Change is in the wind. After roughly five years as the primary breadwinner (and a little over a year as the sole breadwinner) my hubby's about to start his own business.
He's going to be subcontracting with some local scrap metal yards -- nothing glamorous, but certainly good money.
Far better money than I, as a ghostwriter/freelancer, make.
Part of me is thrilled by this. To put things in perspective, I've written 5 books already this year to keep things comfortable financially -- this is a boatload of work. Having Tim bring in some money means I might be able to breathe a little easier.
The other part of me *the larger part* is scared shitless. I am a wee bit of a control freak, and I think the power dynamic in our relationship is going to change tremendously. I've spent years getting our lives where things run smoothly, and now the well-oiled machine is going to have to go through some readjustments.
I'm sure we'll make it. We always do. But damn, I hate when my routine -- even if it is a back-breaking, difficult, routine -- gets disrupted. OCD, anyone?
In other news, I've been clearing a boatload of brush. There was a huge tangle of trees at the end of a swampy bit that abuts our neighbor's land. He was nice enough to let us cut it out -- which resulted in 8 downed ash trees, each a few inches around, and enough brush and branches to fill a pickup truck. I think when it's all cut and stacked, we'll have near on half a cord of firewood and another half of kindling/small wood. Every little bit, right?
I'm also thinking of forming a loose cooperative with some friends (they don't know this yet) to sell crafts at local craft fairs and bazaars. I love to do this kind of stuff, but don't make enough in a year to fill a table -- but if three or four of us cooperate, we could probably make a decent go of it.
In still more news, I managed to kill my first seedlings -- it was too cold for the zucchinis and summer squash I brought out to 'toughen up'. I guess tough love doesn't work on the marrows!
And yet more news, I think we're going to go meet a local farmer. The certified organic guy who sells meat is way, way more expensive than we can manage, but I've discovered that you can buy a cow and 'board it' with a local farmer who does the actual farming thing and then voila, you get hamburgers and steaks and whatnot at butchering time. (Which I guess would be in the fall?) I like this idea, because not only do I know the farmer, but it's putting money in his pocket for the cow's upkeep while the cow's still moving around, hence providing a more steady cash flow for him. (I don't know much about farming, but apparently cash flow is a problem)
I imagine one cow would be more than enough to get a family of four through the winter. Tell me if I'm being delusional, would you? I do have a freezer and a pressure cooker to put all that meat up.
I think that's all the news. I think I've rambled on enough.
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