October 7. 2008

  lot of things happening around here. I am moving and my farm is for sale. Before you panic.. No, I am not giving up farming or homesteading. My life is going to become more normal for my lifestyle again, so I had to make some changes. I have not even gotten the farm listed yet and I am already getting calls about it. So you if you are interested in getting a farm which is all set up for homesteading, you better email sooner than later. I would love for it to go to the perfect family who want to do organic farming. 

I was working too many hours (if I could underline that three times I would have)  at my job as an Editor for a newspaper. I was working 50-90+ hours a week and only getting paid for 40. I loved the job, but I could not afford my job monetarily or physically. Not with trying to do everything else as well. Plus with working late nights, I was not eating quite as proper as I would have liked, although I went out of my way to eat overly proper since August. 

We will be buying land closer to his job and I have a job I can work from 20-40 hour weeks, which will allow me to do what I want to do with the magazine again without completely burning myself out trying to keep up with the paper, the magazine, the farm, the house and the usual other 'odd' job I have happening. I will actually have weekends off, which I have not had at any job since 1998. It will also keep me from driving so much. 

If there was anything I hated about my job at the newspaper, it was all the fuel I had to use in my job to go to interviews and events. Which mostly came out of my paycheck. But driving is a necessary evil for the job. I had been driving over 2,000 miles a month. That was not in my beliefs of a living green lifestyle. I had to do something about that as well. I will be able to walk/bike to my new job. 

You will not begrudge me moving from this 40 acre farm once you know what we will be getting in 'trade'. For now I will just leave you all in suspense, but you will see soon enough.

I will be wintering in town, but I know it will not be permanent and so therefore I can put up with it. It will be like a odd vacation. I plan on enjoying what the city has to offer as well as being able to walk or bike to where I need to go. I also am very excited about having a marvelous library at hand which I can walk to. I may get spoiled by it! It will give me a contrast to compare my normal lifestyle to. Being in town will also allow me to do more activities in the magazine for those who do not live on land as I will have to be more ingenious. But trust me, I will be more than ready to have good farmland under my bare feet again come spring. If it was any other season other than winter, I am not sure I could easily handle 'city life'.

There are a few friends in the new town I am moving to and they have interests which are similar to mine as well as some I may be able to con them into teaching me. It will be nice being closer to them. They have been bugging me long enough in when I was moving closer to them. With working less hours I will actually have time to socialize with my friends again. 

These changes will also allow me to be 100% debt free. That would be a goal I have always strived towards and I will have finally succeeded again. Been awhile since I have been there.

I still have many of my animals. The sled dogs, except for 'Cyrus' are being farmed out for the winter season. 'Cyrus' is taking to city life much easier than I thought either of us would. He is at the new house already to see how he was going to fit in. He will be a good walking companion to accompany me on my hikes. Both cats settled in after a few days and they are happy with all the other cats (and Holland Lop rabbit) they can play with now. I sent them out early to get them out of my way. 

My horse and heifer will be nearby and in a location where I can take care of them daily, which I had been afraid I would have to board them far way. The poultry went to a friend's home this morning and I am promised fertile eggs back from them when I am ready with the poultry houses and pens again. The herds will build back up once I am on the land again.

I am off on a new adventure!!! One which feels very right.