Riding Mother Natures Roller Coaster

Think Spring!!

My double bloom daffodils are in full glory!!

Yep... I keep "thinking" about it...

Mother Nature plays tricks on us here in Upstate, NY! Last weekend it was 85 degrees and we were dusting off shorts and tank tops that were in storage for winter.

This weekend we are sporting jeans and coats, and the fire fully stoked ready to warm us up by after being outside. It's hard going from one extreme to the next, spring fever hits hard as we ride the ups and downs of springtime weather. We long for sun, grumble at the rain, get angry at the snow, and try to plan outdoor projects around extreme temperature flux.

Yet, the idea of spring brings us hope as we come out of hibernation, little by little, to enjoy the few moments we are blessed with spring weather perfection.

The Allen Family Homestead is buzzing with projects and long things-to-do lists this year!

As we prepare for the 2014 growing season, sometimes the to-do list is overwhelming when trying to decide what to work on first. Several projects are in progress; we are working on rebuilding our driveway, clearing out a good portion of brush and garbage trees in our side yards, chopping and stacking wood for next fall, tilling and preparing our vegetable gardens, planting fruit trees, starting plants, and caring for our new batch of baby chicks. Wow!! Just looking at that list I wonder.. are we crazy??

We removed wild multifloral rose bushes and grape vines; prepping for our new peach trees.

It's amazing to think about a few short years ago, this City Gone Country Girl worried far less about springtime prep. The "big to-do"was hitting the mall for the springtime fashions, buying plants for my garden, and engaging in some springtime house cleaning. It's funny how my life is so much busier now, yet I prefer it. I have never been one to sit still, and I hate being bored. Moving to the Allen Family Homestead certainly has cured me from any boredom blues!

I never thought that I would ever catch the bug to be an official "Country Girl". If someone had told me that I would be doing this 15 years ago I would have told them flat out they were crazy. Somehow, I can share that living here has brought a calmness, a peace, over my spirit that I never expected. Digging in the dirt, listening to the birds, stacking wood, caring for our animals, the list goes on... each small piece that has begun to fill me in a way the "things" of this world did not. I feel an urgent sense to purge the "things" of this life; the stuff that media and television says I am supposed to own or be part of in order to be fulfilled.

This winter I have boxed up so much of the "stuff" that has been dragging me down, and donating it to charities. I feel a sense of freedom I cannot even explain!! With this I have gained more time and energy to enjoy my new life here on the Allen Family Homestead. What a unexpected blessing!

May new beginnings and new blessings bloom for you this springtime!

Jenn Allen ~ City Gone Country Girl

Keeping Warm on the Homestead

Our Barn - New York Blizzard 2014

Sometimes romantic ideals can get in the way of reality. This City Gone County Girl is loving her life on the Allen Homestead, but was unprepared in the ways of conquering time. There is so much that has to be done!

I had this great idea...I will start blogging all the events that happen on our Homestead here in Upstate, NY! I couldn't wait to combine my passion for writing with my new life as a farm girl. What I was unready for? Finding the time to juggle blogging with all that needs to be done on the Homestead! After a full days work, I plop on the couch in front of the fire and crash.

Moving here in November 2012, we have lived on our seven acre plot of heaven for about a year and a half.  I cannot believe what we have done to our home in this short amount of time! Late last summer we had an energy audit of our home and found that it was less than sufficient at keeping our heat in the house. Our home was built in 1875, and although recently gutted and remodeled, the insulation was less than stellar. Living in Upstate, NY we see our fair share of snow so we knew that something had to be done quickly. We qualified for a grant through New York State NYSERDA Energy Program and got to work. My husband and I were so surprised to learn that we only had 3 inches of old insulation in our attic. No wonder our furnace had been working overtime last winter! We found a wonderful, detail oriented company that gave our house the works. Insulation in the attic, in the crawl space of our kitchen, and in the attic storage room. New cow block windows in our stone basement. Foam sealant installed in every nook and cranny between the house and foundation. My basement looks like a can of Great Stuff exploded! Little did we know it would be just in time.

