year.
Usually I am here, telling you what to expect on the Neophyte homestead this year. Unfortunately I can't tell you much. It is all still up in the air.
We will be butchering our bull, but if we will be doing it or if we will be taking it to a locker is still unknown. It all depends on money and the weather.
We will be moving to the farmstead. And all the wonders that come along with that. We found our MASH tent. GP Medium. My brother lived in one is all sorts of conditions while in the military. He gave us a few tips on how to keep the water out, and to berm it a bit to help with insulation. He says they are cozy and plenty of room for my family.
Then you have everything that has to do with living off grid. Solar showers, clothes washing, entertainment and all the jazz.
I will tell you that I will probably hurt myself over this next year. It happens.
Husband will be staying at the Neophyte Homestead with some chickens, a cow and the garden. So there will be some updates for you from there.
Also what kind of strain our relationship will end up going through living like this.
Homeschooling is on the agenda.
as is a plethora of new to me skills, like soap making, lye making, hunting, smoking meats, ice house, sewing (I am taking an online course for it)
We can expect more births this year as well. And training new moms to the milking stanchion.
2010 should be filled with new adventure and stories to pass along.
However I am disappointed, according to my textbooks as a kid, I should have my own jet pack, moving sidewalks in front ofm y house, a car that drives itself with me only telling it where I want to go. And pills for food (though we are really close to the cloned meat on market)
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Saturday, January 02, 2010
Friday, January 01, 2010
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
No Accumulation
Husband came home from work late last night and said that the weather guys were saying that there would be no accumulation of snow. I peeked outside and to me, the unprofessional, thought that it looked like it was sticking.
This morning there is about 2 inches on the ground.
I like the snow. When I get to sit back in a warm house to watch it. Or even playing in it with my boys. But I have to do chores this morning. I have lots of coffee ready for my return.
You never know how dirty you really are until you do all your laundry by hand.
Large informed me that it isn't impossible to milk a cat, one can do it if they don't mind all the scratches. ( that would be husband's cue to look at me a mutter, He's your son.")
Small came running in the house the other day, screaming and crying He was wet and covered in something black. I should know by now not to ask what happened because they always give me an answer. Turned out that Medium convinced him to take his sled and slide across the frozen lagoon. Small made it to the center and fell through. I really wanted to laugh and vomit at the same time. I stripped the boy down, and got him in a shower all while scolding Medium. The lagoon is fenced in for a reason, and how dangerous that could have been, and the you're grounded lecture. Medium informed me that they had to do it, it's the only hill on our land. My father made me a hill when I was a child (mom, you have that picture?) I told Medium to have his father build one for him. Daddy's can do anything you know.
Eddie is better, (my Cow) the problem is she is nursing 2 calves. We have some calf finisher to feed her to bring her weight back up. And she should be just fine.
I need to find a gently used violin for Medium. He has been listening to my cd Meromorphic (tribute to Tool) and is fascinated. He has been asking for a violin for months now
He has been interested in some sort of instrument for awhile now, but the violin seems to be what he has become passionate about. I can teach him the piano or the sax, but not the violin. I think my older brother can play. Need to ask him and hopefully get Medium some lessons.
ok enough chit chat, you really can hold me up sometimes, I need to get my chores done. Maybe I should muck out the barn while it is all still frozen. Anyone up for some hockey?
This morning there is about 2 inches on the ground.
I like the snow. When I get to sit back in a warm house to watch it. Or even playing in it with my boys. But I have to do chores this morning. I have lots of coffee ready for my return.
You never know how dirty you really are until you do all your laundry by hand.
Large informed me that it isn't impossible to milk a cat, one can do it if they don't mind all the scratches. ( that would be husband's cue to look at me a mutter, He's your son.")
