not working

I have a post today at HWW about not working, for wages at least. I am so lucky to be in a position where I can make that choice and not have it made FOR me. I certainly cannot quit working for a paycheck altogether, but we are seeing the results of many years of frugality and hard work. We are NOT debt free by a long shot. It is certainly something to strive for, but if I make that a prerequisite for getting off the ol' rat race...well, I can't wait that long.

I have been thinking alot about jobs and personal economy. When did it become mandatory for a person to earn dollars in order to survive? Then families needed TWO income streams to make it. Maybe I have just read too many Little House books. I have also been reading Pop's 5 Rules (one of which is Don't Specialize). When did I become so specialized that I need to pay someone in order to feed and clothe myself, get water and heat for myself, to entertain myself. Am I really so helpless? By specializing I am betting my success on those skills being in demand- if no one requires my skills- well, tough luck. What if someone needs your skills but doesn't have the dollars to pay you. When did our self worth get so wrapped up in dollars? What if I/we could develop my/our skills to a point where we don't require so many dollars to buy the things we need? Notice I said NEED not WANT. Wouldn't thant be something to be able to take your dentist a couple gallons of maple syrup in exchange for a procedure or barter the IRS man twenty chickens to pay the property taxes.

Sans Microwave

Three weeks ago our microwave bit the dust. My gut reaction was to moan and groan and then check the sales fliers for a good deal, but instead we decided to try going without. Initially it was very hard, I mean how else do you warm up a cup of coffee, or make a couple Morning Star sausage links for breakfast? Microwave popcorn, quick defrost of meat, melt white 'chocolate' for our traditional xmas pretzels?

However humans are adaptable creatures and thrive under adverse conditions! I have learned that warming water for tea is almost as fast on the stove, taking meat out ahead of time is a wonderful thing, the stove *gasp* works great for breakfast links, and we don't eat the prepackaged 'must microwave' stuff anyway-except sometimes for lunches at work. I think we will try the old fashioned popcorn in a kettle tonight (with REAL butter) for a new years treat. I will need another small sauce pan to make this work long term.

We have decided to go without -our future (off grid?) home will be small and spare; cutting back on electricity use and the extra clutter of bulky appliances is how we explained the situation to our curious mom-in-law but maybe it was just plain old contrariness-I'll never tell!

Against the Current

Making significant life altering change is alot like swimming against the current. Years and years of habit are not changed easily. I am tired, tired of kicking against the current, yet the minute I stop-the waves are pulling at me, nudging me back into the current of our consumer driven culture.

Okay-- overly dramatic, I know!! I'm just tired. It seems like the small daily changes I am making are not enough. It is so easy to just stop at the store, or pick up the phone and dial for carry-out.

On a positive note I did finally get a SQF garden plan put down to paper and seeds ordered. I am most excited by the winter squash varieties-who knew squash came in more than 'acorn' or 'butternut'. They are so beautiful!

This weekend we will prune the apple tree. Does any one have a good handle on organic dormant oil or what I need to do to not have wormy brown spotted apples?

Garden Yields

I have been making lists again! It's a compulsion and a way to avoid actually DOING something. It's okay-just the way I am, bursts of activity then lists. The list in progress is a list of vegetables-yum! I have been thinking about the kinds of food my family likes to eat and the kinds of food I would like for them to eat-they are two different lists! LOL-since frozen pizza doesn't grow on trees I will concentrate on the sauce!
I am working under the assumption (right or wrong!) that food supplies will be rather tight next year. I am hearing serious talk of water rationing in LA and farmers (no -PRODUCERS) who will be under serious water stress. So much of our commercial food comes from S. CA I can't help but wonder what another year of drought will do to food prices or even availability. I do not expect or even dream of being able to grow all of our own produce this year, my first 'real' year of gardening, but i would like to make a serious stab at it! I also plan to grow enough to have seeds for the following year.
So this leads me to the question I have. How do I translate say 20# of carrots into square feet of garden or 50# of potatoes into # of hills? I know no one can give me an answer-but a guesstimate? There are too many variables-soil, rain, temp, deer etc. I am going to talk to Dad first-he has been gardening there for a pouple years now-then maybe an extension agent or master gardener. Any other brilliant ideas?
BTW thanks Rose for the book-I think you must have wrote it just for me! It is so exactly what I needed to hear-I can't wait to read more!

create or consume?

