# Homestead creation in Texas: Straw Bale House Animals Garden etc



## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

Hi yall.
I've been enjoying looking at others' threads describing their homestead building efforts. Inspiring! I think I'll share our adventure too.

My husband and I bought our little place in 2009. Located in central Texas. It is 6 acres that use to be part of a larger homestead. When we arrived on the scene there was an old farm house that had been added onto and connected to a concrete block garage. Also a few outbuildings. A LOT of trash and stuff left by the previous occupants. 

We knew from our first visit that it was going to take a tremendous amount of effort to transform this place into what we envisioned....but it had lots of potential, the price was right for us to have it paid for up front, and lots of details fit for what we wanted to do. 

The following picture shows some of the stuff that we inherited (most of which was disposed of one way or another). It took us awhile to deal with it all. UGG!


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

The following pictures are of the place as it was when we bought it. There was a very large "trash pit" dug out on one end of the property. It was full of burned and unburned trash. Lots of trash bags had deteriorated and the contents were all over the place....stuck in fences, up in trees, etc. The place was grown up, as no one had lived here in awhile. The farm house had been left door open....as in animals could walk right in....and they had. Lots of soiled carpeting got ripped out in a hurry and massive cleaning and sanitation took place so we could move into the house.


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

Our plan was to clean up the old house and live in that while we built a small straw bale house. And that's what we did.

After several months of clean up, starting a garden plot, and making up plans for the straw bale house, we broke ground for the new house in July of 09.

As far as the clean up.....we sorted through that burn pit...bagging up a lot of stuff. Digging out metal of all sorts and hauling it off. Finally while we had a skid steer rented we buried the hole. Good bye and good riddance huge, ugly burn pit.

The trash that had blown everywhere got picked up and pried out of trees & vegetation.

We hauled away stuff, gave away stuff, sold stuff. It took a long while...and to be honest we're still hauling away some things that we inherited. For instance there's still many wadded up rolls of rusted fencing that we hope to untangle from the vegetation and move out of here one day.


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

As I mentioned, we lived in the old house while we were building the new one. The farm house had no insulation. No heat. No air conditioning. Lots of holes. It was pretty close to camping. 
We promptly bought mosquito netting for over the bed. There was no keeping insects of all sizes out of the place. The netting gave us some security from blood thirsty mosquitoes and kept the large spiders from running across us in the night.
Various critters also visited us inside the house. Mice, snakes, lizards, bats, armadillos, and feral cats all presented us with adventures in animals in your domicile.
Winters were cold! Seeing your breath in the air while lying under a mountain of blankets and the striking experience of a toilet seat at 25 degrees first thing in the morning. 
Summers were HOT. Puddles of sweat hot.


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

_To be continued...._


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## hawgsquatch (May 11, 2014)

I am following this one...well played!


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

Ok. Time to march down memory lane as I add some more posts describing the beginnings...

A bit more description about the property. I've given an overview of some of the less attractive features (but they are part of what made the price attractive - SILVER LININGS!) Now for some of the GOOD STUFF.

LOTS of trees. I don't know about you...but I Love trees. This property has over 40 oak trees....mostly live oaks. Some are huge.....truly magnificent specimens. There are also over a dozen pecan trees. Some are native and some are grafted and make large paper shell pecans about every other year. (This area is known for it's pecan industry/orchards.....so there are places close by to sell pecans or get them cracked so we can process them for ourselves easier.) Also a few mature apricot and peach trees.

The land is gently sloping. We hope to create some swales that will slow down the flow of water when it rains. Across the low corner of the property is a wet season creek. The area around it is JUNGLE. Goats love it. 

The soils vary a bit. The area where we created a high fenced garden has deep soil....a lot of clay content....but I started amending it right away and am making good progress in improving the fluffy factor.

The property is fenced.....good. Some of the fencing is on its last leg....not so great. But we had something to work with in getting started with goats. This area is the proclaimed "Meat Goat Capital of the USA". There is easy access to market/sell goats. We got our first goats after we moved into the straw bale house - (we were way too busy while building the house to want to get started with them before that).

The out buildings, while not the greatest, work. We modified one to be the chicken coop. Others are useful for storage and animals. We have plans to build a better multi-purpose structure for storage/barn, etc.

The old house....even with its "character" was livable for us. Since we've moved into the new house we have disassembled the old house and additions. Using the lumber and many of the "parts" for other projects now. For instance the front door of our straw bale house is made entirely from the wall planks of the old bathroom!

Good well. Existing septic. Electric on site. 

Located near to town - 10 miles. Town is small. The county seat. Less than 6000 people in the entire county. 

ZERO BUILDING CODES. As long as you're not using bank money...no one to tell you how to build.

Low taxes for central TX.

Access is by a paved state highway that dead ends into gravel county roads. The small amount of traffic is mostly local.
Some neighbors....but plenty of space between.

We did inherit some good stuff w/ the property too. Fencing materials. Some tools. Lots of plumbing stuff and hardware. A few old water heaters that we cut up and made stuff out of: An awesome rocket stove, animal watering troughs/feeders. Some tile that we used/are using in the straw bale house. 

Also...plenty to do to keep us occupied and out of trouble. LOL. 

_Coming up......more pictures.
_


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

The first thing we did (well....after cleaning the house and ripping out stinky carpeting)....was build a deer proof garden enclosure. The deer around here are very prolific (another plus - Fresh venison!) This garden is 80x80 with a sturdy 8 ft tall fence surrounding.

