There is a lot of activity here at the farm. I decided I really really really dislike the climate here and want to move. Wife says OK. So we’re prepping the place to look pretty for selling.

This doesn’t change our existing plans much. We’re already neck-deep in projects we were going to do anyway. The two biggest projects are done: put a concrete floor in the barn, insulate it, and add a bunch of electrical outlets and lights. I’m using it for my woodworking shop. There is plenty of room for critters, we added an extension that doubled its size. We use the extension for hay storage and mule shelter. Plenty of room for everyone.

Then we converted the garage to a posh grrl cave. It is soooo pretty now! We use it for music and workouts. The first improvement we made after we moved in was a three-bay carport attached to the garage, so fear not, the vehicles have a house too.

View From the Kitchen

I can’t find photos of anything actually relevant to this article, so enjoy this winter view from the kitchen window. Roxy the dog is in the foreground, gazing down the hill at the mules and horses because we are mean and don’t let her run loose to chase them.

The Plague of Stuff

I really did not want to move again after we bought this place. Have you ever moved a whole farm? ZOMG it’s no wonder farmers stay planted in one place for generations. Equipment, animals, tools…it’s a nightmare. I figured we would stay here until we croaked.

But. Climate. This is a lovely area, with four real seasons. But it’s inland, and my dream has always been to live near saltwater. I had one of those milestone birthdays this year, and I decided that is one dream I want to fulfill.

So. Stuff. Originally I had a long timeline and wasn’t too worried about Stuff. I have a ton of hoarded fencing and building materials. My wife has a ton of hoarded tack and equine supplies. It makes sense to keep that sort of Stuff if you have room. It’s not worth moving, so we’re selling what we can and junking the rest.

We’ve also accumulated quite a junk pile. It’s easy to be casual about building a junkpile when you have acreage. The junkpile is now doomed, and destined for the dump when we unload the hay from our big trailer.

Of course there is always more Stuff, no matter how hard we think we are trying to not bring it home. Cookware, CDs, DVDs, books, neglected hobbies, ancient work clothes long overdue for trashing, gifts from people we have told a million billion times don’t give us gifts…Stuff is eternal.