You have HOW much food?

Well, packing is going slower than I wanted, but it's getting done. It's odd, when you store food, you can make lists of it, and use computer programs to track it, and have a great rotation system down... but until it's all packed together you really don't know exactly HOW much you have. Here are some pics of ours. Keep in mind, that we still have 1/2 the kitchen to pack so it's not complete yet. And before any frustrated postal workers freak out about the priority mail boxes we used, they're recycled! lol. And I'll probably recycle them one more time or more after we empty the spices from them.

This is the front of the pile.

The Nestle Quik is for improving the taste of powdered milk. The 2 five gallon containers of water is just a small amount of what we have ready to go with us.

The side of the pile:

With more water tucked in there. Yes, that's an Emergency Essentials box you see, AND a propane camp stove.

Here's the other side...

Currently that one gallon water bottle is empty, but it will be filled before we leave. We have both a 2 gallon Britta and a 3 gallon Berkey purifier that are going with us to the new property.

And finally the back of the pile.

I wonder how we are going to get this all to fit, along with a woodstove, some books, a king size bed, a small, college size fridge, a woodstove, 2 miniature dressers, us and three big dogs all into a 200 SF cabin... Any suggestions? lol. We are already planning on adding a loft. Down the road we will be adding a root cellar where some of this can go, and probably a metal shed for storage.

Need to get that shed as soon as we can, we are pumping $120.00 into a storage unit right now and it's insane to keep paying for that. I want to get rid of that expense hopefully before we have to pay another month on it. It's paid right now through February 2009. Not only is it an unneeded expense if we can get the room up at the property, but it's over 4 hours away from the new homesite making it impractical to run and get this or that from it. Especially with the price of gas being so high and the possiblity of the economy going into the toilet.

God will provide though.

Contractual and otherwise

We received the contract on the land on Tuesday. It was soooo exciting! All these pages and pages of info!

Yesterday, Wednesday, we signed both copies and dated them, one will go into our records, and the other we mailed back via priority mail/delivery confirmation. WHEEE!

Now we just have to finish packing and then we can go. Well, I am still working until the 28th, and we are planning on heading up there the 1st, which is a Saturday.

It's kind of scarey because I'll be without internet for a little bit while we try to get satellite internet! OH NO! Two computer nerds with no internet... What was I thinking?!?

Whew. Anyway.. So we're going to try to get hughesnet up there to come and do a site lookie loo to see if they can work for us. It'll be about the same cost as what we are paying for internet now, but it'll be totally self contained. Has to be, we won't have any connection to public power, we'll be running off of generator only.

As I said... WHEEEEE

Car Rental Companies Suck

So, we went to pick up the rental car and we got hit with a $200.00 hold on our debit card. Since nothing was stated on their website about this hold, which is OVER AND ABOVE what they charge to rent the car to you, I told them to stuff it and walked out. lol.

We drove our own truck down instead. Which is ok, except for the gas milage part. It was a lovely drive, even if it was VERY, VERY long.

The property is beautiful. You can see the pics we took of it here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/emily.yelton/Treehaven#

So, now we just have to have it all fall into place. These last minute plans things kill me! I mean... My sister thinks that I have to have my own funeral planned down to the minute, so she's still ready to lock me away for good. Here I am running off to go live like... Well. Like a wild indian!

I can hear my beloved Aunt Joyce giggling with glee now. Cheering me on as I go. Maybe her and Uncle Jeff and one or both of the cousins will come with a tent this next summer. lol.

GOOOD hunting on the property Uncle. Deer, Elk... DINNER!

Visit to property pending

Well, the plan is that we are picking up the rental car tonight (I'll update the blog with a pic once we pick it up) and then tomorrow morning we are going to go out and do a physical peek at the property!

It's not bad, renting the car for 4 days will be less than $60.00 and it will save us in gas since my truck only gets 16 miles to the gallon. Something that gets 25 to 40 miles to the gallon will really make the trip cheaper. According to the weather there won't be snow either, so I don't have to worry about chains... I think. lol. I'll look that over tonight too.

Watch the blog for new pics!

Family Updated....

After the call with the sister in law and mother in law the other night, I posted about my goat... Well, the soon to be goat. But I forgot to add to the mix the rest of the info. Mom called back and said for us to pick out a chainsaw and that she'll buy us a chainsaw! :D YAY!

Gotta have something to build that goat shelter with!

Ah.. Family...

hehe... Talked for a while with my BELOVED mother in law and sister in law last night. It was a wonderful visit full of talk about the new land, and the house we are putting on it. Our plans, our future and what problems we could run into.

Mom and sis decided to ask what hubby and I wanted as a house warming gift and what critters we were going to get. I let them know that I was thinking of chickens and a few goats for dairy. So come this spring, they have decided to get me a goat! YAY! I love the idea. I even went and found the breed of goat I like.

http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/goats/nigeriandwarf/index.htm

Nigerian dwarf goat. Small, eats less than a regular size goat, and gives about 2 quarts of milk a day. Perfect for just us. Since it's just hubby, 3 dogs and me, we don't need a huge cow for milk. And since this little goat gives more butter fat than other breeds then I can make cheese with her milk... maybe butter too, but nothing promised there. Anyone who keeps goats knows that butter from goat milk is a difficult prospect because the fat molecules are smaller in goats milk. But... That won't keep me from trying!