We used an old wrench and gear I unearthed (rusted metal this and thats are constantly coming up out of the ground) to make the handle for the gate.

I began composting and adding organic matter to the garden immediately. As of today I've got about half garden made into raised rows....I use rotting limbs/stumps as the sides: my spin on hugelkultur. There's lots of downed rotting wood to continue adding it as they turn to soil.


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## Bret (Oct 3, 2003)

Yes, well played. Good work. Fun to see.


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## Skamp (Apr 26, 2014)

I think I'll have a seat too.


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

While we were building a garden fence and continuing the clean-up saga we also began making plans for building a straw bale house. 
I had my first encounter with straw bale building in 1999 at a place outside of Waco, TX called the World Hunger Farm. They have a large 2 story straw bale structure on the property. I was impressed by the thick walls and cool inside temperature in the middle of 100+ degree Texas summer weather.....(cool with no air conditioning...just ceiling fans). I began building my knowledge base about this type of building from that point. Fast forward to 2009 and my husband and I had our opportunity to create our own straw bale house.

After a few sketches on notebook paper we settled on a simple design. Wanted to keep things small and relatively simple. Here are the drawings my D.H. made.


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

Sorry nothing is labeled....I'll try to describe:

The Top left-hand corner is the bathroom. The skinny wall is 2x4 construction of the shower. We built it that way to segregate this wet area from the straw walls. The thicker area around the exterior represents the straw bales.
Moving directly down the left side....a large closet....then the bedroom. The bedroom is big enough for a king size bed and a small table on each side...with room to walk around the bed. Instead of having a lot of bedroom furnishings we have a large closet where we keep clothing and more.

On the Right side: The L shaped area is a washroom/utility room/pantry. The circle thing in there is the water heater...which is also hooked to in floor radiant heat. Turn the corner in that L room and we have shelves floor to ceiling for a pantry.
Next space down is the kitchen....which is open to the living room area.

The little square shape in the middle represents the cupola...which has windows at the top and a ceiling fan in the "tower". We have hatch door in the lower part of the cupola that we close in winter....so as not to heat that space. In summer it's open which helps with passive cooling.

L shaped area on the bottom represents an enclosed porch....that part we have not yet built.

When we created our floor plan we used the K.I.S.S. principle. ;-)


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

We closed on the property in April 2009 and moved into the old farm house. Then it was WORK WORK WORK........clean up, creating a fenced in garden, nailing down a plan for a small straw bale house.
We broke ground on July 4th, 2009 for the new house.


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

The footprint of the house is 34x34. The inside however is 30x30 (with a little extra due to the 2x4 framed shower stall in the north corner). Two foot thick walls.

The slab has a stepped up 2 foot wide 3.5 inch "knee" for the bales to sit on top of. In the event that there's ever a water leak in the house from a clothes washer or whatever...the water would have to cover the inside floor up 3.5 inches before the bales get wet. It's monolithic....poured at one time. 
The red hose is pex tubing. That's for in floor radiant heat (which is awesome). NOTE: we use a wood stove as the primary means of heating....but on the coldest of the cold we can turn on the floor heat for awhile and it really makes a big difference in comfort! and it's nice to have as a back up in case we ever don't have access to wood. The water circulated through the floor is heated by the house water heater which is propane.

The sections of rebar sticking up through the "step" running around the outside are tied into the rebar in the rest of the slab. The first several rows of bales were impaled onto these spikes.

We hired 3 guys to help us do the concrete pour. Definitely needed the help with that. The rest of the build was done by just the two of us.


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

The frame of the house is steel. A lot of people who build with straw bales use timber framing. The end result is real nice looking....especially if some of the timber framing is left exposed. We went with steel because it was readily available, we had a lot of experience working with it, it was cheaper than timber framing, and it's strong. From what I've seen on the internet a lot of straw bale houses in Australia are built with steel frames.
. 
We got creative with ladders and some old scaffolding in the build. Straps and ropes and chains came in handy for hoisting heavy pieces. Some motorized lifts certainly would have been nice....but not in the budget. Where there's a will there's a way though. That's my motto. 

My husband made ALL the brackets in the house and the attic vents, and a lot of other bits and pieces using "scraps" of metal. Waste not, want not.


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

Attic and cupola roof vents....
D.H. is a human milling machine.


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

The house has a metal roof. No decking under the panels. We have had zero issues with this (condensation, etc). I would imagine this set up would not be good for all climates. But where we live it works excellent. The roof is like a big radiator. Less mass = less to heat up in the summer time.....cools rapidly in the evening.

We used our pick up truck to slide the panels up. One person on the ground. One on the roof. We used rope and clamps to maneuver each panel into place.


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

Pics of the cupola walls & the shower stall.

We built the shower into a corner and kept it isolated from the bale walls. It's the only part of the bottom exterior that's 2x4 construction. It's a nice roomy 4'x4'.


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

We bought our straw from a local farmer. Used oat straw. A lot of people refer to our house as the "Hay House". But not so. It is important to use STRAW (that is the stalks/stems of the crop....after the seeds have been removed) not hay. Hay still has all the leafy parts and seed heads which are more prone to decay/rotting/and attracting stuff that wants to eat it. Straw is composed of cellulose, hemicellulose, lignins and silica. Kept dry and enclosed in plaster/stucco it is very durable.

The field was located about 10 miles away. It took us 3 days (working only in the cooler mornings and evenings) to haul it to our place. We got 330 bales and only ended up using around 280. But it's good to have extras cause not all of them are satisfactory for building with. Some are wonky shaped, bowed out too much, etc. The leftovers were very useful in the garden as mulch.

