November 12, 2015
It's been a VERY busy few days, and it doesn't seem like it's going to get any less busy, at least until December. We've been continuing on with the "Beyond off the Grid" webinar series, and Tuesday was GREAT! There was a discussion by Amber Bradshaw, of thecoastalhomestead.com. The topic was "How to Make your Own Household Cleaners." For years, LouAnn has wanted to purify the our lives, eliminating most of the unpronounceable chemicals, and doing without chemicals and additives that we can and should do without. Unfortunately, it hasn't always been easy to convince our children (LouAnn's three children, my stepchildren) to join us in our spirit of purity.
For a time, living purer and healthier was not a battle that was worth the cost of infuriating our children. In the past, we tried to have homemade soap and cleansers, homemade laundry detergent, drying our clothes on clothes lines, eliminating 99% of processed foods, etc., etc., etc. Many of these projects met with fierce resistance from our children, especially the boys, who have been immersed in our "immediate gratification" world and can't see the benefits of a purer, simpler lifestyle. Well, at this point, the boys are grown and about to graduate college, the little lady is a teenager, and LouAnn has decided that we WILL go forward with our ideas. We no longer have cable television in our home, we are eating healthier, we are planning to begin our homestead, and this webinar by Ms. Bradshaw was WONDERFUL for some product education. I always thought that ammonia and bleach were required chemicals in a "back to basics" cleaning closet... apparently, I am mistaken. Vinegar, Baking Soda, Washing Soda (which I can make myself). Alcohol, and a few herbs and essential oils seem to be all that is needed besides good old H2O.
So... we made homemade all-purpose cleaner, homemade glass/window cleaner (WOW! MUCH MORE EFFECTIVE than Windex,) are getting ready to make our own laundry detergent, dryer balls, and personal hygiene products. My darling wife has gone on a mission to dispose of as many AWFUL chemicals as she can in our home, and hopefully, we can get our children to "get with the program" as we go to homemade soap and shampoo, homemade dish detergent, etc... etc... etc... My dream is that step by step, we will be able to take a few steps back from this ways of a world that has become too toxic, too superficial, too relativistic... just too... TOO! For my own self, I hope that over time, I can keep on strengthening my relationship with my son (he lives in PA now), because out of our three boys, I think he is the only one who might appreciate the pure lifestyle, and the hard work and rewards that are such an integral part of the mindset of that lifestyle. But, whether LouAnn and I are the first generation of many to return back to basics, or the first and only generation of our family to take this venture, WE ARE taking it.
Oh... as a humorous aside, I have REALLY got to learn how to be a better blessing to my wife in the kitchen. I made some homemade bread on Tuesday... just so-so. Along with her wonderful cooking of our meals (I married somebody just this side of a country gourmet) LouAnn made some apple crumb this week and banana bread yesterday... DEFINITELY NOT so-so! My wife is a FABULOUS cook, and I feel so inept sometimes at how wonderful she is at domestic life, and how my only skills seem to be "guy" things. She is plenty capable of "guy" things as well. As a friend of mine said last week, "Lee, you married up." He's right.
Yesterday, we watched two webinars - one was about chickens by Maat Van Uitert (thefrugalchicken.com). Chickens are something that we want to raise on our homestead, so she will be a fount of useful information for us. I also took a look at Maat's website, and the Frugal Homesteading part seems to be worth checking into. Then, we watched a webinar by Tammy Trayer (Trayerwilderness.com), and all I can say is, "WOW!!!!!!!" She, her husband, and son, moved from Washington, DC to raw acreage in Idaho (sight unseen) and over the past five years, through determination, ingenuity, and some genuine elbow grease, have established a PHENOMENAL homestead. Solar electricity, hand tools both in and out of the home, running their own sawmill for their wood, cooking with solar, heating with wood, building outbuildings, raising animals, hunting and gathering, and starting their own garden. They go shopping about once every three months! I DREAM about being able to have my family live that simply, and hopefully, God will bless my family as much as he as blessed the Trayers.
Now, it's time to take care of my Mom and Dad. Dad is having a difficult time physically and emotionally, which obviously affects Mom, so LouAnn and I are spending a few days with them to hopefully help right their ship.
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