For the nearly six months that I was under contract to buy this house, I was certain that I would be the kind of homeowner who had it all together: fully unpacked in the first weeks, decorating decisions made, art on the walls. Every cabinet and cupboard organized; every object with a home. I figured I would be this way because the alternative – blank walls, stacked boxes – would bother me. I am detail oriented, and I don’t typically do well when tasks go unfinished.
Maybe I’m relaxing a bit in my 30s – a sign of personal growth? – but the books in their boxes didn’t bother me much. The totes of sweaters in the corner of my room became a place to set out my outfit for the following day. The plants clustered in one windowsill were very easy to water.
It turns out I needed a push to get past this organizational blindness, and two weekends in a row of hosting duties on the calendar served as the perfect catalyst.
If this is the first post you’ve seen from me, I am working towards a semi self sufficient homestead and have organized my goals into four categories. Each week I try to make at least a little headway in each category, and I report my progress accordingly.
Growing Food
The temporary fencing around two of my garden beds has successfully deterred the woodchuck, who hasn’t been back since he ate the last of the butternut squash. In these beds, I have carrots, radishes, leeks, peas, zucchini, and herbs.
Our first killing frost arrived on October 9th – early, but not absurdly so. While the carrots, radishes, and leeks don’t mind, I was a bit sad because I have many baby zucchinis that are far too small to pick. I harvested what was left of the herbs and tried my best to cover the squash – and shockingly, I think this was successful! Many of the leaves died, but even several days later, the fruits seem okay and the smaller leaves that were under better cover seem to have survived. The weather has been mild ever since, so hopefully I still get my last harvest of zucchini.
The cold frame is also doing very well, producing more arugula and lettuce than I can eat! There is also plenty of space yet to be planted – I hesitate to plant more lettuce because I’m not doing a great job of eating what I already have, so I’m trying to decide what else would make for a good winter cold frame crop. I’d love to hear any suggestions you might have.
I also finally – finally – finished spreading the 20 cubic yards of wood chips that I received for free back in week 8. This ordeal of a project was well worth doing as it allowed me to carve out a pretty decent beginning for my garden area. I can see a use for more wood chips, but I will wait until spring to place another request as there are so many other projects that need doing and my back could use a break.
Resource Acquisition & Preparedness
My town celebrated one of my favorite holidays: bulk pickup – an annual week where everyone puts their stuff on the side of the road. In years’ past, I have refrained from ‘shopping’ as my apartment lifestyle was not conducive to the homesteader’s hoarding streak with which I have always been afflicted.
This year was different, though I tried to remain selective towards things I would actually use. I got tomato cages and pots, a fruit picker, and an enamel-topped table for the barn. But my best find, by far, was this vintage oak cupboard put out by my neighbor. It’s the perfect size to go under my TV and has the perfect look for the space. Just look at those drawer pulls!
Aesthetic Utility
Despite all of the unpacking and decorating I did to prepare for hosting my family and friends, there are still blank spaces and walls where furniture and art should be. I remain resolute in my intention to be patient. I think my TV cupboard find perfectly illustrates that the right pieces will find me and they will not be very expensive. It will take time, but it will be worth the wait. In the meantime, this is starting to look like the home I always dreamed of – and a home into which I’m proud to invite my family and friends.
Energy Independence
My solar panels passed their permit inspection! The next step is for the electric company to install their new meter. This can take a couple of weeks, but after that they will be ready to operate.
I have also made some headway with my woodstove issues that cropped up a couple weeks ago. I’ve been researching installers and chimney professionals as well as wood stoves. I’m torn between Jotul, Hearthstone, and Blaze King, but leaning towards Blaze King for a variety of reasons:
- The ideal Jotul size does not meet the requirements for the 30% tax credit.
- Hearthstones are beautiful, but as they are soapstone and enamel, the exterior finish is more likely to be damaged when cooking. I don’t intend to cook a ton, but I want to have the option.
Blaze Kings meet the tax credit requirements and have stellar reviews. While I would prefer the enamel option, the standard black matte is a painted cast iron that can be re-painted if it chips from pots and kettles.
I think I have found a supplier that can provide the stove in just four weeks, but I need to narrow down my installer options based on who could also complete the other work that needs to be done (chimney cap and possible liner).
Finally, this week I received a replacement control board for my GE Dishwasher that has been defunct. Installing the new part was tedious, but not difficult. I am disappointed that GE dishwashers can’t survive five years without needing a $135 replacement part, and I remain concerned that this is not the final fix for this machine – but let’s keep our fingers crossed, because it’s working for now.
Moving Forward
With my family’s visit and my housewarming party now behind me, it’s time to shift my focus towards preparing for the winter – stacking firewood and making preparations for next year’s garden are on the agenda. We also hope to build a bridge from my farm to my adopted family’s farm, which will first require a fair bit of clean-up in the woods that border the stream that serves as our property line.
Something very big happened within three days this past weekend – an unexpected but very happy expense that will be sure to make my life easier as I embark on all of these tasks. But since the ordeal is not yet complete, you’ll have to come back next week to hear about it. 🙂
Talk soon,
KC