The start of 2023 was heartbreaking, not only for me, but for many. Unfortunately, the heartbreak continued throughout the entire year. Needless to say, I’m ready for a reset, physically, mentally and spiritually. Despite the fact we live a Simple Life, not everything or moment is simple. Along with many losses of loved ones, family members, close friends and beloved pets, there were a lot of let downs and disappointments. Life became frustrating to say the least.
2022 ended with the loss of a dear friend and mentor of mine, Joanne, or Jo as I called her. I had spent a majority of my weekday mornings with Jo in the barn over the past two years. Our morning routine consisted of bringing the herd in, feeding everyone, I would tie Robbie off and give her a good brushing, checking her head to tail (as she was accident prone), turning the herd back out, mucking stalls, loading the muck buckets to be dumped, we’d go get a round bail a few times a week, and we’d end the morning with coffee and chatter. In November of 2022 Jo went into the hospital, where she stayed for 6 weeks. During those six weeks, I continued to go to the barn and do chores, expecting our routine to get back to normal at some point. It never did. After Jo passed, Jesse and I discussed building a barn and bringing Robbie home. Living an hour away, Jo had told me numerous times that I could take Robbie home anytime. I told her I didn’t see the need. She was happy there and I enjoyed my time with Jo. Now, with Jo gone, I make the drive a few times a week (if that) for 30 minutes of barn time, to drive some more. I have been offered by numerous people to board her closer, as convenient as it would be for me, it wouldn’t be easy on my herd bound girl. I choose to leave her with her herd and our barn family. Then there are the people who think I’m crazy to bring a horse where we have to haul water. “Do you know how much water a horse drinks?”, they’d ask. Well, bazaar thing…. yes…I have a horse and we actually have a horse that we haul water for AT the barn. We’ll haul water just like they did back in the day. Not a huge deal. I’m accustomed to not having running water.
AFTER I moved a rock wall and tore up my beautiful butterfly garden to start groundwork and make room for the paddock, the barn ended up being placed on the backburner. The breezeway needed to be jacked and leveled, and that itself turned into an unexpected hot mess, with rotted floor joists, sills, and exterior corner posts. One could say that just about through me over the edge. I called Jesse in tears. I was beside myself. Our poor 200-year-old gem was falling apart. Some major structural damage needed tending to. We ended up tearing down the partition that separated the girls’ and boys’ outhouses. The original hardwood floors were torn up to be able to get to the floor joists. I was able to salvage the original tongue and groove from the partition wall to replace the tongue and groove that got ripped off the interior wall. The exterior cedar shake shingles had to torn off to replace the rotted wall boards and were replaced with board and baton, to keep the house looking its age. On the plus side, my shower room is now twice the size.
Soon after we finished fixing the breezeway, Jesse and I were sitting around the fire one evening. I don’t recall exactly how we got to the idea, but we decided to turn the attached woodshed into our bedroom. Planning quickly went into action. The woodshed was cleaned out and everything either was neatly put in the solar shed or heaved. The firewood that we needed for the winter went into moveable racks that I built for the porch to keep it dry. The floor was then pulled up to be stabilized and then relayed, we bought a few windows to install, and our friend David came to help Jesse, we then purchased another window and an exterior door, to let in even more natural light and fresh air in the summer months. I insulated every crack and crevis with spray insulation and then layered with rolled insulation. Insulation was also laid under the subflooring. Jesse found an antique glass paned door for the interior, which allows the morning light to filter in. We used rough sawn lumber for the interior walls. Initially, I was going to whitewash the walls once dried, but I decided to keep with the style of the house. Seeing as nothing in the house is rustic, come spring, I will install floor to ceiling bead board, and I found ceiling tiles that look like tin. I’m pleased with the choice because as the wood has dried, we’ve gotten some pretty significant gaps.
During the construction process we had lost our girl, Willa. The day after we said our goodbyes, we did some retail therapy. We bought a large sectional on a whim. When the couch arrived, it was a puzzlers nightmare trying to get it into the house. The delivery guys ended up dismantling and bringing it in through one of our large windows. It wouldn’t fit through any of our doorways, no matter how hard they tried. It barely fit through the window. Thankfully, I had taken the last partition down prior to delivery. For a week or so, the house was a bit crammed. I was eager to get the room done, so every morning, I started work at 6. I was on a mission. We were leaving for Florida for our grandson’s birthday, and I wanted my parents to enjoy the new room, as they were staying with our chihuahua, Charlie, and the cats. Finally, and just in time, the bedroom was done, and the house was put somewhat back together. When we moved our bedroom furniture the main house felt huge and empty.
A few weeks ago, we stayed in an old farmhouse in Freeport with some friends. Heather had told me I’d feel right at home there. I said, “why? does it not have plumbing?” as a joke, of course it did. But I did hear scurrying in the walls and ceiling overnight. SO it was like being home. When we arrived, I noticed all the wainscotting and woodwork was painted white, and the walls were green. Just like our old house. The schoolhouse has wainscotting and all the original woodwork. I have always felt that even when the house was clean and spotless, it still felt dirty. It also was dark, especially on gloomy days. I told Jesse I wanted to paint ours, after seeing the farmhouse. He said, “I triple dog dare ya.” Well….it took me three days. All the dark wood in our little old schoolhouse in now white, soon enough, the walls will be green. A fresh beginning and a new look for a new year!
The end of October, Jesse and I celebrated our 23rd wedding anniversary. Which was also just days away from our 3rd living off-grid in the Schoolhouse Anniversary and off-grid souls Blog. why not throw another pivotal moment in there?? A few days before our Anniversary, I was at the barn and received a text. A girl friend of mine had asked me numerous times if I was interested in a Bassett hound puppy that needed to be rehomed, she was a rescue. Willa had been gone for a few months, but my heart just was not ready. losing her took a toll on me, mentally and emotionally. This text though…got me. She sent a picture. At first, I was hesitant. I told her that I can’t pay a ”rehoming fee”. I refused to dish out more money for the cost of another dog. We had just brought our Bassett, Scout, home 4 months earlier. “It’s free”. I then send Jesse a text with the picture. “GO get it”. I contacted the woman who had the puppy for the last month. She had removed her from a bad situation and just gave her love. She told me other than that, the pup had no training whatsoever. The day before our Anniversary, we took Scout to meet this new little girl. It took all but a millisecond to know she was coming home with us. Not only did we have a 6-month-old puppy, but Scout now a 4-month-old sister, Thea. Thea crate trained like a charm, house trained within two months and in the short time she has been with us, her timid personality had flourished. It feels like she’s been with us all along.
Thea may be the newest member of our family, but not for long. Any day now, our youngest daughter is due to give birth to our granddaughter, Maeve. Anticipating the arrival of Maeve and watching Reaghan throughout the pregnancy has been a bright spot through some hard times. I spent a week getting the nursery ready on top of planning a baby shower (which I’m terrible at party planning) but it went amazingly well, and they were both showered with SO MUCH LOVE!
I can honestly say I’m happy to see 2023 end, despite it having a handful of good moments. I’m excited for 2024 and what it has in store. I’m hoping for more writing, more photography, lots of baby snuggles and puppy kisses!
With that being said….I wish you a Happy, Health New Year, filled with love and adventure!!🥂
Off-Grid Soul 