Breaking Ground in Snow

As of today, we finally have the internet at the cabin! It's been a little over a week since the move. It was a challenging, exhausting, and rewarding move, and one hell of a story.

We picked up the U-Haul on Friday, February 25th- which some of you may recall was the night of a snow storm. What they had predicted to be just a few inches ended up being over a foot at the elevation of the old house. We got stuck in traffic behind a few accidents on our way to picking up the truck, and it took us twice as long as it normally would. Then, we had to slowly creep home along un-plowed roads with high winds. Once we managed to get the truck home, we had to shovel out over a foot of snow and clear a spot for the truck to be parked.

That wasn't the end of the night though, we still started loading the truck and finished packing up the basement. Exhausted, we passed out in front of the still hooked up t.v. wishing that magic was real and we could wake up in the new place.

About quarter to six, I rolled over and realized that we were both wide awake. With coffee brewing, we plowed through the morning.Around 9 my best bud and neighbor appeared to help us with the last of it, and the three of us, the cats, dogs and mugs of coffee hit the road by 11. I drove the truck with my fingers and toes crossed that I wouldn't get pulled over. The truck wasn't fixed (getting done today) so I didn't have an inspection sticker. Luckily, we caught a break. I'm sure we were quite the sight, and certainly exhausted before even beginning the process of unloading.

With the help of two of my girl's fantastic sisters, we made quick work of emptying out the truck and assembling furniture.

It was intense, messy, and rushed- but most moves are.

And our reward has been fantastic. Both of our families are near by (hers is only 15 minutes), and the cabin is cozy. The fencing for the dogs has been a relief. We had a bit of trouble with the water, it's sulfurous and full of sediment. We've added a few filters though, and it is working out just fine.

There's lots more to tell, but we have company coming because of a major power outage, and I have pot pie to make. stay tuned.

lists

All that is happening right now (hence the lack of posts) is:

clean

sort

pack

toss

repeat


Also, my truck failed inspection, which is inconvenient. And unfortunate.


Just trying to get through the move. Minute by minute.

The Pasta Express

It's a whirlwind right now... the cabin is so close and we are in the swing of moving. Boxes, plastic tubs, purging...

This Sunday we drove down to the cabin to set up dog fencing. There were rams ambling about behind the yarn shop, and I thought to myself, "This is our home, next to these rams, and this orchard. This isn't a dream". Badger went with us, and barked madly from inside the cabin because he felt we were much far away from him outside. We brought a few boxes with us, whatever we could fit in the truck along with the fence panels. I'm making another trip down tomorrow with more boxes with Harper to get him familiar with the space. The full move is at the end of the month

On Friday the bank came to appraise the house, I'm attempting to get rid of it via a deed in lieu. Essentially, that means I give the bank back the house, and they sell it but it doesn't go into foreclosure. All the paper work is filed, I'm just holding my breath.

Saturday night we stayed in. We decided to get some great micro-brew from Ithaca Brewery, their seasonal winter ale is a tangy Belgium brew that helped fend off the cold. We also decided to break out a pasta maker that my grandma had given me years ago, and sat on a shelf for too long. Growing up, I have vivid memories of sitting on Gram's scrubbed wooden chairs, hands coated in semolina, helping her role out sheets of fresh soft pasta as sauce bubbled on the stove. With a cigarette hanging out of her mouth, she'd quickly stir the sauce, kiss my head, and roll dough.

Saturday was a different scene, but equally vivid and lovely. "The Pasta Express" is the name of the ridiculous garage sale machine we used, which came complete with an instructional VHS tape. Laughing and listening to NPR we mixed the ingredients and celebrated the perfectly shaped linguine that resulted. We ate the pasta with homemade summer tomato sauce, and then curled up to watch a documentary.

Many folks who are in their mid-twenties would roll their eyes at such an evening, but really, truly, I'm just grateful, or great-full (pun intended).

We need a farm because...

our puppy needs a hobby other than chasing Harper, harassing cats, and stealing socks.


