SELF RELIANCE

being self reliant has soo many different meanings for many different people.

 i have always been an admirer of self reliant people.

people who grew a large portion of their food, raised some animals not only for companionship but for food also.

being self reliant means also to be able to make many of our daily needs, like bedding , clothing, furniture and our homes.

for many it means staying out of debt and living with in their means.

today i'm talking about growing some of my house hold food needs.

when i had  young children, eric and i had a large garden that when even halved by the swing and sand box play area was plenty big for our eating needs and enjoyment.

having been raised in the city i knew tomatoes were from a garden but i never realized how much food could be produced in a modest backyard.

i must admit my lure to raise a portion of my house hold food has waxed and wane through the years

for a host of reasons.

i believe we all live in the season that we happen to be in and now with my children grown i seem to have more time to concentrate on the things that are important to me.

things that i no longer have to shelf due to more urgent daily family needs.

being more self reliant is moving closer to the top.

i am no longer interested or need to acquire things.

sure i spend money and shop in grocery stores,

yarn stores, fabric stores etc. 

but lets say my purchases are more thought out.

i no longer shop to shop or  to just look,

with the exception of estate, thrift and good will stores. 

again, even here i think though my purchases.

in other words i have never believed in retail therapy but now i find it almost offensive.

i also must confess i am a fair weather gardener.

i do not enjoy being cooked in the mid-day sun.

so my time in the garden is either early morning or before dark on my days off from the hospital.

also my husband does the majority of heavy labor in the yard, he is so good with the" honey do" things and patient!

i am going to start to record more of my " self reliance"

here on the blog. 

would love to hear what you are doing and what it means to you to be more self reliant.

it could be as simple as only using library books to as extreme as never having cash leave your hands for a purchase.

let me know...