4/15/10 - 8:09 p.m.

All moved in!

We won our case against our old landlord and just as we think we are thousands of dollars richer we find out... nope, she will probably be appealing the judgment and back to Somerville we must go (once we find out the next court date, that is).

After Eric and Sadie sit out in the car for 3 hours while I am in court we head to the farm. But first, I need sunglasses and we must have our last "out to eat" meal. We go to this burrito joint. Not the last supper of kings, but pretty good.

Next, we stop at Eric's grandma and aunt's house in Wells, Maine to bid farewell, then it is the last hour and forty five minutes of our voyage.

We reach our destination around 4:30 pm and find our new bosses working the field. They were throwing down lime (lyme) to be more precise. The boys were enjoying the vacant tractor. I realize at that moment that this place is heavenly, but I know none of their jargin and have no clue hot to be a farmer or how to do physical labor for hours at a time, everyday.

"I'm scared," is a huge understatement.

The work is winding down and we get settled in the cabin.

I use the outhouse, no big deal.

The guy who used to live in the cabin comes by to get some of his remaining items. He seems like a very interesting guy, but he's got to be on his way. Off to Northern California.

Eric wants to buy his old subaru wagon. His dog's name is Bullet and he is rad. Sadie loves all of this..."puuupppyyy!!....byeeee!!!"

They leave, but before that the woman of the farm asks me if I know how to cook...yes of course...from scratch...umm... what???

Uhh... well, I have cooked this way before, but that does not mean I know how to very well. She plans on giving me cooking lessons.

Thank gawd I think, because if not we'd probably just starve.

We finish unpacking, Eric makes supper, Sadie freaks out because she is in a new place with no electricity, no water...only lanterns, buckets of water and flashlights; like the one I am using to write this right now. Anyway, it is roughly 8:30 p.m. Sadie and Eric are falling asleep and I am looking out at the remainders of what is one of the most beautiful views.

I am totally scared to death...

4/15/10- 6:55 a.m.

I hate moving, but over the past three years I've moved about ten times. It seems like I just can't find my place in the world.

Off to Whitefield, Maine, 6:55 a.m. EST, but first to get gas and then to Somerville District Court to continue the battler against our old slum(land)lord.

Day 1: THE INTRODUCTION 4/3/10

Disclaimer: this blog will not be in real time and will probably not be updated very frequently until the end of this adventure. Thanks for reading!

“Going to the country” by Canned Heat is blaring on the radio in my slowly decaying Mercury Sable. I consider this a good sign.

On this particular morning, Sadie Catalogna, 19 months; Eric Perkins, 27 years old; and I, 24 years old; are heading to meet the family that we will be living with and working with for the next six months. We were heading to Whitefield, Maine to live and work on an organic farm.

The ride was not bad at all (eventhough I had been looking forward to; for three years now, for Eric to do the one hour and 30 minute drive from his grandparents’ home in Wells, ME). The day prior to this one was spent getting licenses in Maine and health insurance. It ended up that Eric’s license, regardless of the fact that I had paid $244 for his old fines and a $100 reinstatement fee, had been expired for too long and he was unable to get a license. He only got a state ID.

So, as usual, I was driving.

We arrived at the farm in the late afternoon and the sun was shining and things were beautiful. Pulling up we saw a gorgeous mama- barefoot – carrying her one year old baby that I knew from e-mails, phone calls, and facebook to be the one year old boy. Tagging along behind mama was her three-year old son.

There were brief introductions and then we go over to say hellos to the cow called Liberty, then the sows; Hazel, Midnight, and Coco; then to the sows piglets (Hazel had 13 and Midnights had 11 and Coco is due the beginning of May), next hellos to the chickens and feed the chickens some bread.

We saw the layer hens , the great chicken palace and heard the rooster..."cock-a-doodle-doo."

After seeing these animals we headed across the street to the stunning barn that the woman's husband had built with a few of his buddies during the winter months. This barn was unbelievable, no nails, all wood and it was all wood that he had cut by himself. I was blown away.

At this point in time the husband was up north in Maine selling the horse.

We then watched Sadie and the boys pretend to drive a big blue tractor and finally saw the remainder of the pigs.

The last stop on our tour was the cabin, our future home. It is little, but it is cool. There are two floors including a kitchen area, living space and a bedroom downstairs. There is also an outhouse to boot. I am excited and super nervous about the future, but this is it.

After the tour we sit around the kitchen table to have some bread, butter, and cheese. The latter two coming from the cow. We also had some canned green beans. Everything tasted good, but i especially liked the green beans.

Next we sat out in the sun, the kids played, adults talked and we waited for the man of the farm. A neighbor woman came by for a visit and that is how it is up here...you are driving past a friend's house and you stop to see if they are home.

We give water to some of the animals and then the male farmer arrives home with his two dogs. We talk for a bit, get some sausages (at this point in time we are all vegetarians, but it looks like this may be a changing fact) and then off we go to have dinner with Eric's family back in Wells, Maine. Sadie is totally wiped out and falls fast asleep.

While we are all very nervous we are excited for the next six months of farm life.