I'm thinking sheep.

spring is a fickle lady

Today we awoke to yet more snow. I can't contemplate spending another post on pining for spring or on the wrath of winter.

So instead, let's talk more food and music. I'm half down with the flu, so of course, I'm returning to my favorite consolation- cooking. I'm making sauce like my grandma used to, only vegetarian so that every member of the house can enjoy. Then, I am going to make some eggplant-meatless balls. The sauce recipe is a carefully guarded and only passed down in person, so I can't share that one, but if the eggplant turns out well, I'll post that!

We just bought the new Decemberist album, "The King is Dead" using a gift certificate from the holidays. It's the kind of music that seeps down into me, and that I hear something new from every time I listen. The first track, "A Turning of the Season" is like an anthem I didn't know I needed. There just isn't a bad song on the record.

It reminds me how much I am craving an instrument. For years, my voice was my instrument, but then my voice changed- and my ability to sing went down the tubes. Since then, I've tried a few instruments, but I'm still trying to find the one that really fits. I'm taking suggestions, I like the sounds of fiddles, banjos, earthy music- and I am impatient. I need something that I can have some kind of result from with hard work, but not endless toil. Of course, finding time to fit this in to the other myriad of things happening seems like a long shot. But... a life without music just doesn't seem complete. In the meantime, I've put that album on repeat.

Yes, there is three feet of snow, but the end is in sight

Last night, it was 5:18 and not pitch black. There is no greater hope then the promise of spring.

A new day, Cold, but New

We managed to find a replacement for my beloved blackberry (even farmers love technology) on ebay for less than the cost of my replacement with insurance. Sixty dollars less, which for a under employed person is quite a bit.

It won't arrive until Monday though, which is irritating. Yesterday was the kind of day that makes you clench your teeth and roll your eyes, for 24 hours straight. But it's okay, because it ended wrapped up on the couch, cozy with the suddenly angelic puppy. That makes a big difference.

Today, I am feverishly consuming copious amounts of greenhorn (young farmer) materials. And getting ready for work. And reminding myself of the goal, which has been made easier by reading "The Dirty Life" by Kristin Kimball. Here is a girl, who leaves NYC for the love of a farmer and the farm they build together. It's revolutionized my thoughts on how we might build our CSA. They build a year-round CSA, supplying the members with their entire food supply, dairy, grains, cheese, meat, veggies etc. AND they do it with draft horses. Incredible.

More on this when I'm not rushing to the cafe job. Soon. In the meantime, check out that book, and enjoy.

Thursday sucks.

A little immature for a title? Sure, but truthful.

Yesterday's storm seemed tame in comparison to the walloping we've been getting. Or so I thought, until I started to back my truck (4-wheel drive) out of the drive way, swerved to miss the sudden appearance of our dog Harper and promptly wedged the truck into a snowbank. Fast forward two hours, a bag of cat litter (for traction), a bag of salt and a neighborly tow later, and the truck is free. Of course, calling the neighbor was a production, since Badger (the puppy) ate my blackberry yesterday.

This meant I couldn't text my boss at the cafe, or find the number of my neighbors. After a circular process that I'll spare you the details of... I called into work and am now getting ready to obtain a new phone.

Then, time to finish taxes, get forms into mortgage company to hopefully get rid of the house via a deed in lieu, and more packing. Don't be jealous folks, today is an enviable day.

Snow-itis

Well, shockingly enough- it's snowing again. Looks like we are in for about another two feet at our elevation. This will be the third storm this winter that has given us over two feet. I really like the snow, but this last storm, combined with the recent bitter temperatures, is making for a touch of cabin-fever.

To stave off the winter blues, I've been doing a lot of cooking. Last weekend, I made a batch of stuffed zucchini to send with my girlfriend to a dinner, then on Sunday we made brunch for several friends. The menu for brunch was simple, frittata (with duck eggs), venison sausage, biscuits and sweet potato home fries. It was nice to spend the day eating and visiting with people who we care about, and we ended up having two waves of guests, so brunch was served from 10:30-3:00.