Then the winter of 2014 hit. And hit hard.

And then we got our heat bill. And we cried.

Even after doing all the insulation work to our home, our heat bill doubled this year. Trying to figure out why made my head hurt. How could this happen after all the work that we had just done to our home? Calling the electric and gas company, they tell us that due to the bad weather this winter they have not sent anyone out to read meters in our area. They were calculating gas usage based on estimations. Now, the present reading has caught up with us and there is a deficit. Seriously?? Ugh. And they try to make us feel better by saying "Just imagine what the bill would have been if you hadn't done the insulation work!". Gee, thanks.

This event was the final push for my husband and I to pursue our next project. After receiving our tax refund we went to a lovely local company to purchase and install a wood stove. Oh, I so wish we had done this sooner! The install was finished in early March, and it was the best purchase we have ever made. We are warm! So Cozy!  And that heat bill? That will be the best piece of it all. With 5 acres of woods on our property, it was the smartest decision. No more furnace, no more gas usage... free heat. Ideally, pennies in the pocket!

Splitting and hauling wood is hard work, but so worth it. I never in my right mind, EVER thought I would be doing this kind of work... and enjoying it. I stacked wood in the rain this week. When I was a city girl, I would have thought someone doing this kind of work was crazy. That's what the gas companies are for right? I get comments from most of my social circle, who agree with that notion. They think I have gone off the deep end, as I actually choose hard work. Today,
I find myself craving hard, outdoor work. I'd rather split wood than run like a hamster on a treadmill!

Living on the Homestead is changing me; as a  City Gone Country Girl, I am just beginning to awaken the country girl. I can't wait to see what is in store for me next!

May Spring Be Around The Corner...
Till Then, Stay Warm!

Jenn Allen ~ City Gone Country Girl

A Happy Hibernation

The Allen Girls giggled at our deer with the snow Afro!

January of 2014 is well under way, and the Allen Family is amidst the mid winter hibernation! 

Christmas has come and gone, the decorations put away, and we are recovering from the craziness of the season. 

There is something to be said for the quiet of January, as we relax together, enjoy each others company, and rejuvenate before the bloom of spring. Reading books, baking, doing crafts, playing board games, and taking naps have become a regular around here ~ oh yes, maybe a good rowdy competition of Mario Kart just to get the laughter rolling!

The polar vortex and arctic freeze has come and gone, giving us temperatures that are a little more normal for this time of year in Upstate, New York. Mother Nature decided to throw us a bone yesterday warming our temperature into the 50's, which was such a tease! I was dying to go play outside as the mocking spring temperatures called to me. The one who enjoyed the quick stint of warmer air the most was Sandy, and the was proof displayed on her Husky fur which was covered in mud from snout to tail. The chickens were roaming their yard, excited to be free from the barn. I watched them peck feverishly, through the melting snow piles and thawing mud for outdoor treats. Meanwhile, I kicked up my feet inside with a pot of coffee, one of our many seed catalogs, and a big red pen...

The time for quiet refection and family reconnection is not a popular ideal today. Society has reached a point where the "new normal" runs at warp speed. This City Gone Country Girl went through some serious growing pains to slow down my city driven pace and acclimate to the down home country stride. My view from the window is not highways, its pastures with cows. The city noise has been replaced by the hum of tractors. The rushed looks on faces heading to their already late schedules... here in the country, I see much less of that. I witness more smiles, hear genuine hellos, and experience true friendships with laughter. 

I wouldn't change that for the world!

I want my girls to learn the importance of relaxation, and our Homestead has become the agent of learning. As technology becomes integral part of daily life, I want them to know it's okay unplug and turn it off. For our mind, body, and spirit, we need quiet times in soothing places for self reflection. A venue where we can nurture interests and talents. Cozy corners for reading or quiet conversation (with lots of pillows and plush blankets,of course!). 

