I had a lovely Christmas with my Mom. My brothers don't like visiting her house because of all the painful memories and guilt associated with it, but somehow I've gotten over all that. What I can't get over is the fact that the place is literally rotting. It's not so much falling down as returning to its base elements and returning to the soil from whence it came. The barns are doing the same, at a slightly accelerated rate. It's a strange thing, going "home" and finding a corpse of a house seemingly propped up by the surrounding foliage, practically swaying in the wind.
There is a little debate on how much money should be spent saving the house (which no longer has any appreciable foundation to speak of), or replacing the house, or invested in new property closer to Austin. Darling and I have our own ideas, but we are keeping mum for a few weeks. Things like this have a tendency to work themselves out.
Anyway, I got some great gifts for Christmas. Darling got me a cheese making kit and recipe book. I can't wait to whip up a batch of mozzarella and prepare some cheddar to age for six months. I also received a copy of The Tightwad Gazette, which I've read but never owned. Darling got the computer whatsit he asked for.
This morning was spent writing an article for The Austin Eco-Network. So was this afternoon, come to speak of it. I think I'll spend the evening cooking a yummy dinner of grens and grains and work on the baby quilt.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Best Laid Plans
After several weeks of working two jobs and going to school full time, Darling decided he won't be doing any more landscaping work. This is a big relief to me as I want my husband to devote as much energy as possible to his classes. But losing the income is a little disappointing for both of us.
See, we had this tentative sort of plan that once Darling was earning enough money to support us, he would. In the meantime I would cut my hours, tie myself to the computer, and start writing until enough words came out in the appropriate orders and styles that they could be sold. I literally have no idea how to go about this, but I know it requires total devotion.
If this sounds dramatic, understand that this post took me well over two hours to write. When I was in college I staffed the student newspaper and dedicated entire nights to writing individual articles. Security locked me in overnight, the janitorial staff let me out in the morning. Back then I had the time and encouragement to lose myself to the craft. Now I have to cook dinner, entertain friends, care for my husband, and earn a living.
Then again, why do I think it was so much easier working, studying, writing, and dealing with roommates five years ago? In retrospect it was all fun and games, but I've never been so exhausted, hungry, lonely, and broke in my life.
My parents tell me that there is no "right" time to have a child. No amount of time, money, or experience will seem like enough. Maybe the same is true of following one's passion. Maybe it's foolish to wait until the stars align and I have absolutely nothing to do but pursue journalism. I will never have enough independence, credentials, or education - especially at this arrested rate. Maybe I just have to take some sort of plunge. Hit the streets with a notebook and crossed fingers? What would Nelly Bly do?
See, we had this tentative sort of plan that once Darling was earning enough money to support us, he would. In the meantime I would cut my hours, tie myself to the computer, and start writing until enough words came out in the appropriate orders and styles that they could be sold. I literally have no idea how to go about this, but I know it requires total devotion.
If this sounds dramatic, understand that this post took me well over two hours to write. When I was in college I staffed the student newspaper and dedicated entire nights to writing individual articles. Security locked me in overnight, the janitorial staff let me out in the morning. Back then I had the time and encouragement to lose myself to the craft. Now I have to cook dinner, entertain friends, care for my husband, and earn a living.
Then again, why do I think it was so much easier working, studying, writing, and dealing with roommates five years ago? In retrospect it was all fun and games, but I've never been so exhausted, hungry, lonely, and broke in my life.
My parents tell me that there is no "right" time to have a child. No amount of time, money, or experience will seem like enough. Maybe the same is true of following one's passion. Maybe it's foolish to wait until the stars align and I have absolutely nothing to do but pursue journalism. I will never have enough independence, credentials, or education - especially at this arrested rate. Maybe I just have to take some sort of plunge. Hit the streets with a notebook and crossed fingers? What would Nelly Bly do?
Sourdough Success
I might have got the sourdough down.
The problem with this (very, very delicious) bread is the amount of time it takes. Baking a basic whole wheat loaf has never been that challenging to fit into my schedule: as long as I'm home for most of a couple of hours, and have ten minutes to knead, it can be done. But not only do the sourdough recipes I've looked at require twice as long to rise, but any chill in the kitchen seems to prevent rising altogether.
