Patiently Waiting

Hi there! Just in case you wonder what's up with us...the answer is nothing. Well that's not entirely true. We're still finding ourselves super busy which is typical of Spring in the country. For us it's a little different though because we're living in town right now, buying land in the country, and gardening and raising chickens wherever we can. Yes, we're farmers without a farm. But hopefully all of that is about to change!

I'm trying to not get overly excited for a few reasons. Firstly, both Steve and I have been disappointed before and don't want to get our hopes up only to later have them dashed. Secondly, we know that once the buying process is done, the real work begins. Right now it's just paperwork, sketches and plans on paper, research and inspections. As soon as that's all done the actual physical labour begins with fencing and building some small but sturdy barns. And a home for us of course, but that's going to take more time and money so we have to stick to our plan and do things in their proper order, not rush things.

That's one of the greatest things about this 'build your own farm' we're doing. We get to put exactly what we want where we want. Want a tack room in the barn? I can do that! Need a small space to brood chicks? I can do that too. Hate having a formal dining room but want a pantry and a cold storage? Done! We'll get to build a practical house for us that's also energy efficient and will hopefully save us a lot of money in utility bills over the course of our lives and will be a blessing to our children when they inherit it. Steve's got 10 more years before retirement is an option so by then we should have everything running smoothly, most of the kids out of the house, and be self-sufficient. Maybe that seems like a long time to some of you, but trust me, even the best laid plans have a way of evolving over time and taking longer than you think. We're basically working on the next 6 months, the next 18 months, and the next 3 years when planning. Since most outdoor work will happen in the Summer and Fall it makes sense to plan building activities then. Of course that doesn't mean the winters are idle. That's a good time for fixing fences, storing firewood and building materials for the upcoming season and getting permits arranged.

So we're patiently waiting for the lawyers to do their thing and draw up papers for us to sign. Shouldn't be long now.

Speaking of not long...Nicole's new book is available for pre-order on Amazon and Indigo so I'm eagerly awaiting The Ultimate Guide to Permaculture. Oh crumbs Helga...I still owe you a book!

This weekend is also the time to break out the tiller and get the gardens dug over ready for planting. The temperature averages are creeping up now so we're getting closer to being able to start some cool season crops like peas, leeks and leafy greens. Our 4 new layers will be here next Friday so we need a coop built for them too, a nice little portable one we can wheel around and eventually move out to the other farm. We're going to use the chickens as weeders and bug removers as we prepare the beds for planting and before we let them roam free during the day. We already know there's at least one local fox so we need to have a good predator proof set up before we even think about leaving the chickens out there overnight. Steve's working on an idea to have a coop door that closes automatically and opens automatically...I'll keep you posted.

In the meantime, thanks very much for your kind thoughts and prayers on our behalf. We feel very blessed to have you as friends, to have each other, and to have this opportunity to finally build a place of our very own. I can't wait to invite you over for a house warming party!

Our 10,000 Page View Celebration

Want to Win A Free Book?

We're just a little family blog, so reaching 10,000 page views is a big deal for us and will happen over the weekend or maybe Monday. It depends on how many of your friends you tell about this. Get them to enter and then give you the book for Christmas!  :)  To celebrate our first 10,000 we're offering a copy of Nicole Faires marvelous book to the reader who composes the best blog entry, question and answer or suggestion for this blog. So get your writers cap on and come up with an original written piece and send it to me, and we'll choose the winner on Monday night. Write about homesteading or growing in your country or something that you think is a great idea, whatever you like. Political, agricultural, funny, we welcome them all! You've got all weekend to write about it. Please keep things rated PG and submit to doulamum at hotmail dot com by Monday noon. I'm excited to see what you guys come up with and I'll feature the winning entry on the blog on Tuesday. Yes, if you're feeling really creative then we'll accept more than one entry per person. Open to everyone in the world but please submit entries in English. If you win I'll contact you to get your mailing address and get your book on it's way to you right away. Let the games begin! Nicole has written a great book and packed full of information. Perfect for dreamers, schemers and back-to-the-landers and the perfect book for reading beside the fire on the cool nights ahead. Also keep an eye open for her next book on permaculture which is nearing completion I believe.

If you're not the winner... this book is also available on Amazon 

The Ultimate Guide to Homesteading: An Encyclopedia of Independent Living

 So it's up to you now. Get writing. Tweet your friends. Share the news and start making plans for next years growing season (unless you're in Australia and the southern hemisphere...then keep up the good work and have a wonderful summer!) 

 

 

Saturday Night and I Ain't Got Nobody....

Yep. It's Saturday night and Stephen is out at John and Nic's doing some more work on their bus. It's looking pretty spiffy thanks to all the hard work John has put into it. Steve's been doing a lot of the hidden stuff like water tanks, electrical and plumbing. Thankless jobs but very necessary.

As far as our own little family goes, we're good. Spent some time picking the hay out of last years alpaca fibre (Yes, that's how we spell it in Canada) ready to get it sent to the mill for cleaning and spinning. I just don't have enough time to get it done this year by hand and I still need to repair my spinning wheel anyways. I guess I still have to knit the wool and make felt slippers by myself so that's still handmade a little.

On my way back from dropping Christopher off at work and before taking the girls to swimming lessons I had a chance to pop by the local farmers market in Qualicum. There was a nice selection of plants, crafts, fresh produce, meats, breads and treats. I did indulge in a fresh croissant which receives high marks but his french bread was a bit bland and not as crusty as I'd like. Great sausages from Ravenstone Farm. I got bangers, canadian, sicilian, and Loukanika to try and I'm getting hungry just thinking about it. The last sausages I got from them were awesome grilled on the BBQ. And some honey for my honey, creamed of course. Which I can guarantee he'll eat with peanut butter on toast when he comes home later. This being his preferred snack since childhood for breakfast or bedtime. 1kg jar of honey cost me $13. Bread $4. Sausages averaged about $5.50 for a pack of 4 large sausages. I also bought kohlrabi, green onions and some rhubarb.

I managed to get my yard tidied up, the inside of the kids trailer is almost cleaned but still have to finish dishes, vacuum, and put away all their clean laundry. I sorted fibre as mentioned previously, sorted out a couple of boxes from the storage locker and will donate more stuff to the SOS which runs a huge local thrift store. Also washed and dried 2 loads of laundry including some more blankets off Kate's bed. I took 2 more off and she still had 3 left! My goodness, who needs so many blankets? You'd think we were making her sleep on an ice ledge in the Arctic!

Today's weather was nice and sunny, 22 degrees C with 5-10km wind from the west. Great for working outside. Tomorrow should be more of the same. Great because John and Nicole are coming with the girls for a BBQ and to check out our place. Gotta run. It's after midnight and I have to get up early in the morning to clean, drive Chris, write a talk with Meghan, and then get food ready for when John and Nicole come over after church.

Goodnight!