The New and Improved Questions List-The official thread

[savingdogs]

When beginning your journal, or if you already have one, to make it interesting, SS forum members have formulated some questions to get you started and keep our conversations interesting. This is the list, below. Your answers can be just added to your own thread, or you can answer them here. Include a link to your journal if you wish.

If you do answer the questions here on this thread, please, no commentary, this thread is for JUST the answers to your questions. If you have a comment for the person posting their list, please make that comment in their personal journal, not here.

These questions are meant to be a conversation starter, and to help everyone here know more about you and what mutual interests you may have with some of the members. Feel free to use this list, use a part of this list, or none at all, this is entirely optional. Please keep in mind that our journals are not diaries and private names, addresses, and personal details are not necessary to be relevant in answering these questions or, for that matter, in journal entries. If you do not understand a question, it is because it does not apply to you. Feel free to cut and paste from this list the questions you wish to answer. This isn't a "test".......................... this is so we can all have fun and learn how to be Sufficient Selves together!

1. What state/province/country are you in and what is your climate like?
2. How many people are in your family? Marital status?
3. How would you define self sufficiency?
4. What would you do with your spare time if you had any resources you needed?
5. Have you ever built a house , or other types of building? Do you want to?
6. Can you weld? Steel, aluminum, MiG, TiG, stick, Oxy-Acet?
7. Who or what inspired you to become more self sufficient?
8 Cloth or paper?
9. In what ways are you self sufficient now and in what ways would you like to learn more?
10. In what way(s) will you never choose to become self sufficient?
11. Are you interested in stocking up for future needs?
12. Where do you end up when you sink into yourself, away from the outside world?
13. Can you drive a farm tractor or a semi?
14. Do you make crafts or useful items? Would you want to teach others how to do these?
15. Can you have legally livestock where you are at? Do you have any? What kinds?
16. Can you operate a lathe? Metal, wood?
17. Do you like to garden? If so, what do you enjoy growing?
18. Do you fish? Bait or explosives?
19. How much space/land do you have or rent? City? Country?
20. Are you a Novice, Technician, General, Advanced? ARRL?
21. What is your self sufficient specialty? Or what one would you like to learn?
22. If you could create a degree and curriculum, what would you major in and what classes would you take?
23. Do you do wood work? framing, finish, cabinet?
24. Are you interested in herbal medicine?
25. If you could live any place you chose, where would it be?
26. Do you use a wood stove for heating or cooking?
27. What would your ideal super hero/villain be?
28. Are your family or friends also interested in self sufficiency?
29. Do you like to cook? Are you interested in whole foods and natural foods? raw milk? farm fresh eggs?
30. What was your MOS?
31. Do you forage or hunt for part of your food needs?
32. What skills do you have that help you be more self sufficient?
33. In which fictional universe would you most like to live?
34. Do you have solar panels? Plans to use solar energy?
35 What is the mass/weight ratio of a European swallow carrying a coconut from the tropics to England?
36. Have you ever lived completely off grid? Would you like to?
37. In what do you trust?
38. Do you make things yourself to save money?
39. Has trying to be more self-sufficient changed your attitude or habits about money/spending?

 

[savingdogs]

1. What state/province/country are you in and what is your climate like?
SW Washington state, pretty much in the rain forest, south facing slope.

2. How many people are in your family? Marital status?
Married with Children. Gosh, not like the show though.
I have a grown daughter referred to as Bud and she has The Granddaughter, 19-year-old Computer Nerd son who live with us and works from home, and Trouble who is 15 and just starting high school this fall.

3. How would you define self sufficiency? I would define 100 percent self sufficiency as not requiring anything from the outside world, which is beyond my goals....I would never want to be a complete hermit, I like to talk too much! big_smile But you can be MORE self sufficient as a goal.....

4. What would you do with your spare time if you had any resources you needed?
ANY resources.....gosh, with limits like that, I'd have some sort of dog rescue shelter that I could run, with staff to scoop poop!

5. Have you ever built a house , or other types of building? No Do you want to? Possibly in the future. I'd love a solar-powered home, off grid.

6. Can you weld? Steel, aluminum, MiG, TiG, stick, Oxy-Acet? No but my Hubby can.

7. Who or what inspired you to become more self sufficient? My husband. It wasn't a hard push however as I'd been fascinated as a young adult by books such as Jean Auel's Earth Children series and in reading the Laura Ingalls Wilder books to my daughter when she was young, and The Story of Dora in the book Time Enough for Love by Robert Heinlein.

8 Cloth or paper? Paper!

9. In what ways are you self sufficient now and in what ways would you like to learn more? We heat the house partially with a wood stove and use it for cooking on sometimes, we harvest the wood from our own forest mainly. We have a local well shared with a good neighbor. We have animals to provide us with milk, eggs and some of our meat, with goals to eventually provide ourselves with 80 percent of our meat grown here on our property. As far as what ways we want to learn more....in EVERY way. I'm a curious person I guess.

10. In what way(s) will you never choose to become self sufficient? I must have hot running water for washing and cooking and a decent toilet. Other than that I could rough it. I also have health limitations I have to consider though. In the pacific northwest, a year round garden is difficult to maintain, so I'd rather barter with someone who is good at that skill (although I'm not done trying).

