I have taken a long break from the blog, and for good reason. This past spring, after realizing that our small farm homesteading dreams were not working out the way we wanted them to, we made the decision to make a very important move.
When we moved to the east coast 9 years ago, it did not take long before we realized that it was not right for us. We have spent much of the last 9 years debating whether to move back or not. We finally made the decision this past spring to do so, and made that move this past June.
It meant leaving the garden and chickens behind and was a very tough decision to make. I really miss my farm and have been feeling at loose ends ever since we moved. But the Pacific Northwest has been home for me for nearly 40 years, and I have missed it. My husband and daughter were both more than ready to make the move, so the decision was made and we sold up and moved out west.
This has meant a large change in lifestyle for me, one I am not entirely used to. It will also going forward likely mean a bit of a change in direction for the website. I still have 30 years of experience to share here, but for the time being my posts will be less about my life and what we are doing and more about some of the things I can share about my past and my experiences.
Look forward to posts about animal husbandry, cooking, preserving, crafts and so much more. I will be doing reviews, talking about my favorite books, and sharing some of my all-time favorite recipes. I might even share a few of our adventures as a family with you. Since we have been here we have gone hiking, been to the ocean, visited a wildlife preserve and gone to a couple of fairs.
In time I hope to have a garden again if not the animals. In the future we plan to have property again for now, it is not in the plans.
I am sorry I have been gone so long, after we moved I was at a loss to decide how to continue on with this blog. I took me a while to realize that it did not have to change. I may not be able to inject my personal self into the homesteading part of the blog, but I still have a lot to offer, both in knowledge and in personal experience.
I hope you will all stay with me, as I start to share the bits and pieces of the past 30 years of my life rather than just my present experiences.
Oh I think after a while you will get more into “homesteading” wherever you are. It just never leaves a person. I myself would still love to see pictures of hiking, the ocean and the wildlife too 🙂 I hope things work out better for you where you are now.
I am pretty sure Becky, I miss it already. My biggest problem is my husband has itchy feet and does not much like staying in one place too long. The plan is to get a motor home my hope is that will cure his wanderlust a bit.
Missed you this summer and glad to see you back @ your blog. I just really enjoyed your writing. You have a talent for bogging. Anyway you probably left the east coast at a good time, as i hear that the Farmer’s Almanac has predicted a bitter winter there this year. It might have been quite a challenge on the old Homestead.
Keep up the Blog!!!
Thanks Louise, that is very kind of you, I do miss blogging, I just have felt so much at loose ends and have not been sure what to talk about. Then one day I suddenly realized how silly that was, the blog name is Old Fashioned Families, and that leaves me plenty of room to blog about lots of things. East coast has had a rough spring and summer, so I would not be surprised if the winter was the same.
I have been pickling okra and spiced peaches this summer. After the water bath processing it appears I could have packed the jars more fully. The peaches, which are sliced, only fill about half the jar after processing. When I packed them they seemed stuffed full. Can you tell me if this is to be expected or can I do something differently?
You’ll be back in the swing of things in no time! the
photo is Amazing, breathtaking! As a lifelong east coaster
live near the beach :). Home is wherever you are
happiest!
I appreciate the anxiety you must be feeling at not having the homesteading lifestyle at your fingertips any longer, and I think there is something to be blogged about that as well. There are quite a few of us daydreaming about homesteading and planning for the future but without the means or ability to do so at the time; there’s something to be said about having someone to ‘speak’ our feelings. Also, welcome back to the PNW! Give us a holler if you ever get to Olympia, new friends are always a welcome comfort.
Lara,
We are actually in Yelm, overall we love it here and it is just a hop skip and a jump from Olympia as you probably already know. The picture was from our front yard.
I am so glad you’re back! And for what it’s worth, I have enjoyed reading your blog through the time I was living in an apartment and now, living in a house on one acre of land. One of my favorite posts was the one about that book on old-fashioned Christmas decorations. I bought the book as per your recommendation and loved it! So even if more of your posts are about homesteading from the “inside the house” perspective rather than the “using the land” perspective, I think it would make for a good blog 🙂