they would feel that way. I was in no way trying to "kiss up to them" but I surely did not want to be offensive to them in any way. Do you understand? If you are thinking at this time I am being self righteous (I am sure there are a few or more of you out there right now) you missed the entire point so if you really are interested in what I am trying to say, please read it again J I am just trying to paint a quick picture for you to understand.

Early Tuesday morning the Gentle Giant and our oldest son got up at the crack of dawn to get all bundled up to cut the ice. They had an idea of what they were signing up for, but just an idea… The plan was to fill 4 icehouses in the area. I ended up dropping them off down the road as we woke to 1 flat tire on the car he was going to drive to get there. I dropped him off quickly as I was only in my nightgown and robe. The temperature gauge in the car read -7 degrees! I pulled up quickly to drop the "men" into a group of Amish men hooking up the two Belgian horse teams to cutter sleighs to get to the back of the 80 acres by the pond to begin to cut the ice. I quickly returned home to get the rest of the school work finished with the other kitty cats and get ready to go to the dinner.

We were invited to arrive between 10 am and noon. I wanted to be fashionably late as so when I arrived I would be certain the other Amish friend of mine I know rather well would be there to help break the ice J. We arrived about 11:30 am and I handed the mistress of the house a box of my favorite Licorice Stash tea. We all wore our aprons so we were ready to get to work. I immediately noticed everyone pitching in. All the children were playing quietly on the floor with toys and The Great Him quickly joined in the fun. I noticed that 2 women were working at treadle sewing machines. I started to put mugs on the table, my girls poured waters and help rearrange some place settings. I immediately felt a warm welcome. The men arrived for the dinner at noon sharp. They all washed up. Men sit on one side of the table and women sit on the other. Both sides sit from oldest to youngest. Prayer began as a silent bowing of the head. It was very quiet. To signal the prayer being finished, the Man of the house moves and everyone is finished with prayer.

Immediately everyone broke out in to wonderful conversation as they started to move the food around family style. EVERY single thing was homemade and from their very own garden. Everything! We had freshly butchered fried chicken, green beans with a special sauce, fresh milk and fresh butter for homemade bread with homemade raspberry jam. Mashed potatoes with homemade gravy and homemade potato salad. We then could choose from a variety of 3 desserts. 1 of them being canned peaches and pears from their orchard. The meal was so delicious. I dare say if I ate like that each day things would well, you get the picture J. They had a lot of questions about how we were adjusting and all. The Gentle Giant told them about how my hand was caught in the wringer washer and then he said "I think she yelled something to me in Pennsylvania Dutch" and the all roared with laughter! It was a wonderful meal. They also ended the meal with a silent prayer.

The saying "many hands make light work" is so true. EVERY dish in that entire house was dirty before the dinner. EVERY ONE! In about ½ an hour all the dishes were washed and put away for 24 people and the house looked as if no one had just been there. Everyone helps each other. It was really neat to see them working together. I know families can work together as well. What was interesting though in these circumstances, no one was condescending to anyone else. No one sat there at shot their mouth off and gave unwanted advice about how they do something and made the other feel inferior. It was pretty cool. The mother treated her daughter in law as a daughter and all sisters were very fond of each other. I felt like one of the group. They had a lot of questions about homeschooling as 3 of the women were teachers in their day for an Amish school. They called their students "scholars".

I was looking out the window and suddenly saw my 11 year old son DRIVING A TEAM of BELGIANS attached to a cutter sleigh! In horror, I put my hand over my mouth and just prayed everything would go ok… I think it was a good idea that mom's do not witness the ice cutting. I wondered what else He had manned up to do out in the cold!? He looked so happy!

