Living Without An Income...

...for the past 5 weeks. Before that there was a good paying job for 5 weeks, and before that there was a little bit of disability pay for months on end. Then there was no pay, then there was a little... it's all too confusing to remember exactly, but the point is that this year has The Year Of Learning to "MAKE DO". Or do without. A good learning experience for all of us.


The garden produced next to nothing. I don't know why, but I need to figure that problem out before planting next spring.


The chickens were slackers. The ones we have now are not quite old enough to lay yet, and since the weather has turned cold they probably wont lay really good until spring.


The goats produced lots and lots of milk this year! So, they are really the only critters paying their way right now.


This week we sold the Boer does and the male Pyrenees. When we got him, things were different than they are now, and we need to cut back on how many animals we have to buy feed for.


We sold Aileas this week. Waaaaaaaaaah!!! But, we got enough for her to cover one whole house payment! I'm sad to let her go, but would be more sad to lose the house.


We sold Thunder today. Kiwi and Rowdy were a huge help - in fact they did ALL the work involved in selling both the cow and the horse. Now we don't have to spend the gas money to bring either one home from East Texas. Aileas and Thunder, that is. Not Kiwi and Rowdy. :o)


Erinn is sad to sell her beloved horse, but Mum and Dad have generously offered to loan Darlin' to her. Darlin' is an easy keeper so wont cost much to feed over the winter and Erinn can pay for that feed with the money from Thunder.


We sold the truck - no more truck payment! And no more going anywhere all together either. But, we wont complain about that since we still have the house. I'm not sure what we'll do about our two Thanksgiving invitations - I guess it will depend on if Kris has a job by then or not.


I had stocked up some on beans and rice earlier this year before Kris' back surgery and although it wasn't much, it has been a big help! I wish I had been able to stock up a lot more on many more things, but we're thankful for milk in the freezer, deer meat, beans and rice! Been spending about $20/week on groceries and eating pretty good!

As soon as we have an income again, we will not start eating like royalty! We will start stocking up again. :o) We are so blessed in so many ways - there are so many people who actually do go hungry without a house to live in. And it's a really good feeling to know that Kris did not lose his job for doing something bad, but rather for doing the right thing! Two hundred people in Kerrville recently lost their jobs at one place of employment, so they are all looking for jobs at once, along with everyone else who was already job searching, so the pickin's are slim.

PJ has gotten over his nervousness and is used to having us home again. He recently started coming up the steps and jumping over the deck gate onto the deck. The first time he did it, I thought it was a goat and when I opened the door he wanted to come in the house! He has a whitetail doe friend who is a bit bigger than him and she gives him crazy looks when she sees him on the deck. She lets us get amazingly close to her - within 5 feet! All the other deer have disappeared. There were at least 6 other does with some tiny fawns. Maybe it's the barking dogs that have scared them off.

Caddie (Erinn's kitty) has not been seen for 3 days and we are starting to get really worried about her! She is "fixed" so it's not a case of being a wanderer. I hope she is all right! James has a nice bed on the deck that he's been sleeping on, and Caddie usually likes to sleep there too on cold nights.

Jordan and Mooky at the park in Harper