A Sluggish Summer So Far

we started with a little bit of a bang. We built a second story on that first room we built, although the weight required us to add a brace in the kitchen about where the counter would be coming out from the side of wall. We can make it look like it was supposed to be there and just plant a grapevine at the base of it.
However, June 4th, I fell off our horse we were about to buy. Poor hing got spooked or bit by a bee; not really sure what the reasoning was. But I received a serious concussion that they thought would resolve after 2 weeks. It's been 6 weeks now and I am still forgetful, have crying breakdowns, and have slow speech that makes me sound like I had a stroke!

We have now completed this though. It has a full roof and OSB all around it. But it came to a screaming haunt when I fell and at first I wasn't sure I broke my back because I couldn't get up. Now my body is much stronger and my mind is getting much better but not all the way yet. I probably have a couple more weeks of battling short term disability and payroll to make sure we can pay our bills. Right now we are quite broke.
I am asking anyone of you that may have been thinking of having an Usborne party on Facebook,
please have it now because without a little income we are in trouble. My husband is looking for work but so far construction is the only thing he has found and that wouldn't start for a few weeks. We have some new book titles and a new catalog out so come on! Let's have some fun on Facebook. I have a Facebook page for my Usborne business - it's called Pams Hooked on Usborne Books. At least go one over there and give me a like. There are millions of kids in the country, and many of these books are higher quality than books a million. Check out www.d5510.myubam.com for all the new and old titles. If you send me an email from Facebook, I'll give you 10% off your purchase when you mention this blog post.
Tomorrow we hope to drill the post holes for the fence posts. Dan is renting an auger and I am praying that he can get through our rocky soil without too many problems. It's wicked hard to dig the holes manually! This will be for the horse I fell off. We're hoping to bond with her so that she is not
so nervous when we ride her.

We have the garden going pretty well, but almost everyday I am out there weeding. I have enlisted the help of our chickens so they can at least eat the stuff in the rows with a chicken tractor we built. It works pretty well, but I am constantly out there! Today is Stormey, however, so we are juicing some lemons and limes and canning them. 

Talk soon!

I just became an Usborne books consultant and wanted to let you all know! I'm super excited and if anyone would like to host a home party in Aroostook county or a Facebook party anywhere in the US please let me know! Comment below!

My New Years Resolution

This is not one of my typical postings. I like to show updates on our tire home building, show projects that we are working on and discuss self sufficient living in general. But as the new year begins, I have lost someone near and dear to me that I considered a brother. I loved him so much, but haven't seen nor spoken to him in awhile. Moving away from family to Northern Maine has had some challenges. Losing touch with some of those that I loved has been one challenge.

I am learning as I go. I am still a baby, growing up and learning how to do many new things. Physically and mentally, growing up has been somewhat exhausting. I have recently come to know Christ and have been engrossed in learning some of the basic teachings from Him. I have always been a kind and caring soul; but not always there for others as I should. I am learning how to be present in the moment. As a mom of 4, with a small farm and full time job as a nurse, I am pulled in many different directions. I don't always fully listen to what is being said because I may have 2 conversations going at once. This is something I am working on now. My New Years resolution: to be present.

Lord, help me to learn how to do this. My beautiful children need their mother to be there. They need to know how much I really do care. My husband of 13 years has learned how to be present very well yet I haven't been able to figure out how he does it. When I lost my friend last week, I have been frantically wanting to search for a picture of him and I together yet haven't made the time. Hubby went through every photo album we own and found pictures of us together. Albeit just 6, but he made that time on top of taking care of the farm, the children, and me. 

He takes care of me like a real man should. Why? I'm not quite sure how I deserve the love that he gives but I am learning to be grateful for every single moment I am blessed to have with him. He says I do enough because I financially support our family, but somehow I can't imagine that I give to him a fraction of what he gives me. Every day my needs are placed above his own. I struggle with some health issues right now but feel guilty that I cannot do more. To him? It doesn't seem to bother him that he pulls all the weight (literally) around the house. I can only lift only so much because of my back, and he has acclimated his life to mine. My goal is to be present to him and all his needs physically and emotionally. I reflect on my friends life and that is what he has taught me. Thank you, Kenny. Thank you for teaching me this. You were always present in the moment. 

Think about this as you go through your day. Are you half listening to your mom when she calls or your friend when she tells you for the tenth time about how the coffee shop got her latte wrong? Be there, in that moment, regardless of how you feel about that situation. Love your family and friends to the fullest of your capacity. Thank God for every moment with them that you are given. I know I will be reunited with them in Heaven, but that time in between may be long and difficult. Give, give, give. Give more than you think you can handle. Love more than you think you are capable of loving. Make this year a year to remember. Get off the internet and be present. 

