an old window pane . . .

It's nice to have the same usual Thanksgiving dinner every year, and look forward to the familiar tastes and textures of food. It always takes me back to earlier celebratory times we have had as a family with the same smells in the house.

In addition to the regular Thanksgiving foods, this year we added some fresh lettuce from our garden garnished with delicious homemade dressing. In NOVEMBER when it is 38 degrees outside!

After some reading about cold frames, Ildi come up with this idea of growing food under glass. This lettuce is her first attempt of stretching out the growing season in a cold zone. Here our lettuce is in the ground as usual, but is covered with an old window pain to allow the sunlight to get through. Today I added the dirty straw from the horse stable around the cinder block base to shield the current icy rain from freezing it. We'll see how long we get to eat fresh lettuce. :)

it's official . . .

IT'S OFFICIAL . . . We're moving to the country south of Defiance!

I got word today that Fannie Mae officially accepted our offer and we are moving forward to the purchase of our farm. Whew! It's been a long time coming.

Today I drove up to the realtor's office and signed the purchase agreement and wrote him a check for a HUGE amount as a deposit. I am going to be getting a loan, so we are not paying cash for it yet. In a few years, I plan to sell the house we own in CA and then pay off the loan amount here. Hopefully my scheme will work out. :) Here are some photos of the home front.

spending time . . .

Years ago I used to volunteer to do a lot of the extra-curricular things at school. The Yearbook was one of those jobs. One of the great pains of doing the yearbook for a school is that it was due right around Spring Break time. So inevitably, I would spend some of my break time finishing the yearbook before going back to school. At times, if I didn't finish the page layouts then, I would mentally punish myself saying that "I need to get them done" and then drag them back to school when break was over only to finish them for the next two weeks AFTER SCHOOL! Meanwhile, my break time was not mentally relaxing at all.

In another snippet, Christmas break was always fun except for the part where I would count the days of break I had left dreading that as each day passed, I was one day closer to going back to work.

Summer break was the same. Time off, relaxing, going places, doing things, and the nagging notion that it would one day end and I would have to be back at my post at school.

I am writing about these mental gymnastic ideas to talk about a change that happened in my thinking years ago. It has been extremely helpful, and after you experience the same change, you to will find that your time spent "at work" and "at home" will be much more meaningful, pleasurable and productive.

The first change came with a change of phrases. When I worked in the restaurant industry, people used to say "I have to work" when talking about what shift they were working. I decided to change my phrase to "I get to work." Seems small and insignificant, but it sure did change my attitude about going to work. I no longer wasted my off work time by dreading the fact that in a few hours I needed to go to work. Simple action with huge results. I used the time I had off instead of wasting it thinking and dreading about going to work.

The second change came with taking work home from school on my off time to "catch up" on. The yearbook example above is a great illustration. I spent most of my break time badgering myself about what I needed to get done instead of spending time relaxing and getting refreshed to go back and teach again. And then there was the paper grading guilt. I took papers home each evening to grade thinking that I was going to grade them after the children went to bed. By that time, I was tired too, and should have been going to bed as well. Instead, I spent time punishing myself that I again did not do it, and then added the EXTRA work of hauling the papers back and forth to school. Undone. Now I don't take any work home from school. School work stays at school, and home work is at home. What I don't get done at school simply waits until the next day. It has helped me to be more productive at school, and instead of choosing to relax and talk with colleagues, I do some of that work knowing that my time spent there affects my time spent at home.

I could give you several other examples that detail how thinking affects the physical circumstances of your life. I think though, the point has been made. In summary, the way we choose to THINK about our time, directly affects the way we SPEND our time. We all have the same 24 hour period. It doesn't slow down, or speed up for anyone. Each of us "has" time to do the things we want to do. The question is . . . "Are we doing what we want to do?" If not, it is time for a change.

being creative . . .

Lately I have been busy with my Etsy store. Wonderfully busy. It is probably way to early to tell, but this online store is turning out to be EVERYTHING that I have imagined it. A place where I get to create One-of-a kind items for others, be challenged in my creativity, sell my work, and have others really ENJOY the art they get.

Just recently I had a HUGE order for mini chalkboards and some custom letterpress blocks. The great part of this whole process is that people email me with questions and ideas about what they want, and I spend time creating the things that they are thinking. They take ideas from items I have in my store, personalize them, and change them to fit what they need them for, then ask me to make it! It is a creative, collaborative, community experience. Here's an example of a recent piece.

using the same design . . .