We stored them under the completed roof of the structure. Keeping them dry is VERY important. Go figure that the year we were putting up the straw walls was the wettest since we've lived here! Lots of Tarp up...tarp down going on.


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

Immediately we started doing test batches of stucco/plaster.

After a TON of research we decided to use a lime based stucco with cement added to the exterior. On the inside we used lime plaster.

A lot of people say you shouldn't use concrete for various reasons. It doesn't breath....could trap moisture in the wall. It's not environmentally friendly. And so on.

We used it because it's super durable. We didn't want to be re-liming or smearing on new manure infused dirt/clay plaster every year. 
Since the inside walls are lime plaster I figured that they can "breath" on the inside. Plus I found evidence of 20+ year old concrete stuccoed straw bale houses that were torn apart and the straw was as dry and clean as the day it was sealed up.

There are 3 layers of stucco/plaster on both the inside and outside walls. More on that later....


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

The bale walls are stacked like bricks. The first few rows were impaled on rebar sticking up through the concrete slab. We also drove re-bar spikes through all layers as we worked our way up. Corners are held together with re-bar "staples". Everything was wired and tied into the frame at every possible place. Some bales have to be custom made....that's when we used the "bale needle" to sew them to the size we needed. The chainsaw is used for shaping bales....cutting channels, forming them.
Everything is squeezed and compressed as tightly as possible. Small holes are crammed tight with loose straw. 
Every time it rains - Tarps go up!


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

_To be continued....._


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## DEKE01 (Jul 17, 2013)

More! More!!!

:goodjob:


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## Nate_in_IN (Apr 5, 2013)

DEKE01 said:


> More! More!!!
> 
> :goodjob:


I second this motion.


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

Walls went up layer by layer. 
Beforehand we had built the window and door frames. We used the wood from our concrete forms to make these. They are extra heavy-duty (thick)...glued and screwed. Made lintels to go over the top of all windows and doors. These overlap the bale walls next to the windows and the next row of bales is placed on top of the lintels. Some were given extra strength by adding steel support.


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

Hardwood dowels were sharpened into spikes. These were driven through the window and door frames into the straw bale walls......further anchoring the window/door frames into the walls.

Last row of bales at the top all had to be custom made. That was fun (time consuming)!! Then we applied a wall cap. Made sure to compress the bales down as much as possible. The wall cap is anchored in place by rebar spikes driven deep into the bales from the top.....and it is connected to the frame of the building.


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

Next we put the windows and back door in. Then we started putting on chicken wire and metal lathe and bleeding a lot. (That metal lathe is like razor blades!) 

Chicken wire was sewn onto the bales. We used a piece of rebar as a needle...shoved baling twine through the wall, then back through, then back...you get the idea. Heavier metal lathe was used around all corners, windows, and doors.


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

That last photo shows the frame for the "truth window" wired in. These are typical in straw bale houses. You leave it open so you can see the straw wall.


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

We put in the wiring for the electrical. You cut grooves into the bales wherever you want to run wire and then run the wire along those. Boxes for outlets/switches are rigged with long stakes and which are driven into the bales.


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

The D.H. has a severe back injury that restricts what he can do physically without hurting himself and being laid up for weeks. So on this project I was doing a lot of the heavy lifting. I shoveled all the material for making the render through Old Sparky (pictured below - a family heirloom - was my grandad's mixer). Don't touch Old Sparky when it's running....you'll be shocked! Imagine water and a mixer that requires a little boost to get spinning.....even though I used a stick...I was zapped quite a few times. Don't worry I'm perfectly fine.

Rendering with lime based stucco required us to mix 55 gallon drums of lime with water. D.H. made a contraption using metal from one of the old water heaters we inherited with the property. Behold, the propeller lime putty mixer.
The putty was mixed with cement, sand, and water using Old Sparky. We used different mixes for each of the three layers.

Doing the render was the HARDEST PART of this build! Lime is caustic. Sporting lime burns became our new look. Plus putting render on by hand with two people....one of whom is debilitated.....is strenuous and slow. Especially with the first layer you really have to smoosh the material into the straw....driving it into the straw. Fortunately it really sticks well. During this phase I began thinking we should have made a smaller house!

FINALLY we completed the outside render. But we weren't read to celebrate quite yet.....cause now we had to start again on the inside.


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

Outside stucco done and exterior painted.


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## Leister Square (Feb 7, 2010)

This has been so fun to read! More please!


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## nosedirt (Sep 24, 2014)

Cando,
Loving your thread. Pics are great and good explanations on them. Thanks for sharing and i look forward to more.
nosedirt


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

Got started on the inside which was a lime plaster (no cement). Once again three times around for three layers of render. The hardest part was doing the windows....especially the upper part. Defying gravity with sloppy wet lime plaster is no easy feat. We both got bigger arm muscles during this endeavor I'm sure.
As we went along with the last (finish) coat, I added some pargetting. Which is a fancy way to say I sculpted and carved some stuff into/onto the walls. I used my fingers and a spoon. The tree took the longest....all those branches and roots!
After it was all done (BOY WERE WE HAPPY).....then I gave the walls a lime wash which turned them bright white.
Did I mention we were happy to be done with the rendering? 
Took us a year to complete outside and inside.


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

Below's a pic showing how the lime wash changed the color.


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

More posts tomorrow. I'm bushed people.


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## TRAILRIDER (Apr 16, 2007)

Wow! You sure know a diamond in the rough when you see one!


