Four Month Update

It has been four months since we moved onto the farm. Four months and we still don't have hot water (or propane set up to heat that water), a working sink (we fill up our water from the basement), a bath/shower, or a proper kitchen.

BUT...we have a working toilet. And that, my friends, is the exciting news around here. And it was just in time for Christmas. I'll take that over any present under the tree.

The inaugural flush handled by Kaylee

Yes, we waaayyy underestimated how much time this all was going to take. Getting electricity, water lines, and septic installed was a huge undertaking. Weather delayed us a bunch and then there's the fact that Brett is teaching himself a lot of this stuff. Not to mention it's a lot more expensive then we planned, although we are still saving a ton of money doing it mostly ourselves, getting help from family, and being thrifty with our purchases.

Plus, with the winter weather in full force, we've (and by we I mean Brett) spent a lot of time chopping and loading wood, building wood fires every morning, plowing the driveway, weatherproofing...all this little stuff that takes time. And although we have plugs and lights, lighting is still limited making evening work on the difficult side.

It's cold, but it sure is pretty.

But with six weeks to go in this pregnancy, we are very close to having a fully functioning bathroom, which is the only thing I truly want by the time this baby comes. Bonuses would include a working kitchen sink, dishwasher (oh it's been so long sweet dishwasher), and a working laundry room.

On the farm front, we've actually had a lot of really great things this past month and a half.

Thanks to the Farmer Veteran Coalition, we attended the Empowering Women Veterans Conference in Louisville, KY. I was able to attend as the spouse of a veteran and Brett came along as a volunteer. It was an intense conference, but full of great sessions and we met so many awesome people who are now lifelong friends.

At the conference we had the opportunity to see the premiere of
Terra Firma, a documentary about three incredible female farmer veterans.

We had a super successful Teespring campaign! Thanks to everyone who supported our cause by purchasing our shirt. We needed to sell 200 shirts to be fully funded and we sold 220. We were particularly surprised at the variety of people that supported us -- former colleagues, old friends, and neighbors in Texas, friends and former customers in Pittsburgh, fellow farmer veterans, near and far family members, friends from high school for both of us, and various other people we've never even met! The proceeds will be used for farm purchases like our 100 laying hens that arrive at the end of this month, seeds, and other start-up supplies.

Our hilarious former neighbor in Texas posing in his new shirt.

We found out at the end of last week that we've been accepted into the Northeast Organic Farming Association (NY)'s Journeyperson Program. This is a two-year program geared toward beginner farmers that provides a paid farmer mentor, educational and business stipends, and a lot of general support and networking opportunities. We are honored to be chosen as one of five recipients in the state.

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review did a story on veterans becoming entrepreneurs and featured Brett's story. Check out the full article here: http://tinyurl.com/mlakfws.

There's a couple other opportunities that I don't want to publicly mention just yet, but will be a huge help if/when they come to fruition. Here's to an exciting and successful 2014!

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