Electric Brain

Now that I have everything turned into the district manager of Plant Partners, I am as eager as a racehorse at the starting gate to get my schedule and start working. Work=Money=Homestead and my brain is buzzing like a swarm of bees.

I'm also super excited because S.J Tucker, one of my favorite musical artist, just released a new song in honor of her birthday. The song is entitled "Snow Moon" and you can find it for the next lunar cycle on http://music.sjtucker.com/track/snow-moon. Please consider donating to Sooj for her enchanting and wonderful piece of music.

All signs point to the likeliness that I will be attending my first ever Caldera Pagan Music Festival in May as a late 32nd birthday present to myself. S.J Tucker will be there, as well as Damh the Bard. I am super excited. It's right before I will start my first day of classes, so what a way to start off my academic year.

I am also pleased that as of 6:50pm, when last I checked, the Heart of Home: Finding my Homestead was at 5,998 pageviews, So close to 6,000!

Victory in my hands

I am pleased as much readers to announce that I got the job with Plant Partners. It is part time and seasonal but it will bring in much needed money so that I can contribute more to our goal of a homestead. With luck, I will start training in the next week or so; I cannot wait to learn the ropes of a plant distribution center and get working. I am restless and I am ready.

I am also thrilled to announce that Heart of Home:Finding my Homestead is almost to 6,000 page views. We are all very thankful and humbled by all the attention HOH has gotten over the last year and then some. You have been wonderful readers and I am blessed to have you with me over the course of this journey. Thank you. 

Good News!

The day before yesterday I put in an application for a local flower and plant distribution center. The advertisement had been up for sometime but since it was very local in relation to me, I decided to go for it. I had long come to the realization that a steady PT job would benefit the Clan and me personally. I didn't expect to hear back quickly, so I was surprised when I got a call from the district manager last night while I was washing dishes. We talked about the schedule, laughed about work place related things and I walked away from the conversation smiling.

I have an interview for said position on Tuesday at Noon.

:D

Seizing the Year

2016 began and I already knew my life was changing. I was going to the gym regularly, at least once a week. I was eating less carbs and less overall. I was debating going back to school to pursue higher education; the homestead dream takes heart, work ethic, faith and money. I had the first three in spades but money...well that was only going to come by putting myself in the position to earn it. All adult members of the Clan contribute to the homestead fund but I knew I could be doing more.

So, I filled out the FAFSA.

I applied to Pellisippi State College.

I started researching scholarships.

I began looking for a part time job.

I am pleased to tell you that when I contacted a former professor of mine, he agreed to writing me a letter of recommendation to satisfy a scholarship requirement. I received my letter of acceptance to Pell State and hope to start classes in May 2016. I did some cleaning work and now am looking for a more regular scheduled job to earn more money for our future homestead. 

I am pleased to also tell you I have started going to the gym 3 times a week. 

The achievements of a sub rural girl going back to school and working out at the city gym doesn't sound like the voice of a agricultural blog. Keep in mind, this is part of my journey. I do what I can in the environment that I am currently in. It is my dream that in a few years I will fill the Heart of Home with pictures of feeder pigs and a barn full of hay. We keep moving forward and that is the story to be told here. 

The Flame: Response to Cold Antler Farm's "Flame Keepers"

*disclaimer* It is my usual practice to leave dramatic declarations and controversial, personal opinions off of the Heart of Home: Finding my Homestead. In this moment, I am stepping out of that practice to firmly put a foot down on what I consider to be an extreme hypocritical blog post. Again, this is my personal opinion and is no way, shape or form connected to any of the businesses I have highlighted here on the Heart of Home. 


Some of us grow up knowing responsibility, loving the act of honesty and dream of integrity.

Some of us grow into adulthood needing integrity, and pursue a life that is full of the practice of telling the truth, honoring our agreements, paying our debts, respecting our customers and committing to the work in our lives.

Some of us realize soon beyond our childhood that the world is full of charlatans. We weren't looking for a world made up completely of kind and honest people but we wanted a life where when a person did what they said they would. A world were they were bound by honor to their word. A connection lost to so much of our world it is hubris to attempt to quantify it.

We are children of the Earth

We are wearing our pride openly because we never shamed ourselves before our friends, fans and strangers alike. Bragging like the village idiot about the inconsequential items we bought online while we were drunk. How embarrassing for both author and fan base. "We do not wear paw print sweatshirts" indeed.

Maybe not paw print sweatshirts but border collie t-shirts are clearly held to a different standard.

We only asked for help when we had no other recourse. When the need was dire.

We did not create a seasonal cycle of fabricated farm disasters to garner sympathy and beg money from fans who extended their compassion and trust.

Cold Antler Farm: A lie wrapped in a pretty bow.