I used to dread the dead of winter, but I am learning to enjoy it in a different way. I still don't like the cold much, but I enjoy the coziness of being indoors with my family and friends. I get a little more quality time with my loved ones when I don't have to compete with busy summer and fall schedules. I spend a little more time observing the needs of others than the needs of my spring garden. Schedules are a little more flexible, with free time to pencil in a coffee chat with a girlfriend, dinner dates with other couples, and visits with extended family. We may not be able to grow veggies and flowers on our Allen Family Homestead during this time of year, but maybe we grow something more important. Relationships!

May you use this winter time to Hibernate and Grow ~ 
City Gone Country Girl ~ Jenn Allen

"A house is not a home unless it contains food and fire for the mind as well as the body"
~ Benjamin Franklin

A house is not a home unless it contains food and fire for the mind as well as the body.
Benjamin Franklin
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_home.html#mxXgEF5KaY03MoJD

Happy Arctic New Year!

Happy Arctic New Year!

So we begin our New Year 2014 on the Homestead as if we have moved to the Tundra, and living in an old farmhouse has proved to be a new challenge! Our low temperature in Snowyville, NY last night was -19 degrees, and with windchill makes it feel like -45 degrees. Yes, the furnace is working overtime!

This City Gone Country Girl grew up in toasty suburban living, in fact the town I grew up in never lost its power - even during the New York Ice Storm of 1991. Living in the 'burbs, we had natural gas heat, electric buried underground, and a connection to the town waterline.  

At the Allen Family Homestead we have been blessed with a connection to the natural gas pipeline, which is surprising! We have well water, and our electric lines are above ground. This made it a bit worrisome when we lost power yesterday during this 2014 Arctic Blast that surround us. Luckily, the power outage was short, but it got my husband and I thinking. What if during a severe cold spell we were without power for a substantial amount of time? Our furnace is natural gas, but we need electric for the blower. We had did some looking last year at wood and pellet stoves, but never made a decision about it. We may be a little more motivated this year! With 5 acres of woods on our land, we are leaning toward a wood stove. I wish we had it now, it would be great to have warm and cozy wood heat to snuggle with during this arctic blast! Luckily for now the water is still flowing from the well, (although extremely cold), the natural gas is flowing, and the furnace is blowing warm air.

Our chickens in the barn are trying hard to stay warm, and we have concern that one of our roosters may have a touch of frostbite on his comb. We have two heat lamps in their coop area, and they roost together keeping each other warm. Half the eggs we brought in today were frozen, which is a bummer, but I am more worried about keeping our chicks healthy then a few cold eggs. Another project on the to-do list, insulate the barn? Really? More research to do...

We count our blessings as we were able to have some major insulation work done to the house this past summer. Our attic held only three inches of insulation, and last winter it was cold in our house. The crawl space under the back of the house made it difficult to keep it warm, and the average temperature there was about 56 degrees. And we keep our furnace at 68 degrees! Needless to say, I cooked a lot in the kitchen just to warm up the back of the house. We qualified for a grant through New York State Energy Star Program, which helped us qualify for new insulation in the attic, and crawl space under the kitchen / back of the house. Thank God that the work was finished when it was, who knew that we would have temperatures this cold this winter. Just in time!!

We did have some excitement on Sunday when our oldest daughter was taking a shower, a pipe burst which caused it to rain into my laundry room below. What a mess!! Taking the ceiling tiles off in the Laundry room, it exposes the workings of the floor above. It is really neat to see the old rough cut wood and lumber that our home is made, showing the internal age of the home covered up by modern remodeling. My husband has pinpointed the issue to where the pipe connects to the shower head, but that means ripping out the wall behind it to get to the area that needs fixing. So we are now taking baths, which I haven't done since I can remember, washing and rinsing with a water pitcher. I guess this gives us the experience of old fashioned bath time in our 140 year old home!

Never a dull moment here at the Allen Family Homestead, and this City Gone Country Girl is loving every moment. We have been so blessed since we have moved here, even if we have chores to do and surprises around every corner. May 2014 continue to bring us many more experiences and blessing!

Stay warm all! ~ City Gone Country Girl ~ Jenn