Sigh....
They're all gone.
We ate the last garden tomato this evening. Of course, having fresh tomatoes into mid November has been an accomplishment but I'll miss them. August seems a long way away but I refuse to buy tomatoes at the store.
Now, the only thing I've got going is a little kale and chard still out in the garden. We had 20F (about -6C) this morning so I'm not sure how long the chard will last- but I'm hoping to nurse the kale along for a while. I've got some row covers but they aren't thermal ones so I'm not sure I'll bother. They would only give me a few degrees of protection.
In other news, our new therapist, the one we just hired in August, is leaving us. It was a tough decision for her. She is a world class athlete and has the opportunity for a paid sponsorship to train for the Olympics. It's a chance she couldn't pass up- and I wouldn't want her to. So, we will be back to being short staffed. I'm not sure what this means for my work hours. Management didn't allow me to reduce my hours to 90% until she was hired and trained so I'm hoping they don't try to make me go back. I'm really enjoying my every-other Monday off, and I'll appreciate it more when next spring's gardening gets going.
Of course, V said that the money would be nice if I went back to 100%. He isn't bringing in as much these days. It's a complicated story but one of the people he was writing for lost her main contract due to the bad economy so he no longer is subcontracting from her. sigh... He still has his other writing job but it doesn't bring in much. He's looking again so we'll see what happens. Although at this point, I'm more inclined to tighten our belts than go back to 100%. The difference in pay for me isn't that much- only a few hundred dollars a month. I've been wondering if there is anything I could do in my 'spare' time to bring in a little extra cash. I've been wondering about learning to make soap, or some sewing projects that I could maybe sell on Etsy- although I don't know how much that would actually bring in. If the chickens were producing more, I would have a few $ of egg money but we're only getting 4 or so eggs a day- they add up but it wouldn't be much at this point. At least we've just about finished the big, expensive house projects. But, most likely next fall, we'll be facing college tuition. Eek. We definitely are living in interesting times.
Yup, interesting times. Also tough times. At least we who are on the land and have gardening knowledge are far ahead of those who are not. Ha! Not only do we not have to spend money on things to entertain us (who has the time to go to "entertaining" events?), there's always so much to do on the homestead and so many interesting things we can pursue, that we're mighty lucky indeed!
ReplyDeleteSometimes those few extra hundred bucks a month you'd bring in for going back to full-time work can't compensate for what you can provide for hubby, kids and homestead by being home more.
I don't blame you - I would definitely try trimming here and there first. Mama Pea is right - we have a leg up, as we grow, make, bake and can most of our food. I do hope you can keep that extra Monday. Think of it as mental health insurance!
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to hear about your new dilemna. I know how you feel. Can you by any chance take your sewing to the farmers market along with some eggs when the chickens are producing more? Etsy is a good idea though I don't know how competitive it might be.
ReplyDeleteI see crafters at our farmers markets all the time.
Good luck on the college tuition stuff. Its hurts!