Wow! I missed you all!

Wow, time has flown. I apologize that it has been so long (3 months) since I last blogged.

It has been a very busy time for us, I'll try to sum it up quickly:

*Job in the Florida region officially started June 1. I fly to Florida or Georgia nearly every week.

*House was on the market until the weekend before school started here-- it did not sell.

*We sold all livestock in preparation for the move.

Two weeks ago our friend Melissa brought over 3 bred cows to eat down our pasture, we are so thankful for that assistance and for the blessing of being able to watch cows again.

Not long after, Dave said we should get a few hens so we can have eggs again. He got the coop up to snuff and I found some on Craig's List--we now have 6 hens!

A couple of days before I was at the feed store buying feed for them and decided on a whim to buy a couple of tomato and cilantro plants. It was not long before I had a whole bed planted with lettuce, kale, celery, garlic, radish in addition to the plants I bought.

The hens had been here almost a week when Dave said "I think you need your own cow"! I had been turning over in my mind for a couple of days how to tell him I desperately needed a cow again! He is so intuitive and sweet.

So fast forward to today, 4 garden beds are planted and we are on the hunt for just the right cow for us. I feel so much better than I have in well, months.

I have not been handling the stress very well, and didn't even realize stress was an issue until about 3 weeks ago when I was getting to the point of snapping at people and feeling tense all the time. The headaches and gastric burn should have been a clue also.

The gardening and re-committing back to the farm has helped me so much. For so long I had distanced myself emotionally to be able to sell the house and it really was beginning to take a toll. In all honesty I don't know what the future holds. I would like to be very close to the Atlantic, and have a small farm so we can have our cow and a garden. I am just that kind of person, I need to be creating in the kitchen, tending to the animals and garden. If we were only a few minutes from the ocean I could use that kind of relaxation too.

The job has been a source of stress, but only on my part with adjusting to the new region and learning to be a hardened traveler. I am certain I could not do this for the rest of my career--the travel part. I am gone from home 2-4 nights a week and often my flights don't get in until very late. This is the hard part--I want to see the kids as much as possible since they will both be gone in 20 months.

And for the record, Dave and the kids seem to be handling it all fine--it must be a mom issue!

So, the plan is to put the house back on the market in Feb or March and see if we sell next summer. If we do, the cow goes with us, if we don't the cow stays.

That's what I call a win-win!

I have some gardening stories from today, but will put those in a different post.

Thanks to all our friends and family for their support!!