11. Are you interested in stocking up for future needs? Yes! Not far enough along on this project however.

12. Where do you end up when you sink into yourself, away from the outside world? Honestly? I imagine myself on the Oregon Trail. I have a book idea about it that I've thought about for about 25 years and I tell the story to myself at night to go to sleep (guess it isn't that exciting....) caf

13. Can you drive a farm tractor or a semi? Absolutely not...I don't even drive a car anymore. caf

14. Do you make crafts or useful items? Soap, laundry soap, cheese, rag rugs.
Would you want to teach others how to do these? Sure!

15. Can you have legally livestock where you are at? Yes, that is why we moved here.
Do you have any? Bwa ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
What kinds? Dogs, cats, chickens, goats, ducks and rabbits.

16. Can you operate a lathe? No

17. Do you like to garden? yes, very much, but I have a little bit of a black thumb regarding vegetable gardening. If so, what do you enjoy growing? I like doing landscaping projects and such more than growing food, and I'm trying for more of an "edible landscape" at most of the homes I've lived at. I love the english garden look with plants overflowing everywhere. I remove lawns whereever I've lived. I pour over Sunset magazine and wish I could have been a landscape designer as a career, I would have loved that.

18. Do you fish? Bait or explosives?
Neither! We don't fish as no one but me will eat it. I had a dad obsessed with fishing and my first boyfriend also was a fisherman fanatic, so I have been kind of relieved my Hubby does not enjoy it. I love to EAT fish though.

19. How much space/land do you have or rent? City? Country? We have five forested acres in the country, very very remote. But we lived all of our prior life in the city, originally from Lost Angeles.

20. Are you a Novice, Technician, General, Advanced? ARRL? n/a

21. What is your self sufficient specialty? I'd say the chickens, although I'm not particularly expert! Or what one would you like to learn? I'm getting to know more about the goats and find they interest me the most, as far as my livestock is concerned. I'd like to learn more about food storage, solar energy, raising meat, gardening.....just about everything we talk about here.

22. If you could create a degree and curriculum, what would you major in and what classes would you take?
Constitution 101. I would major in The Founding Fathers. Classes would include economics, US history in Depth and How to Win Friends and Influence People.

23. Do you do wood work? framing, finish, cabinet? no

24. Are you interested in herbal medicine? Only in case TSHTF. While it was fine for Ayla and The Clan, I like my modern medicine, thank you very much. I do have an interest in herbs as food and as healthful additives however.

25. If you could live any place you chose, where would it be? Well if I answer from a practical sense, I'd say Skamania County, WA. If I was fantasizing, I'd say somewhere on the coast of northern California, i.e., Russian river area, or in the Sequoias, or maybe Montana De Oro or Big Sur.

26. Do you use a wood stove for heating or cooking? Yes, mostly for heating. Cooking on it happens during power outages, but I bought a dutch oven this summer so that I can use it more, come winter.

27. What would your ideal super hero/villain be? I'd say right now, my super hero is our own dear OFG.

28. Are your family or friends also interested in self sufficiency? ha ha ha ha ha ha ....not at all, except Hubby and to some extent Trouble.

29. Do you like to cook? sometimes.....I have never been a good cook but have been working improving that recently. I watch cooking shows and try to make nice meals. I love Rachael Ray!

Are you interested in whole foods and natural foods? raw milk? farm fresh eggs? Yes! Yes! Yes! I have found my health depends upon it.

30. What was your MOS? N/A *takes off hat in respect to all that have served*

31. Do you forage or hunt for part of your food needs? Yes, but not a significant portion. Berries and nettles. Hubby intends to hunt but has a soft spot for wildlife so hasn't really done it. He would if we needed him to.

32. What skills do you have that help you be more self sufficient? I'm a very patient and determined person, willing to "do without" or "make do" or find a new way of doing things. I'm not afraid to ask questions. I understand animals and have a lot of knowledge about them.....probably just enough to be dangerous lau, but I'm especially experienced with dogs. I think I can be trusted with them. gig

33. In which fictional universe would you most like to live? Probably Heinlein's Time Enough For Love

34. Do you have solar panels? no Plans to use solar energy? Would love to be able to make the investment.

35 What is the mass/weight ratio of a European swallow carrying a coconut from the tropics to England? growing a coconut tree in the tropics looks like...so that coconut got pretty darn heavy and the bird stayed in the tropics th

36. Have you ever lived completely off grid? no
Would you like to? yes! I HATE the power company.

37. In what do you trust? The only answer here for me is God.

38. Do you make things yourself to save money?
Yes! My best example is probably my laundry soap.

39. Has trying to be more self-sufficient changed your attitude or habits about money/spending?
My budget is part of what dictated me wanting to become self sufficient!

My journal is located at: http://www.sufficientself.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=4765 I like to tell the stories of my farm, our animals and our life fostering dogs and finding them homes.

