odd_duck99
Lovin' The Homestead
- Joined
- Mar 8, 2012
- Messages
- 118
- Reaction score
- 1
- Points
- 80
Let's start things out properly, shall we?
1. What state/province/country are you in and what is your climate like? I am in Washington State (USA). Everett to be exact. We are west of the cascade mountains, so we get all that famous WA rain you have heard tales of! Most of the time it isn't a hard rain, it's just days on end of grey drizzle - with the occasional snow, wind, heatwave just to keep things interesting! It doesn't really get warm enough to put tomatoes outside until June, then they die in September... that is the best I can describe it!
2. How many people are in your family? Marital status? There are 3 of us at the moment! Myself, my partner, and our son who is going on 9 months
3. How would you define self sufficiency? Doing as much as you can yourself, and not being afraid to learn new things
4. What would you do with your spare time if you had any resources you needed? Oh my... I would be doing yard and house work! We have a fixer upper house, so it takes a lot of our time. You add the baby on that and I can barely get to the garden! Our schedules are not meshing well at the moment, and we are having a hard time really DOING anything. I would love to just finish some of the current things around here, then just have some time to relax!
5. Have you ever built a house , or other types of building? Do you want to? No I haven't, unless you count a chicken coop! I think that I could, but I wouldn't be interested in getting all the damn paperwork and permits, etc.
6. Can you weld? Steel, aluminum, MiG, TiG, stick, Oxy-Acet? nope
7. Who or what inspired you to become more self sufficient? I seem to have a deep seeded cheapness.
I just can't seem to understand why I should pay someone to do something that I can do myself! Well that seems to be a slippery slope, as I have only been a home owner for 3 years and here I am talking to you all!
8 Cloth or paper? Depends on what I am doing, of course. I try to use as much cloth as I can for otherwise "disposable" things, but needed paper gets recyled or composted
9. In what ways are you self sufficient now and in what ways would you like to learn more? We make a lot of our own food already (all bread products, mustard, pickles, baby food, yogurt sometimes, etc) We garden, can/freeze/dry things, do as many of our own home repairs as we can (light electrical, building retaining walls, fences, painting, etc), have chickens for meat and eggs (built the coop and run), etc. There are so many things I would like to know! I would like to have solar or other energy some day, but we are not in our long-term house so I don't see the point yet. I am working on getting good at gardening. We are curious about meat rabbits, but are still on the fence. I am exploring 2 stroke engine repair as things come up... the list goes on!
10. In what way(s) will you never choose to become self sufficient? I can't kill things. The spouse has to do that one. I am finally able to go out and ask a question without batting an eye though! Before, I had to be on the other end of the house with the blinds drawn and playing loud music!
I think everything else just depends on my physical abilities and the needs of our family. Right now, for example, we are likely going to pay someone to paint the house this summer. This is something we can totally do, but with our schedules and the little one, we know that it is completely worth it to just have it done without worrying and stressing about it or trying to schedule time off that magically coincides with the right weather.
11. Are you interested in stocking up for future needs? yes, but only to a point. I believe in having a fully stocked kitchen all the time. I also would like to start developing and saving my own garden seeds, despite having a relatively small plot to my name.
12. Where do you end up when you sink into yourself, away from the outside world? Now, my internal happy place is the thought of a future small farm. It ranges in size depending on how much energy I have that day... lately it's gone down to 5 acres. We want animals and to raise as much of our own food as possible. Ideally it could bring in some money somehow and at least pay for itself, but I may have to get creativeon that one.
13. Can you drive a farm tractor or a semi?If you give me a half a day or so... lol! I do have a commercial driver's license, but it's for passengers. No airbrake
14. Do you make crafts or useful items? Would you want to teach others how to do these? Oh. Yes. I am an art major. I go to craft fairs and walk around getting all excited about what I can make! lol! Again... I haven't had any time (or the place) to really do anything lately, but I would love to.
15. Can you have legally livestock where you are at? Do you have any? What kinds? Chickens! We are like a block outside of city limits, so we have something rediculous like 22 chickens. Most are for eggs, but some are destined for the freezer! Mostly Barred Rocks now... we have just recently redone our flock after finding a breed we like!
16. Can you operate a lathe? Metal, wood? No
17. Do you like to garden? If so, what do you enjoy growing? YES! Everything. Veggies and flowers both! I am not great at it yet, but I am getting there.
18. Do you fish? Bait or explosives? Not really. I enjoy the SS meat of it, but lack the patience of a tru fisher-woman. I get frustrated if I buy a license then don't catch anything. When we go, we use bait.
19. How much space/land do you have or rent? City? Country? We own .42 of an acre. We are in the suburbs, but right next to a swampy area, so it's easy to pretend we are farther away. I can still hear lots of road noise though. Someday I want to own land where I can't hear a freeway - or any other road. Just go outside and hear nature. <wistful sigh>
20. Are you a Novice, Technician, General, Advanced? ARRL? Um, I am going to say no, as I don't know what you mean. You can call me general if you want! lol!