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

Framing the inside walls was next on the agenda. 
We had secured double 2x4s to the exterior steel frame & foundation in the places along the exterior walls where an inside wall would connect. During the render we plastered right up to them. (At present these connections are still rough...but we intend to trim them out for a more finished look.) You can see these boards in the plaster pics above.

We made all brackets from scraps of metal left over from the roof. Dave constructed beams for the large spans in the ceiling.

Getting excited at this point - seeing a light at the end of the tunnel!! The framing was taking place around July of 2011. We anticipated being able to move in before winter. Very happy about prospect of not spending another winter in the old house.


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

Walls taking shape. Getting electric service hooked in. Interior wall electrical stuff. Installing fans and lights. Plumbing.

Hurrah Hurrah! House coming to life with modern conveniences of solid, vermin proof walls, electric power, water! As soon as the toilet goes in we've decided we are MOVING IN!

We used OSB (oriented strand board) for the walls and ceiling. We are not fans of drywall. At present this is the way stuff remains, but our intention is to cover this with other materials. The walls are getting planks - old wood salvaged from the old farm house. The ceiling will be covered with metal. 
The plywood makes for a super sturdy base layer that we can just screw into when we attach the coverings.

We bought new ceiling fans - one hangs just beneath the cupola opening. Then there's one in the bedroom, living area, and bathroom. They are very adequate to move the air and help with cooling in summer and heat distribution in winter. We have no air conditioning units of any sort. Our highest electric bill in summer is around $65. In winter/spring/fall it's usually between $35-$40/month.

Electric service runs from a power pole near the front of the property underground to the house. We placed the panel on the exterior, which is often done down here in TX. In a small house not having it inside frees up space for other things.

We used Pex tubing for the plumbing. Ran it to the bathroom along the ceiling....inside to keep it in the warmer area. We'll build a false beam around the tubes to hide them eventually.


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

D.H. built the little boxes to mount the fans/lights on....that way he only had to drill a smaller hole for the wires to come through the ceiling. Keeps the loose cellulose insulation in the attic from sifting through. We've seen this happen in other houses...even when they put in a plastic barrier. That dust makes it way through holes in the ceiling. Bigger hole - more dust. About half our lights were sourced from a thrift store.....for .25 cents each. Our neighbors gave us the light I hung over the kitchen.


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

Water Heater - check. Hooking up the floor heat system - check. Installed a utility sink - Best thing ever! I never had a utility sink before.....man do I use that thing all the time. So handy to have a big sink.

Poured a concrete floor (over the top of the concrete slab) in the shower.

Moved the Propane tank over by the new house. Waited until it was near empty then strapped it to the grill guard on the front of our truck. Got the gas lines all hooked up. Our water heater & the stove/oven run off LP.

We installed the toilet from the old house which was in good shape. 
Got the water hooked up!

The shower wasn't finished yet....but we moved into the house in October 2011. 
Happy happy - Joy Joy


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## Jade1096 (Jan 2, 2008)

In all my time here on HT, this is my absolute favorite thread!


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## DEKE01 (Jul 17, 2013)

Candogirl, I think that funny looking attachment you have on the front of the truck would be terrible for your gas mileage.  

You and your DH have much to be proud of. I am so impressed. It is hard to work thru having a house built, doing it all yourselves would be heck with two Ls on a lot of marriages.


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

DEKE01 said:


> Candogirl, I think that funny looking attachment you have on the front of the truck would be terrible for your gas mileage.
> 
> You and your DH have much to be proud of. I am so impressed. It is hard to work thru having a house built, doing it all yourselves would be heck with two Ls on a lot of marriages.


LOL - Yes. Pretty sure traveling with that tank on our truck would negatively impact fuel mileage. Good thing we didn't have far to go.

We got along great during the building process. It helps I guess that we had a lot of practice prior to this doing all sorts of craziness together. 
About 1/2 way into it we did start to seriously question that we should have built one of those Tiny Houses...say about 200 square feet. Would have been much faster! But now we are reaping the rewards of our efforts by getting to live in a place we consider fabulous.


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

Thanks all for visiting my thread. Appreciate the kind words. 

I'll try to post some more this evening. Take care.


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

Blown in cellulose insulation in the attic. About 1 foot of material. 

We cut a hole in our new roof......to install the chimney for a wood stove. Yes you can haul a steel stove home in the trunk of a small Toyota car. The first fire in the bale house was a great occasion. It really makes things feel cozy and secure.

Tiled the shower. Used tile that was here on the property (the previous owner installed flooring/tile. (We're also using tile that came with the property in the kitchen....but that is still on the "to do list".) For the shower I laid out a mosaic inspired by the rolling hills where we live.

Ahhh.....it was nice to have the shower in operation. Before this we were walking across to the old house to shower.


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

_More to come...._


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

So as you can imagine we were glad to move into the bale house and get to enjoy the fruits of our efforts. Our blood, sweat, and some tears are literally IN this house.

We rigged a kitchen sink temporary using 2 leafs from a stainless steel grill and the sink out of the old house. 

The "island" is a heavy duty motorcycle work stand that we made years ago.....filling in until we build the real island.

At first the front door was a piece of plywood secured in place.

Finishing details (and much of the aesthetic stuff) is ongoing/to be completed over time while we're living in the house. (some of those projects are coming up soon).


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

In Dec. 2011 we began tearing down parts of the old house....starting with the newer additions that were between the farm house and the garage/workshop. 
The additions were conventional stick built and it didn't take us long to disassemble things. Of course we salvaged the lumber (to be re-used for future projects).