Whenever I am fiercely craving spring, I also crave salad. So I made a citrus blackened tofu, some fakin' bacon, and some toasted almonds and laid it on top of a bed of spinach and other veggies.

Tofu cooked w/lime and seasonings

Last night, we spent a good portion of the evening online looking at chicks, since we will need to place our order within the next few weeks. I'm debating between the standard cornish-rock crosses that most people use for meat birds, and heritage breeds. I grew both last year, and the crosses certainly got bigger, but the taste for the heritage breeds was so much more profound. Plus the heritage breeds were significantly less filthy. For egg birds, we decided to go with these fine fellows:

photo courtesy barnnecessitiesfarm.com

These, are Polish Buffs. They are absolutely absurd looking. We decided on a variety of laying chickens sporting head wear as they are both good layers of white eggs and immensely entertaining to look at. The baby chicks also have tufts of feathers sprouting from the tops of there heads. In addition, we will be getting the more traditional plumage chickens, Americana/Arucanas (Easter-Egg Chickens), who are a bit less...flamboyant.

Today's list of snowed-in activities includes outlining a garden plan, as we have the okay to have a veggie garden on my girl's family farm. We started picking out seeds a few weeks ago, and now it's time to make those final decisions and map the garden.

Think Spring.

This picture was taken during our last snow shoe adventure. I'm currently using it to remind myself of how adorable this guy is -- as I just removed the digital camera from his mouth and he is currently eating copious amounts of wood stove coal.

Aside from these minor irritations though, this morning seems exceptionally hopeful. Over a breakfast of scrambled duck egg (from the best neighbor's duck), whole grain toast and local apple slices we laid out plans for the cottage. The cottage is about half of the size of the current house. This means a lot of purging, which is good, we don't need nearly as much stuff as we have. Plus, the eventual goal is to live in a yurt on whatever farm land we work, so we need the less-stuff living practice. If you've never seen a yurt- here is a link to some of the more popular models (http://www.yurts.com/). Yurts are space/energy efficient, and will allow us to spend more capital on building farm facilities. Plus, they look like tree-houses for grown ups. There are some local builders who also specialize in them, so I'm hoping we will be able to keep the work/materials close to home too.

In the meantime, we are working on creative ways to downsize and create a cozy, efficient home. Under the bed storage, hooks, hanging racks etc. I really like gadgets/organization tools and am looking forward to keeping only what we need. I feel bogged down with so many possessions, mostly stuff I don't use.

The cottage moving date is coming up quick, so much of the next few weeks will be packing. I hate moving, but this feels like such a good next step I can't help but feel giddy. Then, a mere two weeks after we are moved in, my internship starts. Full time farming, a new home, (hopefully with the house being settled), seed and chicken orders... I'm practically bursting.

jinxed.

And, because my previous post was a love confession to the wood stove, I spent all of last night fighting for hours to get it going after it went dead because I didn't wake up to load it.

After the fourth time I got up to try and restart it, in the pitch black (because my girlfriend was in the room sleeping and had the flu), it seemed much less romantic and significantly more like an archaic torture device.

On the matter of wood stoves

Yesterday and into today have brought the coldest temperatures I can remember. This morning the thermometer read -20 on my drive into the cafe. We heat our current house with a wood stove, and it's one of the things I will miss most when we move. (In other news, we took the cabin on the sheep farm, pictures to follow.) Throughout the winter, we can be found huddled around the stove, with coffee, or maybe a glass of wine speaking in soft voices as we warm our toes.