 

[Bubblingbrooks]

1. What state/province/country are you in and what is your climate like? South Central Alaska
2. How many people are in your family? Marital status? Married with one child.
3. How would you define self sufficiency? Hunting and growing ourselves, as well as supporting local farmers and crafters.
4. What would you do with your spare time if you had any resources you needed? Run a CSA and a 2 cow dairy.
5. Have you ever built a house , or other types of building? Do you want to? Helped build one house and shop, as well as doing the finishing work on another our current home.
6. Can you weld? Steel, aluminum, MiG, TiG, stick, Oxy-Acet? No.
7. Who or what inspired you to become more self sufficient? Can't remember.
8 Cloth or paper? Cloth as much as possible.
9. In what ways are you self sufficient now and in what ways would you like to learn more? Gardens are at 50% production. hunting and animal raising at 100%, but would prefer to be able to sell more eggs and chickens.
10. In what way(s) will you never choose to become self sufficient? Have no intention of grain crops.
11. Are you interested in stocking up for future needs? Already do.
12. Where do you end up when you sink into yourself, away from the outside world?
13. Can you drive a farm tractor or a semi? Tractor, yes, but its been years.
14. Do you make crafts or useful items? Would you want to teach others how to do these? I sew, knit and crochet, and have taught others.
15. Can you have legally livestock where you are at? Do you have any? What kinds? Yes. Goats, chickens, turkeys and ducks.
16. Can you operate a lathe? Metal, wood? Yes. Wood lathe.
17. Do you like to garden? If so, what do you enjoy growing? Yes. Anything and everything.
18. Do you fish? Bait or explosives? Yes. Bait, lures and dipnet.
19. How much space/land do you have or rent? City? Country? Own 1 acre in a rural neighborhood.
20. Are you a Novice, Technician, General, Advanced? ARRL? No.
21. What is your self sufficient specialty? Or what one would you like to learn? Gardening and animal husbandry.
22. If you could create a degree and curriculum, what would you major in and what classes would you take? Mixing traditional and modern farming on a small scale.
23. Do you do wood work? framing, finish, cabinet? Some. Framing.
24. Are you interested in herbal medicine? Yes, in a minor way. Use it with great success.
25. If you could live any place you chose, where would it be? I am living the dream in Alaska already!
26. Do you use a wood stove for heating or cooking? Yes, for heating and some cooking. Plan to buy a cookstove in the future.
27. What would your ideal super hero/villain be? n/a
28. Are your family or friends also interested in self sufficiency? Yes.
29. Do you like to cook? Are you interested in whole foods and natural foods? raw milk? farm fresh eggs? I love/hate to cook. Have done the whole commercial on a huge scale cooking, so am a bit burned out. We are 90% traditional in our diet. Raw milk, local eggs, etc.
30. What was your MOS? n/a
31. Do you forage or hunt for part of your food needs? Yes. 90% of our protein is off the land. Moose, bear and salmon.
32. What skills do you have that help you be more self sufficient? I think the above answers, cover this nicely
33. In which fictional universe would you most like to live? Redwall!
34. Do you have solar panels? Plans to use solar energy? No and no.
35 What is the mass/weight ratio of a European swallow carrying a coconut from the tropics to England? LOL!
36. Have you ever lived completely off grid? Would you like to? No and sort of yes.
37. In what do you trust? In God and no other.

Here is a link to my journal!
http://www.sufficientself.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=5179&p=1

 

[k0xxx]

I don't keep a journal, so I guess that I will answer here.

1. What state/province/country are you in and what is your climate like?
North Arkansas. At the moment it is blazingly hot, but most of the year it is quite moderate.


2. How many people are in your family? Marital status?
Three. My wife, daughter and myself.

3. How would you define self sufficiency?
As not having to rely on other.

4. What would you do with your spare time if you had any resources you needed?


5. Have you ever built a house , or other types of building? Do you want to?
I have never built a house. I have built other structures, but unfortunately they all ended up looking like I had built them.

6. Can you weld? Steel, aluminum, MiG, TiG, stick, Oxy-Acet?
Steel. Stick and Oxy-Acet, but it's been a while.

7. Who or what inspired you to become more self sufficient?
Living on the gulf coast for forty five years and experiencing hurricanes

8 Cloth or paper?
Papaer until it runs out, and then anything that will work.

9. In what ways are you self sufficient now and in what ways would you like to learn more?
Not totally SS in any way, although we could pretty much skip the grocery for a very long time if needed.

10. In what way(s) will you never choose to become self sufficient?
Sex

11. Are you interested in stocking up for future needs?
Yep, we're fairly well along this path.

12. Where do you end up when you sink into yourself, away from the outside world?


13. Can you drive a farm tractor or a semi?
Tractor

14. Do you make crafts or useful items? Would you want to teach others how to do these?
I like making rustic bird houses.

15. Can you have legally livestock where you are at? Do you have any? What kinds?
Yes. Just some chickens and a pig at the moment.

16. Can you operate a lathe? Metal, wood?
Both

17. Do you like to garden? If so, what do you enjoy growing?
Yes. I enjoy growing most anything that I don't end up killing.

