AnnaRaven
Lovin' The Homestead
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- Jan 2, 2011
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Okay - lemme start one of these journal things too.
So - how I ended up here.
Way back when, I grew up in Minnesnowta. Gramps had a farm with steers and wheat and sweetcorn and we'd all go up for the annual chicken slaughter. Family also had an annual pickling get-together. Gramma canned beef and other stuff. My mom didn't go in for canning much but we always had a chest freezer full of chickens and sometimes home-frozen fruits etc.
Back in the late 90s, the kids and the ex and I had raised beds full of veggies and a two-bin compost heap in the backyard. We had MRIs in the basement, and all the camping gear, as well as more seed in the freezer. I worked fulltime plus, the ex took care of the kids and the house. At one point, we were on foodstamps. We shopped at Goodwill (and more often at the gooodwill lastchance store where clothing went for $1 a pound!) and didn't own a car and bought in bulk at Sams Club with a friend who had a membership.
Eventually, the ex and I broke up, and then I remarried and moved to Italy with the IH (Italian Husband). IH and I lived in a one-bedroom apartment in Italy. The kids stayed back in Minnesnowta with their dad and the schools they'd been going to all along. I had a lot of frequent flyer miles...
IH got hired and relocated to SillyCon Valley by a big firm. We moved into a rental house and later a townhouse. DS came to live with us, DD stayed in MN at the highschool she loved. (I figure any time a teen puts "love" and "school" in the same sentence, you go with it!)
Last spring, IH and I sat at the local Peets coffee shop, drinking our espresso and laughing about the still outrageous prices for houses around here, when we spotted one that was actually affordable for us! We put in a bid but lost to another couple that offered more. BUT, in the meantime, I saw another house that was awesome - big yard, one story (great for middle-aged, getting older by the minute, couple), 3 BR, "tuscan-style". It had two fireplaces - one in the kitchen! We bid on it and got it. It also had a pool and hottub in the backyard (very California). IH loves to swim, so it's nice having the pool for him to exercise (in summer).
We moved in last June, and promptly got a rescue dog - we've wanted a dog but wouldn't get one with no space for it to run around. Then we got the chickens (for eggs not meat) - three are laying now! Love those freerange eggs.
So now we're here, and I've got the garden spaces sheetcomposting for spring planting, and the chicken coop out back as well. The garage is huge (3 car+) so there's plenty of room for the pantry shelves of canned goods. We have a big freezer that I'm filling with heritage locally-grown meats as much as possible.
We're putting in solar for electricity, and a new furnace (forced air) to replace the baseboard heating, and adding insulation.
I cook most days already but I'm looking forward to having my own canned stock to cook with, and my own canned veggies this summer.
We've been here in SillyCon Valley going on 6 years now, and I recently graduate from Stanford. Now I'm working doing programming for a research project with one of my former professors. It's flexible time so I can do kitchen and garden stuff during the day if I want.
My current goal is to reduce the grocery bill. Some of that will be by doing more pantry-stuff for myself. Canning, dehydrating foods, homemade breads and yogurt, etc. I've also started a pricebook on googledocs so I know how much things cost where. And I use Mint.com - which is where I found out how much I was spending on groceries last year - outrageous!
Okay--time for lunch now.
So - how I ended up here.
Way back when, I grew up in Minnesnowta. Gramps had a farm with steers and wheat and sweetcorn and we'd all go up for the annual chicken slaughter. Family also had an annual pickling get-together. Gramma canned beef and other stuff. My mom didn't go in for canning much but we always had a chest freezer full of chickens and sometimes home-frozen fruits etc.
Back in the late 90s, the kids and the ex and I had raised beds full of veggies and a two-bin compost heap in the backyard. We had MRIs in the basement, and all the camping gear, as well as more seed in the freezer. I worked fulltime plus, the ex took care of the kids and the house. At one point, we were on foodstamps. We shopped at Goodwill (and more often at the gooodwill lastchance store where clothing went for $1 a pound!) and didn't own a car and bought in bulk at Sams Club with a friend who had a membership.
Eventually, the ex and I broke up, and then I remarried and moved to Italy with the IH (Italian Husband). IH and I lived in a one-bedroom apartment in Italy. The kids stayed back in Minnesnowta with their dad and the schools they'd been going to all along. I had a lot of frequent flyer miles...
IH got hired and relocated to SillyCon Valley by a big firm. We moved into a rental house and later a townhouse. DS came to live with us, DD stayed in MN at the highschool she loved. (I figure any time a teen puts "love" and "school" in the same sentence, you go with it!)
Last spring, IH and I sat at the local Peets coffee shop, drinking our espresso and laughing about the still outrageous prices for houses around here, when we spotted one that was actually affordable for us! We put in a bid but lost to another couple that offered more. BUT, in the meantime, I saw another house that was awesome - big yard, one story (great for middle-aged, getting older by the minute, couple), 3 BR, "tuscan-style". It had two fireplaces - one in the kitchen! We bid on it and got it. It also had a pool and hottub in the backyard (very California). IH loves to swim, so it's nice having the pool for him to exercise (in summer).
We moved in last June, and promptly got a rescue dog - we've wanted a dog but wouldn't get one with no space for it to run around. Then we got the chickens (for eggs not meat) - three are laying now! Love those freerange eggs.
So now we're here, and I've got the garden spaces sheetcomposting for spring planting, and the chicken coop out back as well. The garage is huge (3 car+) so there's plenty of room for the pantry shelves of canned goods. We have a big freezer that I'm filling with heritage locally-grown meats as much as possible.
We're putting in solar for electricity, and a new furnace (forced air) to replace the baseboard heating, and adding insulation.
I cook most days already but I'm looking forward to having my own canned stock to cook with, and my own canned veggies this summer.
We've been here in SillyCon Valley going on 6 years now, and I recently graduate from Stanford. Now I'm working doing programming for a research project with one of my former professors. It's flexible time so I can do kitchen and garden stuff during the day if I want.
My current goal is to reduce the grocery bill. Some of that will be by doing more pantry-stuff for myself. Canning, dehydrating foods, homemade breads and yogurt, etc. I've also started a pricebook on googledocs so I know how much things cost where. And I use Mint.com - which is where I found out how much I was spending on groceries last year - outrageous!
Okay--time for lunch now.
