Spring in to action

Ok .. I haven't been here for a while but as of today, I'll be posting at least 3 times each week. Spring is coming and we will be getting busy on our homesteading plans again. There are a few projects to do before we move back to the cabin.

1st order of business ... the solar power system! At the very most we will spend $1,000.00 on our solar power kit. It will be expandable just in case we decide to add more panels later but for now, it will run the things we need. We have spent the last year learning ways to conserve energy. We don't have small appliances that need electricity but we do have a fridge & freezer. We have laptops (that can power up off the car charger we have) & a TV (to connect through the computer & internet) that will be unplugged except for about 30 minutes per day ... and we have our internet modem.

Before we buy the solar power kit, we have some questions ... we know how much power we'll use but are wondering if there's any difference between a regular starter or off grid kit and an RV kit. In some cases the RV kit can offer more power for less cost. We'll be consulting with a few people who know more on the subject so I'll fill you in when we find out.

For lighting we plan on using hanging solar lanterns. We'll hang them out in the morning & then bring them in to the house each night. There's 2 for each bed room, 1 at each end of the hall, 1 in each bathroom, 4 in the great room and 2 in the kitchen for dish washing (if they happen to not get done before night falls).

Will it be a chore to haul all those lanterns outside? Sure it will ... but the money we'll save will be put aside for traveling, family fun, sowing in to the Kingdom of God & items for the homestead! We'd been looking & looking for a good price. I hadn't found them for lower than $20.00 each (including shipping) ... until recently. I was FLOORED to see then at $7.95 each .. and even more floored to see what store it was. 

Go to that site & do a search for some things. YOu may find what you're looking for.

January 2nd ... Twenty years ago

Once upon a time ... twenty years ago today: I’d been living at a friend’s house and went away for a few days. When I got back home there was an after New Years Eve party. As I walked in I was greeted with hello’s from familiar voices. I glanced around the room to see who all was there. I noticed some friends ... but saw a gorgeous guy sitting in the corner recliner. I’d never seen him before ... or so I thought. I rushed in to the kitchen to ask my friend about him. She pointed out that we went to the same school & I knew his ex girlfriend. I couldn’t believe how much he’d changed. I always thought he was good looking ... but WOW now!

I found my way to the living room ... purposely sat right next to him so we could chat. I’m not sure how long we were chatting when he excused himself to go to the kitchen. A few minutes later and he rejoined me to continue our talk. I had a great time but I kept getting lost in his eyes. It was as if they were magnetic ... pulling me in. Electric green eyes with a dark complexion .. brown curly hair ... I had already fallen. We stayed sitting, chatting for most the night ... until he needed to go home. A mutual friend was giving him a ride. I felt bad because he’d be sitting in the back of a pick up all by himself. I asked if any one was going with him & it seemed like the whole crowd stated that I should. So ... happily, I did. We talked some more on the way to his house ... laughing, gazing ... discussing all kinds of things. All too quickly we arrived at his house. He jumped out of the truck & immediately reached up for my hand. He was raised to be a gentleman, that’s for sure. We stood right next to the truck, saying goodbye. Then all the sudden he leaned in and kissed me. I’m not sure how long the kiss was but I know the world stopped spinning. I felt like Marcia Brady when she had the day dream of kissing the dentist ... sky rockets went off. I could hear them and see them shooting off above my head. The next thing I know was the guy that drove was calling my name. He said he called me 3 or 4 times before I responded. I really didn’t hear him. I realized I was leaning up against the truck but had no clue how I got that way. Any way ... the gorgeous guy that kissed me needed to go but before he went in, he apologized for being to forward. I explained that had I not wanted him to kiss me, he wouldn’t have.

I then hopped in the front seat with the driver and his girl friend. When we arrived back at my house I could hear whistles and giggles from my friends. Questions went flying as soon as I walked back in the door. My roommate was on the phone, chatting away. Then she handed it to me. It was him. I think I blushed. We talked for hours and I enjoyed every minute of it. He asked if I was going to be around on the 5th. We made arrangements to meet at my house again. Time finally came for us to say goodnight. I never would have imagined the days going by so slowly ... but they did ... and it drove me crazy!

 

To be continued ...