Nolan and I are on the build again. This time we are building two things. We are building a "run" for the front of the Eggmobile. A run is a place for our girls (which is what I have been calling the pullets) to be outside, but contained. At night we put them in the Eggmobile so they can be safe, and they can nest and roost. Currently we are just using wire circling it around the front door to keep the chicken contained to one area. As they have gotten older though, they are starting to fly out and now we are having to chase them around to keep them out of the garden, and keep the cats from eating them.

The second build is a structure that will be the same design and same shape but we will be using it to house the 25 meat birds I just ordered the other day. These birds will arrive on the 8th of July and will be ready for butchering in 7 weeks when they reach maturity. We will use this structure to house the chickens that are going to become our dinner guests. I am actually looking forward to butchering our own chickens!

having guests . . .

We've started harvesting from our garden already. Small pieces so far, but still harvesting!


My lunch sandwich yesterday consisted of a couple of radishes that were ripe for picking. Macy plucked them from the dirt, and I had a great time washing, cutting, and gingerly placing them on by butter smattered, homemade (and ground) whole wheat bread. As I was eating it I thought this small sandwich, cut a little more decoratively, might make a great finger food at a wedding reception before the main meal. I can see it now, maybe a farm wedding in Ohio . . . including the picturesque farm scenery, the wholesome good food, the quietness of the expanse . . .

Lately, like the last three years, I have had vision for turning our homestead into a visitors center of sorts. A place where people come to retreat, enjoy, and get refreshed to go back to their world. The bug in me started a few years ago when I was introduced to what Mary Jane Butters does on her farm out in Idaho. Since I read about her and visited her site I can't help but think about the many times we have have visitors in our home over the years, and how enjoyable it is to host people. In recollection, we have had people from all over the world stay with us. Che and Justin, two single men from Australia, stayed for a week while attending a conference in Los Angeles. Also from Australia, we had Lisa who stayed for a month while studying American culture. The nice thing about her stay was that we have stayed in touch and 10 years after her first visit, she came and stayed again. Our dear friends the Unfreids, came to live with us for 6 months while they looked for a home to purchase. And then there was Fiona, and later two men from South Africa who stayed as well. In addition, we have had Grandma Fout every other summer come to stay for a week, my sister, and Deb Allen came and stayed for a visit as well.

It seems that in hindsight we have always had people come and stay with us. I think I want to continue the pattern. For those that follow us here on FOUTFOLK . . . call to set up a reservation. :)

following our journey . . .

Did I mention that it is EXTREMELY nice to wake early, sit here on the sofa half awake/half asleep, and leisurely check emails and post the daily lives of our FOUTFOLK adventures. :)

A few days ago, a former student left a message on my Facebook wall that he was reading my "farm blog." "My farm blog" I thought? I never thought of this blog as a farm blog, but I guess I do live on a farm, and I do farm kinds of things. Like yesterday, Nolan and I spend the last half of the day helping the neighbor bail hay and put it up in the barn. Baling hay is a GOOD honest, days work. It requires a LOT of muscle, and a little finesse as well, using your body weight to throw a 50 lb bale around, stacking them on the wagon. As I was pulling the bails off the binder, dragging it to the back of the wagon, tossing it up to criss cross stack it, I had lots of time to think about my life and the direction it is going. (maybe a little too much time :)

It has been a long time coming for us as a family to live this more agrarian lifestyle, this farm life. A few years ago in Los Angeles, when we told friends we were moving to make a change in our lives toward a more sustainable life, this was what we were talking about. In my mind it certainly didn't look anything like this, but now that we are here, doing what we are doing, it is exactly this that I was thinking about. Time spend together, working on things together, making most of the things we use, developing friendships with like-minded people, and slowing the pace of life that helps us to stop and enjoy the process as well as the product.

In addition, I am appreciative to those that have followed our journey these past two years through reading this farm blog. It has been fun for me to write and post pictures of our journey and to keep distant friends "still close." Thanks for the comments, encouragement, and friendships. (now is the time I say that I will no longer be blogging . . . :) Just kidding, I am not thinking about stopping this blog.

using upcycled materials . . .

We are nearly done with the eggmobile now. We used old paneling for the sides; primed and painted it green. It still needs a roof (we have a makeshift one now) and we are on the hunt for some used materials for it. So far the total cost, besides the time, is around $43.00. (I bought some hardware, screws, chicken wire, and some paint) Everything else we used for this project was upcycled materials. It is fun to use old junk and turn it into the things you need (and have it look great too). Today the children brought the chickens out to try their new home. They LOVE it! We now have to figure out how to make it more mobile. :() It has gotten pretty heavy for us to move by lifting it up! We put some long thin branches in it that still have the bark on them for the chickens to roost on. I love the natural look. And Nolan and I are brainstorming about how we can use the old barn poles as wheels for it. If you have an idea for us, let us know . . . we need the help.

learning by doing . . .