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

After the newer additions were gone (and much nail pulling from lumber had taken place) we started taking apart the old farm house....beginning with the bathroom. Construction on the old house was mostly studs with solid wood plank walls. Slower going while taking this apart.

The lumber/planks we salvaged from the bathroom D.H. used to build the front door for the straw bale house. 

The door is VERY heavy. The dimensions are 6'9" tall x 3'5" wide x 2 7/8" thick. Double thick with wood planks (formerly the bathroom walls) - the piece of plywood that had served as the front door ended up being the "core" inside the new door. We made the hinges and latch from left-over steel. The mechanism of the hinges are heavy duty barrel hinges (used for gates). The latch includes a piece of 1/2" re-bar.

It was quite the project maneuvering it into place and getting it set-up with the hinges so it would swing smooth and easy. But we got it. It works great.....just don't slam the door! We estimate it weighs over 200lbs. The door frame is XTRA HEAVY duty to support it.


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

Inside the straw bale house we first used temporary shelves in the pantry - just plywood with cheap metal brackets. 
Earlier this year (2014) we replaced this with built in shelves. Nothing fancy but much sturdier and making more efficient use of the space.....creating a lot more real estate for storing kitchen supplies.


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

Ok...I've shared the gist of the straw bale house building....although there are more projects inside that have been completed and more on the way. I'll post pictures of the other things we've done eventually. 
But now I'd like to post pictures of other things/projects here on our homestead. Things might not all be in exact order.....but really the fun thing is to see the pictures right? Hope yall enjoy....

Sometime in 2012 there was an incident that prompted the building of the new well house.

The old cover over the well was in pretty rough shape and we had every intention of replacing it. A snake got us going....

One day while we were walking around the property (which we do a lot)....D.H. spied a snake over near the well house. He didn't get a good look at it...but thought it was a rattlesnake. Ugg! We don't like to let rattlesnakes roam free on our place and certainly don't welcome them to take up residence inside our well house.....which is where this one slithered off to when D.H. approached it. 

So we opened up the well house to try to see where it went....and were promptly attacked by a horde of red wasps. They'd made a huge nest just inside the door. Egads! Snakes and Wasps! 

So first we had to wage war on the wasps. Eradicating them took us several hours. Fortunately neither of us got stung. It was a miracle. 

Then we tried to located the snake. Couldn't see it. As you might imagine we were a bit leery about aggressively digging around for what we thought was a rattlesnake. 

D.H. said...."Well....we need to tear this old thing down anyway. So lets do it now so we can find the snake and building a new cover will just jump up to NOW in the to do list." Yup......Ok.

Finally found the snake.....Not a rattlesnake. Non-venomous. Relocated it farther into the country beside a creek.

Back to the well house project.
The old structure was bad. Lots of rot. We salvaged some insulation and burned the rest (except for the door which I'm now using as a potting table). Used reclaimed lumber and metal from other stuff we'd torn down and built a much better well cover. The roof is hinged and can be opened to access the well, etc. 

MUCH BETTER.


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

In 2012 we acquired 4 goats. A lady who operates a horse rescue farm just down the road gave them to us. A buck and a doe with 2 kids. 
We've had chickens since before we moved here.....with goats we were now diversifying. LOL.


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

Chicken tractor built from scrap parts lying around.
Chickens chickens chickens.....
We sometimes incubate our eggs.....and other times we mail order chicks to freshen up the bloodlines.
The chicken flock number and type varies....but there are always PLENTY of eggs. Our fridge is never without a few jars of spicy pickled eggs!


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

The rocket stove we made using one of the water heaters we inherited with the place. Many DELICIOUS meals have been cooked on this thing. We've got an abundance of sticks shed from the trees.....it only takes a little fuel to make a fierce cooking heat with this stove. The inside burn chamber is insulated with vermiculite.....the inner chamber and the "fuel chute" are made from stainless steel.....so this should last us a long time.


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## Bret (Oct 3, 2003)

Fun. Inspiring. Keep at it. 

I think the tank on the front of the truck would be a blast in a demolition derby.


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

Garden pictures. 

I started out using a gas powered tiller to cultivate. These days I do all my cultivation with an English garden fork. 
I experiment a lot in the garden. Some things work.....others, no so much.

We compost. I start piles all over the garden. As they ripen they get spread out into the beds I've formed. All kitchen scraps and some cotton, paper, cardboard .....all of it gets cycled through the garden.


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

We've got an electric dryer....but I use that thing less than 1% of the time. Pictured below is our real clothes dryer! Even in winter on a cloudy day....works like a charm.


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

The old farm house with the walls of the bathroom still intact......remember I mentioned that we used those planks to build the front door for the straw bale house.


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

Just this year we finally got the old farm house the rest of the way down and gone. There was some stuff that got burned. Some that was hauled away. But we did end up with a large stack of lumber of various kinds for re-using.
Right now the lumber we saved is sitting in a big stack. One of these days soon we'll be having a major nail pulling party and sorting into separate stacks the various kinds of lumber. Some of it is going to be used for finish work inside the straw bale house.

It was sure nice to finally get the old house down.


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## txsteele (Nov 19, 2014)

Great write-up!!!! Loved it. 

Becareful for snakes in those lumber piles.


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

Hi there everyone.

We are putting our place up for sale.
Asking $120,000.

It's almost 6 acres.
You can get an idea about the house from looking at the many photos and stuff I already posted. 

