Home,is where my heart  lives.

     I really am still here. Christmas was a crazy whirlwind that left me in a daze and when I awoke from the daze I realized Chance and I had been blown off  our course when it comes to homesteading.Winter is usually a quiet time for homesteading since a bulk of what we do was finished months ago but many of our daily things have gone astray. But over the past week we have slowly moved ourselves back and are finding our footing.
   I have come to realize that with me working things need a bit of reworking and I am asking myself some questions.The questions came after reading an article in a local magazine called "Portland Woman" (we get free copies at work and since I can't not read something I flipped through it.) there's a great interview with a local woman,Harriet Fasenfest who has written a book titled " A Householders Guide to the Universe."
  Personally I am over the whole homesteading book mania but I may look through her book next time I am at a book store only because I liked her attitude of "don't beat yourself up over this,you can only do what you can do." An attitude I try and voice here as well.
  But back to the questions I am asking myself.In her interview Ms Fasenfest mentions that she estimates it takes her about 20 hours a week to do what she dose,seems like a reasonable number to me.So how can I work in those hours around working? I am working the answer out still.
  I am also asking myself out of what I am doing what are the most important points.What have I been missing the most over the past several weeks that I have neglected? Singling out the most important parts is proving tricky since it all so interconnected,life here has its own little micro-environment, disturb one part and the whole thing can fall apart. I miss all of it, even though this time of year most of it has been put to bed for the winter.I can't address the gardening since that's on hold for now but what about the rest of it?  Can I let go of any of it or reassign the task to another family member? Chance is always willing to do what ever needs doing so he's on board. The boys? Depending on the task and their skill sets,their helping in new ways may work as well.
  
   I am still working it all out and will share my thoughts here as often as I can.


   Other than a bit of life tinkering life has been mellow and steady.Although the holiday season was not the way we really wanted, it was good. I am going to give all of you a great bit of holiday advice: Don't get a zombie mode inducing cold that comes with a hacking,voice stealing cough the 2 weeks leading up to Christmas-it kind of sucks and throws everything off.Which is why the holiday was not as we had hoped,both Chance and I were running so late due to the colds we had that the whole holiday snowballed on us.
  We are preparing to do some remodeling here,some new drywall,painting and general spiffing up. I am looking forward to the final spiffed up part but the invasive drywall dust part, not so much.
  I have a new schedule at work the gives me my 3 days off all in a row,which I love the idea of,so life here at Hrafinstaad should be returning to its "normal" self soon.Being thrown off course is looking like it is/was a good thing.Causing us to pause and step back to take a good look at where we were/are headed.Forward! Ever forward but never straight only because that would be dull.

Rois

P.S - Seed catalogs should start arriving soon,said in a mildly giddy voice.