If I never see another September, it'll be too soon!!! This is a hard month for my family. We have the anniversary of 3 deaths to deal with ... then another death being very recent. Now we have to deal with a horrible situation with "neighbors" on our mountain. I won't go in to detail about what's going on ... but will say that I can't imagine why I hate people more & more the older I get (note the sarcasm in my tone). I am thoroughly disgusted with these idiots who are so in life for themselves that they don't care who they trample to get what they want.
It's hard to "love thy neighbor" when they are satan disguised as friendly folk. It's also hard being a Christian in the midst of such an ugly attack!!
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Friday, September 3, 2010
The missing link
I have noticed that I have written more in the past 2 months than I have in quite a while. You see my family moved completely off grid. We don't want to pay an electric bill nor gas bill nor water bill etc. So, we finally moved toward our dream. We bought a cabin & some land and are taking steps toward self sufficiency (but being God reliant). Any way ... this is the lifestyle we have dreamed about for years. We love it. We've been busy with "farm" work ... setting up our homestead, caring for animals, getting settled etc. But I always took time to write. Well ... still ... I didn't write nearly as much as I have since moving out of our cabin in to a temporary rental (we decided that because of weather, we needed to move, weatherize the cabin & then move back in) ... any way. I had been wondering why I've been able to write so much. I realized it today ... we didn't have a radio, stereo, CD player, mp3 player ... nothing. I turned my Windows media player on for the first time and waves of emotion hit me. I know it sounds silly but I realized then that for the past 2 months, we've been where we had music or sound other than our the ones we make and when I realized it tears started to sneak from my eyes. I love music ... it runs through my veins & beats in my heart. I'm going to talk to my husband about getting a solar panel & a couple batteries specifically for running our music "station." Eventually I will have a recording studio run off of solar power & a wind turbine.
Life is lyrics waiting to happen. Words will inspire & move you ... but the music can too.
Life is lyrics waiting to happen. Words will inspire & move you ... but the music can too.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Missing
My cat, Gotti got out of the cabin some how ... and did not return when my family went back up to the cabin to clean up a mess that a wild animal left behind. I am praying that my cat returns home. I miss him. This cat is strange but oh so kool!!! He meows the word "momma" .... and only does it when he's trying to get my attention. Dear Lord ... please bring Gotti home safely! In Jesus name .... AMEN!!!
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I am a bit unsettled about living away from our property & cabin. At times I feel like we've failed ... but I know it's good that we are staying in another place while we build. It's just not how we'd planned to do things. Oh well ... we plan & God laughs.
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I am a bit unsettled about living away from our property & cabin. At times I feel like we've failed ... but I know it's good that we are staying in another place while we build. It's just not how we'd planned to do things. Oh well ... we plan & God laughs.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Life's little turns
I posted this to a forum I am a member of ... and then decided to use it for the latest blog post.
**************
Up until a month ago we were living off grid & slowly (but surely) getting things done around our property. We had to leave the property last month (temporarily) due to the extreme heat. We'd only had a generator to power a fan & A/C ... and then it broke. Being with out A/C when temps were getting too extreme is not a good thing. So, we were blessed enough to have a place to stay away from the land & cabin. Our animals are still there so we go back & forth to care for all of them.
We have since decided that until our place is weatherized & we have a big enough generator to power an A/C & heater of some type, we will be renting a place in town. We're hoping it will be only 6 months. Once the temps cool down we will go back to working on upgrades & building additions ... but until then, we will design some new changes.
If you dig an inch to 1 1/2 inches down on our property, you will hit rock. In order to build a basement (which is a must for us) we will need to blow the rock out with dynamite. Of course, we need to do this before we build the addition too .... so ... we wait!
We're accomplishing things ... but it is going very slow. I try to not to lose patience ... but some times it's hard. We've waited 19 years for these dreams ... waiting a little while longer won't hurt, especially since we are actively working toward them. Really, it's the "ride" along the way that is a HUGE part of the dream.
Our oldest is in California, living with my mom & grandmother. My grandmother had been hospitalized due to the skin near her aorta tearing. She refused to have surgery but healed due to lots of pray! My mom needed help taking care of her so my son offered to go. He has made some great changes in his life ... including rededicating his life to Jesus & expressing the desire to be baptized.
We start school in 2 weeks & can't wait! Really, I just can't wait to be in a regular, daily routine. As far as a school routine ... it will be similar to last year's. Though we have our day planned ... it's filled with some package curriculum & unschooling things like lap-booking & lessons from life in general.