Since I live in the Texas Hill Country this wouldn't normally be a problem. Even when it does get cold, it doesn't normally last. Except this year. Every spare several hours I had to bake fell on the same days cold fronts blew in and lingered. So for the first few weekends I tried to bake and cook all day to keep the kitchen warm and the sourdough rising. That was nice, but hardly efficient, and more than once I was pulled away from the kitchen at a pivotal point and nearly lost the loaf. And during the holidays there is not time for fifteen hour bake sessions.
I can't tell you how often I thought the loaf simply wasn't going to rise, I abandoned it in the kitchen, and I found it in the next day puffed up and ready to go. Right when I had to go to work...
Finally I decided to embrace that frustrating face and work with it. The day before yesterday I mixed up the most basic recipe I could find: 2 1/2 cups starter, 2 cups of flour, and a Tablespoon of salt. Mixed and kneaded like a normal loaf, left in a greased pan , and forgotten until the next day.
When I checked it yesterday evening (having given it more than 24 hours) it had about doubled in size. I turned on the oven and let it bake at a low temperature about an hour and a half.
It is a gorgeous loaf, and nearly less hassle than my normal wheat. I really hope to replicate the success in coming weeks, this bread is too good to give up on.
The problem with this (very, very delicious) bread is the amount of time it takes. Baking a basic whole wheat loaf has never been that challenging to fit into my schedule: as long as I'm home for most of a couple of hours, and have ten minutes to knead, it can be done. But not only do the sourdough recipes I've looked at require twice as long to rise, but any chill in the kitchen seems to prevent rising altogether.
Since I live in the Texas Hill Country this wouldn't normally be a problem. Even when it does get cold, it doesn't normally last. Except this year. Every spare several hours I had to bake fell on the same days cold fronts blew in and lingered. So for the first few weekends I tried to bake and cook all day to keep the kitchen warm and the sourdough rising. That was nice, but hardly efficient, and more than once I was pulled away from the kitchen at a pivotal point and nearly lost the loaf. And during the holidays there is not time for fifteen hour bake sessions.
I can't tell you how often I thought the loaf simply wasn't going to rise, I abandoned it in the kitchen, and I found it in the next day puffed up and ready to go. Right when I had to go to work...
Finally I decided to embrace that frustrating face and work with it. The day before yesterday I mixed up the most basic recipe I could find: 2 1/2 cups starter, 2 cups of flour, and a Tablespoon of salt. Mixed and kneaded like a normal loaf, left in a greased pan , and forgotten until the next day.
When I checked it yesterday evening (having given it more than 24 hours) it had about doubled in size. I turned on the oven and let it bake at a low temperature about an hour and a half.
It is a gorgeous loaf, and nearly less hassle than my normal wheat. I really hope to replicate the success in coming weeks, this bread is too good to give up on.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Moving Forward, Stopping, Looking Back
It often feels like Darling and I are treading water.
Sometimes writing this blog is hard because there doesn't seem to be anything new or exciting to say. Sometimes, even when we have learned a new skill or crept closer to financial sustainability, it doesn't even seem worth posting about. It's hard to believe that readers will care about the gallon of cider I put to ferment last week to create our own adult beverages for the first time. Because this blog is meant to be financial in nature, I feel guilty posting about our day-to-day happenings.
What I need to remember, and what I hope all my beloved readers recognize, is that I started this journal to record the endless, sometimes excruciating minutiae and occasional hardship of developing the lifestyle I covet and enjoy. I regret not having started this blog when Darling and I were dead-broke unemployed newlyweds living 45 minutes apart. Nothing big happened to lift us from our destitution. We didn't get great jobs or graduate college (I dropped out), no one left us a huge inheritence (though my Mom really helped us out with $500), we didn't discover a great financial secret (though I read every financial self-help book in the library). What we did was learn to bake bread and cook at home, entertain friends with regular game nights, make friends with farmers and work for food, borrow cars to drive to the nearest Mennonite grocery and buy oats and flour in bulk, and grow a huge garden of herbs in our den.
Every little change pushes us forward at a surprisingly rapid pace. Every moral and conscious decision changes the landscape of our fate. Sometimes insignificant details can have amazing consequences. Who would have thought that a clerical error signing up for one class would lead to my husband's discovery of the renewable energy industry and the pursuit of a completely unexpected degree and career. Did I ever mention that the class he was trying to sign up for was in video game design?