Be Careful what you wish for....

They say to be careful of what you wish for... Well. I guess that hubby didn't listen. He really liked that little house we were looking at, but they turned us down for a couple of college kids. lol. oh well... That's all behind us now.

Now... we are moving into a little cabin in the woods! Whew. What were we thinking. The cabin is 12 x 16. ROFL! Most of our stuff is going into storage, and all of our families think we are nuts and about to call the white shirted people to lock us away.

But it's pretty!

Even if our closest neighbors are bears, cougars and the occasional sasquatch.... Crazy huh?

Be honest.. You're jealous right?

Little Houses...

We went and looked at the little house tonight... It's a lot bigger on the inside than it looks on the outside! It is about 600 SF, and it comes with a fridge, washer and a dryer. Means I'll have a spare washer and dryer, but I have no problem storing them for now if we get this place.

The entire house has hardwood floors, and radiant fan heating. As well as a working woodstove. 5 years ago they said that the electric ran $40.00 per month in the winter with using the woodstove in the house... and that was before they remodeled and put in insulation and new windows!

Hubby likes this listtle house, so I am praying we get it. Although, the thought of going from 1,000 SF to 600 SF is a little scary. lol. I know I can do it though, that's the good part. And this of course isn't including what I can put in the garage over there. We have a lot of stuff in the garage here too, but it will mostly be going away as we pack.

I'll call tomorrow and check with our electric company what the average for that house was over the last year... That will give us a good idea of wht to expect in monthly cost.

The best part is that they are going to make a decision tomorrow, so we'll know then. I just hate waiting!

Some Possibilities

Yesterday Hubby and I went and looked at 2 houses. 1 is a 3 bdrm, 1 bath out in JC, the other is a 1 bdrm, 1 bath here in town with a HUGE yard and a wonderful old walnut tree in the backyard.

Hubby likes the little house... I could take either one as they both have a lot of charm and character. We are going back to look at the little house this afternoon with the owner. We just walked around and did the stalker thing yesterday... poked around in the backyard, and peeped in windows.

I know it will be challenging to go to the little house, since we are in a 3 bdrm, 1 bath now and it's full as is the 2 car garage. But it can be done! As we pack, we are packing a box and tossing a box, so hopefully we will be able to fit. lol.

As anyone who knows me I do have dogs, thank goodness they are couch potatoes! :D The little house also has a woodstove which the other 3 bdrm we looked at did not have. So that has it's pluses and minuses there, plus is, heat if the power fails, minus is that it takes a wall away from the room.

My World... Whine time

They say that when it rains it pours... And it's pouring for us.

Back in July we entered into a verbal agreement with our landlady to do a rent to own on our house. She said to treat the property as ours and that this agreement would be through July of 2009. At which time, if our credit was clean enough we would be buying the house with an extra $500.00 a month we pay from july 2008 to july 2009 to be part of our down payment or go towards principle if we didn't need a down payment (Hubby is a vetran so very likely wouldn't need a down payment if we could end up qualifying.)... We asked her in August about getting this in writting and she responded by saying that oh, she is sorry that she hasn't gotten us the paperwork, as she was getting married... But she would get this to us soon...

Things were going well and we were doing a lot of work on the house and property, put in a garden, and purchased supplies to work on the gutters, got a replacement for the dishwasher and a lot of other stuff going on.

Friday we received a registered announcement that she has decided that she is not going to abide by her verbal agreement, and that we have 30 days to move out. She has an interested buyer with capital in hand... (yet she states that we have to make the house available for her son, working as her agent, to show it to prospective buyers? I don't get that.) (AND we're keeping the dishwasher we got to replace the broken one! She can get her own! lol.)

So instead of putting away money to move, we were using it to try to clean up our credit, and do things around the house! We have no money to move with and needless to say, I'm heartbroken. Totally fractured mess. Let's just say that in both the Bible and in Wicca that Oathbreakers are delt with pretty harshly and I am totally ok with that. The karma or the judging hand of God will catch up.

It's going to take us a minimum of $3,000.00 to move. Most places want first, last, and a deposit.. not to mention that with my 3 dogs they will want pet deposit. And we don't have it. We can pay monthly rent no problem... Just can't make this first part.

We checked with a lawyer, and even if we had the voicemail where she made the verbal contract it wouldn't hold up in court. I am so mad, sad, depressed. Things were looking good, now this. My world has come crashing down.

lol. What's so funny, is we have food storage, we have clothes and toilet paper, shoes and seeds... but no cash or the ability to get credit due to stupid decisions in the past, Chuck's cancer, and continued health issues.. So much for being prepared huh?

Maybe I can start a raffle, lol. $10.00 a ticket and I'll crochet you bandages for your home storage, 72 hour kit or whatever for as many as you want. Or whatever. $10.00 raffle (minimum $4,000.00 bought) and I'll tattoo your name on my arm. ROFL.