The_Realistic_Optimist
Power Conserver
Hi, I just found your site and love it!!!
My husband and I have recently begun our journey to a more self-sufficient lifestyle, and I am thrilled to find a forum with so many useful tips. We live on an island in the Gulf of Mexico just south of Mobile, Alabama. Since the question is not if a hurricane will disrupt our power, water, etc., but when, it seems like common sense to me to be prepared. I'd also like to be able to retire early, so frugality is also a consideration. My husband has always been a do-it-yourself type guy, but I wasn't raised that way, so it's taken time for me to gain confidence that simplicity can equal happiness in a way that conspicuous consumption cannot.
I'm starting slowly. First, I learned to bake my own artisan bread (yummy) about a year ago and I've been cooking many things from scratch for years. More recently, I have ceased purchasing any pre-packaged food items (bye-bye Kraft dinner) and am instead making pretty much everything homemade. It's cheaper and my food contains no chemically altered or artificial ingredients (including HFCS). I have also created all of my own "convenience food" mixes, my own baking mix, cornbread mix, cake mix, brownie mix, salad dressing mix, chili and taco seasoning mixes and so forth. My husband thinks they taste as good or better than the ones I used to buy at the store. I love to cook - particularly with fresh, high quality ingredients.
My experience at gardening was limited to the ability to keep plastic plants "alive", but I am gradually learning. At this very moment, I have fresh, home-grown herbs in pots on my porch that are growing well, though not quite ready to harvest, and I transplanted my successfully started lettuce and turnip green seedlings into my raised bed today. We shall see if they live. (fingers crossed)
My husband and I have recently begun our journey to a more self-sufficient lifestyle, and I am thrilled to find a forum with so many useful tips. We live on an island in the Gulf of Mexico just south of Mobile, Alabama. Since the question is not if a hurricane will disrupt our power, water, etc., but when, it seems like common sense to me to be prepared. I'd also like to be able to retire early, so frugality is also a consideration. My husband has always been a do-it-yourself type guy, but I wasn't raised that way, so it's taken time for me to gain confidence that simplicity can equal happiness in a way that conspicuous consumption cannot.
I'm starting slowly. First, I learned to bake my own artisan bread (yummy) about a year ago and I've been cooking many things from scratch for years. More recently, I have ceased purchasing any pre-packaged food items (bye-bye Kraft dinner) and am instead making pretty much everything homemade. It's cheaper and my food contains no chemically altered or artificial ingredients (including HFCS). I have also created all of my own "convenience food" mixes, my own baking mix, cornbread mix, cake mix, brownie mix, salad dressing mix, chili and taco seasoning mixes and so forth. My husband thinks they taste as good or better than the ones I used to buy at the store. I love to cook - particularly with fresh, high quality ingredients.
My experience at gardening was limited to the ability to keep plastic plants "alive", but I am gradually learning. At this very moment, I have fresh, home-grown herbs in pots on my porch that are growing well, though not quite ready to harvest, and I transplanted my successfully started lettuce and turnip green seedlings into my raised bed today. We shall see if they live. (fingers crossed)
I'm glad to hear you were spared from the spill! From what I've heard, Dauphin Island is a natural treasure. 
over the pictures.