Small came running in the house the other day, screaming and crying He was wet and covered in something black. I should know by now not to ask what happened because they always give me an answer. Turned out that Medium convinced him to take his sled and slide across the frozen lagoon. Small made it to the center and fell through. I really wanted to laugh and vomit at the same time. I stripped the boy down, and got him in a shower all while scolding Medium. The lagoon is fenced in for a reason, and how dangerous that could have been, and the you're grounded lecture. Medium informed me that they had to do it, it's the only hill on our land. My father made me a hill when I was a child (mom, you have that picture?) I told Medium to have his father build one for him. Daddy's can do anything you know.
Eddie is better, (my Cow) the problem is she is nursing 2 calves. We have some calf finisher to feed her to bring her weight back up. And she should be just fine.
I need to find a gently used violin for Medium. He has been listening to my cd Meromorphic (tribute to Tool) and is fascinated. He has been asking for a violin for months now
He has been interested in some sort of instrument for awhile now, but the violin seems to be what he has become passionate about. I can teach him the piano or the sax, but not the violin. I think my older brother can play. Need to ask him and hopefully get Medium some lessons.
ok enough chit chat, you really can hold me up sometimes, I need to get my chores done. Maybe I should muck out the barn while it is all still frozen. Anyone up for some hockey?
Another late night rambling
Feel free to ignore.
I was just reading an article in Newsweek, about Preppers, and The American Prepper Network. I thought it was a well balanced article, taking in both sides of it. Unfortunately there is something about comments that I can't stay away from. I admit it, I rubber necked.
Part of it was that these comments were indeed about me. I write for The American Preppers Network, and The Kansas Prepper Network. So I just had to read these, right? Of course. Its like eavesdropping on a conversation about you. Oh the things you can learn about people.
I have always known that people can be extreme. I have always known that some people won't listen to an opposing argument. And I have known that Survivalists have always been portrayed as the Uni-bomber or Timothy McVeigh. And I have always tried to distance myself from that label. Of course now that I am writing for a Prepper group, I have thrown myself right into it all.
For those of you stopping by for the first time because of this article, please allow me to tell you who I am and why I homestead.
My name is Phelan, nice to meet you. I am 32 years old and have been homesteading for almost 10 years. I am the mother of 3 living boys, and a 4th that died many years ago. I was a homeless teen. I have been beat up and beaten down in more ways then one. I grew up in a nice suburban home. My father was a retired Police Officer and US Naval Officer from Panama. My mother was a radical (card carrying) from California. I am an Independent that tends to vote Dem or Third Party. I am well educated as is my husband.
We chose to follow a different path then what had been set up for us by our parents. This path lead us to our 5 acres in South Central Kansas. I didn't intend on farming or homesteading or prepping. I wanted to get my children (well only the 1 and was pregnant with another) out of the city. They just couldn't play. With budget cuts I lost my job the same year that we bought our home. I had to quickly learned how to make our budget stretch. I even took on a third shift job that paid very little, and would seem to some as below my position in life. (that would be me waxing poetic) So gardening it was, and canning. Soon husband was making enough money for me to stay home. Next came the goats, because husband had always wanted one. Then the chickens, sheep, cattle and horse. We fell in love with this life.
Now the prepping thing. I have been called much worse than a moron, and I don't believe I am Mormon nor a terrorist. And I only own 1 gun. But we have problems with wild dogs, and other large critters that a shovel whack just doesn't seem to control. I also carry throwing knives, because deep down I have always been a Goth girl and knives were fascinating, still are.
I don't have cable news. What I do have is a past that has shown me that anything can and will happen and that it doesn't hurt to be prepared for it. Those of you that think I am nuts can go right ahead.
I do indeed help my neighbors, and my neighbors help me. I live in a rural community that depends on each other. And that has always been something that I have pushed and I believe that with the preppers, they feel the same. You can not be totally self sufficient, but you can be a self sufficient community. It is impossible to do everything on your own to live, but your neighbor does things you can't, and you do things they can't and so forth. I might feel lonely at times, but I know when push comes to shove I have people there.