I can be reached through this forum. Or my email: [email protected]

I'm working on a website for showcasing/selling the property. I'll be happy to provide a link when I get it completed.
I'll be listing it online in several venues. Pass the word along if you know anyone who might be interested.

Located in Mills County, TX. Near Goldthwaite.
Less than 6000 people in entire county.
No building codes. 
Property taxes were $970.00 in 2014.
House is 916 square feet.

THANKS!


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## logbuilder (Jan 31, 2006)

I've very much enjoyed reading about your journey. Thanks for sharing so much with us.

I imagined you were making your perfect homestead. Now for sale????

Would you mind sharing what prompted you to decide to sell?

Thanks again.

logbuilder


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

logbuilder said:


> I've very much enjoyed reading about your journey. Thanks for sharing so much with us.
> 
> I imagined you were making your perfect homestead. Now for sale????
> 
> ...



Yes. We were building the perfect homestead. A little over a year ago a wind farm consisting of 89 turbines was built in the south part of our county. They're about 10 miles as the crow flies from us. There are a handful of large land owners who now want to have these brought into the northeast portion of the county. These land owners were in talks with a company a few years back trying to get turbines....but the deal fell through. Still they continue to try to bring a company in to get leases...have them put in another wind farm. We don't wish to live near wind turbines and so even though there is no guarantee they'll ever get their wish and have the turbines near us....we are moving on. Our place is down in a lower valley....so if turbines do eventually come here they'll probably be at least a mile away. That is not the only reason we want to move. My husband is severely affected by constant chronic pain due to an injury many years ago. It is very difficult because we have constantly been given a VERY HARD TIME by the medical industry. In the past doctors have cut him off from the meds he needs....leaving him to go through terrible withdrawals and suffering. We have been turned away from clinics and hospitals, etc. They have used medical extortion several times....such as: Either he undergoes very expensive treatments that we cannot afford (WHICH he has already had in the past that did not work)...or they take away the drugs....and they've actually done it. Told us we weren't following "protocols". EVEN THOUGH my husband has never been in trouble with the law or abused drugs, etc. He is treated like a criminal by the health care system and our government. We are under constant threat of having meds restricted or taken away because the FDA wants to "protect the public from narcotic drugs" and they keep tightening the laws on them. He takes tramadol (He wants to avoid the heavier duty stuff because we know long term usage is very unhealthy.....and health is VERY important to us). The drugs he takes are the only thing that makes life continue to be worth living for him. It is very awful......just do a search on chronic pain and FDA - thousands of people are going through the same ordeal. We are considering moving to Mexico where medical seems far more sane OR we might move to Colorado where he can have access to the strains of marijuana that have been shown to majorly help people with neurological problems. We are very sad to sell our property as it is so wonderful living here.....but there are more important things than location/material things. Home is where we are together and we can be happy elsewhere too.
To whomever we show/sell our property you can be sure we will give full disclosure as to why we are moving.
THANKS YALL.


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## RebeccaM (Jan 10, 2015)

Hi candogirl, I just wanted to say that your post brought tears to my eyes as I could feel your frustration. I also was surprised after reading through your thread yesterday to see that you were selling, but you are right, as long as you are together, that it the most important thing. I admire your strength in explaining your situation, and I will tell you that I can relate well with the second half of your post. I have been reading HT for about 4 months but only registered a couple of days ago; this is actually my first post as I am somewhat shy about posting on forums but felt very strongly to reply to you.
I also wanted to suggest the possibility of looking into SE Arizona, where we are hoping to buy land next year, there is very strong support for straw bale/alternative construction, that is what we are planning to do as well. Also AZ has med.mj don't know if that will help.
Stay strong and know others are thinking of you and praying for you.

R.M.


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

RebeccaM said:


> Hi candogirl, I just wanted to say that your post brought tears to my eyes as I could feel your frustration. I also was surprised after reading through your thread yesterday to see that you were selling, but you are right, as long as you are together, that it the most important thing. I admire your strength in explaining your situation, and I will tell you that I can relate well with the second half of your post. I have been reading HT for about 4 months but only registered a couple of days ago; this is actually my first post as I am somewhat shy about posting on forums but felt very strongly to reply to you.
> I also wanted to suggest the possibility of looking into SE Arizona, where we are hoping to buy land next year, there is very strong support for straw bale/alternative construction, that is what we are planning to do as well. Also AZ has med.mj don't know if that will help.
> Stay strong and know others are thinking of you and praying for you.
> 
> R.M.


THANK YOU. It does help a person in their soul to know that they are not alone. It is a powerful thing and I greatly appreciate it.
Fortunately I am not one to allow myself to linger on past disappointments and I'm resolved to take actions that take me beyond depression/despair over events and situations. I cannot control all that happens in life...but I can control my reaction to it. So I am confident that I and my husband will move on and peace and good will always be available for us.


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## unregistered41671 (Dec 29, 2009)

Sorry to hear about your problems. I have enjoyed this thread and watching your home being built and look forward to another adventure when the time comes. Thanks


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## flowergurl (Feb 27, 2007)

Oh, I LOVE the house you built. You put so much love and effort into it. Such a shame you have to leave it. Mind if I ask what's so terrible about the turbines tho? 
I don't see why it would be bad to have them near i guess.


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## thestartupman (Jul 25, 2010)

Candogirl, I do have a quaetion that I hope you can help me with about your house. Can you explain what your work day or week was like while working on the house. I know it took you several years to complete, but were you working sunrise to sunset 7 days a week on the house? Maybe you had a lot of other things going on, and just worked a couple hours in the evenings? I know each day might have been different. I know here on my farm, there are some projects I work on all day long, and there are other times I am doing several projects at a time. Thanks for posting this about your house build. I hope your next adventure goes well.