18. Do you fish? Bait or explosives?
Yes. Whatever seems appropriate at the time.

19. How much space/land do you have or rent? City? Country?
15 rural acres.

20. Are you a Novice, Technician, General, Advanced? ARRL?
None of the above. Extra (we left out that license from the list). ARRL life member

21. What is your self sufficient specialty? Or what one would you like to learn?
Jack of all trades, master of none.

22. If you could create a degree and curriculum, what would you major in and what classes would you take?

23. Do you do wood work? framing, finish, cabinet?
See #5

24. Are you interested in herbal medicine?
Yes

25. If you could live any place you chose, where would it be?
Here

26. Do you use a wood stove for heating or cooking?
I use a heating wood stove, and I have used it for cooking when needed.

27. What would your ideal super hero/villain be?


28. Are your family or friends also interested in self sufficiency?
I have friends and family that are, most are not.

29. Do you like to cook? Are you interested in whole foods and natural foods? raw milk? farm fresh eggs?
I love cajun cooking. We have our own hens.

30. What was your MOS?
Electronics/Nuclear

31. Do you forage or hunt for part of your food needs?
On occasion

32. What skills do you have that help you be more self sufficient?
Patience and perseverance.

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


34. Do you have solar panels? Plans to use solar energy?
Yes, but only for emergency battery power and small appliances.

35 What is the mass/weight ratio of a European swallow carrying a coconut from the tropics to England?
African or European? (I seem to remember the question as being "What is the air speed velocity of an unladen swallow?") Great movie.

36. Have you ever lived completely off grid? Would you like to?
Only for a few weeks at a time following disasters. Yes.

37. In what do you trust?
God

38. Do you make things yourself to save money?
Yes, when I can.

39. Has trying to be more self-sufficient changed your attitude or habits about money/spending?
Definitely

ETA: In reference to #35, a five ounce swallow and a 1 pound coconut.

 

[hwillm1977]

It's been more than a year since I've posted anything in my journal, so I thought I'd just post the answers here:

1. What state/province/country are you in and what is your climate like?
New Brunswick, Canada (Part of Atlantic Canada, we are 20 minutes from the ocean)... USDA Zone 4, frigid and cold in the winter and frost-free growing season of about 110 days. I love spring and fall which are temperate and comfortable.

2. How many people are in your family? Marital status?
Three people, me, hubby and our 8 month old daughter Aeryn Grace.

3. How would you define self sufficiency?
The ability to provide as much of you and your own families needs, possibly with extras for others in need... not that I'm even close to that but we're working on it.

4. What would you do with your spare time if you had any resources you needed?
Does this mean spare time after growing and raising all our own food? I'd teach disabled children how to horseback ride... draw pictures... and cook, I LOVE cooking.

5. Have you ever built a house , or other types of building? Do you want to?
I built an inflatable greenhouse with my dad, and a chicken coop, garage, and wood shed... would love to build a straw bale barn.

6. Can you weld? Steel, aluminum, MiG, TiG, stick, Oxy-Acet?
Nope

7. Who or what inspired you to become more self sufficient?
My parents... grew their own food and taught us to eat real whole food.

8 Cloth or paper?
Paper

9. In what ways are you self sufficient now and in what ways would you like to learn more?
We have chickens, and a large garden and fruit trees... we are farm shopping now so we can do more than what we are able to on our .75 acre lot. I want goats or sheep for milk and cheese, and meat animals.

10. In what way(s) will you never choose to become self sufficient?
I'm not sure... it's kind of snowballing, the more we do the more I'd like to do.

11. Are you interested in stocking up for future needs?
Not really... not anymore than 4-6 months in advance for staples and hardly at all for other stuff.

12. Where do you end up when you sink into yourself, away from the outside world?
We own 5 acres of land located a 40 minute drive from the last power pole... there is no cell service, no real roads, and it is our getaway from the world.

13. Can you drive a farm tractor or a semi?
I can drive a tractor... hubby drives semi's for a living.

14. Do you make crafts or useful items? Would you want to teach others how to do these?
I make clothes, I love sewing... and I draw portraits... I'd teach anyone who wants to learn.

15. Can you have legally livestock where you are at? Do you have any? What kinds?
Yes, we have chickens and turkeys are coming about 10 weeks before Christmas. And one horse, but she's been sold and is leaving.

16. Can you operate a lathe? Metal, wood?
Yes, wood... but not well enough to make anything pretty or useful

17. Do you like to garden? If so, what do you enjoy growing?
Yes... anything and everything... lots of hot peppers and heirloom tomatoes, greens, herbs... etc. I love fresh tomatoes. No flowers although I'd like to grow some, I mostly stick with veggies

18. Do you fish? Bait or explosives?
Nope

19. How much space/land do you have or rent? City? Country?
Small rural lot at our house (.75 acre), and 5 acres in the middle of nowhere where we get our winter wood.

21. What is your self sufficient specialty? Or what one would you like to learn?
I'd love to learn to make soap and get better at canning. I'm a beginner so I don't have a speciality yet. I'd like to be a 'jill of all trades, master of none'

22. If you could create a degree and curriculum, what would you major in and what classes would you take?
Bachelor of Self Sufficiency... work our way through the skills in a good overall book, maybe like the Back to Basics book?

