Hey to all , my name is Bev and Im a 53yo [wow] young old hippie. I am a mother of 3 grown [sometimes questionable] kids and 7 grands ages 7-17. I live in north MN on a hay farm, moved here from Georgia 3 yrs ago and I love it. I am a burnt out nurse of 25yrs . I don't work off the farm but keep very busy with 3 veggie gardens, one being  raised beds, goats, chickens and working in the fields haying. I love the simpler life, working on being as self-sufficient as possible. I love cooking from scratch [i do at times cheat] baking [which im blaming for this added weight] canning and also any and all crafts. I generally have 4-5 crafts going , bouncing back and forth between them. I attempt to make all my Christmas and Birthday gifts , doesn't always work out that way. Hopefully some day my grands will cherish the love put into these gifts and I will loose the title of cheap Grandma…not sure if that's what they think but I often wonder. I happened upon this site and have been lurking for a bit, I absolutely love it!

Hello everyone!  : )

I'm Evelina.  I live just outside of Ocala, Florida.  I'm 52, two darling daughters, 23 and 27, and one darling grandson, 19 months, and the two fantastic men my daughters are blessed with.  

I was an Army brat, then a Navy Spouse for 24 years or so.  I finally moved back to Florida leaving the abusive x behind.  (With the Navy's help.)   Live is sweet now.  Yes, it gets tough, but it is EASY compared to what it was.  **shudder**

I have lots of dreams, and lots of hopes.  But, I find that I am living that dream right now – you can't ever go back and reclaim that lost time.  So you make the best of NOW.  I have fibromyalgia and there are lots of things I can't do sometimes – but many things I can do plenty of times!   I'm one of the few lucky ones in that I've had it for so many years, and it crept up on me so slowly – since I was 19, that I have adapted my life style to accommodate without even knowing it!   I have a very understanding man in my life, Charlie – who is the greatest Grandpa my grandson could ever have!  : )    

I've always made my own babyfood – so of course that has extended to my grandson.  He simply loves my cooking, and well, that just makes me GLOW!  He sees me standing at the stove and insists that Grandpa pick him up so he can peek into the pots and let grandma give him a taste of what's cooking.  The cutest thing he does now is that when he see me starting to cook or heat up something for him, he gets a big smile on his face, and says,  "Mmmmmmmmmm"!  **laughter**  Of course, my girls constantly raid my pantry, and the first thing they do, especially my youngest, is open the fridge door to see what there is to eat.  

I'm learning how to cook all sorts of things, and trying to learn whole grain bread making.  I found this website searching for info about making my own bread booster/enhancer at home.  So, grandmother bread it will be. (I love that tradition!)  I have cooked with whole grains in the past, when my girls were little, but only as far as commissary supplies were available.  It is wonderful now that I can choose from various grocery stores, or even order online!  Wow!  amazon is like my best buddy for hard to find stuff.  : )  

I love the feel of this forum, and the website.  Oh, boy, I sure would love to do what you all are doing, and well, Florida is so FLAT!  I miss mountains.  But, luckily Ocala is a little "lumpy" and not quite that flat.  I sure would have loved to live on a farm like my paternal grandparents did.  And the life my maternal grandmother and my grand aunts had – everything made at home – down to growing your own chickens.  I yearn to capture this past and bring it forward and make  food from scratch myself, too.  (Okay, about killing a chicken for dinner – no – too much of a wuz for that…)   

Growing my own food is out – I give up between the squirrels and the rabbits.  But, I still try – growing herbs, and currently trying to grow ginger.  Yum!  The point is, I try.  : )  And I'm starting to succeed a little more each time I try again.   My best success to date – rosemary – on it's third year, (after several tries). And a chile bush that lasted two years, (till we had a hard, unusually cold winter, with a deep freezes in between odd overly warm spells that made everything start to bud early this past season).

And I have the smallest kitchen ever, it seems.  But, I love it.  Mainly because it is all mine.  And there are not very many steps between stove, fridge, and sink – which really makes it easy.  Just not enough prep room.  But, I make do.  I keep all my appliances on shelves in the garage, and the majority of my pots and pans and household supplies, (soap, cooking oils, etc.), that can withstand the heat of the garage out there too.  I keep my kitchen envy in check when I see a beautiful big kitchen on TV or in someone's house by just thinking of how hard it must be to keep such a big space clean and neat, (OW that would hurt!) and all that WALKING carrying things to and fro!  **laughter**

I have even more concern about cooking from scratch NOW than ever before.  The amount of HFCS in foods is horrid, and what they do to a body, especially the children of America, is awful!  (You tube's, "Sugar, the Bitter Truth", and "Children of the Corn Syrup" really opened my eyes wider than before).  I've always been into natural, wholesome foods, and meat occassionally.  But, realize I must further control what I use as ingredients.  The realization of what my Grandson is exposed to in his food is frightening.  Especially when his dad and paternal grandparents think too much organic stuff can kill a person. (I haven't figured that out quite yet…won't bother to) They are those type people that soda is more necessary than water, and sugary sweets are okay to feed babies; my ex-sister-in-law was that way too.    I've lived in my own little bubble for so long, I never realized that the majority don't eat healthy, wholesome foods.  

I enjoy reading all about your successes and projects.  It is wonderful!  And the cooking – oh my!  I'll be lurking mostly.  Reading and enjoying your posts when I can.  It is such a pleasure to be able to do so.  Please excuse me if I don't post frequently, often coping with the fibro and day to day things gets in the way. But, that doesn't get me down – because I can still READ!  : )   

Big HUGS to all!

Evelina : )

Hello everyone, My name is Suzy.  I live in rural New York state with
my hubby and a couple cats.  I am 50 something and have 3 grown
children and 8 grandkids who are the loves of my life.  Six  years ago,
after being single for over 20 years, my first love, a boy I met at the
stable where we both worked as teens,  actually knocked on my door after
38 years.  We were married in 2006.  There are 6 kids between us and 14
grandkids.

I live in a renovated 134 year old farm home that had been in my
family many years ago.  We were blessed to be able to move back to our
homestead 30 years ago.  We live on a creek, so there is a lot of
wildlife here.

I love anything to do with nature, baking, sewing (wool felt is a
favorite of mine to work with), gardening and animals. We like to go to
farm auctions in the fall, more for the atmosphere than to buy
anything. 

I am a pretty simple gal and love the simple things. I look forward
to meeting others with my outlook on life and living in the country!