Make sure you take ag and ag business courses in college. Many farmers start out in the same boat you are in. The typical progression that I see is to start out renting land and buy your own small homestead as soon as you can--which you would already have. Then continue to rent nearby land while you build up to a size you can handle without getting too much, and replace rented land with purchased land as the opportunity arises. Renting is also a way to control risk--you can expand or cut back acreage relatively quickly and without risking a lot of money doing it. Once you have a homestead so that you don't find yourself having to move at inopportune times, then you can build up to purchase additional land or continue to rent land--there are emotional considerations--but rent vs buy is also a business decision with pro's and con's to each depending on your business model. A lot of farmland is priced based on other factors than its productive value--the biggest factor probably being its proximity to population centers and therefore its value for subdivision. So, inexpensive land is often cheap because you are far from markets or in climates where your ability to produce high value truck garden crops is limited. From your stated preferences, you want to produce high value crops (fruit, veggies, etc) rather than commodities (field corn, soybeans, etc) so will need to be located relatively close to populations sizable enough to absorb your production. With these crops you will need to select ones with a high value per acre which also means you shouldn't need a lot of acres--your production methods will probably limit the acreage you can handle. Truck garden usually involves a lot of labor and can be even more labor intensive if you choose to follow the "organic" marketing model rather than conventional production. The good news is, once you start buying land, the high value crops should generate the kind of revenue needed to pay for that land.

I respectfully disagree camlan. Opening an old post and adding a comment or question does get attention. Some old posts have valid info & adding a question may illuminate the older posts. Yes, often the OP is long gone, but if I see an old post date come up to the top of the list, it may have something new I want to see in it (it may also be a spammer adding a link to sell something but that's a whole 'nother issue). This forum is full of dreadfully old posts, but that's because it's an inactive forum. I do look at refreshed posts form 2003. Maybe I just have a comment to someone else's comment that doesn't warrant a whole new post. I'm pretty sure I don't need a tutorial on how to create a post.... Now if you're saying folks are opening old posts & putting totally unrelated stuff onto them, then I agree with you, but that doesn't seem to be the problem you're complaining about.

You're starting a great hobby that should give you lots of enjoyment! Although I am just an amateur hobbyist, I will try to answer your questions: 1) You may mount your photos in a variety of ways. Mounting them on cardstock first is called "matting." You could also mount them directly onto the page. You can use glue stick or photo splits (little 2-sided stickers for the backs of photos) or you could use old-fashioned corner mounts. Most people use a variety of techniques. 2)You can print backgrounds with your computer. 3)Some inkjet ink is acid free, some is not. No one really knows how colorfast they are. 4)Color swatches are okay, but are probably not archival, so you might think twice about them. 5)Everyone is different, but when I do a page, I usually use these steps: Choose photos that are sharp, interesting, and thematically related. No amount of embellishment or paper crafting can compensate for poor photos. Examine the colors and mood of the photos and choose the colors of your papers and other page elements accordingly. Decide if you want a one-page or two-page spread. Set the paper out and start setting the photos on the page to determine placement. Fiddle around for awhile with this. Be sure you have a photo that will dominate the layout and become the focal point. Determine where journaling and page headings will be located. Decide if you are going to crop or edge any of the photos, then do so. Mat any photos that you decide need matting. Begin mounting photos onto page. Stare at the pages (which are bare except for the mounted photos) and decide what embellishments, like stickers or whatever, you need. You may decide not to put on the things you had initially set aside for these pages. Also, make a final decision on what kind of lettering you want to use. Do your lettering and journaling, leaving room for embellishments. Add embellishments last. Place sheet in protective sleeve. Whew!

Hi Toni, what a Predicament! Well... I think for your son's sake, you ought to include pictures of his Dad. Maybe if you dislike the thought of having *both* families in the same book, you could do two separate books. I kind of like the idea of the starting over page as a "transition", tho it's a very delicate subject. Hmm.. what about calling it A New Beginning ? I LIKE the "we both love you" part, but the "we decided that we couldn't be together anymore" might be rubbing salt into his wounds (later) since it's there on paper, in black and white, you know what I mean? Maybe something emphasizing the positive, like being happier in your new lives... I think you have more guts than I do! (I'd probably chicken out and forget about the transition, but that's what's so neat about scrapbooking... our inner selves come shining thru, and it's good therapy, too :) Good luck on your project!