- Thread starter
- #71
dragonlaurel
Improvising a more SS life
Being low in potassium is painful too. It was probably causing his angina.
Free garden planner
- Thread starter dragonlaurel
- Start date
- Thread starter
- #72
dragonlaurel
Improvising a more SS life
1. What state/province/country are you in and what is your climate like? Arkansas, in the Ouachita mountains- We get roughly 50 inches of rain yearly with hot humid summers. Winter is fairly wet and windy, with a few snows yearly and lows near 10 F. First frost is late October. Last frost is in early April, but can mess with fruit trees- cause they're usually blooming already.
2. How many people are in your family? Marital status? Hubby and me. Plus some friends that I consider family. I tend to adopt people.
3. How would you define self sufficiency? Growing or creating most of what you need to get by and developing local, stable resources for the rest.
4. What would you do with your spare time if you had any resources you needed? Create a farm/village for myself and some friends to live in. Make a barter system to use with each other and work towards creating most or our own needs. Travel a couple weeks or so each year.
5. Have you ever built a house , or other types of building? Do you want to?
Made some furniture before. Studied on home planning, passive solar, and alternative construction techniques. I want to build my own cob home.
6. Can you weld? Steel, aluminum, MiG, TiG, stick, Oxy-Acet? It would be cool to learn.
7. Who or what inspired you to become more self sufficient?
Mother Nature. Did lots of camping, then met Charlie, Frances and Jeanne- 3 hurricanes. They taught me a bunch.
8. Cloth or paper? Cloth for napkins, general cleaning, or Moontime, but paper for poo- or really yucky stuff.
9. In what ways are you self sufficient now and in what ways would you like to learn more?
I cook, make homemade body care products, use herbs for my own health, sew some stuff, grow & preserve some food. I can build a fairly comfortable emergency shelter, including some simple furniture.
To Learn- better sewing skills, better at raising food, more practice canning, make cheese, wine and fermented foods, make herbal medicines, improve 1st aid skills, make and use a root cellar, greenhouse, house, and animal shelters, beekeeping, animal care, working with draft animals, make soap, basket-making, spinning, weaving, embroidery, and crocheting, archery, knife-making, make music- learn some instruments
10. In what way(s) will you never choose to become self sufficient? I love some foods that don't grow here and would not willingly give them up.
I would have to buy baking soda, sponges, and DE- since I don't make them. Travel. I don't make gas, cars or planes but like to go places.
I want to be around compatible people- not be a hermit. I don't have to do everything myself.
11. Are you interested in stocking up for future needs? Yes- but budget is tight.
12. Where do you end up when you sink into yourself, away from the outside world?
I'm not sure where it is, but I used to cuddle up against a German Shepard in the winter, and it feels warm and safe like that.
13. Can you drive a farm tractor or a semi? Not yet. Hubby has driven a semi and I might get a tractor later.
14. Do you make crafts or useful items? Would you want to teach others how to do these? I want to learn more crafts. Yes, when I learn it.
15. Can you have legally livestock where you are at? Do you have any? What kinds? No
16. Can you operate a lathe? Metal, wood? Not yet, but I'm interested in woodworking, especially by hand.
17. Do you like to garden? If so, what do you enjoy growing? Very much. Herbs, veggies + some flowers. I want to grow fruit trees too.
18. Do you fish? Bait or explosives? Neither. I don't eat meat so it wouldn't be fair for me to kill them.
19. How much space/land do you have or rent? City? Country? I have some pots on the apartment balcony and 2 raised beds in a community garden. Tiny garden.
20. Are you a Novice, Technician, General, Advanced? ARRL? ???
21. What is your self sufficient specialty? Or what one would you like to learn? Good with herbs, and love to research and share information.
22. If you could create a degree and curriculum, what would you major in and what classes would you take?
It would be close to the training for a Naturopath, plus midwife training and 1st aid classes.
23. Do you do wood work? framing, finish, cabinet? Made some simple furniture and did some repair stuff at my old place. I liked it. Don't know how to do the fancy stuff or have the tools for it.
