I know, I know, I’m writing this pretty late. In my defense (and a theme for this particular post), living through the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, especially in October, really threw off my internal schedule. As many people around here will agree, it felt like we skipped a month of life, instead trading it for a bizarre timeline where it was suddenly Thanksgiving, and then Christmas, and we weren’t even ready for Halloween yet.

I digress. Without further ado, here are our Trials and Triumphs for 2024! (Warning: lots of talk about hurricane and disaster aftermath.)

Trials

• Hurricane Helene. This is an obvious one, and the trial that affected us most this year. Many of us move to the mountains partially because we think it’ll be safer away from many climate change-related events. However, the combination of torrential rains before the actual storm, and the hurricane rains, destroyed enormous parts of Western NC.
  • Personally, we lost power, water, and Internet for 13 consecutive days; we were not able to drink our water safely for almost two months. We could not work due to lack of childcare, loss of power, lack of markets, as well as other storm-related factors. We lost food, both in our own fridge and freezer, and hundreds of dollars of ingredients and pastries in my work kitchen.
  • We lived in two different timelines: one, in 2024, where everyone tried to contact us over a downed network, and many expected us (especially Husband) to continue working online, despite no power, and another, in 1824, where we were hauling water from the bottom of our property, rationing candles, cooking over fires, and hoping that perhaps the next day would bring water, or power, or even just enough gas to get to an open grocery store.
  • Around us, the devastation is still apparent. We may not be in the news anymore, but there are still entire swaths of town that are littered with storm and flood debris. Many of our favorite breweries, restaurants, and other haunts were literally washed away. Our wedding reception venue was flooded to its ceiling, and we don’t know if we’ll ever be able to have a beer there again. We’re still recovering, and some businesses won’t recover over the next year because of this storm.
• Chickens. Unrelated to the storm, but despite getting four new chickens this year, we ended up losing four (three out of which were the new ones) due to illness/age and loose dog attacks. Please, please, please keep your animals leashed and secured – it’s awful to hear a chicken scream and see two dogs attacking and killing a pullet.

Triumphs

• Hurricane Helene. No, not the actual hurricane, of course, but some of the things that happened during the hurricane aftermath were pretty good.
  • I got so many phone calls, texts, and messages from people that I currently talk to, but also tons from people I hadn’t seen or spoken to in years, even decades, including a friend who moved to Latin America ages ago. My friends and family kept me sane and let me rant while I juggled 2024 work and motherhood with 1800s farm wife chores. I was also able to stay with my parents for a few days, as they never lost water or power for more than a day.
  • We learned what we’re doing well and what we need to improve for disaster prep. Rain barrels? A godsend. Stocking up on tasty foods, mostly nonperishable? Check – we never worried about going hungry, thank God, and we ate well. We want to improve on several things (water supply, especially), so I’m thankful that we had the chance to put our practices to, well, practice.
  • We were mostly cut off from the outside world and its terrible news, as well as the egregiously false rumors spreading about FEMA and the aid we received. It was nice not to know or see the pictures of devastation, or to live in the 2024 news world, for a few weeks.
  • Speaking of FEMA and other aid organizations, we received so much help from so many people. When we couldn’t cook at our house, we could go to World Central Kitchen outposts, or charitable dinner sites at restaurants, no questions asked, no shaming proof of “need” necessary. FEMA provided us with money to cover some of the losses from not working and losing food, with minimal effort on our part. Public access to clean water, restrooms, food, and other necessities was amazing, and I wish it were available to everyone, all the time, no questions asked, no shame involved.
  • And speaking of World Central Kitchen, I got to meet and provide cookies for Jose Andres! He and a group of WCK volunteers came by one of the East Asheville Tailgate Markets near the end and purchased what was left from several food vendors for a future dinner. I love that we were being supported by his organization not only with access to delicious food in our community, but also by being treated with respect in supporting our local businesses. If you haven’t donated to this organization, DO IT. They’re incredible.
• Blackberries. Our blackberries were amazing again this year. I made gallons of jam, jelly, and sauces, invited friends and family to pick, and was finally able to sell pints of berries for several weeks at market. Here’s hoping we’ll do the same this year!
• Crops. We got a plethora of tomatoes (especially cherry tomatoes), as well as some fun new crops (potatoes and garlic, yay!). Peppers did fairly well, and we even have a few lacinato kale plants hanging out this winter.
• Baking classes. Still going strong! My favorite thing that I have done with this business, period, was the youth baking camp we held in July. I had so much fun teaching young people to bake, and they were so, so sweet, even when the oven literally didn’t work the first day. I plan to do another camp, and perhaps try to get two separate weeks this year, as well as more private events (yep, I do those, including kids’ birthday parties – send me a message if you’re interested!).
• New cat. We adopted a new cat friend, pictured at the beginning of the post: Cleocatra! We got her less than a week before the storm hit, so it was both a blessing and insanity during our two weeks of no power and no water. She is both cuddly and wild, and takes to a leash for homestead property adventures.
• Preschool Homesteader. This kid is incredible. Yes, a three-year-old is challenging, but despite some rough nights and weeks at the beginning of the Threenager year, this has been my favorite year with her so far. She absorbs so much, has weird and wonderful conversations with us, is a pretty danged good singer (which is key in this musical family), can mix dough for bread and roll out dumpling wrappers like a champ (no, seriously) and even does some homestead chores on her own (e.g., feeding the cats, opening the coop, checking for and putting away eggs, gardening, etc.). She wants to help and learn, and we fully embrace and encourage it. I can’t wait to see what she’ll do this year.

Happy New Year, everyone, and may your baking and homesteading be a delight in 2025. Cheers!