So I'm going to be less hard on myself about the nature of my posting. If I choose to critique politics, media, or corporate behavior, so be it. If I choose to linger endlessly over the nature of education and employment and agonize over which I should be dedicating my time, fine. And if what I'm currently passionate about is decorating the den for Christmas, sewing a quilt for my future niece, the bubbling jug of hard cider in the closet, or my millionth failure at sourdough...well, that's what I'm going to write about.
Hope everyone else is enjoying the season as much as myself!
Sometimes writing this blog is hard because there doesn't seem to be anything new or exciting to say. Sometimes, even when we have learned a new skill or crept closer to financial sustainability, it doesn't even seem worth posting about. It's hard to believe that readers will care about the gallon of cider I put to ferment last week to create our own adult beverages for the first time. Because this blog is meant to be financial in nature, I feel guilty posting about our day-to-day happenings.
What I need to remember, and what I hope all my beloved readers recognize, is that I started this journal to record the endless, sometimes excruciating minutiae and occasional hardship of developing the lifestyle I covet and enjoy. I regret not having started this blog when Darling and I were dead-broke unemployed newlyweds living 45 minutes apart. Nothing big happened to lift us from our destitution. We didn't get great jobs or graduate college (I dropped out), no one left us a huge inheritence (though my Mom really helped us out with $500), we didn't discover a great financial secret (though I read every financial self-help book in the library). What we did was learn to bake bread and cook at home, entertain friends with regular game nights, make friends with farmers and work for food, borrow cars to drive to the nearest Mennonite grocery and buy oats and flour in bulk, and grow a huge garden of herbs in our den.
Every little change pushes us forward at a surprisingly rapid pace. Every moral and conscious decision changes the landscape of our fate. Sometimes insignificant details can have amazing consequences. Who would have thought that a clerical error signing up for one class would lead to my husband's discovery of the renewable energy industry and the pursuit of a completely unexpected degree and career. Did I ever mention that the class he was trying to sign up for was in video game design?
So I'm going to be less hard on myself about the nature of my posting. If I choose to critique politics, media, or corporate behavior, so be it. If I choose to linger endlessly over the nature of education and employment and agonize over which I should be dedicating my time, fine. And if what I'm currently passionate about is decorating the den for Christmas, sewing a quilt for my future niece, the bubbling jug of hard cider in the closet, or my millionth failure at sourdough...well, that's what I'm going to write about.
Hope everyone else is enjoying the season as much as myself!
Friday, December 18, 2009
Crafts and Cooking
My baby quilt is so close to being finished! My housemate gave me some batting and helped me pin together the front and back. All I need to do is the applique/quilting and sew along the edges.
I whipped up a large pot of cream of mushroom soup, bottled some kombucha, and put some veggie stock on to simmer. The hard cider I started a couple of weeks ago is ready to be bottled as well.
As I worked in the kitchen, a housemate brought in a huge bucket of beets and carrots from the garden. We're thinking of steaming or roasting the lot for our holiday party tomorrow.
Today my elder brother and niece are coming to visit and all my Mom's children (we have three dads between the four of us), are going to have dinner with her. I have a lot of chores to wrap up before they get here, including a trip to the bank and library. Hope I keep up this busy streak for the rest of the day :)
I whipped up a large pot of cream of mushroom soup, bottled some kombucha, and put some veggie stock on to simmer. The hard cider I started a couple of weeks ago is ready to be bottled as well.
As I worked in the kitchen, a housemate brought in a huge bucket of beets and carrots from the garden. We're thinking of steaming or roasting the lot for our holiday party tomorrow.
Today my elder brother and niece are coming to visit and all my Mom's children (we have three dads between the four of us), are going to have dinner with her. I have a lot of chores to wrap up before they get here, including a trip to the bank and library. Hope I keep up this busy streak for the rest of the day :)
Monday, December 14, 2009
Nonproductive and Procrastinating
I slept in this morning and was several hours late for work. Fortunately one of my (self-employed) housemates gave me a ride. There was no real harm done; my laid-back boss didn't say anything and I just worked a couple of hours later than usual.
I had a big to-do list to face upon my arrival home. I need to call about a dentist appointment, an optometrist appointment, and a Summer job. Instead I did some baking to decompress after a hard day of baking and hung out with my housemates until our weekly meeting.
Yikes. There's always tomorrow, I guess. At least since logging on I've managed to apply for a few jobs :)
I had a big to-do list to face upon my arrival home. I need to call about a dentist appointment, an optometrist appointment, and a Summer job. Instead I did some baking to decompress after a hard day of baking and hung out with my housemates until our weekly meeting.
