Homesteading for Everyone

Homesteading is possible for everyone to a greater or lesser degree. From growing salad green and herbs in pots, to keeping a few chickens, to raising crops for the commercial market - everyone can become a little more self-reliant. Learning a new skill like sewing or how to use basic hand tools can make you independent from paying a handyman or calling your Dad to come fix things.

This is the idea behind my book, that you don't have to know everything right now or have a ton of money right now to make a better life for yourself.

Don't think it's possible to learn new things? Let me tell you about John, our son. John is a fantastic salesman and our family expert on anything Apple Computer related. He is the epitome of the 'computer geek'. Well both the and his wife had a dream to convert an old school bus into a home and then begin a journey to research what makes some farms successful by visiting them all over Canada and the United States. Sound like a lot of work? YOU BET!! But he did it, learning how to do things one step at a time, and asking for help when he needed it. It helps if your Dad can do electrical and plumbing. But John has learned so much and put his knowledge into action. Their bus is almost ready to go and they are leaving on Monday to begin their trip! You won't believe how beautiful their place is, go to Nicolefaires.com and you can see videos and loads of pictures.

So with enough perseverance, time, and effort anyone can create something wonderful! John and Nicole have made a happy family, a successful life and contributed to making this a better planet through their dedication and hard work. And it was hard work, our hats are off to them both!

Please consider supporting us as Authors. Buy Nicole's book or sponsor our family so we can continue working for a better planet one book and one small family farm at a time.

Our Family Are All Turning Gypsy!

First it was Nicole and John, then us, and today we heard that Nicole's Dad has moved into a lovely little RV too! It's contagious! Blue bus Syndrome! Watch out Lynne or you'll be next!

While Nicole and John are driving their epic journey of discovery in the US we'll be toodling across Canada for 3 weeks and then starting a new life in Nova Scotia where we plan to get to know the area and then buy a farm, God willing. Living on the road is something you get used to, but in the end I think I'd like to settle in one place for the next 10 years at least and finish raising the kids.

I did manage to get a few pics today of our place so I'll post them once I figure out data transfer on my phone. John, Nicole and the girls came over for an early Fathers Day BBQ because they'll be gone soon and miss it.

Here's what a typical day looks like for us. I'm not teaching Seminary any more, the final day was Friday except for a few end of year activities. No more getting up at 5!!

The kids now can get up at 7, make cereal, shower and/or get dressed and ready for school and finish up any homework they just remembered about. Jordan walks the dog too. We leave to take them to school at 7:50. Girls first to Coombs, then Chris then Jordan here in Qualicum. Back home for breakfast and to feed the dog and goat. Check phone messages for work and set out the plan for work for the day. If there is time then Steve will work on the trailer or moho. Today he was removing old silicone and other yucky stuff. The kids are picked up at 2 and 3pm so after that it's home and start making dinner, laundry, more work or whatever may be the case. The kids usually hang out for a few hours playing video games, watching the family channel or Disney channel online and they LOVE the trampoline! dinner is usually sometime between 6-8 depending on what's happened during the day and if we have an activity like Young Men or visitors for dinner. Bedtime for the girls is 8:30. 9:30 for the boys but they sometimes stay up a little later. Stephen usually crashes around 1am (night owl) and I'm usually totally useless after 10, I'm still waking up early so consequently have to go to sleep early. If I get to sleep at 2am like I did on Saturday night I still wake up early but I'm tired all day. So despite rumours to the contrary, our life is very normal. Work, school, play, bed. The only difference with living in an RV is where you sleep. Oh, and the bathroom, and the tiny kitchen. But you adapt.

Goals for today: Put up the screen shelter to have a bug free place in the shade to hang out. Make an outdoor shower, put away all the clean laundry and find a smaller steering wheel.

Why a smaller one? The one we have is in rough shape and 17.5" so a bus or truck size. You can't get a cover that big without going to a truck dealer apparently. Canadian Tire and Lordco don't sell them. They suggested the Kenworth dealer. But having a smaller one like a regular van or car might be a way to go too. Gotta run. Will check in later.

Itinerary for our cross Canada Trip

For a more up to date Itinerary (because our plans keep changing) we now have a dedicated page. Once we actually get closer to our moving day you'll be able to follow us across the country and see where we are!

Day 1 Wednesday July 27th. 10 am Leave Qualicum Beach for the last time. Sniff! And begin our adventure. Yay! Arrive in Victoria, BC. Stay at Mom and Dad's for the night. Have some fun being tourists and hopefully convince Mom to make her delicious potato salad. I challenge you to find a better potato salad maker!

Day 2. 6 am Leave Victoria and catch the early ferry to Vancouver and the mainland. Visit Lynne and the boys (our grandsons), visit the Vancouver Temple (the first one on our tour) then hit the open road! This is our first night actually sleeping on the road. We should be able to make it to Kamloops before stopping but we'll go as far as is practical.

