35 Chickens, 3 Cows, 6 Cats, 46 x 38 Garden and 1 Vacation Later…

…and I’m still alive!!!

Oh, yes, I’ve been busy!

Just last night we arrived home from Oregon. We stayed in Yachats, Depoe Bay and Mt. Hood.

Did I tell you that my monster-in-law, whoa, I mean mother-in-law retired? And, that she went with us on our trip?

Okay, let’s see if I can address the title subjects in a few quick bullets.

• Yes, I finally received my chicks. But not all from the farm store I ordered from in my previous posts. This story will need it’s own post. As it turns out, the manager DOES hate me!
• My father in law purchased a calf, cow and a hiefer. We will help take care of them and will be packing the freezer w/ . 5 of the heifer in fall. [Okay, I've been corrected. Steer, we have a steer instead of a hiefer?!]
• Skittles and M&M, our sister and brother, 8-month old, cats ”married” and had four kittens on Easter Day. My allergic, no-like-cats  hubby, for some reason has decided to let all of them stick around. [Update: just got a call from hubby, it seems two of the kitties, Hershey and Annika, hitched a ride to work this a.m. One made it about 50 feet past the mailbox, the other didn't make more than a mile up the highway. Unfortunately, those two were the two older girls kitties.]
• The garden… oh, the garden. I spent three weeks non-stop planting up to the day we left. I did get in: tomatos, peppers, stawberries, royal bush beans, carrots, chard, spinache, three kinds of lettuce, cabbage, broccolli, cauliflower, cabbage, oregano, catnip, basil, thyme, rosemary, basil, cilantro, kholrabi, beets, radishes, and potatos. Still have pole beans, pole peas, horseradish, onions, garlic and corn. I figured most of it had to go in before the trip and no, it is not summer warm weather yet, and I paid for putting in my warm weather plants. They are yellowing and the rain has not stopped in over 2 weeks. They are not dead however and it is only June 12. Either they’ll revive or I’ll replant. The cool weather items however, are in heaven! More on my poor garden in its own post.
• The vacation. Ah, the vacation. Long story short for now: my brother-in-law purchased a World-Mark membership or condo [?], I’m not exactly sure how it works. All I know is he spends a lot of money and feels that the rest of us need to utilize his condos when he gets them. He nor we, get to choose dates. He gets to stay at timeshares around the world. For this vaca he chose a three bedroom in Depoe Bay, OR on cliffs overlooking the ocean. It was a beautiful view. He insisted in having along: his ma (retired from 35 years medical service the day before we left), his brother- my hubby, me and the three munchkins (one of which missed her last week of school). As luck has it, my uncle owns a 100 year old motel 45 miles down the coast, that he’s spent the last five years remodeling. A great little mom and pop, or aunt and uncle place. On the way over from N. Idaho, grandma’s pristine condition Caddy over-heated south of the tri-cities. Thus, the tone for our vacation was set.

Gosh, I hope I have time to eventually write this post! Picture this: 1) A family of five feeling obligated to go on vacation, not wanting to because of lack of gas funds, 36 baby chicks, a dog who runs, a large garden with night freezes still, and the last week of school so important to the third grader. 2) Grandmother, an RN, who for the much of her 35 years of public health service, was the county wide manager for the local health district, just retired, not on her own terms and still needing to control… anything. 3) A 30-year successful construction business owner, who in the last two years has been heading into some type of life crisis, has let his hair and general appearance go, is the baby of the family (and acts as such), and while on said vacation, started getting calls from the IRS because his accountant paid neither his federal nor state taxes. Oh and while we were there, his head foreman was caught with missing equipment and tools at his house, and the head of sales was caught pocketing money that clients had paid for jobs, we’re talking thousands. The you have my hubby the older brother,  who feels he needs to take care of everyone. Stressful vacation for him.

I spent the vacation packing and unloading everyday, taking turns staying at the condo and my uncles, as I refused to be caught up in the drama. Yes, I said drama. All I wanted to do was take the kids to the beach, Newport Bayfront, the Aquarium, eat seafood and more beach. And, we did those things. I’d say the kids and I had a pretty good vacation. We also had some good times with Daddy.

