Homesteading in the City

Wow, where to even begin. So much has changed in 2 years. We have raised baby chickens for a couple of years now and ended up with lots of roosters. lol. Roosters may be lucky but not when you are trying to get eggs. Raising chickens has its ups and downs. I've lost a lot of chickens. I love all animals so it's very hard for me when my chickens pass away. We now have 3 beautiful girls that lay eggs almost daily. One is the daughter of my beautiful Zoey that passed. Her name is Kali. We still have Anna from our original bunch and Lakshmi that we purchased from Inspire Farms. I love spending time with them and hearing all their stories. 

We also lost our dog Wisdom. He was the bestest boy. Wisdom lived a wonderful spoiled life and passed away peacefully. We still have our spoiled girls Keeta (Akita Chow Mix) and Myrah (Pitbull). They still live the ruff life never looking for a job and hogging the bed. My husband even purchased a larger bed just so he has some room in the bed. I enjoy my morning daily walks with the girls. I find peace in morning walks. 

I started gardening during Covid and have a gorgeous thriving garden full of herbs, vegetables, flowers and fruits. I enjoy spending time in the garden and planting new things seasonally. I enjoy eating garden to table right out of my garden or from my school CSA Farm Bag. I took several homesteading workshops online and have really expanded by trying new things at home. I have began saving seeds from my garden. I also learned how to make homemade soap. I'm still working on drying out my lavender to make tea. I just bought a bag to keep my homemade bread fresh. My husband has even gotten into it by drying out our hibiscus and grinding into powder for tea or delicious lemonade. 

I am back at a studio teaching yoga again. I hadn't gone back to studio teaching since my studio BYEV, Bikram Yoga East Valley, closed during Covid. I have been teaching at Rhiba Farms and at my school for the staff. I still teach on the farm and for my school district. I also started coaching Special Olympics swim, golf and kayaking. Now that I'm back at the studio I'm trying to find the balance of all the things I love including being at home. It can be hard to find the balance. 

I have also gone back to painting and drawing. My favorite class in high school was art class. I took art classes in college in Pasadena, California. For a while I dreamed of being an artist for a living but when I worked in marketing and advertising I quickly learned that was not for me. Painting and drawing are still something I love to do. I have started taking art therapy workshops online and really enjoy the meditation then an art prompt. The dialogue with the art piece is what I enjoy the most. 

A couple more years before I retire from teaching special education preschool. I look forward to being at home more with the dogs and chickens. Being creative and making things to sell on the side while enjoying teaching yoga, volunteering, coaching at the lake, and coaching The Special Olympics.