I think I could REALLY enjoy this schedule for awhile . . . wake, drink some coffee while I post events of our lives, work around the homestead for the day . . . maybe this is a precursor to the days ahead! The update on the Eggmobile . . . with help from Asher and me, Nolan was able to build the nesting boxes out of some old barn wood as well. This project has been a good learning experience in framing and working out construction questions. It's amazing how much you learn by DOING. (even if you have to do it over)

working on the eggmobile . . .

Here's a job for a 15year old that will keep him busy thinking and working. Now that the brooder is up and running with the chicks, Nolan started working on the Eggmobile. He first started with ripping some barn wood to upcycle it. Next, he built the walls on the long sides then attached them with the short sides. Tonight he finished building the nesting boxes that will go inside. We stayed out late, working under lights in order to get them done. Tomorrow the roof and siding goes on.

This is the dresser I was working on a couple of posts earlier. It is now finished. I think I'll be using it in our large, luxurious bathroom to store towels. (a big joke . . . you can't even turn around in a circle in our bathroom now. Imagine 8 people using one bathroom that has an area of 20 square feet. That's 5' x 4' standing room)

a timeless message . . .

I am always torn when sitting down to write something. Partly because I feel like writing about our lives seems indulgent, and partly because I feel like I need to express a greater truth for the benefit of mankind.

Both seemed to be prescriptive, a format that I need to follow and a mode that I am not sure I am wanting to stay in. In reading countless other blogs, I value the differing styles of personal accounts, and appreciate those that write for a greater audience the timeless messages. And sometimes, this "gobbledygook," that I started with today, helps me to solidify what it is that I am trying to say, what I want to communicate, what I want to express. And in this case, it's nothing! I have NO purpose in writing today, I have nothing profound to say, no experiences to share, I am wasting my time.

But, in any event, God is good. Family relationship is paramount. And a rolling stone gathers no moss. . . . . . . . I REALLY like moss. (that statement is not an analogy of my life :)

a lot of work . . .

Today the boys mowed the grass for the first time this year. WOW was it a lot of work. Compared to our teeny little plot of grass in Pasadena, this 3 acre farm home land is GINORMOUS! It took Nolan and Asher more than three hours just to do the basics of the job.

Recently I have been spending time building my online etsy store. I am creating all sorts of art and crafts looking to see what types of products sell, what people are most interested in, and how to market the store relatively cheaply. I purchased an online book for the first time that gave me some GREAT tips that I have already started to implement. In addition, I have also begun writing some articles for eHow.com. What an interesting avenue. I am really enjoying writing in the step-by-step fashion. If you get the chance, check out some of my articles there. Click on members and type in gfout to find me.

Ildi ordered our chickens today and we should receive them in the mail near the second week of May. The children are all excited to finally get some of the animals we have been talking about getting for two years. It is really happening now. The next purchase is our COW!

ordered steps . . .

Spring is here, and it could not have come SOONER! Wow, our first winter in Ohio was atrocious! I am glad now that it is over. (even though we WILL have a few more cold days before it's over)

Even though spring is here, the thoughts of planting, getting chickens and a cow are in our minds, we are struggling a little with the vision/mission/direction of our family. For a couple years now we have been working toward buying a farm and planting ourselves into a community. That time is now, but there are a couple of components that are up in the air. First, we have not been able to find a farm in the area that suites us. We have looked and looked, and it seems each place we visit we still have the resounding "not this one". We are getting a little worn down having our hope deferred each time we visit a place and it is not the place we can call home. Secondly, I have decided that I will not be returning to the school I am working at this year. Long story short, I am getting off at the next port and will be getting on a different ship in the fall. That decision affects the possibility of moving out of this area. We have decided that we are going to stay in Ohio though. That's comforting to know. No more moves across the nation. :)

As always, we are trusting that God has our plans in His hands, and we are open to His leading us and planting us where He wants us. Navigating around work and property, I am sure that we will look back and see that He has ordered are steps. Proverbs 16:9
In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps. Thank you all for your continued support through friendship and prayer. One day, and hopefully soon, you will be able to come and stay "on the farm" and will reap the benefits of His blessings on us.

going somewhere . . .

