Introduction

So my blog title is Missouri Rock Farmer, but I'm not there yet. Wait, what?! Not in Missouri? Yep, that's right folks. I am not there yet. You see, I'm still in another state, living in the (blech) city. My projected move-to-Missouri date is May. It's ambiguous, I know, but it could be mid-May or the end of May. Maybe even June first. I could begin the move in May, and finish the move in June. Or shoot, I could find $100,000 buried in my backyard and move tomorrow. 

Of course before I can move, there are some things I have to do here. Like get the house ready to sell. Imagine having one German Shepherd puppy who pushes a chair to get up on the counter and one huge Lab/Rottie mix who does not need a chair, who used to be good but now that there's the puppy believes he can get away with soooo much more. Hmm? Makes for a DIRTY house. I'm constantly cleaning. Add to that ten (10) daycare children running around which means I am unable to use anything that puts off fumes during the week, and also that anything I finish now will be ruined. I have to refinish the wooden floors. Kids who like to jump a lot as hard as they can are really hard on floors.

Of course, before that happens I have a lot of crap to clear out. You know, those things you acquire because you need them? Who needs a freaking toaster oven if you have a real one and a microwave? Two blenders, anyone? A good set of knives and the skill to use them is better than all the food chopping devices on the market. Or how about those dilapidated dressers, just waiting for a refurbishing? I love crafts, but I haven't got the time or space here for most of what I want to do. So craigslist and I are going to be fantastic buddies here for a while. At least someone supports me in this endeavor. :) And how many mismatched chairs does one really need? How about those old jeans I've been saving for when I lose those 20 L-Bs? And is it just me or does anyone else save miscellaneous everything because "I might need that someday!" 

It's a monster of a project, though it pales in comparison with what I will have to do in Missouri. I do fully understand also, that as soon as I get rid of something, I'm going to need it. Murphy, another good friend of mine. :)

I should say, apparently no one in my family (besides my son) thinks I can do this. Not my sister, not my dad, not my acquaintances here in the city. I think they're just holding their breath waiting for me to fail. "Buy a cute house," my sister said. "Get a mobile home," my dad said. "Why?" That's what everyone else says, or there's the more insidious, "so, you think you know how to build a house and you've got this all figured out." That last one from someone who is too damn scared to live like I want to unless it becomes accepted by the majority of city society. It makes me angry, and I'm sorry to put this out in my first post, but it's an unfortunate part of the process. My mom I can't figure out - whether she supports me or not, or is sighing and shaking her head and just doing a better job of hiding it. 

Maybe I won't be able to build a house after all. There are options - and a mobile home is one although I hope to avoid that route, chemical-laden, cheap and hazardous as they are. I also don't want to be hooked up to the grid - why? I simply don't wish to put my hard-earned $$ into someone else's pocket. Lowering my carbon footprint is just an extra benefit. But I will have to compromise. I can imagine it will be very tiring trudging out to the well in the harsh bite of winter to fill up buckets of water, bring them into the house and boil them for a bath. (I don't, incidentally, have everything figured out yet.)

But I have a dream. (hahahaha) No, really, I do. I wish to do away with the shackles of modern conveniences and the seemingly unfulfilled standards they bring and work my way into a good life where I will never have to worry about being hungry, and I can feed my eventual grandchildren should their father be a recipient of a layoff caused by a recession such as the one we are in right now. Wow, that was a long sentence. I always want a place to call my own - not a mortgage to call my own. I want to experience freedom in a way that is impossible with high debt loads, or with the restrictions of city life. I want that freedom that the settlers had, however I will admit I do not envy them several options available to me, such as medical options and the ability to make a 1 hour drive to a city instead of a 1-day drive by horse and buggy. Convenience, however, in any form, comes at a price. I am trying to find the balance between convenience and self-sufficiency. 

In the meantime, I have to stop the puppy from eating that candle I forgot to take off the counter. For all the things he eats it's a wonder I have to feed him!

I hope you enjoy my blog, and I look forward to seeing old friends and meeting new ones.

~Missouri Rock Farmer

P.S. Hi Daisy!