23. Do you do wood work? framing, finish, cabinet?
No, but this is a skill I would LOVE to learn... cabinet or furniture making.

24. Are you interested in herbal medicine?
Interested yes, but know very little and not ready to learn just yet.

25. If you could live any place you chose, where would it be?
Right where I am, but there's a 500 acre homestead for sale down the road, gorgeous 150 year old renovated house, barn and huge pastures... but it's $400,000... I'd move there.

26. Do you use a wood stove for heating or cooking?
Yes, but we only use the woodstove for cooking if the power is out... otherwise it's just for heat.

27. What would your ideal super hero/villain be?
How about Anti-Debt Man... he could come and rescue me from my student loans.

28. Are your family or friends also interested in self sufficiency?
Only my mom and dad, who are getting too old to do it themselves but they fully support me (and enjoy the things I give them)

29. Do you like to cook? Are you interested in whole foods and natural foods? raw milk? farm fresh eggs?
Love cooking, and yes am interested in whole and natural foods but not to an extreme... I grew up on raw milk and backyard eggs and I would like the same for my daughter.

31. Do you forage or hunt for part of your food needs?
No, we've tried for a moose license (it's a lottery here) for the last few years but haven't gotten one yet. Some people have been trying for 30 years without getting a licence so we don't hold our breath.

32. What skills do you have that help you be more self sufficient?
My independence, optimism and problem-solving skills.

33. In which fictional universe would you most like to live?
I like where I am.

34. Do you have solar panels? Plans to use solar energy?
Not yet, but plans for a solar hot water heater if Dad can design one that isn't too expensive.

35 What is the mass/weight ratio of a European swallow carrying a coconut from the tropics to England?
I don't know... am I kicked off the bridge?

36. Have you ever lived completely off grid? Would you like to?
No... and probably no... I'd like to be 'almost' off-grid but have a grid hook-up as back-up. I like my TV and internet.

37. In what do you trust?
Myself and my husband, and the natural world around me.

38. Do you make things yourself to save money?
When I can... I draw portraits to make extra money for my self-sufficiency goals.

39. Has trying to be more self-sufficient changed your attitude or habits about money/spending?
Absolutely... we're saving for a decent down payment on a farm, and paying off debt as fast as possible.

 

[Beekissed]

1. What state/province/country are you in and what is your climate like? WV, Mountains, four seasons, some extreme temps.
2. How many people are in your family? Marital status? A. Right now? Me. I also have three grown sons. B. And ruin a good thing????
3. How would you define self sufficiency? As a fallacy ...but I get yer meanin'. I always felt it was being as versatile, solvent and independent in your life as possible.
4. What would you do with your spare time if you had any resources you needed? What is this spare time of which you speak??? I would help those who need it most...the defenseless and persecuted women and children of this world
5. Have you ever built a house , or other types of building? Yep...assisted with the building of four log cabins in which we consequently lived.
6. Can you weld? Steel, aluminum, MiG, TiG, stick, Oxy-Acet? Can you embroider?
7. Who or what inspired you to become more self sufficient? My grandma, my mother, my dad....my poverty.
8 Cloth or paper? Eh?? Whatever does the job....
9. In what ways are you self sufficient now and in what ways would you like to learn more? Too tired to list them, too many to list and I always leave room for learning.
10. In what way(s) will you never choose to become self sufficient? I think I like my toilet paper..I could do without and have but I really, really like it.
11. Are you interested in stocking up for future needs? Do I can? Yes. Do I stock up for some fan event involving excrement? Not on your life.
12. Where do you end up when you sink into yourself, away from the outside world? Heaven.
13. Can you drive a farm tractor or a semi? Can you catheterize a 500 lb woman? Yeah, I can drive a tractor...
14. Do you make crafts or useful items? Yes. Would you want to teach others how to do these? Yes.
15. Can you have legally livestock where you are at? Do you have any? What kinds? Yes. I gave them all away. I had 30 chickens, three sheep, used to have a milch cow and calf(s).
16. Can you operate a lathe? Metal, wood? Can you operate a sewing machine? Serger? Heck, no, I can't...who devised these questions, some guy???
17. Do you like to garden? If so, what do you enjoy growing? Yes. As much food as possible.
18. Do you fish? Bait or explosives? Yes.Explosive baits.
19. How much space/land do you have or rent? City? Country? One green little acre, rental, we pipe in the sunlight.
20. Are you a Novice, Technician, General, Advanced? ARRL? No hablo englis? In WHAT, exactly???
21. What is your self sufficient specialty? I can do it all, baby. Or what one would you like to learn? Anything I can. That process never ends.
22. If you could create a degree and curriculum, what would you major in and what classes would you take? Beach bumming with a PHd in being lazy with a good book.
23. Do you do wood work? framing, finish, cabinet? Yep...I cut it down, stack it up, carry it in and light it up.
24. Are you interested in herbal medicine? Only when I feel sick...
25. If you could live any place you chose, where would it be? Heaven. Is that one of the choices? No? Well, I guess I'd be a citizen of the world...mountains, beaches, desserts and plains. I'd want to live in all those places at any given time.
26. Do you use a wood stove for heating or cooking? Yes and in the past.
27. What would your ideal super hero/villain be? Eh? I loved The Brain, from Pinky and the Brain. He was a villian that was my hero!
28. Are your family or friends also interested in self sufficiency? My mother...but no one else. Isn't that incredibly sad?
29. Do you like to cook? Are you interested in whole foods and natural foods? raw milk? farm fresh eggs? No. Yes. Yes. Yes.
30. What was your MOS? What was yer WNL?
31. Do you forage or hunt for part of your food needs? WV, remember?
32. What skills do you have that help you be more self sufficient? My ability to learn and apply theory to practice.
33. In which fictional universe would you most like to live? I thought I was there already..... :/ How did you guys get in here????
34. Do you have solar panels? Plans to use solar energy? We already pipe in the sunlight...now ya wanna have us convert it too?
35 What is the mass/weight ratio of a European swallow carrying a coconut from the tropics to England? Approx. 17 grams, depending on the ripeness of the coconut.
36. Have you ever lived completely off grid? Would you like to? Yep(9 years+) and yep.
37. In what do you trust? God only.
38. Do you make things yourself to save money? Yes. I'm currently learning how to mint money so as to cut out the middle process.
39. Has trying to be more self-sufficient changed your attitude or habits about money/spending?Yeah...now that living this way allows me to have some to spend, I no longer see the necessity. Bitter irony.

