
Dear friends, it’s been awhile since I have written. We have had a heavy wet snow that took down quite a few of our good cedar trees. After the snow we had an ice storm. But thankfully we have made it through all of this weather and our tent has survived and we have stayed warm. Now we are having springlike weather and it makes me want to start the garden but I know it’s still a bit early for most things. I have planted some herbs and we also planted 8 new fruit trees. We are slowly adding to our food gardens and hopefully one day we will see positive results.
During the ice storm I was able to sew a dress that I really liked and it is exactly what I have been searching for. A dear friend from across the miles sent me the pattern and I absolutely love it.

After machine sewing this one and deciding I loved it I made another one but of course I hand sewed it because I do truly enjoy hand sewing my dresses. It took me about a week of working on it when time allowed.
We lost our stove pipe on one of the warmer days. It just cracked open– thankfully when no fire was in the stove. We reassembled the old pipe and installed it but it’s such a small pipe it doesn’t draw well so we bought a better quality pipe and have been waiting on a good day to install it.
There is something that has changed around here and this is the cause of the delay in my writing this post. Over the past 3 weeks I have done much soul searching and I have decided that I want to live simply and even though I have thought I could achieve this with limited internet use I never could. We always seem to be looking up something or going to the phone for our first source of info. But we have changed this and actually this is the longest I have held our phone in 3 weeks. The internet felt like an invasion into our old fashion lives and using it or watching videos always seemed to strip some of the joy we felt. It clashed greatly with what we strive for. So I put it away and I am one of those peole that in order to break a habit I have to go all or nothing so I went all. I no longer look at the news, watch YouTube, and barely check emails. The phone is used for texts or calls. Both the hubby and I have decided on that. We have downgraded our phone service so that we have the most basic plan our company allows and if we do need the internet for ordering or to find an old book which we have done in the past on internet archive we have just enough internet to do this. I have found peace in this. I spend my time instead reading my Bible in the morning, sewing on my dress or whoever’s outfit I am working on in the evening and making bread, grinding flour or making more raised beds,– things I didn’t do because I felt I was always looking something up or reading something or just scrolling. I know this isn’t for everyone and not everyone will understand but this is what is best for me and my family. I am content without the technology and as much as I can do without I will. It has freed my mind in ways I could never describe. And it is wonderful and I wouldn’t go back. And so that brings me here– to this post– I have thoroughly enjoyed sharing our lives with you and I have been encouraged by your comments and suggestions. Thank you to all of you for reading and cheering for us but I have decided not to write this blog anymore. I would like to write a book one day (The Road to the Old Paths maybe?)– who knows? I am blessed and content and ready to see where this new road takes me.
I will leave the blog up and maybe someone can get some encouragement from it in the future. May God bless each one of you and I hope everyone has a blessed week!!