Well, we went and saw the house of our dreams today . . . and it wasn't the house of our dreams. :( Beautiful home, great land layout, woods, barns, you name it, it had it. However, you could hear the highway like it was a CD of traffic noise you have playing in a set of amplified headphones, the 115 acres next to it was going to be auctioned off, and WHO KNOWS what would go in right next to it, and the house, even though it was WONDERFUL, would not function for a large family that spends lots of time together in the same place. So it is back to hunting again.

On the school/work front, change is in the air AGAIN. I told my supervisor that I would not be returning to that school next year. I decided that I am willing to stay in the city schools, if there is another opening, but am not returning to the middle school I am working in now. Long story short, the ship is going somewhere that I don't want to go. No hard feelings, no regrets, I am just getting off at the next stop. And the next stop could not come TOO SOON!

another art site . . .

Recently I have started so many new things. I am feeling a little stretched. Now that my online store at etsy is up and running, I have joined another art site to upload images to make them available. The site is called Imagekind and it is a place where you can buy prints of artwork from artists. My site is located at gfout.imagekind.com and I now have a few images uploaded.

In addition, I have started to teach an online class at Drawspace.com. Not an intense class yet but just getting my feet wet with the forum and the ways that I can disseminate information. As well, this month I have joined an Artist Trading Card swap with 18 people from around the world. We decided on the theme of cats and now are making little minature works of art to send to each other. I chose to do pencil and colored pencil graphic drawing for the first several of them. I still have 10 more to do before the 7th of March. Shouldn't be a problem.

I have finally called some property management companies to help me with renting out my Aldora house. It has sat empty for a year now with me paying the mortgage and it is HIGH TIME to get someone in it to rent.

It is still snowing here and we are finally feeling the effects of living in the North. I asked Ildi today is she had getten enough snow for the year, she just smiled, with the look in her eyes that said "when is spring coming"?

Next week we get to look at that house from the previous post. We all can hardly wait. It is only 10 minutes from this house and we have driven by a few times to check it out from the outside. Lasy week when the previous snow melted and left LAKES in the fields we drove by to see if any of the land floods. Some does, but it is only in the woods. No water stands even near the house at all.

making guests at ease . . .

Before, and at the early part of our marriage, Ildi and I both worked in the restaurant business as service staff. Waiting tables and working with the public to meet their food and beverage needs. (it is a job that each person should experience for a least two years; compulsory service to one's country:) Ildi worked at both Mimi's Cafe and the Olive Garden, and I worked at the Olive Garden and the Claim Jumper. All places we worked ran differently as companies, and all prepared us to work hard and develop a sense of "hustle" while we worked. In fact, in several conversations we have had since our "slinging hash" days, we recognized that those experiences we had while serving in that business has helped prepare us for parenting, hosting, and for life. In many ways it has also helped me to see the larger picture and to work more efficiently in the classroom as well. In today's post, I want to share a practical practice at our home that has drawn on those experiences and has become a standard way of of providing for people who come to our home.

When you go to a restaurant, invariable you are greeted, seated, and for the most part, taken care of. The same thing should apply when people enter your home. I find it makes people at ease when you greet them, welcome them, and then TELL them what you want them to do. Most of the time people greet and welcome visitors alright, but then there is the awkward time of a few minutes while the guest navigates what he or she must do based on hints from the host. They stand, sit, or follow the host around getting clues along the way as to what to do with themselves. Instead, what we do is to explicitly tell our guest what we want them to do. The sooner the better. For example, if you are finished with all the work in preparation for your guests, say something like "let's go sit and talk for a bit" and then give them a choice of places to sit. "You can sit either here or there" pointing to the places you would like them to chose from. It might seem like you are bossing them around, but remember your visits and how comfortable it feels when the host tells you what to do. Nothing is left for you to navigate through. It's easy just to follow the directions. In addition, it is also good to get them something to drink right away. Not because they come to your house parched and are expecting to get refreshed by entering your home, but when they are thirsty, they will already have something waiting on them to drink. What we usually do is give them another choice. "Would you like coffee or water to drink?" as an example. We assume that they will have one or the other. We never ask them IF they want something to drink. Why? Because they always say "No" to be polite! So we just assume, and give them the choice. If they say they want nothing to drink, again being polite, we just give them a glass of water. Always.

using my room . . .

Having guests and where to put them (a reprint of a comment I left on a blog today)

Years ago we started having all our house guests (and their children if they had them) take OUR room as a guest room. Since the Master was bigger than the rest of the bedrooms, it was large enough for everyone to fit. We put the children on the floor with air beds. The family stayed together. It was really easy for Ildi and I to find a place to sleep since it was our house, and we knew where everything was.

