Hello everyone!!  I'm originally from NE Ohio, but the last 4 years have been living in a small community in NE Tennessee.  From city to country thanks to my hubby.  This is where he grew up…. and I love it.  It was a dream of mine to live  the rural life…. and now I do.  We don't have a lot of flat land for planting ( we live in the mountains) but I do have a small garden.  Next year I hope to get into canning!! I can't wait!!

I work full time as a nurse but still have enough time to putter around the yard. I found this site a while back and have been hooked ever since.  This site is fantastic…. the only drawback is that I can spend the whole day here reading!!!!!!!!!

Suzanne….keep up the good work…….and I hope you win!!

Julieanna

ps……To Pete…..I googled your quote…..I have mine on now……and ANOTHER site I can spend all day on….http://www.alphaDictionary.com…thanks…

Hi All, I'm Nancy I live in Northeast North Carolina, 20 minutes from the Outerbanks  and never go to the beach HA! Been married for 25 years to my high school sweetheart, have two sons 20 and 22. I grew up in the suburbs of NYC. For the last 15 years have been living the country life and learning how to bake my own bread  grow an organic garden, can stuff, make all kinds of things like  soap, lotions, cheese. My kids think I'm crazy but when they need to know how to do something who do they ask crazy Mom!

Hi!  My name is Christina, I am a recent transplant to Marion County, Ohio, which is a huge transition from my former life in the burbs of Columbus, Ohio!  I love living on our property of 4.5 acres, where I plan to have a garden so I can preserve veggies and fruits.  I found Chickens in the Road while I was searching online for a cushaw squash recipe, and was pleasantly surprised to find everything else I have been searching for too, mainly, a guide for simple living and self-sufficiency.  I am recently married (10/10/09) to a man who shares my loves of the country, space to breathe, and simpler living.  I have 3 sons, 21, 18, and 15, and 2 stepdaughters, 17 and 12.  We are a full house!

I am happy to be on this forum, and can't wait to read more of Suzanne's adventures… she is a great teller of tales!

I am a 48 year old mother of six. Two of which have left the nest. My four daughters, husband, and I live in rural Wisconsin. I have homeschooled and continue to homeschool all my children.

We've lived in the same house for 23 years. It is a large farmhouse that was gutted and remodeled when we moved in and added on to about 6 years ago.

I've water bath canned for years and have done some pressure canning as well.

We live on my husband's paycheck, so I try and save money wherever I can. I buy things when they are on sale and use coupons combined with sales to get the best prices on things. I love clearance sales!

I've enjoyed reading the posts on here about canning and baking. Thank you for this site. I have it bookmarked now, and I've joined the facebook group too.

Sue

Hi all!  I thought I would introduce myself, since I've started posting to the forum as if I know what I'm talking about!!  My name is Shae and I am recently married and in my late 30's.  Both my husband and I spent some time on mini-farms when we were younger, and now that we have spent half our lives in the big city, we are ready to get OUT! 

We are currently just outside of Portland, OR but our goal is to retire as soon as possible to our 80 acres in south central Washington.  We will be off grid and our goal is to be completely self-sustaining.  We will be pretty 'hard core' as my friends call it.  But for now we are in practice mode!

Here in Portland we are on 2 acres, have a mini-dachshund, 2 mutt cats, and a handful of chickens.  We had 2 guineas and were up to 23 chickens, but they free-ranged right onto a predator's dinnerplate.  For this winter we are holding steady at 10 chickens, but will be getting at least a dozen more soon.  We're going to hold off on more guineas until we are on a larger property – the neighbors never complained, but I could see a look of hesitation in their eyes when they said they didn't mind the "Buck-Wheat"ing.  We also raise 4 or 5 turkeys every year for the freezer.  Turkeys are great, too.  Wonderful personalities.  I can't wait to get goats and bunnies and piggies and barn cats and maybe a peafowl or two and and and…..

We have a good sized garden every year, and maybe one of these days we'll win the war of the weeds.  We've been putting up food for a couple years now, and try to make our own produce (and livestock) a larger part of our diet every year. 

Hopefully I'll have some good insights to impart on my co-readers, but most of all I look forward to what you all can teach me!!