Come Dream With Me

      I dream of a place where it is okay to be yourself. A place where family and good true friends are the rule and not the exception. A place where the hustle and bustle of this crazy wonderful life melts away as I pull into the long driveway lined with shrubs and trees that delight the senses. A place that as it appears in the distance shows the hard work and abundance of a beautiful garden and an orchard overflowing with it's bounty thankful for the care that I have given it. I hear the sound of the nearby creek as it also washes away my cares. Then as I slowly creep ahead as to savor ever single sight and sound, the rumble of my 52 chevy truck has now alerted all the inhabitants of my little farm to the fact that Moms home as I see heads and tails running from here and fro as if the sky is falling. Everyone (or should I say everything) wants to be seen and loved (or maybe just fed whatever treats that I have managed to bring home but I prefer to think the former). As I pull up beside my barn (aka my house) out comes the cats who insist on almost hurling themselves against my legs as if they have to be first in line to get some undivided attention or they might just die right on the spot. I look up to see the dogs now closing in as if to say enough already-my turn. Now the sounds coming from the barnyard are starting to get louder as they must each have their names called out like roll call in school. First, there is my Sadie girl (she's a beautiful buckskin quarterhorse with no papers which doesn't seem to bother either of us). Then there are all of my wonderful funny goats-1st there is Big Red (he weighs in at around 300lbs and I can still remember when at 200lbs he still wanted to crawl up in my lap!). 2nd is Nilla Bean-yes, she is all white with a gut on her like gravity has not been her friend. Then there is Carmello who is just the goofiest looking thing. A nubian with those huge droopy ears and that great roman nose. He has to be the equivalent to a gawky teenage boy. All dork. His coloring is wonderful as he looks like a reverse dalmation dog. Black with white spots and he still thinks that he can't possibly be a goat! Then there is my two little ones-Dwarf Nigerians. 1st there is Poppy who is less than 20 inches tall with a belly like a five gallon bucket setting on what can't be more than 6in legs. She's an independant little fart until you get out of her sight and last but not least there is Moses. He is just a beautiful sweet good for nothing wether but he's mine and loved.

   Then I have two sheep. Rambo, an icelandic ram with a nice set of everything on him and his girl, a little wild woman shetland ewe. She is the only one who I believe would be happy with no human contact but darn her, that's just not the way we do things down here in the south!

   I now hear a bunch of cackling and crowing going on out back so either someone has just given me another present or there is a party going on without me. Let me check it out. Well, no party but I do have quite a number of eggs however small from my little flock of rare bantam chickens. I truly love you all and thank you. I turn the corner and spy running around in their safe little pen a couple of dwarf lop-eared rabbits. They love to be held and there isn't anything much softer to nuzzle under your neck. I just have the rabbits cause I can. My jersey cow is next. Lots of milk, cream, butter, ice cream and anything else I can come up with.

    Well, now to head inside with cats and dogs rushing past me as I open the door like their hair is on fire! Silly wonderful critters!

   O home at last! My little piece of heaven. Small and incredibly me, I look around and my house speaks volumes of who I am and what I love. There are antiques everywhere but only functional ones-okay maybe a couple that at this point are really not useful; the large copper apple butter kettle, wait, it holds fire wood. That makes it useful doesn't it?! Speaking of wood, you should pull up a chair next to the wood stove. It is the most incredible heat that you will ever have. Never mind the mess, which reminds me, you did catch the sign outside the door, right? "If you came to see me come on; If you came to see my house please call for appointment!"

   Looking around I am not sure what to do first-books everywhere. I could read. Gosh, they are all how-to. I could make something! Maybe later after feeding time. I stroll over to the pantry-it has it's own room! Looks kinda like a store and then there is all the canning jars with the years bounty just waiting patiently for the pleasure of being taken off the shelf and put proudly on the table where it can really shine. I do love a pantry. My parents still have one. Somewhere it got lost in translation that I don't have a wife and five kids to feed, and you sure can't tell that by the looks of my pantry but there is a piece of mind that comes from having a great abundance of food which also explains the root cellar and the two freezers! Hey, I never know what I will be hungry for and I can just about guarantee when I figure it out, I have it! Isn't life grand! 
   I believe I have it all or will have soon. Most of this post is how I live now only the geography is different. All animal names have not been changed to protect the innocent. My ideal life is not so out of reach and I hope that you all (I'm from the south ya know) will enjoy this journey with me. This blog is as much about dreams as it is a gratitude journal and hopefully an empowerment tool for women everywhere to remind us to nurture ourselves and our dreams not just everyone else's. Women-take care of one another-love one another-support one another-encourage one another-Empower one another! And keep in touch so when I get my little house you can come and sit a spell with me. We can feed each other!