21. What is your self sufficient specialty? Or what one would you like to learn? My specialty is not having a specialty! Eventually, I would like to say gardening. Though I think that the mark of a truely self-sufficient person is that they are kind of a jack of all trades - even if they just know a little about a lot of different things. I tend to know enough to toss an opinion in, whether I should or not.
24. Are you interested in herbal medicine? Interested, yes. Have not had time to even remotely go there yet though.
25. If you could live any place you chose, where would it be? A woodsy but sunny part of Western Oregon... at least right now.
26. Do you use a wood stove for heating or cooking? no, but that sounds toasty...
27. What would your ideal super hero/villain be? Oh... I love that question. Remind me to answer it when I am more awake. It's late, and my creativity is starting to fail...
28. Are your family or friends also interested in self sufficiency? Nope, just me. I have a few friends in the real world that have a glimmer of the same "cheapness" that brought me to this "extreme" but no one I know is like me... that is why I love this site so much!
29. Do you like to cook? Are you interested in whole foods and natural foods? raw milk? farm fresh eggs? I love all those things, and would like to do all of the above someday. However, I am not the kitchen goddess of the household. I just don't like cooking if I can get out of it. I do love eating though!
30. What was your MOS? What is that?
31. Do you forage or hunt for part of your food needs? In summer I forage for blackberries! We freeze enough for the year. I'd like to do more fishing and foraging someday.
32. What skills do you have that help you be more self sufficient? I am not afraid to put a bit of effort into things. I think that is why so few people these days are very SS at all. It's work. I also love learning new things, and want to be the kind of person that never stops learning!
33. In which fictional universe would you most like to live? Narnia
34. Do you have solar panels? Plans to use solar energy?No but would love to someday... someday is becoming a catch phrase here.
35 What is the mass/weight ratio of a European swallow carrying a coconut from the tropics to England? I don't think a European swallow could do it. An African one, perhaps...
36. Have you ever lived completely off grid? Would you like to? Would like to at least try it and see if it agrees with me
37. In what do you trust? God and my family
38. Do you make things yourself to save money?Absolutely!
39. Has trying to be more self-sufficient changed your attitude or habits about money/spending? It has. I really don't think that people realize they can make things themselves for very little effort, and get something better or just as good! It seems like few really know the difference between need and want... or at least that's how I feel every time I see commercials or walk through a department store.
1. What state/province/country are you in and what is your climate like? I am in Washington State (USA). Everett to be exact. We are west of the cascade mountains, so we get all that famous WA rain you have heard tales of! Most of the time it isn't a hard rain, it's just days on end of grey drizzle - with the occasional snow, wind, heatwave just to keep things interesting! It doesn't really get warm enough to put tomatoes outside until June, then they die in September... that is the best I can describe it!
2. How many people are in your family? Marital status? There are 3 of us at the moment! Myself, my partner, and our son who is going on 9 months
3. How would you define self sufficiency? Doing as much as you can yourself, and not being afraid to learn new things
4. What would you do with your spare time if you had any resources you needed? Oh my... I would be doing yard and house work! We have a fixer upper house, so it takes a lot of our time. You add the baby on that and I can barely get to the garden! Our schedules are not meshing well at the moment, and we are having a hard time really DOING anything. I would love to just finish some of the current things around here, then just have some time to relax!
5. Have you ever built a house , or other types of building? Do you want to? No I haven't, unless you count a chicken coop! I think that I could, but I wouldn't be interested in getting all the damn paperwork and permits, etc.
6. Can you weld? Steel, aluminum, MiG, TiG, stick, Oxy-Acet? nope
7. Who or what inspired you to become more self sufficient? I seem to have a deep seeded cheapness.
I just can't seem to understand why I should pay someone to do something that I can do myself! Well that seems to be a slippery slope, as I have only been a home owner for 3 years and here I am talking to you all!8 Cloth or paper? Depends on what I am doing, of course. I try to use as much cloth as I can for otherwise "disposable" things, but needed paper gets recyled or composted
9. In what ways are you self sufficient now and in what ways would you like to learn more? We make a lot of our own food already (all bread products, mustard, pickles, baby food, yogurt sometimes, etc) We garden, can/freeze/dry things, do as many of our own home repairs as we can (light electrical, building retaining walls, fences, painting, etc), have chickens for meat and eggs (built the coop and run), etc. There are so many things I would like to know! I would like to have solar or other energy some day, but we are not in our long-term house so I don't see the point yet. I am working on getting good at gardening. We are curious about meat rabbits, but are still on the fence. I am exploring 2 stroke engine repair as things come up... the list goes on!
