It is written by a sweet young lady named Mia who is a fellow Christan, homeschooler, and Civil War reenactor, and who, like me, believes that her greatest calling in life is to be a wife, mother, and homemaker. Her entire family has taken on an old-fashioned "homesteading" approach to life, living in a small house in the country, trying to be as self-sufficent as possible. It's an intriguing blog to read, even if you're not into that kind of thing; it's still refreshing to see a young lady and family that is devoted to God.
However, the blog is especially inspiring to me. Why? Well, you all know I love the country; the wide open spaces, the fresh air, the peaceful sounds, the earthy smells. Yup, that's my thing. But more than that, I love the idea of "homesteading". I love the idea of growing my own food, and raising my own animals; the idea of using the laundry line more than the dryer, and candles more than eclectric lights; the idea of being a peacful, old-fashioned family enjoying the simple things of life in the country. Thankfully, my Man shares these ideas with me, so we both dream of having a house in the country with a porch swing and a vegetable garden and animals of our own.
When I first started reading that blog, I was so discouraged. I thought, "I can never be like her! She's probably grown up this way,and she lives in the country, and her entire family is involved. I've grown up depending on Wegmans and Targert, I live in an apartment, and I'm kind of alone in this right now." But, as I started looking back at her posts from the past, I realized that they started out just like me. She was a "normal" girl, living in the city, just new to homeschooling. But her family had a dream, and they made do with what they had, growing small amounts of food in their tiny back yard, until they could move to the country. And now, Mia has a dream, too, of continuing that country lifestyle, and learning how to be the best wife and mother she can. She's doing that, one little thing at a time.
And that got me to thinking....I may not have a family that's ready to throw themselves into the country and start homesteading. But, I can be the beginning of that kind of family. Yeah, the Man and I may have to start out in an apartment, but maybe, someday we will be able to take our family to that house in the country, porch swing and all. And I want to be as ready for that day as possible.
One thing I'm doing this year to make that happen is attempting to growing herbs and tomatoes. I've never grown anything edible before, and trust me, I've tried!! But, I've heard herbs and tomoatoes are easy, and that they don't take up a lot of space (essential, since I only have a small balcony to grow things on).
P.S. Pictures from Disney will be coming soon.....it just takes a while to sift through ofver 1000 pictures!
1 comment:
I have grown all of them! There is nothing like a fresh tomato out of the garden sprinkled with fresh chives or oregano.
A few books I love are:
The Backyard Homesteader (Storey Publishing)
Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew
Homesteading (Storey Publishing)
One of my greatest sources is the Deanna B. (the herb lady as we call her)from the museum. She has given me so many great tips on herbs. Just look around at their kitchen gardens. See what they have planted together.
My biggest tip for you is start small. By that I mean do not think you have to do it all now. Start out with a few window herbs. Perhaps a tomato plant in a round pot that you can keep right out on your patio.
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