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

flowergurl said:


> Oh, I LOVE the house you built. You put so much love and effort into it. Such a shame you have to leave it. Mind if I ask what's so terrible about the turbines tho?
> I don't see why it would be bad to have them near i guess.


Some people don't mind living by them and are not affected by their proximity. My preference for living is to be in areas that are devoid of industrial type things as much as possible. I have not always had the luxury of being able to live in a remote and more wild type area of my choosing....but I have worked hard and arranged my life so that I have the ability to live in these types of places. This not super remote by my standards (10 minutes to a town with 2000 people). But it is sparsely populated (there are less than 6000 people in the county). We are at least 40 miles from the nearest Walmart...which is a plus in my book. Most of the land is rural and the primary "industry" here is ranching and hunting. Not much farming....mostly just grazed hill country type land. I moved here because of these characteristics. To me these turbines severely diminish the character of the land. That alone is enough for me to walk away from my work here and move. It's that important to me. I never expected this to happen. Had I known wind turbines were desired here I would have never wanted to live here in the first place. I can move (luckily). It will place a bit of financial difficulty on us if we can't sell this place....but I am willing to do what it takes to deal with it. We have already purchased an older (but nice) motorhome and are making preparations to be ready to move on. It is very sad for me....but I accepted long ago that life is not completely as we wish it were and having a strong and adaptable mind is the real key to happiness in an uncertain life.


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

thestartupman said:


> Candogirl, I do have a quaetion that I hope you can help me with about your house. Can you explain what your work day or week was like while working on the house. I know it took you several years to complete, but were you working sunrise to sunset 7 days a week on the house? Maybe you had a lot of other things going on, and just worked a couple hours in the evenings? I know each day might have been different. I know here on my farm, there are some projects I work on all day long, and there are other times I am doing several projects at a time. Thanks for posting this about your house build. I hope your next adventure goes well.


Together my husband and I were only able to work a few hours each day. The reason is that my husband is disabled and has severe chronic pain and many neurological issues that hinder/limit how much activity he can do. I was able to work alone on some projects.....but that was pretty sporadic and didn't consist of the bulk of the work. My husband had a severe pain episode at one point during the project and we didn't work on the house for about 6 weeks as he was laid up in traction and could only dress himself with my assistance. That was during the time when he had no access to pain meds as we had just been "kicked out" of the medical system by a doctor (backed up by the Scott & White Health Care Corporation in TX) who said we had to pay for thousands of dollars in treatments (that my husband had ALREADY UNDERGONE in the past which did nothing for him) OR he would refuse him treatment and scripts for pain medication. But I digress..... during the two years that we worked on the project before moving in, we normally worked on the house a few hours almost every single day of the week. We did take the occasional day off here and there but nothing significant. It seemed like it took forever and it was definitely an exercise in determination. The part that took us the longest was the rendering of the walls. That is tough work for anyone....much less when one of the people is severely handicapped. I mixed all the render using a small mixer and shovels. It was 27 yards of sand + all the lime, cement, etc. We could only manage to cover a few feet of wall space each day.....(times 3 times around all walls out and inside...at times I questioned my sanity!).... With a large crew of people many times houses like this are rendered completely in a weekend. But we did it with 2 people.


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

The rendering of the walls took about 1 year. The rest of the house took 1 year.....for 2 years total before we were able to move in. Inside still not complete but plenty liveable.


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

Possum Belly said:


> Sorry to hear about your problems. I have enjoyed this thread and watching your home being built and look forward to another adventure when the time comes. Thanks


Well - we have purchased a motorhome (a 93 Diesel pusher) and the next adventure is already starting. The motorhome has a strong engine but needs some updating and tweaking of issues we are able to fix ourselves. We're giving ourselves 6 months to have the coach up to speed. Then we'll be in a good position to move on. We're putting our house up for sale officially this spring. Right now I am working on divesting ourselves of the majority of our stuff so we can be light on our feet. The tentative plan is to be nomads for awhile. Travel the west and maybe find another spot to settle into. I feel kind of burned on property ownership right now.....if I put down roots again I will be very picky about the area that is for sure. We have talked about building a tiny house and living off-grid in any next house/property venture....so we shall see. I will miss the goats & other animals....but I am still planning to mobile homestead! Good food - canning - frugal living - a make do attitude of a good degree of self sufficiency....that's all coming along with us wherever we go.


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

Even though our plans have changed in regards to our property I continue to be proud of our time here on this small acreage. We've had to opportunity to experiment and learn. I'm happy about the experiences I've had. I value them highly.....they're something that cannot be taken away, they travel along with me wherever life may lead, they are assets and I hope I can continue to share them and build on them.

Since I love photography I take a lot of pictures. The following are some various shots from our years at our homestead. Thanks again everyone for your kind thoughts, words, and just being here.


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

I have had the privilege of raising my own animals for food while living here. We were also able to harvest wild animals for meat. I've had intense interest in the animals share this planet with since I was small. I like animals alot. So ending the lives of those I've raised or hunted for food was and is a big deal to me. But I remain a believer in the food chain and the natural order of life. So for me eating animals is a proper thing. Knowing them and caring for them has taught me to have very conscious honor and respect the food I eat. I think I am all around healthier as a result. Food in this manner is the best! I don't wish to sound preachy. But it's been a very cool thing for me.