The women had me helping rip sheets for rag rugs and roll the fabric into balls. They wondered if I sew and I told them yes. They said they wanted to teach me how to do a treadle sewing machine. So, with 2 ladies helping I sat down at the treadle machine. It was actually very tricky to work. I kept having it go backwards and they would laugh as the thread tangled up. They were so patient and I said I should just let them sew the scraps together but they would not let me get up from the machine until I figured it out J after about 15 minutes I had it down pretty good. They said I would never forget now that I got it. So, I think this summer I am going to look for a treadle sewing machine at the various thrift/flea markets in the area.

While I was sewing, the girls were stuffing long john donuts made that morning as well as putting glaze on crispy crème type donuts. I will tell you, before all that wonderful meal that morning, the lady of the house got up and deep fried minimum 7 dozen of these donuts! Plus she had 4 loads of laundry on the line when we pulled up… I am amazed at their hard work and energy. Oh, and the donuts, you could not believe how good they were! I am going to order a dozen or so when I can. She starts making them to sell after Easter time.

After a donut and coffee, we helped to pick up the toys and gather up the kitty cats so The Great Him could get home to take a nap… I wanted one too as I knew the day ahead of me tomorrow J . I thanked them for their wonderful hospitality and they said they would see me tomorrow. We arrived home about 5:30 that evening. (no nap for me) Around 7 pm two young Amish gentlemen came to start to load our ice house with the team and then came in for a visit. They were hilarious! One did an auctioneer voice and acted as if he was auctioning off various items in our home while the older brother just gave him a hard time but was laughing with him. They wanted to show us something in the basement they knew off and found 3 bats (OH MY WORD!!!!) that they ended up kindly disposing off! YIKESSSSSS!

At the end of the day, the kids all had stars in their eyes. They said it was one of the best days of their life. They never imagined they would ever be able to experience a day like that! Matt and I were "star struck" as well. The day we had just experienced seemed surreal…

To be continued…

No visiting today…

We went to sleep last evening after hot baths knowing the gasoline engine to the windmill was broken… But, no worries, we knew we could come up with parts in the morning. BUT, lo and behold, that was not the case. The Gentle Giant found he would have to travel an hour to return the engine (on a Sunday and until this AM we did not even know if they were open today ) or further if not in stock. Short story, at about 3:15 today we finally had the water working with the new engine… The G Man missed churchy and I missed Cyn. Thankfully it works, sadly no guests for Sunday Supper…. Farm Girl Cyn… Sorry… No good pictures either now! But I am making her cake she mentions for my Wednesday frolic with the Amish, as well as a few more desserts… Check out her good cake!

updates...

