And Preparing for a New Part of Our Lives

Things are really going to be changing here at Creekside at the end of the summer. After working since he was 14 years old, Larry is finally going to retire.

Well, he’s retiring from carpentry at least. As you will see, we have some big plans ahead – some things that we are really looking forward to. Retirement is not going to be what I would have thought it would be if you had asked me 20 years ago.

Then I would have said that we would likely not be doing much of anything special. To be honest, I could not really imagine us doing “not much of anything”, especially Larry, but that is what people do when they retire, right? But anyone who actually knows Larry already knows that he will never be sitting around for long – unless it’s on the porch with a cold beer after a long day of doing something.

And, I won’t be retiring – I am, after all, waaaaay younger than Larry is, and I can’t imagine what would happen if I tried to stop the flow of ideas that pop into my head when I look at a pile of raw ingredients. Though I am already older than the majority of food bloggers, I am not even close to being ready to quit. But that is cool, because what I already do is going to fit right in with our plans for the future.

I have spoken before of our work to produce more of what we eat. We have chickens, a huge garden, a small orchard and little greenhouse. But, we are also thinking about taking things even further and producing enough to feed some other people too. We are blessed to live in an area that is increasingly interested in local food – food that is responsibly produced and marketed directly to the people who are going to be eating it.

If we can do it for ourselves, why not turn it into a little business – you know, just to keep busy?

The exact shape these plans will take is still evolving, but that is half the fun, and in the meantime, we are still enjoying the fruits of our labors. Like chives! I have a ridiculous amount of them growing because while they reliably come back year after year, I am always afraid they won’t, so I plant more. They might come in very handy when we begin selling our produce though. They certainly come in handy in this great creamy ranch dressing!

You know all you have to do is stay tuned here on the blog to find out how this all ultimately shakes out – I can’t think of a better way to spend the next few years than embarking on a new venture with my best friend!

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