Blessing,

Virtually amish homestead 

Why Being Self-Sufficient Includes Community

We all want that homestead. We are able to produce all our own food, and only need to go to the store once a year for something we can't produce; like oh say- toys for Christmas. It would be so ideal to live off your land and not depend on anyone else at all. Except, there is one flaw in this dream; God made us so that we would Have to depend on other people.

 I have figured out one thing in my ten years or so that we have homesteaded, and that is definitely that we cannot do it alone. We have depended on our friends, family, neighbors and the Amish community for so so many things. This doesn't mean that we don't want to be self-sufficient. However, unless you are going to have a lot of children to help, you just can't do everything alone. If your reading this, you are probably still somewhat new to homesteading. I know that when I first started, I looked for a variety of different informational sites and blogs to see if it was even something I could do. Step-by-step I started learning one thing after another. Jack of all trades, master of none is how the saying goes. That describes my life! We have yet to do anything masterfully, but we can get what we need done. We look to those who have already done what we want to do for guidance and ideas. We look to our neighbors and friends to help when we are overwhelmed. And that's O.K. It will happen more often than you think. There will be a number of things that you may learn how to do or make, but it won't be worth the time or energy in your daily chores to make because someone else makes it for you for the same price as what it would cost you and your time.

We are blessed to be right in the middle of an Amish community that has already done most of what we look to accomplish, yet they depend on their community for all the help they need. However, despite all the self-sufficient things they do on a daily basis, they still go to Walmart just like we do! They buy flour, sugar, and some other staples that it isn't worth the time to make. That really surprised me, but as I get into more and more activities with raising our own meat, hunting, gardening, building our house, canning, harvesting and processing all the animals, taking care of the family pets... there is no time in the day to do much else. I still work a full time job, so I hope to someday go to part-time so I can spend more time on the homestead.

I really wish that we could have a community that is as close knit as the Amish do. Although they are happy to help at times, we are not actually Amish. Therefore, having them come over for a barn-raising is not feasible. For this reason, it is super important for us to create a give-and-take- system with our friends and neighbors. We try to volunteer to help others as much as we can. Someday we will need that favor back! I have internet and watch some of the television shows about homesteaders (Live Free or Die with National Geographic is my FAVORITE) but have noticed lately that they all depend on others for help of some sort. Maybe its bartering for tools, or trading work for something they need. You will always need others though.

Please feel free to comment, make suggestions, ask questions, and offer ideas for future posts. I am not as gifted as some of the bloggers out there and am constantly working towards improving my blog. Thank you for reading my posts!

Blessings,  The Virtually Amish Homestead

Closed For the Winter

We are closed up for the winter now. We have only managed to finish this one room, but as we progressed we noticed that we were much faster at each tire. We closed it in with a nice sturdy roof that we plan on building a second floor on. We had some family help near the end of the season so that was a big help.

The construction sped up after this point and we started on the roof 

After this we covered the outside in a plastic that will protect the roof from getting wet during the winter and wrapped the plastic around any areas that may be exposed. We hope to get started again sometime of May 2016 again. Thank you for visiting my blog and I'll be back with other homesteading adventures!

End of the year updates

so we have completed the first room. Doesn't seem like much, but that one room was a lot of work for just us. We are not hiring out, contracting anyone, or have had any magic volunteers show up to help. It's been slow going, and we had to get a couple permits along the way in order to keep moving. We also kept up our small farm, preserved all the garden harvest, and I kept a full time job. So, hopefully next year as we get faster and a little more efficient, we will get a bit more done.

The room seems small, but it's a 14X16 with an 8,4" ceiling. It will have a small open area in front of it with a greenhouse type area with garden beds that will have herbs, citrus trees, and other plants that
cannot grow outside in our Maine winters.

This is not our picture but this gives you an idea of what it will look like.

We had some help from our son, who is 21, and my husband's sister and brother in law that moved here over the summer. That was a big help.

We have the roof on and have decided to build a normal second floor. This will allow us to have more of the house built in less time and hopefully move in a year earlier.

These are some completed inside earthships 

Open invitation

we would be happy to invite any students willing to learn rammed earth tire building, as well as other skills that may be involved on our homestead. We have had requests for interview through magazines, etc and please feel free to email me at pamelaconklin@bellsouth.net and I will get back to you quickly. Thank you!!