Wow... it has been almost five years since I posted. I don't even know if anyone reads anymore... I just want to post an update because it always bothered me when people disappeared without an explanation. So much has changed. I barely know where to begin...
Let's just get the bad things out of the way first. I don't really want to relive them, but they are a large reason for my absence. The epidemic was one of my worst nightmares. I know a lot of people were ridiculed for their fear, but it truly was like a horror movie come to life for me. I honestly didn't leave my house except to go to work for years. It took a huge toll on my mental health, which I can get into more later.
The year 2021 especially... was very hard. I lost both of my grandparents, one to Covid and one to lung cancer. They were my next door neighbors for twenty four years. I also lost Jackal in November 2021 at almost fourteen years old. I can't get into a ton of detail because even now, almost four years later, it makes me cry. He had cancer, had major surgery which revealed it had spread to all of his organs and spent a year on basically hospice care. And then I lost Jack, my gray squirrel, in 2024 after seven amazing years. The house feels very empty without them.
My grandparents left their house to me and my husband. We spent two years and way too much money remodeling it (cigarette smoke and mold are hard to get rid of). I am very grateful because I have so much more space (went from a 1000 square foot house to 2600 square feet) and I am right next door to my parents and brother. Other big changes are that I now work from home for the same company I have worked for since 2016 and my husband got a new job that he is much happier with.
There are a bunch of other changes and additions to the farm, but I'll save those for different posts since this is already too long and rambling. Keep an out for those though because they will be a lot more fun. Also check out my other blog for an update on Chrome and Zep.
I have continued to post on Instagram, both the farm one and my art account, so if you don't follow me over there, you might want to (@chromechevalier and @farmerlifeart). They are much easier to update. I also realized I never finished posting the photos from the epic road trip. I've had two computers die since then, so I'll have to see if I can find them on my storage drives and get them posted eventually. That truly was the road trip of a lifetime and I'm so happy I got to have it right before the world fell apart.
Probably the biggest news to share is that my husband and I stopped breeding goats two years ago. Don't worry though, we still have them. You can see them on IG and I will post some pictures of them here soon too. The reason we decided to stop breeding is because I have been working on getting us out of debt (the house remodel was a lot of debt). I have made HUGE progress and only have a couple more years before we are debt free (minus student loans). We may go back to breeding goats someday, but for right now it has been nice not having to be outside in the winter at all hours of the night birthing out kids.
Anyway, I'll stop rambling for now. I don't know for sure how much I'll post because I am very busy most of the time, but I will try to catch you all up on what has happened in the last five years (in more detail than this post and with pictures) and post the big updates. I miss having a kind of photo journal with this blog, even if no one ever reads it again. Blogs might be kind of out of style now. I haven't visited any in so many years that I'm not really sure.
I hope you all are doing well and if you want to chat or share updates, please leave a comment. I miss hearing from everyone.
