Adventures of OkieAnnie's "homestead"

[OkieAnnie]

01. Name? Angela
02. Gender? Female
03. Disneyworld or Disneyland? Disney World
04. What is your favorite color? LIghter shades of purple.
05. What is your favorite kind of gum? DoubleMint
06. How much do you weigh? More than I should! LOL
07. How tall are you? 5 ft 4 inch
08. Can you swim? yes
09. Do you like to swim? Not really
10. Living arrangement? Married
11. What's on your mouse pad? nothing, don't use one
12. Favorite board game? Monopoly
13. Favorite magazine? don't really read any . . would love to find a "homesteading" magazine
14. Favorite Actor? Nicolas Cage
15. Favorite Actress? Julie Andrews.
16. Do you have an accent? not a distinguisable one (sp?)
17. Favorite smells?Line dried clothes and coffee
18. Least favorite smells? Skunk
19. Favorite sound? childrens laughter
20. Do you prefer pools or oceans? oceans . .smells great and filled with life.
21. Do you watch Buffy The Vampire Slayer? Ummm,who?? No
22. Pencil or pen? Pencil
23. Who's better - both!!
24. Would you like to own a motorcycle? Nope
25. Do you sing in the shower? Nope
26. Who's the best looking Disney character? Belle
27. What is the first thing you think of when you wake up in the morning? I over slept, AGAIN!!!
28. How many rings before you answer the phone? 3, if I answer
29. How do you want to die? In my sleep.
30. Have you ever called a 900 number? Oh no!!
31. Gold or silver? Gold, I guess.
32. Would you ever go bungee-jumping?Ohhhh no!!
33. Do you like dressing up? Not really
34. Would you rather be short or tall? Im ok with my height.
35. Do you enjoy reading? Yes
36. What book are you reading now? Reclaiming 6 endangerd qualities - a study of charecter by Bill Hybels and An Encyclopedia Of Country Living, By Carla Emery.
37. Favorite books? Just David .
38. What was the last movie you saw?The Party (by the makers of the original Pink Panther, circa 1968ish)
39. Favorite movies? Family Man, Pollyanna, Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast.
40. Do you sleep with a stuffed animal? no
41. What is your sign?
42. What are your personality traits? Talkative and generaly very friendly and laid back
43. What's your biggest fear? Loseing one of my children.
44. Would you ever have cosmetic surgery? No
45. Future child's name? hmm, don't think there are any in the future, love the name Oliva
46. Favorite foods? Mexican
47. Chocolate or vanilla? Oh, Chocolate...definately!
48. Do you like to drive fast? No
49. Storms - cool or scary? way cool
50. Do you like to dance? Not really
51. Do you do drugs? NO
52. Do you smoke? nope
53. What do you think of people who smoke? Its their choice.
54. Do you drink? No
55. Favorite drink? hot tea or a caramel java chiller from Sonic . .
56. Do you think men and women could ever be just friends without wanting each other? Sure
57. Do you eat the stems of broccoli? yes
58. If you could have any job you wanted, what would it be? most things out doors
59. What's your "type"? Meduim height and build, just as smart as strong.
60. Do you bite your nails? Nope
61. Any siblings? yes 1 brother
62. What movies have you cried in? Oh, I cry at LOTS of them
63. Do you believe in God? Definately
64. Did you ever cry over a guy/girl? Ohhh, yeah.
65. Have you ever stolen anything? NO
66. Do you procrastinate? can I answer this one later!?? Yes, I do
67. Do you believe in fate? yes
68. Who's your favorite Sesame Street character? Animal!! The WILD MAN!
69. Do you organize your CD's? LOL, no
70. What is your favorite kind of music? gospel, contemporary christian
71. What are your favorite bands/artists? Rebecca St James,
72. What was the last CD you got? Bart Miller - Hymed Again.
73. MTV or VH1? Ummm , neither
74. Who do you admire the most? My aunt Laurie.
75. Internet Boyfriends and Girlfriends? Naaa
76. Are you single? nope
77. Favorite TV show? don't have one
78. Blondes, Brunettes, or Redheads? Doesnt matter
79. Glasses or contacts? If for me, would have to be glasses
80. What color are your eyes? Blue
81. What is your natural hair color? brown
82. But what color is it now? brown with a few silver/grey streaks
83. Have you ever been in love? Still am!
84. Any pets?14 chickens 2 geese, 2 dogs 2 fish.
85. Good, decent, or poor grades? decent
86. Is the glass half empty or half full? Oh, its half FULL!
87. Do you type with your fingers on the right keys? yes
88. What's under your bed? You don't want to know . . I refuse to look.
89. What is your favorite number? 7
90. Favorite sport to watch? Figure Skateing.