That's our life in a nutshell
**************
Up until a month ago we were living off grid & slowly (but surely) getting things done around our property. We had to leave the property last month (temporarily) due to the extreme heat. We'd only had a generator to power a fan & A/C ... and then it broke. Being with out A/C when temps were getting too extreme is not a good thing. So, we were blessed enough to have a place to stay away from the land & cabin. Our animals are still there so we go back & forth to care for all of them.
We have since decided that until our place is weatherized & we have a big enough generator to power an A/C & heater of some type, we will be renting a place in town. We're hoping it will be only 6 months. Once the temps cool down we will go back to working on upgrades & building additions ... but until then, we will design some new changes.
If you dig an inch to 1 1/2 inches down on our property, you will hit rock. In order to build a basement (which is a must for us) we will need to blow the rock out with dynamite. Of course, we need to do this before we build the addition too .... so ... we wait!
We're accomplishing things ... but it is going very slow. I try to not to lose patience ... but some times it's hard. We've waited 19 years for these dreams ... waiting a little while longer won't hurt, especially since we are actively working toward them. Really, it's the "ride" along the way that is a HUGE part of the dream.
Our oldest is in California, living with my mom & grandmother. My grandmother had been hospitalized due to the skin near her aorta tearing. She refused to have surgery but healed due to lots of pray! My mom needed help taking care of her so my son offered to go. He has made some great changes in his life ... including rededicating his life to Jesus & expressing the desire to be baptized.
We start school in 2 weeks & can't wait! Really, I just can't wait to be in a regular, daily routine. As far as a school routine ... it will be similar to last year's. Though we have our day planned ... it's filled with some package curriculum & unschooling things like lap-booking & lessons from life in general.
That's our life in a nutshell
Friday, June 18, 2010
Meltdown
The heat is rising ... and I have not been tolerating it very well at all. I was actually taken to the ER one night ... presented with extreme high blood pressure & a few other signs of a heart attack. After tests and x-rays & an EKG it was determined that what ever was going on, was not a heart attack. It seems like it's just the heat & how I react right now .... not a good thing!!! We've lived in the cabin for over a month now & still no solar power system connected. As of this morning we have a generator, an A/C & a box fan ... all thanks to an *angel* named Ed. If you think of it, please pray that God blesses him.
As of our last rain storm, we officially fixed the leaks in the roof .... we'd thought we'd already done it but then sprung the leak again a couple rainstorms ago. Any way, insulation & moisture barrier goes up this coming week. We'll be doing some wiring & plumbing at the same time too. One project at a time ... slow .. some times too slow but at least things are moving. The compost bins are built now ... YAYYYY!!! Another thing we'll be buying this week is a couple burn barrels.
Now that we have a generator I can charge my camera batteries & start using it again. Be expecting tons of photos soon!!!
As of our last rain storm, we officially fixed the leaks in the roof .... we'd thought we'd already done it but then sprung the leak again a couple rainstorms ago. Any way, insulation & moisture barrier goes up this coming week. We'll be doing some wiring & plumbing at the same time too. One project at a time ... slow .. some times too slow but at least things are moving. The compost bins are built now ... YAYYYY!!! Another thing we'll be buying this week is a couple burn barrels.
Now that we have a generator I can charge my camera batteries & start using it again. Be expecting tons of photos soon!!!
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
You live life your way, we'll live our way
Why is it that when some one lives differently than the crowd, they are automatically wrong? The only people that have an issue with living off grid are those NOT living off grid LOL Ok ... so it's a lot of work. If you don't want to do the work, then don't live off grid LOL but who are you to tell any one they can't???
That being said, our family is loving life! We are gathering soda bottles to construct a greenhouse out of recycled items. We'll try to be creative and design a picture with the different colored bottles. How kool would that be?!
Building is stalled still ... but there are other things we can do ... and we are!