 

Stir up the gifts

I won the above plaque in a GiveAway, from Hope Ink a few months back. I was blessed with what it said & really pictured it applying to my dreams & music career.

Well, my family is facing some major decisions once again and this verse & plaque keep popping in to my mind. There is no way we should even consider making these decisions with out considering what our gifts are. Doing so will help us narrow our path and focus on things God has not only given us but wants us to share with others.

Our gifts can help us in our business ventures, our off-grid lifestyle choices, in being good neighbors ... really in every aspect of our lives. I am excited about the changes that will undoubtedly take place. I have no doubt that in applying this scripture to our decisions, that God will bless us for our obedience and willingness to seek Him in every aspect. I should say here that we're always wanting to follow God's lead ... but it seems to have a deeper meaning this time. Again I will say I am excited to see where these decisions lead us!!!

Bartering "tool"

What would you consider a homesteading skill?? Quilting? Canning? Animal husbandry? Yes, I'd agree that those are definitely homesteading skills ... but in my mind, a homestead skill can be anything that either helps bring an income to the family and/or something that helps further the homestead & family itself ... like learning something that would take the place of monies paid to some one else for those things. A skill doesn't necessarily have to provide a thing though ... I think it can also be providing a service. You can barter with these skills, charge a fee, bless some one else with it for nothing or use it to benefit your own family.
I don't drink wine but I'd like to learn how to make it. I don't think there's anything wrong with a Christian drinking it either ... but I certainly wouldn't force one to. If some one is convicted to not drink it than who am I to try & force them to commit what is a sin in their eyes.
That being said, I think wine would make a good item to barter with. I could see it being used to not only make money but to save money in not having to pay cash for certain things and services. I'm in the process of looking for information, recipes, equipment etc. We'll start though by seeing how good a chance we have of growing our own grapes. If not, we'll need to find a good source to purchase from. I'll leave you with this ...

Getting back to our dreams

As a lot of you know, my husband & I bought land with a cabin on it. We moved to the land & lived there for a little over 4 months before having to move to a rental due to the extreme weather conditions. Our cabin is off grid, besides having a telephone connection. We will keep it that way! Since moving in to the rental, I've not done anything "homestead" like. I feel like I'm not working toward my dreams in one way but in another I feel like I don't have anything to do that *is* homestead-ish. I'm going to change that tomorrow. I have some things that we can do in preparation to move back to the cabin (which will happen in Spring). 

Our goals this coming year are to: 

• grow a lot of our food (be it animal, fruit or vegetable)
• recycle & reuse as much as possible
• start a new family business (that blends with our homestead lifestyle)
• dad quitting his outside job & coming home again to work the family businesses
• we all want to learn new skills (maybe 2 each)
• purchase new canning items
• build main addition to the cabin
• build work room on to cabin
• build pole barn
• live our dreams

I'm sure there's things I'm forgetting to add to the list right now ... but it is after midnight here. I'll post again soon! I plan on posting regularly ... and most importantly, I plan on getting back to our dreams!

Welcome to the new blog. As you can see, there are already some posts. I imported a few posts from an old blog that I felt would show what I plan on doing here. OMA means "Our Maker's Acres" ... as in the name of our property. I plan to fill this blog with homestead type stuff, home schooling things, bits of my personal journey in life ... and plenty of other things. Be patient as I set the background image, blog style eyc.

A money tree

So here we are ... in our rental house. We'll stay here until Winter is over. By that time we will have had enough time for weatherizing, repairing the roof completely, & getting our permanent power source up & running. I miss sleeping in our home! I miss the sounds of nature lulling me to sleep. I miss the wonder & amazement on my children's eyes when they hear new sounds or find some new creature.

I feel like we've taken three steps backwards  ... we have an electric bill. Ok, during the excessive heat, electricity to run an A/C was important to my health. We have a water bill ... we were hauling water for probably much less. We have cable now too ... I am bummed. Oh sure, there are shows that I love watching ... but really, it's just a giant distraction as far as I'm concerned.

Most people we know have said Winter here is horrible & how we may have trouble getting to & from our cabin because of the snow & ice storms. I don't think the snow will be a problem ... we lived in Minnesota & had 50 below zero Winters. Once we get a food storage area built I won't worry so much about the chance of being stuck at home.

I wish we had a money tree ... or seeds to plant one!