On the way back...

So much to tell you! So many pictures to post! But I'm still so tired!

To use a complicated physics analogy about electrons in an atom, I usually wander around in my 3rd or 4th excited state, with plenty of energy for everyone. For several days after Science Olympiad, I was wandering around in my ground state, barely able to keep myself together. This week, I'm bouncing between ground and first excited states---I can see how someday I might actually WANT to do something at work, but it's not happening yet! Unfortunately, these are the couple of weeks focusing in on the physics of climate change in my Environmental Physics class. This means I'm spending all my time reading about mass extinctions and melting glaciers and wondering what I'm doing that's of any value at all.

But! We have ten new chicks on the farm, and are averaging 6 eggs a day from the old flock. We are hatching (hah!) a new plan for 'chicken boarding'. Since we can't sell our eggs, we are thinking that we should board chickens for people at a flat monthly fee, and then they can have the eggs from one chicken (about 15 per month), since they are boarding one chicken with us! Is that not awesome? Don't you want to do it too? How much would you pay for us to keep your chicken for you?

In other random news, J has been crafting the most marvelous willow stick fence around the raised beds---pictures coming soon...

We have finished the tack room, to our neighbor's specifications---there's a little fridge in there! I've beaten the sewing machine into submission, and crafted a holder for my knitting needles. I've also knitted 2 hats, 1 pair of mittens, and a pair of slippers. I hope to impose on my friend K soon, and go to her house to do some felting.

The old house is sold! Our old mortgage is paid off, and we even had a little extra to roll over into the new mortgage. A friend advised us to incorporate the farm, and that helped us out a LOT with our taxes, so that got rolled over too. We are now working on a plan to pay off the current mortgage in five years. It will be a push, but imagine having it paid off completely, by the time we are 45! We are excited to make as many early payments as possible, and fold all our extra money in as soon as we can----git 'er done is our new motto! We are anxious and uneasy, and this is our last remaining debt. It would be nice to see a '1' turn into a '0'.

This past year, we did so well on feeding ourselves, from our own efforts, that it's not even funny. We are coming to the end of some things in the cupboard, but the higher food prices have just... Passed us by. We haven't really noticed, and are getting ready to start planting seed starts. Soon, spring will actually be here, and we can get things in the ground. Meanwhile, we are looking for new oat recipes, and eating a lot of pickles... ;)

Much else has happened, and I'll gradually get caught up here. So much is going on that my boss at work was speechless in my annual review---and that's just work! For now, I'll just make a quick list of goals for the year:

1) pay 1/5 of the mortgage as extra payments on the house this year.
2) source all of our own food locally, except oils and spices.
3) start chicken boarding.
4) teach T her flying changes.
5) drive our household energy usage down by 50%, so we can plan for solar panels.