ORChick's Not-a-Journal

[ORChick]

I'm not sure about this journal thing, but I've been here at SS for quite awhile now, and thought I might give it a try


1. What state/province/country are you in and what is your climate like? - SW Oregon, between the Coast Range and the Cascades - USDA zone 8b; Sunset zone 6 - warm, dry summers; damp, cool winters - but seldom snow, and then just for a few days at most.

2. How many people are in your family? Marital status? - Just me and DH

3. How would you define self sufficiency? - Being able to sufficiently care for oneself and family.

4. What would you do with your spare time if you had any resources you needed? - I'm retired, and have lots of spare time. I spend much more of it than I ought reading or on the computer

5. Have you ever built a house , or other types of building? Do you want to? - I've built 2 chicken coops, but nothing bigger

6. Can you weld? Steel, aluminum, MiG, TiG, stick, Oxy-Acet? - No, but I know people who can

7. Who or what inspired you to become more self sufficient? - My parents, I think. Both parents and grandparents, with whom we lived, did many things for themselves that wasn't the norm anymore in not-quite-town, but also not-quite-country, even back in the '50's and 60's

8 Cloth or paper? - Cloth, mostly

9. In what ways are you self sufficient now and in what ways would you like to learn more? - I cook, bake, sew, knit, spin, garden, keep chickens, etc - I miss not having room for a bigger garden, but I manage. Learning is ongoing - as needed I will learn.

10. In what way(s) will you never choose to become self sufficient? - I don't want, have never wanted, to become a farmer. Gardener yes, farmer, no

11. Are you interested in stocking up for future needs? More than I do already? No, not much; I have more than enough to get us through bad weather, a bout of sickness, a disinclination to go to the store; I shop mostly to replenish what I have. Don't need much more, and don't have space to put it.

12. Where do you end up when you sink into yourself, away from the outside world? - Usually in whatever reality I am reading about at the moment

13. Can you drive a farm tractor or a semi? - Never tried

14. Do you make crafts or useful items? Would you want to teach others how to do these? I can, and do. If someone wanted to learn I would be happy to teach them

15. Can you have legally livestock where you are at? Do you have any? What kinds? - Legally, anything but pigs; in actuality, 12 chickens (and 5 cats, but I don't suppose they count )

16. Can you operate a lathe? Metal, wood? - Again, never tried

17. Do you like to garden? If so, what do you enjoy growing? - First love is herbs; second are the veggies and other edibles; third would come the flowers and non-edible shrubs

18. Do you fish? Bait or explosives? - No

19. How much space/land do you have or rent? City? Country? - We have 8+ acres in the country - however most of that is on a steep hill, and is covered with oak, madrone, and poison oak (but also pretty wildflowers in the Spring). Garden space is limited because of the hill and the deer.

20. Are you a Novice, Technician, General, Advanced? ARRL? Yes ... er ... No ... hm ... I don't know?

21. What is your self sufficient specialty? Or what one would you like to learn? I'm a pretty good cook, and don't need a kitchen full of gadgets to set a meal on the table.

22. If you could create a degree and curriculum, what would you major in and what classes would you take? That requires more thought than I'm willing to give it at present - need another cup of tea

23. Do you do wood work? framing, finish, cabinet? - DH and I teamed up to make bookshelves for our "library", and did an excellent job, if I do say so myself. Other than that, no

24. Are you interested in herbal medicine? - Yes

25. If you could live any place you chose, where would it be? - Very hard to say; I have loved everywhere I have ever lived, and would have a hard time choosing. I have no regrets about our move to Oregon 10 years ago

26. Do you use a wood stove for heating or cooking? - We have a small woodstove in the "library" for heating, but in a pinch I could cook something on top. It is downstairs from the kitchen though, so I wouldn't want to do it on a regular basis

27. What would your ideal super hero/villain be? Not quite a *super* or even *hero*, but I've always rather admired Pippi Longstocking

28. Are your family or friends also interested in self sufficiency? One friend, in theory but not in practice. Her stated wish is for both of us to share a house in our dotage - she will continue to work to bring in money, and I will keep the kitchen, pantry, garden

29. Do you like to cook? Are you interested in whole foods and natural foods? raw milk? farm fresh eggs? - Yes, yes, yes, and yes

30. What was your MOS? - Moss? this is a damp climate, we have a lot of it

31. Do you forage or hunt for part of your food needs? - Does picking juniper berries from the neighbour's tree count?

32. What skills do you have that help you be more self sufficient? - Greatest skill would be the ability and willingness to learn, and also the willingness to try things to see if they work. I like to do a lot of research into projects, but sometimes one just has to leap in and see what happens.