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

Hopefully when we eventually go nomadic we will be able to find farmers markets or farms where we can purchase FRESH RAW milk....goat's or cow's. Having goats is something I'm gonna miss a lot. I don't wanna go back to store bought milk/cheese!


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## painterswife (Jun 7, 2004)

Sad to have to move after all that work.


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

We are down to only 2 dairy goats. We had a small herd of various goats (Spanish, Nigerian, & Boer) but those have already gone to new homes. I will really miss the goats. I've been around various livestock all my life....and goats are really in a class of their own. Such characters. Sometimes challenging but really easy keepers in my opinion.


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

Wlover said:


> Sad to have to move after all that work.


Yes. Sadness is part of this transition. Yet we are healthy and have much potential in our lives. I guarantee my homesteading mentality is going on the road with us 100%. We created this space....and as the creators we take that force with us. We will continue to create wherever we go.


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

Here's a picture of the motorcoach we bought. It is a 1993 Monaco Dynasty which is a well thought of model RV. It's considered a 34' coach (even though on the exterior we measured it to be 35'). Diesel pusher with a 300hp Cummings turbo engine paired with an Allison transmission. We got her for $9500. She has some issues that need tending to and fortunately I and my husband are able to work on everything ourselves. I've decided to start a YouTube channel to post videos about our life....here's the video I made of a brief tour of the coach. [YOUTUBE][ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjZWmopbolU[/ame][/YOUTUBE]

Sorry if the video shows up more than once....when I "previewed" my post it looked as though it did. But I only posted it once??


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

Yup. Video in there twice. Ugg.


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

While we still live here we will of course continue to raise food and garden, etc. We did have plans to do new fences, build a multi purpose barn, and a greenhouse this year. However we have now decided against doing continued improvements and instead will focus our energy and resources on getting our "new" home on wheels ready for blast off. 

That being said.....we have a pig that we'll soon be slaughtering. (We've raised and butchered many animals while we've lived here). I also still have 2 dairy goats, and 8 laying hens. I'll be planting veggies in the garden this spring and will certainly continue to eat and preserve the food we generate. 

When we finally do move into the RV and hit the road I fully intend to take my homesteading mindset with me. Even if we can't raise/grow food ourselves....I am hopeful that we'll be able to source fresh food from farmer's markets and perhaps even directly from small farms. My big pressure canner is coming along. We use one of those outdoor propane burners (like you get with a turkey fryer) - and I'll can food. I just love that too much to give it up. I'll also continue to make things instead of buy them....whenever I can. Laundry will be by hand much of the time. Maybe we will even have the opportunity to care for some gardens and animals by doing some farm sitting.  I would LOVE that!!
I think when you put forth the effort the Universe rises to meet you!


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

During our time here we have raised pigs. WOW! What a difference in quality and taste of pork. I never imagined that there would be such a difference from grocery store purchased. Not only is the meat superior but pigs are awesome! If you have the space and time I highly recommend them as additions to the homestead. For me they've been easy keepers (granted you MUST have adequate methods for penning them). I have so enjoyed visiting with my pigs and interacting with them. 
We do all slaughter and butchering here on the homestead. It is a lot of work and takes time but it's not that difficult really. So many resources on the internet to learn from before hand.... Thanks for sharing peoples!! When I was a kid my grandpa use to take me every year to a local farm festival. They did things the "old fashioned" way at this event. One of the things they did was kill and butcher a pig. Having had exposure to the realities of farm life since I was quite young I was prepared for seeing it....but it was pretty intense for me as a girl. Still I was impressed and amazed to see how it was done. I'm so glad that I got the chance to live it for myself!!
We make bacon, hams, pate, head cheese, blood sausage, and more....


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

More pictures of stuff here on the homestead.

Homesteading for me has been a terrific experience. However as with anything in life it's not ALL sunshine and roses! When you have animals they are going to get sick. Some will die. You must be prepared for the realities (as I'm sure many on this forum totally understand). But from my perspective death and life are two sides of the same coin. Experiencing these things has given me a strong connection to the cycle that IS life and a healthy attitude towards it. 
When you garden things don't always go your way. I've had the most beautiful plants be destroyed by grasshoppers who apparently thought I was working for them! It is very challenging to grow things without using harsh pesticides and such. The weather sometimes dashes your garden hopes and dreams...beautiful apricot buds + late frost = No apricots. Sometimes it can be frustrating. Patience and acceptance are worthy virtues in homesteading.


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

Have a terrific day, You.


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## pointer33 (Oct 15, 2008)

Candogirl, really enjoy viewing the homestead pictures and such - inspirational and looks worthwhile! Wish you and your husband the best!


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## ceorlgirl (Dec 18, 2008)

The picture of those kids was too precious. 
I'm sorry you have to move, but its great you're keeping a positive attitude through it all. I'll be praying for you.


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## GaryS61 (Feb 26, 2013)

wow cool


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## AnnieinBC (Mar 23, 2007)

Your attitude is inspiring! What a great job you both did and wonderful memories for you to carry on into the next adventure.


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## Candogirl (Oct 21, 2014)

[YOUTUBE][ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAH2cvZ1hTo[/ame][/YOUTUBE]


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## Jade1096 (Jan 2, 2008)

Candogirl,

I've so enjoyed your posts and updates.

I went to Wenzel's in Hamilton a couple of weeks ago and thought about you guys. If we make it out that way again I may drop you a line and see if you guys are up for some company! I'd love to take a tour of the place and see what you are getting your hands into this spring.


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