I was asked to write for the Preppers because of my homesteading. Nothing less, nothing more. I do not have a bunker full of food, or weapons. I like knowing where my food comes from, I like that I know what is in my food. I raise as much of it as I possibly can. And with the most recent lay off of my husband, this homesteading thing has come in quite handy. I know it could be much worse if I didn't have these skills, and if I didn't have the neighbors I have.
I have never liked lumping a group of people together. I still don't care for it. All the things that anonymous people feel free to say because of the screen that blocks their view of the real person. Hey, even nut jobs have emotions.
I admit, I do have a tendency to say something without thinking. It makes me sound harsh, or unsympathetic, or complaining. I'm just uncouth like that. But I do apologize if I have made a mistake. I do figure in other people feelings when I am responding to something they have said. And with a screen and a keyboard, you can actually take a moment and think about what you have written before clicking post. oops, I just deleted something naughty.
The group of Preppers are very diverse. They have many different beliefs, many different reasons for prepping, and of course mental status. I am clinically un-hinged. They are a fascinating group. So many different skills and abundant knowledge, however I am still waiting for some one to help me with this sewing thing, that learning from them, no matter what or who they are, if we agree on things or not, has been eye opening.
I enjoy them as individuals, even the more extreme ones show a light heartedness at times that is endearing. But many people will never see that because they believe that we want the end of the world to come. I find that sad. Growing up my mother taught us that we were all equal, that love was blind and that Marx was. . . um never mind that part it blows the loving mother story (LOVE YA MOM!) she was an atheist, yet encouraged her children to attend different churches, for them to discover who they really are. And that is how I like to see life, exploring, learning, growing, finding out who or what I really am.
And you know, it feels a little unsettling to learn that people that never met you think you are an idiot. I guess I feel more for Survival Mom than I do for myself of course. They might have been attacking us as a community, but it was her name in the article. I got it worse when I was in the WSJ. I was compared to Hitler. Of course this person didn't know their history very well, I had to teach him which dictator he should have been referring to. And some of the names were rather graphic. The Newsweek crowd is tame in comparison. And the extremist Survivalist (if they truly are that) I don't believe in most of what you are saying.
The Y2K comments crack me up.
Funny, if the journalist hadn't compared Preppers to Survivalists, would there be arguing over being a hippie/green movement, boy scouts gone wild?
Boy Scouts gone wild, I like that. Gives you very strange visions in your head doesn't it?
Just as long as we understand each other. We are not all gun clinging bible thumbing buck toothless, grease haired, standing in front of our trailer home wearing a tube top pregnant, barefoot, a kid on the hip smoking a cig and drinking a beer, people. We are hard working, 9-5, tax payer, government utilizing, life loving people. Salt of the Earth, farmers, homesteaders, hippies, and garden lovers.
And if you don't shoot at me, I won't shoot at you.
Well, that has been my midnight rambling. Hope you enjoyed it.
I was just reading an article in Newsweek, about Preppers, and The American Prepper Network. I thought it was a well balanced article, taking in both sides of it. Unfortunately there is something about comments that I can't stay away from. I admit it, I rubber necked.
Part of it was that these comments were indeed about me. I write for The American Preppers Network, and The Kansas Prepper Network. So I just had to read these, right? Of course. Its like eavesdropping on a conversation about you. Oh the things you can learn about people.
I have always known that people can be extreme. I have always known that some people won't listen to an opposing argument. And I have known that Survivalists have always been portrayed as the Uni-bomber or Timothy McVeigh. And I have always tried to distance myself from that label. Of course now that I am writing for a Prepper group, I have thrown myself right into it all.
For those of you stopping by for the first time because of this article, please allow me to tell you who I am and why I homestead.
My name is Phelan, nice to meet you. I am 32 years old and have been homesteading for almost 10 years. I am the mother of 3 living boys, and a 4th that died many years ago. I was a homeless teen. I have been beat up and beaten down in more ways then one. I grew up in a nice suburban home. My father was a retired Police Officer and US Naval Officer from Panama. My mother was a radical (card carrying) from California. I am an Independent that tends to vote Dem or Third Party. I am well educated as is my husband.
