Tuesday, May 26, 2015

From 'Homestead Someday' to 'Homestead NOW'!

Yes! Welcome to our revised blog and the tour of our new hobby farm-to-be, Wildwood Cottage (WC)! I cannot tell you how THRILLED I am to be finally writing this blog from the perspective of one who is truly working on their little farm rather than just pining for it!



For those of you who have not heard the oh-so-dramatic story, we heard about the cottage through a mutual friend with the sellers. It is the family home that he grew up in and inherited, and now his wife and him were ready to head south for sunshine and new adventures. I had just written my post here regarding the peace and contentment I had found once I submitted to the continual rental of our last home, Berry Creek Lane. And then WC happened.

At first it sounded daunting over the phone: 1100 square feet, 2 bedrooms with a third so small it was debatable whether it truly counted as a bedroom or not (depended on which appraiser you called), and 1 bath. Yes, 1 bath! Um, for 6 people? I don't know if I'm that hardcore. Maybe this wasn't for us.

 But then the magic words started pouring forth : "greenhouse....acre...flat acre...sunny acre...garden...ROOT CELLAR!"


Yes, folks, the idea of having a root cellar may or may not have initiated some sort of drunken, euphoric insanity in my wanna-be-homesteader brain. Suddenly 1 bathroom didn't sound so bad. Heck, we have 3 boys who can do their business pretty much anywhere on the acre, and the seller's parents raised 5 kids in this house, so we actually have one less body in the toilet queue.

And so, 7 months after the first awkward phone call, we took possession of this quirky little bungalow with the intent to finally begin collecting as much livestock and poultry as the city will let us have. We realized right away that we have a LOT of projects to do before we can go chicken shopping, and there's that whole 'seasonally self-employed husband in the middle of his busy season' to contend with. 

No farm is complete without a hound dog lounging around, right?


Fast Forward a bit and here we are two months into our mortgage, realizing that this is not an HGTV show where my property will be visual perfection in an hour or a weekend. (Oh Chip and Joanna Gaines, I need you!)  And Pinterest ideas are put on hold to purchase things like gravel and a toilet. More on those stories later..

Wildwood Cottage is the next chapter in our little family's journey on this planet. It is a training ground as our kids learn new skills right alongside us. It's an educational institution as we continue to keep the vision of our Upwards Academy and homeschool our brood.



Most importantly, it's our home. Right now it's our home. It won't be our home after the curtains are hung, every box is unpacked, or the mint colored doorframe is re-painted in the kitchen.

It won't be our home after the flooring is continuous or after the beadboard is hung. It is our home now, and I pray that it is full of joyful memories, spiritual discipleship, and Light for this dark world.



As we continue our projects and random musings, we hope that you will join us on this journey. It may not be very informative or make for an award winning blog, but I think you'll find it to be far from dull with our wacky little family circus.

Blessings,
Hillary At Home

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