Thanksgiving Reflections

For those of you that came over to Small Scale Life last week and during the Thanksgiving holiday, I apologize.  I took a break from podcasting and blogging to get some things done around the house and, more importantly, spend time with the family.  It was a much needed break where I could do some retooling, relaxing and thinking about where we are going in the next year.

Thanksgiving in Becker, MN

This year for Thanksgiving, we traveled to Julie’s cousin’s house in Becker, Minnesota. Julie’s cousin(Theresa) and her husband (Jason) purchased the property earlier this year, and they wanted to host Thanksgiving.  It was a pretty special occasion since it was the first time Theresa and Jason hosted a Thanksgiving dinner!  Not to worry: the food, homemade wine, desserts and games were fantastic.  Kudos to Jason and Theresa for their hard work, and thank you for the hospitality!  We had a blast!

As a side note, I was very excited to see the house and the five-acre property.  The house was fantastic and a great set-up (ranch with large front porch, walk out basement, and out buildings). I wanted to walk the property, but with snow on the ground and light fading, there just wasn’t enough time.  As you can see from the picture above, there is a ton of potential with this property, and I hope to help Jason build soil and gardens next year!

The key take-away for me is that IT, the house and the land, are out there.  Once we have our ducks in a row, Julie and I will be on our own land, hosting Thanksgiving and other holidays.  It is do-able.  It is almost tangible.  We can do this too!

Blogging

Over this break, I have been thinking about the direction here at Small Scale Life.  I am pleased with the progress we have made so far!  I know November seems to have been an off month from a content production perspective.  Frankly, I have been catching up with my job, the holiday, outdoor chores, winterizing the garden, decorating the house for Christmas and preserving the remaining harvest  by making jellies, tomato sauce and dried herbs.

Now that many of these items are complete, I can start focusing on getting more content up at Small Scale Life.  I have a number of articles and videos that need to be finalized and edited.  That seems to be the curse of the ENFP (my personality).

I will continue to focus on the core topics including gardening, homesteading, learning new skills, living a sustainable life and having some adventures.  After talking with people who follow this blog, we are going to get down into some basics as folks are planning their new gardens for the 2017 Season.  I can’t wait!

Podcasting

As far as podcasting is concerned, I have not published a podcast since Season 1 Episode 19, Happy Birthday Small Scale Life.  I have been lining up some guests to continue to focus on gardening, homesteading, living frugally and learning skills.  In addition, I will be recording some monologue-type podcasts.  There is plenty to talk about, and I should have a Small Scale Life Podcast posted this week.

If you haven’t listened to the Healthy Lifestyle Podcast yet, what are you waiting for?  The last HELP Podcast that my partner- in-crime Drew Sample and I recorded was an interview with Kevin Geary from Rebooted Body.  In early November, I heard that Drew had been laid off from his job.  Drew talked about his situation in The Sample Hour Episode 127 of his podcast, and I know he will be talking about it in future podcasts on The Sample Hour.  As far as the Heathy Lifestyle Podcast goes, we’ll see what Drew’s plans are moving forward.  I am sure he has a lot on his plate, and I could easily fold this podcast into the Small Scale Life Podcast .

Bottom Line

The bottom line is that November was an odd month with vacations and holidays interrupting posts and podcasts.  I will work hard to continue to produce interesting and relevant content.  There are a lot of good things that are happening, so please continue to follow us at Small Scale Life!  We will continue to learn, do and grow together!