10. In what way(s) will you never choose to become self sufficient? I can't kill things. The spouse has to do that one. I am finally able to go out and ask a question without batting an eye though! Before, I had to be on the other end of the house with the blinds drawn and playing loud music!
I think everything else just depends on my physical abilities and the needs of our family. Right now, for example, we are likely going to pay someone to paint the house this summer. This is something we can totally do, but with our schedules and the little one, we know that it is completely worth it to just have it done without worrying and stressing about it or trying to schedule time off that magically coincides with the right weather.11. Are you interested in stocking up for future needs? yes, but only to a point. I believe in having a fully stocked kitchen all the time. I also would like to start developing and saving my own garden seeds, despite having a relatively small plot to my name.
12. Where do you end up when you sink into yourself, away from the outside world? Now, my internal happy place is the thought of a future small farm. It ranges in size depending on how much energy I have that day... lately it's gone down to 5 acres. We want animals and to raise as much of our own food as possible. Ideally it could bring in some money somehow and at least pay for itself, but I may have to get creativeon that one.
13. Can you drive a farm tractor or a semi?If you give me a half a day or so... lol! I do have a commercial driver's license, but it's for passengers. No airbrake
14. Do you make crafts or useful items? Would you want to teach others how to do these? Oh. Yes. I am an art major. I go to craft fairs and walk around getting all excited about what I can make! lol! Again... I haven't had any time (or the place) to really do anything lately, but I would love to.
15. Can you have legally livestock where you are at? Do you have any? What kinds? Chickens! We are like a block outside of city limits, so we have something rediculous like 22 chickens. Most are for eggs, but some are destined for the freezer! Mostly Barred Rocks now... we have just recently redone our flock after finding a breed we like!
16. Can you operate a lathe? Metal, wood? No
17. Do you like to garden? If so, what do you enjoy growing? YES! Everything. Veggies and flowers both! I am not great at it yet, but I am getting there.
18. Do you fish? Bait or explosives? Not really. I enjoy the SS meat of it, but lack the patience of a tru fisher-woman. I get frustrated if I buy a license then don't catch anything. When we go, we use bait.
19. How much space/land do you have or rent? City? Country? We own .42 of an acre. We are in the suburbs, but right next to a swampy area, so it's easy to pretend we are farther away. I can still hear lots of road noise though. Someday I want to own land where I can't hear a freeway - or any other road. Just go outside and hear nature. <wistful sigh>
20. Are you a Novice, Technician, General, Advanced? ARRL? Um, I am going to say no, as I don't know what you mean. You can call me general if you want!
lol!21. What is your self sufficient specialty? Or what one would you like to learn? My specialty is not having a specialty! Eventually, I would like to say gardening. Though I think that the mark of a truely self-sufficient person is that they are kind of a jack of all trades - even if they just know a little about a lot of different things. I tend to know enough to toss an opinion in, whether I should or not.
24. Are you interested in herbal medicine? Interested, yes. Have not had time to even remotely go there yet though.
25. If you could live any place you chose, where would it be? A woodsy but sunny part of Western Oregon... at least right now.
26. Do you use a wood stove for heating or cooking? no, but that sounds toasty...
27. What would your ideal super hero/villain be? Oh... I love that question. Remind me to answer it when I am more awake. It's late, and my creativity is starting to fail...
28. Are your family or friends also interested in self sufficiency? Nope, just me. I have a few friends in the real world that have a glimmer of the same "cheapness" that brought me to this "extreme" but no one I know is like me... that is why I love this site so much!
29. Do you like to cook? Are you interested in whole foods and natural foods? raw milk? farm fresh eggs? I love all those things, and would like to do all of the above someday. However, I am not the kitchen goddess of the household. I just don't like cooking if I can get out of it. I do love eating though!
30. What was your MOS? What is that?
31. Do you forage or hunt for part of your food needs? In summer I forage for blackberries! We freeze enough for the year. I'd like to do more fishing and foraging someday.
32. What skills do you have that help you be more self sufficient? I am not afraid to put a bit of effort into things. I think that is why so few people these days are very SS at all. It's work. I also love learning new things, and want to be the kind of person that never stops learning!
33. In which fictional universe would you most like to live? Narnia
34. Do you have solar panels? Plans to use solar energy?No but would love to someday... someday is becoming a catch phrase here.
35 What is the mass/weight ratio of a European swallow carrying a coconut from the tropics to England? I don't think a European swallow could do it. An African one, perhaps...
36. Have you ever lived completely off grid? Would you like to? Would like to at least try it and see if it agrees with me
37. In what do you trust? God and my family
38. Do you make things yourself to save money?Absolutely!
39. Has trying to be more self-sufficient changed your attitude or habits about money/spending? It has. I really don't think that people realize they can make things themselves for very little effort, and get something better or just as good! It seems like few really know the difference between need and want... or at least that's how I feel every time I see commercials or walk through a department store.
i think your idea would've cut or 'sorting out' time in half!