24. Are you interested in herbal medicine? Yes!!!! It's helped me many times.
25. If you could live any place you chose, where would it be? Ouachita Mountains- I want semi-wooded, rolling land with safe water on it.
26. Do you use a wood stove for heating or cooking? Used to have one and really miss it. I want a summer kitchen with a cob oven and stove/grill + a indoor wood cooking stove when I make my home.
27. What would your ideal super hero/villain be?
They would be able to neutralize toxins in the land & water and heal lands that are eroding, worn out or becoming deserts. Lots of people are heroes for other people, but we all need a safe planet to live on.
28. Are your family or friends also interested in self sufficiency? Hubby grew up in the country so he learned quite a bit. Family-not much Friends are interested.
29. Do you like to cook? Are you interested in whole foods and natural foods? raw milk? farm fresh eggs?
I usually like to cook, and I have leftovers for the other days. Natural foods- My garden is organic and some of the stuff I buy too. Cook mostly from scratch. Raw milk and fresh eggs from hens that roam outside are much healthier for us.
30. What was your MOS? I wasn't military but hubby was. 91-B (Combat Medic) with a secondary MOS of 96K (Tactical Lineman).
In his 2nd enlistment he worked 13M- MLRS crewman.
31. Do you forage or hunt for part of your food needs? I forage some, but don't hunt. I'd like to hike & gather with somebody that knows the plants better.
32. What skills do you have that help you be more self sufficient?
I grow & preserve some food, cook mostly from scratch, use homemade body care products, use herbs for my own health, sew some stuff. I can build a fairly comfortable emergency shelter, found underground water on a property and helped develop a spring before. I can cook on gas/electric stove, wood stoves, firepits, grill, and some stuff in a solar oven. Pick good camping sites too.
33. In which fictional universe would you most like to live? From the book, The 5th Sacred Thing- what San Francisco evolved into.
34. Do you have solar panels? Plans to use solar energy? I want to build a passive solar cob home and use solar panels for stuff like internet and a frig.
35 What is the mass/weight ratio of a European swallow carrying a coconut from the tropics to England? Hubby said "I don't know- Ahhhhhhhhh ! "
36. Have you ever lived completely off grid? Would you like to? Yes, we didn't have alternative power there either. I usually liked it and miss it sometimes.
37. In what do you trust? Some people. I trust that Mother Nature knows what she's doing, but things that are necessary for the Earths survival may not be great for lots of us people. :/
Do you make things yourself to save money? Yes - pretty good at improvising.
Has trying to be more self-sufficient changed your attitude or habits about money/spending? Yes- Making more stuff myself. I don't shop as often so less "impulse" buying. Most purchases are practical now, but have to be bargains, cause the budget is still tight.
2. How many people are in your family? Marital status? Hubby and me. Plus some friends that I consider family. I tend to adopt people.
3. How would you define self sufficiency? Growing or creating most of what you need to get by and developing local, stable resources for the rest.
4. What would you do with your spare time if you had any resources you needed? Create a farm/village for myself and some friends to live in. Make a barter system to use with each other and work towards creating most or our own needs. Travel a couple weeks or so each year.
5. Have you ever built a house , or other types of building? Do you want to?
Made some furniture before. Studied on home planning, passive solar, and alternative construction techniques. I want to build my own cob home.
6. Can you weld? Steel, aluminum, MiG, TiG, stick, Oxy-Acet? It would be cool to learn.
7. Who or what inspired you to become more self sufficient?
Mother Nature. Did lots of camping, then met Charlie, Frances and Jeanne- 3 hurricanes. They taught me a bunch.
8. Cloth or paper? Cloth for napkins, general cleaning, or Moontime, but paper for poo- or really yucky stuff.
9. In what ways are you self sufficient now and in what ways would you like to learn more?
I cook, make homemade body care products, use herbs for my own health, sew some stuff, grow & preserve some food. I can build a fairly comfortable emergency shelter, including some simple furniture.
