Sorry that one pic is so blurry. It did not show up like that on my pc before I posted it. Not sure what happened .
Liz
Share your homesteading experiences and dreams.
I found this in my file collection yesterday. Looks like an interesting greywater plant collection...
hello everyone! I have been reading about, learning from, laughing at, and loving you all for about a week now. I feel like I know you all, and yet you've never even known I was here. So on this night (the night before I load everything up and head home to my gardens, as I know time will be limited due to the weeds that are no doubt choking my veg) I have decided to introduce myself properly.
My name is Angie. I am 35, married to a city slicker, and I have 3 children. Nic is 12 going on 2 and my twin girls Kaytie and Lily are nearly 5. I lived on the family farm with my little sister and parents in NE Missouri until I was 10. We were flat broke, but I never noticed! My father worked on the railroad and in 1986 he packed us all up in the pickup truck, taking only what would fit in the back, and drove us to the Big Apple in search of work. I had a hard time fitting in and we moved several times over the next many many years!
I attended High School in New Jersey and still had a hard time fitting in, but still followed all the city trends and often wondered how my family back in Missouri could stand living in the middle of nowhere. When I was a Junior (1993, during the big flood) my parents moved us back to Missouri. Talk about culture shock. I hated it, I was miserable, and all I could think about was graduating and going back to the city, which I did! I met my hubby there!
DH went to work for my dad, who was still traveling for work and so the moving around continued, I liked pretty flowers, but never really tried to much since we moved a lot. 1999 brought the birth of my son while I was in nursing school. I was determined to buy a house and settle down before he started school. As luck would have there was a big rail job south of Chicago and seemed as good a place as any, and we bought a house.
This is when I really started gardening! I have THE best soil. Full of earthworms and black as night! Mostly it was hobby and I as I went I realized I knew more about this stuff and remembered more, and was better at it than I could have hoped. I canned some tomatoes and pickled some jalopenos my very first year! I guess you can take the girl out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the girl LOL! It's in my blood.
After years of nagging my hubby for another baby, he decided to "oops, surprise" me when I had given up, put Nic in school and was in Nursing school again. I think he does it on purpose, and frankly I am only a little bitter. 4 months in, ultrasoun, TWINS! I had always know I would have twins, strong family gene. I decided I couldn't do this alone, rented out my house and moved to Virginia with him. I forgot to mention that he still travels for work and I tend the house and raise the children basically by myself. After Va. was Miami. I loathe Miami! HATE LOATH TERRIBLE TERRIBLE AWFUL place!!!!!! My soil was like chipped concrete and everything is concrete. Everyone goes to the gym, has fake boobs, and pays people to mow there 8x8 patch of grass. I swear the neighbors thought "poor girl, they are so poor they have to mow their own lawn!" So after 3 years in hell, he got transferred to Louisiana and I said I'm done, I'm going home! So I kicked out my tenants and moved back!
That was in Nov. and what a long winter it was waiting until I could get to work in my gardens and undo the mess those people made of my house and flower beds. I basically had to start from scratch! 6 months again my daughters didn't know where food came from, now they are eating fresh peas off the vine and watching in awe as their flowers bloom. It warms my heart to see dirty, sweaty kids with mud under their fingernails! They planted Lilys and Kayties (mums, she needed a flower too).
The last many years I have been quite concerned about the shape of our food industry. Documentaries about the poultry farms, GM seeds and industry absolutly makes me sick. It is no accident the health conditions our children face from allergies and obesity to cancer and diabetes. Sugars fats pesticides fertilizers contaminated drinking water..... Where are live it is all mono crops and they spray and spray and spray and it goes into the ground and I won't drink my well water. While I was away I heard (and I can't believe I didn't hear this) there was an oil spill in the early 90's and there was a 30 million dollar settlement from Shell and all the homeowners got 30, 40 and 50,000 dollar settlements and everyones well got capped. You can look it up. Kankakeesettlement.org..... or something like that! I tried, but as all the paper work had to be filed by Feb. 2008, I am out! I think there is some kind of full disclosure law that was broken when we bought the property.
I so much want a little chunk of my own land (I have almost a half an acre with very close neighbors). I have very little grass left as this year I am going all out growing and canning. I long for chickens. I feel a certain urgency to return to my roots and provide healthy living to my children and pass on what I think is the lost art of growing and preserving. It is hard though because the past several years have been hard on us financially.
Sometimes I think it is a pipe dream, but then I read your stories and find inspiration and hope. I thought I was getting a little old for just now realizing my dream, but I know I have many good, healthy years left and young enough children to teach and put to work. I used to thiunk I wanted to be a nurse (still growing medicinal herbs as I am also a healer at heart), move to the city, make lots of money, travel and have nice cars, but now all I want is to be providing, actually PROVIDING, not buying for my family. I want them to have great knowledge and love of nature, not brand name clothes and video games. Most of this I have always known, but now I want to DO!!!! Most of my family friends and neighbors think I am obsessed, but I must admit, I have seen more edible plants going in from my circle of people than flowers this year :) And how crazy will I look when I am sharing a bountiful harvest? Maybe I will start a trend!
I'm tired of just dreaming..... I guess maybe someday I'll get there for now I have my gardens and my books and I will just keep plugging away until I can do more. I search properties on landandfarm.com, I found a great little 3 bedroom on 6 acres in TN. for only 89,000. wonder what their soil is like. Wonder how much I could get out of my house that we purchased for 130? I wonder I wonder I wonder.....
Thanks for listening, a very big thanks for the inspiration!
ANG
I hope Weez and Peggy are still here. I most enjoyed your stories!
Ang, thanks for taking time to write a story of your journey thus far. I'm seeing more younger people making the transition than even 5-10 years ago, and it's encouraging. It's never easy, but the better health and satisfaction is worth it.
You would have enjoyed gardening in La. You can garden nearly all year long there and the food can not be beat!! Enjoyed your story.