We chose to follow a different path then what had been set up for us by our parents. This path lead us to our 5 acres in South Central Kansas. I didn't intend on farming or homesteading or prepping. I wanted to get my children (well only the 1 and was pregnant with another) out of the city. They just couldn't play. With budget cuts I lost my job the same year that we bought our home. I had to quickly learned how to make our budget stretch. I even took on a third shift job that paid very little, and would seem to some as below my position in life. (that would be me waxing poetic) So gardening it was, and canning. Soon husband was making enough money for me to stay home. Next came the goats, because husband had always wanted one. Then the chickens, sheep, cattle and horse. We fell in love with this life.
Now the prepping thing. I have been called much worse than a moron, and I don't believe I am Mormon nor a terrorist. And I only own 1 gun. But we have problems with wild dogs, and other large critters that a shovel whack just doesn't seem to control. I also carry throwing knives, because deep down I have always been a Goth girl and knives were fascinating, still are.
I don't have cable news. What I do have is a past that has shown me that anything can and will happen and that it doesn't hurt to be prepared for it. Those of you that think I am nuts can go right ahead.
I do indeed help my neighbors, and my neighbors help me. I live in a rural community that depends on each other. And that has always been something that I have pushed and I believe that with the preppers, they feel the same. You can not be totally self sufficient, but you can be a self sufficient community. It is impossible to do everything on your own to live, but your neighbor does things you can't, and you do things they can't and so forth. I might feel lonely at times, but I know when push comes to shove I have people there.
I was asked to write for the Preppers because of my homesteading. Nothing less, nothing more. I do not have a bunker full of food, or weapons. I like knowing where my food comes from, I like that I know what is in my food. I raise as much of it as I possibly can. And with the most recent lay off of my husband, this homesteading thing has come in quite handy. I know it could be much worse if I didn't have these skills, and if I didn't have the neighbors I have.
I have never liked lumping a group of people together. I still don't care for it. All the things that anonymous people feel free to say because of the screen that blocks their view of the real person. Hey, even nut jobs have emotions.
I admit, I do have a tendency to say something without thinking. It makes me sound harsh, or unsympathetic, or complaining. I'm just uncouth like that. But I do apologize if I have made a mistake. I do figure in other people feelings when I am responding to something they have said. And with a screen and a keyboard, you can actually take a moment and think about what you have written before clicking post. oops, I just deleted something naughty.
The group of Preppers are very diverse. They have many different beliefs, many different reasons for prepping, and of course mental status. I am clinically un-hinged. They are a fascinating group. So many different skills and abundant knowledge, however I am still waiting for some one to help me with this sewing thing, that learning from them, no matter what or who they are, if we agree on things or not, has been eye opening.
I enjoy them as individuals, even the more extreme ones show a light heartedness at times that is endearing. But many people will never see that because they believe that we want the end of the world to come. I find that sad. Growing up my mother taught us that we were all equal, that love was blind and that Marx was. . . um never mind that part it blows the loving mother story (LOVE YA MOM!) she was an atheist, yet encouraged her children to attend different churches, for them to discover who they really are. And that is how I like to see life, exploring, learning, growing, finding out who or what I really am.
And you know, it feels a little unsettling to learn that people that never met you think you are an idiot. I guess I feel more for Survival Mom than I do for myself of course. They might have been attacking us as a community, but it was her name in the article. I got it worse when I was in the WSJ. I was compared to Hitler. Of course this person didn't know their history very well, I had to teach him which dictator he should have been referring to. And some of the names were rather graphic. The Newsweek crowd is tame in comparison. And the extremist Survivalist (if they truly are that) I don't believe in most of what you are saying.
The Y2K comments crack me up.