Day 3. Drive through the Rocky Mountains past Mt. Terry Fox, through Jasper National Park. Stop anywhere interesting. Perhaps go past Spruce Grove and see the house Brian (the kids bio dad) was raised in. Arrive in Edmonton in the afternoon and take Brian all his stuff. Visit WEM (West Edmonton Mall) and other attractions plus the Edmonton Temple (#2 on our list). Kids stay at Brian's, Elizabeth and Steve park the Moho at WalMart for a night or two and shuttle the kids as necessary.

Day 4. Saturday July 30th. More West Edmonton Mall. Maybe the rollercoasters and waterpark today.

Day 5. Sunday 31st. More Edmonton. Places to go...People to see, Church to attend. Ok, enough already, it's time to move on.

Day 6. Monday August 1st. Pick Brian and kids up very early (6am) and head for Drumheller. The Royal Tyrrell Museum is a must visit. But it's also mid summer and Drumheller is dessert so VERY HOT. Let's plan on getting there right as they open and then having lunch, walking the dog, and hitting the road for Calgary and a relaxing evening with the Mums.

Day 7. Tuesday 2nd. Play tourist in Calgary. See the zoo, our old house, the site of the under construction Calgary Temple, do laundry. Have showers with lots of water pressure and hot running water that lasts more than 3 minutes. Ahhhh....Divine!

Day 8. Wednesday 3rd. Leave early for Lethbridge. Head smashed in Buffalo jump on the way. Arrive in Lethbridge in the early afternoon. Veg!

Day 9. Thursday 4th. Brian and kids have time with their Grandparents. Stephen and Elizabeth have a day to themselves and take the kids to the Temple (the first built in Canada and #4 on our list as we drive east) in Cardston. Catch up any laundry while Grandma isn't looking and shop for food for the road.

Day 10. Friday 5th Regina! Yep, we're heading for Saskatchewan! Flat flat flat. Nothing but big beautiful blue sky. Regina Temple. Camping at the Walmart!

Day 11. Saturday Winnipeg. Still flat, but not quite so bad. Provincial bird of Manitoba...the mosquito. Reportedly the size of hummingbirds. See the site for the Winnipeg Temple which was just announced. Stay at Lilac Resort and enjoy an afternoon and the following morning relaxing pool side. As long as they let us in with a goat.

Day 12. Hey hey we're heading to Thunder Bay. Staying at the Walmart another day!

Day 13. Can we make it to Sault Ste Marie? Let's see! We're just staying at Walmart so it shouldn't matter what time we roll in.

Day 14. Toronto! Temple and shopping! And Walmart sleeping most likely too.

Day 15. Ottawa to see the houses of Parliament. And other cool Canadian stuff. Kate has it all planned out.

Day 16. Montreal. Oo la la. Real french bread and another Temple. We can tour for a few hours and then head on to historic Quebec City and further still into New Brunswick to Edmundston for a much needed sleep! Zzzzzz.

Day 17. Fredericton, Moncton, Sleep our last night in our home on wheels? We'll be running out of fresh clothes so that's probably a good thing.

Day 18. Saturday August 13th. Meghan's 8th Birthday! Arrive at out new home in NS. Tired, happy, and in need of both a shower and laundry. Oh to sleep on my real mattress again!

This just our basic plan and I'm sure it'll be changed yet. We'll keep you posted. We're still a few $$$ short of out goal so feel free to donate! Or sponsor us! Would you like to see your ad travel right the way across our beautiful country?

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!

Wash Day

I'll admit...I'm spoiled. Living the gypsy life with a washing machine is lovely. Especially on a day like today where the sun has actually come out and there is a gentle breeze blowing. I realize it's just a temporary break in the rain that's supposed to be back this afternoon so I'm enjoying it while I can. As I look out the window I can see all my nice clean laundry fluttering in the breeze on my retractable washing line. The line measures upto 50 feet long so I have it running from the moho (still looking for a new name) to Steve's work trailer/office and back in sort of a 'v' shape. It works really well and I can hang a load or two up at once. We're still trying to locate a camera and get you guys some pictures. Hopefully later today that will happen.

So how did we hook up the washer? I have a frontloader that's good on water and that's important because all that wash water has to drain somewhere. In our case we extended the drain hose about 10 feet from our little living area and it drains into a series of trenches a few inches deep that the kids and I dug into the sand. Probably the best way to do it would be to bury some drain pipe that would let the water gradually seep out all along it's length. But the sand absorbs a lot so our way sort of works for now. The washer is sitting on some 2x4's so that it is level because we don't want it bouncing all over the place when it spins and it's a little off the ground so it won't go rusty. The water is fed to it just from a garden hose attached to the cold inlet and left turned on. If you do this though you must remember to cap off the hot water inlet, or the cold water will just come pouring out through the hot inlet. Obviously we can only wash in cold water but saving trips to the laundromat plus the $3.50 per wash and average of $3 per dry is worth it to me. My machine spins out much faster than the laundromat ones too so drying doesn't take as long.