33. In which fictional universe would you most like to live? - Pern

34. Do you have solar panels? Plans to use solar energy? - This is Oregon, and we live on the north side of a hill

35 What is the mass/weight ratio of a European swallow carrying a coconut from the tropics to England? - 42

36. Have you ever lived completely off grid? Would you like to? - Not completely. My grandfather's house only got electricity a few years before I was born, and Winter storms took it out often when I was young, but never for very long. We only had fireplace heat, but we did have an oven, and lights, and such.

37. In what do you trust? - In my ability to figure things out

38. Do you make things yourself to save money? - All the time

39. Has trying to be more self-sufficient changed your attitude or habits about money/spending? - Not much; I've always been frugal, not to say cheap.

 

[snapshot]

Hi! Glad you got started today!!!!!!

 

[ORChick]

Hi! Glad you got started today!!!!!!

I spent some time out in the cold this afternoon setting concrete blocks to make a little retaining wall in the chicken run. The run is on a hill, and DH injured himself rather badly - bad broken ankle - going in there a few weeks ago, and slipping in the mud. So I built this little wall to make a level spot inside the gate. I've already put a couple of these small walls in there, to keep the whole hill from sliding, but, until DH's accident somehow it didn't occur to me to make one right inside the gate. Of course, it usually me who goes in there, and I am always careful. But, it only takes one slip, and - in DH's case - be laid up for at least 3 months.
We'll see, later when they go in to roost, how the Girls like the new look

 

[FarmerChick]

Not a journal. I like that!

 

[ORChick]

I'm a pretty decent cook, and do most things "from scratch" (whatever that means ; how far back does one have to go? No, I don't grow the wheat to make the bread ). DH appreciates my ability for the most part - though he is usually quicker to tell others what a great cook I am than to tell me . I also think that he thinks I'm a bit nuts for storing as much food as I do, but is more amused than anything else. (He's European, and grew up in a big city. His mother, and most women there, went/go shopping everyday)
But yesterday he was watching this you tube video - http://tedxtalks.ted.com/video/TEDxIowaCity-Dr-Terry-Wahls-Min - about a woman who has slowed/reversed her MS symptoms with diet, and he was very impressed. And this morning he said that he thought it was great that I was interested in nutrition, and that I didn't buy packaged foods! I think it is finally beginning to sink in. He even said that maybe we should eat more kale

 

[ORChick]

Sick Christmas - I am at the end of a stuffy cold, and DH is at the beginning of something similar (I don't think it was me gave it to him; the timing is off). He's also still relatively immobile because of his broken ankle. Brother and SIL were going to join us for Christmas dinner, but she came down with shingles a couple of months ago, and is up and down on how she is feeling ... and this weekend is one of her low points. So I will put the planned beef roast in the freezer, and pull it out for a feast sometime in January when she is feeling up to it. DH has requested that we still have the planned Yorkshire pudding, so I'll do that with some Swedish meatballs, and some roasted Brussels sprouts, and poached pears for dessert. Not having guests is both a good and a bad thing - I'll miss having them here, but it means that I don't have to do a big tidy around the house, and can slack off on the last of the Christmas decorations .
Oh, and I just called another brother in California, and he has the Winter Crud too, and will have to miss the family gathering at his in-laws, as he doesn't want to take his germs near his 93 year old FIL.
I'm almost scared to call my third brother on the east coast; I don't want to find out that he is sick too!

Merry Christmas (and Good Health) to all of you!

 

[hqueen13]

Boo for being sick over the holiday!!! Check the natural remedies, someone brought up a thread that used honey and onion to combat colds, sounds like it works. I am interested in trying it, just not too soon!

Have a very Merry Christmas despite the change in plans!!

 

[Denim Deb]

Thanks for sharing that video! I have a few people I'll be sharing it with-including my SIL. Her hubby has severe MS and is an invalid because of it.

 

[ORChick]

Thanks for sharing that video! I have a few people I'll be sharing it with-including my SIL. Her hubby has severe MS and is an invalid because of it.

It looks like a pretty major shift in many people's eating habits, but I hope that your SIL will be open to that, and that it helps her husband.

 

[Denim Deb]

They're tried all kinds of things, and nothing has helped, so I think she will. I'd love to see him at least get to the point of being able to get up out of the chair, and maybe play a bit w/his grand kids. The only thing I'm not sure is, whether or not they have a computer! But if they don't, both of their sons are near, and I'm sure they both have a computer.