What happened to 40???? Does no one love 40???? Humph!

I'm adding a 40.

40. What basic truth about life, above all else, makes your life easier to live? That it's not about me. None of it. I used to think it was about me and my little ant-like scurrying through this life but now I know that the movie doesn't feature me as the starring role. What a relief!!! I can relax now!

My journal was deleted by the USDA and providing a link to it would only compromise your safety....please never mention it again if you value your prepping supplies.

 

[dragonlaurel]

I answered this in my journal http://www.sufficientself.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=280526#p280526 but it belongs here too so here's a copy.

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 sad

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. hmm

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.

 

[framing fowl]

1. What state/province/country are you in and what is your climate like?
Kentucky -four seasons
2. How many people are in your family? Marital status?
Married, no children
3. How would you define self sufficiency?
Being able to plan ahead. Being able to adapt to unique and challenging situations with grace. Understanding that there are no rights without responsibilities
4. What would you do with your spare time if you had any resources you needed?
have a farm set up with a retreat for people needing a new start in life. This would also involve creating a farm to table trade school for local youth.
5. Have you ever built a house , or other types of building? Do you want to?
I'd love to build a timberframe home.
6. Can you weld? Steel, aluminum, MiG, TiG, stick, Oxy-Acet?
DH does, I don't... yet.
7. Who or what inspired you to become more self sufficient?
Growing up on a 640 acre farm in Montana and watching my mother's adventures in self-sufficiency.
8 Cloth or paper?
Both.
9. In what ways are you self sufficient now and in what ways would you like to learn more?
Currently have small garden, chickens, fruit trees, berries, and canning. Working on becoming debt free and someday want land where we can have our farm with animals. In the meantime, I'm focusing on the kitchen and garden.
10. In what way(s) will you never choose to become self sufficient?
I don't know -never say never.
11. Are you interested in stocking up for future needs?
To the extent that it makes sense as far as being ready for a storm. Absolutely. Out of fear or SHTF? No.
12. Where do you end up when you sink into yourself, away from the outside world?
On my future farm.
13. Can you drive a farm tractor or a semi?
tractors
14. Do you make crafts or useful items? Would you want to teach others how to do these?
I do custom picture framing for a living and have taken classes in gold leafing. I would love to learn how to weave and play fiddle.
15. Can you have legally livestock where you are at? Do you have any? What kinds?
We're on 1/4 acre in the city and can legally have chickens. We have a mixed flock of 11.
16. Can you operate a lathe? Metal, wood?
DH does. I'm pretty good with the chop saw, band saw, table saw, and drill press.
17. Do you like to garden? If so, what do you enjoy growing?
I love to garden. My favorite things to grow are berries and lettuce and carrots.
18. Do you fish? Bait or explosives?
We lake fished when I was growing up with lures. Now I'd rather be in the garden with spare time.
19. How much space/land do you have or rent? City? Country?
1/4 acre in the city (sounds better than large city lot!)
20. Are you a Novice, Technician, General, Advanced? ARRL?
I must not be anything -I don't get it.
21. What is your self sufficient specialty? Or what one would you like to learn?
I would say my specialty is finding good deals and bartering.
22. If you could create a degree and curriculum, what would you major in and what classes would you take?
Victorian era Household and Kitchen arts.
23. Do you do wood work? framing, finish, cabinet?
framing -picture that is.
24. Are you interested in herbal medicine?
Yes. I believe that our current system of medicine is broken and want to rely on it as little as possible.
25. If you could live any place you chose, where would it be?
In the Appalachian foothills or back out West.
26. Do you use a wood stove for heating or cooking?
Would love to in the future.
27. What would your ideal super hero/villain be?
I've always been a fan of the Lone Ranger.
28. Are your family or friends also interested in self sufficiency?
My family to some degree.
29. Do you like to cook? Are you interested in whole foods and natural foods? raw milk? farm fresh eggs?
Yes.
30. What was your MOS?
What's a MOS?
31. Do you forage or hunt for part of your food needs?
Not currently, have in the past based on location.
32. What skills do you have that help you be more self sufficient?
I'm pretty open to new ideas and I'll try just about anything once. I'm also stubborn and persistent.
33. In which fictional universe would you most like to live?
A Hollywood B Western where the good guy wins and gets the girl.
34. Do you have solar panels? Plans to use solar energy?
Would like to look into it some time in the future.
35 What is the mass/weight ratio of a European swallow carrying a coconut from the tropics to England?
36. Have you ever lived completely off grid? Would you like to?
I would love to live off-grid.
37. In what do you trust?
God.
38. Do you make things yourself to save money?
yes.
39. Has trying to be more self-sufficient changed your attitude or habits about money/spending?
No, it was the other way around. My money habits and attitude led me toward being more self-sufficient.

