Year End Round Up
Holy smokes, it’s been a year. Parts were like a smooth gallop through a meadow and other parts were like the bull riding at a rodeo. It started off like any other and then at the end of March we got a notification from our landlord that we were losing our lease. Their boys were off to college and they wanted to move back in to their house. Our several year plan was to move, but we had no idea the universe had different plans for us! We decided to accelerate our timeline and move to Wisconsin where all my partner’s family lived. Living on the several hundred acre family farm sounded like heaven! So began the task of moving home, horse and business. Our deadline was end of June 2022 before we had to be out of the sweet little house we loved in San Jose. Considering the colossal undertaking, everything went very smoothly…..until the end of June. My sweet old kitty, Boots, went in to renal failure and quickly declined. He was 17 and because of his age I knew his time was coming. We were incredibly sad, but he had a wonderful life of solar powered naps, tuna feasts and cuddles on the couch. Then we drove cross country with the horse trailer filled to the gills, along with one cat, Prairie, and our Dachshund, Flash.
After 36 hours our pony express made it to Wisconsin. And even though I had ambitions to get the candle studio up and in a full gallop, we had to immediately get fencing put up for my horse, Celtic Rose, who was arriving in a few days by semi. So out came the family tractors, flatbeds and elbow grease to get a one acre pasture fenced in. Rose arrived in one tired piece and spent the first few days eating grass while laying down. Then began the travel back to California for work for my “real job.” One week a month I was out of town and relied heavily on family to take care of the animals while I was gone. A lot to coordinate!
Everything was falling into place including riding and clearing trails on the several hundred acre property. The evenings were filled with family, fireflies and sometimes epic thunder & lightning shows. We were loving it! The candle studio was a bit on the back burner and we needed to buy all new work tops and shelving. Our big joke was guessing how many times we were going to the hardware store on any given day.
Then the absolute unthinkable happened at the very end of August. Our beloved dog, Flash, developed lymphoma and we very sadly lost him in a matter of days. It was a tragic loss. We were devastated. Everything came to a screeching halt. Doubt and second guessing were a constant, insomnia and loss of appetite were always there. All I wanted was my dog back. I’m still a hot mess over it. He would have been three in October. We dearly miss him.
But life had to go on. No matter the struggle we had to keep riding forward. Slowly we started to settle in, even with both of us traveling back to California for work. The candle studio, located in the horse barn, was slowly coming together. Then the supply and freight issues reared their ugly head. Wax couldn’t be delivered, jars were on back order, prices for shipping oils increased and so on. I could barely get it together for the holidays.
But somehow we are at the beginning of a new year! I always love a new year. For some reason it feels like a much needed reset and the start of another chapter that is filled with hope. A dear friend told me it would take six months to get things figured out after such a big move and thankfully we made it! There are some exciting new things brewing in the background and I can’t wait to have more time to focus on candles!
Happy New Year!!! Below are a few photos from around the farm…
