starting over - a little background

[deb4o]

great job on the master list, I have never had the time to do it, Thats not true, I have the time, just not the "want to".

Enjoy the forum.

 

[lorihadams]

Welcome honey! Good to have you here...what kind of chickens are you gonna have? I'm getting ready to order chicks...I just warned the hubby...he rolled his eyes but then was better about it when I told him I was gonna get rid of the rooster he hates when the chicks get here.

 

[startingover]

Thank you for the welcome TTs Chicks, snapshot, AmericanHomesteader, deb4o, and lorihadams.

That list was looonnnnng but I thought that investing that much time answering the questions might help me keep posting on here. I'm much better at reading the posts on this site than I am posting my own stuff.

Lori - To answer your question, I'm going to have "mutts". The eggs I have incubating and hopefully hatching were given to me by a girl I work with. She has a bunch of pure breed ladies housed together. Leghorns, Buff Orpingtons, Rhode Island Reds, Comets, plus some I can't remember for the life of me. Her rooster that guards the gals is a Leghorn mix. She also has a bunch of pure Roosters that she uses for breeding purposes but doesn't keep them in with the girls.

Here a little background...

I've always wanted to live in the country - the further away from civilization the better!!! I loved the TV show Little House on the Prairie and often envisioned myself lugging pails of fresh milk, gathering eggs and plowing fields with my trusty team of horses. A wholesome happy world where with hard work and love everything worked out. My family thought I was crazy. Heck, after realizing that living like the Ingall's wasn't going to happen I used to daydream about being Amish. Alas, converting wasn't in the cards for me, I'm truly not Amish material - too loud, too free, always wanting to try new things. After moving out of my parents house I seriously considered moving to Alaska and become a new age pioneer - I just didn't have the nerve to take the plunge so I stayed in Ohio.

The idea of being able to make what you need and living off the land draws me like a moth to a flame. I thought about it for years but never knew how to get started. Living within the city limits made it hard, city officials and neighbors alike frowned upon livestock of any kind. I settled for gardening small plots, constantly digging in my flower beds making them bigger and bigger. I hated having other houses so close. How close? Close enough to see what they put on their dinner table or what they were watching on TV. The light pollution drove me crazy, I couldn't see the stars at night. The wind was blocked by the other homes. Suffocation and claustrophobia comes to mind.

In 2006 I got divorced and ended up with the larger of the two homes we owned. I got a mortgage in my name for it with an arm 'knowing' I could refinance in a few years and get a better rate once there was more equity in the home.

That's when the housing bubble burst.

I didn't pay any attention to it. I had a great job making plenty of money, a big gorgeous house, a fancy SUV, and enough to comfortably raise my four kids. Then the economy tanked. I couldn't refinance my house because self employment rules changed within the mortgage industry and my payments almost doubled. I think I might have been able to come back from that stumbling block but my income started to drop and I ended up losing my job Sept 2009. My ex husband lost the smaller house (which boggled my mind since his payment was half of mine and he made far more than me but I digress...) which was also in my name.

My credit plummeted and everything fell apart. I couldn't buy the SUV I was leasing nor could I lease anything else. I ended up turning in my amazing vehicle and hitting up the nearest 'buy here pay here' lot because no one else would work with me. I got further and further behind with the house. We had no choice but to move.

I optimistically, much like an ostrich burying its head in the sand, found a pretty cabin on several acres surrounded by fields, woods and few neighbors. We lasted for six months until my savings ran out. I thought for sure I'd have another job by then but hadn't found anything. We were asked, not very nicely mind you, to move by the landlord.

Quickly searching I found an old neglected farm on five acres surrounded by farmers fields. Not another house in sight for a good half mile in all directions. I was in heaven!!!! Finally! Land where we could stretch out. We could start becoming more self sufficient and live the good life.


to be continued...

 

[SSDreamin]

To be continued??!!!

Don't leave me hanging like that

Oops, I forgot...

 

[Denim Deb]

 

[BeccaJoVon]

Hi. I'm in SW Arkansas. It's nice to meet you.

I'm fairly new here, too. There is a lot to absorb at this forum. I love being able to read and learn from the folks here!

 

[dragonlaurel]

You stopped. What happened next?

 

[TTs Chicks]