Yikes. There's always tomorrow, I guess. At least since logging on I've managed to apply for a few jobs :)
Friday, December 11, 2009
Mom's New Wealth
My Mom received a large sum of money from her inheritance and wants to pay for my teeth to be fixed. I think I've mentioned before that my mouth is in a world of hurt from long term neglect. It's so exciting and scary to imagine having a clean bill of dental health - and not have to worry about the bill!
I'm trying to encourage my Mom to feel good about spending her new wealth on lifestyle improvements. Generally, I think lifestyle inflation is something to be discouraged (thanks for the great post, Money Crush). But my Mom has lived years without a working stove, dishwasher, clothes dryer, or heat that doesn't require lugging in logs for the fireplace. As she enters her sixties I think she deserves some comfort. I don't know if she's ever owned a new bed or mattress. I want her to go on a (carefully planned) spending spree and I want some nice men in uniforms to drive a van to her house, unload some brand new appliances, and hook them up for her.
Unfortunately, my Mom is afraid of money. A lot. Having a hug sum transferred to her bank account triggered a pretty awful bipolar episode. She's recovered, but still quite anxious. You have to understand that my mom's family was very wealthy. Her first husband was a millionaire. And she didn't get a lot of love from these wealthy people. And when she eschewed the materialist lifestyle, ditched the country clubs and dropped out of the sorority, took up with my gnarly hippie dad and tried to live off the land, that lack of love grew into a hateful resentment that surpasses the imagination.
She sees money as something that tears families apart, and it's hard to argue with her.
Fortunately, she's been trapped amongst the ranks of "have nots" long enough to appreciate the benefits of having. Maybe by the time she ties up the many loose ends poverty has forced her to live with, she'll be in a better state of mind.
I'm trying to encourage my Mom to feel good about spending her new wealth on lifestyle improvements. Generally, I think lifestyle inflation is something to be discouraged (thanks for the great post, Money Crush). But my Mom has lived years without a working stove, dishwasher, clothes dryer, or heat that doesn't require lugging in logs for the fireplace. As she enters her sixties I think she deserves some comfort. I don't know if she's ever owned a new bed or mattress. I want her to go on a (carefully planned) spending spree and I want some nice men in uniforms to drive a van to her house, unload some brand new appliances, and hook them up for her.
Unfortunately, my Mom is afraid of money. A lot. Having a hug sum transferred to her bank account triggered a pretty awful bipolar episode. She's recovered, but still quite anxious. You have to understand that my mom's family was very wealthy. Her first husband was a millionaire. And she didn't get a lot of love from these wealthy people. And when she eschewed the materialist lifestyle, ditched the country clubs and dropped out of the sorority, took up with my gnarly hippie dad and tried to live off the land, that lack of love grew into a hateful resentment that surpasses the imagination.
She sees money as something that tears families apart, and it's hard to argue with her.
Fortunately, she's been trapped amongst the ranks of "have nots" long enough to appreciate the benefits of having. Maybe by the time she ties up the many loose ends poverty has forced her to live with, she'll be in a better state of mind.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Fifth Anniversary
Yesterday Darling and I celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary. We had a very low-key day in bed, venturing out only to the nearest tex-mex restaurant for dinner. Neither of us are good at buying each other gifts, but Darling promised to build me a hat rack some point :) I've wanted one since we moved into our first studio apartment.
Look at that mug. Isn't he a cutie?
I'm pretty blown away by how much we've grown and changed since joining forces. My husband was a desk-bound administrative sort of guy who spent most of his money on comics and many of his evenings imbibing alcoholic beverages at clubs and gigs. I was a disillusioned student who felt totally incapable of managing her time, weight, finances, or relationships.
With my Darling's help and encouragement I have developed the strength to stand for my ideals and embrace the principles I once coveted. In five years my husband has never said "no" to me, he has called my every bluff and pushed me to meet every challenge. I have yet to approach an obstacle so daunting that he has let me back down.
Nor has he ever failed to face his own challenges. Even though he earned his degree nearly 20 years ago, he went back to college to learn a trade he finds intellectually stimulating and fulfilling. He abandoned tedious office work and took on manual labor positions to help pay for those classes. His dedication to sustainable and responsible living and service to others is absolutely mind-boggling.