Funny, if the journalist hadn't compared Preppers to Survivalists, would there be arguing over being a hippie/green movement, boy scouts gone wild?
Boy Scouts gone wild, I like that. Gives you very strange visions in your head doesn't it?
Just as long as we understand each other. We are not all gun clinging bible thumbing buck toothless, grease haired, standing in front of our trailer home wearing a tube top pregnant, barefoot, a kid on the hip smoking a cig and drinking a beer, people. We are hard working, 9-5, tax payer, government utilizing, life loving people. Salt of the Earth, farmers, homesteaders, hippies, and garden lovers.
And if you don't shoot at me, I won't shoot at you.
Well, that has been my midnight rambling. Hope you enjoyed it.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Thinking about Thinking
If you don't have a calendar, the New Year is quickly coming upon us. For generations this day has given us the opportunity to start fresh. And in a way, that's what I am hoping for.
There are some things coming up this new year that frighten me. But I know that these things, changes, are important and required if I am to survive this life style. I must do them to be able to grow and become the person I feel I must be. Of course there are doubts that I really an this person. I am a suburban gal. I love the opera, and death metal concerts. And I like that the store is only 15 minutes away. But I also love the quiet, scratching the cattle, getting muddy, butchering our own food and watching my children play with the calf's. And yes, even mucking out the barn has it's simplistic pleasure (maybe sadistic?)
But as I think on it, I haven't been to an opera or a concert in a long time. I rarely go to the store. Truthfully I find myself becoming more and more isolated where I am. I rarely see friends. And it does get lonely at times. My poor neighbors, when ever I go to see them, or them me, I tend to talk their ears off. I know I am doing it, and I try to stop it, but I keep going and find new irrelevant things to discuss. At those moments I know I don't want to be alone. I am having a hard time imagining what it's going to be like next year.
But I am staying positive about everything we plan to do. I indeed need a new adventure in my life. I foresee the happiness that has the potential to be there, even if it will be a little lonely. I have my family after all. And of course the animals.
It all does sound rather depressing, doesn't it? Ah, but that happens from time to time. I am not feeling it right now however. Today I find myself in great spirits. Laughing and joking with Large and Small (medium is at his Mima's).
I am looking forward to all the changes and tribulations that will be ushered in with 2010. Who couldn't be, after all it is a whole new year.
There are some things coming up this new year that frighten me. But I know that these things, changes, are important and required if I am to survive this life style. I must do them to be able to grow and become the person I feel I must be. Of course there are doubts that I really an this person. I am a suburban gal. I love the opera, and death metal concerts. And I like that the store is only 15 minutes away. But I also love the quiet, scratching the cattle, getting muddy, butchering our own food and watching my children play with the calf's. And yes, even mucking out the barn has it's simplistic pleasure (maybe sadistic?)
But as I think on it, I haven't been to an opera or a concert in a long time. I rarely go to the store. Truthfully I find myself becoming more and more isolated where I am. I rarely see friends. And it does get lonely at times. My poor neighbors, when ever I go to see them, or them me, I tend to talk their ears off. I know I am doing it, and I try to stop it, but I keep going and find new irrelevant things to discuss. At those moments I know I don't want to be alone. I am having a hard time imagining what it's going to be like next year.
But I am staying positive about everything we plan to do. I indeed need a new adventure in my life. I foresee the happiness that has the potential to be there, even if it will be a little lonely. I have my family after all. And of course the animals.
It all does sound rather depressing, doesn't it? Ah, but that happens from time to time. I am not feeling it right now however. Today I find myself in great spirits. Laughing and joking with Large and Small (medium is at his Mima's).
I am looking forward to all the changes and tribulations that will be ushered in with 2010. Who couldn't be, after all it is a whole new year.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
The Most Memorable Moments of 2009
I will not be putting these in order of month as I want to give some of you a heads up. There are some graphic photos here. Other than that enjoy. These are our most unforgettable photos of 2009.
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