repost from old blog

Entry for February 27, 2008
Here I sit again, at what seems to be my twice a year blog entry.( lol oops I forget its here)
Things here at home are about to get busy since we're gearing up towards spring, and spring is going to be very very busy. Slowly, little by little, we are working towards our goals of self suffiency. I've ordered 50 more strawberry plants,(that makes a total of 80), grapes, dwarf apple trees, and most of the garden seeds and plants for the year. I've started two 55 gallon compost tumblers, two 8 foot cold frames, and many other little projects to get me ready for spring.
Now I suppose I should explain what I am doing. We decided a few years ago that we want to live a better life, a simpler life. Little by little we have let go of some modern "conviences" that are really unnecessary in our lives. (IE tv and microwave to start) We've stopped using the lamps in most of the house and are using oil lamps. Its amazing the amount of light these actually put out. For quite a while, lisa has hand made candles for use around the house, and next we are taking a try at making soap.
Why you might ask are we doing all this work? The answer is pretty simple. In the time that used to be spent watching countless hours of mindless television, we are working. Working? UGH most are gonna say, but its fulfilling. Knowing that spare time is spent reading a book, talking, or making something with my own hands has a reward that is undescribable. Avoiding technology that has not only helped us, but has crippled us, has been an experiment with a great outcome. We dont NEED a microwave, it just makes things faster, we dont NEED a television, we just feel the need to be entertained. We have all seemed to stop enjoying the simple things in life, and are focuses on ourselves, entertainment, and money. Simple things like the feeling of picking a fresh tomato that you grew yourself, like sitting and talking in the evening instead of watching some mindless reality show, like learning skills that can help in everyday life.
I've grown tired of our society, tired of watching people work countless hours to do nothing but spend their pay on things that don't help them at all. We pay thousands of dollars for flat screen televisions, for cars that have more gadgets than the earliest lunar modules, for going out to eat (or eating fast food) every night of the week. I know families that have 2 or more vehicles for some unknown reason, one of them has a big 4wd expedition, which is nothing more than a housewifes grocery/(ONE)kid go-getter...unbelievable. We've cut ourselves down to one vehicle at home. I drive a company van to work, so there is no reason for a second vehicle. We plan our trips to whereever we need to go so they fall when we are both home, again spending more time together. Not only are we cutting the cost of buying a second car (or truck in my case), we are saving thousands on gas, insurance, and maintenance. Rather than our kids having chores around the house or actually spending time with them, we lug them back and forth from soccer practice. We give them cable television in their room, their own computer, and every video game console known to man. Nothing but mere electronic baby sitters. And we wonder why so many kids are overweight, lazy, and diagnosed with every attention/ learning disorder that we can dream up......hmmmm.....
OK, I'm going to stop ranting now lol. I hope to keep up this little blog, and use it to tell our adventures into self-reliance and sufficiency. It should be quite an adventure.......
Chris