miss_thenorth
Chillin' In The Garden
When we lived up north (near Timmins, ON), we owned an 80 acre parcel of land, on a huge river,(FrederickhouseRiver) which was 1/2 hour away form our home.
On it, there was an old work portable that was converted into a one bedroom (one bed and bunks for the kids)cottage. In that, we had a woodstove for heat, propane lights and stove. We used an old freezer for our fridge, (froze a rubbermaid tote full of water, and that would keep for a week in summer. We had no TV, no computer, no telephone. We had a cell phone, but had to go up the road for service--no reception on our property. We had to truck in our water--we used a 50 gallon drum and that also lasted us a week. We had a propane tank. that would last us a whole year. Our toilet was an outhouse. We had a generator, but rarely used it. (I had an old wringer washer, but it sprung an oil leak) I had an old wood burning cookstove that I cooked on during the summer. There was a bathroom, with a portapotty (for late at night), a tub but no running water. showers would consist of sitting on a stool in the bathtub, and taking cupfulls of water from a pot up warmed up water, to pour over ourselves.
We would stay there all summer, during the kids vacation, and every other weekend all throughout the year --summer and winter. (my dh had every other weekend off), and march break. We chopped our own firewood, carried water up from the river to boil for our showers, and dishwater. We used the trucked in water very sparingly for drinking, cooking etc.
Was it alot of work? yes!! Did we love it? Yes!!! We went into town once a week for groceries, water and ice.and laundry We didn't miss TV, computers, etc at all. My kids spent the summers catching frogs, fishing, swimming, cnoeing, going on nature walks, listening to nature and watching it. Rainy days were spent reading crafts, playing board games and baking. They were never bored. Winters we ice fished snowshoed, went tobogganing, built snow forts, etc.
Before we moved down here, we were looking into plans to build a permanent home there. We were looking into off the grid, since there was no hydro lines running to our property--It would have cost us the same amount of money to run in lines as it would be to buy wind turbines, and 'lead' batteries, so we were going to go with off grid. We would obviously had a few more amenities than the cottage, but we were planning a simpler lifestyle. I don't work--haven;t since the kids were born, and it has always been a dream of mine to live like that.--that would be my job. We planned on having a garden, and animals there too. My dh was unhappy at his job, but he figured if he had something he really loved to come home to he would tolerate it. We had plans for a modest three bedroom home, and were ready to start looking for contractors to do the parts of the building that he and I could not do ourselves.
All those plans came crashing down though, b/c he got a job offer down here that he really could not pass up. Mind you--he was not looking, but the company he now works for sought him out. Ultimately, he took the job and now we are where we are.
Now--we still might do something like that when he retires. But for now, I want to still provide for my family in a way that I feel is better for them, by growing what we will eat., and raising them to love and take care of our earth--instill in them strong family values, etc., etc.
Yes, even if we had have stayed up north, we would have been dependant on grocery stores, clothing stores ( I am NOT a sewer) and gas stations, but our footprint on this earth would have been alot lighter than it is now.
I do enjoy many modern conveniences in life. I have a nice home, with nice things in it, but we are not extravagant by any means.
We live within our means, shop at value village and other thrift shops, cook from scatch for all things--don't buy processed foods-etc. Do't spend alot of money on vacations, Christmas, etc.
Do I regret moving here? We have to make the most of what God gives us, and for some reason God wants us to be here. So no, I don't regret it.....but I do "miss_thenorth." So self-suffiency... I have thought about it. No one can be TRULY self sufficient, as was previously argued, but for several months out of they year for about 7 years, I was about as self sufficient as I could be. Now, I must make due with what I have here,and as I previously stated--my main concern is to provide wholesome food for my family. I do miss my "self sufficient" lifestyle that I had up north. I also miss the beautiful land, sunsets, northern lights, all that snow, going out into the bush for walks, paddling the canoe in the river, hunting, fishing, foraged for wild edibles, snowshoeing, Xcountry skiing, campfires, no humidity in the summers................