There is nothing passive about heating with a wood stove. You must obtain wood (through gathering or local delivery), stack it for storage in a dry space, bring it into whatever room your stove it, and keep the fire burning. When the temperature falls like it has now, the stove requires constant attendance. For two nights, we have slept on the futon in the living room instead of the bedroom. This way, I can roll out of bed to keep the stove burning, and we don't have to try and keep the bedroom at a tolerable temperature. If the stove goes out, the pipes freeze, we freeze and all of the pets are miserable too. It might seem like a lot of work, but I have no illusions about what it takes to heat a home. There is no magic switch here, and I appreciate my heat on an almost primal level.I like the atmosphere the stove provides, and I pay much closer attention to the weather. Though of course, the draw back is that it's hard to leave the house for many days without winterizing, and even then you have to come home to a miserably cold home and spend hours to get it comfortable again. Still, I wouldn't trade the smell, the heat, or the coziness for the convenience of other heating sources.

Today was a cafe work day, and I ended up having to stay late. By the time I made the grocery store trip (we were out of coffee, a near disaster here) and made it back up the mountain- the stove was at a low burning ember point. This would be fine if the temperature had crept up a bit, but it was still -2 here. The pipes in the kitchen are a bit frozen (only the cold water) which is worrisome. I'm hoping with a hot fire and some tender care, a call to the plumber can be avoided. All of the pipes will be left dripping to try and prevent any further issues.

It looks like we are in store for more snow this week, this winter has been generous in cold and precipitation. I'd really like to call a truce with mother nature though, even if it's just for a week. We braved the cold yesterday for about an hour to snow shoe in the state park. The views were incredible, sparkling ice coated trees, mounds of crystal clear snow, and two dogs marching through like we were on an epic journey. Still, with the weather as it was, we kept it a bit short. A short walk still helped wear down our two seemingly tireless dogs -- thank goodness. They have a bit of cabin fever and spend their days scheming ways to get into trouble. They're lucky they are adorable.

Time to tend the wood stove, and perhaps a glass of wine. It certainly could be worse.

January

It's been snowing for days, literally. And ice, and sleet, and a variety of other winter weather type things are falling from the sky. On the one hand, it's picturesque. On the other, driving and shoveling are epic chores. But I'm planning on going on a snow shoe through the state park this weekend. If you've never tried snow shoeing, it's very helpful to beat winter blues. You're outside, moving and enjoying the weather, rather than just negotiating the complications it causes. Plus, it's great exercise.

We are also in the process of looking for a place a little closer to the farming internship. The current house isn't really close to anything, and it's in limbo- so we've been scouring the ads for small, cabin- like spaces that allow the antics of two dogs and a few cats. Then, hopefully we can simultaneously finish up dealing with the house, and move on. Its looking like we are taking a place on a sheep farm, an itty bitty cabin with a fenced in yard. It's warm, it hasn't a decent sized bathroom, and a gas stove. Plus, it's on a sheep farm. A.Sheep.Farm.

I'm humbled by how lucky I am. Yea, there is a long way to go to owning my own farm. But in just a few months we've moved to a year long internship on an organic farm, and potentially a new home on a farm as well. Plus, I'm not trying to reach this goal alone. I've got someone who shares the vision, and wants to work with me to reach it. That's invaluable and rare.

Alright, now to bring up some wood for the stove, it's chilly in January.

Hi, Can I help you?

To take the edge off of the unemployment situation (and pass the time while anxiously awaiting my internship), I have been working at a great cofffee/sandwhich cafe. I like cafe work, it's usually pretty fast paced, the customers are interesting, and I can drink all the coffee I want (until I'm properly jittered).

I like it. It's the perfect part-time gig, and it's helping us make ends meet. The people are great. The food is good. Am I convincing you yet?

Sigh. The truth is, I'm terribly impatient. I want to be three months down the road, in our new, affordable housing, working on a farm. I don't want to pass the time slinging coffee, or walking dogs (my other job). I'm so grateful to have these income streams. But there are days, today in particular, where my gratitude is tainted with this severe unrest.

It took me a long time to figure out what I wanted to do and who I wanted to be. Now that it's (more) clear, I just want to be there. But alas...there is still much to be done.