I have been thinking about something I read out there in the 'blogosphere' about being a consumer or a creator. This has struck a cord with me. Our culture is not sustainable as it is. We are a society of consumers, what has happened to us?? Are we all so weak willed that we follow the marketing masters suggestions with out a thought, without question. We must buy to feel pleasure, to feel worthy? I don't believe it. The recession (or worse) which our government is trying to buy its way out of, is our rallying call. The boom flush times we are coming out of is a completely false economy-based on credit and borrowing. I believe that the fluff has/is being stripped away and the economy we are left with will be the true state of the union. Get used to it! No more cell phone for everyone over the age of 10, no more Lincoln Navigators idling in the driveway, no more going out to eat every other night-let's get real! The 90's are gone and we have to find a new model for our culture, for our lives. We can't buy our way out of it and shouldn't try.



Reading the March 2009 National Geographic, there is an article about Alberta's oil sands. They have to move 4 tons of trees, topsoil and oil sand to extract 1 barrel of oil. I used to read these articles and think -what a shame, that's horrible, and go on to read a cute article about the sex life of whales or whatever. Yesterday the light bulb came on (CFL of course!) in my head- THEY (the big corporate bad guys) are doing this because I (jump in the car anytime I want-hardware store 2x yesterday) am paying them to do it! Everyone of who drives a car must take some responsibility for what is going on.



I'm feeling a little mad and a little feisty today and should probably be taking this out on the treadmill instead of you guys, but it also feels good for this repressed Norwegian to say what she feels! I am changing my life from consumption to creation, from dependence to sufficiency, from things to people.

Nothing to Fear...

I have been walking around for a whole week with a gnawing ache in my belly, a tight chest and a sense of panic. That feeling of a large important deadline approaching and an impossible number of minutia which must all be accounted for. Now this IS a somewhat normal state for me in short bursts, but prolonged anxiety is really not me.

I believe I am freaking out over the prospect of really truly taking the plunge into voluntary simplicity. It scares the shit out of me sometimes, and other times it seems like the most sane thing in the whole world. With all the negative vibes out there about the economy and TEOTWAWKI and VGD (very great depression-thankyou meadowlark) I must be insane to throw away my cushy income, right? Or not. I had a talk with my business partner yesterday, about my expectations and plans once we move, thinking that would alleviate some of this turmoil. Or not. It's like I'm talking a foreign language to her. I guess I am.

A lot of this goes back to my sheople problem, I've dreamed of escaping the herd, I have a very good plan, but am worried about the execution. BAAAH!
Kris

Just a post-script: After reading through about a week of missed favorite blogs and some reflection I have decided to view that pit in my stomach as something else--excitement. The difference between fear and excitement is just point of view and attitude! K

Winter, Go Away!

We had a close call this weekend. My oldest daughter was tentatively diagnosed with Whooping cough and our family was quarantined for three days until the results came in -negative! So we had three days of family togetherness which was nice. Rearranging work schedules was not fun but it all turned out fine in the end. We have had a local outbreak and one child in her class was positively diagnosed.

I am having a big case of the blahs. I'm feeling panicked/anxious which is typical for me in the week before my period. I'd really like to crawl into bed with a meaningless but fun book and an endless cup of hot cocoa.

I am going to 'Sin City' in a couple of weeks for a conference-I need to log 30 hours of CE every other year for my professional license. I am looking forward to it, I need some help to turn me off this trail of burn-out I am currently on. I dread it because i know i will be in 'domestic debt' for leaving my husband alone with the girl. I am going to attend some of the small ruminant lectures-goats, sheep, llamas, oh my! If I want to own them I better learn more!

On the up side -while cleaning my closet I found some family reunion/history documents I had stored (thrown) in there. There are stories and drawing of the home my great-great-great-(great?) grandfather lived in Norway. Beltane rituals, food storage and preparation, these are taking on a whole new significance for me as I try to go back (forward) to a new way of life. I will spend some time copying a few stories into my blog as I have time.

Erin the Red

doing not thinking is a wonderful thing!

'Doing not thinking' and 'Be the change you want to see in the world' have become my new mantras. It is a relief to start doing!

