8/17/2009
This blog is intended to follow a path David and I took last January when we moved across country lock stock and barrel from Reno to a farm in Bucks County. Our dream has always been to live on a farm one day, and sort of live off the land. Due to severe economic hardships we decided to go for it and found an 8 acre 150 year old farm to rent. It came with the quintessential red barn and creek. And to top it off, there is a covered bridge right outside our front door. On it we would grow vegetables, keep more chickens, ducks and whatever else comes our way. We would get involved in the community by volunteering and sharing in our bounty. Hopefully people who read this will be inspired by it.
I know I have started this kind of late, that is why I am back tracking and hope to catch up to the present!
We rented the place sight unseen, except for pictures we saw on the internet. We knew it was a risk, but for those who know us, risk means jump right in, we'll worry about the small stuff later.
We arrived at the end of January when the ground was still covered in ice, snow and another layer of ice. Our 2 chickens Oprah and Elizabeth survived the 7 day trek in the back of our suburban in -30 degree weather, and were now subjected to more of the same, but at least they were stationary. Our dogs and 17 year old black cat were also happy to have finally come to a stand still.
In true fashion, we had about a week to get the place in shape, unload the 28 foot pensky truck, suburban and Uhaul before I would leave for a week to visit my Dad in Ireland. David pointed out to me this is what I do, we move somewhere and I conveniently leave so that he is left to unpack everything.
The house was extremely cold when we arrived, it had been closed up for several months and it being a stone house, we discovered it would take several days to warm up the place! At least we were keeping warm with moving furniture and boxes. First up was figuring out how to traverse through the treacherous ground from truck to house. We found some planks and wood boards in the barn that we laid down over the ice-snow-ice to create a path to the house. 3 days later we got everything inside without to much trouble, except for me getting crushed by the big Sub Zero fridge we brought.
Oprah and Elizabeth where held in temporary housing in the ruins for now. We created a small area with accordion dog fencing and created a roof with wood. Since we did not know what dangers lay ahead of them as far as predators go, we didn’t want to risk loosing them. The weather continued to be extremely cold, but they seemed to be fine and adjusting to their new environment.
The next few days before my departure was spent exploring the area and receiving kind neighbors who welcomed us to the area and brought us gifts, such as homemade pound cake, wine etc. It all seemed so magical to us, especially after where we traveled from. We drove up and down the Delaware River on Rt 39 through quaint little towns; it was as if we had been transported back in time somewhere in Europe. We would drive around all day, stopping here and there, discovering great food stores, get back home, light a fire and cook dinner.
Then the time came for my trip to Ireland. David drove me to JFK, a neighbor told us it would take no longer than 1 and a half hour. Yeah, that was wrong. We forgot about city and rush hour traffic. It was a delight to see the city again though. It had been so many years, and even though we both love the country we were very excited to know that we would be a short drive to Manhattan. The skyline is just breathtaking as you approach the Lincoln Tunnel, especially at night. It also took us about an hour to get trough the tunnel......needless to say tension was high, as I was now faced with possibly missing my flight. I made it with about 15 minutes to spare before boarding. We swore we would never drop off or pick up anyone from JFK or LaGuardia :)
While in Ireland I would get updates with pictures from David as he rearranged furniture in the house, or discovered things around the property. Or the quart of wood he purchased, which he then stacked against the wall to make it look picture perfect. Everything just seemed to be falling into place effortlessly.
Upon my return, next up would be finding jobs and planning out a vegetable garden. Daily searches on Craigslist, emailing resumes, checking out Monster.com (which by the way sucks) I would get these off the wall job matches that no matter how much I fine tuned my profile would get more obscure. We continued exploring the area, finding off beat stores, such as the General Store in Sergeantville, NJ owned by a Chinese family that make the best hum bow and dumplings. There's also a butcher shop, the Maresco Brothers, whom are well into their 80's. They have the best lamb sausage!
Finding a job took some time, but considering the climate we were in it was not that bad. There were jobs available; however it seemed more competitive for less money. One of the important factors now though was to find something that came with insurance. After many interviews from supermarkets to fine dining I landed a job at a retirement community in Telford. It wasn’t the ideal job, but it was a job none the less. I took the position of Cook (which is pretty low on the totem pole) but it felt right at the time, since I was not interested in to much responsibly at work. Which by the way took some convincing while being interviewed, this was the first time I had to downplay my experience and sound believable that I did not want a high paying big responsibility job! At this time a job was a job, and once I got my foot in the door I could see what else was out there.
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