 

[OkieAnnie]

My husband and I both grew up "city". We purchased a great little house on 2 acres in a neighborhood about 3 years ago in Oklahoma. New to Oklahoma clay and everything rural, it has been a true adventure so far.
This spring we got our first chickens and 2 geese as day old chicks. They have all survived! My husband and boys survived building the coop for the girls when they were big enough (yay!) we spend 3 months clearing a 20' by nearly 40' garden plot and we amended the soil with our first successful batch of compost. We now have corn, peas, carrots, cucumbers, tomatos and bell peppers successfully growing in the garden (yay!). The past 2 summers nothing grew more than 2 weeks. We also have strawberries growing in a strawberry planter my husband made out of above the ground pool siding. So far, so good. We did loose 4 turkeys to the neighbors dog (arrg) and have lost several stalks of corn to the same dog. We now have some sort of disease or something on our pea plants (grey spotting on the leaves), but since we have harvested quite a few pea pods and eaten them, I am rejoicing at the progress

We do hope to raise rabits for food and add an orchard in the next year or two.

We have also been making our own laundry detergent and hanging our clothes on the line. We have reduced our water bill from about $40 a month to under $20 and have reduced our garbage output from barley fitting into 2 cans a week to less than one can filled a week.

The best part is our kids have totally embraced this new life style. They even help come up with ideas for making our own items or reusing things in order to save money or reduce trash.

So, that is our journey in a nutshell. I will keep you posted.

***any ideas on getting rid of the dog next door are greatly appreciated. The owners have said that they "can't" contain the dog and don't feel responsible for any damage or destruction their little "angel" causes****

 

[OkieAnnie]

I am so exstatic! We harvested our first ever peas, my husband and younger son built the nest boxes and installed them in the coop yesterday. Today, we got a statement on a student loan (the last one we have to pay off) taht we owe $119! I am so excited! We had $110 budgeted for them this month, but we are just going to pay them off. I can't believe it!! We have been working on them so long.

Some of our corn stalks grew nearly a foot in the past day, well it feels like it, anyway.

So, I digress. Back to work. Enjoy your day!

 

[Blackbird]

Congratz on the peas and the loan! And welcome to SS!!

 

[BeccaOH]

Welcome to SS.

Oklahoma is a good state. I was born in Kansas and think I'm still a Sunflower at heart.

 

[noobiechickenlady]

Sounds like we're at about the same place in the SS lifestyle. Just getting started & gung-ho about it too!
Congrats on the harvest & student loans. Did your loan stick around long enough to pick up a name?

Two good magazines I like are Backwoods Home & Mother Earth News. Although MEN isn't really homesteading only, it still has lots of good info about the topic.

ETA: Check with local ordinances about the dog issue. If you have animal control, they may come get the dog & the owners may have to pay a fine to get it back. Check leash laws and that sort of info.

 

[tommywalnuts]

Hello from a fellow Okie. Ardmore(southern Ok)here. Good luck with the chooks and garden!!!

 

[Blue Skys]

Wow, you gotta love neighbors (or rather, you can't shoot them). The dog is their responsability, either call animal control or do whatever you feel comfortable with to prevent the dog from doing anyfurther damaging. I myself would SSS (shoot, shovel, shut up) and not feel bad, obviously the neighbors don't care what happens to the dog...

On a lighter note, great job at reducing your families "output". It's so great when you see your plans coming to fruition!!! Keep up the good work!!

 

[Aidenbaby]

Just posting to say

 

[OkieAnnie]

Thank you for the warm welcomes.

Unfortunately we have no leash law in our county. The animal control represenative that my husband spoke with did say that we can do what ever we feel we need to in order to protect our property when the dog is on our property. So, I am thinking my husband and sons will post a stake out and shoot it. There are several neighbors who have threatened to do so already for simular reasons.

Thanks for the magazine recomendations, NoobieChickenLady. I will have to look into them.

Today, I was out in my garden, mourning my pea plants when a friend told me the reason they have all withered away to nothing is they don't like heat, it's been well over 90 for quite a while, so that is why they are gone. Whew, I thought I had killed them! Happy to know the weather just did not agree with them any longer. Our corn is nice and tall and our tomatos are blossoming.
The one challenge I am having today, is when do I harvest my carrots?
I guess I will pull one up soon and see if it looks ready, if not then I will know I need to wait longer. I chose a sandy spot and they are doing very well.

We are in the Guthrie area of Oklahoma, in Logan county. I really was not so sure about moving to Oklahoma, but love it so much we have adopted it as our home. The people are great.

I do enjoy the heat we are having for one reason, the clothes are dry on the line in just a few minutes. By the time the next load in the washer is done and ready to hang, I have cleared the line, folded and put away. heeheee