Well, I have had a busy week here on the home front. Not too much new other than:
I joined Savings Angel this week and saved quite a bit on my groceries, yes quite a bit! On one $41 grocery bill before Savings Angel I would have spent about $131! So I am very excited about grocery shopping. I get the GR Press tomorrow in my mailbox so I will be able to save even more. I only had coupons available to print online this first time and still saved this week. Pretty fun to save even more $ on groceries…
It has been frigidly cold here, yes COLD! Like it has not been in quite a while. Animal warnings issued to keep your animals warm and all. Below zero wind chills and at night the actual temperature has been below zero. The weather snow wise has been good until today. We are getting quite a bit of snow up here now at 9:45 pm. We have been super duper warm inside the house though! I bet an average of 70+ degrees and all on wood heat, FREE HEAT! YES! We are not new to wood heat but we are new to 2 wood stoves… Out houses are COLD but attention all moms: If you have an outhouse you will finally get all that privacy you need in the bathroom J, trust me… Try it once, I double dog dare ya!
I have Farm Girl Cyn coming for Sunday dinner tomorrow with her famous fruit cocktail cake so I hope the weather will cooperate, right Cyn? Know what I mean?
We have been ice skating (the kids have) on the pond too! Pictures coming…
NEXT WEEK is shaping up rather wonderfully!
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of this week the men in my life will be cutting ice for the icehouses in the area with our Amish neighbors! I am so excited about this. The girls and I are invited to come on Tuesday and Thursday for the dinner too and bring hand work to do afterwards with the other Amish ladies. Then, on Tuesday I am supposed to host the ladies and ice men here for crafts and dinner… The women come as early as 10 am and leave as late as 5 pm! I have never been so nervous for company! I even had Savvy City Farmer as a guest before (an interior decorator from Chicago!) and I am more nervous about these ladies and men coming into our home (up to 25 adults and children)! I don’t want to do something to offend or wrong and my cooking will be critiqued! YIKES! You remember that their good friends lived here before us. Only a few have been in here since we have moved in and I know most are curious. They serve a huge dinner at noon with meat, potatoes, veggie, salad, homemade bread and 4 desserts! At least I am not first in line. I can learn quite a bit from Tuesday’s dinner and come home and then figure it all out before Wednesday, my turn to serve.
I am so full of wonderful thoughts and experiences living here with the Amish and this new simpler lifestyle as well. I will just have to share with you about the great time these next few days as I will not be able to take a lot of photos but I will show you the ice house of course! I feel like this life of mine is so surreal at times. I am so blessed to have this unique opportunity to live among these idealists (although, it is only an ideal) and live off-grid. I am so content to be living this dream and seeing these things all come to pass in our family’s life. I am so glad we took the plunge and moved here even though our house is not sold and even though it has been challenging taking on these new chores… God is still driving this thing folks! I challenge you as well to live your God driven dreams! Life is just WAY too short to be status quo (whatever your definition is for that) and live a mere existence of life. I am screaming to you, “DO SOMETHING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE”, “TAKE A BIG BITE OUT OF LIFE AND EVEN TASTE SOME OF ITS SOURNESS BUT SAVOR THE SWEETNESS OF LIFE”… “ITS BORING TO EAT THE SAME THING DAY AFTER DAY, MEAL AFTER MEAL, ISN’T IT?” Ok, here I go with a simple post getting all excited and all… Take a bite out of life and live it to the fullest!

Stay tuned for more...

It is zero here and below zero...

Yes, I have a picture to prove it! I took a photo of the temperature gauge last night and maybe I will post it...

OUTHOUSES ARE COLD :)

But that wouldn't bring me back to the palace, NOPE!

xoxox

Welcome all new "followers"

I want to start welcoming the new followers here! I have not done this to everyone but I will tell you when I see someone new, I do try to stop in if you have a blog and say hello, but I know I have missed some people. Starting today I am going to try to welcome you publicly here. I don't know if I can keep up, so no promises, but know my heart is to welcome anyone here! God bless you!

Welcome:

Amy Joy (hey I know you!), Caryn B, PaulaB52, Kathy, JeanM, Cathy, The Janzten Family and Southern Mom...

I hope you enjoy your visits!

cut wash room walls, click to enlarge and see notes!

Some of the logs cut for the wash room... Ang breathing BITTER cold air, or I should say trying not too!
Originally uploaded by Homemakerang

The Northern Forest Trees that will make our remodeled washroom walls...

The Northern Forest Trees that will make our remodeled washroom walls...
Originally uploaded by Homemakerang

Here is the actual forest that is being cut for our new wash room walls. We are pretty exicted! Its pretty neat to actually see and touch the actual woods that will create our new room! IT WAS BITTER COLD THIS DAY photo was taken!

laundry and bellies

Off grid laundry... and 23 weeks pregnant!
Originally uploaded by Homemakerang

click to enlarge and see notes...

NICE!

A Winter Storm Watch with brutally cold Arctic air will march into West Michigan Monday night, bringing minimal amounts of snow but powerful winds and tumbling temperatures

By the looks of things we might be cutting ice with the Amish next weekend... Stay more tuned!

I am trying to blog photos from flikr but I can only seem to do 1 at a time so they each make their own post as you can see below. Any suggestions would be great. Thanks :)

our off-grid dining area

our off-grid dining area
Originally uploaded by Homemakerang

our off grid dining room complete with Leacock Lamp

our off grid dining room complete with Leacock Lamp
Originally uploaded by Homemakerang