I emailed a credit counselor trying to figure out this housing situation. I'm trying not to completely destroy my credit, which is proving difficult. We're going to look at places to rent this weekend, which is exciting. Of course, with the two dogs and cats, it's going to be hard to find the perfect fit. But I'm really looking forward to finding a place that isn't tainted with history-- though I'm certain that all of this has helped me grow up.

I guess what it comes down to is- I'm ready for the next chapter but the pages are stuck together.

Muffin-Cake

One of the many repairs that are on hold due to the recession budget is the oven. The range works fine, well 3 of 4 burners at least, but the oven has ceased to cook anything. There's a chance that my mother will be donating her old stove, but in the mean time we are praising the invention of the toaster-oven.

This of course, is irritating to someone who enjoys cooking. But I'm determined to not let it be more than a minor set back. So today, when I realized that the muffin pan did not, in fact fit in the toaster oven- I decided to make a muffin cake. The result was pretty delicious, kind of coffee-cake like and really easy. I've provided a recipe for you below:

1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/s teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tblspn vanilla extract
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup crushed walnuts

Mix the dry ingredients other than walnuts in a medium size mixing bowl. Then, mix the wet in a separate bowl. Pour the wet into the dry, all at once, while stirring. Now mix in the walnuts. Spread the VERY thick batter into a greased cake pan, and bake at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes. At the ten minute mark, add the topping below:

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/4 cup softened (not melted) butter
Mix with a fork until crumbly (like a strudel topping)

Bake for about 5 more minutes.

Enjoy!

Fast Forward, Rewind

Alright, so there was a brief hiatus, without warning- on keeping this blog up to date. I'm going to try and avoid this in the future.

There has been some very positive motion since the last time. But first, a quick recession-budget friendly holiday gift wrap-up. Obviously, this year was pretty tight with the unemployment, but even in more prosperous years, I tend to make almost all of the gifts I give. Sure, it takes more time, and isn't always less expensive- but they tend to be more personal and being a control freak- just the way I want them. I'm lucky that I have an exceptionally indulgent, and equally crafty girlfriend, so together we were able to give folks what I think were great gifts.

First, canned goods! The garden was abundant this year, especially in cucumbers. Sweet pickles, dill pickles, relish, honey spice peaches, jam, rhubarb con-fit- delicious, useful, and easy to make ahead of time.

Next, we recycled tee-shirts bought from good will stores with good designs on them and made hand bags using a pattern online with some modifications. They would made great grocery shopping bags, and are much better looking then the store-brand ones you buy for a dollar.

Deciding tee-shirts were this years theme, we also made some stenciled tee-shirts. We cut out designs and taped them to the shirts. Next, we mixed a 50/50 bleach solution, and using a small paint brush, created negative-space images. This worked best with really simple designs, and we tried to be unique about stencil placement too.

We rounded off gifts with handmade ornaments, chocolate pumpkin fudge (made ahead and frozen), knitted hats and candles we purchased. If you want more info on how we made any of these things, leave a comment and I'll provide some step-by-step instructions.

Next- INTERNSHIP SECURED! Beginning in March, I will be working on a 600 acre organic farm. It isn't a CSA (community supported agriculture) model, but it's a well-known, exceptionally successful livestock and veggie operation. The moment I stepped on site, I really loved the vibe from this farm. It is a family run farm, and speaking with the farmer and his farmer sons was refreshing. They were dedicated, down to earth and excited to meet me. I was fortunate enough to get an offer that same day, and now we're just working out details. More on this in an additional post soon!

In the meantime though, the house I'm living in/own still hasn't sold. This of course, is causing some serious financial maneuvering and the anxiety I feel about that is a constant struggle. I'm doing everything I can to try and mitigate damage, and I picked up some part-time cafe work.

Right now, I'm counting the minutes until the internship, and simultaneously crossing everything hoping for a buyer on the house. The balance between the excitement and stress is a little taxing, but the excitement keeps winning out. I think that's a sign that we're heading in the right direction.