Our Journey in Van Buren County

In this blog post, we will take you through our daily life on the homestead. You can follow us through the challenges of establishing a self-sufficient way of life after decades of city living. We will also share our love for quilting and showcase some of our latest creations. Stay tuned for tips, tricks, and stories from our homesteading journey!

We Have Arrived

6 April 2024

It was 21 August 2023 when we first visited this place, and frankly, didn't like it a lot. It was an incredibly hot and humid day, the house had an odd smell, and it looked like the whole place could use a lot of work. We'd been looking for a new home for over a year. Montana was our goal, but we soon realized that we'd been priced out of the market there. We'd been living in the Metroplex in Texas for a long time, but staying around there wasn't an option for a retired man and woman that grew up in rural landscapes with rural people. I never did get used to living in a city, even though I tried mightily.

This homestead has many advantages. The road is good, the house is secluded, the location is beautiful, and the grocery store is only 15 miles away. We'd looked at hundreds of houses online, and this was the best overall we found for the price. We made an offer, and closed on 8 September. Four days later, we found out about the fleas.

When we toured the house, there were three dogs and a cat inside. After the animals were gone from the house, hungry fleas came out of the woodwork (and carpet, and hardwood...you get the idea.) My best estimate is about 400,000 fleas infested the house and yard. It took months, and 6 visits from exterminators, before we could walk into the house without being mobbed by fleas. Needless to say, that delayed our move-in.

Once the fleas were gone, we had a disagreement with the contractor that we had hired for repairs and renovations. Some of those repairs had to be made before we could move in. Subfloors had to be replaced, flooring installed, and at least one room painted so that we would have a place to stay in our new home. We found a new contractor, and work began.

We brought our cats to our new home on 1 April. We live in box canyons in 4 rooms. It's difficult, and wonderful, and beautiful, and amazing to look out at our 40+ acres and realize that it's our home now. Azaleas are blooming. Birds are singing, and we can hear them in the quiet of the countryside. The grass is green. The sound of the wind in the pines is one of the most beautiful sounds that I've ever heard. We have big plans for gardens, a greenhouse, livestock, and a beautiful home that smells good. It's really nice to have new reasons to get up in the morning. We thank God for this opportunity to start anew.