 

Daddy and the trouble makers! Cate is 2 and at the heighth of her terrible two’s, Alicia’s is 4 and addresses herself as “the middle child”, and Emily is 9 and is our “little” softball start. Actually, she’s very big and very smart. She scored in the 7th grade, 8th month on her STARS and had the highest ISAT scores in all categories in Math, Reading and Language. Yes, I like to brag, I’m very proud of her.

 

Ah… isn’t this a sweet photo? There’ve only been a handful of pics of Erik and I over the last 13 years.

 

I wonder if they know that Jaws is one of my ALL time favorites?

American Principle #1: Gratuitous Living

Everything has been changing for us in the last two years. Our lives are in constant movement. The money situation as well. Each day is a challenge, one that I look forward to. I am constantly surprised when I realize the excess that our nation lives with and that our family lived with; where our paychecks went.

It is not that we are a stupid people and make these decision consciously. It is that in the last 60 years our nation has built itself on the idea that it’s all there for the taking, so why wait. If you want it, get it. Life, liberty and property. It’s our liberty to spend our property freely, even wantonly, to be able to live our lives to the fullest. We as a nation have been taught this.

Since WWII this is the overriding more’ that each generation has built upon and made easier for the next to live up to. Living “the dream”.  Yes, that’s what our gratuitous lifestyles are called- “the dream”.  Ironically the two thesaraus definitions for gratuitous are unwarranted and free.

Little did I understand what lack of pride and true ownership does that life hold until we started doing w/out. Doing without for two reason. One, because we wanted to. 

~ 

Having recently come back to this site after 6 months and reading some of what I have put on here the previous year almost makes me somewhat melancholy, but then gives me perspective. All of my posts have given me strength in one form or another. However, from this point, I won’t be writing to heal,  I’ll be writing to share my experiences and report on my epiphanies, as they are.

Wise Words from Martha W.

“I have learned that the greater part of our misery or unhappiness is determined not by our circumstance but by our disposition.” - Martha Washington

A passion for change

I chose to blog to have a place to focus and work through decisions that have and haven’t been made yet. There are many as we have done a 180 w/ our lives starting March 2006.There are many topics of which I want to learn a lot more about in being able to work toward living a sustainable and happy life. For both myself and my family. 

I would say right now my primary focus in simplifying. Doing this takes conscious thought daily and the willingness to change things. I’m learning a lot and enjoying breaking out of the stereotypes that we and others (mostly family) have set for us over the years.I do have my challenges, which result in the previous negative blog.

We chose to live with our in-laws while building our house. Here we are a year later. The whole process is taking sooo long. From approval to sub-diving my in-laws land to gifting us our acreage, drilling the well, getting electricity, house plans, ahhh… It can be overwhelming. And, has been.

While my in-laws are good people, my mother-in-law is in medicine and hasn’t even given it a thought that there are other ways to do things than her way. She has been the country wife, mom, breadwinner and community champion for 35 years. I greatly respect her for all those titles. She earned her retirement last year but will not take it for a variety of reasons. She says mostly money, insurance, however my hubby who is very close to his mother says that she wouldn’t know what to do with herself and couldn’t hang out with her husband all day.

She is the boss at her place of employment and has been for 25 years.  She is tired, her health is staring to fail and she comes home cranky each night with a martyr complex. Much to everyone’s surprise, from the very beginning I have been the one she takes most of this out on. Passively. This has never been the way I do things. You do not get to be an Executive Director by being passive.

She treats me like I’m 18 and one of her charges. I for the most part and I hope to my credit, make myself very scarce. This can involve inactive periods that give you time to dwell. Not good. Hence the previous negative post.

My husband’s parents have done us a great service giving us the acreage and letting us stay here. I am very grateful. While we sold our house double the cost we built it for, we cannot afford property, a new house AND paying off our debts. Debts were the biggy for us. This allows me to stay home. Something I have NEVER done. Everyone was quite surprised and still are that I really like staying home and it takes a darn good excuse to get me out.

I am frustrated in the fact that I am still holding a passion to make great changes in our lives. I do what I can from where we are and get shot down here and there. Mostly my self assurance takes hits.

I try to look forward and plan, but truly want to live for today. I’ll wait for the gardens, solar power, making my own cheese & butter and fresh eggs. But I need to find a piece of the life to live now without upsetting the applecart, because truly it is just a matter of time, and, perspective.  Did I tell you about my new pigs?? )

So here I am. I have already soaked up so much from the many blogs in this domain. What a great place to surf and learn.

Comments and suggestions are always welcome!!