First I'd like to say that this really isn't going to be the typical blog from my understanding of the definition of the term *blog*. Generally a blog is in chronological order of one's day-to-day activities. This is likely to be just the opposite. Starting from the past, and then as time allows, bringing to the present; or interjecting the past into the present, or vice versa.
So to start, I own a large house, which is approximately 100 years old (hope to post photos some day - weather and time permitting - I currently have no photos). In its former days, it was one house, and in my younger years I visited it once with a friend, but never entered the house. It was pretty shabby then. Then a man bought the house and turned it into a duplex, dividing it into two apartments. (It had green shingles as siding when first purchased and when I first moved in.) My reason for originally purchasing was because I wanted to use the lots it contained to garden; and at that point, both units were rented out. Then world things happened, and I moved into one of the apartments. To make ends meet, with my business being seasonal, I lived in the small apartment side and rented out the larger side. As I progressed in age, I found I could no longer deal with renters, so I turned to trying to find seasonal winter work to supplement my income.
I garden on approximately one acre, including the two new lots I purchased.
Here's what I do:
1) Garden on that one acre, which includes weeding and cutting back plants in the fall and spring to clean up the garden. This also includes tilling, and amending areas when I can. It also included planting new types and digging out (disposing) of others.
2) I have a website for my business which I maintain solely myself. I learned to write simple HTML and I update the pages when necessary (but that doesn't always get done); I add new pages when a new item gets added (that's time consuming), or have to remove one when an item is no longer available. I have to keep up on the current postal rates, and it seems I have to change those rates yearly (sometimes twice a year) to keep up with rising costs to make any money at all.
3) I take customer orders, though only through the website or via snail-mail and give customer service when necessary by speaking with the customers by phone or via email communication.
4) I process all orders, including counting and packing seed orders; and filling plant orders.
5) I place commercial orders for seeds and plants that I do not already grow (or seed items easier to purchase than to clean), and have to make those decisions.
6) I order (or purchase locally) supplies for the business including bubble mailers, labels, paper, ink, etc. I also have to place orders for the various pots I use for the potted plants that I ship.
7) I generally make a trip to the post office every day (Monday through Friday - a 6-mile round trip) to check my mail and deliver packages (except my slow season - November/December).
8) First seed harvest can start in June or July for those early bloomers that go to seed quickly. I harvest those seeds in paper lunch bags, and then those paper lunch bags get placed into larger grocery type paper bags and put in my house. (I currently probably have 10-15 needing attention.) There are some seed items that I have to harvest just in one large paper grocery bag themselves. I then have to clean those seeds (which I currently am not getting done), and re-pack them into paper coin envelopes. My refrigerator and freezer become full of seeds.
9) I have to take the photos for posting on my website.
10) I mow my lawns (which includes the lawn at the new lots). This is usually a 2-hour to 3-hour chore each week. I also maintenance my own mowers which are a self-propelled bagger mower and a small rider mower. This includes changing the oil in the spring and checking the oil during usage. Maintenance also includes purchasing and changing out batteries on the rider-mower if the battery has gone dead. I however do not sharpen blades or anything further than that currently listed.
11) I sell at a farmers market one day a week, which takes that whole day. This includes loading my truck with selected potted plants, selected hand-made hyper-tufa (cloth-cement included) pots/containers generally always potted with either hardy mini perennials (some annuals plugged in for summer color), or individual small pots with herbs or succulents. This also includes cutting and arranging bouquets, which sometimes amounts to little, unless it's the lily bloom season, then these bouquets can take almost the whole truck.
14) I make my own pottery of hyper-tufa and cloth-cement varieties, in small and large (mostly small).
13) I spend one day resting from all that, and that is my Sabbath.
Now the above list I'm sure is not all-inclusive.
This is what I don't do:
1) Keep my house cleaned.
2) Keep my truck cleaned out. (Hope to post photos of it too time and weather permitting so that you can see how I transport to the farmer's market - I currently have no photos.)
3) Keep my patio and carport area cleaned up.
That is all for this post. ~smile~