 

[moxies_chickennuggets]

1. What state/province/country are you in and what is your climate like? = Sc...Midlands.....in a drought right now.

2. How many people are in your family? Marital status? = Engaged, living with fiance on 1 acre with house and buildings.

3. How would you define self sufficiency?=Not having to rely on the economy for everything...food, power, entertainment, etc...

4. What would you do with your spare time if you had any resources you needed?=work to improve the self sufficiency we might have by then.

5. Have you ever built a house , or other types of building? Do you want to?=Yes. 12'x20' woodshed

6. Can you weld? Steel, aluminum, MiG, TiG, stick, Oxy-Acet?=No

7. Who or what inspired you to become more self sufficient?=I have always been the "Green Hippy" in my family.

8 Cloth or paper?= Neither. Re-useable bags.

9. In what ways are you self sufficient now and in what ways would you like to learn more?=Hmmm...good question. We are on a well, but due to drought, water rationing.

10. In what way(s) will you never choose to become self sufficient?= Go off grid, raise our own food, find ways to generate income from home.

11. Are you interested in stocking up for future needs?=Yes.

12. Where do you end up when you sink into yourself, away from the outside world?=I have always been that way anyways.

13. Can you drive a farm tractor or a semi?=Farm trctor

14. Do you make crafts or useful items? Would you want to teach others how to do these?=Professional seamstress.

15. Can you have legally livestock where you are at? Do you have any? What kinds?=Yes. We have 7 chickens right now.

16. Can you operate a lathe? Metal, wood?=Not me, but fiance is a machinist, and also a woodworker.

17. Do you like to garden? If so, what do you enjoy growing?=Yes. We have 4 veggie garden plots, and several flower beds, as well as container gardening.

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

19. How much space/land do you have or rent? City? Country?=1 acre, county, SC.

20. Are you a Novice, Technician, General, Advanced? ARRL?=Me..none.

21. What is your self sufficient specialty? Or what one would you like to learn?=None at the moment.

22. If you could create a degree and curriculum, what would you major in and what classes would you take?

23. Do you do wood work? framing, finish, cabinet?=Fiance does woodworking.

24. Are you interested in herbal medicine?= Yes. Finally in a place I can grow herbs. Have comfrey right now.

25. If you could live any place you chose, where would it be?=Atchafalaya Swamp, or Ozark Mountains.

26. Do you use a wood stove for heating or cooking?=Not presently.

27. What would your ideal super hero/villain be?=Not interested in super hero culture.

28. Are your family or friends also interested in self sufficiency?=No.

29. Do you like to cook? Are you interested in whole foods and natural foods? raw milk? farm fresh eggs?=Love to cook, bake, grill, etc. I also do raw veggie juicing.

30. What was your MOS?=N/A

31. Do you forage or hunt for part of your food needs?=Not at this time.

32. What skills do you have that help you be more self sufficient?=Spent 15 years as a Navy Wife.

33. In which fictional universe would you most like to live?=N/A.

34. Do you have solar panels? Plans to use solar energy?=No. Plan to eventually.

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

36. Have you ever lived completely off grid? Would you like to?=No, not off grid. Did live in Guantanamo Bay Cuba for 2 yrs, 81-83.

37. In what do you trust?=My better judgement and common sense.

38. Do you make things yourself to save money?=Washed cloth diapers and nursed 3 babies when I had them. Cook from scratch, professional seamstress, Reduce, reuse and recycle.

39. Has trying to be more self-sufficient changed your attitude or habits about money/spending?= I have always practiced frugality and self-sufficiency, however, different circumstances merit different or new thoughts and ideas.

 

[JRmom]

1. What state/province/country are you in and what is your climate like? Central Florida, zone 9a. Contrary to popular belief, we do get four seasons, but spring and fall can be short. Being in the middle of the state we don't get the sea breezes so our summers are hot and muggy, and we always have a couple of freezes during the winter. Year 'round gardening is possible.