To Learn- better sewing skills, better at raising food, more practice canning, make cheese, wine and fermented foods, make herbal medicines, improve 1st aid skills, make and use a root cellar, greenhouse, house, and animal shelters, beekeeping, animal care, working with draft animals, make soap, basket-making, spinning, weaving, embroidery, and crocheting, archery, knife-making, make music- learn some instruments
10. In what way(s) will you never choose to become self sufficient? I love some foods that don't grow here and would not willingly give them up.
I would have to buy baking soda, sponges, and DE- since I don't make them. Travel. I don't make gas, cars or planes but like to go places.
I want to be around compatible people- not be a hermit. I don't have to do everything myself.
11. Are you interested in stocking up for future needs? Yes- but budget is tight.
12. Where do you end up when you sink into yourself, away from the outside world?
I'm not sure where it is, but I used to cuddle up against a German Shepard in the winter, and it feels warm and safe like that.
13. Can you drive a farm tractor or a semi? Not yet. Hubby has driven a semi and I might get a tractor later.
14. Do you make crafts or useful items? Would you want to teach others how to do these? I want to learn more crafts. Yes, when I learn it.
15. Can you have legally livestock where you are at? Do you have any? What kinds? No
16. Can you operate a lathe? Metal, wood? Not yet, but I'm interested in woodworking, especially by hand.
17. Do you like to garden? If so, what do you enjoy growing? Very much. Herbs, veggies + some flowers. I want to grow fruit trees too.
18. Do you fish? Bait or explosives? Neither. I don't eat meat so it wouldn't be fair for me to kill them.
19. How much space/land do you have or rent? City? Country? I have some pots on the apartment balcony and 2 raised beds in a community garden. Tiny garden.
20. Are you a Novice, Technician, General, Advanced? ARRL? ???
21. What is your self sufficient specialty? Or what one would you like to learn? Good with herbs, and love to research and share information.
22. If you could create a degree and curriculum, what would you major in and what classes would you take?
It would be close to the training for a Naturopath, plus midwife training and 1st aid classes.
23. Do you do wood work? framing, finish, cabinet? Made some simple furniture and did some repair stuff at my old place. I liked it. Don't know how to do the fancy stuff or have the tools for it.
24. Are you interested in herbal medicine? Yes!!!! It's helped me many times.
25. If you could live any place you chose, where would it be? Ouachita Mountains- I want semi-wooded, rolling land with safe water on it.
26. Do you use a wood stove for heating or cooking? Used to have one and really miss it. I want a summer kitchen with a cob oven and stove/grill + a indoor wood cooking stove when I make my home.
27. What would your ideal super hero/villain be?
They would be able to neutralize toxins in the land & water and heal lands that are eroding, worn out or becoming deserts. Lots of people are heroes for other people, but we all need a safe planet to live on.
28. Are your family or friends also interested in self sufficiency? Hubby grew up in the country so he learned quite a bit. Family-not much Friends are interested.
29. Do you like to cook? Are you interested in whole foods and natural foods? raw milk? farm fresh eggs?
I usually like to cook, and I have leftovers for the other days. Natural foods- My garden is organic and some of the stuff I buy too. Cook mostly from scratch. Raw milk and fresh eggs from hens that roam outside are much healthier for us.
30. What was your MOS? I wasn't military but hubby was. 91-B (Combat Medic) with a secondary MOS of 96K (Tactical Lineman).
In his 2nd enlistment he worked 13M- MLRS crewman.
31. Do you forage or hunt for part of your food needs? I forage some, but don't hunt. I'd like to hike & gather with somebody that knows the plants better.
32. What skills do you have that help you be more self sufficient?
I grow & preserve some food, cook mostly from scratch, use homemade body care products, use herbs for my own health, sew some stuff. I can build a fairly comfortable emergency shelter, found underground water on a property and helped develop a spring before. I can cook on gas/electric stove, wood stoves, firepits, grill, and some stuff in a solar oven. Pick good camping sites too.
33. In which fictional universe would you most like to live? From the book, The 5th Sacred Thing- what San Francisco evolved into.
34. Do you have solar panels? Plans to use solar energy? I want to build a passive solar cob home and use solar panels for stuff like internet and a frig.
