This past week at work was very, very busy... but a bit less chaotic than the week before. I am grateful for that. I am still looking for work at other hospitals, ones closer to our soon-to-be homestead. I found one listing for a Labor and Delivery room nurse position... the chances of me even getting an interview as a green nurse are slim, but I remain hopeful.
Yesterday I mailed the check for our first year of homeowners insurance. I feel like a real grown up now. Today I will choose a company for our garbage collection and set up an account with them. We'll set up our electricity and internet accounts, get a cashier's check for the closing costs, and we're good to go. This next week is going to feel like a very, very long week. I can't believe it's all really happening for us.
I'm going to try out the Mother Earth News online Garden Planner and see how I like it. They have a free 30-day trial offer, and I figure I could use all the help I can get. This is the first time that I'll be gardening long enough in one place to employ crop rotation... and while it's a simple enough concept, I really do need to be organized enough to know what I planted where for several years back in history. I enjoy the process of taking a pencil to graph paper, but in my quest to stay organized as we make our fresh start, I am willing to employ some technology if it proves useful.
Tonight we're going to make a decision about what flooring we want to install in those rooms with carpet (yuck!), and I'll probably order our reverse osmosis water filter system as well (lead levels in the water are higher than they should be, as to be expected in an old house with older plumbing). I am very curious as to whether the manual water pump out in the barn is functional or not. The home inspector said (after glancing at it... we didn't get the barn inspected) that it appeared to be of a design that returns all the water from the pipe back down underground after you close the pump to prevent it from freezing. It would be lovely if that pump worked, as it would save us the trouble of lugging water out to the barn every morning!
Once we close, we're going to collect water samples from that pump (if it works), as well as the pond, to send for analysis. This will let us know if the pump water is safe to give our animals, and if the pond water is safe for stocking with fish and waterfowl. We'll also send soil samples for analysis of nutrients, and to look for trace heavy metals (just in case), before we choose where we plant our fruit trees and garden, and if we till the soil directly or build raised beds with screened top soil. I'm hoping we'll be able to dig into the soil itself, as topsoil is expensive as heck to buy. We'll also need to find a source for high quality compost, as we have none to work into the soil this first year. I'm hoping that won't be too difficult, given the number of farms in the area.
I can't wait to get started on all of these projects... only 7 more days until it can begin. And only 16 days until the Vernal Equinox. Life is good, folks.
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