• After a Christmas full of dietary backsliding, I am back to eating in a manner which is more respectful of my health. I really noticed my joints hurt -I wonder if sugar has something to do with that? I am back at the gym-but not 6 days a week, I am instead aiming for 4 great workouts-balance in all things.
• I am balancing my checkbook and following the compact-DH and L6 are in need of some clothes so I will anticipate and look for resale instead of 'I need them right now lets go to target/kohl's'.
• DH and I spent Sunday afternoon preparing food and cooking together, this week we have great leftovers to eat and my salad vegggies are all cut up--no excuses! My chicks and I made sandwiches for cold lunches (E10 cried!-she is not used to me following up on my 'ideas') and bagged up dried cranberries and snack stuff.
• I put a basket in the bathroom with pieces of flannel rags and explained the the girls that if they wish to save water they can use these instead of TP (only for #1 though!!) there is a mesh bag to put the used one in which will go right into the washer. L6 thought this was the coolest thing, DH and E10 think I am strange! Not getting the 'what can i do without?'.
• The best part was setting a goal of putting the house on the market by april 1st, and calling the two property owners on either side of my dads place--I had to leave a message in both cases, but I am doing something instead of saying someday or i wish...

Kris

Learning Curve

We received our 1/2 grass fed beef the other day...wow the hamburger and steak we have had are out of this world. It's like a different species!! That along with reading Joe Salatin's Pastured Poulty book have me unwilling to eat industrial meat again. This goes hand-in-hand with my desire to eat a clean diet and not rely on processed foods. I do have a problem though...I really have no idea how to cook this way-how to stretch a pot roast or a chicken without rice-a-roni. Oh yeah and get supper on the table in 30 minutes or less, oh yeah and something the kids will eat. HELP! Well the chicks will have to adjust! They are so used to chicken nuggets and mac 'n cheese-heaven help them if they have to chew something! School lunches do not help this either-ugh I feel a rant coming on....ok better now. So many opportunities for improvement, I am truely fortunate :) Today we are going snowshoeing at my dad's farm about 30 minutes away and then we will stop at the Amish bulk foods store near his place. That is my baby step for today.

Other news--a whole week of buying nothing new - the compacts first week. I ran out of toothpaste and started using plain baking soda--of course the girls had to try it too, I laughed so hard-you should have seen their faces-they thought it was awful! They have no idea of the future torture in store for them (evil laugh). Kris

I had logged off when an evil plan formed in my mind...I would like to get the chicks off school hot lunch, but planning and packing sack lunches along with the complaints I am sure I would receive is just not on my agenda for this month...the evil part...child labor... at 10 and 6 they are perfectly able to make their own! I will start them with store bought bread and fruit snacks and gradually shift them the homemade bread and dried apples. (sorry just a little slap happy this am)

The COMPACT

After reading Sharon's article on the giant ponzi http://sharonastyk.com/2008/12/19/the-ponzi-scheme-as-way-of-life/
scheme which is our economy-robbing the future to pay for the present and then looking at the black hole which is my December budget (free financial software http://www.mint.com is wonderful but has left me squirming uncomfortably about our spending habits) I have realized that some big changes need to be made. I will be the change I wish to see in the world. I have been THINKING about voluntary simplicity but not DOING. So typical for me.

If the future I picture for our family is to have a chance, we need to significantly reduce our spending, period, exclamation point! We need to have one parent who can be working on the homestead for the family and not for profit. Right now I am the parent with the desire to garden and milk goats, that may change in the years to come, but I need to figure out how to do without 1/2 my income. If I can put that income into savings this winter and into spring-we would be in a much better position to sell our home and move.

The compact: to not buy anything new with certain exceptions for toiletries, kids shoes, and underwear! There is much more discussion about what is acceptable and some other details, but ultimately each family has to do what is right for them. This is my doing not thinking challenge, its a biggie but so worth while! If DH or I purchase something new I will post it here, otherwise things which are truly needed will be borrowed, bought used (craigslist or resale shopped), or freecycled. http://sfcompact.blogspot.com/2006/01/new-years-resolution.html

Once I have the rest of the (not) budget for December, DH and I (are you reading today honey?) will look at the numbers TOGETHER and TOGETHER decide what we can do without and give ourselves assignments-can we get cheaper car insurance, phone, etc with a little effort? I will report back on our finding there as well.

On another front my fitness efforts are paying off well! I have to say this loosing weight stuff is much harder when you are looking at 40 instead of 30. But over the past 5 weeks I have lost 7 lbs and 6 1/2 inches ( 2 from the chest!). It is not a stunning amount but my clothes are loose and I feel great! I keep telling myself I need to do this so I can put up fences all day or scythe hay. K