I decided to post a song I've come to like. It speaks my mind as far as the first part of this post. We may not chew or smoke or eat fried foods ... but leave us alone. If you don't like the way we live, so be it .. we're not askin you to live it :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLvziNM2eyE
Way Out Here by Josh Thompson
Our houses are protected by the good Lord and a gun
And you might meet 'em both if you show up here not welcome son
Our necks are burnt, our roads are dirt and our trucks ain't clean
The dogs run lose, we smoke, we chew and fry everything
Out here, way out here
(Chorus)
We won't take a dime if we ain't earned it
When it comes to weight brother we pull our own
If it's our backwoods way of livin' you're concerned with
You can leave us alone
We're about John Wayne, Johnny Cash and John Deere
Way out here
We got a fightin' side a mile wide but we pray for peace
'Cause it's mostly us that end up servin' overseas
If it was up to me I'd love to see this country run
Like it used to be, oughta be, just like it's done
Out here, way out here
(Chorus)
We won't take a dime if we ain't earned it
When it comes to weight brother we pull our own
If it's our backwoods way of livin' you're concerned with
You can leave us alone
We're about John Wayne, Johnny Cash and John Deere
Way out here
We won't take a dime if we ain't earned it
When it comes to weight brother we pull our own
If it's our backwoods way of livin' you're concerned with
You can leave us alone
We're about John Wayne, Johnny Cash and John Deere
Way out here, way out here
Our houses are protected by the good Lord and a gun
And you might meet 'em both if you show up here not welcome son
That being said, our family is loving life! We are gathering soda bottles to construct a greenhouse out of recycled items. We'll try to be creative and design a picture with the different colored bottles. How kool would that be?!
Building is stalled still ... but there are other things we can do ... and we are!
I decided to post a song I've come to like. It speaks my mind as far as the first part of this post. We may not chew or smoke or eat fried foods ... but leave us alone. If you don't like the way we live, so be it .. we're not askin you to live it :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLvziNM2eyE
Way Out Here by Josh Thompson
Our houses are protected by the good Lord and a gun
And you might meet 'em both if you show up here not welcome son
Our necks are burnt, our roads are dirt and our trucks ain't clean
The dogs run lose, we smoke, we chew and fry everything
Out here, way out here
(Chorus)
We won't take a dime if we ain't earned it
When it comes to weight brother we pull our own
If it's our backwoods way of livin' you're concerned with
You can leave us alone
We're about John Wayne, Johnny Cash and John Deere
Way out here
We got a fightin' side a mile wide but we pray for peace
'Cause it's mostly us that end up servin' overseas
If it was up to me I'd love to see this country run
Like it used to be, oughta be, just like it's done
Out here, way out here
(Chorus)
We won't take a dime if we ain't earned it
When it comes to weight brother we pull our own
If it's our backwoods way of livin' you're concerned with
You can leave us alone
We're about John Wayne, Johnny Cash and John Deere
Way out here
We won't take a dime if we ain't earned it
When it comes to weight brother we pull our own
If it's our backwoods way of livin' you're concerned with
You can leave us alone
We're about John Wayne, Johnny Cash and John Deere
Way out here, way out here
Our houses are protected by the good Lord and a gun
And you might meet 'em both if you show up here not welcome son
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Building our dreams
Having to go to town 5 days a week sure does slow the construction process a lot .... and it gets old really quick. I think the biggest problem I have with not staying on our mountain when my hubby is at work would be that we have no schedule or routine what so ever. I know it's taking it's toll on my children too .... they seem to get crabby easier and earlier & they have more times where they are arguing & not getting along. Now, they've always had their arguing moments ... but I don't remember them being so often. I know once we are home more & hooked in to a routine, that will stop.
We have a map of our property now ... hopefully it's what the timber crew needs. They said they'd come out right away, once we had the map of the boundaries. Once we get the timber cut & out of our way, we'll be able to get more done on the mountain. We're only having 4 or 5 acres cut down ... that way we have room for animal pens, a barn, an addition to the cabin & we'll have trees left to hide the property and use for fire wood (for my wood cook stove). We're not sure if they'll grind the stumps they leave behind ... that would be great but we won't count on it. One thing we know for sure though .... we'll be grabbing as much sawdust as we can, from their daily cuttings!!! I wonder how long it will take for them to clear the trees out.
The 16 x 24 room we have right now will be the kitchen, small bathroom & living room. There is a really good size loft over the front door. Right now it's our 18 year old son's room. When he moves out (which he keeps talking about doing), it will either be a bed room to the next oldest or we'll turn it in to storage or an office. There is a window that needs to be changed. It's a beautiful big window .... but ... it's too big & too low to the ground. It will get in the way of our counters & cabinets.
We have 3 chickens left and 2 roosters ... our 3 year old son has decided that it's his job to feed & water them. I love that he's so willing to work the "farm!" He does a great job watering & feeding them too. He's not even afraid when they flap their wings while running toward him. He always has a sibling with him ... but really, he does the chore by himself most of the time. He really likes it that way LOL (we are blessed in that all our children like the farm chores).
I had a dream the other night that we won the lottery & bought every one off our mountain. We paid them well over what their property was worth too. Once every one moved off the mountain, my best friend & her family moved on to the mountain. She really is moving out here ..... I'd love for them to be on the same mountain!!! Really though, I'm just thrilled she's comin out!!!
Keep rockin,
Retta
Retta
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