On it, there was an old work portable that was converted into a one bedroom (one bed and bunks for the kids)cottage. In that, we had a woodstove for heat, propane lights and stove. We used an old freezer for our fridge, (froze a rubbermaid tote full of water, and that would keep for a week in summer. We had no TV, no computer, no telephone. We had a cell phone, but had to go up the road for service--no reception on our property. We had to truck in our water--we used a 50 gallon drum and that also lasted us a week. We had a propane tank. that would last us a whole year. Our toilet was an outhouse. We had a generator, but rarely used it. (I had an old wringer washer, but it sprung an oil leak) I had an old wood burning cookstove that I cooked on during the summer. There was a bathroom, with a portapotty (for late at night), a tub but no running water. showers would consist of sitting on a stool in the bathtub, and taking cupfulls of water from a pot up warmed up water, to pour over ourselves.
We would stay there all summer, during the kids vacation, and every other weekend all throughout the year --summer and winter. (my dh had every other weekend off), and march break. We chopped our own firewood, carried water up from the river to boil for our showers, and dishwater. We used the trucked in water very sparingly for drinking, cooking etc.
Was it alot of work? yes!! Did we love it? Yes!!! We went into town once a week for groceries, water and ice.and laundry We didn't miss TV, computers, etc at all. My kids spent the summers catching frogs, fishing, swimming, cnoeing, going on nature walks, listening to nature and watching it. Rainy days were spent reading crafts, playing board games and baking. They were never bored. Winters we ice fished snowshoed, went tobogganing, built snow forts, etc.
Before we moved down here, we were looking into plans to build a permanent home there. We were looking into off the grid, since there was no hydro lines running to our property--It would have cost us the same amount of money to run in lines as it would be to buy wind turbines, and 'lead' batteries, so we were going to go with off grid. We would obviously had a few more amenities than the cottage, but we were planning a simpler lifestyle. I don't work--haven;t since the kids were born, and it has always been a dream of mine to live like that.--that would be my job. We planned on having a garden, and animals there too. My dh was unhappy at his job, but he figured if he had something he really loved to come home to he would tolerate it. We had plans for a modest three bedroom home, and were ready to start looking for contractors to do the parts of the building that he and I could not do ourselves.
All those plans came crashing down though, b/c he got a job offer down here that he really could not pass up. Mind you--he was not looking, but the company he now works for sought him out. Ultimately, he took the job and now we are where we are.
Now--we still might do something like that when he retires. But for now, I want to still provide for my family in a way that I feel is better for them, by growing what we will eat., and raising them to love and take care of our earth--instill in them strong family values, etc., etc.
Yes, even if we had have stayed up north, we would have been dependant on grocery stores, clothing stores ( I am NOT a sewer) and gas stations, but our footprint on this earth would have been alot lighter than it is now.
I do enjoy many modern conveniences in life. I have a nice home, with nice things in it, but we are not extravagant by any means.
We live within our means, shop at value village and other thrift shops, cook from scatch for all things--don't buy processed foods-etc. Do't spend alot of money on vacations, Christmas, etc.
Do I regret moving here? We have to make the most of what God gives us, and for some reason God wants us to be here. So no, I don't regret it.....but I do "miss_thenorth." So self-suffiency... I have thought about it. No one can be TRULY self sufficient, as was previously argued, but for several months out of they year for about 7 years, I was about as self sufficient as I could be. Now, I must make due with what I have here,and as I previously stated--my main concern is to provide wholesome food for my family. I do miss my "self sufficient" lifestyle that I had up north. I also miss the beautiful land, sunsets, northern lights, all that snow, going out into the bush for walks, paddling the canoe in the river, hunting, fishing, foraged for wild edibles, snowshoeing, Xcountry skiing, campfires, no humidity in the summers................
what ya gonna do.
comes in handy for many purposes. Randy secured metal shelving along the back wall and one side wall. It's also perfect for storing long rolls of indoor/outdoor carpet (10' pieces) and the kids' old furniture pieces (which they need to pick up). We even drive the four-wheelers in before we close it up for the evening. Of course it gets super hot in the summer, but we open it and run fans in there on really hot days - don't want the humidity messing up the furniture.