Do you know the very best part of doing laundry and then hanging it out? Besides the saved $6.50?

THE SMELL!! I love the smell of line dried laundry.

I guess it helps I'm not in a smelly or polluted city too. Gotta go switch loads. Hope you're all having a great day. Elizabeth

Living in an RV with kids

Or should it be...how not to go crazy living in close quarters with 4 children.

Let me give you a brief description of our living arrangements. Ours are actually a real luxury compared to some. Stephen and I have a little 1972 Class C Motorhome that's named the moho. Yes, it really needs a new name and we welcome suggestions. It measure approximately 12 feet long and the bathroom is a tight squeeze at 22 inches wide by about 34 long. Ok if you're slim but a bit of a tight squeeze if you're chunky. We have a 3 burner propane stove, oven, single small sink, fridge and a porta-potti (which Stephen is hauling out to empty as I type this). The seating is on 2 benches that run on opposite walls so we have tables set up in between them for meal times and our place gets used as the kitchen/living room. The kids have an older Prowler trailer that's about 18 feet long. Kitchen, double sinks with hot running water, bathroom with sink, counter, flush toilet and shower and 4 bunkbeds. This is used as the family shower and as bedrooms for the kids with a curtain dividing them for privacy. Boys at one end and girls at the other. Junk strewn between unless they've recently tidied up. They are getting better at this but it's a S..L..O..W process.

Each of the kids bunks is just over 7 feet long so they have room at the foot of their bed for shelves and some storage. Chris has also commandeered the closet and half the counter and has set up his computer, PS3, screen etc. His electric guitar and amp are in there too somewhere. Jordan has his collection of stuff just tossed casually at the end of his bed. The girls bunks are near the door so when things fall off the bed they are really in the way to anyone trying to get in or out of the place. They're working on it. They have a small but tall 7 drawer dresser for their stuff plus the storage at the end of their beds. Kate has the best storage as she lucked into a compartment right by her feet that's nice and deep. Their heat source is just one of those portable oil filled radiant heaters and is very effective. It just basically takes the chill off in the morning because right now it's warming up. With no heat on all day yesterday my moho stayed at 14 degrees overnight which is much more pleasant than 4 degrees I can tell you! Right now it's about 20 so nice and pleasant.

One of the biggest blessings of being parked here is that they have a trampoline and generously let the kids use it any time they want, which is a lot. They have also made fast friends with young Ethan next door so outdoor playtime is good, especially for the girls. The teenage boys have a high speed internet connection and games so they stay occupied. Plus we are walking distance from the pool and we give them money to be able to go swimming or attend 'teen night' on Fridays.

I have to get going to take lunches to the girls school because they forgot again but will return soon.

Where do we go from here? Nova Scotia!

** Note, this post should pre-date the one about trip plans...sorry for any confusion - Elizabeth***

While our plans of rejuvenating the farm in Hilliers were dashed, we're still optimistic that the future can hold wonderful things in store for our family. The dream is not dead, it's just changed a little.

Here's what our original introduction said about us.

One family learning to be self-sufficient on Canada's beautiful west coast. We hope you enjoy following our story as we turn a run down and seriously neglected little rented farm into a thriving and vital part of our community here in Hilliers, near Qualicum Beach on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. We have a large market garden and raise chickens, turkeys, cows, goats, sheep, alpacas and bees. Oh and let's not forget the most important thing...we raise our family here too.

That all changed with the owner selling and the new owners bulldozing everything.

Despite of all this the motivation to create a vibrant and flourishing small family farm is still there! It just looks like we'll have to start over again somewhere else. So we're looking to get our own place in Nova Scotia.

Nova Scotia?!?! What? Isn't that at the opposite side of the country?

Well, yes it is. Infact, from here to there is about 7100km. Since we're planning a few detours to see family, see our beautiful country, and to have fun along the way, it should end up being a bit closer to 7500km. I'll work it out and let you know. Ok, here's the map.


View Directions to Halifax, Nova Scotia in a larger map

So the plan is to take our motorhome, 4 children, the dog, the goat, 2 cats and one trailer and drive 7000+km in search of a place to call our own. We'll need some help along the way I'm sure so we're going to look for some sponsors, sell pretty much everything we have, and we'll keep you posted each step of the way.

Coming soon...a tour of our current home, our Vancouver Island Bucket list, and how to do all sorts of stuff on a budget while travelling.