December 2012 - February 2013

(Update)

  This part of our lives we like to refer to as to be determined. Everything was put on hold after I lost my employment, (due to a business shutting down) like millions of other americans we struggled. Yet this temporary inconvenience also offered a unique opportunity to relocate closer to the property. We spent two months looking for another apartment close to an economic center near the property. With no jobs, no security, and little money... We loaded up a uhaul with all our belongings and was prepared to leave.

  February the night before moving we laid on the floor of our empty Ohio apartment discussing our upcoming adventure, the good and bad. The day of moving we balanced our checkbook so to speak and came to an abrupt realization, we were broke. There was not enough money in the budget to cover the fuel expense to make it to Tennessee. Out of money and out of luck we reluctantly surrendered to the idea of living in Ohio for another year. We searched frantically for a cheap apartment near by, we even considered moving in with family. At the last minute we found a cheaper apartment within walking distants of our old apartment (oddly enough) and moved in.

 After adjusting to our new apartment and putting almost every possession of value on craigslist for sale to cover the expenses of joblessness. We went into survival mode... and frugality, became a necessity. Even though I was a dreamer, I was also a reluctant realist and knew what had to be done. The homestead had to be put on hold, at least temporarily. We set a deadline of April 29th to plant our fruit tree orchard on the property.

February 2013 - April 2013

(New economy crazy world)

  April 29th came and went. We never made the trip to the homestead.

  For my wife and I generation, it is exceptionally hard just starting out with a family in this new age. Our parents generation destroyed what their parents built after world war II. Some may argue this fact, but for us it's an excepted and all too real reality. The "good old days" of working for an employer until retirement are over. Manufacturing jobs have officially made the endangered species list, service sector jobs can't pay a living wage, and the big corporations will only hire part time. To say this United States is in a recession would be an understatement. Many of us are at or below the poverty line and we personally are a part of that particular statistic.

  With some time off from working allowed me some time to study up on homesteading. I find myself asking the hard question of why? There has to be an alternative to struggling day in and day out? Why work within a obviously broken system. My wife started working three part time jobs to equal one full time job that still has not been paying a living wage. I had to sell everything I had of value to make the ends meet and found myself taking on the role of a stay at home Dad.

  The trap seems to be set and we have been caught in the jaws of this failing monetary system. Every trip to the grocery store reminds us of how broken things have become. The packaging for food has increased in size, yet the contents have shrunk, and the prices have gone up. A dollar does not buy what it used to 10 years ago. The overall cost of necessities is smothering.

  Frustrated my wife and I purchased a white board and dry erase markers. We hung it next to the front door. In big letters above the board is written, Tennessee or bust 2014. Below we have started making a list of solutions, budget proposals, and general property ideas. It has been decided, we will be moving at the end of this lease to the property regardless, come hell or high water.

May 2013

(Current)

  So we are in May and I recently celebrated a birthday. A reminder I am getting older and need to become more focused on my families plans, before I grow to old to do so. I updated this blog, made a website, cleaned up my youtube account, and am now ready to begin documenting my families attempts to become homesteaders in this modern world. My goal is to help others by our story. You can follow along and learn from our successes or possibly our failures. May it expedite your future personal attempts to find a solution to make your dreams a reality.

It's time to survive sustainably in this transitional economy...