Welcome, and a note of explanation.

At the ripe old age of "Still Not 30" I resigned my position as a high school Spanish teacher, got married, and moved 1,000 miles away to care for my new husband's grandfather. Before moving I had all kinds of romanticized ideas of how great it was going to be. I may not have been wearing a cape in my day-dreams but I was definitely saving the world one elderly grandfather at a time. Grandpa would look, act, and feel 10 years younger under my care. He would spring from his recliner to dance his way out to meal times and then follow me outside to putter on our various projects. On top of that dream, I was going to be a natural gardener, chicken rearer, goat milker, cheese maker, local eater, party hostess, jewelry dealer, and all around enlightened modern (but oh so traditional) woman.

Now, after 2 weeks of fun fun fun on the Oregonian home front, I'm confronting a new fangled thing called "reality" and working to find my way again. I keep telling myself and others that this will be a "good learning experience" and that I'll probably look back on these days as some of the best of my life but I think that people tell themselves those kinds of stories any time the road is rockier than it appears.

A bit part of my plan (projects to keep me busy) here was to raise chickens. They, like Grandpa, would adore me and I, in turn, would keep them well fed and happy. I had visions of airy and savory soufflés crafted from their gladly surrendered eggs and a well groomed and fertilized garden too. It took me a week to build the coop (more on that later) and now I'm just waiting to return from a week visit back home to bring the ladies home to roost. In the mean time, I've had time to pause and reflect on the imagined Golden Eggs or the big Goose Egg that this Oregon adventure will bring.

They say that when life gives you lemons you're supposed to make lemonade. Here, I'm on an adventure to make all my eggs golden. Over the next two years I'll battle a sometimes grumpy grandfather, cloudy skies, long distance friends and family, with a commitment to give it my darnedest to make sure my "eggs" end up sunny side up. This blog will explore the nuggets of learning I'm able to glean from days on the farm and, hopefully, help me keep my sanity despite relying on Grandpa and chickens to take the place of my amazing friends and family back home in Colorado.