The advantage of having guests in YOUR room is that it is usually prettier than normal (makes it like a hotel stay), there is usually a bathroom attached (people who are staying hate to be in public until they are dressed and ready to be seen), and it makes a quiet place they can retreat to if they want to be away from the common area. For example, if they are sleeping on a sofa bed and others want to watch TV in the same room, it makes them wait to retire for the night.

It seems to be a shift from housing people in guest rooms, to letting people use your room, but once you do it, the benefits outweigh the costs. And besides, when they leave your home, they feel like you have treated them like KINGS AND QUEENS. I still have people tell me they can't believe I let them use MY room.

We have had countless great experiences with people staying with us, and as an example experience I'll briefly tell you one. A friend just visited me a few weeks ago and I showed him to his room. He asked if it was my room and I told him that it was the guest room. He probably did not want to make me or Ildi feel "put out". After he returned home, in a phone conversation, he asked if I had let him sleep in my room. I told him all the benefits of doing what I did, and he agreed that it was a good thing. All this to say, tell them it's the "guest room". Even though it is YOUR room all the other times. :) He was another one that felt "honored" when staying with us.

it's beginning to look . . .

The past couple of days it has been psychotically cold! I am talking like 29 degrees in the morning. I had to scrape the ice off the windows of the van before I drive away. I am sometimes nervous thinking that the van won't start because it has never had to endure this type of cold before. I think I'll will shortly take it in to get it "winterized" so that I don't run into trouble later.

New information on the house hunt. I am in talking negotiations with a realtor on a property south of the city I am working in. Here's the rundown . . . 20 acres of BEAUTIFUL rolling land, in the country with NO major highways or freeways in sight. Across the road is a huge plot of land that the owner is keeping as a nature preserve. It has an acre of woods in the back, several outbuildings, and the house is 3000 square foot. 7 bedrooms. There is a small house (500 sq.. ft) on the property as well. Here's the kicker . . . it's an Amish home that has NO plumbing, No electricity, and NO bathrooms. :) It does however have a 3-seater outhouse that works! We are working to try to buy it on an all cash offer and then we will not have to take even a small loan out for the purchase.

All of us have vision for the place. We have talked about this house more than any other we have seen. It seems like it will be TONS and TONS of work but in the end we will have almost EXACTLY what we were thinking a house should be.

~large living and dining areas
~large kitchen
~enough bedrooms to house visitors
~lot's of land to work on
~a guest house for grandma (or anyone else)
~a place for a fireplace and a wood cook stove
~a place for animals
~relatively close to work
~and we would be able to buy it CASH.

We are excited to see if this is the place that God has for us. I talked with the realtor again today and told him our story of getting out of debt and wanting to stay out even with a house purchase. We will see how it goes. :)

country LIVING . . .

Here is an aerial shot of the property we are trying to buy. The house is located in the country and sits next to an old farm house. The house we want is a fairly new build (2002) and is around 3100 sq ft. Seems awful big, but we have a large family that is still growing. The relatives that own and farm the land around it have agreed to add five additional acres to the house (which will make around 6 acres total) so I took a snapshot of the land on Zillow and drew in what I wanted the lay of the land to look like. My hope is that in the future they will want to sell us some more land that will reach back and include the woods. We are in the last stage of negotiation and only need one of the family members of the trust to agree to sell the land. It's all exciting to watch unfold. However, I am so UNMOTIVATED to pack this house. I have been extremely lazy this summer, sleeping in and staying up late, that I don't want anything to do with work. Once we get the O.K. that the deal is done I am sure that they energy to pack and MOVE OUT will surge, and the motivation to work will return. For now, I am just going to sit around and enjoy the break.

change is in the air . . .

I'm feeling a possible "two posts today" feeling this morning! I just received a favorable call from the school district in Ohio and I just talked with a realtor and gave her the criteria for our home purchase. Change is in the air.

The school system in Lima, Ohio has formally offered the art position to me and this morning the Arts Magnet Director called and informed me of the salary they are willing to pay. I told her that I would email her today with my decision knowing that I wanted to get some feedback from Ildi first. When I talked with Ildi, she was excited and immediately got on Realtor.com to find some more properties. It is fun to fantasize moving to a farm in the country, and now, it is right around the corner. In the next few hours, I will email and let them know of my emphatic "YES" decision and start my family on the we're moving to Ohio trail.