My "Field of Dreams"

Well it finally happened.  We signed the contract on Monday and I am now officially a Land Owner! I cannot begin to tell you how wonderful it feels to finally have done it.  It has been a long time coming and a dream has finally been fulfilled.  
      I just realized it has been almost a week since I wrote anything here.  I guess it's a good thing I'm not trying to make a living doing this!!  I would probably have been fired by now...  Then again, if it was work, I'm not sure I'd still do it.  So I would to say thanks  to all of you who come here and read my ramblings.  I know you don't have to, but I'd like you to know that I appreciate it.
    Now, on to all the things that have to  be done.  It's always something right?  The best part is though,  from here on out we can strive for more and more self-reliance and do it on our own terms!
  The first thing we are working on is getting the electricity hooked up.  The new breaker box came in and we've got it ready for them to hook up.  Once that is done and we have power we will hook up the well pump and all the stuff that goes with that.  Mars assures me there will be water soon.
   When we get all that in place we will be able to move the RV out there and commence to "living on the land"!  We could actually be out there by next weekend if all goes well.  I'm really excited.  Can you tell???  I've been floating on air all week!
      It has been almost a year since we came here to stay with my friend Mushroom and her husband.  They have been so good to us.  I have learned tons and tons of things while I've been here. I feel as though I have a new family because that is how they have made me feel.  I'm sure going to miss them both!  The good news though is that even though we are moving about 60 miles from here,  it's still not to far to come and visit often! 
   We may still have a shot at a spring garden this year.  I know we are going to try anyway!  Our last frost date is April 15th. It seems a bit late to me but hey it is Oklahoma.... There are still lots of things that we can plant for the season.  I don't remember if I mentioned it but I took a soil sample to the County Extension Agency and they did a soil test for us.  It looks like we have some decent soil to start with.  It needs a bit of nitrogen and such so we will be planting a large crop of blackeyed peas and some other nitrogen boosting veggies.  Why the blackeyed peas?  Because we LOVE them!!!   LoL
We have a whole bunch of tomato plants that we started from seed.  About 60 of them as a matter of fact. I want to get them in the ground this coming week if at all possible.  We are going to have tomato's coming out of our ears if they all take off (and it looks like they will)  That's ok though.  I want to can some whole tomato's, diced and quartered.  If the hot peppers do well I'd like to make some "Rotel" type tomato's too.  I would like to try my hand at making some tomato sauces.  I'm looking for some good recipes if anyone has any they would like to share.  Just drop them in the comment box or email me.  I'd love to hear from you!
     I've never made ketchup before.  Neither of us are really crazy about it.  But for some reason lately I've been using it more than before.  I might as well try my hand at putting up a batch! I'm pretty sure we are going to have plenty of tomato's for it.  :o)
 Another thing I haven't tried but am going to do this summer is to put up some Italian sauce. A basic sauce to start things off with garlic and onions and Italian seasonings.  Something I can pull out of the cabinet to whip up some spaghetti or lasagne or something like that. 
     I'm also going to be drying tomato's.  What I will do is to dry them in pieces.  That way I can use them in soups and stews and such.  If I want to make some tomato paste all I will have to do is to grind them into powder and then add water until I get the consistency I want. 
      We are hoping to find someone locally to come out and plow up the garden area.  Then we can pull out all the grass and such and Mars will till it up.  Getting the soil right in a garden is really important.  I think I've found a place to get free chicken and cow manure that has been "aged" a bit. That will get us started.   Once we get our chickens and the rabbits we will be able to use our own.  We really need to get all this done pretty quickly though or we will end up having to wait for a fall garden.
Since I have started just giving things over and not stressing over the things that don't go my way, it seems life has become so much easier. 
~~~~    Hey ... I'm Just Sayin' ...   ~~~~