You know the ickies have hit

When CLAY of all people stays home from work. He never stays home from work. He'll go to work on his deathbed. But he's home. Yep the ickies have hit. First the baby, then me, now Clay. Luckily I haven't been as bad as my oldest and youngest boy. Throwing up, the works.

Lately I think we've fallen into the "read about everything, do nothing" mentality. Or maybe more like a rut. I've been doing lots of reading and little action. Sure it's cold but still. When it's warm I'm not out there busting my rear. And I love love when things are busy around the 'Sted and I have loads to do. I don't know what it is. Maybe I should just try and accept that things slow down in the Winter. But I don't want to. I want there to be 100 things to do. But right now with just chickens and no greenhouse and whatnot there's not a lot to do. Plan I guess. And I have. Lots of planning. We know now where the orchard will be, generally where the meat rabbits will be, where the goat barn will be, the new chicken coop, the expaned garden, the greenhouse, the new herb garden. We know where it all will BE. But next to none of it is there.

This is the hard part. There are so many blogs out there where they just have the money and do it. Want a pig? Bam, fencing, pigs, feed. Garden, loads of dirt come rolling up the driveway. Magic Homesteads. They are everywhere. But it's not us. This year it doesn't look like the fruit trees OR the goats will happen in the Spring because well, it's too expensive. So Frankie and I are thinking we're going to work on the meat rabbits for the Spring. And meat chickens. And new egg chickens. And garden. Those are the things we will make ourselves afford. I'm working hard to afford them right now. How?

Well... there are ladies out there in blogland that blow my mind in their planning. Pantry planning, garden planning, canning planning. They know how much food they use each year and whether to grow more of this or less of that. They know what needs to get used up and nothing goes to waste. And here I am with a house full of food and yet still find myself at the grocery store each week. What's up with that? The trap I guess. I'm just used to going and wanting and needing more. I'm sick of wanting more. I want to be content. I want to use what I have wisely. I want to use Clay's hardearned money wisely. So the goal is to take the money each week from our grocery budget, pull it from the bank, and save it.

In the freezer I've got a huge turkey, two of our home grown chickens, bags of frozen yellow squash and zucchini, frozen fresh corn, bags of frozen kersaw squash, a deer roast, 2 bags of frozen chicken breasts, bulk wheat (a 100 lbs at least), bulk pinto beans, brown rice, lentils, steel cut oats, and a gazillion other things!!!!! Remind my why I'm going to the grocery store again?

So the goal is to put $300 away this month. That should cover my garden fence. Okay maybe not all of it. But woohoo! Maybe. If we can cut enough of our own cedar posts that should cover it.

I wonder if I can do it two months in a row? Loads of compost to amend the soil and some rabbit fencing here we come.

Okay later.