35 What is the mass/weight ratio of a European swallow carrying a coconut from the tropics to England? Hubby said "I don't know- Ahhhhhhhhh ! "
36. Have you ever lived completely off grid? Would you like to? Yes, we didn't have alternative power there either. I usually liked it and miss it sometimes.
37. In what do you trust? Some people. I trust that Mother Nature knows what she's doing, but things that are necessary for the Earths survival may not be great for lots of us people. :/
Do you make things yourself to save money? Yes - pretty good at improvising.
Has trying to be more self-sufficient changed your attitude or habits about money/spending? Yes- Making more stuff myself. I don't shop as often so less "impulse" buying. Most purchases are practical now, but have to be bargains, cause the budget is still tight.
savingdogs
Queen Filksinger
- Joined
- Dec 2, 2009
- Messages
- 5,478
- Reaction score
- 5
- Points
- 221
Wow! If I do say so myself, the new questions are much better. You are a really really interesting person, DL. Your answers are so cool, it makes me want to change mine! 
Not really, but it makes me realize there are more things I could have said because you did and I realize I want those same things too but forgot to mention it.
You added two questions at the end, is that what you were referring to? I do like them. I don't know when our question list is officially finished, three of us have started answering them now. I'll edit them in quickly because I did kind of ask if we are done adding? I'll edit them in quickly.
Not really, but it makes me realize there are more things I could have said because you did and I realize I want those same things too but forgot to mention it. You added two questions at the end, is that what you were referring to? I do like them. I don't know when our question list is officially finished, three of us have started answering them now. I'll edit them in quickly because I did kind of ask if we are done adding? I'll edit them in quickly.
- Thread starter
- #74
dragonlaurel
Improvising a more SS life
Yep- I thought you had been wanting to put a bit in about budgeting and stuff. It did seem important, so I filled it in on mine. Thanks for getting that list together. You put lots of thought- and work, into it.
Thanks for the compliment. I took my time on answering the list.
Thanks for the compliment.
I took my time on answering the list.
Dawn419
Almost Self-Reliant
DL,
Our internet was down for a few days so I missed the news about your hubby, I'm so glad he's home and recovering!
I enjoyed reading your list!
Our internet was down for a few days so I missed the news about your hubby, I'm so glad he's home and recovering!
I enjoyed reading your list!
old fashioned
Almost Self-Reliant
Dragonlaurel...... 
I'm glad DH is doing better & hope he's not running you too much with the 'honey do this, honey do that'
I'm glad DH is doing better & hope he's not running you too much with the 'honey do this, honey do that' - Thread starter
- #77
dragonlaurel
Improvising a more SS life
Thanks Dawn- He wasn't in long at least. Hospitals are no Fun.
Guys want to think they are 10 foot tall and bulletproof sometimes.
fixed typo
Thanks- The 1st day I had to run errands and get stuff. Most of the time he'd rather convince himself he's ready for something -before- he really is.old fashioned said:Dragonlaurel......
Guys want to think they are 10 foot tall and bulletproof sometimes.
fixed typo
old fashioned
Almost Self-Reliant
Sometimes trying to do more than you're able is worse than whining for 'honey do's'
- Thread starter
- #79
dragonlaurel
Improvising a more SS life
He barely manages usually, then is sore the next day.
- Thread starter
- #80
dragonlaurel
Improvising a more SS life
I met my first fellow SS ers from the site today. We had a great time hanging out with Dawn419and Doc Gonzo. They had to go to Little Rock, and decided to come 60 miles further and see Hot Springs and meet us. They took us to lunch at Picantes, since we all like Mexican food. Good food and we had a great time hanging out with them. They are really nice people and fun to be with.
Dawn has a green thumb too. She potted up some Greek oregano, and lemon balm and sage for me from her yard. Plus she brought me some garlic seed for 3 varieties so we will have some yummy meals "taste testing" our garlic next year. (note to self- I will have to mark what is planted where this time!)
I totally forgot about taking pics while we were with them. Sorry.
I hope everybody will forgive me. The good part is I didn't break their camera, so you'll be able to see whatever other pics they took.