I'm so thankful for the five years we've spent together, and I can't wait to see where we're at in another five!
Look at that mug. Isn't he a cutie?
I'm pretty blown away by how much we've grown and changed since joining forces. My husband was a desk-bound administrative sort of guy who spent most of his money on comics and many of his evenings imbibing alcoholic beverages at clubs and gigs. I was a disillusioned student who felt totally incapable of managing her time, weight, finances, or relationships.
With my Darling's help and encouragement I have developed the strength to stand for my ideals and embrace the principles I once coveted. In five years my husband has never said "no" to me, he has called my every bluff and pushed me to meet every challenge. I have yet to approach an obstacle so daunting that he has let me back down.
Nor has he ever failed to face his own challenges. Even though he earned his degree nearly 20 years ago, he went back to college to learn a trade he finds intellectually stimulating and fulfilling. He abandoned tedious office work and took on manual labor positions to help pay for those classes. His dedication to sustainable and responsible living and service to others is absolutely mind-boggling.
I'm so thankful for the five years we've spent together, and I can't wait to see where we're at in another five!
Thursday, December 3, 2009
So. Cold.
I'm hugging a mug of tea and dreading the walk to work this very chilly morning. Last night Darling and I broke out the little electric heater for a few minutes. It wasn't left on while we slept, but it made the room comfortable enough to get to sleep. I wanted to wait until Friday, our anniversary, but you know what they say about best laid plans and how Texans get when it drops below 40 degrees Fahrenheit.
I managed to hurt my left shoulder/collar/chest muscle, so I've not been working out this week. Amazingly, an influx of time has not surged into my life. I was blaming my strength training, to which I dedicated about ten hours a week, for my inability to keep up and introduce new projects into my life. I need a new scapegoat. And I need to improve my routine. Though this time of year all I want to do is crawl into bed and wait for the next heatwave.
At least I now have no desire to shop whatsoever. That's financially sound, especially a few weeks before Christmas, right?
I'm hugging a mug of tea and dreading the walk to work this very chilly morning. Last night Darling and I broke out the little electric heater for a few minutes. It wasn't left on while we slept, but it made the room comfortable enough to get to sleep. I wanted to wait until Friday, our anniversary, but you know what they say about best laid plans and how Texans get when it drops below 40 degrees Fahrenheit.
I managed to hurt my left shoulder/collar/chest muscle, so I've not been working out this week. Amazingly, an influx of time has not surged into my life. I was blaming my strength training, to which I dedicated about ten hours a week, for my inability to keep up and introduce new projects into my life. I need a new scapegoat. And I need to improve my routine. Though this time of year all I want to do is crawl into bed and wait for the next heatwave.
At least I now have no desire to shop whatsoever. That's financially sound, especially a few weeks before Christmas, right?
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
What I Look for In a Blog
A few days ago I glanced through dozens of blogs and added a handful to my blog roll. Making the picks comes surprisingly easy after time. I often knew which blogs I'd be linking to before I read the first post. These are the first-impression criteria I found myself following:
1. First, and certainly foremost, no annoying ads. I find ads annoying if they move at all, block the content in anyway, or slow down my already lumbering computer. I'm also annoyed if I can't tell the difference between blog material or advertisement.
2. No annoying features. I hate it when I my mouse passes over a link and a "snapshot" pops up, so if the blog is link-heavy enough, I figure that out pretty quickly.
3. The most recent post must be in the current month. Too many blogs burn bright before dying. There are lots of defunct blogs I'd like to catch up on, but I'm looking for daily inspiration on my blog roll.
4. Posts can not resemble advertisements. I used to read a blog written by a man who loved a certain investment website. Which is awesome, but after days of reading the software's praises, I lost interest and quit reading.
5. More to the point, blogs should have original, interesting content. I have no interest in the many "frugality" blogs that degrade into journals of bargains-of-the week and coupon codes. It astounds me how many blogs are 100% dedicated to what's cheap at CVS.
6. The blogger and I should have something in common. And it doesn't have to be much. If a blogger posts regularly on topics I find interesting, it doesn't matter to me if they are a conservative Christian Australian (whereas I myself am a liberal Atheist Texan). It does matter if one of the first posts of theirs I read is offensive to me in some way. When shuffling through potential blogs, I eschewed one because of an article about genetically modified materials. If anything else on the blog had appealed to me, I wouldn't have minded the writer's (uneducated) opinion on the subject. Throw a post about quilting, baking, or candlestick making and we could have been best friends. But they didn't, so despite the interesting premise of their blog I had to move on to greener (and more organic) pastures.
