It feels so good to say this: the J & J Homestead farmstand is officially back!
This is our first full weekend back after what turned into a much longer break than we originally planned, and we honestly couldn’t be happier to be filling the farmstand again with fresh-baked goodies, homestead products, and all the things we love sharing with our community.
If you’ve been following along over the last several weeks, you already know that getting back here has been a little bit of an adventure.
Okay…maybe more than a little adventure.
Between an ultramarathon, a broken 26-year-old oven, a brand-new oven, a full-time job, homestead chores, animals, baking, and training for the next races on the calendar, life at J & J Homestead has definitely kept us on our toes.
But we’re back—and we are incredibly grateful to be here.
Why We Closed the Farmstand in August
Earlier this summer, we made the decision to close the farmstand for a couple of weeks.
It wasn’t an easy decision because the farmstand has become such an important part of our weekends. I love baking for it, seeing what everyone chooses, restocking throughout the weekend, and watching this little idea of ours continue to grow.
But sometimes you have to recognize when there simply aren’t enough hours in the day.
I had an ultramarathon in August, and as race day approached, I needed to give myself some additional time to focus on training, recovery, and—perhaps most importantly—rest.
Trying to balance ultramarathon training with a full-time career, running a small homestead business, caring for all of our animals, maintaining the garden, and preparing everything for the farmstand can be a lot.
And somewhere in there, I occasionally like to sleep.
So we took a short break.
The plan was simple: finish the race, recover, and then get right back to the farmstand.
Apparently, our oven didn’t get that memo.
Then Our 26-Year-Old Oven Had Other Plans
The weekend we planned to reopen, our oven decided that after 26 years of service, it had finally had enough.
And honestly, after 26 years, I suppose it had earned its retirement.
At first, we thought we could have it repaired. We spent the next couple of weeks troubleshooting the problem, talking with repair professionals, waiting on parts, and trying to figure out how quickly we could get back to baking.
Eventually, though, it became clear that repairing such an old oven simply wasn’t going to be the best solution.
It was time for a new one.
That meant researching ovens, figuring out what would work in our existing space, finding something capable of keeping up with the amount of baking I do for the farmstand, getting it ordered, and then waiting for installation.
And just like that, our short farmstand break became a much longer one.
Jason Kept the Farmstand Going
We didn’t completely disappear during that time.
Jason periodically opened the farmstand with the things we could offer without an oven—fresh vegetables from the garden, our homestead honey, jellies, and other available products.
I was incredibly grateful that we were still able to offer some of our homestead products to the community.
But I’ll admit it:
It just wasn’t the same.
Baking has become such a big part of our farmstand. Seeing the shelves filled with cookies, breads, and other homemade treats is part of what makes opening the stand feel like opening the stand.
So every weekend that passed without an oven made me even more excited to get back into the kitchen.
The New Oven Is Finally Here!
And now…
WE ARE BACK!
The new oven has been installed, the mixer is running, the cookie sheets are back in action, and the kitchen smells like baked goods again.
It feels wonderful.
That doesn’t mean everything has immediately gone back to normal, though.
A brand-new oven comes with a brand-new learning curve.
My old oven and I had more than two decades of technology separating us. I knew exactly how my old oven baked. I knew where the hot spots were, when trays needed to be moved, how long certain recipes really needed, and all of those tiny adjustments you learn after baking the same recipes over and over again.
This new oven has new technology, new settings, convection capabilities, and its own personality that I’m still figuring out.
I’m experimenting with baking multiple trays at once, learning how the oven circulates heat, adjusting temperatures and bake times when necessary, and figuring out the most efficient way to produce larger batches without sacrificing the quality of the baked goods we put in the farmstand.
There may be a little trial and error along the way.
But that’s part of the adventure.
Getting Back Into the Farmstand Routine
The other challenge has been getting back into my normal farmstand baking schedule.
When you’ve been away from a routine for several weeks, it’s amazing how quickly you forget just how carefully everything has to fit together.
There is dough to make.
Cookies to bake.
Ingredients to inventory.
Labels to prepare.
Farmstand shelves to stock.
Animals to feed.
Coops and runs to maintain.
Gardens to manage.
Eggs to collect.
And, of course, I still have my full-time job.
Then there is another pretty big item on my calendar:
ultramarathon training.
My August race may be behind me, but my running calendar definitely isn’t slowing down.
I have another ultramarathon coming in October, followed by an even bigger challenge in December.
That means long weekend training runs, recovery, strength work, fueling, hydration, and making sure I’m giving my body enough time to recover—all while keeping everything else moving forward.
Some days it feels like a giant puzzle.
But this is also the life we’ve chosen to build.
And I genuinely love it.
Running a Homestead Doesn’t Always Go According to Plan
If there’s one thing homesteading continues to teach us, it’s that plans are really more like suggestions.
Animals get sick.
Predators show up.
Gardens don’t always cooperate.
Equipment breaks.
Weather changes.
Ovens that have faithfully baked for 26 years eventually decide they’re finished.
And sometimes you simply have to change the plan.
That’s something we’re learning to embrace more and more at J & J Homestead.
Running a homestead and a small farmstand isn’t about making everything look perfect. It’s about learning, adapting, solving problems, and continuing forward.
Sometimes that means taking a break.
Sometimes it means asking for help.
Sometimes it means researching ovens when you’d much rather be baking cookies.
And sometimes it means standing in front of a brand-new oven wondering which convection setting you’re supposed to use.
We’re figuring it out.
Thank You for Being Patient With Us
Most importantly, we want to say thank you.
Thank you to everyone who has continued following along.
Thank you to those who stopped by when Jason opened the farmstand with vegetables, honey, and jellies.
Thank you to everyone who asked when the baked goods would be coming back.
Thank you for being patient while we dealt with the oven situation.
And thank you for supporting our little homestead business through all of its ups, downs, experiments, and unexpected detours.
Every purchase you make at our farmstand supports something much bigger than the item you’re taking home.
You’re supporting our homestead.
You’re supporting our animals and gardens.
You’re supporting our small business.
And you’re supporting this crazy little dream we’re continuing to build one weekend at a time.
We don’t take that for granted.
Come See Us at the J & J Homestead Farmstand!
So, after ultramarathon training, an unexpected break, an oven retirement, oven shopping, installation, and a whole lot of learning…
the farmstand is back!
The baked goods are back.
The kitchen is busy again.
And I’m slowly figuring out how to fit everything back into the schedule.
Full-time job? Check.
Homestead chores? Check.
Farmstand baking? Check.
Ultramarathon training? Check.
Sleep?
We’re still working on that one.
Thank you for sticking with us through these last several weeks. We appreciate this community more than you know, and we are so excited for this next chapter at J & J Homestead.
We can’t wait to see you at the farmstand!
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