November Update: Preserving our Harvest
Well, the snow is upon us. This time last year, folks were out enjoying the 17℃ weather, and this year we've had snow for a month! Unfortunately, the deal that had been in the works in my previous post for the sale of our house had fell through, and we haven't been able to prioritize the new build as much as we would of liked. Although not much has gotten done in the last few weeks, there is some progress I had not posted about previously.
So here's where things are at:
We got a few sheets of drywall hung, and completely closed in the bathroom. It really helped us get a feel for things being closed in with the bedroom and bathroom no longer open.
However, now that I've had time to really think about it, I think i may tear it all down and opt for tongue and groove pine throughout. The pine boards are 1/2" thick, and would really add extra strength and rigidity to the building. It would eliminate the need to worry about drywall cracking and shifting if/when we find a more remote northern property to move it too at some point.
Hopefully we can get going on things more in the coming weeks, but in the meantime, we are still working to push towards our goal of self sufficiency. The small raised bed garden provided us with a really great amount of produce to preserve for the winter season!
With all the produce we had kicking around, Katie went absolute ape shit into canning mode, and overall we wound up with over 100 cans of food preserved for the winter season. Is it enough to live off of? For a family of 4? Of coarse not! But it certainly is a good start! It's also a real eye opener about how much food we really will need to plant to come up with a full supply for the year in future seasons. Once our current home sells, and we move to the new place, I will be able to quit working full time and have a lot more time to focus on homestead tasks. Having the time to dedicate to food production will certainly make a difference in the coming years.
The tomatoes and peppers made fantastic pasta sauce, pizza sauce, and salsa!
2017 Was also a great year for our plum trees out front, and we took full advantage! 2 carboys of plum wine our on the go! As well as 1 carboy of chokecherry wine from this seasons harvest. The plums for the 2nd carboy were harvested about 3 weeks before the 1st. Its amazing the difference in colour between the two of them. It was nice to have help with getting all those plums back to the house!
So there's where things are at! Progress is slow with the changing of the seasons and the harsh winter here to stay, but we will keep at it slowly and hopefully next year can bring us a lot closer to our goals. Pantry is full of jars, freezer is full of soups, and I'm filled with excitement for what 2018 will bring. I'll try to keep on top of posting as we make any significant strides, but until then, thank you so much for checking out the blog and subscribing to the youtube channel. I'm thrilled to know how many people out there are still interested in the idea of "going back" to a simpler lifestyle and getting away from massive mortgages in favor of making the most of the time we have.
Until next time,
Cheers!
