An Introduction of Sorts

My husband Ben and I moved to a small farm a little over two years ago.  We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into.  Our desire for "the simple life" resulted in one that is far more complicated than we had imagined.  Every day we learn something new and, in result, we've become two quite handy individuals. But let me backtrack...

Ben and I moved from Atlanta, Georgia with my best friend, Emmy, who also happens to be our dog. We've always been city people, we love to go out to eat and go to shows.  People often ask why we decided to move to the country. Honestly, I really don't know. It happened gradually: I started cooking and decided that I really enjoyed it. I started knitting and sewing and discovered that I was quite skilled at those things.  I think a lot of my interests stem from watching my parents.  My dad is the most capable person I've ever known. He's more impressive than MacGyver except that his projects never end with him mussing up the hair of a small, ragged boy who he saved from impending doom. My mother is the most amazing cook, an artist and an astoundingly talented person. She's sort of a jack-of-all trades. There's really nothing she can't do.  With parents like these, I sort of assumed that I would be naturally skilled at the art of home maintenance, gardening and raising animals. But Ben and I are finding that everything takes practice, patience, and lots of good humour.

In my mind, this blog will be an account of our attempts at living a more self-sufficient existence. In the last two years we've removed way too many load bearing walls from our farm house, started a rather stellar garden, and got a couple of laying hens. But there's more to come. I would like to start raising bees, and possibly some goats or (maybe) get a couple of horses. Along the way, I'll share tips and tricks that I've learned as well as original recipes, and sewing and knitting patterns.