What turns you off about a blog? If you want me to check out yours, leave a link. If you want me to improve mine, let me know how (though a digital camera is still not high on my list of priorities, y'all still might be stuck with written content for awhile yet).
1. First, and certainly foremost, no annoying ads. I find ads annoying if they move at all, block the content in anyway, or slow down my already lumbering computer. I'm also annoyed if I can't tell the difference between blog material or advertisement.
2. No annoying features. I hate it when I my mouse passes over a link and a "snapshot" pops up, so if the blog is link-heavy enough, I figure that out pretty quickly.
3. The most recent post must be in the current month. Too many blogs burn bright before dying. There are lots of defunct blogs I'd like to catch up on, but I'm looking for daily inspiration on my blog roll.
4. Posts can not resemble advertisements. I used to read a blog written by a man who loved a certain investment website. Which is awesome, but after days of reading the software's praises, I lost interest and quit reading.
5. More to the point, blogs should have original, interesting content. I have no interest in the many "frugality" blogs that degrade into journals of bargains-of-the week and coupon codes. It astounds me how many blogs are 100% dedicated to what's cheap at CVS.
6. The blogger and I should have something in common. And it doesn't have to be much. If a blogger posts regularly on topics I find interesting, it doesn't matter to me if they are a conservative Christian Australian (whereas I myself am a liberal Atheist Texan). It does matter if one of the first posts of theirs I read is offensive to me in some way. When shuffling through potential blogs, I eschewed one because of an article about genetically modified materials. If anything else on the blog had appealed to me, I wouldn't have minded the writer's (uneducated) opinion on the subject. Throw a post about quilting, baking, or candlestick making and we could have been best friends. But they didn't, so despite the interesting premise of their blog I had to move on to greener (and more organic) pastures.
What turns you off about a blog? If you want me to check out yours, leave a link. If you want me to improve mine, let me know how (though a digital camera is still not high on my list of priorities, y'all still might be stuck with written content for awhile yet).
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
December 2009 Net Worth
I earned enough money to write my brother and sister-in-law a check for $200, which is the last of our family debt and my primary goal for the month. Because we started November by passing them $300, we knocked our debt down by $569.64, to $13,103.51.
Granted, we don't have a whole lot of money in the bank now. We have $997.06, $173.65 less than this time last month.
That leaves us with a net worth of -$12,106.45. That's good because it's $395.99 more than last month. That's great because it's our highest net worth ever!
Because we're ending this month a little tight, I decided to keep December's weekly payments at $30 a week. My main focus is to have a happy holiday season, of course, but I also need to have the first payment for ACC set aside in savings.
Granted, we don't have a whole lot of money in the bank now. We have $997.06, $173.65 less than this time last month.
That leaves us with a net worth of -$12,106.45. That's good because it's $395.99 more than last month. That's great because it's our highest net worth ever!
Because we're ending this month a little tight, I decided to keep December's weekly payments at $30 a week. My main focus is to have a happy holiday season, of course, but I also need to have the first payment for ACC set aside in savings.
Direct Deposit and Plans
To answer Beany's question about direct deposit: my boss is not interested in offering it to her ten employees, and I'm not interested in pushing her. To be honest, I like what little paper trail her current system provides. I did once print out the direct deposit form for Ing, but to no avail. Maybe if my previous employer hadn't been so incompetent in this area I would be more insistent, but that much larger company was constantly somehow fudging the direct deposit system.
I'm not sure I'll stick with the bakery through another Spring anyway. A housemate and I are looking at applying to work at an organic farm this February. I've wanted to do this for years, but the commute was just too harsh. If at least two of us carpool, it might just be bearable. And between the two of us we can probably bring home enough produce to feed our co-op family of nine :) I'll be working up a farm resume this afternoon.
I'm not sure I'll stick with the bakery through another Spring anyway. A housemate and I are looking at applying to work at an organic farm this February. I've wanted to do this for years, but the commute was just too harsh. If at least two of us carpool, it might just be bearable. And between the two of us we can probably bring home enough produce to feed our co-op family of nine :) I'll be working up a farm resume this afternoon.
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