Welcome!

Welcome to Tailgates & Picnics ~ a simple, little blog about our life & homesteading journey :)  Currently, we are a cross between "urban homesteaders" and "off-the-grid homesteaders" with the dream of being completely self-sufficient one day!
We live on 2 acres in the middle of an HOA subdivision.  This is a temporary port before we buy our permanent homestead.  On this 2 acres we have gardens, chickens, doves, and we can't forget the cats.  I've been canning for over a year now which has been a lot of fun and I keep adding to my knowledge base and expanding my repertoire.  I make the household laundry soap and am working on consistently making the dishwashing soap.
This week should be adventurous as I learn to make my own lye and tallow to make my own bar soaps.  I have made soap in the past but I purchased everything rather than make it on my own.  We just added a fire pit in the yard so I have our ashes contained.  But more on that later when I get to do some hands-on experimentation!

Our family consists of Myself - 8GreenBeans, My Honey - MrBeans, and our 8 children Bean1 (1988), Bean2 (1991), Bean3 (1992), Bean4 (1994), Bean5 (1995), Bean6 (1998), Bean7 (2000), and Bean8 (2003). Easy enough, right??