Isn't it a beautiful area?  I love driving the Iowa side both to the QCUSA and Dubuque.  They talk about how beautiful the New England fall colors are, but I can't imagine anything prettier than that area in the fall.  I love watching the barges go up and down the river and could hear the caliope on the Delta Queen from my house when I was a kid.  My goal in life it to be a snow bird and return to that area for most of the year.  If I ever get these kids through college, I can start thinking about that happening! 

Have you ever driven up to Gutenburg and St. Donatus?  I love that drive also.  We used to camp at Gov. Dodge state park up in Dodgeville WI too.  It's a pretty park, or it was 25 years ago when I camped there.

:J

Hi I'm Cathy from Virginia Beach, VA. I'm in my late 40's & have 3 kids Shannon 23, April 20, & Ryan 17. I also have lots of animals here (mostly dogs). I'm a wahm with a craft business.

I grew up here at the beach but spent lots of time in WV as my kinfolk were from there. Mostly Athens but also Bluefield, Princeton, Hinton, White Sulphur Springs, Beckley & Charelston.

I currently still have kids still at home & am caring for  my elderly, disabled mother but when I no longer have family obligations keeping me here, my goal is to have a little log cabin on a lake in the country of NC. Not quite a farm, but still country

Cathy

lorelei said:

My name is Lora, I'm 46 and recently moved from Anchorage, Alaska to Stuart, Virginia. I have a super husband who retired from a major corporation and now wants to build musical instruments. (He makes gorgeous furniture!) We live in a big old tudor house on a hill with two big goofy Maine Coon cats that are our babies. While living in Alaska I owned a bakery, designing high-end custom wedding and special occasion cakes and cookies. I taught in the culinary dept. of UAA (Univ. of AK, Anchorage) and sang.(I have a cd out called “At Last”) I have been on the Food Network as a contestant in one of the “Cook-Off” competitions and won first place. Since moving to Virginia, we have big plans for a medieval herb garden, a cistern and a tower we can star gaze from. Been an artist all my life and now have space for a studio…hurray! We both love to create stuff and usually have two or three projects going on.

Anybody out there know anything about building a cistern?

Hi-I'm Ginny from a wee county in Kentucky (where I've n ever lived full-time), currently living in West Tennessee. Our neighbors have Lake Nowhere Mule & Donkey Farm, and we love being part of gentling foals as soon as possible. It helps the babies grow and and to know people are friends. I'm not currently working after spending the last 9 years working for our local girl scout council.

I was raised around many cisterns, but I wasn't involved in their construction. Lots of them were dry wells that the run-off from the house, barn, etc, was directed by gutters & downspouts to either the dry well itsself, or into barrels that would then be empyied into the cistern. Cistern water would be great for watering plants`& critters, but I don't think I'd drink it.

We're in the country, obviously, but we are also on city water, becuase the first 3-4 people on our road paid to get laid out this far. Lake Nowhere uses a well for their liovestock.

Hi I am Tresh

my name is spelled with an e but pronounced like “Trish” …its a curse!  I am 38 and I have lived in Oklahoma my whole life but have traveled everywhere…I love the mountains the most!  I am married and have 5 kids, the youngest and the only girl is mine and I have 4 older step sons that have welcomed me into their life with open arms.  My daughter shows Paint/Pinto horses and just this year she became a 2008 Pinto World Champion…June 13th, 2008….FRIDAY the 13th!!!! hahaha…

I stumbled onto Suzanne's blog by reading Confessions of a Pioneer Woman, there was a link…visited it once and I have never left…in fact, it is about the ONLY thing I read now.  We raised chickens when I was growing up and I am dying to get back to the country (our horse stays with his trainer)

so glad to cook and share recipes with everyone!!! its fun!!!

Welcome All!!!  Glad ya'll are here!!!

I am Gretchen-I live just outside of nashville, tn.  I grew up in st albans WV. My best friend and I read Chickens in the road almost everyday. She still lives in WV and we discuss this blog over the phone during our many phone convos. She tried out the grandmother's bread for the first time Friday-I am going to find out today how it turned out for her.

I have three kids-ages 2, 8 and 17. We homeschool and garden and I sew. I love this blog because I would love to have a small farm. I don't know if I would be a great animal cartaker though-I get lazy in the winter. 

Excuse any typos-its still early in the morning. If I didn't have to drive 17 to class I would still be in bed.

Welcome to all the new people!  Jump in and chat with us!  We have fun here!  If you like to talk about food, come tell us what you're having for dinner in the Farmhouse Table forum, or tell us what you're crafting in the Primitive Crafts forum.  If you've got animals, we love hearing about them in the Old Barn forum, and there's also Gardening and right here in the Living the Country Dream forum.  If you're ready to upload an avatar, check out the testing picture posting thread here in the Living the Country Dream forum!

Welcome Rebecca!  You come off as very friendly!  We're glad you're here. 

:J

Hi, I am Abiga/Karen,  I have four grown children b37, g31, b25, and g23 of which the older two are married. B37 is married to a sweet Ukrainian girl and they have two girls 3 and 2 months living in California. G31 is married to a wonderful state trooper and they have five children b10, b6, g4, b3, and a g4 months and live on a small farm in central Illinois. They have graciously allowed me to live with them for 3 years now and I also travel to Cally a lot. I am truly blessed now that they have a mini farm. B25 is single and lives around Boulder, Colorado now and goes to a herbal college. G23 is single and lives in north Chicago suburbs and is a medical assitant. I hope to convince her to live near us here one day.  My oldest grandson named me one day going from gaga to abiga somewhere in time and all seven of the grandbabies now call me this. I am retired from schol teaching for the second time although without pension or social security right now and just taking each day as it comes. I love to garden, quilt, sew, knit, crochet, bake, walk, travel, read and spend time with family by helping them anyway I can. I also enjoy blogging at homeschool blogger and homestead blogger. I would like to get chickens, Nigerian dwarf goats, and a Pyr at least by springtime so reading Suzanne's blog is very informative. Thank you Suzanne! Right now we have to work on fencing areas for the animals and preparing for them besides getting the ground ready for a spring garden. Blessings.