Self Reliant Living...

6:35pm - 56 degrees - scattered clouds...

Here's the thing... I'm a bit of a worrier. I find that when I'm worried about something, being able to take a positive, substantive action, makes me feel like I'm a bit more in control. This is true when preparing for the harsh upcoming Winter season. This is true when preparing for natural disasters - both small and large. It's true when dealing with any medial issues. And it's true when fretting about the economy. With the world in a bit of a turmoil these days, it seems that there's a lot of worrying going on, and not just in my own head.

With the rising costs (which everyone is feeling the pinch) I started wondering about the people who survived the Great Depression. My grandparents were teenagers during that time, and I've listened to their stories. But I still wonder... in hindsight, how would they have prepared themselves for such a tough time. If their parents, my great-grandparents, had known what was coming, what would they have done differently? What did they wish for in the midst of their survival efforts? What would they have deemed mandatory survival needs?

I'm a voracious reader... and once I'm interested in something I seek out every resource I can find to learn everything I can about a topic. And maybe I've been reading too many apocalyptic novels lately, but these are questions that are concerning to me.

These days, we're so conditioned to jump in the car and run to the store whenever we need (or want!) something. What would our world look like if you weren't able to do that as often, or possibly not at all? 

In this day and age, we also heavily rely on the internet. During a power outage, or when the internet is down, you can't Google, or ask Alexa, how to do something, or look something up. That's why it is essential to have physical resources to turn to when digital isn't an option. 

Being prepared for when times are tough is an exercise in self-reliant living. Getting through tough times - whether it is nature related or man-made related - will be easier if you have skills. Knowledge is power, especially when the unexpected happens.

Here are some invaluable books you'll want on your shelf to get you started... 

Back to Basics: A Complete Guide to Traditional Skills, Third Edition

Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving

Bushcraft 101: A Field Guide to the Art of Wilderness Survival

Field Guide to Wilderness Medicine

Pacific Northwest Medicinal Plants: Identify, Harvest, and Use 

SAS Survival Handbook, Third Edition

The Complete Do-It-Yourself Manual

The Survival Medicine Handbook

The Vegetable Gardener's Bible, 2nd Edition

Ultimate Guide: Wiring, 9th Edition

When All Hell Breaks Loose: Stuff You Need To Survive When Disaster Strikes

Where There Is No Doctor: A Village Health Care Handbook

...then you can continue to add to your collection - cook books, gardening and wild edibles specific to the region you live in, bread making books, animal husbandry, general food preservation, herbalism books - really the list could go on and on.

I would absolutely love book recommendations, and I encourage you to let me know your favorites in the comments below. 

'The Binder' (aka Contractor's Binder)...

70 degrees outside - 8:11 pm - clear night sky as the sun is setting...

Throughout this whole project of contracting and building our off-grid home ourselves, the most important thing to have (I feel) has been ‘The Binder’ (aka Contractor's Binder).  This organized binder has been a huge help and we rarely leave home with out it.  Why you ask?  Everything about our house is that binder, and you never know when you will get a call with a question or when you will need to refer back to something when running around Home Depot or Lowes.

Inside ‘The Binder’ is where we keep all the receipts, along with “Unconditional Waiver and Release Forms”.  No one gets a check, without signing one of these pieces of paper.  It gives us piece of mind and keeps them honest on what we owe them.  When building your own house, you must do this!

In the front of the binder is where the basic floor plans can be found. 

In the back, are the photos of how we want it to look when we are finished.  I have been clipping out magazine pictures for years; there is not a shortage of inspiration in ‘The Binder’.  We have been narrowing down the look that we are going for along the way as well as saving pictures of specific items that we want in the house.

In between, are dividers for house details…

 - Permits (from the county along with inspector phone numbers) 

 - Worker’s Comp & Liability Insurance of Contractors

 - Contractors & Misc. business cards

 - Quotes (or should we say Estimates that are always way lower than the final price)

 - Budget (we have refigured this along the way making changes as needed)

 - Land Preparation (water well, road, pert test, septic system, etc.)

 - Exterior Structure (roofing, siding, windows, etc.)

 - Mechanical (wood fireplace, electrical system, anything that makes the house work)

 - Plumbing (after fixtures were chosen, I made copies of their specs.  These were needed well before it was time to install them.

 - Appliances (again, specs for measurements are key)

 - Interior Finish (trim, doors, cabinets, color swatches)

Lots of details, right?  I tell you, this book is very important!  When building a house it is important to be organized, time is money and you don’t want to waste time having to search for important information.  It is also allowing us to stay focused in our decisions and create the off-grid home of our dreams.

Take A Walk And Explore Nature...

71 degrees outside - 10:58 am - cloudy...

I want our children to have love and respect for nature and the world around them.  Growing up in Washington, I spent a lot of my time outside.  I could be found riding my bike around the neighborhood, building forts out of snow, helping my mom in the garden, playing with one of our many pets or lying in the grass reading a book.  My memories are full of camping trips with my family, or road trips where we would go from the sunny beach, to the snow covered mountains, to the dry desert all in one day.

One way to help instill a love of nature in our children is to take nature walks around our property.  Taking the time to be mindful of what we are seeing, hearing, smelling, and feeling makes nature walks with the kids more meaningful.  Our walks are usually at a slow pace; the purpose is the journey and not so much the destination.

I am constantly asking the kids:

-         What does the sky look like today?

-         What do you hear?

-         What does the ground look like?

-         What animals can we see?

-         Are there any birds?  Insects?

-         What do the trees look like?

-         What colors do you see?

-         Can you name what this plant is?

-         Have there been any changes since yesterday/the last walk?

the little photographer in action

While looking around at the surrounds around us, we are also keeping our eyes open for signs that animals have been around.  Looking for spider webs, animal tracks, bird’s nests, etc.  When we come across a bug, bird, plant or other creature or object that has the kid’s curiosity up, we will research it together, looking up the name and the specifics about it.  So on the next nature walk the kids will be able to properly identify animals, birds, flowers and trees.

Getting outside and experiencing nature in itself is a wonderful activity.  To further captivate the imagination and creativity of our 6-year-old daughter she takes pictures during our natures walks of plants and animals for her nature book that she started last summer.



Caitlyn's Nature Book

Nature walks tend to generate curiosity and a sense of exploration in children.  They know that the world is wide open for discovery…

out for another nature walk

Fairy Lantern aka Smith's Fairybell
Caitlyn's new favorite flower {I think just because of the name}

Back To The Basics With Cooking...

30 degrees outside - 7:16 pm - snowblower is broken again and it is still snowing...

I absolutely love to cook, or I guess I should say bake, so I am really excited that my dad just picked me up a couple of new cookbooks - ‘The Old Farmhouse Kitchen’ and ‘Romancing the West’ both by Frances A Gillette.  All of the recipes look absolutely delicious and I cannot wait to start trying them out!  I have already started going thru putting post-it notes on the first recipes that I want to try.  Have to do something while we are snowed in!