My name is Carmen. I was widowed in 2005 at the age of 47. I kept the small farm where I had spent the previous 29 years of my life. I married John Stevens in September of 2008. He came to this lifestyle willingly but with postage stamp yard experience for a home lifestyle. I brought my sick grandson Matt, home with me just before Christmas of 2013. He too came willingly.
My first goal is to create a steady income that will allow me to keep my farm. Improving the farm comes later in the list. If I can keep the farm then those of us who choose to live here have the opportunity to grow vegetables, chickens, and a healthier perspective. John's goal is to retire so that he might have a stronger relationship with televised sports. Matt's goal is to survive and find a medication that will help him do that in a way that he too will be able to earn a living. Matt was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. He was sick a very long time before getting medical attention and some of that attention only created bills that went into collections.
The three of us together create a team that makes it appear to us as if the best is yet to come. John brings a boat, fishing, and excellent cooking to the group. Matt brings a youthful 19 year old point of view and elasticity of body when the meds are working. He has embraced his own garden spaces nurturing a nearly black rose that turned out to really be a pale reflection of a sunrise. His peas are lovingly entwined on the fence and propped with bits of wire and stick so that they may reach for the sky. He voluntarily feeds the chickens and helps to catch the pigs when they escape. I bring the farm and an innate resourcefulness that is both an asset and a problem into the equation. I would make an excellent female McGyver if I had just a little bit more education. I create possibilities with what appears to be nothing and can take an impossible tangle of junk and come up with more ideas than are reasonable. I simply make things happen. I will start and run all manner of equipment without needing or wanting to be an expert. John has a bit of an eye for pretty and Matt does too. Matt lines things up in sets and makes things look orderly. He also can eliminate junk without wondering what that could be turned into. John sees straight lines, reads gauges, thermometers, & the newspaper.
The farm stand I started last year 1/4 mile off of the paved road draws adventurous customers. The chickens are too young to lay eggs yet and my dogs act as if every guest is an intruder. I made $2 yesterday at the farm stand but had a long and enjoyable visit with guests and was able to work on some of the infrastructure. With Matt helping me this year I can run back into the house and use the computer as needed.
We have added an aquarium to the shared interests category. All three of us enjoy it, while I do the most cleaning, Matt does most of the feeding and research, and John buys most of the bits that Matt and I cannot afford. Recently I dragged an old aquarium out of the garden that I had been using as a mini greenhouse. I had watched John recaulk the first aquarium we rescued so I did it too but not nearly as pretty. I have made a filter with some things I found under the sink, a juice bottle, charcoal, and a tiny fountain pump. We separated the aggressive male guppies into it. When they moped we added one of the two male plecos which cheered them up considerably.
Matt and I set the first aquarium up and watched it grow algae on shells when I decided not to wait for the promised fish shopping trip. I simply came home after a doctor appointment with six white clouds and two plecos. Then John took us out and we came home with guppies. A few days later Matt and I came home with two mollies. At a Petco sale Matt and I bought another 5 white clouds and 5 neon tetras. We are back to having only 6 white clouds which works perfectly for the single surviving neon tetra. One molly died immediately and the 2nd one died within two days after giving birth to over 20 babies. Everybody now looks happy and healthy and it looks as if we will eventually have guppies and mollies to sell at our farm stand too.
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