2. How many people are in your family? Marital status? Married, all our kids are grown.

3. How would you define self sufficiency? For myself, it means growing as much of our food as possible and living a simpler, less cluttered life, to live and enjoy life on the least amount of money as possible.

4. What would you do with your spare time if you had any resources you needed? What I do now, just on a larger scale (more gardening, more food preservation, keep food animals). I'm a homebody.

5. Have you ever built a house , or other types of building? Do you want to? As a kid, I helped to build 2 barns. No, I didn't want to then and still don't want to. That's what hubby is for!

6. Can you weld? Steel, aluminum, MiG, TiG, stick, Oxy-Acet? No, but hubby can so some small welding jobs.

7. Who or what inspired you to become more self sufficient? A change in my employment situation about 4 years ago necessitated curbing our spending, which led to my first veggie garden in years, which is leading to.... lots more!

8 Cloth or paper? Paper for the bathroom, cloth for everything else.

9. In what ways are you self sufficient now and in what ways would you like to learn more? I do not consider us self sufficient at this time (and don't think we will ever be truly SS). However, I cook from scratch, grow a lot of my own vegetables and preserve them, we hunt and fish, live simply, and even though I got out of the corporate workforce and make less money now, we don't need as much. My goal for the immediate future is to learn to garden year round in our climate.

10. In what way(s) will you never choose to become self sufficient? I can't say right now, only because there is a lot of SS type things that I've never tried - living totally off grid for instance.

11. Are you interested in stocking up for future needs? Yes. I think the U.S. is in for some very hard/lean times so I'm stocking up now while I can still afford it.

12. Where do you end up when you sink into yourself, away from the outside world? Into a book.

13. Can you drive a farm tractor or a semi? No and no.

14. Do you make crafts or useful items? Would you want to teach others how to do these? I don't have a "crafty" bone in my body. But if someone wants to learn to use Photoshop professionally, then I'm your girl!

15. Can you have legally livestock where you are at? Do you have any? What kinds? Yes and no. Here in the city we are not allowed "farm" animals. At our cabin we are allowed anything that the neighbors won't complain about. We don't have any animals right now, but a few laying hens and a trio of meat rabbits (and possibly a pig each year) is on my list for the future.

16. Can you operate a lathe? Metal, wood? Nope, but hubby can.

17. Do you like to garden? If so, what do you enjoy growing? Yes. Anything edible! I've really enjoyed growing heirloom veggies this year and saving seed.

18. Do you fish? Bait or explosives? Yes, we fish (live bait mostly), and go scalloping and shrimping.

19. How much space/land do you have or rent? City? Country? In the city, we rent, 1/2 acre. We own our cabin, 1/3 acre in the National Forest. Our cabin is in a small lakeside community, but it's very rural and we don't have any deed restrictions.

20. Are you a Novice, Technician, General, Advanced? ARRL?

21. What is your self sufficient specialty? Or what one would you like to learn? I'm a very good "from scratch" cook. I would like to be a much better gardener.

22. If you could create a degree and curriculum, what would you major in and what classes would you take? If I could go back to school, I'd study religion and the universe. I would like to see Master Gardener courses geared towards vegetable gardening instead of landscaping.

23. Do you do wood work? framing, finish, cabinet? No, but hubby can.

24. Are you interested in herbal medicine? To a degree. Hubby has a few health issues that might be addressed through herbal medicine.

25. If you could live any place you chose, where would it be? Florida, but closer to the coast.

26. Do you use a wood stove for heating or cooking? Yes, for heating. We have a wood stove here at our city house that heats the porch during the winter. We have another for heat at the cabin. I also have an antique Home Comfort wood stove for cooking, but it is not in use yet.

27. What would your ideal super hero/villain be? Totally not interested in that stuff.

28. Are your family or friends also interested in self sufficiency? Nope.

29. Do you like to cook? Are you interested in whole foods and natural foods? raw milk? farm fresh eggs? Yes to all, although raw milk is hard to come by around here. We don't drink milk, but I would be interested in cheese making.

30. What was your MOS? N/A

31. Do you forage or hunt for part of your food needs? Yes, hunt and fish.

32. What skills do you have that help you be more self sufficient? Grew up with all sorts of animals, and we raised/showed Arabs. I could jump in to small livestock with no qualms.

33. In which fictional universe would you most like to live? One in which our elected officials actually listened to "the people".

34. Do you have solar panels? Plans to use solar energy? No, but I would love to use solar energy at our cabin in the future. It's just so darn expensive to get started.

35 What is the mass/weight ratio of a European swallow carrying a coconut from the tropics to England? It has already been proven that a European swallow would never leave the tropics after arriving there.

36. Have you ever lived completely off grid? Would you like to? No, but I would give it a shot.

37. In what do you trust? My husband, and common sense.

38. Do you make things yourself to save money? Cook from scratch. Hubby sews and is the "crafty, handyman, builder" in the family. Gosh, I guess I oughta keep him!

39. Has trying to be more self-sufficient changed your attitude or habits about money/spending? It's the old question: what came first, the chicken or the egg? For me, my attitude about money and spending changed first, the SS followed.