Jubilee Farm

Lifestyles... stream of consciousness

  I was telling DH the other day that they should have a reality show of   having people live in different kind of lifestyles.  Take a suburbia girl and have her be on a farm.

Or take a downtown NY city girl and have her live with the Amish. Makes for interesting thoughts doesn't it. Well I think that did happen to me. The novelty of playing on the farm is starting to dim as the work increases. I need to have a change of mindset I do believe. The life on a farm is much harder, and longer work than the life of living in the city. I used to just go to the store to get what I needed whenever I wanted because it was right up the road. Now we are trying to grow our own food and take care of chickens who depend on us.

If I compare where I was in life, to where I am now, it is just a funny sounding show.

Prior to having 5 kids, maybe when I only had 2 or 3 I worked as a stamping up demonstrator, did stamping crafts constantly, got my hair 'done' on a regular basis at the beauty shop, shopped at Kohl's for new clothes on a seasonal basis, went out with the girls for coffee and dessert in town, went to the mall to walk around, kept up on the latest Christian novels and had conversations with others about them.  The life of a suburban mom.

Life is surely different now, and I think potentially better... I just need to change my glasses that I am looking through.

Now I throw my hair in a ponytail, wear jeans and a t-shirt most days, haven't been to Kohls in a year at least, plan my menu's for shopping on a limited basis, wear mudboots when I go outside, feed chickens, weed the garden, sit by the pond and watch the ducks rather than meet up with the ladies for coffee... simplified, yet harder for now. Simple in the things that I do, and the life that it is, but a lot of work to be simplified. Does that make any sense??

There are things that have made our life easier I think that are good things. There are things we can purchase that will make my life easier for now. But there are also things that are rewarding to work at and benefit not only from the reward of the harvest, but in the toil to get there.

   I will probably never grow my own wheat and grind it into bread. When I can buy a loaf for under a dollar at walmart. I will probably not make the kids clothes, when I can buy them inexpensively and mend the ones that they pass on to each other. But I will can corn, because the fun of growing it, and picking it, and cutting it up and stacking those cans up are worth the effort. I know I can buy it at Aldi's for just cents a can, but there is more reward for me in growing it. I think God will provide those joyful things along the way.  It is a marathon, not a sprint as a friend told me the other day. She is right.

Melanie

Untitled Comment

{ 06:54, 2006-May-12 } { Posted by justme }

Once you get your pantry full and your freezer full you'll sit back and relax. Then once you start eating all that grat food you'll know why you did all that work. For me seeing the kids involved with DH and I putting up the food is worth all the work.

Last fall I only shucked 2 or 3 ears of corn the kids did all the corn. We put up a lot of corn. They also picked up buckets of potatoes and tomatoes.
Donna

Oh my

{ 07:08, 2006-May-12 } { Posted by mominpa }

I can so relate to your post...almost word for word....the funny part is when you still have 'friends' from the former lifestyle who REALLY think you may need to be medicated!! ;) I just wish and pray I had ONE IRL friend who also had this lifestyle.

I don't mind the work so much...it has been a lot of fun so far....the LARGE snakes...though...I don't know how I'm ever going to get used to them.....????

Its funny you mentioned the canning and putting food up...because last week I put up 16 cans of applesauce...THAT was a LOT of work..when I know I can buy it at Aldi's for .79!!! However everyone said THIS tastes much better.....and it did...just took me a LOT more work... However, as dh reminded me he bought a LARGE box of apples for $8.00 and that made 16 jars of applesauce so that acutally comes out to .50 a can...so it was cheaper... :0.

Anyway...I really enjoyed this post and am very glad I'm not alone in this...if I keep busy I don't think about it too much...mainly when an ol' friend calls and is in utter dis belief that we have 28 chickens and were considering 2 goats!! Its days like those I am very thankful for HOmesteadblogger!!

Hi

{ 10:04, 2006-May-12 } { Posted by MyThreeDaughters }

I have 5 kids too and can relate.

Last week we did over 12 jars of pickles.

There was a link here somewhere to another blog, that put all this in perspective. I really enjoyed the blog.

Here it is:

http://homeliving.blogspot.com/2006/04/importance-of-home-cooking.html

Edited by MyThreeDaughters on 2006-May-12 at 10:06

Untitled Comment

{ 02:45, 2006-May-15 } { Posted by SueQ }

I suggest freezing corn instead of canning it. ;-) Frozen corn tastes so much better than canned corn. It tastes closer to corn on the cob. Plus it is less work. ;-) Just steam your corn on the cob, cut it off the cob, put it in bags and freeze. :-)