This homesteader's day

**homesteadmamma** · 08-22-2002, 12:17 PM

I sit at the computer, listening to the crickets singing, while my home smells scrumptious with applesauce bubbling away. The quarts are in the canner and will soon be ready for taking out. All the apples were free, given to us from a friend in our small town.

I look outside my window and our children are playing basketball, no fences to fence them in, but the freedom to be outside and free. Our children love open spaces and they search for bugs (ds does, not dd), watch the hummingbirds feed at our feeder and their eyes light up at new experiences of living in the country.

The tomatoes are ripening (what few we got this year) and soon they will be in the canner, getting ready for winter to delight our taste pallettes. Today will be the start of canning them.

The wheat sits in containers ready for me to grind it because we need more bread. Since grinding my own grain, family refuses to eat store bought bread. Today, I'll watch as the dough rises and once again, instead of applesauce smell I'll have the heavenly smell of fresh baked bread baking in the oven.

Chocolate chips await me in the fridge as the kids have also put in an order of chocolate chip cookies. They may have to wait until tomorrow because today its one busy day.

The clothes are washing and will soon be blowing in the wind. I love the smell of freshly hung clothes brought in from outside. Oooh a hot bath later tonight and then to crawl into bed with freshly laundered sheets will bring an end to my very busy but oh so simple day.

Frugalality will be on my mind today because everything I do will cost little or no money. Applesauce 50¢ worth of sugar (I use hardly any) - the apples were free. Hanging clothes outside 0¢.
Baking bread works out now to about 30¢ and I'll make 4. Chocolate chip cookies (if I make them today) will cost about $2.00 to make 5 dozen. Tomatoes will cost 0¢ and the kids playing outside running free - well there isn't a price I can put on that.

Tell me about your homesteading/simple living day.

**yolo** · 08-22-2002, 12:45 PM

I just love the way you describe your day. It isn't always a day of leisure, but it still feels like a slice of heaven. As I was reading your post, my timer went off, and I took out the last of my salsa. I canned 14 pints Tuesday, and 9 pints today. The kids love homemade salsa. My neighbor asked me if it was cheaper, and my reply was even if it wasn't cheaper, I would make it, as the kids love it, and it is a tradition to have chips and salsa on Christmas Eve and New Year's eve. I want my kids growing up knowing how to can and freeze, garden and how to make foods from scratch.

While the salsa was in the canner, I made a batch of Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream and the mixture is cooling in the fridge now. Hopefully I will make it tonight for dessert. All I have left to do it put it in the ice cream freezer. If not tonight, for sure tomorrow.

I loved your post about the hummingbirds, as my kids were just commenting on the hummingbirds at our feeder. Don't you just love it when the kids appreciate the small things in life. Please keep posting your days, and they are wonderful to read about.

Have a wonderful day.

yolo

**homesteadmamma** · 08-22-2002, 01:55 PM

Can we be neighbours?

**yolo** · 08-22-2002, 02:39 PM

Homestead mama: You know I didn't look at your location before, and now I see it is Canada. I grew up in the UP of Michigan and lived not far from Canada.

It sounds like we live a lot alike, although it sounds like you do more than I do. I would love to grind wheat, but I have never even seen it done. Do you have animals, too? I am afraid I would not be good with animals. So much to learn in this world isn't there? Anyway, I love living the simple life and enjoying the small things in life.

yolo

**homesteadmamma** · 08-22-2002, 03:04 PM

No we don't have animals although that was our life long dream but it had to change when dh lost his job due to his company being bought out.

We moved to a small rural town because the cost of land and a farm was just to expensive for us to be able to pay cash for. Had we been wiser with our money years ago, we would be on a farm. We settled for urban homesteading in a small rural town instead.

Grinding grain - I purchased a Whisper mill and now grind my own grain. I did want to get a hand one, but I also have fibromyalgia and dh said no because he didn't feel I'd be able to grind the wheat for very long. I'm so thankful I listened to him.

**AandAmom** · 08-22-2002, 04:55 PM

I hate the city!!!!!!!!!!!

One day, I plan to watch mychildren play outside, without having to worry about them being hit by a car, or the air pollution. One day, I will actually have a clothes line to hang my laundry on. In the meantime, I will continue reading your posts, and live vicariously though you.

Thank you.

**Sara Noel** · 08-22-2002, 09:14 PM

Gabe and I are in the country, but not a farm. We are working towards our goal of owning a small farm.
I am hoping within 2 yrs to be settled into our "dream".
When I was younger, the last thing I wanted was to live in the country or enjoy a simple lifestyle. I honestly don't know what I was thinking.
I love to read about homesteading and enjoying the more simple things. It just sounds so much more free from the ratrace and so rewarding.
We're almost there.

Sara

**Dixie** · 08-22-2002, 11:18 PM

Homestead Mama, your day sounds wonderful! My ideal! I love reading about your homesteading life.

Kelly, I hope you find your dream home soon!

**yolo** · 08-23-2002, 08:07 AM

Sara: You will get there and it will be sooo nice, and we will all be sooo happy for you.

I guess what we do would be called urban homesteading in a small town. I never really thought about it before. I grew up in a very very small town (700-800? people). My parents always had a garden, hunted, fished, canned, froze, got a side of beef for the winter along with a pig. There was always a full freezer in the winter from the garden and the meat (which they bought from my uncle who raised pigs and cattle). My mom always baked bread, baked and cooked from scratch, canned, and it was natural for me to continue to do that. My parents always had ducks, and we collected eggs from them, they had dogs, a cat, and rabbits. I never really looked at that as homesteading, either, but I guess that is what it would be called. Maybe I have been lucky my whole life and never really knew it. My husband and children and I live in a town about 2.5 hours from our parents, and to us this town is so much larger.

We live on one acre, and my children have basketball, volleyball, badmitton, croquet, tether ball, and shuffleboard right in their own yard along with many other outdoor games. I agree with Homesteadmama that is so nice to watch your children play in your yard that is not fenced in.

I am so happy you posted this, as it has made me do some real thinking. Keep up with these wonderful homesteading posts.

yolo