The Vision

I am going to let you in on a little secret.  I love grand ideas!!  I love taking a tiny thought and allowing it to float aimlessly for awhile through the hallways of my mind.  Then suddenly, it finds a home, a place where it belongs, where it can connect to other ideas and eventually merge with them to become a grand idea.  Oh, when this happens it is like a spectacular firework show going off in my body, and my best friend, adrenaline, always shows up and starts the party!  I can't sleep. My daily routine tasks fall to the wayside. Is a shower truly necessary everyday? Really? My mind quickly becomes consumed with creating a plan.  The research begins.  The books are ordered from Indigo, and I am suddenly enraptured with this new purpose my life has taken upon itself.  I become giddy. I cannot wait to share this idea, and I pace around my home anxiously awaiting for my husband to arrive so I can share the news of our life's new course.  His car pulls up, he opens the door and is enthusiastically greeted with "I have the best idea!". 

Now, for those of you who know my hubby, the level-headed one in this organization, it takes a lot to get him excited, and you would think that after 20 years of being hooked up with this fella (yes, I did say 20 years - crazy!) I would be used to the look of fear that creeps upon him.  The look that screams: "Oh no, what has she done now, and how much is this going to cost me!".  I then proceed into my scripted song and dance about how I can do this on my own, and oh, how blessed we will be for taking this new direction. And when I say song and dance, I am not simply relying upon a worn out cliche, but embarrassingly enough, this is how the unveiling of my grand ideas unfold.  There is a lot of hand waving, jumping up and down, and high-pitched squealing. Anyhoo, as always, my hubby yields to my enthusiasm and assures me that he will fully support me in my endeavour.  At this point, I think to myself that he has a soft spot for me and cannot resist how cute I am when I become infatuated with new ideas; however, in truth, his acquiescence probably has more to do from his past experiences with my grand ideas (remember 20 years!)  and his certainty that this particular one too shall pass, and life will once again take on its usual ebb and flow.

So, now that you have been brought up-to-date on how things unfold in my household, I think you are ready for my latest grand idea.  In fact, this one is so big and so exciting that we refer to it as "The Vision"!

Are you ready?

Please get excited with me.  I grow so tired of Mr. Level-Headed's lack lustre responses to grand ideas.

We are going off the grid, baby!!

I know! Isn't it brilliant!

So, when I say off the grid, please realize that this is a multi-stepped and multi-year plan (thanks to Mr. Level-Headed, who was surprisingly interested in this idea and has set up a series of checkpoints that I have to pass in order to proceed with the next course of action), and does not just involve alternate sources of energy but also a small farm.  YAY!! I am so excited!  Ol' MacWebster's Farm! 

So the first stage of  our "Vision" is a successful crop from my garden. In fact in order for me to pass this first test all I have to do is produce one vegetable for Derrick to consume.  And you should see the progress I am making:

I have a sign.  Derrick and the kids bought this for me on Mother's Day.  What more do I need? Oh, right, plants.  Well, take a look at these babies:

Broccoli plants! 
I have read that broccoli is VERY hard to grow, and so far I have killed about 30 seedlings but these two are holding on.  In fact, the one to your left was on the brink of death, but I have lovingly brought him back to life.  I am awesome! What can I say, I have a gift . . .  tee hee!

Check out these tomato plants!  Eight have survived (there is no need to go into the death toll at this point because we are only focusing on the positive).

And this is where all of the magic is going to happen:

My adorable husband spent an entire afternoon, while the kids and I went to the movies, digging up the overgrown, weed-infested flower bed that used to reside here, and tilling up the earth so that my little seedlings will have a home.  He is so supportive of "The Vision"! 

Once this ridiculous cold spell departs us, I will be planting more seeds out there and eventually transplanting the few I have in the house. 

And what is next on our path to self-sufficiency?

Chickens!!

Look at this adorable face!  He is chicken crazy!!  This boy needs a chicken coup to tend. 

So next summer, along with an even larger garden, we will be getting some chickens.  This is the part of "The Vision" that makes Derrick a little squeamish because he thinks that I am eventually going to get bored with the idea of a farm, and he will come home to see all of these emaciated animals lying around our property while I am soaking up the sun in the pool.  What kind of monster does he think I am??  Well, no fear! After talking to my friend, Kim, who is a farmer, I have learned that chickens are just like cats. You build them a home, which Kim has the plans for and Derrick can build in one short afternoon (tee hee!), and give them food and water to drink each day.  Easy Cheesy! 

Well, as you can see, everything is falling into place here at the Webster Homestead, and we are just a cluck cluck here and a cluck, cluck there away from fulfilling "The Vision"!