Oonagh

Well, I am back! Missed you all.
First of all I had the worst flu I have had in YEARS. I don't think it was swine flu, or whatever they are calling it right now, lol. But it was almost as bad. Back in the 70's I had the Swine flu and it was AWWWFUL! One morning I was 16 years old, strong and healthy, if nuts, and jumping off my roof to practice "tuck and rolls" for the skydive I was planning to make later in the evening when it started to cool off. I was wearing a coverall and heavy boots, which is always kind of hot here in New Mexico in July-- I think it was about 106 outside. I remember thinking I hadn't ever felt that hot before, and that this would be my last jump before a big glass of iced tea and collapse under the swamp cooler. The next thing I knew, I was seeing purple and red swirls on the ceiling and my best friend was trying to get me undressed and into bed. I figured I had missed the "tuck part" and broken my neck or knocked my brains out, lol... but no,
I had 106 degree temp complete with 100 % aches agonizing pain and top of head blasting headache, chills, fever, heat, halucinations, etc. etc.

I wished I had just gone ahead and jumped out of that plane without the parachute! It lasted about a week, and boy was I mad to have lost one whole week of my VERY IMPORTANT SUMMER and another one being weak as a new kitten while I recovered. How much skydiving, water ski jumping, dirt bike and horseback riding, and flirting with cute boys you miss in one week! I couldn't even get out to the corrals, much race hotrod around town or go country dancing, lol

Well this time, whatever it was felt about as bad, but my temp was only 102. I figured my really close to 50 abused body just couldn't take the heat. I am sorry to relate that I ate several chocolate chip cookies which didnt even taste good, because they were the easiest food to get to and get into my mouth. I didn't enjoy them, but at least i didnt gain any weight.

I must say my low carb resolve went completely out the window while I was sick. If someone had offered to put bread, white rice or a french fry directly into my mouth I probably would have eaten it without a second thought, but no one did. I stayed home alone after sending my son (also sick, but not bad enough to keep out of trouble) to grandmas.

Anyway, I'm baaaaaaack. and it feels great to be eating low carb and not feeling bad. While I was gone we have really taken lots of steps toward making our dreams come true. We have decided to look for farm or ranch property we CAN afford, (as opposed to the 2.5 mil lavendar farm we wanted) and to move to subsistence farming as soon as possible. We are in the research stage, but I am pretty sure you are talking to a future goat roper. LOL.

My stepmom and I are lunatic crocheters/weavers/knitters (well, she knits, I am not bright enough to do that. Ha Ha, she has been trying to teach me to cast on for about a year now. I can do wonders with a crochet hook with or without pattern, but i can't even keep the loops on the needles in knitting!). So we are also researching raising angora goats for mohair/meat or various types of goats for fibre (Cashmere) which we would sell to coop and keep some for ourselves, and our hand spun hand dyed yarns and or garments. Then we started looking into the goat dairy business, and farmstead cheesemaking.

My DH has just about killed himself working in the computer business, and it is still slow. I think he is looking forward to working outside again and getting immediate satisfaction from knowing a job is well done, and done with the hands.

This all started because the three of us (Me, stepmom, and DH) were all raised on farms or ranches, but ended up in town . We are looking at our son/grandson and wanting him to have the life we had. We are also really tired of traffic, iritated people, rampant growth in our area and no planning for agriculture or wildlife, etc. etc. etc.

That said, I've been putting myself through "Goat University". LOl. I always planned to be a farmer when I was growing up, but ended up with fine arts and teaching degrees instead.

When i went to college, small farms were dissappearing faster than chips and salsa on the table at my favorite Mexican restaurant. The programs they offered at the state ag college were seemingly geared toward agribusiness, large scale farming, and range management. They had a great wildlife science dept here, but I knew I didn't want to work for the federal government, and in those days that was it besides NM game and fish. (Now I sometimes wish I had gone ahead and done it, lol).

So, I am spending hours researching goats, remembering what I haven't used in a long time (canning, organic gardening, small animal husbandry). While my daddy was healthy we always "homesteaded" in town, lol. For a while, in this little sleepy college town -- the one it used to be not the gian city it is becoming-- we even had a burro in the back yard a mile from the college. Ha, he walked on a leash like a dog, and nobody ever complained.

But I have not been living that way much since I started teaching-- the demands of my job took away the time i used to spend growning and canning or drying my own food, making fresh bread and tortillas every day, etc. etc. (well, the bread part is gone forever).


All of us have been collecting books, links, websites, and classes on small farm marketing plans, livestock plans, grants and loans for small farmers, and looking for real estate. Twice now we have found the "perfect" farm only to have it sell before we got to actually visit the property. I'm also doing genealogical research for myself and my stepmom. We know and can prove that we are both of Cherokee/Choctaw/ Chickasaw descent, but there are some loan programs which require Dawes roll evidence. I probably won't find it on some of my relatives, they hid out in the hills of Arkansas rather than going on to Oklahoma on the Trail of Tears-- but it is a great excuse to finish the genealogy project I started years ago with my grandmother. In my mind it is definintely tied up with both farming and family traditions and even oddly enough gaining or losing weight. I sure do miss my old folks, and all the stories and knowledge they had. Looking up geneological info and Farm/goat info has triggered some long lost memories in my brain. I thought of people, places and even Cherokee recipes that hadn't crossed my mind in YEARS in my lunatic paced urban life.

Well, thats where we are. I am still on a plateau, but feeling better and determined to keep it up. Back to induction again I guess. Felt so good last night to go out for an ice cream cone with the family and not even want an ice cream. They ate theirs and I sipped a diet coke which tasted just fine.
See ya on the farm!
S